Preparation
The girls became fast friends, and spent the following years together, mostly. Melantha had a habit of wandering away from the family’s home, and all they could do was wonder if she would come back.
Each time, the amount of time that Melantha was gone was different. Sometimes she was only gone for a day, maybe a few days. There was a time when Melantha was 10, that she was gone for close to two weeks. On that particular instance, she had come home injured and limping, much to Meira’s concern and to Meira’s parents’ irritation when she refused to explain how she got hurt.
When she stayed ‘home’ with Meira or accompanied her to a library, Melantha showed her incredible interest in books and stories, giving in to her desire to learn and study new things.
She’d even asked Meira’s parents about their magic, asking them to teach her magic, which they were unsurprisingly very hesitant about. They typically opted not to teach her how to use a spell, but they would explain how a spell might work.
When the summer came that both girls were eleven, the family of three was surprised to find that Melantha had received a Hogwarts Enrollment letter as well as their own daughter, delivered by two different owls. The fact that two different owls were tasked to deliver their letters, to an adult, meant that Melantha wasn’t where she was supposed to be.
“Bella!” Meira’s father called out, using the nickname they’d gotten from Mel’s middle name. Melantha knew that it was also used by her grandmother, which is why she so loved this little family she found using it.
Making her way downstairs after being called, Bella hummed in response as she entered the room, eyeing the wary looks she was receiving from Mr and Mrs Rose, and the plain contrasting excitement bubbling from Meira, her best friend. When Mr Rose raised a letter in the air between his fingers, she eyed it suspiciously. She was hesitant to approach, but approach she did - eventually. She took the enclosed envelope from him carefully, turning it around to see who it was addressed to.
Melantha Bellatrix Lestrange.
Fuck.
She’d hidden her surname from the family for so long, hoping that the name Lestrange wouldn’t make them kick her out. She looked warily up to Mr and Mrs Rose, who each looked back at her, as if expecting her to say something. Instead, she took a slow step back, muttering as she attempted to calm her racing thoughts, “E-Erm.. Thank.. You..”
After an awkward pause, Melantha turned on her heels and rushed back upstairs, letter in hand. She pushed her way into her room, the room she’d been borrowing from this family for years.
Fuck, fuck, fuck.
Her mind was racing. She hadn’t wanted them to know about her last name, not yet! Especially not like that!
She tore open her Hogwarts Letter, confirming that it was indeed a letter of acceptance for her attendance, accompanied by a list of things she was required to procure before her arrival; three sets of uniforms, one nightgown, and, if she wished, a pet of some kind.
She couldn’t be sure that the Rose family would even allow her to stay after tonight, so she didn’t have any hope that they might help her purchase these things. Instead, she planned on leaving that night, to give herself time to get to Diagon Alley, to find ways to procure the Galleons she’d need.
That night, when all was quiet, Bella was wide awake, and she packed a black bookbag that the family had gifted her the year before with some muggle clothes and her acceptance letter. She quickly went to find a paper and pen, before writing a note for the family to find the next morning.
The note read,
I’m sorry for hiding my identity for so long.
I appreciate all that your family has provided for me,
Though I will no longer disgrace your home with my presence.
Bella
And with that note laid out on the dining table that the family frequently used, she left using the backdoor of the home. She traveled by herself to The Leaky Cauldron, where she knew that the entrance to Diagon Alley was.
That summer, Bella spent as much time as she could trying to convince shopkeepers to let her help for mere knuts. Sometimes it worked, and she would clean dishes or clean animal cages, or simply do errands for someone, receiving only what her patron would give her. She worked hard that summer, never stopping her work, and at night, she would even steal from the pockets of drunken men who stumbled through alleys, too far gone to notice their pockets getting lighter.
By the time the end of summer was nearing, Bella finally spent her time shopping for the items she needed to attend Hogwarts. It was busier than she’d ever seen it, with countless families and their children rushing to get the last of the supplies they needed for that school year.
Stepping into the crowd, she effortlessly blended in, her long black hair that reached her lower back when she stood still was flowing behind her with each step, and her steps were pronounced and decidedly carrying her to her destination. She found herself in a shop called Flourish and Blotts, where she purchased her schoolbooks. She then made her way to a store for her school robes, where she found herself being measured in size and height in every way she could imagine, embarrassingly so, until she finally was able to begin trying on uniforms. Over the years, the strict dress code for students had loosened only enough to allow students some variety in their robes. Bella found her eyes lingering on a black knee-length dress that had an uncolored, grey inner lining, with black laces decorating the front of the dress. It was accompanied by a black shoulder shawl that would hang over her chest and upper arms, with that same grey lining the edges. While it was a little more expensive than the average uniform she’d seen, she couldn’t help herself. She purchased three sets of that uniform, as well as a single black nightgown.
