Chapter Three
On the platform with exactly twelve minutes to spare Minerva McGonagall stood beside her mother who was going through a list of things for Minerva to remember about… well neither of them were entirely sure.
If you asked Isobel it was a year’s worth of life lessons and love that she had been trying to fit into one morning.
If you asked Minerva her mother had started muttering on about bathroom etiquette the moment they arrived in London and hadn’t stopped talking since, only occasionally to breathe or to hold back her tears.
It wasn’t that Minerva wasn’t appreciative of her mum’s attempts to prepare her for life, but she kinda already was. She loved that her parents were laid back and didn’t stress about how much she learnt or worked, but Minerva did worry about those things and so she was prepared to go to a place where other people might feel the same.
“Mum…,” Isobel stopped halfway through recounting her tale of the dangers of Greenhouse one and why to avoid it to look at her daughter,
“I love you but I won’t remember all this and I do have to get on the train.”
Minerva thought she had done a good job of being a caring daughter while also cutting her mother off but when Isobel’s eyes began to water once again, Minerva quickly wrapped her in a hug,
“Just write the rest of the lessons down and send them to me later okay? You can even get dad’s opinion. I’m sure there is some analogy to do with a sheep and God that I haven’t heard yet.”
Minerva’s father, Robert was the local preacher in their village where he had grown up and so his stories usually revolved around farm animals and their connection to the Bible.
“I love you Minnie and I cannot wait to see you again.”
For the first time today, Minerva felt the sting of tears in her eyes. She quickly tugged on her plaits, and flashed her mum a smile,
“I love you too Mum. Don’t forget to make sure the boys keep up their studying.”
Isobel just laughed as Minerva made her way over to the carriage she had chosen earlier. When she had placed her satchel bag inside no one else had claimed yet and so she was not expecting to come across another girl sitting in the corner of the carriage.
“Hello, sorry is this your carriage, it’s my first year and I was a bit late getting here so everywhere else seemed quite full already and…”
The new girl seemed quite nervous about… well everything as her eyes darted between Minerva and the people passing by outside.
“It’s no problem, I’m a first year student as well and it’s only me in here so we might as well sit together.”
The other girl's eyes widened at this, “You’re a first year, woah you look so put together, I’m barely keeping it together but I was afraid if I cried my Ma wouldn’t let me on the train. I’m Pomona.”
Minerva just laughed, it was like she was back at home listening to Robbie and mum argue over who got to tell her about what Mrs Crowley had done today.
“I’m Minerva.”
/////
Three carriages down, Alphard Black had begun removing the ridiculous suit he had been forced to wear under the watchful eye of Tippy and Walburga.
It wasn’t so much the trousers and shirt he minded it was the ridiculous tie and vest that were trying to kill him.
“Should I turn around and leave or are you planning on leaving some clothes on?” Alphard turned towards the door and found Mia Rosier watching him with a look of happiness he wasn’t aware she could have spread across her face.
“Mia, thank Merlin. I was worried it was going to be one of the Rowles fulfilling their promise to ‘take me under their wing’.”
Alphard shuddered at the thought, he could only hope that they had only made such a promise in order to please his grandmother and not in the hopes of actually becoming friends.
“Please, I saw Ernest half-way down the train bullying some first years out of their carriage.”
She had moved from the door and was now lounging by the window.
“How could you tell they were first years?” Alphard asked, causing Mia to just snort,
“Because they were stupid enough to try and argue with him. Anyone who knows Ernest or has gone to the same school as him isn’t stupid enough to try that.”
Mia had also removed her cardigan and headband, letting her hair fall in front of her face slightly.
“When did you do that?” Alphard gasped, gaping at the now full fringe sitting atop her head.
“Oh, this? Last night. Figured I could wear it for a while and then it will have fully grown out by Christmas. Do you like it?”
She asked, shaking her head to make the fringe fall better.
“Yeah, it’s great just took me by surprise.” Mia was about to respond with some sort of comment about there being only more surprises to come, when the compartment door was opened.
