A/N: Sequel to my first story, New Beginning. This is for you, Sassy. I hope you enjoy! As for everyone else, these are OCs so you might not like. Anyway, I wrote New Beginning years ago, but then I moved it to a blog. I started this story just for fun while I worked on better projects. However, as much as it was just for fun, I grew to enjoy writing about these characters. So whenever I have writers block on my real stories, or even when I am feeling stressed, I write about these characters lives. Many people might not enjoy this since it's OC and all but this story as bad as it might be actually got me through stressful times. Whenever I was feeling upset, I would think about some happy things happening to them or even bad things. I would sit down, and write about them. I logged back onto this site recently and saw some recent requests for this story. So I've decided to resurrect it here since some people don't want to read it on my blog.
Summer
"We need to talk," Those words kept echoing in my head.
I couldn't stop thinking about it. I had trouble sleeping as I thought about the conversation my parents and I had a week ago when we got home from the train station. Timmy already knew what was going on, but he had clung to me as they sat me down in the kitchen, and explained that they were going to get divorced.
"Can't you two work on it?" I had asked. "There's marriage counseling," I added as I remembered that one of my muggle classmates' parents had had it.
"We haven't gotten along in years honey," mum had said. "This has been going on for a very long time. We can no longer live under the same roof. I've already found us an apartment. We'll be moving at the end of the month. Your father is going to stay here, and you'll visit him again for a week in August. Timmy will see him every other weekend."
This didn't seem fair at all, but I was sure it was my father's idea. He barely spent time home as it was because of work. After we'd come out of hiding, he had started working even harder. He worked in Muggle relations. Sometimes I wondered if he wanted to just be a muggle again. I didn't understand why when it was every kids dream to be magical. He didn't seem as happy about it as most people would be. He didn't use magic as much as mum did. I knew that once Ashley and Michael were on their own, they would use magic as much as they wanted. Maybe my father was even ashamed of having magical kids, he didn't seem too unhappy that he wouldn't be seeing us on a regular basis.
"But the war was stressful," I had said. "Maybe if you gave yourselves more time. It's because we were in hiding wasn't it?"
"No," my father had finally spoken up. He'd kept quiet while my mother had broken the news. "We weren't getting along before we went into hiding. I know last year was stressful on everyone, and we were cramped in here together. I suppose it didn't help, but being in hiding wasn't the reason we stopped getting along. I'll admit that the war does have quite a bit to do with it, but I've had these feelings about magic for a while."
"What do you mean?" I had asked although it sounded to me as if he were confirming my suspicions.
"Being magical has some uses," my dad had begun, "but otherwise I find it does more harm than good. It's something your mother and I have never agreed with. I wasn't even sure if I wanted the two of you to go to Hogwarts, but I know it would be wrong to deny you that opportunity. There are days when I just want to snap my wand in half and pretend that I am not a wizard. Just after going through everything with You-Know-Who twice, I'm just not as sure of that world as much as I was when I was twelve. Right now, I just use magic for my basic needs but otherwise I quite enjoy the muggle life."
How could my father just focus on the negative parts about it? I didn't ask him but it was something I thought about all week. I didn't know for sure if he was going to quit being a wizard for good, but it explained why he'd been so happy about living in a muggle neighbourhood. My mother had always agreed with him about that part, but she also wanted us to be as magical as possible.
She'd found a nice sized flat in London, not too far from Diagon Alley. It was a nice three bedroom flat, and it even had a large balcony and an outdoor public pool. We wouldn't be moving in until the end of July. I felt nothing but anger as I thought about it. I was angry at them, and everyone else, including my friends.
I had a pile of letters on my desk from my friends. Ashley had already written to me twice, but I'd left her letters unopened. I had chucked out any letters I'd gotten from Ben. The only persons letters I'd read were Michaels, but I hadn't responded to him yet. He was one person I thought would understand, but after a while I felt I couldn't respond to him. There was something more in his letters than there used to be. I might have been wrong, but during the last term, especially after his party I felt as if he liked me. His letters seemed to be more intimate than they used to be.
I wasn't sure why I was ignoring Ashley's letters except that sometimes she annoyed me. Her problems seemed so small compared to what I was going through. She was a good friend of mine, but as Ben had told her in the past, she could be so whiny. She complained about her looks, the way people treated her, and her sister. If she would just work harder on herself, maybe people wouldn't bother her so much. The change in her eyebrows had been enough proof that she could be cute if she put in some effort. She just focused way too much on how beautiful her sister was though, so she didn't bother. I knew in the back of my mind that maybe I was feeling a bit mean, but at the moment I didn't care.
Ben was the one who made me the angriest. I felt it was his fault that I had been so sure that doing all the homework would make my parents stay together. Not only that, but he had such a perfect life. He had parents who were still as much in love as they had been when they got married, maybe even more so. He had a beautiful house, he was so smart and with the exception of Brenda, the perfect siblings. I hated that he had so much but he insisted that nothing about his life was perfect.
