Disclaimer: I do not own anything that you recognize from somewhere else. I am not trying to make money off this fanfiction, and this disclaimer is for the whole story.
Author's Notes: I know the 'Voldemort's Daughter' thing has been done to death, but I kind of want to give it a try with my own twists. If you don't want to read it then you can easily back out, although I'd really rather you didn't. Please, enjoy?
Three hours before sunrise, eleven year-old Kurania stepped into the forest near her home. She'd snuck out to search for help with a project – she had tried to scare Hidan many times since Christmas, but she hadn't had much luck. Kurania had been hesitant about asking her friends for help, but after yesterday she didn't feel she had a choice. Kurania had screamed when she realized that her hair glowed in the dark, and couldn't begin to guess how Hidan had managed to cause it – but he would regret it.
Once Kurania had convinced enough of her friends to help out with promises of food, and had managed to coerce all of them into promising not to harm Hidan, she headed back home. Her roommate, Alice Corwell, hadn't moved an inch, but Kurania watched her carefully as she changed into her nightdress anyway.
Once she had combed her hair of leaves she crawled into her bed, but Kurania just couldn't get back to sleep. Excitement over her plan kept her awake enough to see the beginning of daylight creep through the cracks in the blinds, fading from blue to white and finally to golden orange. When Mildred started ringing the bell for breakfast, Kurania shot right out of bed, and was redressed before Alice had even sat up.
Once Alice was ready, the girls stepped out of their room. Alice noticed Kurania's excitement as they sat at the table and warily asked, "What are you planning?"
"You'll see." Kurania flashed her a smile, and received an eyeroll in return.
"It'd better hurt only him this time." Another girl muttered as she sat beside Alice. Kurania hushed her, glancing at the albino who had just entered.
"What are you looking at?" Hidan asked, scowling. Normally Kurania would have given him a snarky reply, but this time she smiled and looked away. She heard him stomp off to his seat. After everyone had finished eating Kurania helped with the dishes before heading outside. All of the boys and several of the girls stood out there already, playing rock-paper-scissors to decide who picked the game they would play.
Hidan eventually won, and grinned at everyone else. "War!" He declared. "Let's play war!" He divided everyone into groups of three and sent them out in different directions. Kurania's teammates were supposed to be Robert Harvey and Keith Lane, but Kurania easily lost them in the woods. She went to the fort Hidan had created last time and found that she had been right – he was too proud, or perhaps too lazy, to make another fort. He and his teammates sat around in there, oblivious to Kurania's presence until she had broken in and tapped one of them. After that they immediately started chasing her, but were far enough behind that they didn't see her skirt around a clearing and blasted right through it – or tried to, at least. Hidan had been so far ahead of the other two that when he fell into the pit, the other boys had enough time to stop themselves from following him. At first they simply seemed a little shocked, and then Hidan tried to stand up. When they mesh that had covered the pit trap was moved all three boys began screaming, and the two that were able ran for help. Kurania couldn't help but laugh.
"Help me out of here!" Hidan yelled when he heard her.
"There's no need to hurry." She told him, grinning.
"You can't leave me down here with… with…"
"Are you sorry about yesterday?" She asked with a smirk.
"Yes!" Hidan squeaked as a serpent slithered over his foot. He hadn't moved since he'd stopped screaming for fear that one of the twenty-or-so snakes around him would attack.
"I'm not sure I believe you." Kurania spoke smugly, sitting on the edge of the hole.
"I am! I really am!"
She decided to get to the point."Then tell me how you did that."
A brown snake lifted itself up and looked him in the eye, flickering its tongue. "I don't know." He whispered, once it had moved away.
Kurania blinked. "What do you mean, you don't know? You did do it, didn't you?"
"I wished your hair glowed in the dark and it did – I don't know why!"
