Note:

ABNORMAL, adj.
Not conforming to standards in matters of thought and conduct. To be independent is to be abnormal, to be abnormal is to be detested.
― Ambrose Bierce, The Devil's Dictionary and Other Works

While this story has been rated as a "T" I will occasionally be touching the "M" rating. Mostly due to the dark themes that will arise and for certain situations as well. For new readers, I'm a big fan of realistic situations and that'll be shown throughout this story.

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I.
Prologue

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A strong thunder rattled the bedroom window panes, the thunderous sound strong enough to reverberate through the full-length mirror that stood before me. On the other side of the bedroom windows, a strong gust of wind picked up, seeming to accompany what appeared to be an encroaching storm. With the change of the natural weather, the sunlight that once filled the bedroom and greeted me in the morning slowly disappeared. It was only a quarter past three of the afternoon according to the clock that claimed the space above the bedroom doorway – far too early for the sun to even set.

A storm was approaching.

Standing as straight as I could with my legs fifteen inches apart and with the sole of my feet planted firmly on the floor, I slowly bent my waist forward; with my waist giving no resistance as when I first started these exercises, I focused on the muscle pull behind my upper thighs. One would think I was merely stretching them out but that assumption would be far from the truth. It was, as I held my position, that I felt the dull throbbing behind my kneecaps – the signal that my knees wanted to go with the natural force and buckle as they normally should but I kept firm. It was not the muscles I was concerned with, but the bones that held the ligaments together. After all, by pushing myself to do these routine stretches and exercises, it helped my recuperating from the 'accident' of two months ago – something that should have taken months considering the severity of it.

As always, I was both pleased by how quick my recuperation was. Even Bellatrix, I'd dare say, was amazed but not by my health I'm sure of that but of my perseverance. Which I will admit I was pleased to know coming from her but still enough to be miffed by – she should know of my potential despite how I started about.

I suppose I should be content that her expectations about me were slowly changing. It was just a matter of time before I cinched her admiration with a fantastic feat and make her proud of the daughter she had despite the "handicaps" I was born with.

Not to toot my own horn but being born as a healthy newborn was not enough for her. It would only be a couple of years later that my "handicaps" would be most apparent; naturally, it wouldn't had been noticed for the first couple of years of my life because there was none. It would only be after she appeared that they suddenly surfaced because she stated it so.

Better yet, that's when she suddenly appeared.

"My dear mother," I muttered sarcastically under my breath as I pushed forward only to suddenly stand up straight with a sharp gasp. With one hand instinctively going to my lower abdomen, the other shot out to grasp the wooden edge of the mirror – of course, I mused to myself sardonically, bones were one thing and muscles another.

Letting out a slow hiss as the wave of pain dissipated, I moved myself ever-so-slowly to a more relaxing position. No longer holding myself rigidly as before, I allowed my hands to settle themselves against my hips.

Despite the occasional sharp pains that would flared up when I focused on these exercises, it sure as hell beat the alternative of being bedridden for a month or possibly more. While the medicing was similar to Skele-Gro, it still depended on the speed of the individual who consumed the nasty liquid to recuperate. So it went without saying that I was more than just eager to return to my normal physical self. Granted, my "accident" had kept me from completing my sixth year at Hogwarts but that is not to say I flunked out of school. I managed to take those dreaded exams at a much later date and still received high marks; naturally, that made me a shoo-in for my seventh year at Hogwarts.

Surprisingly, that was the least of importance to me considering the situation I was in – well, I should say for everyone because we were all living in interesting times and lucky me, I so happened to be on the second row to witness everything.

Despite the cautionary tale from my Healer to not push myself if I felt any kind of pain while doing my stretches, I repositioned my legs as they once were when a strong thunder shook the very mirror that stood before me. Well, that explained everything I mused to myself as I turned my attention to the two full-length bedroom windows.

The storm had arrived.

As I was about to return to my stretches that I was interrupted from for the second time, I heard what I thought to be voices from afar. Curiously, I decided to take a look to see if I spotted anyone familiar walking up the path to the manor. Considering these last couple of days had resulted a slew of visitors stopping by -some unwelcomed-, I wanted to see if there was anyone recognizable. Standing behind the sheer curtains of one of the two full-length windows, I pushed aside the sheer material and gazed down the path. Luckily, my bedroom was located right above the entrance into the Malfoy Manor so I had a clear view of those arriving and leaving.

I was proven right about the voices when I saw three dark figures flanking two others, but it was the one that leading them that caught my attention. Still within shadows, I could tell this person was holding a captive. As they neared the front gate that held a light post that illuminated the pathway, this person was instantly brought into light and I recognized him as Scabior, a well-known Snatcher alongside Fenrir Greyback. As their titled implied, they were assigned to round up those "undesirable", specifically muggle borns and blood-traitors. But why were they bringing their captives here when they should be taking them to the Ministry? As if to answer my question, the other two snatchers ushered their captives into the light and that's all I needed to recognize who those two were.

Ronald Weasley and Hermione Granger.

Long gone was my interest for my daily stretches as my eyes widen at the sight of those two. For months they had been wanted for their connection with Harry Potter who was last seen in the city of London; those three had been fugitives since July. Now here they were... minus Harry himself.

Two out of three, not bad.

I then noticed a dark shadow approaching the front gates and once the figure was within the light, I recognized it as it belonged to that of my mother, Bellatrix. Too far to hear their conversation, I noticed how Scabior pushed his captive into the gate.

From the distance –before he even pushed his captive against the gate– , I wasn't able to recognized him; the way Scabior held him as they neared the entrance and how he pushed him to the gate for Bellatrix to see closely, it dawned on me that he was no mere catch... but something more.

It couldn't be Harry Potter himself, right?

"No way," I muttered to myself as I pressed my face against the window to get a better view but all I could see was the back view of Bellatrix. "Shit."

It only made sense since Ron and Hermione were there... right?

Time – for that brief moment – ceased to exist for me until I noticed Bellatrix stepped back so as to allow the gates to open, allowing the Snatchers and their captives to move forward. At that precise moment, she looked up at my direction and for the briefest second our dark eyes locked with one another. Despite not growing up with her and much less share a mother-daughter bond, I knew without a doubt she wanted me downstairs.

Those eyes of hers were ever so expressive.

As I turned away from the window and headed for the door, I could already hear the commotion downstairs.

Things were going to get mighty interesting around here.

Note:
It has been some time since I last written a new Harry Potter FF, so I'm quite pleased to start writing for this fandom again!

That said - the upcoming chapters after this prologue will consist about her life up to this point. Whatever confusion you might have concerning this prologue will naturally be explained as the story progresses.