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So, thank you, and please continue with the comments, its the only way I'll learn.

Chapter 11: Owls, Vampires And A Haunted House

Ellie hadn't noticed how beautiful the village of Hogsmeade really was. The first time she saw it, she was far too worried about someone discovering that she didn't belong there. Now that she had Harry, Ron and Hermione with her she was feeling more at ease and took in the sights leisurely. The first place Harry and Ron took Ellie was the post office. Ellie wasn't quite sure what could possibly be so interesting about a post office, but she had to remind herself that this was no ordinary town.

Harry opened the door and Ellie quickly ducked, just narrowly missing a barn owl flying out the door. Ellie cautiously peered into the post office and saw hundreds of more owls inside. She had no idea that there were so many different types of owls in the world let alone in the United Kingdom (assuming she was still in the U.K.).

"The larger owls are for long distant deliveries and the smaller ones are for local." Harry explained as more owls entered and exited through the windows above.

Out of all the possibilities for a wizard to send mail, owls were the last thing Ellie expected.

"Come on. Let's go to Zonko's and see how Fred and George are doing." Ron said heading back towards the post office doors.

Zonko's was just as crowded, if not more, than when Ellie had first arrived.

"My two brothers are the creators of Weasley Wizard Wheezes. They have their own joke store in Diagon Alley, but they come to Zonko's every Hogsmeade weekend. As you can see, it's a very successful business." Ron explained to Ellie.

"Ron, it will take us hours for us to get into Zonko's if we wait in that line." Harry said glumly, looking at the huge queue in front of the store.

"Besides, we should be on our way to see Professor Dumbledore." Hermione pipped in. She had been following Harry, Ron and Ellie a few steps behind and hadn't said a word since they had left the Three Broomsticks.

"Alright, we'll go see Dumbledore," Harry began, "right after we go to the Shrieking Shack."

"I really think we should go now." Hermione said firmly.

"What's a tour of Hogsmeade without a visit to the Shrieking Shack?" Ron asked.

With a bit more persuasion Hermione finally gave in. Ellie was beginning to get the distinct feeling that Hermione didn't want her around, but she wasn't sure why.

"The Shrieking Shack is believed to be the most haunted dwelling in all of Britain." Ron told Ellie as they climbed the hill that the Shrieking Shack sat on top of. "But it's not really haunted at all. It turned out that-"

"Ron!" Harry said sternly, giving him a very sharp glare.

Ron immediately became quiet, and Ellie was very curious to know what Ron was about to say.

And there it was. At the top of the hill sat a tall decrepit house with a fence surrounding it. All the windows and doors were boarded up and the garden was severely overgrown with weeds. Although a creepy feeling crawled through Ellie's skin as she approached the house, she couldn't help but feel disappointed. The Shrieking Shack looked just like any stereotypical haunted house from any old book or movie. Ellie had been expecting more from the magical world.

"Are we done yet?" Hermione asked impatiently after only looking at the Shrieking Shack for thirty seconds.

Ellie had turned around to tell Hermione that, no, she wasn't done yet, when she spotted two girls walking up the hill. One of the girls had long fiery red hair, and looked very pretty, while the other had straggly dirty-blond hair and a vague expression on her face.

Harry, Ron and Hermione all turned around at the sound of the approaching footsteps.

"Oh, it's just you." Ron said with a tone of relief.

"Why? Who were you expecting?" The red haired girl asked curtly.

"Oh, no one. Just didn't want to run into anyone from Slytherin." Ron replied casually.

"Who is this?" The red haired girl asked, fixing her eyes on Ellie.

"This is Ellie." Harry answered. "Ellie, this is Ginny Weasley, Ron's sister, and her friend Luna Lovegood."

"You're a vampire aren't you?" Luna promptly asked, but it sounded more like an accusation than a question.

"I beg your pardon?" Ellie asked, totally caught off guard by such a remark, and judging by everyone else's reaction, she wasn't the only one.

"Luna, does she even look like a vampire to you?" Hermione asked incredulously. "She wouldn't even be able to stand outside in this bright sunshine if she was."

"My father printed an article about the secret lives of vampires, and it revealed that adolescent vampires can withstand the sun's rays, so they can search for a suitable mate."

Ellie glanced at Harry, Ron and Ginny who were all trying their hardest to suppress their laughter. Hermione, on the other hand, was looking completely outraged.

"That is the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard!" Hermione exclaimed.

"Well, it's true!" Luna shouted back.

"I think its time for us to go." Harry said quickly, pushing Hermione down the hill. Ellie and Ron followed right behind.

Harry and Ron were still sniggering to themselves when they had reached the bottom of the hill.

"A vampire?" Harry chortled.

"Just when you think loony Luna couldn't get weirder, she does." Ron commented, whipping a tear from his eye.

Instead of following behind, Hermione was now leading the group along the path, through a thicket of trees. After a few minutes the trees began to thin out, and the path led them to a large clearing.

"Well, there it is." Harry said proudly.

Ellie looked up, but all she could see was a decaying ruin with a sign that said, "Caution! Weak Structure. KEEP OUT!"

She was just about to ask Harry if this was some kind of joke, when, in a blink of an eye, a spectacular castle appeared where the ruins had been.

"Whoa!" Ellie exclaimed.

Both Harry and Ron shot Ellie an odd glare.

"That was quite the delayed reaction." Ron commented.

"You didn't see the castle at first did you?" Hermione asked, not sounding remotely surprised at Ellie's reaction.

"No I didn't." Ellie replied very baffled.

"Did it look like a mouldering ruin with a sign telling you to keep away?"

"Yeah, how did you know?"

"Because that's what it's suppose to look like to a muggle." Hermione simply answered.

"But she can see it now." Harry said, sounding just as confused as Ellie.

"What does that mean?" Ron asked.

"I don't know." Hermione said gravely.