Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, or anything else that may be referenced in this chapter.

To Find a Way: Volume II

Chapter 1: Summer Holidays

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Twelve-year-old Rachel Belby exhaled with relief, leaning back against her bedroom door as she closed it behind her after yet another very uncomfortable family dinner. She and her older brother, Marcus, had been home from Hogwarts' School of Witchcraft and Wizardry for the summer holidays for a little over a month, and for Rachel, at least, the holidays hadn't been much fun.

Having been Sorted into Slytherin at the start of her first year at Hogwarts last year, Rachel was the first Belby in her family to be sorted outside of Ravenclaw in two hundred and fifty years; and so house proud was her family that ever since her Sorting, she had been ostracised by her parents; her Grandmother; Aunt, Uncle and cousin- everyone in her family aside from her brother and the family's house elf, Ceesy. Even her best friends from her childhood, Lisa Turpin and Terry Boot- who also lived across the street from her- had turned against her; claiming that because her being Sorted into Slytherin was so unexpected they didn't know who she really was, and refused to believe her when she tried to convince them she was the same person she'd always been; something she herself only started to believe after talking to the portrait of Merlin that hung in the Slytherin common room. Marcus, for his part- though, like Rachel, he had been raised with the mindset that Ravenclaw was the best house, that for the Belby family that being in any other House was unacceptable, that being in Ravenclaw was key to being a member of the Belby family- approached Rachel the morning after her Sorting to tell her that he was going to stand by her. With her new mindset and the support of her brother and his best friend, Oliver- Terry Boot's older brother who trusted Marcus's judgment- Rachel commenced an ongoing endeavor to find a way to make her life happy and achieve her goal of becoming Minister for Magic; the plan she for which having relied upon her being Sorted into Ravenclaw. She made friends with the other girls in her dormitory and had become close friends with Pansy Parkinson and Millicent Bulstrode, adjusted her twelve step plan to become Minister or Magic to accommodate her being Sorted into Slytherin and tried not to get too upset by the curt, impersonal nature of the correspondence she received from her parents.

The latter, however, was easier said than done. Whatever hope Rachel had that her parents' attitude towards her would be altered by her coming third in her year overall in exams died the very first night of the summer holidays, at the very first family dinner. Rachel was already feeling rather isolated- her mother had not said a word to her all the way home from Kings' Cross, instead asking Marcus questions about his exam results and the electives he had chosen for his third year, and completely ignoring the attempt Marcus made to draw Rachel into the conversation with the fact that she had come third in her year overall. Rachel got some reprieve from the isolation she felt when the family's House-Elf, Ceesy, greeted her with just as bright a bream as she did Marcus upon their walking through the front door; but the respite did not last long- when her father Flavius got home from work at the ministry, the feeling of isolation, and his only interaction with Rachel had been a brief, curt "Hello," in response to her slightly nervous greeting and adopted a similar stance to his wife, ignoring Rachel completely and smiling at Marcus the family sat down at the dining table for dinner.

"So, Marcus," he began, flicking his brown hair from his eyes, "how did your studies go this term?"

Marcus swallowed a mouthful of pumpkin juice. "Good," he replied. "I chose my electives for next year- Arithmancy and Care of Magical Creatures- and topped my year."

"That's fantastic!" Flavius beamed, "Well done."

Marcus smiled back. "Thanks."

"What made you chose those electives?" Flavius asked.

Marcus's brow furrowed slightly, "They looked very interesting on the leaflets we were given- and I've always been interested in creatures, as you know," he replied; adding after a moment; "Rachel did really well this year, too- she came third in her year overall."

Flavius swallowed a mouthful of Elderflower wine. "You know, I have a few books on Arithmancy in my study," he said, "you can have them to read over the holidays- get a head start?"

Rachel's spirits plummeted further, and she lowered her fork down onto her plate- her throat tightening uncomfortably as the the small flame of hope she had held that her exam results would somewhat improve matters with her parents was abruptly completely extinguished.

Marcus visibly hesitated. "…No, thank you," he replied firmly, after a moment. "I'll be fine."

Flavius shrugged nonchalantly, clearly noticing nothing out of the ordinary. "Okay," he replied, "I take it you didn't get called in, today, Sue?" he turned to his wife.

"No- it seems the hooligans of our society managed to keep the number of oblivions needed to a minimum," Susanne replied, "I did have tea with Sophia this morning, though- she said Mary has done brilliantly at school this year; so we've definitely got another Ravenclaw in the making."

"That's wonderful!" Flavius smiled.

"That's what I said." Susanne nodded her agreement, smiling too. Rachel shifted uncomfortably in her seat, feeling very out of place indeed as her mother went on, "Sophia's been reading Gilderoy Lockhart recently- his next work is coming out, soon, you know- she leant me her copy of Travels with Trolls, and it's really very interesting. You should read it, Marcus- seeing as you like creatures, I think you'll enjoy it."

