Dark Mistress

Serevus Snape-black greasy haired, hooked nosed, mean tempered teacher at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry-walked around the school. He guessed it was about 2 in the morning, the perfect time for young children to be up and running about the school causing trouble. That's why he took to patrolling the school at this time, there was always the chance of catching a student causing mischievous and giving them a detention.

He walked around the Charm's corridor but found nothing. It was rather boring, doing this without any reasonable chance of catching the one student he hated... Harry Potter. Mr. Potter was the one student that he hated most of all, with Harry's same cocky attitude and sense of right. But Harry wouldn't dare miss a chance to be the popular one or to get in the lime light once again. Oh no, Harry wouldn't be James Potter's boy if he didn't seek attention all the time.

"You really shouldn't be doing this. It is, after all, summer," a voice came form the shadows.

Serevus froze and whirled around, looking around for the source of the voice. "Who's there?"

"You really have lost it this time."

A girl about 15 stepped out of the shadows and looked at Serevus. She was tall, slender with a slight athletic build. She carried a heavy American accent and wore Flare jeans, a black long sleeved open neck shirt and black sneakers. Her long dark red hair was streaked with white and was pulled back in a high pony tail, and her deep emerald green eyes shone clearly.

Serevus shook his head. "Maybe so, Lori, but I think your analysis is off."

The girl, Lori, laughed softly-making the corridor ring with an almost silent note. "Come now, I don't think I'd make a snap judgment on my father, now would I? No, I don't think so. But it shows how much you know about me." Lori's tone changed from pleasant to venomous without warning. "Maybe if you weren't in such a hurry to work you'd actually notice some things about me."

Lori turned around and stalked down the corridor, away from her father. Serevus stared after her, almost helplessly. If only she really knew....

Lori Anaiston came from a dark background that no one knew much about. She grew up in an orphanage that wasn't the most pleasant of them all. But luckily she really didn't have to live there long. When she was 4 she was adopted by the Anaistons-a friendly couple who had tried to have a baby but had ot succeeded. She was a happy little girl growing up, not a care in the world and her emerald eyes always shone with a light that couldn't be put out even when she was sad.

Lori loved the Anaistons like they were her own parents. In her opinion, her family that she didn't know couldn't even begin to compare to the Anaistons. They were nice, friendly, caring, loving, funny, and happy. They made her life happy and everything was good to little Lori.

When Lori was 13-still her own happy self-her parents agreed to take a vacation in Africa for her birthday. Their plane left on the 23rd of May at 10:45 PM. The day they were to leave wasn't sunny and warm as it was supposed to be, instead it was cold and rainy.

The rain was coming down in sheets as they drove on the deserted highway, trying to make it to the airport on time. Lori still remembered that day... She dreamed about it in her nightmares and she saw it every time she closed her eyes. There was the sound of squealing tires trying to find traction on the slick road, the sickening crunch of metal on metal, and the screaming of her parents. Lori was thrown forward and hit her head on driver's seat, knocking herself unconscious. When the medics arrived, she was the only survivor they were able to pull out alive of the car.

Lori soon fell into a coma once she was admitted into the hospital. Her wounds were serious and she had a bad head strike. It looked like things wouldn't improve for the once again orphaned teenage girl. But almost a year later Lori came out of it and took her first look around her. No one wanted to break the news to her, she seemed like a happy girl who didn't deserve this kind of pain.

But Lori demanded what happened to her parents since they hadn't come to visit her and they weren't in the hospital. The nurse that was in charge of Lori finally broke down under the girl's questions and told her. She watched helplessly as the girl got a shocked and sick look on her face and started to cry.

It was another five months before the hospital released her. Lori remembered that day very well. The hospital had done all it could to sort things out for the girl, they had tried to find any of her relatives that were able enough to take care of her. But the closest they found was a grandmother who was in the hospital with cancer. All of Lori's other relatives were too old to take good care of her.

