1st September 2017, POV: Nordi Exile

The same as every year, September the first was the busiest day for the platform 9 and 3/4 at Kings Cross Train Station.

Thousands of Wizards and Witches - Hogwarts students and their families - crowded the Platform, pushing large trunks on trolleys, yelling to each other to make their voices through the noise, and making commotion.

The crowd was so thick, that nobodyhad even paid attention to three high-ranked Death Eaters from the Inner Circle, ones of the most important individuals in the Wizarding Britain, making their way through the Platform. The three prominent individuals accompanied their children, who were about to start their first year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

Nordi had to admit to Draco, that he had found himself on the Kings Cross station for the first time in his life. Well, not surprisingly, his blonde friend mocked him mercilessly after that confession- being on the famous Platform 9 and 3/4 for the first time at thirty-two years of age, was indeed something to be made fun of.

'Give it a rest, Draco. I've just never used Hogwarts Express as a mean to travel to school. I've always thought that spending ten hours on the journey was a ridiculous waste of time.'

'No wonder you've always lacked social skills. Travelling to school by train is an important part of growing up. He who had never ridden Hogwarts Express, never had a real childhood.'

Nordi became slightly irritated.

'You know, Draco, back then, I couldn't have cared less about Hogwarts. I had some more important issues going on, like for instance...hmm, I don't know... the War?'

Bella overtook the two men and looked at them annoyed.

'Nordi-boy, Draco-boy, I don't know if you are aware, but the three of us is rather a distinguish bunch. Arguing on a train station, you are not exactly setting a good example to all those Wizards and Witches. Not to mention our children.' she said in an innocent voice.

'Let's just agree that our children are lucky not to be growing up in the war time. Let them take a full advantage of their time at school, involving the Hogwarts Express ride.' Draco said quickly.

Nordi nodded and looked back at the children, who walked several feet behind the grown-ups, pushing their trunks in front of them.

Nordi frowned, looking at his eleven-years-old daughter. Sanctimonia pushed her trolley with her head down, eyes turned towards the ground. Unlike most of the first-year students, who eyed the platform in admiration, she seemed to be uninterested in the surroundings at all.

Sanctimonia had her mother's hair- silky and light-blond, her mother's fragile frame, and her mother's graceful, soft moves. From Nordi's side, she inherited bright, silver eyes and high cheekbones.

Two other kids walking by Sanctimonia's side, behaved much more... well, like kids. Scorpious Malfoy and Delphini Black were engaged in a lively conversation, pointing their hands to show each other anything they found interesting on the way.

Delphini had Bella's soft, heart-shaped face and full lips, but her amazing crimson eyes, smooth moves and heavy, fully-developed Dark Aura clearly indicated her Father.

Scorpious was much like Draco; light-blonde hair, aristocratic facial features and skinny frame made him impossible to mistake with any other family than the Malfoys.

'Sanctimonia, please, hurry up, otherwise you'll miss the train.' Nordi said to his daughter. Her answer was preluded by an angry look of her bright eyes.

'Father, I have asked you many times to use a short form of my given name.' she snarled.

Nordi frowned.

'Alright, Sanny, but keep in mind that it's a childish nickname. You are going to Hogwarts; don't you think it is the high time to start acting more mature?'

The girl gasped in anger and narrowed her eyes at Nordi.

'You can call me however else you want, or not speak to me at all. Just do not use the name "Sanctimonia"!'

Nordi sighed. He came up with his daughter's first name himself. Sanctimonia, Purity, was the most beautiful name he could think of. It was the first part of Malfoys' family motto- "Sanctimonia Vincent Semper"- Purity Will Always Conquer. In this context Sanctimonia could be translated as Blood Purity. Nordi, Luna and Bella loved that name, however- the girl seemed to hate it from the moment she was old enough to comprehend.

Not only the first name was an issue. Sanctimonia, growing up, became more and more unbearable. Nordi was relieved that from now on, at Hogwarts, Luna will be in charge of their daughter. Nordi's wife was more likely to understand mood sways of a pre-teenage girl.

Bella turned her head towards the blonde-haired girl.

'Sanny, I think your first name is just fabulous. It's noble, it sounds nice, and it has a beautiful meaning.' she said.

Sanctimonia rolled her eyes.

'I am aware of that name's meaning, Godmother Bellatrix, just as I am aware that people like you and my Father find it beautiful. However, forgive me - I don't.'

Nordi narrowed his eyes. He knew his daughter was never really fond of Bella for some reason, but he couldn't allow her to be rude and disrespectful, especially in public.

