Make Me.

Book 3 - Chapter 20

Ellie watched, like it was in slow motion, as Harry crawled out from under the table in the Three Broomsticks. He looked like he was in pain, shocked. Ron and Hermione were watching him just like Ellie was, intently, taking note of his every move. None of them were surprised when Harry pushed away the Christmas tree that was blocking off their table from the rest of the inn to the side and he walked out.

Hermione and Ron just sat in silence with Ellie, they knew better than to go after Harry, lest they wanted him to blow up at them. It was at least ten minutes that Ellie sat watching her friends finish their butterbeers and mull over their thoughts before Ron's face turned from a thinking one, to accusatory one. Ellie became suddenly aware that Ron was staring at her.

"What?" she asked.

"You knew," he accused. "You knew all that - a-about Black being Harry's godfather and - and about him double-crossing Harry's parents. You don't look surprised at all."

What he was saying wasn't entirely true, Ellie had no idea about Peter Pettigrew until twenty minutes ago, but the rest, the rest she did.

"I knew some of it," she murmured. "Not all, but yes - some."

Ron exploded.

"YOU! You're just what I said you were - a monster! You knew all that and didn't tell us, you didn't tell Harry! You really are a Slytherin - a horrible, lying, sneaking, backstabbing -"

"Ron -" Hermione tried stopping him.

"No! I'm right! I'm the only one she hasn't fooled! Hermione, can't you see? She's no friend of ours - keeping secrets like that! Big secrets!"

"Those weren't my secrets to tell Harry," Ellie hissed across the table. "What was I to do? Say - 'oh, yeah, Harry, by the way - I talked to my dad the other day and he told me that Sirius Black, yeah, the murderer on the loose, he's actually your godfather! Got to get to class now - see ya!'"

"You should've told us!" Ron roared. He was yelling loud enough now that the entire inn was watching them fight, so much for keeping things secret. Fred and George were alerted to the sound of their brother and were hovering over the table in an instant.

"I couldn't. You wouldn't have believed me! You want to know why? Huh, Ronald? I found the second part out - about Black double-crossing Harry's parents from Malfoy. If I'd have told you, you'd've just gone and said -"

"So you're friends with Malfoy now? That's where your getting your reliable information?" Ron spat back at Ellie across the table. "Untrustworthy. The lot of you - Slytherins."

Fred was pulling Ellie up and out of her seat.

"Yeah. Exactly," said Ellie. Ron had just proved her point. She threw a hand up in the air. There was no winning this argument for her. "You'll never trust anything I do or say and someday, it's going to come back and bite you in the -"

"Okay, okay, okay -" said Fred, diffusing the situation. "Stop. Both of you."

"I'm not going to stop until everyone in here knows how much of a snake she really is!" Ron spat, pointing at the girl. George was now seizing Ron by the arm, dragging him out of the inn.

"Stop. Stop it," George said, wrestling Ron down the street in the opposite direction of Fred and Ellie. Hermione looked like a lost puppy, trying to decide who to follow.

"I'll try to talk him down," she said at last before taking off after Ron and George.

~~~

Ellie walked with Fred in silence for a few minutes. They were heading back to the castle, a good amount of space between them and Ron, George, and Hermione.