Dumbledore's Daughter

The kitchen was swathed in the harsh, dusty light that comes with sweltering August afternoons. The ceiling fan was whirring and the table fan on the ledge was buzzing at full power. The air conditioning was broken again. The sticky summer heat bore down on Ella, making her feel drowsy and sluggish. Her summer homework was spread out on the table in front of her but it was just too muggy to concentrate. She fanned herself with her reading list, closing her bright blue eyes as the breeze from the little table fan crossed her face.

The front door slammed and Eliza stomped into the house. Ella groaned inwardly as a blast of hot air followed her redheaded little sister into the foyer. She sat back against the wooden rungs of her chair and sighed. She definitely wasn't going to get any work done now that Eliza was home.

The bouncy seven-year-old ran past the kitchen in a blur, throwing her wet towel and swimsuit on the floor. She shouted a greeting and disappeared again. The smell of chlorine filled the air, and Ella half wished she had joined her sister and her friends at the neighborhood pool. But no, it was August 1st and there was only a month left of summer. Ella had wanted to get a head start on her junior year history project.

The sound of the Television interrupted Ella's reverie and she stood up, sighing yet again. Brushing a lock of dark brown hair behind her ear, she bent over to pick up the trail of debris Eliza had left behind. The mail was nestled inside of the sopping towel and Ella removed it gingerly, carrying it to the fan to dry. She sorted through the stack, heaving soggy junk mail into the wastebasket and laying letters of importance on the counter.

Junk, junk, bill, junk, notice from school, junk, parchment, junk-

Parchment?

Ella picked up the mysterious letter again, and a shiver ran down her spine. It was a piece of slightly yellowed parchment folded over and sealed with a purple drop of wax. Imprinted on the seal was a crest of some sort. Peering closer, she smiled at the miniscule eagle, badger, snake, and lion that were delicately engraved in the wax. A birthday party invitation, no doubt.

The front door opened quietly, and Ella slipped the letter into the pocket of her shorts. She glanced at her watch. It was about three o'clock. Why was her mother home so early?

"Mom?" Ella called. There was no answer. The only sound was that of the television in the living room. Ella frowned and stepped into the hallway.

"Mom?" The front door was swinging open, swaying back and forth on its hinges. Ella grabbed an abandoned snowbrush from a chair in the hall and gripped it apprehensively. She stepped out onto the front porch. Her mother's car wasn't in the driveway. So why was the door-

Ella bumped into something hard, and a hand clamped over her mouth. Something pointy jabbed into her neck. Ella froze, swiped at her throat, and felt her hand hit something hard. She swung her snowbrush down behind her, and it hit a solid, fleshy obstruction. There was a grunt and the pressure on her mouth and neck was released. She ran forward down the front step and into the yard, trying to get closer to the road. She glanced behind her as she ran, and still there was nothing on the porch.

Ella stopped running, and stared at the spot where she had been apprehended, she took a step closer, and banged into something again. Looking down at the grass, she saw a footprint appear, and then disappear again. Acting quickly she brought her foot down hard on a spot slightly next to where the footprint had show up. There was a crunching noise followed by a yell. Ella's eyes opened wide and she stumbled backwards, into another thickset object. She stopped moving and turned slowly in a circle, terrified. There was definitely some thing lurking in her yard.

A large bush to Ella's right emitted a jet of red light, and a man materialized on the ground next to her. The jet of light hit him square in the chest and the hood of his voluminous cloak fell off. His eyes grew wide and he tipped over and collapsed on the ground, his cloak billowing behind him. The hair on the back of Ella's neck stood on end and she blindly reached out and grabbed at the air next to her. Her fingers closed on something silky and she gave it a tug. A silvery cloak appeared in her fingers and a man darted from underneath the edge of it, his black robes fluttering behind him.

Another bush emitted a jet of red light and the man leaned backwards, dodging the light in the nick of time. His right hand was clutching a long thin piece of wood. He pointed it at the bush and yelled some strange words. The shrub caught on fire and burned up quickly, becoming a pile of ashes on Ella's front lawn.

