Chapter 2 - A peek in her past
Ella Evans was a Hufflepuff through and through, proud of her house’s values of loyalty, hard work, and kindness. Even though she had little patience to recommend about herself. But before embracing this deep love for her house, she wished to be something else.
Born in Cokeworth, England, she was the only daughter of Lionel and Trish, with an older and a younger brother. As a child, she followed her cousin Lily, who was ten years older, around, inspired by the girl’s gentle fierceness. Of her siblings, Ella was the only one to show signs of witchcraft. Aside from her and Lily, another cousin, Florence, who was Ella’s age, also showed signs. “A family with only witches. Just great,” her uncle Collin would often joke, eyeing the magical potential in the girls.
As time went by, Ella found it impossible to be like Lily Evans. Lily was obedient, well-behaved, and saw the best in everyone. Although Ella was genuinely kind and empathetic, she had a more extroverted and impulsive personality, accompanied by a sharp tongue and a keen eye for everyone’s behavior. If she thought something was unfair, a snarky comment would follow. “Obstinate and headstrong,” her dad used to say.
Ella and Florence used to spend their days trying to learn magic from Lily and her friend, Severus Snape, when they were around. Even if they couldn’t perform any magic, there were books to read and technicalities to learn. Severus carried a sorrowful demeanor that made Ella feel like adopting him, even though she was younger. Until, one summer, he stopped showing up.
“Finally, that freak left us alone,” said Petunia. Ella didn’t like Petunia; she was so bitter with everyone. At the tender age of six, Ella retorted, “I don’t know why Lily likes you. You’re bad.” Offended, Petunia ordered the girl to shut up, to which Ella stuck out her tongue and pulled a face while Florence snickered.
When Lily wasn’t around, Ella spent her days dreaming about the fantastic place her cousin described and trying to feel content with her mundane school and non-magical friends. Her dreams included getting into Gryffindor and learning as much magic as possible. She wanted to be the best, just like her cousin and her friends.
Lily’s friends visited when she was about 17 years old. Ella met James first, a loud boy who wanted her and Florence to like him at all costs. His puns were horrible, but he talked about flying brooms and how good he was at it. He also told her about the pranks he and his friends pulled. Ella was initially taken aback, afraid the boy would take her cousin away, but she actually liked him. “Next time I come back, I’ll bring you some presents,” he said, beaming.
“Stop trying to buy their affection, James,” Lily said, trying to suppress her laughter.
“It’s not buying, it’s convincing. Right, girls?” James winked, his cockiness radiating confidence.
James was true to his promise. After a month, he showed up again with a bunch of stuff, from prank equipment to bags of magical candy. With him came two other boys and two girls. “Guys, this is my family. We reunite for lunch every Sunday,” Lily explained. “These are my cousins, the witches I told you about. This is Ella and Florence,” she said, gesturing proudly.
“They are really cute,” said James aloud, while looking around. Lily's relatives and their friends eyed him weirdly. Ella tried not to laugh while she watched through the door crack.
“Stop, James. They are upstairs, you don’t have to convince them now,” Lily said, trying to hide her mirth.
“Sorry,” he answered, scratching his head after a slap from a tall guy with dark hair. They walked side by side, and behind them was a boy with sandy hair and some scratches on his face. He looked quite tired but nice as he turned around and apologized to Ella’s and Florence’s parents. The girls, a tall blonde and a small brunette, followed them.
“They look so cool. I want to be like that when we grow up,” Florence said, watching the scene play out from above Ella.
“Yeah… they do look cool. Do you think they’ll like us?” Ella asked while she sat with her back towards the door. Florence had gotten out from above her and lay on the bed.
“I don’t think they’ll care much about us. We are only seven and can’t do anything they can,” Florence rationalized.
“Yeah, you are right. That’s why they made us stay in the room, so we wouldn’t want to join them and piss them off. Teenagers can be pretty mean; look at Tunia,” Ella said, rolling her eyes.
“Lily is too kind. Do you think she would be friends with anyone mean?” Florence asked while she sat on the bed, a frown upon her eyes.
