"Welcome to Hogwarts. In a few moments, you will pass through these doors and join your classmates. But before you can take your seats you must be sorted into your houses. They are Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and Slytherin. While you are here, your house will be like your family. Your triumphs will earn you house points. Any rule breaking, and you will lose points. At the end of the year, the house with the most points is awarded the house cup"
Fighting back a yawn, she listened to the stern looking professor which according to Master Snape's descriptions of his coworkers was Professor McGonagall the head of Gryffindor house and deputy headmistress.
"The sorting ceremony will begin momentarily. So I suggest you take these few moments to tidy yourselves up." The professor said, eyes resting on a red haired boy standing near the puppet Potter before she turned away and left the small antechamber the group was gathered in.
The moment the professor left the room was filled with the loud murmuring whispers of the gathered first years, which she ignored in favor of checking her appearance in her compact mirror. Hearing a commotion, she glanced up to see Potter preening under the attentions of several fawning students and sneered, such pretentious filth he was.
"Vinia! Oh I've been looking for you all day," lip curling in a mocking smile she turned towards the owner of the nasally sounding voice that called for her.
"You didn't look very hard, my compartment was directly across from yours." She said, stepping to the side in order to avoid Pansy's attempt to grasp her arm.
"Oh," the girls high pitched giggles made her ears ring. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Hermione rubbing at her ears and wished she could do the same.
"Thats the one place I didn't look, I expected you to be sitting in the first carriage as house leader." The pug faced girl said, completely oblivious to the annoyed expressions of those around them.
"Why would I be sitting there? I am an unsorted first year," she drawled, giving a small shake of her head.
This girl truly lacked any understanding of subtlety, they were standing in the midst of a group of first years, all of whom had yet to be sorted and had no business knowing about things pertaining to house Slytherin. Yet, Pansy still continued to blather on.
"Yes, but you're the heir. So-."
"Pansy," she said with a sigh. "Do be silent, I have a headache from being around all these plebeians."
With that she turned away from the girl, intent on ignoring her presence.
"Oh, you're so right. There's so many lesser blood's these year," Pansy chattered. "Theres even another Weasley. Honestly, one would think they are breeding so much, simply so they can claim the five hundred galleon baby supplement from the ministry."
"And there must be as many as three, three muggleborn's in our year. oh, wait." Pansy said before glancing over at Hermione with a sneer, "Oh, excuse me, I mean four, muggleborn's."
"Wow Pansy, eleven years old and still can't count, what ever have your tutors been teaching you?" Hermione asked sweetly, ignoring the fact that Pansy was insinuating that she was the fourth muggleborn.
She was pleased by the Lestrange heiresses response, as only a year ago Hermione would have lost her temper and lashed out at the other girl over a similar insult. Her friend had come a long way over the recent months, no doubt aided by the fact she'd spent the last year in the care of Cassiopeia Black while the Lestrange manor was repaired from her little tantrum. Cassiopeia was a highly sought after etiquette teacher, and many of the pureblood children of both their generation and that of their parents had been guided by the woman.
"You-." Pansy's face screwed up, her cheeks going ruddy with anger as she started to spit out a response, but the return of the Transfiguration Professor and the woman's sharp command for silence drew her words to a halt.
"We're ready for you now." The older woman said, leading everyone through the two large doors and into the Great Hall.
It was just like her family told her, four large tables filled with students from each house and a single table running across the far end of the room where the teachers sat. Hundreds of enchanted candles floated above them, just below the ceiling which was spelled to show the sky above.
"It's not real, the ceiling. It's just bewitched to look like the night sky. I read about it in Hogwarts: A History." Hermione muttered, and she rolled her eyes. Of course it wasn't real, they wouldn't really eat in a room with no ceiling, plus it wasn't bewitched, it was a runic schematic carved into the ceiling. The ceiling of her families observatory tower had the same runes engraved.
"Alright, you will wait here, before we begin with the sorting Professor Dumbledore would like to say a few words." She watched as the female professor walked away towards the teachers table, leaving their group huddled up between the Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw tables at the centre of the room.
