I don't own the Harry Potter series!

The Dementor

The next morning, Ella was woken up by the sound of knocking at their door. The toothless smile of the innkeeper greeted her and had a cup of tea for both her and Ginny. Ella smiled and thanked him before moving to wake up Ginny who was a hard sleeper. Something about living with the twins made her difficult to wake, especially if the thing waking her up was a loud bang of any kind. She was impervious to the noise, and Ella had to practically shove her out of bed to wake her up.

"Who's there?" Ginny said as she started sliding off the edge of her bed.

"Who do you think! Wake up before your Mum comes in and we both get in trouble…" Ella hissed at her trying to get Ginny to at least wake up a little. Ginny sprang out of bed at the mention of her mother. The girls threw on their clothes and pulled their trunks down the stairs.

When they popped out below, only Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were awake. Mr. Weasley was reading the paper and Mrs. Weasley made sure the two girls sat down to eat breakfast as soon as they appeared. A short time had elapsed before a tired Hermione appeared as well. Mr. Weasley retreated further into his paper seeming to prefer that to all the girls, but Mrs. Weasley started a conversation with her real and surrogate daughters.

"I'm sure all of you will have a fantastic year," she commented to the girls.

"Well, I'm not sure about Potions…" Ginny muttered under her breath. Hermione and Ella nodded slightly.

Mrs. Weasley got a gleam in her eye, "Did I ever tell you about the time I brewed a love potion?" The girls all shook their heads. "Well, I was a decent potion brewer and still am, but I heard about the love potion and wanted to give it a try. I spent hours on this potion and I finally thought I had it perfect when someone called for me to come help them with dinner. I came back to my room a little while later and my two younger brothers had drank the entire potion!

"For a moment, I was furious with the both of them, but then I realized that I must have made the potion a little too strong or they weren't supposed to drink a full thing in one go because both Gideon and Fabian were positively cuddling my pillows. They were infatuated!" All of the girls were giggling. Ella wondered why this was the first time she had ever heard of Fred and George's uncles.

Ginny leaned forward, "What happened next, Mum?"

She smiled fondly, "Well, I had to take them to St. Mungo's to get them all sorted out, of course. They were still in school at the time, bless them." Mrs. Weasley glanced at Ella and Hermione who seemed to have the question written all over their face. She sighed, "I don't talk about Gideon or Fabian. It's painful sometimes to think about them since they were killed so young, but I'm happy that I was able to spend some good times with them. They'd be happy to know that peace has come to the world for now, and that they helped. The twins are an awful lot like them."

Their story ended there and Ella, though she felt sad about Mrs. Weasley's brothers, felt warm inside. She liked hearing about the Weasleys' family history. It made her feel even closer to the people she loved so dearly. Everyone had their trunks near the door and were anxiously awaiting the Ministry's cars to show up. Ella and the twins chatted happily about getting to see the rest of their friends and eating wizarding sweets on the way to the castle. Ella had enough money to chip in to the pile everyone put together so they could all buy candy for everyone to share. It was a tradition among their friends.

"You won't! What about poor Scabbers, eh?" Ella heard Ron snap at Hermione.

"What's wrong with Scabbers, Ron?" Ella asked him curiously. Her real question was: What's wrong with Pettigrew, but she couldn't very well ask that.

Ron sighed, "He's sick. He's losing all his hair and is getting way too thin. That cat of hers is making things worse too."

Ella glanced at the basket where Crookshanks was, "Maybe Scabbers dealt with a cat before coming into your family. It's like a blast from the past for him." Ella watched the pocket where Scabbers was and hoped that he'd heard her.

"They're here," Mr. Weasley called to them all. "Harry, come on." The group made their way out of the Leaky Cauldron and to two old fashioned cars. Both were dark green and Mr. Weasley had Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Percy in the backseat of the first car. He turned towards Fred, George, Ginny, and Ella and had them get in the back of the second car. Mr. Weasley went back to the first and got in the front seat with the driver while Mrs. Weasley sat with the driver of their car.

Their trip to King's Cross station was quick and rather uneventful. They made it there with twenty minutes to spare, which was a lot different from the year before when they nearly missed it altogether. The Ministry workers even unloaded their heavy trunks and found them trolleys to put their things on. Soon enough, they were on their way to the barrier between platforms nine and ten.

