CHAPTER ELEVEN: Halloween, Part One
Ellie tried not to let Harry's secrecy get to her, but it wasn't easy. Seeing him defend Neville and his Remembrall and even agree to duel Draco had made her like and admire him much more than her average classmates, and she had hoped they might be moving toward a friendship similar to what she had with Fred and George.
If she wasn't mistaken, Harry seemed to be thinking the same thing, to some extent. She felt his gaze on her often, as if he was debating approaching her. He sent her nervous smiles from time to time, but never seemed to know what to say. Then, finally, about two weeks after the ordeal with the three-headed dog, he finally approached her.
"I'm sorry," he said before Charms class, pulling her aside. "This thing that Hermione and Ron are talking about… It could be really serious, and I was afraid of telling too many people."
"I get it," she told him, and she really meant it. It would have been nice if he felt he could trust her the way he trusted the other two, but she didn't hold it against him. "You don't owe me an apology."
He smiled weakly. "I do want to tell you. I think you could really help us figure out what it all means. I just… wouldn't want the twins to know, too."
She stiffened at that. She understood, of course, from his perspective, but she didn't want to have to keep anything from them.
"Don't tell me," she decided, forcing a smile. "It's okay."
He looked surprised. "Really?"
She nodded. "I tell the twins everything—they're my best friends. If you ever want my help, I'm here for you—but so are they."
He seemed to understand. He smiled. "I think that's really cool, Ellie. You're obviously a very good friend."
They headed into Charms class about a minute late, but Flitwick didn't seem to notice; he was already in the midst of a lecture about a levitation spell called Wingardium Leviosa.
Ellie had taken her usual spot next to Hermione. Like always, she let Hermione go first so she could see how the spell was done. Before Hermione had the chance, though, Ron started spastically swish-and-flicking his own wand in a faulty performance of the spell.
"You're saying it wrong," Hermione told Ron. "It's levi-ohhh-sa, not levi-oh-saaah."
Ellie tried to conceal her grin as Ron snapped back at Hermione to try it herself if she was so sure. Ellie felt a little bad for Hermione that the poor girl didn't realize what a know-it-all she came off as, but she still admired her for her smarts.
Hermione, of course, performed the spell perfectly, and Ellie, learning from observation, proceeded to perform it almost as well afterwards—adding, of course, a playful tickle of Dean Thomas's nose for fun. They earned ten points for Gryffindor cumulatively, and by the time Flitwick dismissed them, Ellie was back in good spirits.
She met up with Fred and George on the way to Quidditch practice. The new Cleansweep she had ordered had finally been delivered by her trusty owl, Woodstock, and she was excited to try it out. The Gryffindor-Slytherin game was just over a month away, and Oliver was starting to panic.
"Split practice today," he announced when they all arrived. "Fred, George—you guys go and work with Harry while he works on the Snitch. Girls, over at that goal, trying to get the ball past me."
It was a lot of fun, as the first few practices had also been. Ellie worked well with Katie and Angelina, both of whom passed to her often, and she even managed to get a few balls past the very talented Oliver. At one point a Bludger snuck away from Harry and the twins' side of the pitch and over toward her, but Fred seemed to appear out of nowhere to knock it away from her.
"Well done, everyone!" Oliver said when practice was over. "Next practice is in three days, and then there's Halloween—make sure not to eat yourselves into comas. I'll see you Friday, then—off you go." But just as Ellie started to take her leave, he added, "Ellie, can I talk to you for a second?"
Fred, George, and Harry all glanced up at that, looking curious. She gave them easy nods, and they continued on their paths out as she headed toward Oliver. She wasn't sure what this was about, but, handsome as he was, he didn't exactly scare her anymore.
"Forgive me if you'd rather not say," he told her, "but the last few practices, there seems to have been some tension between you and Harry. Am I imagining things?"
She wasn't quite sure how to respond to that. She and Harry had more or less smoothed things out. Was it romantic tension he was talking about? She wasn't sure she was even old enough to recognize it.
"I guess we had a bit of a weird situation pop up between us," she admitted. "But we talked it out, and everything's fine now."
He didn't look quite satisfied with that answer. "You know, I can't really outlaw dating within the team, but I do discourage it."
She laughed out loud at that. "No one's dating anyone. At least, no one's dating me. It was just a friendship thing."
He looked relieved—maybe a little too relieved. It was just for the sake of the team, right? Someone like him couldn't possibly have a crush on someone like her.
"Great," he said, clearing his throat. "Fancy having a bite with me? The other fifth years can be a lot of fun—that is, except Percy." He frowned. "Are you friends with all the Weasleys?"
She laughed, trying to ignore the way her heart started thumping at the fact that Oliver Wood had just asked her to get food with him. "None of the Weasleys are friends with Percy."
