Chapter 1

This is my first fanfiction so I don't really know what I am doing, so please tell me if this chapter is too short or too long and feel free to leave suggestions. Also, updates will most likely become less frequent after Summer because I will be attending a boarding school next year. That's all I will say for now.

Galaxystar of SolarClan

Incantations

Thoughts

~Flashback/Dream~

Ashling Potter was huddled in a corner of her cell, her big eyes, once filled with happiness were dull, her hair was a tangled mess, and she was literally skin and bones. The only feature that didn't look dreary were the Fae wings that sprouted from her back on her seventeenth birthday. They were a radiant emerald green like her eyes used to be with some streaks of silver and black. As a Dementor swooped by, she shuddered as she relived the day her world had fallen apart.

~ Flashback ~

"Ashling Lillian Winter Potter, you are hereby condemned to a lifetime sentence in Azkaban for the murder of Cedric Diggory, Bathilda Bagshot, Stanley Shunpike, Rosemerta Summers and 9 unidentified muggles."

Ashling had expected this when she plead not guilty, but she had not expected to be refused questioning under Veritaserum. Professor Snape had tried to convince Fudge to use Veritaserum, but he had threatened him with the Dementors' Kiss. Snape gave up trying after that, but Ashling still thanked him in her mind for trying when Ron, Hermione and hell, even Dumbledore, Sirius and Remus had believed she was guilty. She vaguely registered that Ron and Sirius were shouting at her, she tilted her head and listened to what they were saying: "HOW COULD YOU? HOW COULD YOU MURDER ALL THOSE INNOCENT PEOPLE? YOU DESERVED ALL THOSE BEATINGS FROM YOU'RE UNCLE, AND YOU DESERVE GOING TO THAT HELL! YOU'RE DEAD TO ME, ASHLING POTTER!" "YOU ARE MY GODDAUGHTER NO LONGER!" She had expected to feel pain when Ron spoke (more like spat out) her full name, as he and Hermione had always just called her Ash or Ashley and when Sirius declared she was no longer his Goddaughter. But she felt nothing.

As an Auror placed shackles on her wrists and ankles, she felt hysteria bubbling up inside of her. She started laughing, laughing at the irony of it all. The wizarding worlds' darling savior, condemned to the hell that held the Dark Lords' followers, accused of assisting the one that she herself had faced and defeated three times over, the one that had killed her parents! She laughed at the thought of her ever thinking of the Weasels and the Mudblood as her friends. Sure, they had cheered her up during her four years at Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry, they had tried to tell her she wasn't a freak, that she wasn't worthless despite the words branded on the insides of her forearms and the scars that marred her deathly pale skin. But here they were, kicking her when she was down, rubbing salt into her wounds.

She laughed when they pushed her roughly onto the creaky old boat and chained her down, she laughed when they prodded her through the hallways of Azkaban. The other prisoners laughed as well, as if they were wolves, answering one of the packs' howls. She laughed when she was shoved into a maximum security cell, and for hours on end, giggled and clawed at her eyes. At some point, she saw the image of her parents smiling at her. The last thing she saw before she fell into oblivion was a silver raven.

~ Flashback end ~

That had been four years ago. Three years, ten months ago she stopped feeling any emotion. Around that same time the human guards had started taunting and beating her. Two years ago she had a dream where she glided and swooped around with a bat that resembled a certain Professor. She had woken up as a raven with obsidian black feathers that time. One year, seven months ago she managed to transform at will, becoming an animagus.

She let out a breath and closed her eyes, not knowing that outside the walls of this hell that held her the wizarding world was in uproar over the fact that the Girl-Who-Lived was innocent.

Severus had only felt disbelief when Dumbledore told him that Ashling Potter was responsible for the murder of 4 wizards and 9 muggles. He remembered the energetic girl that often ran down the Hogwarts halls with a carefree grace, the defiant student that protested every time he bullied Longbottom in his classes and defended Weasley and Granger even if it meant a week's worth of detentions. Lily's daughter, who tried to see the good in everyone around her and argued that he himself was just misunderstood. He simply couldn't picture Potter killing someone other than The Dark Lord. The whole damned school felt too empty without her.

