Chapter 1:
Grace In Not-So-Wonderland

Summery:
Trapped in a wonderland, Grace Black searches through an abyss of confusion and has to face up to her fears, question her morals and find a way through a labyrinth of deception and trickery.

Notes:
- I do not own cannon characters displayed in the following works, characters not mentioned in either Alice in Wonderland or Harry Potter belong to me and are my intellectual property. -

Berlin was particularly cold that afternoon as the snow fell upon the grounds creating a light dust of white in the cracks and crevices of the stone footpaths that paved the streets, the skies were of a murky grey hue, the lights illuminated the streets helping guide the streets inhabitants and pedestrians who lined the busy streets on the bustling wizarding community streets within the heart of Berlin.

A young luminescent blonde haired eccentric looking girl, with a bright pink trench coat and chunky white scarf wandered down the street joined by her friends whom wore varying shades of bright coloured trench coats. They seemed very far into their own world and ignoring the cool chill that was evident in air, their purpose? Shopping of course; what else would a group of sixteen year olds be up to in the streets dressed impeccably be doing?

The girls wandered into a café just off the busy street down a small alleyway it was fairly obscure and had a sense of exclusivity, the atmosphere was quite and subdued and the conversations held within were of the whispering kind. They made their way over to the far back darkened corner after they had ordered their coffee and hot beverages.

One of the girls whispered with her thick heavy German language to the raven haired among the girls "Grace, I heard you managed to master the cruciatus?" She paused briefly "is that true? I heard my father talking to your father in the parlour early yesterday evening" she said settling into the plush seat eager to hear the response.
Giving a small devious smirk Grace nodded "yes that is true, I am a Black of course." answering back, but continued "I'm surprised none of you even know finer points to the dark arts" she shrugged and relaxed into the seating.

As time progressed, the conversations took a turn to idle gossip as the girls discussed politics and social drama, Grace remained silent absorbing the information so she could analyse and piece things together when she got back home. She preferred to listen rather than contribute to gossip, she was disinterested in becoming a gossiping housewife; she was brought up to play the part but to have a sinister edge.

A more sombre tone took over the table as one of the brunettes discussed about how her brother would be joining the Death Eaters and will be moving over to England to live to do his duty. This made Grace's ears perk as she felt the need to contribute "I think what your brother is doing is honourable, one day I will possess a Dark Mark my forearm. It's a honourable cause, to keep the blood pure and keep the filth at bay. I don't understand how you could even think that it was a sad occasion. You should be proud." her voice was raised as high as a whisper could go.
She had a sudden distaste to the brunette as she gripped her mug in a way that would help her to not go straight for her wand and hex the hell out of the girl. She was displeased with the fact that the girl thought it was dishonourable or even a horrible thing to be.
The brunette girls frame sunk into her chair as embarrassment succumbed her, she felt almost ashamed that she even mentioned it in such a way - slowly but surely she blended into the conversation as Grace glared daggers at her.
Grace made a mental note of keeping an eye on her, she would not have a blood traitor among her friends, and it just would not do.

The mood became lighter after that as they started to plan for the school year and who was going to go where and what they were going to do by the time holidays came along. Grace was the only one of her friends in Germany that attended Hogwarts, in a way this was a blessing and in another way it was a curse. A blessing because she could make more friends in England and a curse because she missed her friends at home dearly when she was studying and they were abroad.

They continued on with their shopping and coffee throughout the day until the night dawned and the snow began to thicken in the streets, Grace and her friends took their separate paths home.