Disclaimer: JKR owns all and I own nothing.

Chapter 1

"You have to take her Albus," the man's voice pleaded. "I can't keep her anymore. Miriam won't have her in the house. She scares the other children."

"Jonathan, calm down my young friend. Come, sit, have some tea. Lemon drop?"

Everly shifted her ear closer to the keyhole. She was dying to hear what lame ass excuses her guardian would make to the Headmaster for their late night visit to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Surprisingly, it sounded as if he was actually telling the old codger the truth, which of course could be bad for her. After all, who in their right mind would take her in? It wasn't that she was bad per say, accidents just seemed to happen to those around her.

"I don't have a lot of time. I've booked a return portkey for eleven. Miriam doesn't like to be left alone these days. Too many strange happenings going on."

"Ah yes, the Death Eaters have been quite active," Professor Dumbledore murmured.

"He's really back, isn't he?"

Everly heard a chair scrape and the soft pad of footsteps across the floor. "Yes, my dear Jonathan, I am afraid he is."

"Fudge and the Daily Prophet don't seem to agree..."

"Cornelius will come around. He cannot ignore the signs forever. In the meantime, the Order has reformed and is busy tracking Voldemort's moves. You will help us Jonathan?"

"Miriam and I will do what we can, but we must think of our children first. I cannot put them in danger. That's why the girl has to go. If anyone were to discover her parentage, we would be sitting ducks."

What an ass! Sitting ducks...ha! As if anyone would find her in that shit hole they called home in the middle of east bumfuck New Hampshire. She supposed she should be happy he was so scared. Other wise Jonathan would have never thought to send her to Hogwarts. Oh, I do hope Dumbledore agrees to take over my guardianship and keep me here. It's been so long since I have stepped foot in England. Just that first smell of damp English air when they had portkeyed to London had awakened her senses and filled her with a sense of peace and belonging. America had not been all that bad. She had enjoyed the brief time they had stayed in Boston and New York City. Miriam hated the city though, so they always ended up moving to some hick town. It had been the same when they had lived in Italy and France.

"So, you will take the girl then?"

"Yes, of course. I promised your dear sister on her deathbed that I would protect Everly as long as it was in my power to do so."

"I'm sorry Albus. I appreciate everything you did for Nora, but if she had lived, perhaps she would have changed her mind. If she saw how much of him was in Everly."

"She loved him Jonathan, and she loved her child."

"He had her under the Imperius curse!" Jonathan shouted. Running his hands through his short dark hair, he sighed in defeat. "What's done is done. Nora is dead. He is dead. I can't keep Everly with me. She needs someone to watch over her. Especially now, with He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named back."

"Fear not Jonathan, Everly is more than welcome here at Hogwarts. Perhaps you could ask her to come in. I find that listening through keyholes can sometimes lead to misinterpretation."

Fuck! How did he know I was there? The door swung open as Everly straightened up, her Uncle Jonathan's pale face glaring at her. Shrugging her shoulders, she ambled past him and flopped into the large leather armchair at the foot of the Headmaster's desk. "Hello Professor."

"Good evening Miss Wolcott. Welcome to Hogwarts."

Everly sized up the Professor. He smiled down at her, his light blue eyes twinkling with mischief. "Thank you for your hospitality." Politeness never hurt. Plus, she needed him on her side. There was no way she was going back to the States and Miriam's iron fisted rule. She glanced between the two gentlemen. "So, what happens now?"

"Now, we sort you. Let me just grab the hat. One second please." The Headmaster shuffled around, his periwinkle robes sparkling in the firelight. "Here we are. Just put this on your head my dear."

Professor Dumbledore handed Everly a tattered brown hat. Wrinkling her nose in disgust, Everly gingerly took it and placed it on her dark head. "Ah, well, well, well, isn't this interesting. Another member of the illustrious house of ..."

"No!" Jonathan lunged forward and tugged the hat from Everly's head. "We do not speak their name!"

"What the fuck Jonathan?" Everly exploded. Enough was enough. "I'm going to find out eventually who my Father is!"

"Over my dead body!"

"Jonathan, Ms. Wolcott, please calm down! There is no need for raised voices. I will ask the Sorting Hat to keep it's comments to itself."

"Why? Why can't I know? Why won't anyone tell me who my Father is?" Everly clenched her fists in anger, her nails biting through the soft flesh of her palms. This was fucking ridiculous. She was sixteen for Salzar's sake! She deserved to know!

"Please Ms. Wolcott, your Uncle believes he is acting in your best interest, and I must respect that. Now, shall we finish with the sorting?"