Now he was sitting on the pathetic excuse for a boat that brought prisoners to Azkaban with Weasley, Granger, Dumbledore, Black, Lupin, Skeeter and the blustering idiot Fudge. The bloody annoying twinkle in Dumbledore's eyes was gone and he was looking sorrowfully at a spot on the horizon, Granger was sobbing and blubbering about how she oh so hoped that Potter would forgive them. He highly doubted it. Weasley seemed to be reliving the end of Potter's trial, when he had burned the bridge between them. Black and Lupin were silent, wallowing in guilt and self-pity. Fudge was clutching onto his hideous lime green bowler hat while Skeeter was excitedly readying her camera and Quick-Quotes-Quill. Was she so dim-witted that she thought she would be able to interview Potter after she had been in Azkaban for four years?

The boat arrived at a dock that was recently built on Azkaban island and they all got off, one by one. Severus could feel the Dementors' presence as they walked into the crumbling building and walked up the endless stairs. There was only one cell on the topmost floor.

Potter was sprawled on the floor in the centre of the cell. Her hair flared out around her face like a halo, she looked like a corpse with her sunken eye sockets and pale skin that clung onto her skeleton. He noted with surprise the emerald green wings that sprouted from her back. Severus thought that even when she was starved and covered in scars, she was beautiful. He quickly shook his head to get rid of the thought. Where had it even come from? Skeeter quickly took a picture of Potter, and attempted a close up on the Fae wings. But upon seeing the flash of the camera, Potter gave an unearthly shriek, jumped up and promptly collapsed into a heap on the floor. She curled up and started rocking back and forth whilst softly chanting something, Severus thought he could hear the words "blood of the enemy" and assumed she was reliving whatever had happened during the Third Task of the Triwizard tournament. The haunted look in her eyes as she whimpered out something unintelligible stirred memories of his own childhood, and he heard Granger's sobs increase in volume before she calmed down and stuttered "May-maybe Professor Snape could, um, use Legilimency on Ashley to see if-if" at this point Granger looked like she would start crying a flood "if, um, she is insa-insane?" Dumbledore and Fudge nodded, both probably wanting to know if Potter was sane or not.

"Legilimens" Her mind was filled with flashes of memories, all swirling around in a cyclone of silver-gray strands, there seemed to be silhouettes of people, all shouting. Severus realized that at some point the silhouettes would start shouting different things, first they were showering the Girl-Who-Lived with praise, next they were claiming she was the Heir of Slytherin, a mass murderer who would become the next Dark Lady. The mass of gray was swirling around one silhouette in particular, he realized that this was Potter. She stood stock-still and it seemed to him that she felt nothing, no emotion. Just as he was pulled from her mind, he saw a raven with emerald green eyes-the same raven from his dream two years ago.

Hermione was so worried that Ashley was insane, she just couldn't believe she had betrayed her first friend, her best friend like she did! She had been weeping almost nonstop since a captured Death Eater bragged about You-Know-Who framing Ashley.

Hermione looked over at Ron, he looked shocked and was probably trying to summon up the courage to apologize to Ashley. Sirius and Professor Lupin were silent the entire way here, and both looked like they wanted to fling themselves at Ash but were also afraid for her sanity. At that moment, Professor Snape came out of Ashley's mind. "She is insane, but not completely. She may be unable to recognize any of us and might experience flashbacks. She also seems to be unable to experience emotions"

Sirius and Professor Lupin looked shocked then Sirius whispered "Ashley won't be able to recognize us?" "Yes, I have just said so. Are you so incompetent that you are not able to comprehend my words?" "No one asked you, Snivellius" Thankfully, Professor Dumbledore interrupted "Enough! Sirius, Severus you two fighting will not help Ashley, we will bring her to The Burrow to rest." Hermione looked over at Ashley, or what was left of Ashley. When had her eyes become so dull and desolate? She would get better under Mrs. Weasley's care, wouldn't she?

Hermione almost burst into tears again when she had to help Ashley walk. Surprisingly, Professor Snape helped her and Ashley. "Didn't those two hate each other?" Hermione wondered "Why would he even help Ashley? Now that I think of it, why did he even agree to come?" As usual, the Potion Master's face revealed nothing, but Hermione kept watch for anything that might possibly answer the questions buzzing around in her brain.

