Halfway Gone
Chapter 4: Secrets revealed Part one
Summer break had started off very slowly for the group, since each was stuck at home. Yet as the second month came around, the girls were all getting ready to head to Anikki's house for the remaining break.
"Anikki, helooooo?" Sam called into her newly jinxed baby pink cell phone. She rolled her eyes as a response came that was in the form of a grunt. Sam sighed. "I'll be over in like ten minutes. Be ready." She said before flipping the phone shut. She turned to her bed, where her entire closet was laid out. She started hastily shoving all her clothes into a pocket sized carrying bag, and surprisingly, every article of clothing she could find fit into the tiny suitcase.
"Samantha! The fireplace is ready!" Samantha heard her mother call from down stairs. She took one last glance in the mirror, and then hurried downstairs.
"Hey mum have you seen my-." She was cut off when she saw her trunk sitting neatly by the fire, two presents on top of it.
"Happy early birthday honey!" Her mom said happily, gesturing towards the presents. Sam smiled and picked one up. It was long and thin, and shaped oddly like a broom. She opened it quickly, revealing the new Lightning Strike 10,000.
"Bloody hell… How did you know I was trying out this year?" Samantha asked excitedly, turning the racing broom different ways. Her mum shrugged.
"A hunch. You know, I never could quite get a hold on those things. Let's hope you get your riding skills from your father." Her mom joked. Sam's demeanor suddenly changed. How she wished her father could be there to celebrate her birthdays, holidays, and everything else major in her life. She fit her broom into her trunk, and opened the last present with much less enthusiasm. She blinked in surprise as something fluffy and pink fell into her hand. It was a small ball of fur, which had oddly huge adorable blue eyes.
"What is it?" She asked as the odd creature purred in her hand. Her mother petted it lovingly. "They call them Pygmy Puffs. Isn't she just so cute?" Sam smiled at the purring animal. "Her food is in the trunk; make sure you feed her at least once a day okay honey?" She cradled her in her arm as she climbed into the fireplace, dragging her trunk behind her.
"Thanks mom, the presents are wonderful." She said, giving her mom a small hug. Suddenly Ron appeared at her mom's side.
"Good bye Samantha, I hope you have a lot of fun." Ron said, smiling at her with his arm around her mum's shoulder. She sighed. "Good bye Ron." She said politely. "Malfoy Manor." She said, as she threw the floo powder to her feet.
She arrived coughing and choking on the ash that rose up when she swirled into view in the Malfoy's overly extravagant fireplace. She stumbled forward, pulling her trunk.
"Hey Sam, what the bloody hell is that?" Anikki asked, spotting the Pygmy Puff. Samantha raised an eyebrow.
"It's a pygmy Puff. I think I've decided to name her cookie." Sam said matter-of-factly. Anikki shook her head, blond hair flying from side to side.
"Wow Sam, extremely creative." She said sarcastically. Sam shrugged.
"And I suppose you can come up with a better one?" Sam asked with a smirk. Anikki just turned and gestured for her to follow her up the marble staircase. As Sam glanced around she found numerous portraits of Mr. Malfoy and his beautiful wife, and many paintings of abstract objects and colors. When they arrived at the top of the stairs she found countless doors, and a huge window at the very end, which emitted enough light to brighten the entire hallway.
"So you'll be staying across from me, of course. We keep the Debbie on the top floor." Anikki said with an evil laugh.
"What is 'the Debbie'?" Sam asked, wondering what in world it could be. Anikki halted immediately in front of her, turning with a shocked expression.
"You mean it hasn't tried to attack you yet?" Anikki asked. Sam quirked her eyebrow.
"Ummm, no?" Sam asked, slightly confused. "Anikki shrugged and began walking again.
"Well it's bound to happen soon. So be prepared. Oh and Becca, Sally, and Becky should be here shortly. They'll be staying on this floor, except for Becca, who will be one floor up across from her brother." Anikki said, sounding very business like.
"Whatever you say boss." Sam said, following Anikki until she reached the very last door. She pushed it open to reveal a plain white room, with a round bed in the middle and a door off to the right. Sam wondered whether or not someone had even ever stepped inside of it before.
"Okay, so what's up with the rooms is that when you walk in, it automatically adjusts to your mood/style. My dad couldn't make everyone happy when they decided to re-model, so he came up with a jinx to make everyone happy." She explained. "Go ahead, try it."
Sam was hesitant to step inside, it felt as if someone or something was in watching her. She drew a deep breath and stepped into the room. It changed instantly. The walls turned a deep shade of purple and the bed had assorted shades of purple, all which went together fabulously.
As Sam walked about the room she discovered that the room itself was round, and that almost everything thing from the mirror to the bathroom door was also.
"What's with the circular room?" Sam asked Anikki as she set her trunk down at the end of her bed, and started rummaging through it. Anikki shrugged.
"Everyone's is always different." She said, sitting on the bed. Sam pulled out her broom and smiled at Anikki mischievously.
"Is that a Lighting Strike 10,000?" Anikki asked, ripping it out of her hands. "But they haven't even been released yet!"
"Have you forgotten that my dad's a famous Quidditch player?" Sam asked, looking quite smug. She took the broom back from Anikki and set it by the door.
