AN: I've been suffering from terrible writers block with The Trouble with Twins, but then a week ago this idea presented itself and I've been thinking about it since. I had to write it down. I don't own Harry Potter or any of its plot/etc.
X
Vanessa Margaret is brilliant. She's so smart, in fact, that many call her a prodigy, a genius. So when she gets a letter one day informing her of her acceptance into an exclusive private academy for gifted children, special children, neither she nor her friend are surprised. What is surprising, is that this school is a school of magic. Vanessa has known she was special from a very young age, of course. How could she not when so many special things happen around her. Of course, not all of the people around her appreciate the special things she can do; there have been many incidences in Vanessa's life where those that oppose her get hurt, in ways that nobody can explain.
X
It all started on Christmas Eve in the year 1978. A baby was dropped on the doorstep of an old abbey. With her was a letter. It was short and offered very little information. The note simply said, 'Her name is Vanessa. She was born September 8th.' The paper appears thick and old, like what you would see in an ancient tome in the government library, or a museum. The writing is that of beautiful calligraphy and it appears to have been written with a fountain pen. The sister that opened the door on that frozen early morning winter was shocked that someone would leave a three month old infant on a doorstep in the middle of December. She brought the baby inside and read the note, and upon finding only a first name, decides to name the girl herself. So the girl was named Vanessa Joan Margaret. She then took the child to the other sisters so that they could decide what to do with the girl.
The sisters spoke with each other, and agreed to raise the girl amongst them. The child was well behaved, though strange in her own way. She never fussed or cried, and preferred to be left alone at all times. The sisters realized right away that the girl was bright. She was walking by the age of nine months, talking by one year, and reading and writing by two. The girl was a genius. Things were going fine, and though the Vanessa hated being touched and never wanted affection, she was always polite and well mannered. Things couldn't be perfect forever, of course. When the child turned three, the sisters decided that it was time she started to learn how to become a proper member of the Catholic church. Specifically, they informed the girl that one day, she was to become a nun. She got upset at being told her life was being planned out for her. Most children wouldn't know the difference, but Vanessa was a genius. She knew. When her emotions spiked, the first of many strange occurrences happened. Everything in the room that wasn't nailed down began to float in the air as if held up by invisible hands, before they all surged forward at once to smash through the windows, breaking all the glass. The sisters were terrified. They tried everything they knew to fix the girl, but nothing worked. As a last resort, Sister Lucy took to paddling the girl when strange things happened. The third time this happened, however, Vanessa lost control. She was tired of being beaten. Her special powers flared and Sister Lucy was thrown against the wall and knocked unconscious. They were now positive, the girl was being possessed. At this point the girl is almost five years old. After that, priest after priest was called in to exorcise the child. They tried five times over the course of the next year or so. On Vanessa's sixth birthday, she ran.
She ran far and long and after keeping on the move for four days straight, stopping only for food, she wound up in what could be described as the 'bad part' of the outskirts of London.
She was able to easily fend for herself, as she was naturally tenacious, cunning, and vicious. She was only in the neighborhood for three months before she earned the nickname Scourge. Over the years, she spent many hours a day in the library in the heart of London learning. She also becomes an excellent pickpocket and knife fighter. She can shoot a handgun with spot on accuracy. Overall, she embodies her nickname. Quick to violence and mind so sharp she's smarter than most middle aged adults. She's damn good at everything she tries. Her gift isn't an exception, of course. She teaches herself to feel the power running through her veins. She gains an unprecedented amount of control over her abilities.
At the age of nine she meets a raggedy boy named Armando that latches on to her and won't let go. He shows absolute loyalty to her, and over time she begins to grow fond of him as well.
X
She can't help but feel a pang of disappointment that Armando won't be going to her new school with her as she reads over the letter that a barn owl had swooped in to deliver to her on her eleventh birthday. She waves it away and smirks, because of when her birthday falls, she'll have a whole year to practice with the wand she'll be getting and to learn about the world she was being dropped into. She can't wait.
