- Chapter Five -
"It's a boggart, sir."

Elladora watched with interest and curiosity as James Potter, followed by the rest of the marauders, walked over to Lily Evans with a bounce in his step and a big grin spreading over his face. The two exchanged a couple words, the redhead looking thoroughly amused before smirking and returning to her conversation with Marlene McKinnon.

James still held the bright smile on his lips as he turned and gave a large thumbs up to the girl at the Slytherin table. She simply raised and eyebrow and returned to her food as if to say 'I have no idea what you're talking about.' It was very unlike her to help out anyone, but it pained her to hear about constant complaints about the boy when she stood near the redhead.

The first lesson of the day was Defence Against the Dark Arts, today they would be handling boggarts, she had absolutely no idea what her fear would be, probably either her mother or her father, but that would be embarrassing and it would raise a lot of questions, which she didn't have the time to answer.

Snape suddenly burst into the hall, shouting and cursing the four Gryffindor boys, whilst also sporting some very curly hair. Everybody started to howl with laughter at their classmate and his new style. Shouts of ridicule came from the houses, including Slytherin, which made Severus feel even worse than he did.

With no body to sit with, since his friends were giggling, he took a deep breath and sat across from Elladora, glancing up at her when all of her movements stopped. He shrugged and tucked into some toast, ignoring her obvious uncomfortable state.

Her knees began to bounce up and down as they sat in an awkward silence, every time one of them made a movement, they would freeze. The bell eventually rang and Elladora praised Merlin, leaping out of her seat and hurrying off to her classroom.

As always, she was the first one to arrive in the room, greeting her professor as she stationed herself to a spot in the middle of the empty classroom, their desks having been pushed to the sides whilst a large cabinet stood in the middle of the room, shaking from side to side. The next people to arrive were the infamous marauders, it honestly seemed like the two houses had everything together.

"Morning boys, today is boggarts so just stand around and we'll wait for the others." Professor Penhurst told them, returning to his parchment which he was scribbling on. The boys started to poke and prod Peter, making him blush and swat them off, luckily the Slytherin girl didn't look back to see him staring, although she felt it, starting to shift comfortably in her spot.

"Hey." Somebody squeaked from beside her and she turned her head slightly to see Peter Pettigrew, bouncing on his feet.

"Okay, class!" Penhurst clapped his hands together, she now noticed that more Gryffindors and fellow Slytherins had entered the classroom. Saved by the bell, actually saved by the teacher but it's the same thing. Peter was dragged back to his friends by his robe as the teacher started the lesson.

"Does anybody know what...this is?" He gestured to the shaking cabinet and as expected, Lily Evans' hand shot up into the air. "Miss Evans."

"It's a boggart, sir." She said, smiling in satisfaction when Gryffindor was awarded points for her knowledge. Elladora didn't need to turn around to know that James was smiling at the girl, glowing with pride.

"Correct! And does anybody know what a boggart looks like?" Penhurst asked the class again and Avery's hand raised this time.

"No one knows. It takes the shape of whatever person fears the most." He said nonchalantly, shrugging his shoulders as Mulciber praised him and patted him on the back.

"Snivellus." James Potter said through coughs, hitting his chest twice for dramatic effect as he apologised. "Oh sorry, no idea what came over me." The Gryffindors started to giggle at the boy and his rude jokes. The Slytherins sneered and growled but Elladora just stood silently.

"5 points from Gryffindor." Penhurst sighed before continuing. "You are correct, Avery. A boggart does not look like just one thing." He explained.

The lesson continued when he told them the spell to repel a boggart. 'Ridikkulus.' After they recited it a couple of times, they were instructed to get into a long line, ready to face the creature.

A Gryffindor boy made a large spider two dance, a Slytherin girl turned a rabid monkey into a small Cornish pixie, more and more students began to face their fears, the whole class laughed except Elladora, She was trying to swallow her nerves, unlike most times in her life, she wasn't sure. She didn't know what this would turn into and she admitted that the was scared, but no one could be able to tell unless they really know her, which they don't. No one does.

It was only her luck that the kids spent so little time casting the spell that it was her turn already. The boy in front of her turned a troll into a tiny goblin that kept falling over.

As he moved out of the way, the little goblin grew taller, it changed colour and a big black sweatshirt swiped onto its body until it was like she was standing in a mirror. This Elladora in front of her was different, it seemed much more broken than she actually was, it had tear-stained cheeks, it's hair was all greasy and out of it usual ponytail, flowing down her shoulders until it reached her mid-stomach.

The boggart's lip started to quiver as tears filled its eyes, hot drops of water rolled down its cheeks as it looked the real Elladora right in her eyes. Every student was still, not daring to move a muscle as they stared at the girls worst fear, which happened to be herself.

