Please do review. I like getting them. It's frustrating getting 44 hits but only having 2 reviews. I don't know whether my writing is just that terrible that people leave half way through, or are just not bothering to leave reviews. (LAZY!) Anyway, here's a long chapter. Ends.

True Magic
Ch 3: Ends

"There's nothing in the world like etiquette,
In kingly chambers or imperial halls,
As also at the race and county balls."

--BYRON

Refined was a word Aunt Margaret liked to use when I did well. She called me a refined young lady now. None of my actions were unladylike. I no longer traipsed around in the garden with Cornish pixies, or Draco Malfoy.

By the time I was eleven I knew all about etiquette. I learned social etiquette, all about how to carry myself in public; the fine art of walking, sitting, and greeting. I could do all three now with a book balanced perfectly in my head. Ask me to do each and I would, ask me to do all three at the same time! I learned the subtle difference between dining etiquette, restaurant etiquette, and party etiquette. I was a master of the art of making conversation. I was ready to be married at the age of eleven. Wouldn't you know I learned wardrobing- the art of dressing. I even, developed a personality. Or so they said.

They was my Aunt Margaret and the finishing school she insisted my father send me to. Finishing school, honestly, in this day and age it's absolutely absurd! The school's motto was just as bad: women and diamonds have real value once polished. We were all diamonds in the rough I suppose.

Mind your manners was heard often in my days there. I must say that the one thing I liked about finishing school was the new friends I made. Wendy Grey, Helen Baker and Padma and Parvati Patil. Wendy was tall and slim with an off beat personality, but she was not as strange as Helen. Helen as strange as she was, was wise beyond her years and as gorgeous as Helen of Troy. The Patils were identical twins, both always wearing their long dark hair in a single braid down their backs. As much as the looked alike they certainly had their differences. Padma was level headed and calm while Parvati was more bold. Together we went through finishing school.

"The proper way to make introductions would be: Mrs. A., permit me to present to you Mr. B.;" or "Mrs. A., allow me to introduce to you Mr. B," Ms. Jones informed us. "Who's Mrs. A and who's Mr. B?" Wendy asked. "I don't think they're actually people," Parvati answered. "Always," Ms. Jones brought her ruler down hard on the table in front of the two making a loud smacking sound, "introduce the woman before the man." "What do you do when there are two women?" a girl asked. "Excellent question," Ms. Jones said and went on to explain. How dreadfully boring.

Parvati never learned volume control. Her voice was loud and the things she had to say were as bold as her personality. "Her voice was ever sweet, gentle and low; an excellent thing in woman," Ms. Jones would recite. We called her Ms. Manners for she always reminded us to mind ours.

There are two things I will always remember about finishing school. All the terrible sewing and the dancing. My fingers for the first week were pricked constantly. Tiny needle holes dotted my hands. Then there was dancing, oh can you even imagine? Pairs of girls dancing round a room. "Head up," Ms. Price would say, "don't look at your feet!"

Before long I had developed my personality. It wasn't really my personality necessarily, it was something I learned. It was the personality that I should have. I was soft-spoken and demure. I never ran to or from where I wanted to go, instead I walked, elegantly. I got by thinking maybe if I did this I would be like Narcissa. She was elegant, graceful, beautiful. Maybe finishing school would do that for me.

Draco Malfoy was not seen often and was heard from even less. When I did get to see him he always had something interesting to tell me. Something else that was nice was that we would revert to our old selves again in each others company. But only in each other's company. I was now a refined young lady and he was an esteemed gentleman.

Before the summer was out Draco and I were the best of friends again.

What a pair my Aunt Margaret commented. She commented to Lucius that the joining of our two families would be marvelous. I saw the look father gave her. I said, "we're 10." Lucius chuckled, "charming as ever."

"It's insanity!" I told Draco, "I swear the old bat has gone mad!" "What is?" he asked. "Aunt Margaret is planning our wedding," I answered. "You don't wan tot marry me?" Draco asked. "Ew, we've known each other since the age of 6," I cringed. "That is pretty appalling," Draco agreed. "You should have heard her," I went on, "she called it a merging of two great families!" "Well, we are two great, pureblood, families," Draco smirked.

Draco never smiled anymore, instead he smirked. He had a certain air about him these days, I didn't like it much. Then again I didn't like my personality much either. I liked to call it our fake personalities because really what we were doing, it was all a facade. Draco would always be Draco, selfish, but to me he never ever would be. Of course excepting that time when we first met. Draco knew, since we were six, he couldn't pull things like that on me.

He was no longer fascinated by Muggles, instead he was repulsed by them. What made him even more sick to his stomach were people he called Mudbloods. A foul, nasty name for a Muggle-born. I never used the word, it's not a term used in polite company.

