AN: So, I've tried to write this story before (never got far, and I forgot my old password and email), but I am older and wiser now so let's give this another go, shall we? I'm rewriting and revamping. It's a short first chapter, and I just wanted to let everyone know that it's rated M for a reason. However, if you can get through this chapter without any issues, you should be okay for the rest of the novel. I love my ideas for this story, and I can't wait to get going on it. Please, please, PLEASE leave me some reviews. Tell me what you love, what you hate, what you think of my writing in general. I'm open to anything.
Disclaimer: I do not own these characters, but I am going to fuck with them a lot in this story.
"It's elvish," Mary MacDonald wiggled her wispy blonde eyebrows flirtatiously at Katherine, her hazel eyes dancing devilishly. She gestured inside her leather handbag. Katherine gave her best mate a rare toothy grin. It was one of the last nights of summer, 1974.
"Don't mind if I do," She swiped the thin glass bottle from out of her friend's purse, swiftly uncorked it, and brought the liquid to her lips. Katherine and Mary stood chest to chest, breathing heavily in the toilet stall, the loud bumping of the band growing louder for a moment as someone opened the doors to the restroom, and then damping again as it fell shut.
"The lunatic is on the grass, remembering games and daisy chains and laughs, got to keep the loonies on the path." Pink Floyd's Brain Damage began to echo throughout the room. Katherine met Mary's eyes and raised her eyebrows.
"Hurry up, MacDonald." She rolled her eyes at her best mate, who was struggling to light the joint that Katherine had swiped from her older brother, Benjy.
"Shit," fourteen year-old Mary MacDonald swore, as she burnt her finger on the light.
"Hand it here," Katherine smirked, offering her hand.
"Alright, alright," Mary grinned, already drunk, and set the poorly rolled joint in Katherine's sweaty palm.
"The paper holds their folded faces to the floor, and every day the paperboy brings more." Katherine took a long drag and filled her lungs. She swiftly wiped tears from the corner of her eyes as she tried to hold in a cough.
"And if the dam breaks open many years too soon-" Mary sang along with the band, smoothly hitting each note. Mary had always had a wonderful singing voice, it reminded Katherine of warm fall nights by the black lake. Katherine leaned back against the stall wall and took another small gulp of Mary's elvish wine. Katherine wondered briefly where Mary had gotten this, as her best friend was muggleborn. She was opening her mouth to ask, when Mary flung herself at the toilet and vomited.
"Mary," Katherine let out an exasperated groan. "Mary, really? We just got here."
"'Mm fine." Mary said, her words garbled. She stood shakily, wiping her mouth on the back of her sleeve and reached for the joint. Katherine raised her eyebrows. Vomiting wasn't a rare occurrence when Mary drank alcohol. She didn't know how to pace herself.
"I'm fine, Kat. Puking is just my thing." Mary said with a chuckle, taking a smooth drag. "Weak stomach and all."
"Whatever you say, mate." Katherine shrugged at her friend. They had met during their first year at Hogwarts, when Katherine's face was introduced to Mary's fist. Katherine Selwyn's family was wealthy, proud, and above all pureblood. So naturally, Katherine was slightly insufferable as a child. Growing up in a noble pretentious family could do that to a little girl.
"Do you have a cigarette?" Mary asked, opening the stall door as she put out the joint.
"Stole them from Benjy." Katherine tossed a half empty pack of stoges to Mary after removing one for herself. Katherine approached the mirror of the bathroom and shook out her hair, giving herself a crazed appearance. Her cheeks were stained pink, and her curly black hair was unbrushed. She was about to smooth it back down when Mary slapped her hand out to stop her.
"Leave it, Kat. It looks sexy." She cackled at Katherine, sticking out her bottom lip to make what Katherine assumed Mary thought was a seductive expression. Katherine held back a smirk and scoffed, before reapplying her bright red lipstick.
"You're so dirty," She responded, but she left her hair tousled.
"You lock the door, you throw away the key." Katherine swayed to the music for a moment, feeling light and loose in her limbs. She grew impatient waiting as Mary messed with adjusting her breasts inside of her shirt.
"Enough," Katherine said, grabbing her friend by the arm and dragging her out of the bathroom, cigarette between her lips. Mary tried to protest, but gave up as the music grew louder, her head beginning to move to the beat.
"You're such a bint." Katherine read Mary's smiling lips as they pushed their way through dozens of sweaty bodies, the music so loud that Katherine could barely hear her own thoughts.
Katherine ignored her friend, her eyes glued on the band. These muggles knew how to party.
The show was packed full, in the underground of muggle London. Katherine and Mary made their way back through the crowd of people being taken over by the music. Everyone was swaying, dancing, and singing, and Katherine wanted to be part of all of it. "And if the band you're in starts playing different tunes, I'll see you on the dark side of the moon."
"It's such a disgrace that those brutes can reproduce," Cordelia spit, "Disgusting!" The old woman sat slightly hunched over by the window, her usual stoic expression twisted into a malevolent frown. She smoothed out her silk gown, and straightened out her posture as much as her crooked body would allow.
