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When Elle woke, she was lying in the hospital wing. She hadn't realised she had fallen asleep as all she remembered was following Snape down to the castle filled with worry of her uncle and her brother. Ron was lying in the bed next to her with moaning quietly as his leg was propped up and covered in bandages.
Harry and Hermione were talking quietly and hadn't noticed that she was awake. She stood up quickly and the pair swung around.
"What's happened" the two observed her carefully for a moment,
"Sirius and Theodore have been captured, they'll be performing the dementors kiss on them any moment now" Elle's heart sank as she thought of the two. They were both innocent but no one believed that.
All of a sudden, Dumbledore burst into the room causing all four students to jump,
"Professor, Sirius is innocent" Harry piped up,
"So is Theo" Elle added, Hermione and Harry turned to her in confusion as they obviously weren't aware of his "he was under the imperius curse Professor... even ask Remus he knows"
"Professor Lupin is in no fit state to confirm any stories at the current time" Dumbledore corrected causing Elle to sigh loudly,
"You have to believe us Professor" Hermione added,
"Oh I do... but I don't think the word of four teenagers is going to persuade anyone else" the group went dismally silent as Dumbledore paced the room.
"Time is a curious thing" he directed this to Hermione who's eyes widened in realisation.
"You must remember the rules miss Granger, you can't be seen but if you succeed more than two innocent lives will be spared tonight... three turns should do it" he winked before closing the wings doors behind him,
"What the bloody hell was that all about" Ron voiced Elle's thoughts,
"I'm sorry both of you but it's easier with two" she muttered as she removed a necklace from her jumper and threw it over her and Harry's necks. Elle turned to Ron who seemed just as confused as she was. Hermione tinkered with the necklace for a few seconds before vanishing.
"What the-" Ron was cut off by the doors to the hospital wing bursting open. Elle gawped in amazement as Harry and Hermione ran through seeming breathless.
"What... we were just talking to you here... and now you're over there" Ron stuttered,
"Don't be silly Ron"
"Yeah Ron it's not as though we were in two places at once.
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Elle later learned that Hermione had been gifted a time turned so she attend multiple lessons at the same time, using this device they'd been able to go back and safe Sirius and Theodore as well as Buckbeak. Unfortunately Elle hadn't got to say goodbye to her brother but nevertheless she was happy that he was safe.
Everyone was asleep when Elle returned to the common room which wasn't surprising considering that the next day marked the beginning of the OWL exams. Elle wasn't tired considering she'd just slept in the hospital wing but climbed into bed anyway knowing that she needed a good nights rest for the beginning of her exams tomorrow.
She was surprisingly confident over them considering that she'd studied none stop over the last few weeks. However her mind currently wasn't focusing on that, instead she thought of Theo, of how he wasn't guilty. She actually had a brother.
The brunette reached the table before the twins the next morning and they seemed over the moon to see her eating eggs and toast completely fine.
"Where the hell did you go" they yelled as they slid into the seats opposite her,
"It's a very long story" Elle sighed but the twins were relentless with their questioning,
"Fine... I found Sirius and Theo" she muttered,
"You found them?"
"I heard they escaped last night... after being caught"
"Yes that's true, listen... they're both innocent"
"Elle" the twins tried to interject but she shook her head,
"I'm serious... you have to believe me"
"If you provide an explanation I'll consider it" Elle began to explain everything that had happened last night staring from her storming off from the twins and ending with the mysterious happenings of the time turner. She kept her voice low to ensure that no one else around would hear the truth. To her relief, the twins didn't try to argue against her at all and instead listened intently.
"Wow" they both spoke in unison when she finished,
"I feel like you brushed over the Lupin being a werewolf thing too quickly" Fred frowned,
"Yeah, you're telling me you had no idea?"
"No of course I had no idea, you think I would have been able to keep that a secret" she muttered and the twins shrugged,
"I guess not... hey George we should probably go see Ron in the hospital wing"
"Probably"
"Are you two forgetting we have exams in fifteen minutes"
"That's today?"
