Sorry for making ya'll wait so long!
Thanks to Jaelah for helping out :) and I don't own anything except for my characters... and the plot of this book...
Enjoy! Review :)
It was nearing the end of the summer and I anxiously awaited for my Hogwarts letter. I kept looking out the window every five seconds. At one point, Draco came to me, "Vespera, if you keep hanging out that window you're going to fall and hurt yourself again."
I glared at him, "Shut up." He then ran away, as I burst into laughter. I awkwardly walked down the hall and into the dining room for breakfast. "Good morning Mother, Father." I said, as I kissed them on the cheek.
"Good morning, Vespera," Lucius replied, reading the Daily Prophet.
I looked at the paper, "Who's on the front page?"
"Just some Azkaban escapee. They'll catch him." Father said with no emotion.
"Sirius Black? Isn't Black a family name on your side, Mother? Yes, I'm almost certain. You have that picture of Regulus Black and say he was your favorite cousin. Why, this fellow is probably only a few years older than Regulus, a brother perhaps? Who is this man?" I asked Mother this time, knowing that she'd probably answer. Although, I knew who he was. I had spent a month caged up beside this man, a man who was wrongfully accused. I was glad he had escaped finally. Maybe he would get to see his godson.
"Yes, he was my cousin. The family disowned him when he ran away. He was a Gryffindor, a traitor to the family. He was sent to Azkaban for murdering the Potters and some muggles. Sentenced to a lifetime in Azkaban. He'll be found soon and put back. No worries dear." She smiled at me, "Now eat some breakfast."
That was when, the post came in. Narcissa pulled it off of the owl's foot, then began handing out mail, while most of it was for her and Lucius, she handed a piece of mail to Draco, "My Hogwarts letter," he said grinning at me, because Mother handed him his first. She finished sorting through the mail, and handed me a piece at the very end.
"What? This isn't my Hogwarts letter! Why did Draco get his, and I didn't?! They give all the students their letters at the same time! What kind of rubbish is this!" I yelled.
"Vespera Azalea Salazar-Malfoy, you will not yell like that at the table. I'm sure it's just a miscommunication. We will speak to Severus when he arrives tomorrow. Until then, you are to behave. Understood?" Lucius scolded me.
I nodded, "Yes sir, sorry." I frowned. I then looked at my single piece of mail. It was on muggle parchment, an odd thing for Owl Mail.
It was in a muggle envelope, and I ripped the paper, to open it. Once I got it opened, I realized, I couldn't read any of the letter.
Stein Zauberei
Liebe Miss Vespera Azalea Salazar-Malfoy,
Wir bitte um Sie, dass Sie wurden ausgewählt, um die Schule in unserem Transfer-Programm teilnehmen zu informieren.
Anbei finden Sie eine Liste aller benötigten Bücher und Ausrüstungs. Die Laufzeit beginnt am 15. August. Wir erwarten Ihre Eule spätestens 20. Juli.
Mit freundlichen Grüßen,
Alarick Knolle
Schulleiter
The Second Page Read:
Stein Zauberei
Drei Sätze Plain schwarzen Roben
Einer Formal Cloak
Ein Paar Schutzhandschuhe (Drachenhaut oder ähnlich)
Ein Paar gepolsterte Handschuhe
Drei Wintermantel
Eine Wand Holster
Ein Paar von Stahlstiefel
Alle Schuhe müssen geschlossen sein
Alle Bücher werden von der Schule zur Verfügung gestellt werden.
SONSTIGE GERÄTE
1 Zauberstab
1 Kessel (Zinn, Standard-Größe 2)
1 Satz Glas oder Kristall Phiolen
1 Satz Messingskalen
I had picked out a few things from the letter including:
It was from Stein Zauberei, or as I liked to call it the school Erikk came from.
It was meant to be to me, as it had my name on the top.
This was about some kind of transfer program.
There were two dates, July 20th, and August 15th.
There was some sort of list attached
I threw the letter down, "I thought not getting a Hogwarts Letter was rubbish, but this is even more rubbish! I can't bloody read it!"
Lucius held out his hand and I handed it to him. He nodded as if he understood every word of it. He pulled out his wand, tapped the letter, then handed it back to me.
Now, all of it was in English, and it read:
Dear Miss Vespera Azalea Salazar-Malfoy,
We are please to inform you that you have been selected to attend school in our transfer program.
Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment. Term begins on the 15th of August. We await your owl by no later than the 20th of July.
Yours sincerely,
Alarick Knolle
Headmaster
The second page read:
Stein Zauberei
Three sets of plain black robes
One formal cloak
One pair of protective gloves (dragon hide or similar)
One pair of padded gloves
Three winter cloaks
One wand holster
One pair of steel boots
All shoes must be closed.
All Books will be provided by the school.