"Right then, let's do this in pairs, as there are so many of us. I'll go first with Harry," Mr. Weasley dictated. The two of them moved up to the wall then leaned against it casually to get to the other side. Ella saw that they'd disappeared. Ron quickly bumped Ginny forward so she would have to go with Percy instead of him. Ginny shot him an annoyed look before taking the barrier at a run with her brother. Soon Ron and Hermione had gone through as well as the twins. Mrs. Weasley and Ella entered the platform in a similar way to Harry and Mr. Weasley.

Mrs. Weasley kissed all of her children including Ella, Harry, and Hermione. She gave Harry an extra hug, which Ella tried not to be jealous of. Mrs. Weasley told him, "Do take care, won't you, Harry?" He nodded to her then she opened her enormous handbag, "I've made you all sandwiches… Here you are, Ron… no, they're not corned beef… Fred? Where's Fred? Here you are, dear…" She continued until each person had a homemade sandwich in their hands. She then turned to Ella as everyone began to leave to get on the train.

"Have a good term dear, and don't forget to write," Mrs. Weasley told her giving her one last hug, which made her and Harry equal. "Maybe you can come to the Burrow for Christmas."

Ella shook her head sadly, "My parents want me home for break this year. They've got a special dinner for work that I need to be present for."

Mrs. Weasley nodded, "Well, I'll see you when you get off the train at any rate. Goodbye Ella."

"Goodbye," Ella whispered sadly. The mother turned to yell at Mr. Weasley for holding Harry up.

The twins and Ella hopped on the train to find their friends and a compartment. Katie, Angelina, and Alicia saved them all a seat and just as the train began moving, Lee slid through the door. The group smiled at each other, happy to finally be reunited.

"Well, my break was bloody boring, so I want to hear about your much more exciting summers," Lee announced to them and they all sat down. Ella sat next to the window with Lee beside her while Angelina sat next to him. Fred and George were across from Ella and Alicia and Katie sat beside the boys.

For the next few hours, those who had eventful summers told their friends all about it. Katie, Alicia, and Angelina gave a play by play of the Quidditch match they saw abroad while Fred and George assured Ella she'd get to see the Quidditch World Cup next year with their family. Ella was beyond excited for that event, but figured she should probably focus on the whole year she had before then. The trolley came around midafternoon, and after getting their food, the group changed into their robes.

Both the twins decided that it was their turn to put on a show once the trolley had left. While everyone munched on their food, they told all the tales they had of Egypt and the pyramids. After they'd finished with that, they began making jokes using their foods. Fred and George were currently using some licorice wands as wings and pretending to be birds while everyone laughed.

"You two should make some prank-candy. It'd probably be hilarious," Ella joked to them, but to her surprise, a gleam entered their eyes.

Fred grinned, "You know, that's not such a bad idea."

George nodded enthusiastically, "I'm sure there's plenty that could be done with all sorts of sweets!" The boys decided to take a break from their bird dances and sat down to rest.

Ella glanced out the window that was slowly becoming streaked with rain, "Looks like we're in for a dreary return to school."

"All the more reason to joke around now," Fred said leaning against the back of his seat. He tried to look cool and suave as he tossed a Bertie Bott's Every Flavored Bean in the air and into his mouth. He would've succeeded too had it not been for the flavor of the bean causing him to choke. Everyone broke out laughing at his scrunched up expression.

"What flavor this time?" Ella asked.

"Earwax," Fred gagged.

Lee roared with laughter, "Suck it up, mate! Ella and I once ate an entire box of those without spitting any out. Now that's a true Gryffindor."

"No, that's no taste buds," he retorted sourly, but one look at Ella's smile put him back in a good mood. It was hard to be upset in such good company anyways. The friends broke out the Exploding Snap that Ella had bought the twins last year and began to play until it was so dark out the lanterns had to be lit. Ella had just been destroyed in a match by Katie when the train began to slow down.

The chatter in the compartment stopped. They looked at each other as the train grew slower and slower by the minute. The sound of the pistons fell away and was replaced by the wind and rain, which was pounding against the window.

