Chapter One
It had been so long. So long since she had the opportunity to feel the excitement of returning to the place she had been the happiest. As she gazed at the wondrous castle from within the Forest, she let it finally dawn upon her where she was: Hogwarts.
Making her way over the roots and fallen trees, she carried on. As she reached the Forest's edge she noticed a small, quaint hut. Letting curiosity get the best of her, once again, she started towards the unfamiliar home, only to stop just as soon as she had started. The wind had shifted and she could now smell what was emanating from the hut. Blood. Lots of it, coming from, what was that? Giant? Human? Either way, she knew that if she let herself get too close, the uncontrollable side of her nature would present itself. Best to carry on.
She was able to quickly, silently, get into the castle. She had to get to Dumbledore as soon as she could. If anyone saw her, she knew that they would assume the worst. They would assume, that because the Dark Lord had risen again, she was one of those mindless servants of his, come to plant a trap for the Chosen One. Honestly? If she was the one the Dark Lord had sent, she would have not even been able to be granted entrance within the borders of the Forest by the herd of centaurs that were there on a favor to Dumbledore. Although, it was hard enough convincing them that she was not a threat to anyone, but with the animosity between their species, it was lucky she passed through alive. But she knew this castle like the back of her hand. One of the few ways she was able to accept what she had become was her perfect memory. It may have been almost 800 years since she had been within the castle walls, but she could remember, plain as day, each and every passage, including the statue that guarded the entrance to the Headmaster's office.
"Blood Pops" she said to the gargoyle guarding the entrance, smiling at the irony.
It promptly leapt aside to let her pass up the winding staircase to the Headmaster's office. She slowed as she reached the top of the stairs, was she really doing this? She was internally dying because of what she was. She hated herself, for letting herself live all of these years. Of how selfish she could be, to hurt others, just so that she may continue this "life" that she had been plagued with. But, of course she was doing this now. Dumbledore was the only one who could help her, the only one who had helped her in the past 200 years. She must do this for him.
Before she even knocked on the door, she heard Dumbledore's cool voice, "No need to knock Anastasia, you are a most welcome guest."
She stepped into the circular office, looking around at all the new additions since she had last entered. So many Headmasters had their portraits hanging from the walls, all of whom appeared asleep because of the late hour of her arrival. Looking at Dumbledore, sitting casually behind his desk with Fawkes perched close by, led her to relax a bit. But she knew that she was about to learn what she would be able to do for her closest living friend, before she would aid him in the hunt for the remaining horcruxes.
"Please, sit down" Dumbledore gestured to the chair closest to her.
"I am so glad to finally be back, Professor. It has been so long since I have felt secure and….at home." Anastasia replied, smiling for the first time in what felt like centuries.
"Of course, of course. Now, we both understand why you are here. So let us get to it, shall we?" Dumbledore stated, while peering over his half-moon spectacles.
Anastasia did not speak, she simply nodded in reply.
"Good. Now, I will announce your arrival, as well as Meryl's and Lawrence's, at the start-of-term feast. You all shall stay in the houses that you were in while in school" Dumbledore paused, and peered at her. She had become completely ridged.
"Will this be a problem?" He asked.
"No, no. It is just, so much has….changed. I have changed. I do not think that I deserve to be in that house, because of the lifestyle that I am now forced to live." She replied.
Dumbledore simply smiled. "We both know that the Sorting Hat would not have made you a Gryffindor if you were not a true one at heart. No matter who your family might be, and besides, we both know that you have complete control over yourself. If I thought that you would be a danger to anyonein this school, I would not have asked for your reappearance" he added sternly.
She nodded, feeling more like herself by the moment, regaining the confidence she was once known for.
He continued in a much kinder tone, "I hope that you all do not mind, but I will not be telling the students what you four are. I will leave that detail upon your shoulders, as I feel it is not my secret to share."
She was thankful that Dumbledore did not plan on outing her, but was confused. "Sorry Professor, but I believe I heard you wrong. Did you say the four of us?" to be completely honest, she was worried, and furious. She hadn't seen him in nearly 700 years, and she knew that if she did come face-to-face with him, he better hope that she would become distracted enough not to rip his head off. Literally.
