Galleria ran to catch up with her mother and sisters. They were standing
outside Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions, waiting for her
impatiently. "Who was that boy you were talking to?" Parrish asked, looking
over at the area where Draco still stood.
"What boy?" Galleria asked.
"Him." Parrish said, pointing over to the tables outside next to the ice cream parlor.
"Ohh, that boy. Just some boy who goes to Hogwarts."
"Well I hope I'm in some of his classes. He's cute." Parrish said with a small smile.
Galleria raised an eyebrow. "Oh he is, is he? I hadn't noticed."
"Yes, well, I think we ought to get your robes." Mrs. Summers said. "Come on now," she said, ushering them inside the shop.
"Hogwarts?" A squat, smiling witch dressed in light purple robes asked, emerging from the back.
Mrs. Summers nodded. "Is there any difference in uniforms for the different years? Because, if there is, my daughters will be needing a uniform for the seventh, the fifth, and the fourth years."
Madam Malkin laughed jovially. "No, no. There's no difference at all in the uniforms. All Hogwarts students wear solid black robes."
"Solid black?" Mrs. Summers questioned. "Oh dear."
"Is there some sort of problem?" Madam Malkin queried, looking back and forth between Mrs. Summers and her daughters expectantly.
Galleria looked at her mother and suppressed a sigh. Her mother hated the color black. It depressed her very much, and reminded her of an endless pit of darkness. She had a small qualm about the children or her husband wearing large amounts of it, or large amounts appearing around the house. "It's fine," she spoke up. "It's fine. Mum doesn't much like the color, but she'll have to learn to live with it. Won't you, mum?" Galleria questioned, giving Mrs. Summers a small pleading look.
"Yes, yes I supposed I will." Mrs. Summers said, lifting her head a little bit.
"Good," Madam Malkin said. "Now if you'll come right this way, dears." She ushered them toward several small footstools in the back of the shop.
Galleria stood on the stool closest to the wall and braced herself for an eternity of standing. That's how it was when they went to get their robes for Nouveau Monde, anyhow. Madam LeVelle was a tired old witch with arthritis in both hands. She must have been in her nineties or pretty close to a hundred years old. Madam Malkin looked like she was only in her early fifties.
That could be a good thing. Galleria thought.
She looked over at Parrish, who was standing next to her, and Lanai, who was next to Parrish, and she could tell they were thinking the same thing she was. Grinning, she looked forward and let Madam Malkin finish hemming her robes. "All done, dear." Madam Malkin said, standing and brushing her hands off.
Galleria hopped down from the stool and slipped the robe over her head. A few seconds later, Parrish and Lanai joined her, a second and third witch having hemmed their robes for them. They walked over to their mother who was standing in the front of the shop facing the door. "Mother," Lanai said, coming up behind her. "We're done now."
"Oh, good!" Mrs. Summers exclaimed, turning around quickly. "Let's go then, I've already paid for your robes. What do you say we grab some ice cream and have a sit down?"
"Sounds great!" Parrish exclaimed, grinning. She looked at Galleria, who appeared to not have heard anything, and then to Lanai, who merely shrugged indifferently.
"Alright then, lets go!" Mrs. Summers said, leading the way over to Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor.
**********************
Mayalyn Roman started across the way towards Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor, but stopped rather abruptly when she saw Draco Malfoy standing there staring over at Madam Malkin's shop looking like he had been stunned. Her round brown eyes glanced over in the direction Draco was looking and widened a fraction of a centimeter. Malfoy was staring a girl. Not just any girl either. She appeared to be a muggle. Smiling broadly, she walked over to the girl and her companions. They were apparently heading over towards the ice cream parlor.
"Hi, I'm Mayalyn Roman. You are.?" Mayalyn asked, holding her hand out to the girl.
The girl looked at one of the girls she was with questioningly. The other girl nodded and the girl Draco had been staring at shook her hand. "I'm Galleria Summers. This is my sister Parrish," she pointed towards a young girl around the same height as Galleria. She had black hair that fell in soft waves about her shoulders, and warm blue eyes that seemed to dance in the afternoon sun. "This is my sister Lanai." This time she pointed to a tall girl on her right. This girl also had the characteristic black hair of the bunch and it fell in inky folds over her stiffly straight back. She also had blue eyes, but they held none of the warmth and merriment of her sister's eyes. Hers were cold, icy, remote. "And this is my mum."
The dark haired lady behind the girls nodded to her. "How do you do?"
Mayalyn smiled politely at Mrs. Summers. "So," she said, turning back to Galleria. "Are you in Gryffindor? I haven't seen you around before. What year are you in?"
Galleria stared at her with a confused look in her almond shaped violet eyes. "Gryffindor?"
"Ohh.you must be in one of the other houses then." Mayalyn said, not realizing that Galleria was completely new to Hogwarts. "What house are you in?"
"House?" Again, the same confused violet eyes stared at her. She turned to Parrish. "What houses is she talking about?"
Parrish shrugged and turned her pretty blue eyes to Mayalyn. "We're new here."
"Exchange students?"
