"Koud!" Venus shouted out. A red light shot from her staff as she jabbed it forward, it sped quickly towards one of the shadowed figures that surround her. The Shade threw his sword up in retaliation and blocked. Venus didn't express her disappointment though, too distracted by her other opponent, who was coming down on her from above. Venus made a circle motion with her staff.

"Pwoteje!"

The staff pulsed a dark blue, a shield in the same crude circle shape that matched her motion appeared. The Shade slammed into it, cracks appearing where it's sword had made impact, before she rolled off and readied her own blades.

Focusing her energy on her feet, Venus jumped up, high in the air. There were ten of them, all armed, and none the least tired. But she could fix that. "Militip Pike!" Venus hissed.

Multiple red lights shot out at the intended targets. On her way down towards the ground a series of spells spilled from her mouth.

"Koupe!"

"Sil!"

"Bach!"

Venus landed on the ground and swiped the top of her staff towards the ground, twirling around in a circle, "Dezame!" she cried, a pink ring surrounded her and then spread out on the battlefield, knocking the swords away from the Shades and pushing them on their backs.

Venus panted heavily. Looking out at the carnage of the practice field. Some of her blast had bounced off of armor and swords, hitting the ground and leaving decent craters on the dirt floor. The Shades were slowly pulling themselves up, some holding their sides looking miffed that they were beaten by a five year old. Well, physically a five year old.

A cold hand clasped her shoulder and Venus looked up to see the sparkling black pits of Death's eyes. "Good job," Death told her, as the battlefield faded and they were suddenly in the Garden of the Dead, a place Venus very much adored. Aside from the silver grass that blankets the ground, there were black roses with red stems that wrapped around the ashwood log fences. The ashwood trees formed a path that delved deeper into the garden, where silver, grey, red and dark blue petals sprung from the ground. The ashen trees had white leaves that clashed with the black sky. Lava Stems, black trunks with crooked branches, orange ambers decorating the bark in a splotchy pattern. And pomegranate trees, the only plant of the dead that made it to the living.

Waving her hand, Venus summoned one of the pomegranates, moving her index finger in a straight line down the center of the pomegranate, using wandless and silent magic to cut the pomegranate in half. Without a word she gave half to Death, who accepted it gratefully and the two of them ate seeds in silence. It was comforting, Venus felt, as she sat in the grass, her colorful baby blue nightshirt and white pajama bottoms clashing with the background she was in. The air that ruffled the plant life was chilly, but Venus felt no cold.

Suddenly, Death's head snapped up, his eyes searching forward as if he's seeing something that was in front of him, when in fact, nothing was there. Standing up, the shadows of the land rushed towards him, wrapping around him and forming a cloak that covered everything and hid his face from view. He stretched his hand out and soon, his scythe was there.

"I have to go," Death murmured. His other hand offering Venus help up. The girl took it, her dainty pale hands disappearing in Death's dark large ones.

When Venus opened her eyes, she was alone, in her room, dim moonlight trickling through the circle window. Sighing, Venus goes over to her bookshelf, picking up a copy of At the Mountains of Madness and Other Tales of Terror. And she fell asleep, mind enveloped in a world of ink.

Φ

"Hello Venus!"

"Hi Mrs. Crawley, you look lovely today!" Venus called as she skipped ahead of Maggie, her bright blue backpack bouncing along with her.

"Venus, dear, how are you?"

"Good Ms. Davenport. Oh!" Venus stopped in front of the wheelchair restricted woman, she pulled off her backpack and reached inside to bring out a handful of daisies, perfectly intact and not at all damaged. She handed them to Ms. Davenport, who took them and smiled, petting the girl's head.

"Thank you dear, these are my favorite."

Venus popped up, a smile on her face as she slung her backpack back on, "I know!" She chirped before continuing down the hall heading to the children's room.

"Venus!" The little kids cheered, and some of the older kids and teens waved with a small smile.

Venus smiled back, hugging a few of the kids before digging around in her bag. She gestured to the door slightly, enchanting the door with a slight disillusion charm before pulling out a stack of cards. One of the older kids snorted, "A card trick? Come on Venus, we've all seen those!"

