CHAPTER FIFTEEN
↳ pip the rabbit and questioning professor minnie

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"Lois! Can you help me sort my hair out? It's an absolute state and I'd rather not look like an owl is nesting in my hair!"

Elara Lupin was not exactly having a good morning if she could say so herself. In fact, she was exhausted. First off, she fell asleep without her bonnet on and now her hair looked as though she had been through an earthquake. Second, she was actually exhausted. She hasn't been able to sleep all night.

Why? Well a few days after Christmas, Elara had come to many revelations:

Number one: Harry had also received an anonymous present. His was a firebolt, the most expensive and world's best broom in the world.

Number two: there was a possibility that both Elara and Harry's presents were from Sirius Black.

And finally, number three: Hermione had told Professor Minnie about Harry's present and consequently had it confiscated.

"You know, you need to remember your bonnet, okay?" Lois scolded, applying further hair products to Elara's hair as she sat in the washroom with the girl. It sounded almost like a scolding mother reprimanding her child. "Your hair is one of your most beautiful features, it is your pride to have it. Not many are blessed with these curls and so you gotta care for them."

"I know, I know." Elara sighed, wincing as water splashed in her eyes. She felt Lois scratching the conditioner into her scalp harshly and cringed. "I've just been stressed about Harry and Ron?"

"Them? Elara get better standards!"

Elara was worried though. Not for her sake, but Hermione's. Now Ron and Harry weren't on speaking terms with Hermione. That left the bushy haired girl all alone. The moment Elara walked into the dining hall, hair clean and maintained, Hermione gravitated to her and nearly broke down sobbing. They sat on Hufflepuff table, Elara comforting Hermione the best she could.

"'Mione, you had good intentions," the girl rubbed Hermione's back while she let some tears out. Hermione laughed slightly, tears still escaping her eyes.

"Try telling Ron and Harry that," she said bitterly. She reached to her side, where a book on Hippogriff accidents and trials laid. "They'll tell you how selfish I am," she went to open the book, only for Elara to take it off her. "El, give me the book,"

Elara shook her head, flicking through the pages of the old, withered book. "No,"

"Yes,"

"No," Elara sighed. "'Mione you're worrying me. Please just relax for one moment ,"

"And how exactly do you propose I 'relax'?" Elara's eyes suddenly shone and Hermione shook her head. "I have no clue what you're thinking but no,"

"Come on!" Elara pulled Hermione's arm. "You haven't even heard what we should do!" Hermione and Elara were both standing up now. The hall was empty, the clock's constant stutters echoing in the empty room filled with just a few people eating. No one really paid attention to the loudness of Elara's voice. No one cared. "Just give me a chance! I promise it would involve us illegally smuggling a dragon out, finding a magical stone or locating a giant snake,"

Hermione rolled her eyes at Elara. "As long as it doesn't involve anything dangerous,"

"Scouts honour," Elara placed her hand on her chest, where her heart should be. She quickly grabbed Hermione's hand and began pulling her out. Hermione flushed a bright red, the tips of her ears as red as a Weasley's hair.

"Hey at least let me pack everything away," Hermione protested. Elara only rolled her eyes in response.

"It's unlikely that your books will magic away," she waved her hands in the air dramatically. She quickly turned, her hair flailing in the air along with it, and began pulling Hermione along with her. "Now come on!"

Now if you told a twelve year old Elara Lily Lupin that in a year she'd be holding hands with the Hermione Granger, she would've looked away from you and told you that you were pranking her. However, a now fourteen year old Elara Lily Lupin was walking outside with Hermione Jean Granger. If she had turned around, she would've noticed how red the bushy haired Gryffindor was while the Hufflepuff pulled her along.

The two girls were walking towards the Black Lake. Elara seemed to know exactly where to go and that confused Hermione greatly. The girl happily skipped down the banks of the lake. Some rocks fell and the dust was emitted by the dirt on the path. Soon, the arrived near a burrow. Elara got down onto her knees and reached her hand into the burrow and suddenly a white rabbit popped their head out.