"Ah, yes. I suppose I spoke wrong. Only three are currently enrolled Hogwarts for the next school year," he replied, but she couldn't help but noticed the slight twinkle in his eye. "Although, you are the key to my plan."
She knew the conversation would eventually lead to this, she was simply hoping to stall it. "I know. What is it that you would like me to do?" She was anxious, and she had to admit it, a tad excited.
"We both know that Tom will infiltrate the school this year, and it will be in the form of a boy known as Draco Malfoy. Draco will attempt to kill me, and some may call me selfish for this, but I do not yet wish to die. So I would like you to become…what do they call it nowadays? Ah, friendly, with young Draco."
She couldn't help but to smile at Dumbledore's obvious attempt to lighten the mood.
"I am hoping that once you gain his trust, he will reveal to you his exact plans, so that we may work around them and keep others safe. It will take some convincing, I am sure that Tom has deeply threatened him, as well as those he loves; but with your lineage, there is no question that you will be able to bring young Draco into the light, and talk him out of anything that he will be trying to plan, or at least reroute his method of choice." Dumbledore looked to her for a response. When he did not receive one, he continued, "this seems quite an achievable goal, if I do say so myself. Do you have any objections to it, Anastasia?"
She was reviewing his plan for her in her mind. He was quite right, this would be difficult, but not impossible. And besides, she always enjoyed a challenge.
"I promise you, Professor, that I will do everything in my power to sway Draco to our side. From what I am gathering, he appears to be frightened boy, who is being forced into acting like a man that he is not prepared, or even wants to be" she declared.
"I am glad that we have you three on our side, but the Order does not know what you all are, nor I do not believe that they would be as trusting of you all as I am." He stopped to consider a thought, "Well, there is an exception to that, but I am sure that he would, at the very least, be wary of the arrangement that we have reached tonight. Now, all of the teachers will be ignorant of your true nature, except for Minerva McGonagall, the Head of Gryffindor house. This is for safety purposes, as she is also the deputy Headmistress, and she needs to know almost everything that I know when it comes to the school. She is one of the few that will take my word entirely that you all are not a threat to the students or teachers,
"Now that we have your 'main mission' as I like to refer to it, out in the open, I would like to discuss the remaining horcruxes." He stated.
"I know that you were able to come into possession of the ring. I hope that you did not put it on, Professor." She asked him, clearly worried.
"Now, now, no need to worry yourself. I was able to destroy the ring without bringing any harm upon myself, or others. Although, I am wondering if you were able to procure the locket?" He asked her, making sure to keep eye contact.
"Yes. I am in possession of the locket," she said. She stood so that she could remove her cloak, a cloak that was of the purest white, given to her by her grandfather, made from the manes of unicorns. It possessed a many qualities that were unique unto itself, including that it had the texture of silk, but warmth of wool. She placed it on the back of her chair, and lifted the locket off her chest, to examine it. It was impossible to deny that it was a beautiful locket. Made of pure gold, with a snake in the shape of a S on the front, with emeralds accenting the snake.
She surrendered the locket to Dumbledore and he stored it in a draw of his desk, to be destroyed later. She looked up at him, a question playing on her lips, "Sir, I must ask, may I… May I keep the locket after you have destroyed it?"
He searched her face for a few moments before answering, "Of course.
Now we may discuss the possibility of you procuring another horcrux. I have it upon good authority that Tom has entrusted one with a very loyal Death Eater, known as Bellatrix Lestrange, I am assuming that this is horcrux is the one relating to Helga Hufflepuff. And, as it happens to be, she is Draco's aunt," he stopped while she thought this over.
"How am I supposed to get to Draco's home, to meet his family if we are…Oh. OH" It finally dawned upon her what Dumbledore was asking her to do. She was not going to simply be Draco's friend. He expected her to become quite intimate with Draco. To the point where Draco would wish her to meet his family.
She considered it for a moment. It was wrong to manipulate others emotions, but, considering the current circumstances, she felt that she would put her conscience, and feelings, aside for the time-being. Becoming…intimate with Draco should not be a difficult task, considering her appearance.
