Chapter 1 (part 1) - Introduction and Diagon Alley
Summer break was nearing its end. It was only a couple of days before I had to leave for Hogwarts again. My second home.
I was excited to see my wizard friends again, yet sad to leave my muggle friends behind. I loved living and spending time in the Muggle world though. It was the place where I was born and raised after all, despite being from a pure-blood wizard family.
My parents decided to leave the magical world right after the first Wizarding War, hoping to start a new and better life here in the Muggle world together with me and my older sister Laura. The first ten years of my life, I was a happy, normal child who loved the companionship of friends and family and had no worries. But it was around this time of my life I started realizing I was different in some ways, compared to other kids of my age. More accurately, I was a witch.
My parents told me the news the day of my eleventh birthday, handing me a letter that said I was accepted to Hogwarts, the school of Witchcraft and Wizardry. I had never been more excited to go to a new school in my life.
Soon I was a first year in Hogwarts. Just like my sister, I was sorted into the Gryffindor house, proudly following in our mothers footsteps. I was an excellent student with good grades, I had made great friends and most importantly, I finally felt accepted for who I truly was. But somewhere along the line this changed when my father passed away when I was in my fifth year.
He was killed.
By a Death Eater.
And not just any Death Eater, but his own brother. Marcus Braithmore.
After my father's death, my whole life had turned upside down. I started to become more diffident and supressed my own emotions in order to stay strong for my mother. It became harder for me to trust people and I'd never felt so lonely as I did during that dark time. For me it was a time of survival, trying not to drown in my own pain and sorrows.
Nearly a year had passed since then and I was slowly picking up the pieces of my life again. Summer break was almost over and I still had to buy some new school supplies before heading back to Hogwarts to attend my sixth year. I asked my mother to accompany me to Diagon Alley to help me with shopping.
Unsurprisingly, Diagon Alley was more packed than usual. It was the end of summer after all and the usual patrons now had to share the passage with parents out buying supplies with their children. The large crowd made it almost impossible to find your way to the right shop without bumping in to someone.
I let out a sigh of relief once we finally came across Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions.
As we entered the store, an older, somewhat corpulent woman fully dressed in mauve, came over from behind a rack of dress robes to welcome us.
"Good afternoon ladies, how can I help you?" Madame Malkin asked in a high pitched voice. She looked at us both, alternating her gaze between me and my mother. I quickly glanced at my mum.
"It's for my daughter, we're looking for some new robes." Mum replied, gently placing her hand on my shoulder.
"Ah, wonderful!" the woman said, her hazel eyes sparkled as she spoke.
"Hogwarts, Dear?" I gave her a nod in confirmation.
"Marvellous! Now, let me have a quick look at you."
She lowered her half-moon shaped glasses to the very tip of her nose, her eyes rapidly scanning my body from head to toe. It was interesting to know how it seemed that she was able to guess my size in just the blink of an eye.
"I think I have the perfect one for you. Please follow me." she said teasingly before turning around, leading me to the back of the shop at a fast pace.
"Why don't you try this one, dear." She said, beaming a smile as she handed me a black robe that she carefully grabbed from one of the shelves.
"Thank you." I said with a kind grin when I received the piece of clothing. I walked over to the mirror and looked at my reflection while putting on the robe. The next thing I saw made my eyes widen in absolute astonishment. The cloak she had given me was way too big, reaching my ankles instead of mid-calf and my fingers just peeked through the end of the sleeves. I looked painfully absurd and felt like a little kid playing dress-up in its parents clothes.
"Oh." Madam Malkin sighed when I turned around to face her. "I guess I imagined you being a tiny bit taller." I gave her a faint smile, not exactly sure what to say.
"Oh well, let me quickly fix that for you, dear." She insisted, trying to hide the embarrassment. I automatically stood myself on one of the footstools that were neatly placed in the middle of the room. Madam Malkin sat herself down on a three-legged stool in front of me and began to pin up the robe to the right length.
"With only some minor changes, the robe will be fitting you perfectly. It's not going to take more than a few minutes." A smile appeared on her face as she looked up to me over the silver rim of her glasses.
My attention diverted to the entrance when I heard a tinkling bell somewhere in the depths of the shop and saw two people step inside. A blonde, tall woman peered around the room with a searching look. She was wearing very nice, expensive looking dark green robes that draped elegantly over her slim body. Her skin was pale as snow and her lips red as a rose. Behind her stood a boy almost as pale as she was, his white-blonde hair neatly parted to the side. He wore a black suit with black shoes and a black tie. Oddly enough he made it work though. It all contrasted against his faintly glowing light skin. His gaze travelled absently around the room and glanced up at the colourful fabrics lying on the shelves.
