Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.
Maera was excited. She had never been asked to change her appearance on her own accord. She had never gotten to choose what she got to look like, either. Not to mention, Mrs. Malfoy had run back through the fireplace to grab something for her to wear. She was getting new clothes! She couldn't believe anything that was currently happening.
The dress that Mrs. Malfoy had gifted her was beautiful and she was excited to make herself match it in whatever ways she could dream up. Going into the bathroom that Mr. Snape had pointed out, she quickly removed Dudley's terrible t-shirt and shoes. She was thankful to at least have her own undergarments because Aunt Petunia wasn't cruel enough to expect her to make due without any or with Dudley's old castoffs.
Maera was about to put the dress on when she realised that there was a shower in the bathroom she was currently standing in. Looking at the fully supplied shower, she was excited to wash her hair and make it look nicer - after all, it would only help her in the long run of changing her appearance. With this thought in mind, she quickly made work of taking a shower, though she made sure to use only cold water as she was sure that the warm water wasn't meant to be wasted on her. Drying off, she looked back at the new dress that she had been given. It was a nice light blue color with a little cinching at the faux waist line. All she needed to do to put it on was slip into it, thankfully. Pulling it over her head, she admired the dress now on her while thinking of the features she wanted to change. The first thing that she did was lighten her hair. She felt that a light brown would look nicely with the blue of the dress, though she didn't know for sure. Once she got it to be a honey brown color, she focused on her skin tone. She needed to do something to cover up the sunburn that had diminished more than she thought possible in one day. She allowed her skin to tan into a complimenting shade with her hair. Finally, she looked at her face. Fixing her hair earlier had allowed the scar she often kept covered on her forehead to be visible, so she quickly deciding on making her hair have bangs - she wasn't sure if there was any way for her to change her appearance enough to get rid of the scar so she did what she knew she could do. Focusing harder, she changed her nose and face shape while making her eyes a darker shade of blue than the dress she was currently wearing. Overall, she felt that she had done a good job of changing her appearance, she would just need to focus on keeping everything the same throughout the day.
When she walked back into the room where she had woken up earlier, she stood waiting for the adults to provide any critique on her appearance. Mrs. Malfoy walked around her for a second and then studied her face before nodding and saying, "Great job, Miss Potter, I think this will do quite well. What do you think, Severus?"
Mr. Snape nodded in agreement and turned to Maera, "You have magnificent control over your abilities."
She was about to thank both Mr. Snape and Mrs. Malfoy for their kind words, but before she could Draco spoke up. "I thought that the only metamorphmagi were in the Black family, mother!" He sounded confused, just as confused as his words had now made her. Looking at Mrs. Malfoy, Maera noticed that the woman also seemed to be confused though Maera figured that it was for a different reason than her own confusion. What even was a metamorphmagi?
Given the comfort and safety she felt around these people, Maera didn't think that they were likely to punish her for asking a question, so she gathered the courage that she had used earlier and asked in a steady voice, "What's a metamorphmagi?"
Draco seemed about to reply, but Mr. Snape beat him to it. "A metamorphmagus, the singular of metamorphmagi, is a person that can change their appearance at will - as you yourself can do, Miss Potter." Nodding to show that she understood, she reflected on Draco's words. The only metamorphmagi were in the Black family. Did that mean that she was a part of that family? Would she finally have a family?
Before she could ask for any further information, the adults ushered them towards the fireplace. Draco also tried to say something more, if the look on his face was any indication, but his mother looked at him quickly and he immediately stopped. The closer that they came to the flames, however, the more and more Maera realised she had no idea what they were doing. Sure, she had seen Mr. Snape and the Malfoys use the fire without getting hurt, but how had they done that? Looking up to Mr. Snape, she managed to catch his eyes. She hoped that her fear and confusion was obvious to the man as she wasn't sure that she'd be able to talk loudly enough to get anyone's attention.
It seemed to work, though, because Mr. Snape began to slow the approach and stopped them before they could enter the flames. Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy looked to him apparently not expecting this out of him, but he nodded his head at Maera and the two seemed to understand as well. Draco looked like he was pouting, the confusion from before was still in his eyes but the mask that he would sometimes wear covering any other emotions - aside from the pout that is.
Letting out a huff of air, Maera looked back at Mr. Snape and asked, "Why are we trying to leave through the fireplace? Won't we get hurt?"
Mr. Snape blinked for a second before a brief flash of amusement crossed his face. "No, we won't get hurt. This is one of the many forms of wizarding travel that is available to us. We call this Floo Travel, and all that we have to do is enter the fireplace with a handful of this green powder." He explained while grabbing the bowl she had seen earlier with the neon powder, "Once inside the fireplace, we will clearly say the place that we want to go and then throw the powder down. Then you'll be transported to that place. Since today will be your first time traveling this way, I'll be taking you with me, if that's alright?"
She nodded acceptance to his suggestion and watched as the Malfoys left to somewhere called the Leaky Cauldron via Mr. Snape's fireplace. The man then gripped her shoulder as he directed her into the fireplace, a handful of powder in his other hand. Following the steps he had mentioned earlier, the two were quickly on their way.
Stumbling out of the fireplace, Maera dizzily tried to regain her balance. Thankfully, the Malfoys were waiting for them where they were or she was sure that she would have fallen over without Draco's steadying hand. Looking at the boy in surprise, she was happy to note that he seemed more willing to interact with her now. She took quick stock of herself, noticing that her appearance had remained the same after the trip through the floo.
Mr. Snape put a guiding hand on her shoulder before leading her and the Malfoys through the small pub that they had appeared in. They walked past many people that were paying little to no attention towards them before going through a small door. Maera was confused when they came outside to a brick wall, but figured that something magical was bound to happen. And she was right as in the same moment that that thought went through her mind, Mr. Snape stepped forward and tapped his wand onto the bricks in a specific manner. Suddenly the wall disappeared and a gorgeous sight lay in front of her.
"Welcome to Diagon Alley, Potter." Draco said, an air of smugness coloring his tone. She was sure that he was happy with her awe, though she didn't understand his insistence on calling her by her last name. Rolling her eyes towards the boy, she stuck her tongue out at him before following Mr. Snape into the alley.
If she had ever imagined anything magical, this would have surpassed anything in her wildest dreams. Diagon Alley was gorgeous. The cobblestone street was covered with people looking through the many shop's windows, rushing around with friends, and doing school shopping just as she and the Malfoys were about to. Happiness and magic could be seen everywhere. Maera couldn't stop looking around herself, though she really should have been paying better attention. She tripped slightly on the uneven stone, but a hand shot out and grabbed her before she could fall. Looking over, she noticed that Draco had once again saved her from a humiliating and painful experience. Smiling at him, she kept hold of his hand so as not to lose everyone in the crowd around them. She noticed that he was blushing slightly, though she wasn't exactly sure why.
Mr. Snape expertly navigated the crowd and brought their small group towards a tall and imposing building that was at the end of the alley. It was a bright white building that rose high above the others in the alley. Two guards appeared to be keeping watch at the entrance of what Maera could only assume was a bank. Their group began to walk past the guards, but Maera stopped for a brief second, dropping Draco's hand. The boy turned his head to look at her, but dismissed whatever she was doing as unimportant, or that's what Maera assumed at least. She read a plaque behind one of the guards, noting that the bank did not appreciate thieves. Noticing that the two guards were watching her closely, she nodded to both in understanding of their roles and walked into the bank to find her group. Little did she know, however, but the two guards had watched her walk away before turning to each other in surprise at her acknowledgement.