She did not want others to think of her as being vain, but it was impossible to deny that she was beautiful. With gorgeous, medium brown hair, some strands appearing gold, that fell in soft curls to the middle of her back, blue-grey eyes, porcelain skin, an oval face, a body that was not large, but had just the right amount of curves, and taller than most women, very few men would deny her anything. And when one took into account that she was ½ veela, on her mother's side, it explained why she always had a line of suitors eagerly awaiting her while growing up. Of course, she would alter her appearance slightly while she was at Hogwarts.
The chances of someone finding her family's genealogy book were quite slim, but she did not want to chance it. Dumbledore assured her that she would only need to alter one aspect of her appearance, so she chose her hair. She would use a simple hair-taming potion that would make her curls straight.
Dumbledore's voice brought her back from her stream of thoughts, "Now that you fully understand what exactly it is that I am asking you to do, I want to propose a schedule for you. I would like you to procure the Lestrange horcrux by the end of the Christmas holidays. And I have a strong feeling, that by becoming so close to Draco, you will be my second double-agent."
She could not help but to ask, "And who is the other, Professor?"
"Now, now. You should not let that curiosity of yours swing out of control, Anastasia." He answered, with a twinkle in his eye, but ignoring her question.
"I do believe that we have covered enough for tonight. The students will be arriving in 2 days, and until then, you three may go where ever you wish inside the castle, and on the grounds. Once the other students arrive, you all will adhere to the same rules.
"We have also set up your own rooms, in concealed entrances, off your house's common rooms. A spell, invented by yours truly, will ensure that the other students do not notice that you are not sleeping in the normal dormitories. In your room, you will find a limitless supply of your dietary needs,"
She hated to interrupt him, but she had to say it, "But, Professor, I prefer to-"
He cut her off. "I know that you prefer to feed yourself, Anastasia. But I must insist that you do not do it while you are on Hogwarts grounds. I believe that I have given you three enough special treatment in payment for what you are doing this year. But I cannot give you let all three of you feed yourselves while here. It would raise too much suspicion about what exactly is going on within these walls, and Hogwarts cannot afford that kind of attention right now." He finished his lecture and looked to her for a response.
"I apologize, Professor, I did not mean to upset you," she really did not mean to anger him, and honestly felt bad. But, if she was being honest with herself, she knew she would slip up. There was no way that she would be able to resist her cravings.
Meryl and Lawrence would, of course, be fine with the arrangement. Meryl would see the situation from an intellectual stand point, and make the argument Dumbledore just made; Lawrence would see the situation from the humanitarian side.
She loved the two of them as one would love siblings, but envied them for their self-control. They had never given in to their cravings, as she had. This aspect of their personalities sickened her to her core, knowing how they were perfect for each other. She would always wonder how they were able to stay together, after her tentative relationship with him had ended.
But she refused to dwell upon such a sour topic, and Dumbledore brought her out of her thoughts once again.
"I accept your apology, Anastasia. And, I do not want to be overtly rude, but I must ask you to leave. I am an old man, you see, and I must get some amount of beauty sleep," he said, smiling and passing over their slight argument only moments before.
She laughed, a very strange feeling for her, considering she hadn't laughed in nearly seventy years. "I am sorry, Professor!"
"Yes, yes. All is forgiven! I expect to see you at breakfast in the morning. You best head on to your room, both Meryl and Lawrence are tucked into their own rooms for the night. Your password is "Phoenixes." Also, your own phoenix, Genevieve, arrived about an hour before you, with your things in tow. I sent her on to your room for you,"
"Thank you, Professor"
"It is no problem. Although, I would love it if you would teach me how to get Fawkes to carry my luggage for me. It would make my trips much simpler…"
She smiled at his humor, and was thankful that he was not dwelling upon their disagreement earlier. "I'll see you in the morning Professor"
As she descended the stairs, and began to head towards Gryffindor Tower, she felt as if she were seeing the world in a whole new light.
Knowing that she had a purpose for her life again, she felt as though she might actually be happy. Of course, she knew that her task would be extremely difficult, and promised herself that she would accomplish it.
Although, she couldn't help but to wonder as to what the Malfoy boy looked like. Obviously he would be relatively attractive, considering he was a Pureblood.
But she promised herself that she would do what needed to be done, without creating any true bond with Draco. Because a bond, of any kind, can only lead to one thing.
Heartbreak.