I stood, waiting for my name to be called so that I could be sorted into my house.

"Darkmoon, Dawn." My name was called backwards, same as the rest.

I walked through the crowd of people who surrounded me, still waiting to be called, then up the stairs to the Sorting Hat. I sat down on the stool as Professor McGonagall placed the Sorting Hat on my head.

"Hmm," the Sorting Hat as it was placed atop my head.

"Very interesting. Strong, courageous, but very defensive. Ahh, yes. Now I see why. Not something to be very proud of is it?"

"No," I mumbled, more to myself than to the hat.

"Now where to place you."

I wanted to be anywhere but Gryffindor. The house I wanted most was Slytherin. My father and mother had been in Gryffindor along with about half of the rest of my family. I hated them, despised them, even. Gryffindor has in my blood, but I wanted out. I wanted Slytherin.

"You could be placed anywhere. Yes. Gryffindor could make you great. You could be like the rest of your family."

"Not Gryffindor. Not Gryffindor," I repeated in my head, forcing them to reach the Hat.

"Not Gryffindor, eh?" the Hat asked.

"No."

"Well, then. Slytherin!" it announced.

Everyone in the Great Hall cheered and applauded. I got down off the stool and walked over to the Slytherin table feeling triumphant, but not letting it show. I carefully composed my features and took my seat at the Slytherin table.

The name that had been called before me had been a familiar one; the daughter of my father's best friend; Karma Cain. Our fathers may be friends, but we were enemies.

I was glad that I hadn't been placed in Gryffindor because then I would have been with her. Everything would have been a mess. Fights would be had, trouble would have been made, bloodand blood would have been spilled.

After dinner, we were led up to the Slytherin Tower, told our password, Cocoamuffin, and the rules, then left to settle in out dorms.



I walked in swiftly, not looking anywhere but ahead of me, and sat down on one of the couches, stretching myself out to take up the whole space. Just then, a boy with hair so blonde it was almost white walked up to where I lay on the couch.

"Move," he instructed, staring down at me.

I opened my eyes and stared at him.

"No," I said softly, but loud enough for him to hear.

"What did you say?" he asked, louder now.

"You heard me, Dork-foy." Everyone that had stopped to watch gasped at my words.

"I said no."

He stared at me with a dumbfounded expression on his face.

"What do you mean, 'no'?"

"Are you dumb? Or are you deaf? Or maybe you're both."

Everyone gasped again.

Apparently he had never anyone talk back to him like that, the spoiled brat, because he stood there like the dumb dork he was just staring at me.

"Now, if you don't mind, I'm going to sleep," I said, and closed my eyes.

I settled myself into the couch, but I could still feel their stares boring into me, staring at the scene like it were a movie that they had all been dying to see.

Then, sensing the tension build-up in the common room, and the change in Malfoy's breathing, I stood up with blinding fast speed and drew my wand. I pointed it directly under his chin, lightly tapping the skin there. He had drawn his at the same time that I had and had his placed in the same way against me, now pointed under my chin.

"What are you going to do now, Dork-foy? Huh?"

He stood there and stared at me.

"You have no idea who you are messing with, Dawn. If I were you, I would lower your wand," he said.

"No, Malfoy. You have no idea who you're messing with. Lower your wand."



"Why should I?" he asked.

"Because. I'm not afraid to make your head end up in the toilet and then flush."

A cheer of encouragement rose from the surrounding students.

"I'm not afraid of you," he said, but I could hear the fear seeping its way slowly into his voice with every word he spoke. I decided to make sure no one messed with me ever again. This one was way too cocky for my liking and I guessed that some of the others might be as well.

"Do you know why I'm not afraid of you like the rest of them?" I asked, gesturing to the surrounding students. I stepped closer, but keeping my wand where it was placed under his chin. I spoke so low that only he could hear. I had him squirming now.

He shrugged, but kept his wand where it was.

"Because my father and I could get you in a lot of trouble with yours. That wouldn't be very good, now, would it? Because I know what your father would do. My father is twice as powerful but also twice as strict. Don't mess with me. I'm not afraid to kick your butt in front of all of these kids. I don't think you want everyone to see you get beat up by a girl."

Then I lay down and lowered my wand. I closed my eyes, listening intently to my surroundings. His breathing was a lot faster now, his heart hammering away in his chest, and I could tell that he was preparing to do something that would probably get him in a lot of trouble with me. I had scared him, but apparently not enough because he muttered a binding spell under his breath and aimed it at me. I silently put up a reflection shield of my own that would reflect his spell back at him as well as power it up a bit, just to strengthen it a bit.

I heard him gasp as the spell hit him. I slowly smiled and opened my eyes. His face had a shocked expression that looked carved onto it. He hadn't been expecting that at all.

"I told you not to mess with me," I told him calmly. Everyone was still staring.

