(HBP) CHAPTER ELEVEN: Runs in the Family

On a morning in mid-September, Hannah Abbott—a Hufflepuff student in Ellie's year—was called out of Herbology by Professor McGonagall. A few hours later in Potions, they all figured out why.

"For those of you who haven't heard," Slughorn informed the class, "your fellow student Hannah Abbott's mother has been found dead. Death Eaters working under the instruction of You Know Who are suspected. Miss Abbott will be leaving the school for at least a few weeks, but I hope you will all lend her your sympathy, love, and support in her unimaginably difficult time of grief."

Ellie's breath caught in her throat as she processed this new and sickening news. It wasn't the first murder she'd heard of related to the Death Eaters, but it was the first one so close to home.

She glanced at Draco, who looked paler than ever and had his eyes fixed on the empty cauldron in front of him.

"Do you know Hannah very well?" she asked him.

He snorted, though his eyes didn't stray from the spot on his cauldron. "No. I don't associate with half-bloods any more than I associate with Muggle-borns."

"Right, right. That's why you have so few friends."

He peeled his eyes away from the cauldron to shoot her a very sarcastic look, but he didn't look altogether upset; she had kept her tone light and teasing.

"I don't know her very well, either," she continued. "I remember she believed Ernie when he spread those lies about Harry being the Heir of Slytherin during our second year. Sort of judged her for that, if I'm being honest. How could I not?"

His eyes trailed back to the cauldron and narrowed. "Why are you talking to me about this, Black? I don't give a damn about Hannah Abbott or her mother."

"Her mum died, Draco." Her voice was firm. "Do you get that? Can you imagine Snape walking into your Herbology class to tell you that your mum was dead?"

He didn't say anything, but under the table, she saw one of his hands curl into a fist.

"I know what the wrath of Voldemort is like," she said—more softly now, so that there was no chance of anyone else hearing them. "And I know it must be even harder when your own family is pushing you in a certain direction."

"My family?" he repeated. Hostility laced his voice. "You mean, the ones who aren't in Azkaban thanks to you?"

Ellie had almost forgotten that Lucius was one of the Death Eaters who had been arrested at the Ministry of Magic earlier that summer. It could explain why Draco was under so much pressure, she realized. His mother needed him to get the family back into Voldemort's good graces. "It wasn't thanks to me, Draco. He was arrested for being in league with the most evil wizard that has ever lived. Now, if that arrest is affecting you—"

"Oh, sod off, Black. We aren't friends, and I have no interest in becoming friends."

"Don't let them normalize this for you," she urged him. "You know Hannah's mother didn't deserve to die. You know you aren't a murderer. There are people you can go to—"

"People?" he interrupted sharply. They were both still whispering, but Ellie felt Slughorn's gaze on her as he carried on in explaining the day's potion. She had a feeling the only reason he wasn't calling them out was because Ellie was one of his favourites. "What people? Your precious Dumbledore?"

"Not just him."

"Who, then?"

"Well… me."

For a split second, he blinked. He seemed so surprised that he didn't yet have the capacity to make fun of her or snap at her again.

But then the confusion cleared and he said coldly, "The day I go to you for help is the day hell freezes over."


Despite Draco's comment, Ellie still felt like she was making progress with him. She was becoming more and more certain that he didn't want to be a Death Eater—though whether he was one or not, she was less sure.

The Quidditch trials were a circus. It seemed that half the school had cleared their schedules to be present for the event—including Lavender Brown, who had previously shown no interest whatsoever in the sport. Ellie noticed her eyes glued to Ron and made a mental note to ask her what, exactly, was going on between the two of them. She had more than a little concern for Hermione's feelings, should anything happen between Ron and Lavender.

Harry's first instruction was simple—for everyone to divide into groups and fly once around the pitch. Even with that small trial, he was able to eliminate dozens of contenders—some of whom weren't even in Gryffindor.

"Blimey," Ellie whispered to Ginny, who was trying out for Chaser. "All this because of Harry being the Chosen One, you reckon?"

But Ginny's eyebrows narrowed in a manner quite similar to the one Draco had demonstrated the previous day, and she said nothing.

Another person Ellie made a mental note to have a future conversation with.

After the first exercise, Harry zeroed in on the Chaser hopefuls. Despite Ginny's clear frustration towards the absurdity of the situation, she flew excellently, and it was with no difficulty whatsoever that Harry selected Katie, Ginny, and Ellie as his Chasers.

The Beater trial was hard for Ellie to watch. Not only did it make her heart ache with how badly she missed both of the twins, but it also made her nervous for the upcoming season; none of the options were nearly as strong.

Aw, shucks, love, said Fred in her head. You're just saying that because you miss me.

Not true, she told him as Harry selected Jimmy Peakes and Ritchie Coote as the team's new Beaters. I bet I get a Bludger to the head by the end of the week.

She could actually hear Fred's grimace in her head. For once in my life, I actually wish your shield did more than it does.

He was only joking, she knew—at least, she hoped. If her shield went back to protecting her during Quidditch, she wouldn't be able to play anymore.

Tell that twin of yours I miss him, she said as Harry moved on to selecting the Keeper. And to wish his little brother luck.

There were only two real contenders for Keeper: Ron and Cormac McLaggen, the boy from the Slug Club. Harry had the girls toss in for both, and Ellie felt herself consciously go easy on Ron when she did so—partially out of love for him and partially out of a desire for the thuggish Cormac not to make the team. She had a feeling Ginny was doing the same, and maybe even Katie, too. By the end of the trial, Ron had saved one more goal than Cormac.

And just like that, they had their new team.


