(This is my first story on FanFiction so I hope you enjoy it! And if you do then I will upload more.)

If Looks Could Kill

Chapter 1. An Eventful Morning

Deep in the heart of London, on a cold dark morning, the cloaked figure of a woman rushed silently through the deserted streets towards the River Thames; a baby cradled safely in her thin arms. Her long hazel hair was pulled back into a tight ponytail and her cheeks were flushed a mottled pink colour. She carried a large and heavy looking backpack with pots and pans tied to it, making a slight clinking noise as she took each step. She reached the embankment only to find three masked men dressed in black from head to toe awaiting her arrival. The colour drained from the woman's tired face as she tightened her grip on the bundle in her arms. She knew it was no use running anymore. She would have to talk to them if she wanted to get out of this alive.

"What do you Death Eaters want?" The woman asked, her voice wavered as she held back the desperate tone that wanted to slip out of her mouth.

"You know full well what we want Sophia." The man in the middle took a long stride toward the woman, pride putting a spring in his step, "The Dark Lord requires that girl you hold so close to your chest to become his."

"For what? So he can kill her like he did her parents?" Sophia cried.

"Of course not. He merely wants to use her as a weapon. You've heard about the prophecy I presume?" The man in the middle kept talking while the other two stood tall like guard dogs.

"Why else do you think I'm running away? And even if there was no prophecy, I'd still run away with her. I will not lose her to magic like I did my brother and his wife - this baby's parents!"

"Oh come now Sophia! How could you, a filthy Mudblood, possibly hide her from the wizarding world?" The man on the right shifted from one foot to the other and grunted impatiently, indicating to the man in the middle that they were running out of time, "You either give that baby to us now or we will not hesitate to kill you"

Sophia glanced down at the little girl all wrapped up in a dull grey blanket. Her tuft of silver hair looked a smokey-grey in the dim morning light but her ice blue eyes were as mesmerising as ever. Sophia stroked the girl's pale cheek and gritted her teeth. Sophia was all she had left. Her parents had been killed and her house with all her family's possessions had burnt to the ground. Sophia wanted this poor helpless girl to at least grow up in a relatively normal home before everything changed. Before magic came into her life. But now the Death Eaters were making things much more complicated than they needed to be. The baby in her arms started in wriggle around and then, after a few whimpers, let out an ear splitting cry. Sophia started to bounce on the spot in an attempt to calm her.

"Go on then! Kill me! I'd rather die than give this precious life to you."

Although Sophia had said that, she knew that she now had control of the situation. The fog was slowly lifting, revealing small crowds of people at either end of the road coming closer. They had obviously heard the uproar. And, no matter how stupid these Death Eaters were, they wouldn't aim their wands at the woman holding the thing they wanted. They might kill the baby too! Nevertheless, the man on the left quickly drew his wand and pointed it straight at Sophia's head. So, like any human in this predicament would, she turned tail and ran.

"She's getting away!" hissed the man on the right as he drew his wand too. "Dorian! She's getting away!" The man in the middle chuckled and patted both men on the back.

"Put your wands away. We were never going to kill her today. The Dark Lord thinks it's best if the girl grows up with someone to hold dear. But when the time comes and the girl leaves to enter the wizarding world, then we can kill that horrid Mudblood and capture the girl once and for all."

Dorian removed his mask to uncover the menacing smile plastered across his scarred face and then disappeared leaving a cloud of black smoke behind. His henchmen followed only seconds after and the embankment was silent once more.

Sophia stopped running as she came to a barren park. One swing. One round-a-bout. No children. She winced as the rusted gate squeaked open, shattering the tranquillity around her. She sat down carefully on the worn out tarmac and placed the now sleeping baby girl in her lap. Sophia pulled off her backpack and stretched. Her shoulders felt so tired and ached like she'd been carrying the bag around for days (well, she had). She was on the run from the Death Eaters who had slaughtered her brother and his beautiful wife only months before all this happened.

A million thoughts and worries ran through Sophia's head that morning. The sun rose and shone a fake warmth down on them both. And as she thought, Sophia's eyes began to widen like a deer's eyes in car headlights. She had come to a conclusion. A conclusion she had feared the most. A conclusion she had been trying to fight for months.

When the time came, she would have to give the girl to Minerva McGonagall, the current head of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Although Sophia didn't like it, it was the safest place in the world for this poor baby girl to go.

