Choices

A/N: Thank you to my lovely reviewers. You guys are awesome!

---

Chapter Eleven: Secret Revealed

"I wonder what the Headmaster wants with us, and why we had to wait until the end of class to go," Hermione voiced her thoughts as they finally made it to the stone gargoyle at the entrance to the Headmaster's office.

"I wonder why no one bothered to tell us the password," Elkara grumbled.

They stood there for a few minutes trying every type of candy they could think of before Elkara guessed the right one "Starburst". The girls giggled over the Headmaster using a Muggle candy as the password. They rode the staircase up to the door and were about to knock when they heard Harry call for them to come in. They entered, wondering how Harry had known they were there.

"You're right, Professor, that is fun," Harry addressed the Headmaster with a grin.

Dumbledore simply smiled at the young man and motioned for the girls to sit down.

"Miss Shidu, I think it's time we let Mr. Potter and Mr. Weasley in on your secret," the Headmaster said, for once not being infuriatingly cryptic about what he wanted someone to do.

Elkara bowed her head, her hair falling over her face. She looked up at the headmaster and said, “Very well, Headmaster, but I want Ginny and Draco here as well.”

“Of course. I’ll fire call Professor McGonagall and have her send them up,” he answered.

“Professor,” Hermione said, “Draco’s got a free period right now, he’s probably going to be in our common room.

Dumbledore nodded at her, and then walked over to the fireplace. He first fire called McGonagall and asked her to send Ginny to his office. He then fire called the Heads’ Common Room and asked Draco to join them in his office. The other four teens in the room heard him consent before the headmaster pulled his head from the fireplace and resumed his seat behind his desk.

“El, why do you want Malfoy here?” Harry asked, obviously trying to control his temper.

“He’s my friend, Harry, and he’s trustworthy,” she answered, not looking at him.

Ron scoffed at this. “A trustworthy Malfoy? I highly doubt it.”

Hermione glared at him and snapped, “You don’t even know him, Ronald.”

Ron opened his mouth to retort, but was cut off by Harry saying, “Can it, Ron. We know them both well enough to be able to trust their judgment. If they say he’s trustworthy, then I’, willing to believe them. I may not like Malfoy, but El obviously does and it’s not our place to judge that.”

Hermione and Ron gaped at him, but for entirely different reasons. Ron couldn’t believe that Harry had just defended a Malfoy. Hermione couldn’t believe that Harry was acting so grown up. She wondered when her best friend had become this mature adult, rather than the slightly immature hothead he had been in the previous years.

“Thank you for saying that, Harry. It means a lot to me to know I’ve got your support,” El said, still not looking at anyone.

Harry’s response was cut off by Dumbledore calling for Draco and Ginny to come in. The two entered, looking around to see who all was there, and wondering why they’d been called. Ginny took a seat on the floor near Elkara’s feet, and Draco took the empty chair next to her. They looked at the headmaster expectantly.

Dumbledore cleared his throat and said, “We have a very important matter to discuss today. Miss Weasley, Mr. Malfoy, I expect what is revealed in this room today to remain absolutely secret. You must not tell anyone what you see and hear in this room.”

They nodded their agreement and the headmaster motioned for Elkara to take over.

She stood up and moved next to the headmaster’s desk, near Fawkes. She asked, “Do you remember when we learned about the Shadow Phoenix in Care of Magical Creatures?”

Draco’s jaw about hit the floor as he realized what she was about to tell them. Harry, Ron, and Ginny hadn’t quite caught on yet and simply nodded.

“Well, um, there’s really no easy way to say this, so I think I’ll just show you,” El said, suddenly looking nervous. She reached up and stroked Fawkes, then turned back to the others. In a sudden swirl of darkness, Elkara was gone and in her place was a large bird that resembled Fawkes, except her colors were black and shades gray rather than the reds and golds that Fawkes was.

Hermione, though she knew El’s secret, had never seen her transform. She was just as shocked by the quickness of it as everyone else. Ginny was first to recover from the shock of the transformation. She crawled across the floor until she was kneeling in front of the bird. She reached out and tentatively stroked the birds head and neck. Elkara was elated that Ginny didn’t hate her. She leaned into the touch, savoring the feeling of it. Ginny was soon joined by Draco and Hermione, who sat on either side of El and stroked her wings. Harry and Ron joined them on the floor after a quickly whispered discussion.

“Um, Malfoy, in light of recent events, I was wondering if we could start over and possibly be friends,” Harry said, extending his hand to the blond boy.

After a look at Hermione, Draco accepted the offered hand. Ron extended his hand also, making the same offer Harry had. Draco, who was completely floored by the newest turn of events, accepted Ron’s hand. Ginny and Hermione were looking at each other smugly.

“What are those looks for?” Harry asked.

“It would seem that El knew what she was doing when she asked for Draco to be here,” Hermione answered.

To Draco, it seemed the surprises just wouldn’t stop. He asked, “She asked for me specifically? Why?”

“Because she trusts you,” Hermione answered. Then to El she said, “Are you ready to turn back now?”

The bird squawked and extended her wings. She then decided that she wanted to take a loop around Dumbledore’s office. When she was done, she headed back to the floor, transforming in mid-flight. She landed lightly on her feet right in front of Ginny.

“Do you forgive me for not telling you sooner?” El asked the redhead, her eyes downcast.

Ginny hugged her girlfriend and said, “Honey, there’s nothing to forgive. It’s been less than two months since we met. That’s a very short amount of time to gain enough trust in someone to tell them a secret that big.”

“You’re really not mad at me?” El asked, hope shining in her eyes.

“I’m really not mad at you,” Ginny answered, hugging her tighter.

They heard the headmaster clear his throat before he said, “I do believe it’s time for dinner. As the six of you have much to talk about I’ll have a house elf bring food to you in the Heads’ Common Room. Is this agreeable?”

The six teens looked a bit embarrassed, as they had completely forgotten they were in the headmaster’s office. Hermione answered, “Yes, Headmaster, that would be quite agreeable. Thank you, sir.”

“You’re quite welcome, Miss Granger. Now, Mr. Malfoy, I believe you should leave first, as it would not do for you to be seen in the company of such a large group of Gryffindors,” Dumbledore said to them.

Draco did leave first, and the others waited thirty seconds before following him. They were passed on the stairs by Professor Snape.

Elkara smiled brightly at him and said, “Good evening, Professor.”

True to form, he simply scowled at her and kept walking up the stairs. The others looked at her like she’d lost her mind.

“What? Just because he’s a snarky bastard doesn’t mean people shouldn’t try to be nice to him. Who knows? One day he might decide to return the favour,” she said, grinning at them.

Hermione just shook her head as the other four continued to look at the girl like she’d lost her mind. She thought to herself, This is going to be a long night.

---

A/N: Yay! This chapter’s done! It took me forever to figure out how to end it.