Chapter Two: Broomsticks And Wonky Faints…
Victoria lay sprawled on the floor in Ron's room, Harry sat on his bed and Ron was leaning against his tiny window.
"I can't believe the holidays are almost over. I still haven't finished my essay for Professor McGonagall on partial transfiguration!"
Victoria was desperately scribbling in her illegible print all she could think of transfiguration from people to lionesses. She had unintentionally given herself claws and McGonagall had immediately assigned extra homework for it wouldn't happen again.
"Hey, what's a Japanese four letter word for idiot?" Ron asked staring at a muggle magazine Harry had given him.
"Baka." she replied. "And shouldn't you be doing your homework?"
"Nah, I've only got Charms homework left, it'll be a breeze."
Typical Ron. "You're the King of Procrastination, you know that?"
Ron looked up, confused. "Is that anything like constipation?"
Victoria sighed. "No, baka, it's means to put off something you're meant to be doing 'till the last minute."
As that last syllable left her mouth an echoing crash issued from outside and the house tipped to one side.
"Oh smeg, what've Fred and George done now?"
Ron lay sprawled on the floor, Harry was dangling halfway off his bed and Victoria was gripping the banister to stop from bouncing down the stairs. Ginny's legs were sticking out of her bedroom doorway and Mrs Weasley could be heard yelling at the top of her voice at the Weasley twins.
With a bone shuddering thud the house leaned back to its original angle and the trio looked out the window.
Fred and George were standing, heads bowed, as Mrs Weasley ran through the lecture she had devised for occasions like this, with a few variations of course.
Apparently the boys had gotten hold of some new explosives made by Filibuster and wanted to see how strong they were. Soot and sparks decorated the wall below and one last firework was still spinning in circles at the base of the house.
As it fizzled out so did Mrs Weasley's lecture. Within the pile of dirt and soot the firework had landed on there was a gold sparkle.
"My necklace!" cried Mrs Weasley, and she delved into the dirt to dig it out. Fred and George were backing away slowly as the dirt flew.
With a triumphant cry Mrs Weasley stood up, holding a golden emerald, sapphire and extremely muddy necklace.
"You clever boys! You found my necklace!" She spun around and threw her arms around Fred and George.
The twins looked stunned, then grinned when they realised this meant the sentence was lifted. "Yeah, well we thought you might have dropped it there and we thought we could dig our way to it with the fireworks…"
Victoria withdrew her head from the window, "I've heard enough. What about you two?"
Harry and Ron pulled their heads back inside and Ron shook his head. "Those guys can talk their way out of anything, I swear. How 'bout some Quidditch?"
"Sounds good." The Potter twins agreed.
#### ####
"Victoria, Ron, Harry dear, hurry up or we will leave without you!" Mrs Weasley yelled up the stairs.
Ron came tumbling down the stairs, tugging on a shoe, and Harry made a more graceful descent, only tripping near the bottom when he checked his pockets for a wand.
Upstairs there could be heard murmurs that sounded all too much like obscenities.
Harry, having located his wand, turned around at the base of the stairs and called, "Tori, if you're looking for your money, I've got it. And your jacket's hanging on the chairs downstairs."
A head popped out the door. "Really?"
The rest of her body followed as she slid down the banister and fell into Harry's arms. Pushing herself back up, she picked up the jacket and tied it round her waist, then looked back and asked cheekily "Are you just gunna stand there? You heard Mrs Weasley, let's go!"
Harry gave her an exasperated look of disapproval and followed her into the living room.
Mrs Weasley beamed at them and held out the flowerpot containing floo powder.
"Take a handful and throw it on the fireplace, like always. Don't forget to tuck your elbows in and keep a sharp eye out for the others. We don't want you getting lost again, now do we?"
Harry shuddered and took a handful.
Tori looked at the powder in disdain.
"Is this really the best way to get to Diagon Alley?" she asked pleadingly.
"Well, it's efficient, painless and cheap. I would have to say yes. Now off you go!" Mrs Weasley gave them a gentle push towards the roaring fireplace.
Taking a deep breath, Harry threw the fistful of powder onto the flames, and watched them turn green.
Victoria looked at him and commented sarcastically, "Oh lovely, it matches your eyes."
Harry gave her a withering look.
Taking a hold of her wrist, he stepped into the hearth, and she was pulled in with him.
With a roar, the world turned into soot, flames and flashing openings.
The air was hardly breathable, and the pair arrived coughing and sooty when they fell through an opening in the Leaky Cauldron.
Standing shakily, Victoria turned to her twin and remarked cheerfully "Well, we're getting better. At least we're somewhere recognisable."
