Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, Hogwarts, etc… I just try to whittle it into a different shape that's all. Don't sue me!
A/N: Oh, and I have another thing to add on about the summary: Haven't we all wondered what would happen to Harry's friendship with Ron if he had been sorted into Slytherin and been friends with Draco? Just an interesting spin on the same concept. Oh, and for not being confusing – her adoptive mother will be called Karina the rest of the story. Just so you don't get confused, but she won't call Karina by her name… Gein will be called by her name… I'm shutting up.
Chapter Two: Goblins
The sun crept through Selene's bedroom window at about 7 that morning, waking her up at first light. Sometimes, just sometimes, she wished that she could wake up later than daybreak, but with the position of her window, it was impossible. With a small stretch, she walked across the smoky grey carpet, stopping in front of the closet. Last night must have been a dream. How can she be adopted? And a witch? She shook her head slightly, trying to clear up the thoughts that kept running through it. Just in case last night hadn't been a dream, what should she wear? What was customary for an everyday witch to wear? With a small shrug, she pulled out a pair of black jeans and a pitch black t-shirt, and quickly pulled them on. It was only seven in the morning, and a Sunday, so her mother wouldn't be up yet. With a small yawn, she climbed down the stairs slowly, keeping her balance. Reaching the bottom of the stairs, Selene turned into the living room, not liking the first sight she saw. Especially upon waking.
On the same black couch that Karina had sat on the night before sat two adults – one was female, who looked almost exactly how Selene pictured herself looking when she was in her high twenties, low thirties – long blonde hair, but with dull blue eyes. The man sat next to the woman, holding her pale hand with his own tanned one. He looked up at her as she entered the room, with emerald green eyes that matched her own. Surprised, she took a few steps backward. This man was her father? And the woman, her mother? In the same armchair she had sat in last night sat her mother, and on the arm of the couch next to them, her brother, Jakob. On another chair, Karina. All the adults had china cups in their hands – tea, most likely, knowing her mother. Selene stood by the doorway, looking at the two strangers.
"Good morning, Selene." came the tired voice of her mother, looking up from her cup of tea.
Selene looked up at Karina, with a sharp nod. She looked up at Jakob with a large smile, and then went go sit on the couch near him. She sat in silence for a few moments, and then Jakob cleared his throat.
"Selene, I'd like you to meet Mom and Dad." he said softly, gesturing to each of them in turn.
Her mother smiled at her, and her father nodded at her sharply. Selene looked at them with a weak smile.
"Do you mind… you know…if I call you by your first names? The Weitzels will always be my parents, after all."
Her mother smiled, and nodded.
"My name is Geineiva, but please, call me Gein. My husband's name is Daniel," she said softly. Her voice was almost angelic, melodious.
Selene nodded, leaning back into the cushions of the couch. Once they had introduced themselves, she felt much more comfortable around them – the Talcroms had the kind of presence that one felt that they could tell them anything. She looked down at her hands, only looking up when her mother spoke up.
"I suppose we should be getting to town? We need to get you and your brother supplies." she spoke softly, standing up and moving to the fireplace in the main room.
Selene looked over at her brother in surprise, "You go to Hogwarts, too?"
Jakob smiled with a nod, "My last year."
Selene smiled weakly. She'd probably feel better, now that she knew someone at the school already. It wasn't too reassuring, because she most likely wouldn't be able to spend very much time with him.
"Err, wait – what about my stuff?" Selene asked, gesturing up the stairs.
Her mother turned back, looking at Selene.
"We'll get it on our way back." she nodded towards the fireplace, and her husband rose to join her.
Jakob and Selene rose in the same movement, moving to the fireplace. Jakob moved closer to their mother when she reached into her pocket and held out a large leather sack to him. Jakob reached in, taking a handful, and tossed the substance into the fireplace. As the grains of the powder hit the stone, green flames leapt up. Jakob stepped into them.
"Diagon Alley!" and with a pop, he was gone.
Selene blinked as her mother held the bag out to her. She looked up at her with a sense of confusion. Was there some sort of magic involved in this? She didn't know any magic! How was she supposed to get through?
