Disclaimer: I do not own anything Harry Potter - all those rights go to J.K. Rowling. I only own Lain and her story.
Welcome to my first HP fic! Enjoy the first chapter of No Matter What!
No matter what happens, stay true to yourself. This was the main code that Lain Alastair had followed, as it had been the last thing her parents had said before they were taken away from her and subsequently slaughtered when she was only 10. She knew it would happen sooner or later, though. They were 'blood-traitors' according to the bad men who had taken her parents and because of this, Lain lived the first 10 years of her life in hiding. No walking in the streets alone. No making friends. No schooling. Instead, her parents would always keep her at home so that they may prepare her for the life of a witch.
Both Lain and her parents could perform magic, and powerful magic at that. Since young witches and wizards were typically unstable and had difficulty performing magic, her parents took every precaution to make sure they taught her especially powerful magic in the midst of their home, where they couldn't be found out. At first, Lain thought it was all fun and games. However, as she began to grow older, she had realized that was far from it. Her parents had always told her to be careful with her magic particularly because she was special. She didn't realize how special she was until she hit the age 9, and her parents spilled all the secrets of her family's bloodline.
Lain had already known that her and her parents were pure-bloods. However, she didn't realize how powerful their name was in the wizard community. They were original pure-bloods, leading back hundreds and hundreds of years. Alastair magic was old, and the only bloodline of its kind left. Because their magic was so old and powerful, Lain found herself being able to perform magic that even an accomplished Auror would have trouble handling. Her parents would warn her though, and tell her to be careful with her magic, especially dark magic. They hadn't taught her it themselves, but Lain was a wild child, and was smart enough to learn them through the books in her father's study when he wasn't looking. The Unforgivables is what her parents called them. She used the Imperius curse once on a rat. She thought it was rather silly to be able to control it. However, her mother had walked in at the very moment and took Lain's wand from her, scolding her for quite a while about how would she feel if someone used such a curse on her, to be able to control her every move without her consent.
Lain promised not to use an Unforgivable after that, not wanting to be in a predicament like that herself.
But here she was, 4 years later, reminiscing about the past and backing out of that promise. Lain knew she had to stay true to herself. However, she wasn't going to be able to do that dead.
"Crucio!" Lain shouted, shooting the curse in front of her at the man who had nearly killed her moments before. Huffing, she stood next to his shaking body as he screamed in agony of the pain that the curse inflicted.
"Who are you?!" She nearly screeched, her wand at the man's throat. He smirked slightly, still shaking.
Lain shot the curse at him again, and his screaming continued. She dug her wand deeper into his throat, and glared at him.
"You will tell me who you are, and why you nearly killed me! The Cruciatus Curse is not the only unforgivable I know how to use" she hissed at him, smirking at the last part.
The man refused to comply, saying that if he gave her any information he'd be as good as dead anyways.
"Kill me. If you don't, he will. I've failed him, anyways" the man wailed to himself.
She shook her head at his response. Lain didn't actually want to kill this man, but with what she had been though the last four years…she was getting quite close to her breaking point.
"Fine then. If you won't tell me willingly, I'll make you tell me" Lain muttered quietly while pointing her wand at him.
"Imperio!"
The man stopped shaking, and his eyes fogged over.
"I want you to tell me your name, why you were sent here, and if you were involved with my parent's murder."
"My name is Johnathon Birdly. I was sent to retrieve you for him. I was not involved in your parent's murder, but I know who was" he drawled out.
"Who was it? Who killed them and who wants me dead!?" Lain yelled, clenching her wand.
"He doesn't want you dead, just wanted your parents out of the way."
"But who is he? And why not kill me?" Lain muttered, her resolve faltering.
"You are important to my plans, Lain Alastair. When I want you to know who I am, I will visit you personally" hissed a completely different voice.
Lain dropped her wand, and grabbed Johnathon by the shoulders, shaking him for more answers.
"Who are you?! Tell me who you are or I'll-"
Johnathon smirked, and before Lain knew it, he let out a small scream from his lips before turning into ash in her hands.
Lain watched the ash fall through her fingers, and with it went her answers.
Picking up her wand, and dusting herself off, Lain did what she knew best.
She Ran.
Ever since her parents had died, Lain had been living on her own. She would hide in the scummiest of places and would barely scape by some days. She knew of her inheritance, as her parents had always prepared for the worst. However, she would have to go to Gringotts for that money, and there was no way she could risk being seen after all this time.
Even if she was starving.
Lain walked into the abandoned motel room she had only recently made her new home. It had the essentials: four walls, a floor and only a couple rats.
