Lennox Manor

Faeroe Islands, Denmark

Age Nine

Christmas Night

4 PM

Ace walked down the stairwell, her chin raised high in the air. The young girl, now nine, had been forced to join her father at a business dinner.

It was the first time in two years when she hadn't spent the holidays locked in her room, wishing she could go to Mary's. The young girl had been through much during her short life. Taught by her cousin at an early age to never cry, Ace rarely showed any emotions. Christmas had been the one time of year when she could release her anger and sadness. And now that right, that privilege was taken away from her.

She was wearing a black dress. It had a train, and it flowed behind her. The neck was high, and the bodice was form fitting. It had a bustle in the back. Ace detested the dress. While she loved the color black, she did hate dresses. Plus, this one was from the Victorian era.

Underneath her elegant gown, however, Ace still managed to defy her father. High combat boots covered her legs. Ace had weak ankles, ever since she was five or so. Normally her father insisted that she wear slippers, but when she had sprained her ankle after slipping on some ice outside the house, Gabriel had relented to let her wear boots. But she had only said she could wear boots that reached her ankles.

It was the one joy in the dismal season. The fact that she could defy her father and he wouldn't know it.

So, with her pale face carefully etched into an angry expression, Ace slowly made her way to the dining hall.

Her new home in the Lennox summer estate was enormous. Before she had lived with Gabriel and her mother in a sizable manor in England. Then, when she lived with Mary, she had housed in a tiny shack in France. And now she was in the gloomy house on the Faeroe Islands.

Ace approached the large oak doors that led into the dining hall, listened intently, and then shoved the doors open.

Gabriel sat at the head of the table, his black hair neatly combed. Looking up, he smiled coldly at his daughter, pretending he was pleased with her appearance.

"Ah, gentlemen. I would like to introduce to you my lovely daughter, Simone. Simone, this is Ludo Bagman, Archibald Frankworth, Sarah Leenawee, Cornelius Fudge, and Jepson Apesome. The ones over there are Otto Uber, Timothy Corc, George Van Avery, Rita Skeeter, and Lewis Kerki," Gabriel announced.

Ace recognized several of the names. Fudge was an extremely high ranking Ministry official. He was to be the next Minister of Magic, in fact. Jepson Apesome was a thin, dark man with nasty teeth. He ran several political affairs that occurred out of the country. Lewis Kerki worked in the Experimental Charms department. Rita Skeeter was an extremely young journalist her father had worked with recently. And finally, Otto Uber was her father's only friend.

Ace nodded stiffly to each of them and slowly walked to the very end of the table. Several chairs would separate her from the lot of fools near the head, so she sat down. Immediately, she began picking at her food, listening intently to the conversation.

"Well, Gabriel, I must say that you throw a splendid party," Fudge said, his eyes glittering happily. Gabriel smiled at Fudge.

"Anything for my friends, Cornelius. And the party hasn't even begun yet. This is just the dinner. Wait until later- you'll have a lot of fun."

Sarah, one of the two females at the table, looked warmly at Gabriel. Ace found herself wondering if her father had slept with her yet, and then kicked the idea out of her head.

"I'm sure we will, Gabriel. Might I ask what tonight's schedule includes?" the pretty red-haired woman asked. Gabriel beamed and took another sip of wine from his glass.

"Why, yes, Sarah my dear. After dinner we shall retire to the lounge. There, we shall bask in the glory of an intelligent conversation. After that, I have some entertainment arriving. And finally, I was hoping we'd get extremely drunk," laughed Gabriel. The rest of the table laughed as well, acting as though Gabriel was just kidding. Ace knew for a fact that he wasn't. Her icy eyes glared at her father from her end of the table, and then she went back to her meal.

"Oh, have you heard?" asked Jepson, his nasally voice hitting the ceiling and resonating. "Panama recently elected Hector Rulyle as their Minister of Magic. He'll make a good Minister, don't you think?"

Gabriel nodded, flashing his polished teeth. "I would have voted for Rulyle. He's a good man, he is. And smart."

The rest of the table added their agreements. Ace looked up and sneered.

"You are all jaded fools," she snapped coldly. The tables occupants looked up at her in astonishment.

"Why, Miss Lennox, whatever do you mean?" asked Van Avery politely, trying to hide his surprise. Gabriel stared at his daughter as she continued.

"Hector Rulyle will do nothing except create havoc for the magical community of Panama. He policies are very rooted in the Dark Arts. As much as I approve of such, his views will be of no use for the people. He is a dictator- he listens to no one except himself. He recently married. He will use his wife's body and then abandon her. Rulyle is a selfish man, taking what he wants. He abuses it, and then leaves it alone. The people of Panama should have checked who they were voting for," Ace responded angrily. Jepson Apesome stared in anger.

