Hello! Thank you for reading, and please, if you like the story, leave a review. This first chapter is going to be mostly backstory, touching on significant moments in Alessa's childhood so that things that happen later can be understood. The actual story line picks up in Chapter Two. Please, if you see any mistakes in the plot or in my grammar or spelling, feel free to point it out to me. I don't have a beta, so everything here is edited by me, and I tend to miss a lot. Thank you! Enjoy the story :)
Chapter One: Prologue
"Mummy?" A young girl called, running into the living room where her parents sat. She came to a halt as she saw both of her parents sitting on the floor with their eyes closed.
"Yes, Alessa?" The girls mother asked, not moving from her position.
"What are you doing?" Alessa asked, tilting her head to the side, forgetting her original question.
"Meditating, sweetheart," her mother said, breathing slowly.
"But, why?" Alessa asked, sitting on the floor with her legs tucked under her.
"To think," her mother said, finally opening her eyes to watch the younger girl. "Would you like to try?"
"No," Alessa said, shaking her head. "It looks boring."
Her mother chuckled quietly, moving around so she was facing the little girl.
"Did you come in here for something? I thought you were playing at the neighbors house until dinner time," she said.
"I was," Alessa scowled, remembering why she had run the quarter mile home from the nearest house where her sometimes friend Alice lived. "But then Alice pulled my hair and ruined my braid, see?" she said, lifting up the loose strands of hair that fell beside her face.
"Come sit on the chair and I'll fix it for you," her mother said, standing and stretching for a moment before leading the girl from the room. Alessa took a glance back at her father who was still sitting on the floor with his eyes closed breathing slowly, then she turned, running out of the room to find her mother.
"Now, why did Alice pull your hair?" Her mother asked as she pulled the hair tie from the end of the braid and ran her fingers through the long, dark stands.
"Because she's mean," Alessa said, pouting and crossing her arms.
"People who do mean things are usually mean for a reason," her mother said, starting the braid again. "Did you do something mean first?"
"Well," Alessa started, looking down at her hands in as much shame as her five year old mind could feel. "I told her that she was ugly."
"Alessa, that's really mean. Don't you think you might have hurt her feelings?" Her mother asked, tying off the end of the braid and walking around to stand in front of her young daughter.
"She told me that I must be bad because my hair is brown. She said only bad people have dark hair, and she said she was allowed to tell me what to do because her hair is yellow," Alessa said, half pouting, half sad.
"Well, you know that isn't true," the woman said, smiling down at the girl. "Hair color doesn't make you bad, but being mean to your friends does, Alessa."
"So I am bad?" Alessa asked, looking up with watery eyes.
"No you aren't bad, but you did a bad thing. You should go tell her you are sorry," she said, smoothing her hand over the girls forehead. "It's not nice to make people feel bad, Alessa, even if they made you feel bad first. When you make other people feel bad, you make yourself feel bad too. Now go on," she said, pushing the girl towards the door.
"Sorry mamma. I'll go tell her I'm sorry for being mean," Alessa said, running out the door.
"Mummy, are you going to medit again?" Alessa asked, watching her mother and father getting comfortable on the floor in the living room.
"It's called meditating, Alessa," her father corrected, smiling. "And yes, we are."
"You should join us, Alessa. Seven is plenty old enough to learn," her mother said, crossing her long legs, and resting her hands on her knees to look up at Alessa.
"What does it do?" Alessa asked, sitting next to her mother with her legs tucked under her.
"It helps you clean up your mind. Here," her mother said, moving Alessa's legs out from under her. "Sit with your legs crossed in front of you, like this, and keep your back straight. Then rest your hands on your knees and close your eyes."
Alessa did as she was told, closing her eyes for a moment.
"Now what?" She asked, peeking from one eye to see her mother, who had both eyes closed.
"Now you breathe slowly, copy me," she said, taking a deep breath then letting it go, just as slowly. "While you breath, try to clear your thoughts, don't think about anything at all."
"Okay," Alessa said, closing her eyes and copying her mother's breathing.
