Chapter Text
Ellouise Sallow would be one of the few in history who were accepted to start late at Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry. The steps to do so were not as smooth or easy as they seemed. First, she was faced with the impossible task of gaining permission from her straight-laced mother. Second, Ella had to fill so many forms and inquiry letters mostly by herself, that her entire supply of ink was emptied and two of her eagle owl quills had snapped by the time the final letter had arrived. Ella had known quite well that the only reason her mother would allow her attendance at Hogwarts would be to get rid of her for at least a few months,…and that she didn't have much of a choice, considering in retaliation to her denied first attempt, Ella decided to free the house elf who had been assigned to homeschooling her after a fight. “How was she supposed to teach me charms when neither of us has a wand!” said Ella during her various cleaning punishments around the mansion, lasting a little over a month until her mother got sick of seeing her so often. Only mumbles of complaints got her through scrubbing the already clean wooden floorboards for hours on end.
The odd family, consisting of Ella, her mother, Mandel, and her older brother, Cole, lived in a rather grand house on the outskirts of London. The highly decorated mansion with spiral staircases and greening statues lined along the shabby, unkempt garden sat on a lone hill beyond a small Muggle town. Decorated corridors were adorned with delicately carved wooden mantles at each archway. Persian rugs lay across the (now extremely polished) wooden floor, wrapping the space in quiet luxury that, to the untrained eye, seemed to mimic comfort.
Three floors of Victorian furniture were enough to get lost in, with each corridor curving into another room that felt even more uneasy and atmospherically tense than the next. There wasn't anything magical about the place, aside from the occupants and the books. Many leather-bound books of dark art spells, hexes, useful potions, and even various scrolls in unrecognizable symbols filled the library's refined bookshelves.
The mansion was quite spacious and yet mostly empty, as it was never filled with much life. It occupied only one or two wizards at a time, and as for the two of them, they couldn't stand the other for more than fifteen minutes without tension arising as fast as a golden snitch's wing flap. let alone bear each other long enough for a game of wizard's chess, even at the height of Christmas’s spirit. The only sounds within the home were often those of house elves in the kitchen bustling about at mealtime and the chirping insects from the mansion's jungle-like garden, their songs filling the empty, dark hallways at night in wisps that carried through the echoing corridors. As for Ella, in lifelong isolation, she spent most of her days pretending not to exist within the mansion's walls and studying to distract herself from her loneliness.
The day of the letter's arrival, Ella was fighting some groaning monster in yet another one of her vivid dreams when the smell of bacon had flooded her nose and senses, drawing her out of the much-needed sleep. Even if there was an ugly goblin with toad-like appendages attacking her in the astral realm, she was grateful to have not had another dream of getting a rejection letter in response to her countless forms, or worse, a howler.
She shifted, after much consideration, and felt the hot thickness of summer turn over her skin like a damp veil, forcing her to rip off the fluffy white covers immediately. Her hazel eyes blinked heavily and lazed, trying to lull her back to the dreamy battle. The now increasingly strong smell of bacon reminded her of why she woke as it wafted, and Ella could not postpone her rumbling stomach’s aching any longer.
Elloiuise was a rather messily kept, relatively skinny girl; her long, light brown hair fell to her shoulders and back in an uneven, spiked mess. In a great push, she managed to sway, standing between reality and the dream world for a moment longer before clearing her head of the stars. Her sleepy eyes peered from under messy stands that were now sticking in every direction, and she fought to keep focus on her room to remember who she was.
Her room was fairly elegant and slightly messy. She'd spent most of her days here rather than anywhere near her looming mother around the house. Though the mansion was big, she wouldn't take the unfortunate chance of bumping into her mother if she could help it. A Gothic velvet curtain hung from grand windows, and her wooden four-post bed was wrapped in a silk-like white canopy. Ella was around sixteen now, and she'd had the same decor since before she could remember. A few plushes of various dragon species sat along a cozy window seat across the room, where the sun was dimmed by fog. She plucked a fallen soldier, her brown bear, off the floor and patted it back into its rightful place on her messy bed; it seemed the dream battle had claimed a victim overnight. She slid on her black bathrobe over her buttoned pajamas and stumbled to the grand staircase, where the rare smell of breakfast drew her closer to reality.