She sneered as she watched the man rise from his ornate chair, and stand before a podium, his blue eyes twinkling at them as he looked out at the students. The effect was one caused by the enchantments on the old mans glasses, which as her father warned, could see through most spells and enchantments.
"I have a few start of term notices I wish to announce." The old man said, stroking a hand over his long silver beard.
"The first years please note that the dark forest is strictly forbidden to all students, unless escorted by a professor.
I would also like to inform you that the 3rd floor corridor on the right hand side is out of bounds to everyone who does not wish to die a most painful death."
The mans final statement caused a series of gasps to fill the hall, and a low hum of whispered conversations filled the tables for a moment before Professor McGonagall called the room to silence as she placed a worn looking hat on top of stool at the front of the room.
"When I call your name, you will come forth, I shall place the sorting hat on your head, and you will be sorted into your houses." The woman said, unraveling a scroll after giving the group a stern look.
"Abbot, Hannah."
She didn't pay much attention to the sorting, no, her gaze was fixed on the old man as she found herself lost in thought. Surely he wouldn't put it somewhere so obvious? She was sure this was something to do with what her grandpa and old Nick had been sniggering about these past weeks. She knew the old man had tried to 'acquire' one of Master Flamel's little projects, and had been given a heavily spelled replica that would to anyone not the creator appear to be the real thing, but why would the old man put it on the third floor and blatantly announce it? Did Dumbledore know the stone was a fake and would shatter the moment someone tried to use it?
"Lestrange, Hermione."
Blinking rapidly, she felt her cheeks flush as she heard her friend be called and realized she'd already missed half the sorting. A quick glance at the Slytherin table showed Daphne already seated along with Crabbe and Goyle. Millicent Bulstrode and another girl also sat with them, and she eyed the blond for a few moments trying to recall if she knew the girl. Ah, that's right, she was the Davis girl, the Lowe lords oldest child with a muggleborn mistress. The girl lived with her mother in an estate provided by the lord, and hadn't been brought into society nor given the Lowe name, though all knew of the girls heritage. It was hard to conceal with the scandal that had occurred with the girl being born three days before the mans legitimate son, Geoffrey Lowe. Lady Lowe and the boy now permanently resided in France, with Lord Lowe remaining in England.
"SLYTHERIN!"
Clapping lightly she watched as her friend rushed to join Daphne at the Slytherin table. After another few students were sorted it was her cousins turn, and she watched in amusement as he strutted up to the stool. The hat didn't even touch his head before it was declaring him a Slytherin and her cousin stepped down making his way to the table.
"Morte, Ravinia."
Moving to the front of the group, she strode calmly up to the stool ignoring the low murmured whispers of the crowd. It wasn't anything she wasn't used to, the Morte family was famous because of her grandpa and even more famous because of her father's political career. Though she noticed most of the whispers were due to the fact that many believed her father and her were cousins to 'you know who' aka the dark lord, her fathers persona in his little game to keep Dumbledore busy a few years back. The dark lord was believed to be a descendant of Salazar Slytherin, and her father was public about their own relation to the Slytherin founder, he was Lord Slytherin after all. With father claiming to be the son of Morfin Gaunt, and 'Voldemort' being the son of Merope, she was technically the second 'cousin' of the former dark lord, which was both a hinderance and a helpful means of intimidation.
"Well, well, what do we have here?"
"Hello Godric," she said, pushing the thought past her mental shields.
"Ah, so you're one of his are you? Hmm, not surprising you know who I am." The hat grumbled into her head and she had to fight back a smile, as she remembered what her ancestors painting told her to pass onto the hat which was enchanted in much the same way as the painting was.
"Papa Sal says to tell you that your armor is dented and your sword is blunt."
"Yeah well, his mead tastes like piss and his a- ah, right student. Uh-hem."
"Slytherin," the hat called aloud, before muttering softly into her head.
"Tell your father, Fawkes is missing, has been for eleven years now. The thing in that fuckers office isn't my familiar, its a fake."
