The Slytherin Shadow Girl

Summary: Esmerelda found out Dumbledore was using her a few weeks after arriving at Hogwarts for her first year, and ran away. She's now seventeen and living a nice life away from magic, but a surprise visit from Voldemort forces her to question whether she is truly happy.

WOW! I never expected such a response in such a short time. Thankyou everyone. Due to the fact were some people who were confused about some of the things in chapter 1, I've put explanations in this author's note to what they said wasn't clear.

The problems were with the geography as White City is based off a real city in England, how Esmerelda could work at a zoo as a child, how she could be considered an adult at seventeen and whether or not Voldemort knew she had run away from the magical world. And the answers follow.

With the geography, I don't live in England and I've never visited England. So, I looked at a map of London city and its surrounding area. I saw White City Estate and Wormwood Scrubs Park were close to each other and not too far away from London City. I couldn't tell where any zoos were for my story to be set in, so I tweaked the geography a slight bit, making the zoo inside Wormwood Park and the park inside White City. So, essentially, this is a fictional place that I invented, with the help of a map, to suit my purposes for this story.

In the first chapter, I stated that the director of the zoo adopted her, but I'll be mentioning in the second chapter, they didn't have an emotional bond; it was just to make sure Esmerelda could stay and work at the zoo. At first, she would have had adult supervision and lived as a guest at the director's home. When she was fifteen, she got more freedom, such as doing shifts and jobs on her own, and when she turned seventeen, she was legally an adult, so she moved into her own apartment and has the same responsibilities as any other adult at the zoo.

As for the connection to the magical world, no, no one knows that she's run away except for Dumbledore and those who agree about Esmerelda being treated as a weapon. Everyone else thinks she's off for special training, as that's what Dumbledore told them. So, Voldemort thinks that Esmerelda has been trained into this elite weapon to fight for Dumbledore. This one will also be mentioned in the second chapter.

As for the age, Esmerelda has no birth certificate, so they don't know her actual age. She knows she's seventeen, but they're guessing between 17-19.

Thankyou everyone for such a response and hope you enjoy the chapter.

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.

Thoughts

Parseltongue

The three wizards stared at the girl before Lucius managed to snap out of a shock-induced haze and started to follow her.

"Wait, you can't just-"But he was quickly cut of as a blue-gray she-wolf with a bulky build and white, knife-like teeth whirled around a corner in front of the girl, snarling. Lucius quickly turned tail and fled back to the other wizards as the wolf barrelled over the small girl and, causing surprise to the wizards, began scolding the girl, in English.

"Don't you ever do that again! Don't you ever restrain me with that black stuff ever again! If I want to fight, that's my choice!" The wolf was snarling in the girl's face, though somehow she wasn't that intimidated. Maybe nervous and sufficiently scolded, but not scared.

"Zelkra's right." Now, another canine came up to them. This one was a deep, midnight black with a pointed face and a bushy tail. "If we want to fight for you, that's our choice." Voldemort was extremely confused and could tell his companions were in the same predicament as he was.

"Excuse me, my dear lady?" There was a reason Lucius was a popular aristocrat. His voice had taken on a flattering tone as he went up to the girl and her friends. "Can you please explain to use what you're doing out here? Maybe why you're not with the wizarding community?" The two canines had stepped between the girl and Lucius, glaring up at him, as if daring him to attack the girl under their watch. The girl stared at him with narrowed eyes, scrutinizing him under an intense gaze, before picking herself up and walking down the pathway, the canines following her. She stopped a little down the path before looking back at them.

"Well," She called out. "Are you coming?" With that she continued walking, the three wizards soon following after her.

Esmerelda walked through the park, hearing the wizards following footsteps behind her. The comforting fur on either side of her calmed her nerves. She had only heard a little of Voldemort, but she didn't have all the facts, what was lies and what was truth, and the other two she had never heard of at all. She just hoped she was making the right choice. She led them back to the staff building in the zoo and quickly unlocked the door with a key from her pocket.

"May as well come in." She said, holding the door open for them, only for the blonde aristocrat to grab the door from her and gesture for her to go inside before him. She blushed a little before doing as told and heading over to the kitchenette of the staff room.

"Tea?' She called over her shoulder, to the nod of the aristocrat and Voldemort, but to the shake of the wolf-like man. She quickly set about finding what she needed as her two canine companions settled themselves on the rug in the middle of the floor. She had just started boiling the water when one of the wizards cleared their throat to get her attention.

"So," She nodded to show she was listening, but didn't turn around. "What is the saviour of the wizarding world doing here?" She settled the tea bag in the water.

