Chapter 4

~ HP ~

            Inseparable. That is what Zora and Luca were. Where ever she would go little Luca was sure to follow. He really was an adorable little thing. His coat was so soft and silky and his eyes, they were clearer than a summer’s day after a rainstorm. He was smart as a whip too; there was no trick that he couldn’t pull off. Oh sure, he had a few accidents inside of the house but he was learning that “taking care of business” meant taking care of it outside. Now he was would just scratch at the backyard door when he needed to be let out. Zora wanted to take him out for a walk but ever since the fair incident her father had been more strict about letting her go any where without an adult present. But it was all right though, she thought, at least she had Luca to talk to when Mrs.Weatherbee came to watch her. Thankfully, that wouldn’t be for too much of a problem anymore. Her tutor was coming tomorrow. Nymphadora Tonks was the name that her dad had told her. Such a funny sounding name, Nymphadora. Zora had to admit she liked the name none-the-less. It was whimsical like from a fairy tale or something. When she was little (or littler depending on if you were talking to her dad), he would always read her fairy tales from one of her mother’s books.

 Even though both of her parents were pure-blooded wizards they wanted to expose her to both magical and non-magical children’ stories a). She knew about Beedle the Bard and the Grimm Brothers. Her parents thought she should be educated in both sides of the spectrum (which is why she was in muggle school instead of being home trained Her father told her that was no difference between those who came from wizarding family and those who came from a muggle-families. Each person was given a gift, because that is what magic ultimately is,  a gift. And depending how their gift was exercised, that person would live to see their full magical potential. That was why she tried so hard with her magic studies; she wanted to find out what she could do. She wanted to excel in whatever she decided to eventually do with her life. Zora McQueen had dreams that would not put on hold and Hogwarts was the place to start. Nothing was going to hold her back; her Metamorphmagus abilities weren’t going to affect her. She had been practicing a little bit each day. Nothing extraordinary but at least she her hair did change color as much as her eyes did. Luca wasn’t bothered when she tried to make animal faces. She watched him when they would play together but all she got was his nose so far.

Luca barked to get her attention, he was standing at back door looking back her impatiently.

“Oh, sorry Luca…now don’t give me that look I said was sorry didn’t I?” she opened the door and watched the pup run into the backyard. “ Close the door when you’re done alright?” Luca just growled and went did his business.

Zora had been in the living room in her father’s favorite chair. She was reading one of her dad’s old textbooks she had sneaked out of his trunk when he absentmindedly left it open. Today it was Charms and she was reading up on how to do the levitating charm, Wingardium Leviosa.

 “Win-gar-dee-um …”

“  Girl, lunch.” Lovely.

“ Coming Mrs. Weatherbee, be there in just a moment.” Wretched woman, she had been watching her since her dad went back to the Ministry after her mom’s…passing. Yet she still could not remember her name.

“ I haven’t all day so hurry up and eat. I want to watch my afternoon programs.” See? Nasty old bird if there ever was one. Zora kept herself calm, only a few more hours and then she is out of her life for good. One could only hope…

“Yes Mrs. Weatherbee, coming Mrs. Weatherbee.” Zora hid the Charms book under the chair cushion and went into the kitchen Luca had come back from the back yard and followed his little mistress. Luca stayed in his puppy form most of the time. It was just as well, Zora thought; she didn’t think Mrs. Weatherbee would react too kindly if Luca came into the room in his regular size. Zora sat down and ate her pathetic looking peanut butter and jelly sandwich and glass of water. Mrs. Weatherbee left the moment she entered the room. Luca just laid down next to her without a sound. Really, by the way Mrs.Weatherbee paid attention she could have made something a little more appetizing for herself. She could her mumbling while she watched their television. Usually she didn’t pay much attention to what Mrs. Weatherbee said but for some reason today was different somehow.

“He could have done so much better, such a nice boy that Samson….”

“Dirty blood…how could he…” Dirty blood?

“That undesirable wench…must’ve gotten herself pregnant to trap him…” What?

