The Exiled Malfoy

Chapter II

"Cordelia! Wake up!" Lily shook her awake. "We need to go to breakfast. Professor McGonagall is handing out our timetables this morning."

One thing to know about eleven-year-old Cordelia Malfoy was that she hated mornings. At home, mornings meant she had to sit with her tutors learning about how to become a good Pureblood wife. She hated those lessons, they were a waste of her time. Now mornings meant waking up early for school, hopefully this time she'd be more interested.

Cordelia pulled the duvet over her eyes. "Not yet... five more minutes."

Lily threw a pillow at Cordelia's bed, which quickly bounced to the floor. "Sorry, but that's not an option. We're already late because I told Sophia and Eloise that I'd wait for you. Your extra five minutes ended twenty minutes ago."

"Ugh, fine, I'm getting up." Cordelia slowly sat up in her bed.

She hadn't gotten much sleep that night as she was constantly thinking about what would happen once her parents found out she hadn't been sorted into Slytherin. She assumed her brother had already found time to owl them, which wouldn't help her case. Her only wish was that once they did send her a letter, it wouldn't be a howler. The last thing she needed was the entire Great Hall knowing how much of a disappointment she was to her parents.

Lily laughed at the state Cordelia was in. "You realise, part of getting up includes getting out of bed?"

"You're so bossy," Cordelia said as she finally got out of bed and opened her wardrobe to grab her school robes.

Lily sat at the desk between their beds and began sorting through her school bag ensuring she had everything. "Someone has to keep you on your toes. Lord knows none of these Gryffindors will try to get on your bad side."

"And you aren't one of those Gryffindors?" Cordelia questioned while putting on her Gryffindor school robes.

"Of course not, you seem like the type who wouldn't hurt a fly. Plus, there has to be a good reason the hat placed you in Gryffindor. You obviously don't have the same qualities as those Slytherins."

Cordelia didn't know how to feel about that answer. She knew that Slytherin wasn't a good fit for her, but she also felt that Gryffindor wasn't either. And she grew up surrounded by Slytherins, so how had that not affected her?

She brushed her hair and gathered her school items before Lily led them to the Great Hall. Luckily Lily was very good with directions, so finding the Great Hall was no issue.

The girls found Sophia and Eloise sitting near the table's front end enjoying their breakfast. As Cordelia and Lily sat down, they exchanged pleasantries and continued eating.

The four new friends talked about anything and everything throughout their meal. Sophia was excited for quidditch matches to start, Eloise was anticipating sending her family a letter to tell them about her sorting, and Lily was focused on school. Cordelia engaged in every conversation she could but she couldn't stop thinking about what would happen when the post arrived that morning.

Once the tables were cleared of food, owls flooded the Great Hall. It seemed as though every other student had received mail.

Down the table from the girls sat the Gryffindor first-year boys who were poking fun at each other and laughing. When the mail arrived, one boy, Sirius Black, received the dreaded howler. A howler could be spotted from a mile away. The bright red envelope was a dead giveaway.

Everyone around Sirius, including the first-year Gryffindor girls, were whispering and wondering what the howler would say.

Mail was still flying in. Though once the crowd of birds had dispersed and Cordelia hadn't received anything, she was glad. Maybe her parents just didn't want to address the obvious.