Chapter 7

Percy finally stopped them in front of a large portrait of a fat lady in a pink dress eating grapes and lounging in a chaise.

"Wattlebird!" Percy announced to the painted woman officially.

"Oh, all right," sighed the fat lady, "welcome back." And then the portrait swung open to reveal a hole in the wall behind it. Percy ushered Hermione and the rest o f the first years through the portrait hole.

"Step lively," he said as he followed Ursella, Hermione, and Ginny through the hole. But they couldn't really progress much further than that, as all the first years had halted just in front of the door. Percy attempted to clear the traffic before he could see what it was. "Come on now. Boys on the left, girls on the—Alright! Now this is just unacceptable!"

It seemed that instead of going to bed, the rest of the Gryffindors seemed intent on throwing an impromptu bash, much to Percy's chagrin. Someone had even hung streamers over the mantle. There was a roar of applause that erupted quickly but died off just as fast as Percy's mob entered the common room. All the Gryffindors looked disappointed as one of the Weasley twins piped up, "Oh it's just Percy! Back to your business! Potter and Ronald will be along soon!"

Percy looked just about as red as his hair and started thundering toward the twins. "Fred! George! What is the meaning of this?" He gestured around the room at all of the frivolity. His brothers put their arms around Percy's shoulders.

"We're throwing a party, Perce," said the brother on the left.

"Yeah, to celebrate Harry and Ron's latest dramatic escapade," said the other one.

"It warms our hearts to see Ronny followin' in our nogoodnick ways," the left twin pretended to wipe away a tear.

"Oh, don't be dramatic, Fred," Percy fought free of their arms. "And what are you on about? What escapade?"

"Percy!" George looked aghast. "Have you really not heard?"

"We didn't think you were that far out of the loop." Fred laughed.

"I heard the rumors," Percy said, straightening his Prefect badge. "That our brother and The Boy Who Lived stole our parents' illegal flying car and flew it into the Whomping Willow because they missed the train. And I for one don't believe a word of it. For all we know, you two made it all up."

"No, it's true!" Ginny squeaked from beside Ursella. "Ella heard Snape and McGonagall discussing it herself. It even made the Muggle News."

Suddenly all eyes were on Ursella. "Is that true, Ella?" Percy was looking down at her as if he still didn't believe her. That and the fact that everyone was starting to call her by her nickname alerted her to the fact that these people were starting to get comfortable with her. And then she remembered that these were the sort of people that she wasn't to be associating with let alone be in the same house as and chit chatting with. Uncle Lucius would no doubt be here in the morning to move her into Slytherin anyway. It would be in her favor to not get comfortable here.

"First of all," Ursella lifted her nose at Percy with the same air of superiority that he was showing her. "It's Ursella. Not Ella. And second, yes, it is true." Percy's face paled and his eyes widened and darted around unfocused as if he was doing intense mathematical equations. "Now, if you all would excuse me, I'll be off to bed."

"Good idea," Percy said distantly as he recovered from the news. "As should we all! Now, everyone off—"

But Percy was interrupted again as two boys burst through the portrait hole, another red head and one with an unmistakable scar. The Common Room exploded anew with enthusiasm as the rabble rushed forward to pepper Potter and Weasley with questions.

"Where did you get the car?"

"Did you bewitch it yourself?"

"Where is it now?"

"Can I fly it?"

"Were you hurt?"

"Did you really crash?"

The Weasley twins finally intervened.

"Alright you lot!" Fred shouted over the noise. "Back up, give 'em some room."

"I bet they're dying to tell you all about their latest adventure." Said George as the room hushed to listen.

"Except," Ursella found herself drawling from between Percy and Hermione. "for the fact that this 'adventure'" she used her fingers to quote the word. "didn't go unnoticed by the staff. It was even noticed by Muggles. So, I'm willing to bet that they cost your house a whole train load of points."

The room stared at her for half a second before glaring daggers at Harry and Ron. The latter of the pair getting furiously purple behind the ears, as he found Ursella through the crowd.