“ Can’t believe I’m here watching that little mongrel…” She’s talking about Mum…me… 

 “Oh how times have changed…” Dirty blood…I have…dirty blood?

Zora did not understand, not fully. Why did she have dirty blood? Tears started to well up in her eyes. Why was Mrs. Weatherbee saying such mean things? Her sniffling alerted Luca, she started to cry silently. She got up from her chair, leaving everything as it was before she came in. She didn’t know what she was doing; all she knew was that she didn’t want to stay in the house, not with her. Her vision was greatly blurred by her tears. She tried to wipe them away but they wouldn’t go away. She opened the front door and started to run, with Luca trailing after her. She ran as far as her little legs would carry her. Thoughts raced through out her mind. Doubts, insecurities began to plague her. What was wrong with her?  What did Mrs. Weatherbee mean by dirty blood? How could someone have dirty blood? Zora couldn’t run anymore, she couldn’t run and cry at the same time. She collapsed on her knees and looked around and found herself in a place she thought was just a dream. It was a small garden, but it had the most beautiful flowers that she had ever seen in her young life; Zora could’ve sworn she had been here before. Maybe…maybe she had been here with her mum. Luca heard a noise behind them and started to growl, blue embers started to spark for his paws until he saw who it was.

“Zora, what are doing here?” Her father was out of breath.

 Samson had come early for no other reason other than he felt he had to. He had come home to an open door and Mrs. Weatherbee in the living room watching their television. He asked where Zora was and she told him that she was eating the lunch she prepared. Samson looked in the kitchen and half eaten sandwich and a (from the look of it) a barely touched glass of water. Samson checked her room found the she wasn’t there. He dashed out of the house and asked the other neighbors if they had seen her. One told them told him that they thought they saw her running toward the community garden. Samson quickly thanked him and rushed off in the direction given. Thankfully he saw her sitting on the ground with Luca in toe. He instantly saw the tears trailing down her face and grew instantly concerned again.

“Zora, darling, why are you crying?”

“Papa…do I have dirty blood?” That threw him, dirty blood what was she talking about?

“ Dirty blood…darling what are you talking about?” He walked up to Zora and sat down next to her.

“M-mrs. W-weatherbee said that…mum…that mum was dirty blood a-and that she trapped you by having me…” Samson couldn’t believe his ears. He couldn’t, didn’t want to comprehend what she was telling him. His little girl…oh his poor little girl….

“Papa, am I a m-mongrel?” She looked at him and it broke his heart. She looked so hurt; her small body was trembling with tears. He lifted her into his lap and held on to her tightly.

“ Zora you are not a mongrel or have dirty blood or anything of the sort. Your mother was one of the best people I knew and that was I why I loved her.  She would never do something that would hurt another person. When she told me that she was pregnant with you I was so happy, it was the happiest day of my life. You are blessing Zora and never think otherwise.”

“B-but then why would she say such mean things?” Samson didn’t answer her immediately. He had to come up with an answer that an eight-year-old would understand. How do you explain to your child that monsters were real, but they didn’t always have furry bodies and razor sharp teeth? How do explain to your child that some of the worst monsters look like ordinary people? He had hoped that he would have never had to have this conversation. Or at the least, have it when she would be old enough to understand what he trying to say.

“Zora, princess, there are people in this world who don’t understand that beauty comes in many forms. And when they don’t understand they become afraid and lash out at people who resemble a certain type of beauty. As for the people who do understand and appreciate all types of beauty it is our duty to not fall into their cloud of ignorance and to soldier forward towards the truth. The truth is that there are so many different types of people on this earth Zora. Be proud of who you are and where you come from, but never allow your pride to stand in the way of seeing the beauty in the things and people that are different from what you are comfortable with. Zora, we might all look differently, speak differently, love differently but deep down we all want the same things. Love, food, shelter, safety, and being with other people. These basic things are what bind all of us together. Sometimes people unfortunately forget that…”

“ Like happiness.”

“Hm?”

“Remember, you said that mom said that happiness is a song that everyone one knows and that sometimes they forget how the song goes so we have to help them remember the words.”