"I'll think about it," Marcus replied, spearing a carrot with his fork.

"Lockhart- didn't he get captured by trolls a few years ago?" Flavius asked.

"Yes, he mentions it in the preface," Susanne said, "He was a few years below us at Hogwarts, remember? I remember he was clever but he never seemed particularly popular- I suppose he grew up, similar to James Potter; though, of course, Potter had and maintained his popularity."

"Yes," Flavius nodded reflectively, "Lockhart always seemed rather arrogant to me, but certainly he had brains…"

Rachel's parents continued to discuss Gilderoy Lockhart and his intellectual prowess for the rest of the meal, but Rachel did not hear any of it- she was too busy trying not to dissolve into tears. So much time had passed since she had last seen or had any communication with her parents that their attitude towards her stung as it had done when it was new. The split second the meal was over, she got to her feet and said goodnight, adding at she was tired- words that were completely ignored by her parents. Willing herself not to break down then and there, Rachel turned and hurried from the dining room, opening her bedroom door, entering the room, closing the door behind her again and collapsing onto her bed. Moments later, however, the door opened again and Marcus looked it.

"Hey, are you okay?" he asked, advancing into the room.

"Close the door," Rachel reminded him, sniffing slightly in an effort to control her emotions for a little longer, sitting up, "You know one of the rules that came with my redecorating is that I'm not allowed to have it any more open than ajar."

"Oh, yeah, sorry," Marcus apologised, going back and closing the door. "Are you okay?" he repeated gently, crossing the room and sitting down on the side of her bed, "Mum and Dad- that stuff before they started raving on about Gilderoy Lockhart was…" he trailed off, searching for the right word.

"…Normal." Rachel finished the sentence for him after a moment, everything that had happened between her and her parents since she had returned home for the summer and their implications for the future finally sinking in.

Marcus stared at her. "What?"

"Normal," Rachel repeated, moving around to sit beside him on the side of the bed. "It was horrible, but whether we- I- you- like it or not it's what's normal now. Mum and Dad- they're never going to accept me. They've had months- an entire school year to get used to my being in Slytherin; to think; to come around and yet they still treat me like something they'd rather forget existed- I'm not even allowed to have my bedroom door any more open than ajar for Merlin's sake! I've written to them; we've both tried talking to them; I even worked that extra bit harder at school come third in my year, hoping that that would make them change their minds and see that it doesn't really matter that I'm not in Ravenclaw and nothing worked! I-it's always going to be like this now; n-nothing's going to c-change!" Despite her coming to terms with what her interactions with her parents that day meant for the future, Rachel couldn't keep her voice from trembling; nor could she stop her upset at the realisations from overtaking her and she dissolved into tears.

Marcus slipped his arm around her shoulders comfortingly, reaching out and pulling a tissue from the box on Rachel's bedside table and handing it to her. "You've still got me," he said gently, squeezing her shoulder as she took it with a watering smile of thanks and blew her nose. "You and I- we're sticking together, remember? Dad can keep his stupid Arithmancy books- and Mum her Gilderoy Lockhart."

"W-what?" Rachel stammered, looking up and staring at him in alarm. "You said no to those books because of me? Y-you shouldn't have done that- I mean, I appreciate you standing by me, I do, but those books could really help you!"

"I don't want their help." Marcus replied firmly. "Look, don't put me on your conscience, Rachel- Mum and Dad's attitude towards you isn't the only reason I said no. If I'm going to be good at Arithmancy- or any subject for that matter, but especially my electives- I want to be so on my own merit; with the same resources available to everyone else, but my own brains, you know?"

"Yeah," Rachel nodded slowly, taking off her glasses and wiping her eyes, managing to regain her composure as she cleaned her glasses. "…I get that."

Marcus looked at her as she slid her freshly-cleaned glasses back on and sighed, squeezing her shoulder again. "Everything's going to be alright," he said gently, but something in his tone told Rachel that Marcus didn't entirely believe his own words. "You'll see."

Sighing, Rachel pulled herself from her thoughts, detaching herself from her bedroom door and crossing her bedroom, flopping down on her bed and pulling her leather-bound notebook and the quill she had been using recently towards her to record her thoughts.

