Hello lovely readers! In case you were wondering why I've deleted the succeeding chapters of this story; it's because I've been revising them. I've been experimenting on my writing style lately, and trying to incorporate these in pretty much all my stories.

Other stories in the works include:

*Paying in Blood (Diabolik Lovers)

*Riddle Me This (Harry Potter)

*Behind Those Emerald Eyes (Harry Potter)

*Blood Of My Enemy (Harry Potter)

Those are the main ones for the moment. I have new ones I would like to publish, but will wait until I get majority of the reworks done before I do. Or at least until I finish "Paying in Blood", which is only three chapters away from completion.

Now without further ado, I hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or Kuroshitsuji (Black Butler). However, I do own Alex.

Pairings: Ciel Phantomhive/Alex Potter; Death (Character)/Harry Potter

Warnings: Language, Character Death, Possible Mature Scenes, Blood and Gore, Time Travel, Aged-Up Characters

"Speaking"

'Thoughts'

"Parseltongue"

The blood was pounding painfully in her ears, her vision blurred as she darted through the trees. She paid no mind to the scrapes and cuts on her arms and legs, nor the crushing feeling in her ribs. Her brother being the only thing on her mind, calling his name out desperately as she ran.

She was almost certain that she was no longer being pursued, but everything felt strange – out of place somehow. She didn't know what it was, but even the forest surrounding her had a sort of foreign ambience. It scared her, and frustrated her to no end. Eventually, she stopped in the midst of the trees and doubled over, panting as she tightly clutched her ebony wand in her hand.

Harry… Where are you, Harry?

She couldn't feel him through their bond; the mental link they had shared since they were eleven years old was simply blank, like unused parchment, and she feared the worst. Was he hurt? Was he dead?

The young witch moved onward, but at a slower pace. She was drained, physically and magically. Her magical core burned, and the exhausted heat seemed to simmer at the surface of her skin. Was she getting sick? She surely hoped not – if the Death Eaters stumbled upon her now, she wouldn't stand a chance with her depleted core and the excruciating throbbing of her limbs preventing her from raising her wand in time to defend herself.

After what seemed like an eternity, light shone at the end of the murky dirt trail, a small sigh escaping her chapped lips as she made her way to the clearing ahead.

Barely out of the forest grounds, her fatigue took over. Her blurred vision briefly registered a blonde figure looming over her as she collapsed, and darkness consumed her completely.

"Young Master! Mister Sebastian!" In a chaotic manor a little way away, a redheaded woman came rushing into her master's study without so much as a knock. The room's occupants turned towards her with scarcely concealed shock at her sudden disruption.

The young Earl, Ciel Phantomhive set down the report he had been critically reviewing on the Funtom company's East Indian factory as he regarded the bespectacled maid with slight frustration, "What is it, Mey-Rin?"

Mey-Rin twiddled her thumbs nervously, "Finny's found a stranger near the estate, yes he did!"

"Is that so? We shall see to this, then." Cerulean pools narrowed with suspicion, before they flickered towards the tall raven-haired man standing next to him, "Let's go, Sebastian."

The black-clad butler quickly yet meticulously put away the tea he had been preparing, and followed his employer out the doors of his study.

…

Everyone gathered around the person slumped on the grass – a girl who appeared to be the same age as the Earl, and looked as if she had just raced through a war zone. Her clothes were tattered, and sickly pale complexion coated in sweat, dirt, and blood.

Ciel thought she was oddly dressed; it wasn't common for women to amble about in trousers and a pair of strange laced footwear. However, what had captured his attention at that moment was the stick she held so securely in her hand. Curious, he knelt down and pried her fingers off, observing the crafted wood. It was nothing but a fancy looking stick with a smoothened surface and an intricately detailed handle. Odd, indeed.

There was also the matter of her popping up on the mansion grounds undetected. That in itself was a great concern if not even Sebastian had sensed her.

"Sebastian, take her to one of the spare guest rooms and get her cleaned up." Ciel ordered his servant, who immediately bent down and picked up the girl, idly noting how light she was.