"When everyone gets here we have play a game." Anikki said, starting for the door. "I'll let you unpack your things, find me in the living room when you're done." She walked out, heading down to meet the others who might be coming in.
Sam laid back on the bed and turned her eyes to the rounded ceiling, feeling that for once things were going as planned in her life. Ever since her father's sickness had gotten bad things had been on a downward spiral leading to nowhere. Yet now she had friends and was really happy for the first time in months. She sighed and sat up, looking at her trunk and suitcase, feeling very lazy. She forced herself up and began unloading her suitcase, finding that her closet was almost as big as her entire master bedroom. She stood in it, dreamily looking around at all the open space. She did a small spin, then began loading it up with her clothes.
It took her less than an hour to get everything unpacked and organized. Her clothes were neatly hung, cookie was sleeping soundly on her bed, and her brand new broom was ready to be used. Only one thing was missing.
Her friends.
She jogged down the marble stair case, searching for Anikki's blond head. She found her seated on the couch with two other incredibly blond royal looking teens.
"Oh, hey Sam." Anikki said, looking up from a magazine she was reading. She set it back down on the small glass table in front of her, and gestured to the boy seated beside her.
"This is Lishius, by older brother." She said.
"Hello. Good to meet you." He said kindly, extending his hand. Sam took it.
"You too." She said awkwardly.
"And this…" Anikki started, gesturing to a rather older girl dressed all in hot pink. "Well, science really hasn't proved what she is, but we think she might be related to us somehow." Anikki said with smirk. The girl glared and just stuck her nose up in the air.
"It's Debbie you troll." She said snootily.
"Spell troll." Anikki said, flipping mindlessly through her magazine again. Debbie drew a blank face for a minute, and then glared at her younger sister. "Shut up." She said hotly, standing up and striding off. Sam just took her seat.
"Well, I can't say I blame you for not wanting to be related to her." Anikki just rolled her eyes.
Before any one of them could bring up a better topic, the fireplace roared green and a small pale figure tripped out of it and landing right on her face.
"Sally's here." Anikki said with a careless attitude, flipping another page in her magazine. Sam laughed at Anikki's comment and lack of sympathy for their small friend.
"Hey Sally, you okay?" Sam asked, walking over to her and giving her a hand up. Sally mumbled something incoherent. Before she got a chance to ask her what she had said, the fireplace glowed green twice more, then two other bodies came tumbling out.
"Becca!" Becky yelled, hugging her. "I thought you weren't coming!" Becca smiled and pulled her trunk out. "Yeah, well, I had a change of heart and phones Anikki this morning, telling her I would be joining all of you." She said.
"Hey guys!" Sam said, tackling them both.
"Hey! Gerroff me!" they all looked up from the dog pile to see a tall, honey brown haired boy with cute chocolate brown eyes and another boy who had shaggy black hair with a tan complexion and gorgeous silver-grey eyes tangled up in the fireplace.
"Oh great, the dorks are here." Debbie said, leaning against the doorframe that led to the kitchen. Lishius shot her a look as he stood to greet his friends.
"Hey Remus Jr., hey Sirius Jr." He said. "You up for a game of Quidditch?"
"You bet mate." Sirius said, pulling out a nimbus 2000. Sam snorted.
"You're still using that old thing?" Sam asked, a faint smile still etched on her face. Sirius glared at her.
"Yeah, well, some of us can't have the best brooms in the whole wizarding world." He threw the words at her. "And anyhow, I could kick your arse up and down the field even on this old thing."
"Is that a challenge?" She asked, taking a step towards the hot headed boy, crossing her arms.
"You bet it is!" He said, also taking a step towards her with his arms crossed.
"Well then let's go! I'll show you who the real Quidditch champion is." She said, pointing at him. He glared for a second, then turned and headed out towards the field.
"Lishius, Remus, call Sevarius. It's us against the girls." He said, stomping out. Lishius rolled his eyes, but followed his friend all the same, dragging Remus behind him.
"Okay, come on girls! Let's do this!" She said, still staring out the way Sirius had gone. "Who's all got brooms?" She asked, turning to the girls as if she were a drill sergeant. Becca, Anikki, Sally, and Becky all formed a line in front of her.
"We all do, except Becca." Anikki said.
"Okay, good. Four against four then. Who's going to be our seeker?" She asked, walking a line in front of them.
"Umm, I guess I will." Becky said, raising her hand. Sam nodded.
"Good okay, any keepers?" Anikki raised her hand.
"That's my specialty." She said with a smirk.
"Okay, that leaves me a beater and Sally our chaser. Can you handle that Sally?" Sam asked, stopping on front of her small friend. She nodded vigorously. "Okay, Becca, you just make sure those good for nothing boys don't cheat." She ordered. Becca nodded eyes wide with a touch of fear.
"Good, now get up those stairs, unpack and get ready for the best game of Quidditch you all will ever play." Sam said, ordering them up the stairs. They all nodded and drug their trunks up the staircase, to their new rooms.
Will the Quidditch game turn out in the girls' favor? Or will Sirius prove that he is Top-Dog? Will they ever find out exactly what Becca is hiding? Or will Sam simply have planned this mall vacation for nothing? Find out in the next installment of Halfway Gone: Secrets revealed…Part Two.