Shopping! // Get your supplies... ((open))

[Selena Belvidere]

The brilliant golden orb broke free from the cover of the magnificent evergreens. Dazzling rays refracted off of each object at the Belvidere Estate, even the tiniest blade of grass. There was almost a full feeling of the new day, every miniscule being awaking from their slumber. Dawn had come, and the lush grass sparkled as the sun hit the fresh dew. Bird’s songs filled the air, along with the distant sound of a train passing by, the metal wheels screeching on the tracks.

As the sun broke through the balcony doors, Selena was washed with sunlight. Stretching, they young girl sat up and surveyed her surroundings. Her hair was in complete disarray, strands sticking out this way and that. The jet black locks fell past her shoulders, nearing a stop around her breast. Yawning, Selena shoved her sheets off of her thin body, exposing her perfectly tan legs. As her beautifully manicured feet hit the cold marble, shivers ran down her spine. Brushing off that fact, the young girl headed over to the balcony.

Her balcony had a striking view over the Belvidere Estate. The alluring lake could be seen in the distance, with a grand oak tree to shade its fine waters. Lush grassland spread out beneath them, adding a beautiful color to the scenery. Immediately below, the large pool was visible, with Selena’s ‘corner’ in plain sight. Right when Selena’s father inherited the house, Selena claimed a section of the patio for herself, and only Selena could enter it, except for their maid, Mrs. Bermel. With a sigh of contempt, Selena turned from her breathtaking view and headed over to her bathroom.

Upon entering, Selena checked herself in the mirror, praying that today’s greeting wasn’t as gruesome as usual. Alas, nothing could be helped. Her makeup from the previous day gathered under her chocolate eyes, giving her an uncanny resemblance to a raccoon. Sighing, Selena grabbed a pink bath towel from the ornate countertop and headed over to her shower. She slid the door open, stripping of her garments, and turned on the water. Icy pellets hit her thin form like blades, causing her to squeal in pain. As the water warmed up to the correct temperature, Selena relaxed and continued on with her shower.

A little while later, Selena hopped out of the shower, grabbing the soft towel from the marble floor. She carefully wrapped it around herself, making her way over to her extensive counter. Selena grabbed a purple brush off of the counter and began running it profusely through her mass of dark waves. As her hair began to flatten out, Selena decided it was good enough to walk around with. She could finish with her appearance later. Applying a bit of makeup, she then hurried over to her vast closet to find something to wear for the day.

As she opened the intricate doors, the smell of freshly washed clothes greeted her. Heading over to the undergarments, she grabbed a pair of black underwear and a matching black and pink bra. As she slipped them on, she thought of what she could wear. Making her way over to the shorts, she saw a pair of khaki shorts with a chunky green belt. Grabbing those off of their hanger, she headed over to the shirts. A skimpy matching green camisole was then hung over her arm and she headed over to the robes. Selena searched through the robes, finally deciding on a long khaki colored one with ¾ length sleeves and a tie around the waist. Making sure you could see the rest of the ensemble; Selena tied it around her small waist. Glancing in the mirror with approval, Selena headed out of her closet down to breakfast.

Selena entered the kitchen ravenous. “Where are my parents?” She asked politely, glancing at Mrs. Bermel, the family housekeeper. Mrs. Bermel was the only muggle that knew of the Belvidere’s identity. Presently, she had her back to Selena, frying something at the stove. “Oh, you know, they are running errands.” She replied sweetly, trying to add to hidden meaning to errands. Selena understood though. Her parents were always running around, following the Dark Lord wherever he wanted them to go. Selena hated it. They were never home, and it was annoying. After her sister died, she depended on them to be there for her. In her fifth year, however, the joined Voldemort, and everything changed. It has been 2 years, and she hardly ever sees them anymore.

Mrs. Bermel shuffled her way over to where Selena sat, a plate of toast and eggs in one hand and a glass of orange juice in the other. Setting the things in front of the girl, she pulled out a chair across from her and sat herself in it. “Selena, “She said somberly, “Don’t judge them for this.” Although Selena loved her greatly, she could never forgive them. The worst part about it was they wanted her to join him as well. ‘When you become of age, dear, you will be at our right hand.’ Her father always said proudly. And every time he said it, Selena grimaced in annoyance.