"It's called 'magic'." Kurania's head whipped around so fast it hurt. A brown-haired man with a long black cloak glared at her, not two feet behind her. She couldn't understand why she hadn't heard him coming. "This isn't how I expected to meet the two of you." He added as he pulled Hidan up and away from the snakes. He then introduced himself as Professor Longbottom from Hogwarts, and dragged the two of them back to their home. All of the children who had been playing were standing around the yard and looked highly relieved to see that Hidan was safe, and Professor Longbottom left the two with the rest and went in to speak with Mildred.
"Did you put the snakes in there?" Alice demanded, marching up to Kurania.
"None of them were poisonous, and I was going to –"
Angrily someone asked," What if you'd gotten it wrong and one had been poisonous?"
"Or what if he'd broken his neck falling in?"
"His pranks never endanger your life!"
Hidan shut the rest up for a moment by asking, "How did you get the snakes in there, anyway?" He appeared to have recovered from his fright already and looked honestly curious.
Kurania frowned at him. "I promised each of them a mouse if they hid there and didn't hurt you."
"You can talk to snakes?"Hidan asked, his purple eyes wide.
"Don't sound so impressed, she could've gotten you killed!" Keith snapped at him. The others wanted to scold him for his lack of self-preservation, but didn't get the chance because Mildred stepped out just then and brought the two to her office. Professor Longbottom was already sitting in there.
Kurania frowned: Mildred didn't seem to be angry at her, but at the stranger, which didn't make sense if she was here because she was in trouble. Mildred sat behind her desk and after a moment, said, "So. This man says that the two of you have been invited to attend a boarding school in Scotland. He also says that it is a school of witchcraft and wizardry." Mildred's nose crinkled in apparent disbelief. "He said he would prove that magic is real once you two were in here."
"You don't have to, I know it's real." Hidan said immediately. Kurania snorted, and Hidan frowned at her. "You must've used magic when you told those snakes to hide in there." He said, and both adults stiffened.
"Snakes?! Wherever did you see snakes?" Mildred asked with a startled expression.
"It doesn't matter – that isn't magic." Kurania added, scowling at Hidan. "I had to promise them food."
"To keep them from hurting me, but you didn't have to give them anything just for waiting down there."
"What on earth happened?" Mildred asked, highly disconcerted.
"Nothing." Kurania told her, and then turned to Longbottom hoping to change the subject. "How are you going to prove magic's real? Going to pull a rabbit out of your cloak?"
Longbottom shook his head. "No, I don't think so." He replied, and then waved his wand. Three snakes came out of the end and three shocked sets of eyes followed them to the floor before Mildred and Hidan jumped up and stood on the desk.
Kurania stared at them for a moment, before asking them, "Are you real snakes?"
One of them – a thick yellow one – drew itself up and hissed at her. "Of course I'm real, you silly creature!"
Kurania ignored Mildred's whimper and apologized. "I'm sorry, but I really didn't think snakes could come from sticks."
"That's silly – you can summon snakes too, can't you?" The smaller green one asked. "I can feel your magic…"
"So magic really is real?" She asked, hoping she'd just heard wrong.
The third snake, a vivid orange one with a long black stripe laughed at her. "Of course magic is real, you silly witch."
"So magical people can all talk to snakes?" Kurania wondered, a little disappointed. Other snakes had told her that she was the only human they'd ever understood.
"No, you're the only one who can speak the snake's tongue now." The smallest told her.
"I'm speaking English."She replied.
"No, you're not." The orange one laughed again. "Listen closely when you speak to us – you're hissing."
"No, I'm really no- God, I really am!" She interrupted herself as she heard it, and then looked up at Mildred. "Sorry, didn't mean to swear…" She apologized.
"You didn't swear, you've just been hissing, and it's freaky!" Mildred squeaked.
"I know, that one just told me – what's your name?" She hissed the last part to the orange snake.
"Name? I understand the concept behind that word, but I don't think I have such a thing."
Longbottom finally spoke. "So what are the four of you discussing?"