As she continued her shopping trip, she watched other students and their families wandering the street, bustling from shop to shop, just as she was. She watched a blonde boy trip, scattering the contents of his bag out onto the paved stone pathway below him, before his books and quills were promptly lifted via magic back into his bag, and he was lifted to his feet by who was probably his father. She watched another girl, similar in age to herself, walking between her parents as they pointed out the different shops and spoke excitedly of the supplies she’d need.
After a few moments more, Bella took a deep breath. She continued her trip, wandering between a potions supply store, a writing store for ink and quills, and eventually, she made her way to Ollivanders, the most famous wandmakers in the world. She heaved a slow breath from her chest before she stepped inside just as another girl stepped out from within, who held the door open for Bella.
When the door behind her clicked shut, a little bell on the door rang, signaling her entrance. An old, white haired man peeked out from behind the shelves in the back of the shop. He eyed her for a moment as she stood there in the center of the room, her sharp gaze and straightened posture reminding him of the purebloods that visited his shop decades ago, a more rare sight now as the years had gone on. Even more, though, was her jet-black hair that hung loosely, yet neatly, down her back and along the sides of her face.
“Hm.. It’s been quite some time since I’ve seen someone like you..” He muttered quietly, yet he approached her as he soon tore his gaze away, eyeing the countless stacks of boxes that Bella could only assume contained just as many wands. He plucked a bright red box out and approached her, sliding the case open and allowing Bella to take grasp of the wand. She eyed him quietly for a short moment before she took the wand up in her right hand, her gaze traveling along the length of the wand before the old man spoke again, “Go on now. Give it a swish!”
As instructed, Bella turned to the side and flicked the wand, without any sort of spell or ideas in her mind, as two nearby lights shattered in little explosions. Ollivander quickly took the wand from her grasp, which surprised Bella just as much as the exploding lights had, as he quickly went back to his shelves of wands. He muttered and whispered to himself, which she opted to ignore as she quietly walked around the little shop. She eyed the nearby boxes of wands, the messy counters, the dust-coated shelves and boxes, until Ollivander once again approached her, “Try this one!”
Once again, with a flick of her wrist, the wand that she held rejected her presence by sending the nearby boxes of wands flying across the room. Ollivander took the wand back and went to find another wand, and then another wand. After what felt like too many wands and erroneous explosions, Ollivander disappeared into the back of the shop, as in the backroom storage space of the shop. It was as if he didn’t feel any of the wands in the main store were suitable for the girl, which Bella could only assume was highly unusual. Ollivander came rushing back into the shop, his steps full of excitement, as he held a black, faded box in his hand. When he opened up the case and presented Bella the new wand, she was barely able to contain a gasp of her own at the beauty of the wand.
Picking up the wand, a light wind flowed through the room, making the scattered messes flutter and move about, though a smile finally graced Bella’s lips as she eyed the wand. Ollivander grinned down at her and handed the faded box to her as well, which she promptly packed away as he began to speak. “That wand… is one of the oldest wands in the shop. It’s almost as old as my own wand is.” He admired the wand for a moment before he continued, “That is an Ebony wood wand, with a Thestral tail hair as its core, and is twelve and three-quarters inches long. The same length as your grandmother’s first wand.”
Bella tensed at the mention of her grandmother, and her gaze shifted to the old man. “You knew my grandmother?”
“Oh, yes.” He responded simply, “Sold her her first wand. Twelve and three-quarters inches, walnut, and a dragon heartstring core. Your own and her wand both were unyielding in their flexibilities, too..” He trailed off for a moment before smiling down at her, “You’ll do great, I’m sure.” And with that, Ollivander wandered back into the back of his shop, leaving Bella to her thoughts before she left the shop.
With the last of her shopping done, Bella sighed in relief. She had very little money left, and thus she would leave getting a pet for another time. She made her way toward The Leaky Cauldron instead, opting to use the last of her shillings to purchase a comfortable room for the night, where she could safely pack away her new belongings and uniforms.