Venus smirked and walked over to her, she was freckled, and had a bandana on, covering her bald head. She fanned the cards out in front of her, "Pick a card, any card!" Venus said.

Candy, the freckled child, drew a card, studied it, and then raised a questioning eyebrow at Venus.

"Now place the card back in the deck!"

She did so.

And Venus threw the cards in the air. Before they could flutter to the ground Venus held one hand out, pointing a finger and making a swirling motion. All the children watched in awe as the cards copied her movements, swirling around the room in a joviant dance. Suddenly, Venus paused, stopping the cards as well. She looked around before her eyes landed on one certain card, smirking, the girl snapped her fingers and all but one card burst into blue flames, burning until the fire had no fuel left. The card zipped to Venus' hand and she smiled widely as she presented the card to Candy.

A Joker.

"Is this your card?" Venus asked.

Candy, mouth agape, could only nod. Venus shook the card, and the kids looked on in amazement at the new sight in front of them. The Joker on the card blinked, looking around like it just woke up, before shrugging and juggling the circles on the card. Venus flicked the card and the whole deck reappeared in her hands before disappearing.

"Wicked!"

Φ

Venus' tortured screams could combat those of the ones emitting from The Pits.

White hot pain seared into her back, her arms already limp and trembling from similar treatment. Her legs burned, hot traces had left her twitching in pain. Leather straps held her down to the marble table, the cold stone pressing into her bare skin being the only relief in the moment. Pressure into the small of her back brought her out of her daze as she felt the blunt object press into her skin before she was engulfed in pain again. Venus screamed, her throat going sore from the harsh treatment.

If possible, the metal rod being pressed into her back seemed to be going slower than before, dragging out the pain as it made intricate swirls on her back.

Soon, burning was replaced by biting pain. Venus yelped and tried to jerk away from the table as she was drenched in freezing cold water. Gasping, Venus finally managed to left her head off the table, glaring at the amused form of Death, though, she noticed with satisfaction, his eyes did shine with guilt and worry.

"I-I trade-ed o-one bl-bloody mark f-for a-n-nother!" Venus exclaimed as the leather straps released her and a soft black satin blanket was draped over her shivering form. Venus quickly wrapped herself up, feeling bliss as the silky material gently caressed her burning naked form.

"Magical tattoos are essential, and besides, these will protect you, as well as give you an advantage in the fight," He walked over and gently took one of her arms, fingers hovering over the silver marks that intertwined around her skin. "Mundanes and magicals won't be able to see them, unless you use After Battle Magic. But they will be able to sense them, or at least, those who pose a threat to you will. It's like a warning sign saying 'piss off.'" Death explained.

"Why does it feel like I'm being trained as a weapon again?" Venus muttered.

"You're not," Death answered firmly, taking Venus chin so that their eyes met. "I don't expect you to fight, not now, and not soon. This is a precaution."

"But this Archangel business…"

"Is a form of protection. The Archangel never entered the field unless he was needed, and neither will you. We have Shades, wizards and witches who train to be soldiers. You're training to be a last resort."

"Great to know you have such confidence in me," Venus snorted.

"I know you can handle yourself, more than those who will fight wars. But you are back up, not a front line force. If we can't handle the fight without you, then I'll call you in. "

"That sounds oddly like sitting on the sidelines and twiddling my thumbs."

"Venus," Death snapped. "You are not to enter a fight unless the fight is brought to you. Meaning," he rushed on, cutting Venus off when she opened her mouth, "that if there is a fight, that doesn't involve you, or the people you need to take care of, you are to stay out of it,and only intervene when you, or someone you care about is threatened. You, would easily have the power to tip scales. Even more so when the Master of Death arises. Do you understand that?"

Venus worried her lip between her teeth for a bit before sighing, shoulders slumping in defeat and giving a resigned nod. Death sighed as well but in relief, ruffled Venus' hair and disappeared down the hall. Leaving the girl at the mercy of the soulless servants of Death.

A few minutes later a very irritated Venus stood on a boat as Charon, a ferryman, charted them around in the After. Charon, was very much like how Greek myths described him, even though he was by no means Greek. In fact, based off of the heavy accent, Venus could pin some hispanic origin on him. He was cloaked, much like Death, but in grey, his hood pulled back exposing a shaved head and clear eyes.