"Now, if I remove the spell, will you leave me alone?" I asked.

He made a noise that sounded like a muffled yes. Even if he tried something else on me when I released him, it would be counteracted, but this time worse. And if he snuck into the girl's dorm tonight to try something on me, even in my sleep he wouldn't be able to do anything to me. Not even a sixth-year could do anything to me. The headmaster, maybe, but he wouldn't dare. My father would have him fired before he could even think the spell.

I removed the spell and watched him back up slowly, then trip over the table. The whole of Slytherin burst out laughing. Even I let out a small giggle, but then carefully composed my face. He picked himself up off the ground and ran into the boy's dorm room.

As soon as he left the room I closed my eyes, trying to get my thoughts and emotions back under control for this little happening had disturbed them quite a bit.

People were still staring at me as I got up off the couch and proceeded into the girl's dorm rooms.

When I entered the room, there were four girls already in there. The first one was tall with long brown hair that must have reached down to her knees. I could only see her back, but she was wearing a deep blue shirt that said 'Modern Minds and Past Times' on the back and light blue pants with stars all over them.

Another was slightly turned away from me, but I could see her profile. She had soft features, a small petite body, big green eyes, and red hair that reached half way down her back. She wore and nightgown that was a deep blue and had deep pink hearts covering it.

The other girl that sat in the triangle of three of them had shoulder length hair that was bleached blonde with one bright pink streak in the front. She was wearing a bright yellow tank top and lime green shorts with hot pink knee length socks. She had bright blue eyes and sharp, but somehow soft at the same time, facial features.

The final girl sat on her bed in the corner, legs crossed, hands in her lap with her eyes closed, face composed. She seemed completely detached from her surroundings. She had dark brown hair that was almost black with blonde highlights that were toned down with a blonde tint. Her hair framed her perfect face. She had brown skin and dark brown eyes that matched the almost-black in her hair.

Then, all of a sudden, as if she could sense the fact that I was staring at her, she opened her eyes and gazed deeply into mine. I couldn't tear myself away from her gaze. Her expression was especially haunting for it looked like a cross between confusion and pain. Luckily, she glanced away and looked at the other three girls that sat in another corner of the room. I looked at her for one more moment, and then returned to walking to my bed which I found was unfortunately placed next to hers. At least it was a little bit better than sleeping next to one of the other three.

When I reached my bed, I unpacked something to sleep in along with a book to read, a quill, and some parchment. Then, after gathering my things, I walked swiftly and silently back into the common room to work on writing a letter to my cousin. I would have stayed in the dorm, 

but it would have been impossible to write a letter while sitting next to that girl. And the chattering of the other three that shared the room with us would make it impossible to concentrate.

Here is how I began my letter:

Dear Cousin Victoria, I began.

I miss you dearly. I have been sorted into my house and have begun settling in. I have been sorted into Slytherin. I ask that you tell no one and burn this letter as soon as you have finished reading it. I landed myself here on purpose. Though I fully despise the house of Slytherin, I could not chance getting sorted into Gryffindor. Karma Cain has been placed there, if you catch my meaning.

Guess who I ran into today? Draco Malfoy, son of my father's friend, Lucius Malfoy. I showed him and about half of the rest of the house that I am not someone to be messed with. I'm guessing that in the next few days he will be begging to be friends with me. And, of course, I'll say yes to the spoiled brat even though I hate him. But it's good to have connections throughout the school.

Well, it's time for me to get some sleep. Today's events have taken a toll on me and some sleep is in order. I hope to hear from you soon. Write back and send my regards to the rest of the family. Thank you for everything.

Sincerely,
Dawn Darkmoon

I signed my letter and made my way back to my dorm room, then sent it off with Twilight, my owl. I stared out the window after her, wishing her a safe trip and praying that my letter made it to my cousin safely.

Then, after sleep had threatened to overtake me, I slipped into some clothes that I had brought along to sleep in, aka a pair of sweats and a t-shirt, and lay down on my bed, snuggling myself under the covers and closing my eyes, waiting for the wave of sleep to overtake me.

When it did, it swept me into a world filled with restless dreams and nightmares, like the ones that had overcome me back at home; the home that was thousands of miles away now.

When I woke up the following morning, I rubbed the sleep from my eyes and pulled back the curtain that hung in front of the window next to my bed. It was still somewhat dark outside, but the edge of dawn was peeking out from under the horizon. There was no point in trying to go back to sleep for it wouldn't be long until it was time to get up and get ready for breakfast.

I threw the covers back and swung my legs over the edge of the bed. The girl that slept in the bed next to me, the one that had stared at me, was sitting up on her bed looking at me with that same expression on her face as the night before. I looked quickly away and focused on getting my robes out to begin my day.

