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Chapter Two: A Shopping We Will Go

Last Chapter: A black-clad arm grabbed hold of her grey-black robe and pulled the unsuspecting Ravenclaw towards them, a little too roughly, which caused the brunette to yelp in surprise and pain as her head accidentally hit a wall. Blinking against the light, she growled in frustration before recognising the person.

"What the fu--oh shit..."

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"Ja, oh shit," the person said, giving a mock glare. "Vhy didn't you write to me, Mandy?"

"Ehehe. Sorry about that K-Li, I didn't mean to. I guess I...forgot."

Khira-Li feigned a look of shock. "Forget? Me? Vhy you little --!" With that, she grabbed her best friend by the shoulders and pulled her into a tight bear hug.

"Hell, it feels so gute to be back," Khira-Li, pulling away, with a huge grin on her face. "Haff you gotten your zings yet?"

"No I haven--" "AMANDA JAYNE BROCKLEHURST!"

Mandy froze like a deer caught in headlights as her mother yelled out to her while she stalked over to her, her maroon robes billowing out behind her. Mandy looked at Khira-Li who, to her surprise, was leaning against the wall, smirking.

"Vot? I vas helping your muzzer vind you. And, of course, I knew you vould be in Knockturn Alley." She held an amused look in her eye. "I vonder vhat she'll make you do this time."

"Pft! Some friend you are, buddy. Remind me to thank you later, after I've died on de-gnoming the garden - single-handedly!" Mandy hissed sarcastically.

"Oh vell."

At that same moment, Mandy's mother grabbed her daughter by the shoulders and shook her. "Where the heck have you been? You had me worried! Where was she?" The last question was directed at Khira-Li.

"Knockturn--

"What the hell were you doing there? Anything could've happened to you - ugh!" Her mother withdrew her hand, from where her hand landed near her daughter's neck, to find it covered in sticky blood. She spun her daughter around, so she looked at the injury. After muttering a quick healing spell, she shoving a small purse into her daughter's hands.

"You're not going to get off lightly, young lady. Going to that place--"

"It's not that bad!" Mandy protested but piped down after her mother glared at her.

"And getting yourself injured! You'll be de-gnoming the garden, and cooking tonight's dinner and no telly for tonight!""

"But Mum!" Mandy whined.

"But Mum, no. I'll give you an hour to get your school things, then I'll meet you outside Florean Fortescue's. Ready yet Anja?"

Her mother then walked off with Khira-Li's aunt, leaving the two 13 year-olds alone in the busy crowd.

"Gees, your punishment vas not zat bad," commented Khira-Li.

"Oh, you've never seen me cook. Especially roast chicken! I can't cook the chicken right. Ch, the price of fun!"

After a moments silence, Mandy groaned. "I can't believe I'm going to miss the final episode of Cardcaptors! It's on tonight!"

Khira-Li glanced at her. "You're upset over missing a cartoon?"

"Anime," Mandy promptly corrected her. "Oh well. You win some, you lose some."

For the next hour, the girls shopped around for their school supplies and, by the time they had finished at 12 o'clock, they were hungry. Walking up to Florean Fortescue's, Mandy stopped outside Quality Quidditch Supplies, staring at the latest broom, the Firebolt. Staring at something in the shop admiringly, she didn't feel Khira-Li prod her in the arm. Instead, she was about to walk into the shop when she hit a warm body. Stumbling into Khira-Li's arms, she glared up at whoever she walked into, only to find herself glare to glare with sharp grey eyes.

"Watch where you're going, Broccoli," snapped Draco Malfoy.

"Should I be honoured you know my name, Dragon?" she spat out.

"On first name basis, are we?"

"Oh shove off! Watch we're you're going next time!" Feeling Khira-Li tensing beneath her, she decided to drop it. After all, this was a continuing feud between Draco and her that continued since the first year, after her potty mouth got both her and Draco into trouble.

Watching Draco walk into the store, Mandy and Khira-Li let out a collective sigh of relief, then walked towards Florean Fortescue's after Mandy changed her mind of going into the quidditch shop.

"Sorry for ignoring you, K-Li," Mandy said apologetically, realising that Khira-Li had tried to forewarn her.

"Next time, heed my varnings, nein?"

They smiled and sat at the table where Mandy's mother and Khira-Li's aunt sat with four sundaes.

As they ate, Mandy sighed happily and looked around her with interest. Many older witches and wizards bustled about in the street, while the younger ones hurried about making last minute purchases like Mandy and Khira-Li had been doing before. Glancing at the bags filled with her new textbooks, potion ingredients and other accessories, she felt her heart flutter a little in excitement. After spooning in the last bit of her vanilla sundae, she sat back in her seat, hands over her stomach.

"That was delicious, even if it was vanilla." Everyone smiled, but her mother had to put a damper on her good mood.

"I hope you've left enough room for all that chicken you'll be eating tonight." Mandy groaned and hid her face in her hands.

"You had to bring that up, didn't you?"

"You vould probably be sick of chicken vhen you haff eaten too much."

"Yeah, I've just got to cook it right so I don't have to eat too much."

"That'll be a first," her mother muttered loudly. Mandy glared at her.

