The Greatest Day (Effie)

With her music book on her lap, Bella sat cross-legged near the shore of the Black Lake. Not a big fan of water bodies, she found one surprisingly welcome. There were mysterious creatures underneath those waters, what else could Bella want in a lake! Her brown hair in a ponytail, Bella rolled up the sleeves of her Gryffindor sweater and began to repeat the notes she had written to herself. She was only 98.43% sure she had the notes right, because no matter how hard she tried to remember she knew it was impossible as she had only heard that song once and for barely a minute. She had some of the lyrics stuck in her head, and they were too catchy to forget. Something along the lines of today being the greatest day the singer's known. It was a great song, but Bella had no title, no band name, nothing! Frustrated, she shut her music book closed and decided to give up on her search for a bit. It was for the best, otherwise her brain would fry before she even made it through the first week of the new term.

Taking out a pack of gum from her pocket, Bella took out a piece. It was watermelon gum. Her favorite. She was going to find that song. Isabella Krupp doesn't fail, and she was absolutely sure that the song was just around the corner. Bella just had to give it a rest for the day. Just as she was blowing a watermelon bubbled, her eyes wandering around, catching people doing weird stuff as there was still pretty good weather, she caught sight of a girl she knew fairly well. Effie. A grin appearing on her face, Bella suddenly forgot the bubble she was blowing, resuming her normal gum-chewing business, she waved her arms for the older girl to notice her. "Effieeeeeeeee!" Bella exclaimed, her arms waving crazily as she put her gum away. "Come over!"

With the start of school, Bella had not seen much of the girl. Even worse, Bella had opted to skip the starting Feast because it was the same thing every year. It became kind of annoying to watch after the first two years. Putting her stuff aside, as if Effie wouldn't have a place to sit, she motioned to the spot next to her. "I'm glad you came back this year." she said, even though there wasn't any signs that Effie wouldn't come back at all. Bella just had to tell her she was glad she was still around. What if Effie choked on her dessert at dinner and Bella never saw her again? The thought of that brought a somber feeling to Bella, and she pushed it away in her mind to her Things I Never Want to See Happen area. No, if Effie went away Bella would protest. She would even protest death if she had to. Friends like Effie were forever, forever.

Effie would've been lazy. But it was a nice day out side, and the lake was beckoning her. Curse nature and it's adorable cuteness. Effie rolled her eyes as she realized how much of an effort it would actually be to make her way all the way to the Gryffindor Common room to the black lake. But it would be worth it in the end, and maybe she would loose a few pounds because of it. Hogwarts seemed to be a place for skinny models. Effie hadn't seen a single fat person in the entire school which just made her feel a tiny bit worse about herself, but she liked food. And food would never betray her like people did.

Today since Effie was going to do SO MUCH exercise, she decided upon a teal shirt and black leggings since school was out for the day. She decided to go bear foot because she loved the feeling of the bare ground beneath her feet. She pulled her blond hair into a pony tail, and smiled and decided that that was good enough. She had to pause several times because unlike the skinny bitches in this joint she couldn't make her way without pausing to catch her breath. She got a couple stares of disgust, but nothing that Effie Holliday wasn't used too. She had finally made it outside, and the Black lake was in site. She could pull out her fingers and squish it if she held her hand just right. But she was determined. She started running. Just for no apparent reason.

She smiled as the wind went through her hair and her feet bounced off the pavement. She could hear other's laughing but did she give a crap? No. She was Effie. Effie was a person who didn't care about what other people thought of her. If they liked her great, she would like them back, but if in any case they didn't seem to like her, then screw them. It was their loss. By the tree she spotted a familiar friendly face. Bella. She jogged her way over, panting and fell on her face when Bella offered for her to sit by her. Effie said, "I think I see a tunnel! There it is! I see the light! Bella! Oh my god. I don't know how you skinny bitches can handle this!" She pretended to pass out and then sat up. She said, "How are you on this fine day?"

For some reason, Bella was the only one who had the courage to go up and talk to her. She wouldn't be a Gryffindor if she didn't have the courage. Bella was her one true friend. She conversed with others, but she could feel the snarks of sarcasm when they spoke to her. They weren't trying to be her friend, they were probably going to make fun of her later. But Effie was used to it by now as sad as it sounded. Bella then started talking like she wasn't planning on coming back and completing her education. She said, "I was always planning on coming back knuckle head." Bella was weird, but Effie was weird too. Effie guessed that was why they liked each other so much.