"Yes, my lord."

"Stupefy!"

"Reducto!"

"Relashio!"

Spells went flying one after the other, endless streams of light flying through the air.

"Gah!" Alex hissed in pain as a slicing hex grazed her stomach, the crimson liquid seeping through her already torn and soaked shirt. Ignoring the stinging of the wound, she twisted her body and fired curses at the cloaked wizards trailing after them.

"We have to get out of here!" called Harry as he ran alongside her, Ron and Hermione close behind them. Thanks to Dobby, they had managed to escape Death Eater clutches in Malfoy manor, though barely. Bellatrix Lestrange had struck at the poor house elf before he could apparate them out of the estate, but it was enough for them to make it out themselves. The deranged witch also inflicted a significant amount of damage to Hermione, who the twins noticed was having difficulty catching up with them. Alex admired the brunette's strength and resilience as she kept going.

As they neared a clearing, Hermione grabbed Ron's hand and apparated both of them out of the forest. Alex moved to do the same thing to Harry – she grabbed his forearm, and as their surroundings began to warp, a flash of bright blue light struck them, engulfing them before they could fully disappear.

The twins screamed in sheer agony. Their bones felt like they were being crushed, skin pricked, and insides twisted. They were forcibly wrenched apart in swirls of blue, Harry's desperate calls of her name muffled by the wind rushing in her ears as another flash of light blinded her.

Alex's eyes snapped open and she abruptly sat up with a gasp, only to groan as pain wracked through her body. It took her a couple of minutes to register that she was no longer in a forest. She hoped it had only been a dream, but a glance around the room told her otherwise. It was a large room with navy blue walls, and the décor looked like something out of a pureblood manor. Dread coursed through her being at the thought. Whose manor was she in?

"I see you've awoken, my lady." a smooth baritone voice called from the doorway. There stood a lean male with dark red eyes, and black hair framing his face. He donned what Alex recognized as a muggle butler's garb withblack trousers, a double-breasted tailcoat, a gray vest and a pair of white gloves. But on his shirt cuffs and tie, and chained silver lapel pin was a crest she had not seen before.

The young witch's first instinct was to draw her wand from her thigh holster, only to realize two things: she didn't have her wand, and she wasn't wearing her own clothes. She was all cleaned up and her stomach was bandaged beneath the plain white nightgown she now wore.

Her cheeks reddened at the fact, "Were – were you the one who dressed me?"

He smiled at her pleasantly, though Alex could tell it was not sincere in the slightest. If there was one thing she had learned whilst living amongst Slytherins during her six years at Hogwarts, it was that you never simply trusted anyone. This man's aura rubbed her the wrong way – pricking at her magic and just palpably screamed 'danger'.

"Yes, my lady. I have tended to you, just as my master ordered."

Unsurprisingly, that did absolutely nothing to abate her distress. She clenched her fists, blunt nails digging into her palms as she was anxious to have her wand back in her possession, "Where am I? And who are you?"

"You are in the Phantomhive estate, my lady. My name is Sebastian Michaelis, and I am the butler of the Phantomhive household." He said with a bow, a gloved hand to his heart.

Phantomhive? Whoever this family was, they were obviously wealthy if not a bit old fashioned. There weren't any purebloods or notable half-bloods with that surname as far as Alex could recall. Of course, there was the off chance that she was in the muggle world, which would make her situation more than a bit complicated to explain.

"How did I get here?" she asked.

"Our gardener found you injured on the grounds." said Sebastian, "If I may ask, how you managed to attain such injuries?"

"I – " she paused. What should she say? For all she knew, he was a Death Eater disguised as a muggle butler. That, and he didn't seem very human either. He must be some sort of magical creature, if not a wizard. "I can't tell you that."

"Oh?" Sebastian's lips twitched in mirth, "And why is that?"

"Well, excuse me for not divulging my personal life to a complete stranger." Alex snapped at him.

The crimson-eyed male chuckled, "My apologies. But may I at least have your name, my lady?"

Alex pursed her lips slightly, "That depends. Are you willing to tell me what you are in exchange?"

