Chapter 8
"I'm hurrying! Holy crap, would you be patient!" Mindy yelled as she threw the bathroom door at Harry and Ron. It was early in the morning, and she was due to met Krystal any moment to leave for Diagon Alley. Krystal kept in touch via telephone. They had become best friends and Harry and Ron just couldn't believe it. Ron told her she was going to become evil like the lot of them, and Hermione smacked him, thus starting a fight. Meanwhile, Mindy and Harry were fighting over everything else like the siblings they were. It reminded Mindy of how she and Orion acted around each other. They would fight to the death, and then make up and start all over again.
None of that mattered today. Everything had to be perfect. She spent extra time doing everything this morning. This was a crucial day. She was, more than likely, about to see the majority of peers. She had been waiting for this too long to screw it up. She had rehearsed everything, what she would wear, what she would say, her personality, everything, until she was going over it even in dreams.
Someone knocked the door. "I told you I'll be right there!" She made one last adjustment to her hair.
"It's me." Mindy quickly opened the door, letting Hermione step in. "The O.W.L. results are here! I can't believe it!"
"How did you do?" Mindy asked, hardly worried.
"I haven't opened them yet!" Hermione exclaimed. "We're waiting for you!"
With that, Mindy followed Hermione briskly down the stairs.
She had finished her O.W.L.s on time to get the results with everyone else. During her testing period, she was locked in the Weasleys' study for hours, only getting up to go to the restroom. She was only allowed quill and ink and her notebook full of notes, which was more than the average student was permitted. Mindy was sure she was going to die of boredom. The test wasn't that hard because she had taken extremely detailed notes on everything she had studied.
By the middle of the week, she was done with Herbology, Charms, Care of Magical Creatures, Divination, and her favorite: Astronomy. She had been halfway through with Defense Against the Dark Arts, which now posed as the easiest. She had saved Potions for the last because it truly looked like the hardest, making the other subjects appear as a mere pastime. By the end of the test, she was feeling very confident with her work. It was all down to this.
Downstairs, Krystal was sitting at the table. Harry and Ron were impatiently waiting nearby with a letter in their hands. Mrs. Weasley handed Mindy and Hermione their own. "Ready?" she asked them. Everyone nodded.
Mindy sighed, looking at the letter. Shakily, she opened the envelope and revealed her Ordinary Wizarding Level scores. Taking a deep breath she read:
Ordinary Wizarding Level Results
Pass Grades Fail Grades
Outstanding (O)Poor (P)
Exceeds Expectations (E)Dreadful (D)
Acceptable (A)Troll (T)
Mindy Lillian Smyth has achieved:
Astronomy O
ArithmancyO
Care of Magical CreaturesO
CharmsE
Defense Against the Dark ArtsO
DivinationE
HerbologyE
History of MagicA
PotionsO
Transfiguration E
She reread it over and over. By the time she thought she had it pretty well memorized, she handed it to Hermione. "My History of Magic sucked." She didn't know if she was proud or not about her grades. She knew she should be. Three months of studying got her excellent grades even if she did use piles of notes, but she couldn't help feeling bad about not getting only Outstandings like Hermione.
"Mindy!" Hermione gasped. "This is great! You did amazing."
"Let me see!" said Krystal. Hermione handed over the letter, beaming. "Harry, Ron!" she called.
"Hey!" Mindy heard Harry say from behind her, and she turned to see a bag of coins flying straight at her, which she caught deftly.
"Thanks," she replied, "for throwing them at my face."
Harry and Ron hesitated before handing Hermione their results.
"Not bad," Hermione replied beaming.
"Nothing compared to yours," Harry muttered.
"Where are yours?" Ron asked. Mindy pointed to Krystal.
"How the hell did you get these results? They're better than mine and I've been taking classes for five years!" Mindy shrugged. Krystal handed the letter to Harry and Ron, whose jaws dropped.
"If you could do this good with so little time, then what is the point of school?" Ron replied.
Harry just stood there with the paper. "This isn't fair. You must have got this from Dad."
"Thanks," Mindy replied. She knew that he father was considered as one of the smartest students Hogwarts ever saw, as was Sirius. Harry handed it back.
"Here's the book list too…" Mindy announced.
