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 writers... if anything has been done before I most likely have gotten my ideas from there.

A/N: A new chapter after only four days? I'm on a roll haha. Enjoy!

Part 1 - Chapter 12

"It seems like Miss Potter has been exposed to the Cruciatus Curse. I will administer a muscle relaxant as soon as she wakes up, but I don't believe she will need to be here overnight. She seems in remarkably good shape all things considered…" Poppy trailed off as Tom stormed out of the room, magic angrily crackling around him.

Albus was pleased to note that he seemed to have become protective of the Girl-Who-Lived, the man hadn't even deigned to reply when Albus had suggested he be the one to take young Scarlett to the Hospital Wing, simply stalking past with a dark glare.

When Tom had applied for the position of Defence Against the Dark Arts Teacher, Albus had been reluctant to hire him but he'd been unable to turn away one of the Founders' last descendants. Albus had worried that he'd been heading down a very dark path and only wanted the position to brainwash the next generation into following in his footsteps. However, Tom had surprised him and, despite his cold and aloof disposition, he'd proven himself to be a wonderful teacher.

Albus was pleased that, despite his heritage, Tom had managed to resist the lure of the Dark Side; however, he still worried at his lack of meaningful relationships, his only real connection being with his familiar. It was for this reason that Albus was very pleased when he noticed that Scarlett Potter had managed to charm him as much as the other teachers. Tom was a powerful wizard and Scarlett could use all the help she could get in the war that she would soon be forced to fight in.

"Thank you Poppy" he smiled warmly at the nurse, ignoring Tom's dramatic exit. "I will let you know as soon as she wakes."

Poppy nodded, and with another glance towards her patient she headed back into her office.

Momentarily alone, Albus allowed himself a moment to drop his serene facade. He'd known that Gellert had not been killed on that October night as so many had believed, and he'd agreed to look after the Philosopher's Stone hoping to bring him out of hiding, but he regretted that Scarlett had gotten involved and injured in the process. She was lucky to be alive and it must have been her mother's protection that once again saved her from death and pulverised her enemy.

Now the Stone was lost, Gellert had once again escaped and young Scarlett had caused Quirinus' death. Albus reached out for the Girl-Who-Lived's aura and was pleased, if not a little surprised, to find that it was unblemished. Her magic was still the purest white. This boded very well for the future and indicated that Scarlett truly had not desired the man's death. She probably hadn't even fully understood what had happened. He would have to be gentle with her and make sure that she wasn't eaten up by guilt. The poor child had already been so distraught about the events with the troll.

Scarlett gasped, lurching up into a sitting position, looking around in alarm and focusing on Dumbledore's smiling face. She had quickly gotten bored of pretending to be asleep and wanted to get Dumbledore's interrogation over and done with.

The walk to the Hospital Wing had been torturous. She would have never pretended to collapse if she'd known that Riddle would end up carrying her the whole way. Had the man suddenly forgotten the existence of levitation charms? Being held by the Dark Lord had been far too comfortable and Scarlett had hated every second of it.

She'd almost demanded he put her down, but Dumbledore had been following close behind and she had a part to play, so she'd buried her discomfort and forced herself to remain limp in Riddle's arms. To distract herself from the man's gentle touch, Scarlett had started wandlessly making herself heavier, adding an extra pound to her body weight every few steps. She wasn't sure how heavy she'd gotten by the time they reached the Hospital Wing, but Riddle's breath had become laboured and she could feel his magic concentrating around his arms, probably working to strengthen them so that he didn't drop her. Gloriously dark magic that she'd been able to feel pressing deliciously against her own.

If Riddle had been aware of her antics, he hadn't shown it, simply depositing her on an empty bed and standing back to let Madam Pomfrey take a look at her. Scarlett had been disappointed when he'd left, abandoning her to Dumbledore's questions.

"Sir! The Stone! It was Quirrell! And Grindelwald!" She cried out in alarm. When Dumbledore patted her shoulder comfortingly, she mentally applauded her acting skills. She was gooood.