Seeing Effie had been running made Bella smile. She seemed to finally be trying to take care of herself. Of course, Bella liked her despite her weight, but it was nice to know that Effie wasn't going to die from diabetes or a heart attack. Giggling as the girl pulled one of her drama scenes, Bella replied, "Fast metabolism. And, need I remind you, I don't run." It was true, Bella was only slim because she had it in her genes, she had never once lifted a finger to do any exercise. "Peter does that. Run, I mean. He runs every morning. Maybe he can train you, if you wanna run around without seeing any tunnels." she joked. Her favorite prt of the day was dawn, and so Bella always woke up in time to see the sun rise, and to see Peter and all the other runners passing through the grounds. It was a terrible sight, really, because she couldn't imagine doing that herself.

"I'm okay. Trying to find this one song I heard once, but no luck." she said as she held up her music book and putting it aside. Remembering her gum, she took out the packet and offered some to Effie. "You could have choked on desert last night and I wouldn't have known." Bella pointed out. "Or, you could have had a stroke with that mad running you were doing just now." Of course, Bella called it as she thought. "I would have had one, had I been running like you were." she laughed, because they both knew Bella running was like seeing the world ending. "Anyway, how are you? Did you hear about the Halloween ball? Are you gonna go?" Bella had heard about it, and so had her mother who wanted Bella to finally have a boyfriend, but the guys Bella knew were....well, gross. Except Ivan and Peter buth they were both practically brothers. Well, one was her brother but the other one might as well be adopted by the Krupps.

"I'm not going." Bella settled, realizing that she didn't really want to go if it meant her mother expected her to go with someone. Bella could always attend with one of the ghosts, as a fun plan of course, but she thought it best not to risk disappointing her mother.

Effie made a "hell no" face at Bella when she mentioned Peter training her. Effie said, "Girl, I'm concerned about all this but not to that point." She slapped her hands on her stomach and regretted it as it hurt a lot. She grimaced. Effie just ran Effie looked at Bella weirdly. She talked about Peter a lot. Effie often wondered if there was something going on between them. Though both would deny it if Effie asked. But what fun was being a best friend without the teasing? She asked, "You like Peter, don't you?" She poked Bella's side in means to tickle her. Maybe she could tickle the information out of her.

Effie never really got into the whole boy thing. She was positive she liked them and not girls. Not that there wouldn't be anything wrong with that, but she leaned more towards boys. There were just none here that she liked. They all liked the pretty ones, like Bella. And almost sometimes she was jealous. Effie smiled and asked, "Maybe you could sing the song? Maybe I know it!" Which was a lie. Effie didn't listen to music. She found it distracting and irritating. She hoped Bella would find that as a joke. If Bella knew Effie at all that is.

Ahhhh the Halloween Ball. Effie knew how much Bella secretly wanted to go. Her family was weird. Her mum expected so much of her, and Bella wanted the exact opposite. Effie said, "We should go anyways! Just us two! It would be fun! Either that, or I'm demanding your presence for a girls night in the common room! I can get candy from Hogsmeade, and butter beer. Lots and lots of Butter beer! And it can be just us two! That sounds much better than the stupid Halloween ball." Effie secretly hoped that Bella would agree to this. Because Effie didn't have anybody to impress if she went to the ball. So there really was no point in going.

"But why not take it to the next level?" she asked, then added, "Okay, so maybe not him but anyone else can train you. I suggested him because we're all friends." Bella shrugged, unsure of how Effie could even be so blind to the most obvious things. Of course she had suggested him for a reason, but it wasn't because they were all friends. Not exactly, at least. All of a sudden Effie was tickling her and asking her if she liked Peter. Bella's jaw dropped. She didn't even giggle, just pushed the girl's hand away. WHAT? Of course, that was ridiculous! Peter was like the older version of Ivan! He was like the older brother Bella was okay with!

"Effie, are you seriously that blind?!" Bella asked a bit too loud. "No! Of course, I don't!" she wasn't even offended at the question. In fact, had she not felt for him the same care she felt for her own brother, Bella probably would have not been grossed out but the simple fact that Peter was...well, Peter. Bella looked at Effie like she had told her to eat a slug. "Two things, Effie." She held up two fingers. "One, he is practically a brother to Ivan and I. I mean, really. Two, he likes someone else. Someone he knows quite well. In his year. A Gryffindor."

Honestly, if Effie wasn't aware of it, if she didn't even like him, then Bella was going to stand by the plan to help him get over the Gryffindor. Bella was going to let him continue on with his life of promiscuity and recklessness if it helped him. Staring flatly at Effie, she continued, "You know, a girl with blonde hair. She doesn't look like all of the girls around him....she introduced him to me!" Bella was about done. She was very close to being done. This is why Bella didn't like guys she actually knew. She was going to became one of those sheltered, celibate women the muggles had.

When Effie suggested Bella sing the song because maybe she could know it, Bella laughed. "Yeah, right!" Still, she handed her music book to her friend so she could at least know what she was talking about. Going to the Halloween ball with Effie seemed more fun than going alone, but it was still not what Bella's mother would have wanted, so the girl's second idea made Bella smile. "That would be fun! I'm in!" Bella grinned, because if skipping the ball meant spending the night eating sweets and talking to Effie then there wasn't much of a loss.

