A/N: So, this is my second ongoing story, and it may be posted irregularly. But, please give it a shot. It's based on a fic my friend FireLadyMoon has written. Therefore, the characters are not solely mine, since we developed the ideas together. If you have time, give her fic a shot as well.
On another note, I would much appreciate any reviews, I love hearing from you. Thanks :D
Chapter 1: The return of the queen
Something warm pressed against my eye lids and I tapped blindly around my nightstand, reaching for my wand. After a few unsuccessful attempts, and a frustrated sigh I managed to locate the blasted thing and I waved it in the general direction of the window, genuinely relieved when the sun was hidden behind the heavy dark green curtains.
I buried my face in the pillow hopping that I would fall back asleep. Unfortunately, my brain was wide awake, and an image of a castle flashed through my mind. Hogwarts.
We were going back today, I remembered, and sighed again. Nothing would remain the same this year, not since the Dark Lord came back. Nowhere was safe, and no one would be spared. How utterly troublesome. I snapped my eyes open and pulled the covers from myself, sitting up and lowering my legs gently on the floor.
No, nothing would remain the same, but I had been waiting for it. I was no fool, and it was only a matter of time before the wretched man came back. And if he thought that he could hurt my family again, he was oh so very wrong. This time, not only his deatheaters would die. No, this time I would do my damn best to kill him. Not for a stupid reason such as nobility or altruism. No. I wanted revenge, and revenge only.
I waved my wand again, summoning my clothes and having them follow me in the bathroom.
It was illegal, underage magic that is. But the Ministry was always, persuaded, to do what the purebloods with enough galleons wanted them to do.
I brushed my teeth quickly, and as I stepped into the shower I swore under my breath. Arielle had once again left her shampoo in my shower. Why the girl could not use any other shower in the manor, Merlin knew that there were many to spare, was beyond me.
Once showered, and fully clothed in my uniform I stepped in front of the full body mirror in my room. My reflection in the mirror frowned at my green tie, and I smoothed it out. My house would also change this year, and as faces of my housemates flashed in my mind one by one, I couldn't help but wonder how many of them would take the dark mark, or how many were considering getting it at the moment.
The Slytherin house was not a place to make friends, perhaps acquaintances at best. Most of them were blood relatives, closer or more distant, but none of the family love could be sensed there. Except for Daphne and Astoria. I was rather fond of the sisters, as they were my playmates from childhood. Mine and Meldoy's of course.
Ah Melody, she was probably still asleep. So much for the hard work of a Hufflepuff. At this, my reflection smirked. Sisters, twins at that, belonging to Hufflepuff and Slytherin. Ridiculous.
It was also rather funny , in my opinion, that two of my closest friends, save for my sister, belonged to the Gryffindor and Ravenclaw.
Speaking of annoying Gryffindor friends…
I waved my wand once more, and from my desk flew a piece of parchment and a quill, along with an ink pot. Another wave and the quill pressed itself against parchments, waiting from my instructions.
"Not so dear Arielle Hayes" I spoke and the quill scribbled the words onto the parchment. "Upon entering my shower today, I had established that you once again left your personal belongings there. Find enclosed your shampoo, and do heed my advice. If I find it again, I will hex your red head off. My worst, Rosalind Valeria Kersey."
My reflection in the mirror smirked as another thought came to mind. "P.S. Don't be late today, because, Melody, or no Melody, I will leave without you."
With another wave of my wand, the letter was folded and ready to be sent.
"Tolly!" I called, and in a second, a pop was heard behind me.
"Good morning mistress Rosalind" came a shrill voice, and I turned to see a small house elf bowing to me, her long pointed nose touching the floor.
"Good morning Tolly" I greeted, noting that she had a new dress on. "Your new dress looks lovely."
The house elf grinned in response and I allowed myself a small smile. Tolly was very old, and she had been with me, as my personal house elf, from the moment I was born.
"Thank you mistress" squeaked she, her voice rising in volume out of sheer happiness.. "How may Tolly help mistress?"
"I have a letter to be sent, send out Greyclaw." I spoke, taking the letter from mid-air and handing it to the waiting elf.
"It's for Arielle, you know what to do" I instructed.
"Yes mistress, " spoke Tolly, bowing once again. "Will mistress be coming down for breakfast?"
"I will, have them prepare my tea." I spoke, turning to the mirror once again. "That is all Tolly, thank you."
The house elf disapparated with a pop and I sighed, fixing a strand of my hair. I liked to keep it short, cut down gradually so that the front reached half way to my shoulders. My hair was blond, as was that of the entire side of my mother's family.