“I don’t know. Maybe they don’t think it’s mean,” Ella pondered.
As soon as the phrase left her mouth, there was a knock on the door. Ella got up and opened it, letting the subject of the conversation into the room. “Hey, girls! Want to come meet my friends from school? James is here, and he can’t wait to see you again,” Lily called out, her eyes twinkling with excitement.
Deep down, the ginger-haired also wanted them to like James back now that she came to terms with her feelings for the bespectacled boy. Ella and Florence looked at each other and smiled brightly before answering. “Sure.”
The girls left the room and followed Lily to the backyard. Everybody was seated underneath a tree they used to sit with Severus. Lily stopped in front of everyone before announcing, “Guys, these are my cousins, the witch ones I told you about. This is Ella, and this is Florence,” the teenager said, pointing to each one as she introduced them.
“Hi!” the little girls said in unison, with a lot of shyness.
James bounced in front of Ella. “Look what I brought! Gifts from the wizarding world!” the boy held up two bags near his face as the tired boy shook his head in a ‘no’ sign, and the brunette laughed to himself.
Ella thought James was hilarious, even when he made bad jokes. But the funny part was how hard he tried to impress two kids. The small cousins looked at each other deviously when Ella smirked. She looked back at James and then the tall brunette guy.
“Really? Is this man beside you my gift?” she said, causing the brunette's smirk to fall, his grey eyes growing in size as he looked terrified at James, who looked just as surprised. Everybody else tried to hold their laughter. Seeing their reaction, Ella felt free to make a little scene. She ran to James and hugged him by the waist.
“I loved it! You are the best! I really need one, you know? Being this short makes it difficult to reach the top shelves of the kitchen, and I like to make pancakes,” she explained, trying hard to sound innocent.
While she spoke, the brunette shook his head ‘no’ to make James correct the misunderstanding, but the Quidditch player only answered a quiet ‘please’ ‘please’ ‘please’ to his best friend. Lily knew Ella was giving them a hard time - and it would only get worse - but she thought they deserved the struggle for all the pranks they pulled.
When the girl let go of him, they pretended nothing happened. James smiled over to her. “I’m glad you liked it,” he answered nervously.
The girl smiled a new devilish smile. “What’s your name, gift?” she asked, turning to the brunette.
He looked at everyone, quite scared, before answering, “I-I’m Sirius,” he stuttered.
‘Who would have thought, Sirius Black is stuttering before a child,’ Lily thought to herself, quite amused.
Ella looked at him confused. “You are what?” she asked, trying to compute the answer.
“Sirius! My name is Sirius. Like the star, not like the word,” he answered anxiously. ‘Damn it, Sirius. Don’t lose it with a child, most of all, Evans' cousin’. “My family likes to name people after stars,” he explained.
The girl laughed a little. “That’s a funny name. Do people get confused like I did often? Or is it normal to have weird names in the wizarding world?” she asked, crossing her arms.
Everybody laughed at the comment again. “No, my name is not weird. I am Marlene,” the blonde answered while waving.
The short brunette replied next, “Mine is Mary.”
“Well, mine is a little different. I am Remus,” the tired boy said with kind eyes while he also waved.
“We have another two friends, Peter and Dorcas. But they couldn’t come,” Lily explained, while she put her arms around both kids’ shoulders.
From the back door, Trish yelled, “Kids, lunch is nearly ready, go wash your hands! Ella and Florence, come over and help me set the table.”
“Nice to meet you, guys. Gift, I will let you enjoy your friend while I help my mom. But later, I’ll come over and pick you up so we can make pancakes,” Ella said as if Sirius was the child, while everybody snickered.
Florence and Ella walked back as the first said, “Look who is being mean now,” the first girl laughed.
“Better me than them. Besides, I'm not that bad company,
Florence pretended to hesitate before Ella shoved her, complaining. They both laughed the rest of the way back up to the table in the backyard that was bigger.
Ella saw Lily’s friends about five times after that day, up until her marriage with James. She even got to dance the waltz with her gift. Sirius was funny and did everything she wanted when he was around, but she never called him by his name. He also taught her a lot of pranks and terrible jokes. He even told her about his little cousin, Nymphadora, who was her age. “You’ll probably attend Hogwarts together.”