After I had finished getting ready, I grabbed my books and made my way down to the Great Hall to have breakfast. When I arrived I took my seat at the Slytherin table. Everyone made sure to leave as big a space as possible to keep away, probably trying to stay on my good side, though of course, they weren't really helping themselves. They could be half way across the room from me and they wouldn't be any better off than they were now.

Draco Malfoy took a seat right in front of me, but had the same expression on his face as the rest of the students that were unfortunate enough to sit by me; scared, but intrigued at the same time. He seemed like he was about to say something, but then the owls flew in with the morning mail. Twilight was among them with a letter from Cousin Victoria. I hadn't been expecting a letter back from her so soon, but there it sat in front of me, waiting to be opened. I carefully slipped it into the pocket of my robes to save to read later before bed. Hopefully it would ease the stress of the coming day a little.

I turned back to the table and stared out into space, waiting for breakfast to be over so that I could finish the day and return to moping around the dorms and common room due to boredom.

The rest of the day flew by in a blur for I slipped in and out of paying attention to half of what went on during my classes. No one noticed that I wasn't paying attention. No one ever had. And I had gotten by in my classes like this since I was little with some of the highest grades out of every student in the school so no one cared.

When dinner was over, I made my way up to the Slytherin house. I walked in the door to find no one in there. Not a soul was present in the room. Not even in the dorms. Something was wrong here; very wrong.

Slowly, I drew my wand, cautiously walking into the center of the room. But I relaxed my body, for the girl who stood behind me was of no threat to me. Without turning around, I spoke calmly so as not to frighten her. No one needed to get hurt tonight.

"I wouldn't do this if I were you," I said calmly.

I heard her gasp shortly, but then compose herself before speaking.

"Why shouldn't I?" she asked.

Slowly, once more, I turned around to face the small girl. She was about 5'1" with jet black hair cut short with bangs. It was very short in the back, but then angled down a bit till it got to the front. Her eyes were a piercing green with a ring of deep blue around the outer edges. Her features were arranged into a glare, but even then, I could tell she was pretty.

I simply smiled at her. Confusion seeped into her glare at my expression. I quickly put a soundproofing charm on the house and smiled once more. I quickly shoved my way into her mind, breaking through every barrier and wall that she had put up, both mentally and magically. She screamed, her face slipping quickly into one distorted with pain. It quickly stopped, but I could tell that she was fighting to hold back another one.

I cleared my expression and drew myself out of her mind. Let her make what she can of that, I thought. I continued to stare at her and she stared back in fear, wonder, and amazement at what I had just done. But then, to my surprise, she smiled back.

"Nice little trick there," she said, and continued to smile.

I could tell, through her smile, that she was concentrating very hard. I quickly rushed to put some more barriers around my mind in case she tried anything similar, but I was too late. She had already made her way in. I did my best to block her from most of my memories just to make sure that she couldn't see anything but a dark space.

But then I felt it. She was trying to hurt me back. I put up a simple surrounding spell to keep her from leaving my mind and began to think. Whatever I thought, she would here.

That's a cute little trick, Zillah. How did you like mine?

She didn't answer, but instead tried to wiggle her way out of my mind. But my spell kept her trapped. But the blocking spells were beginning to thin so I released her and she quickly slipped out.

"H-h-how do you know my name?" she asked.

"Zillah, it's not that hard to read your mind; to slip into your thoughts and memories. Your blocks were standard and easy to break, but weren't there without good reason. But, as you have seen today, they're really not that hard to break through. Now, the only reason you got into mine is because my blocks weren't up and I wanted to see how far you would go. Now, if my blocks had been up, your little mind would probably have been fried. That wouldn't be fun, now would it?"

She shook her head and stared at me with wonder in her eyes. And longing. She wanted something; something from me. But what could she want from me?

"Your name means 'shadow', right?" I asked.

She nodded.

"What do you want, Shadow?" I asked. If I hadn't asked, she wouldn't have either.

"Well, I was just wondering," she paused.

"No. No, I couldn't ask that of you," she finished.

"Zillah, what do you want?" I asked again. "If you don't ask, I'll have to force it out of you myself."

That last part got her. Fear flashed into her eyes once more and she immediately changed her mind.

"I was wondering if you could teach me how to do stuff like that. You know, the blocks and stuff, and maybe some defensive or offensive spells. The kids here like to pick on me, but I don't know how to make them stop."

"Yes, I could definitely help you with that."

Then another question hit me that I just had to ask. I still had my wand out and was twirling it in my hands.

"May I see your wand?" I asked.

She slowly drew it out of her robes and looked at it, then at me, with a questioning look in her eyes.

"What do you want with my wand?" she asked.

"I just want to see it. I need to know what kind of things it would be best for. If I don't know that, then it will be very hard to know what you would be strongest with."