“Yes, darling it is very similar that.”

“ Papa, I’m sad that Mrs. Weatherbee thinks that way, but I’m mad that she said those things. I hate her papa, I hate her.” He was expecting this sort of reaction. Children feel first then reason. He didn’t believe that Zora actually hated the old woman. That was the hurt talking.

“ Zora, hate is a very strong and ugly thing. It is a burden that some people choose to carry and in the end it ultimately destroys them. Nothing good can ever come out of hating someone. Now I ask you do you really hate Mrs. Weatherbee or do hate what she said?” He wanted to make sure that she got the distinction. It perfectly fine for her to hate what the old woman said but not fine to hate the old woman.

“ I-I really didn’t like the mean things that she said but I guess I don’t really hate her after all but I’m still mad at her..” her voice was soft as she spoke. The tears had finally stopped. Her breathing finally evened out. Zora allowed herself to relax into her father’s embrace.

“And it is perfectly okay for you to be angry because of what she said. But don’t allow the hatred that she feels to be transferred over to you. You have a beautiful heart, darling, don’t allow it be soiled with ugly emotions harbored by the likes of people such as Mrs. Weatherbee.”  She smiled at her father with gentle confidence that made him feel that she would be okay.

“ Papa, do think that people can change?” Samson thought for a moment.

“Yes, but change can go either way Zora. Situations and experiences can bring out the best or the worst in people. But it is those same situations that allow you to see their true colors. ”

“Do you think that Mrs. Weatherbee can change?”

“I hope so, she seems so lonely living in the house by herself.” Zora closed her eyes and relaxed against her father.

“ In time dear…in time maybe she will.” He said while rubbing her gently on her back. On the outside Samson seemed very serene. On the inside he was still fuming.  He was going to have a serious talk to that woman when they got home. Zora, bless her, seemed to be a forgiving child. However he was not and he would not take this lightly. This was an unfortunate lesson Zora learned today. He had feared the day that this might happen. Not so much with Mrs. Weatherbee specifically but the day that any person who couldn’t see how wonderful his darling girl was and would do something to hurt her because they didn’t understand. Thankfully this incident didn’t seem to damage her self-confidence but only time will tell if that was actually true or not.

“Dad…what is this place? It feels like I’ve been here before…”Zora looked at the beautiful place they were in. It had different types of flowers and vegetables and fruits. It was so colorful, peaceful…

“This is the community garden Zora, your mother helped to start it. Merlin’s beard, I haven’t been here in years…” This was the place where some of his happiest and saddest memories took place. This was the place where in the summer months they would sit under their favorite tree and Cecile would read and he would just sit there, listening and holding her in his arms. This was the place were Cecile told her loving husband that he was going to be a father. This was the last place Cecile ever got to show Zora before she was murdered.

“ Did you and mum come here a lot?”

“On the weekends mostly, when the weather was nice. On her own she would be here planting some thing or another. Your mum always had a bit of a green thumb…” Even at school he could always find her with Professor Sprout and in one of the Herbology laboratories.

“ Before I got here I thought I had dreamed it all, I’m happy that this place is real.”

“I’m happy that princess, if you want we can come here whenever you want.”

“ I’d like that a lot.”  They watched as Luca started to run after a butterfly, run…pounce…miss…run again.

The little family stayed at the garden for a time until Samson remembered that they had left Mrs. Weatherbee back at the house. Samson carried Zora on his back and Luca (who sadly still didn’t catch his prey) padded right behind them. When they got back to the house, Mrs. Weatherbee was still sitting in the exact same spot they had left her in. Zora was told by her father to go up stairs after he set her down and close the door behind her. She didn’t argue, Luca growled in the direction of the living room and followed his little mistress to her room.

