The red monkey
Nami was walking silently around Diagon Alley, enjoying the noisy rush of the students buying their materials for the new school year. She loved those last summer days, when she would go shopping, enjoy an ice cream and spend some time with Nojiko.
Her first year at Hogwarts had run fast. From the very first day of class it was obvious she was one of the most brilliant students of her year and most of her teachers adored her. She was charming and knew very well how to achieve what she wanted. However, behind those smiles and cheeky answers Nami had only one thing on her mind. She would spend every free second in the library, reading any book that could help her against Arlong, or doing whatever task the evil wizard had ordered her to do. Although many people knew her, she didn’t have many friends, if any. She didn’t want to put any more people in danger. The only students she hung out with were a group of supporters of Arlong, and she detested them. Chew, their “leader”, was a tall, arrogant boy who believed the rest of humanity was beneath them.
She didn’t see the boys from the train often. Sometimes she would see Sanji at the Great Hall, trying to impress some girls, or the green haired guy sleeping under a tree when the weather was good or in the library, napping on the top of a book he should be reading for class. As part of the Slytherin house, the interaction with the Gryffindors was quite rare, besides the shared classes.
Nami stopped in front of Quidditch Quality Supplies and stared at the shiny uniforms exposed behind the glass. She hadn’t gone to any matches during her first year, she thought, sad. She was a pretty good flier and she missed the feeling of freedom while she crossed the sky on a broom.
Suddenly, a boy pressed his face against the glass, an excited look on his face. His messy black hair was partly hidden by a straw hat.
“COOOOOL!!”, he exclaimed. Then, looking at Nami, he said: “Have you seen that new broom?! It makes you fly like a rocket! Ace says I can’t join the team until next year, but he knows nothing”.
Nami stared surprised and amused by the young boy.
“Eh… I guess”, she said.
“Do you play Quidditch?”
“I’m about to start my second year, but yes, I like it”
“It’s awesome!”, said the boy with a huge smile on his face. “I’m Luffy, by the way, and I’m going to be the youngest captain in the history of Hogwarts”.
“Good luck with it”, said Nami. It was a strange boy, but she couldn’t help but feel sympathy for him.
“See you in school!”said Luffy, running away.
“You should be careful. That boy has some not advisable relatives… but he’s right, you should try to join the team this year”, a voice said behind her. “Being a Chaser or a Seeker would fit you perfectly considering your skills”.
Nami turned around. Chew and the rest of her Slytherin housemates were approximating her. Nami had a bad feeling.
“How are you doing, guys?”, she asked, trying to sound impassive.
“We are heading to Knockturn Alley, the boss wants some stuff. Do you want to join?”
“Sorry, I need to finish some shopping”.
Chew took a paper from his pocket and gave it to Nami.
“Then you can take care of this after your little shopping”, he said with a tone of mockery in his voice. “As always, be discrete”.
Nami looked at them with hate as they walked away. Her experience had proved to her that not all her housemates were soulless people. Unfortunately, she had to be with the worst. When she checked the paper, she wasn’t surprised to see that it involved getting some objects that no one would sell to a twelve-year-old girl.
Deciding that it was better to do what they have told her, she walked to the Knockturn Alley. That place was horrible. It was not only because of the horrible stores and objects, but also the horrible witches and wizards. Some of them were so corrupted and hardly looked human anymore.
Nami knew how to defend herself, but she wasn’t allowed to use the magic outside the school, so she walked fast through the narrow street until she reached her destination. The muddy store was crowded with dark magic objects. Carefully, she looked around and approximated one of the shelves. The owner wasn’t around, so she took what she was looking for, hid it in her cloak, and ran to the door. Suddenly, a loud alarm started ringing, and when she escaped the store, she hit someone. Dizzy because of the blow, it took some seconds before she realized it was Luffy.
“What the hell are you doing here?!”, she asked angrily.
“I think I’m in trouble”, he said pointing behind him. Two muddy wizards were running towards them.
“Take this and run”, said Nami. “But don’t you dare to lose it! See you at the Leaky Cauldron”.
“No way”, said Luffy, very serious.
Then, the owner of the store Nami had been appeared, a wild look on his face.
“Urgh!”. Nami took Luffy by the hand and both started to run, trying to escape the three men, but ended in a dead end.
“Now, now… the little rats are in trouble”, said one of the men. “What should we do with the two of you? Any idea, guys?”
When he got no answer, he turned around, but his face hit a heavy bat. Nami’s eyes widened when she saw their rescuer. A teenager, not much older than them, with green hair and two bats in his hands was staring down at them, a serious expression on his face.
“Three old men against two children? Very brave”, he said. “Are you hurt?”, he asked Nami.
“Zoro!”, said Luffy.
“Dammit, Luffy, how do you always end up in trouble?”
“It’s a funny story”, said the black haired boy standing up. Nami realized he wasn’t carrying anything in his hands.
“Luffy, where’s the package I gave you?”, she enquired.
“Ammm… I might have thrown it to them”, answered the boy, not daring to look her in the eyes.
“WHAT?!”
“I’ll compensate you!”
“HOW ARE YOU…”
“We should get out of here”, interrupted Zoro. The three men were regaining consciousness. Nami, looking at them, agreed with him.
ゾロ と ナミ
The Great Hall was as crowded as every Sorting ceremony. The group of new first years were nervously waiting as Professor Robin read the parchment with their names. A boy with a long nose and curly hair had his legs shaking when the Hat sent him to Hufflepuff.
Nami was sitting with the rest of Slytherin. When professor Robin called Luffy, Chew said:
“There’s your little friend, Nami”.
“Isn’t he the brother of that Ace from Gryffindor?”, asked a girl on the table.
“Sure he is… But his father and grandfather are even more interesting…”
Nami looked at Luffy. The Hat had covered his whole head. In less than a second he was sorted into Gryffindor.
“What a surprise”, said Chew, bored.
Luffy ran to his table and joined Zoro, Sanji, and a dark haired boy with freckles. Nami felt a bit of jealousy.
“Maybe your new friends can be useful”, said Chew.
“They are not my friends, leave them alone”, said Nami.
“Careful, Chew, the little cat has claws”. The group laughed. Nami stayed silent. One day they would regret everything.