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To say that Elle didn't take the news well was an understatement, she couldn't comprehend it at all. Her parents didn't understand, of course they knew what he had done and what kind of person he was but they hadn't seen this man haunting their dreams every night they didn't know the girl who's parents he tortured they weren't connected to chose who were still terrified by the connections to the dark lord.
If Elle had believed that her parents lying about magic had been bad, this was significantly worse. For one, she'd spent her whole life wondering how much happier she would be if she'd had a sibling only to find out that she did in fact have one. However what made this worse was that she would do anything to disconnect herself from Theodore Sanders, she hated his face having seen it so many times, hearing his low toned voice and knowing what a sick man he was... and he was her brother. Him of all people.
As well as that she couldn't help but resent her parents for giving him up for adoption... if he had never grown up in an orphanage, if he had been shadowed from the magic world just like she was... then he wouldn't have turned out the way he did. He would be an older brother, helping her do her homework and playing football in the back garden. She wanted to shout and scream at her parents but she was scared of what they would do, of what power they held over her.
That power being Hogwarts. If she confessed her thoughts to Heather and Samson she could see them in her minds eye telling her that she was forbidden to return to that school. This conclusion was being considered even without Elle's anger, her parents were worried that if they let Elle continue learning magic there was a chance she would turn out just like him.
Elle didn't know that they believed this, if she did she would be even more angered than she was now. Of course there were many missing factors that prevented this such as not being abandoned at birth and not being in Slytherin ... not that dark wizards couldn't come from other houses... but they often didn't.
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Remus tried desperately to convince Heather and Samson that the best port of call was to send Elle back, it would take her mind of the whole ordeal, keeping her locked up would just make her more angry, more resentful and in all honesty more likely to create a monster just like her bother.
Truth was that Elle was now dreading going back to Hogwarts, would she tell her friends like she confided in them about everything. The wise answer would be 'no Elle do not admit to the fact that your brother is a mental death eater who tortured some poor girls parents to insanity' however she felt as though this wasn't something she could just bottle up and forget about.
She doubted even Fred and George would take this news kindly. They made a joke about everything but this time that just seemed insensitive and she imagined that they would try and keep their distance if they knew the truth. After all they always seemed to fear and avoid any talk of Voldemort and his followers.
Now that she knew the truth, things started making sense such as the connection of the dreams. Dumbledore had said that the only other person he had know who was able to predict the future through dreams was Theodore Sanders, it made sense that she could too since they were ... well related. She pondered if Dumbledore had known. How could he have done? Then again it often seemed that Dumbledore knew everything.
Despite not wanting to tell her friends what had happened, she felt she couldn't act normal without telling them. She wasn't a good liar but she was an even worse actor. Last time she was having the bad dreams and zoned out of her friendships, her friends noticed in only a few days. This weight she was now carrying would certainly affect her school year from school work to quidditch.
She felt gutted about how excited she had been to return to the place she now called home. All of her suspense had dwindled into anxiety as she sat staring at her fully packed suitcase dreading the journey ahead. Just the thought of leaving the house made her want to burst into tears. She was incredibly unstable and regretted that a lot of her wished that she could forget all about magic and Hogwarts.
It wasn't that she wanted to, she just didn't see how she could go on at Hogwarts like this. If people found out everyone would hate her. Her life would be hell, she'd no longer be known as the girl who joined late. She'd now be the death eaters sister. Her mind switched to Alina and she imagined the expression on her face if she learned the truth about who had tortured her parents.
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Unfortunately she couldn't slow time which meant the first day of school came around way too quickly and there was nothing she could do about it. She stood at the bottom of her staircase staring absently at her shoes her mind whining of ways she could escape. It was no use.
Her parents fretted and flustered around making sure she had everything packed, grabbing keys from the kitchen and rushing towards the car yelling of lateness. Elle shut the car door slowly and heard it click. She had barely said a word all day, all week actually. Even when Remus came round again she could barely muster up the energy to talk.
The trees blurred into one as the car began to drive towards the station. She felt guilty of how excited her friends would be. She hadn't been in contact with them for two months, not a word, she could see the excitement on their faces as she imagined walking towards them across the platform.
"We're here" Heather smiled, she knew that Elle's mind was overcome with worry and anger. She hated seeing her daughter like this and even worse was the idea that she was the cause of this.
Samson lifted Elle's suitcase out the trunk and handed it to her along with moons cage. The owl chirped happily and seemed to be the only one of them who wasn't moody. Her parents hugged her goodbye muttering something about Christmas. Elle just nodded still examining the ground and thinking how she could possibly get through this year.
She was already losing focus and concentration in her daily life and she knew how hard this would be when she eventually had to put effort into lessons. It wasn't as though fourth year was something she could easily glide through, yes she was smart but it took intelligence and work in order to pass exams.
What made everything worse was the fact that Elle was still having the same dream about Theodore in Azkaban talking to a man she could not see... or maybe she was seeing from his view she did not know. She knew that the man's name was Sirius Black yet she hadn't mentioned this to anyone out of fear that this was a long lost uncle or something like that... honestly she just couldn't cope with anymore stress.
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The train station was full which was always helpful for getting through the barrier unnoticed as crowds of people meant more bustle and distraction. Elle walked quickly towards platforms nine and ten keeping her head low and ignoring the stairs directed to her caged owl who was hooting contently.
When she reached the platforms there was no other witches or wizards there signalling that she was probably a bit late, she ran hurriedly at the barrier with her trolley pushed in front of her and felt herself pass through to the other side.
Platform 9 and 3/4 was always welcoming, excited children chattering and the general smiles of people all round. It had a completely different atmosphere to the building on the other side of the barrier. Yet even this didn't make her feel better.
From what she could see, most of the people standing on the platform seemed to be parents which alerted her that she needed to get on the train.
She shoved her suitcase with the others but kept moons cage clutched in her hand not wanting to leave the owl on her own.
As she walked down the rows of carriages she heard the excited Hogwarts talk from the students who couldn't wait to go back, Elle wished that this were her but at the moment she couldn't feel an ounce of emotion in her body apart from anxiety.
To her luck she found an empty compartment at the end of the train and hurried into it, sliding the door shut behind her. She sighed relief as she slid into the chair and looked out of the window at the platform where mothers and fathers, sisters and brothers were now waving as the train began to slide off.
She couldn't help wonder if her friends were looking for her, she'd imagined they'd be excited to see her but now she pondered of two months apart had made them forget her. It was probably for the best, she didn't want to see them anymore because she knew that if she did she would end up making everything worse for herself.
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