When Drusilla Met Kari
Snow was falling heavily outside of Dru's window when she awoke. She loved snow, it was so light and fluffy. She walked out of her room and into her father's office. Dumbledore was grading papers at his desk, still in his night shirt and cap.
"Good morning, Papa," Dru said, quietly pulling herself into his lap. He looked over his half-moon spectacles at his 6-year-old daughter.
"Good morning, Drusilla. I have something special planned for you today." Dumbledore replied, tucking his papers neatly into a folder.
"Really?" She asked excitedly, "Is it a present?"
"Well, it is actually a she, and no, she is not a present."
"She? Daddy, did you buy me a Puffskein? Is it cute and pink and fluffy and nice and…" Dumbledore put up a hand to stop her from speaking.
"She happens to be a human, Drusilla. I've found a playmate for you today. She may stay for a while, depending oh how things work out."
Dru looked at her father warily, "What's her name?"
"Kari Lightstar."
Dru glanced at her father once more before sliding off his lap. "I don't want a playmate, and her name sounds stupid."
"Drusilla, it is high time that you find someone to talk to besides your mother and your snake. It will be good for you. And I'm sure she will find yours quite as silly as her own, if not more." Dumbledore replied impatiently.
"That's not my fault! You named me! And what's wrong with Mab? And I talk to Hagrid!" Dru rambled.
"Yes, well, the point is that you do not speak with other wizards or witches your age. And whether you like it or not, you will spend at least today with her."
"But Daddy, why is she even coming? Doesn't she have her own friends?" Dru pouted.
"No, she doesn't. She is an orphan and you will not tease her." Dumbledore said firmly. "It's time for breakfast. Let's go down to the Great Hall." He grabbed his daughter's hand and led her downstairs.
"I talk to Lucius, too." She mumbled.
"And perhaps that is part of the reason I want you to speak with someone your own age." Dumbledore mumbled back. Dru said nothing, but glared at him from the corner of her eye.
"When do I have to meet her? I had plans with Lucius, he was going to teach me how to brew a love potion!" Dru said happily, skipping toward the Great Hall. Dumbledore shook his head, planning to tell Slughorn to keep a close watch on the Malfoy boy.
"No love potions. They're illegal." Dumbledore replied, helping his daughter into her chair. He sat down in his own before continuing, "Minerva said she would bring Kari here around nine- thirty."
"But that's only half an hour! That means I have to hurry through breakfast, run back up to my room to change, and tell Lucius to wait for me!" Dru whined. Dumbledore winced at her shrill tones.
"Drusilla, Kari will be eating with us, so there is no need to rush. You do not need to change, as Kari will not be impressed with fancy robes. And that Malfoy boy is five years your senior! I do not trust his motives with someone as young as yourself." He replied with a tone of finality.
"You just don't like Slytherins! You're pre… prejuice!" She stuttered. Dumbledore tried desperately to suppress a chuckle, and replied, "Drusilla, it's not because he is a Slytherin. I do not trust his intentions, since eleven-year-old boys should have higher priorities than teaching a six-year-old how to brew a love potion, even if it happens to be innocent."
"You still don't like Slytherins. You even said you wanted me to be in Gryffindor. Gryffindors are losers."
"And that, my dear, is why I mistrust Mr. Malfoy. Your mind is young, and highly vulnerable to outside influences. Now do not try to tell me you came to that conclusion all by yourself. Did you know that I was once a Gryffindor?" Dumbledore replied impatiently, not looking at his daughter but at the doors of the Great Hall, waiting for their guest.
Dru looked at her father wide-eyed. She hadn't known her father was a Gryffindor, but her eyes narrowed once more, a smirk appearing on her face. "I guess calling that girl mudblood-" Dumbledore glared at her, and she instantly shut her mouth. She knew her father was a pushover, but she wasn't stupid.
"Drusilla, I ask you please to not use that word in my presence ever again… or in anyone else's presence, for that matter. If I hear it again, you will regret it." She believed him. Instead of getting her father even angrier at her remarks, she decided to poke at his hat with her finger as he pleasantly ignored her until 9:30.
