"No, Albus please no. James!"

"Lily run! Take Harry!"

A woman's screams, and a mans yells filled her mind as she floated above the scene. She watched as Albus Dumbledore stunned the Potter lord and then his wife, leaving her former self to sit in the crib crying and screaming as he drained each of her former parents of their blood, using it to form the runes of large runic schematic.

Her father told her of the night he saved her, and about the fate of the potters, but hearing it and seeing it first hand was vastly different. As she watched the runes flare to life she glanced over at the potter pair, and saw Dumbledore place their bodies into a box before shrinking it down. She floated there for what felt like years, a ghostly horned serpent swimming circles in the air round her as they watched the old man search through the house, he was looking for something, something important, and as his search continued the old mans anger seemed to grow.

Finally having given up his search the old man left, taking the box that contained the potter couples bodies with him. She could still hear the crying of her infant self, who still laid in the nursery where Dumbledore had left her, but just as she was about to float back into the room the horned serpent shot off down the hallway. Following the ghostly serpent she found it flying in low circles around a section of the floor in what appeared to be a small study. Sinking into the floor with her incorporeal body she saw a hidden space. The walls of the space were covered in warding runes and at the centre was a trunk with the potter crest on the lid.

This must be what the old man was looking for, and she wondered if it had survived the fiend fire that engulfed the potters cottage. The cottage had been heavily damaged, to the point where it was beyond repairs, which was why the ministry chose to leave it as it was, treating the site as a monument.

They began moving, the horned serpent coiling around her and seemly becoming apart of her body as their ethereal forms flew through a vortex of colors until they hovered over the body of a small brown haired girl in a white hospital room. Her mother was there, clutching at the robes of her tall regal looking father who spoke with a blue robed healer.

Narcissa and Draco were there as well, with her uncle Lucius standing sternly behind her father as he was always prone to do. She'd once joked to her mother that uncle Lucius and some of the other lord's were like little ducklings following their mother around whenever her father was in the room.

Floating closer to her parents she tried to hear what the healer was saying, but the words where muffled as though she were trying to listen with her head under water. So instead she floated over to herself, looking down at her sleeping body in the bed. The Fwooper she'd brought was perched near her head, it's eyes closed as it dozed, smiling at the pretty bird she glanced down at her body and saw her hands still clutching the wand that started all this mess. Reaching out, she ran a ghostly finger over the wand, letting out a faint cry of surprise as she suddenly found herself sucked towards it.

"Magical core heavily depleted,"

"Needs to rest."

"No, can take her home, but it is best she stays somewhere with a high natural magic density."

Everything hurt, her muscles ached, her head pounded, and opening her eyes made them hurt as well. Bright light pierced through her vision, and she quickly closed her eyes again, moaning at the pain the light had brought.

"Vinia, oh, Vinia! Marvolo she's awake." Soft hands stroked over her cheeks and the smell of her mothers perfume filled her senses.

"Vinia, sweetling open your eyes, it's mama," her mother crooned softly.

"Bright" she hissed, not even noticing her slip into parsel tongue.

"I have dimmed the light, it is safe to open your eyes little one." Her father's cool voice said, and she relaxed a little as his voice swept over her like a cool wave of water carried by magical undercurrents.

He did that a lot when she was younger, would imbue his voice magically when she was upset, scared or being naughty. If he was scolding her, his voice carried a cold sharpness that made her feel like she'd been thrust into a biting cold snow storm.

Opening her eyes again, she saw only her parents were present in the room, which was different to when she last saw it. Furrowing her brow, she gazed around the room, spotting her Fwooper perched on the headboard, and the wand which was now laid on the side table.

Gaze finding the wand she reached for it, only for her mother to lunge forwards and yank her hand back from it with a frantic cry.

"No! Vinia," her mothers fearful tone, sent a pang of guilt through her and she turned to the beautiful blond haired woman, wrapping her arms around her.

"It's okay mama, I'm okay, the wand won't hurt me anymore." She murmured, face pressed against her mothers robe.