Harry nodded and coughed.
After brushing most of the soot off their bodies, both walked through to Diagon Alley.
Standing in front of Flourish and Blotts, Mr Weasley waved to them.
Once they were all standing outside, he addressed them.
"Now, we'll all meet back here in two hours, alright? Buy all your school stuff, and don't go sneaking into Knockturn Alley, or your mother will have my head. Well, have fun!"
Ron pointed over to the Owlery. "Look, it's Hermione! Let's see if she has the booklist, I've lost mine."
Harry and Ron walked over the cobblestones to meet the bushy haired genius.
Ginny looked at Victoria.
"You're not going to join them?" she asked politely.
Victoria blinked at her, glanced over at the reminiscing trio, and replied, "Why gatecrash their fun? It's not like I need to ruin his by clinging to his friends."
Ginny nodded, understanding what she meant. For years she had clung to her brothers and their friends, trying to be liked. It hadn't worked out well, so she gave up when she went to Hogwarts, and started making friends in her own year level. 'Course, they hadn't taken to well to the whole mind control thing, and it had taken a while for them to trust her again.
"Well, I guess us misfits should stick together. Lets go look at the new dress robes in Madame Malkins!" Ginny said eagerly.
Victoria gave her a look of cool surprise and disgust.
"No thanks."
She swept off down the alley to Quidditch Supplies.
"Fine then, Miss Uppity Slytherin." Ginny spat at her retreating form. She set off the try on dress robes by herself, hoping to run into Lavender and Parvati. Those two were girls you could shop with.
Victoria gazed at the beautiful brooms display on the walls. From classics to newest models, all were shiny, sleek and perfect.
"Beautiful…" a whisper of awe from behind her.
Turning round, she came face to face with the last person she wanted to see.
Draco Malfoy.
He held her gaze steadily, then back at the brooms.
With an irritated sigh, she walked past him and out of the shop.
'Smeggin' Malfoy,' she thought. 'Can't he disappear off the face of the earth, why did he have to come here today, what are the odds, if I see him one more time before Hogwarts, I think I'll…'
Storming past shops she stopped in front of a window and blindly looked at it, continuing her rant silently, not sparing a thought to what was actually behind the window.
"Ahem."
Victoria's mind rant cut off and jumped to voice recognition.
"Don't bother acknowledging my presence. If you do, I'm sure I will end up with a bruised ego. Instead, just listen to me."
Her mind wouldn't concentrate properly with the hand resting on her upper arm, and the source of the voice remained a mystery for the moment.
"Put aside differences, and you can achieve great things. Hold a grudge, and a world can remain unexplored."
For some odd reason, she couldn't even place what gender the voice was.
"I may not like you, but I can manage to respect you, if I swallow my pride briefly. Can you do the same?"
It was so familiar, and yet sat just out of her reach. She considered turning around, but couldn't find the energy.
"We may be back-stabbing, conniving, sly people, but we make exceptions with fellow Slytherins. You may be a gryffindor related, highly moral, loyal sort of person, but you're still a Slytherin. Let's forget earlier unpleasantries, put aside differences and try to tolerate each other, OK? For the adults sakes."
'Us Slytherins?'"Malfoy, let go of my arm. Before I even consider such a request, I have to weigh the pros and cons, and that will take time."
The hand pulled away. Turning around, she stared at his face, which for the first time in five years, was sincere and open.
"You, you…"
She wanted to yell at him for touching her, speaking to her so sensibly, to bruise his physical form as well as his ego, but the urge died when he closed his eyes and flinched.
Malfoy never flinched. Even when faced with an angry McGonagall, he just stared, expressionless, cool and unmoved.
Even when she was punching him out cold once, for insulting hers, Harry's and her parents' sexual and mental history, which he accompanied with revolting actions, his face had merely acquired a defensive look of anger, which was about the only emotion he displayed apart from malicious glee.
Malfoy never flinched for such trivial reasons.
"Malfoy… w-what's going on?" She asked awkwardly, fearful of the answer. She was no good at comforting people.
He looked at her directly, surprised by the unusual tone. Stammering gently wasn't how she usually acted when he was within earshot.
But then he'd never allowed his mask to slip in public before.
"It's just, if we're to be…" he coughed to hide his embarrassment, "siblings, then there is no point in acting around you anymore."
Blue eyes widened.
"Acting?!"
It was too much for her mind to process at one time. As a protective measure, her brain went into shutdown, something it had never had to do before.
Eyelids fluttering widely, without any grace or dignity, Victoria Potter fainted.