"Lady Lennox, you are gravely misinformed. I suggest you check your sources before you accuse such a man of these despicable acts," he hissed. Ace looked him in the eyes, daring him to look away.

"I did check my facts. I met Rulyle personally. He was a vulgar man and kept trying to convince a lady to bed with him," Ace growled. Jepson scoffed.

"I'm sure," he said sarcastically. Ace rolled her eyes.

"Hector Rulyle will stop at nothing to get what he wants. Usually all he wants is women. It is apparent that he wanted something better this time. His promises to the people are nothing more than poorly concealed lies. It does not take a genius to see that."

Jepson stood up, spluttering angrily. "No, but it takes a fool to make something like that up! You are nine-years-old, girl. You have no idea what the world is like. You live here, in your cozy manor, with plenty of servants, food, and God knows what else. You don't know how many people in the world are living in poverty, starving to death. These people need a good Minister, and Rulyle is it," he snapped back at her.

"I know how badly people need at good Minister. But you are wrong, they will not find it in Rulyle. As well, you know nothing about what my life was like. When I was three," Ace said, her voice slowly getting louder, "I moved in with an extremely poor thirteen-year-old, and survived off of whatever we could get. I know of poverty, and I know of pain. I have suffered, and I know more than you will ever know or comprehend!" the nine-year-old screamed at Jepson. The man reeled back, whether in surprise or anger was unsure.

Gabriel stood and raced over to Ace, smacking her hard across the cheek.

"Get out of my sight, bitch!" he bellowed. Ace snarled viciously, and yanked at the Victorian skirt. It ripped, much to her sudden dismay, and fell away at the knees- revealing her boots. (AN- Darn Victorian dresses... so darn shabby) Gabriel stumbled backwards, staring at her boots, and then hit her again, shoving her out of the room.

The door slammed shut in her face, and Ace fell to the floor, gasping in pain and anger. Turning her side to the door, Ace pressed her ear against it.

"Well now, where were we?" she heard Gabriel say. Sarah giggled.

"Rulyle will be an excellent Minister, I just know he will," the woman laughed. Ace, in a fit of rage, grabbed one of the decorative knives from the wall and imbedded it into the door. It sank in the hard wood, and then it slipped in easily, telling her it had gone all the way through.

Another signal was that she heard one of the women start to scream. The screams ended with a thud.

Smirking, Ace turned and walked victoriously up the stairs.

Christmas Night

11:21 PM

Ace lay on her bed, studying the decrepit wall across from her. Gabriel, when Ace had first rejoined him, had put her in a somewhat pleasant suite. But after a month of defiance and rage, Gabriel shoved her into one of the servants quarters. The humiliation had been great, but her anger even greater. She was still in a nice suite, but it was falling down around her. The wallpaper (which had clouds on it) had long since peeled off, leaving boards that barely stopped the flow of sunlight or moonlight. Her floor used to be carpeted, but the gray carpet had been removed per Gabriel's insistence. Windows had been boarded up, and black curtains hung over them. And that was just her bedroom.

The miniature living room was much nicer. It didn't have any wallpaper or carpet, but it wasn't falling apart at her feet. The windows had been bricked up. The curtains were gray. She had two chairs in the living room, one black and one gray. The black one was made of leather, and used to be nice. But a knife had been taken to it years ago, and so the leather was shredded, and quite uncomfortable. The gray chair was missing the back, and so it was more like a stool than anything.

She had several bookshelves in her study, which was adjacent to the living room.. Perhaps the least ruined of all the rooms, the study was her refuge. The bookshelves contained many beautiful books. Most of them were based on the Dark Arts, Dark lord, and Dark times, but in the mix there was the occasional story book. And even a few history books. The bookshelves were mahogany, and were polished daily by Ace's personal servant, Annette. Her desk was worse for wear. It was made of a cheap plaster, and chunks of it fell apart daily. But it made for a good writing desk- at least at the moment. Once again, the windows were blocked, this time with cement. Silver curtains covered the cement.

Finally was the bathroom. The bathtub was an old claw-footed one, which Ace actually liked. The toilet barely functioned, and Annette was constantly fixing it. The sink had long ago broken. There were no windows, and so there were no curtains. The room leaked during rainstorms, and flooded into the living room.

Rolling over onto her back, Ace adjusted her stare to the ceiling.

Father's friends should be going home soon... he's going to kill me, Ace thought desperately. She had no friends in her home to protect her. Fredric the gardener was close, but he still wasn't a friend. She had never really had a true friend.

