Ze Chapter 2 of It's Only Imaginary

To my reviewers. Because there isn't any! Come on people! What parts if read and review don't you understand! Sorry. I don't mean that, but I enjoy hearing what people think. Well, here's the second chappie…

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Chapter 2

Ella stumbled back, a fearful look in her eyes. She tripped on something hard and fell. Forgetting her fear for a moment she looked back on the object. "Bloody root…" Then she looked back at the boy, who seemed a good 2 years older then her.

"Who are you, anyway?" Ella hissed, glaring at him.

"Oh, just call me Tom." He said smilingly, too smilingly.

Before saying another thing, Ella remembered that story on that Weasley girl who had communicated through a diary to a person named Tom… she had nearly been killed… "What do you want from me?" she said, her eyes flaming.

Tom smiled. This girl really was angry… angry with the world. He could harness that anger… he had chosen well. "Nothing. It's what you want from me that counts."

"I don't want anything from you! I want answers!" she shouted. "They're answers you obviously can't give me!"

"Don't judge a book by his cover." Tom said, eyeing her. "I have power and knowledge farther then any other wizard has. Ask away."

Her brown eyes looked into his green ones, searching for a trace of sarcasm. There was none. Struggling, she asked, "Why did he have to die?"

"Who?"

"My brother."

There was a long silence, Ella waiting with a resentful glare and Tom shaking his head. "Everything has to die sometime. Nothing lasts forever, especially life." Believe me, I should know, he thought.

'But why him? I don't even know how he died… they wouldn't even tell my parents." Ella grumbled, folding her arms across her chest.

"Who is they?" he asked, looking curiously at her.

"The Ministry. I can't believe…" She swore coarsely, using words even Tom didn't know.

Rather stunned, he looked at Ella with one eyebrow raised. He shook his head and got back on subject. "I have to go. But tomorrow will you meet me here? Same time? You must have to be going."

Ella looked at the last fragment of sun. "I guess I must. I will come back."

And with a look, he disappeared, leaving her staring into empty air and fluttering orange leaves.

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"You don't believe me, then."

Ella and her friends Shannon and Jasmin sat in the Hufflepuff common room. They both had pajamas on and the only light radiated from the fire and Jasmin's reading light as she worked on her Phoenix essay that the other two had finished yesterday.

"It's sort of hard to believe… you know, you don't just find boys in the forest with no Hogwarts robes and no classes." Shannon said, eyes cast down.

"Er… guys," Jasmin said suddenly, "How do you spell 'squawk?'"

Ella laughed, running over to Jasmin's desk. "Jasmin, hon, you need help."

Ella helped her muggle-born friend learn to use a spell-check quill, suddenly asking her, "Do you believe me, Jazzy?"

"On what?"

"The boy in the forest."

"You know… it was really warm yesterday… it might have been the aftermath of that crazy headache you had last week…" Jasmin's black eyes looked pleadingly into Ella's, as if asking her to admit she had made it all up.

"You don't believe me either?" Ella asked angrily.

"No, not really, no."

Ella groaned and buried her face in her hands. "I'm going to bed. See you in the morning."

Ella walked up the stairs to the Girl's Dormitory, eventually disappearing behind the dark oak door.