10; GOTTA GO MY OWN WAY

The next morning, Elara was awoken by Theodore. "You've got to meet the team soon." He said.

"Both a good and a bad thing." Came her reply as she grabbed her clothes and went into the bathroom. After brushing her teeth and taking a quick shower, she got dressed in some black ripped jeans, a Slytherin sweater and her black coat on over top.

She brushed her hair, enjoying the shorter length. After she finished her N.E.W.T. exams, Elara took it upon herself to make a trip to Hogsmeade with Bianca and get their hair done. So, not only did she cut it back to its shoulder length, but she also dyed the tips a dark green, in spirit of both her Hogwarts house, and her new Quidditch team.

After doing some quick makeup, she walked back into the dorm room, and tossed the last of her things into her trunk, then sat down beside Theodore on their bed and slipped her boots on. She leaned her head on his shoulder. "I feel like this might be harder than I anticipated."

"Most things are." He linked his fingers with hers and pulled her up. Elara shrunk her trunk and put it in her carry on, which also held her broom, before sticking her wand in her boot. She let Theodore lead her out of the dorm and the common room and towards the Great Hall.

It was relatively empty, considering it was Saturday, and there were only a few students on each table. Elara knew the rest of her friends would come see her off before she left, and they decided to let Elara spend some time alone with Theodore. Not much time, considering she had to leave soon, but it was the thought that counted.

They both sat opposite each other in a comfortable silence, each of them with a mug of coffee and a plate of breakfast. Elara had hers covered with eggs and bacon, and Theodore had a pile of pancakes drenched in maple syrup. "I still don't see how you can eat that so early in the bloody morning." Elara commented as she sipped her coffee.

"My thoughts exactly with you eating bacon." Theodore shrugged in response, stuffing another forkful of pancakes into his mouth.

"Bloody hell, Theodore. You eat like a 5 year old." Elara laughed, grabbing a napkin and tossing it at his face. "There's syrup all over your chin."

He wiped it away sheepishly. "What am I going to do when you're gone?"

"Suffer tremendously, I suppose." She shrugged, finishing off her food, and taking her sweet time with the hot coffee.

"I really will." He nodded. "Suffer, I mean, without you. it's going to be weird."

"I know." She brought one of her hands down and clasped his own. "But, it'll be the break soon enough and we can spend some time together, well, the time that I have off anyways. Then, when you've graduated, we'll have all the time in the world."

"Will you still be at Grimmauld?"

"Not all the time. I've been given an apartment near the stadium." Elara remembered the letter she got sent a few days ago. The one with a long explanation and some keys. "I can't afford to be apparating between London and the stadium in Wales, so they've gotten me an apartment there. I'll come and visit all the time. Maybe you can stay there with me when you're on holiday."

"Just when I'm on holiday?" He winked.

"All the time, if you want." Elara laughed. "I'm thinking of asking Draco to move in with me after this years over. I suppose now that he's close to seventeen, his father will be placing even more pressure on him about being a Death Eater and such."

"I'm glad I escaped before all that crap."

"I'm glad too."

Once they finished their coffee, Theodore grabbed her hand once more and they headed out of the Great Hall, but before they could walk out of the Entrance Hall and outside, they were stopped by someone clearing their throat.

Elara turned around and almost teared up when she saw McGonagall stood there, hands clasped in front of her and a fond look on her face. She handed Theodore her bag and walked over to her Transfiguration professor. "Good morning, Professor."

"Good morning, Miss Black." McGonagall nodded. "I see you are about to leave."

"Yes, Professor. Gwenog has requested I meet them at 9:00." Elara replied.

"I just wanted to see you before you left. You are almost a carbon copy of your father, Miss Black. But, it was a pleasure to teach you."

"That means a lot coming from you, Professor. I promise, the next time I see you, you'll be in the stands, and I'll be flying as a Harpy Beater."

"I look forward to that, then." McGonagall nodded, before she watched as Elara took her bag back from Theodore and they both walked out of the castle. Elara took the time walking to the station to look around the grounds and appreciate everything.

When they arrived at the station, Elara smiled as she saw all her friends waiting there. "Aw, you guys care."

"We love you, El." The twins were the first ones to bound over and hug her. Fred on one side, and George on the other.

"We'll miss our pranking buddy."

"I'll miss you guys too." She responded with equal gusto, before they get go and stood off to the side. Then, Ron came up and held a hand out for her to shake. She scoffed and brought him into a hug, his head reaching her shoulder. "Are we bloody strangers?"

"No?" His voice was muffled, as his face was pressed against her coat.

"Take care of Harry for me, yeah?" Elara pulled away. He nodded, and she smiled before opening her arms for Hermione. The shorter brunette girl hugged her older friend gently. "You'll make sure they don't get into too much trouble, won't you smart girl?"

