Make Me.

Book 1 - Chapter 11

Ellie had never felt time move as quickly as it did during her first two months at Hogwarts.

Between nightly study sessions with Hermione in the library and weekend long reading binges, resulting in getting caught on a few occasions by the librarian, Madam Pince, for annotating in borrowed books, occasional lunches with Fred and George used to plan new pranks, and constant bickering with her Slytherin acquaintances, piles of homework, and working overtime to keep Neville out of trouble and distress, Ellie had completely pushed any thought of the three headed dog, the trapdoor, and the grubby package to the back of her mind. She was still writing letters to her father as well, but with every letter exchanged, there was less to talk about as the father-daughter pair began to settle into their lives without each other. 

It wasn't until October 31st 1991, Halloween, Ellie's 12th birthday, that those forgotten thoughts were dragged to the forefront of her mind. 

~~~

The dormitory was particularly dark when Ellie awoke that morning. Sitting up in bed she stretched her arms upward, taking a deep breath in. He nostrils were flooded with the familiar damp smell the dungeons always radiated when the weather outside was dreary, and she loved everything about it. Her eyes drifted past the end of her bed, to the top of her trunk where two small packages sat that weren't there when she had flung herself under the covers the previous night. 

There sat two rectangular packages, one wrapped in shiny red paper, the other wrapped in wrinkled brown, with a thin piece of twine tied around it and a note tucked under the knot. Knowing the brown one was most definitely from her father, Ellie grabbed the red one first, unsure as to who it was from and wanting to save the better of the two for last. 

The other girls in the dormitory began to stir as Ellie tore back the red paper, revealing the rectangular gift hiding beneath it. A bright yellow post-it was stuck on top of the gift that she now easily recognized as a book, though she could not see the title just yet. The post-it read:

"Happy Birthday Ellie! Hopefully you haven't read this one yet, I know you don't know much about your family, so this may help. - Hermione Granger"

Ellie smiled as she pulled the post-it off the cover of the book, lifted her head, and looked around for a place to stick it in hopes of keeping it forever. This was the first birthday gift she had ever received from anyone other than her father. She leaned forward slightly, reaching toward the left end post of her bed and stuck the post-it to the smooth, dark wood. 

Looking back down at the book's now revealed cover, she read: Veracious Vampires: A Guide to Understanding Fanged Magic. Ellie was beyond pleased with Hermione's gift. A warm feeling filled the girls chest as the thought of beginning with a more simple book to get her started on understanding Vampires and their magic as opposed to the one Madame Pomfrey had slipped her, that she still had not read any further than 20 pages into, crossed her mind. 

Setting the book down, Ellie reached forward again, grabbing the second and final package. By now, the other girls in her dormitory had awoken and were quietly chatting while getting dressed and ready for the day. Taking notice of them and not wanting to be late to breakfast, Ellie quickly tore the twine off the smaller, brown package and read the note attached.

"Happy Twelfth Birthday, Ellie, darling. I found this a while back while I was looking for your Gringotts key and thought you should have it. Also, something to remember me while we are separated. Love, Dad"

Ellie stared at the note for a moment, visualizing her father, probably writing this while leaned over the kitchen counter, his eyes tired. She missed his tired eyes.

In one swift motion Ellie reached back behind her to the stand besides her bed, grabbed her wand and moved back to the note, jabbing the back and muttering an almost silent incantation. She picked up the note and stuck it to her bed post, right by Hermione's post-it where she could see it everyday. Dropping her wand, the girl tore open the brown crinkled paper to reveal an even smaller square package and behind that, a chocolate bar. Particularity, one of her father's chocolate bars; he ate the same kind every time, without fail if he was eating chocolate, it was a Honeydukes Chocolate Bar and Ellie had grown particularly fond of the smell, taste, and even the sight of them.