(CoS) CHAPTER SEVEN: Dates, Voices, and Visions

When Ellie met Dean in the common room on Saturday afternoon, she was pleased to see that he hadn't dressed up at all for the occasion; he was in a Muggle hoodie and a pair of jeans, same as her.

"Hey," she greeted him easily.

"Hey." He looked a bit nervous, but not exceptionally so. "You ready?"

She nodded, and together they climbed through the portrait hole and out into the castle.

"So," Dean said as they headed for the Great Hall. "Been meaning to ask you. The whole 'vegetarian' thing—how'd it start?"

She liked that question. "Well, I was about eight when I made the decision. My mum took me to a barbecue for a work event, and when I saw the pig being roasted over the fire…" She shuddered at the memory. "It still had its eyes, Dean. Its eyes!"

He laughed out loud at that as he held the door to the Great Hall open for her. "Understandably scarring for any eight-year-old girl," he said as they grabbed seats at an empty end of the Gryffindor table. "So it's an animal rights thing, then."

"It's a no-food-with-faces thing," she said. "What about you? Doesn't wrack your conscience at all?"

"Maybe a little." He glanced down at the selection of food at them, which included everything from sausages to salads. He selected some salad and potatoes, leaving the meats and sausages behind.

"You don't have to do that, you know," she said as she served herself her own helping of fruits and veggies. "I'm used to other people eating meat."

"No," said Dean firmly, offering her a smile. "It clearly means a lot to you. The least I can do is eat like a rabbit if it makes you happy."

After a surprisingly pleasant lunch date, Dean led Ellie to a place that he had stumbled upon by accident the previous year. "I read about it in Hogwarts: A History—it's called the Room of Requirement," he explained. "Very few students have ever been able to find it."

"How do you access it?" she asked him, glancing at the wall he had taken her to, on which did not yet appear a door.

Without answering her, he closed his eyes and walked once, twice, then three times down the length of the hall. When he returned to her, a door was forming.

"That's awesome!" she exclaimed as he opened the door to let her inside.

"And not just that," he said. "It seems to provide whatever you want it to—you know, whatever you need it for. Right now it's just a big, open space, but if you wanted it to be a library, or a movie theatre, or whatever, it would."

She gazed around at the empty room, fascinated. "This would really come in handy if things ever got bad around here, don't you think? Like… a shelter."

"A shelter?" he repeated, eyes widening. "Why would things get that way?"

Her mind flashed to her and Harry's terrifying encounter with Lord Voldemort, but she pushed the thought away. "I don't know—just being stupid," she muttered. "C'mon—let's get started."

They played around with her shield for about an hour before heading back to the common room. She still felt small pangs of pain deep inside her whenever anything struck her shield, but she also got the sense that her shield was, slowly but surely, becoming stronger.

She was a little anxious that Dean might come out with a question she wasn't entirely ready for when they parted ways, but he didn't. Whatever was going on between them, he had the good sense—unlike Oliver—to take it slow.

She rejoined the twins in the common room, who were working on some sort of prank potion. Fred eyed Dean with a bit of distaste as he walked away, then asked Ellie rather spitefully, "How was your date?"

"Fine," said Ellie shortly, not wanting to get into it further. "Need some help?"

She spent the next few hours helping them with their pranks. They got so wrapped up in it, they all forgot to go to dinner; by the time they finished, Harry and Ron were already returning from their evening detentions.

Harry, Ellie noticed immediately, looked… shaken.

"What's wrong?" she asked Harry, standing up.

"He's hearing voices," muttered Ron, sounding frustrated. "Can you lot please tell him it's not normal?"

"Not normal, Harry," agreed George. "Unless under the influence of heavy psychedelics, or perhaps a Confundus Charm."

Ellie shot him a sarcastic look at that before turning back to Harry. "Ignore them. What happened?"

Harry took a seat in their corner and explained to them in a hushed voice about the voices he'd heard during the end of his detention with Lockhart, murmuring things like let me rip you and let me kill you, which Lockhart himself didn't seem to have heard.

"Yeah," Ellie said when he finished, "but it's Lockhart we're talking about. He's a moron. Maybe he just wasn't paying attention."

"Maybe," agreed Harry. But he looked uncertain. "It was pretty hard to miss, though."

"Well, you're not crazy," said Ellie firmly. "Just give it some time. If you hear the voices again, then we'll talk."

"Yeah," whispered George to Fred. "Talk about putting him in a straightjacket."

Ellie woke up at the crack of dawn the next morning, expecting to find another glow at her locket from Fred, but it never came. Feeling a bit frustrated, she headed downstairs on her own, only to find Ginny sitting on the couch, looking concerningly pale-faced and confused.

"Ginny?" Ellie asked, rushing over to her friend. "Ginny, are you all right?"

But Ginny's eyes were unfocused, as if she was having some sort of vision. She didn't seem to have heard Ellie at all.

"Ginny!" Ellie repeated—louder this time. She grabbed Ginny by the arm and shook. "Snap out of it!"

Finally, Ginny blinked out of her trance and turned to face Ellie. "What's going on?"

"Y… you…" Ellie stammered, horrified. "You were in a trance, or something. It was like you were under a spell. Was someone else in here? Do you remember coming down here?"

Ginny laughed at that—actually laughed. "Of course, I remember coming down here. I must have just dozed off, is all. Guess I must sleep with my eyes closed sometimes."

Ellie wasn't remotely convinced, but she wasn't sure what other explanation made sense, either, so, reluctantly, she nodded. "Well, if you're sure. Why don't we go and get some breakfast?"

"Sure," said Ginny easily. "Let me just pop upstairs to change."

Fred descended the boys' staircase just as Ginny headed for the girls'. "Been replaced by my own sister, have I?" he joked as he took a seat next to Ellie on the sofa. As soon as he did, he seemed to sense her discomfort. "You okay?"

"She was acting… strangely," Ellie told him carefully. "Said she must have fallen asleep, but it didn't seem like she was asleep, Fred. It was almost like she was, I don't know… having a vision, or something."

"A vision?" he repeated, seeming to take it every bit as seriously as she had. It was his little sister they were talking about, after all. "What does that mean? Like… Divination?"

"I don't know," she admitted, shaking her head. "It could be nothing… It scared me, though."

He nodded, jaw still tight with his own concern. "We'll keep an eye out for her—the both of us," he decided. "Look, El, about the whole Dean thing…"

She glanced up at him, surprised he was going there.

"I think it's great if you want to date him," he said. "Seems like a really nice guy."

His words felt like a punch to the gut, but she forced herself to smile. Before she could think of a response, though, Oliver clambered down the stairs.

"Ellie," he greeted, eyeing her and Fred suspiciously. "Fred."

"Wotcher, Oliver," said Fred, sounding tired.

Oliver nodded carefully at him, then said, "I reserved the field for after breakfast today. We need to get cracking on practice for the new season. You two in?"

"Of course, we are," said Ellie. "See you there."

Come on, Fred - wake up and smell the Ellie-flavored roses already! And boy, does Oliver have a knack for showing up when Ellie's already confused enough... Like I said, readers, this year will have a bit more boy drama than the last, but I do believe you might enjoy it! Stay tuned for the next chapter, and don't forget to review if you're enjoying the story!