Every time I saw Draco he had more and more of his father in him. I saw this change happen slowly, but I did nothing. I thought nothing of it in all honesty. He wanted to be more like his father. There was nothing wrong with that. Or I saw nothing wrong with this at the time. I wanted to be like my mother, a little of me wanted to be Narcissa.

"Draco don't be a ninny!" I called to him from the water. We were alone and free to be ourselves. A beautiful day, blue sky, green grass for miles behind my house. "But Sophie it's cold," he complained. "Complain is all you ever do, just come in!" I yelled back. "I will not come in," he said. I pouted and crossed my arms. "You think just because you pout and cross your arms I'm coming in?" he says. "No," I said, "you're coming in because I want you to and you will because you adore me." "Is that so?" he asked. "Yes, it is," I answered. "Well I think you're out of your mind," he told me.

I started to giggle. "What are you laughing at?" he asked. I continued to giggle, my ladylike giggles turned into a hearty laugh. "I never knew I was so funny," he smirked. "You're not," I answered. Draco frowned and was now becoming frustrated with my actions. "Cor... cornish..." I said between laughs. Draco raised an eyebrow and looked at me as if I were crazy.

Oh the look on his face as he entered the water, and with all his clothes still on! He looked like a drowned rat when he emerged from the water. "I hate Cornish Pixies!" Draco raved as he stood there sopping wet, water up to his waist. I looked at him, biting my lip trying not to laugh. Draco looked at me, his steel gray eyes piercing to the depths of my very soul. "What?" was all he said. A smile threatened to break the silence. "It's not funny," he said, "honestly you should do something about those damned pixies, good for nothing." I scoffed, "you're just angry because a few pushed you in the water." He gave me a look of contempt. "Besides Draco, you're already wet, what's the harm in having some fun now?" I said before splashing him. "That is it Le Fey!" he warned before coming after me.

At the beginning of the summer I got my letter. I would be attending Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in the coming September. "I wanted to go to Durmstrang," Draco had told me. "Oh but Draco, I would miss you terribly," I told him. "That's what my mother said," he said. "Of course!" I mocked, "she would miss her Dracci-poo." "Don't even," he said stopping my hand. I was going to pinch his cheek. "Le Fey," he warned again. "Awww, aren't you cute?" I teased pinching his cheek. "You are one crazy tart," Draco sighed. "Excuse me?" I asked appalled. Draco smirked, "you heard me." "Draco Malfoy you are such a thicko!" I told him.

"You haven't gotten your school supplies yet have you?" I asked. "No," Draco answered, "no, mother and father are taking me a few days before school is on." "Are you scared?" I asked. The prospect of going to a new school with thousands of other students frightened me. Finishing school, that was intimidating, but this was quite possibly the most frightening thing I would ever do. "Scared?" Draco asked, "a Malfoy is scared of nothing." I looked him straight in the eye, "rubbish, I know for a fact Draco Malfoy that you are scared to death of things that go bump in the night." He stuck out his tongue at me. Ignoring me Draco asked, "what is there to be scared of?" "Of going to Hogwarts silly," I said picking up a pastry from the tray of sweets his mother sent Dobby, the house elf, out with for us. "Well, no, why would I be scared?" Draco asked, "why do you ask?" I shrugged, "no reason." "Well I know that I'll be put in Slytherin and that's all that really matters," Draco said, "all Malfoy's are Slytherins." I sat there quietly for a while before Draco asked me, "what are you thinking?" "I was just wondering what house I'd be put in." "Maybe you'll be in Slytherin with me," Draco said. "Maybe," I said quietly.

The thought neither appealed to me or disgusted me. I was quite indifferent. Over the summer the prospect of being a Slytherin became more attractive. I adored the time I spent with Draco and I feared that school would separate us. "Friends forever," I made him swear as we stood on his roof. "Friends forever," he promised. "We'll be Slytherins, I know it," he told me and for the first time in an long time I saw him smile. I smiled back, "Slytherins."

"No, she'll trip! Shorten the robes," my mother said to Madam Malkin Madam, a squat, smiling witch. We were in Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions, one of the shops in Diagon Alley. There were two ways to get here. Obviously you could Floo over, but another way was tapping just the right bricks in the wall behind the Leaky Cauldron pub in London. "Three up...two across..." to be precise, this will reveal an archway which is a portal into Diagon Alley, a long cobbled street, found on it is a strange and exciting assortment of shops and restaurants. Witches and wizards travel to Diagon Alley from all over Britain to spend the day shopping. Near Gringotts is a side street called Knockturn Alley where shops dealing with the Dark Arts are to be found. I had never been down that street, and I was certainly not allowed. Most often we used the Floo Network because I could not yet apparate. Apparition took training and I was not of age yet. It is important to state the name of the intended destination very clearly so as to avoid being connected to the wrong location, and it is also very important to keep one's elbows tucked in.