OTHER EQUIPMENT
1 wand
1 cauldron (pewter, standard size 2)
1 set glass or crystal phials
1 set of brass scales
I looked at it, "Really? Stein Zauberei seemed like such a boring school, at least for what I read about it. It specializes in cooking and battle. How much fun can that even be? Plus, it's obviously on a different schedule than Hogwarts. How will I keep up with my studies?" I sighed, and sat the letter down. "Obviously, everyone already plans for me going here without my knowledge. As I didn't get a Hogwarts letter, I guess Dumbledore already knows about this."
Lucius looked at me, "You have a friend who went there. Why don't you ask him how his former school is? Perhaps you'll have a new perspective of it. You will owl them back and accept your position there, as it is rude not to. Go run and do it after breakfast, they expect a reply by the end of the day. Understand?"
I nodded, "Yes sir." I sat and ate the rest of my breakfast in silence, then went upstairs. I wrote in english:
Dear Headmaster Alarick Knolle,
I am grateful for the opportunity to attend this school. Thank you for my acceptance, and I look forward to arriving on August 15th.
Sincerely,
Vespera A. Salazar-Malfoy
I then pulled out a piece of paper, and wrote on it:
"We need to talk. You, the boy, and me. My house. Let me know when.
~V."
I then told the owl that was waiting, "Take this to Stein Zauberei, and this to Jaelah."
The owl hooted, then flew away.
I went and got ready for the day, putting on a black skirt and purple shirt. I pulled my hair into a french braid, although it still wasn't very long. I slid on a pair of stockings, to help hide the work of art that were my braces, and a pair of flats, then went downstairs.
"Vespera, dear. We're going to Diagon Alley. Go grab your cloak." I nodded, then went back upstairs. My parents accepted that I couldn't walk without the extra support still, but they couldn't have their name marked as having a girl with weird things on her legs. I grabbed my black cloak with silver sparkles, getting a look from Draco.
"Sparkles." He mumbled, as I stuck my tongue out at him.
"Let's go, children," Lucius said. I took his arm before Draco could and so Draco took Narcissa's arm.
Once we arrived, our parents let us go off alone, assuming we wouldn't get in trouble. "I'm not spending the entire day with you Salazar. Go find your own friends." Draco turned away, and walked off. I rolled my eyes. When I saw him approach Crabbe and Goyle, I knew I had no hopes of spending time with him.
I decided I would go into muggle London as my parents didn't say I couldn't, then again, they weren't totally telling me anything. The past week was the first time I had really even talked to them all summer.
I went to the barrier and walked through, after tapping the bricks. I pulled off my cloak, and shrunk it into my pocket. Muggles wouldn't find braces weird. I then walked outside the building, and entered muggle London. It was a lot how I remembered it: busy streets, people rushing every which way. No one really watching where they were going.
I began walking around, looking at all the muggle things that had come around since I had been in wizarding London. "Vespera?" I heard. I then felt someone's hand on my shoulder, and I jerked around. "It is you! Vespera! Where have you been all this time! It's been years!"
I was wrapped into a hug by a mysterious girl. "Um, do I know you?"
She pulled back, "You don't remember me? I thought we were friends? It's me, Bailey. We only went to school together for years! I thought we were friends, but then when you didn't show up for school. I called your house and your mum answered saying you had went off to some boarding school and that she disowned you for being so stuck up or something. Do you really not remember me?"
I tilted my head, then smiled, "Oh! I'm sorry, Bailey. It has been years and you look different."
"Well, how have you been? Do you want to go grab lunch with me?" I nodded and she continued talking, "So where is your school? Friends? Who do you live with when you're on vacation? Why is your hair short?"
"You know, I'd answer if you'd let me get a few words out of my mouth. I've been quite well. My school is in Scotland, it's quite hidden away though, and very secretive, so I can't quite tell you where it is." She pouted, and I continued, "I have a lot of friends. Let's see.. Jaelah is probably my best friend, then there's Amelia, and Erikk, most of the girls in my year I'm friends with too. Then there's the Weasley twins, and their entire family, except for the youngest brother. Oh, I also found my family. I was adopted you know? It turns out my family was killed, except I have a brother, who is alive and well, and happened to show up at the same school, how's that for luck?"
Bailey grinned at me, "That's great Vespera." We both ordered lunch, and she continued, "What's he look like?"
I pulled out a picture of Sam, Fred, and George. "His name is Samuel. He's the one that isn't a twin."
She nodded, "He looks very attractive."
I shook my head, "Hands off. No dating family members."
"So is that who you live with? His family?"
I once again shook my head, "I was adopted by another family when I went shopping for school supplies actually. They found me and I stayed with them until school started. I became friends with their son and then by Christmas, they adopted me into the Malfoy family." I smiled, "They're a really great family."
"That's wonderful Vespera, but why short hair?"
"Fred did it, one of the twins. We had a bit of a mishap during a lesson and I had to chop it off," the lie just rolled off my tongue. My hair just wasn't growing back very quickly at all.
"Well it looks nice on you. School is so boring without you. No one is there to cause trouble. Plus, you were the one always good at sports. Our school teams had been looking forward to you, but now they're stuck with me, and I'm not that good."
