Chapter Two: Wands and Unforgivables

Ellie, 11 years old.

"Mother, I'll be doing my shopping with the Lovegoods next week. They'll be inviting me, and to be honest, I'm not a fan of Lockhart," Ellie said as she contained her excitement. She had gotten her Hogwarts letter! She couldn't wait to go shopping with the Lovegoods. Luna's parents also said they had a surprise for her after the whole trip. She really couldn't wait.

"Don't like Lockhart? Why? The man's a legend you know!" Molly said in disapproval.

Ellie stared back at Molly with incredulity. She looked over at Ginny who was snickering over her cereal, and then at Fred and George who merely looked away when they noticed her attention on them.

"Mother..." Ellie said slowly, "You do realize those books he writes are all fiction, right?"

Silence.

"W-what do you mean they're fiction?" Molly asked with wide eyes.

Ellie huffed even as she could not believe how naïve her mother was being, "You know that the Homorphus charm does not cure lycanthropy right? And 'Wanderings with Werewolves' happened at the exact same time as 'Year with the Yeti'? How about the fact that, according to him, he made friends with a ghoul, but it's a known fact that ghouls have no sentience and are mere shades operating in a predetermined pattern? It is quite literally impossible to make friends with a ghoul... should I go on? Those stories are no more true than the boy-who-lived storybooks. Even Ginny knows that much..." Ellie finished as she raised her eyebrow towards Ginny in silent question.

Ginny looked at her sister, and her eyes were like a deer caught in a Lumos Solem. Ellie looked around her house in disbelief before staring at the ceiling, and huffed, no longer bothering to explain herself.

Molly simply froze, attempting to process all that she heard.

"So mother, may I go with the Lovegoods?" Ellie asked with a tired sigh.

"Yes... yes, go on dear," Molly said as she looked at her copy of 'Travels With Trolls' as if it personally offended her.

"We think -" Fred began.

"- Ickle Ellie -" continued George.

"- Accomplished the -"

"- Impossible -"

"She broke our mother!" The twins finished in unison.

Ellie simply rolled her eyes and scoffed, muttering something about the state of modern Wizards and Witches in a way that would make Xeno proud.

"Honestly, Aun- Mommy, I'd rather just use your old school books. There are probably loads of useful notes in there, and me and Luna are both way past first year material as it is, and I've also been way past the Hogwarts curriculum in its entirety for years. The books aren't even strictly necessary. Just the Potions ingredients. And maybe robes, but I don't want you spending much money on me, else mother will go spare," Ellie explained as they walked down Diagon Alley. Luna and Ellie held hands as they always did when they went out.

"Of course dear, we know. We were rather thinking its about time you go on a date with our little moon on your own. You can floo back when you're done," Pandora said as she shoved a small sack of coins into Ellie's free hand, before smirking at them and apparating away with Xenophilius in tow, leaving behind the young couple.

Luna and Ellie looked towards each other for a second in silence before Ellie smiled at her witch.

"Did I ever say how awesome your parents are? I want them. They're mine now," Ellie stated firmly as she stared at the spot the two elder Lovegoods disappeared from.

"You may have mentioned it once or twice," Luna said airily, then leaned into Ellie's ear, blowing warm breaths as she whispered, "They'll be yours soon enough El."

Ellie shivered from the ticklish whisper and Luna's implication, and her new nickname.

She loved all of it.

They smiled at each other across the table they were sharing ice cream at. They walked along well-walked paths and window-shopped for small charmed trinkets and baubles. They looked around for pets, Luna amassing a small fan club of creatures of all kinds. She had a certain way about her that made creatures like her. Ellie thought with a hint of amusement that she herself may have been one of those bewitched creatures.

To Ellie, everything Luna did was captivating in the most unique way. For the thousandth time, she vowed to herself to protect her at all costs.

The day was winding down before they ate in a private room at the Leaky Cauldron. After they ate, they simply chatted about all sorts of things. Magical creatures, the stars, Dirigible Plums. They lost track of time, not noticing the sun going down.

When they did realize, they sent each other wry smiles.

Before they left their private room, Ellie mustered up the courage to hold Luna back for a minute.

