Harry spent the week they had left of holidays thinking of what they had witnessed in Knockturn Alley. Malfoy was up to something and there wasn't a doubt in his mind about it, but it seemed like Hermione and Ron were much less curious than Harry was. In particular, Hermione seemed to be more focused on Ellen's conversation with Borgin than anything else.

It was growing to a point of contention. Hermione would argue that it was suspicious that Ellen had been in a place like Knockturn Alley enough for one of the shop owners to know her by name and Harry would argue back that they had no clue what she had been there in the past for. As gray as Ellen tended to be, she was nowhere near as dark as Hermione seemed to be implying that she was. And given the fact that they hadn't heard another word from the Noah since their trip, Hermione's suspicions only seemed to be growing.

"What good could she be doing down there, Harry?" asked Hermione impatiently. They'd been arguing the subject for the past fifteen minutes and it was starting to escalate. "Borgin knew her. He knew her well enough to know that she didn't like the Malfoys. And she said she'd be back! To Knockturn Alley!"

"Maybe she just likes skulls?" Ron offered up vaguely, trying his best to ignore the argument in front of him as he fiddled with his broomstick's tail twigs.

"We still barely know anything about her!"

"Dumbledore trusts her. She fought at the Ministry with us." argued Harry for the thousandth time. "Whatever she's doing is for us."

"And what about the other Order she mentioned?" said Hermione. "Harry, she's a Noah. A dark creature. We don't know what she's done in the past!"

"I don't get why we're arguing about her when Malfoy was the one threatening Borgin!" said Harry, frustrated. "He's up to something and he's the one we should be watching, not Ellen! His father is a Death Eater —" Harry broke off, his eyes fixed on the window behind Hermione, his mouth open. A startling thought had just occurred to him.

"Harry?" said Hermione in an anxious voice. "What's wrong?"

"Malfoy's a Death Eater" said Harry slowly. "Someone had to replace his father, didn't they?"

Everything fell quiet for a moment before Ron burst into laughter. "Harry, he's sixteen! You really think You-Know-Who is letting students join?

"It seems like a bit of a stretch..." Hermione said quietly. "I mean, Malfoy?"

"Think about it. He wouldn't let Madame Malkin touch his left arm, what if he has the Dark Mark?

Ron and Hermione looked at each other. "Well..." said Ron, sounding thoroughly unconvinced.

"I think he just wanted to get out of there, Harry," said Hermione.

"He showed Borgin something, something that we couldn't see. Something that scared him." Harry kept going. "Not much would frighten a man like Borgin, don't you think?"

Ron and Hermione exchanged another look. "I'm not sure, Harry..."

"Yeah, I still don't reckon You-Know-Who would let Malfoy join..."

He was both annoyed at their immediate dismissal and absolutely convinced of what he was saying being true. Harry grabbed the nearest pile of clothes and stormed out of the room; any excuse to get away from that particular conversation was a good enough reason for him. Besides, Mrs. Weasley had been trying to get them all to do the rest of their washing before it they had to pack up for Hogwarts. In his annoyance he almost didn't notice Ginny until he bumped straight into her, almost knocking her own clothes out of his hand.

"Small warning, there's a lot of Phlegm in the kitchen." said Ginny with a well suffering grin.

"I'll be careful not to slip in it." Harry smiled. Sure enough, Fleur Delacour was sitting at the kitchen table when he entered. The witch had been at the Burrow the entire time that he was there planning her wedding to Bill. Harry and Ron liked her well enough, but her presence seemed to grate on the women of the house in a very unique way. Quietly, he wondered if Amanda would have the same kind of attitude towards her. She might have actually gotten along with Fleur.

Harry made a note to himself to write to her once he was on the train. It had been too long since they'd had to say goodbye for the start of school and something deep in his chest ached when he thought about not hearing from her for months.

He zoned back into the world as Fleur continued to go on and on about the wedding plans, unaware of how irritated that Mrs. Weasley was increasingly becoming.

