Categories > Books > Harry Potter > Don't Judge On What You See
Chapter One - Hogwarts Express
Genevieve
"Genevieve, hurry up!" complained my younger sister, Isabella. I made a face at her, which my mother saw. That earned me a light whack on the head. Isabella smiled sweetly at me. She got a whack too.
"Both of you, behave. We know people here." Our mother looked around, scanning the muggles for fellow wizards.
"Mother, no one we know will see us, because they are already on the train by now." Hissed my older brother, William. William had a thing about being "late" to things.
"We would have been there half an hour ago if Genevieve had been packed!" Isabella said it as if she didn't spend two hours in the bathroom. For a ten-year-old girl, she likes to take her sweet time in the shower. I just rolled my eyes, getting whacked again.
"Ladies do not roll their eyes." My mother instructed. I sighed and resisted to do it again. we made it to the barrier and Isabella excitedly pushed through first. William swished through next, with my mother in pursuit. Despite having gone through the barrier twice before, I was now wracked with nerves. What if I didn't make it? What if I was the problem again, and they have to send me home. What if I have no friends, or if I got sorted into Gryffindor? I felt the verge of another mental break down trying to push through. I shoved it out of my head. My mother would kill me if I broke down in public. I took a deep breath and stepped forward onto the platform. Almost immediately the smoke blinded me, but I saw the light pink of my sister's coat and moved towards it. My mother was talking to a familiar face. Narcissa Malfoy's smiling face greeted me.
"Genevieve, darling! How are you dear?" The kind women gave me a huge hug. I pulled back and nodded to her with a small smile, averted my eyes back to the ground. "Still not talking dear?" She asked looking slightly concerned. Mrs. Malfoy was not one to have a filter. I shrugged, and my mother got to do her favorite thing; whack me upside the head.
"We got her to say a whole sentence yesterday!" Interrupted Isabella, tossing her hair behind her shoulder. Isabella liked to act like an adult, which to her meant dressing nicely and sharing information. Mrs. Malfoy gave me an appraising look.
"Very nice, darling." She gave me another hug.
"Mother, I see my acquaintances, may I be excused to go meet with them?" My brother lifted his trunk off the trolley, already knowing the answer.
"Of course William. I love you, and I will see you at Christmas?" my mother seemed hopeful, but she knew as well as any of us that William liked to stay at Hogwarts during winter break.
"I may see about that, especially with this skinny, little twit running around the halls." My mother gave him a stern look and I glared at him as he kissed our mother on the cheek. "Farewell Mother! I love you. Good day to you, Mrs. Malfoy."
"Good day, William, and do me a favor-"
"Keep Draco and Genevieve out of any trouble?"
"If you wouldn't mind?"
"Not at all, ma'am. They will be on their best behavior, don't you worry." Mrs. Malfoy gave my brother a hug. He left to go meet with his Ravenclaw friends, leaving me alone with the two women and my sister.
"Genevieve, dear, why don't you go find Draco and sit with him and his friends? I've already asked him to keep an eye out for you," said Mrs. Malfoy kindly. I nodded and grabbed my trunk, not looking her in the eye. Draco had always been nice to me, but it felt like it was more out of demand of his mother than his own decisions. My Mother excused herself from her conversation for a moment to speak with me softly.
"Remember, darling, do try to make some friends, maybe talk to at least one person? And please, do not tarnish the family's reputation, Alright?" I rolled my eyes again, but nodded and kiss my mother on the cheek. "I love you, Genevieve." She said. My mother straightened and looked down at me with a smile.
"Goodbye, darling!" I was pulled into a hug by Mrs. Malfoy as well. I patted her arm and she released me to the crowd.
I fought my way to the train, dragging my trunk behind me to the best of my ability. I was always a little on the smaller side, and the amount of time I spent closed up reading I my room most likely did not help. I pulled myself up onto the train and attempted to pull the heavy object up too. I almost lost my balance and fell off the train, except that a strong hand wrapped around my arm and tugged me away from the edge.