Dropping her backpack, which held everything that she owned, Lain walked over to her makeshift bed of leaves and ferns, which were covered with a damp and dirty sheet. Picking up the compact mirror that she kept next to her bed at all times, she opened it to reveal her disheveled appearance. Her dull green eyes, which were once so vibrant and full of energy, stared back at her reflection. Lain's skin was always pale, but now she looked nearly ghostly. Dark scuffs and scratches covered her skin, replacing the soft porcelain look her mother always told her she had. Her lips were dry and cracked, lacking from moisture. The pin-straight long black hair she had always cherished and adored because it looked just like her fathers had become a tangled mess on top of her head. Closing the compact mirror, Lain huffed and turned to lie on her side.
There was no time for looks when you were being chased by thugs daily; not that she was raised to care so much about them, anyway.
Lain sighed and turned to her other side.
She had so much on her mind, there was no way she could even attempt to sleep tonight.
Who was that man? And what did he mean when he said she was important to his plans? If there was anything Lain hated, it was being used. She especially did not like the thought of being used as some play thing for a man who killed her parents.
No. She wasn't going to think about them.
Deciding to just go for a walk since she was so antsy, Lain grabbed her bag and mirror, and shuffled out of the motel room. As if right on time, her stomach growled and Lain realized that she hadn't eaten in two days. She was too weak right now. That last scuff could have been the end of her. So, she decided to stop by some of the fresh markets on her little walk.
It didn't take long to make it into the better part of the town she was in. All she knew was this place was very poor and very rich – there was no in-between.
Making her way towards the fresh produce stands, Lain noticted a shopkeeper turned around. Smirking, she took this as her chance. She casually walked towards the stand, pretending to be interested in the foods her offered. Lain's eyes drifted to the apples he had. They looked mouthwatering. Taking one last look around, Lain grabbed two, and shoved them under her shirt before she walked away.
Lain waited a couple blocks before she dared to pull the fruit from her shirt. It wasn't that she was afraid of getting caught – she could easily disarm and run away from anyone trying to capture her. However, Lain realized early on the less attention she has for herself, the better. Taking a chomp out of the apple, Lain felt happy for the first time in a while. She chowed down on the first apple in a minute, and the same went with the second. Content at the moment, Lain threw the cores on the street, and shoved her hands in her pockets.
She walked past some more stands, not seeing anything of interest. However, as she walked past what looked like another boring shop, she noticted something in its window.
It was a newspaper, The Daily Prophet. She had heard knew about it from her parents, who would read it all the time to stay up to date with news in the wizarding world. Although, if she was being honest, she always thought it was a bit of rubbish.
Lain figured she'd go read the paper, ignoring her prior opinions of it. The first couple pages were about some popular Quidditch player, of which she ignored. Her mother had always told her Quidditch players were always full of it. The next couple pages had caught her attention though. They were about the New Year beginning at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardy.
Lain set the paper down. She remembered her parents briefly speaking about it before they had died.
Four Years Before
"Caitlyn, we must consider the fact that the safest place for Lain might not be with us, but with the school instead" her father had muttered, pushing his long black hair out of his face.
Lain peered closer in from her hiding spot. Her parents needed to 'discuss' some things in private, and this school they were talking about must have been what they wanted to discuss.
"Ajax! You can't seriously be thinking of sending her there alone? We are her best shot at surviving" her mother nearly yelled.
Her father walked over to her mother, giving her a reassuring hug.
"We both graduated from there, Cait. We know that Dumbledore would protect her, as well as the other professors. They know how important she is. We need to take it into consideration, just please-"
Her mother pushed her father away, and fell to the floor, head in her hands.
"I won't lose my daughter, Ajax. You can't ask me to send her off to some school where I won't know if she safe or not"
Lain frowned and snuck back to her room, unsure of the situation.
Present
Staring back down at the paper, Lain had made a decision.
She had to go to this school.
It wasn't for the protection, though. No, it was because Lain needed to become stronger. She needed to be stronger than she already was so that she could avenge the death of her parents. This Dumbledore had to accept her into the school, he just had to.
Walking up to the shopkeeper, Lain slammed the newspaper down.
"Where can I go to sign up for this school?"
The shopkeeper put down the papers he was filing, and turned to her.
"Hogwarts, eh? One of the best schools out there for a young witch like yourself. Although, I dare say they were having problems with a certain serp-"
"I just want to know how to sign-up" Lain interjected.
He smiled.
"Well aren't you an assertive one? You'll do well there, I'm sure. You can sign-up at the ministry offices they have downtown. They are a couple blocks away from here."
Lain nodded, grabbing the paper and leaving his store. Before she could go though, she heard him say "Don't forget to bring your parents."
"Damn." She hissed, before storming her way downtown.
I've been wanting to write this story for a long time, but I've had super bad writers block. Let me know what you think! I'll continue it if I get enough of a response :D