SO. Guys. Hi. I'll say sorry for being so slow but you probably don't wanna hear it. Before we start I have an IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT.
You remember MayFairy? You'd better, because I mention her like, every chapter. She was the original author of this story, before I adopted it. But GUESS WHAT? She's back on board this ship and we are now co-writing the story together cos we realised how well we work together. And considering we jointly discuss ideas for this story before I write it anyway, it makes perfect sense. So from here on, all chapters have been co-written by both MayFairy and myself.
THANK YOU GUYS FOR ALL YOUR SUPPORT AND LOVE! HAVE SOME CHOCOLATE FROGS! (which are amazing by the way. I bought a small truckload of them when I went to the Harry Potter Studio Tour at Warner Bros.) Don't forget to review!
Chapter 11
The days sped by and before they knew it, the New Year's celebrations were upon them. Sam had enjoyed her stay with Lily's extended family more than she had expected to; there was something about them that was warm and inviting, and she had been treated as if she was actually part of the extensive Weasley Clan.
She had interacted with each of the members on some level or another, and aside from the children she spent her time with at Hogwarts, Sam had found herself talking to MJ rather a lot more than she had expected. The two, despite being almost polar opposites, had managed to maintain the cordial relations they had established that morning in the summerhouse. They didn't talk on a regular basis but were happy to exchange pleasantries and occasionally would have longer conversations. MJ, being in her fourth year at Hogwarts, was happy to relay her experiences of lessons to Sam. She was an incredibly chatty girl once she got going, and Sam found it hard to get here head round the fact that she was the same person who greeted her with such animosity only a few weeks ago.
Lucy Weasley, on the other hand, was exceptionally meek and quiet, only really speaking when she was spoken to. She was your stereotypical Hufflepuff; mild mannered and not easily flustered. She was always ready with a warm smile, even if she didn't speak much. Sam couldn't help but think about the fact that Lucy would have been literally eaten alive in the childrens' home where she had grown up. Still, she was nice enough.
On the morning of New Years Eve, at breakfast, Sam received a quick owl from Carina, just to double-check that she was still coming to the sleepover, and to say how excited she was about it. As Sam read over the note, smirking at her friend's enthusiasm, Louis Weasley, who had reached across her to get some butter for his toast, glanced over the note and raised an eyebrow.
"You're going to Malfoy Manor tonight?" he said curiously, and Sam nodded.
"How did you not know about that, Lou?" MJ said with a roll of her eyes. "Everyone knew about it, it's all Lily's been talking about all week! "
"Have not!" Lily protested, and everyone else at the table scoffed disbelievingly before laughing. Louis shook his head.
"How did I miss out on this critical piece of knowledge?" He said, almost sarcastically. He looked back over to Sam. "I'll be at the ball tonight," he said casually.
That made everyone's ears perk up. "Wait, you're going to the Manor too?" MJ said with a furrowed brow.
"How did you not know about it, MJ? Everyone knew about it, it's all Lily's been talking about all week…" he said in a rather canny mimic of his cousin, while rolling his eyes good-naturedly.
"Oh, touché," MJ said flippantly. "Now, spill. How did you end up with an invite to the Ball? And how on earth did you manage to keep it a secret?"
Louis shrugged. "It was a last minute thing. I only got the invite yesterday; I am going to be Isabella's chaperone."
There was an outburst of exclamations and gasps.
"Isabella? As in Isabella Peake?" Albus said with an incredulous laugh. "How in the name of Dumbledore did that happen?"
Every eye was fixed on Louis, and Sam was somewhat grateful that the attention had somewhat been shifted from her. She was tired of talking incessantly about the fact that she had been invited to a sleepover with Carina Malfoy and her friends.
Louis explained to the group, who were now listening with fervent interest, how Isabella Peake had been let down by her partner to the ball at the last minute, and he was her alternative.
"So you're going as her date?" MJ asked teasingly, and the group snickered.
"As if, MJ… in case you hadn't remembered, I'm taken," Louis said in a bored tone, although Sam glimpsed the brief sparkle in his eyes. Despite remembering that Lily had described Louis as "a bit of a prat" in their first week at Hogwarts, here, surrounded by family, he seemed in no way to be flustered by the constant teasing. He had always come across so unruffled and happy. She supposed it was because he was used to it, and he knew his family didn't mean it. The Weasleys very rarely had actual arguments, mostly just teasing and generally taking the mickey.
"It's probably another way for the Peakes to try and integrate themselves," Louis was explaining. "Mixing with the 'blood traitors', it will boost their status no end."
A few of the children around the table nodded knowingly but Sam frowned. "What do you mean?" she asked curiously. She couldn't wait for the day when she wouldn't have to keep asking for clarification on these things, but for now, if she was going to get anywhere, she would have to ask the questions.
