My day slipped past me like sand through split fingers, and soon I found myself alone at a long dining table with Dumbledore, a last supper of sorts. Spearing the steamed vegetables on my plate, I listened intentively to my father talk about his trips to Romania to study dragons blood.
"Oh, and Elysia, I have a surprize of sorts for you." he said finally, drawing from my silence.
"Oh yes?" I said, jokingly using a posh accent.
"Now that you're entering the...world, I suppose, I have decided that perhaps... You'd like to adopt my last name? It would mean that you were protceted in ways... and..." he said, losing his momentum as he continued on in talking.
I didn't mention one the fact that he was probably only offering this to draw attention away from my last name.
"Ahh..." I said, feigning nonchalance as my hearts beat began to increase.
"Well, I understand if you don't want to use it..." he mumbled, his face visibly dejected.
"OF COURSE I'LL USE YOUR LASTNAME!" I squealed, practically flipping my plate and it's contents over as I folded my father in a tight hug.
We had become increasingly close over the summer, but this was the ultimate gesture. Not only was I going to be able to abandon my awful last name 'Riddle', which followed me like a bad hex, but it also meant that my father was willing for the world to know about me.
"Of course, you will have to introduce yourself as my neice." he added hastily, his eyes avoiding mine discreetly.
That's when my heart slowed down and my feet came back to earth.
He didn't want anybody to know about me. I suppose they would question him about my mother, and rumours would spring up like weeds, and his reputation could be dashed. That didn't stop the internal grumbling in my mind, though.
"Right... Right, of course..." I murmured, placing my watering eyes on to my meal.
Whilst my father, or rather Uncle continued on in a pleasant one-sided conversation, I tried my hardest not to cry. It felt as though there was a cannon ball in my throat, and if I opened my mouth to say so much as a 'Yes, thank-you' it would explode, and my tears would go with it.
Every few seconds, while Dumbledore's eyes strayed from my own, I quickly blew on to each eye to keep them from dampening too much. This worked well enough for the entire meal, or at least until dessert was served, where I took the oppurtunity to run away from the table, unexcused.
Somewhere between the great hall and the Ravenclaw common room, I saw a red, bushy tail and quickly grasped the body attached. Not bothering to go to my dorm, I sat in the middle of a foreign hallway and sobbed in to the fur of my companion, Leon.
Oh, Elle, come on... I've spent all day on that fur..
"But- I-I-I-... I'm h-his daughter... a-and... a-and..." I sobbed, before the thickening tears clogged my throat completely.
I just wanted to drown my sorrow in the crimson fur below me. Thrusting my face further in to his neck, I continued in wailing muffled sobs trhoughout the school. Leon tried to intercept a few times, but soon realised that it was useless.
You know that he can't say that your his daughter. Everybody would think that your O.W.L.'s were cheated, and you'd be a direct target from his enemies. But if you his neice, you're protected by his name, and you won't lose repsect.
"That isn't t-the point! What i-if Voldemort o-offers to name me as h-his daughter... and I a-accept?" I stammered, my tears wearing away slowly.
Than you are not the Elysia that I know.
It was like a slap in the face when Leon's words, or rather, thoughts, sunk in. He was right. It was a safe distance from Dumbledore, yet close enough to be true. Wiping away the tears streaking my fair cheeks, I nodded slowly and began my lonely walk back to my dorm.
Tucking myself in to bed like a guilty child, I allowed the numbing wave of serenity that pursues a hard cry to overcome my mind and body, and soon fell asleep... My eyes blinked slower and slower, connecting for longer periods, until finally...
"WAKE-UP SMELLE!" screeched an all too familiar voice; Peeves.
Rubbing my eyes irrtiably, I turned over on to my side and tried to bury myself under my blankets just tob get away from his high-pitched laughs that Peeve's was emmitting from his throat... or whatever it was that Poltergeists had in their necks...
"Peeves, off you go now." said the ever-calm voice of Dumbledore.
He was wearing travelling cloaks of the brightest green, his wizards hat perfectly pointed. My eyes looked over to my packed trunks at the end of my bed, but my entire body was too lethargic to sit up and reitrieve clothes from it's cold depths.
"We must go in precisely six minutes!" declared Dumbledore happily, his cheeks rosy and eyes carefree.
"Why? We're disapparating, aren''t we?" I mumbled, thrusting my head out of the pitch-black cave of my blankets.
