Chapter Inspiration: S.L.U.T. || Bea Miller
The Past
(1986)
He'd met her when they were both 5 years old.
He could still remember the giant sign that hung over the staircase to the second floor, the champagne glasses whose trays could be called for with the word 'Drink'. He'd watched his mother spin the charm on those trays for hours, his brown eyes taking in every murmur and flick of her wand.
But the party made him uncomfortable, nearly anxious. He was smaller than all the wizards and witches that had arrived, and cruel laughter mixed with harsh whispers were the only things he could manage to hear.
So he took his refuge in the only room in the house he was sure no one would enter. The kitchens.
The house elves weren't unaccustomed to seeing their young master take refuge in here, and instantly cleared him a spot at the small black and white checkered table that he had ordered the house elves to place there...but he stood still at the sight he saw.
A young girl sat at the table, her brilliant red hair curled and tied behind her head. A few white flowers adorned the back, and her blue eyes were set feverishly reading the last book he had left on the table top.
"Hullo."
She looked up at him, her nose wrinkling the lines of freckles on her cheeks. "Who are you?" Her accent was as american as the woman the party was for.
"That's my book." He stated simply.
She cocked her head to the side, "You aren't reading it."
"I was...page 67. I had it marked."
The girl looked indifferent, "Well when I get to page 67, we can both read it."
And with that, she went back to reading.
He sat down on the second chair and stared at her with a pout until she looked up, "I wanted to read it now!" He exclaimed, crossing his arms.
With a loud clap she shut the book. He jumped at the sudden sound. "Look here, you bothersome boy, I am reading this book. It's your book, but you haven't asked me nicely for it back. So until I am asked with the proper res...resa...respect," She finally landed on the word, "That I should get, I will be reading this book."
He sat there in a confused silence. She wasn't his mother or father, so why should he have to ask? The house elves never made him ask...and the only boy he'd had over that was his age didn't make him ask either.
Finally, after a few moments, he spoke up. "May...may I please have my book back?"
The girl's stormy face cleared with a smile, as she shut the book and handed it to him. He took it back with a grateful smile.
"What's your name?" She asked him, placing her elbows on the table and her hands on her cheeks.
He grinned as he straightened up, "Draco, Draco Lucius Malfoy."
She held out a hand, "I'm Amelia, Amelia Durst Adams."
And they shook hands.
Hogwarts
10 Years Later
He'd never seen Malfoy look so worried.
"Are you seeing this?"
Harry tore his eyes away from Draco's face, "Seeing what?"
Hermione seemed to be glancing in the same direction as Harry had been moments ago, "Draco...he isn't sitting with any of his usual gang. He doesn't look well either-"
"Who cares what Malfoy is doing, I want to know why we're waiting." Ron grumbled, staring up at the headmaster's seat. "All the first years have been sorted and he hasn't even started his welcome speech...when do we get to eat?"
The little huff Hermione gave off made both boys look towards her, "If either of you had any sense, you'd see that this is probably related!"
Harry looked confused, "Why's that?"
She sighed and turned to him, "Well, Malfoy was the last one to enter the great hall and he didn't look happy about it. Then, I saw him tell off Pansy Parkinson for pulling him towards her, Crabb and Goyle. He's sitting all alone at the end of the table, not allowing anyone to be next to him and certainly not paying any attention to anything."
"So? Malfoy's feeling sick or something, how does that keep us from eating?" Ron whined, staring at the table as if he was willing food to appear.
Hermione gave an even more exasperated sigh, "Because, Ron, Dumbledore is obviously waiting for somebody too! And look, Hagrid and Snape are both gone from the table. Everyone's waiting for someone who is late, and Draco seems to be worried about their arrival...or their late arrival." She finished her thesis and looked back at the beach blond boy, who seemed paler then any of them had ever seen.
There was a sudden crash from outside, and a screech from a cat. The voices in the hall stopped, as everyone looked towards the open door and listened.
People were talking outside the great hall, and it caught Harry by surprise to see Malfoy stand to his feet in a strange way...almost an excitement. The people could be heard now, and Harry stopped and listened.
"And I'm telling you I do not need someone who obviously has no idea how to shower escorting me into this hall thing. And I warn you, sir, if your blasted cat attacks me one more time you will have to find a new one!"
"Miss Adams I must-" Hagrid's voice carried louder than the other two protesting voices, but all were cut off by a now very close fourth presence.
Her voice was sharp and clear, and strangely accented. The I's and E's were more blunted then most he'd heard in his life, but the authority in the girl's voice rang true.
"I assure you Professor Hagrid, that I will be able to figure out what I'm doing once I find my escort...however bloody angry I am at him for- oh!"
She'd walked right into the doorway without even noticing it.
Several things happened at once in that moment.
The first was a girl with long blond hair dropped her bags and rushed into the room. The second was another blond person from the Slytherin bench standing and running to meet her.
Draco Malfoy had never run in front of Harry unless he wanted to get away from something. He had never run towards someone, and his face certainly had never been this joyful.
The two children crashed together with what felt like unnatural laughs, coming from a Malfoy. He'd lifted her off the floor in his elation, and her legs swung around as the two teenagers clung to each other in a tight embrace. Whispers of confusion and awe crept across the great hall, as the most prestigious slytherins in Hogwarts laughed like what he was...a schoolboy.
