If I May Be So Bold (A Harry Potter Universe Fanfiction)

24.

November 2034

ELLA

On Monday morning, Ella stopped by her dad's classroom, but there was a sub there. She froze in the doorway. "Oh," she said quickly. "Sorry," and then she backed out again, cheeks uncomfortably warm. Iris, who had been close behind her, had to dart out of the way to avoid Ella knocking into her.

"What was that for? Is he meeting with someone or something?"

"It's not my dad," Ella said, walking away quickly.

Kyrie tried to grab her and steer her in the other direction — they had herbology first — but that wasn't where she meant to go yet.

"Hospital wing," she explained. "I want to ask my aunt where he is."

She saw Iris and Kyrie look at each other, but they followed anyway.

But the hospital wing was empty, too. There was a sign on the door that said emergencies only and that Professor Pym would be available after classes for minor ailments.

Ella stared at the sign. It was so rare for her Aunt Raigan not to be there, especially on a school day. Sure, she left in the evenings and on weekends, enchantments alerting her to any emergency visitors, but she was so consistently present otherwise. And her dad, too. She couldn't remember ever having a sub in his class.

And he hadn't told her he'd be gone.

"Where do you think they are?" Iris asked.

"I don't know," said Ella quietly.

Not sure what else to do, she turned and headed back towards the entrance hall and herbology.

—-

At morning break, Ella wrote an owl to her dad asking where he was, but still hadn't received an answer by the time dinner rolled around which seemed very, very unlike him. Even more unlike him than being absent.

"I'll just be a second," she said to her friends as they filed into the Great Hall to find a seat, and she turned towards the Ravenclaw table instead.

"D'you know where Dad is?" she asked when she found Juni sitting halfway down the table.

Juni frowned. "Home? He doesn't usually stay for dinner."

"No, but I mean all day. He hasn't been here all day."

Juni's frown deepened. "Really?"

"You didn't notice?"

"I don't have defense against the dark arts on Monday."

"Neither do I, but I went to talk to him this morning and there was a sub."

"Maybe he's sick?"

"Aunt Raigan's gone, too. The hospital wing was closed. There was a sign."

Juni tightened her ponytail.

"I'm sure it's fine."

"What if something happened?" Ella asked.

"I'm sure it's fine," Juni said again. "If it was something really serious, we'd know."

But Ella wasn't all that reassured.

—-

It was late before she got any answers. She was about to go up to bed, in fact, when her dad appeared in the entrance to the common room. She saw him come through immediately, perhaps because she was so edgy and had been glancing up at nearly every unexpected sound all night, just in case it might be him.