"YOU!" Ron thrust his finger at her as he crossed the room. "Just how in the bloody hell did you get in here? Ain't you in the wrong dormitory? Who let her in here?" Ron looked to Percy for answers. But the older Weasley had his arms crossed and was stern faced.

"Miss Lestrange was sorted by the Hat." He said through pursed lips. "And don't try to distract from the fact that she is absolutely right." Ron's jaw dropped as Percy continued. "I would have a few strong words to say to you but…I know our mother." Percy turned away to restart forcing people to their beds.

"What does that mean?" Ron called after him.

"You'll see," Percy replied grim faced.

The Common Room started to disperse and Harry and Ron received no praise but a lot of glares and rolled eyes. Only Fred and George showed sympathy as the patted their younger brother's back before ascending the stairs to the boys' dormitories. Ursella made her way up to the girls' dormitories after she saw the look on Hermione's face. As hilarious as it would have been to see the boys cower in front of the mousy Mudblood, Ursella just couldn't bring herself to care.

Near the top of the stairs, she found a door labeled for the first years' and went inside. There were five four-poster beds set in a circle around an unlit furnace. Trunks were already at the foot of each bed and Ursella spied hers on the other side of the room. Three girls were already unpacking robes and chatting cattily, no doubt about Potter's antics. They stopped talking and stared at Ursells as she crossed the room. Ginny, who had followed Ursella upstairs, hesitated at the door before finding her trunk by the bed next to Ursella's.

"Aren't you a Weasley?" The Blonde girl with the bed closest to the door asked Ginny as she passed. Ginny only nodded. "Your brother has some nerve ruining our chances at…" She trailed off as if looking for the right words. There was a painful moment of silence where everyone just stared at her until the carmel haired girl next to her chimed in.

"It's called the House Cup."

"Right!" the first girl said excitedly before resuming her rant at Ginny. "Now we won't win and—" But Ginny waved both of her hands to interrupt.

"Wait—Hold on," Ginny said with an eyebrow raised. "You didn't know that it was called a House Cup?"

"Well," the girl was suddenly self conscious. "this is all so new to me. I can't remember everything in the first night. I do remember though, that I'm what's called 'Muggle-born'," she used her fingers to quote the word.

"Typical," Ursella spat from where she lay on top of her blankets, fully clothed, and staring at the ceiling. Her emotional fuse had reached its end and she had grown tired of the minor spats of the people around her that were totally insignificant when compared to her own world crumbling down around her. She just wanted everyone to know how she felt, how it felt to feel like trash, thrown out in the cold and unworthy of society.

"What's that supposed to mean?" asked the girl with chocolate brown hair on Ursella's other side. Sighing, Ursella sat up to address the room.

"It's typical for an outsider such as," she paused staring at the Muggle-born.

"Caitlin Partridge."

"Partridge to try and pretend like she knows anything about our world and then use what little knowledge she does have against a pureblood," she indicated Ginny who flinched at the word, "and however inaccurate the information comes out isn't supposed to be her fault because she doesn't know enough about anything to know that she shouldn't be saying anything because she doesn't belong."

Caitlin's eyes grew side and started to water. Good. Ella thought. At least now she'll understand what it's like to be me.

"Hey!" The carmel haired girl might have been pretty if she hadn't been scowling so hard. "She belongs here just as much as the rest of us, Pureblood or not." But Ursella wasn't fazed.

"And who are you?" she asked with a sneer.

"Annette Butler." The girl stuck her nose in the air, daring Ursella to ask.

"Butler?"

"That's right. My dad's a Muggle. Mum's the witch. So what?" She put her hand son her hips. "You thinkin' I'm less of a witch than you cause I'm half-blood?"

Ursella just smiled. "Miss Butler, even if you were a Pureblood, I'd still be the better witch."