Finishing her breakfast, Selena headed over to the Entrance way, slipping on a pair of emerald sandals. “I am going to Diagon Alley today, if you don’t mind.” She called over her shoulder to Mrs. Bermel as she unhooked her purse from the wall. She checked to make sure it was the green purse; everything had to match. Why would she go out in public with non-matching attire? That, in Selena’s book, was a downright sin. A sin that was punishable with a life in Hell, or so she was taught by her mother.

“That’s fine, dear.” Mrs. Bermel sang from the kitchen, probably busy cleaning or something. Selena’s life was so much easier when Mrs. Bermel entered it. No more cleaning or looking after herself. She must have been a wreck before Mrs. Bermel. Of course, back then, she had Alex.

Selena longed for her sister, Alex. Five years ago, Alexandria Belvidere was murdered by a member of the Order. Selena shook her head. That was a memory for another day.

“See you later!” Selena yelled, shoving the large door open. As she stepped outside, she was momentarily blinded by the bright sunlight. Blinking a few times, Selena set out. After walking a few paces, she decided this was a good place. Spinning on the spot, Selena instantly apparated. Momentarily, she felt as if someone was squeezing the life out of her, crushing her into a bear hug. As soon as it came, it was gone. The next thing she knew, she was standing on the bright streets of Diagon Alley.

Everywhere she looked, witches and wizards were scanning windows, looking for what was on their lists. Everyone here were early shoppers, seeing as they got their lists yesterday. As a seventh year, Selena only needed the classes her N.E.W.T.s will be composed of. Selena was amazing in school. Her grades were top-notch, and her O.W.L.s were exemplary. If it weren’t for her parentage, she would have definitely been put in Ravenclaw. Selena instantly thanked her lucky stars she wasn’t put through that misfortune.

This year, Selena would be taking Defence Against the Dark Arts, Potions, Charms, Ancient Runes, Transfiguration, Astronomy, and Herbology. It seemed like a lot to some people, but Selena always got her work done. She couldn’t wait to get started with school. This summer was way too boring for her.

Selena made her way down to Flourish and Blotts, the best bookstore in Diagon Alley. As she walked through the crowded street, a few people turned and gazed at her with awe, which warmed Selena’s heart. When people looked at her like that, it was like she scored again. Brushing it off like it was nothing, She pushed her way through the street into the small bookshop.

Upon entering the shop, the smell of old books and glue hit her like a train. Selena loved the smell, but that wasn’t what she was here for. She squeezed her way through the jam packed entry way, hurrying over to an empty aisle. As of right now, it was empty. Selena sighed with relief and began examining the books in front of her.

[Redvamp]

"You forgot one of your books." Mrs. Potter called from downstairs up to her son. Really now, what would her son do when she was gone? He seemed such a space case a times. She shook her head and took a seat on the couch going over the list once more to make sure he wasn’t in need of anything else. Nope, he had managed to get everything else on his own. He just had the misfortune of not picking up his Astronomy book. He would probably lose his head if it weren't attached to his body; he almost lost his wand more than once because it ended up in the wash.

Her soft chocolate brown eyes rose from the list when her son made his way down the stairs. He was growing up so quickly. She scanned over his outfit, somewhat in disapproval. He wore a scarlet button up shirt, which would have been nice, if the top button had been fastened and the sleeves hadn’t been rolled up. The black tie with the Gryffindor Emblem at the bottom that hung loosely about his neck didn’t help matters either. At least he was wearing a nice pair of jeans that fit him well, and his black tennis shoes weren’t torn up. His wand stuck out of one of his back pockets, and the other held his wallet. She stood from the couch and moved toward her son.

"Really James." She said in her rather characteristic sigh filled vocals. James knew what this meant; she was disappointed in the way he was dressed. He also knew what was coming next. His mother’s nimble fingers buttoned the top button of his shirt and pulled his tie up. She didn’t bother trying to tuck in his shirt seeing that would be a little too embarrassing for her son.