Jonathan Wolcott shook his head warily. He handed the old hat back to Everly. Slipping his hands in the pockets of his dark brown cloak, he turned his attention to the fireplace. Everly quickly righted the hat back on her head and listened as it hemmed and hawed in her ear quietly. She prayed in earnest that it would ignore Professor Dumbledore's orders and blurt out her Father's name.

"Slytherin!" the Hat's ragged voice cut through the silence like shattering glass. Glancing up, Everly noted Uncle Jonathan's dejected expression as he shook his head sadly. Professor Dumbledore merely looked at her curiously, extending his hand for the Sorting Hat. "If you give me a moment I will ask Professor Snape, your Head of House to come show you to the Slytherin Common Room."

"Severus will be her Head of House? Do you really think that wise, Dumbledore?"

Who the hell is Professor Snake or whatever the old man said? And why is Jonathan so upset? Fucking secrets! It was the story of her life. Her Mother had died when she was three weeks old. Her Uncle Jonathan and his wife Miriam had taken her in and raised her. They had moved frequently, sometimes staying in vacant houses. When she was five they had left England for good. Miriam had given birth to their first child shortly after that and with every child she carried, her resentment of Everly grew. Her Aunt and Uncle refused to discuss her Mother or Father, always telling her she was better off not knowing and to let the past rest. The whole family had relocated to America when Everly was ten and lived amongst muggles. Miriam, as a muggle-born, was very comfortable, but Everly had hated it. She loved magic and detested being forced to live without it. In the past few years, Miriam had grown even more angry with Everly. She called her names and told her she was unnatural. Miriam forbid her to use magic and would lock her in her room for days at a time. The woman was seriously unhinged.

"Are you even listening to me Everly?"

Everly shook her head, trying to clear her thoughts. Uncle Jonathan was glaring at her again. "I'm sorry, what was it you said Uncle?"

"Stick to your own company Everly. These other children in Slytherin, they come from dark families. Many of them have family members that are incarcerated in Azkaban and were known Death Eaters during the last war. You need to steer clear of them."

"Why?"

"Don't worry about the whys...just mind your own business and don't get involved with any of them."

"Giving her some last minute words of wisdom Wolcott?"

A tall man with a curtain of greasy black hair hanging in his face swept into the room. He folded his arms across his chest, his black cloak swirling around him and fluttering like a bat's wings.

"Now listen hear Severus, Dumbledore may trust you, but I certainly don't. If it were up to me, I wouldn't let Everly step foot in your snake pit."

"Yes, but you always did let Miriam make all your decisions, didn't you?"

Everly watched with delighted interest as the two men verbally sparred. It was obvious they had history and could not stand one another. Everly wondered what exactly their relationship was.

"Gentlemen, that is enough!" Dumbledore declared, the power of his command causing a multitude of instruments perched precariously on the shelves around the room to tinkle. "Severus, this is Miss Everly Wolcott. She will be joining the Slytherin's as a 6th year. Would you please show her to the dormitory? Jonathan, I believe you have a portkey to catch?"

With a final sneer at Jonathan, Professor Snape turned his steely gaze on Everly and visibly paled. His muddy brown eye grew wide, filling with what looked to be sadness. A subtle cough from the Headmaster seemed to snap Snape out of his trance and his expression shuttered. "This way Miss Wolcott," and he gestured for her to follow him. Everly stood and walked towards the door, her anger at Jonathan still simmering below the surface.

"Everly, please be careful. Remember what I said." Jonathan whispered quietly.

"Goodbye Uncle. Go home to Miriam and your children. I am no longer your burden. You are free of me now." Without a glance backwards, Everly swept out of the Headmaster's office and followed after Professor Snape.

"That is the Great Hall where you will take all your meals and this staircase leads to the lower levels of the castle. The entrance to the Slytherin Common Room is in the dungeons."

"There are four houses, correct Professor?"

"Yes, Miss Wolcott; Slytherin, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and Gryffindor. You will eat and sleep with the students of your own house, but classes are intermixed."

"And what classes will I take?"

"Well that all depends on your grades at your previous school."

"I have never attended school, sir."

Snape stopped abruptly at the bottom of the dark stairwell and gave her a questioning look. "Never? How did you learn?"

"Miriam, my Aunt, insisted on home schooling. Also, we generally lived in the muggle world, so there was no local magical learning institution to attend."

"Ah, yes, Miriam Goldstein. She's a muggleborn, yes?" he asked, distain evident in his voice.

"Yes. Her Father was a banker and her Mother stayed at home with the children. They're dead now. Both of Miriam's brothers are muggles and have nothing to do with her or Jonathan.

