Weakness

As King's Cross Station became a blur in the rearview mirror, so too did the warmth from Draco's hug. It was only a memory now. The further away her mother drove, the less Ellie felt. By the time they had reached Mould-on-the-Wold there was nothing left at all. She kept her eyes shut tight, trying to feel like she had when she'd kissed him after detention. Even one of his angry outbursts would have been more than welcome right now. Try as she might, Elliott could feel nothing. The emptiness had crept back in, ready to swallow her whole.

"Are you getting out of the car, girl?" came her mother's nasally voice, "Or do you fancy sitting there all day?"

"Coming," was the monotone reply.

She took Anona's cage from the backseat, but left her trunk. She'd bother with it later. Ellie shuffled inside, careful not to jostle the testy owl. No sooner had she stepped through the front door than her mother ripped the cage from her grasp.

"What are you doing?" Ellie asked calmly as Anona began to squawk.

"You can have her back when you return to school," the elder Widdersham barked.

"What? Why?" the younger's eyebrows furrowed.

"Because you can't be trusted!"

A stack of letters flew from a kitchen cabinet to her mother's outstretched hand. They were the letters Draco had sent over the winter holidays. She could see her name on the envelopes in his loopy scrawl. In retrospect, it had been a particularly bad idea to keep them. If Ellie had any inkling that her mother would be searching through her drawers while she was at school, she never would have. Apparently privacy was too much to ask for.

"They're from a friend," Ellie offered, watching her mother's face turn red.

"Do you think I'm stupid?" Sidonia Widdersham roared, "They're from that dreadful Malfoy boy! After I told you he was no good and to stay away from him!"

"You've never met him," her even tone caused her mother's face to become even redder," You don't know anything about him."

"I know more than you, you dimwitted little girl," Sidonia spluttered, "I know that boy is nothing but trouble. Mark my words, Ellietta Ignatia, that boy will be your undoing!"

"Don't you think you're being a touch overdramatic?" Ellie asked, setting her cloak on the back of a chair.

"No, as a matter of fact, I do not," her mother's voice was slightly calmer now, "And I stand by my decision to keep Anona for the summer. In addition to being banned from sending post, you will also be restricted to this house for the duration of your school break. If there is somewhere you feel you absolutely must go you will tell me and if I deem it admissible you will be allowed to travel there only under my supervision."

"House arrest?" Ellie turned toward the stairs, "Really Mother?"

She did not wait for an answer. With her mother still squawking, Ellie began her ascent upstairs and slammed her bedroom door shut. If she had been anyone else she probably would have screamed and cried. Instead she curled up on her bed and went to sleep, willing herself to dream of Hogwarts and the little blonde wizard who made it so special.

The days passed slowly. They trickled into one another until Ellie lost count. Her mother banged on her door from time to time, begging her to come out but Ellie never obliged. She summoned food from the kitchen when she was hungry and only when she was sure her mother was asleep would she venture out to the drawing room where Anona remained caged in the corner. The owl had begun to pull her feathers out in frustration and though Ellie made sure she was fed and watered it wasn't the same as being in the open sky, hunting down prey.

"We're both caged in," Ellie told her, stroking her head through the bars.

Anona hooted and Ellie shushed her, afraid her mother would wake and realize she'd left her room. Just as her owl began to calm down again there was a clatter at the window. Anona began to hoot again and Ellie tried to quiet her in vain. She peered at the window curiously and was met with two bright round eyes. Magnus. Her mother had locked the windows in her room with a spell that Ellie hadn't yet figured out how to undo but she had yet to try and open the downstairs windows. Cautiously she lifted the latch and pushed up. The window slid open and Ellie breathed a sigh of relief.

Magnus let himself in and held out his leg dutifully as Ellie untied the scroll that was fastened there. She sat on the floor staring at her name scratched on the parchment in Draco's loopy cursive. Magnus hopped over to Anona's cage and helped himself to her water, squeezing his beak through bars to get at it. She started to shriek.

"Oh get out of here," Ellie mumbled, unlocking the cage, "Just come back before mother wakes."

Anona flew out the window faster than Ellie had ever seen her do before. Magnus wandered into her cage once she had gone, pecking at her food dish. Unrolling the scroll with shaking hands, Ellie began to read.

Ell,

I haven't heard a word from you all summer. I assume your mother has been intercepting my letters but if you get this, please reply. I'm worried about you. Are you okay? Do you miss me as much as I miss you? This summer has been awful so far. The only good thing was that Pansy got Spattergroit and couldn't come to visit. She might not even be able to start school. Can't say I mind at all.

I had an idea that you'll probably think is crazy but I'm going to run by you anyway. As I'm almost certain your mother is all but holding you hostage, I thought a prison-break might be in order. I could send a house elf to you. They can apparate, you know. You could visit me, even if it's just for a few minutes. Let me know what you think.

If you don't like the house elf idea, I'll be in Diagon Alley getting my school things in two week's time. Perhaps we might accidentally bump into each other? At the very least, please please please write back so I know you're alive.