"You're going to have to say more than that. I don't know what you're talking about." The voice she recognised as Voldemort's answered her's.

"Dumbledore has told the media that he's sent you to a secret location for special training." There was a stunned silence from Esmerelda for a few moments, her back rim-rod straight, before the heavy silence was broken by large, loud laughs from the girl. She doubled over, clutching her stomach, and her legs gave out quickly. Her fall to the ground turned her around slightly and the three wizards could see the tears of laughter rolling down her face. She was soon wheezing and wiping away her tears, trying to get her merriment under control.

"I-I'm sor-sorry bu-but..." She dissolved into giggles once more and the three men looked on bemused. Finally, she got control over herself and weakly made her way over a chair and sat down. She wiped the tears from her yes and turned to Voldemort, a large smile still on her face.

"He really told everyone that?" She said quietly. He only nodded as she shook her head in amusement. "Well, it could have been worse." That seemed to make something click in the blonde's mind as he quickly sat up straight.

"So he was lying about your location?" Esmerelda nodded. "Ever since the first month of my first year. I ran off. I overheard how Dumbledore," She spat out the name like it was dirt in her mouth. "Had planned for me to be his weapon and I left after that. Haven't seen him since." The blonde nodded, whilst Voldemort raised an eyebrow at her. She looked at the blonde, he looked familiar from somewhere, before addressing him.

"I'm sorry, but I don't know your names." She gestured to him and the wolf-man. They both turned to Voldemort for permission, confirming that they were both worked for him. Voldemort gave a short nod and the other two turned back to her.

"I'm Lucius Malfoy," 'Alright, so little Malfoy's father' she thought. "And this is Fenrir Greyback." The other man gave a wave to her, which she returned, smiling.

"You're a werewolf." Esmerelda jumped, having forgotten that Zelkra and Dakria were there for a little bit. Then what Zelkra had said registered in her mind. Obviously, it did in the others as well because Lucius got up and wandered back over to where the tea was boiling and Voldemort stiffened. Fenrir himself narrowed his eyes and the indifferent wolf. Meanwhile, Dakria got up and wander from the middle of the room where Zelkra was lying and over to where Voldemort was seated, slightly away from where the werewolf was glaring. Esmerelda herself quickly got up and went with Lucius over to the kitchenette. She didn't know what was going to happen, but she did know she didn't want to be stuck in the middle of it.

"Where's your alpha, wolf?" Fenrir growled out, trying to intimidate the she-wolf with his status. Oh no. Esmerelda thought. The fact Zelkra was both an alpha and a female often caused problems, and it looked like it would here too.

"I am the alpha of my pack." Zelkra replied, staring Fenrir straight in the eye and standing up, raising her hackles. Fenrir returned the gesture and also bared his teeth. Lucius stared at her, silently begging her to stop them with his eyes. Esmerelda quickly shook her head, not wanting to get involved. When Zelkra had her status as alpha insulted, nothing was going to make her back down.

"Females can't be alphas. They can't protect their pack." Fenrir stuck his nose, or should she call it snout, up in a pompous way. Zelkra growled and stalked towards the cocky werewolf.

"Want to test that?" She taunted, toning her words just right to make it a challenge that Fenrir couldn't reject without injuring his pride. He gave a toothy grin, Esmerelda was immediately reminded of the big bad wolf in little red riding hood, and stood up.

"Gladly." Fenrir then turned into a large, male wolf, obviously his werewolf form. The wolf was a deep russet brown colour with some gray patches, his eyes were a bright amber colour and his pupils looked like the thinnest, blackest twigs someone could find. He was a fair amount larger than Zelkra, but Esmerelda knew that Zelkra was also going to be faster and more nimble. Size was worthless if it couldn't hit its target. The two wolves sized each other up when Esmerelda remembered a warning from before and her eyes flew wide open from the previously half-asleep state they had been in before.

"Zelkra! No fighting insi- and you don't give a rat's ass, do you?" Esmerelda finished, sighing. She'd decided half-way through that it was pointless. They were going to fight now, and going to fight here. Zelkra gave a toothy grin of her own and replied without looking away from the rival alpha.

"Nope." With that, the two wolves leapt for each other and began to, no better world for it, savage each other. Both trying to use their advantage, whether it be size or speed, to gain the upper hand. Esmerelda stopped watching them after seeing Zelkra bite the other alpha's tail and shake it like a chew toy. She turned to Lucius, who turned to her once he noticed she was staring at him, and gave a shrug, before turning back to the tea and gathering two cups from a cabinet, Lucius joining her and turning his back on the two fighting wolves after a moment's hesitation. Esmerelda, however, turned quickly back to the fight when she heard a large crash. When she looked, she saw Fenrir slumped against a wall and Zelkra on her back in the middle of the room. It seemed that Zelkra had used what she called 'the bunny kick'. When Zelkra was trapped under a larger body, she put all her strength into her hind legs and kicked them off. It often won her fights and challenges and it seemed to have done the same here. With a leap, Zelkra had the larger wolf pinned beneath her, throat bared.