"Disowned by her muggle family and yet she still wishes to live amongst them," he snickered. "She probably pays a muggle psychatrist to tell her why she is unhappy as well."

Everly chuckled. Perhaps Professor Drab & Dreary wasn't that horrid after all. "Were you at school with them, my Uncle and Aunt?"

Professor Snape merely stared at her for a minute and then gestured for her to follow him down the corridor. "Did you take your OWLs Ms. Wolcott?"

Ah, another adult that likes to ignore my questions. Oh well. "Yes, my Uncle did insist on me taking my OWLs. I believe he brought my results and gave them to Professor Dumbledore."

"If that is the case, you will receive your class schedule at breakfast tomorrow. If you have any questions about your classes, you may come to my office hours on Tuesdays between 6 and 8pm."

The hallway meandered deeper into the castle, the firelight of the torches creating shadows that seemed to dance across the cold stone walls. Everly hurried to keep up. "And what is it that you teach Professor?"

"Defense Against the Dark Arts, but previously I was the Potions Master. Now Professor Slughorn has assumed that role."

"Really? I love potions," Everly replied with feeling.

Professor Snape slowed. Raising a single eyebrow he asked, "And what do you love about Potions Ms. Wolcott?"

"The intricacy. Taking several ingredients, blending them in just the right way, and creating something out of them. It takes a delicate hand."

"Yes, indeed. Did you achieve an Outstanding in Potions?" At her nod, the Professor cracked a small smile. "Well, I am sure you will enjoy Professor Slughorn's class. He is an able teacher. Ah, here we are." The pair stopped in front of a portrait of a headless man atop a horse. "Potestus," murmured the Professor and Everly watched in surprise as the portrait swung open revealing a large room beyond it. "This way to the Snake Pit Miss Wolcott."

Clearing the threshold the door shut quietly behind Everly. She found herself in a large room filled with students of varying ages. A pair of young girls with golden plaited hair sat at a black marble table playing Wizard's Chess, while nearby a group of rambunctious boys played a loud game of Exploding Snap. She noted several black leather sofas in front of the large stone fireplace were occupied by older students that looked to be about her age. The lighting was dim, the floor black veined marble. Chandeliers hung from the ceiling, dripping with crystals. It screamed of old money, and Everly smiled. Now, this felt like home.

"Miss Rosier," the Professor called out. Every eye in the room swiveled to the entrance and quickly landed on Everly. Butterflies wreaked havoc in her stomach and she forced herself to hold her head high. Jonathan always said that first impressions lasted forever. She would not stand here looking the coward. A tall girl stood gracefully from her perch on the sofa nearest the fireplace and approached them. Everly sucked in a deep breath. The young woman had blue black hair similar to her own except it was cut in a stylish bob where as Everly wore hers long and loose. Her pale skin gleamed in the dim light as she seemed to float towards them. It was her eyes though that had knocked the air out of Everly's lungs. They were the exact same cornflower blue as her own. Holy shit, we could be fucking sisters if I didn't know better.

"Good evening Professor. How I may be of assistance?" She spoke with the posh accent of the British upperclass.

"This is Ms. Wolcott. Ms. Wolcott this is Ms. Rosier. She is the Slytherin 7th Year Prefect. Ms. Wolcott is a 6th year. You will introduce her to her fellow students and show her to a bed."

"As you wish, Professor. If you will follow me Ms. Wolcott, I will show you to the 6th and 7th year's room." With a sashay of her hips, Ms. Rosier turned and headed towards the back of the room where a number of doorways stood. Everly followed, aware of a multitude of eyes watching her every step and whispered conversations speculating about her sudden arrival. "The boy's dormitories are through that door on the left, the door in the middle leads to a quiet study space for 5th years and up, and this is the way to the girl's dormitories." The pair passed through the doorway to the right and entered a smaller corridor. "The loo is the 2nd door down on the right. Sixth and Seventh year girls share the largest room. It's the last door on the left."

Everly reached out a hand to touch the brocade wall hangings and marveled at their beauty. Ms. Rosier held the door open to their bedroom and gestured for Everly to enter. Either side of the wood paneled room was lined with dark wooden four poster beds covered in evergreen satin quilts. Everly was aware of a number of other females entering the room behind them and criss crossing the room to their beds. Some of them stared outright, while others looked her up and down more discreetly. stopped in front of the last bed on the left and Everly noticed her trunk was already placed at the foot of the bed. "This will be your bed. I'll start the introductions. I am Ellis Rosier, 7th Year Prefect. Ladies, if you will..."