"Vinia, tell me what happened," her father demanded, and she looked at him over her mothers shoulder.

"Daddy, can you just look?" She asked, eyes flicking around the room for a second before settling back on her father who nodded.

Meeting his eyes, she felt his power brush against her mind and opened a tiny hole in her defenses to allow him entry. His touch on her mind was gentle, and she guided him through her memories to start at the point where they first entered the wand shop. She felt his annoyance as they listened to the old man prattle on in her memories, and his amusement at her setting the mans counter on fire with a holly wand.

Then came the point where the old man brought out the horned serpent wand, and she felt her fathers surprise when the ghostly serpent spoke. She could feel his worry, and pride when in the end she triumphed over the wand. As the memories of her time as a ghost haunting her younger self came to the forefront she sensed her fathers shock, and even a small tinge of pity. Watching the potter couple slowly be killed through blood loss wasn't an easy thing to watch, at one point they had been her parents, even if she felt no love for the pair she knew they did not deserve what that old man did to them.

She wasn't unfamiliar with death, or even ritualistic sacrifice, she'd performed such a sacrifice to create her magical constructs. Though, she'd not killed people as the constructs were small and weren't being imbued with intelligence, so she'd only used a few magical beasts.

The first time she watched someone die was two years ago in Egypt, when she'd been visiting the bazaar with Draco, Blaise and Theo. They'd gone to Egypt to attend the festival being held for the birth of the pharaohs fourth son. During a trip to the magical bazaar she'd been separated from her cousin and his friends by the crowds, and before she even knew what was happening had been dragged into a side alley where a strange man portkeyed away with her.

She'd found herself brought to a large villa in the desert, and taken to a room with several other girls, only learning later that the men who'd taken her intended to sell them. They didn't get the chance to however, as not even twenty minutes later the villa was filled with member's of the pharaohs guard along with her father. Not a single one of those men survived, and she'd watched with wide eyes as her father personally killed the one who'd taken her in a manner which had her suffering nightmares for a week.

Three days after that she'd sacrificed a newly hatched basilisk to imbue her first construct under the guidance of her grandpa. She didn't leave the manor without it, and it was thanks to her construct that another two attempts to kidnap her had been foiled. Though, those more recent attempts had been political enemies of her father seeking to use her to pressure him. Each time, at least one person had died from the basilisk venom held within her constructs body before she portkeyed away to safety.

When her father was finished watching the memories he withdrew from her mind, and she slumped tiredly against her mother. Even the simple act of opening her mental shields had been difficult for her, and she could sense very little magic within her body. She could feel her core slowly drawing in the magic from around them, but knew it would be some time before she would be able to recover it fully. This wasn't the first time she'd drained her core like this, so she was familiar with the feeling, as several rituals she'd performed would leave her in a similar state for a few days.

Yawning, she fought the urge to sleep, but it was a losing battle as she succumbed to exhaustion.

Two days later, she was seated in her family's carriage peering excitedly out the window as they flew over the ocean. They'd been flying for three hours already, and she knew they were drawing close to the outer edge of the wards which protected the floating isles, otherwise known as the Caerulum isles. The isle was her fathers creation, with the assistance of her grandpa and several others. The isle wasn't fully ready for habitation yet, so none lived there aside from those who were working on the islands ecosystems and buildings.

Her fathers goal was to create a safe haven for the magical population, a place where they could live separated from the muggles in a purely magical society. It was similar to what the Americans had done several hundred years ago, when they placed several islands under powerful wards, creating a hidden magical region called Bermuda. Her father intended to create the same for those who resided in the European countries, who were spread out living in small magical communities surrounded by muggles.

"Daddy! I see it, I see it!" She cried out, bouncing up from her seat as she saw six gray specs in the distance, five floating in the air and one on the oceans surface.

Caerulum currently consisted of six large islands which had been formed using magically conjured volcanoes before being raised into the sky, powered by a massive core which the island was formed around. At the centre of each island was the large core which her grandpa along with his friends Nicholas and Perenelle Flamel had created.

