Emily Potter - Book 5 - Order of the Phoenix

Chapter 2 - Owls

I ran back inside the house, deserting my bike on the pavement, too pumped up with adrenaline to even think. Of course she had a boyfriend, of course. I'm going to kick Ella's butt, go ask her out, she said, what could go wrong, she said.

A lot, Ella. A lot could go wrong.

I don't know why but when I slammed the front door, I locked it twice and put on the chain. I can't trust myself to even walk across the street and not say something whilst passing her house. Then, I hear the thundering of footsteps by the staircase. Ella came running towards me, ramming herself against my body which made me slam against the front door.

"Did she say yes?" Ella asked over and over.

You see there are 2 kinds of girls from my experiences: 1. The hyperactive ones who just can't seem to sit down for a second (Ella); 2. The serene ones who are always in a relationship (Emily).

"No," I said, taking a deep breath before standing up from the floor, "But she did invite us over at her place for dinner sometime."

"Just you?"

"No,"

"What?" She then proceeded to block the stairwell, staring at me, "Like, even mom and dad kind of dinner?" I nodded, "Yeah." Ella faltered, the smile dissolving from her face, "She has a boyfriend?"

"Yep."

Ella sighed, for some unknown reason, she seemed to me more depressed that I was, "Oh well, tough shit bro." She walked up to the stairs, went in her room, and slammed the door in my face. Wow, I was just dissed by 2 girls in one day. That's a new record.

My sister has been bugging me to ask Emily out ever since she moved here, and I was not one to complain since she seemed pretty cool and all. I don't get why Ella was so driven with the idea of me dating Emily.

Before I was about to get in my room, Ella opened her door and called out to me, "Did you at least ask where she got that scar?" I nodded, tired/depressed of talking about her, "A bald eagle scratched her." My sister groaned, slamming the door yet again, "That just makes her even cooler!" I heard her say through the door.

I couldn't help but laugh,

Emily is cool, I have to admit. But there's something about her that makes her...What's the word? Celestial, that's it. She's different, you know? And what shocked me most is that she doesn't own a cell phone, Emily's the kind of girl who would have a cell phone. The way she carries herself with confidence, her head held up high...I don't know, she looks like she has a good lot of friends.

What was curious was when I showed her my phone she looked at it as if I were selling her a unicorn. It was like she never saw a cell phone before, how odd. Then suddenly, it hit me.

Start of term is close by and she goes to a boarding school, I won't see her again until next year that is if she goes home for the holidays. If.

"Dan! Ella! Could you two come down to the living room for a bit?" I heard mum shout from downstairs. I tried to forget about Emily as I descended the stairs, but it was useless. I saw her again through the window, she was riding her bike down the street. I love watching her ride her bike, she's such a pro at it.

"Daniel, come here, boy." Dad said, patting an open space on the couch. Whatever my parents had to say, judging from the giddiness in my mum's fingers and the smile on dad's face, it was going to be very important. Once Ella and I was seated and well prepared, mum fanned her face for a moment as if she were too hot – but then again the temperature did rise for –

"You're having a baby brother!"

Holy shit.

The lot of us group hugged, living in the moment. Mum always loved children, she wanted more of us actually but since her job was demanding and all that corporate stuff, she decided to have at least three rather than having six children who barely had a mother to be there.

"I want to name him!" Ella said, still attached to mum's waist.

"Wait – Before we get to naming things, let me just ask how long has this been going on?" I said, prying Ella off of mum who looked like she was thankful for it. Mum put her one arm around dad, beaming, "I believe this baby is two months old, I recently got an ultrasound and he's been growing quite fast compared to other babies."

Before I could even ask another question, dad ushered us out of the living room and into the garage outside, "Enough with the interrogation, Sherlock. Let's celebrate!" He said, helping mum into the passenger seat.

Knowing that there will be a new addition to the family made me high in the moment, I couldn't help but look at the clouds, and appreciate everything in nature. But my thoughts were broken by the hoots of an owl, when I looked to my left I saw this owl perched on a windowsill. It was Emily's windowsill.

"But we don't have owls here." I muttered to myself, still looking at the creature by the windowsill. Suddenly, a pale arm reached out of the window and gently took the bird in the room. Emily has an owl for a pet? How odd.