Jean's P.O.V.
It was exactly a week before September first, and I simply can't wait to go to Hogwarts. I was sat in the lavish parlour of the Malfoy Manor, awaiting my friend Tiffany. It was apparent from her squealing howlers and jittery letters that she was absolutely ecstatic to start.
Today my Aunt Narcissa would be taking us to Diagon Alley to obtain our supplies for our first year at Hogwarts. I heard the doorbell ring from where I was sitting, and about a half minute later Dobby entered with Tiffany trailing behind, her scowl burning holes into my forehead.
"Well, don't get up to greet me," She said nastily, blue eyes cutting like ice.
"Stop being a bitch and sit your arse down, Aunt Narcissa and Draco will be down shortly," I responded, earning her infamous goofy grin.
I was sitting lazily on a deep red couch accented with ornate golden designs. Tiffany plopped down next to me and took the list out of my hands, looking it over. A moment later Aunt Narcissa came down the large staircase as elegant as ever. She was a picture of utter beauty, especially in this house filled with dark temperaments. Her hair was as full as every girl dreamed, her face clean of wrinkles and imperfections.
"Alright girls, let's go. Draco will meet us at home after, as he wishes to wait for Lucius to take him," she smiled knowingly. It was no secret that Draco was the ultimate 'daddy's boy'.
Tiffany jumped up and turned, grabbing my outstretched hand and pulling me up off the couch. "Lazy bum," she muttered. I yanked my hand from hers once I was on my feet and swatted her. She hissed, a normal response, one sometimes accompanied with choice language when it came to her.
Tiffany White was easily the first person I would bring with me if I was going to drown in a volcano; In the sense that she is my best friend, of course. We are practically joined at the hip. Every day she lept over the hedges and streaked across the yard to Malfoy Manor. I couldn't always always see her before I heard her, or that is heard her feet pounding across the green .
Today, Tiffany's mom used Side-Along Apparition, so she wasn't winded by the time she reached the manor, her energy was better saved for the day's events.
They did not like my family at all, but being the rebellious girl she is, Tiffany would demand to see me over hell or high water. There is no way to win an argument with her.
Trust me, I've tried.
Starting to walk towards the fireplace across the large room, Tiffany looped her arm in mine and gave me a cheeky smile, when it comes to her it's hard to resist smiling back. We walked with a spring in our step to the fireplace where Aunt Narcissa was grinning. She shoved a handful of Floo Powder into our hands, and we entered the fireplace.
"Diagon Alley," Tiffany and I said together.
A flash of green smoke surrounded us, and we arrived at our destination. Exiting the fireplace, we could hardly contain ourselves from running off before Aunt Narcissa stepped out.
"Jean, I haven't gone shopping for Hogwarts in almost twenty years. You need to remind me where to go first," Aunt Narcissa said her eyes wandering around the alley. She tried to take in all the hustle and bustle she hadn't seen in years, I tried to imagine the way it must all seem to her, surreal.
"Well, first on the list is robes, so I think Madame Malkin's would be the place to go," I replied, followed by Tiffany nodding. She looked down at her list, bright blue eyes scanning the page with fervour. "What're you looking at, Tiff?"
Her head snapped up, "Just memorising the list," I rolled my eyes and laughed. Tiffany has this freaky ability to memorise sequences of words and sounds, and keep them locked in a far corner of her mind. It almost makes me think she would be in Ravenclaw. Almost.
"Done," Tiffany announced looking up from the list and tucking it neatly in the back pocket of her jeans. She tapped her black hightop converse on the cobblestone ground, "Ready when you are," another cheeky grin.
Again we slung arms and strode out into the street of Diagon Alley, Aunt Narcissa trailing behind, trying to give us a sense of independence and maturity. The cobbled streets echoed with passerby chatter and street merchants trying to sell lollies to little kids. The smell of yesterday's rain still hung in the air like a heavy blanket, droplets of water spilling from flower boxes that couldn't be seen, plopping on Tiffany's nose. She sneezed quite violently, and a portly woman next to her asked her if she wanted a hankie. She declined.
We got to Madame Malkin's and pushed the door open. A bell sounded throughout the shop, sending a shiver down my spine. A skinny old woman greeted us and led us through the store to the back. She showed us how to stand on the podiums and started my fitting, while a younger and curvier woman came out and started Tiffany's. I had to stifle a giggle when Tiffany started mumbling about the lady touching her in "Off limits areas" and "My flipping privacy". They finished taking our measurements fairly quickly, considering the fact that they didn't use magic, and directed us to a bench on the other side of the room.
About forty-five minutes later, the old woman came back out with six sets of robes and two winter cloaks. They were ironed and sealed in plastic, maintaining the cleanliness. I couldn't help but smile as I reached out and grabbed my clothing from the woman.
