The Sister

Chapter 5

HOGWARTS SCHOOL of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY
Headmaster: ALBUS DUMBLEDORE
(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock, Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards) was written on the envelope. I opened the letter that was addressed to me and pulled out the paper.

Dear Miss Volkov,
We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment. Term begins on September 1. We await your owl by no later than August thirty first.

Yours sincerely, Minerva McGonagall, Deputy Headmistress

I frowned and should it to Molly. "Oh good. You got accepted. Ron, Fred, George, and Percy got theirs in July." Molly said. "What is Hogwarts?" I asked. "It's a school for witches and wizards. You attend for seven years unless you are expelled. They usually include a list of rules and supplies in the letters." Molly said. As she said that two pieces of paper dropped out of the envelope. One had a list of materials and the other had a list of rules. I red both and handed both to Molly when I was done. "Good tomorrow we'll go get everyone's school stuff." She said and I nodded. The next day we got up early, got dressed, and ate breakfast before we traveled by floo to Diagon Alley. We went to Gringotts and I walked up to the counter with Arthur. "Hello Mr. Weasley. How can I help you today?" The goblin asked. Ron had told me about the goblins and also told me not to stare. I looked around as Arthur talked to the goblin. "And how about for you Miss Volkov?" The goblin asked. My head snapped around to face him. "Phoenix does not have a key to-" The goblin disappeared suddenly and popped back up with a key on a black rope. He handed it to me with a smile. "This was given to me by your mother. She instructed me to wait for you to come retrieve it. Being the last Volkov everything in the vault goes to you." The goblin said. I nodded and followed him and Arthur to the carts that would take us down to the vaults. We stopped by Arthur's first before going even further down to mine. There was a giant wolf head engraved on the door with the name Volkov under it. I took out the key and opened the vault. I walked into the vault and saw hills of gold. "Arthur was my family rich?" I asked. "Yes. The Volkov's are an old family and there used to be a lot of them. Unfortunately being in league with the Dark Lord means very short life spans." Arthur said. I grimaced and took out the coin pouch that Mrs. Weasley had given me. I filled the small bag up and clipped it back to where it had been under my jacket. I walked out and locked the door. I put the key under my shirt and we went back upstairs. The Weasley's were waiting for us by the front doors. I saw them talking to a tall white haired man with a young boy who looked my age. I walked up with Arthur and the white haired man turned to us. "Arthur." He said. "Lucius. How are you?" Arthur said. I could feel the tension in the air between these two families. "Quite well. I've noticed you added another member to your ranks." Lucius said, looking at me. I met his eyes boldly and held his gaze until he looked away. "Yes, this is Phoenix Volkov." Arthur said putting his hand on my shoulder. "Volkov? I thought they were all died?" Lucius said looking at me closely. "She is the last one." Arthur said tightly. "Pureblood are you not?" Lucius asked, looking down at me. "Yes, sir." I said. "We must be going." Arthur said. He turned away and I followed him as he led me away from Lucius and his son. "Who was that?" I asked. "Lucius Malfoy with his son Draco. Lucius works at the Ministry with dad but he's rumored to still be in league with the Dark Lord." Ron said, quietly. I nodded and thought it over as we got our supplies, robes, and wand. I bonded with a blackwood, phoenix tail feather core wand that was a foot long. It sparked gold and green the instant I touched it. We floo powdered our way back to the Burrow and me, Fred, George, Ron, and Percy all packed our stuff for September first. The next two days we spent packing and getting ready to leave. On September first we arrived to the train station and Percy showed me how to get through the barrier. I put my stuff on the train with George's help. "Ron, you've got something on your nose." Ron tried to jerk out of the way, but Molly grabbed him and began rubbing the end of his nose. "Mom-geroff" He wriggled free. "Aaah, has ickle Ronnie got somefink on his nose?" said one of the twins. "Shut up," said Ron. "Where's Percy?" said Molly. "He's coming now." Percy came striding into sight. He had already changed into his billowing black Hogwarts robes, and I noticed a shiny silver badge on his chest with the letter P on it. "Can't stay long, Mother," he said. "I'm up front, the prefects have got two compartments to themselves-""Oh, are you a prefect, Percy?" said one of the twins, with an air of great surprise. "You should have said something, we had no idea." "Hang on, I think I remember him saying something about it," said the other twin. "Once-" "Or twice-" "A minute-" "All summer-" "Oh, shut up," said Percy the Prefect. "How come Percy gets new robes, anyway?" said one of the twins. "Because he's a prefect," said their mother fondly. "All right, dear, well, have a good term, send me an owl when you get there." I snickered at George and Fred's antics when I heard someone calling my name. I turned to see Harry waving at me from inside the train. I ran up the steps and into the compartment he was in. "It is you." He said. I smiled broadly and hugged him tightly. He was thin and stick like, just how I remembered. "Let me go you're going to crush my ribs." He gasped. I smirked and let go. "Still a stick then?" I teased. "Still way stronger then you should be?" He said back. We laughed and I sat down next to him. Ron came in after the train had pulled away. "Hey Phoenix. Anyone sitting there?" he asked, pointing at the seat opposite Harry. "Everywhere else is full." I shook my head and Ron sat down. He glanced at Harry and then looked quickly out of the window, pretending he hadn't looked. I saw he still had a black mark on his nose. "Hey, Ron." The twins were back. "Listen, we're going down the middle of the train -- Lee Jordan's got a giant tarantula down there." "Right," mumbled Ron. "Harry," said the other twin, "did we introduce ourselves? Fred and George Weasley. And this is Ron, our brother. And of course you know Phoenix, your adopted sister. See you later, then." They said and disappeared. "Bye," said Harry and Ron. The twins slid the compartment door shut behind them.