My breathing stopped when I realized who I was eying. It was Draco Malfoy and his mother.
As far as I remembered I had never really liked him. I couldn't stand him or his attitude. He was the ultimate bully and the most rude, snobbish and obnoxious kid I knew in Hogwarts. It always seemed like he assumed that most people would like him for his family's power and wealth and those who didn't, were just below his level.
"Narcissa, Dear!" Madam Malkin exclaimed in a surprised voice, her eyes brightened at the sight of the blonde woman.
"What can I do for you today?" She asked, smiling.
"Draco can use some new robes. Since we don't have much time, your quick attention to this matter will be greatly appreciated." Narcissa replied stiffly when she wandered towards us with Draco close behind.
"Certainly. Come on here boy. Let's get you measured up." Madam Malkin chuckled, gesturing Draco to step on the stool directly alongside mine.
"My assistant Eleanor will take it from here, if that's alright." She said to me quietly, raising her pencil drawn brows as a young brunette lady appeared next to me and started sewing the bottom of my cloak.
I felt my heart sink when I caught Draco studying me warily out of the corner of my eye. I didn't want to look back, yet my eyes were mysteriously drawn towards him. His face stood tight, showing me no emotion at all. The way he looked at me recalled one of the earliest memories I had of him.
Draco and I met for the first time in charms class in first year. It was a few days after Halloween and I remember everyone being excited for class since professor Flitwick had promised us we finally would be learning our first spell. At first I thought this class was going to be easy, knowing I was a fast learner. But the levitation charm we had to perform had shown me differently.
"Wingardium LeviosA." I said confidently, waving my wand with an elegant gesture. My eyebrows furrowed in confusion when nothing happened. I sat straight up, pushed my shoulders back and tried to focus on the feather once more.
"Okay, let's try this again." I said to myself.
"WINGardium LevIosa." Again, nothing. The feather didn't move, not even an inch. I groaned in frustration. What was I doing wrong? After a few tries I finally started to get the hang of it, but my feather didn't fly quite as high as I intended. I started shaking my wand furiously in the air causing my tie to levitate instead of the feather.
"Damnit, stupid wand!" I grunted, blowing a strand of hair out of my face in an attempt to lower my tie again.
I heard people snorting from behind. I quickly turned around to face a blonde, pale faced boy sitting right behind me on the second row, having the time of his life together with two other boys - I assumed to be his friends – sitting on either side of him. They would've stayed unnoticed if it wasn't for their rude laughter.
"What are you trying to do, strangle yourself?" I saw Draco shallowly eying the crest patch on my robes. "To be honest, I think I'd kill myself too if I was put into Gryffindor." he said mockingly, staring intensely back at me with this arrogant smirk. "I mean who wouldn't. Nothing more than a bunch of pathetic squibs if you ask me."
My cheeks started burning and I felt a sudden urge to punch him right in the throat. Normally I would've turned around and kept my mouth shut, but he was just asking for it. Ignoring the laugh he shared with his Slytherin friends, I closed my book and stood up so I was at the same height as he was. I looked calm from the outside, but inside, I felt my blood boiling in my veins.
"At least I could lift my tie, unlike you." I answered fiercely, instantly wiping the smug off his face. As I could read from his expression, he didn't expect me to comment on his insult at all. Slightly impressed, he glanced back at me, his eyes travelling up and down my body.
"Are you friends with Potter? Seems like these Gryffindors have far too much of a good influence on you. Such a shame. You would've been great in Slytherin." He finished his sentence with a smirk. I cringed at the thought although I easily could've been a Slytherin since my dad's side of the family were mostly Slytherins, but I never considered myself one to begin with.
"What is that supposed to mean?" I asked giving him a confused glare.
"Let's be real here, Slytherins are the only true wizards."
"True wizards." I repeated in a sarcastic tone. "You can't even lift a simple feather." I went on. I caught him looking quickly at the feather lying motionless in front of him on his desk, I could tell it was still untouched. The blonde boy's head snapped at his friend as he let out a tiny little cough.
"Amused Goyle?" He asked in a sneering tone. The fellow Slytherin rapidly shook his head.