"We can't possibly be there," Angelina said. She stood up and looked out of the compartment door. "There are others looking out too. They're just as confused as we are," She informed the others.

Ella felt herself fly out of the chair as the train jerked to a stop. Angelina fell to the floor as well with a shout of surprise. Several bangs and thuds rang through the train and one of the bags from their compartment fell on Ella's back. Every light on the train was out so that no one could see the hand in front of their face.

Tossing the bag aside, Ella stood up and asked, "Is everyone alright?" A chorus of yeses came from her friends and they heard Angelina scurry out of the doorframe. Just in time as well, for the moment she moved someone came falling into their compartment.

"Lumos," Katie cast and held her wand up to show the person who was on the floor.

"Malfoy?" Several of them uttered in shock. The boy looked like he was about to wet himself. He was completely terrified. Before anyone could ask why he was so frightened, the very reason glided into the room sucking out any warmth or happiness as it did. The light in Katie's wand went out almost immediately.

A dementor floated in the doorway of their compartment. Its rattling breath chilled Ella to the bone as it did in the many dreams she had. She began to tremble and in the back of her mind a scream could be heard. It was one of them from her dream about Neville's parents. Ella felt her knees begin to buckle, but stepped forward regardless. The dementor seemed to take that as a challenge and glided further into the compartment.

"None of us are hiding Sirius Black. Leave us be," Ella stated with all the strength she could muster. The dementor stayed where it was and the screams increased in volume. Voldemort's cold laugh now joined the mix. "W-we are-aren't hiding…" The dementor wouldn't budge and Ella felt a scream rising up in her. "Ex-expecto p-patronum," she tried to use the charm but the mist faltered. Ella pictured Mrs. Weasley's hug and the warmth it gave her. The screams died down a bit, "Expecto Patronum!" She shouted loudly at the dementor and was pleased that there was a good sized barrier between her friends and the creature. Deciding that there really were no prisoners in the area, the dementor left to go check the others.

As soon as it was gone, Ella's knees gave out from under her. Fred lunged forward to grab her before she could hit the ground. Her breathing was shallow and she shook from head to toe. Ella wasn't even able to properly appreciate the fact that Fred had his arms around her and was gently lowering her to the ground. Fred, himself, couldn't even comprehend what he was doing because he was so worried about Ella's wellbeing. She was far too pale and couldn't seem to catch her breath.

"P-pass me a chocolate frog please," she breathed. Ella's knees were curled up to her chest and the screaming had imprinted itself in the back of her mind. A single tear fell from her eye; she tried to wipe it away before anyone noticed. Fred handed her a chocolate frog from his seat and unwrapped it for her. He was kneeling just in her line of sight and handed her the wiggling bit of chocolate. Ella nibbled on it and began to feel its warmth spread through her.

A few more minutes passed by in total darkness before the lights flickered back to life and the train began to move again. Malfoy looked around the crowd of people as if suddenly realizing where he was and who he was with. Similarly, the people in the room seemed to realize who he was.

"Get out," barked George. Malfoy scurried from the room.

"Ella, what was that?" Katie squeaked from her spot on the chair. Everyone in the room was pale, but none as much as Ella.

She swallowed, "A dementor, Azkaban's guar–"

"No, no," Lee interrupted. "We come from magic families, we know what that is, but what did you do to it and what did it do to you?"

Her strength was beginning to seep back into her bones, but she didn't trust herself to stand back up, "I was dreaming about those for months before I got Petrified last year. I didn't know that they were going to be floating around the school because of Sirius Black escaping –actually, I didn't know they'd be at school at all. Well, I tried studying them and came across the spell that repels them. As for what it did to me, the same as all of you. It sucked the happiness away and brought bad thoughts and feelings to my head. The only difference is because of my dreams, it was able to bring more horrible things to my mind than I'd care to admit."

Fred's arms wrapped around her as soon as she stopped talking. Ella's eyes widened but then she returned the hug. A faint blush gave some color back to her face.

"Sorry, you just looked like you really needed that," Fred muttered sheepishly.