Alessa fidgeted for a moment before falling still. She tried not to think about how she was starting to get a little hungry. She ignored the itch on the back of her leg and the tickle on her neck from a piece of hair that had fallen out of her usually tight braid. She made her self ignore the loud thumping of her heart, still racing from her run across the yard a bit ago, and she didn't listen to the whoosh of air going in and out of her lungs.
"Now concentrate on my voice and come find me, Alessa," she heard her mother say a few minutes later, but the sound came from inside her mind, not next to her where she knew her mother was sitting. Alessa kept trying to think of nothing, but it was difficult to concentrate as her stomach gurgled and a dog barked somewhere in the distance.
"Ignore everything else, just come towards me. Think about what I look like and remember who I am to you," her mother said, her voice much closer this time. Suddenly an image began to build behind Alessa's eyelids as she thought about her mother, picturing her mouth and her eyes and her favorite clip that she always wore in her hair. Then suddenly, there she was, standing right in front of Alessa.
Alessa took a step toward her mother, who had both arms held out.
"Very good, Alessa," she said, hugging the short girl. "Now, look around you."
Alessa turned, taking in the smokey shapes around her.
"Where are we? How did we leave the house? I don't remember," Alessa said, turning on her heel to face her mother again.
"We didn't leave the house, we are still there, physically," her mother said calmly, watching Alessa look around again. "Now we are inside your mind. These are all things that you remember or think about. Your memories are here, and everything you have ever learned, and your emotions. Since you are so young, you don't have a lot of mess up here, which is good."
"This is my mind? So how are you here?" Alessa asked. "Did I imagine you?"
"No, but we will get to that later," her mother said. "For now, let me show you how to organize your mind."
"Like cleaning my room?" Alessa asked, sighing sadly.
"Yes," her mother laughed in her familiar deep chuckle that always calmed Alessa. "But this is more important. If you organize your mind and your thoughts, you will be able to remember things easier, and when you eventually go to school, you will learn faster, since you will always know just where to find the information you need, in here."
"So when I read, I will remember more?" Alessa asked excitedly, cleaning suddenly seeming like a much better prospect. "I like reading."
"I know you do. Up here, you can create anything you want to, all you have to do is think about it," she said, waving her hand around her again. "I suggest making your mind into a building, something that can be protected from other people so they can't get in unless you want them to."
"So like a house?" Alessa asked, thinking about their home with it's many unused rooms and long thin hallways, and she watched as the familiar wooden walls began to appear around them.
"You can use the house if you want to. I use a wide hallway myself, and I have everything stored into rooms and drawers so I can find them when I need them," she said, smiling down at her daughter.
"A hall?" Alessa repeated, imagining the hallway outside her bedroom, but bigger. The walls around her pushed out, creating a wide open space, lined with doors, just like the second story of their house, but stretched out.
"Yes, like this," her mother said, then began to walk around. "Now, you pick up these things and sort them into the rooms. You can put all the memories together, all the emotions together, all your dreams, your fears, your thoughts, all the information your collect over the years, you can organize them all. It will take some time, but if you practice often, you will get the hang of it."
"And then you will teach me how to go to other people's minds?" Alessa asked excitedly.
"I will teach you everything I know how to do, but you must promise never to tell anyone else, not ever," she said, looking at her daughter with serious eyes.
"Like a secret," Alessa said, nodding solemnly.
"Exactly like a secret," she said, smiling. "Now, I think this is enough for today, we can try more tomorrow."
"Okay," Alessa said, taking her mothers hand. "How do we go back home?"
"You just open your eyes," she said, smiling. "As if you are waking up."
"Okay," Alessa said, squeezing her eyes shut, then opening them again to see the bright lights of the living room and her mother next to her.
"Mum! Dad! Guess what!" Alessa shouted as she ran in the front door of their house. She was holding a slightly yellowed paper in her hand, waving it around frantically. She skidded to a stop in front of her mother who had been sitting on the living room couch reading a book as her husband sat glancing over a newspaper in a nearby arm chair.
"Look! I got my acceptance letter from Hogwarts!" She said excitedly, thrusting the papers she was holding under her mothers nose. "Does this mean we can go shopping? Please? I can't wait to read my class books! Oh! And I get a wand! A real wand! And I've been saving up my allowance for my own owl! Can we go today?" She begged them, finally stopping for a breath as she waited for them to answer.
