Something strange clicked within her but she could not bring herself to care. Someone was screaming in her ear, and it only took a moment to realize that it was her. Sirius was gone. He was dead.
"SIRIUS!" Harry yelled, "SIRIUS!"
Remus rushed up to hold Harry back while Ellen turned to face Bellatrix. "You. Killed. Him." She shrieked in anger. "YOU KILLED HIM!"
The world erupted in a violent purple.
She could feel the power rushing through her, feel the way her skin drained to the dead grey of a Noah, but Ellen didn't care. "Destroy her…Crush her into dust…Never forgive, Allen."
"You killed my brother." Ellen said quietly, calmly, under her breath. She looked up at Bellatrix Lestrange with mad eyes then everything went black.
They all watched in horror as tentacles of dark matter wrapped around Ellen, forming an odd set of armor around her. Her voice sounded as if it was layered when she cackled insanely. Her hair was once again white as it floated around her head in a mockery of a halo.
"Hee, hee." Ellen giggled again. "I'm going to kill you, Bel-la-trix."
She launched herself at the witch, dark matter crackling at her fists. The two danced around the room as Bellatrix continued to apparate herself to different places, laughing just as madly as the Noah. Others were forced to dodge as Ellen threw blasts of dark matter at the witch, disintegrating whatever they landed on.
Rhode clicked her tongue next to where Remus was holding Harry. "What's wrong with her?" Remus asked stiffly, clutching Harry tight.
"She lost herself in the Noah." Rhode shook her head. "That's Neah you're seeing, not Allen."
"Someone has to stop her!" He said in outrage. "She's going to kill someone!"
The tiny Noah raised her brow and laughed lightly, obviously not taking the situation seriously. "Neah won't listen to any of us. Besides, it's about time that Allen stopped fighting the memory."
Ellen screamed in rage as she missed Bellatrix again, finally catching Tyki's attention. He looked up at Ellen in horror before quickly shoving his hand in the Death Eater's chest and crushing their heart. He leapt up to stand in the air above Ellen before grabbing her arms from behind, twisting her to face him. Kingsley quickly took over her duel with Bellatrix while he tried to hold his thrashing wife down.
"Shh," Tyki shook her slightly. "Allen, I know you're in there. You have to wake up."
The Noah snarled in his face. "She's not coming back, Joyd. Being awake just hurts poor little Allen too much right now."
"Allen, please." He begged. "We need you. The Clan needs you, Harry needs you, I need you. Come back to me."
"Tyki..?" She said quietly, her voice sounding normal once more.
He kissed her forehead quickly. "Yes, menina, I'm here. Come back my love, you can do it."
His hands started burning as dark matter erupted from Ellen once more, but he held steadfast. The armor all over her began to crumble away into dust. She cried out once more in that distorted voice before collapsing. The last thing she heard was Tyki calling her name and then there was no more.
In a brief statement Friday night, Minister of Magic Cornelius Fudge confirmed that He-Who-MustNot-Be Named has returned to this country and is active once more.
"It is with great regret that I must confirm that the wizard styling himself Lord — well, you know who I mean — is alive and among us again," said Fudge, looking tired and flustered as he addressed reporters. "It is with almost equal regret that we report the mass revolt of the dementors of Azkaban, who have shown themselves averse to continuing in the Ministry's employ. We believe that the dementors are currently taking direction from Lord — Thingy."
"We urge the magical population to remain vigilant. The Ministry is currently publishing guides to elementary home and personal defense that will be delivered free to all Wizarding homes within the coming month." The Minister's statement was met with dismay and alarm from the Wizarding community, which as recently as last Wednesday was receiving Ministry assurances that there was "no truth whatsoever in these persistent rumors that You-Know-Who is operating amongst us once more."
Details of the events that led to the Ministry turnaround are still hazy, though it is believed that HeWho-Must-Not-Be-Named and a select band of followers (known as Death Eaters) gained entry to the Ministry of Magic itself on Thursday evening. Albus Dumbledore, newly reinstated headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, reinstated member of the International Confederation of Wizards, and reinstated Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot, was unavailable for comment last night. He has insisted for a year that You-Know-Who was not dead, as was widely hoped and believed, but recruiting followers once more for a fresh attempt to seize power. Meanwhile the Boy Who Lived —
"There you are, Harry, I knew they'd drag you into it somehow," said Hermione, looking over the top of the paper at him.