"Ah, Harry!" said Mrs. Weasley loudly, freeing herself from that conversation. "Good, I wanted to explain about the security arrangements for the journey to Hogwarts tomorrow. We'll be going in the Ministry cars and they've got Aurors keeping an eye out."

"Is Tonks going to be there?" asked Harry, grinning at the thought of seeing the metamorphmagus again.

"No, I believe Arthur said she was stationed somewhere else. Those dreadful Noah twins will be there though..."

"She has let 'erself go, zat Tonks," Fleur mused as she peered down to look over the papers spread across the table. "A big mistake if you ask —" "

"Yes, thank you," said Mrs. Weasley cut her off quickly. "Finish up that bit, I want you all packed and ready to leave by tonight. We don't want to have the last minute scramble."

And as it turned out, packing to avoid doing everything at the last minute actually worked out. Their departure from the Burrow was much smoother than it had ever been, lacking the shouting and flying objects that Harry had come to expect with getting that many people sent off to school. By the time the Ministry cars had pulled up in from of the Burrow, they were ready and waiting with everything packed. Even the pets that always seemed to give them trouble were safely in their cages and ready for departure.

The drive to King's Cross Station was quick, the excitement of heading back to Hogwarts making the ride much more cheerful than what it had been in the past. Even Harry couldn't resist smiling and joining in on the laughter and jokes. There was no Hagrid or Ellen waiting for them when they arrived at the station, just Jasdero and Devit waiting with devilish smirks painted on their faces.

Something about Harry was so insanely curious about the pair. He hadn't interacted with them as much as the others during his time on the Ark and that was mostly to do with how simply unnerving he found them. A lot of it was a twin thing, but unlike Fred and George it almost seemed like the two Noahs were actually the same person, just split into two. He'd mentioned that little theory to Rhode once and the girl had laughed so hard that tears streamed down her face, but she'd never confirmed or denied if how he felt was true.

They moved forward the moment that the cars stopped, flanking the group as they walked into the station. Everyone else seemed just as unnerved by the pair as they chattered back and forth with each other, never acknowledging the people they were supposed to be guarding. Jasdero had a tendency to giggle quite loudly and Mrs. Weasley nearly flinched almost every time she did so.

"Quick, quick, through the barrier," said Mrs. Weasley once they arrived at the entrance to the platform. "Harry, you go first with.."

Devit stepped forward with the cocky smirk that seemed permanently fixed on his face. He grabbed Harry's arm and began moving them forward, tossing out a quick "I've got the boy." to the group.

They moved quickly through the barrier with Harry's trolley in front of them, finding themselves standing on platform nine and three-quarters only a second later. Devit looked over at the barrier before leaning in to whisper in Harry's ear. "The Earl is waiting for you on the train. Don't disappoint us, chosen boy."

Hermione and the Weasleys came bursting through the barrier before he could respond, shooting irritated looks at Jasdero. The blonde twin had probably done something to delay the group if only for a few seconds to allow his brother to pass on the message. They were weirdly connected enough to think up something like that. With a subtle nod towards Devit, Harry motioned to his friends to follow him up to the platform so that he could at least start to search for Ellen.

"We can't, Harry...We've got to be in the prefects' carriage and then we have to patrol for a bit" said Hermione, looking apologetic.

"Oh yeah, I forgot," said Harry.

"You'd better get straight on the train, all of you, you've only got a few minutes to go," said Mrs. Weasley, consulting her watch. "Well, have a lovely term, Ron..."

"Mr. Weasley, can I.." Harry trailed off, his voice stuck in his throat. He wanted nothing more than to talk to the man about Malfoy and what they had seen, but the moment he looked up it was like time slowed down. He could see everyone moving on the platform slowly as the sound of his own heartbeat filled his ears.

Two sets of glowing yellow eyes stared up at him from behind the Weasleys as two hands moved in unison to place a finger in front of their lips. Shh, be quiet now, they seemed to say without saying a word.

Don't say anything.

Harry shook his head and halfheartedly smiled at Mr. Weasley. "Never mind, I forgot what I had to ask." The Weasleys smiled up at him and helped him to shove his trunk up onto the train as he said not another word. His voice was gone again, he wouldn't get it back until he found Ellen.

