Make Me.

Book 2 - Chapter 6

Ellie split ways with Daphne Greengrass and Pansy Parkinson as they entered the Great Hall for breakfast on the first day of classes. 

The night previous Daphne had informed her that over the summer, the third girl who lived in their dorm had told her parents she didn't want to share a room with Ellie the next year. Apparently, they pleaded and begged Dumbledore to let their daughter switch rooms. So, the night was spent with Ellie admiring Daphne's wardrobe of expensive dresses and robes while Pansy sat on her bed 'not listening to the conversation.' 

The four long House tables were laden with tureens of porridge, plates of kippers, mountains of toast, and dishes of eggs and bacon. The enchanted ceiling was dull, gray and cloudy. Ellie's rubber sneakers squeaked a little as she crossed the Great Hall. She had decided that her old, brown tennis shoes that had been sized up one too many times were the choice of footwear for the year, ignoring the school dress code and taking into account that her feet had grown out of her boots from last year and she didn't particularly like them anyways. 

Ellie sat down at the Gryffindor table between Hermione, who had her copy of Voyages with Vampires propped open against a milk jug, and Neville who was cheerfully looking at his class schedule. Across the table sat Harry and Ron, who had also just arrived. 

"Morning," Hermione said with a slightly stiff voice. Ellie knew it was directed at the boys who had just joined the table. Rumor had spread quick that the tale of Harry and Ron's arrival to school was, in fact, not a rumor. 

"Hermione," said Ellie as she grabbed two slices of toast and tossed them onto her plate. "Why're you reading that rubbish? You've got the real deal sitting right here." She began spreading peanut-butter onto one of the slices and strawberry-jam onto the other. "Well, at least half the real deal," Ellie finished with a little shrug before slapping the two slices together into a toasted peanut-butter-jelly sandwich monstrosity. 

"You don't know the first thing about being a Vampire," Hermione retorted, still looking at her book. A moment of silence passed before Hermione looked up from the book at her friend. "Sorry, you know I didn't mean that."

Ellie grunted as she took a bite of her toast. 

"Mail's due any minute - I think Nan's sending a few things I forgot," Neville spoke up, looking up towards the ceiling. 

In an instant there was a rushing sound overhead, and a hundred or so owls streamed in, circling the hall and dropping letters and packages into the chattering crowd. A note floated down onto Ellie's lap, a big, lumpy package bounced off Neville's head, and a second later, something large and brown fell into Hermione's jug, spraying them all with milk and feathers. 

"Errol!"  said Ron, pulling the deteriorating owl up by the feet. Errol slumped, unconscious, onto the table, his legs in the air and a damp red envelop in his beak. 

"Oh, no - " Ron gasped. 

"It's fine Ronald, he's still alive," said Ellie, her head pressed to the owl's body, listening for a heartbeat. 

"It's not that - it's that." Ron was pointing at the red envelope. 

Hermione was busying herself with cleaning up the spilled milk. Harry was looking quite confused as to what was upsetting his friend and Ron and Neville were looking at the envelop like it was about to explode. Ellie, however, was holding back a mischievous smile as she lifted her head off the owl to look at the envelope. 

"What's the matter?" said Harry. 

"She's - she's sent me a Howler," said Ron faintly. Ellie was having a hard time containing her joy.