Ella ○ Harry Potter

Eight: Give Me A Chance

"Ella," Proffesor Dumbledore said gently as the girl stood in front of his phoenix. She hummed gently to it, and smiled adoringly at the bird.

"Yes, Headmaster?" His blue eyes looked at her as she smiled sadly, and sat down on the chair he gestured at. He stared at her in silence, thinking.

Ella Grey, for a 15 years old witch, was still not very advanced in magic. But 11 years old Ella who first met him, was a brilliant girl who could contribute to the muggle world had she stayed there. Dumbledore opened a drawer at his desk, and pulled out a pencil (which made Ella smile- she missed those little muggle things that made more sense than wizard's solutions) and a sheet of paper. "Ella, can you still solve it?"

He showed her an algebra equation. Ella blinked down at it, and ignored Dumbledore's pencil held out to her. "If I multiply X and Y I get zero," she said simply.

"How'd you get it?" he wondered very calmly.

"If X plus Y gives me seven, and square of X and square of Y give me forty-nine, then I can tell quite easily that it's just twice of X multiplied by Y is zero, and thus--"

"It's easily seen," Dumbledore stated simply, and Ella nodded.

"When you first came to Hogwarts, it was after coming from a Science Summer Camp," Ella nodded. "You are brilliant as a muggle, you know that."

"But I am not a muggle."

"Potions is a lot like Muggle Chemistry, isn't it?" Ella nodded, shrugging. She saw the imagination. "Why aren't you good at Potions? Since you've shown talent to Chemistry in the summer camp."

"I don't know, sir," she says simply, looking away. Fawkes flew to her side, and landed on her shoulder.

"Ella, I don't know how much of my place it is, but do you have friends in school?"

"Hagrid. Remus. Severus?"

"Who aren't school staff."

"Koda, my--"

"And not an animal."

"No."

Dumbledore nodded, still thinking. "Look, you've got until the end of this year to show me what you want from your future. I think magic will do you well, but in the muggle world you could do a lot."

"Which means?"

"Let's say you're on probation."

Ella nodded, stood up, and smiled.

"Thanks, Headmaster," she nodded again, and left, with Fawkes on her shoulder. The phoenix made a happy noise and curled his head closer to her cheek.

"And there goes my bird."

::

Ella laid at the sofa in Carl. Koda was curled at her feet, and Fawkes was curled right next him. She was wide awake, and stared at the ceiling. When she was seven, her math teacher, who was studying for another degree at Math, was attempting to solve a formula when their class was in the midst of a pop quiz.

When Ella approached the desk seven minutes later, and told her teacher that she's wrong with her approach, Ella's affinity to anything with numbers was revealed.

By the time her Hogwarts letter came, she was uncertain if she even wanted to go. True to her fear, she never got along with other people, and failed miserably at grasping the concept of magic. Sure, she got along with animals and did well in Care of Magical Beasts, but she failed and felt very out of place in the wizarding world.

But suddenly she knew that she wasn't alone, for she arrived to Dumbledore's office because she was no longer alone.

Her eyes shut by their own accord, and when she woke the next morning, a smile was still on her face.

She knew what to do.

Ella put on her shoes (Fawkes called in glee when she found them), after a quick shower and brushing her teeth, and she practically floated all the way to the Great Hall (Fawkes flew to Dumbledore's office, and Koda screeched at her from behind, where he idly followed), and she walked straight to the staff's table.

"Why is the abuser here?" questioned Filch quite ironically. Remus had to raise an eyebrow at the phrasing, coming from the man whose pride was the shackles in his office.

"Mr. Filch, please," McGonagall said simply, and turned her head to the girl.

For the first time since her first term in Hogwarts, Ella's uniform was smooth and straight on her body.

"Proffesor Snape, sir," she smiled at the Head of her House, and he stopped himself from sighing.

"Yes, Ms. Grey?"

"As the Head of my House, and as my favorite professor, I'd like to ask you to step into my office," she smiled, her back straight.

"You have no office, Ms. Grey," Remus was hiding behind a goblet, trying not to laugh at the exchange. He had to admit, she was bringing out emotions from Snape that he's never seen.

"Well," Ella paused. Koda jumped on her and climbed right up to her head, where he stared at Snape as well. Snape's dark eyes shifted from Ella's to her Raccoon Dog's eyes. "Your office then?"

"Can't we speak about right here? Or while I'm not having breakfast," he drawled.

Ella nodded, but then she grinned widely. "I think you need quite a while to deal with this information, because I want to ask for private sessions. I want to better myself as a student, a witch, and a human,"

Remus choked on his pumpkin juice.