'Sanctimonia Bellatrix Exile.' he said harshly. 'You will apologize to your Godmother. Now.'

Sanny rolled her eyes again.

'I'm sorry, Godmother Bellatrix.' she muttered.

Bella smiled to Nordi.

'Don't make a fuss, Nordi-boy. It will be her first time away from home; she is clearly nervous.'

'I wonder how your daughter and Draco's son can behave decently, being in an exactly the same position.' Nordi muttered.

They reached the long, red, steam engine train. Scorpious and Delphi stopped by the door to say their goodbyes. Having bidden farewell to his father and Aunt, Scorpious lifted his hand towards Nordi to give him a high-five.

'Smash that term, Scorpio!' Nordi said, winking to the boy. 'Show all those wimpy kids who is the best.'

'You bet it, Uncle Nordi!' the boy answered eagerly.

'Oi, watch out, Exile!' Draco snarled. 'I don't want my son to get into trouble just the first day of school... just like you did!'

'Chill out, Draco. Your son knows what to do. He is nearly as skilled and definitely not as reckless as I was back then.' Nordi answered, amused.

Then, Delphi approached him, smiling, and opened her arms to be hugged.

'Delphi, I bet you will make your Father and Mother proud !' he said sincerely. That was a fact - Hogwarts was going to have an extraordinary prodigy that year, and her name was Delphini Black.

Delphi answered him in Parseltongue. A series of soft hisses; she was aware that her Godfather loved when she spoke to him this way. Nordi was able to understand the language, having studied Parsel- and Naga Runes, however, he was obviously unable to speak. He answered his goddaughter in English.

'Sure, I'll be really happy if you owl me once in a while. And yes, It would be cool if you keep our correspondence in Parsel Runes. I'd love to have some practice.'

'~I promise to write to you often, Godfather.~' She smiled, answering in Parseltongue, and stepped aside making a place for Sanctimonia.

Sanny was looking at the other girl with disgust; she hated Parseltongue. When she still was a young child, Nordi caught her once on calling Delphi a "freak" for using the language. Back then, Nordi and Luna grounded their daughter for a month.

'Hey, Sanny, will you hug your old man before departing?' Nordi asked his daughter, knowing the answer already.

'No.'

'So maybe high-five? Or a handshake?' he asked.

'I'm good.'

'Do you want me to owl you once in a while?'

'Father.' the girl said impatiently. 'You were the one who told me to hurry up. Please step aside and let me enter the train.'

Nordi stepped aside, disappointed.

He let Draco help the three children to levitate their luggage inside. He stood with Bella on the platform, looking at the train's windows.

'I'm worried about her.' Nordi muttered to his best friend.

'It's a phase. She's an eleven-yeasr-old girl. She will grow out of it. Besides, now she will be with Luna. Mother can always understand her daughter the best.' Bella said softly.

'Maybe you're right. Nevertheless, I envy your relationship with Delphi, or even Draco's relationship with Scorpious for that matter.' he answered.

'Maybe Delphi and Scorpious are just more mature. Perhaps Sanny is a late bloomer. She will grow out of being a brat.'

'Yeah.' Nordi muttered, spotting Draco heading back their side. 'Let's go back to the Headquarters, to our Lord. It's nothing more for us here.'

Three Death Eaters grabbed each other by the hands and disapparated from the platform

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POV: Sanctimonia Exile

Sanctimonia made her way along the train carriage, following reluctantly the two super-prodigies in front of her.

She took a quick glance out of the train's window. Another super-prodigy- her pathetic excuse for a Father- has already dissaparated, not even having waited for the train to depart.

The girl rolled her eyes and stopped, as Delphi and Scorpious pushed their trunks into one of the compartments. She peeped inside it and frowned. Delphi and Scorpious were shaking hands with Leo Nott and Darius Flint - their parents friends' children, who were frequent guests at the Headquarters.

Sanny wasn't fond of Leo and Darius. She didn't really like any of the people involved with the Headquarters, for that matter.

'Come, Sanny, take a seat.' Delphi invited the girl.

Delphi looked hesitantly, but entered the compartment and sat down. Te train budged and departed from the station.

'So, Scorpio, Sanny and Delphi, how your summer was?' Leo asked, pulling a book out of his trunk.

'Brilliant.' Delphi smiled. 'Although my Mother had hired private tutors for me when I was five, that summer I had actually a chance to practice a little bit with Mother herself.'

