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.

Warnings: Mentions of sexual assault, torture, murder and violence.

A/N: I seem to be very motivated at the moment so I'm going to try to keep updating more regularly! We'll see how long my motivation lasts! :)

Part 2 - Chapter 1

"Well, well, well… What do we have here?" Scarlett chuckled, peering at the familiar golden locket. You'd think that Riddle would take better care of his most prized possessions, but alas it seemed like he'd not even realised that his fancy little necklace was missing.

Scarlett honestly hadn't expected to find one of Riddle's Horcruxes in her new house. He seemed a lot saner than her Voldemort had been so she'd been under the impression that he kept all of his little trinkets close by; however, she'd clearly been mistaken because there was no doubt that she was looking at Salazar Slytherin's Locket and that it housed a piece of her DADA professor's scrumptiously black soul. She could feel the tantalising magic emanating from it and she was surprised that she hadn't noticed it until that very moment.

Her move into Grimmauld Place had gone very well. Sirius was extremely fun to be around and had seemingly made it his life mission to spoil Scarlett rotten. Scarlett had initially found the whole thing quite amusing, not at all minding being showered in gifts; however, it had gotten to the point that she had to be careful with what she said to the crazy man.

Just the other day she'd been reading a very interesting book discussing the various portrayals of Death and how close the artists had come to actually depicting the being - not very close at all, was the answer to that question - and she'd made the mistake of showing Sirius one of the pictures.

"Wow, check this one out!" she'd said, turning the book towards her godfather. "Rather striking isn't it?"

The next day she'd come downstairs to find the original version of Gustave Dore's The Vision of Death waiting for her. Scarlett still had no idea how Sirius had managed to acquire the painting so quickly, especially since he'd been home the whole time. She had to admit though that the painting did look really good in her room and Death had gotten a good laugh out of the whole thing too.

Scarlett had been curious to see if there was a limit to what Sirius would let her get away with, but if there was she had yet to find it.

When Sirius caught Scarlett using magic to redecorate her room, he'd picked her up and spun her around laughing delightedly.

"My amazing goddaughter, you are already so powerful!" He'd practically squealed.

When Scarlett had shown an interest in the Dark Arts books housed in the Black Library, Sirius had granted her full access to the room and he'd even gifted her some more books on the subject.

"Who am I to dampen your thirst for knowledge" he'd said. "Your mother would be so proud of how eager you are to learn. Lily was a brilliant witch, just like you my little doe."

When they'd gone to inform the Dursleys that Scarlett would no longer be living with them and Scarlett had given Dudley a pigs tail, nose and ears, Sirius had laughed and not even bothered reversing the spell.

"I didn't know you were secretly a little prankster!" He'd pretended to wipe away a tear. "James would have been so proud!"

Scarlett had thought that her befriending Kreacher and asking Sirius to be nice to the elf would be her godfather's breaking point, but he'd surprised her yet again by making a real effort to be cordial to the little guy.

"I can't believe you got the little bugger to like you" Sirius had muttered. "First my mother, now this. You are so perfect everyone can't help but love you!" He'd finished enthusiastically.

However, Sirius was not quite correct as to the reason why Walburga had suddenly had a personality transplant. You see, in her old life Scarlett had spent many years living in Grimmauld Place and she'd quickly grown tired of listening to the woman's screeching every time she had visitors. It had taken a while but eventually, with Hermione's help, she'd found a way to remove the Permanent Sticking Charm that prevented anyone from moving the crazy woman's portrait and she'd actually ended up burning the painting until no trace remained of the insufferable woman. She'd always been partial to fire.

So as soon as Scarlett had heard Walburga start up her usual stream of insults without even checking who was entering her house, she'd know that she'd need to put a stop to it right away. After all she'd had no intention of spending the next few years tiptoeing around her own home. Sirius was under the impression that Scarlett had simply stroked his mother's face and the action had shocked the woman enough to make her pause. What he didn't know is that when she'd touched Walburga's face, in a similar way to how one would imbue their own memories into a painting, Scarlett had actually shown the woman how easy it would be to remove and destroy her portrait.