"You can find hats and dragon hide gloves on the shelf just there," the woman said with a kind voice, scurrying back behind the curtain the other lady originally came out from.
Tiffany and I practically ran to the shelves the girl had pointed to. We carefully picked out our sizes and walked up to the younger woman who was waiting patiently for us.
"Thank you so much for all your help, how much?" Aunt Narcissa asked the woman.
"Ten galleons for the three sets, five for the winter cloak, and another five for the hat and dragon hide gloves. So twenty galleons in total, I believe," the woman said with her hand outstretched. Tiffany and Aunt Narcissa each dropped twenty galleons into the woman's hand and we departed.
We stepped back out into the cobbled streets, and once again waited for Aunt Narcissa to come behind us.
"Where to next?" Aunt Narcissa questioned. I took out my list and opened my mouth to speak, but when I raised my head Tiffany was nowhere to be found. Aunt Narcissa and I looked around, struggling to find her through the mass of people. That is, until I spotted her blonde hair flying.
"Books!" She yelled over her shoulder, grinning. I rolled my eyes and gave chase, our feet pounding against the street. We weaved through the crowd until Flourish and Blotts was in our sight. We ignored the stares.
"I reckon you better run faster before you're known as a slowpoke," Tiffany said, prodding my shoulder, "It doesn't really suit you."
"Oh shut up. Let's get our books."
We both pushed the door to the popular bookstore, making a beeline for the books we needed. As Tiffany recieted, curse her memory, Standard Book of Spells (Grade one)
by Miranda Goshawk,A History of Magic by Bathilda Bagshot, Magical Theory
style="font-size: 22pt;"by Adalbert Waffling,
A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration by Emeric Switch, One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi
style="font-size: 22pt;"by Phyllida Spore,
Magical Drafts and Potions by Arsentius Jigger, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
style="font-size: 22pt;"by Newt Scamander, and
The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protectionby Quentin Trimble.
Once we found all the needed books, Tiffany and I made our way over to the checkout. We both plunked our books down on the wooden counter, the noise echoing through the store. I looked over my shoulder and spied Aunt Narcissa's familiar pretty face. She was slowly making her way over to us, stopping to look at books that were interesting to her but would bore me to death. I felt a jab in my ribs, and when I looked back over to the culprit - Tiffany - she had a frown on her face. She jerked her head to the register.
"Oh, right, sorry. How much?" I asked, my cheeks flushing.
"Eight Galleons, dear," The lady's curly white hair bobbled as she spoke. I felt Aunt Narcissa coming up behind and handing over the amount due, smiling politely. I smiled as well, thanking the lady and stepping back, Aunt Narcissa's hand on my shoulder. My Aunt had conveniently brought bags for us to carry out supplies in, only adding to how gracious I was to have her. She certainly wasn't the type you could picture with the last name Malfoy.
When Tiffany was done paying her dues and packing her books away, we exited the shop. I didn't need to memorise the list to know what was next.
"Wands!" Tiffany and I said in unison. Aunt Narcissa gave a knowing smile, and ushered us down to Ollivanders. Soon enough we found ourselves in front of Diagon Alley's sole wand shop, the peeling gold letters above the door read
Ollivanders: Makers of Fine Wands since 382 B.C.. Tiffany took in a shaky breath, attempting to nullify her excitement as she opened the door.
The bell echoed throughout the musty, dimly lit shop. After that, all was silent. Aunt Narcissa was patiently waiting outside. It was a good minute before Tiffany dared to speak.
"Hello, is anyone there?" She asked, her words appeared to fall on deaf ears until we heard the sound of wheels grinding on rails.
The ladder rolled to a stop at the end of a shelf, and Mr. Ollivander's flyaway grey hair was as spoofed as ever. His wise eyes twinkled.
"First Years, no doubt. Come, come," Mr. Ollivander made his way down the ladder and behind his desk in a matter of seconds, beckoning Tiffany to step forward. I personally couldn't wait to see what kind of damage she would cause, taking her temper and spunk into consideration.
Mr. Ollivander scurried down one of the numerous shelves. He pulled a dusty brown box out, any simple muggle would think it to be a jewelry box, or some sort of present, but it held a wizard's greatest asset. A wand.
I scanned the room with great interest. Hundreds and hundreds of wands lined the walls. The only thing resembling a decoration were four wands sitting atop a plush, purple velvet cushion, save for a spindly chair in the far corner. Ollivander's wands were easily the best in quality. My attention was brought back to Tiffany when I saw Mr. Ollivander reappear from the shelves.
"Here, try this," Mr. Ollivander said kindly, taking the lid off gently and handing the wand to Tiffany.
Mr. Ollivander described it as Fir, 12 1/2", with a Unicorn tail hair core. Vines bearing thorns were crafted carefully at the base, spiraling up to about 6". Fitting, actually.