…

Sebastian Michaelis was amused.

And that said a lot, considering the fact that in all his years of living, very little entertained the crow demon. He generally found humans to be the same – greedy and lustful, insatiable creatures. They all sought wealth and consumed by materialism, and were easily swayed by sins of the flesh. His previous contracts didn't provide much merriment. They were all corrupted in some form, and it made everything so easy that it grew tiresome.

His master was a rare gem – a pure soul despite his thirst for revenge, and Sebastian found his boredom lessening as the days passed. The young earl was definitely a handful, demanding and spoilt. He had also been but a child when Sebastian was summoned to him, impressionable and still learning, yet filled with such unbridled hurt and anger.

Through the years, Sebastian watched him grow, and now at the age of sixteen, his master still never failed to surprise him.

As he observed the little witch under the bed covers, he could almost see how alike they were. Her soul reflected someone who had seen much in her short life, crying with rage and despair, but would offer kindness to those who are in need and deserving of it. They were both walking contradictions – anomalies, and it sent a trickle of excitement through the demon's spine.

It also helped that the way her bright emerald orbs squinted at him reminded Sebastian so much of an angry feline that he nearly cooed at her, but restrained himself as she continued to appraise him warily.

Sebastian smirked, scarlet pools gleaming and glowing fuchsia for the briefest moment, "Why my lady, I am simply one hell of a butler."

…

It was all the confirmation Alex needed. She had only ever read about his kind in books; she didn't think they had actually existed. And if the widening of Sebastian's smirk was any indication, he knew that she had figured it out.

Her next quip was interrupted by a knock on the door, and a boy who appeared to be in his mid-teens strode in. He had bluish-black hair and held a rather serious countenance. Alex blinked as she caught sight of the eyepatch on his right eye, the other bright blue orb staring straight at her.

"It's nice to see you awake, Miss." said the boy, and he tilted his head in acknowledgement, "Welcome to my estate. I am Ciel "Earl" Phantomhive, head of the Phantomhive family."

Alex's brows shot up to her hairline. Head of the family? But he didn't appear to be much older than her. The only occasion where someone this young would become head is if… there's no one else left to take the mantle…

"You gave my servants quite a scare." Ciel remarked, "Tell me – who are you and what were you doing near my mansion?"

She hesitated, gaze flittering between the Earl and his otherworldly butler. She simply couldn't state that she was on the run from dark wizards. Not only was there a possibility of them working for Voldemort, but revealing her magical nature could alert the Ministry. She would assuredly find herself captured again it that were to happen.

"Miss?"

The female Potter let out a heavy breath through her nose, "My name Alex. I was… being chased by some rather horrible people, and somehow ended up near your mansion. I apologize; I did not mean to trespass."

The pair was quick to notice the hesitation.

"Chased? By whom exactly?" Ciel demanded.

"Like I've previously mentioned to your butler, I can't tell you that."

The Earl bristled slightly with annoyance, "And why not?"

"It's a risk, on both our safeties."

"And you think leading those people here would be any better? For all we know, they could have followed you to the mansion."

Alex crossed her arms stubbornly, her emerald eyes meeting Ciel's sapphire ones in a glare. As much as she didn't want to admit it, he had a point.

She contemplated the risks of telling the boy – one wrong move could expose her location to Death Eaters. She was seventeen, so there was no need to worry about the trace. But could the Ministry still detect if she were to use magic in front of this muggle? However, she doubted the little Earl – Ciel, would let her go so easily if she left his questions unanswered. She was wandless, and she doubted physical strength would do any good against that… butler. Sebastian wasn't exactly normal by any means, so surely there was an exception to that?

Alex sighed in exasperation. Damned if she did, damned if she didn't.

"Fine." She snapped, "What do you know about magic?"

A bewildered expression crossed Ciel's face before he scoffed, "Magic? Like wand waving and spells? That's ludicrous."

