"There you are!" her mother called from the back of the store as she entered, her cheeks flushed a light pink from the breeze and from half running to meet up with them in the bookstore. It was almost as busy as the street that held it, students having to push past each other, reaching over and around for the books they needed. It was like nothing she had ever seen. Then again, having been home schooled since turned 11, she hadn't gotten out much. "Where have you been? What's kept you?"
Come to think of it, she had always thought it was strange that she hadn't ever been asked to attend Hogwarts, or any other magic school for that matter. There had never been any doubt, being born into the family she'd been born into, that she would be an excellent witch. And now all of a sudden, upon turning 17, she had received her letter? Her brother had received his when he had turned 11. Why did he get to go to school at such a young age while she'd been forced to study from his tattered used books in the windowless kitchen where no one could see? For a fleeting moment, she wondered if perhaps she had been receiving letters each year that her parents had been keeping from her...
"Well?" her mother demanded.
"What?" she asked, lightly shaking her head.
"Where've you been?" her mother asked shortly. "Your brother and I have been waiting for over an hour."
"I.." she began, suddenly remembering the boy from the street. She thought it best to keep their interaction to herself...for now. "I must have lost track of the time," she lied. She knew all too well that her brother had given her more than her share of the shopping list to complete when he had ripped it in two. If he wasn't family, she would have nothing to do with him. He was absolutely vile. Of course she could never tell her parents that. She seemed to disappoint them enough already.
"Pathetic," her brother sneered. "Can't even get the shopping done right. No wonder she hasn't been asked to Hogwarts before now." She narrowed her eyes at him.
"If you weren't too good to do your own chores, perhaps I'd get to places on time," she muttered.
"My own chores?" he scoffed "You wouldn't need to do chores if you'd gotten into Hogwarts on time, would you? You'd be licensed to do magic whenever you wanted by now, wouldn't you?"
"I..."
"But you couldn't even get that right," he continued, ignoring her interruption. "It wasn't enough to be an embarrassment to yourself, you had to go off and become an embarrassment to the family by becoming the oldest person to ever graduate from Hogwarts." His voice, which had slowly been getting louder throughout his rant, was starting to draw the attention of others.
" Now, now, Draco," Lucius Malfoy said smugly, as he had found his family outside the store "we don't want to cause a scene." Even as her father spoke, she didn't believe him. Disdain for her dripped from his voice, and she had a fleeting sense that he would be glad to be rid of her this fall. "Come along now."
"Fred..." Ginny Wesley said, gently placing a hand on her brother's shoulder. No response. "Fred?"
"Fredrick Weasley!" their mother yelled, causing Fred to snap out of his daze and drop the chain he had been mindlessly fiddling with in his pocket.
"I'm right behind you, mum. No need to shout," he replied, adjusting his backpack on his shoulder.
"Right," she said. "Does everyone have everything? Ron? Ginny?"
"Yes," they replied in unison, rolling their eyes. But only Ginny noticed that Fred's mind had once again drifted to some far off place.
"All right then," Mrs. Weasley said, quickly dabbing her eyes with a kerchief "off you go!" And she ushered her children onto the train, waving them off until all that could bee seen was a cloud of smoke.
Ginny followed hurriedly behind her brothers, making a mental note as to the compartment where Ron, Harry and Hermione had settled, and almost slammed into the back of George when he stopped suddenly and turned into what appeared to be one of the last empty compartments on the train. She hurried in after him just as he shut the door.
"Oy!" George said with a furrowed brow. "What are you doing here? This compartment's occupied."
Ginny raised an eyebrow. "It's only you and Fred," she said. The compartment was far from being full.
George grinned. "Well, not for long," he winked over her shoulder at two girls as they passed. They smiled coyly and he nodded at them. Ginny rolled her eyes.
"George's right," Fred said, placing their bags in the overhead compartment after retrieving a box from inside. He opened it and began organizing its contents, and Ginny peered around George who seemed to be standing in front of her now to intentionally block her view.
