Taking a bite out of her recently purchased liquorice wand, Clara Malfoy strolled leisurely through Diagon Alley and back towards Twilfitt and Tatting's. As she passed various stores, she couldn't help but stare at the elaborate window displays set up to deliberately catch one's eyes. One store in particular piqued her interest, but she resolved herself not to get caught up in passing fancies. She'd been gone for several minutes and knew she should return to Lucius' side before he became worried.
Although she and her mother regularly visited Diagon Alley to withdraw money from their vaults at Gringotts, Clara had never explored the shopping area on her own. Mrs. Malfoy kept their excursions to a limited number of shops – those she deemed reputable – and especially avoided the stalls and peddlers that lined the already busy streets. She made a special point to comment each time how all peddlers were swindlers and how no proper pureblood lady would ever be caught purchasing the cheap goods they sold. But Clara doubted her mother's words, especially when she came across one stall selling some of her favourite things in the entire world: gobstones.
Clara rushed forward, excited to see which sets were being sold. She didn't have to fight through any crowds; only one other child was standing there.
"Do you have any jade ones?" Clara asked curiously, her eyes scanning the stones on display. Hundreds of tiny gobstones sat lined up in neat rows spanning thirty across. "They have such a pretty green colour."
When the stall owner heard Clara's question, he was taken by surprise and immediately began fumbling through the sets he had hidden below. Normally he kept the rarer gobstones tucked away beneath the stall. Few people asked for ones made from less common materials so he never bothered to put them on display. What surprised him more though was the young girl posing the question. She was a petite one and was dressed impeccably well. Her silky white-blonde hair was drawn into a neat bun and secured with a green ribbon decorated with tiny silver flowers that were intricately embroidered into the delicate fabric – a subtle display that its wearer came from a wealthy family. On the other hand, the young boy beside her looked shabby and had quite the amount of greasy hair atop his head.
"Do you play Gobstones?" Clara asked. At first the boy didn't respond, but his eyes widened slightly when he realized she was speaking to him.
"Uh..yes…yes I do," he spluttered. "My mum has a few sets at home that she lets me use sometimes."
"How long have you been playing?"
"Probably since I was about four," he answered, not posing the same question back. Clara could tell he wasn't a great conversationalist; he was obviously quite shy.
"Then you must be pretty good. My brother says I'm rubbish but I still beat him every time," Clara announced, a hint of pride in her voice. It made her happy that she was at least better than Lucius at something.
When the young boy only shrugged, Clara figured she'd simply continue the conversation anyway. None of the girls she usually played with were interested in Gobstones, so she jumped at the chance to discuss the game she loved with the boy, even if he didn't want to. "I started when I was six, but I reckon that I'm just as good as you. I practice almost every day in the garden since I'm not allowed to make a mess in the manor. When I go to Hogwarts I'm going to challenge everyone I can."
"You're going to Hogwarts?" the boy asked, his full attention now set on Clara.
"In a couple of days," Clara replied, happy that the boy seemed more interested in their conversation. "I'll be starting my first year."
"Me too," he said, his voice rising ever so slightly with excitement. "I've been waiting my whole life to go. I can't wait to learn about magic."
"Really?" Clara wondered, giving him a confused look. She didn't understand why anybody would get so excited about just going to school. She'd been taking etiquette lessons since she was a child and wasn't excited about spending more hours studying.
"Yep. It's all my friend, Lily, and I have been talking about."
"Well, maybe we can play Gobstones together sometime then," Clara said, steering the conversation back to the topic she was most interested in discussing. She was good at pivoting. "I got my brother to hide my sets in his trunk. My parents won't let me bring them with me. Besides, my trunk is already pretty full."
"I'm just getting the last of my stuff now," the boy said. He held up a bag with the words Second-Hand Robes labelled across the front in big orange letters. Clara had never heard of the store; it wasn't on her mother's list.
"I'm just getting a collar for my cat."
"I'm bringing a –"
Before he could finish his sentence, the stall owner popped his head back up. "Sorry Miss. It looks like I don't have any of those in stock."
"That's too bad," Clara sighed. "I've been looking for them for a while."
"I can send out an order for them if you'd like," the stall owner said, eager to make a sale.
"That's okay. I doubt my brother would be pleased if I came back carrying anything else besides liquorice wands and a couple of cauldron cakes. Which reminds me; I should probably get back to him," Clara said. "Thank you for checking."
She turned to leave but hesitated. "I'm Clara by the way," she said, glancing back at the boy she'd just met.
