Hello, everyone! This is my very first fanfiction, or just my first fictional story to begin with, so it's going to be far from great. Please give feedback on my writing. It will help me a lot! I was thinking about having a song for each chapter of my story. This chapter's song is Manic Monday by Prince instead of The Bangles.
Also, I don't own Harry Potter or any of the characters. Just my OC.
Enjoy!
Chapter 1
Valarie groaned and pulled the covers over her head as she heard her aunt bang on the door of her room.
"Come on and get up, will you? You're going to make me late!" she barked through the door.
"I'm up! I'm up!" Valarie cried through the blankets making her voice slightly muffled.
She peaked over the covers, and peered up at the clock on the wall. The time read 6:30. She sighed and turned over in her bed, now staring at the opposite wall, where her bed was positioned against.
Getting up early had never been Valarie's forte, and living with an early bird such as Aunt Mandy had never helped her situation. Why couldn't she enjoy the softness of her bed, the weight of the blankets effortlessly grounding her in place?
She knew the answer to that question.
School.
And with school, meant not being able to revel in the joys of a nice soft bed, with the warm sun shining through the window, adding to that comfort.
Aunt Mandy hated the amount of time Valarie spent in her bed in the mornings instead of getting a head-start on the day, and more importantly making her late for work. She owned a flower shop called Rook's Roses close to where they lived. She liked to get there early, to get the flowers taken care of and the place ready to go before the customers arrived. When she was little, Valarie would run around the quaint shop, play in the potting soil, and dance around like it was a faerie's kingdom. She would play until the sun set in the evenings, and get picked up by her mother after work...
Valarie's eyes snapped open to the loud banging if her door once again.
"What are you doing in there? Get a move on!" Aunt Mandy ordered from outside.
'Whoops. Daydreaming again...' Valarie thought.
With another groan, she pulled herself out of bed, squinting from the light seeping through the curtains of her window. She tugged on an old Led Zeppelin T-shirt and some worn, paint-splattered jeans left lying on the floor. With no time to tame the black mass on her head, she quickly tied her hair up to at least get it out of her face. She absolutely despised her hair, as it was extremely difficult to comb the knots out of the thick mess.
One morning, a boy in her class mentioned her hair looking like a rat's nest. She didn't react, though she felt hurt by his words and wished she didn't have such curly, crazy hair. By lunch, her hair had straightened out, her raven curls nearly disappeared. She looked unrecognizable when she saw herself in the mirror in the girls bathroom. Sadly, her hair went back to its original state, and that was the only time her hair had ever been tamed.
Once finished, she raced to the kitchen where her aunt usually resided.
She stood at the counter pouring herself a large mug of coffee, with her hand on her hip. She looked up from what she was doing but didn't say a word. She only gave Valarie the look that usually showed disappointment.
"Sorry, Aunt Mandy. This will be the last time, I swear it. I'm only trying to help out," Valarie mumbled, looking down at her feet.
Aunt Mandy sighed, shaking her head slightly, causing her wavy brown hair to bounce around her face.
"I know, dear. I know. Just please don't be out late on a school night, especially without my permission. I'm just glad that Mrs. Patterson told me you were at her restaurant after hours when she did. I want to to go out and play with your friends, not scrubbing dishes."
Valarie nodded, looking anywhere but up. She didn't want to admit that she hadn't acquired any friends at school. Her peers weren't exactly mean nor did they blatantly ignore her; they were generally nice and polite. But there was something about the way they interacted with her that felt insincere. She used to sit with a few girls that invited her to their table during lunch, but it felt forced. She often felt left out in their conversations, and they would make and outside of school without inviting her. However, Valarie didn't think much of it, assuming they had a reason behind it.
It wasn't after a few months of sitting with them when she concluded that they weren't pleasant people. She often overheard some of the girls whisper to each other about her being a 'freak' or 'strange' when they thought she wasn't around. She couldn't deny that she felt out of place sometimes.
That is why she usually resorted to helping the kind old lady who owned the deli down the street from her apartment complex after school, usually cleaning or washing dishes after closing. She rather enjoyed the work, and sometimes stayed a little later than her aunt liked.
Aunt Mandy cleared her throat, and Valarie jumped out of her reverie.
"Now, go and get your things. We don't want to be late than we already are."
"Yes, ma'am," Valarie replied, only looking up when she walked away.
She headed back to her room, quickly putting on her black chucks and a hoodie. Mavis, her cat was sitting on the windowsill staring at her with her big, yellow eyes, pleading for her not to leave.
"I know, Mavis. I hate Mondays too," she sighed, giving the black feline a good scratch under her chin before grabbing her school bag and advancing out the door.
As Valarie made her way down the hallway, she heard her aunt having a rather heated conversation with a man at the door. His voice was one she didn't recognize, and by the sound of things, he wasn't wanted here. She peeked around the corner, to see Aunt Mandy standing defensively in the entryway. The man was standing just out of view for her to get a good look at him. She crouched down to look at the visible area at her aunt's feet, but could only make out some black dress shoes, pants and the bottom half of a cloak. Valarie furrowed her eyebrows wondering why somebody would wear such attire on a warm, sunny day.
"I need to speak with her, Amanda," the man demanded, his baritone voice sounding more like a hiss.
"No, Severus! I'm not letting you brainwash her into believing in this...magic nonsense! You have a lot of nerve showing up here after 10 years only when you discovered you had a daughter."
At this, Valarie froze in shock and confusion. Aunt Mandy's words swirled around in her head like a tornado. None of what she said made any sense to her.
'Daughter? Magic? Just who is this man, and what did he want? ' she pondered.
The old hardwood floor creaked under her feet, blowing her cover. Her aunt spun around to face her.
"Val, honey. Please go back to your room, while I deal with this. Forget what I said about being late for school," she said, visibly holding back her anger from the situation.
"What's happening? Who is that?" Valarie questioned, pointing at the man standing behind her.
"Nobody. Just a salesman," she replied dumbly.
"Don't lie to me. I heard what you said. You know this man. Why is he here?" Valarie asked as she set her school bag down beside her.
Aunt Mandy started to speak, but was cut off by the mystery man, who was now making his way past her. He was tall, thin man who towered over her, as well as her aunt, who was fairly tall to begin with. He had a pale, sallow face, with greasy, black hair that reached his shoulders. His nose was large and hooked, and had cold, black eyes that pierced holes into her light blue ones.
"I'm Severus Snape," he stated. "I've come to collect you by the orders of Albus Dumbledore. We have much to discuss."
I hope you liked it! I think I did pretty well for hardly ever writing dialogue or a finished thought for that matter. I'm not sure how often I will be writing or if my chapters will have a consistent word count.
Please review for the people who find this story.
Thanks!
