Up and In with a Kick

Eliana rolled over on the little bed in the Detention Room, pressing her bottom against the hard boards.

"Ow!!"

A sharp jolt of pain slapped Eliana awake. She yelped and realized she was still locked up.

She was only supposed to be detained for one day, right?

Recalling what Mrs. Brown had said yesterday, Eliana crept to the door and cautiously poked her head out.

Was she free?

She tentatively stuck one foot outside.

Was she really free?

She stepped out with both feet, her eyes darting around.

No one rushed over to smack her and tell her to go back. She grew bolder.

Eliana cleared her throat, straightened her collar, and prepared to stride forward with an air of elegance.

She had meant to play the elegant, learned, aloof girl who had returned from studying abroad yesterday... but then things had happened.

Never mind. Today was a new day. Everyone could forget the past and start fresh!

Eliana marched out proudly, then spotted a small pile of presents by the door.

Oh—

She dropped into a crouch beside them in a flash, her eyes sparkling.

She had presents! And so many of them!

Like a kitten discovering a pile of dried fish, she sniffed around the gifts, then scooped them up from underneath and dashed back into the Detention Room. The door slammed shut with a thunderous bang.

Hehehe. She was going to take a good look.

She rubbed her hands together and began unwrapping the top present.

A little note fluttered out from behind the wrapping. The handwriting was not especially pretty, but its writer had clearly tried to make it neat. It was from Harry.

Inside was a fist-sized crown painted the kind of pink boys seemed to love, covered in tiny sparkling rhinestones. Even in the dim Detention Room, it glittered.

Wow!!

Eliana's eyes lit up. She excitedly perched the crown on her head, like a little dragon that had found treasure.

So shiny. She loved it.

She spun around the tiny room in delight, then kept unwrapping.

The second package held a book. She did not even need to check; it had to be from Hermione... Ron???

Eliana stared at the signature again in shock. Ron???

Ron had given her a book???

Curious, she peeled off the plastic wrap—How Young Wizards Can Develop Good Taste.

Note: Suitable for young wizards aged three to six.

Eliana: ...

She knew it. Nothing decent ever came out of that boy's mouth!

Eliana ground her teeth in private, but then she remembered what she had given Ron and smiled.

In his dormitory, Ron let out a strange cry as he opened his present. "Who gave me a whole set of worksheets??"

Who could it have been? Eliana, currently shut in the Detention Room, had no idea.

Heehee.

The next gift was a huge box filled with meat jerky and snacks, along with lots of portable, Muggle-packaged chicken legs. It was from... Hermione???

Eliana silently pushed the two gifts together. Could Hermione and Ron have been together when they packed her presents and accidentally swapped them?

...Fine. No chance.

Sorry, she knew the thought was ridiculous, but so were the presents in front of her.

They really were ridiculous.

Eliana still had not recovered when she opened the next gift.

Mrs. Brown had given her a new outfit. It was wonderfully thick, with a hood edged in fluffy white fur and topped with two pointed little fox ears.

Eliana changed into it on the spot, carefully settling her pink crown between the ears. She bobbed her head, looking immensely pleased with herself.

The rest came from the children at the orphanage: a few milk candies wrapped in homework paper decorated with colorful crayon drawings, little hair clips and ties, handmade paper cranes, and even a homemade necklace.

Someone had braided the cord and threaded it with buttons and glass beads they had saved, then tied on a pretty little stone.

It looked a bit strange, but Eliana happily put it around her neck.

She was now covered head to toe in little trinkets, like a walking wind chime.

The wind chime could not stop smiling.

Reluctantly finishing with the last gift, she tied a hairband with a tiny bell around her braid. She swung the jingling braid as she skipped downstairs.

Wait. Had Snape not given her a present?

Eliana patted herself down from head to toe, then rummaged through the gift boxes on the floor. It was confirmed.

Snape had not given her a present!

She had written him a card! She had even given him cookies she had made herself—though they tasted so bad she had been too embarrassed to bring any back to the orphanage. Still, she had made them with her own hands. It was the thought that counted!

And if you looked closely, you could even tell they were cookies.

Why could he not return the gesture?

She puffed out her cheeks, unhappy, but soon set the matter aside.

Never mind. Once she returned to school, she would storm the dungeon and demand a present from Snape.

Brave Ellie would not waste time brooding!

She headed downstairs, her braid swinging under the weight of all its little ornaments.

Mrs. Brown was bustling about the kitchen as usual. Eliana clung to the doorframe and cautiously studied her expression. She seemed to be in an all-right mood, so Eliana softened her voice and said sweetly, "Good morning, Susan."

Mrs. Brown gave her an unreadable look.

"Oh, come on!" Eliana sidled over, hugged Mrs. Brown's arm, and wheedled, "I know I was wrong. I'll never take the school's curtains again."

She rubbed against Mrs. Brown like a cat, the fox ears on her hood swaying. She looked perfectly sweet.

Mrs. Brown's resolve softened under the assault. Her face remained stern, but she finally said, "Wash your hands and eat your breakfast."

That meant it was over.

Eliana beamed and skipped off to wash her hands.

With preparations underway for the evening feast, breakfast was simple: a glass of milk, two slices of bread with butter between them, and a boiled egg.

Eliana polished it off in a few bites and told Mrs. Brown, "I'm going to Chinatown after breakfast. I might not be back for lunch, so don't save any for me."