As I thought more about Ben, I suddenly got up out of bed and hurried to turn on my light. I sat down at my desk and scribbled out a long angry letter to him. I told him everything that I had kept bottled up for months. It was the most I had ever written, and by the time I was done, I felt a lot better than I had in a week. Feeling better, I turned to Ashley's letters. A part of me wanted to be as mean to her as I'd been to Ben, but as I read through her letters I just couldn't do it. She'd always been a good friend to me, so in the end I wrote to her a friendly letter.
As I finished the letter, there was a knock on my door. I glanced up to see it opening slowly. Timmy stood in the doorway in white pajamas that had Snitches all over them. Most nights he came in and crawled into bed with me. I didn't mind at all. I couldn't imagine how he felt. He'd had to witness all the fighting and he'd even been there when mum had told my father that she wanted a divorce. He'd told me after our parents had talked to us that she'd shouted it at him one morning after they'd had a fight. My father had responded that he was glad and they would take care of it right away.
"Get in the bed," I told Timmy. "I just want to finish up some letters."
Timmy nodded and then hurried to climb into my bed. I turned to write a letter to Michael next. After writing Dear Michael, I couldn't think of anything else to write to him. I put down my quill and pushed the letter away. I got up and turned off the light before heading into bed. Timmy was already fast asleep. I wished at times that I could fall asleep as fast as he could.
The next morning my mother woke Timmy and me up early.
"We're going to London to buy some new things for the flat," she told us. "We're just going to start sending everything there. Timmy, you need to start sleeping in your own bed."
"Leave him be," I told her.
It was ironic that I was telling her something both she and my father used to tell me. Timmy got out of my bed and headed out the door without saying a word. He barely said much to my parents these days. I turned to my mother who was looking around my room.
"Ellen, I need you to start packing everything you want to take to the new place. Of course you'll be visiting your father still, so anything you want to keep here you can but I'd like you to start packing today when we come home. We'll go bathing suit shopping today too, you've outgrown your old ones and you'll need something for the pool," mum said. "I want you to discourage Timmy from sleeping in here as well."
"No," I instantly responded. "He can sleep in here as much he wants until he's ready to sleep in his own room."
"Ellen, he's seven years old now. He can sleep on his own," mum replied.
"Don't you understand what your fighting has done to him?" I asked angrily.
It wasn't often I back talked my parents, but I was so angry and stressed lately that I didn't care at the moment. She needed to know exactly what their fighting was doing to us.
"Ellen-" mum began in a warning voice.
"No mum, you can get angry with me all you want, but I have to say this. You and dad don't get along anymore, and that sucks. You know what sucks more though? Listening to the two you fight all the time! Maybe it's better you're getting divorced so we don't have to see or hear it anymore. You don't understand how much this is upsetting him. He had to see it all. Couldn't you two have fought in private?"
Mum stared at me in shock. She didn't say a word as I turned to my trunk and opened it. I rifled through it until I found a bundle of letters I had kept. Wordlessly, I walked over to her and handed them to her.
"Read those. Timmy has been writing to me since Christmas. You can see just how much your fighting has bothered him. I was lucky enough to be at Hogwarts, but he had to witness it all. You're right, he is seven years old and no seven year old should have to go through what you two to put him through," I said to her harshly.
Mum didn't say a word, but she looked at each letter, and her face paled as she began reading them.
"I didn't realize," she whispered. "Ellen, why didn't you tell me?"
"It wouldn't have changed anything," I said. "Timmy can sleep in my room for as long as he wants to."
"Just get dressed honey; we're going to go to Diagon Alley soon. I want to go to some muggle shops as well," she turned and walked off still reading through the letters I had handed her. I hoped she was going to show them to my father.
Although the day had begun with a rough start, the three of us ended up having a lot of fun while we picked out new furnishings for the new apartment. We went to muggle stores to pick out all of the furniture which my mother asked to have shipped to our new place on the day of the move. We then went shopping for some new muggle clothes as well. A lot of older witches and wizards wore robes but most kids wore muggle clothing, even some purebloods did. I wasn't as kept up to date on muggle fashion but I know what I liked.
"Can I get makeup to wear this year too?" I asked mum while she picked out some new schools clothes for Timmy.
I was hoping maybe I could convince Ashley to wear some makeup as well. They had a makeup line in Weasleys Wizarding Wheezes. I wanted to go shopping with Ashley when we all got together in Diagon Alley (which I wasn't sure by that point when we would) to see if I could get her interested. I'd been interested for a while but my mum had told me that I couldn't wear it in first year. There were times when I had borrowed some from the three ditzes from Hufflepuff. However, I wanted my own makeup and I wanted to wear it every day.
