Hello all, some of you may recognize this story for I had it posted before but under a different name. However, I have taken it down and redone it. I think it's quite a bit better now.
A look as to why choose the title Thicker Than Blood. I'm sure we've all heard the expression 'blood is thicker than water' and the generally accepted explanation is that relationships bonded by blood (family) is stronger than any other type of bond. Well, when it comes to my story the opposite is sort of true. My character Natalie becomes friends with three amazing kids. You see, Alec; Livvy; and Jas are the best friends Nattie had only ever dreamed of having. They are there for her through everything. Whether it be to help her with her school work; learning Quidditch; heartbreak; rejection; helping her hunt down the identity of her father; or facing expulsion for her. As this story progresses one can see that without her friends, Nattie wouldn't be the person she becomes.
A little background to help the easily confused (like myself = ]] ). Draco got pregnant on the night of December 31st of his seventh year. This is after the final battle. He finds out on the 21st of February. For unknown reasons he leaves Hogwarts on March 2nd and isn't heard from again. Eleven years and seven months later on September 1st Natalie boards the Hogwarts Express for her first year at the magical school.
There I think that should about do it! So on with the story.
OH, wait! I almost forgot, I don't own the Harry Potter books or the characters except for the newest generation. They're all mine! = ]]
Platform Nine and Three Quarters, Kings Cross
**********September 1, 2008 - Monday
"Okay Nats, it's almost time for you to go. Now are you sure you have everything?" Draco asked.
"Yes dad, I have everything. You've already asked me that seven times," answered eleven year old Natalie while rolling her eyes at her dad. She had long platinum blonde hair and almond shaped emerald green eyes. This was her first year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and she couldn't help feeling excited if a little nervous.
Draco was just nervous.
"Well, it doesn't hurt to check. Now are you going to be good. If only for me. So I don't have to worry very much?" Draco asked knowing how much his daughter loved to make mischief.
Nattie gave a dramatic sigh. "Well, I'm not making any promises but I'll try."
Draco smiled and gave his daughter a hug then he placed a kiss on her forehead before pulling back. "You'd better go. Be good and stay out of trouble-" oh what was he saying that wasn't possible- "and remember to write. Okay?" Nattie nodded. "I love you Nats."
"Love you to dad," she said giving her dad one last hug. "Bye!" with that she ran and got onto the Hogwarts Express.
Draco waited until the train had pulled out of the station before he left and went home.
**********
Nattie walked through the train until she finally found an empty compartment. Sitting down she stared out the window until she heard the compartment door slide open.
"Hey, would you mind if my brother and I sit here? Every where else is full," asked a girl that Nattie guessed was her age. She had long, bright, curly red hair; brown eyes; and a light dusting of freckles over the bridge of her nose.
"I don't mind," Nattie told the girl.
She smiled before stepping back outside the door. "J, right here!" she called before coming in and sitting down across from Nattie. "I'm Olivia but you can call me Livvy," she said.
"Natalie," was all the girl got in return.
A second later a boy with an uncanny resemblance to Livvy, slid open the compartment door. The boy looked so much like Livvy, in fact, that Nattie figured that they were twins.
"Hey sis," he said before he spotted Nattie. He smiled brightly. "Hey, I'm Jasper but I go by Jas."
"Natalie," was all she said to him too.
Not put off in the least, he plopped down beside her. "First time at Hogwarts? It is for my sister and I."
"Yes," Nattie answered her tone slightly clipped.
He nodded. "What house you hoping to get in?"
"Slytherin," she said enjoying the grimace that crossed his features. She really wasn't, her dad was but she didn't really care. As long as it wasn't Hufflepuff.
Not deterred by this 'distasteful' comment, he went on. "Well, I'm hoping to be in Gryffindor. Never been a Weasley not in Gryffindor. Though I think my sister'll be the first. Probably make it into Ravenclaw. Too smart for her own good that one."
Livvy sent a glare towards her brother but this escaped Nattie because she had started thinking back to the stories her dad used to tell her about his school days. Weasley. I knew something seemed familiar about these two. Though I guess the red hair and freckles should have given it away. Nattie remembered the ones her dad went to school with. A poor lot with seven children.
