The Same Mistake

Ellie had lingered long with Draco the day before. She was scared to leave him for fear of what might happen to him. What if the Slughorn figured out who gave him the mead? What if Voldermort found out that Draco had failed so obviously and publically? What if Dumbledore and the Order put all the pieces together?

She was too far in at this point to do anything that would jeopardize Draco’s safety. Instead, when she had crept back to the darkened and slumbering dormitory, the flick and swish of her peacock feather quill reported a mysterious incident that she could not directly tie to Draco. She wrote that she had asked him, but he had confessed nothing. She wrote that she had vague suspicious but could confirm nothing.

The soft, even breathing of her dorm mates did nothing to ease Ellie’s nerves as she sealed the letter. Her hand shook uncontrollably as she once more dug through her trunk, her fingers sliding over several bottles of ink before finally landing on the small bottle of blue powder. Carefully extracting the bottle, Ellie held it in one hand and sprinkled a minute amount onto the envelope. It caught fire, the blue blaze dazzling her eyes.

Her stomach turned over. She couldn’t believe what she had done. Ellie, a member of the Order, had lied. She had lied to the Order and now there was no turning back. She gasped in disbelief and fear. Her fingers slipped on the bottle. It hit the cold floor below, shattering into a dozen tiny shards. The blue powder was instantly swept away in the draft air of the room. Ellie dropped to her knees, her soft skin sliced open by the sharp edges of the glass.

“Re-reparo!” Ellie whispered, her eyes blurred by tears.

“Ellie? Ellie, what’s going on?” Ginny whispered frantically as she dropped from her bed and joined her friend on the floor.

Ellie knew she wouldn’t be able to look Ginny in the eyes, not after she had lied to the Order about who had nearly killed Ron, Ginny’s brother. Not after she had decided to overlook Ron’s brush with death in favor of maintaining her relationship with Draco. It was simply too much to undertake.

“Nothing, mon amie. I dropped some thing, it was silly of me really. I must be exhausted after – after all that happened today,” bluffed Ellie working to keep her voice steady. All the while, her silent tears continued to leaked down her pale cheeks.

Ginny grasped Ellie’s upper arm in a comforting gesture. “I know it’s been a long day, El, but Ron’s going to be fine, even if he is out for a few days. But . . . it’s sweet of you to be so concerned.” She leaned in and embraced Ellie. “I’m so glad we’re friends.”

Ellie flung her arms around Ginny, burying her face in Ginny’s shoulder. “Me too!”

Even the next day, in the bright light of spring, Ellie’s insides burned with shame at the thought of having so freely accepted Ginny’s comfort and appreciation. She didn’t deserve it, Ellie knew she no longer deserved a friend like Ginny. And that thought ate away at her all day long, only to be aggravated by Harry.

Sitting beside her in Defense Against the Dark Arts - Harry had practically shoved Hermione out of the way to claim the seat beside Ellie - Harry had spent the entire period whispering insistently in Ellie’s ear. It didn’t matter when Snape took away five points from Gryffindor, it didn’t matter when he took away fifteen; Harry was one hundred percent committed to getting Ellie to talk to him.

Specifically, Harry wanted to know every detail of the relationship Ellie had formed with Draco. It seemed, that during the hours spent in the Hospital Wing with Ron, Ginny had let slip that Ellie had been spending more than her fair share of time with the Slytherin. Harry leaned closer, his shoulder digging into Ellie.

“Pardon-moi!” Ellie glared at Harry. “Mais je ne panse pas que –“

“English!” Harry jabbed Ellie hard in the ribs in his impatient to hear about Malfoy.

“It iz none of ‘our damn buiznez who I am wiz!” Ellie’s accent came out thick as her anger boiled over.

“It very well is if who you are spending time with is trying to off my best mate or worse! Did you forget what happened to Katie Bell? She was in St. Mungo’s for months! And Ron’s still unconscious! Why are you protecting him, Ellie?” Harry turned his brilliant green eyes on her.

She stared back, defiant. “Maybe I protect ‘im becauze ‘e iz a gentleman!” Ellie snapped open her textbook, fixing her burning eyes on the defensive techniques to the spells she so dearly felt like using on Harry.

“And maybe you’ll be the next one who gets accidentally attacked! Or Ginny! Or-“

“That is enough!” Snape hissed, wrenching Harry bodily from his seat. “I will not tolerate such insubordinate behavior in my classroom. You will leave now, Potter, and return to me tomorrow with a thirty-two inch essay on the counter-curses to the Confundus spell.”

Ellie watched Harry go, his mouth twisted in a scowl. Ellie’s eyes were narrowed with annoyance, but her heart pounded with fear. Harry was far too close to the truth. Draco wasn’t being careful enough, he was wildly careless. And the thought of losing Draco to Harry terrified Ellie. She knew Harry was the best hope for the Order, and standing in his way, opposing him, was the worst possible position to place herself it.

But what was she supposed to do? The Order had assigned her to stay with Draco, to try and convince him to trust the Order to protect him and his family. Did that mean she was supposed to draw a divide between herself and Harry? It was already happening with Ginny, the line growing bolder by the day.

Twenty minutes later Ellie gathered up her books, ignoring the anxious and inquisitive glances Hermione shot her. She swept past them, her long blonde hair trailing behind her. Before she could skip down the steps toward the Great Hall, a hand slid into hers. The familiar feel of Draco’s warm skin touching hers put a smile on her lips. She felt the load lift slightly off her shoulders.

“Hey,” he said quietly, tugging her after him. He led her down several hallways, out of the prying eyes of their classmates. Moving his hands to her hips, Draco pushed Ellie up against the cold wall next to a large window that overlooked the grounds. Sunlight poured through the window pane casting a bright aura around Ellie.

Draco traced one finger from Ellie’s temple to her chin. His touch was gentle, but his eyes were hard. “What did Potter want?”

Ellie sighed, leaning against Draco, letting her head rest against his strong shoulders. “He wanted to know about you. He suspects you had something to do with the poisoned Meade and the cursed necklace.”

“What did you tell him?” Draco asked, his hands tensing on her hips, his fingers sinking into her skin.

Ellie pulled back from Draco, peering up into his worry lined face. His eyes, cold moments before, were now filled with anxiety. Running her palm down Draco’s smooth face then down his chest, Ellie pressed her hand firmly against his heart. “I told him you were none of his business and what we do together is even more so not something I would speak to him about.”

Draco lifted his left hand and intertwined it with Ellie’s. “No, it’s none of Potter’s damn business. And if he’s not careful he’s going to land himself another scar.”

“Draco!” Ellie jerked back but he didn’t release her hand. “You can’t say things like that. C’est tres dangerous.”

He chuckled darkly. “Alright, Ellie. Around you, I won’t share my contempt toward Potter.”

“Merci,” said Ellie curtly.

“Beaucoup,” Draco replied pulling Elle in close and kissing her soundly.