Falling From Grace

The cold brisk wind nipped at my face as I stood unmoving, watching them lower the casket into the ground. I, being the only one present to witness such tragedy.

The graveyard was cold and grey, perfect weather for the condition. I listened to the minister's monotone voice, something I had heard many times. So many times in fact that I had withstood every funeral and practically memorized the Father's speech by now.

This dead man before me would have turned over in his grave knowing that we was being buried in a muggle tomb. All he ever wanted as his time and life wore on, was on his dieing day, to be buried among his own kind. And to this day, I will feel forever more as if I have failed him all the same. After everything I've ever done, everything he's ever done, I feel as if I've failed him as the last standing intelligence of his whereabouts.

I had been abandoned at the age of eight, and after all hell broke loose, the only person to take me in had been the doorstep I had been dropped off at. He was an old man, a wizard completely aware of what I was fully capable of, what I could actually do.

It hurt, it hurt a lot. I suppose not many people new what it felt like to be walked out on. To watch everything you've ever known take one look at you and step out the front door without a word. In a way, I might have been to little to understand, to little to fully comprehend the situation, but the scar the memory bares on my mind will be yet another I nail in my coffin, another memory I will take to the grave. I had never taken the abandonment well, but my mother was a veela, so she never stayed long in one place, and my father was just another wizard. Nothing special, nothing different.

Now, I watched what had been seven years of my life buried beneath the ground. I had nowhere to go, nothing to do. Everything I ever knew about the world was being flushed down into the ground along with every other belief I ever held close to me, every way of life I ever knew.

Suddenly with a gust of wind, I looked to the sky and found that unexpectedly, in a whispering pound of sudden winds, someone had apparated before me. Looking to the minister in shock, I watched as the man that had used magic out in the open turned to the pastor and threw a handful of dust his way.

Leaping forward, I watched as if in slow motion as he dove for my torso and grabbed an arm around my waist, taking me to god knows where.

The sickening feeling of a side along apparation made me sick to my stomach and as I hit the dusty floors of where we had landed, a steady lurch gave way to my stomach as I forced myself upwards from the ground. I had more pride then the stay down when knocked about, I knew more of what it felt like to loose everything and still walk like I had something left to live for.

As a wizard I had always acceded in magic, for it was the one thing my body and blood craved for. It was my every minute of every day. Perhaps that was why I had lived through life so successfully. I had inherited my mothers' looks and built the rest for myself. The Dark Arts had been my strongest area other then positions, and that's why I had been so good at transforming myself from a fifteen year old girl into a twenty five year old woman.

It seemed sick and twisted. Who would want to excel their age rate, and in some theory they were right. But when you had nothing left to live for, I needed a place to escape, a place in which I had someone with me all the time and there was always something to do.

I had made my way to a First Petty Officer, and quickly. Climbing the ranks with courage and experience. Now, I stand in my white formal uniform brushing the dust from my shoulders as I picked myself up and looked around confused.

The room was dusty and dull. Reeking of a human absence and needing much cleaning and work. The windows were covered with tattered rags and the only pieces of furniture were a few spare chairs, a cot and a small, off balance table. Sighing, I reached for my wand in my pocket to find it still present.

Phoenix feather and a dragon heartstring, very rare and very temperamental, but unique nonetheless. "Hello?" I called out, a little above average volume as I searched the room for another.

Suddenly, an idea hit me. With a heavy intake of breath, I let out a ear piercing scream that filled the halls around me echoed throughout the house. In a matter of seconds I had whipped out my wand as I heard the pounding footsteps approaching. The second he through the door open, I yelled aloud and pointed my wand pointedly as a jet of blue light shot out the end. "Stupefy!"

Seeing the young man's crumpled posture on the ground petrified, I ran from the room and looked around desperately for a way out. Seeing a block of stairs leading downward, I bolted for them and broke into a run jumping as many as possible without getting myself injured.

Turning down a hall, I found a door hanging open as a group of adults discussed heatedly a matter I didn't care to elaborate on. Ignoring the searing inconvenience of my unmasking, I watched as all the faces turned towards me. Slightly surprised.

Turning the other way, I took off down the hall, only faintly aware of a woman's voice calling two people by the name of Fred and George, and by the tone of her voice, she wasn't planning on inviting them to tea.

Winding hallways made me feel as if I were running forever and the distant sound of feet pounding made my heart race every few seconds. Rounding one last corner with my wand raised, I was suddenly aware I had been grabbed. Dropping my wand I cursed under my breath and went for my second tactic.

