Flying Free

Ella absolutely was in love with Hogwarts. She loved the classes, the teachers, and even most of the students. She loved hanging out in the Ravenclaw common room and reading hundreds of books in the library. She had fallen in love with the school, and it has only been about a month!

Ella had gotten herself in the routine that she ate breakfast either in the Great Hall with her housemates or in a spare room with Draco, lunch in the library usually by herself, and then dinner with her house. She quickly excelled at making friends, and everyone she met seemed to love her.

One day she had just finished her lunch in the library and had extra time to start her Charms essay that Professor Flitwick had just assigned them that morning. She didn't notice anyone enter the library until the girl came right up to her table and cleared her throat.

"May I sit here?" The girl asked, making direct eye contact. The girl had bushy brown hair and bright eyes, with ink stains on her hands that made it obvious she just finished writing a huge report or essay. She was small, with a clear complexion and she reminded Ella of a mouse.

"Of course! Here, let me move my things." Ella said with a smile, waving her hands and watching as the books that were previously sitting on her table stacked themselves neatly and landed in a pile next to her feet. "My name is Ella by the way; I am a first year in Ravenclaw house."

"Oh, my name is Hermione, and I am also a first year in Gryffindor house. Where did you learn a spell like that in our first year?" Hermione said, sitting her books on the table and taking the seat next to Ella. Hermione seemed genuinely eager to hear about Ella's skills, an aptly leaned forward to listen better.

"My nanny gave me a book with household spells like that, and most of them are wandless," Ella said smiling, "Do you want to see it?"

"Sure! And then after that we should start on that charms essay, yes?" Hermione said cheerfully, easily relaxing in this friendly girl's company. I like this girl, Hermione thought to herself, a lot better than Ron and Harry.

"That was my plan!" Ella said gleefully, glad her new acquaintance had the same work ethic as she did.

"Draco! Don't be like this! Hermione is my friend, and unlike you and your family, her blood status doesn't bother me!" Ella said, her face growing red with the lack of communication Draco was giving her at the moment. He had been distant and grumpy lately, and when they spent time together he was oddly quiet and cryptic. His odd behavior was greatly bothering Ella, and she could no longer stand it. So, when she had spotted Draco from behind in the hall, she thought that now was as good a time as any to confront him. So far, it was not showing to be successful.

"That's not what I meant El, I just meant…" Draco said whirling around to face his friend. Ella gasped at the sight of Draco's face as the glamour charm he had applied this morning began to wear off.

"Did he find out?" Ella whispered as Draco tried to hide his face from her.

"No, he was drunk and I happened to be in close proximity." Draco said, hanging his head as Ella grabbed his wrist.

"Come on, let me fix it. And just for the record, Hermione is not replacing you. Its different, she is my best female friend, and you are my best male friend. I'm sorry you felt left out, I just didn't want to give your pureblood friends the wrong message." Ella said as she lead Draco into a spare classroom off the hallway they had just been arguing in.

"I don't care what they say; they aren't really my friends, besides Blaise, of course." Draco said, looking straight ahead and not letting any emotion show on his features. Ella noted that his skin looked sort of glassy, like he hadn't lately been taking care of it, and it alarmed her to realize his face had retained the same skinniness that she had noticed back on the train.

Ella sighed. At least Draco still had her, for without her friendship it was obvious he was slowly falling apart. She had thought being away for the holidays would refresh him and ease the pain of his back stabbing friends, but apparently it only made it worse. Ella made a silent vow to herself that she would spend more time with Draco, even if it meant sacrificing time with Hermione or studying time. She was going to make sure he knew he was wanted, no matter the cost.

"Oh come on Draco, don't be so upset. Aren't all stuck up purebloods backstabbers too? Good thing you aren't stuck up, or else I would not want to hang out with you." Ella said, trying to lighten the mood.

Draco didn't answer, only sitting down on a desk in the room they had entered and quickly looking away. Ella could tell he was really upset, his body was tense and his shoulders were rigid, and he practically radiated anger.

"Draco…" Ella said, taking his chin and gently forcing him to look at her. When she saw his eyes she knew he wasn't angry, he just felt upset and he was experiencing great pain. "It will get better, I promise. Now, let me heal you really quick and then we can go for a walk or something." Ella said as she mumbled the spell and watched Draco's bruise disappear.

"Actually, do you want to go flying?" Draco said, hoping she said yes. He always felt better when he flew, and Ella seemed to sense this.

"Sure, why not?" Ella said against her better judgment. She was not great on a broom yet, but she knew that Draco had flown practically all of his life. She was hopefully in good hands, despite her misgivings.

Draco felt like he could do no wrong, and it was the best he had felt since he had started Hogwarts. His father had talked the teachers into allowing him to have his broom at school with him, even though first years were technically forbidden. He often took the broom out to fly at night when he wanted solitude, but today was different.

Ella sat behind him on the broom, her arms wrapped around his waist and her head resting on his back. And man, it was the best feeling in the world. His thoughts were clear, and he loved the feeling of wind on his face along with the closeness of his best friend.

Wait, Is Ella still my best friend? He thought to himself. Or is she becoming something else?

The sudden change in his thoughts startled Draco, but he pushed it aside. He would have to ponder that later, because right now he wanted to cherish this amazing moment in the sky.

A/N: Sorry for skipping around, but the real story doesn't start until third year. So I'm just going to add little snippets until I get there. Thanks for reading.