They were in the hospital wing. Harry was sitting on the end of Ron's bed and they were both listening to Hermione read the front page of the Sunday Prophet.
Ginny, whose ankle had been mended in a trice by Madam Pomfrey, was curled up at the foot of Hermione's bed; Neville, whose nose had likewise been returned to its normal size and shape, was in a chair between the two beds; and Luna, who had dropped in to visit clutching the latest edition of The Quibbler, was reading the magazine upside down and apparently not taking in a word Hermione was saying. Ellen was in her own hospital bed, her face looking haunted as she listened to them.
"He's 'the Boy Who Lived' again now, though, isn't he?" said Ron darkly. "Not such a show-off maniac anymore, eh?"
He helped himself to a handful of Chocolate Frogs from the immense pile on his bedside cabinet, threw a few to Harry, Ginny, and Neville, and ripped off the wrapper of his own with his teeth. There were still deep welts on his forearms where the brain's tentacles had wrapped around him. According to Madam Pomfrey, thoughts could leave deeper scarring than almost anything else, though since she had started applying copious amounts of Dr. Ubbly's Oblivious Unction, there seemed to be some improvement.
"Yes, they're very complimentary about you now, Harry," said Hermione, now scanning down the article. " 'A lone voice of truth...perceived as unbalanced, yet never wavered in his story...forced to bear ridicule and slander...' Hmmm," said Hermione, frowning, "I notice they don't mention the fact that it was them doing all the ridiculing and slandering, though..."
She winced slightly and put a hand to her ribs. The curse Dolohov had used on her, though less effective than it would have been had he been able to say the incantation aloud, had nevertheless caused, in Madam Pomfrey's words, "quite enough damage to be going on with."
Hermione was having to take ten different types of potion every day and although she was improving greatly, was already bored with the hospital wing. " 'You-Know-Who's Last Attempt to Take Over, pages two to four, What the Ministry Should Have Told Us, page five, Why Nobody Listened to Albus Dumbledore, pages six to eight, Exclusive Interview with Harry Potter, page nine...'
"Well," said Hermione, folding up the newspaper and throwing it aside, "it's certainly given them lots to write about. And that interview with Harry isn't exclusive, it's the one that was in The Quibbler months ago..."
"Daddy sold it to them," said Luna vaguely, turning a page of The Quibbler. "He got a very good price for it too, so we're going to go on an expedition to Sweden this summer and see if we can catch a Crumple-Horned Snorkack."
Hermione seemed to struggle with herself for a moment, then said, "That sounds lovely." Ginny caught Harry's eye and looked away quickly, grinning.
"So anyway," said Hermione, sitting up a little straighter and wincing again, "what's going on in school?"
"Well, Flitwick's got rid of Fred and George's swamp," said Ginny. "He did it in about three seconds. But he left a tiny patch under the window and he's roped it off —"
"Why?" said Hermione, looking startled.
"Oh, he just says it was a really good bit of magic," said Ginny, shrugging.
"I think he left it as a monument to Fred and George," said Ron through a mouthful of chocolate. "They sent me all these, you know," he told Harry, pointing at the small mountain of Frogs beside him. "Must be doing all right out of that joke shop, eh?"
Hermione looked rather disapproving and asked, "So has all the trouble stopped now Dumbledore's back?"
"Yes," said Neville, "everything's settled right back down again."
"I s'pose Filch is happy, is he?" asked Ron, propping a Chocolate Frog card featuring Dumbledore against his water jug.
"Not at all," said Ginny. "He's really, really miserable, actually..." She lowered her voice to a whisper. "He keeps saying Umbridge was the best thing that ever happened to Hogwarts..."
All seven of them looked around. Professor Umbridge was lying in a bed opposite them, gazing up at the ceiling. Dumbledore had strode alone into the forest to rescue her from the centaurs. How he had done it — how he had emerged from the trees supporting Professor Umbridge without so much as a scratch on him — nobody knew, and Umbridge was certainly not telling. Since she had returned to the castle she had not, as far as any of them knew, uttered a single word.
