So what do you think? Feelings are starting to emerge aren't they? But let's see where they lead.
Protection and Jealousy
Over the next few weeks the rumours surrounding Harry being the heir of Slytherin escalated, leaving him an outcast from the rest of the students at Hogwarts. What had happened in the duelling club had spread far across the school in a matter of days, and Elsie felt sorry for him.
"It's a shame… after all he's suffered, and now he's being accused of releasing a monster back into the school." Elsie says at breakfast the next morning as Angelina laughs at something Fred just said. Elsie watches the pair feeling angry for some strange, unknown reason, and she bites into her toast with more envy then she first realises.
"It's ridiculous, deep down I think everyone knows it's not really him." George replies as they watch him get up from the table with Ron and Hermione and almost everyone stares as he goes.
"Oh well, we'll find a way to cheer him up." Fred says.
On a pleasant day the school heads out to the Quidditch pitch to watch Gryffindor versus Slytherin. During the match, something very odd happens. The bludger begins to follow Harry around the pitch,
"It's been charmed!" Elsie says loudly to Percy,
"Great giants, you're right!" he says indignantly. Elsie watches the match through her hands half the time as she watches Harry race about in the air for the snitch, whilst also trying to dodge the bludger. Fred and George try and wrestle it so it doesn't attack him and it misses them on several occasions by inches, making Elsie shriek and hide behind her hands once more. Soon however the whistle is blown and Gryffindor have won, but Harry is lying on the pitch.
"Come on!" Hermione says and Elsie follows her and Ron down to the pitch just as the bludger tries and attacks Harry on the ground.
"Hermione!" Elsie calls desperately as she is the closest one,
"Finite incantatem!" Hermione shouts directing her wand at the bludger and it bursts into flame and they all run towards Harry.
"I-I think my arm's broken." He stutters as Lockhart arrives,
"Don't worry Harry I will fix that arm of your's straight away." He says taking out his wand,
"No, not you!" Harry says desperately,
"He doesn't know what he's saying. Brackium immendo!" he chants and holds up Harry's arm, as it flops like jelly. There are cries and groans of disgust as Lockhart bends it right back,
"Well it very clearly is not broken." Lockhart blusters,
"Broken! There's no bones left!" Hagrid shouts angrily as Elsie silently agrees with him. The next morning which was a Sunday, a sixth year entered the common room and announced gravely,
"Colin Creevey has been petrified."
Due to the fact a student was petrified for a while afterwards everyone seemed terrified. Slytherin's monster suddenly seemed very real and one day Elsie enters the great hall a little later than everyone else, Fred and George sigh in relief.
"Thank Merlin you're alright!" Fred says and Angelina's face looks furious from Fred to Elsie before turning her back on them all and speaking to Alicia and Katie, her face red.
"Why wouldn't I be?" Elsie asks sitting opposite the twins,
"We heard there had been a double attack!" George says seriously,
"Really? By- by the monster?" she stutters and they nod, "Who was…" she begins, looking down the table fearfully, but she catches the sight of Hermione's bushy hair and she sighs in relief.
"We don't know, but apparently Harry was caught at the spot where it happened." Fred says anxiously,
"He's in Dumbledore's office right now." George adds and Elsie bites her lip.
"I don't think Harry could do it though, maybe he was just at the wrong place at the wrong…"
"I know who was attacked!" Lee says sitting beside Elsie, "It was Nearly Headless Nick and a second year Justin Finch-Fletchley from Hufflepuff." He says without pause,
"Nick was petrified?" Elsie asks stunned as Angelina and the others return to the conversation, "What could petrify a ghost?" she exclaims horrified, looking round at her friends.
The news of the attack spread all around the school, and Harry was more of an outcast than ever before. In the run up to Christmas, Fred and George persisted in following Elsie everywhere around the school, just in case she was attacked by the unknown and terrifying monster. This was fun for a while because she would get them to actually do their homework properly in the library for once, but she soon got annoyed by them skulking around outside her classes and once of twice when she came out of the girl's bathroom they would be waiting outside for her.
"Look, I appreciate the thought, but really I will be alright." She tells them after Herbology, after they rant at her for leaving the greenhouse a few seconds before them.
"I'm sorry that we want to make sure our best friend doesn't get petrified by Slytherin's monster of horrors." Fred says sarcastically,
"It's lovely that you're so concerned but you don't have to accompany me everywhere you know. I know how much it secretly annoys you." She says patting them sympathetically on the backs. They were much taller than the year before, and she hadn't grown much at all, so she couldn't even reach their shoulders.
"You're right, it does annoy us, especially when you won't help with our homework." George says slyly as he and Fred grin,
"Our O.W.L's are next year and you need to prepare yourselves." She scolds and they roll their eyes,
"Alright, alright, we'll back off." Fred says and she grins at them,
"Good." And then after a while adding, "Am I really your best friend?"
The twins are soon preparing for the Quidditch season which means that Elsie gets some time away from them following her everywhere, but they appear to have put Lee Jordan in charge of her safety whilst they are training.
"So, where are you going?" he says as he jumps out at her,
"To the library, why?"
"Oh good, I need to go there too!" he says and she looks at him sceptically,
"Have you ever been to the library Lee?"
"Well err… no but…" he says looking awkward,
"You don't have to follow me Lee, I'll be fine. I won't tell Fred and George." She whispers slyly before heading out of the common room. Angelina seemed to find this over protectiveness much more annoying than Elsie herself,
"Why don't you take care of yourself for once?" she asks her as Fred and George get put in detention for jinxing Warrington and Pucey for shouting aloud in the courtyard,
"I hope you're attacked next MacDonald!"
"I don't ask them to be so protective!" Elsie replies hurt at the glare in Angelina's eyes as she strides away with Alicia who shoots an apologetic glance at her.
