"Meta! META!" A shrill, high pitched voice came drifting up the
stairs of my Aunt Agnes's large, newly purchased, palatial home.
I scrambled to pull on my muggle outfit, dark jeans, a tee shirt, and old converse sneakers.
"I'm coming, I'm coming!" I yelled as I grabbed my bag, took a quick, discouraging look in the mirror, and bolted down the stairs. It's not that I was an absolute troll or anything, I was just self-concious. I did not like mirrors because whenever I looked in them I saw a pale skinned, dark eyed girl, who looked too young to be seventeen.
"It is rude to keep your guests waiting, Meta. How many times have I told you?" Aunt Agnes said as I reached the bottom of the staircase where Franco and his family were waiting. Aunt Agnes was surveying them with a sharp eye, as if they had some highly communicable disease that she and her precious furniture were going to catch. Aunt Agnes was always of the mindset that Muggles were second best, and she would normally not approve of me socializing with them, but it was nearly August and she was thoroughly sick of me.
"Mr. and Mrs. Polley, thank you for letting me stay in your home," I said gratefully, perhaps a little too gratefully because Aunt Agnes glared at me and passive aggressively shoved everyone out the door.
"Thank heavens!" I said to Franco as we got in his parents car. "That woman has been driving me insane!"
"What have you been doing with your dear old auntie?" Franco asked as we drove out of the suburbs and toward London.
"Oh, well, when she can't get any of her new 'friends' to come over, I usually have the pleasure of listening to Auntie brag about her stupid, bloody party that she's planning. 'Everyone is going to be there, Meta, so don't humiliate me like you usually do,' " I said, impersonating Agnes's creaking, high, voice.
"She's making you go to her look-at-me-I'm-rich-now party?"
"Yes," I said cringing, "And she's making me wear dress robes."
"You? You never dress up!" Exclaimed Franco.
"I know. I'd prefer muggle clothes any day. It's nothing against robes, I just feel more comfortable in pants."
"Me too," said Franco.
"It's good to be around sane people again," I said smiling.
"Hey, thanks!" Franco said. "So when is your Aunt's party, exactly?"
"Two weeks from tomorrow. I've got the dreaded date etched in my brain. August 13th. I really don't know who she thinks she's kidding, trying to get in with the socially elite and pureblooded families. Sure, the Cockerhams are relatively high on the 'clean' blood scale, but we don't exactly have the best reputation."
"Yeah, but look at the Malfoys," Franco replied. "Everybody knows about the horrible stuff they've done, but they still manage to buy support."
"Yes, but they've been very wealthy for a very long time. My father made all of his money on his own, you have to give him credit for that I suppose, and now Aunt Agnes has inherited it all. I'd say that's what some people call 'new money'. I just don't want her to get in with the wrong crowd and put me in danger as well."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, more than half of the people she's invited to her party are muggle-haters and pure-blood fanatics. Dark arts and all that. It's really scary actually, how she seems to be getting worse and worse each day."
"Well, I guess I'm out of an invitation to your Auntie's muggle hating fancy dress ball."
"You're the lucky one, Franco."
I spend a blissful week and a half at Franco's family's flat in London. We did normal muggle things like sightseeing, shopping, and going movies.
"I know it's not very exciting here," Franco said to me one day.
"Are you kidding, Franco? I'm having a blast!"
His face could have lit up the room for the entire rest of the evening. Too quickly, however, it came time to leave. I would be returning home, if you could call it that, to prepare myself for the inevitably boring party on August the thirteenth.
"Bye," said Franco as his parents dropped me off. "Good luck with the party."
"Thanks," I said grimly. "I'm going to need it. If you don't hear from me within two days afterwards, you'll know that I've either poisoned myself to get out of the party or Aunt Agnes has locked me in a trunk for embarrassing her in front of her friends," I said, only half joking.
"I'll remember that," Franco said and got into his parents car. "See you at school!"
I waved good-bye to them as they drove away and slowly trudged up the large front steps of my Aunt's house, not at all looking forward to going back inside.