"What are you up to?" she asked, narrowing her eyes at Fred who seemed to be doing the task more out of habit than out of a real interest. He was still distracted and, even if it took her all night, she was going to find out why.
Fred glanced up at her then, feeling her eyes boring into him. 'If only she knew how much she was like mum,' he thought as he walked to the door, tapping George out and dealing with his nosey sister himself. "Nothing that concerns you," he said, ushering her out the door. "Now if you'll excuse us, we have business to attend to."
"Fred, wait," she said, her eyes concerned. But before she could ask him what was going on, he shut the door, pulling the shade on the window behind him with a sigh of relief. He was going to have to keep a better check on his emotions from now on.
"What was all that about?" Ron said when he found Ginny, munching on a chocolate frog.
"I don't know," Ginny replied. "But I'm going to find out."
They made their way down the dimly lit hall of the castle, stopping before a large gargoyle, which seemed out of place. Then again, this whole encounter was rather odd. They had moved swiftly down the hall, past the other students who were gathering for what appeared to be a feast. Draco had been allowed to join the others, but her parents had prevented her from doing so, insisting that they report to professor Dumbledore's office immediately upon arrival. But wouldn't he be at the feast with the others? And come to think of it, didn't Draco get to travel to the school on the Hogwarts Express with the rest of the students when he first came to Hogwarts? Why did she have to accompany her parents via broomstick? It was all very strange, but she didn't dare protest for fear that her parents would force her to leave. So she did what she was told, and followed her parents through the passageway.
"Good evening, Lucius," Dumbledore said, rising from behind a beautiful mahogany desk. He adjusted his half-moon spectacles and addressed his mother and father in turn, even Draco, who had been escorted from the feast by a witch sporting a severe bun atop her head. "Ah, Minerva," Dumbledore said, taking a hat off a high shelf "right on time." He turned to face her, his kind eyes smiling. "And you must be Mercedes. It is a pleasure to finally meet you."
Mercedes brushed a honey colored curl behind her ear, accepting his welcoming handshake. "It's an honor to be here, sir."
"Please," Dumbledore said "call me professor. And now, allow me to introduce you to some of my colleagues." He gestured to the others in the room whom Mercedes had failed to notice as she had gazed with curiosity at the various magical objects around the room. Once Dumbledore had introduced Professors McGonagall, Snape, Sprout, the heads of houses, and Madame Pomfrey, the nurse, he gestured for them to be seated in the chairs he had conjured out of thin air.
"Now," he said to his present company. "I have asked you all here for a special ceremony. As a condition of allowing Miss Malfoy to continue her magical studies at Hogwarts, her parents have requested that she be sorted into her house privately, to avoid attracting attention to her special situation."
'Great,' Mercedes thought to herself. Now even the teachers knew that she was an embarrassment to her family.
"Miss Malfoy, if you would kindly step forward," Dumbledore said, holding out his hand. He guided Mercedes up to his desk where Professor McGonagall was holding the sorting hat. She stepped toward Professor McGonagall nervously. But despite the severe lines of her face, McGonagall was smiling softly. Slowly, she placed the hat on the new student's head and stepped back, her eyes watching with the others as the hat came to life.
Mercedes grew pale as she heard a small gasp from someone in the room. She shot a glance at her family. They looked absolutely horrified. Draco's eyes were bulging out of his head. Her mother looked as if she was about to pass out, and her father was furious. She looked to Dumbledore, concerned that perhaps she had done something wrong. But Dumbledore's face was content.
"Well, I think I have kept you from the feast long enough," Dumbledore said, rising from his seat. "Thank you for your time, Professors Now if you will excuse us, the Malfoys and I have some arrangements to make." The crowd then dispersed, leaving the Malfoys in the presence of the headmaster and his right-hand man.
"It's settled then," Dumbledore's number one said. "Mercedes Malfoy, welcome to Gryfindor house."