"We can get some," mum answered surprising me. "But I want to teach you how to put it on. I don't want you to wear too much. I've seen how much girls your age wear. There really is no need to wear so much."
"I actually wanted to buy some with Ashley," I told her. "I want to see if I can convince her to wear some."
"Well don't force the girl to do something she doesn't want to do though dear," mum said.
"I won't, but she is so unhappy with her looks. I just think if she works on her appearance she might get a bit more confidence. Anyone can look better if they try," I said. "Besides, I think it would be fun for us to dress up, and it might shut the boys up when they bother her."
"What do you mean?" mum asked as we headed over to look at new shoes. Timmy had remained very quiet that day, but he was usually very quiet.
"Well Ben doesn't do it anymore, but the other boys are always calling her ugly. Michael is constantly making fun of her, but he mainly does it behind her back, and so does a boy named Jared and a few others. Some girls like that Tara girl I told you about does. Ashley really likes this boy Denver, but she won't admit it and I know she won't have the confidence to speak up to him. I just want to help her," I explained.
"That's just awful," mum said. "She's such a sweet girl. I really like that girl. I'm glad you made friends with her as well as Ben. From what you've told me about Michael though, I don't know if I like him. People shouldn't be making fun of her. I think she's a cute little thing; she looks a lot like her mum I think. She's still so young, and she can always grow into her looks. A lot of people are awkward at your age. Do what you can to boost her confidence but don't make her feel pressured."
"I won't," I answered.
I thought about going on about Michael, but I changed my mind. Instead, I just went to look at some new shoes while mum picked out some for Timmy. I glanced at my little brother and I wondered what I could do that summer to cheer him up. I planned to spend as much time with him as I could. I knew there was a playground not too far from our new building, so maybe I could take him there to play at times. I also wondered if it was possible to take him to Ashley's at some point so he could play with the kids she baby-sat.
"Are you ready to pick out some bathing suits now?" Mum asked after Timmy and I both had new shoes to wear. I'd pick out a cute new pair of sandals as well.
I had a feeling my parents were going to do what a lot of divorced parents did, and that was to buy a lot of things for us. My father had already informed me that he wanted buy a lot of new stuff for me.
"Can I get a bikini this year?" I asked.
"I don't see why not," mum answered which was another surprise. She was definitely trying to do her best to make us happy.
We walked over to the swim wear area of the department store, and I instantly went to the bathing suits. I decided to pick out a couple one pieces but a red bikini caught my eye. For a second I day dreamed about swimming in the pool while Hank mysteriously turned up. I knew of course that was impossible, I wasn't even sure where he lived. Towards the end of first year I had started to really like him, and I'd started to think about him a lot. I was sure there would be some cute boys my own age as well at the apartment building. I smiled and grabbed the bikini.
Sure the summer was off to a bad start, but at that moment I decided I wasn't going to mope around about it either. I was going to have to do what I could to enjoy it and not dwell on the divorce. I had a feeling that if I acted sad then Timmy would as well. I needed to show him that things could get better for us. I remembered a time when I had found him annoying when he was hyper, but I missed that about him now. I wanted my little brother back the way he used to be.
By the time we were done shopping that day, the car was full of bags. There was also a lot more stuff that had to be shipped to the new place, and I had to wonder just how much money my mum had saved away. I knew she made good money, but we were nowhere near being rich. That day, not only had we bought some new living room and kitchen furniture, but we'd all needed new beds as well. My bed that I had at our house was staying there. I felt overwhelmed by the shopping spree. It made me think about how life would be like when I moved out of my own for the first time. I wondered how my friends would feel about renting a flat together when we were first on our own. I knew a lot of people did that when they first moved out. It would be something I'd bring up later when we were in the seventh year. Perhaps I'll even be with Ben by that point. I thought myself, and I wondered why I had that thought.
When we got home, I decided to send out my letter to Ben first. I would wait to send the letter to Ashley, but I wanted to see what his reaction would be when he read my letter. For some reason I wanted to get a rise out of the boy. It was one of the reasons I liked teasing Ben about Jaime so much. It was something I had added in the letter. I knew the letter was going to make him angry but I didn't care. Apart of me felt good when I thought about how upset he was going to get, and how angry his letter back to me would be.
For the next few days while I waited for him to write back, I spent the time with Timmy. We had a school park near our house, and almost every day I took him to it. Although I felt that a lot of his games were babyish, I sat down and played with him. A few times while we were out and about, I saw some of my old classmates but none came to speak to me. I hadn't seen them in two years. While I wasn't bullied like Ashley had been, I hadn't had many close friends in school. There were some people I'd been friendly with, but I'd never actually had a friend. Ashley and Ben were my first best friends. Seeing my old classmates made me realize how lucky I'd been compared to Ashley. I'd told her in my letter not to let her old school mates get her down, but I wasn't sure how much of my advice she would take.
