Soul Music

Chapter 2: A New Beginning

Frankie spun around and around in the gentle green flames, tucking her elbows in tightly after having them slam uncomfortably against a fireplace. Travelling by Floo powder had never been one of her favourite experiences, and she was quickly deciding that travelling internationally by Floo was worse than she had expected. She tried to keep her eyes closed, because the view always made her queasy. However, when the usual warm caress turned cool and slimy, she couldn’t resist a peak, and was horrified by what she saw. Instead of spinning through pleasant green flames, she was now in the centre of a whirlpool in the ocean! No-one had told her that was going to happen! Granted, she hadn’t asked exactly what international Floo travel was like, but she should have received some warning, Frankie decided, watching as a school of fish were temporarily caught up in her whirlpool, surprise barely registering on their little fishy faces before they disappeared again. This was definitely Teddy’s fault – he was meant to make sure she got there safely! What if she’d had a heart attack when she opened her eyes in the middle of the fricking ocean! Frankie’s stomach gave a sudden lurch and she quickly closed her eyes, hoping it would be over soon and plotting her revenge.

Suddenly Frankie was encased by warmth once more and the spinning began to slow. She opened her eyes just a crack and watched as a fireplace finally materialised around her. The motion ceased and she was propelled forward, but rather than allowing herself to be forced out, Frankie turned and thrust her head and wand back through the portal before it could close.

“Gero Transtuti!”

She quickly pulled herself back out of the fire and turned to face the bustling entrance of the United Kingdoms Ministry of Magic. Well, it had been bustling. Now many of those who had been moving rapidly across the room had stopped or slowed to stare at the strange young woman now climbing out of the fire.

“Uh…err…right. Miss Frankie Melrose Ollivander, formerly of Australia, the Ministry of Magic welcomes you to London,” a young Ministry official announced, obviously off-put by her unusual behaviour.

“What on earth did you just do?” cried another, older official, one who clearly had no qualms about possibly humiliating the newest member of the British magical community.

“Would you like to see?” Frankie asked, a cheeky smile on her face. She turned and faced the wall above the fireplace she had just exited. “Revealus!”
Instantly what seemed to be a window between the Australian International Floo Departure Point and the room they were currently in appeared. In the middle of the Departure Point sat a large teddy bear, which was just getting to its feet. The bear raised its hands to its face, and upon seeing the thick brown fur upon its skin, let out a surprisingly high-pitched squeal.

Frankie turned to her audience and laughed. “I don’t think he’ll be forgetting to tell people about the differences between local and international Floo travel any more.”

“You cannot go around transfiguring Ministry officials like that! It’s disrespectful & could jeopardize international relations!” the irate wizard bellowed, his face turning as scarlet as the robes he wore. “I’ll be giving you an Official Reprimand!”

A man with slightly greying red hair stepped forward, interrupting his tirade. “Now, now, Clairvane, she’s only a child and she’s barely been in the country a minute. Give her a chance to explain herself – things might be done differently where she comes from.” The middle-aged wizard approached Frankie, his eyes kind. “Do you mind sharing what all this is about?”

Frankie felt herself beginning to blush, less because she was ashamed of her actions than because this man – Arthur Weasley, if the tag on his tattered robe was correct – had stuck out his neck for her and she regretted having to disappoint him. “Thaddeus is a friend of mine from school, Sir, and he thought it would be funny to send me through without explaining International Floo travel to me. I call him Teddy, short for Thaddeus, you know, and he hates it, so I turned him into a teddy bear to get back at him – but it will wear off in an hour, I swear.”

“You see, Gregory? It’s just a harmless prank – one I could quite easily see one of my own sons pulling. Besides, it wouldn’t be just to punish her & not him, but you have no authority over foreign Ministry trainees,” Arthur said soothingly, one hand on the young witches shoulder.

The other wizard stared at the pair for a few seconds, a muscle at the corner of his eye twitching. Evidently, he could find no way to dispute Arthur’s logic, finally grunting and turning away. The older man turned back to Frankie, but before he could speak he was interrupted by a teenage wizard, his son if the vibrant hair was anything to go by.

“That was brilliant! How did you come up with it so quickly? What spell did you use? How did you designate the time limit? I’m George Weasley, by the way,” the boy said, the questions firing out of him like Cornish Pixies out of a cage.

“Settle down, George, give the poor girl a chance to catch her breath. She’s only been here for a few minutes and already she’s performed some pretty complex magic and been attacked by Gregory Clairvane, she shouldn’t have to deal with you too,” Arthur laughed, restraining his son. “If I heard correctly, you’re an Ollivander? Yes, yes, you have Jacob’s nose and chin – I knew him, he was a year below me at Hogwarts. Great man. I take it you’ll be going to Hogwarts?”

Frankie nodded, more startled by the fact that this man knew her father than by anything else that had happened that day. She’d never met anyone who knew her parents, other than Pip and a distant relative who had visited years ago. “Yes Sir, I’ve come to live with my Grandfather. I’ll be a sixth year.”

