I couldn't sleep.
A hard cot, topped with a ratty old blanket was the only thing in the otherwise empty room. Moonlight shone through the bars in a window near the ceiling, casting a dim light on the rough, cobblestone floor. I lay on my side, knees pulled up to my chest for warmth.
The thick wooden door, magically locked, kept me in the room. There was a flap near the bottom that was used when they remembered to feed me. My wand lay in one corner of the room, broken and useless.
A high, deranged voice echoed through Malfoy Manor.
"That sword was meant to be in my vault at Gringotts, how did you get it? Did you and your friends take it from my vault?"
"I didn't take anything. Please. I didn't take anything."
"I don't believe you."
Hermione Granger's horrifying screams erupted through the manor. I shut my eyes tightly, wishing that I was anywhere but here.
I woke with a start.
My hand flew to my chest, trying to calm the thundering of my heart. My bangs were sticking to my forehead, damp with sweat. I took long, deep breaths. It was just a dream. I wasn't there anymore, and they couldn't hurt me.
Sitting up, I tossed the covers of the bed back. My eyes flittered across the room, and the feeling of safety slowly sunk back into me. They were all either locked up in Azkaban or dead - they couldn't get me here.
I pulled my legs over the side of the bed, and my feet made contact with the cold wooden floor. I padded over to the old vanity, slipping into the chair in front of it. The silver around the mirror was tarnished and the glass was scratched.
Pushing back my thick black hair, I spotted the scar that I'd gotten in Malfoy Manor that night. It ran from the side of my forehead to the top of my ear. It was only three inches long, and was covered easily by my hair.
It was lucky all that I'd gotten that night.
I could hear the chatter of the street below, and I walked to the window and pushed back the curtain. Below The Leaky Cauldron, the streets of Diagon Alley were crowded with witches and wizards doing their shopping. The school term was about to begin again, and they were taking their school aged children to do last minute shopping for supplies.
I eyed them enviously.
School was always something I had enjoyed, but Beauxbaton had expelled me after…
I shook my head, pushing the thought from my head. I wouldn't allow the memories from that night to ruin my day. I'd been away from there for four months. I was safe.
A low hoot sounded from the other side of the room, and a second later a pair of talons appeared carefully on my shoulder. A black owl was peering at me through yellow eyes. I had been at The Leaky Cauldron just a week when I found him, on the side of the street with an injured wing.
I looked across the room, spying his nearly empty food bowl.
"It looks like I'll have to get you some more food, Kingsley," I said, smiling. I reached up, petting his head softly. "Which also means I'll need to stop at Gringotts…"
Kingsley hooted in agreement, perching himself on the windowsill and flying out when I opened it for him. After getting dressed, I tied my coin pouch to a belt loop of my jeans.
I wished desperately that I had a wand. It had been snapped when I was at Malfoy Manor, and I didn't turn seventeen for another ten months. I couldn't legally do magic until then, so there was no point in buying a new wand.
"Time for a spot of breakfast?" Tom asked gruffly when I appeared downstairs.
"I'm all right. Thank you, though," I said, offering him a smile. Tom wasn't a particularly friendly man, but he had warmed up to me while I'd been here.
Slipping onto the crowded street, I pulled my hood up. While I'd been here, I mostly stayed to myself. The backlash of the Second Wizarding War on those who'd been on the evil side wasn't good, even for those who hadn't wanted to be involved.
On the side of the street, an old copy of The Daily Prophet was crumpled up and dirty from being stepped on. There, on the front page, was the title.
Full List of Death Eater Deaths
Her picture was in the first row. It was of when she was in Azkaban, a crazed look in her eyes as she screamed and shouted, her hand on the thick bars in front of her. Her face was dirty, her curly black hair askew.
Bellatrix Lestrange
She was my mother.
We had the same hair, but there was nothing else visually that could tie us together. I'd changed my last name from Lestrange to Black, but that was still something I kept to myself. I didn't tell anybody who I was or where I came from, and it was better that way. When I introduced myself, all I said was "Charlotte".
My background was nobody's business.
I made my way quickly to Gringotts, not wanting to be out much today. I'd planned to spend my time reading up on simple potions that didn't require wand work. There weren't many, but there were some and I wanted to find them.
"Vault 862, please," I said, sliding the key to the goblin at the front desk.
The Lestrange family vault now belonged to me, since I was the last of the family alive. It was the only thing that I was grateful for in this entire experience, for without it I'd be living on the street or back in that vile orphanage. The goblin inspected the key carefully as if I hadn't been here a dozen times. After verifying it's integrity, I was ushered to the carts and down to the vault. There, I filled my coin pouch with a few handfuls of Galleons.
When I stepped back out onto Diagon Alley, I blinked at the bright sunlight after being in the darkened underground of the bank. It was a warm day, but I knew that fall would soon take over and the air would turn chilly.
Once I'd gotten my gold, I walked to Eeylops Owl Emporium.
The portly witch who was the shopkeep there was very friendly and had helped me nurse Kingsley back to health, instructing me on how to change the bandages and stretch his wing out without harming him.
I bought some food and owl treats, and then returned to The Leaky Cauldron.
Tom was in the empty tavern, wiping down one of the tables in the middle of the bar. He looked up at me.
"You've got a visitor, Miss Black," He said, nodding his head towards the stairs.
Tom was the only one in Diagon Alley who knew who I was, and he couldn't care less about it. That was something that I was grateful for.
At his proclamation, I found myself confused. I'd been here for four months, and I hadn't had a single visitor. There was no one that had a reason to visit me.
"A visitor? Who?" I asked.
He shrugged, turning back to his cleaning.
"Not sure. One of the maids let her up."
I walked up the creaky steps quickly, not sure if I should be nervous or not. I turned the old, tarnished doorknob and opened the door.
There was indeed someone in the room.
A tall, black haired witch was standing in front of the window with her back to me. She had her hair in a neat bun and was wearing dark blue robes. Upon hearing me enter, the witch turned around.
It was Miverna McGonagall.
I had never met the woman, but I'd heard a great deal about her. She was the head mistress of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, an extremely talented witch, and even an Anamagus. A small smile appeared on her face.
"Miss Black, how very nice to meet you. Might we have a word?"
Feeling myself rather intrigued, I nodded. With two waves of her wand, a second chair appeared in the room as well as a china tea set.
"Please, have a seat," She said, beckoning to the chair in front of the vanity. As I sat, she poured two cups of tea. I added some sugar and took a drink.
"You're probably wondering why I'm here, Miss Black."
"I am rather curious," I answered honestly.
"I understand you were expelled from Beauxbaton."
"That is true, ma'am."
"I also understand that the expulsion was through no fault of your own."
I nodded, taking another drink of the tea.
"In my eyes, this was an injustice. The headmistress has received a scathing letter from me regarding this matter, and I stand behind it. You did no wrong, broke no laws, and are still being punished for it. You should not be robbed of an education because of the poor choices of your parents."
There was a long silence between the two of us, and I found myself grateful. Even though I knew that it wasn't my fault, it still felt good to hear the words from someone else.
"I would like you to attend Hogwarts."