A knock at her door signaled that Gabriel wished to speak with her. Getting out of bed, Ace opened the door. She was surprised to see Annette there.

Annette was only a girl, only nineteen. But the young witch had been desperate for work, and so Gabriel had hired her on as a private maid for Ace. She had been quite beautiful, but that had been a year ago. After working with her stubborn charge, her looks had depleted, leaving her look much older than she really was. Ace acknowledged her personal servant coldly.

"What is it, Annette?" she whispered quietly. Annette's lackluster eyes looked at Ace, and she curtseyed.

"Lord Gabriel requests your audience, Lady Simone," came the quiet, hopeless answer. Ace bit back a cry of fear, and nodded at Annette.

"Your work is done. Go to Beatrice," replied Ace, referring to the head maid. Annette curtseyed again, and then raced away, leaving Ace alone.

Breathing deeply, Ace headed down to her father's study. She raised her hand hesitantly and then knocked. She head Gabriel's harsh breathing, and Ace realized with a surge of terror that he was horribly drunk.

Ace feared no one. Never. Even when her father had hit her, she hadn't feared him. But when Gabriel was drunk, he had no remorse and no care. When a sober Gabriel smacked her, he knew that once was enough. But a drunk Gabriel meant the pain wouldn't stop for hours.

"Come in, Simone," he slurred. Ace held her tiny body high and entered, staring rebelliously at her father.

Gabriel looked up at her and locked the door behind her. Ace knew it was going to be bad- and then he put a silencing charm on the room, and Ace knew her father was going to kill her.

"Do you know what a fool you made of me tonight, Simone?" Gabriel screamed, rushing forward. Ace stood still as her father grabbed her wrists, holding them painfully.

"Yes, father," she answered softly. Gabriel's dark eyes turned darker, and he hit her hard across the face, even harder than he had at dinner.

"Why'd you do it, Simone?" her father questioned, looking menacingly at her. Ace held his gaze.

"Because you are a fool."

Gabriel pulled out his wand.

And no one heard Ace as she screamed long into the night.

Two days later, Hector Rulyle was booted out of office, due to the abuse of a female and the abuse of power.

Durmstrang Institute

Two Years Later

Age Eleven

Two months into the school year

Still wary of her surrounding, Ace walked swiftly, ignoring every person around her. Several sneered at her as she walked past. Many stuck out legs to trip her. Ace was hated at Durmstrang.

It wasn't surprising. Throughout the years, Ace had become even more bitter and angry at the world than before. With her encounter with pain early in life, and then the occurrence of the Muggle attacks, and finally the abuse from her father, Ace hated all and trusted none. People had tried to be friendly to her, only to be turned away with a scathing remark.

A boy named Roger grinned at her as he walked up. Roger was an ally. Not a friend, but someone who didn't try to kill her every chance he got.

"Morning Ace. And how are you this atrocious morning?" he asked. Ace coldly regarded Roger and continued walking.

"Annoyed with you, Roger. The Burkinson girl wasn't touched, was she? Did your affection for her get in the way of revenge?" she asked as she strode down the corridors. Roger looked away, uncomfortable.

"Ace... she called me some bad names, but I really don't care. Why are you so obsessed with getting revenge when she didn't even attack you?" he asked, practically jogging to keep up with her. Ace stopped dead in her tracks and looked Roger in the eye.

"Because, Roger, she did attack me. By attacking an ally of mine, she attacks me indirectly. I would have thought you would realize that. You are one of the brightest people in this wretched school, Roger. You are the only person I would work with. Understand?" she snapped. Roger nodded, his eyes wide. Ace then turned and continued walking.

"Obviously, I shall have to get someone else to take care of it. Roger, get Micaela. She is nearly as intelligent as you, and she listens to my every command."

Roger nodded and turned to go find her. Ace grabbed his arm.

"And Roger?"

"Yes?"

"Don't fail again."

It sounded horribly cliche, even to Ace. But Roger grinned, winked, and then raced down the halls.

Ace sighed and continued the long walk to Advanced DADA class. She had been one of the only first years selected to be in the class, and so far she practically ran it. The seventh years didn't know a many curses as she did. The years of living in her dilapidated suite, specifically the study, had left her incredibly intelligent, especially in the ways of the Dark Arts.

Students feared her because of that.

There were several, however, who didn't even know who she was. Ace preferred it that way. She was a loner, and it was a miracle she even ran her little 'business'. Micaela, Roger, Vitrikowski, Christoph, Lucretia, and Sarai were all her associates, though few knew it. They were the toughest of all the first years, and during the day they all belonged to different social groups. Ace received all the inside information, much to her pleasure.

