Doesn't Mean a Thing

After the match, Elise and her father were back in their tent.

“Papa, the Malfoys acted terribly tonight. I feel horrible.” She said.

Her father nodded. “I agree; they were rather distasteful. I was warned the Malfoys were like that. What had his son said to you today?”

She rolled her eyes. “All he said was that I was gorgeous and that I’d be perfect for Slytherin, whatever that was.”

Her father paled. “No, my dear, you are not. Slytherin is a house at Hogwarts. It is also the one that has produced the darkest wizards. My dear, aim for something like Gryffindor or Ravenclaw, I will explain it to you more later.”

Suddenly, there was a boom outside. The tent flap flipped open. It was one of her father’s coworkers. “Anton, pack your things quickly. There is danger! Death Eaters are here!” he said, panicking.

“Death Eaters? What?” Elise asked, confused.

“Hurry, grab your things!” Her father roared.

Elise picked up her small bag; it was already packed as they were leaving in the morning. Her father blew out the candles with his wand and Elise gripped hers tightly.

“If there is any danger, I permit you to use your wand.” He ordered. “Now hurry, we must go.”

They left the tent and entered the madness. People were running and screaming. Masked men were marching. Fire was blazing. She saw Draco, running scared. His father was nowhere in sight.

“Papa, Draco!” she called. Her father reached out to him.

“Where is your father?” he ordered.

Draco just shook his head. Her father sighed and looked to her. “Take him! Hurry, into the woods!”

Elise grabbed his arm and they ran. He pulled away from her and disappeared. At the moment, she didn’t care. She ran after her father, sprinting. They soon caught up to a ministry agent.

“You are to apparate to the Ministry headquarters. Do you have an underage wizard with you?” she asked calmly.

Her dad nodded. “Yes, my daughter. She is sixteen.”

The woman winced. “Then you must do side along apparition.”

Elise grabbed her father’s arm, having apparated before. She felt like she was being squeezed through a straw. When she opened her eyes, she was in the Ministry itself.

Feeling nauseous, she sat down on the black tile. Her father knelt at her side as a nurse came running out of nowhere. Many other ministry workers were there as well.

“How are you, my dear? A little dizzy?” the nurse asked. “First timer?”

Her father shook his head. “No, but taken aback. What just happened there?”

The nurse pursed her lips. “Attack on the World Cup by the Death Eaters.” She said, walking away.

Elise looked at her father. “Papa, what are Death Eaters?” The girl had been sheltered away from all evils her entire life.

He sighed. “Evil people, my sweetheart, who just want to hurt others. Anyone who is one is a bad person.”

*~*~*~*

It was the night before the Weasleys, Hermione, and Ron left for Hogwarts. After what had happened at the World Cup, Mrs. Weasley had been hesitant to even let the children out of her sight. Ginny was constantly at her side and the boys were forbidden to even leave the yard.

“It’s like a bloody prison cell, mate.” Fred muttered to George. They were walking in the field next to their house. Still far away, they could see the house over the hill. It was quiet; no one had left the house in a while. The sun was setting, so the boys set off back home, where they expected a yelling from their mother.

The next morning, they boarded the train. Getting a cabin with Lee, Angelina, Katie, and Alicia, they settled for the long ride. Fred and Angelina had paused their relationship for the summer, but it seemed back on as they sat on the corner, his arm around her shoulder.
George, Lee, Katie, and Alicia played Exploding Snap to pass the time.

“So I heard there’s a new student.” Angelina chirped.

Fred chuckled. “Ange, there’s always new students…first years, duh?” he asked.

She slapped his shoulder. “No, you nit, someone’s transferring. There’s a rumor flying around that a girl with brown hair that no one’s ever seen before is wandering throughout the train.”

“Hogwarts rarely ever takes new students.” Katie said, confused.

Angelina shrugged. “Apparently she’s some genius who impressed Dumbledore when she met him. That’s why she’s here.”

George chuckled. “How old is she, then?”

Angelina shrugged. “No one knows. All we know is that the boys who have seen her say she’s gorgeous.”

Alicia slapped down her cards. “I forgot to tell all of you, Teresa isn’t coming back!”

They all looked flabbergasted at the mention of the quiet sixth year Gryffindor. “What do you mean?” Katie asked. “She was going to try out for Quidditch this year!”

Alicia shrugged. “She mailed me over the holiday telling me that her parents weren’t happy with her marks from her OWLs and was sending her to an all girl’s school in the United States. That sounds dreadful, having to leave your sixth year.”

Lee snickered. “Not exactly a loss, she wasn’t much of a looker in the first place. Hopefully this new ‘gorgeous’ girl is a sixth year.” He said, rubbing his hands together.

The boys laughed while the girls rolled their eyes. Night fell and they pulled into Hogwarts.