Harry couldn't hear what was being said across the tables, but he felt the whole room was straining to make out the soft whispers the two were speaking to each other with. Malfoy wrapped a lock of her hair around his finger and the two shared a slightly mournful look, before the joy returned. This changed when a new voice joined the fray.
"Miss Amelia Adams, I presume?" The amused voice of Albus Dumbledore filled the room, and the two seemed to wake from their happy dream. Draco set the girl down, but everyone saw how their hands didn't let go from each other.
She was the first to speak, "Yes sir...I apologize for the wait, America seems to rush and stop at all the wrong times." And suddenly Harry knew why her accent had seemed misplaced.
The old man nodded, and motioned to the chair where the first years had been sorted nearly twenty minutes ago. The girl gave a nod and walked forward, leaving Draco looking strangely awkward, as if he hadn't meant to show any of what the entire room had seen.
Amelia walked to the front of the room, and sat in the chair. Her blue eyes scanned the room in a calculating way, and the way she carried herself made Harry wonder if there was such thing as American royalty, and if so, was he meeting one.
The sorting hat slid awkwardly over her head, and the room was once again silent.
"She'll do great in Slytherin than...with Malfoy and all." Ron muttered, looking at the newcomer with a bit more than curious interest
Hermione hissed at him, "I wonder why she left Ilvermorny to come here? And how does she know the Malfoys?"
Ron shrugged, "I dunno, maybe they were...pen pals or something."
Both Harry and Hermione shot him a look that silenced Ron very quickly.
"Cunning...resourceful...brave…" The hat took it's time with these words, "Where do you believe you belong, child."
Amelia Corinth looked pensive for a moment. "I suppose wherever you put me, sir." Was her simple answer, "I was placed in Wampus when I was in Ilvermorny, but Draco says that it's different here. More colors than animals."
The hat laughed, "Indeed, I doubt many of the students here know what a Wampus is...but-"
"It's a cat, sir." She slid in, "A very large black cat."
Harry could see Dracon waiting at the head of his table, hand grasping the wood so tightly his knuckles were white. Why was he anxious? What was worrying him so greatly?
The hat chuckled, "Better be...Gryffindor!"
The room was still for a moment after this. Eyes seemed to travel to Draco, who's face seemed to drain of what little color he had left. It was George that started clapping first, and Fred that followed second. Amelia stepped down, but began walking back to Malfoy, a confused look on her face as he shook his head. Everyone shut up to hear what she said.
"What do you mean I can't?" Her voice was low but loud enough to ring through the room.
Draco shook his head, "You're a Gryffindor, Amy...you have to sit with them."
She grabbed his arm, "But I don't get it, why?"
"Because I'm- look, I'll explain it all later but you have to go over there, Amy." Malfoy's voice was uncharacteristically soft, a worry in it as he glanced over at Harry's table. He leaned over and whispered something to her, pointing in Harry's direction, and she nodded. No doubt warning her to stay away...but when Malfoy disappeared she seemed to change.
Amelia, just for a breath, had lost the regality, the sureness...for one moment everyone was staring at her, and Harry felt a pity and an understanding well up inside him. He knew how it felt to be her.
And then suddenly, it was gone, and she was striding down the Gryffindor table, looking very keen on finding something. And Amelia found it.
"Mind if I join you?"
She was merely a few spots down, and Fred gave a surprised look at George before the twins responded simply, "Sure!"
The two boys scooted over to make a spot between them, and the girl sat down, smiling at the eyes that stared at her. "Now...I was promised food."
And accompanied by Ron's excited cry, the food appeared
The Past
Amelia left three hours later.
Within that time they had played three card games, two rounds of chess that they agreed to keep a tie, and discussed books, cookies, and even America.
"It wasn't as beautiful...and it was hotter than shit."
That was all he really got when he asked about North Carolina.
His mother shut the door as the last of the guests apparated from the front step, and Lucius barked out orders to the house elves. "I want this all cleaned and put back together by tomorrow morning before breakfast. Dobby clean up this spilled champagne!"
Draco's mother took his hand and led him to his room, helping him dress in his pajamas. "You were gone for most of the party, dear...where were you?"
He raised his arms as his mother pulled the soft blue top over his chest, "I met a girl today, her name was Amelia! She wants me to call her Amy though, her mom calls her Amelia too much in her...op... open…"
"Opinion." His mother finished for him. He was surprised to see her beaming at him, "Did you like Amelia?"
"Amy, mum-"
A sharp pain hit his right shoulder, as he felt the familiar metal end of his father's cane hit him. "Don't talk back to your mother, boy. Answer her question."
Draco looked down at his now bare feet. "I liked her a lot, mother...a real lot."
His mother pursed her lips at her husband, and the little boy could feel a fear welling up inside him. "Mum...may I go to bed now?" He squeaked out.
She nodded.
As Draco slid into bed, his father's raised voice made him shiver. "Dobby make it quieter…"
The sound became less audible, and he settled in his bed. He did like Amelia...and for once, he felt like he had a friend.
(End of chapter)
Hello everyone!
This story will be constructed a little differently then my other stories, as for the first 10 chapters the stories will be framed as a past memory, a present happening, and another past memory. Also in the beginning, the song inspiration for parts of the story will be above, so you can feel the mood for certain bits if you feel like it.
Any criticism or review is always appreciated! I'll be updating every day for the next week or so.