Ch. 1 A waste of time.

"Adri? Are you listening to me?"

Her father's dark chocolate voice brought her back from her daydream. "Sorry?"

"I said," repeated Severus Snape annoyedly, "that I thought it would be a grand waste of time." Looking at her with affectionate impatience, he frowned. "And you've already forgotten what we were discussing. You said you were going to study Elvish, and I was not impressed."

"Oh, er... of course! A waste of time? No, never! Learning a language is never a waste of time. The only decision is whether to focus merely on one of the two major kinds or both."

Snape shook his head and returned to his manuscript. This left her free to study the list of books in front of her. She had marked a few with stars: Primary Quenya, 1001 Elvish Verbs, How to Speak Sindarin in your Free Time, The Original Quenya Study Book. Outside study could not be allowed to interfere with her class work, but she knew that she would find need for both eventually. Furrowing her brow, she decided to start with Quenya, which would be easiest found in literature.

"Severus, how long until school starts?"

"Well," he said. "For you, the train leaves in a week, but I'm leaving this afternoon to prepare for classes. You'll be staying at the Malfoys' for the time between."

Adri scrunched up her nose. "I suppose Mrs. Malfoy will let me go to Diagon Alley if I take Draco." Now 14, Draco was one year her elder.

"Probably. Do you have the book money I gave you?"

"Yes, it's in my pocket." She gathered her papers and headed to her room to pack her trunk.

In her room, Adri had already stacked some of her favorite reference materials for potion-making and put her clothes in a pile. Tidying these up and placing them in the trunk, she reached for her broom and her Durmstrang memorabilia, including the pennant set aside on her desk that matched the one already hanging in her bedroom.

It was not that she disliked the Malfoys but that they did not understand her. Mr. Malfoy thought her naïve and treated her patronizingly. Mrs. Malfoy truly liked Adri, but was hardly able to show affection for her own child, let alone someone else's. Draco and she had played together often as children, but he was still the only child of a proud man and acted accordingly.

Sitting on the sofa with a cup of tea, Adri made polite conversation. When the topic of the coming year's classes and her guess as to which would be hardest had been exhausted, Mr. Malfoy leaned forward and his pale blue eyes flashed with competitive spirit. "So, Adri, you must be excited about being sorted. Durmstrang is a fine school, but now you have to become a house member. I don't suppose you plan on asking the Sorting Hat to make you a Hufflepuff, do you?" He smiled meaningfully and turned to acknowledge his son as he entered the room.

Like his son, Mr. Malfoy had the potential to be a very attractive man, but his manner detracted from his charm. In talking to him it was impossible to miss that he was accustomed to having his way. This was another trait that Draco was picking up from his father, but Adri knew just how deceptive this facade was. His broom skills did not outmatch her own, and she never let him forget it.

After a customary welcome sneer from Draco, father and son left the room to discuss something privately. Mrs. Malfoy offered to refill her teacup and walked off with it. Alone, Adri sighed and munched on a tea cake. The truth was that she did not know which house she would be put into and this truth worried her. Her family had been Slytherins for centuries, but Adri was often noticed among Slytherin circles for being unusual. Thus, house placement had sat at the edge of her mind all summer since she had filed for transfer from Durmstrang.

When Mrs. Malfoy returned with a fresh cup of tea, Adri sipped it and looked at her. "Mrs. Malfoy?"

"Yes, Adri?"

"I need to purchase a few more books for school. Would there be time for me to go this afternoon?"

"I can't see why not," Mrs. Malfoy said absently. However, in a few minutes Adri found that, as expected, she had agreed to be escorted by Draco.

"What kind of person hasn't already bought their books?"

"The kind that transfers partway through the summer and gets the list later than everyone else."

Draco snorted and led the way through the crowd. It seemed to Adri that a great many students had not yet purchased their class items, judging by the inflated population of Diagon Alley, but she decided not to waste her breath. Flourish and Blotts' seemed particularly busy this afternoon as they pushed their way into the shop.

Sending Draco to find her new Defense Against the Dark Arts book, Adri slinked into the back and found one of the owners. After being directed to the correct area, she pulled a copy of Primary Quenya off the shelf and stuck it between two other books.

She soon after paid for the books and drug Draco to the ice cream shop to make use of some of her remaining pocket money. Over a couple of fizzlewhips, she thought Draco was looking thoughtful. He was obviously waiting patiently for her to ask what he was thinking about, so she said nothing and let him speak on his own as he always would.

"Aren't you going to ask what's on my mind?"

"You're going to tell me anyway, so just go ahead and start."

"Well," he said importantly, "I was wondering to myself what house you're going to be put into. I can't believe they're going to sort you with all those first years!"

Adri rolled her eyes to create the illusion that his inquiry bored her. "Who knows. And I'll actually be sorted before the first years."

"Oh, of course," he said sarcastically. "I know you're nervous, don't think I don't. If you think you're fooling someone, think again."

Frowning and shaking her head, she busied herself with her fizzlewhip and tuned him out.

When they finally returned, Adri quickly found a moment to go put the books away, knowing the Malfoys could never understand.