Make Me.

Book 1 - Chapter 7

Ellie had experienced more new things in her first week at Hogwarts than she had in the last 11 years of her life.

On Monday morning, her first day, Ellie awoke in an empty dormitory. She had expected the other girls whom she shared a room with to get ready and leave for breakfast without her, but she had not expected them to wake up before the sun had risen just to avoid her. Ellie stretched, still lying in bed, her cool skin brushing against the silky sheets and she sighed a heavy sigh. She was disappointed that none of the other Slytherin girls liked her, but she still had Hermione and did not mind having the whole room to herself to get ready.

Ellie got dressed that morning, the first of many days she would spend wearing her school robes. On top a white button up and her silver and green tie neatly tucked into a grey sweater with the embroidered Slytherin House crest over her heart. On bottom, a black pleated skirt and black knee high socks. A pair of black leather boots clung to her feet and her Slytherin robe draped loosely over her shoulders. Before sliding her wand into her left sleeve, she tapped her hand where the scar slithered up her arm. She assumed the charm must've worn off as she slept and it again faded before her eyes, leaving a bare stretch of white skin upon her hand and wrist. She pulled her hair into a loose bun at the back of her head, leaving a few short wavy white and black pieces to hang in front of her face. Before leaving the dormitory, Ellie walked to the mirror to check that her robes were straight and her hair was decent, forgetting that her reflection wouldn't appear.

Ellie followed this ritual every morning her first week, even looking into the mirror, despite nothing staring back at her. After leaving her dormitory and exiting the common room, she headed up the dungeon stairs and to the Great Hall for breakfast. As soon as she had left the solitude of her dormitory though, she couldn't help but hear the whispers that followed her and feel the stares that pierced her from every angle.

Other students from all years and all Houses stopped as she passed them in the corridors. They watched her eat breakfast with Hermione every morning, they watched her walking to classes, they watched her do her homework in the common room, and some students even watched her entering and leaving the bathrooms. Hermione had informed Ellie that Harry was receiving the same treatment and Ellie, somewhat used to this kind of behavior, felt sympathy for the boy.

Ellie wanted to talk to Harry, discuss what was happening around them, but she never got the chance. Everywhere Harry went, Ron went, and everywhere Ron went, Ellie did not feel particularly welcomed. So, Ellie and Hermione spent their first week together, seeing the boys at most in the corridors and from down the Great Hall during mealtimes.

In the first week, Ellie had learned that Hogwarts had 142 staircases, each with different dimensions, schedules, and personalities. She had learned that doors in Hogwarts weren't like regular doors. Some led nowhere, some didn't open, some were other objects pretending to be doors, some needed a password or a polite knock, and some, some needed a tickle or kick to the shin in order to be opened. Ellie learned that everything in Hogwarts moved, thought, and acted on its own accord.

Remembering where everything was hard enough on its own, not to the mention the ghosts and the ghostly caretaker that patrolled the corridors. While some ghosts were happy to point new students in the right direction, others were not so kind. Particularly, a ghost named Peeves, that Ellie had unfortunately met during the week, made getting where you needed to go even harder. He liked to lock doors on you, pull rugs from under your feet, and throw things at you while taunting you as you walked through the corridors.

And Argus Flich, the caretaker, was possibly worse than Peeves. Throughout the first week, he constantly threatened to lock Ellie in the dungeon; his distaste for people of her nature was made clear. Thankfully, Hermione started stepping in front of Ellie every time they heard Filch coming, making sure the caretaker didn't catch sight of her and even nudging his cat, Mrs. Norris, in the opposite direction with her foot every time she locked her eyes upon the two girls. It was a miracle any first-years had arrived to class on time during the first week.