Wallflower

I watched out the window in my room at the muggle street on a rainy Wednesday. Uncle had told me that we would have visitors coming today and that they'd be staying with us for a while, but he never said why they were coming, who they were or how many would be staying. There'd been a lot of people coming in and out of the house since he came back from Azkaban, and since Father had left, none of them knew that I was here durring the summer and I'm sure that Uncle never told them that his young neice was running amuck on the upper levels of the house. They usually stayed on the first floor and stuck to the kitchen. Often times they would lock the door, keeping me out for hours and they would always put silencing charms on the door so that should someone (like myself I assume) want to listen in they would hear nothing.

Normally this wouldn't have bothered me, I was used to going nearly completely unnoticed, but I wasn't at all used to being out of the loop. I suppose that's one of the traits I did exhibit from Slytherin: my nosyness. Though I may go unnoticed at school, and none of my classmates would know who Carmine was, I knew everything about them. I didn't know them personally, and I probably never would but I knew their stories from rumours and my uncanny ability to eavesdrop into the smallest conversation.

I faintly heard the fireplace engluf in flames and waited. I knew that our floo network could only take one person at a time and I wanted to know how many people were coming before I went to meet them. I knew that the adults who frequented the house were from the order of the pheonix. This much Uncle had told me, he would never tell me what they talked about though and I guess that it played to his inner jokester because he knew my not knowing bothered me. The whoosh of the flames continued on several times and after a while I gave up on counting. I resolved to getting off the window seat and smoothing my shirt of wrinkles and slid my wand into the wasteband of my jeans and wrapped my emerald scarf around my neck to keep me warm in the cold family house.

I set off down the stairs closing my bedroom door behind me. I passed the painting of Grandmother Walburga and bid her a good morning, waving politely. "Good morning child" she said in her most polite and caring tone. To most it would still sound condescending, but her tone of condescending and hatred was much more evil sounding. I'd heard her talk to Uncle, and I knew that the way she talked to me was in a way loving compared to him. A part of me felt bad for her. This was her home, and she was covered up with sheets when we had company. I was the only person who dared to free her from her coverings. Albeit she did go off on just about anyone that she saw who she didn't approve of which was almost everyone, but this is the way that she was raised and "programmed" to be. This was Grandmother Walburga, while she may not be great, she loved me and a loving family was all that I ever wanted.

Continuing into the sitting room where the fireplace was I saw a gaggle of red headed people and Uncle in the midst of all of them. "Ah, Carmine, lovely of you to join us." Uncle said. I nodded silently, just watching. I was well aware they would think me not polite, and crude, but I was by nature just a wallflower. A silent observer of the crowds always going unnoticed and never the center of attention.

"Good morning Uncle." I said just barely above a whisper.

"Carmine, love these are the Weasley's. They're the guests that I told you would be staying with us for a while. They have children your age too, perhaps you could socialize a bit?" he offered. I took notice of their belongings seeing that for the six people they had an aweful lot of clothes and noted that they clearly planned to stay a while. "And Carmine, Rose dear could you show the children to their rooms?"

I nodded like the well raised child of Regulus Black that I was; like the granddaughter of Walburga Black that I was. I took note of the four children: two older twins, a boy probably my age and a girl possibly younger. I quietly spoke out, "Come with me please." and turned and walked away. For a moment I wasn't sure that they'd heard me, and I really don't think that they did but after a moment and probably some quiet pursuasion from Uncle they grabbed their things and followed me. I paused a moment, and said with more presence, "You can leave your things, I'll ask Kreature to bring them up later." before continuing on and up the stairs.

A moment or two after I passed Grandmother Walburga's painting I heard her start shouting and being a rant about having blood traitors in her house, and how it was tainting the presence of the great house of Black. Just before I was out of ear shot of her I heard her rant change slightly to talking about how these people would taint me and destroy my purity. I ignored her and her rant became nothing but a pin prink in the back of my mind. Over the weeks I had gotten used to her tirades as they were frequent when the Order was here.

We reached the second floor, home to Father's and Uncle's bedrooms, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley's bedroom and the daughter's bedroom. I showed her the room, and told her that I would have Kreature grab the remainder of her things momentarily, as the only thing she had brought up with her was a small purse. She smiled at me and I left to show the boys to the third floor and to their rooms. I could hear behind me the twins whispering back and forth but heeded no mind to it, and the other boy stayed mute like I. I knew who these people were of course, I was just waiting for them to formally introduce themselves. As I stated before, being a wallflower I knew of everyone. I knew Fred and George had a penchant for pranks and laughs, and I knew that Ronald had arachnophobia. I knew that Ginny was the first Weasley daughter in several generations and I also knew, as every pureblood did, that we were distantly related. All purebloods were related at the very least distantly, as there were only so many magical families around.

Once we arrived at the third floor I first showed Ron to his room, saying in a similar fashion what I had told Ginny about his belongings as he, along with his brothers, had brought none of it with him. Him being shy just nodded like his sister and tucked himself away in the room he'd been assigned. Next was the twins, which I knew would be more of a chore. "So tell me, Love. Where have you been all this time? No one told us that Sirius had a neice, or that there would be a charming young lady here." one started in, wrapping and arm around me.

"Charming indeed, and you certainly don't look young enough to be a first year, and are most deffinitely not a squib with that wand sticking out of your trousers." the other persisted.

"I'm not a squib, I'm rather gifted with charms and potions actually, and I'll have you know that I'm fifteen this August." I said, a bit of my Slytherin pride coming out in my manner of speaking. It wasn't that I was shy that kept me from socializing like most children my age, I just prefer to watch others and avoid the drama that more likely than not came with being a teenager.

"Oh, quick as a whip this one is Fred."

"An English accent is there too, so surely not a Beaux Batons student, so the question is why have we never seen you around before?" Fred asked.

"You're Gryffindors. I am not. I am a wallflower, and you are the center of attention." I said shortly.

"Bet she's a Ravenclaw, eh George?"

With a slightly annoyed glance between the two of them I obliged them to know my house. "Slytherin, actually." I said sounding a bit more snooty than I had intended. Quickly they unwrapped their arms from around me and walked into their room shutting the door hard behind them. I sighed and pinched the bridge of my nose between two fingers. "This is why I don't talk to people." I muttered alloud before walking off down the stairs to grab Kreature and ask of him to take the luggage to the rooms.