"Calm yourself, my dear girl. Quirrell doesn't have the Stone." Dumbledore said.

"I know that" Scarlett looked down, bringing a few tears to her eyes. "I killed him didn't I?" She looked up at Dumbledore with watery eyes.

"Does that make me a monster?" she asked quietly, worrying her bottom lip between her teeth. She peeked at Dumbledore from the corner of her eye and saw him looking at her reassuringly. She mentally smirked.

"No, my dear girl. It doesn't make you a monster. It was a mistake and you didn't mean to kill him, did you?"

Scarlett violently shook her head, wringing her hands nervously. She should really consider a career in acting if the whole Mistress of Death thing didn't work out.

Dumbledore patted her shoulder again. Was this supposed to be comforting her?

"Then you are not a monster. It wasn't you who killed Quirrell, it was your mother's sacrifice, protecting you once again."

Scarlett pretended to think it over and then nodded slowly.

"Sir, the Stone…" she hesitated. "Grindelwald said I destroyed it. But I didn't, did I? I didn't even touch it!" She said pleadingly.

Dumbledore sighed.

"You see, the Stone was inside the mirror so when the mirror was destroyed..."

"So was the Stone" Scarlett gasped, horrified.

"I'm so sorry, Sir. I didn't know! I'm so sorry about your friend, Sir. What will Nicholas Flamel do? He'll die! And it's all my fault!" Scarlett sobbed.

Dumbledore gave her yet another pat. She really wished he would stop doing that.

"Oh! You know about Nicholas?" Dumbledore sounded quite delighted all things considered. "You did do your research, didn't you? Nicholas and I have had a little chat and we've agreed it is for the best really. He and his wife have just enough Elixir to set their affairs in order before they move on to the next great adventure."

Scarlett laid back, appearing lost for words whilst Dumbledore hummed a happy little tune.

"Sir?" Scarlett said softly. "I've been thinking… Now that the Stone's gone, Grindelwald will try to find another way to come back, won't he? He's not truly gone, is he?"

"No, I'm afraid he isn't."

Scarlett hurried towards the Great Hall. She was running a little late to the End-Of-Term Feast. With everyone distracted packing for the Summer Holidays, Scarlett had taken the opportunity to properly examine the Philosopher's Stone and after a little pondering, she had decided that it would make the most beautiful pendant.

Not wanting to cut into the Stone, she'd simply attached it to a small hoop so that it could hang from a golden necklace. She had been right and it did look rather lovely, its blood red colour flickering in the light looking almost liquid. More importantly however, Scarlett had taken her time covering the Stone with every single protection and concealment charm she could think of. She'd gone to a lot of trouble to acquire it so she'd be very upset if anything happened to it and, knowing her luck, something was bound to happen to it.

Hiding the Stone's aura had been a lot more complicated and time consuming than Scarlett had anticipated and she'd ended up completely losing track of time, bringing her to her current predicament. She slowed down to a walk as she entered the Great Hall and sheepishly paused in the doorway when everyone turned to stare at her.

"10 points from Gryffindor for your tardiness, Potter" Snape barked, the bitter man taking any opportunity to pick on her.

"I'm sorry, Professor" Scarlett allowed a small blush to rise to her cheeks. "I lost track of time reading. After the recent events, I wanted to perfect a shield charm so I could better protect myself." She said bashfully.

She smugly noticed the other professors frowning at Snape, Professor McGonagall looking particularly unimpressed. However, as always, it was Riddle that caught her attention. The man was just staring at her, seemingly deep in thought, when suddenly, without any warning, he threw a silent Expelliarmus her way, moving so quickly that she felt more than saw the spell coming her way. Luckily, Scarlett had always had great reflexes.

"Protego!" She chose to shout the incantation. After all she'd supposedly only just learnt the spell.