The moment I opened the door I almost jumped back from surprise. The usually deadly quiet house was a hurricane of noise and people everywhere coming and going.
"Oh, Fanny will take that, Miss," said Fanny the house elf, appearing out of nowhere to take my bag.
"What's all this, Fanny?" I asked as two wizards carrying a large vase full of black roses walked past.
"Well, Mistress has been busy preparing for the ball, Miss. People are everywhere, almost stepping on Fanny!"
"But the party isn't until the thirteenth, that's three days from now."
"Well, Mistress says there is much to do," Fanny said in her funny little voice as she struggled up the staircase with the large bag.
"Fanny, I'll take that," I said, reaching to take the bag from her.
"No! No, Fanny wants to," she said, finally reaching my room and setting my bag down on the floor.
"FANNY!"
"Oh, no," Fanny said, her ears drooping at the sound of Aunt Agnes's voice. She ran out of the room and I was left to unpack.
I sighed as I heaved my large brown bag onto my bed. I hate it here, I thought to myself. And I don't really have a good reason to. Everything is beautiful and new and I'm mostly left alone, but I'm still so unhappy.
Maybe you are unhappy because you are alone. Said a little voice. You miss him, admit it.
"Shut up!" I said out loud.
"Talking to yourself, girl?" Aunt Agnes was standing in the doorway with a nasty look on her face. "I always knew you were deranged."
"What is it?" I snapped.
"Tut, tut. Watch your tone, Meta. It's not at all flattering. I came up here to tell you that you should be going to Diagon Alley for some dress robes."
"Now? But I've only just got back!"
"Oh, well, that's too bad isn't it? Maybe you should have bought them when you were in London already."
"But we were busy. And anyway, Franco's parents are muggles and they're not completely comfortable with--"
"Please," Agnes interrupted. "Refrain from all this muggle-loving talk from now on, Meta. And get something in a nice colour, no bright yellow or hot pink or I'll send you right back. Now, go," she commanded, pushing a sackful of money into my hand and sweeping out the door.
"Stupid old bat," I mumbled, grabbing a handful of Floo powder with my free hand. "Diagon Alley!" I yelled through the flames.
I scrambled to pull on my muggle outfit, dark jeans, a tee shirt, and old converse sneakers.
"I'm coming, I'm coming!" I yelled as I grabbed my bag, took a quick, discouraging look in the mirror, and bolted down the stairs. It's not that I was an absolute troll or anything, I was just self-concious. I did not like mirrors because whenever I looked in them I saw a pale skinned, dark eyed girl, who looked too young to be seventeen.
"It is rude to keep your guests waiting, Meta. How many times have I told you?" Aunt Agnes said as I reached the bottom of the staircase where Franco and his family were waiting. Aunt Agnes was surveying them with a sharp eye, as if they had some highly communicable disease that she and her precious furniture were going to catch. Aunt Agnes was always of the mindset that Muggles were second best, and she would normally not approve of me socializing with them, but it was nearly August and she was thoroughly sick of me.
"Mr. and Mrs. Polley, thank you for letting me stay in your home," I said gratefully, perhaps a little too gratefully because Aunt Agnes glared at me and passive aggressively shoved everyone out the door.
"Thank heavens!" I said to Franco as we got in his parents car. "That woman has been driving me insane!"
"What have you been doing with your dear old auntie?" Franco asked as we drove out of the suburbs and toward London.
"Oh, well, when she can't get any of her new 'friends' to come over, I usually have the pleasure of listening to Auntie brag about her stupid, bloody party that she's planning. 'Everyone is going to be there, Meta, so don't humiliate me like you usually do,' " I said, impersonating Agnes's creaking, high, voice.
"She's making you go to her look-at-me-I'm-rich-now party?"
"Yes," I said cringing, "And she's making me wear dress robes."
"You? You never dress up!" Exclaimed Franco.
"I know. I'd prefer muggle clothes any day. It's nothing against robes, I just feel more comfortable in pants."
"Me too," said Franco.
"It's good to be around sane people again," I said smiling.
"Hey, thanks!" Franco said. "So when is your Aunt's party, exactly?"