She looked back at Ashley and was forcefully reminded of all the times the two of them had raced each other down the halls to the library, ducking and swerving to avoid running into people and then skidding to a halt right before they ran into the door and trying to contain giggles while at the same time avoiding Madame Pince's piercing glare. When they were sure that the strict librarian was out of earshot they would collapse and laugh (quietly, for fear that someone would hear them) until they both had cramps, then they would study together until the crazy old bat kicked them out or one of them became too drowsy to continue studying. Whichever came first.

She struggled to keep the floodgates closed as she realized that they would never do that again, never squabble over ridiculous things like whether robes and cloaks were different only to end up in a staring contest, then both of them erupting into laughter while a confused Ron looked between them scratching his head. She remembered them poking fun at Ron while he struggled with his Divination homework and the girls breezed through their Arithmancy worksheets, swiping chocolate frogs from the towering pile of Honeyduke's sweets they had dumped on the table.

The group all let their shoulders slump as they walked out of the gates of Azkaban. Hermione was pulled from her musings as Professor Dumbledore announced that they would get back to the burrow by Portkey to avoid the reporters. However, when Ashley registered the word "Portkey" she immediately let out a cry "CEDRIC! NO! CEDRIC COME BACK! Here, just please grab the cup-the portkey-" Hermione saw, out of the corner of her eye Rita Skeeter talking to her Quick-Quotes-Quill before Ashley started randomly shooting wandless spells in a panic. "Somebody stun her!" Hermione shouted as she barely dodged a powerful Reducto. Professor Dumbledore quickly shot a weakStupefyand they all grabbed hold of the Portkey.

I wake up and look around. Somehow I know that that was the first time in years I have slept peacefully. There's a red haired woman fussing over me. She's a bit plump, and has a face full of freckles but her chocolate brown eyes are warm. She looks like she has been crying a lot, her clothes are wrinkled and I can see where the tears have fallen, when she checks my temperature I notice her hands are cold. I can tell she is stressed, but something holds me back, stops me from comforting her. Who is she? Why do I feel like I know her? I feel like I should be panicking. But I feel nothing. I vaguely remember a woman telling me to start with basic facts and then start comprehending what is going on around me. She has blue eyes that are the colour of the afternoon sky, gray hair and a kind smile. I can see concern in her eyes and also an urge to protect, she is tensed slightly, with a white wand raised like she expects me to jump out of the bed. I think she's a mediwitch or matron of sorts from the robes she wears.

Come on, Ashling. Don't think about your problems. There, see? You know your first name now. Just breathe, relax. What's your full name? Ah, my name is Ashling Lillian Winter Potter. I am eighteen years old. My parents are Lillian Potter nee Evans and James Potter. My mother was adopted from the Diviniuse family. A Fae family. I am a pure blooded witch and a Raven animagus.

I'm pulled from my thoughts when the woman asks how I'm doing. When I tell her I can't remember much tears fill her eyes. She gives me a tray of food and tell me to eat. Why not? I do so. When I'm done she hands me some Nourishment Potions and Skele-Gro. After I down them she tells me to sleep so that the potions can do their work.

~Dream~

I'm at the edge of a deep, dark forest in my animagus form. There is a very familiar castle some distance away, there is also a cabin besides a huge lake. The water reflects the stars in the night sky and I recognize a few of the Constellations. There's a familiar bat flying around the lake. I think I have seen him before. He lands a bit clumsily on a branch close by. "Smooth landing" I call out in my mind. The bat gives me a dirty look as if he can hear me. "Let's see you try that, if you are such an expert flier" he sneers. It's like second nature to me. I launch myself off of the branch I was on and do a few loops before landing gracefully on my original perch and giving him a smug look. He mentally sighs and mutters something about pots and blood. Potter blood? "Fly with me" I say to him. "Why not, I have nothing better to do" He replies. The rest of the night is spent swooping around in a comfortable silence

~Dream ends~

Ashling means "Beautiful Dream"

"Diviniuse" comes from "Divinus" which is apparently "Blessed" in Latin (correct me if I'm wrong)

In this fic, you can use Legilimency in animagus form

Please review and tell me what you think!