"I think you'll like it here," McGonagall said as she escorted young Kari up the path to the entrance hall. "There's only one girl your age but you should get along." Kari nodded. "Are you nervous?" She nodded once more. "Don't worry. Here, let me look at you before we go in."
McGonagall turned the youngster to face her. Her appearance was impeccably sweet, "You look very pretty." Kari smiled at her, and replied, "You look very pretty too, Minerva." McGonagall couldn't help but feel flattered. Kari didn't talk much, but she seemed intelligent and kind.
McGonagall stood up straight and held out her hand for Kari to take. She pushed open the doors to the Great Hall and led Kari up to the Head Table. She assisted the little girl into one of the huge chairs before taking her seat on Dumbledore's right.
"Good morning, Minerva. And Kari." Dumbledore said pleasantly.
"Good morning." They both replied. Beside Dumbledore, Dru had begun to bang her spoon gently against her plate. Her father glared at her. "I'm hungry and have places to go. Peoples to see."
"Peoples to see?" Minerva inquired.
"Well, I'm not telling you! You don't go on dates. You wouldn't understand." Dru replied haughtily. Kari looked incredulous. McGonagall bent down to Dumbledore's ear and said, teasing, "Isn't she a bit young for dating?"
"Minerva, you should remember that I told my wife our daughter wouldn't be allowed to date until she's thirty-five." Dumbledore replied, smiling.
"Ah," She smirked. The food had appeared on the table. "Who is she supposed to meet, then?"
"Lucius Malfoy. But lucky enough for us, Kari has postponed their little get-together." Dumbledore replied smugly, picking up his fork. Dru sneered. Kari looked nervous and said, "Mi…Minerva? Am I supposed to eat now?"
"Well of course, dear! What did you expect to do at breakfast?" McGonagall asked, startled.
"At the orphanage, we had to wait until the older kids ate first, and we got whatever they didn't want." Kari replied nervously. Dru snorted into her pumpkin juice.
"Kari, you are free to eat as much as you want, whenever you want here. The house elves are quite adept at cooking meals for everyone." Dumbledore said, picking up kippers with his fork.
Kari grinned at the much older wizard and began piling food on her plate. She glanced over at Dru, who was stabbing her fork into her fried eggs. "Minerva, what are we going to do today?" McGonagall waited until she had chewed her food, and replied, "I thought Drusilla here could give you a tour of the castle and the grounds."
"But I told you, I have plans today!" Drusilla whined, "Why don't you give her a tour?"
"Excuse us, Minerva." Dumbledore said picking Dru up out of her chair and carrying her to the antechamber off the Great Hall.
Minerva sighed. She hoped Dru would have enjoyed having someone around her age to play with. She hoped Kari would still stay, despite how obnoxious Dru was being. Kari sighed and said, "I don't think she likes me very much." But, seeing McGonagall's sad face, added, "But I would still like a tour of the castle… it seems lovely."
Minerva smiled, "Well in that case, we had better hurry. There's a lot to see." They had finished their breakfast by the time Dumbledore returned, without his daughter, and said, "She'll join you in a minute.She's going to tell Lucius that she will be unable to meet with him today."
"Professor Dumbledore," Kari said timidly, "She doesn't need to be my friend if she doesn't want to. I'm used to it."
"No, no, Kari. It's not that she doesn't want to be your friend. It's just that she doesn't know how to socialize. She makes friends with older people because they talk to her more. I'm sure she'll warm up to you in time. She is just struggling with a rather long phase of… bratiness." Dumbledore said, placing a hand on Kari's small shoulder.
"Alright, I'll try to help," Kari said, "I'm ready, Minerva." Just then, Dru ran back into the Great Hall, glaring at Kari.
"I'll take you around the castle, but if you ask too many questions, I'll put you in a forbidden corridor, and you'll never come back out!" Dru said to her smugly.
Kari nodded. "I won't."