From distant voices, she could tell her mother and brother, Cole, were chatting about the Daily Prophet again, with a mental groan and a glance into the air, Ella turned a corner into the dining room with a smile. This was why breakfast was served, brother was home! Of course. A fresh breakfast was a rarity, only happening if there was a guest to impress or if her mother had an important meeting at Gringots.
Under the shimmering chandelier of gold candles, her mother's pinched face didn't peer up at her entrance, even though she knew of her arrival. Mandel was the epitome of ladylike churlishness. It was certain she was an untouchable bully in her prime (just the thought of a younger Mandel was unnerving). Her thin, greying brown hair was pulled into a tight, slick back bun, tugging her sagging cheeks up towards her stretched, unnaturally thin eyebrows. Her eyes were a piercing blue-grey. Not once had Ella seen her mother’s eyes soften on any occasion. Her lips pursed in small wrinkles, and her nose was buried behind the newspaper’s posing figures. Mandel glanced at Ella’s lurking entrance and finally snapped the Daily Prophet again, attempting to look too busy to be bothered by her existence. “Morning…” Ella whispered in a typical, fake way, if anything, to test the waters on her mother's mood. Her mother huffed, not looking up.
Ellouise then glanced at her brother's tired figure, who was shoveling forkfuls of his breakfast into his mouth, and attempted to reply. “Ah, mph, mor-ning els.” he chewed and cleared his throat, “there was a post for you, I think… you'd want to see it,” he spoke in a sleepy grunt, and his puffy eyes gave an uncharacteristic twinkle despite looking like a put-together vampire in a fitted suit and tie. Her brother was a lanky man, knobby at each possible peak of his body. His jaw was sharpened by unkept stubble, and his green eyes were set in heavy bags, complemented by his chestnut hair. Square frame glasses sat along his hooked nose bridge and were framed by permanently furrowed brows. It was often now that he looked shabby enough to resemble an Azkaban escapee hiding in pressed suits.
Ellouise's eyes widened as he spoke, “...Was there -really?!” she shouted breathlessly, suddenly feeling the sleep-like haze evaporate off her eyelids. She held tightly to the back of a cushioned dining chair, looking eagerly along the table, scanning for any sign of the letter. Her excitement earned her a glare from Mandel, who now decided to acknowledge her. Ella's volume at the early hour wasn't welcome, nor at any hour; she was certain that if her brother weren't here, she'd be listening to a lecture about dining etiquette again.
Cole was always kind to her when they interacted briefly as they got older. When they were younger, he would often torment her as any brother would, and had gotten away with it endlessly. She didn't see him nearly enough to fight with him nowadays, as he was busy with overtime at the Ministry. He was often spending upwards of days, if not weeks, working through various muggle magic offenses and obliterations rather than young and spontaneous adventures a twenty-one-year-old should be busied with.
CRACK!
A loud noise filled the dining room as the new house elf walked quickly to her standing figure. “Here, I have it here for the young master!” a squeaky voice rang out into the uncomfortably tense dining room. Ella smiled at the elf holding a silver tray, wobbly walking along the dining room’s carpet who wore a pleased expression, "Corotus brings the post- master will be very pleased!” the young elf’s pointy face and green speckled eyes bowed as it handed Ella the small tray with its thin fingers, on it was the small beige post she'd been waiting a nervous century to hear back from. “Oh-! Thank you, Corotus,” she took the letter from him, having to reach quite far down. The elf disappeared in a mist, looking like a satisfied knight. Ellouise and Cole shared glances of quiet anxiety as she analyzed the purple wax seal, glimmering with the embellishment of the Hogwarts crest. “This is it, the results… Professor McGonagall had said the headmaster would review my application…” Ella said, fumbling with the letter’s sides, too nervous to open it right away—the letter’s emerald green ink shimmering with her name and address.
Miss Elliouise Sallow
Third Floor, West wing, Second bedroom to the left,
Sallow Mansion
Grindylow Hill, wiltshire,
Perhaps it was her nerves or her sudden hunger hitting her again, but a small pit started to form in her stomach as she peeled the wax seal away. Doubt started to fill her insides, making her slightly more ill by the second. This would be her only chance of freedom for months to come.
“Okay, on the count of three…” she said in a breathless whisper to ready herself in the wake of the sudden nerves as she slid into her chair, pushing the stained wood dining table slightly with her thigh. The shuffle caused a few porcelain plates to clink together, earning another harsh glare from her mother, who was now sipping from a floral tea cup, no less disgusted than if she'd been drinking skele-gro.