"I'm Severus."
And with that, she left.
A couple of days later the Malfoy family found themselves in a familiar situation. Mr. Malfoy gathered the family in the front foyer, checked his watch, bid them all farewell, and then apparated off to work. This time, however, Mrs. Malfoy grabbed her two children and apparated onto Platform nine and three-quarters.
Clara barely had time to scream before being yanked off the ground. It was only for a moment, but she felt as though she were spinning and falling at a dangerously fast pace. A sense of relief came over her when she felt her feet touch down on the platform, but it was soon replaced by a strong urge to vomit up her morning's breakfast she'd only just eaten.
"Hold yourself together, sister," Lucius whispered gently in Clara's ear, noticing her complexion turning a slight shade of green. He had landed with ease on the hard cement, but Clara didn't have the same luck. If her mother hadn't been holding onto her hand, she probably would have tripped over her own two feet and fallen on her face. "You don't want to be known as the student who threw up all over the platform, do you?"
Clara shook her head and took a deep breath in order to steady herself. Soon the uncomfortable feelings passed and she quickly regained her bearings.
"It's almost time to go," Lucius reminded them, glancing at the time. Only ten minutes remained before the Hogwarts Express would depart and students were already beginning to climb aboard. Since the Malfoys were never ones for long drawn out goodbyes, they typically arrived with only a few minutes to spare.
"Now, remember to write to me every week," Mrs. Malfoy said, pulling her daughter in for one last hug. "And make sure to listen to your brother."
"I will, Mummy," Clara grinned, wrapping her arms tightly around her mother.
"And my dear Lucius," Mrs. Malfoy smiled, planting a firm kiss on her son's forehead. She was a lot softer on him without her husband around. "Have a good year."
Lucius nodded and gave his mother a hug goodbye. Then he grasped Clara by the shoulders and steered her towards the train. She managed to wave goodbye and then skipped aboard without another look back.
"How about this one?" Clara said, peeking into the compartment through the tiny glass window. Lucius slid the door ajar and briefly checked the faces inside. He didn't want his sister sitting with him, but he also knew that his parents wouldn't want her sitting with a bunch of strangers or the 'wrong' crowd. So he resolved himself to checking each compartment until he found one with suitable company inside to sit with Clara.
Two first years immediately looked up to see who was in the doorway. "Malfoy?" Sirius questioned, wondering why the older boy was standing before him.
"Black," Lucius said. Yes, a Black should be fine. He took a moment to assess his companion and recognized him to be James Potter – another pureblood. Lucius recalled seeing both boys at some wedding last year and figured they'd be suitable company for his little sister. Content, he pulled Clara inside. "Do you mind if my sister sits with you?"
Sirius paused. He didn't want to. From what he knew about the Malfoys they were all a bunch of stuck up pretentious jerks. Still, he knew his mother would throw a fit if she found out he'd been so rude. Knowing this he shook his head. "Excellent!" Clara grinned, pushing her way past Lucius to sit on the seat beside the window. Lucius handed her Smudge's carrier and then politely thanked Sirius and James. Afterwards he turned and left but made sure not to shut the compartment door behind him.
"So, you're Malfoy's sis-"
"Do you mind if we sit here? Everywhere else is full," a small red-headed girl asked, popping her head into the compartment.
"The more the merrier!" Clara smiled, patting the empty seat to her right. It was only when the two other kids plopped down beside her did she think to ask Sirius and James if it was okay. After all, they were the original occupants of the compartment. When neither boy said anything in protest, Clara figured they didn't mind and began to converse with the girl.
"So are you also first years?" Lily asked, fingering the cuff of her sleeve nervously.
"Yep! I'm James Potter," one boy said eagerly, cutting into their conversation. "And this fine lad here," he gestured, "is Sirius Black."
"I'm Lily Evans."
"I'm Severus Snape," Lily's friend mumbled. He was so quiet Clara barely noticed him. When she did though, she recognized him instantly. He extended his hand out to the two boys sitting across from him and they both shook it.
When he offered it to Clara, she paused momentarily. "What are you doing?" she asked, her face twisting into a confused expression.
"You're supposed to shake it," Sirius said, noticing Clara's confusion. "It's a way muggles greet each other."
Still, Clara didn't move. "What?" Sirius smirked. "Have something against muggles, Malfoy?"