X
Her first year goes by with a few bumps in the road, but all in all, everything goes as expected based on what she'd learned about the wizarding world before she boarded that beautiful scarlet steam engine. She's sorted into Slytherin before the hat even falls past her eyebrows. She's exceptional in every way; top of all of her classes, a born flier, helpful, polite, charming, and practically rakes in house points. Her last name causes some trouble in her house, but that suddenly stops two weeks into her first year. None of the other houses or any of the professors know what's changed, but something has, and it's obvious. Two months into term, Marcus Flint calls her a mudblood whore. Vanessa stares him down expressionlessly until he's squirming and then goes about her business. The next day, the fourth year is found outside the hospital wing, having been violently attacked. He looked as if he'd been mauled by a large animal, set on fire, then put at the wrong end of a deranged bludger. Nobody speaks up, but everyone in Slytherin knows who did it, they could see the bright gleam of satisfaction in Vanessa's eyes for the following week, only seeing it disappear when it's announced that the older boy would recover. Marcus refused to tell anyone what had happened. He was only ever utterly polite to her after that. The only one that suspected a thing was the headmaster, though his only proof was the fact that Vanessa reminded him so much of a young Tom Riddle it was almost striking to him. Then, when the rest of the year passes without incident he dismisses his concerns; he's obviously imagining things. Right?
X
Vanessa's summer is spent pickpocketing and keeping Armando company. She manages to get enough to cover her school supplies and more. The summer passes quickly, and soon Vanessa is back on the Hogwarts Express. She chooses an empty compartment, and settles in to read the book on blood magic that she'd bought in Knockturn Alley the day before. An hour into the train ride, and halfway through her book, there's a knock at the compartment door.
"Enter," Vanessa calls out.
A bog with white-blonde hair and a pointy face pokes his head in and asks, "have you seen Harry Potter? I heard he's supposed to be starting Hogwarts this year."
Vanessa just stares at him for a moment before shaking her head no. He frowns and pulls his head back out, then shuts the door. The rest of the train ride is peaceful. She puts her school robes on, then sits down to finish her book. She had just finished the last chapter when they pull into Hogsmeade Station. She shuts her book, puts it into her trunk, shrinks it all wandlessly and puts it into her pocket. She heads over to the carriages, pauses to pet the thestral pulling the one she'll be riding in, and climbs in. A group of second year Slytherins join her, but she ignores them easily.
After everyone gets settled in the Great Hall, the first years are led in to be sorted. The hat sings its song, and names get called. The pointy white haired kid gets put in Slytherin. Vanessa tunes out the names and the sorting in general, until... Potter, Harry. The hat is on his head for all of thirty seconds before it shouts:
SLYTHERIN!
The Hall is silent, until the Slytherin table begins politely applauding. The boy walks silently to the table of green and silver. A few of the first years shift to make room for the kid. The headmaster gives his few words of gibberish before the food appears. Vanessa silently listens to the first years question Potter in quiet voices.
"Wait until we get to the common room," she mutters to the first years.
Getting nods in response, She returns to her meal. Not much later, the dessert disappears, the headmaster gives his notices, and the students are sent to bed. Vanessa heads straight to her room, leaving the others behind.
"First years, listen up." Once the prefect has all attention on him, he began speaking again, "Our head of house will be speaking with you in a few moments, but we have something to say first. I don't know if you were paying attention to the second years or not, but there's one you should keep an eye out for. We'll only warn you once. Vanessa Margaret is dangerous. Do not cross her. If you want to know why, talk to Flint."
X
It only took three weeks for one of the first years to piss off Vanessa. Nobody knows what was said, they just know that the Malfoy heir showed up in the hospital wing disoriented and in a great deal of pain. Vanessa wears the same look in her eyes as she had the year previous. On Samhain, a troll apparently makes its way into the dungeons. The headmaster apparently forgets that the Slytherin common room is in the dungeons. The Hall is in pandemonium as students try to flee in panic.
"Slytherins, follow the Ravenclaws to their common room."