Stifling a scream Ella tripped off her sidewalk and ran forwards. She got as far as the end of the walk before strong arms were wrapped around her waist. Struggling against the invisible person holding her proved difficult. She settled for swinging her arms upwards as hard as she could, her snowbrush having been abandoned in the first tussle. She met solid matter and took hold of it in a death grip, digging her nails in as hard as she could. There was an anguished yell and the fabric beneath Ella's hand became sticky and wet. She withdrew her hand in horror and fell to the ground.

Ella wiped her bloody hand on the grass and scrambled to her feet, ready to run for it, when her thoughts turned to Eliza. She was still in the house, alone. It was possible that the attackers didn't know about her, but if they did, who was going to stop them from doing terrible things to her sister? After a quick glance around she though she was alone. The man whom she had injured was still nowhere to be seen and the two men who had been knocked out by the shrubs were still unconscious.

Ella turned back to her door, intending to grab Eliza and head to the neighbors for help. Nursing her sore neck, she stepped gingerly over the body of one of the men. There was a loud crack behind her and she whirled around, searching for something to defend herself with.

Another man had appeared on her lawn, this one in a cloak as well. Ella grabbed a rock from the garden and hefted it in her hands. Setting her stance grimly she threw the rock just as the man raised his wooden wand and pointed it at her. He spoke some strange words and the rock slowed down and fell to the ground harmlessly. Terrified, Ella tripped backwards. There were more loud pops and hooded figures appeared on her lawn, scattered over the neatly trimmed grass. Each one was holding a wand and wearing a grim black cloak that shielded their face from view. Ella slipped on a stone in the walkway and fell on her back. Black spots clouded her vision and her limbs tingled painfully as her head hit the ground. She lay resignedly on the sidewalk.

Without warning a cloud of magenta robes and pink hair spun into view. Screaming mysterious words, this entity was firing curses at the men in dark robes faster than they could react. Unfortunately she was no match for a crowd of six or seven dark robed men and they closed in, firing curses back at her.

A hand grabbed Ella's wrist and hauled her to her feet unceremoniously. She a stumbled a moment and a harsh voice shouted.

"TAKE THE GIRL AND GO, WE'LL HOLD OFF THE AUROR!" Cords shot out of the speaker's wand and wound themselves tightly around Ella's wrists, forcing them together. Fear, anger, and worry for her sister and the woman who was fighting to save her began to build up inside her chest. The emotions formed a tight ball in her chest as the cloaked man skirted her around the edges of the battle. They had reached the driveway, and the man's grip on Ella's arm tightened.

That's when she heard Eliza scream. Horrified, she whirled around, wrenching her arm away from the hooded man. Her little sister was standing on the front porch, looking as terrified as Ella felt. The world began to move in slow motion. A hooded figure stepped away from the pack and turned to the front porch. Eliza stood rooted to the ground. Ella heard herself screaming for Eliza to run.

The man lifted his wand leisurely. Ella ran towards him, the ball of emotion rising higher into her throat. He opened his mouth to speak.

"Avada Ked-"

Before he could finish the incantation Ella opened her mouth and screamed the first word that came into her head.

"NO!"

The ball of emotion burst from her throat and knocked her backwards. There was a flash of red light and all the people around her collapsed as it touched them. It rippled outwards in a circle, emanating from Ella. The woman with pink hair shouted some words and put up a shield that deflected the scarlet luminosity. As the light continued past the group of people it faded into nothing.

Ella could feel her energy draining as she sat down on the driveway. She was too tired to think as she struggled to remain conscious- not about what she had just done not the absurdity of the be-robed people at her house, nothing. A cool hand touched her forehead and someone whistled softly, muttering something about a stunner and wandless magic. Slender hands pushed her onto the driveway and Ella lay down gratefully. She heard a few incoherent words and felt a strange sensation come over her, sending her immediately into a deep, peaceful sleep.

Chapter two:

Ella's nostrils were under a relentless attack. A pungent, peppery smell was floating in the stuffy air of...wherever she was, jolting her from her peaceful slumber. Ella blinked her watery eyes slowly, dusty light filtering in from somewhere. Coming to completely Ella sat up. Her mind and body were both racked with drowsiness. Something tugged at the edges of her brain, something she knew she should remember. She shoved the thoughts away and concentrated on getting her bearings.

