Belladonna

A Matter of Convenience

Belladonna

A Matter of Convenience 

25 August 1990

"Fred! George!" A formidable voice rang out above the noisy street. Ana looked up from her book. "I won't warn you again! Stop teasing your brother!"

Ana watched with mild amusement as a pair of identical boys, no more than a year older than herself, were dragged away by their ears from what was clearly their younger brother. Said mother and boys passed by Ana in a blur of red on their way to the bookshop.

"Imagine being in a family like that," said a rather pretentious voice.

"I don't know," Ana replied thoughtfully. "Wouldn't it be nice to have a brother or a sister?"

"Why would I want one of them, when I have you?"

Ana looked to the boy sitting next to her for the first time since his arrival.

"I'm not sure if that was supposed to be a compliment, or an insult. If it's the latter, then you really need to work on that, Draco."

"And if it's the former?" Draco asked.

"You need to work on that too. One should never confuse the two." Ana grinned. "Where's your mum?"

"Why must Mother be with me?" Draco asked, his eyes pinching in a sneer.

"Because you're a Golden Boy, Draco. Narcissa would never let her precious Little Dr...."

"Don't say it!" He quickly covered her mouth with his hand. "She's in Flourish in Blotts."

When Draco didn't remove his hand from her mouth, Ana licked the inside of his palm. He pulled it away with a grimace.

"Eww! You're disgusting."

"Well next time, don't put your hand on my face."

The same family with the identical mischief makers passed by Ana and Draco again. Draco sneered as they passed.

"Why are there so many people out today?"

"Hogwarts starts in a week, Draco."

"Oh. ...Oh!" Draco turned to Ana with sudden interest. "So you got your letter then?"

"Of course I did! I got it weeks ago," Ana said with lofty pride as she pulled the well-loved parchment from the bag beneath her feet.

Draco's eyes roamed over the paper with vigor. "'Course, I'll be getting mine soon too."

"Yeah... next summer." Ana took back her acceptance letter and tucked it away for safe keeping.

"What house do you think you'll be in?" Draco asked.

"No one really knows what house they'll be in until they get there."

"Well I know I'll be in Slytherin; all of Mother's and Father's families were in Slytherin. Your dad was in Slytherin too, so you probably will be."

"He's not my dad."

Draco rolled his eyes in dramatic fashion. "You know what I mean."