"Please. Hello, Professor."

"Hello Miss Potter, Miss Canta." She goes to sit down across from the couch Ellie usually ends up on. "Are you two doing alright, still?"

"Getting there. It'd be better if- people would stop staring."

She nods. "That's... Always tough, yeah. Summer's soon enough this should fade before the gossip gets really entrenched - especially with next weekend's Quidditch game, and finals starting after that."

"I'm sorry you two are having this - extra difficulty, though."

She pauses, and: "If you want... You don't have to take the Hogwarts Express back, in case there's gossip there."

"...Thanks."

"I... Think I'd like to avoid that, yeah, if it isn't obvious we are?"

"Do - you still wanna have both of us with you over the summer?"

"Of course, Miss Canta, if both of you are still willing to stay with me."

Nod nod.

"I am, yeah."

"So you - don't mind that. I've been lying? About. My name and stuff."

"As far as I'm concerned, your real name is Anathema Canta. For your past - it's yours to reveal or conceal as you wish, and you've acted reasonably in protecting yourself." She leans forward a bit. "Now that I'm aware, I can protect you from your previous guardian, if it comes to that. But you were never required to tell me."

She nods. "Thanks."

"You're quite welcome."

"Speaking of guardianship... My current apartment is unfortunately only one bedroom - I can keep adding on to that with an expanding tent, of course. But I think it'd be a better option to go ahead and move somewhere with more room, especially if you two want to make the guardianship arrangement more permanent."

"You'd do that?"

She nods. "I would."

This makes Ellie happy.

"I wouldn't mind things being more permanent, yeah."

She grins.

"I can start looking, then - do either of you have opinions about places to live?"

"Not Surrey."

"I think that'll be rather easy."

Hee.

"I just want somewhere with a library. And either places to run around or a floo so I can go places to run around."

"Certainly."

"Near a park would be good."

"I'll see what I can do."

"Do you two want to be involved in picking between places?"

"Sure."