Zora didn’t know what exactly her father said to Mrs. Weatherbee but he was loud, she suspected that he put some type of sound charm on the door. All that she could make out was the different pitches of voices. And then she heard the front door slam closed and saw Mrs. Weatherbee walk to her house in quite a foul mood from her bedroom window. Maybe one day she would find a friend to make her less mean and bitter. No one deserved to be lonely even a piece of work such as Mrs. Weatherbee.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

  The next morning Samson announced that Mrs. Weatherbee would no longer be allowed into house. Zora didn’t ask what they had said to each other because part of her didn’t want to know. He cooked breakfast and waited for her tutor to come. He told her that after he got acquainted with her that he would leave for work. Zora was excited. Today was the day that she would finally meet her tutor and hopefully (after with a bit of practicing of course) get more of a handle over her metamorphmagus abilities. Today, Zora thought that it was probably a good idea to wear a simple shirt and jeans. She wore her hair in an up-do and made sure that her room was clean (gotta make a good first impression when giving a tour of the house).  She made sure to brush Luca (he didn’t mind too much, especially if it was on his belly).  She sat on the couch in the living room and waited for her tutor to arrive. She imagined what she would look like, studious perhaps? Wearing a professor sweater and glasses…The door bell rang and her heart began to race. The moment of truth had finally come. Her father opened the door.

“Ah… Ms. Nymphadora Tonks I presume?” He really didn’t know what he was looking at, she wasn’t what he was suspected at all. This girl had pink hair and torn punk rocker shirt with ripped up red plaid chained pants and black Doc Martens. Her outfit seemed very contradictory to her happy facial expressions.

“ Tonks, yes, hello Mr. McQueen Professor Dumbledore told me about your daughter. Don’t worry she’ll be in good hands with me. Can I come in?”

“Oh, yes, of course… ZORA! Your tutor Nymph-…”

“Tonks, sir”

“ Your tutor Tonks is here….If you don’t mind me asking…why just Tonks?”

“ Well sir, what you do if your mother named something as silly as Nymphadora? She gave him a knowing smile when he awkwardly didn’t say anything in response.

 She walked down the hallway. She made her way to the living room and found a little sprite sitting on the couch. She looked nervous; her twiggy little legs were dangling off the edge of the couch.  She slowly petted her wolf-looking puppy; she didn’t seem to notice that she was in the room. Suddenly, Tonks of a prefect way to see how much control this girl had of her abilities. Scaring her. She transformed her face to like a tiger, her eyes changed color, stripes appeared on her face and her ears became cat like. She felt her sharpen into fangs. Her fingernails became claws. Feeling in the moment she decided to pounce.

“RAWWWWR!”

“AHHHHHH!” You would have thought she had jumped out of her skin. She curled up on the couch, clinging on to Luca for dear life. Tonks instantly back into the form that she came in with and began to laugh hysterically. Zora finally settled down after a few moments and after she caught her breath. Samson rushed into the room. He saw a giggly Nymphadora and startled daughter and hound. He decided to take a chance on the girl and not intervene, Dumbledore suggested her so he would trust him. He stayed in the doorway out of sight and watched, he would leave when she showed him that he could trust her with his daughter.

 “ That wasn’t funny, it wasn’t funny at all.” Zora said in a huff, she finally release her from her arms. Luca sat on the barking at the strange witch, seemingly agreeing with his young mistress.

“Aha ha aha..I-I’m sorry but it was the only way I could think of to see how much control you had…hehehe.” The frown Zora wore was slowly turning into a small smile.

“How did I do?” She couldn’t help but ask; she had been practicing and wanted to know if she made progress. Tonks continued to giggle/snort for a few more seconds and wiped a small tear from her check. Zora couldn’t help but notice her eyes didn’t change color when she laughed…She couldn’t help be a little bit jealous….

“Well, ah, well at least your hair didn’t change color. I remember when I was young, my hair turn into these funky neon shades whenever I felt a particular emotion. At least with you it sticks to your eyes. Which is less noticeable and certainly more convenient in the long run.”

“ How long did it take you to fully control your powers?”

“ Zora, may I call you Zora? Zora, I have a little theory about control and magic.” Tonks sat herself on the other of the couch and looked down at the younger witch.