Standing stiffly from the stool, she did her best to keep her expression blank as she made her way to the Slytherin table. Bypassing her fellow first years, she took a seat next to her cousin who was sitting at the head of the table across from Margo Yaxley.
Fawkes was missing? The Phoenix that had protected the school since its creation, was missing? How could he be missing? Fawkes was bound to Hogwarts, the Phoenix was the holder of the schools wards, had been since the death of the founders. They'd bound the wards to the eternal creature, so that they would never fall, just as the Phoenix never truly fell. Was that why he hadn't appeared to fly over the boats for her like he did her father? Why the magic of Hogwarts hadn't greeted her as her father told her it did him? She thought maybe the magic knew she wasn't truly an heir, knew she wasn't his daughter by birth but by magical rite, and thus didn't accept her, but was that not the case?
The sound of loud cheering and chanting made her look up from the spot on the table she'd been staring at, and she sneered as she saw Potter strutting towards the Gryffindor table. Not long after, Blaise Zabini joined their table and Dumbledore stood once more to announce the beginning of the feast, waving his hands as though performing a grand spell as food appeared on the tables. Pretentious fool, did he really think they would believe he'd just spelled all the food to appear here? Everyone knew Hogwarts had over a hundred house elves working to keep the castle clean and its students fed.
"Ravinia, I can't help but feel that you are displeased by something." Margo crooned, giving her look which she was sure the older girl meant to be something along the lines of that displayed by a caring older sibling.
"Mmm," she hummed softly in agreement, and inclined her chin in the direction of the Gryffindor table as though to indicate that it was them which were the cause of her current mood.
"Ah, yes, well, I am afraid there is little that can be done about that. Not to worry though, as the meals are spread across a hour and a half you will find it rare that they are all in attendance at the same time beyond the first and last feast." Margo said, laughing lightly as she sneered at the table with the gold and red clad students.
"I must admit to some surprise regarding the Longbottom heir," Virgil Pyrites said, flicking back a strand of his hair with a flourish. "I thought he would be a Hufflepuff for certain."
"Oh, yes I agree." Jezebel Thurkell commented, scrunching up her nose as she gazed at the Gryffindor table. "The Patil was also rather surprising, with the families strong academic background I would have expected them both in Ravenclaw."
"Indeed, and the Bones heiress, a Hufflepuff of all things." Margo said, and she nodded in agreement.
She'd personal expected Susan Bones to end up as a Gryffindor, but then again with her friendship with the Abbot heiress she may have convinced the hat to allow her to follow her friend to the badgers.
As the feast progressed she found her thoughts wondering back to what the sorting hat told her. Could Fawkes truly be missing? Or was the Phoenix simply hiding away somewhere in the castle, seeking to avoid the old fool, and if so why did the hat talk about a fake being in the old mans office? She needed to get into the office somehow to investigate, as a dark witch she would be able to tell if the Phoenix was real or not. With how strong her magic was, simply being near the light creature would cause her to feel-.
Slowly, she raised her head, eyes scanning the Gryffindor table until they rested on the false Potter.
'Fawkes is missing, has been for eleven years now.' The hats words echoed through her mind as the boy raised his head from the plate he was eating from and their eyes met across the hall.
Her magic churned, and a sudden feeling of nausea overcame her, causing her to drop her gaze from the boy. No, it wasn't possible, even the idea of it was so-.
It wasn't possible was it? No, she was overthinking things, it was likely the birds disappearance at that time was due to it not being able to be around the old man after he did his vile magics to create his artificial Potter. The boy had been tested by the goblins, and he was recognized by magic as a Potter, and was the Heir to the family, so he wasn't simply blood adopted, as the testing would of shown that. Her father was sure the old fool couldn't of used their families adoption ritual, as it was known to none but their family and he'd drained the Potter pair of blood and magic to power his runic trap.
Her father had suspected the old man had used the Potter couples bodies to create a living golem, and as she'd witness him take away the bodies in her vision with the horned serpent it seemed very likely that was the case.