Ella smiled gently, "Thank you." He grinned at her and helped her back into her seat. There wasn't much talking after that, but the train arrived at the station soon after. The group huddled into a carriage that climbed up to the school. Ella was anxious for the bustling Great Hall filled with laughter and delicious food. It was just what she needed to get back to being herself.

Everyone in the Great Hall was jittering with nervous excitement. It would seem the dementor was a bit of a celebrity and some people felt the need to boast about their reaction to the creature. Ella assumed most of them acted like Malfoy did. He didn't take the boasting route, though; he was informing everyone about how Harry Potter fainted. Ella wished people would actually do their research. Dementors feed off those who have seen horrible things in their life; Harry Potter had seen his own parents get murdered more or less. He wasn't weak for fainting; half the people in the room probably would've fainted for a longer period of time than Harry did if it had been them.

Professor Flitwick led the first years into the hall instead of McGonagall that year, but Ella wasn't too worried. She'd seen McGonagall leading Harry and Hermione somewhere earlier and knew she was still a teacher. Everyone was on the edge of their seats waiting for the hat to speak up about its duties and history.

I may not look like much

I'm frayed and patched and worn

But I certainly know a bunch

My abilities are above scorn

Those founders indeed they knew

That I was surely the one

For I had a job to do

And wouldn't rest until it was perfectly done

Take a seat and place me on your head

I'll peer into the crannies and nooks

I'll see where your mind should be fed

Created by those in history books

Ravenclaw valued students of wisdom

Give me those of creative wit and brew

They'll rule my kingdom

Draped in bronze and blue

Slytherin boasted a similar mood

I want cunning determination

They'll make up my brood

A Silver and green creation to fill the nation

But Gryffindor valued something more

If they've got courage and strength

Show them my door

A lion's heart of gold and red that'll truly roar

Finally, kindly Hufflepuff knowing and fair

Let me take those who are modest and kind

Those will be who I bear

In yellow and black will they share

And so the founders went on

They left me to do my work

Now I sort the witty, kind, cunning, and brawn

Flawlessly and without a quirk

So come on down, take a seat

You'll find your place among the pot

You've got new friends to meet and greet

And I'll show you to your spot

The applause echoed around the hall as the hat went still once more. Many of the first year students looked less nervous, though an air of panic still wove through the bunch. Ella remembered how frightened she had been when she first entered the Great Hall. She'd been terrified about going last, but instead ended being third to last and a Hatstall, which she now knew was very rare indeed. The hat normally knew immediately where to put students, but it'd had some trouble with her.

Harry and Hermione joined the Gryffindor table just as Flitwick left with the stool and hat. Everyone turned their heads towards Harry when he entered. It seemed that no matter how old he got, people always had a reason to stare. The two sat down and shortly after, Dumbledore stood.

"Welcome!" Dumbledore's voice boomed to the students. The floating candles shimmered around him. "Welcome to another year at Hogwarts! I have a few things to say to you all, and as one of them is very serious, I think it best to get it out of the way before you become befuddled by our excellent feast…" Fred and George were staring towards their plates hungrily and Ella couldn't help but roll her eyes, but even her stomach growled at the idea of a Hogwarts feast.

Dumbledore continued, "As you will all be aware after their search of the Hogwarts Express, our school is presently playing host to some of the dementors of Azkaban, who are here on Ministry of Magic business." His tone was grave and he looked vaguely repulsed by the idea, which Ella didn't blame him for. "They are stationed at every entrance to the grounds, and while they are with us, I must make it plain that nobody is to leave school without permission. Dementors are not to be fooled by tricks or disguises –"

"Unless, it's an animal," Ella thought to herself.

"–or even Invisibility Cloaks. It is not in the nature of a dementor to understand pleading or excuses. I therefore warn each and every one of you to give them no reason to harm you. I look to the prefects, and our new Head Boy and Girl, to make sure that no student runs afoul of the dementors."

Percy pompously puffed out his chest to show everyone that he was Head Boy. Barely anyone took notice since they were still focused on Dumbledore. Not a sound was made.

"On a happier note, I am pleased to welcome two new teachers to our ranks this year. First, Professor Lupin, who has kindly consented to fill the post of Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher."

