**AN** Just a little something I wanted to put out before the story starts. Writing is a world a person goes into where everything goes as they plan. It is a place that is only the writer's to share. It is a place of solace and solitude that is welcoming in times of despair. Being able to write has helped me through some pretty crappy times in my life. Enjoy my story.
Destruction and Death
Everything has a beginning and everything has an end. Every galaxy is born and they are all destroyed. Nothing was different for the Tidal Wave Galaxy which was located billions and billions of light years away from our own beloved Milky Way. The Tidal Wave was very large, there were hundreds upon hundreds of stars, but only one planet could support life. Centered
right in the middle of the galaxy was one of the suns and just at the right distance from it was the planet Prodigal. The creatures of Prodigal were much the same to those on Earth, except that they were far more powerful, at least some of them were. Their home planet was under attack and that is where this story begins…
Prodigal was on the verge of doing a complete super nova. She would soon implode and destroy all of the Tidal Wave Galaxy, killing everyone. The ruling family on Prodigal were all completely dead, except for the Queen and the heir, her only daughter. The last remaining royals were trying to flee their home planet in hopes of surviving. As the two were running for one of
the last escape pods the Queen was hit in the back with a ray of plasma, making her fall. The Princess dropped to her knees beside her mother, her dark eyes streaming tears.
"Mother no! Please get up! I can't do this with out you!"
"Just go Stella! The hopes of our people rest on your shoulders. My time is up. Go to the continent Great Britain on planet Earth in
the Milky Way Galaxy. There is a wizard there named Albus Dumbledore, I knew him a long, long time ago. He will help you. Hurry Stella!"
The red haired girl cried out as her mother let go on life and departed to the Heavens. Stella pushed herself up from the dusty
ground and ran as fast her long legs would take her to the remaining escape pod. She threw herself in and kicked the door closed. The moment it was sealed it blasted itself from the planet. The teenager sobbed hysterically into her hands, her dark clothing covered in dust, as she left her home for the last time and had left the comforts of her galaxy, Prodigal pulled a super nova, destroying the Tidal Wave Galaxy.
The little egg shaped metal pod flung itself through Earth's atmosphere, its precious cargo curled up in a small ball on the floor board. Stella whimpered quietly as she felt like her head was going to explode. She hated space travel and after going halfway across the universe to get to this crappy planet she was on the verge of going insane. She only hoped she had told her
escape pod to go to the right place. It'd be awfully embarrassing if she landed in the middle of some populated place…She shivered badly and wished with all of her heart that her home hadn't been destroyed and that her family was all alive and well. Stella pressed her hands against her ears and screamed hysterically when the metal pod hit the ground at a very high speed. She
lay completely still for several minutes, her body trembling badly. When she was finally able to screw up enough courage to get up, she did and she carefully pushed the button that opened the door. When the bright, harsh sunlight hit her she let out a screech of agony and stumbled out onto the grass. She lay there, twitched occasionally, until she heard someone yell. She weakly
opened her eyes to see a haggard looking man with light brown hair and kind eyes looking down at her. He seemed to have put the escape pod and her prone body together and kneeled beside her.
"Are you all right?"
All she was able to do was groan quietly and close her eyes tightly again. She curled into a tight ball, her face hidden by her fiery red hair. Stella felt someone pick her up and hold her like she was something beyond precious. The warmth of the sun and the fierceness of its light disappeared when they went inside some building, and several urgent voices, including that of the man
who saved her from the light, attacked her sensitive ears. A quiet whimper from her seemed to remind them of her presence and she was rushed off again. When she was set down on what felt like a bed she opened her deep violet eyes. This was a mistake. Light flooded her sensitive nerves and she let out an agonized wail. Her hand clamped over her eyes, tears of pain streaming
through her hands. The light was turned off and she nervously took her hands from her face. She could actually see again. There were several people in the massive room with her; she was apparently in a hospital or something. Her head was still aching fiercely and she swallowed thickly.
"Where am I?"
"Great Britain."
Relief coursed through her tired body. At least she had come to the right planet and country. A weak smile crossed her face as she slipped into unconsciousness and her head fell back onto the pillow.
Stella awoke many hours later and cautiously opened her eyes. Someone had left the lights off and she quickly pushed herself into a sitting position. There wasn't a single living person within her line of vision and she swung her legs over the side of her bed. That slight movement made her dizzy and she began to gasp for breath. She thought of every planetary system she knew
until the spinning stopped and she let her feet touch the cool stone. She unstably walked a few steps then stopped to catch her breath. This was going to take a long time to get out of the hospital place and back to her escape pod, if it was even there for that matter. She started walking again and after a few steps the dizziness did not come back so she started running. That was a
mistake. She dropped to her knees as a strangled cry erupted from her throat. She was on the verge of being sick as big, hot tears started sliding down her smooth cheeks. She heard someone gasp behind her and drop something then run towards her. A concerned, motherly voice assaulted her ear drums.
