Anastasia Potter was basically immortal. She knew that. She could count on one hand the things that could actually put her down for good. Fiendfyre, Dementor's and some very dark very old rituals that could annihilate a soul.
Not even Albus Dumbledore was quite sure how she had ended up that way, however he had proposed several theories. Apparently there was in existence a prophecy regarding her and Voldemort, that neither could be slain, except at the hands of the other. Fate, it would appear enforced its prophecies quite literally.
Secondly, when the dark lord had attempted to kill her as a child, her mother had used a very old, very costly ritual, her sacrifice had created a second layer of protection, one fused into Anastasia's very soul. Voldemort couldn't harm her, couldn't even bear to touch her, any curse, any wound he attempted to inflict upon her would rebound tenfold upon him.
Finally, when Voldemort had cast his final killing curse, he had been attempting to use a very dark, very ancient ritual to secure his own immortality, it involved ripping a part of his soul off and storing it in some item. As the curse rebounded, the stray soul piece had attached itself to the nearest living soul. Which happened to be little Anastasia. Her mother's protection had kicked in, and annihilated the malicious aspect of the soul piece, but allowing the burst in power and durability that the ritual provided.
All in all, it made Anastasia very very hard to kill, which somehow had made her very paranoid about the few ways she could be killed.
Which was why back in the present, the Dementor staring her in the face was terrifying her.
This was the Hogwarts express, what in Merlin's name was a Dementor doing here? They were supposed to guard Azkaban, not attack students.
Perhaps, perhaps they were here for her. She'd heard them referred to as the shadows of death before. Maybe they were finally here to claim her, they must be angry for her escaping death's grasp so many time.
The glass of the compartment's door frosted over, and freezing cold began to creep through the air, freezing the breath of those inside.
"Ana? What's out there?" Hermione's voice was oddly strained and distant, as if heard through water.
"Dementor." Ana spun away from the door as the feeling of soul crushing sadness began to get stronger. The door would only hold that foul thing for so long. Already she could see the frozen wood beginning to buckle and crack as the air became colder.
She moved back to her friends, her mind churning violently racing for some way, any way out. For a second she contemplated blasting out the window and jumping. She'd survive the fall. But...she couldn't abandon her friends. A hint of an idea sparked. "Wake Prof-"
Then the world exploded.
Wood and glass, covered in ice and rot flew into the compartment with the force of a cannon, as death itself drifted into the small room.
A scream echoed. Ana couldn't tell where from. It might have been her screaming. It tore at here eardrums like a burning knife.
A high cold voice spoke, the sound coming from every direction, and none all at once. "Avarda Kedarva!"
A softer feminine voice, pleading, crying, begging. "Not Ana! Not my Ana! Please! Kill me instead!"
Again the scream. A flash of green light.
Then the voices again.
Anastasia wasn't sure how long it went on, or how many times the scene repeated. It seemed to go on for an unknowable eternity.
Then there was a flash of silver light, and a strong soothing voice, and the cold retreated.
"Ana!" Hermione's voice cut through the darkness. Hands shook her shoulders. "Ana! Wake up! Please wake up!" Tears, yet unshed were audible in Hermione's voice.
"...hey..." Anastasia opened her eyes. Her voice crackled, and her throat was raw and strained. She pushed herself off the ground to a sitting position slowly. Blood pooled from where her nails has sliced into her palm. "Who...who screamed?"
Hermione threw her arms around Anastasia, and let out a few short half-laugh, half-sobs. "You and Luna screamed. The two of you and Neville got hit hardest by that, that thing."
She pulled back
"Thankfully professor Lupin was here, otherwise...I thought it had kissed you. You went so limp."
Anastasia stood up shakily and limped over to the disheveled Defense professor. "Thank you. I heard you saved my life."
A tired smile appeared on the man's tired face. "I think Lily and James would have returned from the dead to kill me if I let their only child be kissed by a Dementor." He broke off a chunk from a heavy slab of dark chocolate. "Here, eat this. It will help with the after effects."
"You knew my parents?" She nibbled lightly on the chocolate. Thankfully, her throat had already healed. Benefit of having a piece of Voldie's soul. Lupin was right, the chocolate seemed to soothe her battered nerves.
He laughed. "Yes, James, myself and...two other boys. We were best friends from first year. I met your mother later. The world is a worse place for their absence." His gaze swung around the cabin. "If everything is alright here, I have to go speak with the conductor. Stay put, and stay safe."