I had always taken to battle, hand to hand combat being my favourite, so in a fury of kicks and punches, it was not surprising I found myself beating my opponent, but I was also reminded that I didn't had a wand, while the perpetrator did.

With a loud sign, I could hear the voice before I felt the spell. "Locomotor Mortis…" in an instant I found my legs bound together as I readied myself for the impact of the cold hard ground. I didn't know what it was with these people and making me fall, but it was very unladylike.

"Mobiliarbus…" it called out as I was faintly aware of my body moving without will. Groaning, I attempted to turn and face that of the person who had been carrying me only to find myself facing two boys, identical to each other, twins.

A sudden burst of anger shot through me as I considered the unknown gift so few were aware of. "Serpensortia…" I hissed under my breath as suddenly, unexpected I watched as the twin's eyes widened in shock. A long, black snake fell from the end of the castors wand as I was dropped to the ground.

I had always been special, that much I had known for a while. Why, I knew not for I never knew the family I once thought I had. "Bring it to me. Bring to me the wizards' wand and set me free slithering one." I hissed out in Parseltongue. Willingly, it slid over rapidly and took in it's mouth the wand of the castor as the red heads sat and watched in shock.

Taking the wand she removed the ropes and rid the snake as she turned to the red heads. By the time she had turned on them they were rising to their feet and the one ready with a wand was preparing to duel. I had always hated duelling, someone always seemed to get hurt.

"I'm sorry." I called out as I turned to them and yelled out, "Bombarda!" aiming my wand the to front of the twins and watching as the floor before them exploded, throwing off the young wizards original curse. "Colloshoo." I muttered as I through the wand back at the stuck bodies and made a run for the door, forgetting entirely the fact that the other had already had a wand.

"Carpe Retractum!" he hollered as I fell backwards against the pull of their rope. I watched as my nails groped across the dusty floor as I felt myself being pulled back against my will.

Suddenly, the pound of many footsteps echoed throughout the house as it got closer and closer. Anxiety heightening, I made one last lunge for the door only to be whip lashed back towards the two red headed twins.

Cursing under my breath, I turned to face those who had gathered around me. There were several. The twins had somehow managed to unstuck themselves from the floor, and they were joined by a middle aged red headed woman, plump, pity fresh in her eyes. Beside her stood a man with red hair also, watching intently. Behind them was one more, a black haired man. Well dressed, with observing eyes and long black hair. It suited him, for he seemed of a good looking man, though years of worry, stress and hardship wore on his tender eyes.

"Definitely a handful Sirius. I can see the resemblance." one of the twins laughed as he smiled devilishly and took my forearm, pulling him up with him.

Shrugging of his prying hands, I turned and looked into each one of the faces. "What's your name young one?" the older lady asked softly. When I didn't refuse, the others just shrugged their shoulders. "My name is Adrienne…" I finally answered hesitantly.

"Just Adrienne? No last name?" one of the twins asked as I caught the eye of the dark haired man. Breaking eyesight, I answered coolly as a small smile broke out onto my face. Not that I prided myself on having no last name, I just couldn't drop the irony.

"No… no last name. Just Adrienne." I sighed defeated, the smile never faultering as the dark haired man's face remained neutral.

"Well she doesn't resemble."

"Not even a little bit."

"Nothing alike."

"Skill in battle though."

"And feisty."

By this time I had drown out the voices of the twins as I tried to digest what their over all meaning behind their confusion meant. Though the idea of their sibling talk was amusing, I couldn't comprehend what they were actually saying. Who didn't I resemble? What did my battling skills have anything to do with why I was here?

"Well this has been great and I've had a lot of fun, but if you strangers would be so kind as to hand me back my wand, I have more important things to be doing then getting whiplash from Dumb and Dumber over here. I would gladly get out of your hair if you'd let me." I added as the twins turned to me and stepped right in my line of path.

"Okay, now I see the resemblance." one of them mused as a sudden pounding of footsteps shook the stiar case and I came face to face with three others. Another tall and lanky red head, a bushy brown haired girl and a boy with round rimmed glasses and dark hair. Turning, I met eyes with the dark haired boy and instantly I was thrown into a world I didn't know.

The room was dark and unforgiving, the faint cry of a baby boy made concentration all the more difficult as I watched a dark figure stalk towards the closed door, only their shadow visible through the crack.

In a sudden bang of explosion the door flew from it's hinges and the woman gave a mighty shriek. Her fear and compassion filed through me as I watched the scene play out before me, feeling helpless and secluded as it happened.

In a sudden flash of green light the mother fell to the floor in a lifeless heap as the figure stalked towards the child.