Louis turned to Sam and began to explain, clearing his throat. Since the so-called "scandal" was over, James and MJ returned to their breakfasts, although Albus and Lily continued to intently listen to the conversation, despite already knowing the background of the Peake family.
"The Peake family is a well-known family with a famously pureblood ancestry, much like the Malfoys," Louis began. " In fact, they are second only to the Malfoys in terms of reputation and wealth. When Voldemort came into power the first time, they were very proud to flaunt their alliance to him, funding many of his attacks and also, we suspect, working on the inside of the Ministry to help him infiltrate there. However, when Uncle Harry defeated Voldemort the first time, like most of the Death Eaters, the Peakes disappeared into the woodwork, nowhere to be seen, keeping quiet."
"And when Voldemort came back?" Sam prompted. She knew how the story went; they had studied it in History of Magic back in October. "Did they re-join the Death Eaters?"
Louis hummed. "Officially, no they didn't; but anyone directly involved in trying to stop the Death Eaters would have seen that there was definitely Peake involvement. Money transfers, a lot of secret owls…things like that. I wouldn't be surprised if the Peake Mansion was used as a base for a little while before moving to the Malfoys."
"Did they get punished?"
Smiling ruefully, Louis shook his head. "There was no conclusive evidence, really. Besides, there were people of greater importance to try, and the courts were overflowing," he explained. "But it was all a long time ago, the families have tried to rebuild themselves and move on. The Malfoys, for example, have completely turned it around; they play a huge role in the wizarding community now, with Mr Malfoy a notable Healer, Mrs Malfoy is a very respectable woman in society, and the kids are growing up to be pretty decent too."
Sam nodded as she processed this information. There was a lot of politics in the wizarding society that she thought was unnecessarily complicated. Other people could bother with it if they wanted, assessing people based on their families' history, but Sam preferred to judge people on face value. Carina Malfoy was nice to her, so Sam was nice back. It was much simpler that way.
"Have you finished your food yet, Sam?" Lily poked her friend in the arm, causing Sam to flick her in the skull in response.
"Yes," she sighed in a long-suffering fashion.
"Then come on," Lily pulled the blonde to her feet. "We have to go get you ready."
With a roll of her eyes, Sam allowed herself to be dragged from the kitchen, leaving Albus at the table, sniggering at her expense.
As Sam packed her small overnight bag she overheard a familiar voice in the hallway drifting up the stairs.
"Hello there, Mrs Potter," the familiar voice said, and Sam scrunched her brow trying to place it. She left her room and peered over the banister. She spied the chestnut-brown hair and realised that Professor Gilbert, the Flying Instructor was at the Burrow. As for why, she had no idea.
"I was wondering if Lily was around?" the professor asked politely. Ginny looked upstairs and Sam quickly pulled her head back.
"She should be upstairs," Ginny replied. "I'll go and fetch her for you. She's not in trouble, is she?" she added with a frown.
"No, no, no, not at all," Gilbert smiled. "Quite the opposite, in fact."
Twenty minutes later, Lily burst into the little bedroom where Sam was sat on her bed re-reading her letter from Annie.
"Sam! Guess what?" she said, a tad breathlessly.
'What?"
"Daisy Finnigan wants me to try out for the team after Christmas!" she squealed.
Sam smiled at Lily's beaming face and then frowned. "Wait…but tryouts already happened," she said. "The team's full."
Lily's face dropped a bit. "Yeah, it's bad news, I guess…you know Sophia Kent? She's had to resign from the team. Injury or something; Gilbert was a bit vague. And since Pauline, the sub Chaser is away til March…well, Daisy said I could try out for the place. I might not get it, but I can try!"
The grin was well and truly back on Lily's face as she swept Sam into a huge hug. The blonde girl chuckled.
"Well, we'll be rooting for you, Lils," she said with a small smile. It was great to have a friend like Lily.
The fireplace in the entrance hall of Malfoy Manor flared into life with emerald flames as a tall figure appeared and stepped out, only to be followed by a smaller person who was coughing from the smoke produced.
"I still don't know if I like Floo powder…" Sam spluttered as her throat cleared. She shook ash out of her hair and looked up at Louis expectantly. "So what now?"
"I imagine they'll know we're here," Louis said, and sure enough, at the top of a large, ornate staircase, Carina emerged with a large smile on her face.
"Hey, Sam, Louis!" She called out before racing down the stairs. "Look, just leave your stuff there for now, we'll come back for it. Sam, I thought you could just quickly meet my family first, and then we can go upstairs. For adults, they're not so bad. And Louis, Isabella should be down in a minute."