The second Tiffany's hand touch the wand, a strange feeling seeped into the marrow of my bones and spread itself across the room. Judging from the look on Mr. Ollivander's wrinkled features, he felt it too.
It only lasted a second. Tiffany's blue eyes snapped open, and the feeling dissipated. Only then did I realise she closed them. Mr. Ollivander smiled brightly, taking the wand gently and placing it back in its box. She handed him seven Galleons, and thanked him profusely.
Next, Mr. Ollivander looked at me with an unreadable expression. He examined me up and down, as if scanning me with an invisible laser, then disappeared behind one of the many shelves. There was the sound of rummaging, and a few moments later he reappeared.
Mr. Ollivander first handed me a dark green box with a very dull wand. It was far too short and had no identifying marks to make it pop. I waved the wand and wasn't surprised at all when nothing happened. He frowned.
He returned back behind the shelves, and I once again heard rummaging. He took his time and came back about two minutes later. He opened a long brown box and held it out for me.
The wand was beautiful. Made with Dragon heartstring, Elm, and 13". It had stunning engravings from the bottom to the middle where there was a slight curve. I gave the wand a wave and I felt energy surge through the air, similar to Tiffany's feeling, but much darker and mysterious. Mr. Ollivander smirked and I handed him seven galleons in return.
"I should have known that would be the wand for you," he gabbled.
I looked back over to the old wandmaker, confusion smeared across my face. He shook his head, smiling. "Nevermind dear, off you go."
"Thank you so much Mr. Ollivander," Tiffany and I said politely, turning away. I never caught his knowing smile as we exited the shop swiftly.
Excitement crackled in the air from the thrill of wand buying. We ran up to Aunt Narcissa, who was smiling fondly.
"Well, girls, let me see your wands!" She said, clapping her hands together.
Tiffany gently lifted the lid off and held the box out to Aunt Narcissa.
"I got mine on the first try. Jean wasn't so lucky though. You can hold it if you want," She offered. Aunt Narcissa picked up the wand and inspected it carefully.
"It's beautiful," Aunt Narcissa confirmed, handing back the wand. Her eyes sparkled with happiness. I knew her pride and joy wasn't forced, she must have been waiting forever to go shopping with the two girls she treated like her daughters.
Aunt Narcissa turned to me. "Let's see it then," She said, clearly expecting me to show her my wand.
I held out my wand box, lid open. I was silent while Aunt Narcissa picked it up out of the box gently. She looked it over carefully, her smile growing.
"Figures your wand would have a curve," she said, her eyes glistening. "Very similar to your mother's, that curve, though slightly larger. I imagine it's Dragon Heartstring...?" I nodded my head, grinning. "I thought so. It's known for being made into curved wands."
Knowing that my wand was similar to my mother's made me truly happy. It was enough to keep a smile on my face all day.
I never actually met my mother, all I know was that she had a terribly grim life. Her parents had every intent of molding her and Aunt Narcissa into their idea of perfect daughters. They were abusive and beat them, even more so after Andromeda started seeing Ted. My mother became set on doing whatever it took to protect her younger sister.
In turn, she was sent to Azkaban because she fought for what she believed in, an unjust imprisonment in my opinion. I was born in Azkaban, the wizarding government too stingy to even have my mother properly give birth and have me actually taken care of. Aunt Narcissa tells me that the Minister took me away and dumped me into her arms, before my mother even got a look at me. I sometimes feel like I carry her pain with me. The awful, clawing feeling of a child being ripped from her mother's incapable hands. This, I believe, is the reason she was mad like people say.
I looked at my Aunt, putting my mother out of my head, "Aunt Cissa, I still need a pet," I said enthusiastically. After doing what I can only describe as bouncing, she led us to Magical Menagerie, a pet shop on the north side of Diagon Alley.
The first thing I noticed when we got to the store were the cages. Cages upon cages lined the walls, with every animal imaginable. They had animals from cats to toads and even baby Pygmy Puffs. I was automatically drawn to a beautiful black cat, walking straight up to the cage. The cat jumped up right away and started strutting around, lashing its slinky black tail. I looked over to Aunt Narcissa with pleading eyes. She simply nodded and told the saleswoman which animal we would be purchasing.
The woman walked over to the cat's cage and unlocked it with a wave of her wand. She carefully handed me the precious creature.
"She is just five months old, so she is just a kitten. You will need to be patient with her. Do you have a name in mind?" She asked once the cat was safely in my arms.
I nodded, "I want to name her Carina," I purred, already in animal mode. Carina meowed softly and I took it she liked the name. Aunt Narcissa handed the saleswoman nine Galleons and I waited for Tiffany to pick out her pet.
