Disclaimer - I don't own any of the Harry Potter Characters or settings. All credit goes to J.K and Warner Brothers. I only take credit for the plot and any OC's present in this story.
I hope you like it and review! Please forgive any mistakes as i have no beta.
Thoughts – thoughts in the mind
Emphasis – to emphasize some words
Chapter 2 – Slytherin's Snake Pit
The welcome feast seemed to drag on and on, or maybe that perception was due to the hostile stares drilling into her from nearly every corner of the Great Hall. Keeping her head down and focusing on her plate did nothing to dispel the hate filled glares. At one point during the dinner, when the stares seemed to become heavier than usual she glanced up, only to meet the stare of her mystery man. His deep navy eyes drilled into her pale green ones; anger and disgust the more predominate emotions swirling in his orbs. She flinched and looked away when she felt him come close to probing her mental shields. Slumping further into her seat, she watched the last remnants of desert disappear before switching her attention to Dumbledore.
"Ladies and gentlemen, now that we are all appropriately stuffed, I bid you farewell and sweet dreams" Dumbledore said, eyes twinkling madly. The benches groaned as all the students stood en masse; the sound vibrating through Ana's skull. She was shoved back and forth as she made her way out of the Hall, following the prefects that were showing the first years around. They entered the dungeons and the sudden darkness soothed Ana's pounding head, though it made more than one Slytherin first year stumble. They soon came upon a stretch of wall that pulsed slowly with magic. She could only assume that this was the doorway to their dorms.
"This is the entrance to the Slytherin common room. The password is Purus, that's pure in Latin for the under-educated of you" the prefect said shooting her a look of disdain Ana swallowed the lump in her throat and shuffled in after the first years. The room was a large and narrow space, filled with three massive black granite fireplaces and hundreds of dark wood bookshelves. The couches and study tables were all made of the finest leather and silk, and the floor was covered in a plush black carpet. Overall the room was lavish but surprisingly dim, so dim in fact that it took her eyes a second to adjust. "First years stand by the fireplace, you have an introductory talk by our Head of House to look forward to" the prefect said, herding them over. "That means you too, mudblood scum" the prefect nearly shouted at Ana, causing her to jump, when she didn't move to stand with them.
Ana waited patiently behind the Slytherin first years trying and failing to make herself small enough to hide behind them. Even though she wasn't exactly tall herself, coming in around 5 ft 2, some of the first years were surprisingly short. She stuck out like a sore thumb here, nearly everyone wore expensive silk and velvet robes, their hair was perfectly styled and their arms, hands or necks were adorned in sparkling and flashy jewellery. Here she was standing in the middle of them in her old second hand robe and dirty tattered trainers; her wild black hair falling haphazardly over her eyes. The only piece of jewellery she wore was underneath her shirt, hidden away from prying eyes. The atmosphere was frigid and cold; tense with anticipation. The Slytherin common room door re-opened and in stepped her mystery man. His dark hair was swept to side slightly as if he had been in a hurry. Sighting her standing in the common room his attractive pale face contorted into a sneer. He walked with surprising grace despite being near enough 6 ft 2 tall. His movements were controlled and calculated; a predator covered in human skin no doubt. His dark and tangy magic washed over her, tasting and teasing her own magic. She tighten her hold on her aura, suppressing a shiver; for her plan to work everyone had to think she was weak and insignificant.
"The first thing I shall say is congratulations on being sorted into the most noble and prestigious house in Hogwarts, Slytherin. For those who don't know who I am, I am your Head of House, Lord Marvolo Slytherin. I will also be your Professor in Defence against the Dark Arts. The Slytherin prefects will be your first point of contact should you have any concerns or queries, although if they are unable to resolve the issue my office door is always open" the mystery man who she know knew as Lord Slytherin said. The silence that had befallen the room as soon as he opened his mouth impressed Ana. I could appreciate a man that could silence a room like that she thought.
"As Slytherins you will be expected to act with poise, grace and dignity. There are those that will scorn you; jealous of your power and riches. But should you seek retaliation, do not get caught. I will not save you if you are stupid enough to do so!" he continued, pacing up and down like a caged lion. She was sure she heard more than one Slytherin girl sigh dreamily at the sight. "Any rule breaking individual will be punished severely. I do not tolerate incompetence or stupidity!" he finished, glaring at not only the first years but all the students presence in the common room.
"Any question?" he asked silkily after a minute. Seeing no one respond, he turned on his heel to leave.
"My Lord, if I may?" what looked like a lanky 6th year student asked somewhat timidly.
"Yes" Lord Slytherin practically hissed as he turned to the boy.
Gulping, the boy stood, puffing out his chest pompously and said, "what about the mudblood filth, my Lord? Surely the sorting hat made a mistake!"