"Need a hand there, love?" asked the person who had helped me. I brushed my blond hair out of my face, feeling a blush burning my cheeks. I knew that voice, and I turned to face the boy who was still grasping my arm. I pulled loose and looked up at the ground, trying to hide my blush. It was a tall boy with almost nonexistent black hair and darker skin. I rolled my eyes at him, acting like my hands weren't shaking. Blaise Zabini grabbed my trunk and pulled it onto the train for me. I tried to grab it from him, but he held it out of my reach. “Hello Vivi,” He greeted grandly. I glared as he pulled my trunk along down the row of compartments with him, and I hurried to walk after him. Mrs. Zabini and my mother were good friends, so I saw Blaise often.
Blaise, unlike Draco, always seemed happy to see me, and he was possibly my closest friend, which was saying a lot because normally I'm too scared to try to make friends. He's also one of the biggest flirts I know, even as an eleven-year-old. He flirts with every female, and sometimes male, on the planet. Some days, I play along. Today, I didn't feel like it, which was good, because apparently, neither did he. He leads me into a compartment and forced me to sit down next to him. Zabini looked me up and down, then raised an eyebrow.
"Not eating again, are we?" I didn't respond. I’m not exactly skinny, but I know I’m not fat. Blaise just always seems to think that I’m skin and bone. I don’t have a problem, I just forgot to eat sometimes. He acts like I hadn't eaten in years. He pulled a sandwich out of his trunk and handed it to me. I glared at him. Blaise was the only person who ever noticed my forgetfulness. It had mainly started when the trouble with my father started about three years ago. I try to hand the food back, but he wouldn't take it. "Come on, eat. When was the last time you ate anything, huh?" I only shrugged. Maybe a few days, but definitely shorter than a week. I was fine, but I did feel at least a little hungry. I took a bite of the sandwich and he watched me.
"My summer's been good, thanks for asking," he said, stretching out a little. I rolled my eyes, but he grinned like a maniac. He told me all about his summer as I continued to eat. The train eventually took off around the time that he was telling me about his mother's ninth boyfriend of the summer. As I finished half of the sandwich there was a knock on the compartment door.
We looked up to see Draco Malfoy, a girl with dark hair, and two big burly guys, one cradling his thumb.
"Genevieve. Hello, How are you?" Draco walked in and sat across from me. I simply nodded in his direction, and he turned to stare out the window. The other girl moved to sit next to me. Blaise didn't look happy about it, but he scooted away from me and allowed her to sit.
"Hello, I'm Pansy Parkinson. Who are you?" the way she said told me that it wasn't a question that could be ignored, but it was truly a demand that she expected others to follow and live by.
"That’s Genevieve Sionnach," Draco said for me, Blaise eyeing the newcomers with suspicious eyes. I smiled shyly at Pansy and nodded a greeting. I returned to eating the sandwich as we continued to sit in silence. Pansy just looked at me critically.
"Is she mute?" the girl blurted out, turning to Draco. Blaise glared, and Draco sighed, but I smiled slightly. It wasn't the first time someone had asked this question, but just the way that she said it as if it irritated her was very funny. Normally it's said more like they are asking if I'll be cured of a deadly disease, and there’s no hope of saving me; not like it's the last piece of a puzzle, and they’ve lost it.
Everyone looked at me now, which was quite nerve-racking.
"I'm not mute," was all I said quietly. Blaise was grinning again, Draco had gone back to staring out the window, the big guys looked very confused, and Pansy seemed thoughtful.
"I like you," she decided, turning to me. "We’re going to be best friends. I can tell." Draco snorted at that. "What house are you going to be in?" Pansy asked me. I just shrugged. She turned to Blaise. "What does that mean?" she loudly whispered to him.
"She doesn't know," he replied back with a smile.
"Oh..." Pansy turned back to me. "Well, I hope we can find out soon!" I gave her a small smile. After a while of Blaise and Pansy chatting about their summers, I noticed that all of the boys had already changed into their robes, which Pansy noticed too.
"Boys, we are almost at school! Get out!" she demanded, pointing to the door. The boys turned to her, bewildered.
"What? Why?" asked Draco, finally turning from the window to look at us. He hadn't changed that much over the summer, maybe added more hair gel.
"Because Genevieve and I need to change, duh." Pansy stood and pushed them out the door. "Good, now, we can get ready to go." She turned around and I quickly changed into my robes. Soon, we let the boys back in, and not much later, the train came to a screeching halt. We stood up and walked out, being dragged along by the sea of students. Outside of the train, we followed the other first years over to Hagrid, or "The big oaf" as Draco muttered under his breath.