"Lu? Can you stay still for a second? There's something..." Ellie started, then leaned towards Luna for a chaste kiss before the blond had a moment to realize what was happening.

Their lips lingered slightly on each other for a moment; warm and comfortable, before they parted.

The red blush across Luna's face and her shy smile as she placed a strand of hair behind her ear were worth everything to Ellie.

"Wow, you're finally back," Pandora said as she grudgingly handed over some coins to Xeno who grinned the grin of a man who obtained a rare victory. Ellie and Luna were met with the sight of the couple playing chess over coffee. It was an amusing sight.

"Well, you did tell us to have fun, so we did. You know, part of having fun is not having to be mindful of the time," Ellie stuck her tongue out playfully.

Xeno chuckled lightly, "She does have a point you know."

Pandora sighed and nodded her head, "You are right, of course. I never should have told you to have fun. I'd still have my galleons otherwise."

"Now, we have something special planned for the both of you..." She began with her single eye narrowed in seriousness, then let out a teasing smile, "for tomorrow of course. It's a little too late now."

Ellie sighed while Luna covered her giggle with a fist, "Touché."

"Now usually, young witches and wizards go to Ollivander's to purchase their wands, but if you know your history, wands were first invented by the Romans, after which they conquered much of magical Europe, and they remain the staple tool of magic use to this day. However..." Xeno began his lecture to the two girls sitting attentively on the couch.

Xeno cleared his throat, "The Romans at the time were unaware there was any distinction between human magicals. Witches and Wizards can use the same magic of course, but the wands used by the Romans were never specialized to account for the differences. It is true that either a witch or a wizard can get a very good match from Ollivander's, but a witch will never get a perfect match. That man is incredibly gifted with his craft, but even after so long, the wandmakers of his line have never managed to bridge the gap. It's also the reason why the most powerful magicals after the era of Avalon were men. Simply because their wands were perfect matches and they could attune themselves more easily with their magic thanks to them."

Ellie listened with rapt attention. This was perhaps knowledge that no one except the Lovegoods ever possessed. Even she was unaware until recently that there were differences between witches and wizards beyond them being either male or female.

"Before the era of wands, many magicals knew this difference. It is why different clans and families used different foci. Everything from books to staves were used, each magical foci attuned to the way magic works around different bloodlines and souls. This whole area is a rather complex study, but suffice it to say, that some foci worked better for some than others. The leading hypothesis is that magic encourages diversity, and now with the majority of European magicals utilizing wands, that diversity has all but gone," Xeno paused to take a sip of water. Pandora simply smiled knowingly at whatever was about to happen.

"A perfect magical focus should be one that connects not only with your magic, but with your soul as well. When Ollivander matches a wand with a witch or wizard, the initial connection is only with magic. It depends on the skill of the wizard and his awareness of his own magic to bind with the soul. Most never bind with their wands to such an extent, and of course, witches can never bind a wand with their soul for the reasons I explained, but once that connection is made, the wizard is able to accomplish greater feats. I'd say in the past century, only the Dark Lord, Dumbledore, and Grindelwald have managed to bind their wand completely to their soul."

Ellie was enraptured by the whole explanation. It meant that she would categorically refuse to purchase a wand, no matter what anyone said. She refused to rely on something that would only handicap her ambition to become strong. Luna was also paying attention, but her eyes stared off into space, a clear sign that she was searching her mind-space for something.

"And this is where you two come in. You both already have the most ideal magical focus, courtesy of the efforts of myself and my lovely wife."

Both Ellie and Luna snapped to attention at that declaration, and in unison, they both lifted their hands to take a closer look at their rings.

Xeno smiled and nodded, "that's right. We made those rings with certain special ingredients that were perfectly attuned to the both of you. Adding in a highly complex runic array, we managed to make them so that they act as magical foci. Tell me, didn't you find it easier to channel magic through your rings when you sent each other your feelings? That charm is a simple one, but it allowed your rings to form a closer connection to your emotions, more particularly, to your soul. The idea came from Pandora, and I must admit, it is rather ingenious."

Ellie looked at the two of them in awe. No matter what anyone said, Xenophilius and Pandora Lovegood were the two most impressive magicals of the current age.