Parrish nodded. "Yeah."
"Where from?" Mayalyn questioned, interestedly.
"America," Galleria answered. "See, Mum grew up here and she was really missing it, so," she shrugged. "We moved. So, what's all this about Gryffindor and different houses?"
Mayalyn raised her eyebrow a little before she realized what Galleria was talking about. "Oh, that!" She waved her hand in front of her. "That's nothing. I'm sure Professor Dumbledore--he's the Headmaster--or your Head of House will explain it all to you when you get there."
Parrish and Galleria exchanged half anxious, half skeptical looks. Mayalyn couldn't help but notice that Lanai wasn't included in any of their exchanges. "Well, what if we get put into separate houses? We will still see each other, right?"
Mayalyn nodded. "Of course. There's always breakfast, dinner and any other time when we aren't in class."
"Let me guess, you're in Gryffindor right?" Galleria asked.
"Yeah. I'm in the fifth year." Far off in the distance, someone called her name. She turned around and looked. "Well, I've got to go. Dad is calling me. It was nice talking to you. Hey, maybe you'll even be in Gryffindor!"
Galleria smiled. "Nice meeting you."
********************
Marci Kindle sat back in the blue high backed chair in her room and sighed. For the thousandth time that week, her mother was giving her, the 'how to behave at school because we don't want to soil the family name' lecture. She started hearing this lecture around this time every year. The Kindles are the richest and oldest family of pure blood witches and wizards around. They weren't however, the most influential. The Malfoy's were. The Kindles were the second most influential. But, Marci had to behave accordingly all the same. She rolled her eyes. Ahh, the lifestyles of the rich and famous.
"Marci Alexandra Kindle, sit up straight and pay attention!"
Her mother's ear splitting voice cut through her self-pity party. "Sorry," she mumbled, pushing herself up in her seat.
"Yes, well, I'm done with our little talk now. You can go back to whatever it is that you do during the day." Her mother said snootily, and walked out of the room.
After the door slammed shut, she stood up and walked out onto her personal balcony. She leaned up against the rail and looked out at the land the Kindle family mansion sat upon. It was beautiful countryside, but she hated it. She hated her house. She hated her family and anything that had to do with them and the kind of stuff they were into.
Her mother and father had served Lord Voldemort during his powerful and terror-filled regime. When Voldemort fell from power, her parents had shamelessly turned in family members and long-time friends so they wouldn't be thrown in Azkaban with the Dementors. In her opinion her family was in with the ranks of the Dementors. Soulless. One of these days, she was going to leave her family and never look back.
"I can't wait until that day." Sighing, she went into the house and began to pack her trunk for school.
"What boy?" Galleria asked.
"Him." Parrish said, pointing over to the tables outside next to the ice cream parlor.
"Ohh, that boy. Just some boy who goes to Hogwarts."
"Well I hope I'm in some of his classes. He's cute." Parrish said with a small smile.
Galleria raised an eyebrow. "Oh he is, is he? I hadn't noticed."
"Yes, well, I think we ought to get your robes." Mrs. Summers said. "Come on now," she said, ushering them inside the shop.
"Hogwarts?" A squat, smiling witch dressed in light purple robes asked, emerging from the back.
Mrs. Summers nodded. "Is there any difference in uniforms for the different years? Because, if there is, my daughters will be needing a uniform for the seventh, the fifth, and the fourth years."
Madam Malkin laughed jovially. "No, no. There's no difference at all in the uniforms. All Hogwarts students wear solid black robes."
"Solid black?" Mrs. Summers questioned. "Oh dear."
"Is there some sort of problem?" Madam Malkin queried, looking back and forth between Mrs. Summers and her daughters expectantly.
Galleria looked at her mother and suppressed a sigh. Her mother hated the color black. It depressed her very much, and reminded her of an endless pit of darkness. She had a small qualm about the children or her husband wearing large amounts of it, or large amounts appearing around the house. "It's fine," she spoke up. "It's fine. Mum doesn't much like the color, but she'll have to learn to live with it. Won't you, mum?" Galleria questioned, giving Mrs. Summers a small pleading look.
"Yes, yes I supposed I will." Mrs. Summers said, lifting her head a little bit.
"Good," Madam Malkin said. "Now if you'll come right this way, dears." She ushered them toward several small footstools in the back of the shop.
Galleria stood on the stool closest to the wall and braced herself for an eternity of standing. That's how it was when they went to get their robes for Nouveau Monde, anyhow. Madam LeVelle was a tired old witch with arthritis in both hands. She must have been in her nineties or pretty close to a hundred years old. Madam Malkin looked like she was only in her early fifties.
That could be a good thing. Galleria thought.
She looked over at Parrish, who was standing next to her, and Lanai, who was next to Parrish, and she could tell they were thinking the same thing she was. Grinning, she looked forward and let Madam Malkin finish hemming her robes. "All done, dear." Madam Malkin said, standing and brushing her hands off.