Everything looked like it would head down one street, back to the orphanage. Lori had already strongly protested against going back but it was really her only option. So there she stood on the sidewalk of the hospital waiting with Joy-the nurse who had taken care of her-waiting for the cab to take her back to the orphanage. But that's when the most amazing thing happened.

Instead of a cab pulling up a back car pulled up. Out of the passenger's seat came a short little man with a pinstriped suit and bowler hat. He extended his hand towards Lori and smiled warmly. "Mrs. Anaiston, I am Cornelius Fudge. I am here to take you to your real birth father," he said with a crisp British accent.

Lori stared at him with amazed eyes. "My... Birth.... What?"

"Your birth father. Come now, I have everything arranged and ready. You will come with me to the airport and we'll put you on the next plan to England-"

He began to pull Lori into the car as he kept talking. Lori couldn't believe it, what was going on? She was seated in the back seat of the car and rolled down the window. Joy walked up to it and gave her a teary smile. "Be good, Lor, and write to me, all right? You'll be okay?"

Lori nodded. "I will. Look for a post from me soon, and-" Lori leaned closer to Joy, "I might need to crash with you if things are bad. You won't mind if I suddenly turn up on your doorstep?"

Joy laughed quietly. "No. Bye, Lori."

"Bye!" Lori called as the car began to pull away and Joy stepped back from it. Lori rolled up the window and leaned back in the seat and gave a mental sigh. She silently wished LA a good-bye and fell asleep.

When she awoke, Lori felt like she had been through the blender. "Oh, MAN!" She yelled loudly, not really meaning too. "I SWEAR I will kill the person who gave me that damn sleeping pill!"

She stood up on weak legs and walked over to the door. She didn't take in the room, she only took in what she could in her blurred vision. She pulled open the door and walked down a long hallway, cursing her legs all the way. At the end of the hallway there was a flight of stairs going down. "Agh!" She moaned as she started them. She had a feeling that sleeping on the plane wasn't such a good idea.

Once she was down the stairs, she stopped for a second to lean against the stair's banister to catch her breath and then curse her legs some more. Once she had regained most feeling in her legs she pushed herself away from the banister and went down another hallway. There was a door at the end and she pushed it open, only to walk into a small kitchen. "Dammit!" She hissed as her legs gave out and she collapsed on the ground, only to roll down a smaller flight of stairs.

"Chikushoume!" She yelled as she flipped herself onto her back and got up. She stood and brushed herself off, looking around. There was a backdoor in front of her, next to it was the regular kitchen appliances with cabinets on the wall with the backdoor and a counter across from them. Then in the corner was a small wooden table and chairs, and over to the right wall was another staircase.

"Kuso!" She said as she spotted the two men sitting at the table. One she recognized as Cornelius, the other was a tall man with greasy black hair, beady black eyes, a snarl on his face, hooked nose and pale skin wearing black robes.

"Lori, I'm so happy that you're awake. I was afraid that you would sleep for the rest of the day and miss the opportunity to get properly acquainted with you father. This is Serevus Snape, Lori-your father," Cornielus said as he stood, motioning towards the black haired man sitting across from him.

"Mesuinu," she spat. She was not in a good mood. "Kokuzoku, no chikushoume."

"Speak English for heaven's sake, idiot girl!" Serevus snapped.

"Oh, would you like a translation? Lemme lay it down like this. I'm in the ghetto, so lay it up and lemme get some air."

Serevus got a dangerous look on his face. Lori ignored it and walked out of the back door, yelling over her shoulder, "you bitch!"

The door slammed shut and Serevus relaxed a bit. Cornielus looked uncomfortable and slightly worried. "I don't think that was the start we were looking for, Serevus. Do you really think it wise for her to walk around unknowing in the wizarding world, unsupervised?"

"She'll learn."

"But... She knows nothing of our ways, of the Dark Lord. She doesn't know the risk involved, she won't understand what she sees. What if she goes back to the Muggles? What would she tell them? If this gets out I'll be ruined-"

"She'll learn. She seems able to handle herself."

Cornielus just sighed and shook his head. "We'll see. I'll wait here with you for her to come back."