With one final look, I turned to the doors, leaving the room. I had made my decision. My sister would not die for being too kind, I would kill the blasted man before he could lay one spell on her, and all those foolish enough to stand in my way. And I had no doubts about getting my way, after all I was a Kersey. And what a Kersey wants, a Kersey gets.
I descended the stairs and made my way to the dining room, finding it empty, save for my grandfather, who sat at the head of the table, reading the Daily Prophet. Nally was also there, and the house elf bowed as I entered the room.
"Good morning Grandfather" I greeted, taking a seat a couple of chairs away from him. My grandfather was a closed-off man, not unlike myself, and we usually spent our time together in silence.
This morning seemed to be an exemption, as he addressed me the moment I sat down.
"I need to talk to you Rosalind, come see me in my office after you've had your breakfast." Spoke he, his voice a rumble, observing me over his glasses.
"Of course Grandfather" I spoke and he nodded to me, before hiding behind his copy of the newspapers again.
I chose to eat lightly that morning, so I took some scrambled eggs and a piece of bread along with tea. Unlike most, I could not eat when I was nervous, and even though I would not admit that to anyone else, I felt anxiety about the return to Hogwarts.
"Hello my little snake" came a voice and I turned to the doors, only to see my grandmother walking in, more gliding then stepping, as she made her way to my grandfather. "Did you sleep well?"
"Well enough" I responded, taking a bite from my breakfast and glancing at my grandmother. She chose to wear a dark green set of robes today, which I highly approved of, and she walked up to my grandfather, kissing his cheek in greeting and sitting beside him. My grandfather murmured a good morning in return, still reading. They were an odd pair, since my grandmother was rather fond of the physical part of any relationship and my grandfather was distinctively uncomfortable with it, just like me. But they were the two of the happiest people I know, considering everything that has happened.
"Melody is still asleep, I take it?" spoke my grandmother with a fond smile.
"Of course, she is the most lazy Hufflepuff I have met." I responded, a smirk on my lips. I noticed that the corner of my grandfather's mouth turned upwards as well, but he remained otherwise unresponsive.
"And you have met so many Hufflepuffs, aside from jinxing them for breathing on your way have you Linds?" came a voice, so alike my own. Melody walked into the room, a smile on her face adding a teasing note to her words.
"I have met enough" I spoke, smirking." And I assure you, I have no patience to meet any more."
"And I assure you that I was not sleeping, I was merely resting for the tedious journey to our education facility" spoke she with a grin and burst out in a fit of giggles. "You talk like you have swollen a broomstick Linds".
"Thank you sister, you are always so very kind." I murmured, taking a sip of my tea and smirking.
"Now, now girls" spoke our grandmother, the grin on her face identical to the one my sister wore. "You are both my lovely little granddaughters. A badger and a snake at that!" laughed she.
The rest of the breakfast was spent in a similar matter, and I waited a couple of more minutes after my grandfather left, and then followed him into his office.
I walked through the heavy mahogany doors to see my grandfather sitting behind his desk. The fireplace was alight and the warm glow of the fire bathed the room in orange shades.
For once, I did not find my grandfather reading, instead his light grey eyes were trained on me from the second I opened the doors of his office.
I walked forward and he motioned for me to have a seat.
"You wished to talk grandfather?" I asked, folding my hands in my lap, my wand in my robes.
"Yes" spoke he, clasping his hands together and leaning on them, his keen eyes observing me, calculating.
"Fourteen years ago, I lost my only son, to the long and bitter war." Spoke he, his voice showing no emotion. "You and your sister and the only thing I have left from him."
He made a pause then, seeming to allow me to grasp the meaning he hid in his words.
"Yet the war has started again. The Dark Lord has returned, at least according to the Potter boy." I spoke, narrowing my eyes at that.
My grandfather nodded in approval of my words, seeming to be content with the way I was thinking.
"Correct. You, of course are safe from them, from him. " spoke he, " A pureblood, Slytherin and showing no love for muggle-borns or half-bloods. Save for Arielle and Claudia."
"And Melody is not" I spoke, continuing his train of thought. "She is everything they resent in a pure-blooded witch. A friend of muggle-borns, kind, loyal with no pride in her lineage. A blood traitor."
"And they will come for her" spoke my grandfather" make an example out of her."
Neither of us spoke a word after that, both turning to stare at the fire.
"You have always been cunning, even as a child" spoke he, and I noticed a small smile on his face as he spoke. "Exactly like your father, you know how to get what you want. "
He turned serious and spoke again after a while "I am old Rosalind. My magic is still strong, but how long I would last in a duel is doubtable. Antila and I can no longer protect you. But you…."
