DISCLAIMER: Character's aren't mine, they're the property of JK Rowling. Only Anilla Riddle is from my imagination! enjoy. :)

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"Ms. Granger?"

"Yes?" Hermione turned to look at her assistant.

"Here is the list of the children that will invited to attend Hogwarts next year."

"Thank you, Manniene." Hermione took the list and quickly looked through it. There was a larger incoming class than usual, but that was to be expected in the times of peace. They'd been living so long in the tenseness of a warring world that she had needed some time to get used to it, even if it was an enormous relief. As she skimmed the list, her eyes stopped at one particular name and suddenly her back straightened as she almost jumped out of her chair. Taking a quill, she slowly circled the name that had caught her attention: Anilla Riddle.

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Anilla looked around the small yard at the orphanage and quickly moved to sit under a secluded tree. It was a cloudy day but she wore her dark glasses anyway. Ever since the doctor had given them to her, she had striven to keep them around her. It made things so much simpler when people didn't look at her eyes.

"Hey Freak."

So much for people not noticing her. She didn't answer them, hoping they would just go away, but as usual, they didn't.

"I'm talking to you!"

"What do you want?" She asked crossly.

"I want to know if you're really the devil's daughter. Take of those glasses." Anilla sighed, it had been a while since someone had challenged her like that. Unfortunately, her confinement to the orphanage grounds did not give her much of a chance to escape or many options on where to hide. She stared off into the distance, trying to look at the rooftops of nearby houses. The clouds looked like they were about to let the rain fall. Someone grabbed her by the collar and pulled her up to her feet. She gasped and her hands came up to try to free herself but at the same time, someone knocked her glasses off of her face. She quickly closed her eyes and put her head down, hoping against hope that this wouldn't be a repeat of the last few months. "I knew it." The other girl sneered. "And you know what's the best part?" She whispered at her ear. "No one is going to stand up for the devil's daughter. You completely deserve what's coming to you."

As the attacks came, Anilla tried vainly to duck and avoid as many hits as she could. She scooped up her glasses and put them back on—they made her feel safer and more confident about facing the other girls. "I'm not—the—devil's daughter." She said between gasps as she tried to defend herself. She tried to run out of their reach, but the secluded tree where she had tried to hide was in a corner of the yard and she didn't have much place to go. And then she screamed.

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Hermione walked over to the door and called her assistant in. "Manniene, do you have the addresses for these children?"

"Of course, Ms. Granger. They're in this list over here." She handed over along roll of parchment. "The letters are going to be sent out in the next couple of days, I believe. Is everything all right, Ms. Granger?"

"We'll see, Manniene, we'll see." Hermione took the roll of parchment and returned to her office. She copied down the child's address on a small piece of parchment and sat back thoughtfully. "St. Murdos Orphanage." She whispered. It was in the middle of a large muggle community, quite far from London. "It could just be a coincidence." She hoped it was. Even if it wasn't, she wasn't about to form conclusions on the fate of a child due to a name. Still, she decided she'd have to pay this young potential student a visit and see for herself.

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"Who is sending you these letters?" The old matron asked the girl with bandaged eyes in the small room. There were only four beds in the room for sick children who could not be treated in their own rooms. The orphanage didn't have the funds for more, and Matron Akaris was tired of the problems this young charge always presented.

"I'm sorry Matron Akaris, I don't know what letters you're talking about…" Anilla protested.

" These letters. Letters about some wizarding school. What is this about wizards? Magic is evil, you hear me? Evil! Stop playing those pranks and shape up girl, otherwise no one is going to seriously think about adopting you." The matron slammed the letters on the bed, and Anilla cringed. "You can't stay here forever."

"I haven't seen them or read them, and I don't have any contacts outside the orphanage, matron—"
"Excuse me, Matron Akaris." A young girl looked into the sickroom. She saw Anilla sitting on a bed with her eyes bandaged and quickly looked away. "There is a lady here to talk to you, says she's from London."

"London?" Akaris stood up and tried to smooth out the wrinkles in her simple gown. "She's in my office then?"
"Yes ma'am."
"All right then." She turned to Anilla and said "This isn't over. We're going to discuss this again and get to the bottom of these… these letters!" as she stalked away.