"And what exactly makes you think that?" Draco continued as he turned back to face me again. "It's not like you have eyes in the back of your head." He spat. The bridge of his nose wrinkled as he narrowed his gaze. His steel gray eyes pierced right into mine and automatically my stomach clenched with a totally unwanted warning, making me feel extremely uncomfortable. As much as I wanted to look away, I convinced myself not to break the eye contact whatsoever.
"Lucky guess." I replied, giving him a forced smile. "If you are so self-assured about your skills, why don't you show me then?" I raised an eyebrow and crossed my arms waiting for a response. Malfoy looked angry, but forced out a singular humourless laugh.
"Do you have any idea who you're talking to? I'm Draco Malfoy, I don't need to prove myself, you see." I could feel his warm breath on my face as he leaned closer towards me. I laughed at his lame excuse.
"I would watch my tone, if I were you." Malfoy threatened, cutting off my laugh. His lips were tightly pressed together, the corners of his mouth slightly pointing downward. Both him and his two little bodyguards were now shooting disapproving looks at me, almost expecting me to cower from fear.
"And why is that?" I snapped back, placing two hands on my hips.
"Father is on the board of school governors. He can send you from Hogwarts straight back to wherever you came from with one snap of his fingers. You wouldn't want me to snitch on you, or would you?" He replied with a slightly accented voice.
"That's what I thought." Malfoy hissed when I couldn't think of an answer fast enough. He resembled the same intimidating look in his eyes as he was giving me at the very moment. We didn't exchange a word though, but I could see him debating whether to say something or not. As he decided not to, he broke the eye contact and peered straight ahead with a fixed glassy stare. I wondered if he still remembered me after all this time.
A short stinging pain in my lower thigh snapped me out of my daze. I clenched my teeth to hold back a shriek once I realized the assistant accidentally stabbed me with her needle, making a noise that sounded more like a murmur.
"Oh! Oh, I am so sorry Miss." She apologized when she looked up to me, her voice turning panicky.
"It's okay, it didn't hurt that bad." I lied, forcing a smile in order to hide the intense pain I was currently feeling. She was doing a great job so far and hurting her feelings wasn't necessarily something I wanted to do. Lucky for her it happened to me and not Malfoy who most likely would've cursed her out on the spot, if not accused her for trying to murder him.
After twenty minutes of sewing and extreme boredom, my robe was finally done. I caught a quick glimpse of myself in the mirror before stepping down the stool and thanking both ladies for their effort. When I turned around I found my mother talking to Narcissa a little bit further back in the shop. For a moment it seemed like they happened to know each other even though I was pretty convinced they had never met before. Trying to figure out what the two women were muttering, I watched them suspiciously but cautiously kept my distance at the same time. No matter how hard I tried, the fact that I couldn't quite make out a word they were saying left me a little frustrated. I couldn't help a grin as I noticed Malfoy was also trying to figure out what our mothers were discussing about.
"Oh, Honey, I haven't noticed you were ready yet." Mum said surprised when she coincidently looked in my direction causing Narcissa to glance up at me too. From their blank expressions I could infer that I interrupted an important conversation.
"Where are my manners, this is my daughter Evelyn." she added, placing a light hand on my back, slightly pushing me forward.
"Pleased to meet you Madam." I said politely, forcing a smile.
"Nice to meet you too, Evelyn. Please, call me Narcissa." She returned, with a hint of hesitation in her voice. As Narcissa held out her hand my eyes fell upon the somewhat curious ring she was wearing on her right hand. It was a silver ring of a snake swirled around a skull which was set with tiny little diamonds. Oddly enough, the eeriness of the jewel made it kind of fascinating. I reached out hesitantly and shook her hand before letting mine drop back to my side. To make things even worse, the situation became very awkward, very quickly and all I could think of was how much I didn't want to be there.
"Ouch! Watch where you're sticking those pins, woman!" Malfoy scolded at Madam Malkin. I spun around to see Draco slap away her hand, his light gray eyes narrowed in annoyance. I snorted quietly, slightly amused about how accurate my assumption was. I rolled my eyes before facing the two mothers again.
"Well, I think we better get going, we still have some more shopping to do." Mum said to break the silence. "It was a pleasure to see you again Narcissa."
"It was nice seeing you too, Greta. Like I said, I'll owl you as soon as I can." Narcissa replied as she placed a gentle hand on my mothers shoulder, giving her a certain look I couldn't quite identify. Mum responded with a small, short nod before we said our goodbyes. After we paid for the robes we left the shop and continued our journey for supplies.