Welcome to my Harry Potter fanfiction! This was an older story called "An American Girl" , but I deleted it and re-wrote it. Criticism is nice! always appreciated, I don't accept flamers though! please keep your hexes and jinxes to yourself!
Other than that, thanks for reading my story. I'm not sure how this will go because I am still writing the plot. This was originally a Neville Longbottom love story. But I just adore the idea of him and Luna Lovegood together. So I went for Draco Malfoy instead, kind of the opposite end of the romantic spectrum.
So, read on and...Enjoy!
Time Is Running Out
Parchment 1: Leaving Home
~ Lixella ~
It's funny, when you reach a certain age you realize that your life isn't solely your own. It belongs to those people who are closest to you. They hold onto a piece of your soul. From the day you are born, the world knows of your presence. Each person that will meet you, somehow realizes that you have just arrived. Lixella always knew that her life could not solely be her own. She could never control what would happen to her. No matter how hard she tried, she would always be at the mercy of another. When you are born into two of the most ancient pure-blood families, everything is decided for you.
This is not a happy beginning for a story, but it is a beginning. Lixella Cruxshade, on this day, stood at the newly dug graveside of her parents. The tombstones sat in a field of green grass, beneath a white willow tree. Upon the white marble stone was carved two names, "Altria Duskwood" and "William Cruxshade". Lixella stood at the graveside, her head hanging low. Her purple eyes peered out from behind a long black veil, at the two names. The preacher was saying something about the family's strong lineage. How they both were from two lines of ancient magical blood, all pure.
Lixella had heard it all before, she didn't care about what the man had to say. She was remembering the dreadful morning, when her aunt arrived. The morning Lixella found out that her parents were dead. There was no sound to the memory, just the sight of her aunt through tears. She couldn't even remember her screams of pain. It was a memory that would be pushed back to the farthest corner of her mind. All Lixella knew, was that this was all the fault of those terrible death eaters. Her parents had journeyed to England a few weeks ago. They had left to attend an important meeting, a meeting with the dark lord. They never returned.
It was summer now, they had left just before the end of the last school year. After their death, Lixella had read something in the paper about an attack on the ministry. Ever since then, the news has only been about Harry Potter and Dumbledore being correct in their statement that Voldemort had returned. Ever since that night, Lixella's life changed. She was now going to live with her aunt Iris and uncle Zander at the Cruxshade manor in England. She would also be attending Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Her schooling up until now had taken place at Lunareth.
Lixella had heard many stories, about Hogwarts, from her aunt Iris. Her aunt had been sorted into Slytherin house, where she spent the best days of her life. She later married her Uncle Zander. Zander Cruxshade was Lixella's father's older brother. He obtained the Cruxshade manor in the dying will of his father, Desmond Cruxshade . Lixella's dad married her mother, Altria Duskwood, and acquired the Duskwood estate in New York.
The Duskwood estate was located in a large forest just outside of the town of Sleepy Hollow. Lixella always loved her American home, it was one of last unique houses left in the country. It's outside resembled a Victorian mansion. It was painted a deep purple with black and white accents. Every wall and ceiling was riddled with wood carved detail. The crown molding was carved to resemble leaves hanging from a tree, painted black. The inside flooring consisted of marble, oakwood, and special carpeting. There was a grand double staircase that cascaded from the second floor, to the foyer. The front door was decorated with elegantly carved posts. These curled into the Duskwood family crest over the door frame.
The Duskwood crest was the most present symbol in her house. It consisted of a large white willow tree, engulfed by black flames. The Cruxshade crest consisted of a black and purple crescent moon, with a black dagger piercing through it. It was added when the house was acquired by her father and mother. More modern versions of the crest were carved out of steel. It was often mistaken for a stylized "E", because of the dagger.
She took a walk around the house, to have a last look at it. She wished that she could remembered more from her childhood. When Lixella was small she lost her memory. Ever since then, she's been trying to recover it. The farthest back she can remember is to the age of about 7 years old. It was a blurred memory, of the summer she'd spent with her aunt, in England. Something about a reunion of sorts. She remembered a large house with a lot of people. Also, a boy about her age. He was mean to her, but she had no one else to play with. After the party she remembered someone picking her up out of her bed. Then, everything went blank.