"So, if I'm understanding this correctly, we will be able to use our rings as magical foci, and the more we channel our feelings and thoughts into them, the more natural and close the connection between the rings and our souls will be? And thus, higher access to powerful magics?"

Xenophilius Lovegood beamed, "That's correct! But that's not all. There is something further that will strengthen the connection if all goes as planned -"

Luna snapped out of her thoughts and interrupted, "It's blood, isn't it? The triumvirate of life - Blood, Soul, Magic. The rings are already connected with our magic. We have the path clear to us on how we can fully connect our souls to them, so the only thing left is blood. But our own blood wouldn't work..." Luna trailed off for a moment before her eyes lit up again, "I see," she whispered.

Xeno and Pandora gave each other a wry smile, "Seems you figured it out little moon."

Ellie's brows furrowed as she thought, "The only blood that would work would be with that of a magical creature I'm magically connected with. Be that whether I've killed them in a fair battle, or if they were my familiar..."

Luna smiled at Ellie, "That's right, but there's a deeper connection that can be made with blood. Spouses that perform their wedding through the Olde Way of exchanging blood in a ritual. That blood is far more special if the ritual is powered by love."

Ellie's eyes lit up at that, "and the blood from magically bonded spouses would be the perfect ingredient for a witch's magical focus, especially if both of them are withes and the magical focus happens to be one created solely for a witch..." Ellie gasped in awe, the glanced at the two adults with narrowed eyes, "How much of this did you plan exactly?"

Pandora gave her an amused smile, "None of it, or maybe all of it? No need to get ahead of yourselves though. A blood-bound focus in such a way is practically unheard of, and you won't be married for a few years yet -"

"Thirteen," Ellie interjected, "I want to get married at thirteen. It's a magical number and it would enhance the effects of the ritual, I believe."

Luna's gaze snapped towards her in a silent question.

Ellie smiled at her warmly and nodded, "I've already accepted we're getting married Luna, no matter whether it's three years away or ten. There's no one else I can ever imagine spending the rest of my life with."

Ellie paused in the pregnant silence that followed, "unless, I'm getting ahead of myself, and you're not that ready yet...?" She asked anxiously. Was she too eager? Did it make it seem like she was hurrying things along without thinking about it? Was she being inconsiderate of Luna's feelings?

All her worries were for naught when Luna's arms wrapped around her neck. The blond spoke softly with ill-concealed emotions, "did you know that the Fae also coupled at thirteen years? I never thought - thank you El."

Ellie smiled in Luna's hair, stroking it with her fingers, "No, thank you, Lu. You're the best thing that could ever have happened to me," she said while instinctively sending a pulse to her ring with her magic.

Love.

Luna gasped, then sent her own pulse of magic.

Love.

And Ellie and Luna were both overwhelmed, because they both knew.

It was impossible to use magic to lie.

"What do we do about classes? The Hogwarts curriculum is focused on wand-based magic..." Ellie trailed off.

"The solution is rather simple honestly. Just conjure a stick using your ring. Using the ring is definitely different to using a wand, but the principle remains the same. Power and intent, and allow the magic to flow however it wishes through the ring. Much like wand movements, the way you mold magic within the ring-stone determines the magic you cast. It might take a bit of getting used to-"

Xeno was interrupted as Ellie effortlessly conjured a remarkable imitation of a wand, with intricate patterns depicting a water-spirit on its handle.

"Huh, this is way easier than the wandless magic I've been doing all this time," Ellie mumbled.

"Or yes, if you're already that in tune with your magic, you could just... do that..." Xeno trailed off before mumbling about magical prodigies.

Luna took a lot longer to get a feel for how her ring worked, and managed some simple charms, but was unable to conjure anything. That was a sixth year skill at Hogwarts, after all. It was more accurate to say Ellie was simply monstrous, having practiced and honed her magic everyday for the past eleven years without stopping.

Ellie conjured a fashionable stick for her, and they began to practice their charms using the illustrated wand movements and incantations. To both of their surprise, the wand movement directed their magic in their rings in such a way to complete the spells successfully. And that meant they could follow the teacher's instructions for all of their classes and not get caught out. And, for Luna at least, it would help her get used to molding her magic with the ring. The stick was, unwittingly, an excellent training tool for her. No one would even be able to tell the difference between the stick and a regular wand, unless they were a wand maker of course.

