Chapter 01 v4

A/N: In short, this is a Marauders' era OC story (though most of the characters introduced later are going to be familiar). You can find an extended note at the end of this chapter. Obligatory disclaimers: I own nothing, this is my first story (ever!:D), and any reviews are welcome.

The midday sunlight was barely able to penetrate the thick purple curtains of her room. Today was decidedly not a good day for Alison Milburn, who was resolved to spend it in bed, feeling very sorry for herself. At least this summer is unlikely to get any worse, she thought, recalling the last evening's conversation with her mother.

Alison was smart enough to realize that her family's business was not doing well. Still, learning that they had to close down was a heavy blow. Selling magical artefacts was never an easy job. How her father always managed to acquire something marketable on his trips to Europe was a mystery to everyone, family included. Some of his discoveries were quite valuable, too — she remembered a nondescript Italian book on time magic he found in some dusty archive, disguised as a collection of muggle poems. This finding alone paid for the renovation of their venerable little mansion. She smiled, remembering the fun she and her brother had painting the walls in garish colours, only for the exasperated parents to deal with the damage later.

Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end. The family's fortunes took a sharp turn for the worse when Miles Milburn was sentenced to seven years in Azkaban for the unlawful distribution of Dark Arts materials and an obscene number of safety violations when handling them. Without his skills, connections and experience, they struggled to keep the shop afloat. A year after her husband's conviction, Ethel Milburn decided to admit a defeat.

'Alison, get out of bed at once! Michael is here!' she heard her mother call loudly.

Michael? What on Earth is he doing here?, she wondered. Her brother was not a particularly spontaneous person and would not come up unannounced. Not without a good reason. He was also supposed to be helping a family in London lift a particularly perplexing curse, and Michael took his healer duties very seriously.

'I'm coming, just a second!' she shouted back lazily, snapping out of her thoughts as she reached for the clothes.

The moment she got down the stairs, Michael met her with a tight hug. As always, it felt like a real threat to her ribs' integrity.

'How have you been, Al?' he asked with a wide smile. 'I haven't seen you since June, and it looks like you aged a full year during the summer.'

'Frankly, not that great. Still much better than mom,' she replied honestly. 'Not to sound disappointed, but what are you doing here all of a sudden?'

'Ah, about that. I thought you two might use some company. A distraction from all that's been going on lately,' Michael said, taking a seat on the sofa. 'I hope you aren't too upset about the shop. It was bound to happen sooner or later,' he added soberly. 'We should be glad that we managed to get a good price for the building. It didn't make sense to keep the place open when we don't have anything left to sell.'

'I'm sure mother appreciates you being here,' Alison muttered. We should be glad, right. Two centuries of building a reputation down the drain, she thought to herself. Not that he ever cared. 'I will see if she needs any help with the dinner. In the meantime, you should probably get some rest,' she continued, suddenly eager to escape the conversation.

'You're right, I am actually quite tired. Well, there will be plenty of time to catch up later,' Michael agreed absentmindedly as she left towards the kitchen.

'I am starting to feel like I am making some really useful connections on this job,' Michael bragged, sipping his tea. 'Remember that London couple I travelled to help, the Greys? There wasn't any curse, just some nasty runic inscriptions left by the previous owner. Well-concealed, but nothing I couldn't handle,' he added with a self-satisfied smile. 'So, they turned out to be pretty high-ranking Ministry employees, Department of International Magic Co-operation. Lovely people, too. You know Ally, there won't be long until you finish school. The Ministry is a decent option if you can persuade them to look past our family background'.

'There is only one part of the Ministry I have ever been interested in, and you know that,' she replied, sharper than intended. 'That has not changed.'

'Yes, the Department of Mysteries, I remember,' he frowned. 'Look, I get that you want to follow your passions, and I admire it. What I am saying is that sometimes you need to be a little more flexible,' Michael argued patiently.

'Oh, you would know everything about following your passions,' Alison seethed, unable to hold back the sudden surge of anger. 'First, you decide to let our family business burn to concentrate on your precious career. Then, you find this lovely little half-blood, Mary, bringing our family's reputation even lower. Now you are here to lecture me on living with the consequences of your actions?' she bristled.

'Alison, for Merlin's sake!' their mother interjected before any more pleasantries could be exchanged. 'It is not like we see Michael often these days, so calm down, stop yelling and try to be civil for once,' she commanded exasperatedly.

'I'm sorry. I'm not sure what came over me,' Alison exhaled as she tried to slow down her breathing and compose herself.

'It's alright. You have reasons to be upset,' her brother replied coolly, examining the view from the window. A spacious garden that separated the house from their muggle neighbours looked serene in the rays of the evening sun.

The remainder of the dinner proceeded in tense silence. Suddenly, a tawny owl flew in through the half-opened window, dropping a heavy envelope on the table. Michael was the first to react, grabbing it swiftly. 'Apparently, the letter is addressed to a certain Alison Margaret Milburn. She is about to learn her OWL results,' her brother grinned.

'Just pass it over and find some food for the bird,' she muttered nervously. It is time for another ego contest, she mused, remembering all the tales about her brother's stellar performance. A smile started to appear on Alison's face as she read through the letter. 'Seven O's, two E's,' she said, smugly throwing the piece of paper back on the table.

'Not bad, not bad at all,' Michael acknowledged reluctantly, taking the letter to examine her results himself. 'Arithmancy: O, Ancient Runes: O. Oh, these ones are tough, congratulations. Charms: O. Well, there was never any doubt you would excel here. Defence Against the Dark Arts: O - now that's unexpected. Did they test you on the Defence Against the Dark Arts or the Dark Arts themselves?'