"Now, dear, you're coming to us for Christmas, it's all fixed with Dumbledore, so we'll see you quite soon," said Mrs. Weasley through the window, as Harry slammed the door shut behind him and the train began to move. "You make sure you look after yourself and stay safe!"

Harry waved at all of them until the train turned the corner and they were gone from his sight, turning back to see that everyone else had left him behind. Ron and Hermione had told him that they were off to the prefects' carriage, but before he could ask Ginny about grabbing a compartment together she ran up to Dean Thomas with a bright smile on her face.

It was once he realized that he was truly alone that he felt the staring. Everyone stared shamelessly, some even pressing their faces against the windows of their compartments as he passed. Though, he suppose he'd done it to himself with all the Chosen One business and his little charade with the Noahs over the summer. Everyone thought Harry Potter had been a very busy man.

"Hi, Harry!" said a familiar voice from behind him.

"Neville!" said Harry with a smile, turning to see the boy struggling with his trunks as always.

"Hello, Harry," Luna Lovegood poked her head out from behind Neville, the same misty look in her eyes as always.

"Luna, hi, how are you?"

"Very well, thank you," said Luna. She was clutching a magazine to her chest; large letters on the front announced that there was a pair of free Spectrespecs inside.

"Quibbler still going strong, then?" asked Harry, who felt a certain fondness for the magazine, having given it an exclusive interview the previous year.

"Oh yes, circulation's well up," said Luna happily.

"Let's go find some seats. Ellen said she'd save a compartment for all of us." Harry offered up quickly, eager to get away from all of the staring. They moved down the corridor as fast as they could, peeking in compartments in search of the Noah waiting for them.

After a good five minutes of searching they found Ellen waiting for them near the back of the train. She was caught up in a heated argument with Rhode that stopped the second they opened up the compartment door. Rhode looked them up and down with an unimpressed look on her face before hopping up.

"I'm going to go hex all of Warrington's hair off. Consider what I said, Allen." said Rhode quickly, shoving her way past the three. "Keep your mind clear."

Ellen winced and smiled apologetically. "I'm sorry, we did try to teach her manners."

He just grinned back at her, his mood instantly better now that he was by her side. The three of them settled in the compartment without much fuss and soon conversation was flowing easily between the group. Harry was in the midst of informing Ellen of all of the staring he'd been subjected to.

"They've even been staring at us!" Neville piped up, indicating himself and Luna. "Because we're with you!"

"They're staring at you because you were at the Ministry too," Harry insisted. "Everything that happened at the Ministry was all in the Prophet, you had to see it."

"I thought Gran was going to be furious about all of the attention" said Neville, "but she was pleased, says I'm starting to live up to my dad's name. She even went and bought me a new wand, look!"

"Cherry and unicorn hair," Neville said proudly. "We think it was one of the last Ollivander ever sold, he vanished next day — oi, come back here, Trevor!" And he dived under the seat to retrieve his toad as it made one of its frequent bids for freedom.

"Are we still doing D.A. meetings this year, Harry?" asked Luna.

"There's no real point to it now that Umbridge is gone." said Harry, sitting down.

Neville bumped his head against the seat as he emerged from under it. He looked most disappointed. "I liked the D.A.! I learned loads with you!"

"I enjoyed the meetings too," said Luna serenely. "It was like having friends."

An uncomfortable feeling started pooling in the pit of him stomach when she said that, some curious mixture of pity and embarrassment. Before he could say anything to make his friend feel better, he heard a weird amount of noise coming from outside their compartment door. Harry looked up only to see a a group of fourth-year girls was whispering and giggling together on the other side of the glass. "You ask him!" "No, you!" "I'll do it!" And one of them, a bold-looking girl with large dark eyes, a prominent chin, and long black hair pushed her way through the door.

"Hi, Harry, I'm Romilda, Romilda Vane," she said loudly and confidently. "Why don't you join us in our compartment? You don't have to sit with them," she added in a stage whisper, indicating Neville's bottom that was sticking out from under the seats again as he searched for his pet in vain and Luna, who had put on the odd glasses she'd gotten from the Quibbler that made her look slightly demented. She froze slightly when she made eyes with Ellen staring back at her, but recovered with a smile towards Harry.