Alessa's mother closed her book, and glanced meaningfully at her husband, who folded up the newspaper and set it aside.
"We can go to Diagon Alley tomorrow morning. But first, we need to have a talk. Sit please," her mother said, patting the couch next to her.
Realizing how serious her parents looked, Alessa sat immediately.
"Alessa, do you remember a few years ago when we first taught you how to meditate?" Her father asked, leaning forward in his seat.
"And I said I would teach you how to visit other people's minds?" Her mother added.
Alessa nodded. That day had stuck in her memory only because her mother had taken her out for ice cream afterwords, which she only did when something important happened, and even at a young age Alessa had understood the seriousness in her mothers voice when she had said never to tell anyone else about what she learned.
"Well, we think you are old enough to understand everything now. And we think it's important that you know before you leave for school, especially as it might affect you soon. Now, what do you know of 'Empaths'?"
"Empaths?" she repeated, frowning a little at the unknown word. "I've never heard of that."
"Empaths are people with the ability to sense emotions and feelings, and sometimes even thoughts, of the people near them," her mother said.
"You mean they can read minds?" Alessa asked, eyes wide.
"Well, not quite. More like they can feel the emotions of other people and can usually guess the thoughts behind the feeling. Well, not guess, more like know without making an effort to know. Like a sixth sense. Intuition, you could say," her father explained, rubbing the back of his neck. He had never been very good at explaining complicated things.
"So, they can feel your emotions and then sort of just know why you feel that way?" Alessa asked, to clarify. Her mother nodded.
"It's a little more complicated than that, but yes, that is basically what we mean. Now, meditating and organizing your mind doesn't only help you remember things easier. It's also an important stepping stone in learning how to make your consciousness leave your body, like visiting someone else's mind. Not everyone can do that, only empaths can," her mother said softly.
"But, you can do that. Are you an empath?" Alessa asked, glancing from her mother to her father.
"Yes, I am. And so is your father. That's why we are telling you this. We don't know for sure if you will be an empath yet, but the empathetic abilities are passed on through genes. If you are an empath, most of your abilities won't start developing until you get a little older."
"Okay," Alessa said, leaning back into the couch. "So basically, in a few years I will feel everyone else's emotions?"
"Not exactly," her father said. "You might never develop any abilities, and if you do, we don't know how strong they will be. Not everyone who gets the empath gene can sense emotions, some are only a little more sympathetic toward others. Some can only feel very strong emotions, like when someone is angry or very happy."
"And usually, if you are an empath, you will start showing abilities in a few years. It starts with emotions. You might not even notice it starting, you will just find yourself knowing when other people are happy, or upset, even if they don't outwardly show it. Then you will start feeling the subtler emotions, like annoyance, or impatience, or love. Depending on how strong your abilities are, you will start understanding why people are feeling how they are. I can do that a little bit, but your father can only sense the emotions, not the reasons. It just depends on how strong your gift is, and we won't know that until you get a little older and you figure it out on your own," her mother said, running her hands over her jeans as she talked.
"Oh," Alessa said, thinking through everything she had just been told.
"I know it's a lot to take in sweetie," her mother said, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and pulling her in for a hug.
"So, why can't I tell other people about all this? When I was little you made it sound like really bad things would happen if anyone ever found out about the meditating," Alessa said.
"The meditating isn't the bad part, lots of people do that, even muggles. But if anyone found out about the other things, it would be bad. You can't ever tell anyone. It's dangerous to be an empath," her dad said, frowning. "Empaths used to be thought of as evil people who could control the minds and emotions of other people to get what they want, and they were hunted for centuries. I think the only reason we aren't hunted anymore is because everyone thinks empaths died out hundreds of years ago."
"We were hunted?" Alessa asked, eyes wide again, this time in surprise. "Because some of us were evil?"
"We were never evil," her mother said, shaking her head sadly. "In old books about us, it was said that if an empath was captured and the right spells performed, the captures could kill the empath and absorb the power to control emotions from them. The stories about evil empaths come from that. Wizards hunted us down and stole our powers to become evil, and it resulted in a lot of messy deaths. I don't want anyone who might remember what empaths are to think about trying that. It's been decades since empaths were hunted, but the danger is always there."