From the moment she sat down with Oliver and the other fifth years to eat, she felt about a hundred different sets of eyes on her from throughout the Great Hall. It was rare enough for a first year to sit with kids so much older than her, but Oliver Wood? He was practically a celebrity.
He and his friends, at least, seemed oblivious to it. "You don't look like a first year," said one of Oliver's male friends as he peered at her. "Second or third, I would have guessed. You weren't held back or something?"
Oliver grinned and whispered something to the friend that Ellie couldn't hear. She felt her ears turn pink as she told the friend, "I have an early birthday, I guess, but no—not held back."
"When's your birthday?" asked Oliver.
Now her blush deepened. It was coming up fast, and the last thing she wanted was extra attention when it did. "Halloween. But I'd much rather celebrate that than my birthday."
"Nonsense," he said cheerfully. "We'll do both."
She tried not to stare too stupidly at him, but she was finding it hard. He was flirting with her, right? And had invited her to eat with him? Had she slipped into an alternate dimension, or what?
"So, Ellie," said the girl next to her. "Do you want to be a professional Quidditch player like Ollie does?"
She glanced back at Oliver. "Really? That's cool!"
He smiled shyly back at her. "That's the dream, anyway."
God, he had a nice smile. "You're the Gryffindor captain—that's got to mean something, right?"
"Only if we win." And he winked at her.
She had to be beet red at this point. How was she supposed to react when the handsome, fifteen-year-old captain of the Quidditch team winked at her? She looked away from him, smiling nervously at the girl next to her and saying, "I'm not sure what I want to do yet. I was raised in the Muggle world, so I still don't know too much about the jobs that are available."
"Raised in the Muggle world?" Oliver repeated. "But didn't you spend the summer with the Weasleys?"
She nodded. "I knew about magic—my mum went to Hogwarts—but she left it all behind when I was a kid. As for the summer at the Weasleys'… it's kind of a long story."
He didn't look any less intrigued, but he did seem to accept that she probably didn't want to get into the details in front of all these people. "Well, you'll have to tell me about it sometime," he said, and he turned his attention back to his food.
She stared down at her own as she did her best to process the fact that Oliver Wood wanted to hang out with her more than once.
Things shifted ever so slightly after that. Fred and George were the only ones who openly teased her about Oliver's flirtation with her, but she felt curious, envious, and sometimes judgmental gazes from loads of other students whenever Oliver approached her—which seemed to happen more and more frequently.
"I just don't get it," said Lavender the night before Halloween—also known as the night before her birthday—as they all curled up for bed. "He's, like, four years older than us. What does he want with you?"
Ellie laughed. She might have been offended if it came from someone less harmless than Lavender. "Three years older," she corrected; "I'm old for my class and he's young for his. And he doesn't want anything with me—said himself he's against dating within the team. He's just being friendly."
"Friendly?" repeated Parvati. "I heard he winked at you right in front of his friends."
Ellie parted her lips to answer, but before she got the chance, a horde of boys burst into their room—Fred, George, Ron, Harry, Dean, and Seamus. All the girls shrieked as they scrambled to cover themselves with their blankets and yell at the boys for illegally climbing the stairs, but Ellie just jumped up to greet them.
"What are you doing here?" she asked as she scanned them carefully. She noticed several presents in several hands and had a feeling she already knew the answer.
"You thought you could hide your birthday from us?" Fred teased her, shaking his head. "Probably shouldn't have told your boyfriend. Oh, by the way—this one's from him."
She rolled her eyes as she snatched the present from him. It was a book on Chasing.
"Boring," Fred said cheerfully.
She glared at him as she set it on her nightstand. It might not be the most exciting present, but it was thoughtful. She proceeded to open the rest at that point—from Dean, a silver armband whose beads glittered and moved of their own accord; from Ron, a Chudley Cannons baseball cap; and from Hermione, Sugar Quills from Diagon Alley. Lavender, Kellah, and Parvati had gone in on a gift together—a pretty set of earrings that grew and shrunk of their own accord. But Fred and George's presents were, of course, the best.
From George was a spellbook on magical bands, complete with a magic lock to put on her guitar that amplified the sound more than any Muggle amp she'd ever purchased. From Fred was something even better—a beautiful, silver locket that seemed far out of the typical Weasley budget. When she opened it, she saw a strange, liquid, black substance that almost seemed to float up at her.
She glanced curiously at Fred, who grinned and showed her a ring on his own hand that seemed to emit the same, mysterious substance. "Communication jewelry," he explained. "When I think of you, yours glows white, and vice versa. And we can send each other messages, too, in writing."
She didn't think she had ever been happier. Her presents were wonderful, though she noticed with a sinking feeling that she hadn't received anything from her mother. Still, when the boys headed out and she went to sleep that night, she felt more loved than she had in a long time.
So far, Ellie's having a very good birthday... but the day is young, and much action is still to commence, so stay tuned and please remember to review if you're enjoying the story!