A few weeks into November and a notice goes up alerting the students to the date of the next trip to Hogsmeade. Elsie has never been before because she was too busy the year before with her homework and she is surprised when Cedric asks her in Potions one day,
"Elsie, I was wondering whether you… well whether you wanted too… too come to Hogsmeade with me on the 14th." He says and she looks at him stunned,
"Ummm…" is all she says while she thinks of what to say next, "Who else is going?" she asks him,
"Well, I thought… it could just be us." He says and her mind races even faster, but on the outside she remains calm. For some reason the first thought in her mind is, 'What about Fred?' which she casts aside befuddled and then, 'Does he mean like a date?'
"Sorry, Cedric. I don't even know whether I'm going at all. I have a lot of homework I need to get done." She lies feeling her cheeks burn red as Cedric looks rather disappointed,
"Oh, right, yeah." He says as Professor Snape clears his throat,
"Anymore talk between you two will result in points taken from each of your houses." He drawls and Elsie gets on with her Babbling beverage.
That evening in the common room as Elsie finishes off the remainder of her homework and corrects Fred and George's for them they begin to wind her up.
"Els, come to Hogsmeade with us, go on, you know you want to!" Fred says first,
"I don't know, I have a lot of homework to do."
"Or you won't come because Cedric has already asked you?" George asks,
"Be quiet!" she snaps at them,
"I'll take that as a yes Fred."
"Same here George. So come on are you excited about your date?" Fred teases,
"I told him what I will tell you again, I have too much homework to go to Hogsmeade." She says packing up her books angrily,
"Please come Els! Just so we can keep an eye on you!" Fred says and she turns to face them angrily,
"Fine, but only for a short while!" she says relenting. She in facts stays much longer in Hogsmeade than she wanted to, loosing track of the time because of how much fun she has with Fred, George, Lee, Angelina, Alicia and Katie. Angelina is acting much friendlier to Elsie than before, and she guesses it's because Alicia put her up to it. Elsie is fascinated by the whole village for she had never been to a purely wizarding village before, or to Hogsmeade, and she inspected all the shops and bought herself a new quill for her last one was wrecked in one of Lockhart's disastrous lessons, and a new book which she reads at the Gryffindor dinner table that evening, eating at a very slow rate because of how transfixed she is by it. She also went to the post office, the shrieking shack, Zonkos, Honeyduke's and the Three Broomsticks where she and her friends all had a glass of butterbeer.
But by her next lesson in Potions, she was met with a very unfriendly Cedric.
"Hello." She says warmly sitting down beside him, but he ignores her. "Cedric what's wrong?" she asks and he shoots her a dirty look,
"I saw you. I saw you in Hogsmeade with your friends. Looks like you were having a merry old time."
"Cedric, I'm sorry! It's just… I like you as a friend and I didn't even know whether I was going to Hogsmeade or not until two days ago. Please forgive me!" she asks him desperately and he looks at her sadly,
"You could have just said you wanted to go as friends." He mumbles,
"That still wouldn't have made me feel better. You deserve someone much better than me." Elsie says opening her Potion's book as Snape enters the classroom.
"Did you have an argument with pretty boy Diggory?" Fred asks Elsie as they battle through the rain towards the greenhouses,
"We didn't have an argument we just had a discussion." She replies coldly,
"It looked like an argument to me." George says smirking,
"Oh, leave off. You only don't like him because he is on the Hufflepuff Quidditch team." She says over the sudden gust of wind.
"We do like him, we just like teasing you about him." Fred says grinning at her as her and George hurry in front of her to the greenhouse. Fred and George do indeed find a way to cheer up Harry though, although it isnt what Elsie considers the regular way of cheering someone up. Because they find it so ridiculous they make fun of the fact everyone is scared of him, they pretend to ward him off with Garlic as he walks down the corridor, or asks him loudly who his next victim will be, and once or twice Elsie was with them when they march ahead of Harry down the corridor shouting,
"Make way for the heir of Slytherin, seriously evil wizard coming through…"
"It is not a laughing matter!" Percy says stopping them as they walk past,
"Get out of the way Percy, Harry's in a hurry!" Fred replies,
"Yeah, he's nipping of to the Chamber of Secrets for a cup of tea with his fanged servant!" George replies as they continue on, Elsie trying not to laugh with difficulty.
That Christmas most of the school leaves for the holidays, and only really the Weasleys, Elsie, Harry, Ron, Hermione, Malfoy and some other Slytherin's remain.
"Yippee, Christmas with the Slytherin's." Fred says darkly on the first day of the holidays.
"I like it, it's… quiet." Elsie says looking around pleased. The great hall looks as magnificent as it always does for Christmas, and it seems very tranquil with almost nobody inside. Fred and George play a game of wizard's chess as Elsie watches them whilst she reads up on the new charms they will be learning over the holidays.
"Do you ever stop reading?" George asks her,
"No, and I'm not going to." She replies without looking up at them. That Christmas she hurries into their dormitory and hands them her presents,
"And don't worry, I didn't give you a diary. I know you won't use them." She says disappointedly before heading back to the common room. She spends a lot of time with the twins that Christmas, much more than usual because there isnt anyone else there, and she helps them a little with their inventing before they head for lunch together. They are joined by Percy which Fred and George are not pleased about and after eating as quickly as they possibly can Fred and George retreat with Elsie whilst Percy is in the middle of telling them all about his N.E.W.T examinations that he has yet to do. They sit in front of the fire toasting marshmallows and toast on the roaring flame, whilst the twins read the All you need to know about: Quidditch teams book she had bought them both for Christmas and they share her large box of Bertie Bott's every flavour beans they bought for her.