"Are there any modern books that have information about empaths?" Alessa asked, wanting to learn all she could about what she might one day be able to do.
"I don't think so honey, but we can look tomorrow when we get your school things," her mother said, leaning back in the couch.
"Alessa," her father said as she stood to go up to her room. She turned back to listen. "Don't ever tell anyone. Even if you think you can trust them, don't ever tell."
"Alright dad. I won't. I promise."
'Dear mum and dad,' Alessa wrote, sitting at a table in her new common room the second week of school.
'I got sorted into Ravenclaw! The common room in our tower is so amazing. There are bookshelves covering every wall and there are so many books! And the library is huge! I've found a lot of old books that mention stories of empaths and sirens and veela, so I've been learning a lot about them.
The first week of classes was a little difficult, but only because I still haven't learned my way around the castle, but this week has been better. I only got lost once. The classes themselves aren't difficult, everything we are learning is right out of the books. I think my favorite class so far is Charms, or maybe Transfiguration.
I've decided to name my owl Apollo. I think he likes it, it's the only name he didn't screech at when I was trying to find a good one for him.
The food here is really good too, though not as good as yours, mum, and they don't have chocolate chip pancakes.
There is a Quidditch game in two weeks between Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff. I am excited to finally see a real game.
I share a room with a few other girls, and they are all pretty nice. They are all in my classes too, so at least I will have people to study with.
I miss you both, and I love you.'
Alessa sighed, signing off the letter and rolling it up. She would have to make sure to visit the owlery the next morning to send it off.
"Mum!" Alessa shouted, weaving her way past her fellow third years to her mother and hugging her tightly. The Hogwarts Express sat behind them, wafting steam over the crowded platform.
"Alessa," her mum sighed, squeezing her tightly. "I'm so glad you are okay. When I heard about those kids getting attacked at your school I wanted to have you come right home. Your father convinced me to wait until Christmas break, but there is no way I'm letting you go back after the holidays. We will find a different school or maybe homeschooling could be an option," her mum said, still squeezing her in a tight hug as she rambled on.
"Mum! I have to go back! I can't start another school halfway through the year. Besides, I like this school." Alessa said, pulling away from her mother. Nearly all the students in the school had been anxious to go home for the holidays, all of them were afraid of whoever it was that called himself 'Slytherin's Heir' and had been going around attacking people. Everyone had been jumpy and nervous walking through the halls of the castle the last few months, giving the school a dreary feel to it. Alessa was glad to be going home for a few weeks.
The trip home was quick considering they had to wait for a muggle cab driver to take them there. The house was relatively large, much larger than was needed for the three who lived there, but it had been in her mothers family for generations. It was set far enough out of London that not many muggles would come near it by accident, but it was close enough to the city to let the family venture out into the muggle world if they wanted to.
Upon arriving at the house and dragging her luggage after her, Alessa waited until the muggle driver left before turning to her mother.
"I started feeling emotions last month, like how you said I would. I wasn't paying attention at all, or trying to feel them, I just suddenly knew how everyone in class was feeling," Alessa said quietly as her mother unlocked the front door of the house.
Once the door was closed tightly behind them, her mother turned to look at her for a moment, then smiled.
"Well, that's to be expected. You are getting older now, so any abilities you might develop should be showing themselves soon," she said, walking into the entry hall and kicking her shoes off.
"But its overwhelming, mum. My head hurts if I walk through the halls when a lot of people are out. And meal times are terrible. It feels like everyone is inside my head," Alessa said, dropping her eyes to stare at the floor. "I've been skipping dinner in the great hall for the last couple weeks. It's just so tiring to be around everyone else."
"Hm," her mother was still watching her, but her eyebrows had pulled together as she thought. "Well, I don't know what to tell you. That has never happened to me. I've only ever been able to sense a few people around me at a time. Maybe your gift is just stronger than mine is."
"So there's nothing I can do to make it go away?" Alessa asked, her voice trembled slightly.