So they were both extremely satisfied with what they had.

Xeno scratched his chin, "Now that's an interesting phenomenon... I'm sure the Unspeakables would love to study that."

Pandora interrupted his muttering with a mischievous smile, "Now girls, you do realize your rings have no trace? I expect the both of you to act irresponsibly with that information. Just don't get caught doing anything that would land you in Azkaban."

Ellie's smile was dangerous, yet positively gleeful, and Luna's smile was serene and innocent.

"Good girls."

As soon as Ellie entered the Burrow, she knew something was different. Her family had just come back from their shopping trip in Diagon Alley, but something had changed.

Trusting her senses, Ellie ran towards the wrongness, and entered the room she shared with her sister. She was currently organizing the books she received and looking at a black diary somewhat perplexed.

Ginny reached for the diary, somewhat entranced, but before she could so much as touch it, a hand grasped her wrist.

"Ginny don't touch that," Ellie said firmly as she glanced at the diary in confusion, wonder, and disgust.

She absently conjured a stick, and waved it around, encasing the diary in a box. She swiftly etched some protection runes on the box with her stick before grabbing Ginny's hand.

"Gin, I need to ask you, where did you get this diary from?" Ellie asked softly even as she conveyed the seriousness of the conversation through her eyes.

"I-I don't know. When we came back, I realized it somehow got into my things. Why, what's wrong with it? I thought mum might have brought it for me?" Ginny asked, a little freaked out about her sister's bizarre behaviour.

"Listen Gin, that isn't a diary. It's an incredibly dark artifact, and it would have cursed you to write in it... who knows what could have happened..." Ellie's heart beat in her chest at another close call her sister had. Merlin, they hadn't even started Hogwarts yet, and they've already had too many close shaves to count.

Ginny's eyes widened in fright before they narrowed in recognition, "Malfoy... he had a fight with father, and picked up my book... he must have slipped it in at that time."

Ellie shored up her Occlumency defenses before her magic swept uncontrolled. It would be disastrous if that were to happen. She took calming breaths.

Lucius Malfoy. You don't know it, but you're already dead.

She wouldn't pull any punches when her family and loved ones were attacked. And Pandora gave her free reign to do whatever she wanted so long as she was never caught.

"I'll be taking this to get it destroyed. Don't worry about anything Gin, whatever happens, you're my sister and I'll protect you from anything."

Ginny shook herself from her stupor before she completely internalized the danger she was in. She pulled her sister in a hug before sobbing uncontrollably.

Her sister Ellie had always been the one to protect her. She had gone through old newspaper articles after Sirius' visit to know what her sister did at the time, and one article she read left her scared to death. She was now old enough to make sense of all what happened that time with Percy's rat and Peter Pettigrew. She now realized why her sister insisted on sleeping with her for months after the whole thing.

Ginny appreciated Ellie more than words could say.

"Hmm... This, right here is a violation of magic," Xeno said after inspecting the diary, "It has half of a soul in it."

The man gingerly used his wand to flip open the first page to see a name written on the inner cover, "Tom Marvolo Riddle... Marvolo..."

Pandora also inspected the name before furrowing her brow. She was a Rune Mistress and Spellcrafter, so it didn't take long for her to solve the puzzle.

"That's the Dark Lord. Guess he stuck half his soul in the diary. What a stupid man," Pandora shook her head in exasperation, as if telling off a child for doing something incredibly idiotic.

Ellie tilted her head slightly, "So, I'm assuming he's still alive then. From what I've read from soul magic, if even part of his soul is still here, then all of it is, fragmented or not."

"Well, while he's certainly not dead, he isn't exactly alive either. He is simply existing, though that can change in any number of ways."

"So daddy? What are we going to do with half of the Dark Lord's soul?" Luna asked with an innocent, airy smile.

Pandora and Xeno looked at each other and grinned.

"How would you girls like to practice some magic?"

After a very informative class with professors Lovegood and Lovegood, they finally got around to destroying the Horcrux, poor thing that it was.

