Destiny and the Dragon (A Draco Malfoy Love Story)

Chapter Nine

 "What's that on your face, Phoebe?" Cho asked me with concern as she wrapped me in a hug. She'd sent her father, a short but very kind looking man to pick me up from St. Mary's, and I'd only just arrived at her very large house.

"Oh, nothing," I dismissed. "We've got a new Father at the orphanage, to replace Mulcahey who got promoted to a better situation. He's not a fan of mine." She stroked my purpled eye. "Don't worry about it, I'm fine," I reassured her, and she nodded with a grim smile.

I, of course, didn't tell her that they'd replaced Father Mulcahey four years ago already, so my statement was admittedly misleading.

"Well, you're with me now! No more violence for you," she said in a forced manner, and I smiled. "I thought, after spending all summer with angry muggles, you'd want a good dose of wizarding fun. What do you say to Diagon Alley today? Dad says our letters should arrive in an hour or so." I grinned.

"Would that be alright, Mr. Chang?" I asked politely, and the graying man nodded. "Then, yes, of course! I missed you, and magic, so much this summer."

Our letters arrived only minutes later, and I pulled mine out to see a long list of things that I couldn't afford. My heart dropped.

"Something wrong?" Cho inquired, and I grimaced.

"Well, last year Dumbledore came with me to shop. I haven't got any wizard money at all," I admitted.

"Don't worry about it," said Mr. Chang, looking up from his newspaper and steaming coffee. "There's a fund for muggleborn students in your situation, I know the foundation manager from the Ministry. I'll stop by Gringotts and sort it out when we arrive."

"Thank you, sir," I said warmly.

When it was time to go, Cho handed me a ceramic pot full of colored powder, and I stared at it blankly.

"Cho, dear," her mother called from the doorway. "You may have to show her first." I

nodded, and Cho grabbed the pot back from me.

"Floo powder," Cho explained, "is a method of magical transportation. First, you activate the fire by throwing a pinch in the fireplace." My eyes widened as the fire transformed into a bright green. " Then you take a handful," she reached in to do so, and stepped into the fireplace. "And throw the handful down, speaking very clearly where you'd like to go." She tossed the powder into the fire, exclaimed "Diagon Alley" quite loudly, and was engulfed in flames.

"Cho!" I squeaked when the flames faded to reveal she had disappeared entirely.

"Your turn," said Mr. Chang, who then turned to his wife. "We'll be back this afternoon, honey." The smiling woman nodded and waved. I was shaking as I grabbed the handful, causing a few grains to slip through prematurely.

"Diagon Alley!" I said as clearly as I could muster, and repeated Cho's movements with my eyes closed. There was a funny feeling all over me, and then I was back to normal.

"Phoebe!" I heard a voice, and I opened my eyes to see Cho, who had some soot on her face but was otherwise unharmed. She tugged me out of the fireplace, and to my surprise we were already inside the same store where I bought my first spellbooks a year ago.

"That was mental!" I exclaimed as I looked around in wonder. The place looked almost exactly the same; row after row of cluttered shelves with books on every wizarding concept imaginable. It was heaven.

"I know," agreed Cho as she watched my expression. "I love this place. So much knowledge."

"Dad probably flooed directly to Gringotts," she reasoned, "so we can look around here while we wait for him." I grinned.