CHAPTER NINETEEN: The Five-Minute Game and the Bad Idea

The game against Hufflepuff didn't feel quite as high-stakes as the one against Slytherin, but Ellie was still nervous; Hermione sensed it from the moment they woke up.

"Just try to relax as best you can," Hermione told Ellie calmly as she got dressed. "Eat a light breakfast and give yourself plenty of time to warm up."

Ellie nodded, grateful for the advice, before heading downstairs to join the twins in the common room. They looked frustrating casual.

"No big deal," George said with an easy shrug when she confronted him about it. "They're easy. Not a great team. Not much to worry about."

"Plus, Ange and Katie have basically adopted you as their sister," added Fred. "With your chemistry, the three of you are unstoppable—the perfect team."

"Speaking of chemistry," murmured George with a teasing grin as Oliver approached them.

"You three should really be on your way to breakfast by now," said Oliver, sounding nervous. They followed him through the portrait hole as he added, "Remember everything we've practiced. Ellie, you know their Keeper isn't quite as easy as—"

"We know," Ellie said in time with Angelina and Katie, who had seemed to appear out of thin air on their walk to the Great Hall.

"We'll be fine," Angelina promised Oliver. "We'll kick butt as usual."

Eating a light breakfast as Hermione had advised helped, and by the time Ellie reached the Quidditch field, she was surprised by how much more calm she felt than she had at the start of the last game. When she mounted her room, the feeling of Angelina and Katie on either side of her, combined with the knowledge that Fred and George were behind her and Oliver was defending their goal, made her feel more safe and at home than afraid.

"Count of three," shouted Madam Hooch. "Three—two—one—" She blew her whistle, and everyone took off.

Ellie tried to get possession of the Quaffle, but wasn't discouraged when Katie grabbed it, instead. Katie tossed it straight to Ellie, who successfully dived out of the way of one of the Hufflepuff Chasers before throwing it upward toward Angelina. Lee was ecstatic: "Great pass from Katie Bell, and a terrific dodge by Ellie Breth—er, Ellie. And now, Angelina in possession—"

The crowd went wild as Angelina scored a goal past the Keeper and the first ten points were awarded to Gryffindor.

"Excellent start to Gryffindor! Now, the Quaffle's being readied for a throw-in, and—oh, I don't believe it! Is it—could it be—Harry has already caught the Snitch?"

Ellie craned her neck to spot Harry, who, sure enough, had his fingers closed tightly around the little, golden ball.

Five minutes couldn't have passed. The crowd didn't even seem to register what was happening until Harry had touched the ground and raised his arm in triumph.

"Gryffindor wins!" Fred shouted helpfully.

"I—yes—sorry!" stammered Lee into the microphone. "Sure to be a record—Gryffindor has won the game in less than six minutes!"

Ellie glanced around for Cedric Diggory, the Seeker who Harry had beaten. He looked dejected, which was no less handsome a look on him than any other. She then glanced at Oliver, who looked like he might kiss Harry at any moment.

"Ellie," said Harry when she touched back down. She sensed something serious in his tone and tried to block out the thrill of the win to give him her attention. "Snape wasn't in the stands."

She glanced toward the stands, frowning. She spotted Quirrell stepping out of them and heading to the Forbidden Forest. "You seeing that?"

Harry nodded. "I'd better go investigate."

"Do you have the cloak?"

He shook his head.

She sighed. "Let me go, then. I'll transform—it's safer that way. I'll report back."

"You sure?"

She nodded, and Harry gave her a quick hug of thanks before she darted off to the tree line. She pulled out her locket just long enough to shoot a quick message to Fred—doing a little canine recon, meet you in the common room soon—before shifting into her dog form and following Quirrell into the forest.

"You… you wished to meet?" Quirrell was stammering to someone. Ellie peered as surreptitiously as she could through the trees and saw instantly that it was Snape he was talking to—not that she had been expecting otherwise.

"I want the truth, Quirinus. Confess your betrayal."

Betrayal? Ellie wondered thoughtfully. Did this mean Quirrell was on the dark side, too? Or had he come through for the good, and that was why Snape was so upset?

"S—Severus—there is nothing to confess!" Quirrell insisted. "You suspect me falsely."

"Consider yourself lucky, Quirinus," snarled Snape, "that they do not agree with me. As I suspect we are being followed, we will continue this later."

Ellie froze, breath held, as Snape spun on his heel and headed in her direction. But if he saw her, he gave no indication of it; he just strolled right past her and back toward the Quidditch field, leaving Ellie to wonder what exactly was going on.


