Sophie Pendragon, Year Two | Half-Vampire At Hogwarts

Chapter Six: Summer

          I woke up late in the morning and Calcifer was pawing at my nose. I rubbed my eyes and sat up. My dress was still laid out on top of my quilt and I could hear the family downstairs. My eyes lowered and I remembered that I was left here. Was I a burden to Howl? Maybe it would have been better if I were born a boy instead. Calcifer meowed and I sighed. No. I can't help it. This is how I was brought into the world.

          As I got ready to go downstairs, I noticed Howl's dried blood streaked across my face. I changed into my outdoor shorts and noticed a bundle of clothes with a note on top of Charlie's desk. There were training bras from Mrs. Weasley. I blushed and put one on before putting on my blue shirt. Maybe it was a good thing that I was left here. Before going to the dining room, I went to the loo to wash up and I saw more black hair on the opposite side where my hair parts. Now, it was on both sides. Taking a deep breath, I went to join the family.

          "Soph! You're awake!" Ginny exclaimed and ran over to me first.

          I was initially stiff when she hugged me but I hugged her back quickly, "I'm sorry, Gin. I-"

          "Now, now. Sophie, dear, come join us!" Mrs. Weasley interrupted quickly.

          George waved me over to sit next to him, "Morning, Soph!"

          I noticed there was a bandage around his hand, "Morning."

          "Eat some breakfast, dear. You must be hungry!" Mrs. Weasley fussed and handed me a plate full of everything.

          I exhaled a laugh and began to eat. I was starving and I realized I haven't eaten anything since yesterday morning. The family seemed to relax when I started eating and soon, we were all laughing. After breakfast, I spent time with Ron and Ginny outside while George and Fred were practicing on their brooms. Later in the day, Percy assisted Ron and I while we were doing our summer homework. Ginny tended to linger around, eager to hopefully be going to Hogwarts. As the month entertained us, I spent long nights sitting on the edge of the roof while writing secret letters to Draco.

          Every week, Draco and I exchanged letters and I was growing fond of him. With each letter, I opened up more to him because he was also opening up to me. Although we had common interests, there were things we were interested in learning more about. He was talented at Potions and he was willing to study with me so that Professor Snape wouldn't be nasty to me, like he was with struggling students in his class. I had more skill with flying and transfiguration because of my natural abilities. He wanted me to study with him so that he could improve. I always smiled whenever he wrote to me but I was growing worried because Harry wasn't responding to any of my letters.

          I wrote often to my friends and everyone had such different lives. Hermione was the most enthusiastic with learning but even she was worried about Harry. Ron tried to reason with me but I knew he was growing concerned, too. We tried to not talk about Harry around Ginny because she was practically enamored with the image of Harry. It was a bit annoying. I sent Calcifer off with another letter for Draco. I crawled back inside my window and into my bed. It was late and I had forgotten most of my responsibilities. If it wasn't for Mrs. Weasley, I would have forgotten about the ball the next day, too.

          In the morning, Mrs. Weasley woke me, "Sophie, dear, time to get up. Don't forget that Master Howl is arriving tonight."

          I sat up quickly, "I-I'm up!"

          Her footsteps grew softer as she went downstairs and I began to brush out my tangled hair. I frantically used my powers to go through my trunks in search of my yellow dress. For the past weeks, I had gotten comfortable living here and practiced my powers. The new tablets from my dad were an improvement that eased my hunger almost immediately but they still tasted bad. I hovered over the mess I was making and went through my second trunk. Clothes were being tossed throughout my room until my dress was finally found.

          I sighed in relief and tossed my dress on my unmade bed. With flicks of my wrists, my clothes were being piled in my open trunks. I would need more practice to be more finessed. One day, I could fold my clothes too. I chuckled at the thought and held my dress in front of me. It was wrinkled and I grimaced. There's still time before tonight so it's ok.

          I changed into my casual clothes and went downstairs holding my dress and Calcifer followed me. Mrs. Weasley was more than happy to help me iron out my dress and she ushered me to the dining room for breakfast. Mr. Weasley was also home instead of being at work because of the ball tonight. He and I conversed over breakfast and I had an idea of what to expect for this evening.

          Even though Mr. Weasley was smiling, it wasn't natural. Behind his smile was some resentment. It was unnerving. Even Mrs. Weasley felt some nervousness towards the ministry. Mr. Weasley often works with muggles and muggle artifacts but I know that humans also see non-magic folk as lesser people. Consequently, he implied that magical people see the Weasleys as lesser people, especially because they aren't wealthy. I looked at my plate and this was something I was vaguely aware of. Pureblood wizards and witches are highly regarded, but it reminded me of the vampire hierarchy. In simpler terms, I was a princess in the vampire world. In the magic world, the Weasleys were poor royalty.

          Eventually, the rest of the family joined us. They never seemed to care about their wealth, neither did I. They've given me more than any amount of wealth could give me. Even though I was another mouth to feed, they made me feel just as important as the other family members. I loved being with them. Throughout the day, I was told to stay inside because of an incident with the twins. We were outside in the rain one day and ended up covered in mud. Today was not the day to risk getting dirty, or possibly hurt. Instead, I was in my room and putting away the mess I made, including making my bed. It was Harry's birthday and I sent him a letter despite not receiving anything from him for the whole month. Ginny had also received her letter from Hogwarts and we were all happy for her. When I was finally done organizing my trunks, it was sunset.

          On cue, Mrs. Weasley came in with my dress looking brand new once I was done making my bed. I changed into it and she insisted on doing my hair. She trimmed my bangs and put my hair in a lovely crown braid. Thankfully, it hid my black strands of hair and the family didn't bring up that incident earlier in the month. I looked at the fading scars on my hand and thought about George. I didn't thank him yet. When would it be a good time? George and Fred had become my best friends and I cared about them a lot.

          A knock at my door startled me, "Starlight?"

          "Master Howl!" Mrs. Weasley greeted him warmly with a hug.

          "Dad. Do I look alright?" I asked and hugged him next.

          "You look like your mother. You're very pretty, Starlight," he said and kissed my forehead after hugging me.

          We went downstairs and the twins had laid out a makeshift bed on the living room floor. I laid with them and we discussed future pranks on the incoming first year students. Our dads conversed about the ministry and I tried to not eavesdrop on their business. We lost track of time until the grandfather clock in the living room chimed the hour. I promised the twins I would be back and followed our dads outside.