"They're my friends," said Harry coldly.

"Oh," said the girl, looking very surprised. "Oh. Okay." And she withdrew, sliding the door closed behind her.

"People expect you to have cooler friends than us," said Luna frankly as she continued to flip through her magazine as if nothing had happened.

"You are cool," said Harry shortly. "They weren't at the Ministry with us, they didn't fight with us."

"That's a very nice thing to say," beamed Luna.

"We didn't face him, though," said Neville, emerging from under the seat with fluff and dust in his hair and a resigned-looking Trevor in his hand. "You did. You should hear my gran talk about you. 'That Harry Potter's got more backbone than the whole Ministry of Magic put together!' She'd give anything to have you as a grandson..."

"Still," said Ellen quietly. "You all showed character with what you did. I can't imagine most people in your year would have ever dreamed of fighting like that."

Harry quieted down as she spoke. The fight at the Ministry seemed so long ago; it had been almost nine months for him and the rest of the Noah. He had almost forgotten how absolutely terrifying it had been. Ellen laughed and quickly changed the subject, asking Neville what his O.W.L. scores had been. The two carried on a conversation about what they would be taking this year, Neville wondering if he could take a Transfiguration N.E.W.T. even if he'd only made an Acceptable.

It was odd to see Ellen back in this kind of environment. For so many months he'd grown used to her playing the role of caregiver and mentor. Now here she was, sitting on the train with the rest of them and joking about homework like she wasn't something that had stepped out of a different time. It was so easy for her to slip back on the mask of student and act like nothing had ever happened. Looking at her, he couldn't tell that she'd kidnapped someone over the summer. He couldn't see the monstrous power she'd demonstrated when she destroyed the sword. He couldn't see Neah's grip over her in the garden. She wasn't a Noah anymore, she was just Ellen Walker, his schoolmate and friend.

"You all right, Harry? You look funny," said Neville. Harry started. "Sorry — I —"

"Wrackspurt got you?" asked Luna as she peered over her ridiculous glasses at Harry. His mouth moved for a second but no sound came out. Luna tended to have that affect on him.

"A Wrackspurt...They're invisible. They float in through your ears and make your brain go fuzzy," she said. "I thought I felt one zooming around in here."

Harry and Neville looked over at each other and quickly changed the subject to Quidditch, but out of the corner of his eye he could see Ellen hesitantly swatting at something as if she too could see what Luna was. The train ride seemed to stretch on as they continued through the countryside. They kept passing through spots of rain before breaking free into clear sunlight. Harry resisted the urge to sigh. Out of everything on the Ark, he was probably going to miss the nice weather the most.

It was during one of the sunnier patches that Ron and Hermione finally appeared again, the former slipping into the compartment with a groan.

"I'm starving." said Ron as he slumped into the seat next to Harry. "Hi, Neville. Hi, Luna. Oh, hi to you too Ellen. Harry, you won't believe this. Malfoy isn't doing any of his prefect duties. He was just sitting in his compartment with all the other snakes!"

Harry sat up in his seat, his interest caught. Across from him Ellen sighed quietly. "I'll ask Rhode to keep an eye on him."

"Even after the whole..." Hermione trailed off.

"Oh, we already Obliviated that whole lot." said Ellen indifferently. "It would be terrible to lose our little fly on the dungeon wall just because of one stabbing incident."

Harry couldn't help but snort at her carefree attitude towards Rhode's violence. After a summer on the Ark, he had seen her do much much worse to her fellow Noah than she had done to Malfoy. With Rhode, it really was just one tiny stabbing. Nothing to be concerned about if you knew her.

"Still," said Ron. "It's not like him to not be out bullying all of the first years."

"Prefect duties must seem dull after the Inquisitorial Squad." said Hermione, absentmindedly flipping through her book.