"Not that I know of… although… my mothers sister was said to have more power than anyone else in my family. I'm not sure if she is still alive though, I have never met her. My mum said that they didn't get along very well," her mother said distractedly. "I'm not even sure what her name was actually."
"Can we ask grandma?" Alessa asked hopefully.
"I'll floo her after dinner and see what she says. Now go put your things away, dad will be home any minute," her mother said, giving her a gentle push toward the stairs.
"You need to see my mother-in-law? Whatever for? She's completely insane," said the stunningly beautiful woman who had answered the door to the mansion Alessa and her mother had gone to visit the next morning.
"Well you see, Mrs. Zabini, Kathrine is my mothers sister, and my daughter here has been very interested in learning about our family history, so we were hoping we could talk with her for a few minutes," Alessa's mother said calmly. Alessa kept a straight face through the lying.
"Right. And what did you say your name is again?" Mrs. Zabini asked, her eyes narrowed.
"I'm Isabelle Sarati, and this is my daughter, Alessa," she replied, holding a smile on her face for the slightly younger woman.
"Alright. I guess it wouldn't hurt for you to talk to her, although I must warn you, she's not right in the head. You will be lucky if even listens to you," Mrs. Zabini said, pushing the door open farther to let them into the house. The inside was richly decorated and sparkling clean. She led the two women into a lavish sitting room, before turning back to them. "I'll go get grandmother, and I'll have some refreshments sent up. I'm afraid I need to run, I have an appointment that I simply can't miss. If you need anything else, my son Blaise is around somewhere, just have one of the house elves fetch him. It was nice meeting you." She left the room, closing the door behind her.
"She seems… nice," Alessa commented to her mother as she looked around the richly decorated room.
"The Zabini's come from a long line of pure blood witches and wizards. They are members of the elite pureblood society. I'm surprised she let us in at all actually. My parents used to be a part of that social circle when I was young, but many of the old families exiled me when I married your father, his dad was a muggleborn. My mother is still pretty high standing in the pureblood society, but she doesn't attend all the social events anymore. I'm surprised Mrs. Zabini recognized our last name at all."
"Is that why dad took your name when you married? So that the pureblood families would still know who we are?" Alessa asked picking up a small sculpture to look closer at the detail on it.
"I think that was one of his reasons, but he had others too. Put that down," she said, sitting in one of the ornate arm chairs in the room and crossing her legs.
The door opened again and an elderly woman entered, closing the door behind her. Seconds later, a house elf appeared with a tray of snacks and a pitcher of juice. When the house elf disapparated, the woman waved her wand towards the door, muttering under her breath.
"Silencing charm," she said, as if answering a question. "You can never be too careful." She poured herself a cup of juice, then sat in an arm chair, spreading the skirts she wore around her in an elegant fashion. "Now, you are Isabelle, my sister's kid, no?" She pointed to Isabelle, who nodded. "And I don't know your name." She pointed to Alessa, who glanced at her mother.
"This is my daughter, Alessa," Isabelle said, gesturing Alessa closer.
"Ah yes, I'd heard you'd married. Half blood bloke but his mother came from the old Williams family, correct? A long line of very talented witches and wizards. That line is all but dead now, if I recall correctly, Alessa here would be the last in that family," she said, then continued, not waiting for validation on anything she said. "Well then, you, girl, would get the empath gene from both sides of your family. Which means you are here because you want me to teach you how to use your gifts, yes?" She finally paused, looking at the other women for a few seconds, waiting for a response. When both of them just gaped at her, she laughed. "Come now, it's not that hard to figure out, why else would you hunt me out? Do you, or do you not, want me to help you?"
"Yes, that is why we are here," Isabelle said, recovering herself. "Alessa's gift is developing faster than mine ever did, and I was hoping that you could teach her how to control it."
"Fine, fine," she said, flapping a hand towards Isabelle. "You girl, can you talk at all, or do you just let others do the talking for you?"
"Yes," Alessa said, then cleared her throat. "I can speak. Um, I was hoping you could teach me how to use my gifts, please."
The old woman narrowed her eyes, looking the girl over. "Fine. Your lessons start now. I'm assuming you are still attending school, yes?"
"Yes, I'm in my third year, at Hogwarts," Alessa said, looking at her feet as she spoke.