Feathers, our owl returned without a letter back from Ben and I felt disappointed. I guessed I had made him so angry that he couldn't write me back. It was a bit of a surprise. Usually Ben had a snappy retort ready, but maybe he was waiting a few days. Perhaps he would send a letter to me with his own owl later. I decided to send Ashley's letter to her next. In the meantime, I had to write to Michael. I'd gotten more letters from him. He was almost writing daily. He had an owl call, so he could get a different owl as much he wanted. He seemed to be getting desperate for a response. I decided just to tell him about the divorce and that was it. I didn't know what else to talk to him about because I didn't want to give him any false ideas. So I just gave him a short and simple letter. I would mail it as soon as I got Ashley's response.
When I wasn't trying to cheer Timmy up, I was packing my room up. One afternoon while I was packing my old children's books, Hooty, Ben's owl flew in through my open window. I felt excited to see that he had written to me at first. I realized right away that it was actually Ashley who had written to me. Feathers had returned without a letter from Ashley, and at first I believed she was angry with me too. I wondered if Ben had told her about my angry letter to him. So I'd sent out Michael's letter, but I felt a little depressed that neither Ben or Ashley had written back. Hooty however had two letters attached to him and I realized that Ashley had wanted him to drop off my letter first, and then go to Bens. I guessed Feathers hadn't hung around for her response which cheered me up. She wasn't upset with me after all. I was tempted to open her letter to Ben, but I knew it was wrong so I sent Hooty on his way.
I opened Ashley's letter feeling a little worried that she was upset with me anyway.
Dear Ellen,
Sorry it took so long to get back to you. I'll be honest; I didn't know what to write at first. I am really sorry that your parents are getting divorced. I can't imagine what you're going through. I wrote so many letters trying to find the right words, but I couldn't. I really hope you're okay. Ben and I were thinking we should get together sometime for the summer, how about around your birthday?
My summer is going really well. Babysitting the boys keeps me really busy. Jaime and I are getting along really well too. She apologized as soon as I got off the train. She felt really bad about everything she had said to me. She was just going through a stressful situation and she took it out on me. She even helped mum and Rachel decorate my room for me. Wait until you see it, it's all Hufflepuff themed. They did an amazing job. She also told me not to let Michael get me down. I told her how he and Jared are always making fun of me, and she said that I shouldn't let him anymore. I'm honestly tired of it.
That's basically all that is new since my last letter. Let me know when we can get together so I can let Pat know. Do you want it around your birthday? My mum says you three can come over anytime, and I know Ben wants us to go over there too. I have a small pool at my place now too. Write back soon.
Ashley.
I felt relieved after I read her letter. It didn't look as if Ben had told her what I'd said. The two of them seemed as if they were getting closer. I'd noticed it happening. Ever since he'd decided to make it up to her for making fun of her, the two seemed tight. Often I would see the two of them talking together and I would feel some jealousy about it. I'd been friends with each of them first. They wouldn't even be friends if it weren't for me, so I didn't understand why they seemed closer. Ashley should have been grateful because if I hadn't decided to befriend her, she might have stayed friendless.
I shook my head as I tried to clear the bitter thoughts away. I had to stop thinking that way about her. She'd been nothing but loyal to me from day one. It was the same with Ben as well. For the first time since I'd written him the angry letter, I started to feel a bit bad. I was taking my problems out on my friends, and I knew it. I sighed as I put her letter down.
I headed downstairs to find my parents in the kitchen. They were discussing custody agreements and how they were going to divide everything. I cleared my throat to let them know I was there.
"Yes dear," mum asked.
"My friends want to know when I go to their places. I think Ashley wants me at her place for a week, and so does Ben. They were thinking for my birthday," I said.
"No, we've already arranged how you're going to spend your birthday," mum answered right away.
"Why not the last two weeks of August?" My father asked. "You can visit your friends if you'll spend as much of the summer as you can with us."
"I can work with that," mum agreed. "We are going to be taking it in turns to see you dear. I'd really like it very much if we can see as much of you as can before we send you off to Hogwarts. If they can, perhaps Mr. and Mrs. Hoofer will take you shopping for your school supplies while you're there. It will save me a trip, and Ashley and Michael will need a way there anyway. If not, tell Ashley she can come with us if she has to. I know she'll need to get there. I'll even take her to Ben's place when you go."
"I'll see what my friends say," I said.
I was surprised to see my parents getting along for once. I wasn't sure if it was because they had come to a mutual agreement about their divorce, or if it was because I'd told them how upset their fighting had made Timmy. Either way, it seemed for the last couple of weeks that we would be living there it was going to be peaceful. I had slowly helped Timmy cheer up. He had even spent the last couple of nights in his room and he'd started playing with some of his friends again. He was a bit upset because he was going to have to change schools, but I was sure he would adapt to it.
