Sea and Serpent (PJO/HP)

Chapter 7. Not so good start

“You zoned out when Hagrid told us how the money works.”

Amaryllis glared at her brother. “I can’t help it. I got to thinking about something, which led to another, and then ‘bam’ we were back on that death trap—”

“It wasn’t.”

She ignored his comment and continued, “heading to that other vault when I thought we were leaving—”

“Again, you didn’t pay attention when Griphook led up to the cart.”

“Shut up,” Amaryllis said, glaring at her brother. “As I was saying, and was trying to keep the contents of my stomach from spilling all over where we had to sit, thank you very much.”

“Ah, yes. Thank you for not desecrating our seats with your vomit. Can we get our uniforms now?”

Amaryllis pouted, staring at the store as Harry opened the door, waiting for her. “Fine.”

A squat woman dressed in mauve smiled over at them.

Amaryllis guess she was Madam Malkin as pins stuck outward the between her teeth. Her eyes widened when the woman opened her mouth, but the pins didn’t drop. They float midair.

“Hogwarts, dears? Got the lot here- another young man being fitted up just now, in fact.”

Amaryllis noticed a boy around their age with a pale, pointed face on a bar stool in the back. Another witch was pining up black robes around him while everything seemed to float around her with ease.

She turned to speak to Harry but noticed Madam Malkin had already begun to bring him over to a stool beside the boy.

“I’ll be right with you, dear.” The woman who worked on the boy with platinum blond hair said without glancing in her direction.

“That’s fine. I can wait.”

“Hello,” the boy said, glancing between them. “Hogwarts, too?”

Harry hummed a reply, making her roll her eyes as she responded. “Yes.”

Amaryllis hadn’t expected to hear how the boy reminded her of Dudley, but it had instantly turned her away from seeking him out at the school she unfortunately would attend with him.

First possible friend had hit the drain quicker than Uncle Vernon’s chin.

She wondered how it was possible for them to run into the one boy that acted like Dudley when their were thousands of witches and wizards outside the shop. Did the universe hate them that much? Was it too much to ask for a few kids their age they could know before school started that were decent?

“—ou?”

“Oi. You deaf?”

Amaryllis tuned back as she heard the snide remark in the boys question. “What? Were you speaking to me?”

The boy rolled his eyes. “Of course. Who else would I be speaking to?”

Amaryllis glanced around the place to see a few other kids waiting. Their eyes went back and forth between her and the platinum blond boy. She shrugged, wondering if he had a problem seeing to, but didn’t question it. “Literally anyone else in this building? What was your question?”

“Do. You. Play. Quidditch?”

Her nose scrunched up as he pronounced each word as a sentence. “Uh, no. I don’t even know what that is.”

The boy’s face contorted into a scowl at her. “Did your parents make you live in a hole?”

Harry spoke for them both when he responded. “No, they’re dead.”

Amaryllis curled her hands into fists as the next words out of the boys mouth had her ready to pounce on him.

His sky blue eyes didn’t change the slightest as he glanced between them both. “Oh, siblings. Sorry. But they were our kind, right?”

“What does that matter?” Amaryllis didn’t hold back as she shot back her own question. There wasn’t an ounce of sincerity in his voice as he apologized and she wouldn’t forgive that so easily.

“Because the other sort don’t belong. They weren’t brought up to know our ways. Most haven’t even heard of Hogwarts until they got their letters, ya know?”

Madam Malkin tapped Harry on the shoulder before giving her a quick look. “Hop up here, dear. I’ll get your measurements and robes ready in a jiffy.”

There was nothing more she wanted than to leave the robe shop.

Stepping onto the platform Harry got off, Madam Malkin was quick to work fitting the black fabric around her. She stood as still as possible for a girl that couldn’t sit still for more than a few seconds.

“I say, look at that man,” the boy pointed out the window.

“That’s Hagrid,” Harry said before she could speak. “He works at Hogwarts.”

She didn’t mind because any interaction with the blond boy had her head hurt with how insufferable he was. She didn’t know how Harry kept going, but if it kept him off the topic of their parents, it didn’t matter.

“Oh, I’ve heard of him.” The boy sneered over at her before he turned his attention back to Harry. “He’s sort of a servant, isn’t he?”

“You—”

Harry cut her off before the boy next to her picked up on her anger and fed off it. “He’s a gamekeeper.”

Her brother gave her a pointed look before continuing the absurd conversation with the boy.

“Yes, exactly. I heard he’s sort of a savage – lives in a hut on the school grounds and every now and then he gets drunk, tried to do magic, and ends up setting fire to his bed.”

Harry’s tone turned cold. She hadn’t heard that tone except when he spoke toward their Uncle. “I think he’s brilliant.”

“Do you?” said the boy, with a slight sneer.

“All done, dear.”

Amaryllis hopped off the platform, bidding Madam Malkin a quick ‘thank you’ as she grabbed her brothers hand and turned to the blond boy. “It was a displeasure meeting you. Please, have a horrible day.”

Harry’s mouth hung open as she dragged him out of Madam Malkin’s where Hagrid stood.