Admiring the Supplies

Stella walked into the Quidditch shop, an awestruck look on her face. The wizarding world was so new, so unusual that Stella couldn't help but be amazed. Only a few days ago Stella had figured out that she was a witch. Her family was a rich Muggle family that lived in the better part of London. Her father was an important business person. When they had discovered their only child was a witch, well they didn't take it well. Her mum fainted and her father went out to the local pub. Eventually they were fine to the idea, but it took awhile.

After doing research, Stella felt confident about being a witch. It was no less surreal, but she probably knew more than half the other children. She knew about Quidditch and decided that the first place she wanted to visit the Quidditch store in Diagon Alley.

Her gaze lingered on a broom that had the word "Firebolt" inscribed in gold lettering. Oh how she wished she could feel what it's like to fly. Stella always had dreams of flying and now that it was so close, she felt a sudden greed.

Suddenly, she heard a crash from behind her. Stella snapped her head around to see what caused the crash. "Are you alright?" Stella called out, wondering where the store employee was. Someone should be watching the store.

Alex was just randomly roaming around Diagon Alley, when her eyes fell upon what should rightly be called, her heaven. Though of course, at first she was confused by the broomstick store, but a few talks with the passerbys had told her exactly what it was. And she was stricken! So much so, that she had even named her dog Snitch, though Snitch more than earned that name for himself. she thought as she wandered around. Too bad she wasn't paying attention where she was going, CRASH! she crashed into a passerby then painfully collided with the shelf holding supplies as she fell on the floor. Hearing the question, Alex shrugged as she winced painfully, " have been through a lot worse!"

Stella looked at the brunette thoughtfully, before seeing that she was indeed fine. Stella wasn't clumsy, so she was slightly confused when the girl said she's done a lot worse. Stella was sure that if she had fallen like that girl just had, she would've been beyond angry and probably hurting the first person she saw.

"Do you want any help?" Stella wondered in a faux concerned voice. It wasn't logical to be concerned about a person before you even knew their name.

Walking over, Stella leaned down to look at the girl. "I'm Stella, and you are?"

"Ah no really!" Alex answered in a sugar sweet voice that did not match her personality at all. Not that it was real, but she had figured out that the girl wasn't really concerned, it wasn't hard to, even with Alex being all unperceptive and all.

"Alex." she answered shortly, gathering up the stuff that she had knocked down.

Stella smirked at the girl's tone. She noticed Stella's apathetic question. The girl was smart, asides from here running into a shelf, but she was smart. "Alright. It looked like you had a fairly large crash." Stella comment nonchalantly.

"Nice to meet you Alex." Stella said politely. Noticing the girl pick up here mess, Stella decided to help. Gathering an arm full of broom cleaners, Stella set them on the shelf neatly. After they were done, Stella turned toward Alex.

"Are you a Hogwarts student?" the girl looked about her age and was evidently a witch if she was in Diagon Alley.

"Not my best work, you should have seen it when I crashed those paint boxes on Mrs. Hurley's house," Alex answered, in the same tone, but with a hint of pride. That was a day!

"Yeah nice to meet you too nameless person, when do you decide to tell your name?" Alex added, shoving the cans together in a haphazard manner, looking around, she noticed the other girl's neat stacks, and couldn't help but feel a little awed, she had never been neat.

"Yes, I am, and you?"

Stella smirked once again. "Oh really? It must be fun- being clumsy I mean. Ever since I was--" Stella stopped herself from saying the A word. She wanted to keep her adoption a secret. At least until she figured out who her birth parents were. "Born," Stella chose wisely. "I was raised to have the grace and poise of my mother." Stella replied with a small chuckle.

Stella shot Alex an odd look. "I already told you my name was Stella. Would you prefer to call me a different name?" Stella wondered with a smirk. Looking over, Stella saw how messy the other girl's stack and felt amused. Stella liked how carefree the girl was.

"Yes, I am. My parents are norm-- I mean, Muggles." Stella said awkwardly. Even though Stella's parents weren't her biological parents, they was a chance Stella was Muggleborn. she doubted it though. Stella doubted Muggleborns were able to talk to Snakes.

