Never Be My Father

Description: Phoenix Black had been beaten and abused her entire life. Until she is taken to her father's house after his escape. But she expects nothing but what she has grown up with. After being moved to Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry she meets a young man who doesn't want anything from her but friendship. What will happen when someone from her dark past returns for more? Will her new friends do anything to help her? Or will she be stuck, again with only one answer, submission?

Disclaimer: I own only Phoenix Black, she is a character from my imaginings. Harry Potter and the rest in this story, along with the locations and schools belong to J.K.R.

(Be gentle this is an old story brought back from my vaults with added pieces to go with the books.)

Chapter 1

Phoenix Black grew up not really know what would become of her. Her mother had died when she was just a baby and her father had been sent to prison just before her mother's death. She had come to live with her grandfather just after the events took place.

No one knew it, but Phoenix had a bad life with her grandfather. He blamed her father for everything that had happened to her mother. But not just that, her grandfather was a cruel man, period. He enjoyed beating Phoenix on a daily basis. Because of this, Phoenix Marie Black would never be considered a 'beautiful girl'.

Though she had looked just like her beautiful mother once, now her ivory face was scarred and maimed. There was a giant scar next to her right eye, that was the first scar she had gotten, though it definitely would not be her last. Her violet eyes were dull, had never known what it was to be bright. She was extremely skinny, with scars marring her arms, legs, stomach and back. Her entire body was something like a cutting board to her grandfather.

She spent her first four years of schooling at Durmstrang where her grandfather knew the headmaster and had made, sort of an arrangement with him, so that she was constantly watched. The headmaster had been even more cruel than her grandfather, as he wanted to do more than just beat on her, though, she was still, constantly, beaten. After her fourth year, a man named Remus Lupin took her from the school and her grandfather and moved her into a place called The House Of Black, saying that this was her family house.

It was a dark house, with a lot of dark magic items. This was something that she was used to, all the dark magic. Her grandfather used this stuff and it was all over the school. She looked around and soon realized that it was full of men. Her heart plummeted. Things weren't going to change, no matter what that man had said. Nothing would ever change. So, Phoenix simply put her chin to her chest and let her hair fall over her face, accepting what would come.

Unbeknownst to her, Sirius Black was living in the bedroom next to hers, living in the house as a great dog. Phoenix walked the place like a scared cat, waiting for the shoe to drop. People came and went all the time, and a red headed family moved in shortly after her. The mother, who asked her to call her Molly, tried her hardest to bring Phoenix around to talking or just looking at people. But that did not work at all. The red headed boys were everywhere around the house making noises and they seemed to be around her all the time, so much so that Phoenix took to hiding in her room at all times, except in the middle of the night when she went downstairs to make her own food.

Phoenix was getting skinnier, and more of a recluse as the summer went by. She wasn't around when the muggle born girl came to the house, and when the boy named Harry Potter came to stay, she was still in the dark room, hiding out, waiting. She heard the commotion, the two new voices, one her father, but she didn't know that.

Phoenix curled up in her bed most days, most times of the day, she sat next to her window with the shades drawn, no light coming in. The light was what got you, the light was what betrayed you, nothing light could be trusted.

When her Hogwarts letter came, Phoenix was surprised. She hadn't expected to actually get away from her other school. She was just biding time. She was to go to Hogwarts on the train with everyone but she was to be sorted in the Deputy Headmistress's office. She didn't know about this House idea. How were they supposed to know who she would get along with? How was this supposed to be family? She begrudged going to this school. The only family she had ever known hadn't exactly been good to her.

Phoenix smiled at the pretty owl that had delivered her letter. It was a brown barn owl, and it looked so regal, so beautiful. It was free, like she wished to be. She gave it's head a stroke before it flew away. Freedom would be wonderful.