Morgan was tapping her foot impatiently, sitting upon the rickety chair within her orphanage room, while Su sat upon the bed. Today was the day that Hogwarts letters would go out to those children already eleven years old - those that weren't got their's upon their 11th birthday.

She and Su were both 11, with Morgans birthday being on October 31st and Su's on the 12th, so they should both get their letters today. They had better get their letters today, lest Morgan did something she regretted.

No-one knew how Hogwarts chose its students, only that it was the castle itself that chose. Only the best got in - or those from certain pureblood families - and all usually far outstripped the rest of the country in magical ability. Even the most dim pureblood could become a decent sorcerer at Hogwarts.

Her face was set in a frown, the slowly cooling cup of tea upon the desk swirling as she moved the spoon within the mug with her power. She'd seen a couple wizards doing this and had decided to try it out, if for no other reason than because she could. She'd worked hard for these powers, it would be a shame not to find some use for them.

Worries plagued her. For all her effort, it was impossible to say whether she and Su would be accepted into the school. Many plans hinged upon her acceptance into Hogwarts. Delicate plans, many of which were made on the assumption of 'canon' occurring in some manner.

At the very least, it wasn't the end if they didn't make it though. She had a decent amount of money now, they wouldn't lack for good wands or study materials as well as a couple other plans that should be unchanged, but she would have to vastly reconsider her future... recruitment efforts.

It didn't help that they were being forced to spend the day inside the orphanage, in case a Professor hand-delivered the letters.

A knock came at the door, and Morgans head swung immediately to it, a feeling of joy rising up. On this day, someone, for the first time, had knocked upon her door. This would be someone from Hogwarts, she could feel it.

She opened the door to a face she didn't recognise, a middle-age witch in a blue dress and cloak, her brown hair within a tight bun and dark brown eyes peering down at her from behind a pair of round glasses.

"Good afternoon" the witch said. "Might I come in?"

Nodding, Morgan moved out of the way, allowing the witch to enter the small room, her eyes searching around what no doubt looked terrible to her and coming to rest upon Su with a frown. "Please, do make yourself... comfortable" Morgan said, closing the door to the no doubt eavesdropping orphans and sitting next to Su.

The witch looked distastefully at the only other chair within the room, before she withdrew a long, dark wand, flicking it at the chair. They watched in amazement as the previous old wooden chair became a comfortable looking armchair, Su especially looking enraptured by the display,

A flick of a wand, that was all it took. For something no doubt highly complex... Why, it took Morgan some serious effort just to manipulate a flame, or cause someone pain, or other things, without a wand.

It made her hunger for that piece of wood.

"I am Professor McGonagall, the Deputy Headmistress and transfiguration teacher of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry" McGonagall stated, sitting upon the newly created chair. "Would I be correct in assuming you two are Miss Fay and Miss Li?" Her eyes flicked over Morgan and Su, watching Su cautiously for some reason, but Morgan wasn't paying attention, to her or Su's enthusiastic nodding.

McGonagall. That name resounded around her head, repeating again and again. She'd known it was a possibility, but she hadn't realised...

Just how much she hated this filthy woman. It wasn't fair to her, Morgan knew that, but it didn't change the fact that whenever she thought about those that could have changed the worlds fate, McGonagall was one of those at the top of the list.

This useless worm! The tide of rage and hate, always there but usually hidden, came soaring up, almost choking her in its intensity. Where was she when the world died?! When she had to watch her own sister waste away in front of her, unable to do anything!

McGonagalls eyes went wide, her eyes shooting to Morgan as a candle upon the desk behind her roared to life, the large red flame casting dancing shadows across the room. For a moment, she forgot everything, the desire to see this waste of air burnt to cinders all she could think of as her magic woke from its lazy rest, thudding through her veins as power leaked off her and warmed the room.

She was distracted from her anger by a pinch at her arm, head snapping to see just who dared...

Ah, it was Su, of course. She was watching her with wide eyes, that kicked puppy expression that always made her fold like a stack of cards. Why, it was practically cheating, using such an expression, but it did the job. With a deep breath, she brought her magic back under control, the flame vanishing.