"They're telling me that magic is real and that I've been hearing English but I've actually been hissing for years – why didn't one of the forest snakes tell me?" She added, exasperated.
"Why can't I understand them – or you?" Hidan asked. He was slowly lowering himself to the floor, watching the snakes warily.
"Maybe we should jump at him?" The yellow one mused, tasting his fear in the air.
"Don't you dare." She told the snake, and then looked up at Hidan. "The orange one said that I'm the only one who can speak with them. I don't know why."
"Well, what did you just talk about with the yellow snake?" He asked, looking at it again.
Kurania hesitated. "She was asking the other two if they should jump at you – it's just because you're scared." She added hurriedly.
"I'm not-"
"The two of you can talk about this later. For now, I'm going to send these snakes back home – "
"Can't I keep them?" Kurania blurted out without thinking.
"I suppose." He said, and then continued."The two of you need to decide whether you want to attend Hogwarts. I have your letters, which explain the necessary items, and there is a fund for students who cannot afford supplies." He gave each of them a letter, and Hidan quickly tore it open. Kurania took a moment to frown at the address.
"How did you know I have the north side of the room?" She asked.
"There's a magic quill that keeps records of where students sleep – I don't have anything to do with it. I teach Herbology."
"Herbology? There's a class on herbs at a magical school?"
"There are a wide variety of plants with magical properties, and young wizards and witches should be able to recognize and avoid the more deadly ones." He explained, but he looked a little annoyed. Kurania supposed that he had to explain the purpose of his class quite often.
She read through her own letter, and frowned. "Mildred said it was a boarding school – where exactly is it?"
"It's in Hogwarts Castle, located somewhere in Scotland." He shrugged. "It's been made Unplottable – that means that it can't appear on a map."
"Why does it say 'we await your owl'?"
"Wizards and witches' mail is usually carried by owls." Longbottom explained. "Have you decided whether you want to go or not?"
"Of course I'm going!" Hidan exclaimed, while Kurania said, "I have a choice?"
"You both do."
Kurania frowned. "Is this a year-round school?" She asked, frowning at the letter again. "Oh, it says term, so probably not…"
"No, there are Christmas, Easter and summer holidays."
"Do they have to come home for the holidays?" Mildred suddenly asked. Kurania had forgotten her completely, and turned to see that Mildred was looking at the snakes, her face empty of expression.
"All students must return home for the summer holidays, but the others are optional."
"Well, are you going to take them now?" Mildred's tone revealed her hope.
Professor Longbottom's gaze sharpened. "I will be back in a week to help them buy their supplies, that is, if you've decided to go?" He directed the last part to Kurania. She nodded without really thinking about it, but decided after a moment that Mildred probably wouldn't have let her stay even if she'd refused to go. The woman looked horribly disappointed that she couldn't just get rid of Kurania now. "After that they will return for another two weeks and then you will take them to King's Cross Station on – "
"Can't you take them?" Mildred complained. "I don't have the time to drive them to London!"
"Hogwarts is in London?" Hidan asked, looking excited.
"London isn't in Scotland! We'll probably be taking a train from London." Kurania couldn't believe Hidan didn't know where London of all places was.
"I can probably ask someone to bring the two of you and your things to the train station." Longbottom decided after a long moment. "However, you should know that these children are still your responsibility – and they are children, even though they have magic." He added sternly when Mildred snorted disbelievingly. "Neglecting them will still have severe penalties."
Kurania didn't think that was likely to make Mildred any happier with them – mainly Kurania, because of the snake thing – but she supposed she should be grateful that he tried.
End Notes: So I don't know if anyone stayed for the whole thing, but one can hope! If you did read this all, please review. I like criticism as long as you tell me how to fix my mistakes! And I really love checking my email and finding new reviews! I don't even care if you log in first…
My favorite reviews are ones that give me ideas for things I can do in future updates. I only have a general idea of where this is going, so without a little help I might walk into that evil Writer's Block after the next chapter!