Summary: Scarlett Potter vanquished Voldemort and won the war, but felt dead inside ever since. After being murdered by muggles, she finds out what the title of Mistress of Death really means and uncovers the many benefits that come with it. Starting again in a Universe where Grindelwald is the Dark Lord that killed her parents, what will Scarlett do differently?
Pairings: TMR/Fem!HP
Disclaimer: I don't own anything. Some scenes were inspired by other fanfiction writers... if anything has been done before I most likely have gotten my ideas from there.
Part 1 - Chapter 5
"There, look. Do you see her?"
"Where?"
"Next to the girl with the bushy hair."
"Did you see her face?"
"She's so pretty."
"Wait a minute! Is she touching that ghost?"
"Who cares! Did you see her scar?"
Whispers followed Scarlett everywhere she went from the moment she left her dormitory. And that was just the students. The ghosts had taken to fighting over who would escort her around the school. That had actually been quite useful in making it to classes on time without drawing attention to the fact that Scarlett already knew the layout of the castle. The ghosts were ever so helpful, even pointing out any of the vanishing steps. Scarlett felt like she had acquired a small army of bodyguards, the Bloody Baron being her most frequent companion, obviously having scared the other ghosts into submission and having won the right to accompany her around the school. Scarlett sometimes caught the other ghosts looking at the two of them in poorly concealed envy.
It all proved to be extremely entertaining to Scarlett who simply smiled shyly at everyone, blushing softly as she inwardly smirked at the chaos she was causing. She'd long gotten over her embarrassment and annoyance at being stared at, now revelling in everyone's confusion as they tried and failed to figure her out.
Scarlett had also acquired a loyal follower in Peeves, who apparently was also attracted to her magic. As soon as he'd met her he'd started bowing to her, muttering "I'm not worthy! I'm not worthy!" over and over again. Scarlett had simply chuckled and solidified his devotion by pooling some of her Black magic in her fingertips and softly stroking his cheek, watching in amusement as his eyes glazed over in absolute pleasure.
"You're going to cause lots of chaos for me, aren't you my sweet?" Scarlett had purred in his ear. "I'm looking forward to seeing what you can achieve." Peeves had dazedly nodded, a wicked grin flashing across his face as he set off with a cheeky wave. Since then, Scarlett would often walk past students fleeing from a grinning Peeves and his latest pranks. The poltergeist would always throw her a mischievous wink and bow proudly as he cackled madly. Scarlett loved it.
However, not everyone was a fan of Scarlett. Argus Filch, for example, was as hateful as ever. Scarlett had managed to get on the wrong side of him through a complete misunderstanding and there was no reasoning with the bitter man. It was all because Mrs Norris has taken a liking to Scarlett. The cat would often seek her out, especially at meal times, when Scarlett would reward her with bits of meat. It just so happened that one day Filch had been unable to find his beloved pet and had been running around the castle, sick with worry at her disappearance, when he spotted her in Scarlett's arms, happily purring as she was petted. Filch had immediately snatched the cat away from her, but had been completely devastated when Mrs Norris hissed angrily, scratching him in an effort to get back to Scarlett.
Since that day Filch had been convinced that Scarlett had enchanted his precious pet and turned the cat against him, refusing to believe her when she told him that she'd done no such thing and she simply had an affinity for animals. Now Scarlett was the victim of Filch's suspicious glare whenever he passed her in the corridors. It probably didn't help that Peeves had picked up on this animosity and would often target Filch with his pranks whenever he neared Scarlett.
There was also one other set of eyes that always seemed to follow Scarlett. And they belonged to her Defence professor. She could feel him watching her whenever they were in the same room and she often found herself boldly returning his stare. It almost became a game to see who would look away first. Scarlett was amused that Riddle would lower himself to staring matches with eleven year olds, but she had always managed to bring out the worst in him so maybe she shouldn't be surprised.
It was on her first morning at Hogwarts that Scarlett discovered one of Riddle's habits that she was sure would bring her plenty of entertainment. Scarlett had been walking to the Great Hall with Hermione, Ron, Neville and a very smug Nearly Headless Nick, when she'd felt a wave of familiar, gloriously Dark magic approaching them from behind. Ever since she'd accepted her role as Death's Mistress she'd been favouring people with Dark cores and Riddle's was Black. Almost as Black as her own. Delicious.
Wanting to bask in the beautiful magic a little longer, Scarlett had waved her entourage into the Hall and turned to face the approaching Dark Lord in disguise.
"Good morning Professor," she'd greeted politely.
"Good morning little puzzle," Riddle had responded, finishing in a muttered hiss, obviously meant for his ears only.
Scarlett's eyes had widened at the smooth tones of Parseltongue that sounded so sensual coming from Riddle. Sensual? Riddle was not sensual! Scarlett had almost forgotten that she could speak the language, a skill that Riddle obviously didn't know she had.
Little puzzle. That's what he'd called her. Scarlett had obviously succeeded in attracting Voldemort's attention. Lovely. Perhaps turning him to her side would be easier than anticipated. She had no quarrel with him in this universe and it would be such a shame to have to get rid of the source of such delectable magic.
