OLD DRAFT, ella-rose, a strong-willed gryffindor, had always known james. they had been best friends since they were born and it's only when seventh year rolls around that the true nature of their friendship comes to light and drama rocks their once...
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CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX. ( THREATS. )
Breakfast was loud and boisterous and usual but it wasn't until a few moments later that they were interrupted. But rather than it being Sirius or one of the boys, it was Ella's step-mother. A fake sickly sweet smile on her face as she let her hands rest behind her back. Looking like the ideal woman, exactly what her father wanted. Ella wasn't entirely surprised they had got together.
"Ella, I was hoping to catch you before your first lesson," She said as Ella turned to face her more. The brunette sent the woman a smile and then she was gestured to stand up, "I don't suppose you girls mind?" She asked but she didn't give any of them a chance to object. Professor Landon grabbed Ella's arm harshly and began to walk with her out of the room.
To an outsider, it would look like nothing but Ella knew that something bad was about to happen. Somebody was going to ruin her day, she knew that much, but she didn't expect it to be Professor Landon. The thought of her step-mother had barely crossed her mind since the previous day but now it was inescapable and she was being dragged towards Professor Landon's office.
Ella felt oddly like a lamb to the slaughter and when they entered the room, the door was shut and promptly locked. There was no chance of escape now and whatever was about to happen, Ella knew that she just had to accept it. She had no way to stop her step-mother from doing whatever she was about to and that was fine.
"What did you want to speak to me about, Professor Landon?" Ella asked softly. She intentionally tried to remove her accent from her words, making an effort to speak 'properly'. She wasn't entirely sure why but she hoped that it would make Professor Landon kinder to her. She didn't want to face whatever she was about to, Ella's life was finally beginning to feel happy and it was about to be ruined.
"Your grades, Ella-Rose. They are awful," Professor Landon responded as she brought out a piece of paper. She placed it on the desk and it displayed her grades from the past few years of school. The Os and Es was most of the boxes with a few lower grades but the most recent mock exams were a completely different story. They were the lowest they had ever been.
"I know, I've been tryin' to improve them. I've done a lot of work and revision and studyin' to try and preve-," Ella quickly began but was cut off with a sharp glare. The brunette just stopped, letting her hands rest against her sides as she stared down at the floor. No matter what you do, your grades aren't going to change, a voice whispered in the back of Ella's head. The self-doubt hitting like a tsunami that Ella was desperately trying to avoid by hiding in a small cottage.
"I don't care what you are doing!" The woman responded harshly and the she continued, "You are failing this class and many other classes based on your recent performance which means that you might have to drop the NEWTs before the exam season comes around. To make the work load lighter on you and to ensure you get the grades you truly deserve. I've already suggested which ones you can drop. Namely ancient runes and the advanced potions class you are taking. You are doing poorly in both subjects, Ella-Rose. I would suggest you stop doing them before it's too late. I wouldn't want you to leave her and have failed and get no qualifications at all." Her voice was sickly sweet and overly sugared, she was trying to make Ella-Rose believe what she was saying but Ella frankly didn't.