Well that took a 360. Effie definently didn't picture this happening. She barley saw herself beautiful and attractive, so the thought somebody else thinking her as that was Completley mind boggling. She couldn't seem to wrap her head around the idea that Peter could like her... It simply seemed out of this world. She should call that weird Slytherin first year who seemed to think aliens existed. Because that's what it felt like. Effie finally found words to speak. She asked, "how do you know? And are you sure it's not some other blond Gryffindor? There are tons of us out there you know."

Effie was truly freaking out over this new information and she really didn't know how to grasp the reality of the situation. And suddenly, she wishes she was a first year again. First years didn't have to worry about boys and other things like that. They just had to worry about house points and pranks. Oh how she would kill to be the Slytherin girl who thought aliens existed right about now. Effie ran her fingers through her pony tail probably messing it up even worse. What if Peter came by right about now? Would he still like her then? Why was Effie caring about that? Did she like Peter back? Effie never really got into the whole boy thing. So better late than never right? She laughed nervously.

Bella had agreed to the girls night! She was excited now! They could talk more about the information Bella leaked today. Did PETER know Bella told Effie about him liking her? Or was this just Bella being silly? If this was Bella being silly, then Effie would probably disown Bella AND Peter for the internal conflicts that were racing through her mind at that moment. She asked, "does PETER know you're telling me this?" She didn't want to go up to him and be like "hey heard you liked me." And then him start laughing at her. She didn't need any more humiliation. She had had enough of it as it is. And it would really hurt her if Bella inflicted that kind of pain on her.

Effie didn't say anything for a while, and Bella worried she might have gone too far in telling her that Peter liked her. It was too obvious, though. Bella couldn't understand how Effie didn't see it. She wanted to slap Effie across the face and take her vitals, because the girl wasn't reacting at all. Instead, Bella just waited for Effie to say or do something. After what seemed like forever, the older Gryffindor spoke up.

Bella swallowed. She couldn't exactly tell Effie that Peter had already talked to Bella about it. That would mean betraying him more than she already had by even hinting it to her friend. "I know because I pay attention." Bella replied, figuring that was a good way to tell her without actually spilling Peter's secret. "Have you even seen the way he looks at you?" Surely, she must have. He was like a bug when she was around, always watching out to make sure she was okay. Of course, Peter cared for Bella and some of his other girl friends, but the way he cared for Effie was different.

"Do you remember last year..." she was trying to bring up a memory. "We all went to Hogsmeade for the weekend trip and he met up with a girl a year older than him?" Bella remembered that because Peter had made a big deal about it in front of Effie, but of course she was too busy eating ice cream to even notice that the boy was trying to get her to notice him. "Effie, he was trying to make you jealous. Which I admit was not okay but I don't think he thought you liked him. That's why he wanted us to cover him that day." She wasn't sure Effie was registering what she was saying.

Bella laughed a little, "He wouldn't know I told you my middle name if you came yelling it at him." Because it was true. Bella was sure that Peter hadn't even realized he liked Effie until a year ago, but Bella had been their friend for a while and she was observant. "Besides, so what if he knows I told you? If he didn't want people knowing, you would think he'd be a lot better at hiding it." She gave her a smile before asking, "So, on this alternative to the ball.....could we get pizza?" she giggled.

What was life right now? Effie didn't even know. Effie remembered that day Bella was talking about fairly well. Maybe if Bella had told Effie about the situation before that weird date thingy, maybe things would be different. Effie started analyzing the situation. Maybe even over analyzing. Which was something she did a lot. What if she had caught on to PETER trying to make her jealous. What would she had done? Would she had played along? Lead him on, or would she have ignored it and been completely grossed out by it? She didn't know. She couldn't remember her mindset from a couple years ago. Effie looked at Bella and said, "I don't know about this. I mean, it's weird. I guess id have to think about it. I've never really liked a boy before you know, or had one like me back."

Effie grew excited when Bella agreed to her girls night in the common room! She was excited! She started making a mental note of all the candy she should get from the zonkos, and maybe they could get some snacks from the kitchen. It could be a night that was about forgetting everything that had happened. But what if Peter asked her to the dance... Should she forget Bella and take that chance with him? Or should she just forget she ever knew this information and go back to being innocent Effie? She liked oblivious Effie. Now she would be worrying about everything to do with her looks, her nerves would get ten times worse. Ugh. She wondered why being a girl was so complicated...she was already stressed. Maybe she should've been a boy.

She started thinking about the slumber party again. She said, "we could put our mattresses together like we did that one time in first year! We could make a fort and just pile the food in the middle!" Effie was getting even more excited. Screw PETER, she had forts and food to get.

((OOC: I think maybe one more post should end it? Or we can end it here, either way))