Ella seemed to be sitting in a curtained bed, covered with at least three quilts and a knitted blanket for good measure. She held one arm out in front of her and wiggled her fingers. Check. She repeated the process with her remaining extremities, noting nothing amiss except for a dull headache. Finding everything in order, Ella turned and brushed the curtains aside, Put her feet on the ground and stood up. An action she immediately regretted.

Her dull headache exploded with pain. Colored spots burst before her eyes and she clapped her hands to her face, whimpering in anguish. She tried to sit back down on the bed and missed, crumpling to the ground. She heard footsteps in the hallway and clawed at the comforter, hauling herself back onto the bed with great effort. The door creaked open and a blonde head crept around the edge of the doorframe. Ella's vision was slightly blurred in pain. She could just make out a forehead... or two... She wasn't sure... crinkled in surprise.

"Oh! You're awake! Merlin, that amount of exertion should have had you down and out for at least two days..." The cheery voice sounded vaguely familiar to Ella and she attempted to croak out a response. All that escaped her lips were a few strangled syllables.

"Are you quite all right?" The woman stepped fully into the room and came over to peer into Ella's eyes. This unsettled her and she leaned back, nearly tipping over again. "Ah, you stood up didn't you?" Ella shook her head ruefully. "Well no matter! A bit of Pepperup Potion will have you on your feet in minutes, in fact-" The blonde woman was cut off by the door being thrown open.

"Bring it in here Ron, Carefully now, don't trip over the door frame." A girl of medium height with the wildest hair Ella had ever seen was backing her way into the room delicately stepping over the door frame.

"Bloody hell, Hermione, I'm not going to drop it, and beside it's just pepper-up potion! We could have bought some at the apothecary but noooo. You had to make it yourself! Why-" Ron was cut off by the voce that apparently belonged to someone named Hermione.

"You know very well, Ron Weasley that the pepper-up potion is going to be on our finals this year! And if it's not perfect, Snape will eat us alive!"

"Yeah," he retorted sarcastically. "Along with his morning mug of Hufflepuff blood, that is after he finishes poking pins in his Harry voodoo doll." There was a clunk, and a large sloshing sound. "Bloody hell!"

"RON!" The girl screeched loudly, whereas their entire conversation before had been held in whispers.

"Ahem." The blonde haired lady was standing next to Ella politely clearing her throat.

"Oh, Hallo Tonks. Ella! She's- I mean- You're awake!" Hermione began to fidget and blush, poking a toe at the puddle of steaming liquid on the ground.

"Hermione! Will you get out of the way so I can carry this blasted thing in?!" Ron was still trapped between the door and the doorframe. Hermione's body was preventing the door from opening any further. Ella felt a small smile tugging at the edges of her lips. Hermione's blush deepened further and she jumped out of the way and began to compose herself.

A mess of gangly limbs, tattered jeans, and riotously red hair stumbled through the door with an enormous cauldron in its arms. Ella couldn't help but smile as the overgrown teenager precariously balanced the cauldron on one knee while reaching for a chair to set it in. Abandoning the cauldron he turned to face her, mopping his brow spectacularly.

"Ron Weasley." He lifted a corner of his mouth a smile and Ella nodded her head slowly to them both.

"I'm afraid Ella's feeling a bit out of it after yesterday's events. Hermione, perhaps you could...?" The blonde haired woman gestured at the cauldron. Hermione, looking considerably calmer now, nodded pertly and headed over to the bubbling vat. Ron snagged a rag that was dangling out of Hermione's skirt pocket as she passed and began mopping up the spilled substance.

Ella's eyelids became droopy and heavy again and the urge to fall asleep was becoming undeniable. Someone pushed a cup of something deliciously warm into her hands and she lifted it to her lips, too tired to notice the pungent, peppery smell. Gratefully she gulped the liquid down, and promptly spit it back out again. Coughing and spluttering, steam issuing from her nose and ears, Ella dropped the cup and it rolled on the ground spreading the remaining potion in a rather large puddle.

"What was that?!" Ella spluttered. Hermione was standing by, watching the effects of the Pepperup potion with a pleased and rather smug look on her face. Ron was frowning at the puddle of potion on the floor.

