The Beginning of the End

Over the next two weeks, Effie dedicated herself to school more than ever. She would get up, go to breakfast, go to class, use her break to do that homework, go to the next class and so on and so forth. The only free time she allowed herself to have was at night when she was going to bed and even then, that time was spent thinking about ways to find out Harry's feelings towards her...if he even had any.

Effie was currently sitting on the sofa in the common room doing some homework that was due Monday. The past couple weekends weren't all that great. It had been raining quite a lot which kept her inside. She was just finishing up a Potions essay when Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny walked in. Effie wasn't stupid, she saw the way Ginny looked at Harry. She had been looking at him like that ever since they were kids. And Effie would catch Harry looking at Ginny. But, she still could be wrong.

Effie began packing up all of her homework and books. She stuffed them into her school bag and stood up off the sofa. She pulled the sleeves of her cardigan down just enough so that they covered her hands a bit. Another nervous habit she developed over time.

She started walking towards the portrait hole but Ron called out to her, stopping her in her tracks.

"Effie, where you going?" He asked, furrowing his eyebrows together. Effie licked over her lips, quickly coming up with an excuse.

"I just need to get out and walk around a bit. I need some time to myself that's all." She forced a smile and walked out of the portrait. She didn't want to hang around any longer, they would have sucked her back in if she had. The halls were somewhat quiet as she wondered about them. She would occasionally find students in corners making out or studying or just simply hanging out.

She had pretty much separated herself from the group and she was sure that everyone noticed it. Hermione only let her be because she knew why. Effie didn't want to be that way but what other choice did she have at that point?

She ended up wondering into the library and decided to stay there for a while. It was quiet, maybe she could get some thinking done there. As soon as Effie sat down in a chair, someone called her name. She groaned and looked to see who it was.

"Oh, hey Seamus." She smiled a genuine smile as he sat down next to her.

"How are you?" He asked and then was hushed by the librarian. Effie snickered and Seamus gave her a light kick on the shin.

"I'm fine, just needed to get away...get some thinking done." Her voice was soft and heavy with sadness. Seamus looked her face up and down with a half smirk.

"About Potter?" Effie was caught off guard by that but she recovered quickly.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Oh come on, I can see the way you look at him. Everyone can."

She groaned throwing her head back slightly.

"Is it really that obvious?"

"Only to those who really pay attention and the ones that are your friends." He said giving her hand a squeeze. Effie smiled and fiddled with the hem on her jean shorts.

"I think you should talk to him." Seamus added.

"Yeah, Hermione thinks so too." Effie gave a half smile and shook her head. She knew they were right. And she had every intention of talking to Harry...eventually. Sensing that she needed to get her mind off of things, Seamus grabbed Effie's hand and pulled her to her feet.

"Come on, let's go get some lunch." He didn't let go of her hand which Effie found warm and comforting. That was Seamus' intention. He wasn't trying to win her over or hit on her, he was trying to bring some comfort to her.

They walked to the Great Hall finding anything and everything to laugh at and talk about. It was nice to have a friend outside of the group. It kept her mind off of Harry. They sat down at the table and picked things off of the serving dishes to put on their plates.

"So, how are your classes going?" Effie asked him and she took swallowed a spoonful of her soup. Seamus shrugged.

"Alright I guess."

"Still blowing things up?" He stuck his tongue out at the question which caused Effie to giggle.

Harry stood at the entrance to the Great Hall watching Seamus and Effie. Jealousy settled into his stomach as he watched Seamus make her laugh. He wanted to be the one to make her laugh and giggle like that. But he also wanted to make Ginny laugh. It was that moment that he realized that he needed to talk to Ron so that he can try to figure these things out. He turned on his heel and walked quickly back up to the common room.

Effie looked over to the entrance and frowned. She could have sworn she felt someone staring at her. She brushed it off and turned back to the conversation she was now having with Seamus and Neville.

***

Effie ended up spending the rest of the day with Seamus and Neville who both walked her back to the common room considering they were Gryffindors too. The two boys went ahead and went to their dormitory while Effie was getting her school bag to take back upstairs. She walked slowly up the stairs but stopped when she heard Harry's voice through the cracked door.

"On this hand, I've got this girl who's beautiful, soft spoken, and just amazing. But, on this hand, I've got this other girl who's absolutely beautiful and she's outspoken, and hard to figure out, and a troublemaker. She's brilliant. I have no idea what to do, Ron." He said to Ron. Effie's heart plummeted. He was obviously talking about Ginny and apparently some other girl.

"I think you just made your choice, mate. But whatever you decide to do, you need to do it soon. You can't keep juggling them like this." Ron said.

"But I haven't even confronted them about it so technically I'm not juggling anyone." Harry defended.

Effie sighed and walked into the girls' dormitory and dropped her bag. She didn't want to hear the rest, though she should have.

"You know what I mean. I don't know what girl you're interested in that's soft spoken but I do know about Effie. She's one of my best mates. You need to decide before she gets hurt." Ron said. Harry didn't know how Effie would get hurt in all this but he shrugged and climbed into his bed.

When Effie got into the dormitory, she was immediately attacked.

''Where have you been?!" Hermione shrieked causing Effie to jump a foot in the air. Effie's eyes were wide.

"I was j-"

"I was worried sick about you!" Hermione continued.

"Look I-"

"Don't ever do that to me again, do you understand?"

"Yes, mum. And I was just with Seamus and Neville today. I ran into Seamus at the library, we went and had lunch, met with Neville, then we came back here." Effie said as she began to change into her pajamas.

"Oh. Well, how are you?" Hermione asked referring to Effie's 'Harry' situation. Effie shrugged and climbed into her bed. Hermione followed suit and the two girls faced each other so they could finish their conversation.

"I'm okay I guess. I'm going to tell him soon."