Mrs. Weasley came into the room. "Mindy got her O.W.L.s back, mum," Ron informed.
"Oh, Mindy, this is excellent." She took the letter from Mindy's outstretched hand.
"Well, I wouldn't have gotten them if it wasn't for— well— everybody," Mindy added shyly. She hated everyone making a big deal over her like this. She looked at the list. "Okay, bla, bla, bla…normal supplies, stuff like this and books…" Mindy scanned the list a few times, it included Standard Book of Spells, Grade Six and Advanced Potion Making.
"You girls better get a move on," Mrs. Weasley reminded.
"Don't let the other Slytherins pick on you, and if they do… well, just punch them. Don't do anything I wouldn't do. Don't lose your money either," Harry told her as they got ready to go.
"Harry, they'd kill me if I did anything you would do," Mindy commented.
"You know what I mean."
"Anything else?" Mindy rolled her eyes.
"Well, if I think of anything before you go to school, I'll let you know."
"You just do that."
"I will." He followed Ron upstairs.
"I think he has covered everything," Hermione said. "Be careful and at least act like yourself and have fun."
"Mama," Mindy joked as Hermione went after Harry.
"You two be careful," Mrs. Weasley said. "It could be very dangerous. Now, Mindy, do you have your list?"
"Yes."
"Money?"
"Yes."
"Okay, girls, have fun."
"We will," Krystal replied. Mindy followed her over to the fireplace where they each took a handful of Floo powder.
Mindy tripped out of the fireplace much to Krystal's entertainment. "It's my second time!" Mindy glared and looked around the large, crowded room. Stacked along the walls of the pentagonal building were piles and piles of books. Books on tables, books on shelves, and books piled to the high ceiling. Books of all shapes, sizes, and colors twisted around the room in awkward piles, piles that must have involved magic to keep them from falling down to the floor. Parents and children bustled around noisily, trying to get their last bit of school shopping done. The official Hogwarts uniforms were seen here and there, and the badge that proclaimed their owner's House was sewn to their chest.
A mother yelled for a store clerk to help her find a certain book, momentarily deviating her attention from a small child. The child pulled a book from under an angled pile. The books started to fall, and Mindy gasped as they were magically straightened up again.
Krystal extracted from her jeans' pocket the list of sixth year's supplies. "Hey, why are we wearing Muggle clothes?" Mindy asked, noticing that a considerable percentage of students and adults were decked in wizard wears.
"I didn't want you to stand out," she replied offhandedly, walking of in no particular direction. "Help me find this." She pointed at the parchment.
An hour or so must have passed while they were shopping for books. Mindy suddenly became aware of how stubborn both Krystal and herself really were. Both refused any help from the employees in directing them to the right books. They did it all on their own, obviously conscious of the available simplicity of just asking for help.
Once outside of Flourish and Blotts, Mindy glanced over her shoulder at the rustic architecture of the store as they exited. It was nothing far from how she had pictured Diagon Alley's buildings from the books' descriptions. However, it had some drastic differences. The colorful, glittering window displays of spell books, potion ingredients, and cauldrons were lost to view, hidden behind the large posters that the Ministry of Magic had pasted over them. Most of those somber purple posters carried blown-up versions of the security measures that had already been distributed on the Ministry pamphlets that had been sent out over the summer, but others bore moving black and white photographs of Death Eaters known to be on the loose. Bellatrix Lestrange was sneering from the front of the nearest apothecary. A few windows were boarded up, including those of Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor and Eeylops Owl Emporium. On the other hand, a number of stalls had sprung up along the street. The nearest one, which had been erected outside Flourish and Blotts under a striped, stained awning, had a cardboard sign pinned to its front:
Amulets
Effective against Werewolves, Dementors, and Inferi
"Changed a lot since all this has been going on," Krystal muttered. She took out the list once again. "What's next?"
"I don't know. You pick."
"Well, there's robes and supplies in general, and your wand." She started walking down the street. Mindy caught up with her. "Ollivanders is this way."
Witches and Wizards, students, and children rushed and bustled down the street nervously. Everyone had tense and serious faces. Nobody wanted to be away from the safety of their homes. "Everyone looks scared," Mindy pointed out as they turned the corner.
"They should be," Krystal spoke out. "You should be too. Death Eaters are swarming. You would not believe how many are here right now. Everyone is under constant fear these days."