"Yield?" She growled into his ear, forcing her entire body weight onto his chest, causing him to gasp for breath. He struggled and squirmed for a few moments before his body went limp.

"Yield." The word was soft, almost unable to be heard, but it was there. Zelkra had won. With that, she climbed off him and wandered back over to her spot, lying down as if nothing had ever disturbed her. Fenrir, on the other hand, transformed back into a man and sat up slowly, occasionally cringing from pain. Esmerelda could see the slashes and bite marks on him and gave a mournful sigh before moving to the back of the staff room.

"Dammit." She whispered under her breath as she reached the hallway which would take her to the bathroom. "You," She addressed the werewolf, who looked at her, snapping out of his 'woe is me' mood. "Sit over there," She indicated with her head to a lone couch before turning back to the hallway. "And take your shirt off. I'm going to see what I have in the way of medical supplies." She could feel the three men staring at the back of her head like she was crazy.

"Hell no!" Esmerelda clenched her teeth at the reply and gave another sigh, before turning around to the werewolf, her lack of patience getting to her.

"You are either going to get over there and take it off yourself or I'm going to try and magic it off! And, considering I have little to no magical training, we can all guess how well that is going to work!" Lucius seemed to flinch at the glare that accompanied her rant and Voldemort raised a hairless eyebrow at her. Meanwhile, Fenrir seemed to jolt back from her gaze and soon got up and made his way over to the couch. Esmerelda gave a satisfied nod and went down the hallway and into the bathroom. The vanity in it had one of those mirrors that you could open up like a door and hold objects in it. Opening it, she took out the first aid kit and closed the mirror/door. She was just turning to go back to the main room when she spotted something out of the corner of her eye.

Turning, she saw her reflection in the mirror. Her eyes had become dark, like chipped emeralds, and they had become larger on her face. Her pupils were slitted and cat-like and they looked almost- Feral. Esmerelda leaned closer, getting a better look at them. They looked like a wild animals'. So that's what freaked them out. Esmerelda smiled, her eyes going back to normal and headed back down the hallway.

She went over to the couch and sat down on it, next to Fenrir. He had done as she asked, but didn't seem to be happy about. Esmerelda just hummed and opened up the kit.

"That's muggle!" The shout caused Esmerelda to sigh once more before looking up at the owner of the shout, Lucius. All three wizards were staring at the box in her hands and Esmerelda felt the last string holding her patience together snap.

"Well, I don't have any healing magic," Esmerelda said as calmly as she could, but it was coming out in a sarcastic tone. "And if none of you are trained healers, then this will have to do." She glared at them and Lucius and Fenrir turned away, not willing to answer her. Voldemort raised an eyebrow at her and smirked. She bit back the desire to stick her tongue out at him and his eyebrow and, instead, turned to Fenrir and started bandaging the injuries.

'You do have healing powers, Emma." Dakria had returned to her place on the rug and was watching her friend. The three wizards turned to the young woman, questioning looks on their faces and Esmerelda scowled.

'I've only ever used them on myself, and only for little things. I've never used them to heal someone else and never a werewolf. Speaking of which," She turned to Fenrir as she finished bandaging the last gash and packed up the kit. "I thought werewolves could only change during the full moon."

"That's only for those who don't accept the wolf part of them." Fenrir replied as he pulled his shirt back on. Esmerelda could see Lucius going over to the kitchenette and finishing the tea out of the corner of her eye. "Those who don't fear the wolf can change whenever they want. It doesn't pain them to transform into the wolf." Esmerelda nodded, understanding, and moved off to put the kit away, returning quickly and looking at the damage. The rug was ripped, the wall had a dent and the area between them had large pools of blood.

"Great," She mumbled. "What do I do about this?" Before she could blink, a blast of light from the other end of the room hit the wall and, when it cleared, the wall was fixed. She looked to the source of the light and found Voldemort, with that damned raised eyebrow of his, looking at her, his wand in his hand. A quick couple of other waves of it, and the blood disappeared and the rug repaired itself. "Well, that works." She mumbled, looking at the area that, if much cleaner, could be called sterile.