We climbed into the boats and slowly glided across the lake.
Genevieve
"Genevieve, hurry up!" complained my younger sister, Isabella. I made a face at her, which my mother saw. That earned me a light whack on the head. Isabella smiled sweetly at me. She got a whack too.
"Both of you, behave. We know people here." Our mother looked around, scanning the muggles for fellow wizards.
"Mother, no one we know will see us, because they are already on the train by now." Hissed my older brother, William. William had a thing about being "late" to things.
"We would have been there half an hour ago if Genevieve had been packed!" Isabella said it as if she didn't spend two hours in the bathroom. For a ten-year-old girl, she likes to take her sweet time in the shower. I just rolled my eyes, getting whacked again.
"Ladies do not roll their eyes." My mother instructed. I sighed and resisted to do it again. we made it to the barrier and Isabella excitedly pushed through first. William swished through next, with my mother in pursuit. Despite having gone through the barrier twice before, I was now wracked with nerves. What if I didn't make it? What if I was the problem again, and they have to send me home. What if I have no friends, or if I got sorted into Gryffindor? I felt the verge of another mental break down trying to push through. I shoved it out of my head. My mother would kill me if I broke down in public. I took a deep breath and stepped forward onto the platform. Almost immediately the smoke blinded me, but I saw the light pink of my sister's coat and moved towards it. My mother was talking to a familiar face. Narcissa Malfoy's smiling face greeted me.
"Genevieve, darling! How are you dear?" The kind women gave me a huge hug. I pulled back and nodded to her with a small smile, averted my eyes back to the ground. "Still not talking dear?" She asked looking slightly concerned. Mrs. Malfoy was not one to have a filter. I shrugged, and my mother got to do her favorite thing; whack me upside the head.
"We got her to say a whole sentence yesterday!" Interrupted Isabella, tossing her hair behind her shoulder. Isabella liked to act like an adult, which to her meant dressing nicely and sharing information. Mrs. Malfoy gave me an appraising look.
"Very nice, darling." She gave me another hug.
"Mother, I see my acquaintances, may I be excused to go meet with them?" My brother lifted his trunk off the trolley, already knowing the answer.
"Of course William. I love you, and I will see you at Christmas?" my mother seemed hopeful, but she knew as well as any of us that William liked to stay at Hogwarts during winter break.
"I may see about that, especially with this skinny, little twit running around the halls." My mother gave him a stern look and I glared at him as he kissed our mother on the cheek. "Farewell Mother! I love you. Good day to you, Mrs. Malfoy."
"Good day, William, and do me a favor-"
"Keep Draco and Genevieve out of any trouble?"
"If you wouldn't mind?"
"Not at all, ma'am. They will be on their best behavior, don't you worry." Mrs. Malfoy gave my brother a hug. He left to go meet with his Ravenclaw friends, leaving me alone with the two women and my sister.
"Genevieve, dear, why don't you go find Draco and sit with him and his friends? I've already asked him to keep an eye out for you," said Mrs. Malfoy kindly. I nodded and grabbed my trunk, not looking her in the eye. Draco had always been nice to me, but it felt like it was more out of demand of his mother than his own decisions. My Mother excused herself from her conversation for a moment to speak with me softly.
"Remember, darling, do try to make some friends, maybe talk to at least one person? And please, do not tarnish the family's reputation, Alright?" I rolled my eyes again, but nodded and kiss my mother on the cheek. "I love you, Genevieve." She said. My mother straightened and looked down at me with a smile.
"Goodbye, darling!" I was pulled into a hug by Mrs. Malfoy as well. I patted her arm and she released me to the crowd.
I fought my way to the train, dragging my trunk behind me to the best of my ability. I was always a little on the smaller side, and the amount of time I spent closed up reading I my room most likely did not help. I pulled myself up onto the train and attempted to pull the heavy object up too. I almost lost my balance and fell off the train, except that a strong hand wrapped around my arm and tugged me away from the edge.
"Need a hand there, love?" asked the person who had helped me. I brushed my blond hair out of my face, feeling a blush burning my cheeks. I knew that voice, and I turned to face the boy who was still grasping my arm. I pulled loose and looked up at the ground, trying to hide my blush. It was a tall boy with almost nonexistent black hair and darker skin. I rolled my eyes at him, acting like my hands weren't shaking. Blaise Zabini grabbed my trunk and pulled it onto the train for me. I tried to grab it from him, but he held it out of my reach. “Hello Vivi,” He greeted grandly. I glared as he pulled my trunk along down the row of compartments with him, and I hurried to walk after him. Mrs. Zabini and my mother were good friends, so I saw Blaise often.