She looked once more at me and then at her wand before handing it slowly to me. I took it gently in my hands and turned it around, over and over, inspecting the details.

It was an interesting wand. I had seen it before in the stores, but had never held one in my hand. It was called the Lignum Vitae. But there was something familiar about it. Then it hit me. It was the Silver Maple Lignum Vitae. That was why I recognized it so easily.

It was fifteen and a half inches long and made of Lignum Vitae, the tree of life, and Silver Maple. It was a good combination to have in a wand.

"Lignum Vitae, with Silver Maple," I muttered.

"Yes," she said quietly. "You have seen it before?" she asked

"Yes," I replied. "I almost got this one, but another one chose me instead."

I pulled out my wand. It was sixteen inches long and made of Ebony, Bloodwood, Maple, and Bois d' Arc. There was no other wand like it, nor of hers. They were part of a SolitareSolitaire collection. There was only one of these made like it in the world. No one else owned or would own a copy of it.

"A Marqueterie?" she asked.

"Number Twenty-Nine," I clarified.

"I've seen that one as well, but I've never actually touched it. May I?" she asked, reaching out her hand.

I thought about it for a little while, but then started to hand it over to her.

"If you try one thing on me with my wand, we could both end up dead, I hope you know," I warned.

"I know, I know," she muttered.

She held it gingerly, staring at it with wonder. When she was finished looking at it she handed it back, but just as I went to put it back into the pocket of my robes I realized that we weren't alone. Someone was listening. I cast out my senses and realized that someone was hiding in the corner behind one of the shelves. It was a small boy named Itu. I had seen him here a few days before.

"Itu, get over here now," I said.

"Wh-" Zillah began, but I cut her off.

"Shh," I hissed.

Itu slowly peeked out from behind the shelf and I beckoned for him to come closer.

"You're not in trouble."

"Oh," he said.

"Who is he?" asked Zillah.

"His name is Itu. It means 'thirsty' and it seems to fit him well."

"What does that mean?" she asked.

"Maybe he'll tell us one day," I replied, and refused to say any more.

Then I spoke directly to Itu.

"Itu, I suppose you know who we are. This is Zillah, and I am-"

"Dawn Darkmoon. You are 11 years old. Your mother and father were in Gryffindor house. That's why you chose to be in Slytherin. You actually hate Slytherin, but your enemy, Karma Cain," I flinched when he said her name, "was placed in Gryffindor so you chose to go in the next best thing."

"Very good, Itu. You are 9, a little young to be here, but the smarter than most second and third years, as am I. You have no mother and father. They were killed last year so you were taken to your father's brother's family. You lived there till they saw fit for you to start at Hogwarts. From then on, they told you, you would be living here. And so here you shall stay until your final year, when you will leave," I countered.

Itu smiled in approval. I looked at Zillah, who had pity in her eyes, and then at Itu, who had noticed that pity and was now grimacing. I leaned towards Zillah and whispered in her ear.

"He hates it when people feel bad for him. You don't want to know what happens to people who pity him even when he tells them not to."

The pity immediately left her expression.

"Well, I think we should probably let people in now. I think most of them are getting tired of wandering around the school trying to find the entrance."

I lifted the detour spell on the house and people started to slowly make their way into the common room. Itu eventually made his way into the boy's dorm and Zillah and I made our way into our rooms where we changed into our bed clothes and went to our own beds.

Before I went to sleep, I carefully removed the letter that I had received that morning from Victoria that morning and broke the seal, removing the parchment that it contained.

The letter read:

Dear Cousin Dawn,

I am sorry to hear that you have been placed in Slytherin, though I can understand why you would have done that in the first place. Your parents always tried to force you into doing what they wanted. But now you are away at school and they have no control over what you do. And I can see why you didn't want to be placed in Gryffindor. That Karma Cain was never nice to you.

Congratulations on standing up for yourself. You are definitely not one to be trifled with. But try not to get too cocky. Most Slytherins are known for that. But what am I saying? You're never cocky. Good luck in the school. Everyone says that they miss you and can't wait to see you during the holiday break.

Missing you,

Victoria

P.S. Alvar says hello and he misses you and that he will be arriving shortly. A letter for him just arrived a few days ago stating that he would be sorted when he arrived.

Sincerely,

Victoria

After reading the letter a few more times, I carefully refolded it and slid it back into the envelope and slipped it into my trunk. Then I turned out the light that sat next to my bed, slid under the covers, and lay down and closed my eyes to wait for sleep to take over.

The following morning I woke up with no recollection of what had happened the previous night. But then I saw Zillah sitting up on her bed staring at the wall and it all came rushing back to me.

"Good morning, Zillah," I said.

"Good morning, Dawn," she answered, walking over to my bed, sitting down at the foot.

"So have you decided yet?" she asked.