"Sure you are Bailey. Maybe one day our schools will compete against each other and we can see how much better you've gotten, okay?" I knew it was impossible, but we had to keep the appearance going.
She smiled, "Sounds like a plan." The bell rang on the door and she looked over my shoulder. "Ooo Vespera, there is a handsome boy walking in. Haven't seen him before. He's quite cute. Hair that blond is rare, odd that you both have it."
At the sound of blonde I groaned, "Blond hair, gray eyes, really pale, about five and a half feet tall?"
She nodded, "Yeah, great description of him, you see his reflection?" She continued talking, "Oh look, he's headed our way. He must think I'm cute or something!"
"Hello Ladies." I looked up at Draco and sighed.
Bailey glared at me, with a look saying 'He's mine.' "Hello sir, nice weather today isn't it?"
He nodded, "It certainly is, very beautiful." He wasn't paying her a single bit of attention. I knew that he knew she had a quick crush on him, and he was trying to make her jealous.
"Okay, enough with the act!" I pointed to the chair next to me, "Sit!" I demanded.
He sat next to me and looked at Bailey, "So, you're an interesting sort aren't you?"
"Interesting sort? Whatever do you mean?"
"Well obviously, you think you're all that, but you're really nothing." He smirked, "If she," he pointed at me, "can tell me that you have more than me, then maybe you'll be something."
I glared at him, then looked at Bailey, "I'm sorry for his behavior, Bailey."
"Why are you apologizing for his behavior? He's a stranger. Quite frankly I don't know why you bothered to invite him to sit. He's quite rude isn't he?"
I nodded, "He is. He's quite a prat actually."
"Rude? A Prat? Who do you think you are, talking about me like I'm not even here!" Draco raged on us.
"Draco, why are you here anyways?"
He opened his mouth to answer, but Bailey talked first, "Draco? You know this fellow? Oh. I get it, he must be your boyfriend. No wonder he was giving you those looks earlier. Why didn't you tell me you had a boyfriend, Vespera!?"
Draco looked at me, "Oh yes, I'm always going on dates with Vespera. However, she doesn't want to announce our undying love for each other to the world. She thinks I'd find her disgusting if she did," he leaned over to kiss my cheek and I shoved him away.
"I think anyone would be lucky to date Vespera. Not disgusting at all!" She smiled at me, "You two would be adorable together. Why don't you make it official Vespera?"
I jabbed Draco in the side, making him start laughing, "Don't do that Vespera! That hurts!"
"Once you start behaving and stop making up lies, I'll stop poking." I continued poking him.
"Okay! I give." I stopped and smiled at him as he continued talking, "but, you would be adorable for someone to date."
I smiled at Bailey, "I really am sorry for his behavior. Draco, this is Bailey. She's a friend of mine from the school my mum had me going to before."
He nodded his head, "It's a pleasure to meet you Miss Bailey. I hope you have some embarrassing stories of Vespera's?"
She grinned, "I have loads! We practically grew up together."
I stopped her, "He's not my boyfriend so please stop before you say something stupid."
She shook her head, "Stop denying you're in love Vespera. I can see it, the way you two pick on each other. That and he came in here looking for you."
I slammed my head on the table. "Bailey, I would like to introduce you to Draco Malfoy."
She smiled, "Well he has a full name now. It's nice to meet you Draco. I hope you two have a long and happy future together."
Draco began laughing up a storm, and I groaned, "Bailey. Malfoy. He's not my boyfriend. He's my brother. I was adopted into his family. I just told you this!"
She rolled her eyes, "I don't beleive you for a second."
"It's true!" I said, trying not to get annoyed at her. The bell rang again and I heard footsteps coming from behind us.
"Draco, I thought we told you to find - " Narcissa stopped talking when she saw Bailey, "Oh hello dear. I'm really sorry to be interrupting your lunch. Probably just catching up with each other aren't you?" Bailey nodded, "Well, I'm going to have to take these two away now. We really do need to be getting home. I had sent my son in here to find his sister, but it seems he can't follow directions." She smiled at Bailey, "it was a pleasure meeting you. Vespera, Draco, hurry along. Your father is waiting."
With that she went out the door, I shoved Draco out of the booth, "Go Draco! You know Father doesn't like waiting. I'm going to hear enough from him for sneaking off."
Bailey looked at us, "So you really are siblings. Huh." She stood and hugged me again, "It was nice catching up to you, Vespera. I hope to see you again soon!"
I nodded, "Good bye, Bailey." I then dragged Draco away.
When we got to the shop, and back into Wizarding London, we were welcomed by an angry Lucius. "Home. Now." I grabbed his arm and we began the lecture about how I wasn't to go into the filthy muggle London, no matter how much I missed it.
When I arrived back home, there was an owl from Jaelah, who had agreed that Erikk and her would come over the next day. I told my parents and they allowed it.
I realized later, that never once did Bailey ask me what happened to my legs. Maybe leg braces were even less noticeable in the muggle world than I thought.
This being the ending of my fairly interesting day.
I'll try to make you guys not wait so long next time!