Blaise, unlike Draco, always seemed happy to see me, and he was possibly my closest friend, which was saying a lot because normally I'm too scared to try to make friends. He's also one of the biggest flirts I know, even as an eleven-year-old. He flirts with every female, and sometimes male, on the planet. Some days, I play along. Today, I didn't feel like it, which was good, because apparently, neither did he. He leads me into a compartment and forced me to sit down next to him. Zabini looked me up and down, then raised an eyebrow.
"Not eating again, are we?" I didn't respond. I’m not exactly skinny, but I know I’m not fat. Blaise just always seems to think that I’m skin and bone. I don’t have a problem, I just forgot to eat sometimes. He acts like I hadn't eaten in years. He pulled a sandwich out of his trunk and handed it to me. I glared at him. Blaise was the only person who ever noticed my forgetfulness. It had mainly started when the trouble with my father started about three years ago. I try to hand the food back, but he wouldn't take it. "Come on, eat. When was the last time you ate anything, huh?" I only shrugged. Maybe a few days, but definitely shorter than a week. I was fine, but I did feel at least a little hungry. I took a bite of the sandwich and he watched me.
"My summer's been good, thanks for asking," he said, stretching out a little. I rolled my eyes, but he grinned like a maniac. He told me all about his summer as I continued to eat. The train eventually took off around the time that he was telling me about his mother's ninth boyfriend of the summer. As I finished half of the sandwich there was a knock on the compartment door.
We looked up to see Draco Malfoy, a girl with dark hair, and two big burly guys, one cradling his thumb.
"Genevieve. Hello, How are you?" Draco walked in and sat across from me. I simply nodded in his direction, and he turned to stare out the window. The other girl moved to sit next to me. Blaise didn't look happy about it, but he scooted away from me and allowed her to sit.
"Hello, I'm Pansy Parkinson. Who are you?" the way she said told me that it wasn't a question that could be ignored, but it was truly a demand that she expected others to follow and live by.
"That’s Genevieve Sionnach," Draco said for me, Blaise eyeing the newcomers with suspicious eyes. I smiled shyly at Pansy and nodded a greeting. I returned to eating the sandwich as we continued to sit in silence. Pansy just looked at me critically.
"Is she mute?" the girl blurted out, turning to Draco. Blaise glared, and Draco sighed, but I smiled slightly. It wasn't the first time someone had asked this question, but just the way that she said it as if it irritated her was very funny. Normally it's said more like they are asking if I'll be cured of a deadly disease, and there’s no hope of saving me; not like it's the last piece of a puzzle, and they’ve lost it.
Everyone looked at me now, which was quite nerve-racking.
"I'm not mute," was all I said quietly. Blaise was grinning again, Draco had gone back to staring out the window, the big guys looked very confused, and Pansy seemed thoughtful.
"I like you," she decided, turning to me. "We’re going to be best friends. I can tell." Draco snorted at that. "What house are you going to be in?" Pansy asked me. I just shrugged. She turned to Blaise. "What does that mean?" she loudly whispered to him.
"She doesn't know," he replied back with a smile.
"Oh..." Pansy turned back to me. "Well, I hope we can find out soon!" I gave her a small smile. After a while of Blaise and Pansy chatting about their summers, I noticed that all of the boys had already changed into their robes, which Pansy noticed too.
"Boys, we are almost at school! Get out!" she demanded, pointing to the door. The boys turned to her, bewildered.
"What? Why?" asked Draco, finally turning from the window to look at us. He hadn't changed that much over the summer, maybe added more hair gel.
"Because Genevieve and I need to change, duh." Pansy stood and pushed them out the door. "Good, now, we can get ready to go." She turned around and I quickly changed into my robes. Soon, we let the boys back in, and not much later, the train came to a screeching halt. We stood up and walked out, being dragged along by the sea of students. Outside of the train, we followed the other first years over to Hagrid, or "The big oaf" as Draco muttered under his breath.
We climbed into the boats and slowly glided across the lake.
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