"You take a handful, toss it in, step in, and speak your destination." came the hoarse voice of her father. It was the first words he had said to her the whole time he was there, "You'll be in the same place as Jake, and he should be there to help you through."
Selene smiled at him, with a sharp nod. She took a handful of the powder, which felt soft and grainy in her hand, and she tossed it in. When the green flames appeared, she stepped in, closing her eyes.
"Diagon Alley!"
She heard a small audible pop next to her, and when she opened her eyes, she came tumbling out of a small alcove, to the feet of her brother. She stood up, brushing herself off with a flick of the wrist on her clothing. Jakob looked at her with a grin, pushing her away from the grate.
"Let's start heading for Gringotts. You're going to have fun with the goblins, I can tell."
Selene looked up at her brother with wide eyes. Goblins? What else could she expect?
"Alright, I'm going to explain some things on our way to Gringotts – it's this way, by the way."
He took off down a crowded street, and Selene kept right behind him.
"There's one thing you have to learn about our world – if you have the possibility, nothing is impossible. There are such things as werewolves, and there are such things as giants. Anything that's a monster actually exists in our world. Hogwarts usually doesn't have most of the monsters that the rest of the wizarding world has, though our gamekeeper looks a lot like a giant. Haven't met anyone who's abnormal in species, yet. However, species isn't your worst problem. The main classes that you have to take are Potions, Astronomy, Transfiguration, Charms, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Herbology, History of Magic… I think there's one or two more, but those are pretty basic. When you reach your third year you have to choose electives as well." Selene watched over his shoulder as he began ticking the classes off on his fingers.
Selene looked up at the buildings around them. They were going rather fast down the road, as the buildings were going rather quickly, and she didn't catch the names of any of them. But as they neared the end of the street, they arrived at a large white building. Jakob stopped a few feet away from the entrance.
"Gringotts."
Selene blinked at the snow white building, following Jakob as he made his way in the first doorway – made of bronze. The next doors were made of silver, and engraved. As Jakob opened one door, she read the engraving.
Enter, stranger, but take heed
Of what awaits the sin of greed
For those who take, but do not earn,
Must pay most dearly in their turn.
So if you seek beneath our floors
A treasure that was never yours,
Thief, you have been warned, beware
Of finding more than treasure there.
She blinked at the writing, and then stepped inside the main room. With a blink, she looked around. The main lobby of Gringotts was huge! There was a counter running down each side of the room, goblins lined up behind all of them – ugly buggers, they were. Each of them were short, dark-skinned, had pointy nose and ears, and occasionally she saw one wearing a pointed hat. She also noticed that each goblin had rather long fingers. She looked wide-eyed at the goblin at the front desk. He looked almost identical to the others, except he wore a wide-brimmed brown pointed hat. Her brother approached the desk.
"Good morning. We've come to take some money out of Miss Selene Talcrom's vault, please," he said, hanging the goblin a tiny golden key.
The goblin nodded at them, ringing a bell. In a moment, another goblin came, gesturing for them to follow. When they reached another door leading off of the hallway, the door was opened by the goblin, and Selene and her brother walked through. A sharp whistling came from the goblin, and a cart came speeding up a railroad track that she hadn't seen before. They both climbed in, and the cart sped off again.
Selene climbed out of the cart with a groan, stumbling out the door and almost running for the exit of the bank. Once outside of the bank, she took a huge breath of fresh air, and waited for Jakob to get out so that she could complain.
"Never, ever ask me to do that again Jakob… That was horrifying." she moaned, sitting on the steps, "Unless you plan on giving me a air canister."
Jakob chuckled, standing near her.
"Are you ready to move on, Selene? We need to get your shopping done."
Selene nodded, standing again, and started to move down the stairs with her brother.
"Where first?"
They consulted her list, and decided to start at the top of the list – her robes and other clothing. So, they made their way down the street again to a store with a sign outside of it that read Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions. Jakob smiled at her as they reached the shop.
"I'll stay out here, just motion to me when you're ready to let me help you pay."
She nodded, walking into the shop. A squat, smiling woman approached her as she entered the shop.
