Escaping Darkness || Theodore Nott

3

Pandora looked up from the letter.

"Why does it say to meet him after the Sorting?"

"Mine doesn't say that," Draco said.

Pandora frowned. "Do you know what he wants?" She asked her uncle. He worked at the School sometimes, so she figured he might know.

"No," he replied, thoughtful, "but don't tell him anything too personal. He would not hesitate to use anything against you."

"What do you think he'll want, though?" Pandora pushed, "Will he want to talk about my gift? My father? Something else?"

"I don't know, but I will look into it," Lucius promised.

Narcissa and Draco had been watching the interaction silently, presumably wondering why Dumbledore wanted to meet Pandora, she thought.

Excitedly, Narcissa spoke again, "This means we need to go shopping for school supplies. Draco, hand me the list. They are the same, right? Both of you, go get ready. We're leaving in ten. Oh, this will be so much fun!"

Draco groaned and Lucius got up from the table.

"I'll come with you, to make sure you don't spend all of our money," he said on his way out.

"You can't stop me," Narcissa called back.

Pandora smiled. She loved it when her aunt was happy. She also loved shopping, she just wished she could do it without having to deal with the people.

When she had brushed her teeth and packed a small purse with her wallet and her pocket-sketchbook, she put Lotus in her cage and went back downstairs to find her cousin, aunt, and uncle already waiting for her in front of the fireplace.

Draco was grumbling to his mother about going shopping, asking why Pandora and Narcissa couldn't just bring him back what he needed.

Narcissa explained that, "You'll never learn to love shopping if you never go."

To this, Draco replied, "I don't want to love shopping"

Narcissa just said, "Then your poor wife will have to spend all of your money without you. If that's what you want, I guess I can't change that. But you're still going with us."

Pandora laughed, and they spun around. Apparently they hadn't heard her come down the stairs.

"Let's go."

Narcissa stepped into the fireplace, dropped a handful of floo powder in, making green flames, and said, "The Leaky Cauldron"

After her, Draco went, then Pandora, followed by Lucius.

She emerged out of the fireplace in the Leaky Cauldron, which was less full than usual. A couple of old ladies were sitting in the corner and some men were chatting at the bar.

Everyone turned to glance at her briefly, but there was one man in a turbine sitting at a table alone who was looking at her longer. Pandora thought he looked rather frightened.

Lucius stepped out of the fireplace now, and put his hand on Pandora's shoulder. Again, everyone turned their heads at the sound, but then averted their gazes again. They either didn't recognize the Malfoys, or they didn't care that they were here.

Pandora and the turbine-man made eye contact briefly. An image of her father flashed before her eyes. She wasn't too surprised, although most people's fears involving her father were of him coming back somehow, not just of him.

Suddenly, turbine-man stood and walked towards them. When he came within 5 meters of the group, the fear on his face became more intense, but he kept going. At last he stopped about one and 1/2 meters in front of them and started talking in a hushed, quivering voice.