Chapter 6
"I look ridiculous," Harry insisted. He and Hermione were standing just outside the Great Hall. After a lot of begging, he'd finally agreed to join Team Fake Goth. But he was already starting to regret it.
"We all look ridiculous, Harry. We're doing this for our friend, she needs us," Hermione insisted.
"She already has you and Millicent, what does she need me for?"
"Clearly Millicent and I aren't enough. Need I remind you that the headmaster of our school caught her having sex with Draco Malfoy in the Forbidden Forrest?"
Harry sighed. "So what do you want me to do?"
Hermione grinned. "Thank you, Harry! For now, just go up to her and introduce the new you. We can make plans later."
With one last glance at Hermione, who gave him a thumbs up, Harry walked into the Great Hall. He tried to ignore the weird stares he was getting by staring straight ahead at the opposite wall and not looking at any of them. This proved to be a decent strategy for avoiding awkward eye contact, but a very poor strategy for walking. He bumped into somebody and quickly apologized before realizing that it was Ebony.
"Bastard!" she shouted. Harry was really taken aback. This wasn't the Ebony he remembered at all. Hermione was right, something was seriously wrong with her.
She turned around with an angry expression on her face that quickly softened at the sight of Harry standing there. "Oh," she said. "And who might you be?"
It was that moment that Harry realized that he'd forgotten to think up a 'goth' name for himself. He didn't want to end up like poor Hermione, so he quickly glanced around for inspiration. His eyes settled on the fruit punch in Ebony's cereal bowl that he knew she wanted people to think was blood.
"Well… um… I used to be called Harry Potter, of course. But now… they call me… um… Vampire," Harry stammered, hoping Ebony would accept this as his new name and not force him to go by Rusty Nails or something.
Ebony's eyes widened. She seemed to like it. "Why? Because you love the taste of human blood?" she asked eagerly.
"What? Um… yeah. Sure," Harry replied, remembering what Hermione said about just going with it when Ebony says something weird.
"Well, I'm a vampire."
"Really? I never would have guessed."
Harry sat down next to her and was trying his best to reconnect with his old friend when Malfoy walked over.
"Need something, Malfoy?" Harry asked.
Malfoy ignored him. "Ebony, I've been looking for you. I have a surprise." He extended his hand to Ebony, who took it and stood up from the table.
"Later, Potter," Malfoy said smugly.
"See you around, Vampire," Ebony called over her shoulder as she and her blonde Satan of a boyfriend walked off. Hermione was right. They needed all the help they could get to get their friend back.