"Pepperup Potion used to treat victims of hypothermia, shock, and EEP. Restores alertness and repairs and non permanent damage to the senses." Ella blinked. She did feel more alert, and her vision was back to normal.

"EEP? What do you mean... potion?" Ella tucked her legs underneath her, warily staring from person to person in the room. Hermione Glanced questioningly at Tonks, who nodded her head after a moment of thought.

"EEP. Excessive Exhaustion of Power. It's when... well, Tonks, maybe you'd better tell her." The blonde woman pulled another chair up to Ella's bed and smiled weakly.

"What Hermione's trying to say is this. EEP is when a witch or wizard uses so much of his or her magical energy that they have to rest up awhile before it can be restored. More extreme cases impair the senses, usually sight." Throughout this whole explanation, everyone in the room had gone strangely tense. Hermione was clenching her hands nervously. Ron's rag was scrunched tightly in one hand, dirty potion seeping from in between his fingers. Tonks was staring at Ella apprehensively, eyebrows furrowed as if afraid she might spontaneously at any moment

"Well it's impossible for me to have EEP because I'm not a witch. Right?" Ella glanced around the room at all three of the anxious faces. No one answered her. Despite the improvement the Pepperup Potion had wrought, Ella began to feel a bit dizzy again. She decided to repeat the question.

"Right?" Tonks sighed resignedly.

"Argh. I had hoped it wouldn't come to this. Blonde hair is so difficult, to change. I suppose there's no other way though..." She trailed off, and screwed up her face in concentration. Ella stared at her for a moment, bewildered. Then the strangest thing happened the blonde hair suddenly began to recede into her scalp and as it grew shorter it also changed color. Soon Tonks had pink chin length pink hair. She smiled weakly at Ella, who was speechless.

"Yes, it does make me look a bit peaky doesn't it? Hmmm..." She screwed up her face again, and her skin became several shades darker. "Better?" Ella nodded, unable to respond verbally. Suddenly realization hit her like a boxing glove at a carnival. The voice, the pink hair... The only thing missing were the magenta robes. Ella gasped.

"YOU!" It all came flooding back. The memory teasing the edges of her mind was suddenly returning full force blinding her with images of a battle, flashes of red light, and one final picture of her sister standing on the front porch, screaming in terror. Ella clutched the bedspread again, her face growing white in horror.

"Eliza, where is she? Is she all right? What happened? I don't remember, you tried to save me-" Ella was cut off.

"And would have failed dismally if it weren't for you. That Stunner you cast; wandless, with no amount of training or previous knowledge behind it, put down more than half a dozen death eaters for their afternoon naps." Ella opened and closed her mouth, to shocked to speak.

"Of course, after I had you settled, I had to wipe your sisters memory and cart all those blokes in cloaks off to headquarters. Right pain in the arse that was."

"Tonks!" Hermione reprimanded sharply.

"Sorry."

"So what you mean to tell me, is that I'm a witch, who was attacked by Deatheaters, and is now sitting in a bedroom consuming Pepperup Potion due to the fact that I've given myself EEP by Stunning a half dozen Deatheaters with a spell I cast without even knowing it?" Ella said this all very quickly and in one breath. Ron looked impressed.

"Essentially yes."

"Are my parents magical?"

"No. Well, yes. But not in the way you think."

"Eliza?"

"Thank Merlin, no." Ella sat for a moment brooding this over.

"How are my parents magical, but not in the way I think? I really don't know what to think at this point. I don't understand" Tonks frowned and seemed to be deep in thought. Her eyebrows changed shape a few times before she answered.

"I don't really know that I'm the one to tell you that... I'll only tell you a part of it." She paused and took Ella's hands in her own, looking straight into her eyes. "Ella. You're adopted. Your adoptive parents are Muggles, and so is your sister. Your true parents are wizards." Ella rubbed her eyes deploringly.

"I knew I was adopted... What are Muggles?" Tonks smiled.

"A person with no magical ability." Ella nodded placidly at Tonk's response.