All eyes turn to Vanessa, who just cocks an eyebrow in response to the stares. The students then proceed to follow Ravenclaw, as she had told them to. The next few hours pass quietly, with the two houses simply sitting around socializing with each other. It's nearing midnight when Severus Snape enters the Ravenclaw common room with Filius Flitwick. He glances around and sees most of his snakes asleep. The only person left awake is Vanessa. He frowns, "Ms. Margaret?"
She glances at him and tilts her head questioningly. He sighs, "Thank you. You handled the situation well." Her only response is a small smile and a nod. He gathers his snakes together and guides them all back to their common room with instructions to get to bed. They all obey immediately; all except Vanessa that is. She pauses before heading to her room to smile at her head of house and wish him a good night.
X
It's the second day of Yule break when Professor Snape approaches Vanessa. "Ms. Margaret, the headmaster wishes to see you in his office." She dips her head in acknowledgement and follows him from the Slytherin common room to the gargoyle that guards the headmaster's office. "Ice mice." The disdain practically drips from his words.
They ride the moving staircase to the top in silence. Finally, they reach a door, and before her head of house can knock, a voice is calling for them to enter. They do so, and come to stand in front of a twinkle eyed headmaster Dumbledore. He welcomes the two in and bids they sit. Severus chooses to stand to Vanessa's right. The headmaster goes on and on about her achievements, before he levels a look of concern at her, "My girl, it seems we don't have a guardian listed on file for you, magical or otherwise."
He continues to eye her, waiting for her to answer his unspoken question. When she simply watches him right back with an utterly blank expression, he sighs. "My girl, I am concerned. I simply wish to get in touch with your parents to…"
He's cut off by her scoff, "Feel free to do so, if you can figure out who they are."
Severus frowns, "If you don't know who your parents even are, we can go to Gringotts and the goblins can do a blood test that shows as much."
Vanessa nods, "They told me about the test, I just can't afford it, sir."
"Nonsense, child, I'll cover the cost, and no arguments. We can go now, and then return here to inform the headmaster of whether or not you have any living relatives," Severus states with finality in his tone. Vanessa nods, and follows her professor out the door without another word. It isn't until after they're gone that Albus Dumbledore realizes he still doesn't know how to contact the girl's current guardians.
X
The walk to Gringotts is silent, the professor unsure what to say and the student unwilling to speak. When the two reach the front desk of the only open teller, the girl bows and greets the goblin by name, much to the surprise of Severus Snape. The goblin smiles at the girl and the professor has to force himself not to openly gape at the sight; goblins do NOT politely smile at witches or wizards. Period. End of story. He must have been imagining things.
The two follow the goblin, Ragnok, to a tunnel that leads deeper into the bank. He knocks on a door, waits until they are told to enter, and leaves. Inside the office, they are told to take a sent in front of a large mahogany desk. Professor and student obey, "I am Griphook, how may I help you?"
Severus explains that Vanessa needs to take a blood test so they can find out if she has any living relatives. He also informs Griphook that the money will be taken from his vault to pay for said test. Vanessa is handed a silver dagger and a piece of parchment. She cuts her finger and allows her blood to drop onto the parchment until it glows gold. When it fades, the parchment is no longer blank. Griphook's eyes widen in surprise when he reads over the words, but he composes himself quickly. The goblin hands her the parchment to look over. When Severus reads it over Vanessa's shoulder, he makes a startled choking noise before he regains his normal stoic mask. The parchment reads:
Vanessa Starla Nagana Ward
Born: September 8th 1978
Mother: Ira Trista Ward (deceased)
Maternal Grandmother: Basilica Mona Ward ne Nagana (deceased)
Maternal Grandfather: Axel Tristan Ward (deceased)
Father: James Charlus Potter (deceased)
Paternal Grandmother: Dorea Cassiopeia Potter ne Black (deceased)
Paternal Grandfather: Charlus Hadrian Potter (deceased)
The room is silent. Vanessa rereads the parchment, but the words remain the same. She turns to her potions professor and asks, "I hate to impose but would you be willing to cover the cost of the inheritance test? I think, given the results, it would be a good idea."