Opening the classroom door, Ace looked coldly at the professor and took a seat near Hannah Burkinson. The ugly girl wore her hair in pigtails, which was one of the things Ace hated about her.

The other was that Roger was infatuated with her.

Jealousy was an odd thing, at least to Ace. She had never been jealous before. True, she didn't trust Roger and didn't regard him as a friend, but she had grown extremely fond of him, despite her better judgments. She hated the feelings, the feeling of 'love'.

Ace glared at Hannah, who glared back. Professor Yoi then chose to begin the lesson.

The tall Korean man looked tiredly at his students, and shook his head.

"Dueling today. Choose a partner. Now."

Ace rolled her eyes at the lack of words, and turned to Hannah.

"You will be my partner," she said in a syrupy tone. Hannah regarded her with ease, and nodded. Her pigtails flounced everywhere as she did so. Ace sneered.

"You're going to regret it, my dear."

Hannah and Ace stood up, each clutching their wands in their hands. Yoi nodded at them both, and they quickly began the duel.

"Stupefy!"

"Stupefy!"

"Caecus!"

"Finite Incantatem!"

"Rito!"

"Densaugeo!"

"Serpentseo!"

"Expelliarmus serpent!"

"Anxieto Extremus!"

The last curse was used by Ace. Instantly, Hannah stopped dead in her tracks. Her features grew pale, and she started shaking uncontrollably. Ace watched Hannah, her eyes twitching in desire. She wanted her to pass out.

Anxieto Extremus was an extremely old curse, first used in 1108. It's effects could become deadly if used properly, but Ace wouldn't allow that. She just wanted Hannah to suffer a bit.

The curse caused anxiety, fear, and depression to increase by a tenfold. It was rather like being surrounded by Boggarts and Dementors. The spell itself caused a person to become terrified and horribly nervous. It increased the adrenaline rush. It would make a person pass out after several seconds.

Hannah swayed on her feet, her color still draining from her features. Clutching her head, she sank to the floor. A low moan escaped her throat, and then a scream.

She collapsed, still holding her head. Ace heard her mutter 'Make it stop... so scared...' before she actually passed out. Ace smirked. Her revenge was complete. It was not as big as she had planned, not as big as she had hoped it to be. Instead, it looked like a curse gone wrong. Ace's light eyes sparkled with joy, and she began to laugh.

Yoi took Hannah to the nurse, where the spell was removed. Ace was placed in solitary confinement for the day, the claim being she was temporarily insane. Gabriel wasn't pleased.

Gabriel was in a rage, rather, when he burst into Ace's private room. She was laying on her bed, her wand floating various objects around the room. Gabriel stepped forward and grabbed Ace by the collar, and then dropped her in the middle of the floor.

"You laughed?" he asked, his voice deadly calm. Ace looked at her father, as calm as he.

"The Anxiety Curse, father. You know that it causes happiness to drain into the caster. I'm not really insane, but Nurse Willa didn't know that," she answered lightly. Ace lunged for Ace, but she dove out of the way.

"Ah ah ah, father. You wouldn't have the nurse finding any new wounds on me, would you?" she taunted, her voice sharp and high. Gabriel growled in anger, and stood straight up. Ace laughed.

"You can't touch me here, father. I'm not in your hands here. I'm safe," she said, her voice suddenly angry and serious. Gabriel studied his daughter for a moment, and his black eyes twitched with hidden amusement.

"Isn't it a pity that you have to come home at the end of the school year, Simone? I keep track, you know. Every owl that finds me is another time I shall slap you. Another day that I will starve you. Another reason to detest you. I have no love for you, Simone. You are not my daughter, and you will not be given any slack by me. I shall treat you like the wretch you are. You were loved by your mother. You were tolerated by Mary. You are hated by me," he muttered. Turning quickly, he left the room.

Ace stared at his retreating back, a pain in her chest she wouldn't have expected. She had known that Gabriel wasn't proud of his rebel daughter, but hated by him?

Sitting down heavily, Ace closed her eyes, shutting out any emotions that were coursing through her. No emotions. No pain. No hurt. But it didn't work.

No one loved her.

She truly was alone.

Her life sucked.

See... Ace has reasons to be bitter and nasty...

I came up with these chapters before I introduced her to the RP game, just so you know. It's only the chapters where she is seventeen that I recently wrote. I have roughly... two chapters before she is seventeen. The next one is when she's thirteen and fifteen. Then I'm going to have her Hogwarts Sorting and Arrival and junk... and then she'll finally be seventeen. Time goes fast for my girl, doesn't it?

Yes, it's late, I can barely see the screen. Please excuse any mistakes I probably made. I'm tired.