Finding the Heir (A Harry Potter Fanfiction)

Chapter One: The Tea War

          Standing at the top of the stairs, anxiously watching the locked door, Andromeda Walker waited in vain for release. She hoped, wished, and prayed that someone might walk through that door and end the monotony of her life. More than anything, however, she wished that her father would open that bolted door, smile at her, take her into his arms, and never let go. Andromeda was not alone in the large manor though. Grating, high-pitched laughs floated into the front hall from her mother's tea parlor. They were all superficial, her mother's friends. They mindlessly prattled and gossiped about Mafalda Hopkirk's ugly hat or some witch's gown at the last charity ball. Nobody seemed to care for the young, lonely girl hidden away at the top of the stairs, least of all the girl's mother.

But Andromeda's father, despite how aloof or far away he seemed, loved the girl very much. It seemed that despite Mr. Walker's best intentions, as does happen with us all, Mr. Walker was prone to be distracted and endlessly busy. Mr. Walker was a very wealthy wizard and an incredibly powerful businessman. Perhaps it was his Slytherin nature: his cunning, ambition, and resourcefulness that created his avaricious desire for wealth. Very close to his heart, though not closer than his love for his daughter, was his pride for being a wealthy man with a powerful and respectable pureblood family. It was his pride that kept him working and his pride that kept him away.

Andromeda stared at the envelope in her hands. The penmanship on the unopened envelope was expertly addressed. The sender was legendary; for who did not know of the great Albus Dumbledore, headmaster of Hogwarts? Andromeda wondered if she should open it. In the wizarding world, it was tradition for a child to open their letter while surrounded by their family. She remembered vividly her schoolmates at St. Clare's Preparatory School for Young Witches. She and her friends had talked often of receiving their letters from their desired schools when they came of age. St. Clare's, however, was a private school, a very expensive private school. Most of her friends there would be going to Beauxbatons Academy of Magic, a school which some wealthy families believed to be more suitable for their daughters than Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Thinking of her childhood friends made Andromeda feel deflated. Taking one last glance at her letter, Andromeda started down the stairs. 'Maybe if I show mother the letter," Andromeda thought suddenly, 'then she'll take me to Diagon Alley.' Images of Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor and Flourish and Blotts temporarily elated her mind, putting a rare smile on her face.

Stepping off the stairs and onto the polished wood floor, Andromeda turned down the hall to the parlor. The door was cracked open and the group of women sitting at the glass tea table were quite loud in their laughter, enjoying some malicious joke that her mother made at the expense of someone else. The ladies did not see her as she slipped into the room. After a few moments, however, her mother noticed her, an annoyed expression marring her perfect, pale face. Cold blue eyes stared her down and Andromeda's breath caught in her throat, eyes widening as she backed away. But it was too late.

One of the ladies at the glass tea table turned suddenly and saw the girl standing in the doorway. "Cassandra," Narcissa Malfoy said with a curious expression forming in the pursing of her lips, "Is that your daughter over there?" Narcissa Malfoy eyed the girl inquisitively. It was odd, she thought, that this girl had been hidden in that doorway for so long without catching anyone's notice. Mrs. Malfoy further wondered why, with all the society events held by Mrs. Walker, the girl had never once made an appearance. Narcissa Malfoy sympathized with this quiet and withdrawn girl.

At Narcissa's sudden notice of her daughter, Cassandra Walker frowned but quickly recovered, putting on her most maternal face (a face which she didn't entirely understand). "Yes. I'm sorry, the governess must have had the day off today." Cassandra explained casually, letting a small laugh escape from her scarlet-clad lips.