"Dear what are you doing out of bed??"
"I need to speak with Albus Dumbledore! Do you know where he is?!"
The woman seemed surprised and almost drew away from the girl.
"Albus Dumbledore? He is the headmaster of this school. Why ever do you need to see him?"
"Mother said…Prodigal is gone…"
With that, Stella fainted once again.
She didn't know how long she'd been unconscious, but it had been long enough to keep her from getting dizzy every time she moved slightly. Stella was sitting on the edge of her bed, glaring fiercely at the medi-woman who was trying to force her to drink a potion. She knew for a fact that she was horribly allergic to frogsbane, which was a very large ingredient in it, and was trying to convince the older woman of that.
"Why won't you listen to me? I am ALERGIC to bloody frogsbane! If I drink that stuff I will DIE!!"
The medi-woman brought the bottle closer to her patient's mouth. Stella screamed hysterically and scrambled over the bed to get away.
"Get it AWAY! I wouldn't touch that bloody crap with a ten foot stick! GET IT THE HELL AWAY FROM ME!"
She had yelled the last bit at the woman and had been surprised when she had suddenly backed away and disappeared. She shook her head and turned around on her bed. Her eyes widened when she looked up at a very old man with twinkling blue eyes and half-moon spectacles.
"Hello my dear. Why do you need to speak with me?"
Stella knew immediately that this was Albus Dumbledore. She reached a hand out to him and he took it, a kind smile on his face.
"Prodigal is gone. He destroyed it... Mum told me to come here. She said that she had known you along time ago and that you
would help me…" She spoke with absolutely no emotion in her voice, but tears were making her violet eyes sparkle brightly and showed the pain she really was in.
"I am very sorry about the loss of your home, but why are you not with your family? I suspect they will be very worried about you."
She stared at him for several seconds before those tears dribbled down her cheeks onto her lap. The droplets seemed to have a peculiar red tint to them and lightly stained the white bed clothes that they fell on them. Stella quickly brushed a hand across her
eyes, fighting the feeling of complete desolation and depression riding over her soul.
"I have no family. Parents, siblings, everyone…They're all dead. Mum died a few feet from the pod. I'm totally alone in the whole fucking universe…"
She dropped her face into her hands, giving into the darkness that was eating away at her heart. All she wanted was to feel her brother's arms around her. He'd always been the one who had comforted her. Mum had never really been the sentimental type and normally just sent her away when she'd had a bad dream. But Gabriel had always opened his arms to his baby sister. He'd
always listened to her fears, hopes, and dreams. He had been the first of her family to die. His death had hit her the hardest. A sob racked her fragile body and Dumbledore wrapped his arms around her frame, holding her in a very fatherly way.
"I knew your mother very well Estella Maria. She was the best student I have ever had the pleasure of teaching. She left for
Prodigal the day she graduated. She always talked about your father, about how wonderful he was and how happy she was that she was going to marry him someday. I told her right before she left that if anything ever happened, she and her children would always be welcome at Hogwarts, even if I was not here. I must ask you Estella Maria; did your mother ever teach you anything
about magic?"
Stella lifted her head from his shoulder, the place she had pressed her face into when he had brought her into his arms, and looked up at him, her violet eyes surprised.
"Magic? Since I was nine Mums had me on a strict syllabus. I even have my wand," She reached for a nonexistent pocket in the hospital gown she was wearing, and freaked out when she didn't find it. "Holy shit!! My wand is gone! NO! Only thing I have to tie me to my family! That bloody woman took it from me!" She burst into hysterical tears again and pressed her face into the
elderly wizard's shoulder. Her bloody tears soon soaked the soft fabric of his robes and he gently pulled her away. He took her wand from one of the many pockets of his deep blue robe. She let out a choked squeak and took it from him. She waved it a little and a bouquet of black roses sprang from the tip. "Thank the Goddess…"
"Good, then I believe you will be able to be sorted into a house when the school year begins, unless you wish to find a new life out in the muggle world?"
"Muggle?"
"Non-magical folk."
"Am I a muggle?"
"No dear, you are a pureblood. I would not suggest that you let anyone in your new house know that you aren't from this world.
Though I suspect many will know that you are different, you carry yourself much differently and there is a certain aura about you…You will do great things Estella Maria."
"P-Please don't call me that…Call me Stella? Please?"
"Yes of course Stella. Now you should get some more rest. Term starts in a week and you best spend all that time sleeping. I'll get Remus to procure your things for this year."
"Who found me?"
"Remus did."
"Thank him for me."
"Of course dear."
"Is my pod still outside?"
"No dear, we have it in one of the dungeons for safe keeping. You may go down there at any point in the year if you feel the need."
