Against All Odds

CHAPTER 1

Diagon Alley

The new school term beginning my fifth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry will begin very soon so I've come to Diagon Alley with my parents to get the things I'm going to be needing once I go back.

You must be wondering who I am. Well, I am Blair Millington. Pureblood and a Slytherin.

But I'm a good person, I promise.

My family are technically "blood traitors" because we agree with the Pureblood family (named the Weasleys) and their views on Muggles, Muggleborns and the mix of Magical and Muggle blood. We believe that it is acceptable. But nobody actually knows that. It's a secret. Which means I'm not treated any differently to any other Pureblood Slytherin.

My parents were Slytherins back in the day but they never allied with Voldermort when he rose to power they just pretended to be while they were in fact relaying information back to Dumbledore and the Order of the Phoenix.

I'm proud to be a Slytherin none-the-less, many of us are misunderstood, thought to be evil, and I'm walking proof that, that is not the case.

Anyway, back to what I'm actually doing at this moment in time...

Along the cobbled path of Diagon Alley the sun reflects off of a stack of cauldrons outside of Potage's Cauldron Shop and a collapsible sign hanging over them tells shoppers that they come in all sizes and are made of a variety of different things. But I don't need anything in there. I'm already stocked up, so we pass the building hardly acknowledging it and head for Flourish and Blotts Book Shop.

The door dings as my father pushes it open and we step inside admiring the look. The three of us absolutely adore to read and learn, that's why I'm one of the top students in my year.

The shelves are stacked to the ceiling with books as large as paving stones bound in leather; books the size of postage stamps in covers of silk; books full of peculiar symbols and a few books with nothing in them at all so that they can be filled with your own thoughts and notes.

It smells of parchment and burning candles and only a light mutter of words and snippets of conversations float around the air while we scout the shelves for what I need.

Firstly we head to the school section where I pick up The Standard Book Of Spells, Grade 5 - By Miranda Goshawk, Defensive Magical Theory - By Wilbert Slinkhard, Advanced Potion Making - By Libatius Borage, Spellman's Syllabary (for Ancient Runes) and a few others.

Then we all head to different sections of the shop so that we can look through books to read for our own pleasure, so I start by picking up a book I've had my eye on for a long time Beauty With Magic - By Belinda Corfe and then a fictional novel that I've never seen on previous trips here.

Back outside we make our way to the Apothecary so that my potion ingredient supply can be topped up, then Scribbulus Writing Instruments to get a handful of quills, rolls of parchment and ink for my studies and homework. Madam Malkins helps me for new robes and basic uniform (my current one has become much too small) and then finally to Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour for a little cold treat sat at a table outdoors in the sunshine.

I look at the back of my mothers chair where her bag is hanging with an undetectable extension charm on it so all of my supplies are inside, without having to carry multiple shop bags. Then I look back at my parents.