Ollivander's was a quaint little shop. A dusty desk stood at the back of the room. Shelves piled high with wands bordered the walls behind the counter. Mindy was relieved that she and Krystal were the only customers present. They walked up to the desk, and just as Mindy was going to say something about no employees, a quiet, old wizard wrapped in heavy, dark robes appeared behind the shelves.
"Ms. Potter, Ms. Klear." He spoke with the strong, not quivering voice you would expect from a wizard of his appearance. Mindy felt a jolt in the stomach.
"He's in the Order," Krystal whispered.
"I have been expecting you," he continued. He disappeared behind the shelves yet again.
"Phew," Mindy thought aloud. "That scared me."
"I noticed." Krystal smirked. "You better not do that again."
Before she could reply, Mr. Ollivander was back with three different, thin, lengthy boxes of wands. He opened the first box and pulled out a light-wooden wand unlike any Mindy had seen before. "This…" He held it out to her. "…is an eleven inches, aspen wand with a dragon heartstring core."
Mindy took it in her hand for a moment. She nervously flourished it lightly. "Give it more than that," Mr. Ollivander clarified. Mindy uneasily waved it again. A flowerpot was unfortunately in the path of what came out of the wand, and it erupted in flames. "Dear me." Mr. Ollivander took out his own wand and wordlessly ceased the fire.
"Merlin, Mindy!"
"No, no, definitely not the right wand." Mindy gaped at what she had just done. "That is alright, of course; your brother had the same dilemma. Try this one." Mindy took from his hand an awfully shiny, dark wand. "Cherry wood, ten inches, unicorn hair." Quickly— she had not thought about what this wand would do— and waved it at the same ill-fated flowerpot. She turned back to the counter when nothing occurred. Mr. Ollivander motioned her to try again. She didn't know what he expected. A spell? She didn't know. She waved it again and stood there blankly as nothing happened for the second time. She was just ready to turn around again when the flowerpot shifted it position, though barely.
"Congratulations Ms. Potter, you have just performed your first spell— a nonverbal at that."
Mindy smiled as Mr. Ollivander put the other wands away and as she paid. They walked out the door, parcels in hand. Mindy stuck her wand in her pocket.
"How did you do that?" Krystal exclaimed as the door shut behind them and they started back into the main part of the alley. "When I got my wand, nothing happened, really; he just said it was the right one and that the wand chooses the witch."
"I guess he just wanted to see if I could do it." Mindy shrugged.
"Yeah, but nobody in my year can do that! We don't practice nonverbal spells till this year!"
"I guess that it's good I can do it then." Mindy continued to smile as she experienced a sudden burst of confidence.
"Yes, well, anyway, you keep that on you at all time, do you hear me!" Krystal ordered her with mock authority.
"Yes, ma'am."
"Yeah, seriously, that thing is going to save your life. Believe me. You don't even know yet, but you could find out at anytime."
They continued down the road, passing Hogwarts students every now and them. They all looked at Krystal strangely. "Have you seen anybody yet?"
"Not really, but – wait, never mind, see those girls over there?" Krystal pointed over in the direction up ahead where two girls were standing: a short dark haired girl and another blonde one. "That's Pansy and Blair. Oh, and they saw me. Are you ready?"
"Sure." Mindy followed slightly behind Krystal at first, and then remembered that Slytherins were supposed to be overconfident.
"Krystal!" Blair shouted. "You didn't write all summer." She wrapped her arms around Krystal in a big hug.
"I know, I've been busy," Krystal said happily. "Hi, Pansy, how are you?"
"Oh, I'm fine," Pansy replied. She was just a bit ugly from the front. She had a rather squashed face, and it was nothing compared to Blair's delicate features, accentuated by her flowing, blonde hair.
"This is Mindy," Krystal explained, stepping to one side. "Our parents are friends. She's from the United States and is transferring to Hogwarts, into our House."
"Hi." Pansy and Blair smiled.
"Hi," Mindy responded, trying not to sound too shy.
"So, what have you girls been up to?" continued Blair.
"Oh, just shopping; we have only got books and Mindy has the rest of the whole list.
"Do you want to get robes?" Blair asked Mindy. "I need new ones this year."
