Evergreen

After paying ollivander for the wand lenore, and sticking it in her new holster, she was once again out on the streets.

It occurred to her that she’d spend a lot of time wandering, maybe she should find her family. Or go to the meeting place. She went back up the street, against the throng of people, looking for places she recognised.

Okay so madam malkin’s was not close by. That’s okay. She probably went down the wrong alley. She tried It-Alley instead, she'd always wanted to go to it It-Alley . It didn’t seem familiar either. It’s fine she can just go to the meeting place instead. Bloarish & Flopps, right? or was it Floss & Goarish? Floorish & Bobbs?

Shit.

She was lost.

Okay, so maybe she should’ve paid more attention to the professor. It was fine, she was perfectly fine, she just needed to think rationally. She could do that.

Problem Solving Time! How do you find your way out of an unfamiliar place? With a map or you ask for directions.

She looked around at the witches and wizards around her. It-Alley was apparently the high society of diagon alley, because they all looked distinctly more elegant than the other wizards she had seen. She swore she saw a few people wear All-Silk robes. They all looked like snobs. Fortunately she atleast looked like she fit in, with her brand new robes.

So asking directions was out. Option B it was. She just needed to find a map.

She entered the first bookstore she found, bookstores have maps right? The sign said “Therasus & Arydictions, Every Book For the Modern Wizard” She wasn’t sure if it was the name of the owners or a play at thesaurus and dictionary, but who was she to question their sign choices. As long as they had a map.

The inside of the bookstore made her blink for a second. It was incredibly fancy. The place was made entirely of marble and the bookcases with mahogany. Atleast they had a clear catalogue system, she thought. Above every aisle was a sign that specified what was in it - in neat cursive lettering. The library, because it felt more like a library at this point, was also very roomy. There was a big open space in the middle, where a couple of couches were placed.

She almost slipped out the door, when a store manager caught hold of her.

“Well met, little miss! How may we be of assistance today?”

“Uh, well met. I’m just looking around.” She felt extremely awkward. The guy was smiling in the most obvious Customer Service way possible. She could almost count how many teeth he had. That smile definitely hurt to keep up all day, even if it was perfect.

“Of course! Take all the time you need! Should you require any assistance I’ll be a wands length away!” And just like that he disappeared back into the aisles.

Well she couldn’t leave now...

She started tentatively looking around, noting the signs as she did. Transfiguration, nope. Potions, nuh uh. House charms, interesting but no. Travel, bingo!

Inside of the travel isle was a single other person, a boy that was probably her age. He was probably half a head taller than her and had silky black hair. More importantly he was sitting on the floor surrounded by open books. How the store manager hadn’t kicked him out was beyond her. She opted to ignore him, not her monkey not her circus. She was busy with her own circus, thank you very much.

The travel books, while interesting, wheren’t very helpful. The first one she pulled out was about a magical underground city in berlin. The second described a vampire coven in the amazon and how their history shaped muggle perception of the area. The third was a cookbook for hags, using only ingredients from central china. If she had the time she could've spend an entire summer in here, reading every book. But she didn't. The next book was about australia's magical emu population. This was getting her nowhere.

The “D” section wasn’t any help either. She had hoped that there would be a Diagon Alley under it , but noooooo. It was all Dangerous Areas and How to Find Them, Dragons Of Europe or Denmarks Top 10 Travel Sights.

“You are aware that the clerk can help you, i assume?” The Floor Boy spoke.

She took a look at the wide arrange of open books and the scattered notes, he clearly wasn’t having any more luck than her. Her eyebrows raised at the audacity.

“I could say the same to you. Atleast i’m not taking up half of the isle.”

“Yes well, atleast i’m not putting the books back in the wrong places. There is a cart for a reason, you know.” He fired back. It was true, there was a cart with a sign that said “return books here” She elected to ignore this.

“Atleast I have a sense of decorum, Floor Boy” This was clearly a Sass-Off. And she was not about to lose.

“Floor Boy? Creative. Couldn’t think of anything better?” She could see a hint of a smile on his carefully constructed deadpan face. Fucking Gottem. She was so winning this.

