CHAPTER ONE
THE STRANGER WITH NEWS
It was a crisp December morn when a child was born to Mr. and Mrs. Gerald Avery of five one seven Clover Lane. The sun was shining and the snow lay in wait on the frozen Irish ground as a mother impatiently beckoned her child into the world. It took three hours for the child, three painstaking hours that Mrs. Avery had to endure while her daughter pondered whether or not to leave her mother's womb. When finally she decided to join her parents, she almost immediately decided she wanted to go back. The light was blinding and she screamed in protest as her loving father wrapped her in a blanket. Orion would grow to be notorious for her short temper and antagonizing personality. She was not extraordinarily beautiful, although her dark auburn hair rivaled that of her parent's fiery red, and she had the brightest emeralds in place of eyes. She had the simplest beauty that was even more mesmerizing. She came from the heavens, her parents would say, and so they bestowed a name upon her worthy of the stars. Orion Dorrin Avery was born into a loving Irish home. A home owned by wizards, as she was destined to be.
She showed the signs very early on, even for a witch. It was amazing because it seemed she could make things happen with her mind. Her parents sat in their family room one day in pure bewilderment as Orion levitated her paintbrush and painted a mess onto her mother's wallpaper. The doorbell rang, and Mrs. Avery got up to answer it. A muggle, dressed in a gray pinstriped suit and a bowler hat in his hands stood with a very cheesy smile on his face.
"Mrs. Avery! How wonderful to meet you. I'm Stuart Bugfeldds." Mrs. Avery apprehensively took his outstretched hand. "I'm here about your daughter."
"What about her?" She asked defensively.
"Have you noticed anything unusual about her behavior? Has she done anything a normal wizarding child wouldn't normally be able to do?"
"Please, come in," beckoned Mrs. Avery as she stepped aside to let the stranger into her home.
"Thank you kindly, madam," said Mr. Bugfeldds as they made their way to the family room. Upon their arrival, Mr. Avery stood from his chair and shook hands with Stuart after they were introduced. Orion had stopped her painting, and was staring curiously at the strange new man. He approached her cautiously.
"Hallo Miss Avery. My name is Stuart." Orion stood up and gave him a hug. Her parents watched in astonishment. Their child had just embraced a complete stranger.
"Would you mind going to your room for a bit to play while I talk to your Mum and Dad?" Stuart asked with a smile. Orion nodded her head and skipped off down the hall toward her room.
"Now, as I was saying, I gather I have the right place then?" he asked as he took a seat across from the two standing adults. "Orion is acting a bit out of the ordinary?" The Averys shook their heads.
"The right place, did you say?" asked Mr. Avery. "What do you mean?"
"Mr. and Mrs. Avery, I suggest you have a seat. This might be a bit overwhelming for you."
***
"Orion is an Enigma. They are very powerful wizards. There is one like her born every five hundred years. They can do things others only dream of. They are born to protect all that is good. They live for five hundred years, then they pass on, and at the exact moment they do so, another is born. I am sent to find the child, and make the parents aware of their child's destiny." Mrs. Avery nearly fainted. Mr. Avery got up to protest.
"Mr. Avery, please. I assure you I am telling you the absolute truth," Stuart said as he pulled a certificate from his jacket. "Please, if you will just take this and accept your daughter for what she is. Just love her the way you always have. What she really needs now is love," he finished as he stood up to leave. "I'm sorry if I've upset you, which it is evident that I have. I shall go now. Please tell Orion as soon as she is ready. She must know," he said as the little girl re-entered the room, her smile fading when she saw her parents' faces. Stuart bent down and pulled a small wooden flute with a leather strap from his jacket and placed it around her neck. "This is a magical flute. Play it, and the stars will dance for you." A huge smile graced Orion's jolly little face. Stuart made his way to the door, "and might I suggest Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry as a vital tool in helping her develop her skills." And he was gone.
This certificate here by acknowledges the legal birth of
Orion Dorrin Avery
As a true Enigma
May she forever help those in need and never abuse her powers
Signed, Harris McManus
Minister of Magic
And so, when Orion turned eleven years old, her parents sat her down in their lovely family room and told her about the man who came into their home so many years ago.
"You've got to be joking me. Are you telling me I'm some sort of...of superhero?"
