"How was your first day as a Hogwarts student?" Hermione asked her sister at dinner that evening. Haylie turned away from Corinne and frowned at her sister.
"That Professor Snip! Ah, he is so mean!" Haylie yelled, banging her fist on the table, which caused her to yelp in pain. Hermione smiled.
"It's Professor Snape. And how many points did you lose?" Hermione asked, knowing she must have gotten in trouble. Haylie started to pick at her lasagna with her clean fork, trying to avoid Hermione's eyes.
"55," Haylie muttered, avoiding her older sister's eyes. At the sound of that Hermione started to cough loudly, choking on her own food. As soon as she had cleared her throat and had finally stopped whispering angrily to herself, she continued to speak to Haylie.
"How on earth did you lose 55 points? Already!"
"I was laughing in Herbology and Professor Sprout took off 5 points and then in Transfiguration I accidentally threw my text book at Brent and Damon…"
"How could you accidentally throw a book at someone?" Harry asked, listening in on the two sisters. Haylie shot him a hard glare and ignored his question.
"So she took off 15 points and then in Potions I got in trouble for talking back to Snape. He was so mean though and he called me stubborn and troublesome just because I was showing Agienska Becker my new Sugar magazine. It's not my fault Orlando Bloom is so hot," Haylie said, "So he took off the rest of the points once I called him a greasy haired, ugly oaf."
"Good Job Haylie," Ron added, who had also been listening to the conversation, "That guy needs to be called a greasy haired, ugly oaf once in a while. Maybe then he'll wash his hair." Hermione glared at Ron and he shrugged his shoulders, his fork in his right hand, his knife in his left.
"What did I do now?" Ron questioned, feeling helpless. Hermione clenched her jaw and began to eat the lasagna; which was stuffed with ricotta cheese, tomato sauce, and thick mozzarella cheese. It all fell over onto her plate and covered her crisp green beans, which made her even angrier.
"Oh no! I hate mixing food," she yelled, trying to lift the pile of heavy lasagna off her vegetables. Once it didn't cooperate, Hermione finally exploded.
"Oh! First you," Hermione yelled pointing at Haylie, "Practically break the record of most points lost in one day on your first day! Then, you Ron, convince her it was okay to lose fifty points for Gryffindor, and then this lasagna has to fall over and ruin my whole meal!" Hermione slammed her fork beside her plate and leaned back in her chair, her arms crossed over her chest stubbornly. Ron kept his mouth shut for a while and Harry couldn't help laughing.
"Well, Hermione," Ron finally spoke, "At least you still have your pumpkin juice." Hermione looked up, her face unreadable. Then she closed her eyes and clenched her fist. Harry knew she was going to do something out of anger and had a feeling Ron was the unlucky target. As Ron kept on eating, Hermione stared at him, most likely contemplating what she should do to him. Then, in one swift movement, she reached over and grabbed her glass of pumpkin juice and flung it at Ron. A splash could be heard as the sticky liquid soaked Ron's whole upper body. Haylie and Parvati Patil screamed, causing everyone in the Great Hall to turn and see the unfortunate event unfold. Ron wasted no time picking up his own glass and swinging his arm back as far as it could go and repeating Hermione's action. Now both Ron and Hermione were standing up, dripping wet from the juice. Hermione's hair stuck together and seemed to harden as the liquid dried and Ron's face was as red as cheery. Harry wasn't laughing anymore. Both of his two best friends were glaring at Haylie. Haylie noticed this and looked utterly confused.
"What are you blaming me for?" Haylie snapped, taking a sip from her silver cup, "I wasn't the one who wasted perfectly good pumpkin juice."
"Sorry Ron," Hermione whispered as she, Ron, and Harry traveled through the empty hallways to reach the Gryffindor Common Room, "I was just so angry at Haylie. Now our house is going to be so behind in points!"
"I'm sorry too," Ron said, trying to stop his sticky clothes from clinging to his skin. Hermione sighed and stayed quiet for the rest of the long walk up to the Gryffindor Tower. Ron seemed unfazed and just kept on talking about the first day of classes, which began to annoy Harry as the time went by. Finally, they approached the Fat Lady and said the password "Only Lemon Birds" and entered the deserted room. The room was filled with light, even though no lamps were turned on. The source of the illuminating light came from the fire that provided the only sound, of crackling embers, apart from the heavy rain droplets plundering the windows. Harry looked around the room, as he always did, to search for any dangers and saw one lonely boy sitting in the corner writing.
"Elvin?" Hermione questioned, as the boy looked up and met their eyes. He nodded his head and pushed the parchment he was writing on aside. All three of them walked over to the desk where he was sitting and saw his eyes were red and blotchy and his face was wet and swollen from tears.
"Are you okay?" Hermione asked, taking a step closer. Elvin turned over his parchment and nodded his head, not meeting her eyes.
"What is that you're writing?" Ron asked. Elvin took a few seconds to reply.
"I can't tell you," Elvin answered in a whisper and paused before saying, "It's too embarrassing."
"You can tell us," Hermione spoke softly, still silently wondering why he had been crying.
"Well, okay….but you can't tell Haylie," Elvin said, looking at Ron as he said this. Ron glanced at Harry as if to say "Why does he think I will tell her?".
"I won't tell," Ron said, answering Elvin's unspoken question. Elvin took one more glance at Ron and continued.
"I just…I get so homesick," Elvin whimpered, "I miss my mum and my little sister Ellie and my dad, so I am writing them a letter. I don't want Haylie to know because then she'll think I'm weird."
"I wonder why," Ron whispered, which resulted in him being jabbed by Hermione's elbow in his stomach. He yelped in pain and Hermione walked over to Elvin and gave him a hug.