Clara wanted to punch Sirius for calling her out, but opted to send him a dirty look instead. "Not at all," she replied, her tone even and calm. She gripped Severus' hand and shook it with resolve. "It's just that we're already acquainted, Black." With that, Severus let go and Clara retracted her hand into her lap.
"I'm Clara Malfoy, by the way," she said. "But you can just call me Clara if you want. People refer to my brother by our last name, not me." She glared at Sirius once again but smiled at the rest. "And like I said, we've met before."
After taking a better look at the petite blonde in the corner, Severus recognized her immediately. "You're the one from Diagon Alley," he said aloud, an 'ah ha' expression spreading across his face.
"That's me," Clara grinned. "I thought you'd forgotten me."
"I didn't," Severus insisted, happy to meet someone else he knew so quickly.
With introductions out of the way, James was quick to change the subject. "How were your summers?"
"Full of the usual, I guess," Lily started. "It took a whole summer of convincing from Sev that Hogwarts and magic really existed. At first I thought my letter was just a joke played on me by my other sister."
"Well are you glad it's all real?" Sirius asked.
"Of course!" Lily exclaimed, bouncing ever so slightly off her seat.
"And what about you?" Lily asked, turning to Clara.
"My dad took my brother and I to see the League Cup final."
The moment she mentioned Quidditch James was all ears. "How was the match?" Severus asked. "My father doesn't really like me listening to stuff related to magic." Being his best friend, Lily caught the tinge of sadness in his soft voice; the others did not.
"You missed it, Severus! Andrea Cunningham performed the perfect Bludger Backbeat," Clara screeched. She too adored Quidditch. The mention of anything related to the sport or the Pride of Portree always got her excited, almost as much as when she discovered a fellow Gobstones player; they were rarer than Quidditch fans. "Knocked Aloysius Webb right off his broom."
"So I'm guessing the Prides won?" Sirius asked, already fully aware of the answer.
"Unfortunately," James muttered. He shoved his hands into his pockets and leaned his head against the cool glass window.
"Well better luck next time," Sirius chuckled.
After a few minutes discussing the final match between the Pride of Portree and the Chudley Cannons, the trolley witch came by. Everyone pulled out a couple coins from their pockets and purchased a few sweets and treats to share. Between the five of them they had a good variety. Sirius gnawed at a liquorice wand while Lily and Severus shared a cauldron cake. Clara nibbled at a pumpkin pasty and tried her luck with some Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans. She got three tasty ones in a row and then a booger flavoured one in the end. James seemed intent on opening up all his chocolate frogs and letting them hop free around the compartment. It drew a couple of laughs until they started leaving little melted chocolate footprints on everyone's clothes.
"This was a new skirt," Lily sighed, rubbing at the chocolate with her fingers.
"It'll be okay. Besides, we'll be changing into our robes soon," Clara said.
"Oh yeah," James beamed, his eyes widening with excitement. "I forgot to ask which house you guys think you'll be in."
"Sev and I both want to be in Slytherin," Lily said. She didn't know much about the houses besides what Severus had told her, so she figured whichever one was fine so long as they were in it together.
James made a face. "Slytherin? That's the worst house of them all!"
Clara's eyes narrowed. "My family has always been sorted into Slytherin," she said curtly. "My brother is a Slytherin."
"James, my whole family has been in Slytherin," Sirius reminded him. Knowing that, Sirius knew there was little hope he'd be sorted into any other house.
The compartment quickly grew tense. "Jeez," James said in mock surprise. "And you two seemed to be alright."
With that everyone couldn't help but crack a smile.
"Where are you heading then if you've got the choice?" Sirius asked, taking another bite out of his liquorice wand.
"Gryffindor," James announced, rising to his feet as if he was going to make a speech. He also proudly placed his hand over his chest. "Where dwell the brave at heart! Like my dad…"
Severus snickered at his flamboyant gestures.
"Got a problem with that?" James demanded, glaring down at Severus.
"No. If you'd rather be brawny than brainy…"
"And since you're neither brawny nor brainy, it's a good thing you want to be in Slytherin," James said quickly, clearly annoyed by Severus' previous remark. "Good luck."
Everyone but Sirius frowned, the expressions dropping on their faces. Insulted, Lily immediately stood up and grabbed Severus by the hand. She slip open the compartment door and dragged him into the hallway. Quickly ducking her head back in to say goodbye to Clara, she then spun on her heels and left.
"Well that was disastrous," Clara huffed. "Did you have to take it so far?"
James threw both his hands in the air innocently. "He started it."