“Wiked! Me and Fred are sixth years – Fred’s my twin. All us Weasley’s are in Gryffindor – there’s four of us still at Hogwarts, and Percy, Bill & Charlie were Gryf’s too, but they’ve all graduated. What House do you think you’ll be in?”

“Well, that’s a trick question, isn’t it? If I say Slytherin you’ll think I’m evil, Ravenclaw would sound stuck-up, and you’d think I was an idiot if I said Hufflepuff, so I can only really say Gryffindor, can’t I?” Frankie was beginning to enjoy herself now. This was the first real conversation she’d had in days, and she almost forgot she was supposed to be meeting up with her Grandfather.

George laughed. “True, true. So, where are you from?”

“If you’d actually been listening when I announced her arrival, little brother, you’d know that Miss Ollivander is an Australian,” interrupted the prissy-looking young official who had introduced her to the Hall.

“I’m so sorry, Mr Weasley, I’m afraid it’s my fault that your brother wasn’t paying attention – I think I distracted him when I Transfigured,” Frankie said, adopting the tone of voice and mannerisms of a repentant child. “Would you please guide me to my Grandfather, I’d hate to worry him.”

Percy looked torn between showing disapproval at her actions towards his Australian counterpart, and relishing in the respect she so obviously felt for him. He compromised by giving a small smile, rationalising that it was foolish and irresponsible of Thaddeus not to warn the girl. “I’m afraid your Grandfather couldn’t make it today – he’s rather busy right now, what with the new school year about to start. Instead…”

Percy continued talking, but Frankie was no longer paying attention. He’d missed his own son’s funeral, and now he couldn’t even spare five minutes to meet her at the Ministry? What kind of man was he, if work mattered so much more to him than family? Disappointment crashed over her in cold waves.

George watched as the sparkle died in her brilliant green eyes. The poor girl was alone in a strange country, about to start at a new school, and she’d been left in Percy’s care. George got along with him better than most of his other brothers (despite what most people thought), but he was far from blind to the fact that, while being at heart a nice guy, Perce was also a thick, self-centred git when it came to emotions – overall, not the best company for a confused, lonely girl.

“I’ll take her,” he said, interrupting the unimportant flow of his older siblings words. He didn’t know why, but despite the fact that he’d only known her for a handful of minutes, he felt her pain as though it were his own and knew that he’d do anything to save her from harm.

“What are you talking about, I’ve just said that she’ll Floo to –“

“I’m not Flooing anywhere, thankyou very much. I don’t think I ever want to step into a fire again. Please, just give me a map and I’ll find my own way there, I’m used to doing things on my own. Well, not alone – Pip’s usually with me,” Frankie said, glancing up as the magnificent bird flew into the room.

“Wow! You’ve got a phoenix! I’ve only ever seen one other one –“

Pippin scowled. “She does not have a phoenix, we are not pets. I am Miss Frankie’s guardian, and we have bonded.”

George’s eyes widened. “I didn’t know phoenix’s could talk!”

“Most phoenix’s choose to only communicate with those they are bonded with, or not through words at all. Pip, unfortunately, is a chatterbox – I spend half my time trying to get him to shut up!” Frankie explained fondly.

“Miss Frankie, that was completely uncalled for. Now, we’d best get to your Grandfather’s, I can’t wait to see Alexis again, it’s been too long. How are we getting there, have you decided?”

“I’m taking you, you’ve never been to London and it’s easy to get lost. We’ll even go Muggle, so you’ll get to see more of the city.”

“And how, exactly, do you know whether I’ve been to London before?” Frankie interrupted, longing to get back to the playful banter they had been engaged in before reality had interrupted.

“Well you’ve obviously never travelled by International Floo before, and it’s too far to fly or Apperate, so it’s pretty obvious,” George gave a crooked grin, which for some reason made Frankie’s heart beat faster.

“Alright then, it’s decided. Frankie, George and Pippin will go through Muggle London to Diagon Alley. I’d love to come with you, but I’ve got to finish off a report on flesh-sucking earphones. It’s been nice meeting you, Frankie – you should come over for dinner some time, Molly would love to have an extra mouth to feed,” Arthur said, clapping his hands together. He would dearly love to stay and watch the interaction between his son and the pretty young girl, well aware that they were both out of their depths, but that report wouldn’t write itself – but hopefully the lass would take up his offer some time soon. “Come along, Percy.”

“Ok, so which ways out?”

“Aren’t you forgetting something, my dear? I can’t go through Muggle London looking like this, it would be completely against the Secrecy Act of –“

“Sorry, Pip! Nearly forgot! Here – how’s this – Aviarus Parrot.”

“Not bad – at least I still have some colour, and can pull off a bit of speech without looking suspicious – your father used to turn me into an owl just to torment me,” Pip replied, his previously melodious voice now an abrasive squawk.

“Now, if everyone’s ready, I’d be happy to escort you to your new home,” George said with a smile, offering Frankie his arm. His heart felt like it doubled in size as she took it and placed her hand upon his. Pip flew up and landed on Frankie’s shoulder and the trio walked from the Ministry of Magic and out to begin their new life.