It's hands right hand lifted slightly and lightly touched the bottom of the left sleeve of the sweater, the silent crying turned into loud sobbing and wailing as it began to slightly pull the black material up its arm. As soon as the real Elladora saw a sliver of ink on the arm of the boggart, she raised her wand with purpose and pointed it square in the chest of the boggart.

"Ridikkulus!"

The body disappeared and all that was left was just a black floating sweatshirt, flinging around the room and knocking things off of the shelves. A few chuckles came from Mulciber and Avery whereas Snape had a fearful expression, the rest of the class were just confused as Elladora stormed out of the room, bumping shoulders with one of the Slytherin boys, causing him to fall back on his arse.

She didn't know where to go, she never felt comfortable in the Slytherin common room, if she went to Dumbledore she would have to tell him her fear, it was only Thursday so her and Hagrid's weekly tea sessions were tomorrow. So she decided to go to a place where she knew no body would look, the kitchen. The kitchen was home to many house elves and they thoroughly enjoyed their jobs, except for when Potter and Black tainted the food

There was one elf in particular that Elladora would often sit by, Flick, the elf that never spoke either, her very presence just screamed comfort to the Slytherin, knowing that the little elf was one of the only people in the castle that could relate to her, perhaps the only one. Other house elves would constantly ask if she wanted anything to drink or to eat, which she would politely refuse and continue to wallow in self-pity sat beside Flick.

The pear on the portrait near the Hufflepuff common room giggled obnoxiously as she slightly stroked it, striding in once the painting swung open. She had been thoroughly freaked out and scarred by her boggart, it was terrifying, she didn't want to become one of them. But she barely had a choice anymore, no choice but to end it all, and it'll all be over. Soon.

As soon as she entered, lots of the elves stepped away for her to venture towards Flick, whom was sat silently as always, a jug of flavoured beverage in her hand, which Elladora did not recognise. Umpty the elf made his way over, offering her a slice of cake or a cup of tea, maybe even a water, but as always she waved him off, bringing her knees up to her chest and hugging them whilst she put her head down.

That thing had plagued her brain, it was all she could think about, that was how she looked in the training that her mother put her through, that was how the real her looked and she hated it. She wished she was more like Marlene McKinnon, a beautiful brunette girl who had no problem making friends and having boys fall at her feet. Or perhaps Dorcas Meadowes, also a beautiful Gryffindor girl, she was sure that they were happy, their bright personas never failed as they conversed with Lily Evans and their other dorm mates regularly.

She just wished she was someone else, better yet she wished her parents were someone else. If they hadn't of been so cruel, maybe she would have friends, maybe they would've seen the good in the world and steered their only child away from the dark magic. Maybe she would believe in love and friendship. In a perfect world, she still might be able to.

But this is not a perfect world. It's a cruel one, enjoyable if you were born into the right bloodline and had the right beliefs but to a small majority, it was incredibly cruel. Even the most optimistic person on earth could not persuade her idea of thinking that this earth is the worst place to be.

The world was against her, the moon was against her, the stars were against her, nature was against her. Every single thing seemed to be against her, even the people that genuinely wanted to talk to her had to prove that they weren't either going to use her or get bored of her, something somebody had yet to prove.

Maybe it wasn't the world, maybe it was the people, the people who drag their bodies around the place, thinking that it's theirs because they inhabit it, thinking that the earth is just a dead thing they can claim. Thinking that the only people who are people are the people who look and think like them, but if they walked the footsteps of Elladora, they'd learn things they never knew.

How high can a teenage girls happiness go, if you constantly degrade, laugh and stare at her like she's an animal in a zoo, you will never know. They will never know what things she goes through, because hopefully she will never live to tell the tale, hopefully she would never have to see the ignorant faces of the Hogwarts students again. Hopefully heaven and hell were none-existent so she didn't have to see them pretend to be sad at her funeral, if she was important enough to have one.

What makes a quiet girl quiet? If only people thought about this before they teased and ridiculed them about their anti-social behaviour. If only people thought about what they say before they say it. If only people could learn when to leave someone alone.

Lost in her thoughts, Elladora didn't notice the house elf sat next to her staring up with curiousity until she felt a sharp elbow poke into her sides. She immediately snapped out of her thoughts, looking down at the small elf who held a big question in her glassy round beautiful green eyes. The question that would determine when or if she would see the girl again. The question: 'when?'

"Tomorrow." Elladora muttered, looking back in front of her as Flick placed a bony, wrinkly hand on her knee, giving it a small squeeze that said a million different things. What happened next was unexpected to the Slytherin but it happened nonetheless.

"Goodbye." Flick said, letting Elladora place her own hand over the elf's as a single tear left her eye, running down her soft, rosy cheek and dripping from the bottom of the chin down onto her hand, down onto the tip of her finger due to the angle and down onto the dirty floor, where it belonged, where she belonged.

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