In a short moment, Ellie apparated from her doorstep to Harry's. Ellie found herself surrounded by a handful of others, those whom she recognized to be the Weasley's as well as other adult figures.
Hermione immediately ran to her girlfriend, embracing her in a hug that nearly knocked her over. Ellie let out a small chuckle as she wrapped her arms around her.
"Alrighty then. Evr'yone's here," Hagrid bellowed as he took notice of Ellie's presence.
Hagrid then knocked on the door to 4 Privet Drive, awaiting for Harry's response. Hermione and Ellie stood behind Ron, their fingers laced together as Harry opened the door.
Hagrid greeted Harry as a wide smile crept to the boy's face. Ron immediately rushed to hug his best friend, followed by Hermione and Ellie.
"You're looking fit," Hagrid exclaimed.
"Yeah, he's absolutely gorgeous. What say we get undercover before someone murders him," a man announced, pushing his way through the door. Ellie recognized the strange man to be Mad-Eye Moody, who was carrying a large bag.
"Kingsley, I thought you were looking after the Prime Minster," Harry said to the tall man in blue robes.
"You are more important," Kingsley claimed, pointing his finger to the boy.
"Hello, Harry. Bill Weasley," a tall ginger introduced, sticking his hand out to Harry. His hair was long, pulled back behind his ears to reveal long slashes across his face.
"Oh, pleasure to meet you," Harry said eagerly, shaking his hand.
"He was never always this handsome," another Weasley exclaimed, followed by his twin brother.
"Dead ugly," his twin added.
"Fred! George!" Ellie exclaimed as she ran to the two. She immediately wrapped her arms around the both of them, a wide smile plastered on her face. The twins embraced the Hufflepuff warmly, glad to see their friend again.
"Ellie Evans, everyone! The greatest prankster of her day," Fred announced to the group.
"Third, actually. Can't beat us two," George cut in.
Ellie laughed as she reminisced over the twins company.
"True enough. Owe it all to a werewolf, name of Greyback. Hope to repay the favor one day," Bill explained, showing his scars to Harry.
"You're still beautiful to me," a woman assured, kissing him on his cheek. Ellie recognized her to be Fleur, one of the Triwizard Champions.
"Just remember, Fleur, Bill takes his steaks on the raw side now," a man with similar scars said as he walked through the entryway.
"My husband, the joker. By the way, wait till you hear the news. Remus and I..." Tonks said warmly, though Ellie last remembered her with pink hair.
"All right. We'll have time for a cozy catch-up later. We've got to get the hell out of here. And soon," Moody interrupted, stomping his way to face the group. "Potter, you're underage, which means you've still got the Trace on you."
"What's the Trace?" Harry questioned.
"If you sneeze, the Ministry will know who wipes your nose. We have to use those means of transport the Trace cannot detect: Brooms, Thestrals and the like. We go in pairs. That way, if anyone's out there waiting for us, and I reckon there will be... they won't know which Harry Potter is the real one."
"The real one?"
Moody pulled a flask of liquid from the inside of his coat, swishing around its contents and holding it up for the group to see.
"I believe you're familiar with this particular brew," Moody said as he popped off the top.
"No. Absolutely not," Harry interjected.
"I told you he'd take it well," Hermione commented.
"No, if you think I'm gonna let everyone risk their lives for me, I..."
"Never done that before, have we?" Ron interrupted.
"No. No. This is different. I mean, taking that, becoming me. No," Harry pleaded.
"Well, none of us really fancy it, mate," said George earnestly.
"We're not doing it just for you, you know," Ellie cut in.
"Imagine if something went wrong, and we ended up a scrawny, specky git forever," Fred added, earning a stifled snort of laughter from Ellie, with Hermione nudging her arm.
"Everyone here is of age, Potter. They've all agreed to take the risk," Moody tried to convince.
"Technically, I've been coerced. Mundungus Fletcher, Mr. Potter. Always been a huge admirer," a short and stout man intervened, stepping forward.
"Nip it, Mundungus," Moody scolded.
"All right, Granger, as discussed," Moody continued, turning to the girl.
She immediately stepped forward and quickly pulled out a few strands of hair from Harry's head.
"Blimey, Hermione," Harry complained.
"Straight in here, if you please," Moody ordered.
Hermione dropped the strands of hair into the flask as the liquid bubbled, Moody swishing it around. The group started to assemble in a semi-circle around Harry, with Hermione taking Ellie's hand.
"For those of you who haven't taken Polyjuice Potion before, fair warning: it tastes like goblin piss."
"Have a lot of experiences with that, do you, Mad-Eye?" Fred joked as he took the vial from him, earning a glare. "Just trying to diffuse the tension."
The vial passed around the group, Ellie being the only few to gag, having never tried the potion before. Everyone started to morph to resemble Harry's features, a twisting feeling affecting all of them. Soon enough, the twins, Mundungus, Fleur, Ron, Hermione, and Ellie looked exactly like Harry.
"Wow, we're identical," the twins exclaimed in unison.
"Not yet, you're not," Moody said, eventually dumping out his bag on the floor to reveal a pile of clothes.
"Haven't got anything a bit more sporting, have you?" one of the twins asked, though no one could tell which was which.
"Yeah, I don't really fancy this color," Fred or George added.
"Well, fancy this, you're not you. So shut it and strip," Moody demanded.
"All right, all right!"
"Bill, look away. I'm hideous," Fleur said as she removed her clothing.
"I knew she was lying about that tattoo," Ron added.
"Harry, your eyesight really is awful," Hermione commented as she put on his glasses.
"Geez Harry, you need to shave. It's rather itchy," Ellie added as she put on the new clothes.
"Right, then. We'll be pairing off. Each Potter will have a protector," Moody announced. "Mundungus, stick tight to me. I wanna keep an eye on you."
"As for Harry..."
"Yes?" the identical Potters answered in unison.
"The real Harry." Moody scanned the group looking for him. "Where the devil are you, anyway?"
"Here."
"You'll ride with Hagrid."
"I brought you here 16 years ago when you were no bigger than a Bowtruckle. Seems only right that I should be the one to take you away now," Hagrid commented.
"Yes, it's all very touching. Let's go," Moody growled.
Tonks spoke up from the back. "Hufflepuff! Where are you?"
Ellie snapped her head in her direction, approaching the woman who waited for her.
"You're riding with me, Ellie," Tonks said as she ushered Ellie out the door.
Soon enough, everyone had assembled outside, everyone paired up.
"Head for the Burrows. We'll rendezvous there. On the count of three."
Ellie tried to look for Hermione but was unsuccessful. Ellie and Tonks had assembled on separate brooms, ordered to take their own route.
"One... two... three!" Moody announced. Everyone had taken off in formation, speeding past the one-eyed man.