Yours Always,
Draco

Ellie turned the parchment to the blank side and conjured a quill.

Draco,

Send the elf. Tomorrow. Midnight.

Ellie

She fastened the scroll back on to Magnus' leg and shooed him out the window, just as Anona was returning. Ellie refastened the lock on her cage and made sure to latch the window before padding quietly back upstairs to her room. She fell asleep as soon her head hit the pillow and didn't wake until noon the next day. Her mother yelled through the door again but Ellie did not acknowledge her. She sat on her bed, legs crossed, waiting. Assuming Magnus had gotten her letter to Draco, she would be with him soon.

Day bled into night and Ellie still had not moved from her bed. She wanted to be right there waiting when the house elf showed up. It was almost midnight and still no sign. Worse yet, her mother was not asleep. She could hear the floorboards creaking downstairs. After a moment she heard footsteps coming up the stairs and then a door shutting. Ellie breathed a sigh of relief which was promptly cut short by a loud crack. A small greyish-pink creature with large eyes and pointed ears blinked up at her.

"Dobby must take you to Master Draco now," it wrapped it's spindly fingers around her hand.

"You're a house elf?" Ellie looked quizzically into it's bright green orbs.

"Dobby the house elf, Miss," his ears flopped as he bowed, "And Dobby must take to you to Master Draco straight away or he will have to do many punishments."

"Punishments?"

"Dobby must not fail his master," his eyes went even wider than Ellie thought possible, "If he does, he must be punished. Miss Ellietta must come with Dobby right away. Master Draco is waiting. Master Draco does not like to wait. Dobby will have to shut his hands in the stove again if Master Draco waits too long."

"Let him wait," Ellie shrugged, "I've got to let Anona out before we leave so she doesn't pull all her feathers out. I'll make sure Draco knows it was I who kept him waiting. You needn't worry about punishment. And you can call me Ellie."

"Miss Ellie is very kind," Dobby followed her down the stairs with a smile on his face.

"There," Ellie let the owl out of cage and through the window, "Shall we go now?"

Dobby took Ellie's hand in his own the world seemed to swirl around her. She felt as though she was being sucked up into a vacuum and then, all at once, the feeling was gone. She found herself in unfamiliar surroundings. A large ornately carved bureau stood to her left, a silver framed mirror hung on the wall to the right, and in front of her was a four poster bed where Draco sat atop a silken emerald spread.

"Ellie!" he stood at once and threw his arms around her.

Her heart swelled up like a balloon. She'd almost forgotten what his joy felt like. It had been weeks since she'd last felt it. She wished they could stay right here in this moment forever, wrapped up in each other, blissfully unaware of whatever the future might hold for them. It was perfect.

"I missed you," she whispered.

"I missed you too," he whispered back , then pulled away to look at her. He saw Dobby, still standing in the corner of the room, twiddling his thumbs nervously. "Leave, you useless bag of bones!" Draco kicked the little elf toward the door, "You should know better than to stand there doing nothing! I'll call you when I need you and you'd better come. And if you breathe a word of this to father I will make sure he finds out about the food you've been taking from the kitchen."

"Master!" Dobby recoiled from the collision of Draco's shoe into his flesh, "Dobby would never!"

"That useless bag of bones made it possible for me to be standing in front of you right now," Ellie bit out, taking Dobby's leathery hand in her own, "You might say thank you."

"He's a house elf, Ellie. Who in the name of Merlin says thank you to a house elf? They're servants!" Draco exclaimed exasperatedly.

"Then perhaps your servant should take me home now," She huffed.

Draco rolled his eyes before mumbling, "Thank you, Dobby. Now get lost."

The little elf smiled up at Ellie before scurrying out of the room. Ellie shook her head at the blonde boy before her, but couldn't hide the grin that lit up her face. Draco held his arms out again and Ellie willingly took up residence in the space between them. For a moment it was quiet. Ellie played with the platinum strands at the nape of Draco's neck while he buried his face in her pale pink tresses, reveling in the strawberry scent he'd grown so fond of.

"So how's your summer been?" he asked without moving.

"Dreadful," Ellie sighed, "Mother won't let me leave the house and she's confined Anona to the cage. We're both rather adept at sneaking around though, it would seem."

"Well I'm allowed to venture into the world should I choose, but my summer's been pretty dreadful as well," he spoke into the crook of her neck, "Father's been unusually uptight. Crabbe and Goyle came to visit and I swear they've gotten dumber over the summer. Can't even carry a conversation."

"Doesn't sound too awful," Ellie chuckled as Draco sat on the edge of his bed, pulling her down onto his lap.

"It was awful," he reassured her, "Being without you is awful."

It was quiet again. Draco's slate grey eyes bore into Ellie's green ones. Suddenly she was acutely aware of their rather compromising position. She was straddling him, her face only centimeters from his, and somehow she hadn't really noticed until now. She thought of the kiss she'd given him in the Slytherin common room and promptly stood up. There would not be a repeat performance tonight. There simply couldn't be. She needed Draco like she needed air and she wasn't about to jeopardize that by trying to make them anything more than what they were.