Dumbledore indicated the man Ella had seen in her dream last year and she applauded for him along with a couple other people. He looked a bit shabby compared to the other teachers, but Ella knew why. She didn't care because she knew he'd do a brilliant job no matter what the state of his robes was. Ella noticed Snape glaring at him with seething anger; she didn't even want to imagine what brought about that amount of hatred.

"As to our second new appointment, well, I am sorry to tell you that Professor Kettleburn, our Care of Magical Creatures teacher, retired at the end of last year in order to enjoy more time with his remaining limbs. However, I am delighted to say that his place will be filled by none other than Rubeus Hagrid, who has agreed to take on this teaching job in addition to his gamekeeping duties." A rumbling applause broke out from many people in the hall, mostly Gryffindors. Ella clapped with the rest of the people and Hagrid blushed deeply under his beard.

"Well, I think that's everything of importance. Let the feast begin!" Dumbledore exclaimed and everyone was happy to see mountains of food appear on platters as well as their goblets fill with pumpkin juice. Ella and her friends all dug into the wonderful looking meal, and Ella felt the need to compliment the House Elves who had made it. They were certainly competent in their work.

Amid the laughter and talk that filled the hall, Ella felt truly at peace. Her friends were all beside her and these were one of the times that reminded her how much she was a part of this world. She'd never had many friends in the Muggle World, but this world was different. Times like these reminded her that she didn't have to be alone, there were people beside her to help and behind her to catch her if she fell.

The feast came to a close and Ella followed the large group of Gryffindors to the Common Room up in one of the towers. She was stuffed like a Christmas turkey and ready to sleep the night away until classes began the next day. They reached the portrait hole and waited for someone to come by with the password.

Ella got shoved out of the way by Percy who was calling out, "Coming through, coming through! The new password's 'Fortuna Major'!" The Fat Lady nodded then swung open to let the students into the warmth of the Common Room. Everyone smiled and murmured their good nights while they made their way to bed. As Ella crawled into the bed beside Katie's, the dementor incident was the furthest thing from her mind. What she didn't realize was the impact the creature had on her deep within the recesses of her mind. Her eyes closed slowly and a world of nightmares slowly built around her blocking out the light much like the dementors did earlier.

The room around her was extremely dark, Ella somehow knew that she was locked in a closet somewhere. The space had no light whatsoever. It was too dark for her eyes to even adjust. Ella felt panic rising in her. What if no one found her? What if she was too late?

Too late for what?

Ella couldn't for the life of her think about what she was so afraid of, but she was hysterical in her fear. She could hear herself bellowing at the door and thrusting herself at it until she was sure that she'd dislocated her shoulder. There was nothing she could do to stop what was happening, she was trapped.

Then she was free again, only to realize that she hadn't been released –not exactly. She was in a new setting completely. She wasn't relieved to see the change in location for she knew how this dream would go and she didn't want to be here.

A shriek sent a chill through Ella's spine. There was absolute chaos all around her as curses were shot up into the night air. People crashed into her leaving her out of breath and terrified as she was shoved about by the masses of people. They were closing in on her and she wasn't able to breathe. The men with masks marched nearer and nearer to where she was and she just knew she couldn't let them catch her. Bad things would happen if they did.

Suddenly, she was somewhere new. Ella was too disoriented to tell left from right anymore, but that didn't lessen other senses in the dream. An arm wrapped around Ella's torso as she flung herself at something. The dreams were just one dark scene after another. Who was grabbing her? Ella fought desperately against the vicelike grip. Whoever they were couldn't be friendly, they couldn't mean well.

"Let me go!" Ella cried out in fear and anger. She could see horrible things in front of her, but she didn't know if they were happening just then or if she was having multiple visions. There were hundreds of orbs shattering as they fell from a ceiling one moment. The next, someone had several jinxes blasted at them. Ella's scream echoed in the darkness and she tried to close her eyes.

"Stop, stop! Please, make them stop!" She choked out feeling as though the sights before her were pressing down on her chest, clenching her heart in an attempt to make it stop.

"You cannot stop the future, Ella. You cannot stop time." The high cold voice whispered in her ear. "But time can stop you."

A/N: How was that? I hope you enjoyed the chapter and thanks for all the wonderful reviews! Please leave some more! :)