Two years after their marriage, Lily and James had a baby. Ella loved babies; it wouldn’t be different with baby Harry. Now ten years old, she was always around her cousin's house to help take care of the little one, especially when James wasn’t around. Although the couple looked happy, they always carried a troubled look in their eyes. Like they were saying their last goodbye every time they looked at each other.
The girls received their letters when they turned eleven. It was a good thing to have Lily for support when they went to buy their school supplies. Although the trip seemed weird, Lily looked desperate to do everything quickly and go back home. They were accompanied by James and his friends, including Gift. Everybody looked tense.
Ella and Florence were impressed with all the magic. They wanted to stay longer and explore, but Lily wouldn’t let them. “This is not fair! You came here every year since you were eleven; this is our first time. Come on, Lily, can’t we stay a little longer? Why does everyone look stressed out?” Ella complained.
Realizing how mature her little cousin seemed at such a tender age, Lily Evans shared a look with her husband. The truth was that they didn’t feel safe anywhere anymore. With baby Harry, things got even worse. But Ella was right. They didn’t know about the war, and this was their first time in the magical world. The adults' worries were taking all the fun out of it.
“I’m sorry, girls. Unfortunately, we can’t stay long. But I promise we’ll go slower from now on. And next time, we'll sit for some ice cream,” the ginger woman promised.
They were in mid-July. Three months later, the chill of an October night would bring the heartbreaking realization that some promises, no matter how sincere, are destined to remain unfulfilled.
Ella and Florence felt divided by the end of their first day at Hogwarts. On the train, they met Gift’s cousin, Nymphadora Tonks. Even though the girl seemed mad about being called by her name at first, they soon became friends. Dora - that’s what she liked to be called - could change her hair and morph other parts of her body. A Metamorphmagus, she said. They shared a compartment with another girl called Sarah McMiller, another Muggle-born with a hippie style.
Being with these new girls had been great so far. They bought candies like the ones James brought them and some new ones. Suddenly, in the middle of the ride, some boys stopped at the compartment door.
“Look, three Mudbloods and a freak,” one said, while the other two laughed. “You won’t survive this at all,” he finished, laughing.
The Muggle-borns shared a concerned and confused look, while Tonks' hair turned a dark shade of red and she fumed at the boy. However, before they could say anything, the trolley lady, who had just left, hit two of the boys with her cart. They tumbled to the left while the other fell to the right; the third one held on to both boys. Looking pissed off, they complained, to which the elder woman ignored.
“Oops, I am sorry. Didn’t see you there. You know, old age brings this kind of thing. But you shouldn’t stay in the way,” she said sweetly, disguising her worry.
The girls tried to disguise their laughter inside the compartment - Dora not so much - as they left.
Inside the castle, all four girls were mesmerized by the beauty and magic. Ella, who loved history, imagined how many people must have been there, how old the castle was, and everything it had been through.
They listened attentively to the headmaster's speech, talking about the importance of respect and how not accomplishing that would entail punishment.
When the song began, Ella and Florence listened intently to understand the history of the school better, but the uncoordinated singing made it a hard task. The part about the houses made Ella rethink her desire to be a Gryffindor. As she sat on the bench and the hat was put on her head, it began speaking in her mind, and she shivered with fear, not used to the situation.
“Are you afraid of me? Not much of a Gryffindor thing to do, like you planned,” it said with mirth.
“No! I’m not afraid, just unused. Besides, I don’t mind not being a Gryffindor, as long as I can be with my friends… And away from the boys that threatened us on the train,” she said.
The hat hummed. “Hmm, I see. You know, I could put you in any house, and you would fit perfectly. Even the house of the boys on the train. But, for me, that means that you fit in HUFFLEPUFF,” the hat shouted at the end.
As if by destiny, all four girls were placed in Hufflepuff. “I wish the common room was closer to the library, but I’m so glad it’s near the kitchen,” Sarah said.
“You can’t have everything, Sarah. At least we have easy access to food,” Dora said, and all four of them laughed.