However, the speed of the attack meant that she hadn't been able to properly rein in her power so, when Riddle's spell hit her shield, it bounced back with a loud bang, rocketing all the way to the Dark Lord at top speed. The man somehow managed to catch it on the tip of his wand, letting it harmlessly dissolve. Scarlett had to admit that was a cool move. She'd have to learn how to do that.

"20 points to Gryffindor for mastering a sixth year spell, Miss Potter" Riddle drawled.

"Thank you, Professor" Scarlett bit her lip to stop the laugh that wanted to escape at Snape's furious glare and quickly made her way to the empty seat that Hermione had clearly been saving for her. The whispers started as soon as she sat down and she allowed herself a small chuckle.

"I can't believe you Scarlett" Hermione whisper shouted at her.

"When did you learn how to do that?" Neville asked, impressed.

Scarlett shrugged.

"I can teach you if you want." She offered.

"Yes!" Hermione squealed.

"Yes, please" Neville nodded.

"Very well" Scarlett laughed. "We can organise a little study group next year."

Severus scowled as he watched Potter laughing with her friends. The girl was just like her father, delighting in being the centre of attention at all times and cockily thinking she could get away with breaking all the rules. She'd somehow managed to wrap every single member of staff around her little finger, even cold-hearted Riddle. Snape couldn't believe that the Head of Slytherin had awarded Gryffindor 20 points for no good reason.

Potter couldn't fool him though. He saw through the innocent facade. Beneath the mask, the Girl-Who-Lived was just as selfish, just as self-centred, just as arrogant as her father had been, if not worse.

Severus met Potter's sparkling, Avada Kedavra green eyes as Dumbledore announced that Gryffindor had won the House Cup and forced himself to suppress a shudder. There was something deeply unnatural about that child.

The Bloody Baron sadly watched Scarlett board the carriage that would take her away from Hogwarts for the summer. He'd grown close to the Girl-Who-Lived over the year and he could admit to himself that he would miss her.

The Baron had never had friends, not in life and certainly not in death. He'd allowed himself to love once and after that ended in tragedy he'd closed himself off from everyone, hiding behind his ruthless reputation. Scarlett was the first person who had ever tried to get to know the man behind the bloodshed, not even batting an eye at his fearsome appearance. He'd initially been drawn in by her magic and by her unique ability to touch him, but she'd completely won him over when she'd simply shrugged after he confessed his crimes against Helena.

"We all make mistakes Barry" she'd said, gently stroking his cheek. "It seems to me like you've punished yourself enough."

It had been an almost cathartic experience and the Baron had felt as if a huge weight had been lifted from his shoulders. On that day he'd vowed that he would do anything for Scarlett and he knew the rest of the ghosts would be just as willing.

"She'll be back in September" Nicholas sounded just as forlorn as he felt.

The Baron sighed.

"Hey! At least we've finally resolved the Peeves issue" Nicholas nudged him, clearly trying to cheer him up.

The Baron snorted.

"This year he's been even worse than usual."

"Yes, but there's no way we can get rid of him when Scarlett is so fond of him" Nicholas smiled.

The Baron rolled his eyes.

"As if we were ever actually going to get rid of him."

Scarlett excused herself from her friends and locked herself in an empty carriage. Donning her invisibility cloak, she used her shadows to appear in the darkest corner of the Time Room in the Department of Mysteries. Thank you evil, child molesting vampire for this dying gift. She'd not had much opportunity to use her shadow travel ability, but it had definitely had its uses, especially when she'd gone muggle hunting to make Riddle his beautiful Christmas gift.

Moving silently, Scarlett grabbed a 24-hour Time-Turner, careful not to touch anything else. Stepping back into the corner, she let the shadows wrap around herself and vanished into the darkness.

"So... this is my home" Sirius said shifting nervously as Scarlett curiously inspected her surroundings. A smile spread across her face and Sirius let out a deep breath he hadn't even known he'd been holding.