“I tell it like is see it, Floor Boy”

He stood up. “And what am I now, Book Girl? ”

“Once a Floor Boy, always a Floor Boy. Sorry, i don’t make the rules. I just enforce them. Or would you prefer Mister Perfect? ”

He finally give in and gave a small disbelieving laugh. Oh she was so going to get him in to full belly chortle one day, it was her new life mission. She was stubborn, she could do it.

“How about Theodore Nott instead, well met.” He reached out a hand to her. Friendship acquired.

“Well met,” She repeated “i’m Lenore Evergreen.”

“And what brings you to my aisle today, ms Evergreen, ” He took a look at the books she had pulled out. “taking a trip to Denmark to see dangerous dragons?”

“Lenore please, ms. evergreen makes me feel old. If you must know i’m trying to find a book on Diagon Alley.”

“Oh, is this your first time here” His eyes narrowed slightly.

“First time on my own, you can hardly blame me for trying to be well informed. Especially with that pile.” Technically she wasn’t lying. It was her first time on her own. In Diagon Alley.

“Ah, that.” He looked at the pile like it personally offended him. “That would be my attempt at researching the Hogwarts sorting ceremony. Specifically how we get sorted. As you can see, it's not going very succesfully.”

She picked up one of the books, the marked passage read: - The Sorting Ceremony is a time tested tradition held in the Great Hall. The Four Houses are; Gryffindor, the house of the brave. Ravenclaw, the house of the clever. Hufflepuff, the house of the loyal. Slyhterin, the house of the ambitious. The houses were formed by the four Founders of the school, and based on the traits they each valued most. –

“Pfft. Very informative.” Even McGonagall had gotten into more detail than that.

“Exactly! Not a single book actually mentions what the ceremony actually is!” He ran a hand through his hair before quickly composing himself. Clearly this was seriously stressing him out.

“Well what house do you want? You could spin it anyway you want if you think about it hard enough.” The look he gave her was incredulous.

“What?”

“Just think about. The whole research things is both clever and ambitious. The fact that you tried to research proves loyalty to the house. And arguing your case, if it comes down to it, is brave. Boom. You can pick your own house.”

“heh,. “ He held back a chuckle. “Now you. You are definitely going to slytherin. That was both the dumbest and most brilliant thing i’ve ever heard.”

“Yes, clearly i’m a genius. Now as repayment for my words of wisdom you gotta help me find my book.”

And so their friendship was formed. Her first wizarding friend.

Within minutes they were ejected from the store. They were apparently a match made in hell. She would pick out a book, they would relentlessly make fun of it together, and them theo would dump it onto his pile. They made 3 piles: Trash, Funny and Useful. The trash pile was getting high enough that theo had to stand on his tiptoes to reach the top, while the funny pile had already fallen over and was scattered on the ground - covering almost the entire aisle. The useful pile was nonexistent.

Theo, as she got permission to call him, was actually quite fun when you got past the rough exterior. Sure his face looked emotionless 90% of the time but he could match her freak, and that mattered more. She had never had a friend before that matched her freak. Most people would call her a freak instead. Even the friends that stuck around had always been a bit unsettled with her personality.

“So where to next, Floor Boy?” They were standing outside. “You happen to know the way to Boarish & Flopss?”

“You mean Flourish & Blotts, i assume”

“Meh, if that’s what you want to call it.”

“As a matter of fact i do. If you would follow me, princess.”

As they made their way out of the Fancyland Streets they got to talking about their lives. Theo was apparently rich. He lived with his father, Tiberius Nott, in a big ass mansion on the country side. He didn’t mention his mother - lenore got the sense she probably shouldn’t ask. His father was apparently a wizarding politician and had high expectations for him, starting with theo getting into slytherin. The lucky bastard was even home schooled because of it.

“I’m telling you man, school sucks. Everyone is hopped up on puberty, the teachers think homework is your only point of life and the kids all form gangs.” Lenore had taken to warning him about the real school system. This was apparently fascinating to theo, since he was listening with rapt attention.

“There is - No way -11 year olds actually form gangs.”

“It’s true! Kids are vicious man. You gotta know who’s in charge, so you can either suck up to them or scare the shit out of them, it’s the only way to survive.”