It was the first time Katherine had been left alone with her grandmother, and she was not enjoying it. Unfortunately, her father was at work, her mother running errands, and Benjy was at Hogwarts, so she was stuck with Cordelia. Her heart lurched. She couldn't wait to go to Hogwarts with her brother. She missed him more than anything. The Selwyn Chateau was so grim and boring without his deep belly-laughter echoing around, livening up the place. She still had four years before she would be able to take the Hogwart's Express with her older brother.
"M-m-miss Cordelia," Tomkey, the family's timid little House-elf entered the room carrying a small tray with a large glass of wine and a slice of pie. Cordelia reluctantly turned from whatever she was witnessing outside and looked down her nose at the elf.
"Set it there," The old woman demanded in her hoarse raspy voice, pointing at a small table on the far side of the room, before returning to gazing out the window.
"Yes, Miss Cordelia." Tomkey squeaked, before walking slowly towards the table, balancing the tray. The little elf nimbly walked across the room. Katherine stared at the tiny thing, dressed in nothing but a stained and faded pink sack. Once, when her mother had came home from the shop with a beautiful white dress with a brilliant blue hem to surprise her, Katherine had asked about Tomkey.
"Why don't you give this to Tomkey, mother?" Katherine had asked, "I already have so many dresses." She was so used to seeing the little elf around the house, and found it strange that she wore such a tattered and ugly dress, while her family was always dressed in such beautiful clothing. Her mother had explained to her that Tomkey was only a House-elf, and that they were just servants, and that servants didn't wear pretty dresses like pureblood little girls.
"Tomkey is here to serve us, because we are one of the Sacred Twenty-Eight wizarding families. We're of the purest wizarding blood." Matilda Selwyn said, attempting a smile, but it didn't reach her eyes, which were dull and sad. "Don't go giving the elf any clothes," Her mother had warned, "Then she'll think she's free from her servitude, and believe me, Katherine, the elf will be heartbroken. Your grandmother wouldn't like it so much either."
Katherine was wearing the white dress with the blue hem now, as she watched Tomkey trip over the old persian rug just before the dining room table. Tomkey let out a loud squeak as she tumbled to the floor. She fumbled and tried to grab the tray as she went down, but it was too late. The tray soared through the air and hit the floor loudly. Katherine winced at the sound of glass breaking and instinctively rushed toward the poor elf, who was lying in a whimpering heap on the floor.
"You sit down and mind yourself, Katherine Anne!" Cordelia hissed, pointing a wrinkly finger at Katherine, who froze. Katherine hadn't noticed her grandmother move away from the window. The old woman had a look of rage, her right eye was twitching and her teeth were clenched.
"Tomkey didn't mean to, oh no! She didn't mean too, bad Tomkey!" The elf still lay on the ground, curled in a ball. She was shaking and crying hysterically, her scrawny little arms wrapped around her knees. Katherine had never seen anyone in such sheer terror. She was still standing a few feet away, watching as her grandmother stormed towards the sobbing elf, and snatched her up by her dirty pink sack.
"YOU DUMB CREATURE!" Cordelia yelled at the whimpering elf, who hid her face.
"Tomkey is s-sorry, miss! P-Please, Tomkey w-will clean it and get a new tray!" Her words were hard to understand through her tears. Cordelia slapped the elf across the face, her large rings cutting the elf's cheek. A trail of blood began to slide down Tomkey's face. Katherine watched in horror as her grandmother threw the elf back to the ground and spit on her.
"If you can't even carry a tray, what are you good for?" Cordelia hissed, staring at the elf in pure disgust. "Eat the glass, you absolute imbecile. Eat it all, and if you live I will let you serve this family."
"Y-Yes, m-miss." The elf hiccuped. Katherine felt her stomach turn as the elf took a handful of glass with her shaky little hand, and put in her mouth. Katherine's knees went weak, and she vomited all over herself, and on the old persian rug. Cordelia turned away from the elf, to glare at Katherine.
"Stop it!" Katherine screeched at Tomkey, grabbing a handful of glass and throwing it across the room so that the elf couldn't reach it.
"Don't be weak girl," Cordelia snapped, before turning back to elf, who was crying as she swallowed the sharp shards. She had blood on her lips from her injured mouth, and spit out a bloody tooth.
"Leave her alone!" Katherine didn't realize she was sobbing hysterically until she felt her grandmother's sharp nails digging into her arm. The woman pulled her roughly towards the window she was always looking out, muttering on about the muggles. Cordelia grabbed hold of Katherine's face tightly and whipped her gaze away from Tomkey, and towards the window. Outside there were muggles walking to and from work, carrying briefcases, and going about their afternoon.
"You see those creatures," Cordelia said gruffly, jerking her finger towards the people walking by. Katherine didn't respond, all she could hear was the sound of glass being chewed, and Tomkey's high-pitched sobbing. She didn't look at grandmother, and just continued to stare out the window, in a trance. "Answer me, girl!" Cordelia snapped, grabbing Katherine by the hair and jerking her to face her, her front tooth was discolored by her smeared coral lipstick, and her eyes were glazed from having a couple glasses of wine.