"It depends on who you had your clumsy experience with," Alex answered thoughtfully, stashing the last of her cans back in the same manner. Turning to the girl, she added,

"Well it could be I didn't hear, I could be tripping, or gloating or even stashing these." She ended with her hand pointing to the cans they...well she had stashed and Stella had stacked.

"Yeah well so are my parents! Well my adopted ones, not sure where biological are....and they raised you to be poised and gracefully? Well, they didn't do a good job!" Alex added good naturedly, turning to stare in awe at Firebolt.

"I suppose if you with a person who wasn't fun to be around, it would take away from the experience of being a klutz." Stella agreed. After Alex was done stacking, Stella flashed a rare smile. "I bet I could pretend to be clumsy, if I really wanted to."

Stella brushed her long blonde hair out of her eyes. "I believe at that time you were boasting." Stella stated thoughtfully, before letting a smirk slide onto her face. Stella's eyes followed Alex"s finger toward their stacks- or rather Stella's stack and Alex's pile.

Hearing the girl's comment about how Alex was adopted too, Stella felt a compelling urge to tell her about her family as well. "Well, that's something we have in common then. I'm adopted as well." Stella said, feeling a bit wary about exposing such a big part of her life to a stranger. Stella was oddly guarded for a eleven year old. "No, they did a horrible job." Stella replied sarcastically, grinning at the girl.

"It does, like it did in the morning, when I met that bloody snob!" Alex ended in a dark tone, her mind going back to the morning's events. "Not as good as me though!" she added, confident that nobody could be as clumsy as her. "But wait! Snitch is worse!" she added, not aware that she had said that thought aloud.

"You too? Did you live in an orphanage? Knew your parents? And are you also going to try and find them in Hogwarts? If so, we could search together!" Alex offered, tearing her eyes with difficulty from the Firebolt.

"Bloody snob?" Stella repeated with a cocked eyebrow. Now she was extremely interested. If enemies and friends were already being formed, then Stella wanted in. She wasn't going to be a wallflowe at Hogwarts. No, she wanted to be in on all the drama. Socially climbing was in her nature. "Of course not. I doubt I could ever fall with as much style as you." Stella sarcastically said. "Who is Snitch?" Stella wondered what kind of person would have a name like Snitch. Maybe it was a nickname or something.

"Woah, Woah, slow down." Stella commented with a smirk. "Yes, I was born at St. Mary's Orphanage in London. I never knew my parents. Apparently, I looked exactly like my mother with my father's eyes though. But, no one ever knew my parents' names. And, yes, I am going to try and find more about my family." Stella was a little skeptical if she was going to be able to find much about her family. She only had initials on her adoption papers. They were confidential files that she stole from her orphanage. "Sure, I am really good at research. I would love to work with you."

"yeah...Bloody Snob!" Alex answered, vigorously nodding her head, causing her messy hair to look even more messy. "Well at least you admit it!" Alex had heard the sarcasm, but over time, she had realized that the best way to deal with sarcasm, was to behave like she didn't get it, leaving the other person........confused.

"Snitch is my dog, currently he is in that........." Alex frowned as she tried to remember the name, before settling for what it was, "....pub."

"I am not too sure of how they look or looked and all, but then I have less resources. I was left near a.................yeah lets keep that for later." Alex changed tracks, she wasn't going to tell where she had been found, to embarrassing.

Stella raised an eyebrow. "Who is this bloody snob and what has he done to piss you off?" Stella wondered, the cuss word feeling like sugar on her tongue. Her mouth never let her curse. Now that she was starting at Hogwarts, she would have more freedom. That made her smirk. Hearing Alex's next comment, Stella chuckled.

"Oh," Stella felt relieved when she realized Snitch was a dog, not a person. "You left your dog in a pub?" Stella wondered with a grin. "I want an animal. Preferably a cat though." Stella stated, her thoughts lingering on what kind of cat she would buy. She had read about Anamigus forms in a book she bought. Stella knew how difficult it was, but she was still trying to achieve it. Even though she was only eleven and it was highly illegal.

