Ellie couldn't believe she'd done that. She'd never hit anyone before. She'd certainly thought of walking up to Sam and laying one on her when Audrey had been so distraught over everything, but she never would have honestly acted on it. But now she'd gone and done it and it'd been Ginny and not Sam. And there was a niggling thought that perhaps Ginny wasn't truly aware despite her siding with Sam and being nasty and guilt was already eating at Ellie.
"I- I can't- I don't know- I just-," her sentences were cut off and halting as she stared in horror at the red imprint on Ginny's face and then she looked down at her hand as though it was something foreign before she took another step back from the other girl. And out of all the possible reactions she could have had giggling didn't even rank and Ellie vaguely remembered the third year practicing spellwork just a little further down the hall and realized what must have happened. She didn't voice it though, instead she gave one last look at Ginny before turning fully and darting away.
Ellie didn't stop for anyone or anything until she reached Hufflepuff and then her dorm room. She threw herself into her bed, grabbed her journal and pulled her curtains shut, tucking her knees up close to her chest. She rested her journal on her knees and cracked it opening, scrawling a messy and hasty message to Audrey and casting a privacy spell with shakey hands.