Anilla sighed and let herself slide back down to lay on the bed. Her eyes stung with tears that just made the pain worse.

In another part of the orphanage, Hermione sat in a comfortable arm chair in the matron's office. It seemed like the orphanage was affiliated with an old church organization and the establishments seemed to be run well. She stood up as the door opened.

"Hello dear, and welcome, welcome to St. Murdos's Orphanage. I'm Matron Akaris, how can I help you?"

Well, Hermione thought, the woman seemed friendly enough. "I'm Hermione Granger, here to talk to one of your charges."
"Has someone recommended you to our establishment?" The matron flushed proudly. "Do you have any ideas to what kind of child you would like to consider? We have several sweet, young, and obedient girls that—"
"Matron Akaris, I'm looking for a particular young woman by the name of Anilla Riddle." Hermione interjected quickly. "I would like to meet the girl."
Matron Akaris's smile dropped from her face. "Why would you want to—" she caught herself and shook her head. "I'm sorry Ms. Granger, I didn't know you had a particular girl in mind. May I ask, what this is about?"

"Matron Akaris, I'm afraid I would need to speak with Ms. Riddle in private before divulging too much more information."

Akaris thought for a moment. What could happen? If they could take the young problem maker from her hands, all the better. But no one had ever come to see the girl, only that doctor that really, was too accommodating. "All right, follow me this way."

Hermione stood up and followed the matron as she led her down the halls.

"I'm afraid you've caught us at a bad moment." Matron Akaris said quickly as they approached the sickroom. "Anilla has recently gotten into a little dispute with some other children and we felt that isolating her was the best way to ensure… limited contact and fewer possibilities of further problems." She opened the door and motioned for Hermione to walk in. "This is our sickroom." Hermione looked around and saw the shape of a small girl laying on one of the beds. "Anilla!" Akaris walked towards the bed. "There is a young lady here to see you." She said as she stepped to the side of the bed.

Hermione walked towards them slowly. She frowned. The young girl's eyes had been bandaged crudely and even without a diagnostic spell she could tell she was in pain. Anilla pushed herself up into a sitting position. Hermione glanced at the other woman.

"Dear Matron Akaris, would you mind waiting outside while I have a word with this young lady?" Matron Akaris was startled. She was usually present during any conversations her charges had with potential parents. Somehow, she didn't think Ms. Granger was here to adopt Anilla though. She still didn't want the girl to give lady a bad impression of her establishment though.

"Ah, Ms. Granger, I would much rather stay so I can help you see the wonderful work we're doing for these—"
"I can see that myself Matron Akaris, thank you. I would like to speak to Anilla privately for a few minutes, if you would so indulge me?" Hermione gave her her most winning smile. The woman was starting to get on her nerves.

"All right." Akaris briskly walked to the door. She paused and addressed Anilla. "Behave and be polite, young lady." Then she walked out the door and pulled it closed behind her.

Hermione sat down at the edge of the bed and noticed the letters from Hogwarts. "Anilla, I'm Ms. Granger. I'd like to talk to you about these letters."
Anilla turned to face the voice addressing her. Hermione found it a little startling how precisely she had located her voice. "What letters?" She asked softly.

"These letters from the Hogwarts School of Wizardy."
"I don't know anything about those letters." The young girl stammered. "I swear, I didn't have anything to do with them—"

"Hush child, I know who sent them." Hermione frowned. This seemed to be another case where muggles weren't going to be very accepting of the world of magic. "First things first." She leaned in and asked softly. "What happened to you? Are you in pain?"

Anilla avoided the first question but nodded softly.

"Would it be all right if I took a look? I think I can make it better." Hermione said soothingly.

Anilla nodded hesitantly. Hermione took out her wand after checking to see that they were alone and the blinds were closed. She made a small charm on the door to lock it and to warn her if anyone was going to try to come in. She made a diagnostic spell and then started to remove the bandages. When she was close to removing them, she saw the girl shaking and noticed that the bandages had dried blood on them. Hermione frowned and conjured some water to dampen the bandages and slowly took off the last of it. She gasped at the sight.

"They broke my glasses." Anilla said softly. "While I was wearing them."