'Awesome!' Darius' eyes widened. 'Training with Lady Bellatrix Black herself... That must be sick! Do you train with your Father, Scorpio?'

'My Father is really busy as a Squad Commander, but he actually finds a little bit of time to practice with me every single evening.' Scorpious said. 'Each night, I show him the spells I have learned during the daytime from our tutors.'

'What about you, Sanny?' Leo asked.

The girl snarled.

'Even if my Father begged me to train with him, I would have told him to sod off.' she muttered.

The boys exchanged unimpressed looks.

'But Commander Exile is a genius.' Leo said. 'He won the Battle of Hogwarts, didn't he?'

'The merit went to him for some reason, but he definitely had not won by himself.' she answered. 'My father has a status of oh-such-a-hero, but in reality he is nothing but overrated, unbelievably stubborn old sod.'

The four children went silent, staring at her. Sanny was sure that none of them would ever talk about their own Father this way.

'Sanny.' Scorpious said cautiously. 'Don't be disrespectful. Your Father isn't famous for nothing. He did awesome things during the War. My Father has told me all the stories; they had been schoolmates and comrades-in-arms at the time.'

'My Mother can confirm all those stories as his other comrade-in-arms.' Delphi added. 'What is more... my Father can confirm them, too.'

Sanctimonia gasped. Delphi didn't usually use her Father's name to intimidate others. She didn't brag about being the Dark Lord's daughter too often, although everybody in the compartment were aware of this. Delphi might not have a lot of daily contact with her Father, but Sanny knew how much the girl admired and respected him.

Delphini's identity was a problem. Sanctimonia could never speak her mind freely around the girl, having known that she would repeat her controversial opinions to her parents in no-time. Scorpious was another threat; he had a strong bond with Draco Malfoy and wouldn't hesitate to sneak on her to his Father as well.

Sanny's status as Nordi Exile's daughter gave her enough credit, to have many times gotten out with talking back and being potty-mouthed in general. Insulting her own Father was almost a daily routine, so Scorpio and Delphi have not been paying much attention to it anymore, except for giving her an earful once in a while. However, if Sanctimonia started expressing her opinions about other valid issues, it could not have ended good for her.

She decided to leave the compartment and look for a different place to spend the journey. She had enough of Delphi and Scorpious at the Headquarters;why bother to endure their presence in the train, too?

Disregarding questioning looks, she grabbed her trunk and stormed out, slamming the door. She was walking along the train carriage, until she spotted a compartment with only two students inside. A girl and a boy, clearly young, looking like fellow first-years.

'Excuse me.' she said, opening the door. 'Are those seats free?'

A chubby-faced, dark-haired boy smiled to her.

'Yes, come in.' he said in a soft voice.

'I'm Aiden Longbottom.' the boy introduced himself. 'This is Lily Potter.' he indicated a ginger-haired girl beside him.

Sanny was sure that she had heard those family names somewhere before, although, she was also sure that no people of those names have ever been in the HQ. As far as she knew, there were no Death Eaters named like this.

'Nice to meet you, I'm Sanctimonia Exile.' she said.

The boy and girl exchanged meaningful looks; Sanny felt awkward.

'I hate my first name.' she added quickly. 'My pathetic excuse for a Father came up with it. I prefer to be called Sanny.'

The boy smiled with a clear relief.

'Sanny.' he said softly. 'It's not your first name that intrigued me, it's your last name. I've recognized it and Lily also did. But considering the fact that you have a rather poor opinion about your Father, I will ask bluntly: your Father is...'

'An important Death Eater, yes.' Sanctimonia cut him off quickly. 'An almost worshipped celebrity, "hero" of the last War. But believe me: I don't associate myself with my Father in any way, so if you two also have a poor opinion of him, you may speak freely.'

The chubby boy - Aiden -nodded slowly.

'Well. We... you know, our parents, Lily's and mine, are good friends. They are also... members of a certain organization.' he said cautiously, eyeing the girl.

The ginger-haired skinny girl with freckled face nudged him gently.

'Aiden, I don't think we should...' she whispered worriedly.

Aiden turned to her.

'Lily, Sanny said herself, that she doesn't like her Father and the things he does. Right, Sanny?'

'Right!' Sanny said eagerly. 'But, Aiden... The organization you've mentioned. I thought that after the War all the Wizarding organizations had been abolished? That's what my excuse for a Father said, anyway.'

'That's why we are being so cautious.' the boy explained. 'This organization is illegal.'

Sanny's eyes widened.