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I could sit and describe every exam that Elle went through but it was too boring to put into words. The next two weeks tested Elle's stress levels and concentration to the max. Fortunately studying helped her a lot and she managed to walk confidently into the exams such as transfigurations and charms. As for potions and divination however, lets just say it's unlikely she'd be taking up any of them to study next year.
Elle (along with the rest of the fifth years) were extremely relived when the two weeks were done as not only did it mean the end of school, but it also meant the end of studying. They could have the next two months completely off. Elle seemed to be the only one disappointed by this, she'd had her discussions with McGonagall and couldn't decide what subjects to take for Newt's meaning she couldn't even pre read over the summer like she usually did to keep herself busy. Instead she'd have to spend the next two months worrying over her brothers whereabouts and knowing that her friends were having a much better time than she was.
On the last day, Elle headed up to her uncles room. She'd heard rumours that he was leaving and hoped this not to be true. After all he had been the best defence against the dark arts teacher she'd experienced (not that there was much competition) she walked into his office as was surprised to see the marauders map laid out on a table in the centre of the room,
"I thought Harry had the map" Elle frowned as her uncle turned around in surprise,
"No I took it off him though I assume I'll give it back to him when I see him... how do you know if it"
"Fred and George had it" she smiled "how do you know how to use it" Lupin chuckled lightly.
"Mooney, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs" he smiled to himself "the marauders"
"Did you know them" Elle perked up excitedly,
"Think about it Elle" he smiled but his niece just gazed at him in confusion,
"Mooney" he repeated "as in ... moon" Elle gasped,
"You made it"
"That I did, me, Sirius, James and ... well Peter" he smiled sadly "we were the marauders"
"Wicked" Elle muttered cashing her uncle to laugh, "you're actually leaving aren't you"
"It's for the best Elle, parents won't be too pleased when they find out their children have a werewolf as a teacher"
"Will you come over in the summer, I don't think I can bear spending two months alone with my parents" Lupin smiled again,
"I probably will do yes however I feel the need to go looking for a certain pair of innocents"
"Will you make sure they're ok?"
"I'll do my best" he ensured,
"Well... I'll see you soon" she smiled as cheerfully as she could. Her uncle pulled her in for a hug,
"Thank you Elle" he muttered,
"For what?"
"For being so accepting"
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Elle made her way back to the common room where she found the twins dancing around excitedly,
"There you are!" They grinned,
"You'll never guess what" all three of them spoke at once and each seemed as shocked as the other,
"Wow I'm morphing into you two" Elle shuddered,
"You go first" George beamed as the three of them sat down by the fire.
"Remus was one of the marauders" the twins jaws dropped,
"No way" they gasped in unison "then he's a utter legend... who are the other three"
"James Potter, Sirius Black and Peter Pettigrew"
"Ew let's forget about peter" George frowned "that's so cool though, we had no idea"
"What's your news?"
"Dad got us tickets to see the quidditch World Cup this summer" they beamed excitedly,
"That's great" Elle smiled pretending she wasn't extremely jealous. No surprise there though everyone else always seemed to have better summers than her.
"Yeah we had a few spare tickets so Harry and Hermione are coming" they continued, Elle couldn't help but feel sad that Ron had been able to invite his friends while the twins hadn't,
"Yeah there's still one ticket left" the twins spoke carelessly, Elle perked up and stared at them.
"We're thinking that we'll take Lee"
"Lee doesn't even play quidditch" Elle huffed angrily causing the twins to laugh,
"We're only messing with you mate" Fred winked,
"Yeah we want you to come with us" George grinned and Elle's smile reappeared,
"Really?" They bits nodded eagerly,
"Of course I'll come" Elle squealed as she hugged the boys tightly,
"Can't breath" they gasped sarcastically causing Elle to laugh.
Maybe this summer wouldn't be so bad after all.
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