February was rolling into March, and with it the weather finally started warming up. That morning, Ellie pulled on a light hoodie and a baseball cap, hair in a ponytail, feeling a surge of energy and excitement. Over the past few weeks, Snape had gotten quieter and quieter—still suspicious, but at least he was leaving her alone. Harry, Ron, and Hermione seemed hopeful that his quest for the Philosopher's Stone was slowing, and Fred and George were starting to experiment with songwriting.

Ellie crossed her arms to prevent the still-chilly breeze from giving her goosebumps as she started to jog down the grounds to visit Woodstock at the owlery. On her way, she passed Hagrid's hut and decided to pop by to say hello.

"Er—hi, Ellie," said Hagrid when she knocked on his door "Now's not a good time."

"Oh." She frowned, trying not to feel insulted. "Is this about the last time we spoke? Because you really didn't say anything you shouldn't have—"

"No, no, nothing like that. Just busy for the next coupla weeks—gotta run, now—ta."

And he closed his door in her face.

She tried not to huff at that as she turned around and headed for the Owlery. She didn't have a note to give to Woodstock—she didn't want to stoop to begging her mother for information about her father, and, short of that, she had nothing to say—but it had been a while since she saw the bird, and she liked his company. When she was finishing visiting with him, she headed for her History of Magic lesson, slipping into a seat next to Dean just a few minutes after Professor Binns started his lecture.

"Miss anything?" she whispered to Dean.

"Nah—Binns was just droning on about tardies. Bit ironic that he didn't see you."

She grinned, and they both turned back to the lesson. But a few minutes later, he scribbled something down and passed it to her.

Did you ever find out what happened with that shield at the concert?

Yeah—sort of. We think it's a Perelli charm my dad put on me when I was a baby.

Whoa. What's a Perelli charm?

It's like a shield that activates when you're doing the thing you love the most.

So you love concerts the most?

I love making music the most.

Or you love the twins the most…

She tossed the paper back to him playfully, but the truth was, the thought had crossed her mind already. What if she loved being around certain people the most, and was therefore only protected when they were there? It would certainly be a flaw in her father's plan.

"Want to practice with me later after dinner?" she asked Dean when Binns dismissed the class. "My shield. I could try singing, and you could try to, I don't know, shoot a spit ball at me."

He laughed. "Sure. I'll borrow Seamus' slingshot."

Ellie said goodbye to him at that and caught up to Harry, Ron, and Hermione, eager to tell them about her strange encounter with Hagrid.

"That doesn't sound like him," said Harry when she was finished, frowning. "He didn't give any indication of what was wrong?"

She shook her head. "Didn't seem to want me to come inside, though. I don't know him nearly as well as you three—maybe you'd have better luck?"

They glanced at each other as if having a silent conversation before Harry turned back to Ellie and asked, "Why don't you come with us?"

Ellie appreciated the invitation, but she had already made plans with Dean, so she politely declined. She joined them for dinner, though, and then met up with Dean in the common room afterwards. He was seated in a corner with the twins.

"Oi," she greeted Dean easily. "You ready?"

"Ready?" asked Fred suspiciously. "Him? What about us?"

"Shield stuff," explained Dean, sounding rather pleased with himself for receiving an invitation Fred hadn't. "Probably should be me instead of you two."

"Why?" demanded George. "We're the ones who make music with her, aren't we?"

"It's not about music," Ellie told him, frowning. "It's more about a—er—a lack of…" But she couldn't quite finish her statement; she was embarrassed to admit the possibility out loud. "I'll see you later, okay?" she asked, then grabbed Dean's arm and yanked him away before either of them could protest further.

"That was smooth," Dean teased her as they made their way through the portrait hole. "Embarrassed, I'm guessing?"

"A little," she admitted. "I mean, how do you tell someone that spending time with them might literally the thing you love most in the world?"

"I reckon most people would be pretty pleased to hear it," he pointed out. "Especially those two, when it comes to you. You do know they completely adore you?"

She tried not to blush. She hoped he was right, of course; she certainly adored them. "Thanks. Anyway, uh—here's as good a place as any, right? Shall I just… start singing?"

Dean readied his slingshot, grinning slightly, and nodded at her.

Feeling quite awkward singing in a one-on-one situation like this, Ellie started singing the simplest song she could think of—The Tide is High by the Atomic Kitten. Dean teased her by waiting a few more seconds than he needed to before shooting a paper wad at her, but he did eventually do it. The wad hit a bright, white forcefield just as Draco's spell had back at the concert, and Ellie felt the same tiny, guttural ping inside her.

"Wow," she said as she stared down at the little wad. "Music, not twins."

"I actually assumed it was the twins."

She heaved a sigh. "I did, too. Anyway, I'm glad it's not. Thanks so much, Dean—sorry to torture your ears and all. You heading back?"