I left the kitchen and hurried back up to my room. I wrote three different letters to my friends. All three basically said the same thing. I told them that we could all get together for the last two weeks of August if they wanted, but I was going to spend my birthday at home with my parents. I told them to let me know when we could all get together. I also added in the letter to Ashley that my mother would take her to Ben's if she wanted us to. I asked in Ben's letter if his parents wouldn't mind taking us to Diagon Alley when I went there.
I waited for Ben to write back and tell me that I was not welcome in his home after what I'd said. However, when his letter arrived though it was very short and it seemed formal as well.
Ellen
I'm really sorry to hear about your parents' divorce. I was hoping it wouldn't come to that. I've kept in contact with Ashley and Michael. I'm not sure if you've heard from them yet, but they all agree that the last two weeks of August will be fine. My parents said they don't mind taking all of us to Diagon Alley since Michael and Ashley need a way there as well. My parents will be writing to your parents very soon I expect. I believe the three of you will be coming over to my place for the first week, and then we'll go to Ashley's afterward. I hope the rest of your summer until then will fun. Don't let the divorce get you down. I'll send you your birthday present closer to your birthday, but I do hope you have good birthday.
Ben
I read over his letter twice. I was very surprised that he had held back. I didn't understand why he hadn't told me off for the letter. Perhaps he felt bad about the divorce and he didn't want to upset me. I just couldn't help but feel that his letter seemed a little cold to me.
Letters from Ashley and Michael arrived shortly after his did. Ashley's was quick as well. Her letter basically repeated everything Ben's had about the details, but it was a lot friendlier. Michaels was of course full of flattery. He seemed upset that I wasn't writing enough to him. It was hard to keep up to all of his letters though. Some of it rang desperation. I put his letter down feeling some dread. I was going to have to turn him down and I had a feeling with his insecurity that it wouldn't end well.
At the end of July was the big move. My mum, Timmy and me had everything packed and ready to go. Although I knew I'd be back soon, I still felt like I was leaving forever. In a way it really wouldn't be my home anymore. Most of the time I would be at mums or at school. I could see from the custody arrangements that I wouldn't see dad as much over the holidays.
I spent a lot of my time with Timmy down in the pool. Unfortunately there were no cute boys hanging around. Most people were older or they were little kids. I was excited to see my friends again after spending most of my summer alone or with a seven year old. I had two different birthday dinners with my parents. I spent my actual birthday with my mum and the day after with my dad.
On the fifteenth, my mum headed out to pick up Ashley. She seemed uncomfortable at first when she saw me, and I could understand why, so I made sure to be as cheerful as possible around her. I think mum understood as well because she kept up conversation with her too. She asked her about her summer and her baby-sitting job. Ashley told us about how she'd had a makeover.
"I'm trying to learn as much as I can about makeup now," she told me. "I'm going back to Hogwarts with a different look."
"You think she'd do that for me too? Maybe even Brianne would. She did mention that at Slughorn's party," I said. "Mum said I am old enough now, right?" I added to my mother.
Although I already knew I had permission to wear makeup, I wanted to engage my mother in our conversation as well. I wanted to see what she would say to our makeup talk. I was happy to hear that Ashley wanted to wear makeup now. I thought for sure I was going to have to convince her. We'd had to basically hold her down when she went on her date with Denver months ago. Now however she seemed eager. It would be nice to have someone to do fun girly stuff with.
"You're twelve years old now, I don't see why not. Just remember what I told you," my mother responded.
I smiled, she understood and she knew what I was doing. I was grateful for that. "I know mum," I answered.
"She doesn't want me wearing too much makeup. She said it's better to make it look like we're not wearing any. I guess I agree. Remember Jess, Anne and Erica?" I explained to Ashley who nodded.
"They definitely wore too much, but that's how Jaime taught me as well. She said it looks tacky to wear too much," Ashley replied.
"It is," Mum said, "I've seen the way young girls wear makeup, and it just doesn't look right. You girls don't even need makeup, but if you're going to wear it than you should wear it right."
For the rest of the ride to Ben's we talked about makeup. When we finally got to Ben's, mum told me to be good for the week (which embarrassed me) and said good-bye. I felt a little nervous about seeing Ben. Was he going to be rude to me because of the letter? When we knocked on the door though, it was Brenda who answered. She told us to go up and change and that she'd let the boys know that we were there.
Ashley and I talked about Ben and Michael while we went up to Ben's room. I confessed to Ashley that I thought maybe Michael had a crush on me. I was hoping she was going to disagree with me. Perhaps she even knew of someone else he had a crush on. She did talk to the Andrew twins a lot, and the twins seemed to know everything.