"Thank you, mother." He said, offering up a smile. He was used to putting up with her fixing him up before he left the house. They both knew that he would just change everything back to the way it was after he left the house. At least she had stopped attempting to tuck his shirt into his pants, and no longer tried to flatten his hair.

"Do you need any money?" She went to the couch where her purse lay. "Let me see if I have any, if I don’t you can always go to Gringotts."

Oh yes Gringotts Wizarding Bank. That was just what James wished to do. Don’t get him wrong, he didn’t mind dealing with the goblins because they showed respect for him and his family, mostly because they did not wish for them to withdraw their riches from their bank. Oh no, he hated, with a deep passion, the ride on those bumpy carts. He would do it in the place of his parents, though, especially if they requested it from him.

"I am fine, mom, I have enough money on me." He walked over to her and stooped over to give her a soft peck on the cheek. "I will be back in time for dinner. Do you need me to pick anything up while I am out?"

She thought about it for a moment then shook her head. “No we are fine. Just make sure to inform me if you are going to be later than that.” She worried about him, especially with the Dark Lord gaining more followers each day.

James gave his mother one more smile before he headed out the door. Once he was a suitable distance from the house he spun in a circle and vanished. Apparation never got any easier. It always made him feel like he was being sucked through a straw. At least it seemed to become faster each and every time. Before he knew it he was standing in the middle of Diagon Alley able to breathe again. He took in a deep breath and let it out through his teeth.

He wished that Sirius had been home seeing that he hated coming to Diagon Alley during this time of year alone. At least when Sirius was accompanied him they could have some fun picking out different girls to flirt with and thinking up different pranks they could pull on the new and old students alike. Oh, especially new pranks to pull on old Snivellus. Now that he had no chance with Lily Evans he did not have to stop pulling pranks on that prat. He couldn’t get caught because he was now Head Boy. He didn’t know how he had become such, but he wasn’t going to look a gift horse in the mouth.

As he made his way through the crowd he waved back to those Hogwarts students who knew him and were busy buying all the supplies they needed. At least there was no sign of Malfoy or Snape. It seemed whenever he ran into one of the two a fight always broke out. He noted a few girls looking at him; he flashed a rather cocky smile in their direction and couldn’t help but laugh inwardly as they turned to each other, giggling and blushing. They clearly were younger than him, probably fifth years by their looks, but they were cute and he liked attention.

Finally arriving at Flourish & Blotts, James couldn’t have been happier to think he was going to get out of the crowds. Clearly he wasn’t thinking straight seeing that the store was just as crowded as the outside, if not more. He sighed heavily as he pushed his way through the crowd of parents and students, some of which were fighting over books, and made his way into a rather empty isle. There was only one other girl there.

He looked to her for a moment, thinking he knew her, but after a while he looked away, unable to place her name. He knew she was a Slytherin and in her seventh year, but other than that he didn’t know anything about her. Really, he didn’t care to know anything about her. Why would he? She was a Slytherin. Don’t get him wrong, some Slytherins could be nice when they wished to be, but he found out quickly that they generally didn’t wish to be. He began to search the shelf for the book that he needed.

Where was that damn book!? He was getting frustrated. He knew it had to be on that isle seeing that all the other books related to the subject were. He took a few steps further down the isle before he finally spotted it. Of course it was right where the girl was standing. He prepared himself for whatever confrontation this might start, but he needed that book.

"Excuse me, miss." He said as politely as possible. "Is it at all possible if I can get that book?" He pointed to the book he needed, hoping she would just step aside and let him get it.[/size]

[Selena Belvidere]

Sunlight seeped through the stained windows of the old bookshop. Dust motes swirled in a celestial dance around the crammed shop. Along with the motes, shouts and mixed voices carried. For a bookshop, it was rather loud. Usually, bookshops were quiet, giving you a silence to absorb what you are reading. No such luck could be found in the small bookshop off of Diagon Alley. Flourish & Blotts was always crowded in the month of August. Everyone wants to get their shopping done, allotting them time to check over everything.