"Two weeks from tomorrow. I've got the dreaded date etched in my brain. August 13th. I really don't know who she thinks she's kidding, trying to get in with the socially elite and pureblooded families. Sure, the Cockerhams are relatively high on the 'clean' blood scale, but we don't exactly have the best reputation."
"Yeah, but look at the Malfoys," Franco replied. "Everybody knows about the horrible stuff they've done, but they still manage to buy support."
"Yes, but they've been very wealthy for a very long time. My father made all of his money on his own, you have to give him credit for that I suppose, and now Aunt Agnes has inherited it all. I'd say that's what some people call 'new money'. I just don't want her to get in with the wrong crowd and put me in danger as well."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, more than half of the people she's invited to her party are muggle-haters and pure-blood fanatics. Dark arts and all that. It's really scary actually, how she seems to be getting worse and worse each day."
"Well, I guess I'm out of an invitation to your Auntie's muggle hating fancy dress ball."
"You're the lucky one, Franco."
I spend a blissful week and a half at Franco's family's flat in London. We did normal muggle things like sightseeing, shopping, and going movies.
"I know it's not very exciting here," Franco said to me one day.
"Are you kidding, Franco? I'm having a blast!"
His face could have lit up the room for the entire rest of the evening. Too quickly, however, it came time to leave. I would be returning home, if you could call it that, to prepare myself for the inevitably boring party on August the thirteenth.
"Bye," said Franco as his parents dropped me off. "Good luck with the party."
"Thanks," I said grimly. "I'm going to need it. If you don't hear from me within two days afterwards, you'll know that I've either poisoned myself to get out of the party or Aunt Agnes has locked me in a trunk for embarrassing her in front of her friends," I said, only half joking.
"I'll remember that," Franco said and got into his parents car. "See you at school!"
I waved good-bye to them as they drove away and slowly trudged up the large front steps of my Aunt's house, not at all looking forward to going back inside.
The moment I opened the door I almost jumped back from surprise. The usually deadly quiet house was a hurricane of noise and people everywhere coming and going.
"Oh, Fanny will take that, Miss," said Fanny the house elf, appearing out of nowhere to take my bag.
"What's all this, Fanny?" I asked as two wizards carrying a large vase full of black roses walked past.
"Well, Mistress has been busy preparing for the ball, Miss. People are everywhere, almost stepping on Fanny!"
"But the party isn't until the thirteenth, that's three days from now."
"Well, Mistress says there is much to do," Fanny said in her funny little voice as she struggled up the staircase with the large bag.
"Fanny, I'll take that," I said, reaching to take the bag from her.
"No! No, Fanny wants to," she said, finally reaching my room and setting my bag down on the floor.
"FANNY!"
"Oh, no," Fanny said, her ears drooping at the sound of Aunt Agnes's voice. She ran out of the room and I was left to unpack.
I sighed as I heaved my large brown bag onto my bed. I hate it here, I thought to myself. And I don't really have a good reason to. Everything is beautiful and new and I'm mostly left alone, but I'm still so unhappy.
Maybe you are unhappy because you are alone. Said a little voice. You miss him, admit it.
"Shut up!" I said out loud.
"Talking to yourself, girl?" Aunt Agnes was standing in the doorway with a nasty look on her face. "I always knew you were deranged."
"What is it?" I snapped.
"Tut, tut. Watch your tone, Meta. It's not at all flattering. I came up here to tell you that you should be going to Diagon Alley for some dress robes."
"Now? But I've only just got back!"
"Oh, well, that's too bad isn't it? Maybe you should have bought them when you were in London already."
"But we were busy. And anyway, Franco's parents are muggles and they're not completely comfortable with--"
"Please," Agnes interrupted. "Refrain from all this muggle-loving talk from now on, Meta. And get something in a nice colour, no bright yellow or hot pink or I'll send you right back. Now, go," she commanded, pushing a sackful of money into my hand and sweeping out the door.
"Stupid old bat," I mumbled, grabbing a handful of Floo powder with my free hand. "Diagon Alley!" I yelled through the flames.