When Avalon climbed through the Steele fireplace a week and a half later, her parents and Lucy were sitting at the table eating dinner: Beef Wellington, mashed potatoes, and split pea soup. They looked up at the sound of her entrance.

"Avalon? Is that you?" Mrs. Steele asked. She squinted in the direction of the sitting room as a house elf brought her more hot tea. "Where were you?"

"I was—"

"She was staying at Daphne's again, remember?" Lucy interrupted. The look she gave Avalon quickly alerted the younger girl that Lucy hadn't managed to tell their parents of her trip to the Burrow.

Her father looked momentarily perplexed. "How long have you been gone? We didn't realize you had left."

Of course you didn't. "I've been away for a week and a half, Father." She spoke the last word as if it left a bitter taste in her mouth.

Avalon sat down next to her sister and waited for her favorite house elf Tinkle to bring her a plate of food. Mr. and Mrs. Steele exchanged glances over the Beef Wellington. "Did you have a nice stay at Daphne's then?" Mrs. Steele asked after a few moments. "I've been meaning to have tea with Mrs. Greengrass. We haven't done that in a while."

"It was fine. I had fun."

Mr. Steele snapped his fingers at Misty, another house elf, and she brought him another plate with more food piled high. "While we're on the topic of your friends, Avalon, I spoke with Lucius Malfoy yesterday afternoon, and he told me he has no problem with you travelling to Diagon Alley with the Malfoys next Wednesday."

His daughter frowned into her mashed potatoes. "But… I thought you were taking me to Diagon Alley."

"Something came up. You understand, don't you? I'm sure you'll have lots of fun with the Malfoys," Mr. Steele responded. He sighed, and put down his knife and fork. "You're twelve years old now, far too old to throw temper tantrums."

"This is not a tantrum, Father. I'm conversing. But can't Lucy take me at least?" Avalon asked, trying to keep the whine from her voice as she spoke. Her father hated many things, but whining probably topped the long list.

"I wish I could, kiddo," Lucy said with a sad smile. She pressed her knee against Avalon's under the table in a gesture of sympathy, then she took a long swig of pumpkin juice. "I start my Ministry internship on Monday. If I had been working there for months, I'd love to take off to take you, but I think two days in is a bit soon to be asking for vacation days."

Mr. Steele narrowed his eyes and repeated his earlier statement. "You understand, don't you?"

Avalon swallowed thickly, hoping her family members couldn't hear the sound of the tears forming in her eyes as she pushed her soup around the bowl with the spoon. "Of course, Father." She pushed her chair back from the table and got up without asking to be excused—something that she knew to be a pet peeve of her fathers. Holding back the dam blocking her feelings for only a few moments, Avalon ran up to her room. "I always understand."

She slammed her door and manually locked it. The rage kicked in after the tears had fallen, and she began to rip posters down from their spots on the wall, crumpling them forcefully. Her vision was blurred but all she saw was red. After the posters, the canopy of her four-poster bed was the next to go. She tore the fabric from its post and threw it out the window. With a loud yell, Avalon kicked over her desk chair and started knocking framed pictures off her dresser. The younger Avalons in the photographs widened their eyes in fear as more and more objects were smashed on the floor. All her clothes were pulled off the hangers and strewn everywhere, and the dresser drawers were emptied and overturned by the bed. After stripping her sheets and duvet, Avalon collapsed onto the mattress and began to sob, cries wracking her body as she hugged her knees to her chest in the fetal position.

There was a knock at the door.

"I don't want to see anyone," Avalon sniffed.

The door was pushed open anyway, and Avalon saw Tinkle standing in the doorway with a plate of biscuits and a glass of milk. She looked around at the mess of Avalon's room with sad eyes and held out the plate like a peace offering. "Tinkle noticed that Miss didn't finish her dinner," said the house elf meekly. "And so, she has brought Miss a snack. She knows how much Miss loves her chocolate biscuits."

"Thank you Tinkle. You're the greatest," Avalon said. She picked up a treat and bit into it slowly. "Have a biscuit."

"Oh n-no, Miss, Tinkle could never—"

"I wasn't asking."

Unable to refuse a direct order from her mistress, especially since Avalon's feelings of favoritism towards Tinkle were reciprocated, Tinkle tentatively took a biscuit off the platter and began to nibble at it. A smile broke out across her face as she did so. "Miss, you're so kind to Tinkle, and Tinkle could never repay you."

"You know I hate it when you call me 'Miss,'" said Avalon with her mouth full. She cringed because she felt like Theo. "And you don't need to repay me. It's just nice having someone in this bloody house who wants to hang around me."

"Of course, Miss. Tinkle will always hang around you."