Trying to block out the annoying hum of voiced, Selena hummed quietly to herself as she browsed the shelves. Great mahogany cases were stacked in uneven rows across the shop. Each bookcase was filled to the brim with every book known to magical personnel. They even had a whole section of the store cut off for Muggle books. Selena thoroughly enjoyed that section, seeing as she loved the ‘classics’. Her favorite books to read while relaxing by the pool was always and Austen book. She always had piles stacked up in her room of the classics she owned.

Selena fingered through the books, finding covers old and new. She came across titles such as Quidditch Through the Ages, Herbology 101, and Don’t Apparate while in the shower; based on a true story. Selena didn’t really know exactly what she was looking for, but browsing was fine. Rocking slowly back and forth, she looked at all the titles in front of her, deciding on what she wanted.

“Mum! Can we go to Magical Menagerie?” A child’s voice whined a few aisles over. Selena figured it was probably a first year, experiencing the joys of getting a new pet. Selena sniggered, conjuring up pictures in her head of what the mother’s expression must be. “Not now, we’re getting your books!” Came the exasperated reply of the mother. She obviously was not overly enjoying her trip to Diagon Alley today. Well, not everyone can be happy.

Selena returned her attention back to the books in front of her. A certain book caught her eye, Hairy Snout, Human Heart. She swiftly slid the book out of its designated slot, curious as to what it was about. The illustration on the front was a picture of a werewolf in mid-transformation back to human. The way the bones stuck out nearly made Selena hurl up the eggs and toast she had eaten for breakfast. One thing about Selena she did not like to share with others was she is terribly squeamish. Anything relating to blood, bones, muscles, or needles sent Selena hurling. It wasn’t very pretty.

As quickly as possible, Selena shoved the book back into its slot, not really caring about what it was much anymore. As long as she didn’t have to look at it, she was fine. A light sheen of sweat covered her face, probably the result of her ‘almost’ accident. Selena dabbed her face with the hem of her robe and leaned back against the case behind her. Closing her eyes, Selena tried to relax her stomach.

"Excuse me, miss, Is it at all possible if I can get that book?" A voice asked somewhere above her. From the sound, it was a male. Selena slowly opened her eyes to see who it was. Ah, the ‘infamous’ James Potter. Of course everyone knew him. He always hung around Sirius, and everyone knew him as well. They were like the leaders of Gryffindor, per se. Selena had no interest for either of them, even though James was like a 3rd cousin or something ridiculous. Every pureblood was related somehow.

“I don’t even care.” Selena mumbled, scooting over to let him get to whatever he wanted. Luckily, her stomach was feeling better, so she could probably continue with her day. She stood up, straightening out her robe, which only came down to about mid-thigh. Selena grabbed her purse unceremoniously off of the ground, hoisting it up onto her shoulder. Her many waves of hair bounced around as she shook the locks from out of her face. She glanced at James for a few seconds, giving him a thorough look over. Trying as hard as she may, Selena couldn’t figure out what he saw in the annoying leech, Evans. Everyone knew he was head over heels for the girl. Why, though, no one knew.

Selena returned her attention to the bookcase, this time with a purpose. She had no intention to stay in here near that ‘book’. She examined the stocked shelves for some of the books she would be needing for the upcoming school year.

[Katie]

<sup>Peter Pettigrew was depressed. School had ended back in June and he hadn't been able to see any of his mates since. It was now the end of August and he still haddn't seen anyone. Remus was probably off reading somewhere, James and Sirius were definately doing something together and everyone else, well, they didn't matter. He let out a small sigh and got up from where he was sitting at his kitchen table. He had to do something otherwise he'd go insane.

He stood up and began pacing around his kitchen with his hands in the pockets of his khaki shorts. He looked down at his skinny little legs and sighed again. He was incredibly pale. He really needed a tan but he wasn't in the mood to just lay around. He ran a hand through his sandy bonde hair and looked around his kitchen. It was bright and cheery and basically had his mother written all over it. He let out a small chuckle as he thought about his always busy, always cheery mother, Alice. Even she was probably doing something more exciting at the moment. That's when the idea hit him. He wasn't sure how or why but he had the urge to go to Diagon Alley. people from school were bound to be there. School would be starting up in a week or two and now was when Diagon Alley was it's busiest.

