AN: Holy Hell it's been quite a while. I'm very sorry for the delay, hopefully it was well worth the wait and sorry if it's not. Guess what…it's almost over! Don't get upset if you like Faith, there are more stories brewing in my wacky head. In this chapter Faith meets Hermione, Ron, and Harry. I figured it was time.
Disclaimer: nothing has changed; I still have no claim to anything but Faith and the plot.
Chapter 8: Nails in the Coffin
Narcissa and Faith were in Faith's dorm that she would soon be sharing with the other Gryffindor girls. Narcissa was at the school almost every day. She had been living with an old friend of hers from school who was near by and she wanted to make sure Faith was all right, or at least as well as she could be under the circumstances.
Neither of them had heard from Draco or Lucius since the sorting. Narcissa had no idea what was going on in her son's head and didn't care what was in her husband's. Faith wavered between extreme sadness, even more extreme anger and indifference. Today was an indifferent day. Before, Faith had been angrier than Narcissa could ever remember her being.
Faith had called her father every vile name she could think of. Draco on the other hand, Faith couldn't think of a term nasty enough for her brother. Narcissa had tried to calm Faith down and try to get her to see things from Draco's point of view. Faith had just stuttered for a few moments before managing to shout "Bullocks to him!" Narcissa had even discussed Faith with Minerva McGonagall to see if she could get any outside perspective.
"I just don't know how to make Faith understand that it isn't all Draco's fault" she had sighed.
Minerva had looked at her with a knowing eye over a cup of tea. "Cissa dear," she had said, "I think that it may be a rather large waste of your time and hers."
"How do you mean" Narcissa asked with a puzzled look, not sure whether or not she should be offended.
"From what I've gathered, Faith is a lot like you, is she not?"
"That she is, but I don't think I see your point."
Minerva had just smiled at her. "You don't like people telling you how you should or shouldn't feel, correct?"
"Most definitely not Minerva."
"And what happens when someone tries to control you life?"
Narcissa scoffed at the very idea. That was one of the main reasons she was terminating her marriage. "I get furious, agitated, rash and pull away to…" she made the connection and sighed. "Ahh, very clever Minerva."
Minerva gave the once confident witch a sympathetic glance. "We're quick to hate the things in others which we hate in ourselves."
A single tear had run down Narcissa's pale cheek as she realized that the best thing to do for her daughter was to let her try and work out what she could alone and only interfere when she asked for help. She just wasn't sure is Faith could ever get past this with her brother. They had overcome so much to be friends but this might just be the final nail in the coffin.
The next few days were hectic and neither of the Malfoy women had much time to think. Faith was showing some of her eccentricities. She was always humming in a nervous manner and talking herself through almost every task. She checked and rechecked all her assignments dozens of times before school started. She also polished her broom constantly, refolded all her clothes and rearranged all her books and trunks, everything had to be perfect. Faith was determined not to give any one at Hogwarts more ammunition to make fun of her with then they already had.
Narcissa had accepted a position in the library helping Madame Pince getting ready for the new term. When classes started she would be there three days a week. She didn't tell Faith, but Narcissa was much relieved that she would be able to keep an eye on Faith once school started. She knew this was going to be a very hard year for all of the Malfoys.
The night before all the students arrived, Faith went to bed with the worst case of stomach butterflies known to man. She had no idea what to expect tomorrow. Chaos for one was a sure bet, but other then that it was anybody's guess. She woke up late the next morning and spent most of her day outside on her broomstick, a Firebolt XS, the best broom she could find near Durmstrang and was second only to the Firebolt Signature Series. If nothing else, it would give her a way to get a few acquaintances, not friends—just people who would be nice to her to ride her broom. Faith's policy being: "If you can't beat 'em, make 'em jealous enough to join you". It had seemed to work well for her in the past and she was counting on her past experiences to transfer to the present. So what if Gryffindors were supposed to be all noble, they were still humans who would suffer from broom envy.
It had seemed like Faith had been up for only moments, but the sun had set and it was time to go to the great hall. The horseless carriages had just pulled up to the main doors and the voices of all the Hogwarts students could be hard through the massive doors. The procession filed in going directly to the Great Hall. Friends chatted about summer adventures and tried to guess where their first year relatives would be placed in the sorting. Slowly, the four houses separated into the four large wooden tables in the hall. Students from Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and Slytherin too their places under their house banners and tried to find a seat near friends. Faith had chosen a seat towards the back of the room, not wanting to be in plain sight. She had hoped to blend in a bit more, but her white blonde hair made it somewhat difficult.