He moved out off the repaired door with a small nod to Ana.
"So, does this count towards my quota of things try to kill me at Hogwarts for this year?"
There was a spattering of nervous laughter. Everyone looked a little paler than normal. Hermione, Ron, and Ginny didn't look too bad, Ginny likely because she had been the farthest from the door, Neville and Luna looked like hell though, and Anastasia was sure she looked at least as bad if not worse.
"Don't think so Ana, see we aren't actually at Hogwarts. This was just a bonus." Neville gave her a weak smile that failed to reach his eyes.
"Damn. It was worth a try." She made an act of looking pensive. "So first year I fought Voldemort, second year Voldemort plus Basilisk, third year- I'm not quite sure how the situation can escalate from that really."
"Well, I'm assuming Dementor's, Sirius Black, and You-Know-Who, are gonna team up and try to kill you while riding an undead basilisk. It's only logical." Neville laughed.
"Please no." Hermione groaned. "Is it too much to ask for a normal year?"
Anastasia almost choked on the drink of water she'd just taken. "Hah! Normal! Around me? Ha ha! You must be kidding."
"Seriously Mione, Ana is a chaos magnet. Bad stuff is just attracted to her." Ron chortled.
"It's the wrackspurts." Luna said factually.
"Thank you Luna. What she said." Ana grinned at Hermione's face palm.
"Why am I friends with you?"
"Because you are masochistic, and I'm just that charismatic." Ana slid her arm around Hermione's shoulders. "Also I'm very, very attractive."
A textbook was slammed into her face at high speed.
There was a moment of silence before the compartment erupted into laughter.
"Okay. Okay. I admit I deserved that." Ana glared at her friends. "And it wasn't that funny." She shook her head and rubbed her jaw. If she wasn't as durable as she was, that would have left one hell of a mark.
"Just because I'm immortal doesn't mean you should use me as a punching bag."
"Aww, but it's your best use!" Hermione giggled. "I mean much as you protest, we certainly don't keep you around for your looks."
"That's it!" Ana leapt out of her seat and tackled Hermione to the ground tickling the bushy haired girl.
"Get a room!" Ron said laughing. He hopped up onto the seat to avoid the fight below.
Ana had managed to pin Hermione beneath her. While the bushy haired witch was older than her, and has a few inches hight on her, Ana's instincts were honed for combat, and her body was toned and strong. She waggled her eyebrows "maybe I will Ronald."
"Merlin Ana, you're sounding like a teenage Gilderoy!" Ron said. He then leapt out of the way to dodge the stinging hex thrown at him.
The train lurched once, then started to move again. Ana was glad for the distraction. The rough housing had been a good way to temporarily take their minds off the Dementor, but it wouldn't have lasted much longer.
"Finally! At this rate I didn't think we were actually going to be at Hogwarts this side of midnight! I want food damnit!"
"Have you ever tried thinking with anything other than your stomach Ron." Hermione groaned.
Ana laughed at her poor friend. Ron did spend aproximently all of his time thinking about food, there was no denying that. The sound of footsteps caused her attention to snap into focus. Someone was coming towards their compartment, which seeing as they were at the very back of the train, and not near a lavatory, meant it was rare to have someone approach. She listened to the muffled cadence of the footfalls. They were both too rapid and too soft to either be one person walking or running. It was at least three, and not heavy enough to be those of professor Lupin. Her mind quickly ran through lists of candidates until she noticed the soft click at the end of each third step.
"Malfoy." She hissed through clenched teeth. A light flick of her wrist brought her wand to her hand, thirteen inches of Yew, with the tail feather of Fawlks this Phoenix running through it. The brother wand in almost every way to that of Lord Voldemort. It thrummed lightly with power as she prepared a silent shield charm, finishing all but the last wand motion, and holding the spell in her mind. With her other hand she flicked her fingers through a series of mid-air runes, drawing from the knowledge and power that Voldemort had burned into her mind as a child. Red sparks began to ark between her fingers and dance lightly across her skin as she readied her trademark wandless Magic.
The stupefy running through her hand would stay close to her skin, and stay active, requiring very little power drain, and allowing a powerful form of wandless Magic, the only drawback being that the had to get into touch range of her opponent.
As expected the compartment door opened to reveal Draco Malfoy. Anastasia had to admit, the summer had done him well. He held himself with slightly more confidence, and had filled out a little. If only he hadn't been such a prick, he could have been useful, what with his political power and his wealth. Sadly he was simply an annoyance.