"Raina!" A frighteningly shrill voice shrieked up the stairs and carried itself into a small bedroom.

"Raina Everett, come down these stairs this instant!" The voice got louder as if it was coming closer and closer. Raina's stomach tightened at the thought of Aunt Sophia coming into her room to yell sharp words into her ear. She tumbled out of bed, her head narrowly missing the corner of her desk, and landed with a thud on the floor.

"I'm up!" Raina moaned, her icy blue eyes half closed as they tried to adjust to the unwelcome sunlight. She slowly came to her knees and brushed her beautiful silver hair out of her face. It was warm on her bedroom floor right in front of the window. Her curtains were as useless as her Aunt's fashion sense. Even though they were black, the light glared through like there was nothing in it's way, making Raina's pale skin look slightly golden.

She stumbled to her feet and opened her door to find her Aunt standing at the top of the staircase. Her hair was a mess! It hung in knotted strands down her back and a distinctive coffee stain streaked down her cream dressing gown.

"W-what's wrong? You're normally dressed and ready for anything in the morning. Is this a new fashion statement or something?" Raina chuckled at her own joke but came to a sudden stop when her Aunt outstretched her hand in which a letter was gripped.

"I think we need to have a talk…" She muttered and tread back down the stairs again, disappearing into the kitchen. Raina followed silently. Her heart beat a mile a minute as she pondered on what the letter could be about. Was it her school sending a letter saying that she has been expelled? But expelled for what? She hadn't done anything wrong. In fact, she had never put a foot out of line in her entire life. Aunt Sophia had always told her "Don't attract too much attention to yourself unless you want us both to be killed". At first Raina had no idea what Aunt Sophia was going on about but heeded her words anyway. Then as she grew up, Raina heard from the children in her primary school that adults tell lies to kids to make them behave so what her Aunt had said had less effect on her than it had done several years ago.

"Here. Open it." Aunt Sophia slid the letter across the big wooden table in the middle of the room and pivoted to turn the kettle on. Raina pulled a chair out from under the table and plonked her bottom down. As she picked up the letter, she noticed that the writing on the front of the envelope was written in emerald-green ink. It felt fairly thick and was made out of yellow parchment with no sign of a stamp anywhere. It must have been hand posted She thought, her hands trembled slightly as she turned the yellow envelope over to open it. A purple wax seal caught her eye. Stamped into it was a coat of arms; a lion, a snake, a badger and an eagle all surrounding a letter 'H'.

"Who seals a letter with wax now-a-days?" Raina asked her Aunt who had not yet turned round even though she had finished making her tea.

Sophia sucked in a sharp breath of air and murmured "Please just open it Rain. I want to get this over and done with." Raina couldn't help but notice the hint of sorrow in her cracked voice. She had never seen her Aunt like this before. She was normally strong and full of laughter, always living each day as if it were her last. But not today. Something was wrong. Raina lifted up the seal and slid the letter out. She unfolded the parchment and gasped in shock at the title. The letter read:

HOGWARTS SCHOOL OF WITCHCRAFT AND WIZARDRY

Headmistress: Minerva McGonagall

Dear Miss Everett,

We are pleased to inform you that you have a place at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.

Term begins on 1 September. We await your owl by no later than 31 July.

Yours sincerely,

Neville Longbottom

Deputy Headmaster

This had to be a joke. Raina slowly placed the letter back into the envelope and rested her chin in the palm of her hand.

"I know you like to joke around but it's not April fools day yet." Raina half heartedly laughed and then stopped all together when her Aunt turned around, tears streaming down her flushed cheeks.

"I'm so sorry!" She wailed as she stepped forward and flung her long arms around Raina's neck, "I didn't want this to happen. I don't want you to have to go to that wretched school. I don't want to lose you to magic like I did my brother! But right now, that's the safest place for you to go."

"Wait Aunt Sophia! Stop crying! You're not making any sense. You're telling me that this school is actually real? And that I have to attend? But it says the term starts today!" Raina tried to calm her Aunt but it was not working too well. She wasn't getting any answers, just a wet shoulder. Raina completely ignored what her Aunt had been saying about being safe and being lost to magic like her father was. Right now, moving to a new school away from all her friends she had just managed to make was way more important.