Many things could be said about Walburga Black, but her being stupid was not one of them. She'd clearly understood Scarlett's message and had wisely chosen to heed her warning. And it seemed that in the following weeks Walburga had taken a real liking to the Girl-Who-Lived, perhaps because her unspoken threat had impressed the woman or perhaps simply because she'd felt Scarlett's magic coursing through her frame. After all the Blacks loved Dark Magic and hers was the darkest.

Scarlett had been surprised to learn that Walburga wasn't a bad conversationalist when she wasn't screeching and she'd even found herself joining the woman for tea every once in a while. Plus Sirius' face when he'd caught them discussing the benefits of using a virgin's freshly spilt blood in potions had been absolutely hilarious.

"My super intelligent goddaughter" he'd said after he'd recovered from his shock. "Not yet 12 and already able to discuss such complex topics!"

Was this what being loved unconditionally felt like? Scarlett wasn't sure. It was more likely that the man was completely insane. No amount of mind healing sessions could cure his brand of crazy and Scarlett absolutely loved it.

It wasn't often that Sirius left her alone, but when he did Scarlett would take the opportunity to explore the Black's Ancestral Home. In her previous life she hadn't appreciated just how much the house had been saturated in magic. Dark magic that called enticingly to her own. Perhaps it was this abundance of magic that had hidden the locket's aura from her; but there was no way she could have missed it once she'd neared the cabinet that housed it.

Scarlett picked up the Horcrux and immediately felt its magic trying to latch onto hers.

"Naughty" she chided, slapping its magic away as if it was an annoying fly.

She was amused when she felt a sense of wariness emanating from the locket, its magic coiled like a snake, probably waiting to strike again as soon as she let her guard down. Scarlett wondered if it could see her or if it could merely feel her aura nearby.

Conjuring a glass case similar to the ones she used to contain her lovely flowers, Scarlett locked the locket inside and went to hide her newest jewellery in one of her trunk's secret compartments. She was amassing quite the collection. She'd further examine the Horcrux another time. Sirius would be home soon and she didn't want him to see it.

The locket was hers.

Lady Hela stood in front of the mirror, critically inspecting her reflection. She'd aged herself so that she now looked 25 years old and she'd made herself a lot taller. That would be an easy way to throw off suspicion, especially when paired with her now long, dark red curls and eyes that looked like pools of liquid gold.

Hela had been out a few times over the summer, mostly doing some reconnaissance work to find the families of the muggles that had led the war against magic. It wasn't easy to find them all as she remembered their faces more than their names and they were a lot younger now than they had been when they'd squared off against her. However, she had time and she could be patient.

It was during one of her excursions that Hela had gained a very useful new ability. She'd been strolling through a dodgy alley in Croydon hoping to be attacked, there was nothing that she loved more than the moment when an assailant realised that their prey was actually a predator in disguise, when she'd felt strong magic coming from a seemingly homeless old woman.

Curious, Hela had approached the witch wondering how someone with a fairly large amount of magic had ended up in such a dire situation. As soon as she was within touching distance, the woman had lunged forward, grabbing her arm and disapparating.

"Incarcerous" the old woman had shouted and Hela had found herself tied to the ceiling by her wrists, her feet just barely touching the ground.

"W-why are you doing this?" She'd cried, tears filling her golden eyes. "Please, d-don't hurt me."

The woman had chuckled. Except she'd no longer been a woman, she'd shifted into a rather oily looking middle-aged man who was openly leering at her.

"Oh honey, you and I are going to have lots of fun" he'd eyed her hungrily. "Well I am anyway."

"What are you going to do to me?" She'd sniffled, struggling against her restraints.

"Why don't I show you?" The man had laughed sinisterly, reaching for her robes.

