Chapter One - Meet the Girls
Lilyanna Evans sighed as she pinned her blue-and-bronze Head Girl badge to her lime-green T-Shirt. Her owl, Ayoria, stood in her cage, awaiting the beautiful witch's parents to tote her down to their car.
"It's gonna be an interesting year, Ayoria," Lily murmured to her owl, softly stroking the glossy black feathers. The animal hooted lovingly, nuzzling Lily's hand. The redheaded seventeen-year-old giggled girlishly.
"Lily!" Her mother, Violet Evans, called in her whispy voice. Lily closed her eyes and let her mum's voice wash over her. It had always reminded her of the flower the gentle woman was named after. "Come down here!" Your father is waiting to take your bags to the car."
Lily turned to her pet. "Show time, Ayo," she whispered and gracefully carried her bird down the stairs.
Alexandrina, known as Alex, Vance gasped as she saw her still-sleeping siblings.
"UP!" roared the seventeen-year-old witch angrily. "WE'LL MISS THE TRAIN!"
"Shut up Alex," Emmaline, her younger sister, muttered softly. "We live right next to the station. Relax."
"No, Emma," Alex snapped, taking out her wand and Vanishing the blanket covering her sister. "We live IN the station because our parents were stupid enough to tell Lucuis Malfoy that they'd rather DIE then join the Death Eaters!" There were tears in the girl's eyes. Emma got up and hugged her sister tightly.
"We'll manage, Als," Emma said tenderly. "We always have. Ever since that night. We've just gotta get these," she motioned with her slender arm to their other eight siblings, "lazy arses up."
Alex, for the first time since the realization that her parents were dead and they'd lost the house so many years ago had sunk in, allowed herself to hug Emma back. Even though Alex put on a brave face and pretended the situation didn't hurt her, Emma was still stronger than her. And it pained the proud, bitter teen to realize someone ten months younger than herself hadmore strength and could handle the situation more gracefully then she did.
"Come on, you prats!" Emma was rousing the younger ones with gentle, almost maternal, kindness. Alex looked on and smiled encouragingly at her. Even through all the young girl had been through, she'd not sweared once. Unlike Alex, who's language would make a sailor blush. "We'll be late for the train. Let's get up. No Amanda you cannot have the shower first, Andrew called it last night. Now let's go."
Alex glowed with pride as she watched the ever-hopeful Emma prowl among the beds. She'd gotten permission from Dumbledore to magic a box to accomodate them all nicely, but even with their two bedroom "house" Alex would be forever changed. She went from a brilliant girl with broomsheds full of money to a bitter, sarcastic, sadistic teen with a family to support. Thank god she hadn't cracked and told her friends, Lily, Miranda, Andromeda, and Anne. They'd probably disown her.
All Alex could do was hope that through some miracle she could spare the younger children some of the pain she'd gone through. She was, after all, the oldest, so she'd been accustomed to the good life.
Andromeda Black sighed as she heard her Mum, Elladora Black, screaming at her older sister Bellatrix to accompany Andi and her "baby" sister (the girl was sixteen and taller then Andi) to King's Cross.
Bellatrix Black was a tall, raven-haired vixen. Her dark, hooded eyes were full of mischeif as she agreed to her mother's demands. As the oldest Black daughter shepherded her sisters out of the door, she bent down to Andi's ear.
"Andromeda, darling, I don't want to have to come up to the school this year. If I get one word you're still dating that Tonks character then I'm going to personally make sure you don't show your pretty little face again. Why can't you date someone like Lucius, whom Narcissa is perfectly happy with?" Bellatrix's smile was pure evil, and it was making the normally solid Andi shiver. As the bitch, as Andi affectionately called her, bade the two goodbye, Andi turned to Narcissa.
"You're not happy are you?" she asked bluntly. Narcissa looked taken aback. "Cissa, come on. Why don't you sit with me and my friends on the train. You can break up with him if you want."
Narcissa turned to face Andi with a smile. "Really, Andi? Cuz I don't think I can stand sitting with Lucius. And I can't exactly tell him it's over, this is an arranged marriage, remember?"
"Yeah. So you'll sit with us?"
"Of course!"
Miranda Martine sighed as she sat in the elegant limosuine on her way to King's Cross. After spending the summer in Italy, she'd gotten an amazing tan.
Of the little group, Miranda was the privilaged one. Her father was the owner of the most successful broom company in the world, and also made some Muggle cars. She'd lived in the lap of luxury for as long as she could remember, and shuddered as she remembered how she'd been before she'd met her friends.
Snobbish, rich, and popular, Miranda'd been immediately accepted into the Elite compartment, along with James Potter and Sirius Black. She'd even accepted the offer, trading shallow gossip with the brats. Veronica Jorkins, the older sister of Bertha Jorkins who was in Miranda's year, instantly stood out as the leader of the group. Then the talk had turned to bloodlines.
The group had been trashing the Mudblood, as they called Lily. Miranda, being curious as ever, snuck out to see if the girl was really that bad. She'd not gone back to the Elite compartment once she'd struck up a conversation with Lily, Alex, Andromeda, and Anne.
Annetalia Meilani anxiously twisted her long black hair into a bullwhip-like ponytail. She'd KILL her cousin when she got the chance! Akemi had caused her to be late AGAIN, and Anne was in a vindictive mood. Her identical cousin (A/N - that sounded weird but deal with it) smirked as she saw Anne rushing about with a scowl on her face.
"What's wrong, Talia?" Akemi looked rather startled when Anne jinxed her and snapped,
"NEVER call me Talia again, Akemi! My name is Anne. Now let's go!" Anne lifted her hex, rather reluctantly, and hurried her cousin into the magical car Anne had gotten for her seventeenth birthday.