Tales of Black I: Whitest White

Chapter One

   "Dear Miss Black

   We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry."

   "I can hardly even wait!" I exclaimed, an excited grin stretching across my face. I looked up to my Aunt Andromeda and Uncle Ted, who scoffed at my enthusiasm.

   "Don't worry, love," my aunt said, pinching my cheek affectionately. I stuck my tongue out at her. "The entire month that you have to wait will go by faster than you think."

   "Bout time they mailed you! I was thinking they didn't want you," teased Uncle Ted. He snatched the letter from my hands. "Are you sure this is real? Perhaps they sent it as a joke."

   "Oh, Ted," Aunt Dromeda exclaimed, smacking his shoulder. I could tell she was hiding a smile, though. She took the letter from him and examined the list. "We'll have to go to Diagon Alley for your supplies. How about tomorrow afternoon?"

...

   "Deep breaths," I told myself as I dragged my things behind me and tried to find an empty compartment. Several more minutes of this, and I finally found one and sighed with relief. I shoved my trunk into the corner and sat down.

   As I watched other students of various ages hurry up and down the corridor, I wondered if anyone would come to sit with me. My face burned with embarrassment every time an older student looked into the compartment and continued without a second glance. Suddenly, I wondered if it was too late to go back home with my aunt and uncle.

   Hearing the compartment door slide open, my head shot up to look at my guest. I almost sighed with relief at the familiar face.

   "Draco!"

   "I can't stay long," he said, sitting in the seat across from me. "I only have a few minutes before Vincent and Greg come looking for me."

   "Vincent and Greg?" I smothered a laugh behind my hand. "Aren't you getting a bit old to call them by their first names?"

   "Shut up, you," Draco said, lightly kicking my foot. "I supposed we should start calling each other by surnames. It's probably what father would want."

   "I expect you'll be in Slytherin, then," I said.

   He shot me a sly grin. "Of course I will," he said. "I don't belong anywhere else. What about you? I figure Slytherin is the last house you would be sorted into."

   "I don't know yet," I replied with a shrug. "It's been years, and yet Pansy's not any less obnoxious. Not sure I want to spend the next seven years stuck in a dormitory with her."

   Draco laughed, pink flushing into his cheeks. "Fair point," he said. "You better decide soon. You haven't got much time left."

   A whistle sounded overhead, and we both jumped at the noise.

   "I better go," Draco said, standing up. He paused as he looked at the door. "Looks like someone wants to join you."

   I looked over to the compartment door window and saw a round-faced boy peeking in at us, a hand clutching a fat toad.

   "I'll see you," Draco said, stuffing his hands into his pockets. As he exited the compartment, the other boy flinched away from the door.

   "Hey," I called to him. "You can come in and sit if you like. It's just me in here."

   The boy shuffled in, struggling as the sliding door closed on his trunk. I watched him in amusement as he pulled it through, the toad slipping from his hands.