When Stella heard about Alex's lack of resources, she frowned. Though, now that Alex brought it up, she was determined to help her. "I'll wait till later to find out. When we start researching." Stella wanted to find out, but it was probably better if she waited. "A good place to start would be your full, original name. Do you know that?"

'that bloody snob is Andrew Walters and he insulted me and implied I was a dog and called me princess to piss me off." Alex explained, shaking her head. "yeah, I did, if I had taken him with me, he would have dragged me all around Diagon Alley!"

Hearing Stella's next comment, Alex shuddered, she had never been a huge fan of cats. They were creepy!

"Yeah right! I am not telling you that, anyway that isn't relevant!" Alex answered, shrugging as she brushed the comment. "My full name though, yeah I know it, apparently my parents couldn't be bothered to raise me up, but they did have the time to name me on a piece of paper. Its, Alexandria Selena Black." Alex answered, rolling her eyes. "Don't EVER call me that though!"

Stella laughed when she heard about him. "Sounds like a real pleasure." She said with an eye roll. "Perhaps I could shake him a bit for you." Stella actually liked Alex. She was tolerable and had a good sense of humor about her. Stella wanted to meet Andrew though. While Alex thought he was annoying, Stella might actually like him. But, that would have to wait until another time. "Sounds like he is a lot like you." Stella said, referring to how hyper Alex was.

"Black..." Stella pondered over the name. She had read something about a family with the last name Black somewhere. "Sounds familiar. At least you know your last name though. That makes it loads easier." Stella stated honestly. "I don't even know my name. I found this note in a file that I stole from the orphanage. But, before I could read it, my mom walked into my room." Stella had forgotten about the note until this moment. She would have to pack to in her Hogwarts trunk. "Don't worry, I'll just stick to Alex. Don't ever call me Stells though. That's what my cousin call me." Stella shuddered at the thought of the redheaded demon children that her aunt Yvonne birthed.

"Oh no need! Snitch had tripped him, I have pushed him off his chair, compared him to bottled rat brains, he will behave!" Alex answered, her face morphing into an evil smile that still managed to look over-dramatic and comic on her. "Yeah he is! I just don't know what possessed me to buy him though!" She thought back, tapping her finger on her chin.

"Yeah, I guess it does!" Alex agreed, nodding, making her hair bounce again. "So where is this file?" she asked curiously.

"STELLS!!!!" She said suddenly, draping herself over Stella's arm, in a sickeningly sweet voice, before laughing as she let go. "Don't worry, its a deal!"

"I think I like Snitch already. Any dog as dangerous as that is on my good side." Stella said with a grin. "I always heard that most people buy animals that resembles their owner." That was one of the reasons why Stella wanted a cat. She was sly like one, so it only made sense. Perhaps, after she was finished talking with Alex, or while they were talking, she could make her way down to the pet shop and purchase an animal.

"Oh, it's under a floor board in my piano room." Stella told her. "At least, it was there last year when I hid it there." Stella told Alex, surprised by how Stella wasn't wary at all anymore about telling her about her past.

Stella laughed at Alex. "I'd be careful if I were you Alexandria." Stella shot back with a devious grin. "Alright, I think this is the start of a very interesting friendship."

"Well seeing my personality, maybe I should have opted for something NOT like me!" Alex replied, shrugging. She never could figure out what drew her towards Snitch, maybe Stella was right, maybe she did buy him because he reminded her of herself, and she didn't want him to end up with someone who was all strict and mean.

Alex nodded, upon hearing her answer, "Maybe we could check out the library, you said it had some initials on it, what were they? Maybe I could help, tough I doubt it, but I am sneaky!"

She grimaced upon hearing the usage of her full name, but let it slide. "Next time you do that, you're worse then dead meat," she promised.

Stella let out a giggle when Alex said that. "But, you wouldn't have near as much fun with a lazy dog who did nothing but sit around all day." Stella explained, grinning. Unlike Alex, Stella would go crazy if she had a hyper animal. Stella was a very calm person and wouldn't want to take care of a wild animal like that. Stella would like an animal with whom she should sit with and play piano or read.

