ONE THE FIRST OF SEPTEMBER
"Right then, everyone's trunks packed and ready to go?" Eleanor Blackwood asked her two sisters as they shoved breakfast in their mouths. Theodora Blackwood had woken up late and was still wearing her pajamas as she shoved a piece of toast in her mouth, her younger sister Helena grimacing at her as she tenderly took bites of her piece of bacon.
"I don't know how you can eat like that, reckon I'd throw up from that large of a bite," Helena scoffed as she finished off her breakfast and picked up her plate. She handed it off to their house-elf, Plunky, and brushed her hands on her skirt.
"I don't know how you can eat such a horrible thing at all!" Theodora fired back, "Meat's disgusting, at least I have ataste."
Coming between her two younger sisters, Eleanor glared at them, "All this ruckus and not one of you answered my question. Trunks? Ready?"
"Yes," both girls droned as Theodora left the breakfast table with her last bite still between her teeth, rushing to at least pull on her skirt, button-up, and tie. She could worry about her sweater and robes the closer she got to Hogwarts. Calling down the stairs as she struggled to get the right knot in her tie she asked, "Where's mum and dad? They usually see us off."
"They're off doing business, told me to make sure you two made it to the station without biting your heads off," Eleanor explained as she observed her sister's uniform with a cursory glance, "Buttons are skewed. Knot looks good, though. Anyway, mum and dad give you their best and they'll see you at Christmas. After the stint with the Quidditch Cup, all of the old pureblood families are under fire. Ministry's trying to find out who exactly was under the masks."
"Wouldn't be surprised if it was our parents," Helena joined the conversation with a huff, "Did you even brush your hair? Ridiculous, let me see it."
Theodora huffed as she stood straight so Helena could braid it as she often did. She was the only girl in the family who had picked up how to french braid as Theodora never bothered to learn and Eleanor often opted for a loose ponytail to get her dark locks out of her face. This was how their mornings often were when it was just the girls — organized chaos is what Theodora often chose to refer to it. Yes, there was animosity and rudeness, but neither would let the other fall behind or fail to uphold anything that would strengthen the family name. The Blackwoods were one of the infamous Slytherin pure-blood families and it was imperative that all three Blackwood girls represented it to the best of their abilities.
"All right then, enough talk about that," the eldest brushed off the subject with that typical knowing twinge in her voice. Now that Eleanor had left Hogwarts, she got her share of all the family business and gossip the girls had been hidden from since they were children. Theodora thought it was rather unfair, though, since she knew the dealings of her family would affect all of the girls, not just the ones that were of-age. For years, Helena and Theodora had been forced to endure the rumors and speculation of their families' dark beliefs and Theodora didn't even have the authority to know if it was true or not. The dark mark's appearance at the Quidditch World Cup certainly wouldn't help things either as they headed into the new school year at Hogwarts — after all, rumors only grow.
"Can we get going? It's nearly quarter eleven and I would hate to be late, it's such a pain trying to find a compartment everyone just hogs them to themselves these days," Helena complained, watching as Eleanor used her wand to bring their trunks down the stairs.
Once Eleanor was done she turned to the youngest with her hands on her hips, "What does it look like I'm doing? Besides, worst comes to worst, you can share with your sister and Draco."
The younger girl mockingly gagged at this, pretending to shove a finger down her throat, groaning, "Merlin forbid I have to share with Thea and her stupid boyfriend."
"He's not my boyfriend you insufferable hag," Theodora shot back before whipping around to face her elder sister, "Can we go? Please?"
Eleanor rolled her eyes but held out her arm, "God, I wish mum and dad were here so I wouldn't have to make three bloody trips today. Come on, Thea you first."
Theodora smirked at her sister before walking over to where Eleanor was holding out her arm. The girl had side-alonged before, but it was never a pleasant experience. However, going from their quiet home to the bustling train platform was a pleasant experience since Theodora could hardly tolerate the silence her home was often coated in. Eleanor told her to wait there before she went back to get Helena — They couldn't all go at the same time without the risk of splinching and Theodora did not want to imagine dealing with such a thing so early in the morning. Crossing her arms, she waited.
"Thea!" a voice interrupted her waiting as Pansy Parkinson ran over to her, wrapping her arms around the girl. This was rare behavior for Pansy, after all, Slytherins weren't exactly the most affectionate type, but Pansy and Theodora had always been close. "Ugh, summer was so dreadful without you this year. Shame about the Cup or else we would have been able to have our annual dinner."
"I know!" Theodora exclaimed, "Mum and dad hardly let me leave the house!"
Moments later their conversation was interrupted by Eleanor appearing with Helena looking pale by her side.
"All right, everyone in one piece? Good, I'll be back with your trunks," Eleanor told them before waving her wand and disappearing again.
"Your parents aren't here?" Pansy asked with a furrowed brow and both sisters shook their heads. "Mine has been in and out of the manor constantly as well. Things are so weird these days."
"You're telling me," Helena scoffed as she crossed her arms and waited for her sister with a sour expression on her face. She seemed to recognize one of her friends, Ginny Weasley, and she ran off to say hello.
Pansy sneered at this, "I don't know how she interacts with such a garbage excuse for a pure-blood family. I'm surprised when she hugs them she doesn't come off with dirt on her robes."
Theodora wanted to bite her tongue since this was typical behavior for Pansy and Theodora couldn't act as she had never said such things in her life, but Ginny Weasley had always been kind to her, and out of all the Weasley's, she was probably the one Theodora hated the least.
"You shouldn't say things like that, you know," Theodora couldn't stop herself from saying, "Ginny's quite nice. Can't say the same for her brothers, but she's fairly all right to be around."
The dark-haired girl scoffed at this, "Oh please, don't go all high and mighty on me now, Thea. Besides, kindness aside, you can't hide the obvious blood-traitor behind a kind smile. Should be ashamed o' themselves."
Theodora sighed, knowing this was a losing battle and it wasn't a battle worth fighting. The moment was relieved of its tension when Eleanor appeared moments later with their trunks, seeming out of breath.
"Merlin, what did your sister pack in here? Rocks?" Eleanor huffed as she handed Theodora her trunk. "All right, you girls go ahead and board, wanna make sure you get a good spot."
She called the youngest back over and handed her the trunk. For a moment Eleanor looked as though she was actually sad the girls were leaving, but the expression only flickered for a moment before it was gone again.
"Bye, El!" Helena exclaimed as she took her trunk and ran. Theodora rolled her eyes at her sister behind her back, not sure how she can just leave like that knowing she's not going to see Eleanor for months. This was going to be their first year without Eleanor at school and that was terrifying for Theodora because that meant the role of Helena's guardian was more or less passed down to her.
"Keep her safe, okay? Don't let her mix in with the—" Eleanor's eyes shifted over to where Helena had been just standing with the Weasley's, "wrong crowd. I know I won't have to worry about such things with you, but she's been making me nervous as of late. So, promise?"
The girl nodded as she pulled her older sister into a brief hug, "Yeah, promise. See you at Christmas?"
Eleanor nodded, "Yeah, I'll be seeing you. Have fun at school, Thea."
Before she got a chance to say anything more, Eleanor had disapparated and that was that. Theodora sighed before turning back to Pansy as they headed onto the train. They were able to snag their usual compartment and it wasn't long before Theodore Nott and Draco Malfoy joined them as they did every year. Theodora sighed as she looked at the window and sparingly partook in conversation with her friends. Something felt wrong about this year, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it.