"'Mione, this is Pip," the girl introduced the white rabbit to the Gryffindor. Pip was a small white rabbit with a beady red eye and a pale white eye with floppy ears that were very crooked. At further investigation, you would notice the small scars on the rabbit's face and also how misty her right eye was. After all, Pip was half blind. "So you may wanna hear some context," Hermione nodded and waited. "During my first year, whilst I did talk to you and some other people, most people were pretty mean to me," Hermione looked at Elara with pure sympathy. Elara was bullied? I never-

"Now I know what you're thinking 'oh I never knew,' well that's quite alright! Well anyways, some mean Gryffindors in their sixth year were chasing me around the school, you know the mean things 'stupid bitch hanging out with a mudblood' the casual homophobic slur here and there and I decided to conveniently fall down the banks,"

"So how does this tie into you meeting Pip?" Hermione interrogated. She felt guilty on so many levels. She had no idea Elara was bullied in her first year. The brunette had never really opened up on anything for that matter. She didn't talk about her birthday, what her life was like at home, she didn't mention anything. Hermione Granger felt like an awful friend.

"Well my dearest little Pip and her mama, who I named Tony, were minding their own business when I kindly dropped by and nearly crushed their home," Elara laughed. The small rabbit wandered by Hermione, sniffing her. "They kept me calm when I was about to have an anxiety attack and thus we became friends," she nonchalantly excused the fact she had mentioned about her anxiety. She rarely had attacks anymore, they had gotten much better ever since the end of first year when Cedric had offered some emotional support. Sure, he was kind from the start, but Cedric was just a friend then. Now he was her best friend and Elara didn't know what she'd do if he died.

"Wait anxiety attack?" Hermione's eyes bursted out their sockets. Not literally, but they looked like they were about to. "El, why didn't you tell me?"

"It wasn't relevant?"

"Elara, everything about you is relevant," Hermione took El's hand, warmly holding it. She smiled up at Elara who looked silently shocked. "El, I love you so much, you're so relevant,"

"Hermione..." Hermione's gaze meet Elara's piecing brown eyes. Their eyes clashed together as they gazed at each other. Elara's lips were parted slightly and her eyes were wider than the possibilities of them being like this today. "Here, let me show you how I relax," Elara grasped onto Pip and placed her gently on Hermione's lap. The brunette's hand was stroking the fur of the rabbit tenderly. "C'mon, she isn't going to bite," Elara grabbed Hermione's hand, guiding her to stroke the rabbit's snow fur. She focused intensely, her eyebrows furrowing.

Hermione coulent help but stare at Elara. They were so close together, Elara was leaning on Hermione's shoulder, hands touching. She averted her eyes away when Elara caught her staring. She didn't know what to say.

"It's alright, you can stare," Elara mumbled softly. Merlin, her voice was so sweet. Hermione couldn't help but purse her lips at that thought. "It's not weird at all, we all stare at things that interest us,"

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Transfiguration was by far Elara's favourite subject. Firstly, she always adored Professor Minnie ( her actual name was Minerva McGonagall but Elara had known her ever since she was younger so she had a habit of calling her 'Minnie' ). That bloody teacher was a cat animagus, how could you hate her? Another reason was because she found their to be one purpose of her life. It may be illegal, but her last name was "Lupin-Black", her family were practically illegal.

So anyways, Elara Lupin was busy in transfigurations listening to Minnie babble on about animagi. They had many lessons on animagi as a whole, which seemed rather annoying considering Elara knew everything about animagi.

"Becoming a registered animagi is the only way an individual can become one," Minnie emphasised the word 'only' stealing a glance Elara's direction. Elara knew she was bluffing. Her dad was an illegal animagus for crying out loud. "This means the person would be monitored by the ministry while they perform the process to make sure they don't mess up,"

Although Elara was listening, she couldn't help but wander off to thinking about how Snuffles was right now. That bloody black dog was going to be the death of her with the way he was. "Ms Lupin, can you tell me one of the things required to successfully become an animagus?" Elara snapped out of her gaze, giving Minnie a grin.

"Why a mandrake leaf, of course," Elara smiled brightly at Minnie. Minerva McGonagall was tempted to shake her head at her answer, but it was correct. She had a funny feeling that Elara was more like Sirius than people assumed. "Oh and the person needs to recite an incantation of some sorts," the girl added on.

"Thank you Ms Lupin," Minnie went back to teaching her class. However, she had an itch in her that Elara wasn't exactly going to try and be legal. Silently, Minnie sighed and just prayed to Merlin that a Lupin-Black wouldn't try something illicit.

When her class was dismissed, Elara stayed behind. "Professor Minnie, can I ask you something?"