By the end of it all, Ellie could have sworn the thing was screaming at them to end its existence.

And the class only made Ellie fall in love with the Lovegoods even more if that were possible. She definitely wanted them. And it wouldn't even be three years yet until she could adopt the Lovegood name.

She wanted to be as cool as all of them too, damnit!

She didn't realize that she was already seen as the coolest by all three of them.

And getting back to the class... Xeno and Pandora taught them the Unforgivables.

Or rather, they taught Ellie, as Luna didn't yet have the magical capacity for them. Something that would be quickly rectified throughout the coming year as she would continue to practice her magic. She was already showing herself to be proficient with charms, and Ellie knew that she was already a Runes prodigy, something that apparently ran in their family. Going by the intricate craftsmanship that went into their rings, Ellie wholeheartedly agreed with that assessment.

In any case, she was given a very enlightening and educational lecture on the nature of Unforgivables.

FLASHBACK

"The unforgivable curses are called such, not because of any arbitrary reason the ministry likes to give, but because of the little known fact that all three of them are not curses at all, but soul magic. The Killing spell separates body and soul. The Cruciatus spell twists and pulls on the soul, causing unimaginable physical pain that extends to the nervous system, thus damaging the brain - because it is not immediate seperation, and the body and soul are linked in intricate ways, pulling and twisting the soul has the effect of torture. Splitting the soul, like this Dark Lord did, would have caused him incredible pain, much like the Cruciatus. The Imperious spell has a calming effect on the soul to make it more open to suggestions. It is why, with enough inner strength, or by knowing oneself completely, is one able to fight off the effects. Thus, they have been completely misunderstood. They are unforgivable in human eyes because they violate the moral right to ones autonomy of their soul. That is not to say however, that they violate magic - which would be a much more serious crime..." Xenophilius lectured in that captivating way that made both girls listen to him with rapt attention.

"So they carry life sentences in Azkaban because they are misunderstood? Or does the ministry know about them being soul magic, and has thus made them strictly banned because they want to limit people exploring that branch of magic?"

Xeno and Pandora smiled at her in approval and pride, "That's exactly it. The things one could do with soul magic are quite incredible once mastered. The ministry fears it and the loss of any control they may have over wizards who delve deeply into it. Nothing like this idiot Dark Lord has done however. The fool seems to have not known anything about soul magic when he made this. It's a shame, really."

There was a pause before Ellie spoke out, "So do I get to practice on this half-soul then?"

Pandora smirked and nodded, "Try the Imperius first and make it write things in the diary. We'll know how well you've mastered it by the responses it gives. Channel your magic like so..."

END FLASHBACK

Ellie had begun with the Imperius, slowly coaxing out the teenage Dark Lord's innermost secrets, from his origins to his plans to create seven Horcruxes, how there was a basilisk inside Hogwarts, how it killed Myrtle Warren, and where the chamber of secrets was, and what he was planning to do if his diary ever made it inside Hogwarts.

Ellie and the Lovegoods were quite speechless after reading all of that.

"This... was the most feared Dark Lord of the century?" Ellie had asked incredulously. To them all, it just seemed like an egotistical teenager severely overestimating himself and throwing a temper tantrum. It was honestly quite... underwhelming.

After becoming proficient with the Imperius, they moved on to the Cruciatus. It was a bit more difficult to gauge whenever this one worked or not, but they didn't need to worry. By the time Tom (Ellie and the Lovegoods refused to call the boy the Dark Lord any longer) was only producing incoherent ink blotches, they knew he was completely incoherent. A subtle Legilimency probe proved that the boy had lost his mind at that point.

And then finally, the killing spell (She was taught that they were not curses, and were simply soul spells, so her academic mind refused to call them by their common name). It took a while to get the spell correctly. Luna, of course, was taking diligent notes as Ellie described how she was casting each spell and what her mistakes were each time. She would use those notes whenever it was her turn to learn the Unforgivables.

In the end, a bright green light raced towards the diary and destroyed the Horcrux entirely, leaving a gaping hole in its center.

At the end of it all, Ellie watched as the screaming shadow left the mortal plane, and then turned to the Lovegoods with all the seriousness she could muster, "Why do we have to go to Hogwarts when we have the best professors right here?"

