(CoS) CHAPTER FIVE: Back to Hogwarts

It was hard to focus on anything except whether or not Ron and Harry were okay, but Ellie did enjoy the company in their little compartment. Nervous and dorky as he could seem at times, Neville was actually pretty funny and interesting, and it was nice to see Ginny outside of the usual confines of the Burrow. By the time they reached Hogwarts, Ellie had almost let herself forget to worry about the boys.

But then the doors opened, and she remembered again. She darted off the train and ran over to the first teacher (well, groundskeeper) she could find: Hagrid.

"It's Ron and Harry!" she said urgently as she ran up to him. "They never made it onto the platform!"

"Believe me—I heard," said Hagrid grimly. "Don' worry—they're on their way here."

Ellie glanced behind her at the twins, Hermione, Ginny, and Neville, who had all reached them by then.

"What does that mean?" Hermione finally asked for the rest of them.

But Hagrid just grimaced and said, "I 'xpect yeh'll find out soon enough."

And, reluctantly, they headed for the nearest horseless carriage to take them to the castle.

When she approached McGonagall on the other side of the lake, Ellie was met with a similar reaction.

"They're fine, Eleanor," McGonagall assured her. "They're in my office at this very moment, awaiting their punishment."

"Punishment?" repeated Hermione. "For what?"

But one, stern look from McGonagall was enough to silence their questions, and they headed reluctantly for their seats.

Seeing Dean and Seamus again was enough to brighten her spirits somewhat, and she even caught a glimpse of Oliver further down the table, eyeing her with that same charming, flirty-eyed smile that he always gave her. She gave him a small smile back, which Fred, of course, immediately clocked.

"Reminder," he said, nudging her playfully. "You're still twelve. And he's now a sixth year."

"When did smiling at someone become synonymous with dating them?" she grumbled, sinking lower into her chair as she looked away from Oliver.

Dumbledore rose to his feet at that, instantly silencing the crowd around them. He announced the commencement of the Sorting Ceremony, and Ellie and the others eagerly watched as the new batch of wide-eyed first years were sorted. Ginny, one of the last to be Sorted, was, of course, put in Gryffindor.

"Like it's a surprise," muttered George as they all leapt to their feet and clapped. "Can you imagine if she'd been put anywhere else?"

"They would have had to send the Hat in for repairs," joked Ellie as Ginny reached them. She gave her pseudo-sister a big, spine-crushing hug before taking her seat again.

As soon as the feast began, Ellie scarfed down her food, eager to get back to the common room and find out what had happened to Harry and Ron. Hermione and the twins did the same, and, about twenty minutes later, they were granted permission to head back early by McGonagall.

"Finally!" she breathed when she spotted the two of them on the couch in the common room. "What the bloody hell happened to you two?"

She listened intently as they told a rather farfetched-sounding saga about the platform being closed off and them borrowing the flying Ford Anglia to follow the train to Hogwarts, which ended up crashing into the Whomping Willow, a rather violent tree that was off near the edge of the grounds.

"Oh," added Ron, "and my wand broke."

"And we were seen," added Harry. "By a ton of Muggles, apparently. So we're basically going to have detention for, like, the rest of our lives."

"Hang on," said Ellie. "So you're telling me that, rather than wait ten or twenty minutes for Mr. and Mrs. Weasley to realize you didn't make it onto the train and come up with a logical plan to get you to Hogwarts, you decided to commit grand theft auto?"

Everyone burst out laughing at that. Before Ron or Harry had the chance to defend themselves, the rest of the Gryffindors came pouring in.

Ginny started to take a seat on the arm of the sofa Ellie was sitting in when she arrived, but Ellie rose to give her seat away, eager to greet the rest of her classmates. She found Lavender, Parvati, Dean, and Seamus at a table a few feet away, and pulled up a chair beside Seamus.

"Hey," Seamus greeted easily, and nodded in Dean's direction. "We were just talking about you."

"Good things, I hope," she joked, but her smile faded when she saw Dean's rather obvious discomfort. Had Seamus been implying something with his comment?

"It's great to see you!" gushed Lavender from Ellie's other side, rescuing her from whatever awkwardness that was about. "How was your summer?"

"Amazing," said Ellie eagerly. "I stayed at the Burrow again—it was fantastic."

"With all those boys?" asked Parvati, wrinkling her nose. "Don't know how you can stand it."

"Well, well, well," said a voice from behind them. "If it isn't Miss Bretherworth."

Ellie didn't have to turn around to know who was standing behind her; she easily recognized the confident voice of Oliver Wood by now.

"This table just got cool," joked Lavender with a grin in Ellie's direction. Dean and Seamus both sulked at that.

"It's not Bretherworth anymore," Ellie told Oliver, rising to her feet to hug him. "It's Prince. Don't ask."

"Always the woman of mystery," he said cheerfully. "Fancy taking a stroll with me?"

Ellie wasn't entirely sure that it was smart to thrust herself back into the Oliver drama on the first night of her second year at Hogwarts, but she also couldn't bring herself to say no—not with him looking that good. So, forcing a smile, she nodded.

It was too late to leave the Gryffindor Tower without getting into trouble, so instead they strolled the length of the common room, toward the windows.

"So?" asked Oliver as they walked. "Anything to report? Up your Quidditch game this summer?"

She laughed. "Hardly. Though we did practice. At worst, I'll just be a bit rusty."

"Well, you at your rustiest is better than most Chasers at their best, so I think we'll manage."

Ellie beamed at that. "Thanks, Ollie. And you? How was your summer?"

"Oh, not bad. Little lonely, then a little not lonely. Then a little lonely again."

It wasn't hard to read between the lines of what he was saying: he'd had a fling with someone. She wasn't exactly jealous, but it certainly sparked her interest. "Anyone I know?"

He shook his head. "No, and no one I care to know anymore. I said it once, El, and I'll say it again—there's no one else like you."

He really knew how to lay it on thick, didn't he? She was flattered, but the memory of kissing him last year had her stomach in knots—in the good and the bad way—and she forced herself to remain grounded. "I'm still not ready," she told him gently. "I'm sorry."

He nodded, not looking all that surprised or disappointed. "I get it. Just let me know when you are." And with that, he winked at her and walked away.

Well, I doubt any of you believed Oliver had given up entirely... But at least she's managing to keep a level head about him, right? And what was that strangeness with Dean about? Ellie is approaching teenagerdom, and with it may come a bit more boy drama than last year... Stay tuned for that fun, and don't forget to leave a review!