"It's just about time for us to go." Dakria's tail pointed to the clock on the wall, the large hand on the 9 and the little hand in between the 11 and the 12. Esmerelda nodded and began turning out the lights and made her way to the door.

"I'm off to my apartment. If you follow, then fine, if not...Meh." With her last, technically, sound she walked out the door, the door wide open and locked, with the two canines following her. There was a brief pause from the wizards, before they went out after her, Lucius barely remembering to close the door behind them.

When the wizards caught up to the girl, she was by the entrance of the zoo, seemingly having finished her rounds, and wolf, Zelkra was it?, was no longer with her. Voldemort observed the girl, despite her words earlier suggesting otherwise, it was obvious she was waiting for them. She was a paradox, nice at times, but angry and violent at others. Her words suggested she didn't care for them, but her actions said otherwise. She showed no signs of magical control but he could feel the unrestrained power radiating off her. It was, intriguing, to say the least.

She only gave a nod to show she had seen them, before walking off, the black dog at her heels. They quickly followed, her path leading them straight into the city. It was barren, not a trace of life, most of the time. All humans were in their homes asleep or at a party; no one was on the streets. The only creatures in the dark of the night were stray or feral animals, which was probably just as well. Fighting in a war left all three wizards paranoid when there was complete silence. It heightened their senses, left them feeling like they were being watched by a hundred eyes in the shadows. Fenrir almost hexed a stray cat by accident when it knocked over a trash can. The slightest noise made all three jump and draw their wands.

However, the girl seemed to be right at home on the abandoned streets. She walked ahead of them, confident in her surroundings; a confident swagger in her steps gave the impression that she was the queen of the night. She led them through the streets and alleyways with confidence, never looking back, to a section in the city with large buildings, most of the colours were a silver or cream colour, but a few had red and other bright colours that shone in the dark. She led them to one of the cream buildings, the balconies standing out and giving off the feel of an apartment block.

She entered the door at the base and began to walk up the stairs. Three flights up and she turned away from the stairs and started walking along the large balcony/walkway along the front of the building. When the wizards reached her, she had stopped in front of one of the dark cream doors. The number on it said 315. She pulled another key out of her pocket and unlocked the door, her dog entering first, followed by the girl and the wizards entered last, Voldemort making sure to close the door behind him. The main colour theme of the rooms seemed to be cream and various shades of blue. They couldn't see Esmerelda, but they heard her voice from the hall.

"I don't have anything for you, but this is where I live and can be found most of the time." There was a silent pause. Lucius was on one of the two couches and Fenrir was on the ground, talking with the black dog. "I don't often get visitors. Makes a nice change." Then the hallway was silent. He guessed she had gone to bed. He gestured for Lucius to come to him.

"She isn't that bad." Lucius started, looking towards where the girl had been. "Definitely nothing like how I thought she would be." He nodded agreeing with his Death Eater.

"She's interesting." Voldemort replied, casting another glance at the hallway. "She could be useful, once she's been trained." He looked towards were Fenrir was talking with the black dog. So far, the werewolf was asking the dog about why she called the girl Emma. Seemed it was a shortened from of Esmerelda. Voldemort broke up the discussion by snapping his fingers, gesturing to Fenrir when he got the werewolf's attention to wrap it up. With that, they walked back out the apartment door and stood on the balcony. Lucius then turned to his leader.

"So, my lord," Voldemort nodded to show he was listening. "We're coming back?" Voldemort answered by casting powerful wards to prevent anyone who's not keyed into the wards, so far Voldemort, Fenrir and Lucius, from apparating to the apartment, to deter anyone who's loyal to Dumbledore and to alert them should anyone try to harm the young woman inside. He then turned back to his two companions and smirked.

"Yes," He said, calmly reaching the railing of the balcony. "We will be paying another visit. Maybe take her to Diagon Alley and Knockturn Alley." With that, the three wizards disapparated from the area, with nothing but a small pop-like sound to even show they were there.

Yay, done. Thank you for all those who alerted and favourited and reviewed. Please review and tell me what you think of it. Outstanding? Average? Troll? Please let me know, I want to know your opinion.

Now, I need your help. I only have one confirmed pairing in the future of this story and it is a minor pairing. I will warn you. It is slash. That is BoyxBoy. Like I said, it is minor and not for many chapters, but that is the only pairing I have for this story. This is where you come in. You need to tell me what pairings you want to see in this story. Do you want Voldemort and Esmerelda to get together, be like father and daughter, or just be friends? Should any others characters make an appearance and who should end up with who? I leave this in your hands. The most popular pairings and suggestions for relationships will be chosen and incorporated, but it is up to you. Please review and tell me your preferences.

NightWhisper