"You know," apparently it was the chocolate haired girl's turn to talk again. "If I were you, I wouldn't be bragging about who my parents were. My aunt was Minister during all of the Death Eater trials so I know about the kinds of things your parents did to people. You really shouldn't want to be associated with those sorts of people."

Ursella rounded on the girl. "You're a Bagnold?" she asked as menacingly as possible.

The girl faltered for a moment but otherwise stood her ground. "Yes. Rita Bagnold. My father's sister was—"

"I know who Millicent Bagnold is!" Ursella cut her off. "And how dare you say that I can't brag about being Pureblood just because my parents are in Azkaban." She walked around the edge of her bed, closer to the center of the room. "There are hundreds if not thousands of generations of magical people in my family lines and I shouldn't be required to be ashamed of that based on what my parents did. And even then, you can't deny that they had great magical talent. My heritage makes me who I am!" She was letting the power build up inside her, hot rage and anger boiling her blood. "It makes me capable of the great things that I can do! Like not needing a wand to do this!" She thrust her hand out to the furnace and with it all the hot emotion she had been feeling that night. A green fireball rushed from her arm and enveloped the furnace before igniting the unlit wood and blazing orange light around the room. The other girls, including Ginny, gasped. Caitlin screamed and Annette collapsed onto her bed. Ursella's eyes passed between them all. "So when I say I'm the better witch," she spoke in a softer voice now, "You'll know that I can prove it." She held out her hand to the flames, feeling her energy pulse around it, bending the fire to her will. She then squeezed her hand shut and the fire extinguished itself in a puff of smoke.

The girls stood speechless staring at her as she dug her pajamas out of her trunk which she refused to unpack further than that in the hopes that Uncle Lucius would indeed clear this whole nightmare up in the morning. She didn't want to change in front of them so she drew the curtains around herself on her bed. She didn't redraw the bed curtains when she had finished changing. She didn't want to see them staring at her with the fear and hatred she knew they all felt now. Well, Ella. She thought to herself. You were the one who wanted them to know how you feel. Now they are just as afraid and angry at you as you are of them. Terrific.

… … … … … … … … … … … …

Ella awoke from a fitful sleep very suddenly to find a shadowy figure looming over her in the dark. In the dim moonlight coming through the window, realized in time to not blast the figure through the wall that it was Ginny in just her nightgown clutching a secondhand diary and staring down at her with exceedingly bloodshot eyes.

"Holy Hell!" Ella exclaimed hoarsely, so as not to wake her new "friends". "Just what is the big idea, Weasley?"

Ginny said nothing. She glanced at the three sleeping girls and then back at Ursella. There was a delay and then she smiled crookedly and motioned with her head for Ella to follow after her. The red head didn't wait for a response before tiptoeing out of the dormitory. Intrigued, Ella hurriedly wrapped a bathrobe around herself as she hurried after her.

Ella caught up to Ginny in the Common Room. The Weasley didn't seem to be in any hurry but did seem very determined to leave the Gryffindor tower. Ursella, realizing that this may not be the best idea, darted in front of the girl before she could reach the portrait hole. "What are you doing?" she asked with confusion and amusement.

"I didn't wake you up so you could slow me down, Lestrange." Ginny's right eye twitched as she tilted her head to leer at Ella in the dark. "There are some…errands I have to run and if I'm caught, I'll need you to take the fall." She moved to pass Ella but was stopped when Ella sidestepped into her path again.

"And what makes you think I would do anything to help you?" Ella asked with a slight chuckle.

Ginny was about to answer when the clock on the mantle chimed four o'clock making Ella jump at the sudden noise. Ginny just sneered at her jumpiness as somewhere off in the distance a rooster crowed.

"On second thought," Ginny said, glancing down at the book in her hand. "It isn't the proper time of day to do my errand. Perhaps later." Ginny then turned and marched back up the stairs and back to the girls' dormitory. Ella stood in the Common Room for a few moments trying to make sense of what just happened before giving up and going back to bed herself. No matter how this whole Gryffindor vs Slytherin debacle ended up, Ella knew that she'd need her rest.