"Ahh... Well, that defeats the entire experience." he said tentatively,his voice bringing thoughts of a cautious human trying to bypass a hungry lion.
"Experience? What experience?" I blurted, craning my neck forward in speculation.
"The muggle experience! Now, we mustn't dawdle!" he burst out happily, before nodding to my trunk and exiting the dorm.
"WHAT EXPERIENCE!" I cried out to Dumbledore's back as he retreated down the stairs.
"Experience.. Muggles..." I mumured grumpily, whilst I shoved my feet through the legs of my black cargo pants.
Yanking off my long, white pyjama top and quickly shoving on a black singlet, topping it of with a denim jacket. Okay, so, I had been wearing bra's for a while, but I still couldn't stand to see my body... exposed. I changed swiftly, which was a good thing.
I mean, never in my life have I had a truly private bathroom... except... maybe at the Malfoy's, which may have been the most incredible bath of my life. I mean, scented showers are great, but there was something... independant about those holidays.
Except for the fact that they had been spent with a bunch of backstabbers, who wanted me to be with Draco to get in Voldy's good books. So, no, not good at all. The only good thing about the Malfoy's was their bathrooms, and that really says something about a family.
Engaging my fingers in a spider-like motion, I braided my long hair in to a long, intricate plait. There weren't any mirrors in the dorm, so I couldn't exactly refer to anything at the current moment to check on my appearence. Plus, my thoughts wree interupted by a loud 'TWO MINUTES!'
Hurriedly yanking the shoelaces on my boots tight and spinning them around into a tie, I grabbed the leather trunk and stampeded down the stairs and in to the common room. Dumbledore smiled at me, before outstretching his hand for me to hold.
Disapparating.
Great.
Closing my eyes, I focuse don keeping the contents of my stomach the contents of my stomach, rather than the contents of the nearest surface in front of me. It was like being sucked into a muggle vaccuum cleaner (terrifying things) and flushed down a drain.
My feet slammed in to hard, black asphalt, which was a surprsingly good landing, considering that I usually landed flat on my face when I disapparated. Dumbledore simled at me, not missing a beat, before yanking me back on to some grey cement.
"Here is exactly 36 pounds, muggle money, that should get you to Otto St. Catchpole." said Dumbledore, dropping a wad of papers in to my hand.
"P-paper? What is paper going to do for me?" I gasped, looking down in horror to the 'money' in my palm.
"Oh, surely you've learnt of Muggle Currency in your lessons??" Pausing, he looked ta my expression and took it for a 'No.' "Well, just show the driver your money and tell them where you need to go."
I stared at him blankly. I couldn't remember what muggle buses looked like, but I could only assume that they all looked like the royal blue Knight Bus. He smiled encouragingly, repeated the phrase 'Otto St. Catchpole' and waved goodbye.
"You're not even going to wait for the bus?" I cried out frantically, my eyes widening.
"I believe that I would frighten the muggles in these clothes, I'm afraid." he said sympathetically, before waving one last time.
CRACK! And he was gone.
I was alone.
On the side of the road.
With thirty-six pounds shoved in to my palm.
In the middle of no-where.
I think that in life, this is an acceptable situation to cry in. Patting my pocket for assurence, I calmed down slightly as I enveloped my wand with my fingers, but lost this regained calm when I realised that both Leon and Noctis were back at Hogwarts.
Oh no no no no... And I couldn't use magic because I was underage and... And... Wait up. Hold the thestral for a second, I don't have the trace. I don't exist, which isn't very comforting, but the thing about the lack of the Trace was good.
Smiling mischievously, I held out my wand and pointed to the road. It was very early morning, and the air was brisk with the fresh day. Breathing in the stiff breeze that floated in front of my face, I thought of the warmest day possible, with a thick, spring-time breeze and whispered,
"Warmtime."
So, the name didn't compare to some previous spells, made famous through spell books and such, but it was a spur of the moment type of thing anyway. Well, it did the trick anyway. The crisp air and reserved breeze shifted in to a comfortably warm whisp of breeze, bringing colour to my purpling cheeks.
With that discomfort removed, my mind moved on to the next one. That is to say, hunger. My stomach growled painfully, gurgling like an abandoned cauldron over a fire. Fervently rubbing it, I remembered the worst rule of transfiguration.
No food.
"MERLINS RUDDY BEARD! IF I COULD ONLY SEE DUMBLEDORE RIGHT NOW, I'D YANK HIS NOSE OFF OF HIS FACE! NEICE? NO FOOD! WHAT THE FU-" I began, rage boiling through my throat and escpaing my lips.