"It's okay to miss your family, and don't worry none of us will tell Haylie," Hermione said, trying to comfort the tiny boy. He gave them a weak smile and waited patiently for them to leave the room before writing again. When they left the room and traveled up the stairs they continued to talk quietly.
"That Elvin kid is strange," Ron said, "And I don't think he likes me that much." Harry had noticed Elvin's feeling toward Ron also.
"He is just really focused and scared to be in this new place," Hermione told them, looking pitiful, "And he does like you Ron, he just doesn't seem to know how to express his feelings." Ron rolled his eyes and shook his head.
"The kid doesn't like me Hermione."
"I agree with him Herm, he has been giving Ron the cold shoulder," Harry added, surprised not to receive an angry or annoyed gesture from Hermione. Hermione stopped in front of the girl's dormitories door.
"It's quite obvious that Elvin has a crush on Haylie," Hermione whispered, looking around to see if Elvin had followed. Once she was convinced that he was still down in the Common Room, she continued.
"That's probably why he doesn't like you Ron. You were Haylie's fake boyfriend and Elvin probably doesn't know it was all an act. You were the object of Haylie's affection and he is probably threatened by you, so just try to be nice." Ron shrugged his shoulders and followed Harry toward the boy's dormitories. Hermione sighed and turned the other way to walk back to the Common room. Dinner had not yet ended and all Hermione could hear was the lonely silence she had experienced when she first entered the Common Room, and Elvin was once again sitting in the back of the room, but this time something had changed. Elvin's head rested on the table, not making a sound or response to her entrance.
"Oh," Hermione gasped, as she felt something hard beneath her step. She reached down and found Elvin's pen and began to feel worried.
"Elvin?" No reply followed her soft whisper. Almost at once the wind began to howl and the rain poured down upon the school and it's ancient grounds. Hermione, now very concerned, hurried to the desk where Elvin sat and shook him violently. His head bobbed back and forth and his blonde hair fell into his eyes, but his eyes stayed clamped shut.
"Oh dear…Oh no….HELP!" Hermione screamed, panicking. She could hear footsteps running in the distance and she greeted their owner at the door. Luna met her eyes and flew into the Common room. She peered around for a few moments and then turned around to look at Hermione.
"What is it?" she asked. Hermione couldn't speak, she just jabbed her head in the direction of Elvin. At first, Luna didn't get her signals but soon glanced at Elvin and ran over to him. She, as Hermione had done, shook his shoulders, yelling his name over and over. Finally, she stopped and cupped her hand over her mouth and took a deep breath. Now voices could be heard from down the hall and Haylie burst in the door, followed by her friends Corinne, Eileen, and Natalie.
"Hey Hermione," Haylie chirped, smiling and glancing at Elvin, "What's with him, he must be really tired."
"Haylie go get the nurse," Hermione yelled, "At once! You three go with her!"
"What's wrong…." Haylie asked, but was quickly pushed out the door by her older sister. More kids were arriving now and the room began to fill with screams and crying as the girls began to realize what had happened. Hermione tried to find a pulse from the young boy, but her efforts only made her more upset, as she was disappointed over and over. The only time when she had a glimmer of hope was when Luna told her that Elvin was still breathing, and even then the good news was shadowed by the agony and sadness of the Gryffindors. Finally, Haylie entered with the nurse and Professor McGonagall close behind. Soon after, Dumbledore entered. The nurse checked Elvin's pulse quickly and sighed with relief.
"He still has a pulse, but I can't hear him breathing," she said, leaping to her feet and magically lifting him in the air, "We need to get him to the hospital wing." Al the teachers followed the nurse and the floating form of Elvin out of the Common Room. Almost instantly, noise erupted in the room. More screams and weeping could be heard from all corners of the large room. Hermione looked beside her and saw Haylie crying hysterically. She bent down to comfort her sister, but stopped, realizing that it was best to let her sister weep. Now she had to get everyone calmed down.
"Alright everyone…." She yelled, but no one seemed to hear her at all. Just then she saw Ron and Harry running towards her. Once they reached her, she grabbed their wrists and pulled them to the spot where Elvin had been lying, since no one dared step anywhere near it.
"Help me get everyone to bed," Hermione screamed, so they could hear her clearly through the rustle and excitement of the room. They both nodded in agreement and Hermione cupped her hands around her mouth.
"Everyone! BE QUIET!" she yelled, but still got no answer. She threw her hands in the air and sighed.
"They won't listen to me." She gave up and looked around at the chaos of the room as more people entered. Damon and Brent entered the room. Hermione ran over to them and pushed them away from where Haylie sat.
"You two need to stay out of trouble and away from Haylie," Hermione hissed at them. Damon looked slightly concerned, but Brent laughed.
"Why, what did she do? Break a nail?" Haylie glared at the boy for a few seconds, but she then jabbed her finger at him. Brent jumped back. Hermione's rage boiled as she thought of how Malfoy reflected in the attitude of this boy.
"No! Elvin Danebridge is hurt and hasn't been breathing, you need to leave Brent," Haylie growled, "You're not even supposed to be here! Go to the Slytherin Tower now!" Brent's smile continued to remain on his face as he ran out of the Common Room. Hermione watched him leave and then looked down at Damon.
"Don't go near Haylie," Hermione snapped, turning around to go back to Ron and Harry. Luna and Ginny were running around, trying to calm the kids down, but nothing seemed to work.
"They won't stop crying! What are we gonna do?" Hermione called to Harry and Ron.
"EVERYONE! SHUT UP OR YOU'LL GET EXPELLED!" Ron screamed, after he climbed up on the wooden chair at the desk. The room fell silent.
"Everyone go to bed now!" Harry hollered. All of the students started to venture up the stairs toward the dormitories and Hermione sighed with relief.
"Thanks guys," she said, deciding she should help Haylie get to her room.