It was very curious, that she could only recover that one memory. Perhaps it was important.
She walked through the upstairs. The walls were covered in purple and black wall paper, in an argyle style. Each room upstairs was decorated with fine detail. Lixella's room was the last one on the hall. It faced outwards, towards the back of the house. Today it overlooked the new gravesite of her parents. Lixella began picking up a few more things for school. Her moon-faced owl, Illuna, sat perched in the corner, as usual. She flew off of the perch and onto Lixella's right arm. She then stepped forward into her cage, and was rewarded with a dead mouse.
"good girl, Illunia" Lixella said, petting the owl, "I'm sorry we have to leave"
She closed the black iron door, to the cage, and placed it on top of the other bags. She then walked over to her enchanted mirror, and began staring at her reflection. Her soft angeled face held a distant expression. The only light in the room was dim sunlight. It danced across her pale skin, bathing her features in an even tone. Her arms were lightly crossed, holding onto each other. Her hands had slender fingers, evenly spaced because of her past piano lessons. Her outfit was no more than a simple short black dress, with argyle print tights. The fabric slumped over, along with her posture. Her figure was slender and curved. She looked healthy, but not starved. She had a high waist, and average hips. Lixella stared down at her feet. They were a size 8 ½ , and connected to long legs. Her whole form looked unsure and confused. She ran a hand through her long black hair. It fell down past her chest in soft curls. Her hair was styled like a 50s pinup model. On her head sat a small tilted black witches hat, adorned with black lace. Black netting came off of the hat, covering her face. A pair of dark purple eyes met hers.
She sighed as she stared at her reflection. She liked the way she looked, but didn't like her mood today. She removed her wand from it's case by her waist-belt. It was made from a willow tree, with a unicorn hair core. It was long, slender, and white. The handle was carved with swirling thorned vines. The head of the wand twisted in an upwards spiral. At the bottom, the creator had carved a delicate blossom. It was ornate and elegant. Lixella always felt that her wand suited her, it seemed to understand her potential better than she did.
She tapped her enchanted mirror three times, and it shrunk to the size of a folded shirt. She placed the mirror in a luggage bag, and headed downstairs to locate her aunt. Lixella would miss her home. She was unsure if she would ever get to see it again. She carried her bags downstairs to the flying carriage. Her aunt preferred to travel in a carriage rather than by flu powder. She sternly believed that flu powder was a messy way of traveling. Carriages were much cleaner, and stylish. Her aunt's house-elf, Lita, began carrying the luggage. She was lifting ten times her size.
"you don't have to do that, Lita" Lixella said to the house-elf, "I can carry it, myself"
"do NOT talk to the help that way, Lixella" her aunt spat while giving a strict look, "you are a Cruxshade! Carrying luggage is for the lesser beings, not us pure-bloods. Especially NOT someone with a lineage such as the Cruxshade name!"
"…you aren't a Cruxshade by blood…" Lixella whispered, almost inaudibly.
"what was that young lady?" her aunt asked.
"Nothing, just me finally figuring out why you married my uncle" Lixella stated plainly. She began to head down the staircase, towards the carriage outside.
Iris was left staring at the young girl, her mouth hanging open in disgust. She then proceeded to kick the house elf, sending little Lita flying across the foyer. And finally, she screeched for the "creature" to get back to work. Lita sprang to her feet, and began loading the luggage again. Lixella could tell that she wouldn't like living with her aunt.
"Glad to know the rest of my life looks unpleasant!" She stood on the porch and stared at the black carriage. Her aunt pushed past her and proceeded, in a heated tone, down the front steps. The weather was lovely, but the mood was terrible. It was as if the universe was mocking her. She did not want to leave. She did not want to live with her judgmental relatives. And she did not want to go to Hogwarts! But none of it was her decision. Her life had to change, she had to leave it behind. She turned to the door to lock the Duskwood Estate Manor, one last time.
"Pario key" she whispered, and the house key appeared in her hand. She locked the door, and swallowed the key whole. Lixella sat in the carriage, watching her aunt yell at Lita. From here, her life changed, forever.