When the volcanoes created the islands the core was suspended within the lava, that then harden into stone. Then once island has reached the desired size and shape under the control of the Bulgarian wizards who conjured them, her grandpa and his team of rune masters worked below the oceans surface carving thousands of runes into the underside of each island. It had taken years for the project to reach the current stage, with the first of the islands being raised just after her second birthday, and the next being raised two years after that. This project was one that her father and grandpa had been working on since her father was in his sixth year of Hogwarts, and was the product of years and years of research before they began the process of creating the islands.

With the sixth island scheduled to be raised at the end of this year, and the first five already being worked on with housing and other infrastructure being built, it would only be a matter of months before they could start allowing people to move permanently to the floating isles.

Though the sixth and last isle would need very few buildings as her father intended for it to be a sanctuary for magical creatures. It was already well on its way to being complete even before it was raised. There were several skilled wizards working on the islands ecosystem creating a series of different zones that had the needed environments to ensure all the creatures residing their were healthy and happy. The team working on the sixth isle, was led by a man named Newton Scamander, with him and his wife both residing on the island since its creation with their grandson Rolf.

"Vinia, sit down, we will be there soon enough." Her mother said, pulling her down to sit on the cushioned bench seat of the carriage.

"Daddy, how long until the school is finished?" She asked, turning her attention to her father who looked up from the papers he was reading with an amused smile.

"I think we should have it ready by the time you reach third year, which considering we intend to create a primary and secondary school will work well. The Astrum, Institute Of The Arcane will accept students from thirteen years of age. While the Astrum school of magic will take students from age eight, teaching them for five years. They will learn magical theory until their third year. At that time they will gain their wands, and begin a basic magical education before graduating to attend the institute." Her father informed her, and she nodded already having known he intended to create two schools.

It would take several years for the effects of earlier education and a higher standard of education to reflect on the population, but she had faith that her father would achieve anything he sought out to do, and knew that the Astrum school and its sister Institute would surpass any other magical schools as the number one school in the entire magical world. Her daddy was just that great, that it would be impossible for it not to be.

As they drew closer to the islands, she could see the buildings starting to take shape on those closest to them and grinned as she saw the massive white building which she knew belonged to the goblins. The Caerulum branch of Gringotts bank was far larger then their original bank in Diagon Alley, and was located on the second isle which was to be primarily a commercial district. The island would have housing, along with other facilities such as Inn's, restaurants and the like, but her father intended for those living on the island to be those who owned the stores or workshops that were built there.

The first Isle was where the Astrum Institute was being built, and the school already looked comparable in size to Hogwarts. Though she knew that by the time her father was done, the school their ancestor had helped build would pale in comparison. While the school did look similar to a castle, it was going to be made up of several large buildings with each being dedicated to each of the magical arts. She could still remember the look on her tutor, master Snape's face when he was helping her father plan the potions building, the man looked like he'd gotten a hundred Christmases at once. He was even more delighted when her father promised him he would only be required to teach those students who chose to follow the potions profession and apprentice in their fourth year of secondary education. Each year group would have a professor who was trained to teach at that year level, once students reached their fourth year, if they found a subject they felt a connection with, they could apply for an in-school apprenticeship which would mean their education would be adjusted to focus more on their desired subject.

The school would also have a large professional level quidditch stadium, at the insistence of Gregor Krum one of her fathers close allies and a well known quidditch fanatic. The Krum family were well known for producing strong earth and fire mages, and it was Gregor Krum and some of his kin who had conjured and controlled the volcanoes which formed the islands. The spells used, were created by the Krum family and was something known only to them.

The Krum family was the ruling family of Bulgaria, and had been so since the first Bulgarian Empire in 803. Their rule over the muggle side of Bulgaria ended in 997, but they continued to oversee the magical side of Bulgaria to this day, with Gregor Krum's older brother, Ivan Krum as the current Tzar.