"We were thinking of pulling her out, actually. There have been a lot of bad things happening at the school as of late. I'm not sure that it's safe anymore. My husband and I talked about home schooling," Isabelle said, ignoring a sound of protest from her daughter.
"Nonsense. The safest place for anyone to be is wherever Albus Dumbledore is. Besides, you need to be near crowds if you ever want to master your abilities, Alessa. Now, Isabelle, you may leave us. I'll send the girl home when we are done for today," the old woman said, looking at Alessa's mother. Then she whirled around to point at Alessa. "And you girl, you will come here every day until you return to school in three weeks. When you go home for the summer holidays, you will come here every day until I decide you have learned all I can teach you."
Isabelle and Alessa looked at each other warily, not sure whether to trust this bizarre woman. Alessa nodded at her mother, and Isabelle sighed, getting to her feet.
"You may use the floo network from the front room. I'll reset the wards so that you may arrive that way each day, Alessa," Kathrine said. Isabelle nodded, then left the room.
"Now, to begin, explain what you know so far, and I will teach you ways to control your abilities if you are able to learn them."
"Ms. Sarati," Professor McGonagall said, distracting Alessa from her sixth year divination book she had been reading at the Ravenclaw table in the Great Hall over lunch. Alessa looked up. "Please go to Professor Flitwick's office when you are finished with your meal, you are excused from your remaining classes for the day."
"Yes Professor," Alessa said, frowning. She waited until the professor had walked away before tucking her book back into her bag and standing. She made her way out of the Great Hall, toward her charms classroom where professor Flitwick's office was.
Alessa knocked on professor Flitwick's open door frame before walking into the office, making him look up from a paper he had been reading at his desk. His eyes widened slightly as he saw her, and he teetered on the stack of books he sat on for a moment before beckoning her forward.
"Ah, Ms. Sarati, please have a seat." Alessa sat, concerned by the look on her Professor's face. "Now, this will come as a shock, and I'm very sorry that I am the one to tell you. Um, there's no easy way to say this. Yesterday evening there was a reported disturbance at your home. When the aurors arrived… I'm sorry Alessa, but your parents were found dead."
"Found dead?" Alessa repeated, slumping back into her chair, too shocked to keep up the good posture that her great aunt had pounded into her head during their lessons. "But… what happened?"
"The aurors said that the kitchen was severely damaged, it looked like a potions accident," Flitwick said gravely, folding his hands together on top of the desk.
"Oh," Alessa said, stunned. She took a deep breath as a few tears leaked out of her eyes. Remembering what her great aunt had said during their lessons, she tried to contain her emotions. She wiped her cheeks dry and took a deep, calming breath. She didn't want her own emotions leaking out and affecting anyone else.
"You will be excused from your classes for today. If you need more time away from your fellow students, let me know in the morning and I will excuse you from classes tomorrow. I'm terribly sorry for your loss, Ms. Sarati." Alessa nodded at the tiny man to show she had heard him. "Very well, you may return to your dorm. And Ms. Sarati… if you ever need to talk, any of your professors are willing to help you."
"Thank you Professor, but I'm alright," she said, standing and using the sleeve of her uniform to wipe her eyes again.
"Oh, Ms. Sarati, I'm sorry to bring this up now, but do you have any remaining relatives? You will need an adult guardian until you turn seventeen next spring." Alessa sank back into her chair for a moment, thinking.
"My grandmother passed away last year, Professor. I guess… my only other relative is my great aunt, Kathrine Zabini," Alessa said. "I might have some cousins somewhere, but I've never met any of them."
"Very well. I will write to the Zabini's and explain your situation. If they are unable to accommodate you, I suggest you start thinking of alternative places to stay. Oh, let me write you a note to excuse you, in case you run into Professor Umbridge or her Inquisitorial Squad on your way to your dorm," Professor Flitwick said, scribbling on a piece of parchment for a moment, then handing it to her.
"Thank you Professor," Alessa said, then she gathered her things and left.
She waited until she was alone in her dormitory to let herself cry.
"Okay Alessa, there is nothing left for me to teach you. If there is anything left for you to learn, you will have to do so from experience," Her aunt said one night, standing from the small table in the sitting room they normally used for lessons in Zabini Manor.