As Scarlett walked further into the house, the curtains covering his mother's portrait suddenly flew open and she started shouting at the top of her lungs. Sirius mentally cursed and ran forward to hide her away before the banshee completely traumatised his innocent goddaughter, but he paused when he noticed Scarlett reach forward and touch his mother's face.

Sirius thought he felt a pulse of magic and the angry screaming suddenly cut off. His mother gaped at Scarlett.

"Who are you girl?" she asked warily.

"Hello Ma'am" Scarlett removed her hand and curtsied cutely. "My name is Scarlett Potter. I am Sirius' goddaughter. May I know your name?" She asked innocently.

Sirius had to stop himself from cooing. His beautiful goddaughter was so pure, her innocence must be protected at all costs!

"Of course you can, dear" his mother's whole attitude changed. "I am Walburga Black. You are a very polite young lady, aren't you?" She smiled warmly. Sirius almost gaped. He had never seen his mother smile warmly at anyone.

"A pleasure to make your acquaintance, Lady Black. I am honoured to be living in your home" Scarlett said with another bright smile.

"Oh none of that now, dear. Call me Auntie Burga and do come back to have a chat once you've settled in. It's been a while since I've had pleasant company" the last part had been accompanied by a glare for Sirius.

Scarlett giggled and, with another graceful curtsy, she closed the curtains.

"How did you do that?" Sirius demanded.

"Do what?" Scarlett asked, smiling mischievously.

Sirius laughed. His goddaughter was so perfect, even his mother loved her!

At the same time, a tall woman walked into Knocturn Alley. She was almost completely hidden by a dark purple cloak, only a pair of glowing golden eyes visible within the darkness of her hood.

She moved briskly through the crowd until she reached a small, nondescript shop, her oppressive dark aura ensuring that everyone quickly moved out of her way. She stepped through the door and took a seat on the spindly chair in the corner, lounging on it as one would on a throne, her fingers drumming impatiently on her leg as she waited to be served.

"How can I help you?" The shop owner asked, finally emerging from the darkness.

"I am in need of a new, untraceable wand" her voice was soft and musical, like the sweetest symphony.

"Follow me."

The woman followed the owner to the back of the shop and was shown to a table filled with blocks of wood.

"Choose one that feels right" the man said, pointing at the table.

The woman ran her hands over the different woods before stopping suddenly.

"I sense two that feel equally right" she murmured with her eyes closed, grabbing a different block in each hand.

The man inspected the woman's selection.

"Very interesting," he murmured. "Your two choices are complete opposites. This one" he said, holding up a white block of wood, "is from a White Whooping Whillow. As the name suggests, it's completely white, including the leaves and it's a good conductor of Light magic. It is often used as a symbol of life."

"This one on the other hand" he said, holding out a black block of wood, "is from a dead cherry tree, which was killed by a powerful lighting bolt. It is seen as a symbol of death and is a good conductor of Dark magic." He looked at the woman curiously. "You say they both feel equally right?"

The woman nodded.

"Very well" the man sighed. "Let us look at cores. Same thing over these materials please."

The woman once again closed her eyes and picked up two objects. The man's eyes widened in shock. She'd chosen phoenix tears and basilisk venom. The man didn't understand, they were complete opposites! Nevertheless he set to work and an hour later he had finished.

The wand was beautiful. The black and white wood created a spiral effect and tiny petals had been engraved into the handle. He could feel the power of the wand and it seemed eager to join with the woman's magic.

"Here you go" he said. "Cherry and Willow, 14 inches."

The wand practically jumped into the woman's hand and magic exploded from the tip as soon as she grasped it. The whole shop lit up and the man was overwhelmed by the feel of the woman's magic.

"How much?" She asked.

"20 galleons and perhaps I might have the honour of knowing your name?"

The woman slowly counted out 20 galleons.

"You may call me Lady Hela."

The Goddess of the Death.

The man felt a shiver run down his spine. He bowed low and when he looked back up, the woman had vanished without a sound.

A/N: What do you think Scarlett did to Walburga Black? All reviews are very much appreciated :)