Hi everyone! So this is my first Harry Potter Fanfic so bear with me please! I hope you enjoy this first little chapter and I would greatly appreciate it some feedback.
Prologue
She ran. Ran as fast as she could through the dark corridors, towards the Great Hall, knowing what was coming and for the first time in her life, felt truly, truly scared.
She quickened her pace as she past the lifeless bodies on the floor, refusing to look. Was this all somehow her fault? If she didn't leave all those years ago, would the future not be somehow different? Would she not be sitting at home, right at this moment, two or three children at her feet, her husband looking at her adoringly? She pushed those thoughts aside. Too many nights she had spent wondering 'what if'. During her last few moments, she would not think of that. Instead she would think of what she was saving. That was all that mattered.
Finally, she burst into the Great Hall, all eyes on her and as she strode forward, she let her wand slip through her fingers.
She never gave much thought as to how she would die, considering it was near impossible. But then all must die and, honestly, dying in the place of someone she treasured? She shrugged to herself as she looked at into the eyes of the man she loved. To the impossible girl, it seemed like a pretty good way to go.
"Do it. Kill me."
She sat, crossing and uncrossing her legs, twirling her wand between her fingers, an eyebrow raised at the man sitting across the mahogany desk from her. She finally let a long breath out and leaned forward, placing her elbows on the table.
"You're asking for a lot here, Dumbledore."
The headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, smiled at her, a seemingly innocent smile; she knew better.
"I asked you one question, Miss Andrews."
"One question that has a thousand different meanings to it." She sighed, "I told you, after the last time, I wouldn't come back…how easily I succumb to your charms, old man."
He laughed, his half-moon glasses sliding down his nose even further.
"This is a slightly different request than the other two times- before I asked you to be a student. This time I'm asking you to teach."
"Yes. Physical education." She drawled the two words out in distain. "I'm sure the pure-blood families will love to learn that their children have to take part in such a Muggle topic."
"Physical fitness is a problem here at Hogwarts, and who better to ask than a woman who uses her body on a daily basis?"
The girl snorted. "To kill monsters, Dumbledore. I'm also not too sure they'd be overly happy letting their kids spend the year with me. You know how the general public take me."
"I always thought you were much loved."
She raised both eyebrows at this comment.
"Well you always were at this school."
"Yes that's because half of the school's population, is male. And I'm, well…me."
He laughed again. "That you are."
The girl suddenly narrowed her eyes on the elderly man opposite her.
"Let's cut to the chase here. I'm going to guess you asked me to do this job for two different reasons. Number one: The Ministry has asked you to keep an eye on me because apparently I'm not being inconspicuous enough. Reason number two: Harry Potter."
Dumbledore leaned back in his chair and studied her with a gaze of slight bemusement.
"Impressive, Miss Andrews. I will not lie to you, you are indeed correct. Concerning your first answer, you must agree with them a little. You know how serious this is. You must stay out of the public eye. Remember, you are meant to be dead."
The girl sighed. "I know, I know. Then what's the point having me here? Isn't there a Malfoy in Potter's year? You might as well stick a massive sign above my head saying, 'Only joking! Sorry you turned into a crazy psychopath but I'm actually not dead! Please become sane again!' Doesn't sound like keeping a low profile, does it?"
Dumbledore gave her a stern look before saying, "You will not need to worry about Mr Malfoy. A new teacher is not something he will care about very much."
"I beg to differ. Sure, any normal teacher, maybe. But the Hunter? The strongest woman in the world, a power more deadly than a giant? The only person in the entire universe who cannot be harmed by a wand?" She set her mouth into a tight line. "Yes, you're quite right Dumbledore; he's not going to report back to his father about me, at all. And encase you haven't noticed, Dumbledore, I don't age. You don't think Potter is going to recognise me from all those times I saved his life?"
"Then you know must you must do."
"Like hell am I going undercover again. Like hell."
Dumbledore sighed. "I didn't want to have to play this card but…" He let out another long-winded sigh and the girl could already tell where this was headed, "You promised your best friends you would look after their son…not to mention the unbreakable vow you made with-"
"Don't." She flinched away from him like he had cursed her. He didn't like being cruel, but desperate times called for desperate measures and as things stood as they did, times was never more desperate.
He waited a moment before she raised her head and gave him a nod. "Fine, I'll do it." She drew a deep breath. "But don't ask me how this is going to work, Dumbledore. I can't just fall in love with whoever I want. It has to be natural. And he's…well…you know…his godson. It feels morally wrong."
"You knew from 1981 that this day would come. And here it finally is. I know you won't let them down, Sarah."
He moved to get up and she followed the notion. As she made her way to the door, he smiled at her once more.
"You know where your classroom and your rooms are so you have two days before term starts to get yourself reacquainted with the school." He gave her an overwhelmingly sad smile. "I am sorry, Miss Andrews."