"Mother," I whined, I was tired of standing on the stool to be fitted. "You want to look good for your first day don't you?" Mother asked. "I really could care less," I told her. I'd rather be anywhere but here Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor was on my list of stops. Madam Malkin's is next door to Flourish & Blott's where I had been earlier and bumped into Lucius who was picking up books for Draco.

After this it was off to Ollivanders to get myself a wand. It was a sort of coming of age thing. Mr. Ollivander was a lovely old man. Reminded me almost of my Uncle Lester. "Why hello," Mr. Ollivander said when we entered his shop. He smiled and kindly got me a wand, "Try this one dear." I gave it a wave. Papers went flying. "Sorry," I apologized terribly embarrassed. Mr. Ollivander stood with his arms crossed looking up at the wall. "Ah, here," he said coming back, "give it a go." This time the wand felt right in my hand, it made righted the skewed papers. "Willow, 10 inch, swishy," he described it, "wonderful for charms."

Kings Cross was terribly busy. I made my way onto platform nine and three quarters with my parents following. "Oh sweetheart, how we'll miss you," my Mother said holding me close. "Octavia," Father said, "let go of the girl." "By Daddy," I said giving him a hug. "Be good," was all he said before giving me a kiss on my forehead. "Oh my baby," I heard Mother say as I walked off. The Malfoy's were close by sending off Draco. I heard Nacissa weeping much like my own Mother. I gave a little wave to him and headed toward the train. I heard footsteps behind me as I climbed up. "Boo!" Draco's familiar voice said. I spun around and smiled. "Excited?" he asked with a smirk on his face. I shrugged, "sure." He humphed then said, "follow me."

We sat down in a compartment. "What did your Mum give you?" I asked. "Oh just the usual sweets," Draco said, "she packed some for you as well." He handed me the bag, "your favorites." It was during this train ride I met Draco's other friends. They seemed shady. Or at least as shady as eleven year olds could be. There was Vincent Crabbe, he was rotund with a pudding-bowl haircut and long gorilla-like arms. There was another large, somewhat oafish boy Gregory Goyle. I found him to be awfully dim. Blaise Zabini I had heard of, but only because of his mother. She was well known for her beauty. It's said she was married seven times! Each of her wealthy husbands died a mysterious death, leaving her a lot of gold. He wasn't so bad, and he shared his mother's good looks.

I had left the compartment to change, when I came back I had only found Blaise. "Draco and the apes went to wander," he informed me. "Oh," I said and gave a little smile. "Those two were quite thick," I agreed. I was still shy even after being introduced by Draco. "I think I may take a wander as well," I said. "Okay," he gave a smile before I headed off. Wandering the train I met a boy named Neville and a girl with a bushy head of hair named Hermione. "Have you seen a frog?" she asked. I shook my head no. The boy called out, "Trevor!" "Thanks anyway," Hermione said before leaving. I found The Patil twins in a compartment with Helen, Wendy and a girl named Lavender. They all invited me to sit down.

We were all having a wonderful chat. I saw Draco pass by the open door. I heard his voice, "you idiots, watch where you're going. Go back." He appeared at the door. "Did you leave Blaise all alone?" he asked. "Yes, I did and I think he was quite content to be left alone," I answered. "How rude of you Sophie," he said, "didn't you learn any manners at the finishing school your Aunt sent you to?" "How rude of you to leave me alone with people I don't know," I answered back a bit ticked off. "And I suppose you know these fine young ladies?" Draco gave a charming smile to the compartment. "Oh don't even try Draco Malfoy," I shook my head. He gave me a wink. "You're such a cad," I said. "You sound like your Aunt Margaret," Draco commented. I stuck my tongue out at him. "How unladylike!" he exclaimed mocking Aunt Margaret. I rolled my eyes and laughed, "bugger off." Lavender was in her seat giggling. The girls had started whispering to each other. "I will see you later," he turned to the rest of the girls before departing, "ladies." Lavender giggled and actually blushed!

When the train stopped at the station we were met by a large man with a lantern. We were to follow him. He lead us to boats. I hate boats. I loathe them with every fiber of my being. We were to get into the boats and float across the river. "Why can't we just take carriages up like everyone else?" I asked. "Bad time with a boat?" a boy asked. "Funny," I said dryly.

I must admit it was a spectacular sight. All the boats floating across the lake. The lanterns like little stars mirroring the sky. Inside the castle was impressive as well. The steps leading to the Great Hall where we were met by an old witch, Professor McGonagall. Then through the doors of the Great Hall. Looking up I could see the night sky with candles floating. I heard a someone comment how she had read in Hogwarts a History that the ceiling was enchanted, I think it was Hermione.