"Well, yes, I suppose you could put it that way," said Mr. Avery.
"Are you all right Orion? Your father and I still love you very much."
"This is bloody insane! There's no way. They must have made a mistake." Her father showed her the certificate, and her mouth dropped as the words disappeared. An invisible hand seemed to effortlessly write,
We at the Ministry of Magic do not make mistakes. And please, do refrain from cursing in front of your parents
.
Thus began her training as an Enigma. The Averys packed up and headed off to England to be closer to their daughter's new school, Hogwarts. She was always at the top of her class and showed superior skills with a wand. She never actually used the wand; it was merely her mind that controlled her magic. After she graduated it was printed in the papers the proof of her existence. Orion spent her days trying to avoid the awkward looks and the confused faces of those who were intimidated by her powers. So she retreated to the back woods to become a hunter and adventurer. She was bestowed a grand sword from her father, who received it from his father, whose father's father crafted it out of pure silver. It was a simple enough weapon, but just its presence against her hip gave comfort and strength. Before she left her parents, explaining that she needed to find herself before she started fulfilling her duties, they kissed her goodbye and hugged her for an eternity. When they finally let go, her father gave her a gift wrapped in luxurious crimson velvet.
"What is this?" she asked as she carefully unfolded the fabric. Her question was answered when a bright light reflected off the object and into her shining eyes. A beautiful hand-crafted dagger, approximately twelve inches long, lay in the cloth.
"Crafted it myself," smirked her father. It was made out of silver and was encrusted with two emeralds and a sapphire. Orion embraced her father for the second time. It was not everyday that one received two weapons from their parents.
"Thank you so much Dad," she said through teary eyes. She pulled back and gave them both a kiss. As she was walking down the path that led the way from her home, she looked back. Her parents waved. They were going to miss her so much, as she would miss them. The day was warm and bright, and the sun shone on the Enigma as she turned and walked out of their lives forever.
***
She lived in angst as she roamed Europe, not knowing how her parents were getting along. She was starting to regret her decision of running away. She missed the contact comfort that she experienced when she was around people. She was alone all the time with no one to talk to, no one to confide in. Then one fateful day an owl reached her, and gave her a death notice. It was a black envelope with the crest of the Ministry embedded on the seal. She pulled out the note and read its fateful words. Then she sank into the grass, weeping uncontrollably. There was no one to hold her. No one to tell her everything would be all right. It was a long time before she regained her composure. When she did, she made the long hike back to her homeland. Her parents grew to be a ripe old ninety-eight and ninety-nine years, and when she laid them to rest she was taken in by a very good old friend of her fathers, Albus Dumbledore. "Uncle Albus" as he was to be called by the young (mind you, one hundred years is young for one who is to live for five hundred) Orion, who hardly spent time with her Godfather at all, as she was still gallivanting across the globe. After the death of her parents she wasn't exactly thrilled to start up new relationships with others. She had realized that becoming emotionally attached to people would be extremely heartbreaking for her, as she would most likely live longer than anyone she ever met. While on her quest of self-discovery she even managed to escape a few nasty encounters with an old classmate from Hogwarts of hers, a mister Thomas Riddle, who was not yet known as Lord Voldemort. They simply fought and bickered for show. Orion was still in denial about her fate, and refused to battle with anything but the weapons that were strewn to her side. That was all she needed. They each were trying to prove how powerful they really were. Both always came out alive, with minor cuts and bruises. Orion never thought that he would grow to be the evil wizard he was to become.
When she turned one hundred and three, she started taking private classes with the Professors at Hogwarts, to improve her already nearly flawless skills. It was strange enough to be going back to school; it was even stranger to have to get along with a whole new set of professors. She liked most of them. She often went for midnight rides through the sky with Madam Hooch, and talked for hours with Professor McGonagall about every subject they could think of. But then there was Professor Snape. He proved all too challenging for Orion. He often spited her, giving her extra homework that always proved to be busy work. She was always defending other students and talking back to Snape.
"Just because you are Albus Dumbledore's Goddaughter," he hissed at her one very gloomy day, "does NOT mean that you will show disrespect toward me," he sneered as she headed back toward her seat with a detention slip. Despite all the hardships she endured with the Potion's master, Orion graduated (for the second time) from Hogwarts at the age of one hundred and ten--three years before Harry Potter was born.