Though things between her and her parents hadn't been at all pleasant, with them blatantly ignoring her as much as they could, it was not as though her summer had been entirely horrible. Rachel was no longer friends with Terry- indeed, they took to ignored each other whenever their paths crossed- but she had fun spending some time with Marcus and Oliver, but not wanting to cling onto her older brother like an annoying little sister- and with Marcus spending a fair few days by himself, saying that Oliver had gone to visit his mother in St. Mungos's- Rachel spent some time learnig to cook from her family's House-Elf, Ceesy, though Ceesy insisted on doing all the cleaning up herself, claiming it was as mark of a good House-Elf. Aside from this, Rachel spent a great deal of time by herself, working steadily through her holiday homework; spending some time reading the storybooks in the Muggle library at the square about a fifteen walk from her home, which she found highly amusing, as they were so different from the wizarding stories she had grown up with; window shopping in the small shops and the bakery, Crumbs and Bites Bakery, that lined the square around the library, and taking refuge from the heat in the air conditioning of the small café, Sugar-Free Sensations Tearoom, that stood beside Granger Dental Practice, on the corner of the square. While at the head of the square, in the library, she sometimes exchanged courteous nods with Hermione Granger, whose parents Rachel presumed owned the dental practice- whatever that was-, but had no further communication with the girl. Slytherins and Gryffindors were not friends, and indeed, distrusted each other, on principle; but the reason was more so that Granger spent some time in the company of Terry, who Rachel had no desire to interact with. She did, however, correspond with Pansy and Millicent every so often via owl- Pansy was visiting her older sister in France; and Millicent was spending an awful lot of time playing Quidditch on the Nimbus 2000 her father bought her the previous year; in the hope of successfully trying out for the team in the new school year.

Rachel kept her parents' treatment of her out of her own letters, wanting to keep them as cheerful as she could; saving any written mention of her parents for her leather-bound notebook, which was privy to her innermost thoughts and feelings- everything from her ambitions to her exam study plans; her first shopping trip to Diagon Alley as a Hogwarts student; her thoughts on being Sorted outside of Ravenclaw; her conversation with the portrait of Merlin in the Slytherin common room on the first day of her first year and how it it changed her attitude; her fight with Terry and Lisa Turpin and her thoughts on giving up on their friendship; to her opinions on those she disliked, and the attitude of her family towards her since her Sorting.

It was her family that was the topic of her writings that evening. Her parents had invited Flavius's mother, Elspeth; her mother's sister Sophia, her husband Elijah and their ten-year-old daughter Mary round for dinner that evening, the third of August, to celebrate both her and Flavius's birthdays, which occurred within a few days of each other on the first and third of August respectively. It was the first time the entire family- with the exception of Flavius's older brother Damocles, but then again, they never saw him- had been together since the start of the summer holidays, and for Rachel, at least, the dinner had been very unpleasant indeed. Her parents ignored her as usual; her grandmother Elspeth, too, ignored her completely, as she had ever since Rachel had been Sorted; and her aunt and uncle seemed to have hardened somewhat in their viewpoint of her for they, too, ignored her, though every now and then Rachel saw her Aunt glance at her, as though disappointed or wishing she was not there. Mary, on the contrary, took to discussing her academic achievements that year at the Muggle school she attended, and smiling smugly at Rachel as praises echoed all around the table from the adults in the room.

"So I'm sure I'm destined for Ravenclaw," she said, "Especially as I've been asked to tutor the younger students in my last year at the school next year."

"Oh of course, Mary dear," Elspeth beamed at her. "I'm sure your grandmother would be very proud of you, as we all are."

"I wouldn't be so sure of your Ravenclaw destiny, you know, Mary," Marcus cleared his throat as Mary smiled, her eyes darting towards Rachel to make sure she was listening. "You're really being very modest about all this- that sounds like a Hufflepuff in the making to me."

Rachel snorted into her desert, shooting Marcus a grateful look as Mary scowled heavily and Susanne glared at him reproachfully.

"Don't be silly Marcus," she said. "Of course Mary is destined for Ravenclaw- she is an open book."

Rachel flinched as she reached this point and finished writing about the meal and her final thoughts on it- her extended family had gone home not long after that, Mary smirking smugly. Rachel had spent the rest of dessert staring at her half-eaten apply pie, her appetite gone, while Marcus had stared at their mother as though he could hardly believe his ears. Once her family had left, Rachel muttered to Marcus that everything was fine, said goodnight, and hurried upstairs to collect herself. It took some effort to stop herself from crying, instead ridding herself of her emotions by concentrating on getting ready for bed and recording the evening and her thoughts in her notebook. The special emphasis her mother had placed on the word 'she' was clearly designed to reiterate her belief that Rachel had manipulating Marcus into sticking by her after her Sorting; that he, like the rest of the family should disassociate himself from her, as, aside from the fact that being Ravenclaw was simply not acceptable, clearly, they did not know who she really was. The fact that she reiterated the point in from of the whole family had only added salt to the wound.

Exhaling, Rachel read over her writings about and comforted by the fact that though she couldn't help from feeling hurt and upset, she no longer felt as much like bursting into tears, set her book and quill on her bedside table, switching off her bedside lamp and taking off her glasses and setting them down, too, before settling down in her bed and closing her eyes. The evening had been far from fun, yes, but tomorrow was another, and hopefully much happier, day.

A/N: Please review! :)