Call Me Em

Elves and Questions

Chapter Fifteen: Elves and Questions

***Embry's POV***

After I'd gotten back to the castle last night I'd gone right to Gryffindor Tower and snuck into my bed without anyone seeing me. I knew that if the others had then they would have tried to talk to me and that was the last thing I'd wanted at the time. I didn't want Hermione, Cedric, and Harry trying to cheer me up, I didn't want Fred trying to apologize, I didn't want Angelina asking questions, and I didn't want George blowing up on me again. I really just wanted to be alone. I felt the same way when I woke up this morning to find that the others weren't in their beds in my dorm.

I quietly made my way to the bathroom and changed into a pair of jeans and a long sleeved light green turtleneck shirt with a pair of black boots. After making sure my hair was decent enough, pulled into a bun, I headed down to the common room. I glanced around the corner of the stairs to see that it was filled with people, including my friends. I kept my head down and hurried out the portrait hole before any of them could notice me. To be honest, I didn't know where I was going. I had only planned on getting away from everyone without them trying to stop me, now I didn't know what to do. I just started wondering the corridors as others went to wherever they needed to with it being almost ten thirty on a Saturday.

"Lu!" I froze at my name being called and I turned slowly to see Cedric running towards me, leaving behind a group of his Hufflepuff friends in the process. For a second I actually thought about running but just as quickly as the thought had appeared it vanished. I couldn't run from Cedric.

"Hey," I faked a small smile as he gave me a hug.

"Harry told me what happened last night," he informed me. "I waited for you by the Great Hall but you never showed up. I was worried about you, are you okay?"

"I'm okay," I shrugged. "I wasn't hungry last night so I just went to bed."

"Did you have breakfast?" His smile seemed to grow as I shook my head. "Follow me." He took my hand and started pulling me down the corridor until we were standing in front of a portrait of a bowl of fruit.

"What are we doing here?" I asked as he reached out and ran his fingers over the pear in the painting. Not a second later a doorknob popped out and when he pulled open the hidden door I found that we were walking into a kitchen where house elves were busy cooking. Cedric closed the door behind us as I saw a familiar face making their way over to us.

"How may I help you Master Diggory?" I recognized the friendly voice right away and threw my arms around his small frame in a tight hug.

"Dobby," tears filled my eyes as I held my old friend close.

"Mistress Malfoy?" Dobby looked at me and his large eyes even widened as I pulled back and he looked at me. I knew that I looked different with my hair still blue from last night and I didn't know what color my eyes were.

"I didn't know you were here! How long have you been here?" I asked him.

"Dumbledore is a kind man. He gave Dobby a job when no one else would. Dobby works in the kitchens." Dobby smiled. "Dobby started this year."

"Dobby could you get Embry something to eat?" Cedric smiled at us. "She hasn't eaten since lunch yesterday."

"Of course Sir," Dobby hurried off to do as Cedric had asked while I stood back up right and followed Cedric over to a small table off to the side of the room.

"You knew he was here?" I said it more as a statement rather than a question.

"I heard Ron and Hermione talking about him the other day, I thought it'd be a nice surprise." He glanced around the kitchen. "It was nice seeing how happy you got when you saw him. I don't think I've ever seen you that happy before."

"He was my only friend as a kid, I always wondered what happened to him when Harry freed him." I couldn't help but smile as I thought back to my memories with Dobby. Sure most of them were when he was helping me with the wounds my parents inflicted on me but that just made my love for him stronger, he'd always been there for me. "Thanks for bringing me to see him."

"You don't need to thank me," he shook his head as Dobby came back over with a plate of food in hand and another house elf carried two drinks behind him.

"Dobby brought Embry's favorite," Dobby smiled as he sat the plate on the table in front of me while the other elf sat a drink in front of me and Cedric. "Strawberry Danish with juice."

"Thank you Dobby," I didn't hesitate in taking a bite of the danish as he and the other elf hurried off to do whatever they needed to do. Before I knew it the danish was gone and the hunger I hadn't realized I had was gone. That just left the pumpkin juice for Cedric and I to sip on.

"I wanted to ask you something," he seemed to be struggling to find the right words.

"What is it?" I ran my finger around the rim of my glass.

"Will you go to the Yule Ball with me?" He asked nervously. Not trusting my voice I only nodded.