She gave the older boy a slight nod, which was returned with good grace. Carina turned back to Sam and smiled broadly.
After a moment's hesitation, Sam dropped her small bag of overnight gear and allowed Carina to lead her through to a living room full of chatting parents. The number of adults made Sam ever so slightly uncomfortable, as she wasn't used to being surrounded by so many older people at once. A younger part of her found it threatening but she tried to block it out, because obviously they weren't people trying to manipulate her life like most adults she had dealt with in the past had, they were merely people kind enough to welcome her into their home for the night.
"Dad, this is Sam, Sam McCarty," Carina said as they came into the room, and an attractive older man with sleeked blonde hair looked up with interest.
"An 'excuse me, Dad' wouldn't go amiss, Carina," Her father said wryly, and the Slytherin girl flushed at having forgotten her usually near impeccable manners.
"Of course, sorry Dad."
"So you're the Gryffindor Carina's mentioned to me a couple of times, are you?" The man regarded Sam with cordial interest, his grey eyes skimming over her, taking in her usual t-shirt and jeans (or as he probably saw them, Muggle clothes), and short hair. "Can't say I was friends with many Gryffindors while I was at school…course, it was a different time, and I was a total prick back then-"
The dark-haired woman next to him who was presumably his wife shushed him. "Language in front of guests, Draco!" Draco rolled his eyes and Sam found herself chuckling a little, somehow taking to the man just a little, as she tended to do with most who used language others deemed foul. Derogatory words just tended to make her more comfortable in situations such as the current one, though she was never quite sure why.
"Really, erm, Mrs Malfoy, I've heard a lot worse, most of them directed at me, so don't worry about it," The young girl said quickly, and Carina's mother raised an eyebrow before nodding slowly.
"Well, thank you, Sam, but it's often the principle of the thing. My husband should know better."
Sam frowned a little, unsure of what the statement was supposed to mean, but luckily Carina chose that moment to smile at her family and excuse them from the room.
"Sorry about my dad, he likes to swear a lot but Mum tells him off for it…Scorpius follows his lead though, he swears like a sailor!" Carina said as they grabbed Sam's bags and made for the upstairs bedrooms. The Gryffindor couldn't help but let her eyes take in the grandeur of the house, as it was like nothing she had ever seen before. Sure, the Potter's place but nice, but this was a real mansion.
Carina brought Sam through an open door which lead into the most beautiful bedroom Sam had ever seen. It was an old classic design that made it seem as though it belonged in a Jane Austen movie, but with the addition of Quidditch and musician posters over the wooden walls. Despite it being a little girly for Sam's tastes, it was impressive all the same.
"Sam, this is Bella and Stephanie Greengrass, my cousins, and Francesa Fletcher, and Elise Blackwater. You know Tristan already, of course," Carina introduced everyone, and upon hearing the last name, Sam's eyes flicked to the corner of the room where Tristan was sitting with his nose in a book. After acknowledging her with a slight nod, his eyes flicked back down to the pages in front of him. It wasn't as if she cared, his constant aloof manner irritated her anyway.
Sam dumped her bag where Carina directed before awkwardly sitting on it. A sleepover had sounded so simple, but all these strangers…she wasn't intimidated, not in the least, just unsure of what to say.
"So…this might sound like a weird question, but where's the Slytherin common room?" She asked, when unable to think of anything else, and frowned a little when all the girls laughed. Even Tristan was smirking a little.
"In the dungeons," One of the twins said with a smile, "When you lot just get a tower, which is a lot less mysterious."
"At least we have windows," Sam retorted, and Carina laughed. "You lot are all too pale for your own good."
"Even me?" Elise inquired dryly, and it only took Sam one glance at the girl's dark skin and hair to chuckle a bit.
"I think you're the exception."
After that the conversation seemed to flow a bit easier, and it was nice to find that in general all the Slytherin girls were nice enough, with decent senses of humour too. Stephanie seemed a little haughty initially, but after half an hour or so had warmed up considerably.
It wasn't until the conversation moved onto the latest scandal between some Slytherins several years above came up in conversation that Sam's interest began to wane. She managed to slip away to sit next to Tristan without the others noticing, and he glanced up for a moment before warily going back to reading.
Following her observing the title of the book, she smiled a bit. "Swiss Family Robinson, huh? I'd have thought that Muggle books wouldn't really be a Slytherin thing."
"Contrary to what you might think, we're not all a bunch of Muggle-hating snobs…now who's being assuming?" Tristan said, almost irritably, and Sam backpedaled partially.