At this, he turned to me, "You were born powerful child, your magic is the strongest of our family, perhaps in a dozen generations. You need to be the one to protect both your sister, and yourself."
"They won't get her grandfather," I spoke "I promise you that."
"Very well child, show me just how strong you are. " spoke he , standing up with a smile on his face.
I stood up as well.
"I won't be able to come see you off." Spoke he again "Have a successful year child."
"Thank you grandfather" I smiled in response and turned to leave. I was a step away from the doors as he called my name, making me turn to face him. "Oh, and Rosalind? Show them exactly what happens when one insults a Kersey. As you young would say it, give them hell."
"You can rely on me grandfather " I smirked, and left the office.
Platform 9 and ¾ was bustling; full of the students attending Hogwarts, yet I noticed that there were fewer students this year, than the one before. Some students apparently were not returning to the formidable school.
Melody also seemed to notice and she threw me an anxious look. Her eyes darted around the station, as if she expected a Death Eater to jump from behind some wall and start shooting curses at people.
"Calm down Melody" I spoke, rather bored as I already concluded that there was no one worth fighting present. Some of the parents were Death Eaters, that much I could tell from my grandfather's stories, but none of the dangerous ones were free, or foolish enough to attack in the middle of broad daylight, especially not a Kersey. The children of those Death Eaters belonged to my house, and would therefore not dare breathe against my sister, let alone curse her.
She seemed to ignore my words, and continued her anxious walk by my side. Honestly, why the girl had no self-confidence was beyond me.
I noticed Avery in front of us and he lowered his head as our eyes met, wisely choosing to stay clear from my way, even though he was my senior. I smirked as the familiar feeling of superiority returned, how good indeed it was to go back to Hogwarts.
We stopped in front of the carriages and I glanced at the grand clock that hung a little further down the platform from us. It was fifteen to eleven, and I was impatient to get out of the crowd, the noise of a hundred voices proving to be a torture to my ears.
I turned back to my sister and noticed a flurry of blue and black run past me, hugging my sister and nearly sending the both of the stupid girls to the ground. Both of them laughed like two idiots and I let out a sigh. This part, I could not miss.
"Come on Claudia, you could have hardly missed her, you saw each other two days ago, when you even stayed the night, or did you forget that tiny little detail?" I sneered, rather uncomfortable by the public display of emotion.
The girl in question turned back to me, her eyes glowing with happiness as she greeted me, making me decide that she really had to start fearing me a bit more. "Hello to you too Linds."
Thankfully, she spoke a couple of steps away from me, not trying to engage in any sort of physical interaction with me, knowing that she would end up in Saint Mungo if she tried.
"No hug?" I smirked and as she grinned in response I added, "smart girl, unlike some others I could name."
Perhaps it were my words that summoned her, but in a second, my vision was impaired by the flurry of red hair and I found myself chocking in the embrace of my Gryffindor fri… acquaintance.
I had, in the brief second I was given, managed to get my wand and I hissed "Relashio!"
Arielle was sent staggering away from me, as if she were punched, but she landed on her feet, laughing like a maniac. I only noticed these aspects from the corner of my eye, for my attention was caught by movement to my right as I was still in the embrace of my friend.
Nott had passed Claudia and he bumped in her so hard that her book was sent flying to the floor and she staggered, almost falling under the train, were it not for my sister who had caught her wrist in the last second. He had also muttered to her, "Watch where you are going mud-blood, and I knew that Arielle had not noticed the exchange.
I had, and it amazed me that he had dared harm my friend in front of me. Perhaps my authority was diminishing in the Slytherin house, something I would set right the moment I stepped through the doors of the common room.
For now, I would have to settle with Nott.
"Nott" I called across the student body, not very loudly, but the boy in question heard me alright. He turned around, his face growing pale. His eyes flew to my wand, then to Clo who was watching the exchange silently, and then to me again.
It was in that moment that I realized that he had not known that I was also present in the scene, and that I now scared the living daylights out of him.
Good, I thought, smirking.
He lowered his head immediately, nodding his apology to my friend, his cheeks reddening in obvious anger.
"If he even looks your way the wrong way Clo" I spoke and Arielle snapped to attention, her wand out at my words. "tell me." I smirked. "I promise he will never think of even breathing in your vicinity."
"You don't need to do that Linds" spoke she, plastering a smile across her face, but I could see that the words of that worm Nott had shook her up.
"You're a friend." I spoke, moving away from them and making to board the train. "An insult to you is an insult to me."
"What insult? What happened?" demanded Arielle, her head turning from side to side in search of the enemy.