"You alright?" he asked, watching curiously as she wrung her hands.

"I'm fine. Just thinking about how I don't want to go home," Ellie shrugged, only half lying.

"I got you something," Draco said, reaching for the drawer under his nightstand.

He withdrew a small black box from the corner of the drawer and rolled it over in his hands a time or two before holding it out to Ellie. She took it without taking her eyes off him. Her palm closed around the soft velvet box and stayed that way. Draco smiled nervously.

"Open it," he urged her.

She touched the lip of the lid cautiously before popping it open. A small golden snake dangling from a fine golden chain glittered in the lamplight. Ellie ran her finger over its smooth surface and then dropped the necklace in a swift jerky movement. It had moved.

Draco laughed. He scooped the box from the floor and removed the little snake from inside of it. He nodded at Ellie who turned around slowly, allowing him to fasten the chain around her neck.

"It's enchanted," he told her, "All you have to do is hold it tight and think about what you want it to say"

"Say?" Ellie's eyes went wide, "It talks?"

"Not exactly," Draco smiled, "Try it. Just don't make it a particularly long thought. He's not very big."

Ellie looked at Draco with a quizzical expression but wrapped her fingers around the little snake. He began to wriggle furiously in her grasp until suddenly he was gone. Draco withdrew an identical gold chain from underneath the collar of his shirt and at the end hung the little snake, the words "Thank you" etched into its back. He closed his own hand around the tiny serpent and Ellie was caught off guard by the sudden tickling sensation at her collar bone. She looked down. The snake was back and "You're welcome" was emblazoned on its skin.

"I've never seen anything like it," she whispered in amazement, "Where did you get it?"

"Mother gave it to me," he shrugged, "She said she thought I might find it useful. Apparently she and my aunt used to use it to send secret messages to each other when they were little. It was a gift from my grandfather."

"It's incredible," Ellie grinned at him, "Can he send a message to anyone?"

"No," Draco shook his head, "He can only apparate between the two chains, and only when he's given a message to deliver."

"Well, I suppose the owl interception problem's been solved," she laughed softly.

"I suppose so," Draco nodded in agreement.

Silence overtook them once again as they stared dreamily into each other's eyes. Ellietta felt pulled toward Draco by some invisible force. She found herself in his arms. Her forehead pressed gently against his chest as he ran his fingers through her hair. She closed her eyes and took in a deep breath. She wanted to remember this moment. She wanted to remember the way he smelled, the warmth of his embrace, and mostly, the way he made her feel.

"I should probably go," Ellie whispered, her voice muffled by the soft fabric of Draco's shirt, "Though I wish I could stay."

"As do I," he mumbled into her hair, "But we'll see each other soon enough. Perhaps we'll run into each other in Diagon Alley? If not, then at least there is Hogwarts to look forward to."

"It seems so far away," she anguished.

Draco let go of her slowly and smiled, "Well, feel free to tell me how much you miss me when you feel the need."

Ellie grinned and ran her fingers over the little snake around her neck, who wriggled happily beneath her touch. It truly was the most exquisite gift she'd ever been given. Her mother always had something wrapped up in bright paper for her birthday but it was something mundane, a book or a new quill, nothing like the shimmering serpent Draco had bestowed upon her.

"You'll wish you never gave it to me," her eyes twinkled.

"Never," he shook his head and the smile disappeared from his face before he hollered, "Dobby!"

There was a loud crack and the little elf appeared in the center of the room. He bowed his head piously and looked up nervously at the small blonde, hoping his shoes would remain firmly planted on the ground this time.

"You shouldn't yell like that," Ellie clucked, "Your face scrunches up funny."

"I can do as I please," Draco scoffed.

"See you soon, I hope," she rolled her eyes, "Come on Dobby, let's go."

The bat-like creature slipped his spindly fingers into Ellie's and bowed once more to his master before the world began to spin around them. Ellie's stomach felt as though it had dropped into her feet and it took a great deal of will power not to vomit. Then just as suddenly as it had started, it stopped, and she was standing in her bedroom.

"You are home, Miss Ellie," Dobby announced.

"Thank you, Dobby," she let go of his hand, "Would you like a cup of tea before you leave? Perhaps a cookie? Mother made some the other day, I can't guarantee they won't make you sick though."

"Thank you, Miss Ellie, no one has shown Dobby such kindness," the little elf beamed, "Dobby would very much like a cookie but Dobby has somewhere very important to be. Dobby must make certain that Har-Oh Dear!"

"What's wrong?" Ellie's brow furrowed in concern.

"Dobby has already said too much," he wailed and grabbed a large book from the bedside table.

He slammed the leather binding into his head, shrieking as he did so. Ellie had to wrestle the book from his grasp and clap a hand over his mouth.

"You'll wake my mother," she hissed, "If you have to go, then go. Your secret is safe with me, though I'm not sure what it is."

Dobby bowed, the way he had done to Draco, and snapped his fingers. Then he was gone. Ellie sighed and flopped down on to her bed. It was going to be a long two weeks.