"So, this is why I don't remember anything before the age of six, when I was adopted." Tonks nodded. "Well, If they gave me away when I was younger, Why do they want me back now? Why couldn't I finish growing up with the family that raised me?" Tonks looked uncomfortable at this, and turned around. She shot reproachful glances at Hermione and Ron. Hermione pinched her lips and shook her head back and forth. Ron shrugged and looked away indifferently.

"...Ah yes. Well I can't explain that to you. You'll just have to wait until we get to Hogwarts."

"Hogwarts?" Ella's headache was gradually coming back. Hermione stepped forwards, elbowing Ron out of her way.

"Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. A European school for the education of magical children; it's located near Hogsmeade, the only entirely wizarding village in Europe." Ella stared at Hermione, staggered.

"Yes, she always sounds like she's reading from a text book. Harry and I wonder about that sometimes." Ron smiled fondly down at Hermione, who was a full six inches shorter than him. She crossed her arms and stared back up at him witheringly. Ella couldn't help grinning at the picture they made.

"Who's Harry?" Ella repeated the name she had heard earlier. Hermione immediately brightened and spun around, eager to give yet another text book explanation of something. Or in this case, someone.

"Oh, Harry's just wonderful! He's-" Ron began to glower as the door swung open.

"Talking about me again are you?" A boy of about sixteen stepped into the room. His black hair seemed as though it had been through a rather strong windstorm. The rest of him was only slightly disheveled. He was wearing a faded pair of jeans that too large for him, and a rumpled orange t-shirt that proclaimed "Chudley Cannons" on it in wild yellow letters. His green eyes twinkled behind wire-rimmed glasses. The combination of this and the smile that tugged at the corners of his lips broke through the façade of irritation with his friends.

"Harry!" Hermione exclaimed.

"Nice of you to join us, mate." Ron raised an eyebrow at Harry and he shrugged his shoulders. Brushing his friends gaze away with a sweep of his hand he turned to greet Ella and Tonks.

" 'Lo Tonks... Nice eyebrows, going for the asymmetrical look?" Tonks leaned her chair backwards to look in the mirror behind Hermione's head.

"Oh, sorry mum. I got a little distracted..." She jerked her head in Ella's direction. Ella tucked a lock of dark brown hair behind her ear and swept a thoughtful look across the room. Hermione was leaning against a dresser of sorts looking nervous. Ron was standing beside her protectively. Harry was standing in the middle of the room with his hands in his pockets watching Tonks amusedly. The mirror meanwhile was offering helpful tips to Tonks as she attempted to grow her hair blonde again. Blonde must have been a particularly difficult color because after about thirty seconds she let out a frustrated noise and changed it to black in an instant. When she turned around to face the little crowd in the bedroom her eyes were violet.

Tonks relaxed against the back of her chair and nudged Harry with her foot.

"Introduce yourself...What's the matter, Moody got your buttock?" Harry whipped his wand out of his back pocket and turned bright red. Hermione and Ron looked confused. Tonks snorted.

"Harry Potter." He awkwardly held out a hand as if he didn't do this sort of thing very often.

"Ella Erodel." She gripped his hand and pumped it up and down a few times. Harry relaxed a little and Ella dropped his hand. He let it fall to his side and swing absently for a moment before snatching it back up as if he had forgotten it were attached. He did a quick survey of the room and when no other seating option presented it self than the bed next to Ella, he leaned against the dresser next to Ron.

Ella raised an eyebrow at his behavior and went back to interrogating Tonks.

"So... Hogwarts. I'm going to a magical school to learn to do magic. What about my family? My real family- I mean...." Ella knitted her eyebrows for a moment thinking for the right expression. " My Muggle parents." Tonks nodded.

"They knew the minute they took you in that you would be heading off to Hogwarts eventually. Your wizard parents decided that it would be best if you grew up not knowing the extent of your powers. " Ella tried to take all this in without her head exploding.

"Wait. Hogwarts is in Europe, right?" Tonks smiled.

"Yep."

"Why was a I raised in America?" Tonks shook her head.

"I'm afraid that's another detail I shouldn't share with you." Ella's mouth dropped open in exasperation.

"You're kidding me. When are we leaving for Europe then? Do I get to say good-bye to my parents?" At this Ron started edging towards the door. Hermione stood up straight and followed him, grabbing Harry by the wrist. Ron opened the door and sidled out, mumbling some gibberish about getting a butterbeer. Hermione smiled rather sheepishly as she shoved a protesting Harry out the door.