"Nothing" I muttered, glancing in every compartment as we passed them, searching for one that would be free, or at the very least not taken up by a group of timid Hufflepuffs, overachieving Ravenclaws or stupidly brave and self-confident Gryffindors. Well, now that I think about it, I was searching for people from Slytherin that I could stand for more than a couple of minutes at a time. Namely, Astoria and Daphne.
"What happened Clo?" asked Arielle, not believing a word I said. Smart.
"Well, Nott bumped into me" spoke she, and I noticed that she was uncomfortable with the subject, her tone slightly trembling and higher than it was in normal circumstances. "But really, nothing happened, Linds took care of it."
"That can't be it." Snapped Arielle, obviously noticing the same amount of uncertainty to Clo's voice as I had.
"He called her a mud-blood" spoke my sister, deciding to be ahead of Arielle who would surely turn on her next.
"I'll hex his balls off!" snarled Arielle, making to trudge forward, past me, but I held out my hand, stopping her.
"No, I handled it." I spoke, frowning as we stopped in front of the compartment with the Golden Trio. How utterly lovely.
"Yes, and I am going to handle it as well" snapped she, pushing past me.
I stopped her however, drawing my wand and her eyes narrowed.
"No. Nott is a Slytherin, you will not lay one hex on him. He is mine." I hissed at her "Or the next time one of your darling little cubs hexes one of my housemates, I will make sure to send him to the hospital wing."
Arielle narrowed her eyes even further, but in the end huffed, hiding her wand. We had an agreement, she and I. She did not touch Slytherins, and I did not touch Gryffindors, all others were fair game.
She moved past me, stretching and throwing over her shoulder.
"Fine, fine, you handle it, let's find a compartment, I want a nap."
I rolled my eyes at her, but hid my wand as well, there was no need for it at the moment.
We walked a bit further, only to find a compartment of Slytherins. There were the Greengrass sisters, and with them, to my disappointment, were Draco Malfoy, Blaise Zabini and Tracy Davis.
The latter two were sitting rather close together, and he smirked as she leaned over to him, exposing her entire cleavage, and biting on his ear.
It was my turn to huff now, annoyed at the behaviour they displayed. They could at least draw the curtains, and not ruin the reputation of the entire house, just because one of them seemed to be physically unable to keep his pants on and the other was the whore of the Slytherin house.
This, however, was not my priority, what I was set on at the moment, was getting as far as I could from the compartment.
Unfortunately for me, two of the worst imaginable things happened. The compartment next to them was empty, and Arielle strolled in, claiming a seat as her own and slouching on it, followed by my sister and Clo. The other thing was that Astoria noticed me, and smiled, drawing the attention of Zabini, the only person I would like to avoid at all costs in my schooling, and one of the few people who kept following me around like an idiot, even though I hexed him on every occasion imaginable.
A stupid grin spread across his face and he rose to his feet, ignoring the clinging girl that stuck to him as if she were glued to his person. Disgusting.
"Hello Roseycheeks" greeted he, opening the doors of the compartment before I could lock them, and entering with his attachment. He didn't seem to notice that she was trying to drool all over his neck, making my stomach twist in disgust. "Hello Melody, Hayes" greeted he, ignoring Clo, as he did on every occasion. I supposed that this was better than insulting her outright but it still riled Arielle up, and annoyed me.
"Claudia is here as well Zabini" snapped she, and to the amazement of all of us, he grinned at Arielle and turned to Clo, smiling and speaking "Hello Claudia."
The surprise of all present was apparent, Tracy stopped drooling on him and stared at him, Melody's eyes bulged out as did Clo's, while Arielle gaped at him. It seemed I was the only one to have kept any dignity in my surprise.
"I am glad that you know our names. Now, if that were all, and you did not in fact wish to demonstrate that you know how to count to six as well, you can be on your way." I spoke, waving my wand and opening the doors for him.
"You wound me Rosey" muttered he, crossing his hand across his heart dramatically, as Tracy hugged him on the side, smirking at me.
"Not fatally unfortunately." I hissed and with one cold glare, took out a book, beginning to read and ignoring the obnoxious boy. He had begun his pursuit of me last year, clearly intending to make me one of his conquests, which I had no intention on being.
"Come one Blaise" cooed Tracy, her hand lowering on his back. "I want to show you something."
He glanced down at her, than at me, and then back at her.
"You go, I'll catch up" he smirked, and he watched as she disappeared in the direction of the bathroom.
"She's damn clingy" muttered he, and grinned to me as I refused to look up. "See you later Rosey, girls" spoke he, disappearing in the opposite direction from Tracy.