Of course, he didn't exactly need anything from Diagon Alley. His mother had done all of his supply shopping ages ago. But, still he was in need of some company and maybe a good book. He walked over to the kitchen counter and rustled through one of the draws until he found a piece of parchment and a quill. He quickly scrawled out a note that explained to his mother where he was going and when he'd be back and then exited the kitchen. He walked to his living room where his fireplace was located. Grabbing a fistful of FlooPowder he stepped into his fireplace and cleared his throat "Diagon Alley." he said throwing the FlooPowder on the floor of the fireplace. He closed his eyes as the familiar feeling of motion sickness took over when he opened his eyes again he was in Flourish & Blotts.

Peter craned his neck out of the fireplace and looked around. The store seemed relatively empty aside from a boy and a girl who were talking. The boy he instantly recognised as one of his best friends, James Potter. His mouse-ish features instantly lit up at the sight of his friend. "James!" he called out, stepping out of the fireplace. He walked towards the pair and waved. "Hullo! Fancy seeing you here, James!" he said cheerily. Although he had no idea who the broad was he still wanted to appear polite so he waved to her anyway.</sup>

[Redvamp]

James had noticed that the female in the aisle with him had turned visibly whiter upon staring at the cover of a certain book. He did wonder which book she was looking at, but did not wish to ask her. It was none of his business after all. Upon seeing her place the book back on the shelf, he couldn’t help but glance at the cover. Hairy Snout, Human Heart. He had heard of the book before, and had actually read bits and pieces of it because of Remus’ condition. He had found the book rather interesting, especially the cover art. It looked so real, and so much like the actual transformation that it often sent shivers down his spine thinking about Remus transforming.

It was such a painful process and James wished that he could take the pain away from him. He hated to see his friend struggle through it every full moon. He wished he could share the burden with him; after all, James was willing to die for any of the Marauders if it came down to it, and he was sure they were all willing to do the same in return. Well, at least he knew Remus and Sirius would, he had some doubts about Peter. Don’t get him wrong, he liked Peter as a person and thought of him as a good friend, but he really didn’t think that Peter had the guts to die for the rest of them. That didn’t come out as he wished it did, but he couldn’t exactly put his finger on what set Peter apart from the rest of them. Either way, they were all friends, and would always remain such.

He watched her with slight interest as she dabbed the sweat from her face. He really wanted to know what had caused her to react in such a way; maybe she knew someone like Moony, but he strongly doubted it seeing she was a Slytherin and didn’t associate with anyone not of pure blood status.

Goodness, what crawled up her arse. He stared at her for a moment after she spoke before shaking his head. Such a rude girl, no wonder she was placed in Slytherin. He bent down and grabbed the book, looking at the cover that was decorated with different constellations. It seemed interesting. Why had he decided to take that class? It was simple and it was something that this father knew a great deal about, so if he got stuck he had someone he could turn to other than Remus.

He flipped through the pages to the middle of the book and pretended to read. He could feel Selena’s gaze traveling up and down his body, giving him a rather thorough look over. He glanced up and at her and raised his brow. He really wanted to ask her what she was looking at, but he felt that that would start a fight so he just left it at that. Plus, if he were to say something he had been interrupted by a set of familiar vocals calling out his name. Peter Pettigrew.

He turned on his heels and looked at his friend who he hadn’t seen in what seemed like ages. He flashed him a smirk before speaking. “It is nice to see you too, Peter.” Though the male had not said that it was nice to see James, he had inferred that from his actions. “Well I figured I had to pick up the one book I had forgotten, so I felt now was as good of a time as ever. I am glad to have run into you. How has your summer been treating you?” He glanced over his shoulder when Peter waved at Selena. Did Peter know her or was he only being friendly?

It was then that her name hit him, Selena Belvidere. “And what about your summer, Miss Belvidere, how has it been treating you? Excited to get back to Hogwarts and all your friends?”[/size][/color]

[Selena Belvidere]

‘His hair is a wreck.’ Selena thought as she examined James. She knew he liked to keep it messy, trying to obtain the care-free look. But why in the world would someone want to look like they had just rolled out of bed and thrown some clothes on? That went against all Selena’s morals, or what there was of them. Her mother always said, “If you are going to be seen in public, look like you are worth a million dollars.” He, however, looked worth about, hmm, five?

