A/N—This is a revision. I will be going through and changing the story drastically, and I will leave this author's note up until I am done. If you are just beginning this story, you may not wish to do read this right now because I'm revising one chapter at a time and when you get to the point where I have not fixed a chapter, it could kind of…rocky. So you've been warned.

Oh, and this is an Alternate Universe so, obviously, some things are changed. I know that Molly was a Prewett or something like that before she got married…but in this story, she was an Evansole.

Cruel Beauty

Chapter One
Rainy Days

It's just those rainy days
Spend a lifetime tryin to wash away
Until the sun come out and shines again
Smile for me, smile for me--Mary J Blige

I remember it so clearly, the day my world changed. It wasn't the type of day that you would expect for a tragic event, I remember the sun shining and sitting outside under the loving protection of my parents. My brothers weren't there that day, they were all at Diagon Alley so the older children could buy school supplies—I didn't go because I had recently been ill. My father hadn't felt up to the trip, anyhow, and my mother didn't want to leave me. Bill and Charlie were old enough to supervise the rest, she had reasoned. So we three stayed behind and I was more than happy to bask in the undivided attention of my parents. After all, with six siblings, that isn't something you get very often…

It happened quickly, and it almost seemed as if my parents had expected it. My mother sent me inside and told me to go to my favorite hiding place, she said to stay there until she came for me. I did as I was told; I ran up the stairs to my room and crawled under my bed. It was already a hot day and I could barely stand the heat of being under the confined area with forgotten dolls and cobwebs. I can't recall how long I was under that bed; I left my own mind and went to a place that only children can imagine. Somewhere where the world was right and everyone was happy. There were loud thumps coming up the stairs that I did not recognize. I soon heard a deep voice calling out for survivors, I did not answer it, nor did I fully comprehend it. All I knew is that it was not my mother or father, so therefore I was not going to answer.

The already unstable door to my room was carelessly thrown open and a man barged in. I peeked out from my safe place and saw a tall, overweight man with greasy hair. I saw his muddy boots tainting my new pink carpet, but most of all I saw the hideous scar on his right arm shaped like a half moon. I attempted to control my breathing and limit my movements until the man left my room and moved on to the next.

Sometime after that I heard panicked voices insisting that Ginny was here. I listened carefully—I knew those voices. They were those of my brothers, and they were looking for me. I knew that Mum had said to wait for her, but surely she would want me to go to my brothers if they were looking for me. I climbed out from under the bed and found it difficult to stand after not exercising my muscles at all for such a long time. I steadied myself and opened the door. I went to the top of the stairs and peered down, I spotted my brother Bill with tears streaming down his face. I limped down the stairs and tugged at his robe; he gazed down at me and made a strange noise in his throat. He then scooped me up in his arms and murmured things into my hair.

And as clearly as I remember all of that, everything after it became a chaotic blur. All of my big brothers whom I had idolized were crying and hugging each other, as well as me. A woman with a nice smile came up to me and tried to explain that my parents were gone. People in uniforms pulled us out of the house and began to tear things apart searching for evidence. And then she came.

A woman with a somber expression walked towards our house. She had on expensive robes and a pair of sunglasses. She took off her glasses and searched the perimeter. When she saw me standing next to Charlie she held her stare and walked towards us. When she got closer I gasped at what I saw—to this day she remains to be the most beautiful person that I have ever seen. She had silky dark red hair that stretched all the way down her back, but the real beauty lie in her face. She had extremely light skin with a clear complexion, rosy red lips, and the most compelling blue eyes that you will ever see.

She glanced at my brother and me. She made Charlie nervous. I didn't like her. When she spoke her voice was as smooth and graceful, it was like the sound of music. Her name was Velena, Velena Evansole. She asked if she could speak to Charlie privately and they walked away from me. I couldn't hear them, but Charlie kept getting angry with her. He waved his arms about and yelled at her. But then she spoke, and he stopped. He looked so sad…and I took even more of a dislike to her. No one was allowed to make my brothers sad, I thought.

After a few minutes they returned. Charlie bent down and hugged me while softly explaining that I would be living with her now. He asked Velena if we could wait so that my other brothers could say goodbye, she replied that we didn't have time. I didn't understand why I was going and they were staying. I assumed that they would come later…I didn't understand that Velena Evansole, my mother's sister, was ripping me away from my family. And even to this day, I can't tell you why she did it. But she did, and I went with her because Charlie told me to. I didn't think that Charlie would make a decision that could hurt me.

I asked her if I could retrieve some things from my room and she told me that I no longer needed those things. She reached into her purse and pulled out a gold pendant. She placed my hand on it as well as hers and I felt a harsh jerk around my naval. When I recovered I saw that we were standing in an elegant room that was completely white.

She looked down at me sympathetically. "Ginevra, we will have to make a trip tomorrow and do something about your appearance."

I avoided her eyes as I spoke to her, "It's Ginny," I responded in a small voice. My mum had only called me Ginevra when I did something wrong. I didn't like being referred to as Ginevra, it made me feel like I had done something wrong.

Her eyes narrowed, she did not like to be corrected. "I refuse to call you Ginny. It is a clumsy, childish nickname and it will not suit. Your given name is Ginevra and that is what you will go by." I did not correct her again.

The weeks went by with Velena and I found myself learning many new things. For instance I learned that I was no longer a Weasley, but now an Evansole. I learned that my mother had married beneath her and I should be ashamed of my father. If people asked I was to answer that I had no father, nor did I wish for one.

I questioned her periodically. I loved my father, I wasn't ashamed of him. Her punishments were swift and harsh, though, and questioning her is unacceptable. I was only a child, and when you are punished for something, you learn not to do it again. I told her I loved my father, she cursed me. I told her I missed my brothers, she wouldn't feed me. I learned from my mistakes.

Life was strict but I was told that it was all for my own good and I would thank her for it someday. While I was still trying to perfect the English language Velena made me learn French. When I struggled with my lessons, she added Spanish to my lessons. Velena said that I should be grateful that I would not turn out to be the uneducated fool I would have been had I stayed at the Burrow.

Among her lessons were things that you could not learn in any school, things that would get you everything in life. Velena believed that above all else there was beauty. She taught me that if you were beautiful you could have anything that you wanted. She explained that she obtained her wealth through her beauty, but also her intelligence. For being beautiful isn't enough, you have to know how to use what you have and be strong enough to use others to get what you desire.

I remember one lesson in particular. "Men," she explained, "men are the easiest way to get what you crave. They are the simplest creatures on earth. Control the man, but do not let the man control you. If you need a man to satisfy your loneliness then feel free to, but never spend the night with him. Do not get in serious relationships, do not marry, and do not trap yourself. Ever."

"Why?" I asked. "Love is important, Mum told me so. She said marriage was important, too."

"Love," she spat the word as if it hurt her to even say it. "Love will get you nothing. Love is blind and it will ruin you. Those in love do stupid things and make choices that they will later regret. Love is a temperamental sickness and those who say it lasts forever are fools. Your mother believed in love and look where it got her. She left you, Ginevra. If she hadn't been in love, she would have stayed with you. She cared more about your…father…then she cared about you."

I did not question her ways and I never disobeyed her. Velena was hypnotizing, her hair was fire and her eyes were water; the mixture of her features was perfection. However, underneath that lay a cruel merciless person who would stop at nothing to get revenge on those who wronged her. I often saw her ruin people and laugh when she was done.

I had to learn to survive in her world. I either became what she wanted me to become, or died. And she was right…my mother had left me. I grew to believe that perhaps Velena did care for me. Why else would she have taken me in?