(OotP) CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE: The People's Princess

When Ellie left Oliver's, she went back to the recording studio.

"My, my," teased Noel with a smirk when he saw her. She had kept Oliver's tee shirt on and worn it with her shorts from the night before—not exactly a classy look, but still better than wearing her full concert getup the morning after the concert. "Looks like someone was a naughty girl last night."

His choice of words made her shiver with disgust, but she chose not to comment on it. "I just came to see what you told them back at Hogwarts—see what sort of punishment I'm in for."

"No punishment, I'm sure. I sent a letter back to them with my sweet brother explaining that you'd experienced a dizzy spell after the show and needed to rest in London without the stress of transport. Given your frequency of fainting spells and history with St. Mungo's, I'm sure they were inclined to believe me."

She had to admit, it had been a smart move—though concerning, too. Would the word get back to Sirius and the others that she'd had yet another dizzy spell?

"In other news," Noel said cheerfully, reaching for a paper folded up on his desk, "check this out."

It wasn't the Daily Prophet, nor was it the cover. It was in the entertainment section of a paper Ellie vaguely recognized as somewhat B-list.

Still, seeing a very cool image of herself headbanging and performing from the night before below the headline ELLIE BLACK DAZZLES THE CROWD IN HER BREAKOUT SHOW, with a short blurb beneath it about how she was sure to be the next big thing, was a bit exciting.

"The Prophet will probably try to ignore you a while longer," Noel told her as she skimmed the article. "It'd be too embarrassing for them to do a full 180 on you so swiftly. They'll come around, though, and in the meantime, we've got publicity like this."

She nodded, setting the paper down and glancing back up at him. "So what now?"

"Now," he said cheerfully, "we book you another show for next weekend—and get you some studio time. Start writing, pop princess—and fast."


When Ellie traveled back to Dumbledore's office via Floo Powder a few minutes later, she feared the worst. To her relief, though, he seemed more concerned than upset.

"I appreciate your not attempting Apparition again," he told her as she stepped out of his fireplace—the only one at Hogwarts connected to the Floo network. "How are you feeling?"

"Fine," she said a bit too quickly. "I wasn't… it wasn't that bad. I just thought it would be safer to stay there than to travel."

He didn't look entirely convinced of her honesty, but he didn't look bothered by any of it. "I hear you put on quite the show last night."

She blushed. "Er… thanks."

He leaned forward in his chair, holding her gaze with his bright blue eyes. "Are you sure this is what you want, Ellie? It seems you are at something of a 'point of no return,' as far as the fame and fortune are concerned."

She shifted uncomfortably from one foot to the other. She considered reminding him that she'd already had her share of fame and fortune even without the music, but decided against it. "I'm sure, Professor. But thank you."

He nodded, looking quite disappointed. But he said nothing more.


"Ellie Black dazzles, does she?" teased Katie at lunch later that day. "I suppose that's one word I'd use to describe the new hair."

Ellie shoved Katie playfully at that, though, of course, her cheeks reddened. She had found some semblance of confidence on the stage that night, but here in the halls of Hogwarts with hundreds of students' eyes on her, she was starting to lose it.

"Don't listen to her," Liam told Ellie, rolling his eyes. "You did great, and you look great."

She had half-hoped, half-feared that he'd be upset with her for making him leave without her the night before, but he seemed to be his usual, cheerful self.

"When's your next show?" Neville asked Ellie. "I wonder if we could convince Umbridge and Dumbledore to let us come, too."

"Unlikely," she told him with a frown. "But that's okay. I don't want this whole music thing to pull focus from what we're trying to do here, you know?"

"In that case," said Luna, "there is something I wanted to bring up."

Ellie glanced at her friend, eager for the change of subject.

"The more I practice Legilimency," Luna explained, "the more powerful my abilities become. At first, I could sense the feelings and vague sort of thoughts of you all when I was close to you, but now it's become… more broad. I can sense those feelings and thoughts when you aren't around me."

"O...kay," said Katie slowly. "That's great and all, but what's your point?"

"It's not just you all anymore. Anyone I've interacted with in life, even briefly… if I really focus, I can seek them out."