Since her return she had been plagued by what seemed to be horrible nightmares, but Ellen knew the truth. Rhode had been by the woman's bedside every night, filling her dreams with horrors beyond wildest imaginations. Finally they were able to get the revenge that they deserved.
"Madam Pomfrey says she's just in shock," whispered Hermione.
"Sulking, more like," said Ginny
"Yeah, she shows signs of life if you do this," said Ron, and with his tongue he made soft clip-clopping noises. Umbridge sat bolt upright, looking wildly around. "
Anything wrong, Professor?" called Madam Pomfrey, poking her head around her office door.
"No...no..." said Umbridge, sinking back into her pillows, "no, I must have been dreaming..."
Hermione and Ginny muffled their laughter in the bedclothes. "Speaking of centaurs," said Hermione, when she had recovered a little, "who's Divination teacher now? Is Firenze staying?"
"He's got to," said Harry, "the other centaurs won't take him back, will they?"
"It looks like he and Trelawney are both going to teach," said Ginny.
"Bet Dumbledore wishes he could've got rid of Trelawney for good," said Ron, now munching on his fourteenth Frog. "Mind you, the whole subjects useless if you ask me, Firenze isn't a lot better..."
"How can you say that?" Hermione demanded. "After we've just found out that there are real prophecies?"
"It is a pity it broke," said Hermione quietly, shaking her head.
"Yeah, it is," said Ron. "Still, at least You-Know-Who never found out what was in it either — where are you going?" he added, looking both surprised and disappointed as Harry stood up.
"Er — Hagrid's," said Harry. "You know, he just got back and I promised I'd go down and see him and tell him how you three are..."
"Oh all right then," said Ron grumpily, looking out of the dormitory window at the patch of bright blue sky beyond. "Wish we could come..."
"Say hello to him for us!" called Hermione, as Harry proceeded down the ward. "And ask him what's happening about...about his little friend!"
Ellen sat there quietly, gently rubbing her white hair between her fingers. "I'm sorry." She all but whispered, catching their attention. "I should have protected you better. I'm so sorry."
Ginny hobbled over to her bed and sank into it, wrapping her arms around the tiny girl. "You did the best you could, Ellen."
"It wasn't enough." She mumbled, pulling away from Ginny. "It just wasn't enough."
It was late that night when Albus finally made his way into the hospital wing to visit Ellen. The room was filled with the sound of snoring and Umbridge's whimpers, yet she did not register a single bit of it. All Ellen could do was stare up at her friend with disappointment as he sat down on the end of her bed.
"Why didn't you tell me there was a prophecy?" She finally whispered, glaring at Albus. "All these years I've been blaming myself for not seeing that they would be targeted, why did you keep this from me?"
"I thought they would be safe." Albus admitted quietly staring down at his wrinkled hands.
She shook her head. "That doesn't explain why you lied to me Albus. Is that why you wouldn't let me raise him? For the sake of some prophecy?"
"It was for the greater good."
"Bullshit!" Ellen swore at him. "You sound like Gellert when you say that. You let James and Lily's son grow up unloved and abused, just so you could lead him like a lamb to slaughter. Is he going to die, Albus? Is that what your brilliant plan is?"
Her friend shook his head. "Harry must be the one to kill Voldemort."
She physically recoiled at that, barely able to stand being in the same room as Albus in that moment. To learn that her friend, her oldest, closest friend had kept something so vital from her was breaking her heart. Ellen looked up at him with glowing yellow eyes full of rage. "How many more have to die before that? Does that even matter to you?"
"Harry has the power the Dark Lord knows not." He argued with her. "No one else can stop him.
"And you didn't think that you should maybe have prepared him? He's going to walk into a war completely unable to protect himself!" He went to reply to he when she held up a hand, cutting him off. "I don't want to hear any more of your excuses Albus. I thought you were better than this, I thought that you would have learned that you can trust me but here you are trying to solve everything by yourself again. You are my friend and I love you dearly, but you need to leave before I do something that I regret."
"Ellen.." Albus protested.
A snarl formed on her face and her arm erupted with dark matter against her will. She snatched her wand off the table next to her and pointed it at him, shaking in anger as she did so. "I want you to leave Albus Dumbledore. Your secrets have cost me the lives of my friends and I will not allow you to take anyone else from me. Leave now or so help me god, I will kill you."
