4 Hettie
Hettie squinted as the brightness of the sun jabbed her eyes. Coming out of the cool darkness of the yacht into this, it felt like she had stepped onto the edge of a volcano. The fishy smells of the pier barely overrode the metallic exhaust smell of London.
She always hated any time she would leave the cool and clean mountains of their villa in Lenzerheide. Scheiße! What were they even doing here?! And why did her father insist that she tag along?
Just below, she could make out the group that exited before her, dispersing into black cars. Off to one side, a few wizards were standing in a group, all in robes. Except for one who seemed to be in some sort of Muggle outfit?
A moment later and with a quiet whoosh, an umbrella opened up above her, instantly giving her relief.
"Thank you, Enoch." She nodded to the silent man standing next to her before beginning her descent.
Once she reached the bottom, a short young wizard, with café au lait skin and a bright smile ran up. Nearly tripping on the edge of he robe, he took a quick breath before speaking.
"WelcomeToLondonMissAdelgriefMyNameIsAlfredThomas." He spoke too quickly for her to completely understand, but despite this, she got the gist of what he said. She gave him a tiny, detached smile and looked over him, trying to find her father.
She landed on the tall boy in the odd uniform and stopped, caught in the warm hazel depths of his eyes. A lopsided grin, almost as fleeting as hers, flashed before his face smoothed into a professional demeanor.
"Granddaughter!" her father called. She turned and saw him near one of the vehicles, gesturing at her to hurry up. When she turned back for a moment, she searched the few heads left by the gangway. But that boy had disappeared.
"Miss Adelgrief, let me escort you to your transportation," the wizard said, his sentence finally slower and clearly pronounced. She swept past him and headed for the limo, virtually ignoring his presence and followed by the tall security wizard incongruously holding a large green umbrella.
A sudden boisterous and happy laugh had her whipping her head to discover the source, and she spotted that same gangly boy.
~ ~ ~
Zach was by the vehicles, making sure everyone was in their proper position. Alfred hurried up to him, his shoes making squeaky noises.
"Blimey, did you see, Zach? She looked right at me!" His face was shining as if he had found a rare card in a Chocolate Frog box.
His best friend laughed heartedly, causing many heads to turn and glare, and one girl who looked surprised. "Maybe she looked through you, buddy. Her and her Great Wizarding Family are too high for the likes of us." Fred looked glum as Zach patted him on the back in consolation.
"Cheer up, old friend. Our detail has to stay with the delegation until they leave anyway. So you'll get other changes to see her, and maybe even chat her up." He grinned.