Stopping at the front we all waited to be sorted. I would be somewhere in the middle presumably. "Helen Baker," was put in Ravenclaw. "Susan Bones," would become a Hufflepuff. "Hermione Granger," would become a Gryffindor. "Wendy Grey," was Ravenclaw. I was so nervous. I looked back behind me to see Draco. He gave a smile which helped. "Sophia Le Fey," my name was called. If you want the honest truth, which I am terribly good at giving, I was sweating like a pig and I was nervous as hell. 'Slytherin maybe? Oh please?' I thought. I knew Draco would be put in there. He winked at me from the crowd. "Ravenclaw!" bellowed the sorting hat. I stepped down a little torn as the Ravenclaw table gave a cheer. I saw Helen and Wendy waiting at the table for me, I saw Draco shrug.

Padma joined me in Ravenclaw while Parvati joined Lavendar in Gryffindor. Then the big name of the evening, which stopped everyone in their tracks. "Harry Potter," was called up. Everyone held their breath as he went up. He sat there on the stool longer than most before "Gryffidor," was shouted. A roar came from the Gryffidor table.

"Draco Malfoy," was the next name I was looking for. He stepped up, calm and cool. The hat barely touched his blond head of hair before saying, "Slytherin!" He wore that smirk he had practiced while I was at finishing school and perfected over the summer. How happy his parents would be to hear he was a Slytherin, not that they expected anything different.

There was the sound of metal tapping on glass. We all turned our attention to the front. Professor Dumbledor, a wizard with great presence spoke. "Let the feast begin!" he announced. Food appeared everywhere and the chatting began.

"I am positively excited," Wendy exclaimed. "Is something the matter?" Padama asked me. I shook my head no. Looking over at the Slytherin table I saw Draco having a marvelous time. There was a girl leaning into him. She laughed and he gave his smirk back. "That's Pansy Parkinson," Padma said. I hadn't met the girl yet but I had a dislike for her already. I had heard her last name before. Parkinson, I think my parents knew hers. I don't think I ever met her before. Then again I suppose I'm sort of a loner. My first best friend was a picture of my Uncle Lester and my second best friend was now sitting at another table smirking at another girl.

I would be staying at this school all year. I would be sleeping in Ravenclaw tower and milling around the school grounds for months and months and months. This signaled the end of a lot of things. The end of my child hood. The end of my summer. But then again the end is always a beginning for something else. It's like they say, when one door closes another door opens.

Charms class was the only class that was with the Slytherins. Draco was already there sitting in his desk. Blaise was next to him. "Blaise, Draco," I said my hellos. "Who is she?" I heard a female voice say. The three of us looked back at the source, Pansy Parkinson. She looked me up and down, as if she was appraising me. "Sophia Le Fey," I introduced myself. She humphed then turned her attention to Draco. I stood there with my brow furrowed in confusion. What on earth was so interesting about Draco?

"Draco," she purred, "that was simply hilarious what you said in Potions class." He returned with a smirk. "Draco," I said, "did you hear? My Aunt Margaret nearly keeled over when your father grabbed her at the gala and spun her round!" Draco laughed, "oh yes! My mother sent me a letter about that. Can you imagine the look on her face?" "I know just what she said," I answered. "How unrefined!" we both mimicked then burst into laugher.

When Professor Flitwick entered I sat down. Pansy, I deemed was a show off. I must say I felt a lot better when Professor Flitwick came by and applauded my skill. "You're a natural," he said. "She's a witch, of course she's a natural," Pansy said. How rude, I thought. "Obviously not everyone is," I coughed.

"Who, do you think you are?" Pansy asked me after class. "Last time I checked I was Sophia Le Fey," I told her. "Do you like him?" she asked. "Who?" I was a bit confused. "Don't play stupid," she said, "Draco." "No, I've known him since I was six, that idea is just positively gut wrenching." "Good, because I always get what I want and I don't want something silly like a boy to come between the two of us," she said. You can have him if that's what you want, I thought. "I just love your hair," she commented before looping her arm in mine and dragging me down the hallway. "We'll be the best of friends," she said. This is going to be a long year, I thought.

During meals Pansy went out of her way to lean into Draco and smile. I'm not sure if she was actually hanging on to each and every word he said or if she was pretending. Either way he was loving the attention. By the end of that week he had Blaise swap seats with her and now paid me no attention at all. I hated her laugh, I hated how she looked at him, more so how he looked at her. I hated her. Hate is a strong word, I must say I've never hated anything in my life, but I really disliked Pansy. She was the most annoying person I'd ever come across.

I must say, I was reeking of jealousy.

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