the magic of ice

a strange nightmare and a crush

Elsa couldn't stop thinking about everything that had happened during the course of one day. She wasn't just a princess. She wasn't just Arendelle's heir. She didn't even just have powers. She had magic. And even better, she wasn't alone. There are others like her. Others who had as much trouble controlling their magic as her. She was staying in one of the rooms in the Leaky Cauldron. It wasn't five-star, but it was cosy. Elsa laid on her bed and read through her books, totally engrossed in it. There was the Standard Book of Spells: Grade One, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them and Magical Drafts and Potions. There were more, of course, but these were Elsa's favourite.

Something soft brushed against her shoulder. Elsa laughed and cuddled her new pet. It was a small white kitten covered in thick fluff. Hagrid had suggested choosing an owl, as they were very useful and could deliver messages. But the kitten was so cute and Elsa couldn't resist. She scratched the kitten behind the ears and the kitten, which Elsa named Snowball because of the colour of its fur, purred softly and nuzzled against Elsa's cheek. Ever since she'd bought it from Magical Menagerie, Elsa couldn't stop cuddling it. Its fur was so soft and it was so tiny.

It was almost midnight by the time Elsa fell asleep. Using A History of Magic as a pillow, she curled into a ball and, cuddling Snowball, she fell asleep.

()()()

Elsa couldn't see anything, but she could hear voices. She didn't know who was talking, but she didn't like it. It sent cold shivers down her spine. Usually she didn't mind cold. It never bothered her. But this was different. It wasn't just the cold. There was a kind of sinister feeling that came with it.

"Why can't we just kill them?" a voice asked, sounding thoroughly frustrated. "I hate waiting."

"Idiot," another voice snapped. "We have been given our orders. The Dark Lord wants to kill them himself, and our job is to help him."

"Well we can't exactly help him now," the first voice retorted angrily. "He's gone."

Suddenly there was the sound of an agonised scream, followed by a voice that carried every ounce of venom. "Have you lost faith that our master will return? That Potter boy may have stopped him for now, but he will return, and we will be there when he does."

()()()

When Elsa woke up, she realised her room was covered in ice. Panicking, she looked at her hands. Her gloves were still on, which was a slight relief, but how was she going to thaw out her room in time before the housekeeper came?

Snowball mewed from the top of the dresser. The poor kitten was trembling from the cold temperature and she curled into a tiny little ball. Under different circumstances, Elsa would've probably laughed. Her cat really did look like a snowball when she curled up. Elsa lit the fireplace and brought Snowball near it. The kitten purred contentedly and nuzzled her small head against Elsa's chest. Elsa absent-mindedly stroked Snowball's soft fur and thought about her nightmare.

She knew it was just a dream, but it gave her the creeps. And that voice had mentioned "that Potter boy". Was it possible that he was talking about Harry? Hagrid had mentioned that Voldemort had a few followers. Were the two in her dream two of his followers? As Elsa watched the amber-orange flames flickering in the fire, she thought she could see the silhouette of a man's face appear in the hot coals. It was only for a second, but Elsa stared long after it had disappeared again. Had she really just seen that? It looked a bit like Dumbledore, with the long beard and half-moon spectacles, but it couldn't have been. Dumbledore wasn't here. He wasn't anywhere in this room. How could she have seen him just then?

The knock on the door woke her from her reverie. She looked towards the door.

"Who's there?" she asked.

"It's Harry," the voice replied. "Can I come in?"

Elsa looked around her room. The fire had thawed it out a bit, but there were still a few patches of ice here and there. Elsa quickly dashed around the room, covering the icy splotches with anything she could find. She walked over to the door and grasped the handle. She took a deep breath. She couldn't help but think that this was the first time she would open her door to someone other than her parents. Part of her was eager to open it. Harry was like her. He also had trouble controlling his magic. But part of her was scared. Part of her wanted to just curl into a ball under her covers and wish for her parents. She opened the door.

"Hey, Harry," she said as casually as possible, trying to hide her fear. "How was your night?"

Harry shrugged. "All right," he said. "Man, this is so unfair. Your room is so much bigger than mine."

Elsa laughed, partly because Harry's comment was genuinely funny, but mostly it was out of relief. He hadn't suspected anything unusual about her yet. Although Elsa knew they were alike, she still did not dare to tell Harry, for a reason she couldn't quite explain. She'd been so used to the fact that she was the odd one out that she couldn't quite comprehend being one of a hundred, or maybe even thousands or millions.

"Well you know what they say," Elsa grinned. "Girls are better than boys."

"Get real," Harry said. "Girls are good, but boys are better. It's always been that way, both in the Wizarding World and the Muggle world."

Elsa shook her head. "No, girls are better because without girls there wouldn't be any boys." There was a long pause as Elsa realised what she said. "That sounded really wrong."

Harry fell on the floor, laughing and holding his sides. Elsa didn't laugh that hard, but that didn't mean she kept a straight face either. She too was laughing uncontrollably. Elsa had a sudden unexpected feeling they weren't going to be just best friends