"Hogwarts, my dear? The business just went down, I have to finish this young man here, and then I'll get right to you, all right? Just stand right here…"
Madame Malkin stood her on a stool after leading her to the back of the shop, and Selene had a look at the other customer that was getting fitted. He had long, black hair that had the appearance of being silky, although she was a few feet away, and it was pulled back into a small ponytail. His eyes shone a dull but entrancing grey, setting off his slightly tanned skin. Selene smiled at him as she stood there, watching him get the last of his fitting.
"Hello." she said softly, and then looked at the closest wall.
"Hey." he said, his voice carrying a charm and smoothness that even she couldn't carry in her own tone, "Hogwarts?"
Selene nodded, looking back at him.
"I'm Selene... Talcrom" she spoke her actual last name, in hopes that she wouldn't feel so inferior to the young man in the room with her, "Who are you?"
"Sirius Black, at your service." he said with a smile, "I take it you're a relative of the great and famous Jakob Talcrom?"
Selene watched his smile – it was like one, fluid movement – and then snapped out of her thoughts.
"Yes, he's my brother."
Sirius nodded, without a smile this time, "So you've met Regulus Black, then?"
Selene shook her head.
"It's a…long story," she said with a low tone, "One that I don't think you have time to hear."
She spoke her last words just as Madame Malkin made her last fittings on Sirius' robes, and gave him a swat on the back.
"Well, I'll see you at Hogwarts." he said, and then moved out of the shop.
"Goodbye!"
Madame Malkin smiled at the retreating boy, and pulled a robe over Selene's head, then started fitting it.
"He's a good boy, that Sirius Black," the witch muttered, partially to herself.
The fitting took almost half the time that Sirius' did, and Selene was out of the shop in no time, after having Madame Malkin help her with the payment. She now knew all the little tips and tricks of wizarding coins. She stepped outside the shop with a smile at her brother.
"What's next?"
Jakob looked at the list.
"Books."
It had been about an hour, and they had gotten almost all of their shopping done, besides getting an owl and a wand. They had split up in order to get all of their shopping done in such a short amount of time, so now Jakob and Selene were together to get the last two – the wand couldn't be chosen by Jakob, and Selene wanted to choose her own owl. The door to Ollivanders opened as Jakob pushed on it, a jingle going through the shop, and there was a long, drawn out rickety noise as an old man flew across the shop on a ladder.
"Ah, Selene Talcrom – How nice to finally meet you."
Selene blinked. How did he know her name? Was he, like, some all-knowing Seer?
"How nice to meet you, Mr. Ollivander." she said softly.
He climbed off his ladder with a smile.
"You're the first one to have that reaction since… about seven years ago, I wager. This young man," he gestured at Jakob, "had the same reaction."
Selene turned to grin at her brother, who in turn winked at her, and she turned back.
"Now, which is your wand arm?"
Selene held out her right arm – Jakob had already explained to her some of the small things about Ollivanders. A tape measure flew out of a drawer to Mr. Ollivander's right, and started measuring her right arm.
"Alright. Lets try… mahogany and phoenix feather, eleven inches, bendy."
He handed her the wand, and she looked at it, giving it a small flick toward a cupboard. The cupboard flew open, and books fell everywhere.
"Let's try something unusual – ebony and pixie dust – only for certain customers who seem tricky – nine inches, very supple. Lined in silver."
Once she took the wand in her hand, an instant warm feeling spread up her arm, black and green sparks flew out of the wand, and Mr. Ollivander took it.
"Precisely the wand that chose you! 7 Galleons."
She paid for her wand, and the two went out the door – the little bell doing a jingle as the door opened again – and they made their way to Eeylops Owl Emporium, where they rushed in, chose a snowy owl, and left. With a sigh, she jumped across the stone street.
"Okay, let's go to the gate and go home, alright Selene?" Jakob said, already leading her down the street.
Selene smiled. Home. She'd never been there, but just the single word made her feel comfortable.
A/N: Gods… After eons, that chapter is finally finished. I hope you like it. PLEASE review!
Elle