Make Me.

Book 3 - Chapter 23

A/N

Hello everybody!

Just popping in to say hi and I hope you all aren't mourning the book's old cover. I feel like Ellie is starting to change a bit and get older and we needed a new cover - that's all! (I may also update the description of the book - so look out for that if you want - but other than that) Nothing has changed!

Also - Last chapter was the 60th chapter (I think) of Make Me., which is just wild. Thanks to everybody who has stuck with me from the beginning and everyone who hasn't!

~Erin :)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

January faded imperceptibly into February, with no changes in the bitterly cold sunshine that beat down on Ellie's head three times a week. The GryffindorQuidditch team was practicing double the time for their upcoming match against Ravenclaw, and eventually, Harry received his coveted Firebolt back from Professor McGonagall. The entire team was acting as if the broom was some sort of broom royalty, taking turns holding it, admiring it, walking it to and from practices. It came back from inspection, no jinxes, and Harry seemed keen to forgive Hermione for looking out for him, but Ron was keen on ending his friendship with her after he lost Scabbers.

Ellie found herself trying to stay away from both Ron and Hermione, each of them so angry with each other that Ellie didn't see it was possible that they'd ever make up. Every time Ellie neared Ron, he tried bringing back up Ellie's failed babysitting attempt of his rat, and every time Ellie neared Hermione, she dragged Ellie to defend her side of the story, which would've been fine, if she wasn't trying to keep from fighting with Ron all the time.

Ron was enraged that Hermione had never taken Crookshanks's attempts to eat Scabbers seriously, hadn't bothered to keep a close enough watch on him and was still trying to pretend Crookshanks was innocent by suggesting Ron look for Scabbers under all the boys' beds. Hermione, meanwhile, maintained fiercely that Ron had no proof that Crookshanks had eaten Scabbers, that the ginger hairs might have been there since Christmas, and that Ron had been prejudiced against her cat ever since Crookshanks had landed on Ron's head in the Magical Menagerie.

Ellie was in silent agreement with Harry and Ron that Crookshanks had eaten Scabbers, and when she calmly tried to explain that all the evidence pointed that way to Hermione, she lost her temper with Ellie and Harry, too.

"Okay! Side with Ron, I knew you would!" Hermione said shrilly, pointing at Ellie and Harry. "First the Firebolt, now Scabbers, everything's my fault, isn't it! Just leave me alone, I've got a lot of work to do!"

"Hermione we're just saying -" Ellie tried speaking.

"Leave me alone!" Hermione repeated. "Go find your other friends!"

Ron had taken the loss of his rat very hard, just like everyone expected, despite how much he complained about having a scabby old rat in his pocket all the time. Ellie was quite glad to have him gone, but she didn't dare tell that to Ron, because he did seem genuinely saddend by the loss.

"Come on, Ron, you were always saying how boring Scabbers was," Fred said bracingly. "And he's been off-colour for ages, he was wasting away. It was probably better for him to snuff it quickly. One swallow - he probably didn't feel a thing."

"Fred!" said Ginny indignantly.

"All he did was eat and sleep, Ron, you said it yourself," said George.

"And stink," Ellie added.

"He bit Goyle for us once!" Ron said miserably. "Remember, Harry?"

"Yeah, that's true," said Harry.