"The library would help. There must be some family trees in there that we can look at. Perhaps I could also convince a professor to let me go into the restricted section. Since the war--" Headmistress Potter had explained the war when she explained Hogwarts. "I'm sure a lot more stuff has been kept secret and locked away." Stella struggled to remember what the initials were. "I believe one was S.M.R and the other G.C.R." Stella was fairly confident that those were the initials. They seemed right.

"Same goes to you calling me Stells again."

"Nah it wouldn't be......then I would drag him around." Alex tried to imagine what it would be like to have a dog who did nothing just sit around all day. "Yeah you're right, I should stick to Snitch!"

"Yeah it would, and I could try too, or I could distract the librarian while you sneak out the books if we don't get the permission" Alex added in a decided tone. " R? Well unless they were both cousins or siblings, which is too gross to think about, we can safely assume they were married."

Stella scoffed. "Poor dog if that happened." Stella said with a light chuckle. Stella could imagine Alex pulling a large, fat golden retriever down the streets of Diagon Alley with a red face and crazy hair. The image drew a smile to her face. "I would love to meet Snitch. Did you know that Headmistree Potter is allowing dogs this year." Stella doubted she would be around Alex very much this year. They probably were going to be in different houses. But, Stella hoped they would still hang out.

"I'm sure I could get one of the professor to agree to a pass. I find that I can be quite... Persuasive." Stella commented thoughtfully, her thinking turning dark quickly. "I think the distraction would be more fun than getting permission." Stella laughed. "I don't know any families with a last name that begins with R. I don't know if it will be documented either."

"What do you mean poor dog? I certainly didn't get a feeling of sympathy when I told you about Snitch dragging ME around!" Alex asked as she turned, pouting a little. "You mean dogs were not allowed before?" she asked, dropping her pout, replacing it with a thoughtful look on her face. "and sure, you can come meet him, he loves company! Just don't fall for his I-am-a-cute-little-puppy-and-she-is-torturing-me act! Then I will have to chase him through Diagon Alley, uncool!"

"Yeah well, so can I! But.........sneaking it out would be more fun, and awesome too! Of course it'll be documented! I mean, there must be some place to keep track! Do you have anything unusual, like a bracelet, pendent maybe? That would help us narrow down......possibilities!" Alex asked as she held up her own charm bracelet. "By the way, when I paused, I was going to say suspects!"

Stella let out a loud chuckle that caused the shop owner to whirl around and glare at her. Stella shot him a infamous death glare that made him turn bright red and look down at his paper work. Stella felt a swell of pride. "Alright, poor you. Snitch is a evil dog that is mean to little ole you." Stella said with a grin. "I don't believe so. But, anyway, they are now." When Alex agreed to letting Stella meet Snitch, a smirk slithered onto Stella's face. "Brilliant! And, don't worry, I'm not easily fooled." Stella promised.

"Sneaking out is much more entertaining and requires much more skill. So, you know what, I think we are going to sneak into there." Stella thought about that. "I think I have something on a baby blanket. It looks like a family crest." Stella knew that she should probably pack her baby blanket too then.

"Dude, you either laugh veeeeeery easily, or you haven't met many people like me! Not that, I am sure, there are many people like me, but still!" Alex asked as she shrugged, walking up to another shelf holding DIY kits for making small broomsticks "I think I have got the perfect gift for Derrek!"

"So there, that's decided!" Alex answered as she checked out the price for them, "So that does help us, rough idea how it looks like?"

Stella shrugged. "I don't laugh that easily. I think its because I have so much freedom now and I'm drunk on power." Stella admitted. "Though, you are unusual. I think that's a good thing though. A very good thing." Stella didn't want everyone to be like herself. Stella was greedy for knowledge and power hungry. It wasn't a good thing and she knew it. "Derrek? Another git?" Stella doubted that he was a git though, because she was buying him a gift.

"It's a fancy S with green and gold stitching. It almost looks like a snake." Stella said while her eyebrows knitted together. She'd sworn she'd seen it before. And not just on her baby blanket.