"Of course, El." Hermione smiled, before she moved aside and let Harry almost tackle Elara to the ground from the power of his hug.

She let out a sound of surprise before hugging him back tightly. "Hey, little brother, it's going to be alright. I'm only an owl away."

"I'll miss you."

"I'll miss you too, sweetheart." She kissed his forehead. He moved slightly to the side to let the others hug her, but still stayed by her side. Blaise was next. He gave Elara a side-hug and a kiss on the cheek. They exchanged some quiet words Harry couldn't hear before he moved and let Draco take his place.

The platinum-haired boy hugged Elara just as tightly as Harry did. "Draco, if things get bad, you send me an owl right away, alright? I'll get you and Narcissa away from him."

He nodded against her chest. "Promise."

"Good."

She turned to the Greengrass sisters and wrapped the two in a hug. "We'll miss you lots, El." Daphne smiled softly.

"I'll miss you too."

"Ginny told me to tell you she wanted to come, but she was too tired to wake up." Astoria added.

"Give her my love then."

Then, she turned her attention to her best friend. Her sister. "Bia, you'll be the one to make me cry." She smiled sadly before opening her arms and letting her taller friend hug her tightly.

"I'm going to miss you so much, sestra. Why are you leaving me here with them?" Bianca wailed dramatically.

"I'll miss you too, ma soeur. I'm sorry to make you deal with them, but at least you have Daphne."

"My saviour." Bianca joked. She kissed Elara's cheek. "You're going to be the best Beater this world has seen, and when we come see your games, I'll be cheering the loudest. I love you."

"I love you too." Elara sniffled, wiping a trailing tear from her cheek. "Why do you always make me cry, you bitch."

"It's a specialty." Bianca shrugged. "Now go hug your lover boy."

"Lover boy!" Elara called, bringing Bianca to laugh and Theodore to roll his eyes. He made his way closer to her and opened his arms, letting her lithe body fall into them. He brought her close to his chest and rested his chin on her head. "I'm really going to miss you."

"You better." He mumbled into her hair, before yelping when she pinched him. "Joking. I'm bloody joking. I'll miss you too. Always will."

"Alright, guys, time's up." Bianca called. The pair pulled away from their hug and Elara tightened her grip on her bag.

"I'll see you in a week or so, yeah? I'll be at Grimmauld for Christmas. I promise." She kissed her fingers and waved at everyone before Disapparating. She appeared outside the stadium, which is where Gwenog asked her to come so she could be properly introduced to the team.

Walking in, she saw they had set up tables and food in the middle of the stadium and Elara smiled. "Good morning!" She called.

Everyone turned to look at her, smiles on their faces. "There's our new Beater!" Gwenog exclaimed, gesturing for Elara to walk over, and she did so, wiping the remaining tears off her face. "Everything alright?" The older woman asked when she saw Elara's red eyes.

"Oh, yeah. Just an emotional goodbye." Elara laughed. She looked around at everyone. "This is brilliant!"

"Well, we had to give our new team-mate a warm welcome, didn't we?" Another girl winked, a smirk on her face. She had finger hair and dark brown eyes. "I'm Jemma, Seeker. Nice to meet you."

"Elara, but you already knew that. Lovely to meet you too." Elara shook her hand. "You can all call me El though. No one really uses my full name."

"Sounds wonderful, El. Now, we thought we'd spend some time bonding. After all, a good team has to have connections with their fellow team members. Then, I'll take you to your apartment, yeah?"

"Alright, let's do this!"

Elara very much enjoyed getting to know the rest of the team. She found out that Jemma attended Hogwarts as well, having been in Hufflepuff, and she graduated a few years back, when Elara would have been in her first or second year. That meant she was the one closest to her age.

By the time it was noon, they had finished all the food and Gwenog offered to take Elara to her new home. She linked their arms and Apparated to a building a few blocks away from the stadium. The distance was one they could walk, but in the mean time, they Apparated.

They appeared outside the building and Elara admired it. it was made of red bricks and several steps lead up to a massive black door. Beside the door was a little board with various buttons. Gwenog explained to her that they were bells that linked to the different apartments, so when pressed, only that one apartment would heard the sound.

There was a cherry blossom tree on either side of the stairs. "You got your keys, yeah? All the way up, sweetheart. Apartment 302."

"Thank you." Elara's reply was sincere.

"Of course. Anything for a friend." The older woman grinned. "Training's every day. We'll have one day training during morning hours, and the next evening, then morning and so on. Saturdays and Sundays are off, and same with winter holidays. Your contract was sent to you, correct?"