Ana felt her face drain of colour, making her already pale skin tone turn a shade of ghastly white. Every eye in the room swiveled to focus on her, and Ana was once again drawn into a staring match with Lord Slytherin. This time though, she could not decipher the look in his dark navy blues.
"In regards to the situation pertaining Miss Harrow, the Headmaster has seen fit to override my decision for a resort, stating her sorting into Slytherin as final and absolute." Widespread muttering rippled through the common room as the students displayed their displeasure at the Headmaster's interference.
"Is there nothing you can do, my Lord?" a stunning blonde 7th year said. Her hair was so bright that it looked near enough white in the dim light of the common room.
"I'm afraid not Miss Black. Only the Headmaster can declare a resort, thought that is beside the point, the sorting hat refuses to resort her anyway." With those parting words, Lord Slytherin turned and left, leaving a deadly silence in his wake that lasted for an unexpectedly long time.
"You better watch yourself mudblood, if you're not careful you'll wake up to find your throat slashed during the night. We don't like filth around here" a wild black haired 7th year girl snarled. She was stunningly attractive, curvy in all the right places and with an aura of darkness that would draw in unsuspecting and stupid men.
"Come now, Bella. There's no need to scare the poor girl. I'm sure she'll learn to adapt sooner or later" the one Lord Slytherin called Miss Black said, leading Bella away to another group of students.
Ana lay awake on her bed in the 6th year dorms, waiting for her roommates to fall into a deep sleep. She shared a room with 3 other girls surprisingly. She would have thought that since their parents believed them to be so precious and darling that all the students would have demanded a room to themselves. No matter, I was hoping for some form of privacy but that problem is easily dealt with she thought. The three girls, Daphne Greengrass, Pansy Parkinson and Millicent Bulstrode all made their feelings on sharing a room with the mudbloodvery clear, though Daphne was the most vocal.
Ana wouldn't be surprised if her screeching of "don't touch my stuff, mudblood" and "get away from me freak!" was heard on the other side of the castle.
She had retired to her room quickly after the debacle in the common room, first going to check on her luggage to ensure those pesky creatures that call themselves house elves didn't steal anything. She had had a lot of trouble with them when she was in Dubai and didn't trust them at all. They were devious creatures that looked for any kind of loophole around your commands. After checking that, she decided to unpack, taking in her room that would be her new home for however long she needed it to be. The room was a large rectangular shape with four large double sized beds in each corner. Each bed came with a long deep green draping curtain for privacy, a large wardrobe, desk and bookshelf. The window in the room faced onto a beautiful underwater view of the Black Lake and all its inhabitants. The room itself was decorated in varying shades of cream, green, silver and black giving an overall tasteful and feminine appearance.
Once she was sure her roommates were sound asleep, Ana slipped out of her bed silently. Walking over to her desk she picked up a piece of pure white chalk and proceeded to draw runes on the floor around the corner which she had 'designated' as her space. The runes glowed softly in the weak greenish glow given off by the lake and disappeared once she finished, letting her know the ward she placed was working. Satisfied her things and privacy would be protected she moved back to her bed, drawing the curtains around her again. Putting the necklace from under her shirt on the bed, she tapped the crystal enlarging it until it was the size of a large apple.
"Give me Leonardo" she commanded. The large white crystal glowed for a long second before it projected the picture of a young male with dark blonde hair and light brown eyes.
"You rang?" he drawled, his Italian accent heavily lacing in his voice.
"I've come upon some unexpected complications" she said, her pale green eyes hardening and her demeanor shifting.
"Complications! You've been there less than 12 hours" he said incredulously. "What the fuck happened?"
"Don't give me that tone. Remember who you are speaking to" Ana said with steel in her voice. "First of all I was put into Slytherin instead of Ravenclaw as we planned for. Not too much of a problem, but it does set us back a couple of steps."
"How so?" Leonardo said in a more cautious tone of voice, noting Ana's less than hospitable attitude.
"It seems a muggleborn doesn't blend in well with the ultra precious purebloods of the English upper class. I offend them apparently" Ana replied, her pretty features twisting into an ugly sneer. "It will just take a little longer to melt into the background that's all."
"Why the call then? You seem to have everything under control" he said frowning.
"There's another complication. One that could prove to be more troublesome"
"Go on" he urged impatiently. He quickly changed his attitude when he noticed the narrowing of Ana's now ice cold eyes.
"It seems that Hogwarts pseudo entree test is to be sorted by a hat that looks into one's mind." Watching Leo's face pale, Ana was glad he understood the enormity of the situation.
"You were able to keep it out though, right?" Leo said with urgency. Ana's fluttering eyes told Leo all he need to know. "Dear sweet Merlin Ana! I knew this was a mistake. I knew this was too soon for you, I-"
"Are you trying to suggest I can't do this?" Ana said cutting him off, jaw set with fire in her eyes. The temperature in the room dropped rapidly causing the other three girls to shiver and curl up tighter under their covers. "Are you trying to suggest I'm not ready?"
