Ermalene Talon and the Hall of Ancestors - Book One

The Message of the Magpie

The Message of the Magpie

They were in Harry Potter's office. Ermalene couldn't believe it. She'd felt as though she were dreaming when, after breaking apart from a bone crushing hug with his brother-in-law, Harry had quickly ushered them into the office, warning them to duck from the memos ("they won't stop pecking at your head if you disrupt them, they're all labeled urgent") and apologized for the smell of ash ("the phoenix has just burned, you see"). He waved them into a few plush chairs and cast an extendable spell on one of them so that Ermalene and Andy fit quite well side by side upon it, then settled himself behind his desk. A couple memos started bumping into his temple the moment he'd returned to his desk. He waved at them with one hand irritably.

"So, Bill, to what do I owe your visit? ..and I do hope you're planning to come 'round the house later or Ginny will be peaked I saw you without making sure you came 'round."

Bill smiled, "Of course. How is Ginny?"

"Been well," Harry nodded, "Reminds me more and more of your mum everyday," he laughed, "Nearly strangled me when I said that, though. I meant it as a compliment, but she's sensitive about it. She's become the most fabulous cook and she's been knitting jumpers for all the kids for their Hogwarts Christmas packages. Says it's not Christmas without a jumper."

"It's bloody not!" Bill laughed.

Harry laughed, "I still have my one with the big snitch sewn on it she first gave me."

"I've a ruddy collection of 'em."

"So does Ginny. Takes up a whole closet, the lot of them. Even with Hermione's extension charms on the closet back."

Ermalene couldn't take her eyes off of Harry as he talked, she was so in awe of how normal he was, sitting here behind a desk at the Ministry with paper memos bumping him and talking about Christmas sweaters.

Finally, after they'd caught up a bit more, Bill said, "So to business. Harry, I was wondering if you might have access to familial records? Andy's friend here, Ermalene, has been looking for some information on who her birth parents might have been. She was adopted by the Notts before they moved off to the States," he explained, "But the orphanage seems to have misplaced the records."

"Deleted them," Ermalene corrected.

Harry turned to Ermalene. "Deleted them?"

Blushing because Harry Potter had just spoken directly to her, Ermalene replied in a smallish voice, "Yes. The woman there deleted them."

"She was confunded," Andy explained. "When she pulled up the record, something happened that confunded her and she deleted them."

Harry's eyebrows stitched together. "Really. That's odd. Do you know your full name?"

"Ermalene Talon," she answered. "I found out when I started at Flamel Academy. Before that, I always thought my parents were truly my parents and that my name was Nott. When my letter to Flamel Academy arrived, it was addressed to Ermalene Talon."

All three looked at Ermalene with surprised expressions. "They never told you themselves?" Bill asked. He looked at Harry with a concerned look on his face.

"No?" Ermalene was confused, "Is that bad?"

Harry shook his head, "Not particularly," he replied, "Odd that the Flamel Academy would've outed it, though. Means you aren't legally named Nott in the Ministry records."

"Really? But - but they adopted me," she said. Quickly she added, "They thought I was a muggle when I was adopted. Does that make a difference?"

Harry shook his head again, "Shouldn't." He was pulling a comically long drawer out of his desk. It extended across the room over six feet from the desk with rows and rows and rows of folders lined up inside, all sorts of colors, with bunches of papers sticking out all over. Finally, he pulled one out and laid it open on the desk. It appeared to be a list of family names registered within the past century. He ran his finger down the list, but there was no Talon. He made a face. "Odd." He looked up at her, "When is your birthday, Ermalene?"