“One….” she held the parchment between her shaking, clammy fingertips, “two…” Cole gulped dryly. Bits of breakfast stuck to his stubble. "Three…” With a pause, she opened the letter and braced herself, eyes scanning wildly.
“Well?” Cole’s gruff voice spoke with a hint of nerves, his fork holding a now-abandoned piece of sausage. “What did the– headmaster say?- don't keep me waiting now…” he spoke between bites again. Ella gasped, her eyes following line after line…then suddenly hit her palm straight down onto the table as the parchment bloomed in front of her. A few more clinks of porcelain. “I was accepted! I-I'm going to Hogwar-” said Ella, only stopping in time before Mandel stood to her full, unpleasant size, her thin face pinched in a way resembling a raisin now more than ever. “MANNERS!” She shrieked, “Have you learned ABSOLUTELY NOTHING?” A loud crack of the newspaper followed Mandel's shrill voice, and she sat back down, a deathly glare at the two of them, making both of them flinch briefly. “Not going to Hogwarts with those manners, are you?” Mandel mumbled and turned another page of the Daily Prophet, the boy in the moving image looking just as scared as they were. Her voice pierced the air and left it hollow and sucked from happiness, yet Ellouise was too filled with excitement in her chest to care much about table manners or her mother’s fowl mood.
No sooner did Ella fall silent and start eating a small bowl of oats than their mother left, not giving her as much as a look after the outburst of excitement. Her mother moved across the room from the table with her back unnaturally straight. “Cole, your carriage will be here shortly,” Mandel said calmly, turning a corner.
Ella wasn't expecting congratulations, but it was jarring, nonetheless.
As soon as their mother had turned, Cole shot his neck to face her, catching her eyes tracing each calligraphed swoop over each word, carefully as the letter sat open upon the table, supposedly to burn the joy into her mind. “So?” he smiled weakly. “How are you feeling?” he whispered carefully over his cold tea, in case Mother came back. She looked to him and to her plate, unable to stop smiling. “Like I'm about to take flight,- Oh! I need to send a letter back! Can I borrow Faeron again?” said Ella urgently. Faeron was *His* owl, she wasn't allowed one. Cole nodded, "You'll need more than that, won't you?” he gestured to the letter again, setting the empty cup down. “Supplies and such?” she pushed aside the first layer within the letter, and a glimmering train ticket and another small paper dropped along the table, nearly into her half-eaten oats.
“Supplies….” She read out loud a list of textbooks, still smiling, a cauldron and a few ingredients for basic potions, a wand and robes, and…I leave on September first! I have plenty of time to get it all.” Ellouise traced her finger over the supplies list to see if there was anything else she'd missed.
Cole stood up, dabbing his mouth with a napkin, “How about we take a trip to Diagon Alley when I get the time? I haven't been there in ages…” he checked his watch. “You haven't been much of anywhere in ages,” she mumbled. He looked at Ellouise with a sheepish, tired smile, adjusting his awkward glasses. "You're right. I’ll have to take you there anyway. Not a chance she’d want to take you,” he glanced at the doorway for a moment. “I could use the fresh air regardless.” He patted her chair's back and whispered, “I'm proud of you, sis’. Bloody brilliant…freeing your instructor and all. Don't tell mum." She laughed at this, “It only took me four years to outsmart her." With that, he walked to the doorway and waved with a proud look as he disappeared into the hallway to his awaiting carriage.
For the rest of the day, she'd glance at the letter as she continued her lone studies, half expecting it to disappear and to rub her eyes, only to realize it was all a dream. This, however, did not happen at all, and she couldn't tell if the excitement was dreamy or worse than her toad-goblin nightmare. She lay awake into the late hours that night, thinking over the countless ways she could go about the year. She could be a mischievous noisemaker! Perhaps a loner? Or perhaps dying on the train ride there? She tried not to feed her nerves too much. She hadn't been to school or any social settings in quite a while. Her mind was swimming through her imagination; she fell asleep to the possibility of finding a ridiculously handsome upperclassman who would shower her in chocolate mice biscuits and rose petals. “I love you!” he'd say with a dashing smile. “Have my heart, oh, Ellouise!" That night, she had another dreamy battle. This time, it was the handsome wizard with toad legs and great big bulging eyes.