Venus finally blended in with her surroundings. The servants had wrapped Venus new markings in linen, before stuffing her in a black blouse with a choking high collar, and black pants. She walked around barefooted, a softening charm on her feet preventing any damage from occurring. Her hair was pulled back, revealing more linen wrappings that went up her neck.

"Were here," Charon announced, his voice a whisper, but loud enough to fill the cavern. Nodding Venus climbed out, walking out towards the Blissfold.

Death had given Venus tomes filled with staff movements, spells, and enchantments. But it was still a slow learning process, and Venus wanted to learn as much magic as she could before she went to Hogwarts. So, here she was, in Blissfold to visit one of the most greatest teachers of staff magic.

Isis, a woman named after the goddess of magic herself, was a woman you didn't mess with, dead or alive. She lived up to her namesake, becoming one of the most powerful staff wielders of her time, meeting her premature death by poisoning herself in order to hide any secrets that her enemies might be after.

She existed in a secluded corner of Blissfold, refusing to take any visitors, much less students. But Venus had to try.

Venus walked over to a standard house, it was small, with a black garden surrounding all sides and a large White Oak tree in the front, providing shade from the blue lights that hung in the black sky. Taking a deep breath Venus knocked on the solid black door. There was grumbling from the other side as soft footsteps approached. When the door was opened, Venus was greeted by the most 21st Century looking woman, strange, considering that it's not the 21st Century, and this woman had died long before it.

She wore a loose black sweater, one side falling off her shoulder, distressed ripped jeans, and high tops. Her hair was an array of colors, cool colors, like the Northern Lights had decided to reside in those strands. Her silver eyes were rimmed in kohl, and the ankh tattoo peeked out from under the collar of her shirt. Her dark purple lips held a rolled up blunt of burning bush as she stared down at the small child that stood before her. Taking in a deep breath Isis took the weed out of her mouth and let out a puff of air. "Beat it kid, go back to your mom and dad or something."

"They aren't alive." Venus stated.

"Well obviously, we're in the land of the dead," Isis snorted, stepping back inside and slamming the door closed.

Or, she tried to, the little girl's hand caught the door and pushed it open with much more strength than someone her age should possess, whether they were the living or the dead. She smiled, a chilling smile that made the skin on Isis' neck crawl.

"They haven't been born yet."

"What the hell-"

"Allow me to introduce myself, I, am Venus Lilly Williams. Archangel in training, a witch with parseltongue abilities, and hopefully, your first student since arriving in Blissfold." Venus gave a small bow of the head before looking back at the women with an all knowing, and strangely mischievous, smile.

Isis stared at her, a look of shock on her face. But, as soon as the shock had appeared, it was gone and the women composed herself, "And a time traveler as well, if the 'They haven't been born yet' line holds any truth."

Venus shrugged, "It was more of a reset for me than actual time travel."

Isis rose an eyebrow, "A traveler, nonetheless. Did you get to the 21st Century before you were reseted?"

"Eh, two years into it."

"It's amazing, been there once with this guy who wanted a companion while traveling, haven't seen him since. He traveled in a bloody Police Box though."

The two studied each other.

"So," Isis sighed as she opened the door wider, "Training begins now."

Venus followed the woman into her home. It was more personalized on the inside, the origins of the woman was well known through her decorations. She walked past the ancient vases, the long seats and the tapestries hung on the wall, continuing after Isis to the backyard. An open space greeted her, surrounded by thick and foreboding woods.

"Let me see your staff," Isis commanded, snapping the girl out of her musings. Quickly, Venus summoned the long and crooked power conduit, before handing it over to the Master Staff Wielder. "Hmm…" Isis looked over the carved wood, "Willow, five feet with a growing charm, silver enchanted chains and an opal stone. A staff of strength and stability, grace and elegance, of love and power. You have… quite the suggestive combination."