She nodded but didn't say anything, she didn't trust herself to. Giving him a weak smile, she made her way back down the corridors and ran into her dormitory so she could have a good, long, well-deserved cry.
She was standing in the middle of the Great Hall. The sky above her was dark and ominous looking. She wasn't alone.
"I am so sorry." The words came out as helpless as ever and he probably didn't care one bit.
"You left me. And you think a sorry is going to make everything better? You idiotic, little girl. You never learn, do you? This is your entire fault, all of it. All of the pain and suffering. Not by mine hand but by yours."
He pointed her wand at her and smirked.
"Sweet dreams, my love."
She screamed.
Sarah Andrews gave a yelp and tumbled off her bed, landing on the floor in a heap of pillows and blankets. She grimaced and quickly got up, rearranging her bed as she went.
Damn it. She thought those dreams had stopped. But ever since what happen at the Ministry of Magic over the summer, they had started again. She felt a tear fall. She should have been there. She should have saved him. She should have saved Sirius.
She had done her crying, had done her descent into madness. It had taken all of her will but she managed to pick up the pieces of her shattered life for the third time in her extremely long existence and carry on. She had no other choice. There was a world that needed saving. And she was destined to be that saviour from the day she was born.
She gave a growl of frustration and hit the wall, ignoring the crack that appeared when she did so. That was not fair! She should be out on the streets of London! Saving lives, not in here, protecting Lily and James's son. But he was 'the boy who lived' and she did promise to protect him and when the time came-
No. She would not think of such things. There were more pressing matters to take care of. Like how she should change her appearance.
Sarah briskly marched into the bathroom and looked at herself in the mirror. Every hunter that had ever lived was something akin to a Greek goddess. This was simply bait for the monsters they hunted; and it worked extremely well.
She herself had rich brown locks that flowed down to her waist and deep green eyes that seemed endless, never-ending. They were those types of eyes that when looking at someone, they looked like they were looking into that person's soul. And now, thanks to Dumbledore and her stupid unbreakable vow, she had to change herself.
After thinking about it for a split second, she muttered an incantation under her breath and flicked her wand around her face. When she looked in the mirror once more, she gave a shrug of acceptance.
Instead of her brown locks, her hair was light blonde and was cut into a smart bob. Her eyes were a chocolate brown, so much less revealing that her original eye colour. Her face was a little rounder and her lips slightly smaller. It would have to do. Even though she looked kind of like a virgin primary school teacher.
She turned and with another flick of her wand, all her clothes and belongings sorted themselves out and she rushed over, grabbing a pair of jeans and a blue hoodie and throwing them on. Giving a swift look around the room and seeing everything was in order, she decided to it high time to get a look around the castle again and marched out the door.
Fifteen minutes later and she realised that the castle had not changed one bit. Nearly everything was exactly the same. Well that was a complete waste of time…
"Miss Andrews!"
She turned slowly on her heel to see Dumbledore striding up to her with a bat-like man following closely behind…oh God no…
Dumbledore gave a nod of approval at her new appearance. "Excellent. No one will suspect a thing."
She nodded before turning to Snape and glaring. "Severus. I would say it's good to see you again but we both know I would be lying."
He scowled at her. "My feelings are completely mutual Miss Andrews."
"I'm sure you've heard that I'll be staying here for a year. I would quite like it, knowing what you get up to in your spare-time and being the little double agent that you are, if you could keep your master out of your head and make sure he only knows that I'm a new teacher."
His scowl deepened; he clearly didn't like being ordered about, much least by a former classmate. Dumbledore gave an airy wave of his hand.
"I have already explained the details of our plan to Severus so fear not Miss Andrews." He smiled widely before continuing. "Now, we have some important things to discuss. I would like you to follow me to my office."
Once again she sat in front of Dumbledore's desk but this time she had no idea what for. Slowly he opened a cabinet and stood back so Sarah could see what was inside. It was a pensive.
"What are you doing, Dumbledore?" She asked wearily, getting out of her chair and edging towards the door.
"You know exactly what I'm doing, Miss Andrews. We need your memories. For when the time comes."
Sarah's head was reeling. Why couldn't she just tell Potter all that happened? Why would she have to show him?
"All of them?" She asked, already knowing the answer. Dumbledore nodded and Sarah let a groan of annoyance slip through her lips. She sighed and retrieving her wand, placed it to the side of her head and thought hard. Although she had taken memories from her head before, she was not prepared for them to go to the front of her mind. Every encounter, every touch, every kiss…it was like watching a movie of herself in high definition.
When she finished and had placed the memories in a jar, she quickly handed it to Dumbledore before falling to the floor, black spots dancing before her eyes. It was just too much information to handle and she felt extremely light headed. She could hear Dumbledore's urgent voice from far, far away but before she could even decipher what he was trying to say, everything suddenly went black.
There's the first chapter. I know it's confusing but it'll become clearer as time goes on. Please review and tell me what you think. Thanks!