Thinking about the Krum family made her a little nervous, as memories of an older stern looking boy filled her mind. She wasn't sure how she felt about her betrothed, but understood that her betrothal played a large part in her father gaining the needed alliance with the Krum's.

Along with her marrying Gregor's son Viktor, the Bulgarians would have an island of their own within Caerulum, which was similar to her fathers agreements with several other countries. Each would have islands within the wards of Caerulum where their citizens could settle, and those islands would be considered an extension of that country within Caerulum. However, those citizens would still need to obey the laws of Caerulum.

It was all rather complex, and much of the logistics went well over her head. Though, those islands would not be raised until the main six islands of Caerulum had been completed, and once the islands were raised, it was the reasonability of each country to oversee the construction of buildings and other infrastructure.

Eyes glued to the window, she watched as they began to descend towards a castle made of light colored stone. Many of the buildings on the islands were made with the same stone, though to strengthen the magic that kept the isle afloat the stone of every building was carved with runes which were filled with gold. The building they flew towards stood out from the others on the island, as its roof was an emerald green, and it was the largest on the island, surrounded by a vast plot of land.

The forth island, was to her understanding going to be where many of the more prominent noble families would build their estates. It was also where Serpens castle, which her father built for them was located. She could already see the beginnings of other large buildings in the distance, and knew the one with the silvery grey roof would be the one owned by the Malfoy's.

The islands were quite large, and from the maps her father had drawn up showing the land plots, she knew the forth island had a hundred and fifty plots of land that would be sold. Their families land was fifty acres in total, and was the largest. The next largest plots of land were thirty plots of twenty five acres, followed by twenty plots of fifteen acres. The remaining ninety nine plots were all only five acres, her father also had a restriction that families could only purchase a single plot on the forth isle. If they wished for more land, they could by more on one of the other Islands.

The third and fifth isles, were also set aside for residences and split into lots of varying size, with set plans for layout. Each isle would be made up of small villages and towns that had a set number of commercial plots available, with restrictions for the kind of stores allowed to be opened in the residential areas. She knew a lot of work had gone into the planning out each isle, and deciding the layout of buildings.

When a person brought a land plot, they were given a building plan which had a set of approved building designs the owner could choose from, if they wanted to build something outside these approved designs they needed to submit a request for a building permit. Though this was only for those plots on the second, third and fifth isle, and those buying one of the five acre plots on the fourth isle. Those families with larger plots would need to submit for a permit, but they were not restricted as much as those with smaller plots.

There was a light clattering sound as their carriage landed on the wide cobbled road which led up to the castle, and she waited impatiently as the coachman directed the six Abraxan through the large archway which marked the entry to their family land.

"Vinia, stop pressing your face to the glass, its uncouth." Her mother said with a sigh, but she ignored her as she tried to peer up ahead of them at the castle.

"Vinia listen to your mother, we are nearly at the castle so you will see it then." Her father drawled, putting away his paperwork with a flick of his wand.

"But daddy I-."

"Now, Vinia."

Pulling back from the window she crossed her arms over her chest with a huff as she slumped in her seat. Seeing her mother about to open her mouth, she rolled her eyes and shifted her posture to sit straighter, only to yelp in pain a second later when her fathers stinging hex hit her in the shoulder. Rubbing at the red welt she knew would be forming under her sleeve she scowled in her fathers direction, but quickly stopped when she saw him raise his wand towards her again.

It was another excruciating ten minutes before the carriage crested the hill their castle sat on and came to a halt. The minute the carriage door opened she practically leapt from her seat, only to find her fathers wand pointed directly at her nose. With an annoyed sigh, she waited for him to exit first and help her mother out, before she moved to the door. Taking her fathers hand, she allowed him to help her step down from the carriage as she craned her head back to gaze at the large castle.

"Welcome to Serpens castle, my little princess." Her father murmured softly to her, as they walked up the grand stairway that led into what would soon be their new home.