"That's correct." A unfamiliar voice sounded from the kitchen door. A tall young man stood leaning against the wooden frame. He had mid length mousy brown hair which was untidily slicked back and his vivid green eyes were wide with excitement. In his hand he held a wooden broom that looked ancient. "Hello there Miss Everett. I hope you don't mind but I let myself in. It seemed to be best with the current mood. Anyway, my name is Professor Huntley. I will be escorting you to Hogwarts today and I will also be your potions teacher from now on. Pleased to finally meet you."

He held out a sleek hand inviting her to greet him properly. Raina pushed away from the table, stood up and shook it cautiously.

"She-she has to go now? What about her things? What about all of the equipment she needs? You can't just take her away like that!" Sophia had stopped crying and was now glaring daggers at the strange man in front of her. She was like a lioness who saw a threat too close to her cub.

"All packed and sorted. Everything she needs is already at Hogwarts."

Professor Huntley took a few steps towards Sophia, bent down so his cheek brushed lightly against hers and whispered, "Don't worry. We will definitely look after her." He pulled away and strode out of the kitchen. "I'll be waiting outside. Don't be too long with your goodbyes. I know how women get with their soppy heart filled farewells."

"So you knew about this? You knew I was…a witch?" Raina questioned her Aunt.

"I knew. I knew because your mother and father were gifted with magic too. I tried to let you have a normal life until you reached eleven and you got the letter…" Sophia trailed off as the tears started to well up again.

"Are you a…you know, a witch too?" Raina asked. She took hold of her Aunts hand and squeezed it tight, hoping that she would stop crying and answer her.

"No. I'm a muggle." She gave a small sigh at Raina's puzzled expression, "A muggle being someone without wizard blood in them. But your father was different. Even though he was muggle born too, there was some magic in him that no one knew about until his was eleven." Sophia wriggled her hand free from Rainas' so she could wipe the tears from her face, "Well? Off you go! You don't want to be late and miss the train." Sophia wrapped her arms around Raina's neck in one last hug and then released her. "I'll see you when you get back. I'll be here waiting."

Raina smiled as a tear ran down her cheek too. Her Aunt meant so much to her. She had looked after her all these years even though it was not her responsibility to do so. She could have just left her at a care home and be rid of another burden. But no, she took full responsibility and provided Raina with everything she needed. Raina turned before her Aunt could see the tears that spilled over like a pot full of boiling water. She wouldn't want Sophia to flood the street with her constant crying.

"I suppose I'll see you in the holidays then." Raina didn't turn around and made her way out of the kitchen. She knew that if she turned around now, she wouldn't want to leave.

Outside, Professor Huntley anxiously tapped his foot. A sign he was getting bored. When he saw Raina leave the house, he held out the broom stick he had been carrying around and bellowed "Do you know what this is?"

Raina rolled her eyes at such a simple question. "It's a broom. I take it you used it to fly here?" She huffed in reply.

"Y-yes I did. And can I ask how you knew that this broom is no ordinary broom?" Professor Huntley took a modest step forward as his curiosity peaked.

"It's in all the stories! You know, 'The Wizard of Oz' and things like that…Don't tell me you haven't heard of 'The Wizard of Oz'?" Raina erupted with laughter at the grown mans bewildered visage.

Huntley blushed with embarrassment that an eleven year old girl had just made a fool out of him.

"Of course I wouldn't know about a silly little muggle story! All wizards and witches know of the great stories like 'Babbitty Rabbitty and Her Cackling Stump'. Now get on the back of the broom before I fly off and leave you here, he grumbled as he swung his leg over the battered stick and adjusted himself so he was comfortable. Raina held in her laughter at the example of a 'great wizards story' and followed his command, trying not to kick the Professor in the back as she clumsily copied his leg swinging action.

Huntley kicked off from the floor and with a jerky movement, they were up in the air. Raina's unusual silver hair steamed out from behind her as Huntley picked up the pace. And as he did so, Raina's grip on his waist tautened. The view was breathtaking! It was like looking through a plane window except you were much lower down…and much more vulnerable to death.

"I'm not liking this whole flying thing!" Raina squeaked though a mouthful of Huntley's hair.

They were now flying over the familiar busy main street of London. It was a good job everyone down there were too involved in getting to where they needed to be than looking into the sky. Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it's two people flying on a withered old broom stick!

"Well, you'll have to learn how to fly if you want to make the Quidditch team, lassie!" Huntley chortled loudly in his deep rhythmic voice.

"Quid-what?" Raina asked completely baffled.

"Oh you have a lot to learn my friend! Don't worry, I'll fill you in when we get to platform nine and three-quarters."