With another flash the world before me disappeared as I returned back to reality. Looking back into the eyes of the boy, he was breathing heavily, such as I and I found myself the center of attention as eyes flew back and forth between the dark haired boy and myself.

"Harry Potter…" the words barely left my lips as I spoke. I had heard legends of him growing up, but was always lead to believe that they were never true. Nothing could conquer or be so powerful as to have an impact so simple, yet so large.

"How do you to know each other?" the youngest red head piped in immediately, as if it were an insult, or offending to him knowing that someone else had known him. Though as it stood I had no such relation.

"What just happened?" the bushy haired girl demanded as I took a weary step back.

"Why am I here?" I asked cautiously, fully aware of my surroundings and the current location of my own wand.

"You are here because you were living a lie and we have brought you to the surface. Welcome back! Join the club. We're working on making our own custom robes." someone spoke from beside me, but I couldn't really hear. Everything from pity to hate and an unreadable expression passed the black haired man's face as I sat looking at him.

"No, I was living the cold reality of a life that you know nothing about. With a coward for a father, and a conceded mother." I spat as I looked to the face of the red haired twin, the one I thought to be the last to speak.

"You will watch your mouth while you are in this house, what you say is not true!" the black haired man countered as his eyes clouded with frustration. A sudden raging hate filed through me as I cut the man off from further rants.

"You know nothing!" I yelled as everyone looked taken aback confused and curious of my outburst. Before continuing I turned to the black haired man, my rage mostly confided in him. "And the reality that you so desperately cling too will be the end of a fate that you cannot control. Live in your own world and think the way you will, but release me back to my own and leave me be. I do not wish to be here and I have no connection to you people." I stated as I took another step back.

The red haired woman's eyes filled with pity once again as she stepped forward and placed a reassuring hand on my shoulder. "Did you ever know, or meet your father young one?" she asked lightly as my hands trembled at the thought.

"No… and I swear to Merlin that I never will." I hissed under my breath, holding my head with what pride I had left and refusing to meet the eyes of anyone.

"Well, to late for that now aren't you?" one of the red haired twins grinned as I turned to him in confusion.

"Fred!" what I presumed his mother scolded as the red haired boy stepped forward and placed a long arm around the black man's shoulders.

"Welcome home!" he called as he looked between the two of us.

Shock and anger coursed through me and I turned to face the man with black hair. The look on his face just as sour as the thoughts rushing through my head. "That man is not my father." I hissed as a small grin played on the lips of his mouth.

"Your name is Samantha Adrienne Bridges, daughter of Jessica Bridges. You were born in West Sussex in England and your mother left you when you were very young. You were alone for the first year but with your to-young knowledge of what you could do and who you were, you were blinded from any real feelings, hate being the of few you let in. You're cold and bitter, only ever showing compassion to the man who took you in, Mr Donavan Shipley. You were home schooled in magic and you excel far more then you should. You're a hatred full soul because of your abandonment and you hate everything to do with the world that left you behind." he smirked smugly as the anger welled up inside.

"That proves nothing. " I hissed under my breath as he sighed and shook his head reluctantly.

"You won't let anyone in because your scared of being left again. Completely normal and not the hardest to modify. You are my daughter weather you like it or not. You carry my blood just as much as you carry the woman's that left you."

"If you're my real father and you know all these things… then why didn't you do anything? You left my mother and I when I was just a small child and she resented me for it. Claiming that I was just like you. Could make people laugh, devilish smile, every time she looked at me she saw you. She never even saw me for who I really was. That's when I had to change." I stated coldly. "If you were so eager to leave us, then I didn't want to be reminded of who you were every time I looked in the mirror. I didn't want to be reminded of a world that left me behind, left me for dead." I continued, seeing the unreadable look of emotion turn in his eyes.

"If you were really ever the father I needed, you would have been there. You would have saved me from life and you would have made sure I was safe. You would have acted like a father." I said coldly, a hard glare fixed into my eyes.

"Just because you didn't see me, it doesn't mean I wasn't watching." he replied just as strongly.

"No… it just means you never there." I concluded, pushing past the others and stalking towards the middle of the hall. I suppose no one bothered to stop me simply because I didn't appear to be leaving. But I was simply walking over to my wand.

In a simple movement to pick it up, I found that as I turned around, everyone before me had a wand of some sort pointed directly at me.

"Well this seems at least a little unfair. Don't you think?"

My Harry Potter stories are new and I'm just trying to get into the gist of writing them. I'm not sure how they are for reading but if you'd let me know I'd love it!