"Yes." Katherine cried, terrified by the demented look in her grandmother's eyes.
"You are of my blood," the old woman turned back to stare at the muggles with hatred, "That-" She pointed to Tomkey, her teeth clenched, "Is what happens to those who disrespect a Selwyn. Those muggles outside," Cordelia spat pointing out the window, "don't even deserve to breathe our air, and they certainly don't deserve to live the way they do, while royalty like us have to live in the shadows, hiding what we are truly capable of. One day, girl, one day soon, we will take the world from them. You have too much of your weak mother's compassion for that elf and other dirty creatures, it's disgusting! The elf is nothing, the muggles are nothing, but you, you're a pureblood witch, royalty." She repeated, before slapping Katherine hard across the face, "Start acting like it, this is who you are, girl, who we are!"
"There we go, Kat," Mary's loud voice brought her back into consciousness. Katherine was choking violently as her vision slowly returned. The dirty bathroom wall came into sight, and then all of a sudden she was projectile vomiting. When she realized Mary's finger was what was choking her, as it was being crammed down her throat, she dry heaved briefly before emptying her stomach of all remaining contents.
"What's going on?" She asked weakly after a moment of silence, sliding down to the ground completely and resting her back against the stall wall. Mary handled her a mint, which she graciously took. Katherine's head was spinning, and she felt like if she stood she would collapse.
"I think some bloke might've spiked your drink, mate. Or maybe you just did ten shots while I wasn't looking, who knows." Mary said angrily, "It was really fucking scary Katherine, I thought you were dying or something." The lights in the room were too bright, so Katherine covered her eyes and groaned.
"Some bloke?" She asked disorientedly, "Who?"
The two girls sat across from each other, their legs both crossed.
"I dunno, Kat. You were talking to a couple different guys. I was dancing with this handsome muggle, who was like kind of old, and to be honest with you I think he might've been married-" She took a deep breath to continue, "Anyways that doesn't really matter, but the next time I saw you, you were passed out at the bar. I was really drunk, and I couldn't tell if you were breathing so I stuck my finger down your throat-"
"Okay, I'm caught up now, Mary." Katherine gagged, putting her hand over her mouth as she had a brief wave of nausea. If someone had tried to drug her, Katherine sure as hell didn't remember. The last thing she could recall was jamming out to Pink Floyd's Money with a dainty old woman with neck tattoos. She didn't even remember approaching the bar. "Cigarette, please." She demanded, trying to stand without throwing up. Mary obliged quickly, handing her a stick and a light. Outside the bathroom, the concert was over, and it was starting to quiet down. The girls opened the bathroom door and looked at themselves in the mirror. Well, Katherine was looking at herself. Mary was frowning at Katherine. She was so pale that she could complete with Nearly Headless Nick for Gryffindor house ghost. Katherine ran her fingers through her hair and quickly wiped away the mascara under her eyes.
"Ready to get out of here?" Mary asked quietly, eyeing Katherine with concern. "I'll walk you home, Kat."
"I'm fine really, Mary. I've got my wand if anything happens." Katherine said as they exited the bathroom and headed for the door to the streets of London with the other concert attendees. It was hot and smelt like sweat, the magic of the night gone with the band. Katherine felt sick standing pressed up against so many people as the crowd filed out the door. What if it was one of them who tried to drug her? Katherine silently dared the culprit would show himself. She knew enough spells to severely damage the tosser.
When they finally reached the door, the breeze from the outside felt heavenly. The streets were littered with the town drunks and young people laughing loudly, stumbling home.
"What time is it?" Katherine asked, sad that she missed half of the show because some prick drugged her beverage.
"Quarter to two, my love." Mary replied, checking her watch with a yawn "You sure you don't want me to walk back with you? It's kinda far back to your place, isn't it?"
"Not a good idea, Mary." Katherine sighed, "If my family saw you they'd go insane. Cordelia would kill us, probably. Anyways, I'll be fine, it's nice out anyways." Her family would die of embarrassment if they knew her best friend was the child of two muggles. Katherine grimaced as she thought of their reaction at her coming home from a muggle concert, with her muggle-born best friend, drunk off her ass.
"Right," Mary frowned, "Okay, well send me an owl in a couple days so we can plan for the departure." She said, referring to the Hogwart's train ride on September first. "I can't wait to see Bertram Aubrey's face when sees how much bigger my tits got this summer! Stupid git goes and calls me 'Mosquito Bite Mary', we'll see who's laughing now, aye?" Katherine snorted and rolled her eyes.
"Of course, Mary." She smiled faintly, "Thanks for making me throw that shit up, who knows what could've happened to me." The girls both shuddered.
"What are best mates for?" Mary said, squeezing katherine's shoulder. "Goodnight, Kat."
"Night, Mary."