Galleria hopped down from the stool and slipped the robe over her head. A few seconds later, Parrish and Lanai joined her, a second and third witch having hemmed their robes for them. They walked over to their mother who was standing in the front of the shop facing the door. "Mother," Lanai said, coming up behind her. "We're done now."
"Oh, good!" Mrs. Summers exclaimed, turning around quickly. "Let's go then, I've already paid for your robes. What do you say we grab some ice cream and have a sit down?"
"Sounds great!" Parrish exclaimed, grinning. She looked at Galleria, who appeared to not have heard anything, and then to Lanai, who merely shrugged indifferently.
"Alright then, lets go!" Mrs. Summers said, leading the way over to Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor.
**********************
Mayalyn Roman started across the way towards Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor, but stopped rather abruptly when she saw Draco Malfoy standing there staring over at Madam Malkin's shop looking like he had been stunned. Her round brown eyes glanced over in the direction Draco was looking and widened a fraction of a centimeter. Malfoy was staring a girl. Not just any girl either. She appeared to be a muggle. Smiling broadly, she walked over to the girl and her companions. They were apparently heading over towards the ice cream parlor.
"Hi, I'm Mayalyn Roman. You are.?" Mayalyn asked, holding her hand out to the girl.
The girl looked at one of the girls she was with questioningly. The other girl nodded and the girl Draco had been staring at shook her hand. "I'm Galleria Summers. This is my sister Parrish," she pointed towards a young girl around the same height as Galleria. She had black hair that fell in soft waves about her shoulders, and warm blue eyes that seemed to dance in the afternoon sun. "This is my sister Lanai." This time she pointed to a tall girl on her right. This girl also had the characteristic black hair of the bunch and it fell in inky folds over her stiffly straight back. She also had blue eyes, but they held none of the warmth and merriment of her sister's eyes. Hers were cold, icy, remote. "And this is my mum."
The dark haired lady behind the girls nodded to her. "How do you do?"
Mayalyn smiled politely at Mrs. Summers. "So," she said, turning back to Galleria. "Are you in Gryffindor? I haven't seen you around before. What year are you in?"
Galleria stared at her with a confused look in her almond shaped violet eyes. "Gryffindor?"
"Ohh.you must be in one of the other houses then." Mayalyn said, not realizing that Galleria was completely new to Hogwarts. "What house are you in?"
"House?" Again, the same confused violet eyes stared at her. She turned to Parrish. "What houses is she talking about?"
Parrish shrugged and turned her pretty blue eyes to Mayalyn. "We're new here."
"Exchange students?"
Parrish nodded. "Yeah."
"Where from?" Mayalyn questioned, interestedly.
"America," Galleria answered. "See, Mum grew up here and she was really missing it, so," she shrugged. "We moved. So, what's all this about Gryffindor and different houses?"
Mayalyn raised her eyebrow a little before she realized what Galleria was talking about. "Oh, that!" She waved her hand in front of her. "That's nothing. I'm sure Professor Dumbledore--he's the Headmaster--or your Head of House will explain it all to you when you get there."
Parrish and Galleria exchanged half anxious, half skeptical looks. Mayalyn couldn't help but notice that Lanai wasn't included in any of their exchanges. "Well, what if we get put into separate houses? We will still see each other, right?"
Mayalyn nodded. "Of course. There's always breakfast, dinner and any other time when we aren't in class."
"Let me guess, you're in Gryffindor right?" Galleria asked.
"Yeah. I'm in the fifth year." Far off in the distance, someone called her name. She turned around and looked. "Well, I've got to go. Dad is calling me. It was nice talking to you. Hey, maybe you'll even be in Gryffindor!"
Galleria smiled. "Nice meeting you."
********************
Marci Kindle sat back in the blue high backed chair in her room and sighed. For the thousandth time that week, her mother was giving her, the 'how to behave at school because we don't want to soil the family name' lecture. She started hearing this lecture around this time every year. The Kindles are the richest and oldest family of pure blood witches and wizards around. They weren't however, the most influential. The Malfoy's were. The Kindles were the second most influential. But, Marci had to behave accordingly all the same. She rolled her eyes. Ahh, the lifestyles of the rich and famous.
"Marci Alexandra Kindle, sit up straight and pay attention!"
Her mother's ear splitting voice cut through her self-pity party. "Sorry," she mumbled, pushing herself up in her seat.
"Yes, well, I'm done with our little talk now. You can go back to whatever it is that you do during the day." Her mother said snootily, and walked out of the room.
After the door slammed shut, she stood up and walked out onto her personal balcony. She leaned up against the rail and looked out at the land the Kindle family mansion sat upon. It was beautiful countryside, but she hated it. She hated her house. She hated her family and anything that had to do with them and the kind of stuff they were into.
Her mother and father had served Lord Voldemort during his powerful and terror-filled regime. When Voldemort fell from power, her parents had shamelessly turned in family members and long-time friends so they wouldn't be thrown in Azkaban with the Dementors. In her opinion her family was in with the ranks of the Dementors. Soulless. One of these days, she was going to leave her family and never look back.
"I can't wait until that day." Sighing, she went into the house and began to pack her trunk for school.