A girl with wild brown hair sat down on Faith's right, next to her sat a boy with the reddest hair on earth. Someone who Faith recognized right away took a seat on the other side of the read head. She caught a glimpse of his forehead and knew immediately that it was Harry Potter. This was just peachy. Harry Potter and Faith Malfoy separated by only two people. Faith's mood worsened instantly. She wondered if murder was always illegal before wondering for just a moment why she had a growing desire to maim the boy. She had never met him. She only had been told stories. But her thoughts were soon set aside when the bushy haired girl turned to face her.
The girl held out a hand to Faith. "I don't believe we've met. Hermione Granger fifth year."
Faith looked at her with a cynical brow before deciding she had better play nice. She held out her hand. "Faith. I'm a fifth year as well." Hermione Granger's face reddened ever so slightly. A fifth year Gryffindor she didn't know? It wasn't possible. All the girls shared a dormitory. Faith read her expression and elaborated, but only slightly. "Don't worry, we've never met. I just transferred schools before term."
Hermione exhaled in relief. "I was beginning to think I was a bit of a narcissist." she said with a slight laugh. "Where did you transfer from?"
Faith's bind went blank. Damn, she had forgotten her cover story. She had invented a school that she could tell people she was from until she figured out how the hell to explain a Durmstrang student in Gryffindor. "Oh, umm a school up north, you've probably never heard of it." Brilliant Faith, you're either a dirty liar or think she's a dim wit who doesn't know of one of the most infamous wizarding schools in the world. There are some great first impressions.
Hermione felt that she shouldn't corner the girl on her first night at a new school so she attempted to make small talk. She tried the weather, summer vacation, favorite foods and even tried books. But Faith would only nod and smile with a "humph" or a scoff here or there. Hermione scrounged the bottom of the barrel to try and engage the girl in conversation. "Play any quidditch?" That did it.
Faith's face lightened up and her brow relaxed for the first time since the other students arrived. "Loads. I played all the time at my school. I was even captain of the team last year, and that's saying something. I was the first female captain that place ever had, and probably the last, damn sexists." Hermione just smiled. "My team won the first interschool tournament in fifty years. And I'll tell you mate, they were a pretty pathetic lot of players before I, I mean we, started a new training program." Faith realized she should probably shut her mouth instead of running the risk of Hermione Granger telling everybody that the new girl was quite full of herself and a self centered bint to boot. "Do you play at all?" she asked, trying to turn the conversation away from her.
Hermione shook her head. "Not well at least. I've been to a lot of school games though, and the World Cup of Quidditch last year."
Faith looked at her in surprise. "You went to the World Cup? That must have been something. I really wanted to go. My whole family did, but I couldn't. What a game. I would love to go to the next one."
Hermione smiled. "My friend Ron's dad got the tickets through work at the Ministry of Magic. Maybe he could get you one the next time. I'm sure he wouldn't mind. He got them for me and Harry." Hermione tapped on the red head's shoulder, his friend was talking with another student so he gave Hermione his attention immediately. "Ron, meet Faith." She turned back to Faith "Faith, this is Ron Weasley."
Ron held out his hand and Faith took it after a moment of hesitation. "Nice to meet you." he said.
Faith couldn't answer right away; a Weasley was shaking her hand. Could her night get any weirder? "Charmed" she replied in oily tone.
"Faith just transferred from up north and was a captain of one of her school's quidditch teams." Hermione told Ron a little more about Faith while Faith scanned the room for the fastest route of escape in case of an emergency.
"You should meet Harry." Ron said. Faith winced. Her night had just gotten weirder. She watched in horror as Ron got the attention of the boy next to him. "Faith, this is Harry Potter."
Harry took Faith's hand before she could use it to hit him. "Pleased to meet you Faith." he said in a voice so sweet Faith couldn't help but cringe. This was without a doubt the final nail in her proverbial coffin: shaking hands with Harry Scarhead Potter. She caught sight of her brother across the room. He looked at her and glared.