Mrs. Brown immediately forgot she was supposed to be keeping a stern face to teach Eliana a lesson. "What are you going to Chinatown for? Are the shops even open on Christmas?"

"If anyone's open on Christmas, it'll be them," Eliana said. "I made a few little crafts at school. I'm going to ask if they'll buy them. Wait till I bring back something tasty for everyone."

Now Mrs. Brown could not keep a stern face at all. She fell silent for a moment. "Ellie, you don't have to do this. The orphanage isn't your responsibility. Besides, we've only looked after you for a year..."

"Can't hear you, can't hear you! Susan's chanting again."

Eliana covered her ears and ran outside. "Wait for me to come back! Ow!"

She had taken too big a step and accidentally pulled at the spot on her bottom that had just been smacked. The pain made her shriek.

"Be careful!" Mrs. Brown called, torn between sympathy and amusement.

Already some distance away, Eliana flashed her an OK sign.

Chinatown was just as she had expected. Nearly every shop was open. Chinese people were always hardworking, whatever their trade.

Eliana jingled her way into the shop that sold miniature carvings and successfully sold her walnuts for the handsome price of £1.50 each. It was far less than the price of the walnuts on the shop's shelves, but she was already delighted.

After all, once she got the hang of the magic, making them was not hard. She had even gotten the walnuts from the kitchen. It was practically a business with no costs and nothing but profit.

And she had carved a lot of them. By the time she left the shop, her face was wreathed in smiles.

Hehehehe. She was rich!

Eliana felt her bulging pocket, her eyes curving into crescents.

But her next stop was neither a restaurant nor a food shop, and she was not going straight back to the orphanage. She planned to visit Diagon Alley.

Five pounds could be exchanged for one Galleon at Gringotts, but a Galleon had more buying power in the Wizarding World than five pounds did in London.

For the simplest example, Harry had almost cleared the snack trolley on the train to school and spent only eleven Silver Sickles—about 0.64 Galleons. But buy just two or three cakes from any London bakery, even avoiding the fancy cream cakes, and you could easily spend more than a pound.

Or take the Daily Prophet, the Wizarding World's most authoritative newspaper. It cost five Knuts a copy. In London, meanwhile, she had heard a newspaper cost at least thirty pence—she could not afford one herself.

She had been fine before she did the math. Now Eliana's eyes were red with outrage. Did London newspapers print secret strategies for conquering America? How else did they dare charge so much?

Did she look like her life was worth thirty pence?

She could not help it. She was poor. She had to count every penny.

Penny-pinching Eliana marched into Diagon Alley and exchanged her pounds for a small pouch of Galleons as planned. Now she could go shopping.

She wanted to buy treats that did not obviously look magical to take back, such as Cauldron Cakes and Chocolate Balls. No child disliked sweets.

Imagining the rapturous welcome she would receive when she returned in triumph with her spoils, Eliana grinned so widely her mouth went crooked.

Delighted, she tucked her money pouch away and hopped down the steps outside Gringotts. Before she had found her footing, someone slammed into her head-on. She went flying a good six feet and landed squarely on her bottom.

Her battered bottom suffered yet another blow.

"Ow, ow, ow—"

She writhed on the ground, crying, "Watch where you're going! You hit someone!"

The person did not answer. There was not even an apology. A black wizard's robe whipped around the corner as its wearer hurried away.

"What kind of person does that? If you'd done this yesterday, I'd have made you pay through the nose." Eliana grumbled as she got to her feet.

She was only letting it go because it was a holiday and she wanted to finish shopping and get back early. Otherwise, she would have shown him how one collision could empty his wallet.

"You've got eyes, don't you? Are those holes under your eyebrows just for breathing? You hit someone and can't apologize. Is that slit under your nose only there for eating?"

Fuming, she reached for her money pouch, hoping to soothe herself by touching her Galleons. Her hand closed on empty air.

Where was her money????

Damn it, he really had knocked her wallet right out of her pocket!!

How did the Wizarding World still have such old-fashioned thieves???

Eliana scrambled to her feet and chased after the thief, blazing with anger.

The figure ahead seemed to notice. He quickened his pace and vanished around the corner.

Stealing Eliana's money was the same as stealing Eliana's life. Like an enraged beagle, she charged after him, barking out furious cries.

"Stop! Stop!"

As she rounded the corner, she caught sight of someone in a black robe with his back to her. He turned halfway on the spot. She knew that movement: Dumbledore had taken her along when he used Apparition. The damned thief was about to escape with her money!

Desperate, Eliana howled and threw herself at him.

A familiar, faint scent of wormwood reached her nose, mingled with the barest trace of Potions.

The damned thief smelled nice, at least. So he used stolen money to spruce himself up?

—Damn it, that was her money!

Eliana's thoughts drifted for an instant before her surging anger took over again.

The world spun. When it steadied, an utterly unfamiliar street lay before her.

But Eliana was too furious to care about anything else. Fighting back the urge to vomit, with the light still spinning before her eyes, she scrambled off the person beneath her and gave him a solid kick.

"Got you at last! Stealing a little girl's money in broad daylight? Let's see what kind of scumbag you are!"

A deep, familiar voice, smooth as silk drawn across a cello, rang out with icy fury.

"Ritchie!!!"