“ I don’t believe there is such a thing as having ‘full control’ of ones powers. I mean, being a metamorphmagus alone is an emotional business.  Being human we tend to be emotionally prone creatures. We can’t always full control our emotions; we can only wrangle them in so much…”

“Dad says that emotions and concentration are the most important things when practicing magic. “

“And he’s right, those are very important things to remember however those aren’t the only things to remember. But Zora, being a metamorphmagus is a little bit difference. For us, sometimes magic is just about wanting something and allowing yourself to have it. I wouldn’t expect your father to fully to understand that…or you just yet.”

“ I don’t understand…”

“ Well, being a metamorphmagus means that we can change our physical forms into what want. Mostly its just for human transformations…”

“ But when you came in…”

“ I was taking some tiger characteristics and applying them to myself, as a human. I can take bits and pieces but I can’t actually transform into a tiger do you understand?”

“ I thinks so but why can’t you transform into the actual animal?”

“That is a whole different thing, that is when a person transforms into one specific animal, they are called animagus. And being a animagus you can’t choose what animal you turn into, you turn into the animal that best fits your personality.”

“Well that’s no fun…I want to turn into the animal I want to be…” Tonks knew that she was going to like this girl.

“Well, you never know maybe you’ll be the witch to figure it all out. You know since they aren’t that many of us around its pretty much all guess work and trial and error. “

“It’s sounds like a fascinating thing to study…”

Samson slowly backed away from the room and left the house. This Tonks girl was a little quirky but Zora seemed to like her. Samson could’ve have sworn he saw a sparkle of the girl she was before she found out that she was a metamorphmagus. She looked a little freer than she had been before, maybe he would keep this Tonks girl around for a while…

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

 Time passed quickly after Tonks arrived and the month of August was upon them. Zora began to see just how lucky she was. Tonks had been telling her about all the pranks she pulled on people during school. She described the castle and the moving staircases. It was all very exciting and a little nerve-wracking. Hogwarts seemed like such mysterious, wonderful place but she realized technically she would be alone. Luna was a little less than a year younger than her so she probably wouldn’t get her letter when she would. From what Tonks told her there was going to a lot of people in the different years and the different houses. She couldn’t help but be frightened. Middleton wasn’t that big of a school and she didn’t have much to compare it to. 

Speaking of Luna, she hadn’t talked much to the Lovegood girl as of late. It wasn’t as though she didn’t like Luna anymore; actually nothing could be farther from the truth. However, ever since she found out that she was a metamorphmagus she had become very cloistered. She didn’t want to tell Luna about her new abilities just yet. She wanted to gain control before she told anyone who didn’t already know already. She felt guilty; she had never hidden anything from Luna before. Even though she was younger, Luna was very wise for her age and if not a tad bit insane. There was no doubt in her mind that if she were  to tell Luna about her new abilities that she would be supportive. So why wasn’t she saying anything to her good friend? They had shared everything since they had met…but maybe that was the problem. They had shared everything and perhaps this was just the one thing that she wanted to keep to herself. She would tell Luna…in time.

Conveniently enough the Lovegood family decided to take one of their spontaneous trips for the rest of the summer. This year they were off in Africa in search of the mystical hybrid that locals call the Rompo. Samson and Zora, of course worried about them. Samson didn’t think it was the best idea to drag Luna on , for  lack of a better phrase, “wild good chase”.  He had never heard of a Rompo and he didn’t really think that existed but it wasn’t his place to stop them. They sent a letters about their trip and their progress. He read them to Zora while they are at the breakfast table. She liked to listen to them and imagine being there with them. The latest letter said that they would not be able to make it back in time for her birthday (August 7) due to Xenophillius getting bit by a Boomslang snake. Solidad made sure to emphasize that Xenophillius was not in any critical danger but he would be have to rest a few weeks while he recuperated.