"Thanks, you lot." Tonks crossed her arms and rolled her eyes as the door clicked shut. Ella stood up and sat down again aware that something tremendous was about to be revealed to her. Tonks vacated her chair and began to pace the room.

"Well, Ella... This is how it is. Due to the attack on your home it's obvious that You-Know-I mean it's obvious that someone wants to hurt you. So after the fight you were brought here, and I went back to headquarters. After a meeting we decided it would be in your best interest- and your parents'- if you had never existed." Ella nearly fell off the bed.

"WHAT?" Tonks held her arms out and shook her head frantically trying to quell any emotional outbursts Ella might be inclined to having.

"Listen to me. What if whoever tried to kidnap you went back to your parent's houses and tried to get information out of them? There are horrible ways of extracting information from people in the wizarding world Ella, and your parents are Muggles. They wouldn't have any defense against it! They also could have attacked your sister, or held her hostage. What would your parents have done?"

"Why not do something else to protect them!? Aren't there other ways then wiping me out? Couldn't you create a barrier or something? Set up some kind of a protective ward!" Ella was on her feet, shouting at Tonks. Tonks took the few steps across the room to her, and took Ella by the shoulders.

"Ella, your parents don't have the ability to maintain magical wards, and the ministry can't afford to have wizards posted near them all the time. Besides how would like to spend your whole life being followed around by some mysterious chap in robes waving a pointy stick in your face?" Ella took a deep breath struggling to hold on to the remaining threads of her composure.

"Think of this in their terms. You'll miss them, but they won't have to go through the pain of missing you." Ella glanced up at Tonks as tears began to form in the corners of her eyes.

"Will I ever be able to see them again?"

"Someday, but you do realize that they wont recognize you? We've wiped their memories of you completely. Everything that was connected to you was removed from their home. If someone asks about you, they'll wonder why people are asking about a daughter they never had. The person asking will immediately wonder who in the world they're talking about and both your parent and anyone meddling will forget the incident. They'll be quite dazed for a while. We've got a wizard from the American Ministry helping out." This was too much.

An image of Ella's mother popped into her head, then her father, followed by Eliza. The tears rolling silently down Ella's cheeks cascaded into sobs and she didn't resist when Tonks sat next to her and pulled her into an embrace. Memories of her family passed through her head on after the other. Vacations, meals, and holidays floated by in an endless stream of painful recollection. The thought of her mother, adoptive or not forgetting her made her heart ache. She sobbed into Tonks's shoulder for what seemed like an eternity. Finally, sniffling and wiping at her eyes, she sat up and looked Tonks in the face.

"I'll be all right. It's for their own safety. If they don't know anything, no one can bother them." Tonks smiled and hugged her. Her own eyes looked a little red.

"It's tough losing your family, especially when they're still there." She searched Ella face for a moment, a thoughtful look flitting across her features. "Talk to Harry. He knows all about this sort of thing." Ella nodded bravely and stood up, smoothing her pajamas.

"Tell you what. We'll get you some clothes, collect those bloody teenagers from the bar and go out to Diagon Alley for a bit. What d'you say?" Ella didn't feel like doing anything other than curling up in her bedroom at home and having a good long chat with her mother, or chasing Eliza around the yard a few times. The thought of home threatened to send her into another fit of hysterics. So she pushed away the memories and helped Tonks dig through a trunk full of her things, all the while fighting back tears.

Twenty minutes later she found herself standing in a pub amidst a bunch of rather tipsy witches and wizards. Harry, Ron, and Hermione all looked at her sympathetically. Hermione offered a relatively awkward pat on the shoulder and Ron smiled stupidly in her direction. Harry sent her a look as they made their way out the back of the pub that really tugged at her heartstrings. The look didn't contain an ounce of pity or the other trivial things that Ron and Hermione were sending her way. It was filled with pure understanding, like he knew what she was going through.

Ella stepped closer to him as the wall brick wall in front of her opened up. She was feeling so numb that she didn't even register the astonishing event that had just occurred in front of her face. Without an exchange of words, she knew she had found a comrade.