'This distinction has always felt meaningless to me,' Alison snorted.

'Spoken like a true Slytherin,' her brother laughed.

'Alright you two, let me take a look,' their mother interrupted eagerly, taking the letter into her hands. 'O's in Divination and History of Magic, however you managed that! O in Transfiguration, and E's in Herbology and Potions. We are so proud of you, Ally!' she beamed.

'True, even got one more subject than your brother,' Michael smiled. 'Of course, I had my prefect duties and other obligations to take care of, so the comparison is not entirely fair,' he added half-jokingly.

'I still remember the names of some of your 'obligations',' Alison winced, trying to banish the images of her brother's scantily clad girlfriends sneaking around the house at night from her memory. 'Your room was right in front of my own, remember?'

'That is just another proof of my stellar ability to work on multiple tasks at the same time,' he noted unashamedly.

The news of Alison's success has cheered everyone up a fair bit. Thankfully, the rest of the day was uneventful. Michael enjoyed telling them about some of the most complicated cases he faced (and invariably resolved) as a healer, while Alison made her mother and brother nostalgic with her stories about life in Hogwarts.

The house does feel a little empty without father and Mike, Alison thought sadly, lying on her bed. Somehow, she did not feel like sleeping. The knock on the door interrupted her brooding.

'Come in,' she cried without standing up.

'I just wanted to talk to you in private,' Michael said softly as he entered the room and sat on the edge of her bed. 'So, have you decided what subjects to take this year?' he started.

'Uhm, I will definitely keep Charms and DADA. Runes and Transfiguration are quite interesting too. Not entirely sure about the rest,' she replied carefully. 'Is that what you so urgently needed to learn in the middle of the night?'

'Not exactly,' he confessed with a small smile. 'I was simply trying to be subtle and start from afar.'

'Well, we both know you were never good at that. Now get on with it. I hate the suspense,' Alison complained impatiently.

'Alright,' he turned serious. 'First, I know that I wasn't here enough for you and mother. That doesn't mean I don't care about what happens in this house anymore. I just wanted to make this clear.' He paused for a second before continuing. 'Second, tell me, honestly, what will you do after the graduation? I know you have everything planned out. I also know that you don't really expect to get a job in the Ministry. Not even a dozen NEWTs will convince the Department of Mysteries to hire you now. Might as well ask them to make you an auror.'

Alison tensed, feeling startled by this sudden interest in her future. 'Did you come here at night to catch me unprepared?' she asked suspiciously. 'You know, it is a common interrogation tactic to deprive suspects of sleep. Makes it harder for them to resist legilimency,' she said, attempting to empty her mind. Yet another helpful trick father taught me.

'Merlin, Ally, do you seriously think I came here to practice legilimency?' Michael groaned, growing annoyed. 'Could you ease up on paranoia and give me a straight answer to one question?' he pleaded.

'I wouldn't put it past you, but fine,' she sighed, deciding to give him a partial truth. 'I was thinking about taking over our business. More like re-starting it, given the recent news,' she corrected herself. 'Not right now, but after gaining a few years of experience with magical artefacts somewhere else.' Working for Borgin and Burkes would be a decent start, she thought, knowing very well that her brother would disapprove of her associating with the notorious establishment. 'I am good at seeing what is valuable and what is not, dealing with cursed items, and I helped dad with bookkeeping too. It can absolutely work, Mike. I only need some practice and a bit of gold,' she continued confidently.

'I thought that much,' Michael nodded. 'Look, Alison, I don't want to lecture you. Apparently, teenagers don't take it very well.' He smiled as she rolled her eyes. 'Just be careful with how you go about it. I don't want anyone else in our family to get imprisoned. And trust me, I have heard enough about the current generation of Slytherins to understand that many of them will end up in Azkaban,' he added deliberately. Michael stood up and froze for a second, thinking about whether to say anything else. 'Don't feel compelled to continue our family's traditions just because someone has to do it, Al.'

'I'll be sure to bear that in mind,' she replied flatly. Unfortunately, that's exactly how I feel, dear brother, she thought. And that's what I will do. It was strangely comforting that Mike could still understand her that well years after moving away. Comforting but also unnerving. 'Now, if you don't mind, I would still like to get a few hours of sleep tonight...' Alison added quietly.

'Good night, Al. By the way, I decided to stay for a couple of days if you don't mind.'

'I suppose I will allow that,' she whispered with a smile. 'Good night, Mike.'

A/N (2): So, let me ramble a bit.

I always wanted to show how relatively normal people can find themselves doing something they never imagined they are capable of. That is what this story is fundamentally about. So, there will be some exploration of the psychology and motivation of those who join the groups like Death Eaters, and the ways they deal with it, how they rationalize what's happening. Of course, there will also be lots of action, intrigue and drama on the way:) After all, the plan is to write something that is fun and engaging, not a psychological study.

Second, the main character is not the most upstanding person, though she is also far from amoral. In her own head, everything she does makes perfect sense, which I will hopefully be able to convey. There will be some character development later, but I never found 180 degree turns very realistic. I have also never liked unrealistically powerful characters, so don't worry about that. There are certainly more and less talented wizards and witches around. However, none of them will be nauseatingly flawless.

Also, there are no pairings in the first few chapters. That might and will probably change by the middle of the story, but I won't get into details now.

Finally, this is going to be 99% canon-compliant. Some minor details like a couple of birth dates or the like might change, but nothing substantial. The general atmosphere will be slightly darker than in the books, but not in an over-the-top way.

[And yes, it's Alison on the cover. Hopefully, this works as a description:)].