"Hello Malfoy." Ana forced her voice higher than normal, and brought as much ice into her tone as possible, letting a slight amount of hissing from her parselmouth nature slip in. "I thought you sat at the front of the train. Wrong end. Were you confunded? Or are you just stupid?"
The blond rolled his eyes. "Ha. Ha. Potter. Very funny. I came because I heard saw a Dementor come this way, and Parkinson said she heard you scream. Bet you passed out didn't you Potter!"
Anastasia moved deliberately, forcing her anger down. She stood and moved closer to Malfoy. "I did actually. I bet the Dementor barely bothered you."
Malfoy looked stunned. "Of course it didn't, unlike you Potter I-" he puffed out his chest. Had his foe finally realized the innate superiority of Malfoys?
"Unlike me, you don't have any bad memories you pampered brat."
"What!" Malfoy said "I-"
"I saw my parents die. I saw Voldemort come for me, and then I saw him die. What did you see? Your father refusing to buy you a pony? You breaking a nail? You are pathetic Malfoy, thinking you can come and brag to me about your life of leisure and ease." Ana grabbed his tie with her wand hand, in doing so triggering a shield spell to isolate Draco from his cronies. "Perhaps I should give you a memory for the Dementor's to show you."
She raised her hand crackling with sparks. "You know, I've been studying a lot of very interesting old spells, and I've learned to be very creative. What do you think would happen if I summoned the back of your rib cage to my hand right now? I could heal you. Then I could do it again. How many times do you think it would take for you to pass out? How long till I broke your pathetic mind?"
There was a choking sound behind her. From Neville. She wondered why.
"I've grown impatient with your idiocy. If you stay away from me and mine, the Dementor's will offer you nothing to fear. If not?" She shrugged. "I can assure you that next time you see one of those things, you'll scream until your throat bleeds."
A hand clamped down on her shoulder. "Ana! Let him go!" Hermione's voice wavered. Ana realized that it was because of fear. Fear of her.
Ana dropped Malfoy and pushed him back into his cronies before slamming the door. Draco had gone paler than she had thought possible.
"Ana! What the hell was that for! This isn't like you." Hermione's eyes were pleading.
Slapping an imaginary mask on, Ana shifted gears. "Don't worry Hermione, I was just bluffing. I wouldn't actually do any of that. It was just to scare him." She then made her eyes moisten. "And the Dementor shook me up. I just couldn't deal with him right now."
The fear in Hermione's eyes was replaced with concern. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have doubted you. He was being an ass bringing that up."
Ana almost felt guilty for manipulating her oldest, and best friend like that. Almost. She'd noticed that she'd become more skilled at manipulation since the end of last year. Small surprise since she'd spent her summer conversing with Tom. Her hand absentmindedly patted the inner pocket of her robe where the diary of Tom Riddle was safely stored. She began to think of the end of last year.
Ginny had been taken down into the chamber of secrets, Lockhart had managed to get himself and Ron trapped in a cave in, and Anastasia had been forced to proceed alone. She'd found Ginny cold and still, the phantasm of Tom Riddle, aka young Voldemort standing over her.
Tom had ranted about how he was going to suck the life out of Ginny and make himself reborn.
That had actually made her laugh. She'd asked him if he really thought that if he killed Ginny he'd ever make it out of the castle. Standing between him and freedom, was an unkillable girl prophesied to be able to kill Voldemort, the entire Hogwarts staff, and a mere floo trip away, the entire Auror corps.
It hadn't taken much after that to convince him to come quietly, and help her fake evidence of a confrontation.
She'd pocketed the diary, and emerged with artfully torn robes, carrying a rescued Ginny.
The Weasley family, the Staff of Hogwarts, the entire student body even praised her for her heroism, and she had managed to acquire a powerful resource. Tom was very knowledgeable about the darker aspects of magic, and their uses, and was just a potent font of knowledge in general. That, and his main weapon, possession was nullified by her mother's protection.
She had complicated giving it to Dudley for his birthday. Trading Tom or Dudley would be in her mind, very profitable. Maybe next year. For now, she needed to ensure his loyalty.
Snapping back to the present, Ana leaned back in her seat and observed her friend's and allies. This was going to be an interesting year for sure.
A/N: This is basically just a result of me wanting to play with a Harry Potter that is much much more aggressive, and much more dark. Then I decided I wanted to play with immortality, and the fear of death.
Please review, and let me know what you think.