"Yeah." She glanced at Krystal, who smiled.
"Okay, Krystal and I will get the crap for potions," Pansy decided.
Mindy and Blair handed them the money for their ingredients. Mindy walked on with Blair to Madam Malkin's to get their robes. "Where did you live in the U.S.?"
"Washington." It would've been a lot more impressive if she had said L.A. California.
"Is that D.C.?"
Mindy laughed. "No. Honest mistake. The state, way up in the corner." If only she could have a dollar for every time somebody asked that.
"Oh, so that's like Seattle."
"Yeah. I'm from Spokane."
"That's cool. I've been to New York," Blair commented. "It was only for a day, though."
"I've never been there. Did you like it?"
"It was okay, nothing like I expected, probably was in the wrong part."
This shop was set up with all the styles of wizarding robes, from the very fancy to plain, then of course, the boring, black Hogwarts school robes. "I'll be right with you, ladies," a woman's voice came from the behind the curtain. Mindy and Blair stood there, Mindy wondering how she knew they were ladies as a girl about their age came out from behind the curtain. She was carrying her newly purchased robes.
"Daphne!" Blair exclaimed hugging her. "Thanks for calling," she said smirking. Phone calling? Mindy wondered.
"You're so welcome." Blair smiled. She turned to Mindy. "Daphne, this is Mindy, she's Krystal's friend from the U.S. She's going to school with us." Daphne held out her hand and Mindy took it.
"Hello." She smiled.
"Hi," Mindy replied.
"Where's Draco?" Blair asked, turning attention back to her.
"I don't know," Daphne said. "Where's your brother?"
"With him?" Blair shrugged.
"Must likely," Daphne said, seeing a woman step out from behind a curtain. "I'll catch up to you guys later."
"Shut up!" Mindy growled at Krystal as they stood beside a brick building with Blair and Pansy.
"No, I was serious," Krystal replied, laughing.
"Yeah, whatever, you can just keep thinking that." Mindy's heart was pounding hard. Pansy had just commented that Mindy had a strange resemblance to Harry. It was Mindy's, and Krystal's, turn to play it off like a throw away comment.
"I know, I was joking," Krystal said. Mindy rolled her eyes.
They just had finished their shopping. Mindy was loaded down with tons of parcels, filled with her school supplies, even with Urquhart, a Slytherin of their year offered to carry some. Mindy was having fun playing as the poor helpless snob that would allow guys to carry her things; otherwise she would struggle with it herself. She really wasn't the type to allow the opposite sex to do things for her, like open the doors for her, which had already happened more than once.
"So what classes are you taking, Mindy?" Blair asked.
Mindy thought for a moment. "Astronomy, Charms, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Herbology, History —if I have too— Potions, Transfiguration, and Arithmancy," she rambled off.
"Are you mad?" Krystal spat.
"A little bit, why?" Mindy replied smoothly.
"Funny…I mean… taking all those classes!" Krystal continued.
"Krystal, maybe she's just smarter than us," Urquhart cut in.
"Do you have your scores with you?" Pansy asked. Mindy nodded.
"My point is," Krystal scoffed, "are we all going to have breaks and free time and you're not?"
"Oh well. You're supposed to be studying in that time, anyway," Mindy replied, balancing her boxes with one arm and groping in her pocket for her scores. She held a folded piece of parchment to Pansy, who took it. Her eyes widened when she look at the results; she handed the paper over to Blair and Urquhart.
"How did you get these results? Who could…?" Blair started.
"Granger," Pansy snipped.
"Or Draco," Urquhart commented handing the results back. "Did you see his?"
"No," the three Slytherins echoed. He nodded.
"Don't be stiff, Pansy." Blair smiled. "You just wish you were able to go to America."
"Krystal!" she whispered. "Time!" Krystal focused on her watch.
"Oh, yeah, that's right. Sorry, guys, we have to go before my parents kill us," Krystal apologized. They both hugged everyone good-bye. Urquhart carefully handed Mindy the rest of her stuff, and then they left.
The walked briskly to Flourish and Blotts and then to the large fireplace by which they had arrived that morning. "You don't want the whole Order of the Phoenix after us?" Mindy replied as Krystal started to complain.
Krystal smiled and shook her head as she handed her the Floo powder.