He rose with a deep sigh and looked down at her as though he was disappointed. Before she could fire off a spell in his direction he was departing, his brilliant robes dragging behind him. For a moment she though she heard the man sniffle but he was gone before she could truly register it. All that mattered to her in that moment was her anger. Albus's need to keep secrets had ruined so many lives and she could no longer make excuses for him.
Ellen dropped her wand onto the bed and set her face in her hands, sobbing over the loss of her dearest friend. It would not matter if they were able to repair their friendship. There were too many secrets out in the open, the blissful ignorance they had lived in ripped away to reveal the harsh reality of life.
Everything would be different.
The journey home on the Hogwarts Express next day was uneventful. They all gathered in a compartment together and made themselves comfortable while Ron went off to find Harry. Hermione was reading the Daily Prophet again, Ginny was doing a quiz in The Quibbler, and Neville was stroking his Mimbulus mimbletonia, which had grown a great deal over the year and now made odd crooning noises when touched.
Ellen spent most of the journey with Rhode in her lap, clinging tight to the other Noah like she was her lifeline. No one could hear the words that Rhode murmured to her, stroking her soft white hair. Her mood seemed to lift as the train continued on and by the time it began to slow, Ellen was smiling and giggling softly to Rhode.
When it finally puffed to a standstill she helped Harry lift his owl's cage down. When the ticket inspector signaled to him, Ron, Ellen, and Hermione that it was safe to walk through the magical barrier between platforms nine and ten Harry found a surprise awaiting him on the other side: a group of people standing there to greet him whom he had not expected at all.
There was Mad-Eye Moody, looking quite as sinister with his bowler hat pulled low over his magical eye as he would have done without it, his gnarled hands clutching a long staff, his body wrapped in a voluminous traveling cloak. Tonks stood just behind him, her bright bubble-gum-pink hair gleaming in the sunlight filtering through the dirty glass station ceiling, wearing heavily patched jeans and a bright purple T-shirt bearing the legend the weird sisters.
Next to Tonks was Lupin, his face pale, his hair graying, a long and threadbare overcoat covering a shabby jumper and trousers. Tyki was standing towards the back, his hands tucked firmly in his pockets. At the front of the group stood Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, dressed in their Muggle best, and Fred and George, who were both wearing brand-new jackets in some lurid green, scaly material.
"Ron, Ginny!" called Mrs. Weasley, hurrying forward and hugging her children tightly. "Oh, and Harry dear — how are you?"
"Fine," lied Harry, as she pulled him into a tight embrace.
"What are they supposed to be?" Ron asked, pointing at the twins' jackets.
"Finest dragon skin, little bro," said Fred, giving his zip a little tweak. "Business is booming and we thought we'd treat ourselves."
"Hello, Harry," said Remus, as Mrs. Weasley let go of Harry and turned to greet Hermione. "Hi," said Harry. "I didn't expect...what are you all doing here?"
"Well," said Lupin with a slight smile, "we thought we might have a little chat with your aunt and uncle before letting them take you home."
"I dunno if that's a good idea," said Harry at once. However, Ellen grinned widely and nudged Rhode to catch her attention.
"Oh, I think it is," growled Moody, who had limped a little closer. "That'll be them, will it, Potter?" He pointed with his thumb over his shoulder; his magical eye was evidently peering through the back of his head and his bowler hat. They leaned an inch or so to the left to see where Mad-Eye was pointing and there, sure enough, were the three Dursleys, who looked positively appalled to see Harry's reception committee.
"Ah, Harry!" said Mr. Weasley, turning from Hermione's parents, whom he had been greeting enthusiastically, and who were taking it in turns to hug Hermione. "Well — shall we do it, then?"
"Yeah, I reckon so, Arthur," said Moody. He and Mr. Weasley took the lead across the station toward the place where the Dursleys stood, apparently rooted to the floor. Hermione disengaged herself gently from her mother to join the group.
"Good afternoon," said Mr. Weasley pleasantly to Uncle Vernon, coming to a halt right in front of him. "You might remember me, my name's Arthur Weasley."