James had figured out what book had created Selena’s internal fit. She quickly glanced at the thin, dark green cover, but looked away immediately. Just thinking about it sent shivers up her spine. Yet, although she couldn’t put her finger on it, James knew something more about the contents of that book than she did. Selena could see stabs of pain in his eyes. She smirked, imagining all the horrible things that could be going through that idiot’s mind.

Selena found many people easy to read, which helped a lot in climbing up the social ladder. Something about James, however, prevented her from doing just that. Although his hazel eyes were a bit vulnerable, his expressions were minute. Nothing about his posture or anything would reveal the pain or frustration inside of him, which irked Selena. The once smirk quickly turned into a frown. She then gazed at the boy with a sense of frustration and annoyance.

A high pitched squeaky sort of voice pulled Selena out of her trance, bringing her back to the tangible present. Ah, one of James’s cronies. The infamous Pettigrew, so weak, so molded. Selena had seen how James and Sirius could bend the boy’s will to their own. It was a shame, really. The poor boy shouldn’t be put through that. Not that Selena wouldn’t do the same thing, of course, but still.

Peter waved at Selena, a smile on his face. Selena just rolled her eyes and sighed, hinting that flicking her wrist would be a complete waste of time. Poor boy, to think that being nice to her would pay off at all. Sometimes it worked, but not out of Potter’s gang.

James and Peter exchanged greetings, what a bore. Why waste time on greetings when you can get right to the point. More often than not Selena’s greeting was ‘Yeah, Yeah, so what do you want?’ Or the occasional ‘Hey! How have you been? What’s your purpose?’ Although that seems incredibly rude, it is what made Selena, well, Selena. Without her snotty personality and her snide remarks, who would she be? Her identity would disappear completely.

“And what about your summer, Miss Belvidere, how has it been treating you? Excited to get back to Hogwarts and all your friends?” James had asked her. Selena returned her attention to the boy, furrowing her brow. “Oh, you know,” She shrugged, putting on the perfect act of nonchalance, “Hanging around with friends, the occasional party.” Selena shielded her emotions, making it look like she really did just that, rather than hang out around her pool all summer, bored. “Well, school is school, but it will be nice to get back to my common room and all of my friends.” She twirled her right index finger around one of her curls, glancing around the room. “And how about you? I am certain that you would have a lot of interesting stories to tell.”

[Redvamp]

A wreck? Who in their right mind would think that James’ hair was a wreck? Then again this girl, Selena, obviously was not in her right mind, so it wasn’t like James would ever worry about what that female thought about him. He had more than enough girls that wanted him that his pride was not at all injured by this girl. Plus, she was a Slytherin so her opinion really didn’t matter. And if she thought that he was only worth five dollars she clearly didn’t know how much money his family had, and how bright of a future he had ahead of him. Or at least he hoped he had a bright future ahead of himself. He wasn’t sure what it was yet, but he was sure it would be bright.

Oh yes, there was great pain at the thought of Remus, especially when the topic of his ‘furry little problem’ came up. Whenever they spoke in class about werewolves James would always get so distracted with thoughts of seeing Remus’ many transformations and how painful they were for him. He would also have to remember the time he had to save Snape from Remus; James still was not pleased with Sirius for that prank. That wasn’t funny in the least; when a prank threatened someone’s life that just went over the line in James’ book.

It was true that most people had a hard time reading him. He was able to cover up most of his emotions when it was needed with his cocky and flirtatious attitude. He couldn’t help but note the look he was being given at that particular moment. It was one of annoyance and frustration, why he was getting it he didn’t know, nor did he care enough to think about it for more than a few seconds.

Oh yes, Peter, he was a good guy, but he never followed his own heart and desires and instead followed those of the other Marauders, excluding Remus of course. If only he grew a backbone and spoke out against them once then James wouldn’t push him to do what he and Sirius wanted. James wanted to see him grow up and he wanted to be the one that struck that fire under his arse.