Isis set the staff to the side, "But, to learn how to use such a staff, you must be more in tune with the world you are in. As with all magics, no matter how much you know, how much you can do, or how powerful you think you are, it will mean nothing if you are not in touch with the world. Now," Isis removed her shoes and socks, then waved a hand, taking away the cushioning charm on Venus feet. Instantly, the girl curled her toes in the dirt, a feeling of peace taking over with her connection to the ground. Isis felt her eyebrows reach her hairline once again, "And, it seems you're already on your way to doing so." She offered a hand to Venus, who took it, and followed her towards the edge of the woods. "Close your eyes Venus," Isis instructed letting go of her, Venus did so, her hands falling limp by her sides. "Reach out with your mind, let your conscious flow through your body, to the parts that connect with the earth, and, feel."

Letting out a slow breath, Venus imagined a ball of light appearing at the center of her skull, her conscious, she watched it slowly spread out, leaking into her nerves as it traveled through the tangled and twisted maze of her body, over skin, around bones, through veins. Until finally, it reached her feet. Her conscious pooled there, a blinding sight to behold, with tiny pricks of light seeping through the ground.

Venus gasped at the feeling, a warmth enveloped her, a tingling breeze that she had only felt on the surface. Suddenly, Venus could feel every grit of dirt beneath her feet, every blade of grass between her toes, millions upon millions of different songs singing out towards her in a melody that was, surprisingly, not at all overwhelming. Venus took in another deep breath, the air now tasting much sweeter.

"Ĝဗဗત," The layered voice of Isis rumbled, the voice connecting with Venus on different planes, "ปပς+ F୧୧⇂ anત Fဗ⇂⇂ဗພ."

And she did.

Both females rose their arms up at the same time, before bringing them back down, palms pressed together, white light formed between their folded hands, expanding in a long ribbon as they opened them once more, left feet sweeping in a wide motion on the ground, forming an arch before resting behind their tranquil forms.

It was a dance, a dance that none have ever seen before, light danced across their limbs as they swayed, listening to the command of an old and lost tune, their heads bowed, moving as one without any vocal communication.

They ended with their head bowed, stand wide and arms spread out, palms facing the ground.

"ㄗ୧ą∁୧."

Φ

"Slow down Venus!" Maggie called as she chased after the energetic five year old, desperate not to lose her in the crowded streets of London.

It's been two months since the adoption, and the two were finally on a shopping trip, clothes and school supplies being the main goal here. But Maggie had a feeling her little girl just might drag the doctor into a bookstore or something.

Venus halted in the middle of the crowd, patiently waiting for Maggie, she then slipped her hand in the doctors and smiled up at her with an apologetic smile, though, her eyes still twinkled a bit with mischief. "Sorry Mum," Venus hummed, skipping alongside her mother as they strolled through the streets, "I'm just so excited! I can't believe I'm going to school!"

"Yes, yes," Maggie sighed as they entered the store, "I'm sure, but it will do us no good if I were to lose you in this chaos."

Maggie had agreed to let Venus attend Mason's School of Arts, Technology, and Engineering, per the advice of Professor Radson. The school uniform had a bit of stretching room for their students; black skirts, black knee high socks, a pair of mary janes, buttoned up collared shirts, and a sweater knit jacket. Venus had showed her rebellious attitude for the first time, flat out refusing to wear mary janes, she wanted to wear something comfortable, like sneakers. After a bit of debating, and a light rap on the knuckles for all the trouble she stirred, Maggie convinced Venus to wear a nice pair of boots. The two also got a variety of blouses, as there was no specific type. With different colors, designs, and patterns. Three sweater knit jackets, one long sleeved, one short sleeved, and one practically being a vest.

Venus had tried to get black skirts and socks with patterns (such as skulls) on them too, claiming that they never said anything about the black articles of clothing needing to be plain, but Maggie had drew the line there.

The mischievous little girl had also gotten plenty of pins to stick onto her leather backpack, skulls, animals, bands, and wacky images would soon adorn the bag.

"Okay…" Maggie chewed the bottom of her lip as she stared at the very last item on her list, "All that's left are your school books."

Venus gave a 'Whoop!' of excitement and practically dragged Maggie to the closest bookstore. Maggie had shooed her off once inside, telling her to pick out a maximum of three leisure books while the adult worried about her school books. Happy to comply, Venus skipped off towards the literary works. Just as she rounded the corner, she ran into someone, and both parties ended up on the ground.

"Sorry," Venus mumbled, rubbing her head and sitting up, only for her great emerald eyes to widen.

