(HBP) CHAPTER EIGHT: The Slug Club
The goodbyes at King's Cross were different that year for more than one reason. For starters, it was the first year Sirius actually got to walk her to the platform in his human form, rather than his dog form or, worse, not at all. Secondly, she was joined not only by the Weasley family, Harry, and Hermione, but also by two Order guards—Tonks and Lupin this time—who were clearly there to ensure that all the children made it safely onto the train.
Most importantly, of course, it was the first year she had to say goodbye to Fred before boarding the Hogwarts Express.
"The time will fly by," he told her as he took her into his arms. "Few months, and you'll be wishing you could see less of me instead of more."
She pulled away to shoot him a very sarcastic look, which he returned with a swift, deep kiss that she felt all the way down to her toes.
"Alright, already," grumbled Sirius as he stepped over for his own goodbye. Ellie grinned sheepishly at her father as he pulled her in for a tight hug and said into her ear, "Would there be any point at all in asking if you could actually try and manage to stay out of trouble this year?"
She chuckled, pulled away from him, squeezed his hands, and said, "I think you already know the answer to that, Mr. Marauder."
"Be good," called out George, whom she had already hugged goodbye, as she boarded the train, "but not too good! You are an honorary Weasley, after all!"
As they had the previous year, Ron and Hermione both headed for the prefects' carriage after boarding the train. Ellie followed Harry and Ginny to look for an empty cabin, but stopped when she spotted a cabin filled with Luna, Neville, Katie, and Liam—the B.A.
They had all come to visit her at St. Mungo's, of course, and several of them had even sent letters of congratulations when she got out. Still, she had almost managed to forget about them amidst her dread of the upcoming school year. Seeing them relaxed her—reminded her that she wasn't going to be as alone as she had feared.
"I'm going to sit with this lot," Ellie told Harry and Ginny. "You're welcome to join us, though."
Harry glanced at Ginny, who nodded easily, and the two of them followed Ellie into the compartment.
"You look loads better than the last time I saw you!" Katie told Ellie as they hugged. "Paris went well?"
Ellie nodded, trying to force back her guilt over the true story about Paris and Matis Dupont. "Good as new. Mostly, anyway."
"But planning to take it easier this year, right?" asked Liam as he, too, hugged her.
"I'll cool it on the Apparating and the extreme practice sessions," she conceded. "But if a real-world situation arises…"
Whoa, whoa, whoa, said Fred immediately in her head. The real world will be just fine without you. Remember what we said about focusing on school?
She ignored this question, but smiled to herself at how quickly he had found his way back into her thoughts after her departure. It was nice to know that he was there with her in the mental, if not the physical.
"It's getting bad out there," said Neville. "Now that everyone knows You Know Who's back, he isn't afraid to openly wreak havoc. You hear about Amelia Bones at the Ministry?"
"Poor Susan," said Ginny, shaking her head. "Amelia was her aunt."
Susan Bones was a member of Ellie and Harry's year, and had been a member of the D.A., as well. Ellie had always liked her.
"It's not just her," said Harry. His tone was dark. "Ollivander was kidnapped, too. And then there's everything going on in the Muggle world, like Brookdale Bridge."
"I don't understand," said Luna. "I thought all the Death Eaters that were at the Ministry that day were arrested."
"Not Aleks or Bellatrix," said Neville darkly.
"There are loads more," Ellie said through gritted teeth. "I had the pleasure of meeting some of them this summer."
The entire compartment fell silent as the teenagers gathered the implication of Ellie's words.
"I'm really sorry that happened to you, Ellie," said Katie. "I wish we could have protected you somehow."
You and me both, Katie, Fred sighed in Ellie's head.
"I still can't believe none of you told me what was going on," grumbled Ginny. "I could have helped."
It had been more or less circumstantial that Ginny hadn't joined them for the battle at the Department of Mysteries. She hadn't been a part of the B.A., thus missing out on the mind link that had brought them to the table, and she hadn't been in the O.W.L. exam room with Harry when he had his vision, which had brought Ron, Ellie, and Hermione to the table.
Glancing at Harry, though, Ellie could tell there was more to it than that. He didn't like the idea of Ginny being there—of her being in danger.
Harry met Ellie's gaze, and she got the sense that there was something he wanted to share with her. Whether it was about the prophecy, Ginny, or something else entirely, she wasn't sure. But before he could say a word, Ron and Hermione entered their compartment.
"Sorry—I know there's not much room in here—but one of the attendants just handed me this," said Hermione, passing Harry, Ellie, and Neville three small, white envelopes.
"I would be delighted if you would join me for a bite of lunch in compartment C," Harry read out loud. "Signed… Professor Slughorn?"
"That's the new Defense teacher you met with Dumbledore," said Ron. "Only… why'd he only invite those three?"
Harry had gone to see this professor with Dumbledore? She glanced curiously at him, surprised he hadn't mentioned it—but, then, they hadn't exactly had many opportunities to talk since her escape.
Seeing that he was averting her gaze, she turned her attention instead toward the question Ron had asked: why only invite her, Harry, and Neville? If it had just been her and Harry, the answer would have spoken for itself: because of their fame and influence. The fact that Neville had also been invited, though, kept Ellie guessing.
"Well, you have to go, don't you?" asked Hermione. "He is a teacher."
The three of them nodded in confused agreement, then headed out of the compartment.
"I think it's this way," Harry told them as he turned left and led them down the aisle.