He nods, "That's fine."
The goblin retrieves a new piece of blank parchment and the process is repeated, though in this case instead of using a dagger to cut herself, she simply signs her name using a blood quill. After a few moments of waiting for the parchment to stop glowing, Griphook silently hands it to her to read.
Vanessa Starla Nagana Ward
Born: September 8th 1978
Inheritance (Paternal):
Heiress of the Ancient and Noble House of Gryffindor
Heiress of the Ancient and Noble House of Peverell
Inheritance (Maternal):
Queen of Tribe Nagana
Heiress of the Ancient and Noble House of Ward
Heiress of the Ancient and Noble House of Ravenclaw
Heiress of the Ancient and Noble House of Hufflepuff
Heiress of the Ancient and Noble House of Slytherin (direct squib line)
Creature Inheritance:
Naga (upon donning the Nagana Monarch Recognition Ring)
Vaults:
Gryffindor Vault
Peverell Vault
Ward Family Vault
Nagana Monarch Vault
Ravenclaw Vault
Hufflepuff Vault
Slytherin Vault
Estates:
Gryffindor Castle
Hufflepuff Manor
Ravenclaw Castle
Ravenclaw Library
Slytherin Manor
Slytherin Library
Peverell Manor
Peverell Castle
Peverell Work Station
Ward Manor
Nagana Monarchy Lands
Nagana Tribe Lands
El Dorado
Atlantis
Hidden Library of Alexandria
Founders' Magical Nature Preserve
House Elves:
Male – 500
Female – 500
Bloodline Abilities:
Necromancy
True Warding
Elementals (Fire, Water, Earth, and Air)
Parseltongue (upon Creature Inheritance)
Natural Animagus
Potential Metamorphmagus (see Ravenclaw Library, ritual section)
Olde Magicks
Seats
Wizengamot:
Gryffindor (5)
Ravenclaw (5)
Hufflepuff (5)
Slytherin (5)
Peverell (10)
Ward (5)
Overall: 35
Hogwarts Board of Governors:
Head Seat (Peverell)
Founder's Heir Seats (4)
Ward Family Seat (1)
Overall: 6
Bonds
Godfather Bond: Severus Snape (Bound)
Godmother Bond: Lily Rose Potter ne Evans (Bound)
Vanessa stares at the parchment, trying to take it all in. She just became the most powerful political player in the wizarding world. How in the name of Morgana is she supposed to process this?
Griphook clears his throat, "If you would like to get started, I have your Heiress rings here. All you have to do is put them on your ring finger of your right hand, they'll merge into one ring. Then, simply speak in a clear voice that you wish to claim Ladyship to the Houses that you're heiress to. We can go to your Nagana Queenship from there."
Vanessa follows his instructions before stating in a clear, calm voice, "I, Vanessa Starla Nagana Ward, on my magic and life, do so claim the Ladyship to the Ancient and Noble Houses of Peverell, Ward, Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. So mote it be."
The rings flash brightly before they separate and change, then merge into one on her finger. The new ring they combined to form is more elaborate than the ring that was made up of the Heiress rings together. Griphook smiles, then moves on to the next task. "Right. So, the next step is the Nagana Queenship. This is different in that if the magic doesn't accept you, you'll die. If you're accepted, the magic will break the bindings you have upon yourself, and any compulsions, obliviates, or other such mind magics. Ready?"
Vanessa nods, she's as ready as she'll ever be. Severus watches quietly, he doesn't remember having a second godchild. Or, technically, she would've been his first. He turns his attention back to Vanessa. She takes a deep breath, then slips on the ring. Nothing happens for almost a full minute, then the ring glows a bright neon blue. Vanessa lets out a pained yelp, doubles over and clutches her head. Severus gasps at the blinding pain he feels in his skull. He's flooded with memories as the godparent bond comes unblocked. He sees a tall woman speaking with an elated James Potter. The woman is a Vanessa look-a-like. The only noticeable difference being her age. She's thanking him for helping her, and asking Lily to be godmother. Then, James turns to him and tells him there's nobody he'd want as godfather more. The memories begin to swarm and overwhelm him, but only two other memories really stick out to him. One is of the birth of his goddaughter and the death of her mother, and the other features a solemn Albus Dumbledore. Memory Albus is frowning and telling him, "I need you to spy for me my boy. I'm sorry to have to do this. I will take her somewhere safe, and she will be loved. I don't know who the mother is, but that's alright. The sisters can name her…" the man points his wand at him and whispers, "obliviate." Then the memories end. When he refocuses on reality, he looks up to see his star student, his goddaughter, poking at her lower half, where she seems to have grown a tail. She has a look of utter fascination on her face.