"Maybe he's—"

Before Harry could get his sentence out, the compartment door was pulled open and a flustered looking third-year girl stepped inside. She looked up at the group with flaming red cheeks and held out three scrolls of parchment tied together with a bright purple ribbon. "I'm supposed to deliver these to Neville Longbottom, Ellen Walker, and H-Harry Potter."

They each took a scroll from her with murmured thank you's, the girl stumbling out of the compartment the second that she could

"What is it?" Ron demanded, as they unrolled them.

"It's an invitation." said Harry.

Harry, I would be delighted if you would join me for a bite of lunch in compartment C.
Sincerely, Professor H.E.F. Slughorn

"Who's Professor Slughorn?" asked Neville, looking at his own invitation as if it might bite him.

"He's a new teacher." explained Ellen with an eye roll. "It took Albus the entire summer to convince him too. Almost had to hunt Harry down and use him to persuade the man."

"But what does he want me for?" asked Neville nervously, as though he was expecting detention.

"No idea. Listen," Harry added, seized by a sudden brain wave, "let's go under the Invisibility Cloak, we might get to see what Malfoy is up to ."

Of course, nothing ended up coming from this brilliant idea. The corridors were so packed by people moving about trying to find the lunch trolley that it would have been impossible to move around under the cloak. Harry simply sighed and shoved it back into his bag. It would have been nice to wear it, if not just to avoid the stares. Not even Ellen's ever-glaring presence could stop people from gawking at the group as they passed by. It made his skin crawl in the most unpleasant way until Ellen grabbed him by the wrist. Harry looked down at the shorter Noah with relief written across his face as she gently rubbed her thumb across his pulse. Her touch was grounding. He could simply breathe and drown out all of the stares, focusing only on the sound of his heartbeat growing in his ears.

Something in him was so satisfied about being by Ellen again. It had maybe been three weeks that they were apart but he had missed his friend. Life seemed just a little more dull without her around.

It wasn't long until they reached compartment C and stepped in to see that they definitely weren't the only ones that had been invited. Horace Slughorn was an old, bald man with an enormous, silver, walruslike mustache. He jumped up to his feet at the sight of them, his great velvet-covered belly filling up the rest. "Harry, m'boy! It's so good to finally meet you! And you two, you must be Mr. Longbottom and Miss Walker! Please, take a seat!"

At Slughorn's gesture, they took the last three seats that were left in the compartment. Harry and Neville were sat nearest to the door while Ellen had darted next to Rhode who looked entirely insulted to be there. There were several people in the compartment including a Slytherin in their year, a couple of seventh years whose names Harry did not know, and Ginny looking as if she was not sure how she ended up surrounded by all of these people.

"Now, do you know everyone?" Slughorn asked the three of them. "Blaise Zabini is in your year, of course —" Zabini did not acknowledge them in the slightest to the entertainment of Rhode. "Cormac McLaggen, perhaps you've come across each other before? No? And this is Marcus Belby, I don't know whether —?" Belby, who was thin and nervous-looking, gave a strained smile. "Young miss Rebecca Campbell —" Rhode smiled sweetly at Harry, sending shivers down his spine. "and this charming young lady tells me she knows you!" Slughorn finished.

Ginny simply grimaced at the three of them when Slughorn wasn't looking.

"Well, isn't this the most pleasant," said Slughorn cozily. "We'll all get the chance to know each other a little better. Come on, take a napkin! I've packed a lunch for us today, I remember the lunch trolley being heavy on things like licorice wands and an old man like me isn't up to that task...Pheasant, Belby?"

Belby nodded and started in on the offered course, shoving food down his throat in a truly impressive manner.

"Marcus and I were just talking about how I had the chance to teach his Uncle Damocles," said Slughorn, passing around some rolls. "Outstanding wizard, outstanding, and his Order of Merlin most well-deserved. Do you see much of your uncle, Marcus?"

Unfortunately, Belby had just taken a large mouthful of pheasant; in his haste to answer Slughorn he swallowed too fast, turned purple, and began to choke.

"Anapneo," said Slughorn calmly, pointing his wand at Belby, whose airway seemed to clear at once.

"Not... not much of him, no," gasped Belby, his eyes streaming.