'Illegal? Like... that it isn't supposed to exist?' she whispered.

Lily put her index finger on her lips.

'Shhhhhhh.' she whispered. 'If anyone of THEIR KIND found out about its existence, our families would have been sent off to Azkaban.'

'Have you ever heard the name "Order of the Phoenix"?' Aiden asked.

Sanctimonia nodded.

'Of course. Old sod... I mean, Father... has spent half of his life hunting down Order's members. But now the Order doesn't exist anymore.'

The chubby boy shook his head.

'That's the point: it does exist. We are active underground. It's not a lot of us, but the organization is still functional.' he explained.

Sanny felt that she is blushing from excitement. Her Father would kill for such information! Almost every day, he, Uncle Draco, Godmother Bellatrix and the others were busy hunting down the "ex-Order's members" and those who were opposing the Dark Lord. However, Sanny was sure that none of them knew that there is an entire working organization out there, that can one day pose a danger to them!

'What do you guys do? I mean, in the Order of the Phoenix?' she asked eagerly.

'We fight against the current regime.' Aiden said proudly. 'We distribute our own press organ to Witches and Wizards, because the "Daily Prophet" only contains lies. We broadcast our radio auditions with the news. We perform acts of sabotage. Soon, when the organization grows stronger, we are going to start attacks on Death Eaters' homes, and later, maybe we will also take over their Headquarters and end their rules.'

Sanny blushed.

'You know... I live there. I mean, in the Headquarters.' she confessed.

Aiden shook his head soothingly.

'You're a daughter of a prominent Death Eater, so I'm not surprised you live there. It doesn't matter, as long as you are willing to help us and support us.'

Sanny nodded quickly.

'Yes! Yes, I do! How do I apply for membership?'

Aiden looked at her amused.

'It's a quick decision. You... really must hate your Dad, right?' he asked.

'I hate him and everything he represents.' she said gravely. 'I want to join you.'

Lily nodded, looking at Aiden.

'Once, there used to be an age limit to become a Member. Now, after the Order had been decimated, they accept everyone regardless of age. We are in a desperate need of people to fight.' she said.

'That is why we're planning to spread the recruitment news amongst the Hogwarts students. We want to spread the idea, and enroll as many as possible. However, as you can tell, this is a very dangerous assingment.' the boy added.

Sanny was stunned.

'Indeed it is.' she muttered. 'You are aware that now THEY are the ones to rule at Hogwarts?'

T h e y. How easy came for her disassociate herself with the Death Eaters, her family, and people like Scorpious and Delphi. She was going to get a new affiliation now!

'We know.' Aiden admitted. 'That's why we must be so cautious and careful. We must not get caught by any of the teachers; what is more, we must watch out for a big part of the student body, too.'

Sanny's heart started racing. It was a real thing, a real issue. It was also extremely dangerous. How dangerous, she was perfectly aware, however- she had to make sure that Aiden and Lily know what they are really about to face.

'Aiden. Are you aware what they can... do to you? Whether I like it or not I am a daughter of one of them. If they suspect you, they can filter through your mind efortlessly. You guys know about Legilimency, right? And if Mind Magic fails, they have also... other ways of extracting the truth out of you. They have Veritaserum Potion. And they can also... curse you, to make you tell the truth.'

Aiden nodded, looking her in the eyes.

'I know, Sanny, but you also must know that we are not just a bunch of kids who are about to start a rebellion. We have backup, we are supported by the Order itself, we are acting on its behalf.'

'Aiden.' Sanctimonia said, narrowing her eyes. 'Does that mean that the recruitment to the Order an assingment you've gotten from your higher-ups?'

Aiden looked reluctantly at Lily, and the readhead girl nodded.

'It's an official assingment.' he admitted. 'I received it from my Father, Neville Longbottom.'

'His Father and my Father are the ones who reinstated the Order of the Phoenix after its nearly total disintegration.' Lily explained. 'Our Fathers hope to find a large supportive group at Hogwarts. They gave us permission to take things into our charge at school.'

Sanny has never been so excited. At last, she will be a part of something big and meaningful. At last, she will stand up to her Father and his ridiculous ideas.

And the task they were facing - it was so dangerous, and yet so exciting! Sanny couldn't wait to start recruitment for the Order. She will show everyone what she is capable of.

'Being a part of an illegal, underground organization which fights against everything what my stupid old man believes in. How COOL is that!' she whispered.

Aiden smiled.

'I think this is a start of something groundbreaking, Sanny.' he said. 'Everything depends on us.'