"Thank you Dumbledore."
"Sleep child and dream well."
Stella smiled grimly as she curled up on the narrow white bed. Despite the hell she now called her life; she had a place she could call home. She pulled the blankets up around her shoulders and was very soon, asleep.
A single week in a person's entire life can flash by very quickly, especially when that person is exploring her new home. Stella, in the course of three days, had searched Hogwarts from the lowest dungeon to the highest tower and had decided that the place was suitable for living, even though the dungeons were absolutely infested with spiders. The day before the students
were to arrive, she knew she needed to speak with Dumbledore again. She had been given a room near the kitchens and had been upset when she found out she wouldn't be able to keep her nice little room once she was sorted. She was wearing all black, her customary mourning color and the color she decided was now her favorite. The darkness of her clothing offset her vibrant hair
and made her skin glow. Stella made her way to the stone gryffin and murmured the password, "Jelly Babies." And the statue came to life and gracefully jumped out of her way. She could have sworn that it had said, "Princess." As she had gone by in a very revered tone, but these days she wasn't sure about really anything. Slowly she went up the revolving staircase and knocked loudly on the big oak door.
"Dumbledore? I wish to speak with you…"
"Come in Stella."
She entered and was held in awe at the sheer amount of books that lined every wall in Dumbledore's study. It took all of her self-control to keep herself from flinging herself at the books and read everyone until she had devoured them all. Stella looked at the
elderly wizard and he smiled warmly to her. He motioned for her to sit down in one of the chairs in front of his large desk.
"I see you appreciate my extensive collection of books?"
She nodded, her eyes still looking at the great multitude of literature.
"Then you have my permission to read them all, whenever you wish."
"Th-thank you Dumbledore!!"
"Starting tomorrow, I suspect that you should call me Professor Dumbledore around other students."
"Yes Professor."
"Now what did you need to speak to me about dear?"
She fingered the hem of her short black skirt for a moment, before turning her violet gaze back up to Dumbledore.
"Firstly, I am worried about knowing less then the rest in my year. Secondly I am worried about my clothes and everything. I have seen the school uniforms and they really don't reflect my period of mourning and it is awfully important that I wear black, lest my family think I have forgotten about them…Thirdly, I wish to know more about this Head Girl and prefects thing. Fourthly, I am
terrified about Om. I am the last Prodigian who stands in his way. The last royal Prodigian for that matter…" She sighed quietly and dropped her head into her hands, a horribly sad look coming across her features.
"My dear, you already know more then the children in your year. You said your mother started teaching you when you where nine?
The students here start at eleven. Do not worry; you will do fine in your classes. You do not like the school uniforms? Few actually like them, one of the reasons they were chosen. But considering your position and the state you are in, I will give you a reprieve. You do not have to wear the uniforms. I will inform the teachers of that later. Head Girl is the title given to the female
student who has the best grades and such. There is Head Boy as well. Prefects enforce the rules along with the Heads. Om will not be able to touch you here. You are perfectly safe at Hogwarts. Is there anything else you need?"
"Thank you Professor. If you don't mind, I would like to go to some muggle shops and buy some more clothing. Mum said she
had several accounts in muggle banks and a wizarding one in a bank called Gringots. I have the key to the wizarding bank and the cards for the muggle ones…I just need someone to take me."
"Well, I believe Remus might be able to take you. Let me ask him."
Dumbledore got out of his chair and went to the massive fire place. A merry fire was burning and he took a handful of a peculiar green powder and threw it in.
"Remus," He said into the fire. "Are you able to take Miss Stella out to buy some things she needs for school?"
Remus Lupin's head appeared in the flames. The man smiled widely to an astonished Stella and nodded up to Dumbledore.
"I have nothing else to do today. I'd be very glad to take you Stella. I'll be up in your office in a moment Albus."
With that, his head disappeared from the flames. Stella looked at Dumbledore with awe on her face.
"What the hell was that?"
Half an hour later Stella was with Remus in muggle London. She looked thoroughly depressed and had the air of a Goth around her. The first store they went into seemed to please her immensely, as she bought several hundred pounds worth of black clothing and a pair of totally kick ass boots. One of the shops Stella entered Remus felt uneasy about. The entire inside of the
shop was completely black with vivid red flames along the walls. The teenager behind the register glared at Stella moodily as she walked in. The entire time she was picking out clothing and trying them on, the boy glared. While she was paying, he must have said something rude to her because there was a sudden gust of wind that entered the shop and Stella's red hair rose around her head like a halo of fire.
"How dare you say something like that? How dare you even think it of me?" She dropped a handful of bags and slapped him hard. The teen looked stunned at her reaction and quickly paid. Her handprint was burnt into the flesh of his cheek and nose. They went to several more stores after that event, Stella buying more and more depressing, dark clothing. As the sun started to set, Remus touched her shoulder.