"Good," Dru said, leading Kari into the entrance hall, "This is the entrance hall."
"I know that."
"Do you want to give the tour?" Dru snapped.
"No, I was just saying that I knew that the entrance hall is called the entrance hall," Kari replied calmly. But seeing Dru's look of intense dislike, she added, "I wouldn't mind if you give me a quick tour, so you can go on your date."
"Really?"
"Really. I won't even tell your father, or Minerva."
Dru grinned and grabbed Kari's hand, "Let's go down to the dungeons then!"
"Wait, I'm coming with you on your date?" Kari asked reproachfully.
"Sure! You can help me by keeping a lookout on the door! And I won't be too long, Lucius said he doesn't have too much time in the potions classroom, so it'll only be a few minutes!" Dru replied, sounding excited as she dragged Kari down the stairs.
She pushed open the door. A small, blonde-haired boy sat behind a cauldron. He turned around, "I though you couldn't come."
"Well I couldn't, but now I have a partner in crime," She pointed at Kari, "This is my friend, Kari, Aunt Minnie really wants to adopt her." Kari turned at her quickly.
"How do you know that?" Kari asked urgently. Dru ignored her inquiry.
"So she's from the orphanage?" Lucius enquired, then leaned down to Dru's ear and continued, "Do you know if she's pureblood?"
"Nope. And Papa told me not to ask, either. What are we brewing today?"
"A shrinking solution." Lucius replied as Dru stood up on the chair next to him to peer into the cauldron.
"What for?" She asked.
"No reason. I've got free time. Hand me that vial of daisy roots from the store room, will you?" Lucius replied, pointing behind him while stirring the potion.
"Sure!" Dru said enthusiastically, skipping to the store room.
"So… Kari, is it? Do you remember your parents?" Lucius directed to Kari, looking at her sharply.
"Yes… they weren't muggles, if that's what you mean." Kari replied, feeling slightly uncomfortable.
"Are you a pureblood then? Father told me not to talk to anyone who isn't pureblooded."
"I think so." Kari answered, half wishing that she weren't so she wouldn't have to talk to the tall, scary boy. Lucius smirked.
"Lucius, I can't reach it!" Dru shouted from the store room. He sighed and said, "I'll be right there. What was your name again?"
"Kari."
"Come here, Kari." She looked at the boy, and hesistently stepped forward. He placed two fingers under her chin and lifted her head up toward him so he could get a better look at her face. He was gentle, but she felt that he could not be trusted; besides, he smelled like frog eggs and dragon dung. She convinced herself that it wasn't just the room. She stared hard into his gray eyes, refusing to look away, as he gazed into her green ones and said, "You're really quite pretty. Tell Drusilla to bring you down here more often." He released her chin when a loud crash came from the store room. Dru entered the main room drenched in some sort of gooey pink liquid.
"Nevermind, Lucius, I got it all by my… what are you two doing?" She yelled, looking back and forth between them.
"Nothing, Drusilla," Lucius replied. He seemed to be happy with his situation; two pretty little girls alone with him in the potion room. He meant no harm, but understood that when he got older, he would appreciate the situation even more. He raised an eyebrow and smirked, "You need to find some patience."
"Well if you had come when I asked, we would have the daisy roots and I wouldn't be covered in pink goo!" She grumbled, setting the daisy roots on the desk.
"Come here, I'll clean you up." Lucius took a small towel from his bag and wiped the pink goo off of her nose as Dru giggled in a 6-year-old-seductress sort of way. Kari looked around the room curiously and read a few of the labels surrounding the various vials on the shelves.
"You should probably go, so your father doesn't come looking for you to get me in trouble somehow." Lucius muttered, finally getting all remains of the pink stuff off of Dru's shoes.
"But I want to stay here with you." Dru said quietly, looking slightly ashamed.
"Drusilla, I can't babysit little girls all day long." Lucius replied impatiently. When he noticed that Dru was on the verge of tears, he added, "You two can come and visit me another day, after Christmas, and maybe I'll get you a present." When Dru smiled brightly, he picked up his cauldron and potion ingredients and stalked away to the Slytherin common room, leaving the two girls standing quietly in the potions classroom. Dru sighed, dreamily.