Bad news, unfortunately, seemed to the theme of the day; Samson also got letters from his father and his mother-in-law saying that they would be unable to attend the family birthday dinner. His father was an ambassador for the Ministry to India and he was called off for an urgent meeting (he didn’t say much more than that only that it was top secret) and his mother-in-law was off in a developing nation helping a rural village fight off a Vanishing Sickness (caused by a bug that causes body parts to disappear). Both of them sent their love and promised to celebrate when they returned. Of course Zora tried to be mature about it but Samson knew that she was very disappointed. He decided to cancel the tutoring lesson with Tonks for the day and brought her with him to the Ministry with him. After that they would go out for a lovely dinner, just the two of them.

The morning of Zora’s birthday Samson made his famous birthday pancakes with multi-color sprinkles put sparkling candles on top. The sparks that they let out spelled happy ninth birthday. Samson sang her happy birthday with the help of Luca (occasional yips and howls). Despite having so many non-attendants for her special day, Zora smiled. This was enough, she thought, of course the one person she wanted more than anyone to be there in person couldn’t but Zora believed she was there in spirit. Today was the day she turned nine years old. In four days Luna would be turning eight. She never missed sending Luna a happy birthday, her father promised to send off her letter when they got to the Ministry (there was no way a regular owl was going to make the trip in time).

The little family made their way to the Ministry and were in for slight surprise. Apparently, today was “Bring Your Child” to work, it reeked of reelection campaigning (typical Fudge move, in Samson’s opinion). So the Ministry was more of a chaos scene then it usually was. Samson made Zora hold on to him so they wouldn’t get separated but it seemed that the attempt was futile. Everything moved so quickly, people pushed and pulled and Zora, being the little thing that she was, got easily swept away into one of the elevators. The only saving grace was that she had been carrying Luca into her arms. The elevators quickly filled with wizards and their children. They all chatter about things she really wasn’t focused on. All she wanted to was to get out of the very cramped elevator and find her father. It took a little time for the all of the people to vacate the box. Thankfully the usual side jerking that came with visiting the Ministry slightly ebbed by the amount of people inside. The lift finally stopped on what seemed to be a deserted floor.

The twosome slowly walked of the elevator and looked around. This place…it looked ominous. Normally, she would be expecting to see at least a few people flitting around but there was absolutely no one, not even a sound could be heard. The walls were bare of any navigational map and the lighting was very dim. The whole setting looked like something out of a nightmare.

“Oh Merlin…” She didn’t like the feeling of this at all and she didn’t remember what floor the Auror Department was so she couldn’t just go back to where she came. Could her birthday be any worse? She started to sniffle until she heard Luca whimper. He looked up at her with pleading eyes and licked her hand in a comforting fashion.

“Your right Luca. We got to be brave. So what if we if got separated from dad. We’ll find our way back eventually and until then we just have to find someone to help us get to Auror Department, it’s shouldn’t be too hard, right?” The pair began walking down the long hallway looking for any sign of life. The minutes passed and still there didn’t seem to be a sign of anyone. Everything looked exactly the same, which wasn’t good because there was fork in the hallway, either side didn’t look anymore friendly than they other so they decided to go to the right. The traveled for another unmeasured amount of minutes until they finally they saw a brightened area.

-DM-

“ As you very well know Cornelius  the Malfoy family has always contributed a large sum of money to those who would be…the best suited to the position of Minister…”

“Yes, I am very much aware of that Lucius…” And that was where Draco tooned out of the conversation. The only reason he was here was to keep up appearances. His father was one of the big-wigs of the Ministry and it wouldn’t do if he didn’t bring his son along for the annual parent-child day. He was bored, his father allowed him to bring Dobby around to keep him entertained but that could only last for so long. It was always so dull down here. He soon started kicking Dobby around the room out of shear frustration. He continued to smack the house-elf around until he heard a knock on his father’s office door. The two conversing adults stopped talking and Lucius commanded Dobby to open the cracked-door fully.

“Um, excuse me I don’t mean to interrupt but could one of you help me back to the Auror department? I accidentally got separated from my father and ended up down here.”

“Auror you say? Young lady, who might I ask is your father?’ asked the slightly pudgy, grey haired man. Zora recognized him as Cornelius Fudge, Minister of Magic.