Minnie pushed her glasses forward, eyeing Elara suspiciously. Dear Merlin, she just prayed that she wasn't about to do anything illegal. "Go ahead,"

"So, Minnie," Elara placed her hand on the table. "Theoretically-"

Minerva McGonagall could swear that it suddenly became 1976 again and she was back in the cold transfiguration classroom with Sirius Black and James Potter ( along with a meek Peter Pettigrew ) interrogating her in a similar way. She knew exactly what they were doing, but the boys were stubborn.

"-how would someone go about becoming an animagi?" Elara held a cheeky grin on her face when she saw Professor McGonagall audibly sigh and shake her head. Sirius Black may have not raised her for many years, but the years he was present really did have an impact on how Elara acted.

"Well, you'd need to legally follow the ministry and have them monitor you-"

"Yada yada yada, Minnie I already know this!" Elara pushed her to explaining further. "Tell me the stuff you haven't taught!"

"Most of the stuff I am not suppose to teach until you take NEWT level Transfiguration," McGonagall grabbed a piece of paper and a quill. "However I'm sure some light reading won't do you any harm, especially if it's stuff from the restricted section of section 'a' in the library," Elara was given a piece of paper that not only had her Professor's signature, but full authority for her to take the book and read it for however long she pleases. "Of course, Ms Lupin, you aren't intending to actually become an illegal animagus, are you?"

"Minnie that's illegal, of course I wouldn't," that was a lie, Minnie knew that. Elara had a feeling Minnie knew what her intentions were.

After all, the teacher did deal with the marauders for seven years.

"Mhm I'm sure you're just curious," Minnie smiled, the whole situation being nostalgic. History was repeating itself, she just hoped that Elara wouldn't corrupt Harry Potter any further. She was the one who promoted any mischief making, Minnie was certain that all the pranks Fred and George Weasley didn't do were the cause of the young Lupin. She was a brilliant actress after all, her innocent facade was very convincing and for the majority of her first year she convinced McGonagall that she was just a sweet innocent little girl. However, an incident where Draco Malfoy suddenly had vibrant pink hair revealed the short girl wasn't the most innocent and was, in fact, exactly like her parents.

Exactly like her parents. She was basically Sirius Black and Remus Lupin combined. She was diabolical in her pranking efforts, her being a 'sweet' 'innocent' Hufflepuff meant she was the most unlikely suspect and therefore she never got caught. Her brightness proved its usefulness in nearly everything she did. She was a brilliant student who was clever beyond her years.

It was no surprise she had a seven minute hat stall where the hat was tempted to place her in Ravenclaw.

To be honest, Minnie found it nice that she had people reminding her of the boys she considered her children. She had both Sirius Black, before he betrayed his friends, and Remus Lupin in Elara and she constantly saw James Potter in his son.

Minerva McGonagall couldn't help but let out a warm hearted smile when she saw Elara skip out of her classroom with the permission slip in her hand. She couldn't help but sigh with sadness, missing her boys terribly.

Oh how she'd trade anything in the world to have her boys back and ready to prank her once more.

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UM SO I WAS NOT INTENDING TO LEAVE THIS CHAPTER OFF WITH ANGST- I PROMISE. Minnie and Elara are amazing and iconic. I WROTE ELMIONE GUYS!! Also I won't make a whole sap story for Elara's bullying. It was just teasing and never got any violent other than some name calling and homophobic slurs. She learnt to ignore them and after she got closer to Cedric, the bullying stopped.

I wanna add this here though: homophobia, transphobia, racism, sexism, ageism etc will never be tolerated. I won't write the scenes of Elara's bullying, out of respect for those who deal with it because I know homophobia can be triggering. As a lesbian myself, it already takes a lot for me to write scenes where Elara is pessimistic abort her sexuality because I myself have dealt with those emotions. However, I wanna write an authentic novel that is relatable and to make it relatable, you have got to include the struggles LGBTQ+ people deal with, which does include internalised homophobia.
She Is definitely gay btw, she just doesn't know her label yet but she will eventually. She's trying to work out if she does have romantic feelings and her feelings about it are setting herself back.

I also wanna disclaim Morgan, Lois, Gaia and Cedric's sexualities: Morgan identifies as a gay man, whereas Cedric is unlabelled. WE BARELY SEE UNLABELLED REP AND UNLABELLED PEOPLE ARE AMAZING SO YOU ALL GET CEDRIC.
Lois is pansexual in the story as well, I will not tolerate any pan-erasure whatsoever. Gaia is bisexual so do not try and erase her bisexuality. In this house, we cannot ever tolerate bi and pan erasure.