"Says the boy who has a demon for a butler." Alex couldn't help the snide smirk that crawled up her lips. The look on the young Phantomhive's face was absolutely priceless, and clearly, she wasn't the only one who thought so. Sebastian had turned his head so she couldn't see his face, but the miniscule trembling of his shoulders gave him away.

"How did –"

"– I know? It's quite simple, when you have an idea of what to look for. He isn't the first inhuman being I've encountered, and is only one of the many that I've learned of." Alex replied with a light shrug of her shoulders, and proceeded to count each point on her fingers as she recited, "Let's see… they're spawns of hell, and it's said that their true forms are quite horrific; they have enhanced senses, speed, and strength; they feed on souls; they form contracts with humans and cultivate the soul to their liking, later feeding on them once the contract has been completed. I'm also guessing that the contract mark is behind your eyepatch and the back of Sebastian's hand."

Sebastian hummed thoughtfully, "You seem to know quite a bit, my lady."

"And what exactly are you?" Ciel's expression hardened as he gauged her more calculatingly, "Not many have such an extensive knowledge on demons, unless you are involved in some sort of cult."

"I'm human." Alex deadpanned, "And no, I'm not part of any cult. I'm nothing like your butler, or any other creature that you may be thinking of. I just happen to possess a magical core."

"Witches and wizards are simply beings who possess magic, my lord." Sebastian explained helpfully, suppressing a grin as he caught the little witch's eye twitch with irritation, "And they are grouped by what they call blood status. A pureblood is one whose parents are both descended from magical families, a halfblood has only one magical parent, and a muggleborn is one who comes from a purely non-magical family. They are also said to be the weakest of the three."

They attention was drawn back to Alex as she scoffed with disdain, "That's ridiculous pureblood ideology. A friend of mine is a muggleborn, and she is worth far more than any bigoted pureblood who thought they were better because they had decided inbreeding was a must."

"Am I correct in assuming that you aren't a pureblood, then?" Ciel asked with a curious quirk of his brow.

"You would assume right." Alex concurred, "I'm a halfblood. It's sort of a middle ground, I suppose, depending on how you were raised. But blood status is of no consequence to me."

"And those men after you – are they wizards?" Ciel inquired.

"Some of them,"

A single cerulean orb pierced her as they sought for any deceit, though Alex wasn't certain on what he was searching for. Lying was hardly an option at this point, and without her wand, she was a sitting duck. She did not know enough wandless magic to bail her from a captive situation against a demon, who was easily ten times stronger and faster than her and would unquestionably snap her neck should his master order it.

After a moment's silence, the young Earl announced, "I have a proposition for you."

Alex glanced between the two males cautiously, "I'm listening."

"I will let you stay in this mansion as my guest, and under our protection. In exchange, you will help me in achieving my ultimate goal."

"Which is?"

"Revenge." He replied with no hesitation.

"You contracted a demon to achieve something as trivial as revenge? Quite petty, don't you think?" Alex inquired, flinching at the pain when she moved to get off the bed.

"My parents were brutally murdered. I hardly find avenging their deaths a petty matter." Ciel rebuked coldly.

Alex stiffened for a moment, her gaze once against meeting his as she whispered, "You too?"

Ciel heard it quite clearly, and it made him pause. For so long, he had people look down on him – dismissed him as nothing more than a child attempting to play adult games, an orphan who relied heavily on his family name to survive the world. But here was someone whose emerald pools shone with understanding, not pity – someone who knew what it felt like.

Alex, once again, weighed the pros and cons. She still didn't trust this boy, or his butler. Demons were dark and manipulative by nature; they were cold and cruel, ruthless and deadly, and basically the embodiment of evil. Then again, the same was said about Slytherin, but Alex had never regretted becoming one. But it wasn't like they knew who she was. She would have somewhere to stay until she found Harry, figure out what that spell had done to them both, and continue the hunt for the Horcruxes.

After what seemed like an eternity, the female Potter broke her stare and nodded curtly, "I'll accept your offer, Lord Phantomhive, on one condition."

Ciel's eye narrowed, "And what may that be?"

"I would like my wand back, if you please."

Reviews are always appreciated and welcomed!

~Cassandra