Disclaimer: Obviously I do not own Harry Potter, otherwise I'd be a billionaire. The characters belong to JK Rowling.

Chapter 2

Victoria stood outside the bookstore, and looked through the window at her father as he wrapped someone's books in yellow paper. She knew this store. Every nook. Every corner. She had dusted the wooden shelves a hundred times. She had laid books upon books in those shelves. She knew what it was like to punch numbers on that cash register. She knew how it stung when you cut yourself with the paper while wrapping somebody's books.

It was September 1st, which meant Victoria was leaving for Hogwarts in a few hours. She couldn't help herself but see her family one last time before she left for almost a year. As the customer moved, Victoria's gaze moved from watching her father to her own reflection. She had her father's raven hair, but her eyes were brown like her grandmother.

Gathering some courage, Victoria fisted the door handle in her right hand and pulled the glass door open. She heard a familiar chime just as the door closed after her. Her father looked up from his work, and glanced at her. He smiled good naturedly.

"How urr ye daein' th'day?" Her father smiled as he asked her, but his eyes lacked the warmth they had once held for her. How could they, when they had no recollection of her. She opened her mouth to say something, but she choked on the words.

The next thing she knew, she was running down the cobbled street of Stonehaven, her hometown, that lied just a couple hours away from Edinburgh. Victoria brushed the tears away from her cheeks as she came to a rest at metal bench.

Voldemort was becoming stronger, and his forces were spreading day after day. The Daily Prophet was crammed with stories about the terrible things the Dark Lord and his followers were doing to Muggles, Muggleborns and their families. Victoria couldn't risk anything happening to her parents or her little brother. So she had kept them a secret.

She had lied about her birth from first year. Telling people, she was half-blood, witch from her mother's side, so no one would go digging up her last name. But it was the Christmas during sixth year when she had realized that the only way to protect her muggle family was to hide it. She had erased their memories of her. As far as the McNealys were concerned, they only had a 14-year-old son, Collin.

Victoria held out her wand her in front of her, and waited for the purple bus to arrive. Unlike her schoolmates, Victoria didn't take the Hogwarts Express from London. Instead she rode the Knight Bus to Hogsmede.

Victoria looked up at the magnificent castle before her. She wondered if she would ever get used to its beauty and magic. Clearly six years hadn't been enough. Victoria sighed sadly when she realized this was her last year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Victoria struggled to lug her trunk and broomstick behind her, too heavy and large for her small frame.

She panted after finally entering the Entrance Hall. She left her items there, where soon they will be joined by other trunks, cages and broomsticks. She cursed herself after realizing that she was a witch, and could have levitated her luggage instead. After two months of living among muggles, she often forgot about magic. Kind of like how your hand aches from writing after summer vacation.

She made a beeline for the girl's bathroom to check her appearance in the mirror. The castle was eerily quiet and she didn't know whether she liked it. After fixing her hair and robes, Victoria adjusted the emerald and silver tie knotted around her collar.

"She's a Slytherine?!" Ron asked incredulously. He had a sour expression on his face, as if he'd sucked on a lemon. Remus nodded to answer Ron's question. Harry could tell, that like Ron, they were all shocked to discover Victoria belonged to the snake house. After all, everyone sitting at the dining table was or had been a Gryffindor. And Gryffindors didn't particularly like their ambitious and cunning school mates.

When he turned back to the screen, Harry saw Victoria standing in the Great Hall, which was now filled with students. They had missed a few minutes of the "film", and Harry wondered if there was a way to rewind or pause it.

Harry watched as Victoria opened her arms to hug a tall, dark haired boy. She smiled up at him, and Harry finally saw his face. For a minute Harry thought it was Sirius. He had the same dark hair and haughty look of Harry's beloved godfather, but the emerald and silver tie around his neck suggested he was a Slytherine.

"That's Regulus, Sirius' younger brother." Remus explained. He looked at Sirius as he said so, but Sirius continued to stare at the screen. His eyes had been riveted at the film, as if he was he was trying to capture every detail of it.

Victoria smiled at Regulus as she hugged him. "Had a good summer?" She asked as they sat on adjacent stools at the Slytherine table.

"Aye, aye captain," Regulus grinned, flashing a set of slightly crooked teeth at Victoria. "So…have you come up with any strategies on how we're gonna win the Quidditch Cup?"

As the new Slytherine Quidditch team captain, Victoria had expected to be bombarded with questions and suggestions upon her return to Hogwarts. Her house took Quidditch very seriously. Especially now, when Gryffindor, their arch nemesis was in the lead.

"Yes, but this is no place or time to discuss them," Victoria nodded her head towards the group of Ravenclaws standing just feet from where she and Regulus were sitting. Regulus nodded in understanding and winked at his captain.

Smiling, Victoria looked over her shoulder at the Gryffindor table. Her gaze landed on a boy very similar to the one sitting beside her. Sirius laughed at something the blonde girl sitting next to him said. Victoria recognized her as Mary McDonald. He picked up a string of grapes and dangled it above Mary's mouth. As she reached to grab a grape with her teeth, he moved the string away. Teasing her. She pouted mockingly, and he laughed.

As if sensing he was being watched, Sirius turned his head, and his eyes locked with Victoria's for just a brief moment. He flashed a cocky grin at her. Clenching her jaw, Victoria turned her attention back to her housemates.