"I got that feeling as well," she said. "Don't you like him back? I mean you're already friends and everything."
Although I knew she was talking about Michael, a part of me kind of wondered if she was talking about her and Denver as well. The two of them were good friends now, and I knew she liked him.
"But I am not interested back in him, at all. He's a good friend, and we've gotten close but all I see him is as a friend. It might ruin our friendship. Not just between him and me, but with all four of us. Remember when you and Ben got in that big fight New Years? Well this is worse. Things will be awkward," I told her.
I went into Ben's bathroom to change quickly. After we both changed into our suits we headed down the steps.
"It might not be too awkward if people who are already friends date though, I mean they already know each other and everything. It might not feel as awkward as, I don't know… someone new that a person barely knows," Ashley said in a hopeful voice. Automatically I knew she was trying to justify her crush on Denver. It was very obvious what she was trying to do while sticking to the original topic.
"Depends on the friendship," I answered. "Our friendship is too close. Your friendship with Denver is different, and you're in different houses."
Ashley stopped at the bottom of the steps and looked at me with shock. I smiled at her.
"Everyone knows how you feel about him. You might be surprised, maybe he likes you back," I told her. "You never know unless you try… I just hope Michael doesn't take that same advice. I honestly think you should go for it."
Ashley started to walk again, but she looked uncomfortable.
"When you say everyone, what do you mean?" She asked in a worried voice.
"Ben and Michael, I don't know about anyone else but we've all suspected it for a while. I just thought you'd bring it up on your own, I must admit, I'm a bit hurt that you didn't tell me," I told her.
It was true. We were good friends, and yet she seemed almost too embarrassed to tell me how she felt. Friends usually shared things like crushes with each other. I was her first best friend and she couldn't admit to me her true feelings. Instead she used a subtle way to talk about it.
"I was embarrassed," she admitted, "I mean, look at our history first of all, and secondly I am not that pretty and he is a good looking boy. He might not like me, and what if he doesn't want to date yet. We're only thirteen and I don't even know what we would do. And please don't tell Ben and Michael, they don't need to know yet."
I should have known it was because she thought she wasn't pretty enough. I was surprised either that she was embarrassed about their history, but I also thought there was always a spark between the two of them. The Andrew twins had even believed that, and the two of them were always right about their instincts when it came to people. It was very rare that they were wrong. I was also a little offended that she would think I would tell Michael and Ben. There were certain things that you just didn't tell boys. My mum always called it 'girl talk' when we'd had our talks without Timmy or dad.
"Look, when you come to my place, we'll talk about this okay? And then I can tell you who I find cute. For now, let's go find those boys." I reassured her.
That afternoon was the most uncomfortable one I'd spent in a long time. Michael confirmed my suspicions. I'd made the mistake of wearing my red bikini the first afternoon there. I should have known better, but they were my best friends. All the boy could do was stare at me, and whenever he got the chance he would touch me. At one point he had his arm around my waist and although I didn't want to be rude, I came close to shouting at him to get away from me.
I could tell everyone else noticed because they were all smirking and whispering about it. I tried to ignore it as much as possible. According to my friends, the Tri-wizard Tournament was going to be held at Hogwarts again. Most of the afternoon we spent discussing it. I did what I could to let Michael know in a subtle way that I wasn't interested. I tried mentioning cute boys in front of him, and I could see it upset him but he wouldn't let up.
After that day, I refused to wear the bikini ever again in front of him. After Ben's mum cleaned it for me, I put it in the bottom of my bag and I only wore my modest suits instead. The week at his place was fun. His parents seemed to want to do their best to make sure we had fun. I felt as if I had a burden lifted off my shoulders since I'd found out about the divorce. At his house I felt like a normal carefree twelve year old girl. The Hoofer kids were spoiled, and I felt like I could get used to that. We even had makeovers with his sisters one evening; I was very surprised when Brenda joined us.
Something had changed her attitude because she was a lot friendlier. She was even willing to give me advice about Michael which I appreciated. Brianne had reassured me that I hadn't done anything to lead Michael on which I'd been worried about. Later though after our makeovers, Ashley and Ben took off to do something but I wasn't sure of what. The two of them were always sneaking off somewhere. Michael was busy talking to Barry about the Tri-wizard Tournament. The boy seemed to want to get as much information as he could about it. He wanted to know how exactly Harry had entered and I couldn't help but wonder if he was going to try to enter himself.
"He's really making you uncomfortable isn't he?" Brenda asked me.
"Yes. I just wish he would stop with the staring," I said. "If I don't pay attention to him he glares at me. He keeps touching me all the time."
"Look I know you're worried about how this will affect your friendship, but he has to stop if he is making you uncomfortable," she told me. "If the friendship is strong enough then it can handle something like this. The boy is only twelve, he can handle rejection and he'll move on."