"Nah—I've got to get to the library. Way behind in Charms. Catch ya in class tomorrow?"

She nodded and gave him an easy hug goodbye before making her way back to the common room—and, of course, back in Fred and George's eager company.

"So, care to explain what that was all about?" asked Fred when she sat back down with them. "With Dean?"

"I told you—we were trying to get my shield to work."

"And?" asked George.

"And, it worked. Making music did the trick."

"I still don't see why you were confused," pushed Fred. "Didn't we already know that making music did the trick? Or was Dean just looking for an excuse to hang out with you?"

She rolled her eyes. "I thought it could be other things. I don't know. Anyway, new topic. What's going on with you two?"

"Nothing really," said George. "We've been selling some of our gadgets, and it's nice to have a little cash in our pockets, but I think we should think bigger."

"There's a whole world of possibilities," agreed Fred.

"And plenty of time," said Ellie. "Four years for you; six for me."

"That's right." Fred frowned. "I always forget the age difference."

"How?" asked Ellie, pouting. "It's all I can think about. What am I going to do when you two leave? I always feel so… out of place with my own class."

"Out of place?" repeated George. "You're friends with literally everyone."

Ellie glanced up at the other students in the common room with them. Sure, she was fairly close with Harry, Ron, and Hermione, and just a step behind that with Dean and Seamus. But it wasn't the same as what she had with the twins—not even close.

But how could she explain that to them when they had hordes of their own close friends in their own class?

"Never mind," she said quietly. And she snuggled deeper into her seat between the two of them while she still could.


Harry, Ron, and Hermione reported back to Ellie the next day about their meeting with Hagrid. His shortness with her hadn't been personal, they explained; he had recently acquired a dragon's egg, from which had hatched a fire-breathing, baby dragon right in front of them.

"Bloody hell," Ellie breathed when they were finished telling her about it. "And to think, I missed that just to play slingshots and songs with Dean."

They all looked confused by that, but none of them got the chance to ask what she meant before Parvati and Lavender bounced over to them, looking a little too excited for Ellie's liking.

"Guess what we just heard?" asked Lavender.

"It's all over the school!" added Parvati.

Ellie glanced at the others, who looked about as bored as she felt. "Well?" she asked impatiently.

"Well, Oliver was talking to Angelina, who was talking to Katie, who then chatted with Romilda, who then chatted with Kellah, who told us that he's planning on asking you out!"

Ellie groaned, not remotely in the mood for this. "Thanks for the eight-times-removed piece of gossip, but it's not true. Ollie knows not to ask me out—we've discussed this before."

But that only caused both the girls to burst into a new round of squeals, both over the fact that she had called him "Ollie" and that they had discussed this already, and they skipped off to spread the news.

"Bloody hell," muttered Ron as he watched them go. "If I ever decide to ask a girl out, remind me not to speak of it to any of those eight people ahead of time, would you?"

Ellie laughed, but she had a feeling it wasn't the last she'd hear of it.

Sure enough, by the following day, the news of their not-relationship had spread all over the school. It had put both the twins in a sour mood, though mostly Fred. As soon as she spotted Oliver in the common room, Ellie grabbed him by the arm and pulled him aside to confront him about it.

"My room might be safer," he said with a bit of a grin when they were surrounded by nothing but catcalls and whistles. Ellie nodded grimly as she followed him up the boys' staircase and into the fifth years' dorm.

"What's all this about, Ollie?" Ellie asked him as soon as they were alone.

He seemed to like hearing her call him that—something she hadn't intended. "I don't know. Ange and I were just having an innocent conversation that the wrong person heard."

"A conversation about?"

"Well… you. How much I like you. How great I think you are." He grinned the slightest it and added, "How pretty I think you are."

Her heart started to pound, and she wasn't sure what it meant. Was she… excited? Afraid? Confused? All of the above?

She thought Oliver was great, too—and she certainly thought he was pretty. But did that mean she was ready for any of this?

"It's a bad idea," she told him, though she felt less sure than she had just a few minutes ago. Had he been this close to her the whole time? He took a step even closer to her. "You know what people would say."

He took another step toward her. This time, he put a hand on her cheek. "I don't care what people say," he murmured softly to her. "I only care what you say."

She couldn't breathe. That was a bad thing, right? Should she be able to breathe?

"Say I can kiss you," he whispered then. "And I will."

She shouldn't say it. She knew better; she had known better all along.

But she said it, anyway.


What do you think - is Oliver creepy, cute, or somewhere in between? He's definitely a whole lot older than her... find out how the kiss goes in tomorrow's chapter, and don't forget to leave a review. Thanks for reading!