The 8th Weasley

Prologue

Prologue

On the busy streets of Diagon Alley, it was almost too easy to blend into the crowd before Edith strutted her way into Madam Malkin's for her fitting. I quickly doubled back down the street and the bell chimed as I entered Flourish and Blotts.

I let out a sigh as I took in the quiet bookshop with the few customers mulling around which allowed me to have my first moment of peace since I woke up. I still don't understand why Edith wanted me to come along to her robe fitting as she usually ignores me while we're in there.

As I made my way over to children novels, an old woman covered in fur and a strange looking hat gave me a withering look as she prodded the young boy beside her to walk faster.

Looking down at the ground, I quickened my pace to escape the judgement and found myself suddenly smacking into someone's chest. A sound of surprise comes out of my mouth as I try to balance to avoid being sprawled on the floor. Steady hands reach out as I fail to balance myself. The young man appeared very rugged looking with shoulder-length red hair and a dangling earring.

"I'm s-so sorry, I wasn't watching where I was going." I apologise to the man.

The man looks down at me and gives me a small smile. "Sorry, I wasn't watching either," he chuckles. "Are you okay?"

I nod, "Just gave me a bit of a fright, sir."

The man cringes, "No need to call me sir, my name is Bill." He offers me his hand.

"My name is Arabella," I say as I shake his hand.

"Are you here by yourself? Where are your parents?" Bill asks.

I take a second to think before I answer, "I'm in this store by myself as my guardian is having a fitting and the whereabouts of my parents is a question I wonder about daily. I give him a tight smile.

"Arabella, I'm sorry for bringing your parents up." Bill gives me a look full of pity.

I take a deep breath, "Trust me it's okay, there's no way you could have known about my parents."

"Was there any book, in particular, you were looking for?" Bill asks.

"I was just planning on browsing some of the children novels. You don't have to stay around, I'm 10 so I'm perfectly fine on my own." I look him in the eyes.

He lets out a low laugh, "You would get along perfectly with my younger sister who is around your age. I wasn't trying to imply that you weren't capable, I was only going to see if I could offer some recommendations."

"I suppose I might like some recommendations," I reply before walking over to the children's novel section.

I run my hands over the spines of the books as I scan the titles to see if there is anything I interest in.

"I'm quite partial to this series," Bill says as he holds a book up to show me. "It about a young boy who travels around the world and solves puzzles in old tombs. This book inspired me to become a curse breaker which led to me moving to Egypt." He says with a small smile.

"If you live in Egypt, why are you in London?" I ask.

"My family live in England so I came back for a brief visit."

"What does a curse breaker even do?"

"Well, the name pretty much explains the gist of my job as I remove curses which have been placed on places or objects." Bill answers.

"Huh, well that makes sense." I laugh. "I think I might buy that book then." I go to get the book from Bill's hand but he moves his hand out of my reach.

"The least I can do is buy you this book." He starts to move towards the cash register.

"I don't need your charity! I have enough money to buy it myself." I huffed.

Bill looked back at me, "Arabella, it isn't charity as it is a gift for my new friend."

I could tell by his tone that he wasn't going to give me a choice so I stood behind him and stomped my feet together. Bill's shoulders curled in as if he was laughing as he spoke with the bookkeeper.

He placed his purchase in his pocket and then passed me the smallest wrapped parcel which I placed into my small bag. "Thank you, Bill. It was nice to meet you."

Bill nodded in my direction as he replied, "You are very welcome Arabella, and it was very nice to meet you as well."

I smiled at him and then turned around to step out onto the busy street. I had only been in the bookshop for a short period so I made my way towards Madam Malkin's as Edith's fitting won't have finished yet.

I hear Edith's shrill voice before I see her at the back of the store. "I think this colour is entirely too tacky, don't you have anything more flattering?"

I thought that the beige colour of the robes she was wearing was definitely not tacky and she was simply being difficult for the sake of it.

The attendant flinched away and quickly answered, "I am very sorry Ma'am, I'll have a look for something more suitable."

My foster mother scanned the store as she waited and paused as her eyes caught sight of me. "Finally decided to join me have you, Arabella?" Edith huffs. "I could have you used your assistance in what styles suit me best."

"Sorry Edith, I saw something that caught my attention." I sit on the ottoman near her platform. "Well I'm here now and I can still help if you want."

"That's a good girl, Arabella and I won't stand for your running off again as we have limited time before you have to leave."

"Leave? Oh-you, mean when I leave for Hogwarts?" I ask.

Edith's face clinches for a second before she gives me a tight smile. "Yes, when you leave for school."

I can't help but feel like she's hiding something important from me which relates directly to me. I shake my head slightly and smile at her back.