"There is a boy in my year that I really like," I admitted. "I'm kind of hoping I can make something happen with him. I don't really want to do anything right now because everyone is so happy. I don't want a fight during the summer, and this will end of affecting all four of us. If I have to say something at school I will, but for now I'm just going to keep ignoring him. Maybe if I can get with the boy I like though he'll see that he has to move on."
"I'm sure you won't have a problem," Brenda told me. "A pretty girl like you can get any boy she likes. I would just advise you not to let this go on for too long. You're right that this will affect all four of you and it could blow up into a fight. I've seen it happen before."
We went to Diagon Alley the next day. I was excited to go to the joke shop. I could buy all the Skiving Snackboxes I wanted and my parents would never know. As soon as we got there, I took Ashley over to the Wonder Witch products. Just as we were about to go, Michael made a comment to me about buying Love Potions. I glared at him and felt some pleasure from the hurt expression on his face. I grabbed Ashley's hand so we wouldn't get separated and pulled her through the crowd.
Of all the people I didn't want to see that day there, it just had to be Tara Cretins. However, I instantly felt happy when I saw that she was holding a Love Potion in her hand. It didn't surprise me that she would consider buying one. She was a very beautiful girl, but most guys didn't like her. She really wanted Ben, but he would never go for her. Although I felt annoyed with the boy at the moment, he was still one of my best friends and I didn't want him to get drugged.
"Those are banned from Hogwarts you know," I told her.
Tara hadn't seen us by that point, but as soon as I said something she turned to look at me. She glared at me before giving Ashley the evil eye as well.
"I was just looking. I don't need a love potion," she answered and then glanced over at Ashley and holding it out. "I'm sure you could use one though, Ashley."
I opened my mouth to tell her off but my friend surprised me. She actually spoke up for herself. I wondered why she could stand up to the people at Hogwarts with no problem but not the muggles. Tara made a jab about Ashley drugging Denver, but it was a weak one. She put the potion back and walked off. As we moved forward to look at the makeup, I figured once we found what we wanted that we should tell Ben what we had seen. I wanted to tell several people about it so everyone could know.
Ben however made me angry as soon as we reached them. Michael was picking out snackboxes and as soon as I showed interest in buying them he had to put his opinion in. I was so tired of him thinking that he could tell me what to do. The anger I'd felt for him at the beginning of the summer returned. I glared right into his eyes, and he stared back at me defiantly.
"Don't you dare lecture me Benjamin Hoofer!" I said angrily "It's my life, and my grades. My parents don't give a damn, so I'll do what I want. I don't care! Now leave me alone if you're going to get on your high horse. I don't want to hear it."
He made me even more angry as Ashley moved forward to look at them. I was sure she would buy them, but for some reason she always listened to him when he told her what to do. Although she would stand up for herself against him, she always took his opinion about things more seriously than anyone elses. If he told her not to buy the snackboxes, she would listen. I rolled my eyes as she gave in and told me that she didn't want them.
"The worst they'll do is put us in detention or take points away. I told you guys, I don't care." I told her before I turned to Ben. "And I don't want to hear any nagging from you this year, Ben. I'm serious."
"You know what, you're right. So let yourself fail Ellen. It's not my problem. Just don't come to me for help if you do." Ben said back to me and I thought I could see a hint of a smirk on his face.
I felt my face redden at that point. "You know what-" I began but before I could tell him to his face exactly what I thought about his arrogant attitude, Ashley stepped forward and stopped me.
"Come on you two let's not fight. Come on, how about we go look at some pranks? Michael, tell me where you found that owl call."
She managed to stop a shouting match there and then, but I knew that wasn't the end of it. Ben and I had so much tension between us that eventually we were going to have it out between us. It wasn't just us though, I could sense the tension between Ashley and Michael as well. I had a feeling that there was going to be a fight, and people were going to take sides.
We went to Ashley's house shortly after that, and for some reason we seemed to get along better there. The tension was still there between us, but we all seemed to be more relaxed once we got there. Perhaps it was because the boys kept themselves busy with the video games, and Jaime kept us busy by giving us makeovers. Whatever it was, we had fun at her house just like old times. Rachel even took us to the beach one afternoon.
Surprisingly, Michael had never been to the beach before. In the early days, my parents had taken us on so many beach trips. In fact a couple years before Timmy was born we'd rented a beach house a few weeks every summer. I wasn't sure why we'd stopped after he was born. Ben had of course taken many expensive beach vacations. Ashley told us that they'd gone to that beach several times throughout her childhood.
For the first time in a long time, Ben and I actually got along as we built a sand castle together. Michael and Jaime were swimming in the water, and Ashley had taken a walk down the beach with Rachel to talk. I wondered if she'd gone off to talk about Denver. I decided I would ask her when she came to my house for the night. At that moment though, I just wanted to enjoy my moment with Ben. Perhaps we were going to put it all behind us and stop fighting. We laughed together and just talked. We discussed everything except school or the divorce. We even talked about Michael.