“ Samson McQueen, sir, he is inactive Auror.” Fudge merely nodded as he recognized the name. Draco felt his heart start to beat steadily faster. It was her! It was the girl from the main lobby. He recognized her the moment that she stepped into the room.  Today it seemed that she decided to wear sunshine-yellow sundress and her hair in a braided down ponytail. She looked…pretty….

“You are a long way off... ” the voice of Lucius Malfoy ran smooth as silk. He stared at the girl in front of him, like he was sizing her up for a meal. She broke eye contact under the heated gaze. Her posture showed that she was uncomfortable under his impromptu inspection. She looked ready to bolt…like a doe.

“Yes, sir and I would like very much to get back to my father please if it is not too much trouble.” She looked his father straight in the eye, like she refused to be intimidated. Just like that she went from vulnerable to fierce. From doe to lioness…interesting.

“Of course, your father must be worried sick about his little girl, and so we mustn’t keep him waiting…Dobby…escort the young lady back to her father.” Draco saw them prepared to leave and finally spoke.

“ Father, I can take her. I mean…you know how Dobby can get confused when traveling.” He looked at her, “ Such a clumsy little elf, he hits his head quite often you see.”

“Yes, do not leave her side until she is safely back into her father’s care. Even though the Ministry is a highly secure and respectable place, unfortunately, there are still unsavory characters and we wouldn’t anything happening to her. Do we?”

“Of course not Father.” Draco was absolutely brimming with excitement. He wanted to leave at that moment, however he didn’t want to seem impatient because that could make her believe that he was trying to get rid of her and that was absolutely the last thing he wanted to do. “Don’t you agree?”

“Of course.” She looked at him for a half a moment and then set her gaze on Dobby. “ He does look a little worn out. Maybe he should here and rest.”

She gave Dobby a gentle smile, which he felt bold enough to give back until he saw the scathing look Draco gave him. He got up from his seat on the emerald green couch and puffed out his chest a little bit. He walked up to her and smirked. She gave him a polite look and inched away from him.

“Now hurry Draco, we wouldn’t want her father to worry…” 

“Of course not father. Shall we go now Ms.…?”

“Zora. “

“Shall we go now Ms. Zora?” He was trying his best to give her the best impression. He held out his hand leading them outside of the office. She turned her head and thanked the two men for their assistance and walked out the room. Draco followed right after.

-DM-

            Zora didn’t think that she could feel more uncomfortable than she did in that office but this walk was up there. This boy, everything about him seemed off.  The aura around him just seemed so pompous and had enough arrogance to kill an elephant. He reminded her of Laura. She bet he didn’t think she saw him kick that poor house-elf. And they way that he was dressed; it looked like he got into fight with a Whomping Willow. She vaguely remembered her Mrs. Hopkins talk about the Malfoys, how they were one of the old wizard aristocratic families that were still around. That they were the richest, meanest bunch of people you could ever meet. She side-eyed the boy next to her and agreed. The clothes definitely were rich looking, shiny polished dress shoes, tailored dress pants and a fancy short-sleeved shirt. Yup, definitely rich and from what she could tell about about how he treated his house-elf that didn’t speak highly of him either.

            As the walked down the hallway she got the feeling that he was trying to move closer to her, which she didn’t think she wanted. The smile he wore seemed processed instead of natural, like he wanted something. Luca must’ve sensed her discomfort and transformed into his medium size and walked in between the two children. This seemed to frighten the Malfoy but he quickly got a hold of himself with a distinct cough, as to clear his throat. She was grateful for the separation. She kind of guilty though; maybe he wasn’t so bad.  Her father always told her not judge a book its cover. But she just couldn’t shake her feeling of uneasiness.

            “So, is this your first time at the Ministry?” Draco asked, he wanted to talk her. He noticed that she was back to being nervous and he didn’t want that. He wanted her to feel comfortable around him, to smile at him like she so easily smiled at that ruddy elf. He knew that this wasn’t the first time that she was that the Ministry but he wanted to hear it from her.

