Golden Girl- James Potter Love Story

A Changing World

Ella Vine stood in her bedroom, staring in the mirror at her reflection. Large blonde curls tumbled a little past her shoulders and her large soulful green eyes had a little sparkle. She was rather excited at turning 11 the next month and the prospect of receiving her Hogwarts letter. If her parents ever let her go, she sighed, twirling in front of the mirror. Ella had reached the age to tell something didn't feel quite right, but she couldn't put her finger on it.

She turned away from her mirrored self and crossed over to her bed, smoothing down any stubborn wrinkles. She liked to keep things in order, a habit she assumed she got from her parents. The Vine Manor was always in perfect condition, but Ella sometimes felt the indescribable urge to break something, just to see how much it upset the balance.

She thought of herself as a rather average girl, for the wizarding world at least. Her parents were both wizards and good ones. They worked in the Ministry as aurors and were exceptionally close with Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts and defeater of Gellert Grindelwald. They had described to Ella when she turned 9 about their involvement in the Order of the Phoenix in great detail.

All this made her feel a bit insignificant, Ella reflected as she opened a book from her shelves without reading it's pages. After seeing her parent's lives she had dreamed of becoming an Auror and taking part in the glory of defeating dark wizards too, something her parents had acted rather hesitant about. At first she had not thought much of it being young, but as time went on Ella began to notice how odd her parents sometimes acted. They rarely let her out of the house and even then insisted on casting a Disillusionment charm on her or taking back roads to their destinations. Ella had originally assumed that was common in the wizarding world, but she had begun to question her parent's actions.

The girl slid the ladder on her bookshelves over to the Transfiguration books. One of the perks of being a Vine was the enormous library that Ella indulged in happily. Her parents had transferred just a small portion to her room, but it seemed to explode with the volumes whenever she opened the door.

"Do you need anything, Ella?"

Ella looked up and smiled at their housekeeper.

"No thank you, Miss Weasley."

The ginger woman clicked over to her desk and peered over her shoulder at the open book. "Human transformation?"

Ella blushed and tried to slide the book inconspicuously to the side. Her parents didn't approve much of her meddling with the transformation of herself. "Just reading."

"I'm not going to tell," the energetic woman raised an eyebrow before turning to leave. "Goodness knows my cousin could use it, he's had seven children. SEVEN! And only one girl too," Miss Weasley grumbled as she trotted off.

Ella giggled before turning back to the book and studying it carefully. Eventually she gave a heavy sigh and shut the volume, desperate to have her own wand to practice. The girl left her room and bounded down the stairs taking the marble steps two at a time, only slowing to a halt when she heard Mr. and Mrs. Vine's hushed voices behind a closed door. It was muffled, but Ella could barely make out a few phrases. She pressed her ear to the polished wood and tried to ignore the small prick of guilt at eavesdropping. I'll stop if it's something really private, she told herself.

"Dumbledore wants to tell her soon," her father's voice rumbled.

"But how do we do that Henry? The news is crushing, you can't just tell your daughter that she's adopted. And there's everything else as well."

Ella had to catch her knees from buckling and slapped a hand over her gaping mouth. The word adoption rang in her ears. What else could there be? "A lot" a small voice taunted.

"She's not from this time Doris," her father pressed. "Ella has a mission to accomplish and she must do it."

"I know Henry, but at what cost? The Black family is notorious for a reason and she's still one of them. Family is family after all, who knows what dangers she will face once she finds out?"

And that's where our story begins. With a young girl in disbelief. Her world altered forever.

(EDITED 7/23/18)