As Mr. Weasley had singlehandedly demolished most of the Dursleys' living room two years previously, Harry would have been very surprised if Uncle Vernon had forgotten him. Sure enough, Uncle Vernon turned a deeper shade of puce and glared at Mr. Weasley, but chose not to say anything, partly, perhaps, because the Dursleys were outnumbered two to one. Aunt Petunia looked both frightened and embarrassed. She kept glancing around, as though terrified somebody she knew would see her in such company. Dudley, meanwhile, seemed to be trying to look small and insignificant, a feat at which he was failing extravagantly.
"We thought we'd just have a few words with you about Harry," said Mr. Weasley, still smiling.
"Yeah," growled Moody. "About how he's treated when he's at your place."
Uncle Vernon's mustache seemed to bristle with indignation. Possibly because the bowler hat gave him the entirely mistaken impression that he was dealing with a kindred spirit, he addressed himself to Moody. "I am not aware that it is any of your business what goes on in my house —"
"I expect what you're not aware of would fill several books, Dursley," growled Moody.
"Anyway, that's not the point," interjected Tonks, whose pink hair seemed to offend Aunt Petunia more than all the rest put together, for she closed her eyes rather than look at her. "The point is, if we find out you've been horrible to Harry —"
"— and make no mistake, we'll hear about it," added Lupin pleasantly.
"Yes," said Mr. Weasley, "even if you won't let Harry use the fellytone —"
"Telephone," whispered Hermione.
"Yeah, if we get any hint that Potter's been mistreated in any way, you'll have us to answer to," said Moody. Uncle Vernon swelled ominously. His sense of outrage seemed to outweigh even his fear of this bunch of oddballs. "Are you threatening me, sir?" he said, so loudly that passersby actually turned to stare. "
Yes, I am," said Mad-Eye, who seemed rather pleased that Uncle Vernon had grasped this fact so quickly.
"And do I look like the kind of man who can be intimidated?" barked Uncle Vernon.
"Well..." said Moody, pushing back his bowler hat to reveal his sinisterly revolving magical eye. Uncle Vernon leapt backward in horror and collided painfully with a luggage trolley. "Yes, I'd have to say you do, Dursley."
He turned from Uncle Vernon to Harry. "So, Potter...give us a shout if you need us. If we don't hear from you for three days in a row, we'll send someone along..."
Aunt Petunia whimpered piteously. It could not have been plainer that she was thinking of what the neighbors would say if they caught sight of these people marching up the garden path.
" 'Bye, then, Potter," said Moody, grasping Harry's shoulder for a moment with a gnarled hand.
"Take care, Harry," said Lupin quietly. "Keep in touch."
"Harry, we'll have you away from there as soon as we can," Mrs. Weasley whispered, hugging him again.
"You'll hear from us," Ellen hugged him. "I promise."
"We'll see you soon, mate," said Ron anxiously, shaking Harry's hand.
"Really soon, Harry," said Hermione earnestly. "We promise."
Harry nodded, smiled, raised a hand in farewell, turned around, and led the way out of the station toward the sunlit street, with Uncle Vernon, Aunt Petunia, and Dudley hurrying along in his wake.
The other members of the Order scattered about, leaving the Noah standing alone in the station. Ellen shook her head and looked up at Tyki. He intertwined their hands and smiled down at her.
Rhode rolled her eyes and pulled out the blood pop she had been hoarding the entire train ride. "So," She giggled. "How long do you think it'll take for them to notice that he's gone."
" 'Dung has first watch, so we'll have at least twelve hours before they get suspicious." Ellen said plainly. "That'll be plenty of time to orchestrate a few 'sightings' all around the world."
Tyki placed his hand on Rhode's shoulder firmly. "One kidnapped Boy-Who-Lived, coming up."
A loud crack sounded through the station but when the Muggles looked, they only saw a blank space where the three had been standing moments before.
AND THAT IS THE END OF A GLINT OF WHITE!
Thank you all so much for coming on this journey with me. This fanfic has been my child for months and I'm so grateful that there are those who enjoyed reading it just as much as I loved writing it. Now onto the good news.
The sequel to A Glint of White will be called A Vision in Grey and it will hopefully be finished and published by August 2017! Get excited!