"Sorry. I'm not criticising, you know, I've heard that book is a lot like Robinson Crusoe. You should read it when you're done with this one, it's good," She tried to amend, and after a moment of watching her unfathomably, he nodded and a small smile graced his face.
"Okay, thanks," He said slowly. "You don't come across as a book person."
"I'm not…it's the only book I've ever read apart from textbooks," Sam told him flatly in a way that made him chuckle a bit.
"Well, that makes a lot more sense," He noted reasonably. After a moment, Sam asked the question she had been meaning to ask since she had entered the room.
"So, why are you here?" Tristan lifted an eyebrow, and she immediately added, "You're the only guy here, it seems kinda weird."
Tristan made a face. "Trust me, I don't want to be here. Spending this evening with a bunch of girls isn't my idea of fun. But since our family is so close to the Malfoys, here I am."
Sam nodded slowly. "Right."
At that moment, the door slammed open to reveal Scorpius Malfoy standing in the hallway, and he immediately beckoned to the one male in the room. "Come on, Peake, come spend some time away from all the girls."
Tristan immediately shut his book and got up, shooting Scorpius a hesitant grin. "I thought you'd never ask." He gave an awkward wave to the girls.
"I'd be sad, but it's not as if you've said much anyway," Carina joked, and he rolled his eyes before following Scorpius out.
Carina sprawled out elegantly over her bed. "So, Sam…you grew up with Muggles, right?"
"Yep," Sam said as she moved to sit back in the circle of girls, "You guys have it a lot better."
"Well duh," Stephanie commented with a roll of her green eyes, earning her raised eyebrows from Carina and Sam almost simultaneously.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Sam asked, the tiniest hint of anger crawling into her tone.
Stephanie shifted a little on her mattress. "Don't go giving me dirty looks, you're the one who said it."
"I said that you lot have better lives, I meant that magic makes it better for all of you…I never said that you were better people," The tone of Sam's voice was low as she shot the other girl a glare, "Until you respect Muggles as well, it doesn't make any difference how many Muggle-borns you accept."
Bella chose that moment to interrupt. "I think both of you need to realise something quite simple. Muggles aren't beneath us, and a lot of us know it. But it's a fact that muggles wish for magical solutions to their problems and then refuse to believe in magic."
Sam watched her for a moment, deciding, before giving a small nod. "Yeah, but not every muggle wants a magical solution. Before I found out about magic, I didn't expect anyone other than myself to solve my problems, and there are a lot of others who are the same, especially in the circles I was in."
"I think Sam, that in either world, you're rather unique," Carina said with a light laugh, "Not everyone is as tough as you."
"I'm realising that, aren't I?" Sam rolled her eyes playfully, and any tension in the room lifted. "But I'm pretty sure that you wanted to know what it's like with Muggles, so ask away."
"Muggles have those telephone things, don't they?" Elise interjected eagerly, and Sam immediately laughed at her expression. "They sound so strange…how can you talk to someone all the way across the world without magic? Don't they sound like they're right next to you?"
"I…suppose, I'd never really thought about it that much," Sam frowned a little before shrugging. "Say what you want about Muggles, but they have come up with a lot of good replacements for magic."
"Is there anything you miss? From the Muggle world, I mean," Carina asked curiously, and Sam thought about it for a moment.
"Yeah, I miss the music players," She answered, "They could play music wherever you went…I could never really afford one, but the woman who kept an eye on us sometimes let me borrow hers, if I didn't cause too much trouble."
"How could they play music wherever you went?"
"You just pushed a button and it would start playing, it was great because you could just put both headphones in and turn up the volume until you'd blocked out the whole world," Sam recalled, "It was nice."
"Sounds wicked," Francesca said appreciatively, and the others nodded, even Stephanie.
Sam wriggled in her position to get a little more comfortable. Oddly perhaps, she felt very at ease with these girls. Not as comfortable as she had become with her Gryffindor dorm-mates but she had no reason to dislike these girls. Except maybe Stephanie, but there was always one.
The girls sat and chatted for a while longer, occasionally stopping to see what they could hear from the ballroom downstairs. One by one, they fell asleep, until Carina and Sam were the only two awake.
"I'm glad you came, Sam," Carina said quietly. "It's been really good having you here."
"Thanks for inviting me," Sam replied with a small smile.
"And people told me Gryffindors and Slytherins couldn't be friends…"
"They were talking out of their armpit," Sam said with a roll of her eyes. "Your house shouldn't make a difference."
"I know," the Malfoy girl replied. "I just wish everyone saw that. Times have changed. There's no need to hate each other."
Sam nodded. Carina Malfoy was a decent girl, despite what she had heard about the Malfoy family from the Potters and Weasleys. Maybe Lily would be able to see her viewpoint on this one day.