"Let's go to the first floor. That's where I sleep. Papa's classroom is also there." They walked in silence until they got to Dru's room She turned around to face Kari, "I have to ask you something first," Kari nodded, "Are you afraid of snakes?"
"Well, no, I don't think so… but I've only seen them in books. Why do you ask?" Kari asked skeptically. Dru didn't reply, but smiled as she opened the door to her room. It was a small room, clearly built for one of her size. The walls were painted a deep purple and glowing stars hung from the ceiling, providing the only light since the only window was covered in thick black velvet. As Kari took in her surroundings, she noticed a huge snake sleeping on a small bed in the corner. Kari's eyes bulged, but she said nothing.
"This is my best friend Mab!" Dru said happily as she strode toward the snake.
"You have a snake as a friend?" Kari asked. "That can't be much fun!"
"Of course it is!" Dru argued, "Mab knows just about everything! Even physics!"
Kari eyed her warily and folded her arms. "You can talk to snakes? And what's physics?"
"Well, Mummy says it runs in the family. Talking to snakes, I mean. I don't really know what physics is."
"Well, that's very interesting." Kari said sarcastically. She walked around the room and noticed a small, framed photograph of Lucius next to the bed. The picture Lucius was striding around in the frame, preening himself. "So you really like him, then?" Kari asked, pointing to it.
"Oh yes! When I become a student at Hogwarts, I plan on making him my boyfriend!" Dru replied happily. "Well, come on, then, we haven't got all day." They walked out of the room together, Dru shutting the door behind her so the snake wouldn't follow them. "That's my Papa's office and bedroom." Dru said, pointing to the next door. She then led Kari up to the second floor, warning her of the trick steps in the staircase.
"This is the Defense Against the Dark Arts corridor. There's nothing really exciting here. Oh, I almost forgot! Do you see that bathroom over there? There's a ghost called Myrtle who lives in there. That's why no one uses it. Papa says she was murdered when the Chamber of Secrets was open."
"What's the Chamber of Secrets?" Kari asked as they walked up the stairs to the third floor.
"Oh, it's just where this really dangerous monster lives, underneath the castle. But don't worry, only the Heir of Slytherin can open it." Dru replied, helping Kari over another trick step.
"Is the Heir of Slytherin still alive?"
"I think so, but he isn't here." Dru said.
Dru managed to finish the tour of Hogwarts in record timing. It was late afternoon when she dragged an exhausted Kari down to Hagrid's hut on the grounds. "Hello, Hagrid!"
"Hey, there, Drusilla. Oh, I see yeh've made a new friend! What's your name, girl?" The giant of a boy asked Kari.
"My name's Kari, it's nice to meet you." She replied calmly, not abashed at Hagrid's immense size. "Drusilla was just giving me a tour of the castle." Hagrid attempted to shake her hand, but it was so small compared to his that he shook her arm instead.
"Well, we have to go now, see you later, Hagrid!" Dru said, grabbing Kari's hand and running back up to the grounds. She turned to Kari once they caught their breath on the front steps and asked, "Weren't you scared of him?"
"No, he seemed really nice." Kari said between rushed breaths.
"Well, I guess you're not prejuice then, are you?"
"What's that?"
"I think it means that you judge something before you know it, like grape juice that doesn't look like grape juice." Dru replied haughtily.
Dumbledore and McGonagall met them in the entrance hall. After asking how the day went, Dumbledore took Dru to the North Tower so they could fix a telescope together, and McGonagall took Kari into her office to talk to her in depth about the day. Although the two girls were split up for a few hours, they spent the rest of the vacation together. Kari tagged along with Dru on her adventures and made sure she didn't get hurt. They developed a bond that would never be broken, even through many hardships and disagreements that would occur in the future. McGonagall happily consented to adopt the cute little redhead, and never regretted her decision.