"Estella Maria, we should return to the school. You do have thousands of pounds and galleons worth of clothing…"
She nodded slowly. "I suppose. Please don't call me Estella Maria. Only my great aunt called me that. Call me Stella."
Remus nodded and took several of the bags from her. "Okay Stella, let's go back to the school." He didn't mention that little
episode and decided it would be for the best if Dumbledore talked to her about it once school started. She had burnt that boy without her wand, how many people could do that? But then again she wasn't from this world or even galaxy…Remus shook his head and rested his hand on her shoulder. She smiled slightly up to him and then they disapperated back to Hogwarts.
Stella lay on her bed, her purchases out of their bags and in crumpled heaps on the floor. Misery was seeping through her soul again and all she could do was lie on her bed and cry silently. There was a soft knock at her door, and Remus's quiet voice filtered into her room.
"Stella? Are you all right? You've missed dinner."
She did not reply and rolled over so she could press her face into her black pillow. A particularly loud sob escaped her throat and she heard her door open. Half a second later she felt someone wrap their arms around her and engulf her in a tight, fatherly
hug. Her head rested on his shoulder as she cried bitterly. Soothing noises came from him and Stella knew who was holding her.
"It's not fair Remus. Why did they all have to die? I'm so bloody alone. I hear him. He speaks in my head and tells me to come back. I don't want to come back…" Her last words came out in a wail and she wrapped her own arms around him and sobbed
almost hysterically. He held her tightly, his cheek pressed against her vibrant hair.
"I know it hurts Stella. I lost all of my family too when I was young." He didn't mention that he was the one who had killed his family during the full moon. Her agonized wails ceased for a moment and she sniffled quietly. She lifted her head from his
shoulder and looked up at him. In her normally completely empty eyes there was a soft glimmer of hope. He smiled softly down to her and held her tightly. For several minutes nothing was said and then she pulled out of his arms and rubbed the last remnants of her bloody tears from her cheeks.
"Sorry about your robes."
"My robes?"
"They're stained where I cried. My tears have blood in them."
He took his wand out of his pocket and tapped it lightly against his shoulder. His old, drab robes were perfectly clean and devoid of any trace of blood. "I brought you some food, seeing that you missed dinner. Would you like it?"
She nodded and he retrieved it from beside the bed where he had left it. He set it on her bedside table and turned to go.
"Sleep well Stella and I wish you luck on your sorting tomorrow."
"You too Remus. Why do you wish me luck?"
"Just luck for you, good night." Remus smiled to her one last time then left her room, shutting the door quietly behind him. Stella
fell upon her dinner and rapaciously devoured it. Minutes after she had finished eating, she was sprawled out on her bed, fast asleep.
Remus was going straight to Dumbledore's office. He needed to know about Stella's episode with the shop clerk. He personally didn't know very much about the royal family on Prodigal and didn't know if burning people with out the help of a wand was normal occurrence. He hoped Dumbledore would have some answers for him. He rapped on the oak door of the
headmaster's study and it promptly opened to show a sleepy looking Dumbledore.
"Remus, what can I do for you at this hour?"
"Stella burnt the imprint of her hand on a shop clerk's cheek today after he had made a rude suggestion. Luckily, it was in Diagon
Alley and not in any muggle shops or I would have had to perform some memory erasing. Is that normal for a Prodigian?"
"I can see why you are upset Remus and I suggest you come inside and have a seat. I will explain as much as I can."
The two men went into Dumbledore's office and took their seats. Dumbledore looked at Remus for a moment before starting to
speak. "Stella's family was the ruling one for a reason. They were the most powerful and could perform magic from many worlds. Every generation a single child was chosen and taught magic. That child would teach another in the next generation and so on. The magical child would automatically become heir to the throne. Stella was the heir and therefore the most important person on
Prodigal. She had to be protected no matter what. Her brother, Gabriel, was her closest protector. I suspect he died saving her life. Her natural magic came out when that shop clerk offended her. So, I suppose, that it is normal for her. Is that all you needed to ask me?"
Remus sat in his chair as he let that information sink in. It was very hard to believe that Stella was heir to an entire planet. That just seemed illogical. He looked at Dumbledore and saw that the man was being dead serious. He sighed quietly and rubbed
his forehead briefly. "Thank you for answering my question Albus. That is all I needed to ask you for the moment. Good night."
Remus got up and left the office and quickly headed to his own room. The full moon was fast approaching and that customary
headache was letting its dark tendrils curl around the corners of his brain, much like smoke hiding something in a room. He collapsed on his massive, scarlet four poster bed and was soon fast asleep, eagerly awaiting the next days sorting.
**AN** Wow! First chappie!! Did you guys like it? Tell me? Any suggestions? I love you?