Suddenly, Tinkle gasped and cried out, running around the room in fright. She grabbed the bottom of a broken vase and banged it against her head repeatedly, a welt forming under the ceramic weapon and a trickle of blood dripping down between her eyes. "Tinkle is sorry! You told her not to tell call you 'Miss' and Tinkle has disobeyed. Tinkle must be punished!"

"Shh, shh, it's okay, stop hurting yourself. I don't like it when you do that." Avalon gently wrestled the vase from Tinkle, scooped her up into her arms, and rocked the house elf like an infant until she stopped thrashing. She tore off a corner of the bedsheet and pressed it against Tinkle's head wound.

The house elf splayed out her limbs like a rag doll and sighed. "Mi—ahem—Avalon, are you all right, now?"

Avalon placed Tinkle onto the bed gently and bent down to clean up the mess from her fit. "I'll be fine," she said. "You know my father's policy in this house as well as I do: work takes priority, everything else comes later. I'm used to it by now, sometimes I just forget. But I think I'm okay."

"Good," Tinkle said.

"I'll go to Diagon Alley with the Malfoys," Avalon resigned. She looked sad. "I like Draco, and I have nothing against him. I just was looking forward to school shopping with Father, and when he promised to take me, I got my hopes up. I don't know why. He always does this, Tinkle, and I'll never be good enough for him."

"I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault, Tinkle," said Avalon. She went back to cleaning up the trashed room. Everything was broken, but she was fine with that. It would serve her father right to have to buy her new things.

ASLS

"And then after we left Peru, I realized it had been in my pocket the entire time!" Draco laughed heartily as he walked through Diagon Alley with Avalon and his father. "Can you believe that? What a plot twist, am I right?"

"Crazy," Avalon muttered.

At this moment, she hated her father for forcing her to spend the day with the Malfoys. She liked Draco, he was fine—most of the time. But when he was with his father, he was even more obnoxious. Always trying to prove himself to the man. Avalon could understand vying for a father's approval, but she hoped she never looked this pathetic trying for it. She rolled her eyes as Draco began another story. His fifth. Consecutive. Story.

Lucius looked down his nose at the boy. "Draco, please, you seem to be boring our guest," he said.

Draco smiled. "Don't worry father. I know Avalon. She loves my stories. In fact, all my friends do. I have lots of friends, Father. Everyone wants to be my friend because I'm so popular. Tell him Avalon," he said. He widened his eyes where his father couldn't see.

"You definitely are… something," said Avalon. She rubbed her temples to soothe the beginnings of a headache.

"Are you and Draco good friends, my dear?"

Avalon turned to Draco and gave him a quick once over, laughing to herself. "I used to find him annoying, but now I suppose we're 'good' friends. That's a very vague term. 'Good' friends." She stopped in the window of Magical Menagerie and peered inside.

Draco elbowed her sharply in the ribcage.

With a calculated look in the girl's direction, Lucius Malfoy led the two twelve-year-old into Flourish and Blotts. Draco read over their school supplies list as they reached the store. "Apparently, whatever witch they got to replace Quirrell this year is a big Gilderoy Lockhart fan," he mused with an eye roll.

"And what's wrong with being a fan of Gilderoy Lockhart?" Avalon asked. She propped her hands on her hips and glared up at Draco.

"Nothing, I just—"

But Avalon stalked away from him, and joined the crowed fighting outside the doors to the shop for a chance to get in. Per the sign outside, Gilderoy Lockhart was inside, signing copies of his autobiography, Magical Me. "Gilderoy Lockhart is signing copies of Magical Me? If I had known that he'd be here, I would have brought my copy." She looked slightly distressed. "I'll just have to buy a new copy, I suppose. And Daphne and Theo would be furious with me if they found out I didn't get them autographed copies. If only I could get in…" Her voice trailed off as she accidentally elbowed an older witch closer to the door.

"Hold my spot," Avalon called to Draco once they got into the store. While they waited in the Gilderoy Lockhart meet and greet line, she grabbed two sets of Gilderoy's books—it only seemed right for her to bring Draco his schoolbooks since he was holding her place—and The Standard Book of Spells, Book 2 for both her and Draco. Then she added three copies of Magical Me and found her way back to the line. "I'm back."

Draco looked around for his father, whom he had lost in the crowd of excited witches (and some wizards, but marginally less). "You haven't missed very much. We've moved a meter."

Once they made it to the front of the line, Avalon slammed the three copies of Magical Me on the table in front of Gilderoy Lockhart. She was bouncing up and down on her toes, and stared at his perfect hair… perfect teeth…

"And to whom should I address this, little girl?" Lockhart asked.

"You're even more handsome in person," Avalon muttered, almost in a daze. Draco nudged her ribs sharply. "I mean, make it out to Avalon, please. And those two are to Daphne and Theo." She seemed mortified that she had embarrassed herself like that in front of her hero, but Draco snickered next to her.