"I'm still not sure I get the point," said Liam with a frown. "Who are we hoping to listen in on, exactly? Draco Malfoy or something?"

"As it happens," Luna said calmly, "I've met and interacted with two different Death Eaters in my lifetime—Lucius Malfoy and Aleksander Dolohov."

Ellie's eyes bulged with both fear and excitement. "Really? When?"

"Draco picked on me at Diagon Alley this past summer—you know, because of the article in the Quibbler—and his father threatened my father for the same reason. You know—since the article mentioned him."

"And Aleks?"

"He was at our school for nearly a year, wasn't he? I chatted with just about all of the exchange students at some point. Didn't know who he was, of course, at that point. But he really spooked me, and it stuck with me."

"Have you tried it?" Neville asked her. "Listening in on them?"

"Just a bit—enough to know it's possible. I wanted to check with you lot before going too much farther—you know, in case they have the ability to sense that I'm doing it and try… retaliating."

Ellie's heart gave a little lurch at that. This was what she wanted, of course—what she had hoped for in starting Black's Army—but it felt different now that it was real. Could she really ask Luna to risk so much?

"If they did decide to retaliate," said Liam, "would you know ahead of time?"

"Probably. But there's always the chance that they're better at Occlumency than I am at Legilimency."

"Look," Ellie said, taking a deep breath. She thought of what Dumbledore had said to her earlier that day and decided to emulate that. "This is a point of no return for us. If they do catch Luna snooping around, it'll make her a target—and any of us who choose to stand by her side. Now, I already am a target, so I'm prepared for that. The question is, are the rest of you?"

Everyone was silent for several seconds. Finally, Neville said, "Nothing has changed since I agreed to join this group. I might be scared, but I still want to do what's right."

"Aleks killed Cedric," Liam said, nodding firmly. "And he tortured Ellie for an entire year. This has been my goal all along."

"I'm still in, too," said Katie, but there was a lingering concern in her tone that hadn't been in the others'. "It's just… if Luna does find out something important, and we go storming after them, are we talking about going alone? Without help?"

She had a point, Ellie knew. No matter how strong they had become, they were still just a group of five Hogwarts students. What chance did they really stand against Death Eaters?

"No," Ellie conceded. "You're right, Katie—being brave is one thing, but we don't want to be suicidal. If we find something out, we'll share the information with the Order and let them help us."

Katie nodded, seeming pleased.

"And you, Luna?" Ellie asked, turning to her Ravenclaw friend. "You're the one most at risk here. You're sure this is what you want to do?"

"I'm sure," Luna promised her. "I'll get started tomorrow."


Despite Noel's request that Ellie start writing music, she hadn't written as much as a single verse by the time she made it to the studio that weekend. Between helping Luna with her new mission, researching the previous Perelli wielder with Liam, and trying not to get any more detentions with Umbridge, she hadn't had much time for songwriting.

Not that she'd have any idea what to write if she did.

"Can't I just play another cover?" Ellie asked Noel when he had finished chastising her. "It went fine last time, didn't it?"

Noel granted her a chuckle at that. "I'll grant you that. I had a feeling this might happen, so I took the liberty of selecting your next cover. Something tells me you aren't going to like it, but I'll kindly remind you that I could be significantly more upset about your coming here without an original song."

Ellie glanced at Liam, who had joined her again. He gave her a sympathetic shrug, and she nodded to Noel. "Go ahead and tell me, then."

He hit play on the magical sound system again, and out burst a song Ellie vaguely recognized as…

"Britney Spears?" she asked, wrinkling her nose.

"One of her best," said Noel calmly. "Circus. A song about taking the stage and taking control. Another one that's sure to grab everyone's attention."

"Don't you think this might… mislead people a bit about Ellie?" Liam asked. His nose was wrinkled, too. "I mean, when she does get around to writing music, it's not going to be like this."

"We'll put a spin on it, obviously, to make it a bit more rock and roll. Beyond that, we'll just have to be careful. Perhaps it ends up being a reason to make her new music more pop."

Ellie did her best not to cringe. She knew, of course, that she didn't get much of a say here. If she had brought her own content, he'd be letting her play that.