Her dad, not hiding anything about his past from her, had told her how he was a bully. Partly because of how he was raised and partly because of jealousy. Draco had told his daughter about how he had picked on the youngest Weasley boy, who was also in his year, and his closest friends. He had went on to tell Nattie that he'd picked on them all the way through school up until near the end of their sixth year. He told her of the tentative friendship he'd gained with the trio of friends that had began at the start of seventh year.
No matter how much Nattie pried, Draco had not given her the reason for his turnabout attitude. Only telling her that he'd grown up and realized that some things were more important then prejudices.
Nattie was pulled out of her thoughts when she realized Livvy was talking to her.
"… can you?" Livvy finished.
Nattie looked at her blankly. "Huh?"
"See, I told you that you're boring. People just zone out when you talk," Jas told his sister, who glared at him.
"I don't zone out. I just turn into my thoughts," Nattie said a bit more harshly then she intended. Jas just stared at her blankly.
"Anyways," Livvy began returning to her previous question, "I asked if you can wait for classes to start? I can't. I, for one, am super excited for Transfiguration. Turning one thing into another. It's so completely fascinating."
Before Nattie could answer, Jas let out an exasperated noise. "Oy! School hasn't even started yet and you're already talking about work. You seriously need to just chill out V."
Livvy looked like she was about to say something but Nattie jumped in. "I don't know Jas," she said and his attention was immediately focused on her, " work is very important. Knowledge is a very critical thing."
Livvy beamed at her. "Finally someone who understands the importance of hard work."
Jas groaned putting a hand over his eyes. "Oh no, not another one."
Livvy smiled victoriously. "Face it. This makes it 3 to 2. We win!"
"3 to 2?" Nattie asked slowly in confusion.
"You, mom and I against him, and dad," Livvy answered happily.
"So what did you just win?" Nattie asked with a slight raising of an eyebrow.
"The debate about how knowledge and working is better then goofing off all the time," she answered as she sent a superior look to her brother, who was still moping.
"Hold on now, I didn't say that," Nattie said sounding horrified. Jas perked up and Livvy looked lost. "I said work is important, and it is," she started, Livvy smiled Jas frowned, "but you still have to relax and just goof off sometimes."
Livvy looked put out while Jas just flashed his sister a grin. "Looks like it's still mutual sis."
Livvy sighed before pulling out a book. Nattie noticed it was titled Hogwarts: A History. Nattie shook her head, Does this girl ever have any fun? It would seem not. While, Nattie noted, her brother is the complete opposite. He was laid back and care free.
With a shrug, Nattie decided that she liked them both. They were a balance. Work and play. They would make some lucky person a good pair of friends to have. For a moment Nattie wondered if she could be so lucky.
**********
Some kids went scurrying past their compartment but they were paid no mind. However, Nattie looked up when she heard the door slide open.
"Hey, I was wondering where you two were. What's up?" a boy asked Jas and Livvy.
They both smiled. "Hey."
"Not much, Al. You?" Jas asked as they done a rather complicated looking handshake.
"Ah, you know…same old, same old," he said with a smile. His dark brown hair flopping over his eyes. Which, Nattie noted when he looked at her; their eyes meeting, were the color of chocolate.
"Oh, Alec, this is Nattie," Jas said after he realized they'd never met.
The boy smiled again. "Hey, names Alexander." Nattie could only smile at him. "Well, I just came through here to see if I could find you two. I hadn't seen you since we got to King's Cross. I was beginning to wonder if you'd even gotten on the train." he paused to send them both a teasing smile so they'd know he was joking. "I guess I'm going to go back to my compartment. I'll see you guys later," Alec told them as he turned to go through the door.
"You're welcome to stay," Livvy said looking up from her book.
Alec smiled and shook his head. "Nah, I promised that I'd be right back. I'll talk to you guys later."
**********
Okay, so there is the first chapter. Won't you please tell me what you think? I would very much appreciate it. = ]]