Lockhart flashed them an award-winning smile and signed the last book with a flourish. "Have a magical day!" He said. "Next!"

After paying for their books, Draco and Avalon made their way towards the door again.

From the Magical Me line, they heard the voice of Gilderoy Lockhart. "It can't be Harry Potter."

"Of course it's Harry Stupid Potter," Draco muttered under his breath. He folded his arms like a pouting toddler.

Lockhart continued addressing the crowd. "Ladies and gentlemen, what an extraordinary moment this is! The perfect moment for me to make a little announcement I've been sitting on for some time. When young Harry here stepped into Flourish and Blotts today, he only wanted to buy my autobiography—which I shall be happy to present him now, free of charge. He had no idea that he would shortly be getting much, much more than my book, Magical Me. He and his schoolmates will in fact, be getting the real magical me. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I have great pleasure and pride in announcing that this September, I will be taking up the post of Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry!"

Avalon screamed along with the rest of the crowd. She grabbed Draco's arm and dug her nails into it, only a little bit jealous that Harry Potter was given the entire works of Gilderoy Lockhart free of charge.

"Come on, Avalon. This is a great time for some taunting," said Draco, and she followed him to the opposite side of the room, where Potter was talking to Ginny Weasley. Avalon felt a pit of uneasiness forming in her stomach. They reached the group. "Bet you loved that, didn't you, Potter? Famous Harry Potter, can't even go into a bookshop without making the front page."

"Leave him alone, he didn't want all that," Ginny said.

Avalon couldn't help but smile at the younger girl's boldness, but Malfoy was far from pleased about the direction the conversation had taken. His preferred method of annoying Potter consisted of him making witty quips and no one stopping him or retaliating, but that rarely happened.

Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger joined them.

"Hello, Avalon," Ron greeted. Then he sneered at Malfoy. Granger and Potter seemed surprised at Ron's civility towards Avalon.

Draco looked at the group around him, disgust etched on his face. "Ooh, Avalon, are you on a first-name basis with Weasley? I'll have your father begin to draw up the marriage contract. Have you been tested yet? For any and all diseases in his filthy blood traitor gene pool?"

"Stuff it, Malfoy."

Avalon bit her lip. She had apologized to Ron for being awful. The right thing to do would be to defend him, or at least tell Draco to tone down the rudeness. But there was a part of her that knew the consequences for showing weakness in front of Draco, especially where blood purity was concerned.

"Weasley?" asked Avalon finally. She held her chin high and stuffed her hands into her pockets so they wouldn't be able to tell she was beginning to shake. "Merlin's beard, no. I would never. I have standards, you know."

Ginny's brows knitted together in a mixture of anger in frustration at the girl she had shared a room with only weeks earlier. Ron chuckled and shook his head at her. He opened his mouth to retort but was interrupted by Draco.

He looked at the books in Ron's hands. "And I suppose your parents will go hungry for a month to pay for all those," he said, laughing as Ron dropped his books into the cauldron and his cheeks flushed the same color as his hair.

As Ron lunged towards Draco, both Mr. Weasley and Mr. Malfoy found their way to the second years, Mr. Weasley ready to break up the beginnings of a brawl and Mr. Malfoy wishing to begin one with the other man.

"Arthur Weasley." He looked at Mr. Weasley as though he was something on his shoe.

"Lucius."

They continued speaking and Avalon's eyes darted around the store. She waved across the room as if she had spotted a dear old friend and then darted away from the Weasleys and the Malfoys. It was becoming harder and harder to think, and her cheeks reddened as she thought about the way she had treated Ron and Ginny moments before. Her apology to Ron most likely meant nothing now. She wasn't sure how she felt about the "blood traitors."

All her life, Mr. Steele hadn't shown much of an interest in Avalon, unless it was to give her another lesson about those with dirty blood and the scum that chose to associate with them. It was all she had known. Somehow, Lucy had managed to escape from his clutches and find solace in Charlie Weasley, but Avalon felt herself torn. Her parents fought to keep their blood pure and were often cold and distant. The Weasleys cared more about who a person was than the blood that flowed through their veins, and they had welcomed her with open arms. Even knowing who her family was.

Who her father was.

Avalon pretended to be interested in a book she had picked up off the shelf at random while thinking. She glanced at the cover. Something Magical is Happening to My Body. She slammed it back onto the shelf with a shudder.

It was all so confusing.

Before spending time with the Weasley family, Avalon had known exactly who she was. She knew what she valued, and she knew who was inferior to her. Biting her fingernail nervously, Avalon glanced back over to the Weasleys and the Malfoys, where it appeared they were still antagonizing one another. When she really thought about it, Avalon knew exactly who was to blame for this.

"I hope you're happy, Lucy."