"He told me he was interested in you," Ben told me. "I told him just to move on and find someone else."
"Maybe when we get back to school he'll find someone else," I said.
"Or you should," Ben answered.
"Well I really like Hank," I admitted.
"So tell him," Ben said. "He'll go out with you. Most of the boys in our year would."
I glanced at him and wondered if he was including himself in that. For a brief moment I could picture myself kissing him. It would be such a romantic setting for us to share a kiss on a beautiful summers day on the beach. I wondered if he was thinking the same thing, he wasn't looking at me though. I looked around to see that Ashley and Rachel were returning from their walk. He was staring intensely at Ashley, and I wondered why. I felt disappointed that the girls had returned though. I'd enjoyed our moment alone together when we were finally having fun together.
I stared down at the sand as they sat down and Rachel began to build a moat around our castle.
"We need water," Ashley said. "Remember how I used to build them?" She added to Rachel.
"Ashley's always been good at building sand castles," Rachel told us. "She used to build huge ones with water flowing through it."
"Let's get the water then," Ben said to Ashley and he took her hand while he reached for a bucket. I felt jealously and anger go through me but I ignored it. I didn't understand what these feelings were about or why I felt jealous of them, but I wished it would stop.
"Are you okay?" Rachel asked me as they walked off. "You look upset about something."
"I just wish my parents had the perfect marriage like Ben's parents did," I said. "His family is so perfect."
"I doubt it," Rachel said. "Sure they might be happily married still, but no ones life is perfect. There could be things you aren't seeing. Also, Ben is a lot more insecure then your realize Ellen. He seems as if he is confident about everything, even his school work but he's not. Ashley has told me so much about him. He has a lot to live up to when it comes to his siblings you know. It can't be easy being the youngest."
"I guess not, but they all just annoy me sometimes," I admitted and I glanced out at Ashley and Ben who were currently laughing and splashing each other. The bucket seemed forgotten.
"Even Ashley's problems," and I confessed to Rachel all the bitter thoughts I'd had about my friends bottled up. I expected Rachel to get angry with me for saying the things I did about Ashley. She was always so defensive when it came to her.
"Everyone's problems always seem so small compared to our own," Rachel told me. "I've felt the same way at times when it comes to Ashley. She has complained to me about certain things that I feel so small in comparison to other problems," and she looked out at the water where Michael and Jaime had joined Ben and Ashley. "But you do have to remember as annoying as it can be, she does have reasons to be insecure. She hasn't had an easy life at all. Going to that school is the best thing that could have happened to that girl. The three of you have helped change her so much. I've never seen her so happy before. Remember, she will always be loyal to you too."
"I know," I said. "She's definitely not the same person she was a year ago. I'm glad about that, and she is my best friend. I just wish she wasn't so whiny about the little things."
"She's better than she used to be," Rachel said. "I love that kid, and I loved baby-sitting her but there were times when I wanted to tell her to shut up. She would whine and cry about things that she had no reason to feel stressed about. I just think with her father's death and the bullying she had at school that it was her way to let out stress. I don't know if she ever told you, but she idolized her father. The girls didn't seem him a lot, but she worshipped him. And that's something you should also think about. My parents divorced too, so I know what you're going through. Just remember one thing though, you do have both your parents."
Jaime, Ashley, Ben and Michael were walking over to us. Apparently the idea of building a big sand castle was long forgotten because the four of them wanted to go for ice cream.
"Can you do our nails tonight too," Ashley asked Rachel. "Jaime wants Hufflepuff fingernails too, and so does Ellen. We'll be able to go back to school with them and the girls in our dorm will be so jealous. Everything okay Ellen?" She added as she looked at me
"Of course," Rachel said and she smiled at me and I nodded.
"Everything is fine," I told her as I stood up and brushed sand off myself. "I was just telling Rachel about the girl's night I have planned for us when you come over."
"I have more pictures for our scrapbook," Ashley informed me. "I took some at Ben's at my house. Rachel was even taking pictures of us here. Our scrapbooks are going to have still pictures and moving ones."
I smiled as I remembered one of the reasons why I liked being her friend so much. She could seem so enthusiastic about certain things so much that she seemed a child. I felt so much older than her at times even though I was close to a year younger.
"Brilliant," I responded. "A good end to a great summer."
"Let's get one more picture for the scrapbook," Rachel said. "I'll take a picture of the five of you by the water."
"Let's go," Michael said happily and he turned to me. "Ellen?" He asked as he held out his hand for me to take.
I sighed but I took his hand. I'd have to break the news to him soon, but at the moment we were all so happy that I wasn't going to ruin it.