There was very dark ritual, one created by an old Egyptian Pharaoh whose son had died. The old Pharaoh fearing his line was going to die out, had used his sons body and that of his wife whom he sacrificed to create a living golem from their bodies, that golem was recognized by magic as the pairs child, but as the child was not truly alive, it lacked a magical core or intelligence. The man had solved that issue, by sacrificing the child of another magical couple and tying the babe's soul to the golem using a rite based on the one used by the ancient Egyptians to create a soul container called a Horcrux.
That golem became a creature most foul, a creature which ravaged Egypt killing hundreds before the magical priests finally managed to destroy it. The fact that the runic schematic used to try and trap her father was written in the same ancient text that spoke of the Pharaoh's golem lead to the belief that Dumbledore had performed a version of the same ritual to create his 'Boy who Lived'. No one knew the exact method the Pharaoh used, there was only speculation, but as her grandpa's own experiments had shown, it was possible to replicate. Her construct, and that which she'd gifted her cousin each possessed the souls of magical creatures, the ritual used having been created by her grandpa during his research into the creation of living golems.
She'd used magical creatures to imbue her serpent with magic and artificial life, though it lacked sentience, could Dumbledore have done the same? Did he use Fawkes to create his false hero in the same manner she used the basilisk hatchling to create her serpent? Was it even possible?
She was silent through the meal, and seeing her expression those around her were smart enough to leave her be. As she followed behind her cousin to the Slytherin common room and dormitory, she barely paid attention to where they were going. Her mind was in turmoil, rebelling against the idea's and thoughts spiraling through it. She'd met a Phoenix once before, and its presence made her feel much the same way that being around Potter did. But how, how was it possible, it shouldn't be possible. For the bird of rebirth to be- rebirth, it would be at its weakest at that point, if he'd somehow, maybe? But how did he kill it? Did he kill it, did he need to? The ritual only required the release of the soul from its former container, which in her grandpa's ritual happened at the point of death, could at the time of the Phoenix's burning the soul be pulled away if the ritual were strong enough?
"Miss Morte, Ravinia! Did she eat anything unusual?"
"No sir, Vini hasn't been out of my sight all day, she barely touched any of the food at the feast."
She didn't notice the people crowding around her, nor did she hear the potions master as he attempted to pull her from her mental stupor. She'd long since departed her body mentally, her mind seeking out the dark presence deep within it. The dark shadow's in her mind, were a portion of her fathers own mind binding her to him and forming an unbreakable connection between them. She'd only ever touched this part of her mind once since it was put there, on that day when she'd been kidnapped during the festival Egypt.
"Daddy."
Cool dark power flowed over her senses, and she found herself drowning in a sea of dark magic as her fathers power swirled around her. She flung herself into that power, cocooning herself in it as her father's consciousness filled her mind, her thoughts, her feelings everything she saw or felt was laid bare before him.
"I've suspected it to be as you are thinking, Severus informed me some time ago that the Phoenix was false. It was this that prompted our own research into the method of creating golems from magical creatures."
"If Fawkes is gone why haven't the wards fallen?"
"They are weakening, but Dumbledore is hiding it well. I do not believe he was aware Fawkes held the main portion of the wards, as the headmaster holds some of them. He would have thought he held all the wards, and not the Phoenix. It is unheard of for a magical creature to act as a ward holder."
"Can Fawkes be freed"
"We have attempted to kill the golem, but each attempt has failed, Pharaoh Atem is aware of the golem and has been seeking out any knowledge left by the old priests as to how they destroyed it. The issue is, that even using such methods may fail as the golem is imbued by the essence of the Phoenix and heals itself from any injuries swiftly."
"What do I do?"
"Do nothing, say nothing. This is not a matter for you to worry over, Vinia. Stay away from Dumbledore's sight, and do not interfere with the game your grandpa has put in place. We will keep the old fool distracted for these next two years, so you need not worry, focus on your schoolwork and the task I've set you. Cultivate friendships, and allies, enjoy your time in the school our ancestor created."
With those final words, her fathers power withdrew from her mind and she fell into an exhausted sleep.