Finding the Heir (A Harry Potter Fanfiction)

Chapter Three: First Impressions

Around Noon, when the sun was high above Diagon Alley, Andromeda bided her time at Madam Malkin's until she could visit a more magical shop like Ollivander's or Flourish and Blott's. The most magical thing that she could find in the store was the gown that stitched itself, so she occupied herself by watching the needle and thread as it worked on the emerald sleeve.

The pinning and pulling process was more than familiar to her; she had been to Madam Malkin's a number of times with Minka, but never with her mother and never was she able to explore all the alley had to offer. Biting her tongue when Madam Malkin accidentally stuck her with a needle, she wrenched her eyes shut. The only thing worse than the bite of the needle was sharing the fitting with Draco Malfoy. He was such a spoiled child, Andromeda thought, more spoiled than she was. She couldn't help rolling her eyes as Malfoy threw another tantrum.

"How dare you!" He shrieked at the poor, unsuspecting shop girl, wearing a sort of cockney accent that he only let slip when Mummy wasn't around. "Don't you know who I am? This is the fifteenth time you've stuck me!"

"This is only the third time, Malfoy," Andromeda corrected, becoming overly tired of the dramatic brat's outbursts. "If she stuck you fifteen times, Malfoy, you'd look like an oversized pin cushion."

"Stay out of this, Walker," he snarled, looking almost ready to jump down from the fitting platform and confront her. "I know that mum feels bad for you, but you're nothing more than a charity case to her."

Snickering, Andromeda stared at her contemptuous new "playmate" and wondered if he knew just how ridiculous he sounded. "You wouldn't dare say that in front of your mummy though, would you? What would she say if she found you verbally attacking an innocent, wealthy girl, like me? Do you fancy having your ears boxed?"

Having rendered Malfoy speechless, Andromeda quietly exhaled and shut her eyes to try and relax for the rest of the fitting. The whiny boy on the next fitting platform couldn't help but stare. No one had ever told him off. "Who does that girl think she is?" He whispered to himself, his eyes blazing and his hands clutched tight into fists. If he would have to share a Hogwarts house with her, the next seven years would be very long.

Their meeting earlier in the afternoon had occurred in a similar fashion and it seemed like the two would never get along. First impressions are everything after all.

He found her in the kitchen.

As if he had just tasted something sour, his scrutinizing gaze narrowed, lips curling when he saw her. The wealthy blonde boy, pale as ivory, decked in quidditch practice clothes, was not happy. Who was this strange girl, sitting at his kitchen table, sipping tea from one of his family's priceless teacups? He didn't want this girl here; he had planned on an outing to Diagon Alley with his mother, not a playdate with some silly girl.

They stared at each other for a while, but Andromeda refused to back down and look away. Draco Malfoy let out an annoyed huff before deigning to speak to her. He didn't like caving, preferring instead to think of it as interrogating as he approached the kitchen table and sat down across from her. To his further exasperation, the girl had the audacity to smile at him, and he had to admit that she wasn't terrible to look at, for a stubborn know-it-all. Forcing the outlying thought from his mind, he began the interrogation process. "Who are you?" He demanded rather loudly, expecting answers rather than comebacks.

"A 'hello' is a much better conversation starter, you know. Any other greeting can be taken to be quite rude." Andromeda paused, calmly taking a sip of her chamomile tea. "Lucky for you, I'm fairly forgiving."

"What do you think you're doing here?"

"Well, what do you think I was doing?" Andromeda replied sarcastically, eyes rolling as she held aloft her cup of tea. "I was just getting over a headache when you walked in. Now I think you've brought it back, so thanks so very much."