The Marauder Girls

Tori & Elizabeth

Chapter One -

Elizabeth

She hated the walls. They were white and dull and watched her as she moved. They remained bare and were not to be touched. Ever. Her mother made it very clear that she was to remain in her room unless called upon, and that the walls were not to be touched. Of course she listened. The angrier you made her, the more she twisted up your life. It didn't help that the paintings- the few chosen breaks in the dullness- were the ugliest thing she'd ever seen. Old family portraits from the civil war era, or clashing paint spatters were the only break she got from the white scenery. They didn't even match, and made her feel as though she was trapped in a house that wanted to be a different color, and was having trouble expressing its anger about being covered up and shrouded in ugly portraits. It was through the help of the walls that she discovered her secret.

Her name was Sylvia Hailman and she was the bane of her existence. The dance instructor was as strict as she was lean. Her angular face was enough to scare little children to tears, and her voice was as sharp as points of her glasses, which came to a point at the tips of her eyes. She had a long nose that looked like a hook missing a fish, and her eyes made you feel as though they belonged to the hawk that ate the fish. Her entire body screamed arrogance and discipline. She hated all forms of amusement save one. Dance.

When she moved it was as though music flowed through her. It made her students forget for a time that they were being reprimanded and scolded. Elizabeth found those moments of peace between insults were her favorite time. Mother was nowhere to scold her, father was nowhere to argue with mother, and the teacher was thankfully silent. Time and time again she sought solitude in a suffocating house, dreading the events that would be happening later that evening. Her dance instructor was hounding her because today was her 11th birthday and her parents were throwing a party where she would be performing a short ballet to impress the snootier of the company. God it would be dreadful. There was never a time she hated her blood more than she did that day.

It came as an utter relief when her instructor told her she couldn't bear her presence any longer and that she could leave. She raced through the halls of the looming mansion, paying no heed to anyone she passed. She was free! Left to her own devices she would do no more than study her books and listen to the music that had frightened off her last maid. Oh the look on her face!

The thick, wooden door swung shut behind her as she rushed to her bed and pulled out her phone and earbuds. Going deaf would be a small price to pay to drown out the absence of good company in this godforsaken household.

Hours passed as she buried herself in her work. She knew that with the blood coursing through her she would receive a letter, there was no doubt. Not even that squib could deter her. She hated the idea of discriminating, or insulting anyone, but really, her father was a man who was duller than concrete and quite deserving of a knocking down a few pegs.

After rummaging through her mother's old things in the attic, she had come to find quite a few old wizarding books. After reading all the muggles had to offer, they were a pleasant break from the boringly predictable knowledge the magicless people possessed. So far she had read a bit on potions, history, and a couple spells. Of course she hadn't tried to cast anything, because even in America she was pretty sure that was illegal, but that didn't stop her from digging around for more books!

A knock on her door broke her thoughts and it swung open to reveal one of the wait staff holding several bags.

"Miss, your mother sent me to help you prepare for the party!" She seemed quite excited and smiled more cheerfully that Elizabeth was willing to put up with.