"Because, darling," Pandora started, inspecting her nails with all the nonchalance of her awesome eye-patched self, "You girls both need to make some friends. If you don't manage that, you're free to quit the school. It doesn't really matter. You only need to do your OWLS, and we can arrange that whenever you want. Just see if you can have fun there, alright?"

Ellie and Luna met each other's eyes before they both said in unison, "Best. Mom. Ever."

Pandora blew her nails daintily before flicking her hair back, "Of course I am."

It was a testament to how close Ellie had gotten with the Lovegoods over the years that she felt completely at ease with the family, treating them all as her own, and thinking nothing of their choice to teach her illegal spells. If anything, it only endeared both parties more towards each other. Ellie would definitely miss the two Lovegoods when she was at Hogwarts, and she inwardly admitted with some guilt, that she would miss them more than her own mother and father.

"So, as I said, there's no need to worry about me Mother, I'll be having a sleepover at the Lovegoods and I'll be going with them and Luna to the platform," Ellie called out down the stairs as she conscientiously packed her things neatly, shrunk her trunk without a twitch, pocketed it, and then came downstairs.

"Alright dear, I'll see you at the platform tomorrow then. Give them all my best!" Molly called out after her as she fretted about the boys and Ginny, ensuring everything was ready for the next morning.

Ellie left the burrow with a skip in her step as she absently sent a pulse to her ring.

Coming Home.

She had barely registered what her magic and heart had sent when she received an intense wave of emotions.

Joy. Love. Giddiness. Anticipation. Warmth.

Ellie smiled as she realized what she felt.

She loved her family, but to her, the Lovegoods were home.

Especially Luna.

Ellie thought idly.

Ellie cuddled with Luna as the night deepened. They were both still wide awake so decided to have a whispered conversation beneath their shared blanket.

"Are we going to Ravenclaw, Luna?" Ellie asked with a hint of nervousness.

The blond hummed, "Wherever we are, we'll be there together. I know you can bully the hat to put you in the same House I'll be in," Luna said with unmatched confidence and an unconcerned smile.

Luna truly did feel invincible whenever Ellie was by her side. On her own, she probably would have freaked out if a Horcrux was anywhere near her, but with Ellie... it just seemed so simple. Everything seemed easy, and she was truly enjoying that comforting feeling, as it allowed Luna to simply be herself whenever she wanted. She knew Ellie could deal with the sorting hat the same way she dealt with Tom.

That's not to say she wouldn't strive to improve herself and become stronger, but just that she wanted Ellie by her side forever.

Ellie giggled at her witch's confidence in her. She knew she could probably do something to arrange that they end up in the same house.

"Yeah, I guess you're right. We'll call that 'Operation: Bully the Hat.' We could also just quit Hogwarts if we don't end up in the same house. I want to sleep with you every night for the next nine months you know."

Luna hummed as she edged closer towards Ellie.

"That would be nice. You know, our bed is attracting all the Blibbering Humdingers right now," she whispered.

"Hmm... They know how much I love you," Ellie whispered back as they looked into each other's eyes before sharing a lingering kiss.

"Good night Lu."

"Night, El."

Of course, since they were still children, they never went beyond chaste kisses, something that Pandora assured them wouldn't be the case forever.

"Now girls, don't forget to be irresponsible, and have fun, and don't get caught..." Pandora paused for a few seconds and then fixed them both with a serious look and said in a low voice, "If you need to kill anybody, don't bother hiding the body, there's no way to track your magic."

The eyes of both girls widened, and they both nodded seriously, "don't worry, we won't bother with hiding any bodies. I just hope it'll for a good reason that they're dead," Ellie whispered.

Pandora looked at them both in sympathy, "I'm sorry, I really don't know. But no matter what, I'll love you girls all the same," she said, wrapping her arms around the girls she had come to love with her whole heart.

Xeno was there and simply smiled, "don't worry too much girls, magic doesn't really care if you commit murder, just make sure it doesn't weigh on your conscience, or else things could get a bit tricky."

Both girls nodded, then waved them goodbye before entering an empty compartment on the train.

