"Are you really going to meet Draco's parents, Clara?" Abby asked looking up at the older girl that she had practically adopted as her older sister.
Clara looked up from her Transfiguration assignment that she was working on for a moment. "Well..yes..if Draco wants me to. I'm not afraid."
"But Draco says they're not nice people. What if they something mean to you, Clara?" Abby frowned.
"Abby..people have said plenty of mean things to me, even before I had these scars on my face. There are nasty people that you will come across all throughout your life, even if you didn't do anything to them. Some people are born to love, others are born to hate. I don't think people are born evil, but I definitely think the way they grow up has a lot to say about it. Draco's parents grew up in a household where pureblooded wizards and witches were seen as superior versus half-bloods and muggle-borns. That's all they heard about-"
"But you heard what Professor Black said, he grew up in the same house and he didn't turn out mean."
"Circumstances were different for him though, Abby. He was sorted into a different house, made different friends, he had Professor Dover who is a half-breed, he had Professor Lupin who is a werewolf. He had constant outside influences...ones that Draco didn't have. Draco didn't have a different subgroup of friends, the majority of them were also purebloods that were in the Slytherin house. They were children of the people that associated themselves with his parents...It's not fair to compare the two, Abby. They are two separate beings, with different lives and different thought processes and completely different personalities."
"Yeah, you're right. Professor Black is a total dork." Abby snorted.
"But you know...that gives me an idea..." Clara said before gathering her things up and heading to leave the common room, but she suddenly stopped herself as she realized she was leaving Abby behind.
"Sorry, do you want to come with me, Abby?"
"Nah, I was going to be leaving in a few minutes anyways. Max invited me to play Wizards Chess...well..he's going to try to teach me how to play. I was never really good at muggle chess so I can't imagine I'm going to be very good at this one."
"You'll probably find it a lot more exciting. It's much more violent." Clara winked at her.
"Really?!"
"Really, really."
"Oh yes!"
Professor Dover was sitting at her desk attempting to look busy as Professor McGonagall had been going around observing the majority of the professors when she heard a knock at her door. Lifting her head up from the report she was trying to focus on, she saw Clara standing in the door.
"Miss Easton, how may I help you?" she asked pushing the papers away from her.
"Do you have a minute? I don't want to interrupt you if you're busy."
"No, not at all. Please distract me. Do you need help with the homework?"
"No," Clara shook her head and placed her things down as she sat in front of the desk. "I was wondering if I could ask you...well I guess it's a personal question. I know I should wait until the support group meeting but I rather ask this in private."
"Of course, go right ahead, it's just the two of us." Professor Dover lifted her wand and closed the door over to offer more privacy.
"Okay well...I remember what Professor Black told us during one of the meetings about his family and how..and how they didn't like you because you were a-"
"Filthy half-breed?"
"I didn't say that!"
"No, I did." Professor Dover smiled. "And it's okay, Clara. Trust me over the years, name calling doesn't mean much to me anymore. It's all about choosing your battles."
Clara gave her a small smile in return.
"So what's your question?"
"Well, I was wondering how you dealt with them because they didn't like you? What did you say to them?"
"Nothing." Professor Dover answered," nothing at all. I had no desire to speak with them. I had an occasional run in with Sirius' brother and his mother, but I never interacted with them on a normal basis."
"Oh." Clara bit her lower lip.
"Let me guess, are you asking this because you're going to be meeting the Malfoys soon?"
Clara nodded her head. "I just thought..since the Black family and the Malfoy family were ...part of each other...that maybe you would have some advice about talking with them."
"Well, Miss Easton I can give you some advice. Already you're in a much better place than I was back when Sirius and I started dating. For one, you're a pureblood witch and while times are changing and that's not much of a focus in the world anymore, it still matters to some and I'm pretty sure it matters to Mr. Malfoy's family. But you have that going for you...so there's a positive. You also have time on your side, with the war over and Voldemort defeated you have leverage on your side. The good prevailed and now all those that were on the opposing side must turn to good or they risk getting their arse kicked again. Ooops...wait...am I allowed to say that in front of you?"
"I'm not going to tell anyone." Clara laughed.
"Thank Merlin." Professor Dover sighed in relief as she leaned back in her chair. "Anyways, the best advice I can give you is don't let them get you down. If they decide to be nasty, simply get up and walk away. You don't need anyone being nasty to you. As for Mr. Malfoy, if his parents decide to be nasty with you...he's going to have to make a choice. Whether he sticks by his parents' or by you. And I have a feeling...he'll side with you. You both are a great support system for each other."
"Thank you, Professor."
"Anytime."
Once Clara up and left, Nixie was left with more boring moments bringing her to spin back and forth in her chair when Sirius came in.
"You're supposed to be working." he told her.
"I was working. I'm just taking a short break from all the hard work I've been doing."
"Well, don't work too hard, " he said walking over. "Wouldn't want you to hurt yourself or the baby."
Nixie laughed. "Right because I'm just working myself to death over-"
The two heard a knock at the door and saw Draco standing in the doorway.
"Do you both have a moment?"