As soon as his hand had came into contact with her, Hela had allowed her magic to flow, snapping her restraints and immobilising her kidnapper in the same motion.

"I've met many men like you in my life and I'm sorry to say that you all make the same mistake" Hela had chuckled darkly. "Just because you are too weak to be able to perform wandless magic doesn't mean I am."

She'd observed the man, prowling around him in a circle, her magic angrily swirling around her.

"Now the question is, what is a fitting punishment for your crimes?" She'd mused aloud. "You said you wanted to have some fun? I like to have fun too."

Hela had come to a stop in front of the man, releasing his face so that he could speak.

"Tell me" she'd said, flaring her Veela allure. "How many women came before me?"

"You are number 13" the man had murmured, hypnotised.

"How fitting" she'd purred. "Such bad luck you've brought upon yourself. I think poetic justice demands that I chop you up into 13 pieces, don't you?"

The man, still under her allure, had nodded, his eyes glazed.

"I'm glad you agree" Hela's smile had been positively evil. "Let us begin. Feel free to scream as loud as you want."

Once the man laid dead at her feet, Hela had realised that he had been a metamorphmagus and he'd just gifted her the ability. How generous of him. This would make it so much easier to spend time in a more comfortable, adult body.

"SURPRISE!"

Hermione watched in amusement as her best friend jumped, her wand appearing in her hand, before she realised what she'd walked in on. Her stance immediately relaxed as she looked at her godfather who was sporting a rather deranged looking grin.

"You did this for me?" she asked him. Hermione didn't think she'd ever seen her friend sporting such a soft smile.

"It's the least I could do for my most precious goddaughter" Mr Black hugged her. "Happy Birthday, little doe! Do you like it?"

"I love it! But Sirius, I don't know most of these people." Scarlett laughed.

Hermione had been surprised by the amount of people who had been invited to the party. She knew Scarlett was popular, but she barely recognised anyone there.

"That only adds to the fun, right?" Mr Black grinned, messing up Scarlett's hair.

Hermione was surprised that her friend was allowing all these touches, she usually made sure to avoid any kind of physical contact, but then the man was her godfather…

Loud music started playing and Mr Black hugged Scarlett one last time before pushing her into the crowd.

"Go have fun!" He'd shouted.

Hermione was pleased when her friend immediately headed towards her. Throughout her life, Hermione had always struggled making friends. Whilst at primary school she'd never felt like she fit in. She'd always had a thirst for knowledge and she'd been eager to prove herself, but she'd never met anyone who truly understood her. Not until Scarlett. The girl was a genius and spent even more time reading than her. Hermione had always been competitive, wanting to be the best at everything, but meeting Scarlett had quickly changed her perspective on things. Now she focused on doing her best, rather than being the best.

Scarlett pushed her to think outside the box, to not take any information she read at face value, to form her own opinions on things, rather than regurgitate other people's views. Whilst Hermione now had quite a few friends, she could admit she was a little obsessed with Scarlett. The girl was very popular and Hermione occasionally found herself feeling a little jealous when Scarlett chose to partner with someone else in classes, or when she was engrossed in someone else's story, or when she hung out with her other friends… But Hermione knew that she was Scarlett's best friend, one of her first friends aside from Draco, and no one could come between them. So she suppressed her jealousy and welcomed any attention that Scarlett was willing to give her.

"Happy Birthday Scarlett!" Hermione shouted over the music.

"Thank you!" Scarlett smiled. "I'm so glad to see you! I've missed you."

Hermione practically glowed.

"I missed you too!"

Scarlett groaned when she saw the large crowd jostling outside the doors of Flourish and Blotts, trying to push their way in.

GILDEROY LOCKHART will be signing copies of his autobiography MAGICAL ME today from 12pm to 4pm.

How did she end up here on the same day as the stupid man's book signing? At least she wouldn't have him as her DADA professor again this year.

Scarlett tried to make herself as inconspicuous as possible as she skirted around the book shelves, hoping to quickly purchase her school books and leave again before being spotted.