After they had said their farewells, Anja and Khira-Li departed, leaving Mandy and her mother to make their way home. Once they had gotten home, the taller brunette dragged her daughter into the bathroom and inspected her wound. Seeing as it was only a small gash, and nothing extremely life threatening, she covered it with a small glamour spell, so the healing process would not be seen. The woman tutted as Mandy hissed in pain.

"Mandy, Mandy, Mandy. What happened to you, girl?"

Mandy told her mother about not paying attention where she was going and hit her head on the shelf after she bumped into someone. Her mother didn't look very sympathetic, saying 'it was her own fault.'

"Now go de-gnome then make dinner!"

Watching her only daughter descend down the stair, muttering things under he breath, the brunette began thinking of her daughter's excursions to Knockturn Alley. No matter how many times she threatened and punished her, Mandy was still determined to ignore her and rebel. The first time she had disobeyed her mother and went to Knockturn Alley, she was only nine. After a responsibility argument, little Mandy stomped over to the fireplace and really proved she was 'old enough to look after herself'. It seemed as though some crazy witch's protectiveness of the rebellious child had gained the child some sort of protection, before the witch was carted off to St. Mungo's. Because Maversa was a much feared witch in Knockturn Alley, people steered clear of the her little sidekick...or so little Mandy had told her mother. Mandy was known to have a vivid imagination and could spin lies of gold. Hearing her daughter's voice, she grinned a little.

"AND NO HOUSE ELVES!"

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One burnt chicken later, Mandy finally ate the last well-cooked potato. Her insides tasted of smoke from the previous chicken she had to eat [1]. Dropping her fork onto the empty dinner plate, so it clattered loudly, she leant back in her seat and stared at her mother with a questioning look. Her mother, however, ignored her daughter and finished eating her dinner as well as severely guarding the water jug.

"Can I..." Her mother just smiled maliciously, making Mandy groan. That smile meant 'no'.

"Why not? I ate all the burnt chicken and this chicken. And not to mention de-gnoming on for an hour beforehand! And you said I could have some water when I finished!" Mandy whined, crossing her arms and pouting.

"You still have the dishes to do." A 'thud' on the table was the only response, as Mandy hit her head on the table. With a wave of her wand, she sent the dirty dishes into the kitchen sink and waited for her daughter to get up. Once she did gradually get up, rubbing her head in the process, her mother got up and left the kitchen, saying "Hurry up and finish those then get to bed. Early start tomorrow."

Mandy's only reply was a string of muttered curses. Once she had finished, Mandy walked out to the table and sat down. Noticing a big glass of water, she stared at it with vague interest. Placing her arms onto the table, she rested her head on them, yawning slightly. Thinking of tomorrow when she'd be going back to Hogwarts, she smiled happily. Ignoring the much-needed water, she fell asleep at the kitchen table.

Unbeknown to her, she wouldn't be sleeping in a proper bed for the next three days.

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The next morning, Mandy woke with a stiff neck and an aching back. Stifling a groan of discomfort, she tried to stand up but only succeed in falling off the chair entirely. Lying on the linoleum floor, her mouth felt unusually dry so, on sight of last night's water, groggily picked herself up and reseated herself before drinking the contents of the glass in one gulp. Sighing in both relief and discomfort continuity, she let her head drop unceremoniously onto the wooden table, earning a huge pain to go coursing though her head. But she ignored it and went back to sleep.

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To what seemed like five hours, was only five minutes, when her mother shook her awake. Once Mandy lifted her head, a bowl of cereal was placed in front of her. Tutting at her daughter's resting place, Mother popped some bread into the toaster.

"Have a good sleep, Mandy?" she asked mockingly. Mentioned person said nothing but slowly shovelled in her cornflakes. "Have you gotten your trunk ready yet?"

The only response was a clatter of a spoon, feet hurrying up the stairs, a 'thud' as something hit the floor and a curse of "stupid boots!" before a door slammed shut. The older woman smiled to herself and sat down to eat her toast and read the newspaper.

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Both mother and daughter arrived at the train station half an hour early. Mandy's feet felt like lead, her neck ached and her back screamed for rest. Walking beside her mother, who was pushing the trolley that held her trunk and brown owl, Moffit, they gradually made their way towards the barrier between the muggle and wizarding worlds. Giving her a quick hug and words of luck, Mandy's mother left her tired daughter to fend her way through the wall. Once Mandy walked through the magical wall, she dragged her tired body to a bench in the corner and doezed off into a deep sleep.

Ten minutes later, someone sat down beside the sleeping brunette. Opening her eyes slightly, she glanced at who it was, but only caught sight of familiar yet unfamiliar straight ginger hair. Closing her eyes again, her head would've lolled against her chest if not for a hand holding it in place and a familiar voice calling out to her to wake up.

"Too. Tired," she heard herself mumble.

"Amanda Jayne Brocklehurst! Open your eyes this instant!" Mandy's eyes snapped open at the commanding voice and, one look at the person in front of her, widened to the size of dinner plates, her jaw scrapping the ground.

"What the hell happened to you?"

End Chapter Two.
To be continued...


Notes:
[1] The Chicken Theory: She has to cook a perfect chicken. If she ruins a chicken beforehand, she has to eat it. In this case, she burnt it.

Side note: I didn't want to have a name for Mandy's mother, so sorry if it sounds...weird/confusing every time I mention her as 'taller brunette', Mother, ...

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