"My apologies" she spoke. "I merely figured out the reason for your visit. The, ah, excitement, overwhelmed me. Accidental magic, I'm sure you can understand." Their was no trace of the rage upon her face anymore, her expression a slight smile, relaxed and pleasant.

She was such a fool. To be so enraged by the mere presence of a woman who was just a teacher. She should have expected her to be younger than she was, it was a common thing these days.

Her apology clearly didn't assuage McGonagall's worries, if her tight grip upon her wand was anything to go by. Now, her wide eyes seemed focused upon Morgan, never wavering for even a second.

It was rather obvious why, now. Her own magic was controlled enough that a person wouldn't be able to sense its rather... dark nature. But Su, well, Su was like all the other children. Without any training, her magic radiated from her, gentle but noticeable. Whereas the other children were generally bland, with maybe some light or dark 'colouring' for lack of a better word, Su was practically pure black.

Not surprising, since she was a murderer. And given the fearful looks children gave Su these days...

And, well, her own magic was no doubt worse. Magic reflected the person, after all.

McGonagall quickly rallied. "Yes, well" she said, clearing her throat "I am here to offer the both of you positions as students at Hogwarts." Reaching into her cloak, she withdrew two pure white envelopes, embossed with a red-wax Hogwarts emblem.

Su practically ripped hers from McGonagall's hand, opening it with eagerness. Morgan watched with amusement as she opened her own, confirming what she already knew would be written down. Uniforms, book lists and the like.

"I-I made it into Hogwarts..." Su whispered, eyes bright, before seizing Morgan in a tight hug. "Thank you! I-if it wasn't for you, I-I would n-neve-" Seeing that Su was quickly devolving into a blubbery mess, Morgan grimaced. Did Su just wipe her nose on her shoulder? Well, that was quite enough of that.

"I would be a poor teacher if you didn't now, would I not?" she said, smiling even as she pushed the blubbery - and snotty - child away from her. "And what about tuition? As you've no doubt noticed, we don't exactly have the means to pay ourselves" she said, turning to McGonagall. Well, Morgan could, now, but she wasn't going to.

"There is an orphan fund, for those unable to pay, that shall cover your tuition, though you may have to buy your other things cheaply should you choose to accept."

Morgan looked at her blankly. "We accept, right Su? Right. I guess that means you'll be giving us the money to buy our things?"

McGonagall frowned at her. "It is traditional for new muggleborn students to be accompanied by a Professor to buy their supplies."

Unsaid was that they didn't have to, but she expected them to. Unfortunately, Morgan didn't really feel like being led around Diagon Alley under the watchful eye of McGonagall. She had her own vault after all, full of money, with no intentions to let on that she had it. Well, except for buying decent things. She'd rather be caught dead than have her and Su turn up at Hogwarts in second-hand clothes.

"Excellent, then if you don't mind, we'll take the money and go by ourselves. We wouldn't want to... inconvenience you. I'm sure you must have better things to be doing, yes?"

McGonagalls eyes narrowed at her, her brow crinkling unhappily. "I believe Miss Li can speak for herself, Miss Fay."

Oh~, Morgan could already tell they were going to have a fun seven years together. She couldn't wait to teach this failure her place. Morgans smile turned sharp at the thought, before she nudged Su. "Well Su, what do you want. To go shopping with the Professor here, or with me?" As though she needed to ask.

"You" Su replied, as expected. In fact, judging by the way she was frowning at the good Professor there, she had begun to pick up on Morgan's dislike.

McGonagall took a deep breath, eyes flickering between Morgan and Su. "I see." Reaching into her cloak, she withdrew two small coin purses and handed them over. "I can see that I wont be able to persuade either of you. Then, I shall see you both at Hogwarts, unless their are any other questions you want to ask?"

"No, I do believe that will be all" said Morgan. She could see that it upset McGonagall, answering in Su's stead, but it only made her smile wider. She threw an arm over Su's shoulder, reveling in the way Su snuggled into herself as McGonagall's face grew stonier.

