Chapter Text
Ella loved school. It was the only place she had ever felt free. Her parents were always trying to control her, so school was her escape, the only place she felt like she could be herself. Even though she had only been there for three years, she adored the place and everything it had to offer. There was only one more night until her and her brothers boarded the train and headed back to Hogwarts. Ella was finishing packing up when her door flew open. It was her twin brother, Sirius, holding a big bag of...honestly who knows. “Elladora Walburga Black” Sirius said in a mocking tone, Ella hated her full name. “Sirius Orion Black” Ella responded sarcastically, Sirius hated his too. Sirius rolled his eyes and entered the room, closing the door behind him. He dropped the mystery bag and approached her, standing obnoxiously close while looking over her shoulder. "You're still packing? How are you still packing?" Sirius said, sounding genuinely curious. "From the looks of it, you haven't even started,'' Ella replied, and Sirius went back and opened his bag. Inside was his wand, all of his robes and other school clothes, his books and everything else that he would need for the term. "What happened to your trunk?" Ella said, staring into the mess of his bag. "Oh, it's under my bed, I just didn't feel like using it this year, '' Sirius somehow said with a straight face. Ella went to look under Sirius' bed and there was his trunk, just like he had said. She pulled it out and started folding the very wrinkled clothes in the bag and putting them away neatly. She finished packing for Sirius before turning back to her own bed and continuing to pack her stuff. "You know you didn't have to do that, right?" Sirius said while laying on the floor, staring up at the ceiling. "If I don't, no one will, '' Ella responded, laying down next to him. "Are you ready for tomorrow?" she continued. "Ready?" Sirius said, sitting up dramatically, "I've been ready since we left Kings Cross''. Ella sat up as well, she nodded her head in agreement and checked the clock on her bedside table, it was 12:53 am. They decided to go to sleep because they knew they would have to leave the house by at least 8:30. Muggle transportation always confused their parents and even though Ella and Sirius have had to take it frequently to visit their friends Marlene and Lily, their parents always refused help. Marlene is a half-blood but she still lived in the muggle world. Ella laid awake for a considerable time before she dozed off to sleep listening to the sounds of Sirius' snores.
She woke up that morning to Sirius shaking her quite violently. When she finally opened her eyes Sirius let out a deep sigh. "I was beginning to think you weren't going to wake up, get out of bed, it's 7:45 and everyone's already eating breakfast". Just then, Ella noticed the smell of freshly baked muffins wafting through the air. Ella got out of bed, brushed her teeth and threw on her nicest muggle clothes before heading downstairs where her mother, Walburga, was waiting for her with a disapproving look. "Elladora, you're a fourth year now. You can't be sleeping in anymore. Grab a muffin quickly, we need to leave". Her mother’s words were uttered in such a cold tone, like always. She was used to it by this point but it still hurt. Ella did as she was told without saying anything. She had learned it was best not to talk back, Sirius unfortunately had not learned this lesson yet. Sirius and Ella went outside where they saw their father, Orion, and their younger brother, Regulus, waiting for them. Regulus was the golden child. Ella and Sirius were pretty much written off the moment they were sorted into Gryffindor, but when Regulus was sorted into Slytherin the next year, it just made their parents despise them even more. Ella and Sirius knew this wasn't Regulus' fault but they still couldn't help but feel some amount of resentment. A few moments later, their mother joined them outside and locked the door with a silent flick of her wand.
They arrived at Kings Cross Station at 10:30 which was ideal if you wanted to get a decent spot on the train. They got to the entrance of platform 9 ¾ and each entered one at a time to not attract attention from the muggles who were passing by. Ella went first, followed by Sirius, who was followed by Regulus and then their parents. Walburga and Orion watched as the siblings boarded the bright red train. Ella and Regulus waved goodbye to their parents while Sirius gave a cold nod before they headed towards the back of the train. A few compartments down, Regulus saw his friends Barty and Evan, so he said goodbye to the twins as they continued walking. Eventually they came to a compartment where they saw their friend James who was counting the Galleons his parents gave him for the train ride and their friend Peter who was sleeping, as usual. Peter and James lived next door to each other so they always came to the station together, and James' parents always made sure they were early. Sirius slid open the compartment door and Peter woke up with a jolt. "Oh, uh, hey guys.'' Peter said, rubbing his eyes, "Good summer?" Ella replies, "Just the usual.'' While putting her trunk in the overhead compartment. "Oh, I'm sorry, '' Peter said, sounding real, which annoyed Ella because she hated pity. Ella and Sirius sat down next to Peter when James looked up from his pile of coins. "Twenty Galleons! Twenty!" James said, sounding almost disappointed, as the compartment door slid open again, Remus and Mads Lupin stood in the doorway. "You're rich mate" said Remus with a sarcastic tone, like he didn't already know that. James chuckled and began to respond with something that probably would've been witty and made the whole group laugh, especially Mads. She always seemed to laugh at his jokes a little bit too hard, but James was interrupted by the arrival of Mary Macdonald and Amelia Lupin. Amelia put her trunk down with a little bit more force than was necessary and glared at her siblings before practically shouting "You guys couldn't have waited for me?! I was standing outside the platform entrance for five minutes looking around like an idiot for you two, if Mary hadn't shown up and insisted that we should just go I probably would've missed the train!" This prompted her to check her watch and state that it was 10:43 and if Dorcas, Lily and Marlene didn't show up soon they would need to find their own way to school. They've never heard of anyone missing the train before but they were sure it had to have happened at least once, or it most definitely will in the future.
After everyone was seated they inevitably started talking about their summers, of course they would write to each other when they could but there's only so much you can tell someone through a letter. While everyone was chatting and waiting for the others to arrive, Ella stayed quiet. Not because she had nothing to say but because for the first time in her life she was nervous to talk. The soul reason for this being Remus looked good, maybe a little bit too good. She was in her own world for a while when she saw Lily and Marlene arrive. Lily looked upbeat and excited while Marlene looked like she had just rolled out of bed. "Woah, Marls, did you lose your hairbrush or something?" James said mockingly but Marlene just rolled her eyes and sat down. "What's up with her?" Dorcas said as she finally arrived. "Shhhhh, no talking, only sleep" Marlene said as she laid down, taking up a full side of the compartment. "She was up all night flying, practicing for quidditch tryouts. She's determined to make the team this year" Lily explained while moving Marlene's legs so she could sit. "I'm trying out too," Mary said, sounding hopeful. "Last year's team was mostly seventh years so there's going to be loads of positions to fill." Dorcas closed the compartment door and sat down as the train started moving. Ella was preparing for the long train ride ahead and she decided the first step would be to take a nap, so she went and found an empty compartment where she quickly dozed off to sleep. Ella ended up having a dream unlike any other she'd ever had. She dreamt of a world without magic where she had a different name and a different family. This dream was vivid and felt so real that she didn't know what to do with herself, it was overwhelming. When Ella woke up she felt like a new person, and she was ready to take on the world.