Chapter 1
Madame Malkin's Robes for All Occasions, Diagon Alley. 1989.
An old witch was taking measurements of every part of her body. Obviously she did not complain, she was an obedient girl and she knew that all that bothersome was necessary to obtain her robes.
In some way, the little girl enjoyed the fuss. She was being spoiled by the employees, who complimented the way she modeled everything they made, even though she knew they were only looking to sell. In any case, she was fascinated by that kindness.
She also enjoyed the fact that the store was in almost complete silence, only two people being measured other than her, but the calm had to come to an end at some point.
A red-haired family entered the establishment, screaming and fighting at each other. They seemed just out of place in the quiet shop.
'They don't look like they can afford something from this place'. As soon as that thought crossed her mind, she turned her head to her mother, confirming that her face expressed the same feeling.
The woman who seemed the mother of all those people made her voice louder than her children' and made them all quiet, allowing her to approach an employee and start consulting.
It was not long before one of the boys was ordered to stand on the measuring platform next to the girl, while the others were ordered to sit quietly in the waiting chairs.
The young girl could perfectly notice how her mother slowly crawled across the large sofa to get away from the children, who had just taken a seat next to her.
"Is it going to be your first year?"
The boy's question made the girl startle and stop paying attention to her mother.
"At Hogwarts, is it going to be your first year?" He repeated at the strange look she gave him.
"Yeah..."
"That's amazing!" He exclaimed, moving to show just how exciting that was and being immediately reprimanded by the employee who was taking his measurements. "It will also be my brother and I's first year." The girl allowed herself to look over at the other redheads, who appear too small to get into Hogwarts. "Oh no, not them, another one of my brothers. I have six, counting them all: Bill, Charlie, Percy, Fred, Ronnie and Ginny," he explained, without stopping his chatter. "They all went and will go to Hogwarts, and they all were and will be Gryffindors. What about you, which house do you want to get into?
"Slytherin," the young girl hoped that the dryness of her answer made it clear how little she wanted to chat.
"Slytherin? That house is full of evil dark wizards," he made a disgusted expression.
"At least it's not full of those muggles disguised as magicians and poor people, like your whole family." The little girl was not used to being rude, but the insult to her precious house bothered her.
"Who's your friend, Feorge?"
A third voice was heard and the girl turned to it, facing the new redhead who was speaking to her. But she had to stop and look at him for a few seconds, before turning her gaze back to the boy on the measurement platform next to her. Twins.
"She is not my friend, she's just a stuck up snake, nothing we haven't seen before," the redhead countered.
"A snake? Are you saying this dwarf has already entered Hogwarts?"
"I'm going to enter this year, and I'm going to belong to Slytherin," the girl clarified, holding her head up as the two boys looked at her mockingly.
"It would be hilarious if you really don't get in," suggested one of the twins, letting out a laugh.
"It would be even funnier if you got into Gryffindor," the other twin continued the idea.
"Your robes are ready," the shop employee interrupted the conversation, allowing the girl to get away from those two annoyances.
"I will walk home before being Gryffindor," she said, offended by the mere idea.
"See you at Hogwarts, friend," both boys called out in unison as the girl was guided out the store by her mother.
"I don't want you to talk to those kids".
Her mother's words made the little girl stop looking at the twins through the window of the shop and instead pay attention to her.
"You handled it well in there, but if they talk to you again you ignore them completely." The minor could only nod.
"And why can't I talk to them?" she received a severe look, but she really wanted to know why they had already rub her up the wrong way.
"It may surprise you, but there are magicians who, although they are purebloods, enjoy the company of Muggles and Muggle Borns," she explained, taking a momento to look for the best words to express herself.
The girl's astonishment was almost instantly. It wasn't what she was used to and -from the stories and conversations of her parents- she gattered that that kind of stuff was simply wrong.
"You must remember that..."
"Muggles, Mudbloods and Blood Traitors are not people who deserve to have a conversation with me," she repeated those words she had heard a billion times, cutting off what his mother was going to say but receiving a gesture of approval from her.
"Very well, Lumini, remember that".
And, holding hands, mother and daughter continued their shopping without worrying about the family of redheads.