"Madeline Rookwood, 7th Year," the brunette leaning against the bed opposite hers said. Her dark brown eyes narrowed, "Do you have a first name Miss Wolcott?"

"Yes, it is Everly."

"Everly...with an E?" she asked, her gaze flickering to Ellis'. "How curious..." she remarked quietly.

Everly was aware of the sudden tension in the room, but didn't understand it. What the hell kind of pissing contest is this? Luckily, she was distracted by a shorter girl with bouncing blonde ringlets and dancing green eyes. "Welcome to Slytherin. I'm Caterina Dubois, 6th year as well. Do please call me Cat though. And that is Violetta Vance, Callidora Black, Ainsley Wilkes, Sarafiona Rowle, Penelope Davenport, and Emily Crouch - all 6th years. Each girl nodded as Cat pointed them out, their expressions shuttered, obviously withholding judgement until she could make a misstep. "Oi where is Bletchley and Warrington?"

"I saw them sneaking off to Ravenclaw earlier," Sarafiona offered as she continued to file her nails. "No doubt they are slagging it up with Davies and his crew."

"I wouldn't let their brothers hear you speak of them so," interrupted an extraordinarily tall, olive skinned young woman with waist length jet black hair.

"Ha, am I supposed to be scared of Miles Bletchley?" snorted Sarafiona.

"No, I don't even think his six year old sister Lotte is frightened of him. However, Cassius Warrington is another story," Ellis pointed out.

"Yes, I don't envy Arabella when he discovers her latest amorous rendezvous," Penelope shivered. "Remember what he did to Max last year when he caught them snogging after the Yule Ball?"

"My brother still has trouble seeing out of his right eye," sniffed a willowy blonde reclining on a bed nearest the entrance. "He made me swear a Wizard's Oath that I wouldn't tell Mother and Father what really put him in the hospital wing. They still think it was a Quidditch accident." Her large grey eyes flicked to Everly. "Anastasia Dodderidge, 7th Year. Are you a pureblood, Miss Wolcott?"

"Classy Stasia, way to cut right to the point," remarked Ellis quietly. Rounding on Everly, her hands on her curvy hips, she asked, "But since it is out there now, are you?" She gave Everly a particularly pointed look.

"Yes," she answered firmly. Undoing the clasp of her cloak, she pulled it off slowly and folded it, laying it gently upon her bed. Not wanting to invite any more open questions about her past, she set to work opening her trunk to unpack and hoped the other girls got the subtle hint.

"Why are you here now then? I mean it is already a two weeks into the term and you show up late on a Tuesday evening. Were you thrown out of your last school?"

Everly closed her eyes and counted to ten in Latin, attempting to calm her rising her temper. She hated being interrogated. Sitting back on her heels, she sighed and then leveled a steely gaze at the group of young women. "My parents were both purebloods, but they are dead now. I have been living with my Uncle and his family. However, his wife and I do not get on well, and my Uncle thought it best if I attend school. Professor Dumbledore was kind enough to allow me to enroll late, and thus, I am here." She longed to add, "Now fucking leave me alone!", but it was best not to piss off potential allies on her first night. Patience, she chanted in her head. You put up with Miriam and her bullshit for sixteen years, you can endure some petty female games for an hour or two.

"Well, welcome to Hogwarts then. I'm Claire Dolohov, the rude witch over there (she pointed to the olive skinned girl who stuck out her tongue) is Cassandra Zabini, and last, but not least, that is Elizabeth Perkins. I'm not sure where Zara, Camilla, or Rhiannon disappeared too, but you'll meet them eventually."

"Charmed, I'm sure," Everly bit out. "You'll have to excuse me, as I am quite fagged. My Uncle and I traveled far today. I am quite exhausted." Everly dug through her trunk, pulling out her comfiest pajamas and her toothbrush. She couldn't wait to crawl between the silken sheets and close the hangings around her.

"Of course, we'll just leave you to your unpacking then. Breakfast begins precisely at 7, the room alarm goes off at 5:45am and then every 15 minutes thereafter." Ellis explained, her vivid blue eyes boring into Everly's. "We've never met before, have we?" she whispered so that no one else could hear her.

Everly's head prickled and she felt the gentlest of probes. Slamming down her defenses, she dropped her night clothes and walked forward until she was nose to nose with Ellis. "No, we have not, and if you ever try that shit again, I'll make you wish we had never been introduced," she hissed.

"We shall see Ms Everly Wolcott. Time tells all secrets, and something tells me you have a doozy of one. I would watch your step. We can be the best of friends or the best of enemies. Now, sweet dreams," with a smirk Ellis strode off, Madeline and Cassandra following her out of the room.