"Lavender," Ellie said to her suitemate the next time they were alone together. Technically Parvati was there, too, but considering how close the two were, she doubted Lavender would mind. "Is it just me, or have you been flirting with Ron?"

Lavender and Parvati exchanged wide-eyes glances as Lavender turned bright red. Finally, she admitted, "Well… yeah. Only I didn't think I was being that obvious! Am I pathetic?"

Ellie laughed. "Not at all. Frankly, with Ron being as daft with girls as he is, you probably have to be that obvious."

Ouch, Fred said in her head. Poor Ron.

Runs in the family, she teased. Liking a girl and then not doing anything about it for four-plus years.

Three years, in my case! he corrected swiftly. And I assume you're referring to one Miss Granger?

"Do you think there's a chance he might be interested?" Lavender asked Ellie. "It's so hard to tell with him!"

Ellie bit her lip, considering. She was fairly certain Ron haboured very serious feelings for Hermione, and even that Hermione returned them, but she couldn't say for sure without talking to one or both of them.

"Have you considered talking to Hermione about this?" Ellie finally asked. "I mean, she's much closer with Ron than I am."

"Oh." Lavender looked nervous. "I don't know if that's a good idea. Don't you think she might be interested in him, too?"

"Well, if she is, wouldn't it be the right thing to do to discuss it with her ahead of time? You know—see what you can do to protect her feelings?"

It looked like that thought had never occurred to Lavender. "Well… yeah," she said slowly. "I s'pose I could."


As Ellie left her suite and headed to the fourth-year one, she decided that she liked doing this—checking in on her friends and seeing what she could do to help. It was the sort of friendship-nurturing she had once been very good at, but had left behind as the intensity of her own life took hold.

Am I one of those girls who forgets all her other friends when she gets a boyfriend? she asked Fred with a frown as she knocked on the door.

Hard to say, given all the other, equally distracting things you had going on when we got together. There's only so many minutes in a day.

She nodded grimly as Ginny opened the door to the suite.

"Oh," Ginny said, looking surprised. "What's going on?"

"Nothing," Ellie said a little too quickly. "Just came to chat. Are you busy?"

Ginny glanced behind herself, into the obviously empty suite, then shrugged and gestured for Ellie to come in.

"Look," Ellie began. "I feel like I owe you an apology, Gin. I know I already said sorry about the stupid music thing last year, but it was more than that. I zeroed in on the B.A. and I blew off everyone else—including you and Harry—and I shouldn't have."

"It's really okay, Ellie. You had a lot going on, and Harry and I both knew that. We just wished we could help you through it more than we did."

Ellie doubted she would have utilized their help even if it had been offered more frequently. "Well… good. Then maybe we could talk about what's going on with you?"

"With me?" Ginny repeated, sounding surprised. "You're the one with the handcuffs and the boyfriend in another country."

Ellie tried not to grimace at that. She knew she was still a Floo Network stop away from Fred, but hearing it phrased that way was rough. "I'm fine, Gin. Lucky, actually—the 'handcuffs' keep me from dying, which is great, and I get to see Fred every weekend, which is even more great. I'm more concerned about you."

Ginny sighed. "I just… I know it's stupid, but it really hurt me that you all went to the Department of Mysteries without me."

"It was—"

"Circumstantial, I know, I know. It's not just that, though. Harry's keeping things from me, Ellie. We've been together for well over a year, and he's still keeping things from me."

"He's keeping things from you because you've been together so long. He loves you, and he can't bear the thought of someone hurting you."

Ginny groaned. "How can you not see how stupid that is, after what Fred did to you?"

She had a point. Then again, Fred hadn't left Ellie for her physical safety; he had left her for her emotional safety. Not that it had worked.

"Harry's keeping things from me, as well," Ellie told her. "Whatever he does and doesn't say, I think it's about more than just safety. Dumbledore's given him specific instructions."

Ginny sighed. "He said that, too. I just can't wrap my mind around why I shouldn't know any of it. I mean, does Dumbledore not trust me?"

Ellie knew the feeling. Unfortunately, she didn't know what to say to that.


"Should I be worried about Ginny?"

It was Saturday, which meant Fred was back. It had been a busier morning at the Wheezes shop, which meant he didn't arrive at Hogwarts until nearly lunchtime. It was now nearing nightfall, which meant their time was running out.

"I don't think so," Ellie told Fred she snuggled deeper against his chest. They were on their little rooftop, curled up in blankets, watching the sun start to set together. "She's frustrated, to be sure, but she's as strong as they come."

"She is strong, but not as strong as they come." He squeezed her tighter and said, "I think you've earned that title for yourself."

She smiled faintly, but she wasn't sure she deserved it. Sure, she had survived the ordeal in the cage, but it was more thanks to her shield than to her inner strength.

"You could have given up," he reminded her. His voice was softer now. "The thought crossed my mind about a thousand times a day—the fear that it would be too much for you. I knew you'd never give in and join them, but I feared you'd give in entirely—succumb to the death that was trying so hard to claim you."

The strange thing was, she had never really even considered it. The thought that she might die had crossed her mind many times, but it was never something she thought she had control over; it was simply a possibility.

"Enough about the cage," she said, pushing back the memories. "The first Hogsmeade trip is coming up. You're going to come for it, right?"

"Wouldn't miss it." He grinned. "Especially since it means a chance to scout out the competition at Zonko's. Though, to be honest, I heard they haven't been doing well."

Ellie wasn't all that surprised to hear it. The fact that the Wheezes shop was doing well, given the dark and tumultuous state of the country, was either a testament to Fred and George's talents or to people's desperate desires to be distracted.

"Little of Column A, little of Column B," he said when she had that thought. "But enough about joke shops. I think we're long overdue for some snogging."