"Hermione?" she gasped in disbelief, already doubting herself.

"Venus!" The once brunette launched herself clear at her, wrapping her arms around Venus and removing all doubt.

Hermione looked much the same as she did when she was eleven years old, but at the same time, completely different. She still had bushy hair, but it was a dark grey color that shifted to a near blue in the sunlight. Her two front teeth were still large, but her smile was a darker tint with nearly purple lips. Her skin was significantly paler, making her eyes stand out. And goodness, her eyes, one was a bright violet color, the other one was missing the iris and pupil, instead being milky white. But her stare was just as true and sure as if she could see out of both eyes, she probably could.

"Hermione?" Venus questioned again, "Y-you look so different!"

Hermione waved her off, "Call it the consequences of dying of old age and being reborn. And it's Harmony now Venus."

"Reborn!"

"Yes. After you disappeared, well," Hermione, Harmony, looked to the side with a sigh, "Everyone went spare looking for you, we never stopped. But, eventually we had to move on. As much as that hurt. Ron and I never gave up though, we were always asking around, your discription changing with each year as we pictured what you would look like at that age."

"I-I'm so sorry Herm-Harmony," Venus sighed, her head dipped low. She hadn't thought much about the consequences to others when she disappeared. She must've caused a lot of pain. Oh God, she left Teddy all by himself! She… A hand gently cupped her cheek, lifting her green orbs to Harmony's mismatched ones.

"You needed this. We lived a happy life, even though it felt like we were missing something, our life was full, and happy, and we continued on. You needed a fresh start, quite literally, you need this. I'm happy to join you in this new life, so is Ronin."

"Ronin? You mean, Ron?"

"Who else mate?" A new voice answered. Harmony smiled while Venus gasped and whirled around, in an instant she was in the embrace of a red head. Ron seemed to take to rebirth better than Harmony had, his hair was a darker shade of red, his eyes a dark lively brown. His skin was darker, with dark red veins crawling over the left side of his face. But that reassuring simile was much the same as it was before.

Ronin chuckled, wrapping his arms around Venus, "Still on the short side I see." Venus immediately pulled back, a pout on her lips before she frowned and punched Ronin in the arm.

"Jerk."

"Venus!" Maggie called, "We have to go love! Where are you?"

Venus looked back at her friends, gnawing at her lower lip. Harmony and Ronin smiled, "Go," Harmony told her.

"What about you guys?"

"Don't worry about us mate," Ronin said as he squeezed her shoulder, "We'll be seeing each other real soon."

Venus tilted her head to the side, "What do you mean by that?" she questioned.

Harmony just shook her head, "Never mind him Venus, we'll see you around."

Venus sighed, but drew her friends into a hug before reluctantly heading back to Maggie.

Φ

"Do you have your books?"

"Yes Maggie," Venus sighed, hefting her bag over her shoulder.

"Your schedule? Lunch money? Did your remember to wear the nice boots we picked out?" Maggie continued, worrying her hands as she sat behind the wheel of the car, nervously looking back at Venus, before focusing on the school.

It was nice looking, with a kind of greek feel to it, the walls were tall, but the building was only one story, there were plenty of windows. Marble columns stretched high up, like white trunks bursting from a slate ground.

"I have everything I need, I didn't forget anything, and yes, I wore the nice boots," Venus tapped her foot against the door as some way of proving her statement. "And, I'll be fine."

"Well, excuse me for worrying!" Maggie huffed, she looked at Venus again, this small little girl entering the belly of a beast known as school.

"I… Have a nice day sweetheart." Maggie said after a while.

"I will," Venus told her, adjusting her straps and hopping out of the car. "I'll see you later!"

"See you later," Maggie mumbled, watching as Venus hurried down the walkway to her fresh start at Johnson's Arts, Technology, and Engineering.

She'll be fine…

At least, Maggie hopes she will.

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So... Turns out I'm not doing 4 chapters, more like four parts of this story. Because, well, I've been sitting on this part of the story for months, trying to figure out how to flow pre-hogwarts in one chapter in a way that isn't... icky. And, well, I couldn't find a way to do that. So, without further ado I present to you, chapter 3!

Also, I'm sorry for the long wait.

Happy Holidays!

~Dawn