Now it is important to note that Lenore did not have a normal school experience up to now. Lenore was clocked as Different from day one in primary school, and as such was considered the odd one out immediately. While there were a few attempts at bullying, her bullies quickly learned that messing with her resulted in your stuff spontaneously combusting. Lenore’s odd experience came from a constant psychological warfare with the other students- she had to prove that she wasn’t a target. By any means necessary.

This was not to say that she didn’t have friends growing up, though. While they were few and far between, lenore loved her friends deeply and certainly wasn’t afraid to show it. From sleepovers to birthday gifts, lenore did not half ass anything. When she considered someone her friend, she would walk through fire for them. This incidentally was also the reason for another strike in the “Reasons Against Going To Hogwarts” column, if she went she would inevitably lose contact with them. She would need to start over.

“Well it’s a good thing then, that I know who’s going to be in our year.” Theo said.

“Oh?”

“Rumor has it that Harry Potter is joining Hogwarts next year. Not to mention Draco Malfoy, Hannah Abbot, Neville Longbottom, Blaise Zabini, and get this, another Weasley.”

Lenore did not recognise any of these names. Was she supposed to?

“Wow, you really know your stuff. So who’s in your top 3 for sucking up?” Bluff, bluff and keep bluffing. She was the Bluff Master. He would never know. Theo was a very useful source for information as long as she kept bluffing.

“Malfoy for sure, his family is rich beyond words after all. Not to mention the amount of seats they have in the wizengamot,-“ So Malfoy was a politician. “Potter as well, can’t pass up a connection with the Boy Who Lived,” What the hell is a boy who lived? Aren’t they all alive? Why does he get to be special for it? “ and lastly i suppose ..... i’d have to go with Zabini. It’ll be useful to have an ally in slytherin.”

“Oh for sure. Can’t have enough allies really.” She had no idea how to respond to that info drop. She had so many questions. Clearly there was a hierarchy in this new world, and she wasn’t sure where she fell in it. That was probably a red flag.

“What house are you aiming for? It’d be nice to have you as an ally in slytherin as well.”

“Hmmm, i don’t really know. I figured i’ll just go to what suits me best. Hope it’s not Hufflepuff though.”

“Heh, nobody wants to be a Hufflepuff”

“Hey, look. I’ve got nothing against hardwork and loyalty or whatever, but the name? It sounds like something you smoke okay. Need me Puff and a Huff to get through the day.” He snorted at that.

“What house where your parents is? That’s usually a good indicator where you go.”

Shit.

“Oh they went to a different school actually...,” She looked around to find a diversion.

“Oh look, ice cream!” Diversion acquired, change of topic immenent.

“I suppose i could do with ice cream.” Success!

The ice cream tent was called Florean Fortescue’s and it was probably the most packed place in the alley. The line, at least, moved up quickly and within minutes it was their turn to order.

Problem was, she didn’t recognise half of the flavors. This day just kept getting better and better. Sure they had chocolate and strawberry, but most of the flavors were things like Unicorn Sparkle or Troll’s Delight. In the end she settled on Snitch Flight Fudge. She liked fudge, sue her.

They sat down outside and made quick work off the icecreams. Her fudge made her entire body feel light and her nails sparkle like glitter when she moved them. She was moving her hands around like a lunatic trying to memorise the feeling. Fascinating.

“Never had Snidge Flight before?” Theo looked amused, he had that little smirk again. It was a very distinct look. She had a feeling she was going to be seeing it very often when they got to Hogwarts. He himself had settled on Dark As My Heart Chocolate.

“Nope. I’m trying a lot of new things today.”

“And how’s that going for you.”

“Pretty good, since i met you.” He choked on his ice cream.
“I-”

She never found out what he was going to say next, because at that moment sounded a loud. “Lenore!”

Her parents had finally found her. And boy, did they look pissed

“Where have you been! We’ve been looking all over for you - do you have any idea how worried we were!” Her mom started frantically looking over her. “And what are you wearing?! We almost didn’t recognise you.”

“Mom- get off, i’m fine! You guys were taking so long i figured i’d get a headstart. Besides i’m perfectly safe, i’m with a friend. Mom, Dad, this is theo. ” She motioned to theo.