Scarlett had briefly wondered whether she should reveal her ability to speak and understand the snake tongue; however, she'd quickly discarded the thought, deciding that it would be much more fun to wait a while.
Who knows what he might reveal!
Scarlett's classes, as expected, had been a walk in the park. Studying the stars in Astronomy was super easy, especially since she'd killed a muggle astronomer a couple of years ago and, as much as she hated admitting it, muggles were far superior in their knowledge of space.
Herbology proved to be both frustrating and amusing as most plants seemed to shudder and shy away from her touch, some fluxweed actually shrivelling up and turning completely black after she'd touched it. The more deadly, aggressive plants on the other hand, seemed to absolutely love her. In fact, in her first Herbology lesson, Professor Sprout had had to save her from a tendril of the Devil's Snare that had slithered up her body, curling around her like a snake. Scarlett had not been pleased, especially since the stubborn plant had refused to let go even after Professor Sprout almost blinded the whole class with a powerful Lumos Maxima. In the end, it took a lit fire and many threats for the plant to finally release her.
Unfortunately however, not every class was as eventful. History of Magic, for example, was as boring as ever. Not even Scarlett's Death magic could deter Professor Binns from droning on and on about Goblin Wars. Scarlett didn't even bother trying to pay attention and just started bringing a pillow to class. At least she'd be comfortable as she napped. Hermione's outraged face had definitely been the highlight of that lesson.
Charms had also been extremely boring for Scarlett, but that was more because the first few lessons were all about very basic Charms theory. Scarlett felt extremely annoyed that she used to struggle to understand all of this: it was so simple!
In reality, Scarlett found all her classes incredibly easy, she had been through it all before after all, but she never showed her incredible boredom or annoyance. She was the perfect model student. She was polite and charming. She correctly answered every question that she was asked, but she never came off as a know-it-all. She didn't wave her hand about like Hermione did and allowed her to answer as many questions as she wanted.
Scarlett wasn't holding back in the slightest, her essays were perfect and she would get every new spell on her first try. She thought that Professor McGonagall's face was particularly amusing when, at the end of her first Transfiguration lesson, Scarlett had handed her a beautiful needle that looked like a flower. The petals were folded around the eye of the needle and leaves were engraved on the rest of it. The woman had had tears in her eyes as she looked at Scarlett. "Never… In all my years…" it seemed like Scarlett had managed to render McGonagall speechless. "Your father would have been so proud of you," she finally said, sounding very choked up. Scarlett had grinned, thanked her and skipped out of the room.
Outside of classes, Scarlett could be usually found with Hermione and Neville and sometimes Ron. Scarlett had gone looking for the first two in the train and had laid the foundations of what was to be a beautiful, long friendship. She'd only briefly spoken to Ron a few times, but he'd occasionally tag along when he saw them leaving the common room.
Scarlett didn't mind, she needed him to hand over Wormtail after all. She hadn't forgotten about Sirius, her darling godfather that was rotting in jail. When she'd spotted 'Scabbers' peeking out from Ron's pocket, Scarlett had had to restrain herself from lunging for the disgusting rat and squashing it under her boot. 'I need him to confess,' she'd told herself. He would suffer in Azkaban for his crimes.
Scarlett wanted Sirius freed by Samhain, it was already bad enough that she hadn't been able to do anything about him all this time. She figured that she would just have to steal the rat. Maybe she could get Death to do it... Scarlett mentally paused. Could Death even do that? Or would anyone that came into contact with it immediately die? She would have to ask it. She needed Pettigrew alive after all...
It soon became clear that Scarlett and Ron didn't really have much in common and he'd been especially appalled when he realised that she intended to spend most of her time studying or reading in the library. On the other hand, Hermione had been ecstatic to find a friend that shared her interests and her passion for gaining new knowledge. She didn't even seem to mind that Scarlett beat her for the top spot in every subject. Well, every subject aside from Herbology, Scarlett was simply hopeless at that.
The two girls could often be found together, Hermione finishing one piece of homework or another and Scarlett reading books about obscure magics. Hermione couldn't wrap her head around how quickly Scarlett always seemed to do her homework, but every time she asked, Scarlett would just shrug and say that she'd always had a good memory.
Scarlett had also taken it upon herself to drag Neville to the library along with them. She knew he needed a new wand and she would fix that for Yule, but for the time being she helped him with his homework and with perfecting his wand movements. He was already a lot more confident than he had been in her old universe and he was utterly and completely devoted to her.
Scarlett was friendly with all the students, no matter which House they were in. She would amiably chat with a few Hufflepuffs and study with some of the Ravenclaws. Since that day in Madam Malkin's she'd also been on good terms with Draco who would also sometimes join her and her friends in the library or sit next to her in class. Scarlett suspected that he had a little crush on her. Through him she'd also become friends with a couple of other Slytherins. All in all, Scarlett had most of the Hogwarts population under her spell. Most, but not all.