"It can't be… is that Scarlett Potter?" Lockhart's loud voice dashed her hopes of remaining undetected. She should have walked in under her invisibility cloak.

The crowd parted and a hand clamped around her upper arm, dragging her forward into a one armed, side hug. Scarlett squirmed uncomfortably, subtly trying to disentangle herself.

Innocent Light girl. You're an innocent Light girl. You can't murder him in front of all these people. Scarlett mentally chanted to herself, managing to convince her magic to remain dormant rather than eviscerate the man standing at her side.

"Nice big smile, Scarlett" Lockhart whispered, his own wide smile firmly in place. "Together, we are worth the front page!"

Scarlett somehow managed to give a sweet, shy smile for the camera, appearing slightly embarrassed rather than absolutely enraged. She could feel her lips twitching as she fought against them curling downwards.

She scanned the room looking for Sirius, surely the man would come to save her, but he seemed to be nowhere in sight. Her gaze found Riddle instead who was casually leaning against a bookshelf, eyes locked on Lockhart's arm which tightened around her as she tried to once again pull away from him.

"Ladies and gentleman," Lockhart said loudly, drawing everyone's attention. "This is truly an extraordinary occasion! The perfect occasion to make a little announcement I've been keeping quiet for a while now."

Lockhart flashed another charming smile and the crowd practically swooned. Pathetic.

"When Scarlett Potter came into Flourish and Blotts today to purchase my autobiography Magical Me - which I shall be happy to gift her now, free of charge - she had no idea…"

"I'm sorry, Sir" Scarlett interrupted, using her sweetest voice. "I didn't come here today to buy your book. I just needed to get my school books. Maybe one of your fans might appreciate your gift more?"

Lockhart's smile looked a little strained as he pulled her even closer. The man pretended not to hear her and carried on with his little speech.

"She had no idea that she would shortly be getting much more than my book. Oh, no! You see, her and her schoolmates will soon be getting the real magical me. I have the great pleasure of announcing that from September I will be taking the post of Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry!" He announced proudly.

The crowd cheered and clapped loudly and Lockhart kept his punishing grip on her arm. He was squeezing so hard that Scarlett couldn't contain a small wince. A wince which was immediately followed by the fraud's hand being ripped off of her.

She hadn't seen him move, but Riddle was suddenly there, manoeuvring himself between Scarlett and Lockhart, threateningly towering over the other man.

"Yes Gilderoy, I look forward to working with you this year. We'll see if you manage to last longer than my other assistants have done so far" he said with a rather sinister smile, ushering Scarlett away.

"You can't go anywhere without causing trouble, can you Miss Potter?" Riddle drawled once they were away from the commotion.

Scarlett chose to ignore the comment, since the man had saved her from Lockhart's attentions.

"I can't believe you hired that idiot, Professor" she exclaimed instead, rubbing her arm.

"I most certainly didn't hire him. You can thank our esteemed Headmaster for that." Riddle sneered, his gaze focused on where Scarlett was still trying to rub Lockhart's phantom touch away.

"Did he hurt you?" He asked darkly, his magic delicately brushing her arm, looking to soothe any aches. Scarlett fought back a shiver. Riddle's magic was too addictive for his own good. How she wished she could let her own dark magic come out to play with his, but it wasn't the right time. She couldn't trust him. Not yet.

"I'm fine." Scarlett dropped her hand back to her side. "I'm just not overly fond of people touching me."

It was unfortunate that Sirius chose that moment to finally make himself known, grabbing her and spinning her around in a circle as he loved to do. Riddle watched the exchange with a raised eyebrow.

"With some exceptions" she quickly added, fighting down a blush. How she hated that in his eyes she was nothing more than a child. And Sirius' antics were certainly not helping!

Riddle snorted.

"See you at school, Miss Potter."

Scarlett didn't want to admit it, but she couldn't wait.

A/N: What did you think? I love to hearing thoughts :)