Ellie immediately locket the door with a powerful locking charm and set up privacy wards. She checked the compartment for any listening charms, and found one, which she temporarily disabled.

She nodded to Luna before collapsing next to her, leaning against the blonde's shoulder.

"What do you think will happen for us to murder someone?" Ellie whispered, a little worried.

"Well, we don't really know it'll happen this year, just that it will happen at some point..." Luna said reassuringly, "besides, you mentioned what you would do to Lucius Malfoy. It'll be either him or someone that does something similar to him. You wouldn't simply kill someone otherwise."

Ellie perked up at that. Luna was right. She would kill Lucius Malfoy for endangering her sister. If anyone harmed or intended to harm Ginny or Luna in the same way, then...

Being honest to herself, Ellie would feel no guilt at all.

Just imagining someone trying to harm her Luna set her off in an icy rage unlike anything.

She reeled in her emotions and nodded with firm resolve.

She would kill and feel no guilt about it, whenever that may be.

"Thanks Luna, you really just made me feel so much better," Ellie said, her eyes closed with a smile.

Luna hummed, "There's no Wrackspurts around you again."

"Of course," Ellie scoffed, "I told you didn't I? You're my Wrackspurt-get-ridderer."

Luna hid a pleased smile at that. She felt warm and fuzzy inside every time she thought about the first time Ellie had told her that. There wasn't ever a hint of ridicule with Ellie. She was always genuine with her, and she had always believed what Luna said, even though anyone else would have called her crazy.

She really, really liked Ellie.

"Luna Lovegood," Professor McGonagall called out.

Luna skipped up towards the small stool supremely unconcerned, and Ellie watched her with a fond and loving smile. Merlin, she loved that girl.

The hat sat on top of Luna's head, and Ellie could have sworn the hat flinched.

it hemmed and hawed for a minute before calling out, "Ravenclaw!"

Ellie clapped with a pleased smile. Now all she had to do was bully the hat.

After waiting for a dozen more sortings, it was finally her turn.

"Ellie Weasley."

She walked towards the stool with unshakeable confidence and sat down.

The hat touched her head, and she immediately thought, "Put me anywhere besides Ravenclaw and I'll show you what I can do with Soul Magic."

The hat was silent before it whispered, "You're a lot scarier than the Lovegood girl, I'll give you that. Are you sure about that then?"

"Positive," Ellie said.

"So, let's take a look - girl, your mind shields are incredible, just like the Lovegood girl."

"We're getting married soon."

"Oh!" The hat exclaimed in pleasant surprise, "That's wonderful. Very few practice the Olde Ways, and yes, I do see it now. Anywhere else but Ravenclaw would destroy the House completely."

"Well then, better be - RAVENCLAW!"

Ellie gave a bright smile as she respectfully returned the hat to the professor, and then skipped in a Luna-like way toward the Ravenclaw table, and sat next to her fiancé.

She sent a pulse to Luna.

Happiness. Accomplishment.

Luna sent a pulse back.

Head Pat.

After the feast and announcements - Gilderoy Lockhart was the DADA professor, much to Luna and Ellie's bafflement - they followed the prefect across moving staircases and enchanted portraits until they came across a bronze knocker.

It opened its mouth and asked, "I can be blocked and I can run. Whenever I do, It is difficult to do what I am supposed to."

Luna smiled and said airily without skipping a beat, "Why, a nose of course, silly."

Everyone except Ellie was looking at her in envy and surprise.

My Luna is awesome.

After the speech about how Ravenclaws have high standards and so on, most of which Ellie could not be bothered to listen to, they finally made their way to their dorms.

In Ravenclaw, the dorms are paired, and thus, without waiting for anyone, Ellie and Luna claimed a room for themselves. It was rather large and luxurious. Ellie frowned slightly before she conjured her stick and waved it about.

The two beds were pulled towards each other to meet in the middle, and then they were transfigured to make one large bed. Ellie nodded in satisfaction even as Luna's eyes twinkled and she gave a pleased hum.

"See, El? There was nothing to be worried about."

Ellie replied, "I threatened to use painful Soul Magic on the hat."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"I will admit, that was very attractive," Luna said with a small blush.

"I had to - wait, huh?"