Severus Snape stormed into his classroom, his robe billowing artfully behind him. He had perfected his dramatic entrance by now so that it instilled fear and order into the students. That day would be different however: his first lesson with the Potter spawn had arrived. He could barely stand to look at the girl, a pang of grief shooting through his heart as she inevitably reminded him of losing Lily to his childhood tormentor. At least he'd known that she'd been alive and happy then. But now she was gone; beautiful, fiery, kind-hearted Lily was gone. Dead after sacrificing herself for her daughter, brave to the very end.
Part of Severus wished that Lily had been selfish and saved herself instead. She hadn't needed to die, Grindelwald only wanted to kill the child. Severus knew because he'd been the one to deliver the prophecy, he'd signed Lily's death and for that he would never forgive himself. For that he would protect her daughter even though he hated her.
Severus was surprised to see the object of his inner turmoil sitting next to his godson. He seemed to be hanging onto her every word and Severus worried that Draco might have a crush on the Girl-Who-Lived. Even after his dramatic entrance, Draco seemed to be sharing his focus between Potter and Severus, surreptitiously glancing at the girl every so often. Potter on the other hand, had immediately turned all of her attention onto Severus, who found himself meeting a pair of brilliant emerald eyes, Lily's eyes.
Truthfully, the girl's eyes were a different colour from Lily's. They were brighter, seemingly glowing with suppressed power, which combined with her aristocratic features made Potter look almost ethereal. Severus found the girl rather unnerving, his magic coiling tensely around him as if preparing to defend its owner from an attack. Ridiculous. The girl was eleven!
Severus tightened his occlumency shields and turned away from the child, beginning the class by doing the register. However, when he reached Potter's name he couldn't help himself and paused, barely managing to stop himself from sneering.
"Ah, yes… Scarlett Potter. Our new… celebrity," he drawled mockingly. Draco seemed to bristle slightly and sent him a small glare, but Potter didn't react in anyway, simply watching him attentively with the barest hint of a smile playing on her lips. She was probably enjoying being the centre of attention.
Severus finished calling the rest of the names and looked up at the class. He was pleased to see everyone waiting for him to speak, complete silence filling the classroom.
"You are here to learn the subtle science and exact art of potionmaking." Severus began. He spoke in barely more than a whisper, forcing the students to focus in order to hear what he was saying. "As there is little foolish wand-waving here, many of you will hardly believe this is magic. I don't expect you will really understand the beauty of the softly simmering cauldron with its shimmering fumes, the delicate power of liquids that creep through human veins, bewitching the mind, ensnaring the senses... I can teach you how to bottle fame, brew glory, even stopper death… if you aren't as big a bunch of dunderheads as I usually have to teach."
More silence followed his little speech. Severus' eyes narrowed when he noted that Potter seemed to be attempting to contain her amusement. For whatever reason, she'd found his words funny. He would soon wipe that insolent smile off her face.
"Potter!" he barked suddenly. A few of the students jumped, startled by the sudden noise. Sadly, Potter hadn't been one of them. "What would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?" Severus asked sharply.
"A sleeping potion so powerful it is known as the Draught of Living Death, sir." Potter's response was instantaneous, she hadn't even had to think about it. Severus could admit that he had not been expecting that. He'd assumed that she hadn't bothered reading the textbook before class and he'd been prepared for her to just stare blankly at him in confusion.
"Very well," he muttered reluctantly. "Let's try again. Where would you look if I told you to find me a bezoar?"
This time Potter smirked at him mischievously.
"Well Professor, I would probably look in the potion's cupboard or maybe in an apothecary," she said innocently, prompting a few people to laugh. Even Draco hadn't been able to contain a snort. Severus sneered, but before he could say anything she spoke again. "However, I believe that the answer you are looking for is in the stomach of a goat. Although I would hope that I wouldn't have to go to those lengths to acquire one as the poison would have most certainly killed you by then, sir."
Severus was both surprised at her knowledge and highly irritated at the blatant disrespect.
"Indeed," he drawled, causing Potter to smile brightly. "One more question then, Potter. What is the difference between monkshood and wolfsbane?"
"Professor I think you are trying to trick me!" Potter had the audacity to tease him. "Monkshood and wolfsbane are two different names for the same plant that is also known as aconite."
Severus watched the child closely, perhaps she wasn't a complete dunderhead.
"Well? Why aren't you all copying that down?" he snapped. Everyone immediately rushed to take out parchment and quills. Severus noted that Potter already had hers out. She jotted down a few notes and sat back, smiling serenely at him.
The rest of the lesson passed in tense silence as the students attempted to brew a Boil Cure. Potter finished first and proudly handed him a perfect potion. 'So smug,' Severus thought. 'Just like her useless father.'
Severus was sure that there was something not quite right about Potter.
A/N: What did you think? Not a lot of Tom in this one but he will definitely be in the next chapter. Leave a review if you can! I love reading your thoughts and feedback!
Coming up: Scarlett finds DADA Siriusly amusing :P