"Well, of course, I daresay he's busy," said Slughorn, looking questioningly at Belby. "I doubt he invented the Wolfsbane Potion without considerable hard work!"

"I suppose..." said Belby, who seemed afraid to take another bite of pheasant until he was sure that Slughorn had finished with him. "Er... he and my dad don't get on very well, you see, so I don't really know much about..."

His voice tailed away as Slughorn gave him a cold smile and turned to McLaggen instead. "Now, you, Cormac," said Slughorn, "I happen to know you see a lot of your Uncle Tiberius, because he has a rather splendid photo of the two of you hunting. Interesting family line you have, don't you?"

"Oh, yeah, that was fun, that was," boasted McLaggen. "We went with Bertie Higgs and Rufus Scrimgeour, before he was Minister of course. But yes, we do! We've got a direct line to the last of the well-known Bookman, my great-great-great-great-great grandfather I believe."

"Ah, how interesting!" beamed Slughorn, now offering around a small tray of pies. "Now tell me..."

The chatter continued, but there seemed to be a theme going. Everyone in the compartment was somehow connected to one famous or influential person. Belby and McLaggen were both related to famous wizards, Zabini's mother was a famously beautiful witch who had been tragically widowed seven times making her very well-off. Neville parents, of course, had been well known Aurors up until the day that they were tortured by Bellatrix Lestrange. That part of the conversation had been rather awkward. Rhode, or Rebecca as they all knew her, had been invited on part of her adopted father Sheryl's rather quick ascent through the ranks of the Ministry over the summer. Apparently he was becoming quite the politician. All the while though, Ellen's eyes stayed glued to McLaggen as if he was a missing piece to a puzzle she didn't know she was trying to solve.

Slughorn had finally turned to Ellen, who seemed to be trying to sink into the compartment seat as if not to be noticed. "Miss Walker! Our lovely Noah. Now tell me, are you in contact with the rest of your Clan?"

"Not all of them," said Ellen sweetly. "After the Creature Outreach Program was announced, I got back into touch with one, but we've been unable to complete our family."

"How tragic!" said Slughorn, looking closely at her. "Albus tells me you have quite the history as well. You were an exorcist with the Black Order after all!"

She froze, her sweet smile fading. "Yes..I was for a time. That was before my awakening."

Slughorn tried a few more times to get her to answer some of his more probing questions, but it seemed like Ellen had just shut down. The Black Order. It must have been the Order she was speaking to Borgin about that day in Knockturn Alley. But why would Ellen be searching for artifacts of something so far in her past?

"And now," said Slughorn, shifting massively in his seat with the air of a compere introducing his star act. "Harry Potter! Where to begin? I was so disappointed that we were not able to meet over the summer! Of course, no one could meet you over the summer. Such a daring act to vanish like that." He contemplated Harry for a moment, then said, "'The Chosen One,' they're calling you now!"

Harry said nothing.

"Of course," said Slughorn, watching Harry closely, "there have been rumors for years... I remember when, well, after that terrible night...The rumors were that you must have had extraordinary powers to be able to survive such a thing. Such rumors this summer. One never knows what to actually believe, the Prophet has a reputation of occasionally printing some inaccuracies, but there is no doubt with the number of witnesses that there was quite a disturbance at the Ministry and that you were there in the thick of it all!"

There was no way to get out of the conversation without blatantly lying, so Harry simply nodded.

Slughorn beamed at him. "So modest, so modest, no wonder Dumbledore is so fond of you. You were there, then? But the other stories, so many! People are talking about fabled prophecies and duels —"

"We never heard a prophecy," said Neville quickly. Ellen nodded her agreement at his statement.

"That's right," said Ginny staunchly. "Neville, Ellen, and I were both there too. This Chosen One stuff is just more nonsense the Prophet is using to sell papers."

"You three were there as well, were you?" said Slughorn with great interest, but not a single one of them said another word. "Yes... well... it is true that the Prophet often exaggerates, of course..."