If she wished for Morgans cooperation, she should have been less of a failure.

"Very well then, I shall see you both at the start of term." And with that, she stiffly stood and left the room.

She never let go of her white knuckled grip upon her wand.

Ah~ no doubt she had just put herself under McGonagall's heavy scrutiny, but it was worth it, if only to see how unnerved she was. Whatever she saw when Morgan grabbed her power had clearly offset her.

"Hey Morgan" said Su, pulling Morgan from her thoughts, orange eyes meeting a piercing look from Su. "Why don't you like her?"

Why? Well... "Because she watched the world burn, and she did nothing. In my eyes, she's worse than Voldemort."

"Oh" she said, going quiet. "Then why do you like me? I haven't done anything..." she mumbled, trailing off.

"Come now, don't be silly" Morgan replied, ruffing her hair. "The reason why I like you, is simply because you asked me for help, when all others were too scared to. You, Su, didn't merely stand by, no, you stood up for yourself and tried to become more. I like that." So saying, she stood up, pulling the ash wand from beneath her pillow and grabbing Su by the hand. "Now, come on. We've got shopping to do."


What a horrific mess.

Exiting the orphanage, she still couldn't let go of her tight grip upon her wand. That meeting... It had unnerved her, in a way she couldn't remember feeling for years.

Their were so few muggleborn students these days, handing out letters had become one of her favourite activities in these last few years. Although the number were few, the joy of a student when being given a letter was something she cherished, something that helped her keep going in her darker moments. She got to do it so rarely now...

She had expected today to be the same, but no, now she found herself wishing those children - or rather, that child - had never been given a letter.

Such monstrous darkness... Miss Li had been bad enough. It was very rare that she ever met a child as dark as that, but it had happened, and with the life she had thought the girl had lived, she could at least understand it and try to correct the damage.

She'd been so focused upon the scent of Miss Li's magic, that she had completely missed that Miss Fay had no magical scent. At the very least, that was only possible for children with wands, for a wandless child to achieve such control...

It should have made her more cautious. Not scared, no, but a child that gifted had a huge potential and she should have paid more attention.

Thus, she had been taken by surprise when the girls magic lashed out. For a horrible moment, she had been convinced the girl was about to kill her. The air had stung with the scent of fire, a dark, cloying scent that pierced the back of her mind and sent the cat instincts inside her into a hissing mess.

She hadn't felt like that since- since she had last faced You-Know-Who, before he became the monster. It was a level of darkness that went beyond merely being a dark wizard.

That was the magic of a rising Dark Lord, one that wanted to destroy the very world, and poor Miss Li had already fallen to the seductive side of it, as many had fallen to Tom's, when his magic still had that enchanting scent to it, rather than the cold, domineering power it had become before his demise.

She'd kept the conversation short, wanting nothing more than to get out of that room.

How?! How could- she strangled that thought. It was obvious how. The sheer state of the orphanage was all she needed to see to know how.

A muggleborn Dark Lord. Dear Merlin.

But no, with an effort she seized down on her rising panic, squashing it beneath years of self-control. The girl was only 11, it was impossible to determine where a child might go when they grew up. She might still change her.

Because she watched the world burn, and she did nothing. In my eyes, she's worse than Voldemort. Those words gripped at her thoughts, running around and around. She wanted to charge back in, to shout that she had done everything she could, everything, to try and stop that monster. But it would be useless, that child would not listen to words, only actions.

She would have to inform Albus, hopefully they might find a way to fix this mess.

Before the girl grew up and began the cycle anew.


Just wanted to say thanks to all the people that have liked the story so far. Sorry this took a while, I was struggling with the chapter order. I wanted to get a chapter inside Su's thoughts, but it wasn't working, so I put it off for later. I'll just say that Su is really messed up. Bellatrix 2.0, here we come~

As for this chapter, not too happy with it to be honest, but I just wanted to get it out. I may go back to edit later.