When they reached Slughorn's compartment, Ellie was relieved to see that she, Harry, and Neville weren't the only attendees. Marcus Belby, a seventh year Ravenclaw Ellie had never spoken to before; Cormac McLaggen, a seventh year Gryffindor who (in Ellie's opinion) was as daft as he was broadly built; and Blaise Zabini, a Slytherin in Ellie's year who ran close enough in Draco's circle for Ellie to have always stayed far away.
"Ah!" exclaimed the only adult in the compartment—an enormously fat, old, bald man with a loud and ebullient voice. "Mr. Potter, Miss Black—and you must be Mr. Longbottom! Lovely to meet you all. All but you, anyway, Harry, seeing as we've already met! Go on, then—take your seats."
They did as they were told, then allowed Slughorn to make proper introductions to everyone in the compartment, despite the fact that they all either knew each other or knew of each other. Ellie noticed Cormac staring at her scars rather rudely, but didn't bother confronting him about it.
"Right," said Slughorn, clearing his throat. "Most pleasant, isn't this? A chance to get to know you all a little better. Go on, then—eat up."
Cormac, Marcus, and Blaise all reached immediately for plates and food. Harry and Neville both seemed a bit too confused to eat, while Ellie, as a vegetarian, couldn't partake in the pheasant, anyway.
"I was just telling young Marcus here that I had the pleasure of teaching his Uncle Damocles," Slughorn told the three newcomers. "Outstanding wizard, and his Order of Merlin most well-deserved. Do you see much of your uncle, Marcus?"
Marcus chewed rather spastically for a moment, attempting to swallow his pheasant rapidly so as to answer the question, but began to choke in the process. Slughorn quickly cast a spell to clear his airway, only for Marcus to reluctantly sputter that he did not, in fact, see much of his uncle.
Sounds like he won't be receiving an invite to the next tea party, quipped Fred in her head. How weird is this, by the way?
Extremely, she agreed as Slughorn turned his attention to Cormac, questioning him about his Uncle Tiberius.
Cormac smiled an alarmingly white-toothed smile back at Slughorn as he explained that he did, in fact, see his uncle often—which, of course, delighted Slughorn.
By the time Slughorn got to Blaise, whose famously beautiful mother had been married seven times, with each wealthy husband mysteriously dying, Ellie became confident in her initial assumption that she and Harry had only been invited because of their reputations. She still wasn't quite sure why Neville had been invited, though—not until Slughorn started asking him about his parents.
It was an uncomfortable subject, to be sure. At one point, Ellie quite nearly stepped in to beg Slughorn to stop asking questions about the poor boy whose parents had been tortured to the point of insanity by Bellatrix Lestrange. But Neville took it in impressively good stride, and before she knew it, it was her turn.
"Ellie Black," Slughorn said, as if announcing a debutante's entrance to the room. "Where to even start with you? The Perelli charm; the exonerated criminal of a father; the sensational—if short-lived—musical career… the list goes on."
"Don't forget the kidnapping," sniggered Blaise.
Ellie stiffened. She had known he wasn't much better than Draco, but making fun of her for having been kidnapped and tortured?
If I was there with you, I'd happily deck the guy.
She could tell from his tone that he was every bit as livid as she was.
"I'd like to see you survive a month and a half of nonstop torture at the hands of Death Eaters, Zabini," snapped Harry.
"Yeah, right," muttered Neville. "He'd be more likely to join them."
"My, my!" chortled Slughorn. "No need get our feathers ruffled. Highly impressive young witch, indeed, Miss Black. Now, Harry. Harry, Harry, Harry."
Ellie sank lower into her seat, relieved to be out of the hot seat.
She watched Harry carefully as Slughorn began to press him on the topic of his reputation as "the Chosen One" and the Daily Prophet claiming that a prophecy had been revealed at the battle at the Department of Mysteries that stated as much.
"We never heard a prophecy," said Neville. "It's just the Daily Prophet fishing, as usual."
Ellie glanced at Neville, momentarily taken aback. They had all seen the prophecy in the Department of Mysteries, even if they hadn't heard it. Had he forgotten?
He hadn't forgotten, she realized when he met her gaze. He was protecting Harry.
"There wasn't one," Ellie agreed. "Neville and I were both there, too—until I was rather unceremoniously removed, anyway."
Slughorn didn't look quite ready to accept this response, but Ellie couldn't entirely blame him; she, too, wished she knew a bit more about what, exactly, the destroyed prophecy had predicted.
Thankfully, Slughorn at least had the good sense to put his questioning on pause, and proceeded to spend the next hour filling them in on all the other famous and influential wizards he'd had the pleasure of inducting into what he called the "Slug Club" at Hogwarts.
If I fall asleep in the middle of this compartment, Ellie asked Fred, will you join me in my dreams?
He chuckled. Would that I could, pretty girl. In the middle of our post-back-to-school-rush inventory.
She sighed, turning her attention out the window instead until, finally, the train slowed to a halt.
She had made it to Hogwarts—for better or for worse.
I know it might seem like a mistake that I left Ginny out of the Slug Club, but I had my reasons, and anyway, with my departure from canon regarding her and Harry being already together, she probably wouldn't have happened to impress Slughorn with that Bat Bogey Hex at the right moment in my universe! As for the rest of it, tune back in tomorrow to see how the start of Ellie's sixth year treats her, and don't forget to follow and review to show your support!