She practices moving and quickly gets the hang of it. She frowns at the remains of the pants she had been wearing under her robes, and he can't help but laugh at the put out look on her face. She chuckles as well, but matters soon become serious again. Griphook hands her a leatherbound journal and informs her that her mother had left it for her and it would teach her how to change forms and rule their people. She takes it gratefully. Her eyes widen as she sees the large stack of books the goblin produces. "These are the grimoires of the Peverell, Ward, and Founders' families. They'll teach you all you need to know about each family's politics and history."
She nods, happy that she gets references to help her along. Griphook information her of how much she has in each vault, and all in all, it turns out she has 78,715,629,791,510 galleons and some odd number of sickles. She gets a leather bag for each vault that is magically connected, has the name of the vault embroidered on each bag, though only she can see it, and it's only able to be accessed by her based on her magical signature so that even if they're stolen, her money is still safe. She wears them shrunken on a chain around her neck.
They leave the bank silently, and Severus walks them quickly to the Leaky Cauldron. He asks Tom the barman for a private room and then guides her upstairs so that they can talk in private. Before either of them says a word they're checking for bugs and spying charms. Finally, when none are found, Severus slams up the most powerful privacy and silencing wards he knows.
They sit at the table and just stare at each other for a few minutes before finally Severus sighs, "Only the headmaster has access to the students' personal records. I had no idea you didn't have guardians on file. Would you please tell me who you live with?"
It's blunt for the normally evasive Slytherin, but the day had been a long one and he wasn't in the mood to beat around the bush.
She's silent for so long he's beginning to think she won't answer, but finally she mutters, "I don't live with anyone. I'm a street rat that lives on the bad end of the outskirts of muggle London."
After the original admission, the talk begins in earnest. He manages to get her talking about her life and he's horrified; at least his father only ever beat him. Never once did he even consider an exorcism. She just shrugs and tells him that she ran before it got too bad. In return, he admits that his childhood was unpleasant but not nearly so much as hers. They talk for hours, and they both agree that any kind of 'parent/child' relationship will be abnormal at best, but that they'd be ok with being abnormal together. They head to the ministry after they eat a small lunch at the Leaky, and fill out paperwork so that Severus can become Vanessa's legal guardian. Once the paperwork is filed, Vanessa uses her political and monetary weight for the first time to force the papers through the same day. It works like a charm, and they're both happy to be returning to Hogwarts with all bases covered; after a few stops for shopping, of course.
Vanessa pays Severus back for funding the tests by buying him rare potions ingredients from Knockturn Alley. He, of course, pretending to be appalled that she knew what the Alley was, let alone the fact that she shopped there on a regular basis. They both get fitted for new robes, Vanessa purchasing a wardrobe each. Vanessa buys them expanding library trunks from a shop in Knockturn that are charmed to never run out of shelf space, then they head to every bookstore in the area. They store all of their purchases in their new trunks, questionable and dark books going into their own special compartment that prevents such things from being discovered. The two the happily head back to Hogwarts, agreeing to go look at her estates later during the break since it is getting rather late.
They make it back to Hogwarts quickly, and head down to the dungeons. The unspoken agreement is that if the headmaster asks, the day had been so busy they forgot to go back.
When Severus makes it back to his quarters, he throws up privacy wards and firecalls Lucius. The next day, Vanessa will be inducted to the Hogwarts Board of Governors, and the Wizengamot. The break is already looking quite busy.