Tiffany walked around the shop, however didn't seem to take interest in anything. Aunt Narcissa and I patiently waited for her to choose something, sitting calmly on a bench to the side of the shop while Tiffany turned a corner in search for the animal she desired. The only thing I knew was Tiffany's interest in owls, she was always letting me know in her stifled way that she would have nothing else.
Stepping into the next section, Tiffany was greeted with a cacophony of feathers and hoots. Owls of every size inhabited the cages spread across the room covered in straw. Her eyes scanned the area until she laid her sights on a creamy barn owl hooting in the corner. The owls feathers fluffed up when she saw Tiffany had taken attention her.
"Don't worry, it's all right. I'm no threat, believe me," she said calmly, trying to ease the owl's anxiety. She cautiously moved forward, staring into the owl's glinting black eyes. Once her face was mere inches from the cage, she poked her index finger through the bars of the cage and stroked the owl's soft chest. The owl cooed softly, and she knew this was the one for her.
When Tiffany returned from the back room, she was smiling and holding the owl's cage in her hand. It wasn't that the owl surprised me, it was her choice in owl. For some reason I always pictured her with a snowy one, but even the closest friends can surprise you.
"What'd you name him?" I asked, intrigued by the owl's peaceful nature.
"I named her Skylar," Tiffany prompted, looking down at her bird. "Let me go pay, alright?" She cooed.
She handed the owl to me while she went to pay her ten Galleons. When she came back she snatched the owl from my hands, like it was her child and I was about to drop it.
"Yeesh, I wasn't going to kill her," I said, pretending to be offended.
"She's my baby," Tiffany protested.
With our new pets, Aunt Narcissa Tiffany and I headed out the door and to Potage's Cauldron Shop to purchase our size two Pewter Cauldrons.
The shop was almost completely empty when we got there. Our footsteps echoed throughout the small store as we made our way to the shelves lined with the Pewter Cauldrons. I almost felt like I was trespassing, the shop was so quiet.
We grabbed two cauldrons and made our way to the man waiting behind a counter. He looked like he really didn't want to be here.
"That will be fifteen galleons each," he said in a deep raspy voice. Tiffany and I each handed him fifteen galleons, and collected our cauldrons. On the way out, Tiffany knocked her hip against a display of stacked cauldrons at the window. I winced as all the cauldrons came crashing down, one by one. Tiffany's face paled.
"Shit."
We spent the rest of the next twenty minutes trying to stack the cauldrons back up. Finally the shopkeeper shooed us out of the store, meticulously fixing the mistakes we could not. I put my head down so the shop owner couldn't see and started laughing.
"I think we only have a few more things to get," Aunt Narcissa smiled wearily.
"How about I meet you by the entrance while you go grab them quickly. Well off you go," she said waving her hands and shooing us on our way. We only spent about another hour grabbing the rest of our supplies on the list, trying to trudge though the bustling shoppers with our bags filled with school supplies. Aunt Narcissa's form at the entrance was like a beacon as we weaved through the masses.
"Alright girls, did you have fun?" Aunt Narcissa inquired.
"Oh yes, it was every exciting," Tiffany said enthusiastically. "I can't believe it will have to be another year before we are likely to come back. What about you Jean?" She asked, nudging my arm with her load.
"It was marvelous, really," I said, but my gaze was unfocused. I was back to thinking about my mom, my past. During the better part of the past hour I kept trying to fight thoughts about my mother, but my wand in my bag was a constant reminder that we were kin, and we had to watch out for each other. Tiffany sensed my distress while we were shopping and tried her best to hold her tongue while I was sad. I appreciated it, confirming that she was really a true friend.
"Nevermind then. I want to get home and see what kind of wand Draco got," I said, turning back into my usual self and giving Tiffany a look. We burst into giggles. We knew Draco wanted something bold and manly, and we didn't think a wand like that would chose a wimp and coward like him.
Aunt Narcissa turned on her heel and beckoned us to follow her out of Diagon Alley's brick entrance. As I walked past the walls, I placed my hand on the worn brick.
"Until next year," I said softly. Mr. Olivander knew something about my mother, and he had the audacity to pretend like it was nothing and shoo me away. Anger boiled my blood, I should've asked why, I should've demanded to be told something, anything. Anything to keep my hope afloat in the raging sea of lost dreams. My fingers dug into the grout, my fingernails chipping and turning white. Yes, it hurt, badly, but I was too angry to notice.
"Oy, you gonna rip it out? Come on," Tiffany said good naturally. I broke from my haze of anger and strode towards her, slinging her arm in mine. I called for my Aunt, loud enough that she turned and stopped.
"Thank you," I mouthed, knowing she'd never know how much I truly meant it. Aunt Cissa had done, for me, what some mothers aren't even capable of doing. She loved me, she cared for me, which is far surpassable to what she could have done.
Once she received my message, she winked, once again returning to he quick walking pace. In merry silence, we walked all the way home.
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