Theo did not look fine. He was staring at her parents disbelievingly and had gotten 3 shades paler. As she looked at him his eyes started to dull and his signature smirk faded, to a very fake smile. She could almost see the exact moment all traces of her friend were replaced with a perfect mask. It was both disturbing and concerning to watch. Dread filled her body. This, she thought, could not be a good sign.

“Theo, are you-”

“Well met Mr. And Ms. Evergreen,” He stood up from his seat, his half eaten ice cream forgotten. “I apologise for keeping your daughter, it was not my intention to separate you.”

“Oh – uh, it’s okay. I’m sure she had fun.” Her mother wasn’t sure how to respond to theo’s well manners either. She could understand that, he did have a habit of speaking formally. A habit, she had without thinking, matched for half the day.

“Well, i best be off, no doubt my father is waiting for me as well.” He turned to look at her. His eyes. They looked so empty. Nothing like how they looked five minutes ago. “I hope to see you at Hogwarts, Evergreen”

"Hey, maybe we could- i dunno- exchange letters? over the summer, maybe?"

"That won't be necesarry. Good day." He turned around without another word. She was left staring gobsmacked.

What? Did she say something wrong? Why was he being so cold towards her?

Before she could think to ask he had already disappeared in the crowd.

It was McGonagall in the end who could explain the situation.

She had been watching from the sidelines the entire conversation. While a little incensed at being ditched, she had mostly been concerned for her safety. Diagon alley was a hard place to navigate if you weren’t familiar with it and a wrong turn could end you in Knockturn Alley. It wasn’t particularly safe for an unfamiliar 11 year old to go wander around. So she had been especially worried when that child was found eating ice cream with the son of Tiberius Nott. Who was apparently not just a high end politician, but also a former Death Eater.

And there in lay the problem.

Death Eaters, explained McGonagall, were the followers of You-Know-Who. Who was apparently a very successful and dangerous Dark Lord that raged a devastating war against wizarding society eleven years ago. He was only defeated by the power(?) of a one year old baby called Harry Potter. Which explained why he was in theo’s Important People List. The war had been about many things, from traditional wizarding to muggle exlusionism to blood purity. Sides had been drawn. People had died. A lot of people had died.

Blood purity was apparently also a Big Thing.

There were Purebloods, like the Malfoys and Notts, who pretty much thought that they were royalty and everyone else was dirt. They were under the impression that Muggles were backwards people, who ought to be separated from Real Wizards, and as such they hated Muggleborns.

There were Halfbloods, like Potter, who were acquainted with the muggle world but commonly lived with the wizarding world. The bulk of people nowadays were halfblood. They were “accepted” by purebloods, but still thought of as lesser.

And then there were Muggleborns, like her, who grew up in the muggle world unaware of what they really were. This was not something to be advertised, according to McGonagall. She personally didn’t have a problem with it, but many people would think of Lenore as lesser if they did know. People like the Notts.

Racism and a Terrorist.

Wizarding Fucking Racism and a Wizard Terrorist.

Which were apparently a thing.

And she would be a victim of.

It was the stupidest thing she had ever heard of. How were the purebloods going to survive without adding new blood to the population pool? Did they all just practice incest? And how was she supposed to grow up with all this stuff if she only got an explanation when she turned 11? Why couldn’t they visit earlier? And they’d hate her just for liking the muggle world? The world she grew up in? It was Stupid. This was stupid.

And theo, whose father had high expectations for him? What about him? Did he really believe all that crap? Was he a wizard racist?

The mood, as they went through Flourish & Blotts, was somber. Her parents were digesting the fact that they weren’t welcome here. That maybe lenore belonged, but they didn’t. She couldn't blame them for being pissed about it. She was certainly pissed about it. She felt like McGonagall could've mentioned this before they went to Diagon Alley, before she agreed to be a part of this. The safety of her family wasn't something to joke about, or withhold information about. Oh gods, her family.

This was going to separate her family. She could tell already. The wizarding world wanted her to leave the muggle one behind, to leave her family behind.

Absolutely not. No way, José. No dice. Not in a million years.

Lenore was a very stubborn person and she could feel her resolve thickening inside her.

She was going to study the shit out of magic while being as muggle as she could about it. She was going to prepare for this new world and school, she was going to excel, and she was going to shove it down every racist wizards throat.

Let them choke on her awesomeness.