“Sorry, can I sit in here with you. It’s just everywhere appears to be quite full.”
The boy stood awkwardly in the doorway, half-in half-out, awaiting their answer.
Just as Alphard went to ask the boy's last name, Mia spoke “Yes of course, it’s only the two of us.”
The boy grinned in thanks before introducing himself, “I’m Fleamont, I mean Monty please don’t call me Fleamont.”
Mia laughed introducing herself as Mia, explaining her disdain for her full name as well.
“What’s your last name Monty?” Alphard asked, causing Mia to shoot him a glare, knowing the reasoning behind his question.
“Oh, Potter. Sorry, I thought I had already said that. Anyway, do you know many other people already at Hogwarts?”
Alphard’s face fell as he realised the first two people he had spoken to were two people he was not meant to speak to. Already he was breaking his father’s rules and Merlin knew there would be hell to pay later. Except, there wouldn’t be. There wouldn’t be because Alphard wouldn’t be going home until Christmas, summer if his parents chose to go to France again for Christmas. Of course there were people at school who could tell on him, but like Walburga had mentioned a million times he was the heir to the House of Black, one well placed word from him could make-or-break the idiots who tried to get him in trouble. He realised he had been quiet for too long as both Mia and Monty stared at him with questioning eyes making him think he had missed something.
“Sorry, I got lost in my own train of thought there for a second. What was your question?”
Monty just laughed it off, but Mia was still looking at him like he was acting strangely.
“I just asked how you two know each other? Is it from some of those parties that you mentioned Mia?”
Now Alphard was paying attention. He and Mia hadn’t discussed how to deal with this, usually they avoided the topic like a plague. It wasn’t exactly a secret, most pureblood families arranged marriages at a young age. Marriage was about maintaining the bloodlines and securing good business deals, not love and romance. But the difference was that Mia and Alphard liked each other, not in that romantic, gushy way, they were only eleven, but they liked each other as friends.
From the moment their parents had begun forcing them to attend parties in order to make friends with the other children they had made a silent pact to stick together. Not allowed to play unchaperoned, they had usually snuck off or dragged one of the Bulstrode twins along to play. But now they were in school and obviously friends, and they could lie but surely one of the other kids they had grown up with would mention it.
It was better to just be upfront about the whole idea. Surely that’s what Mia was thinking as well, at least it looked that way as she had that vague look of nausea on her face that usually accompanied her mother mentioning her impending marriage.
“We are actually kind of betrothed.” Alphard said, quite slowly actually realising this was the first time he had ever said it out loud.
“Betrothed, like one day you two are going to marry each other and have babies?” Monty asked, darting his eyes between the two, who seemed incapable of looking at each other now.
“Only technically.” That caused Alphard to look at Mia again, “We’re only going to have babies technically, Mia?”
She looked right back at him with a glare that rivalled that of his sister.
“Oh you know what I mean Alphard, our parents arranged this when we were babies Monty. We have no say in the matter but we are actually quite lucky that we are the same age and that we get along. My cousin is betrothed to a forty-five year old man and she is only eight.”
Alphard relaxed at that, it wasn’t that she was planning on running out of the agreement, she was just trying to explain the idea to Monty who still seemed quite tense.
“Don’t you have the same thing happen for you?” Alphard asked, he could have sworn in his lineage classes the Potters had been mentioned as arranging marriages.
Monty nodded, “Kind of, when I’m older my parents will offer to match me with someone, I’ll probably agree and then me and one of their friends' daughters will get married. But it’s not like you guys. We don't do it because we have to at least not anymore now it’s just easier, I mean my parents know me better than anyone, so they’ll pick a nice girl and I have a say as well and so does she.”
Mia couldn’t believe it, from day one she had known Alphard would be her husband. She really did count herself lucky that her father was close enough to Pollux Black to make the arrangement as if not her aunt Nyra had a son nine years older than her who had not yet secured a match. But listening to Monty she could tell they did not have the same kind of families. He described his parents as the people who knew him best, her mother could barely tell you what size shoe Mia was.
“Anyway, what houses are you guys hoping to get?”