Miss High and Mighty clearly was too good to return the greeting that Peter had given her. James knew that she wouldn’t and so was not shocked by her rather rude actions. It wasn’t like he didn’t know about her reputation at school, and to say the least it fit her house well. He did not know a single Slytherin who didn’t think highly of themselves in some regard; even Snivellus had his moments.

Really James did not care about the girl’s summer or what she had done, he just felt bad having her stand there alone. He half wondered if she had any friends at all. He was sure she must, but they were probably all backstabbing Slytherins. “It sounds like you had an eventful summer.” He said as he lifted his hand and ran it through his hair, more out of habit than feeling the need to mess it up more. She was right in the aspect that he had a lot of interesting stories to tell, but those stories would not be shared with a girl he barely knew. “As you probably know, Sirius moved in with me and my parents, so we have been pretty inseparable lately. We have just been hanging out, not doing much of anything too interesting.” Ok, that was a down right lie, but she did not need to know about their habit of pulling pranks on each other. James, at the current moment, was still one up on Sirious after he had turned Sirious’ hair pink for a little over a day.

He turned back to Peter, wanting to tell him this more than Selena. It wasn’t like she would care, and if she did it was only because a Slytherin had not been chosen. “And for the most shocking news for the summer, I was made Head Boy.” He waited to see Peter’s reaction, waited to hear him ask how he had managed to beat Remus out for the position. He really didn’t have much of an answer to that question, but he had a few guesses and when they were added together it made for a good reason to make James Potter Head Boy.[/size]

[Selena Belvidere]

Bells chimed somewhere deep in the shop, signaling that someone else had just entered the small bookstore. Voices floated through the small door from the overly crowded streets. Shouts of excited children on their first visit to Diagon Alley. It was always a new experience, every time you came. A severe old woman entered the shop, dragging a young boy behind her. He looked frightened, but she looked mad. The woman marched up to the counter and started yelling at the poor bookseller in rapid French. The man looked bewildered.


Selena sniggered internally to herself, feeling no pain for the bookkeeper. There goes her Slytherin pride again. She never cared for anyone but herself. It was always the same routine. It was normal for a Slytherin to only care about themselves though, so not many people thought much about it. Her parents were worse than she was.


Her parents were away again, and Selena didn’t know how long they would be. They could be gone a day, or they could be gone twenty days, whatever Voldemort asked of them. With them gone away all the time, Selena was always left alone to fend for herself. At night, sometimes, Selena would shift and run out, living on instincts. A month or so ago, Selena had snuck out and lived on nothing but the land for a week. When she got back, it felt odd to be human again. She never thought, in her 17 years, that she would feel weird being human. Mrs. Bermel had been frantically searching for her, but her parents never found out. Nor would they have cared, even if they did know.


“It sounds like you had an eventful summer.” James said as he ruffled his hair again. Oh, how that bothered her. If he just wasn’t so obnoxious maybe it would be okay. But every time he sits under ‘his’ tree and throws around that stupid snitch, ruffling up his hair. It honestly looks tacky. But if tacky is what floats your boat, let’s hope your boat isn’t a Titanic.


“As you probably know, Sirius moved in with me and my parents, so we have been pretty inseparable lately. We have just been hanging out, not doing much of anything too interesting.” James had said with an air of cockiness. Why would she know that? Selena could honestly care less what goes on it that boy’s life. Why did it matter to her if her stupid half cousin moved in with a retard?


“And for the most shocking news for the summer, I was made Head Boy.” At that point, Selena paid upmost attention to the boy’s conversation. Why would James Potter become Head Boy? Selena never had any idea who would become head boy, but least of all James Potter. That miniscule, idiot boy would never amount to anything, would he? Selena thought for sure he would have already gotten himself killed or something, but some people get away with those kinds of things.


“Ah, well, congratulations, Mr. Potter,” She sneered, leaking sarcasm into her voice, “How tremendous for you. And of course, you can join Ms. Mudblood in your ‘exclusive’ common room. Sad, I would have hoped the girl could keep her hold on her virginity.” Selena then went to examining her nailbits, adding on the air of nonchalance.