            “No, I’ve been to the Ministry before I’ve just never traveled much inside of it is all. This place is so big.”

            “It’s not so bad, I’ve only been a few times but I know my way around pretty much.” he said in a some-what haughty tone.

            “Really? I find that hard to imagine, like I said before this place is very large and I’m sure that there are many places still left that people don’t know about.” She kept her eyes foreword and her tone calm. All she wanted to do was get back to where her father was.

“Hm, I guess I’m just one of the lucky few then. I was always quick on the uptake. When I want something I will stop at nothing to attain it. It’s a quality that it very much prized within the House.”

“Your home?”

“I meant the Slytherin House, but yes also at my home. We Malfoys take great pride in ourselves.” He puffed out his chest.  “All of my family has been in Slytherin. What about you?”

“ Well, my father was in Gryffindor and my mother was in Hufflepuff. But far as I know it was always a toss up between Gryffindor, Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff. I don’t think any of my family has been Slytherin.” And she was glad about that, no one had ever said anything nice about being in Slytherin.

“ Maybe you’ll be the first.” He seemed to like the idea very much. Yes, if she was in Slytherin that would be great. He could imagine them walking to classes together and eating in the great hall and lounging in the common room. She would smile at him and maybe...maybe.. they would hold hands. Merlin, she were put into Slytherin it would be perfect.

“ Anything’s possible I suppose…” She honestly couldn’t see herself in Slytherin. Correction, she didn’t want to see herself in Slytherin. Oh Merlin, if there was any good in the world she would be put anywhere other than Slytherin. Thankfully for Zora (not so much for Draco) they made it to the Auror Department quicker than expected.

“Well I guess this is where we part ways.” Zora turned so that she was completely facing the blonde, blue-eyed boy. She couldn’t help be fell relieved.

“ B-but I promised my father that I would not leave you until we saw your father. I couldn’t possibly leave you alone.” He stepped a bit closer and earning a growl coming from the animal that had accompanied her. He could have sworn the thing glared at him, which he gladly returned.

“Oh, Draco please. I assure you that I will be fine. I’ll go into the department and find my dad’s secretary. If it makes you better you can tell your dad  that you have safely delivered in my father’s welcomed embrace.” Please go…please go…

“I really don’t think...” Suddenly, a man came running toward them with his arms held out.

“Zora, darling there you are!” his arms engulfed her, she felt her dad kiss her head multiple times.

“ Daddy I’m fine..”

“ Hello Sir, I’m Draco Malfoy I just wanted to make sure that your lovely daughter was in your sight before I left.” Unfortunately, It’s not fair! I didn’t even get to spend that much time with her…

 “Yes, well then thank you young man for returning my daughter to me safely. I will send my thanks to your father personally.” The smile he gave him was true but his eyes were hard as ice. Malfoy just the name brought into a small rage.

“Of course sir, hopefully I will be able to speak to your daughter under more…happier circumstances.”

“We’ll just see about that.” He said with fake cheer. He led Zora into the Auror department without a second thought.

“ I hope to see you again…Zora McQueen.” The young Malfoy slowly made his way back to the 7th floor.

Meanwhile, back in Samson’s office.

“ Zora, are you alright?” He searched her for any scrapes.

“Yes dad I told you I am fine. It was just a the rush of people took my surprise.”

“ Did that boy do anything?”

“ No! He was a little bit full of himself yes but other than that everything was fine. Besides, Luca was right there with me the entire time.”

“Good, good well your safe now. Everyone was worried sick about you.”

“ Dad, why were you so short with that boy?” Not that I can blame you…

“What do you mean darling?” He knew exactly what she meant but chose to ignore it.

“Never mind…” She really didn’t want think about that boy in any capacity for the rest of the day.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

She’s wonderful. Just like I thought she would be. Hopefully they would see each other before Hogwarts The blonde Malfoy thought. Fudge had already left, which left him alone to his thoughts. Lucius Malfoy sat back his chair as he replayed the encounter in his mind. So much strength in those eyes….beautiful eyes...

…Just like her mother…

~ HP ~