"N-n-no" Leo stuttered, very aware of how pissed off she had become.
"I should hope not," Ana hissed. "We wouldn't want you to be...culled from our pack now, would we?"
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to suggest such a thing" he murmured softly.
"Indeed" she drawled in response, clearly not impressed. "I'm not stupid Leo, despite what you seem to think" she said, causing him to flinch in response. "I was able to use partial-occlumency to ensure it didn't get anything that would endanger our plans too much."
"Partial-occlumency?"
Ana sighed tiredly and said, "The act of shielding certain things in a memory. Like, blurring out someone's face, omitting the background from a memory or cutting off certain words in a conversation, that sort of thing. He got enough information to be wary, but certainly not enough to put me in Azkaban."
"I've never even heard of partial-occlumency and yet you've mastered it!"
"That's because I invented it, fool" she replied arrogantly.
"Figures" he huffed in response. "Are you sure it can't tell Dumbledore?"
"Reasonably, but I will check up on it just to be sure"
"Ok" Leo exhaled, "is that all then?"
"There is one more tiny problem" she slipped in making him frown. "Do you know of a Lord Marvolo Slytherin?"
"Yes, of course" Leonardo said surprised, "don't you?" seeing her unimpressed look, he quickly continued. "Erm, well he's incredibly powerful in Britain and well known throughout Europe. I'm not sure how you haven't heard of him."
"I've been busy, as well you know" she snapped back. "Tell me all you know of him."
"Typical powerful British politician, though his leanings are darker. I wouldn't say he was overly anti-muggleborn those his major supports defiantly are. His claim to fame I suppose you could say, would be the Slytherin on the end of his name. He's the only true heir of the infamous founder of Hogwarts Salazar Slytherin, thus placing him on a near god-like status within the British Isles. His numerous medals and trophies in hundreds of different dueling tournaments all over the world, ensures that he is respected no matter where he goes. Why are you suddenly interested in him?"
"It seems that, he is unfortunately, my mate" she drawled with false calmness.
"Your soul mate!" Leonardo near shouted, his Italian accent distorting the words slightly.
"Yes, mind, body, soul and all that bullshit" she snapped with viciousness.
"How do you know?" he whispered shocked, a stark contrast to his previous shouting. He had known Ana since she was 12 and she could be an emotionless bitch at the best of times; for her to suddenly declare a soul mate...
"My magic reacts to him like no other. Plus I saw it"
"Well..., maybe it's meant to be like this. Maybe you're meant to find you soul-"
"Shut up, Leo! I'm here for one reason and one reason only. No distractions and defiantly no chasing happy fucking endings. Happy endings don't happen for people like me." The two remained silent for a while, neither knowing what to say.
"Is he going to be a problem?" Leo said.
"As long as I keep a tight rein on my magic I should be fine. But I want you to look into his past just in case. Look for anything dirty, I might need a bargaining tool in the future."
"Yes ma'am" Leo said, smirking slightly.
"You know, you don't have to call me that" she said, almost purring the words. Getting a cheeky wink in response, Ana smiled and rolled her eyes at his antics.
"I still think you should change your eye colour. Far to noticeable if you ask me" Leo said wiping the smile from Ana's face immediately.
"You know as well as I do why that's not possible" she said, barely suppressing her ire.
"Yes but-"
"No buts, Leo! You know it's difficult to maintain that; my family magic doesn't allow for my birth right to be hidden like that. I can't afford a slip up where my true eye colour bleeds through" Ana said, venom lacing her words. "Stop challenging me on this!"
"I'm apologise, my Lady. I did not think" Leo apologised quickly, eyes downcast. Getting nothing but a sneer in return, he sought to change the topic, thoroughly cowed by Ana's words. "Well considering I'm here, I suppose you want an update on his location". Seeing her gesture to continue, he said "last reports place him in Eastern Europe near Poland. We think he's picked up the fake trail you left and thus is moving towards the USSR."
"Good, I don't need to tell you to keep an eye on him, but make sure he sticks to that trail. Try and keep him preoccupied as well, I don't want him turning his focus onto Britain. I'm not ready yet."
"Yes ma'am"
"Get back to me when you have dirt on Slytherin. I trust you'll be able to handle that" Ana said, hanging up before Leo could reply. Sighing heavily, she tucked her necklace back under her shirt to recharge and lay down; her heavy eyelids fluttering closed.
I guess in Slytherin's snake pit, everyone has to be a viper was her last thought before she drifted off.
A/N - Hope you guys liked it. Sorry for the long wait, but i had shit loads of deadlines for my degree last week. Review please! Constructive criticism welcome :-)