So, instead, she plastered on another smile and followed Noel onto the practice stage.


"Are you sure about this?" Liam asked her several hours later as she stood behind the curtain of a newer, bigger stage than the previous weekend. This venue was called the Crossed Wands Club.

Ellie glanced down at herself with a grimace. The stylist had bullied her into going with a flashier outfit this time—an all-gold mini-dress with a set of lace-up, Cleopatra-style heels she could barely walk in, let alone dance in. Her hair was still pink, and she was wearing more makeup than she had ever worn before.

And the song? Granted, they had tweaked it so that it fit her style more, and she didn't hate the lyrics, but it was still so… not her.

And yet, the only true her she had ever known was long gone. It had flown away with Fred and George that day outside Hogwarts, and it was becoming clearer with each passing day that it wasn't coming back.

She thought of Oliver then—the one remaining option she'd had for any semblance of happiness—and the way he had rejected her on the basis of her still being in love with Fred.

He hadn't just abandoned her; he'd made it so that no one else could stomach being with her in his wake.

It wasn't fair.

So she smiled at him, told him yes, and stepped onto the stage to sing a song about all eyes being on her in the center of the ring, just like the circus.

She may be a total fraud, she mused as her new fans screamed and cheered with applause, but these strangers seemed to love her.

At least someone did.


THE PEOPLE'S PRINCESS: ELLIE BLACK SKYROCKETS TO FAME FOLLOWING SUCCESSFUL SECOND MUSICAL PERFORMANCE

Where were you on Saturday night? If the answer isn't "in London at the Crossed Wands Club," then you missed out on a night no one in the wizarding world can seem to stop raving about.

Known for being the daughter of escaped convict Sirius Black, the only known wielder of the Perelli Charm, and claiming to have witnessed the return of You Know Who alongside ex-boyfriend Harry Potter, Black is no stranger to fame. But until recently, she, like Potter, was dismissed as "unstable," likely as a result of the highly dangerous shield charm's effects on her mind and body.

"I used to be sort of scared of her," said Everleigh Emerson, an employee at Madam Malkin's who attended the performance with a group of friends. "Especially with the Sirius Black thing. But then you listen to her sing, and you realize she's just like everybody else. Now I'm starting to wonder whether her dad really is innocent—and whether You Know Who really is back."

"It's obvious she was hurt bad by someone," said Rylee Forrester, another club-goer. "Just like so many of us have. When she takes to the stage, it's like she's getting payback for all of us—telling all the jerks out there that we're going to be just fine without them. Because of that, I'll listen to whatever she has to say—maybe even the bigger-picture stuff about You Know Who."

But what, exactly, is Black trying to tell the world? So far, both of her performances have only involved covers of already existing Muggle pop songs. According to several sources at Hogwarts, Black has penned many original songs in her time at Hogwarts, some of which she performed with her old band, The Weasleys—a band that never saw the light of day, thanks to its lead guitarist and drummer, Fred and George Weasley, leaving Hogwarts to start their joke shop, Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes, which is set to open next weekend in Diagon Alley.

"Of course she's going to be releasing and performing original content soon," said Noel Davies, Black's producer/manager. "But nothing that she wrote with that band. Her music—not to mention her entire life—has improved since they broke up."

Davies' words might have more than one meaning there. Rumour has it, the broken heart Black is known to sing about stems from the recent breakup of her and Fred Weasley.

One thing is certain: in a few short weeks, Ellie Black has captured the hearts of witches and wizards everywhere. If she can keep up this momentum, the Ministry and the Daily Prophet—both of whom have made her their sworn enemy—will have to watch their backs.


(A/N) I know that this "skyrocketing toward fame" storyline may be a little far-fetched and not be for everyone, but I'm having a lot of fun with it, and I hope the majority of you are, too - at least, however much fun you can feel when you also feel so sad for our poor protagonists! How much longer before Fred comes to his senses - or is it Ellie who needs to? Drop your thoughts here - honesty is fine even if it's a criticism, as long as you remain polite and reasonable! We've got a new "original" song in the next chapter, and more music career fun, so stay tuned and don't forget to follow if you haven't already! Thanks for reading!