"Thank you Aunt," Alessa said, leaning back in her chair, thinking.
"Did your parents ever teach you about the calling you might get?" her aunt asked suddenly, turning back to her.
"Calling?" Alessa asked, shaking her head. "I don't think so."
"The calling, some call it the Pull, is a feeling you might get, it's like fate directing you to go where you need to go. Have you ever felt a sudden urge to do something, or go somewhere?" Her aunt asked, watching her.
"I don't think I have," Alessa said, trying to think back over that last six and a half years of school, then shaking her head.
"It's mostly instinct. Make sure you follow your instinct, it's usually right. If you get the Pull, and you might not, it will be stronger than instinct, it will feel like something is hooked just under your heart and it is directing you. Make sure you follow it if you feel it, it is your fate," she said in a grave voice.
"So I have to follow it? What if I don't want to,?" Alessa asked, her eyebrows drawn together.
"Would you mess around with your own fate?" Her aunt asked, raising an indignant eyebrow.
"No, of course not," Alessa said, shaking her head again.
"Then make sure you follow your instincts, even if they feel silly at the time," her aunt said.
"You are talking like I won't be around here much longer, Aunt," Alessa said, frowning.
"Will you be? I don't expect that you will want to live here when you are finished with school in a few months. I'm sure your parents left enough gold in Gringotts for you to rent a place on your own. I suggest wizarding London, there are a few buildings near St. Mungos that have some nice flats," she said, walking to the window to look across the yard
"I have been thinking about moving out," Alessa admitted. "It just never seemed like a good time. It's not as if I dislike living here, how could I? You're the only one here most of the time. I don't think I have seen Mrs. Zabini since the first day I moved here, and Blaise is usually gone too," Alessa said, sighing.
"Well, I'm sure they will both be here for Christmas tomorrow. The elves did a wonderful job decorating, so we may as well enjoy it. Would you care for some hot chocolate, dear?" She asked turning to pull the door open.
"Yes please, Aunt." Alessa said, smiling at the old woman.
"It is nearly time," Professor, now headmistress, McGonagall said, causing the great hall to fall into silence, not that it had been loud in the first place. "Please follow your heads of house out into the grounds. Gryffindors after me."
Alessa and the rest of Ravenclaw table waited for the Gryffindors to file out of the hall before falling in line behind Professor Flitwick. They followed the rest of the school down to the lake where Dumbledore's casket lay at the front of hundreds of chairs. Alessa could feel the sorrow and anger and fear pressing down on her from the other students, but she kept a straight face as she took her seat. She pushed her emotions, along with those of the people around her, into the back of her mind, as she had practiced so many times before. She listened intently as the Minister for Magic spoke, and then person after person got up to say a few words. The end of year exams had taken place mere days before the death of their headmaster. Alessa had studied all year for her N.E.W.T.s and she was sure she had done her best, but now tests and school seemed so trivial. She had let her great aunt find a flat in wizarding London for her, and was expecting to move into it right after the school year ended. Alessa had been dreading having to leave Hogwarts, she loved the school. But now she was glad she didn't have to return next year. It just wouldn't be the same without Dumbledore as the headmaster.
The funeral drew to an end, and the students headed back up to the castle to finish packing and say their goodbyes, since the train home left early the next morning. Alessa didn't have many goodbyes to say, she had stayed mostly to herself over the years, not really making any close friends.
Alessa sat in a compartment with her dorm mates on the train, all of them were quiet, either reading, or gazing out the window.
She bid them farewell as the train came to a stop.
Finally, she dragged her trunk from the overhead racks, grabbed the owl cage from the floor, and left the station to find a cab to the Zabini Mansion so she could pack her belongings from there. In two days time, she would be living on her own, completely alone for the first time in her life. She wasn't nervous at all, nor was she excited. It just seemed like the next logical step she needed to take. She wouldn't miss the Zabini's, since she hardly knew them, though she would miss her great aunt.
The platform was subdued, much quieter than it usually was, but Alessa hardly noticed as she walked alone through the barrier to King Cross station, ready to begin her life afresh.