Elara nodded. "Good, so you know your salary, benefits, days off and all the important stuff. Your training schedule is on there as well." Another nod. "Alright, that's done then. I'll see you bright and early tomorrow morning."

Elara waved before Gwenog Disapparated. Then, she walked up the steps and opened the door, finding herself in a long hallway with a staircase to her left, with a door just beside it, a door to her right and another door at the other end of the hallway.

She took the stairs all the way to the third floor and walked to the door on the right hand side. It was white and there was a golden plaque on it with '302' engraved on it. She stuck her key into the keyhole and twisted. The door unlocked and she walked in, closing it behind her.

She was greeted with a big space. It was clear that there was a charm on the apartment to make it appear larger on the inside. No muggle could tell the different from the outside. This area had a kitchen to the right. It was wooden and white with a table in the centre and two chairs.

The right side was a cosy living room, with a desk to the side. The couch was grey and looked very soft, and Elara could see herself falling asleep on it on days when she would probably not have the strength to drag herself to her bedroom. There were pillows and throws tossed onto the couch and a window behind it, letting in light.

In between the kitchen and the living room was nothing, and at the end was a hallway with three doors. The first door led to a small bathroom. It was basic with a sink, toilet and a small shower. There were grey accents and gold detailing on the lights. The second door she opened was a small bedroom. There was a single bed and a desk pushed under a window. The closet was opposite the bed.

Then she opened the last door at the end of the hallway, and it led to a bigger bedroom. This one, she knew was hers. Because she was on the highest floor, the ceiling was designed to be tilted. It was fairly basic, with a queen-sized bed taking up most of the space. There was a closet to the side and beside it a small vanity, and a rack. On the rack hung several uniforms, and one was in a black bag with a note taped to it.

Elara reached out and plucked the note off.

Elara,

Here are several training uniforms, because we all get ours dirty and I'm sure you're the same. Having just one won't be enough. This one in the bag is your game day uniform. You have only the one, but they get upgraded every year, because we only wear them for games.

Hope you like your new place,

The Harpies

Elara smiled and tucked the note into her bag, which she then tossed onto the bed. There was a door inside the room, and when Elara opened it, she saw it led to a bathroom. Her private bathroom. It was larger than the other one and had more counter space but was still relatively simple.

Elara made her way back to her bag and pulled her trunk out and enlarged it before beginning the 5 minute process of waving her wand and putting everything in the closet. Once everything was organised and she filled the vanity with her makeup and hair stuff, and the bathroom with her toiletries, she made her way to the kitchen.

Her wand was back in her boot, and she had shrugged her coat off and hung it on one of the hooks by the front door. Then, she looked through all the cupboards and drawers in the kitchen. The Harpies sure went all out for their players. There was all the cutlery, plates, bowls and everything else one would need in the kitchen.

The only thing missing was the food itself. So, Elara decided to walk around the neighbourhood and see if there was a grocery store nearby, check out the restaurants, and just familiarise herself with the place she would be living in.

When she read her contract, she saw it came with a card that had access to her own Gringotts vault and would convert her Galleons into muggle pounds for when she needed it. She hadn't started earning money as a player yet, but she still had the money from the Black account, which currently she was the only one with access to considering her father was disowned. So, it was decided that all her money would go to that vault.

So, she grabbed her coat and slipped it back on, untucking her short hair from under it. Then, she summoned a dark green beanie and her Slytherin scarf and pulled them both on before tucking her wand back in her boot. She stuck her keys and card in her pant pocket and closed the door behind her, walking downstairs and then outside the building.

She wandered pretty much aimlessly around the place, finding several places of interest. There was a coffee shop right across the street from her building, and she knew she would be stopping there almost every morning. Then, there was a pizza diner the next building over, and a decent sized grocery store near it as well.

After buying pretty much half the store, Elara walked back to her apartment building, arms laden with bags that she couldn't made smaller and stuff in her bag because she wasn't one to risk exposure. She could see the stadium from her apartment building, but it was disguised as a tall skyscraper so muggles wouldn't get suspicious.

Once she got back inside her apartment, she unloaded all the things she bought into the fridge, freezer and the cupboards before sticking a frozen meal into the microwave. Elara vaguely remembered how to use most muggle equipment due to being raised in a muggle orphanage.

So, when it was done, she grabbed her food and poured herself a glass of red wine because while she wanted firewhiskey, she couldn't exactly find that here. Which meant she needed to go to Diagon Alley or Hogsmeade soon.

It would be weird to sleep on her own, but Elara knew she would be facing troubles and had stocked up on energy potions and sleeping potions to help her.

Just a few more months, she reminded herself. Then, Theodore would graduate, and it would be okay.

It would all be okay.