"Uh... Miss? You comin' on?" said a highly cockney accent.
I froze, in my tantrum I had forgotten the bright, red double-decker bus in front of me. It wasn't blue... Rubbing my head nervously, I whimpered and offered him an apolegetic smile before putting my leg forward and stepping on to the bottom step leading up to the driver.
"Otto St. Catchpole?" I whispered, my voice frozen with terror.
On the bus, there were muggles of all shapes and sizes. Beanies, beards, moustaches, blue eyes, green eyes, brown eyes, brown skin, white skin, male, female. One or two of them looked like Sirius Black fresh from Azkaban, whilst some looked like the Malfoy's.
"Ma'am? Ma'am?" asked the impatient driver, retrieving me from my observations.
"Yes?" I said, brightening up conciderably.
"I said we do. You know what else we do? We do have a schedule." he said gruffly, opening a tiny register and waiting for my muggle money.
Dropping as many notes as I could in to his own ruddy palm, I waited patiently, offering him a kind smile. He returned my smile with a look of disbelief, glancing to his palm and then back up to me as if I had gone utterly mad.
Nodding at the money happily, I waited for him to print me a little ticket and allow me to take one of the few seats. Sniggers and giggles greeted me when I glanced up at the passengers, and I laughed as well, figuring that there was a joke I was missing.
"Right-o... I think this one's one sandwhich short of a picnic..." announced the driver, laughing loudly.
The whole bus roared with laughter, and my cheeks reddened in shame. Tearing my 'change' from his palm, I ignored the ticket he offered and sat by myself in the middle of the bus. I recieved dirty looks from my fellow passengers for a good half an hour, before I took action.
Obscuring the view of my wand with my denim jacket, I muttered the spell required for a bloody good cheering charm. I may have overdone it slightly, because everybody was rolling on the floor of the bus with laughter, and that probably wasn't safe.
This went on for quite a while until the bus driver (thankfully my charm didn't reach that far up the bus) shot me a suspicious look, before announcning that we had arrived at my destination. His beady eyes followed me as I exited the bus and entered a wide street.
I couldn't shake the feeling that he was just trying to get me off the bus, and I could be in the middle of no-where, in some ghost town, which wasn't helped by the hours of waiting for someone to arrive and pick me up.
The bus driver abandoned me in some strange town.
Just when all hope began to fade, as well as the daylight, a fire enetered the corner of my eye.
I'd like to tell you that this was metaphorical, that this was the fire of hope and understanding, and that I was going to be forgiven for any wrongs, and probably forgiven for my cussing earlier, but this was not a metaphorical fire.
Nor was it a real fire.
It was, well, hair. Weasley hair, to be specific. The first fire was followed by another, and another, and another and another... Countless fires assembled until voila, the Weasley, the entire Weasley family, were standing in V-formation in front of me.
"Oh, Elle, my DEAR! We are so so sorry, Arthur wanted to see the bus himself, and he decided that because you were coming through muggle transportation, we would come on foot to greet you. But, well, there is a lot of us, and we weren't quick enough." blurted Mrs Weasley, burying my cheeks in kisses.
"You up for the walk back?" said the balding red head, the eldest of the men; Mr Weasley.
"NO!" I said, my objection cutting through everybody elses.
"Oh... I suppose... Come on then, join hands..." said a slightly disheartened Arthur, holding out his hand.
I smiled at Ron as I took up his hand, and again I was sucked up by the vacuum, all the way to the Burrow, the Weasley's nearly-famous home. Landing on my feet once more, I stood in awe as everybody else trailed inside.
The house was miraculous. A miracle. Nothing short of sheer supportive magic could even confirm it's existence. This was amazing... It was no carefully plotted Malfoy Manor, but it was a much warmer residence than Hogwarts.
"Come on, Ell!" called out Ginny, smiling happily at me.
And I did, I ran as fats as I possibyl could to see them all together, a beautiful family that wasn't ashamed of one another. This is what I wanted. This is what I needed. I needed shouting and screeching, explosions, warm fires, strangely crafted dining tables that fit one too many people.
One day, I would have a family of my own, like the Weasleys, I swear it to Merlin himself.
~
Come on, they TOTALLY swore at Hogwarts!!
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QUESTION FOR READERS:
'Would you want a massive family like Elle does if you were her? Or would you want a small family to keep close?'
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