He went off on another tangent about Gwenog Jones and the Hollyhead Harpies, but Ellen knew that he wasn't done with them. She knew of his reputation and how he could be. Horace Slughorn was a Slytherin through and through. He might not have too many ambitions of his own, but the man was cunning and he loved nothing more than to surround himself with powerful people that only seemed to make him more known. It was clever, but obvious. Albus had told her about the man's "Slug Club" in the past and there was no doubt in her mind that this was going to be the newest incarnation of it.

Finally the train emerged from yet another long misty stretch into a red sunset, and Slughorn looked around, blinking in the twilight. "Good gracious, it's getting dark already! I didn't notice that they'd lit the lamps! You'd better go and change into your robes, all of you! Off you go!"

They all shoved their way out of the compartment, Zabini rudely shouldering past Harry with Rhode skipping beside him. He, Neville, and Ginny all made to follow him but stopped when Ellen didn't join them. She smiled tightly and shooed them off with her hands. "You lot go on, I've got some things to do."

McLaggen had stayed behind a moment to talk to Slughorn about some book, leaving only he and Ellen in the corridor when he was done. She grinned up at the boy for a moment. "Walk me to my compartment, Cormac? The others went ahead without me."

He smiled in what would have been a charming manner if not for the arrogance behind it. Ellen delicately took his arm and nodded politely as he began to escort her down the corridor talking her ear off about Quidditch. Honestly, did these boys ever think about anything else? It was exhausting.

About halfway down the corridor, his grip shifted to place his arm around her shoulder as if it belonged there. "So, Walker, what are you doing for the first Hogsmeade weekend?"

"Actually," said Ellen primly, stepping out from under his arm. "I wanted to ask you about your grandfather. The Bookman?"

He frowned slightly. "What about him?"

"What was his name?" asked Ellen. "I just...I might have known him."

"How old are you?" McLaggen joked, stepping closer to her. "C'mon, you don't really want to talk about some stuffy dead bloke."

"I really do." Ellen insisted as she looked up into his eyes. She could feel her throat begin to tighten up with emotion as she searched his face for any kind of resemblance. It had to be him. "Cormac, please. What was his name?"

"It was Lavi." said McLaggen with a frown. "Lavi Bookman."

It felt like someone had just shoved a dagger into her heart. Ellen's vision blurred as she felt her knees buckle for a moment. So it was him. After so, so many years of wondering and wishing she knew what had happened to her friends, here it was. Here was proof that they had moved on with their lives once she had disappeared. They had families and children. Not a single one of them spared another thought for the girl who had betrayed them without a second guess.

She didn't want to ask, but the words fell from her lips before she could stop them. "I know this is a lot to ask, but could you write your father and see if he left anything? Anything that mentioned someone named Allen?"

"Who is Allen?" He questioned.

"I was." admitted Ellen softly. "Lavi, he...he was my friend. One of my best friends actually. We never got to say goodbye to each other."

McLaggen sighed loudly, as if it was the most inconvenient request. "I suppose I could. But only if you'll go get a Butterbeer with me at the Three Broomsticks."

"Of course I will." She smiled quickly. "Well, my compartment is just ahead. Thank you Cormac, really."

Ellen slipped away from him before he could say another word. Her skin was crawling just being that close to the boy. She could see bits and pieces of Lavi in him, in the downturn of his eyes and the easy way that he grinned, but there was nothing else there. He was too far removed from the friend that she had loved so fiercely. Still, Ellen had gained something from that conversation. She could survive one drink at Hogsmeade with the arrogant boy if it meant that she had a piece of old life back.

But oh, how Tyki was going to be furious.

She stepped into the compartment without another word, quickly changing and sitting back down to sleep until they reached the castle. Ellen slowly drifted off to sleep staring out the window; the last thing she saw before completely slipping away was the reflection of Neah's shadow staring back at her with a malicious grin. Then she was gone and they were at the station.

Ellen stretched as she stood up and peered out the window, seeing Hogwarts in the distance. It was good to be back

Hope you enjoyed! Please review and let me know what you think! I'm glad I was able to get this out this fast, but I'm getting into final exams so I'm hoping that won't set me back too much. Thank you all for always supporting this even when updates have been really slow. It means so much!