Chapter 1: The Cursed Blessing

Disclaimer: I don't own HP blah blah blah. I only own the Archers, Artemis and anything you don't recognize.

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"Artemis, pack your stuff quickly!"

I turned around to face my mother in the doorway. She was the reason that I was cursed. Cursed with these powers that made me unique. Cursed with these powers that made me the most hunted person in Japan. That is, if they knew what I was. An Archer. A descendant of the legendary warriors that had ruled Japan centuries ago. The ones that had been hunted down and killed, except for the wife of one Archer that had bore a daughter. Hidden from the eyes of the new rulers to continue the Archer line, unknown and thrown in shadow to avoid extinction, here I am. The last of a famous line that had successfully saved itself from total annihilation. Oh, how I wished it wasn't me that was blessed with the powers and traits of an Archer.

And now because of my powers and existence, my parents, no, my entire family has to move to avoid a conflict and to prevent a slaughter of the line. It's all about the line, not our lives. The line is more important, this and that. And even if my father doesn't really understand the whole 'Archer Line' thing, he still agrees with my mother.

So now I'm packing to move to Scotland. And to rub salt on the wound, I'm going to have to transfer to different school. New, foreign people with big heads and egos the size of China and Russia put together. And that's pretty big, I can tell you. So now, I'm packing my stuff and preparing for Side-Along-Apparition to our new home in Scotland. I never liked Apparition. It made me nauseous and made me want to throw up. Well, that's enough of my complaining. I'm betting you want to know who I am and what I'm like. Like you have a choice anyway. Well, let's start with my appearance.

My mother and I are so identical we could be twins. I have her long black hair with occasional streaks of ice blue that falls down to around mid-back and the piercing, cold blue eyes that were characteristic of the Archers'. I'm fairly tall, 5'9" to be exact. And I had the sacred black dragon, Aiedail, tattooed onto the skin of my back. My body is thin and powerful; the muscles run just underneath the skin. My fingers are long and tapered, perfect for wrapping around a bow and arrow. I'm light on my feet and quick when in a pinch.

All of these are characteristics of the Archers, passed on through the generations.

As I am an Archer I inherit their trademark abilities as well as their characteristic appearances. I've been learning archery and martial arts since I was small so I am skilled in both of them. Hunting in the forest for food on horseback is also a talent of mine. And one of the abilities of the Archers that actually appeals to me is the power to communicate with animals. I can hold lengthy conversations with chattering birds when I feel alone. It makes me feel warm and fuzzy on the inside, being needed. Using this power I can tame dragons and be able to ride them if they consider me worthy. Another of my powers, which can sometimes be annoying, is mind reading. What do I need to know this stuff for after all? All the unneeded worry about studies and such of others around me can be distracting. I am also past the dan levels in various martial arts disciplines.

And the last of my abilities is magic all my own. Not any of the wand-waving nonsense. No, my magic is unique, and a wand is not necessary. This magic I can easily control. Nothing is needed save my mind, body and soul. And though you may think I'm some kind of Mary Sue, think again. I'm anything but perfect. Wand work and Quidditch were never my strong points.

My wand. Unique. Passed down from generations of Archers. Though the Archers had their own magic, this did not mean that they didn't have wands. As their power was slightly different they needed a completely unique and exclusive wand to channel their power. Each wand was made from the bark of the holly tree in the Dragon Preserve of Japan. In each wand resided the feather of an albino phoenix and the heartstring of a black dragon from the Preserve. My wand is the only one of its kind as the rest were destroyed in the Great Archers' War and Conquest.

My necklace. The only piece of jewelry that I wear and I never take it off. It is the only remaining heirloom of the Archers apart from my wand. It is a necklace whose magical properties are unknown. A crescent moon. A crescent moon of silver with one small blue sapphire in the middle. A necklace that which has no match. The only one of its kind. Unique, as is practically everything related to the Archers. However, in most historical texts it is said that the sapphire can amplify the wearer's magical capabilities. Old wives' tales in my opinion. But the sapphire is no doubt, a powerful magical object. All the other necklaces were no doubt thrown away, believed to be mere trinkets, when they were found on the Archers' bodies.

Pets. Ah, my beloved pets. I love my pets. Beautiful, they are. Specially chosen by me from the wild. The reason they stick to me is because I saved them. From dangers or predators alike. My unique black hawk, Lygora, is smart. Smarter than the average hawk. But proud as well. Too proud. That's what got her into trouble in the first place. Had to save her from a fox because she was too proud to think that she was too low in the tree she was in. She's completely black, with yellow eyes that jump out at you against the dark feathered body.

My cat, on the other hand, is smart but cautious. She's completely black with one white paw (the front left one). Her eyes are a calming sky blue. The reason I had to save her was because, however smart she is she is still young and inexperienced and did not know the dangers of the forest she lived in. She was just curled up in the open, right next to a holly tree (ironic, ne?) and was completely vulnerable. She seemed to understand what had happened when she woke up in my home. She is abnormally smart, even for a cat after all.

But my favorite out of my three pets is the white wolf that I healed after finding him fatally injured out in the garden one day. I remember it as if it were yesterday.

His fur was barely discernible as its usual shade of white. His pelt was matted and wet with blood from a deep gash in his stomach. I cried out to my mother, hastily moving his body so I could clearly see his injury.

My mother appeared with towels and warm water. I washed and bathed his body with the water and wiped him until he was dry. However the blood still flowed as fast as before. I was on the verge of panicking now, he was going to die. That's when I felt it.

An unexplainable and unmistakable surge of power flowed through me. I went into a trance, my eyes clouding over and glowing with magic. I wove my hands; making positions only I could understand, chanting with the voices that had materialized inside my head. Suddenly, some unknown force wiped away the wound like a cloth wiping dirt. My mother gasped.

I came out of my trance and shook my head from my reverie. I stared at my hands. I looked accusingly at my mother. At that time, I didn't know of my Archer roots and my mother hadn't told me yet. So I carried the wolf, to be known as Snow, back to our large, traditional Japanese home. I covered Snow's body with a soft, cotton blanket and turned to face my mother. And then, with a guilty look in her eye, she explained everything, from my appearance to my abilities. And most of all, my Archer ancestors. I was a third year at the Fukuyama Institute. The information hit me hard.

And now I'm here, finished with my packing, glaring at my kind mother. She just smiled calmly back before walking out of the room. I turned away and grabbed my trunk and beckoned my pets to follow. I slid the door back into its original position and lugged my trunk to the pile of belongings in the middle of the dining room. I stepped back a little and knelt down to the seiza position. Immediately my hawk flew down to rest on my shoulder. Shadow mewed and curled up on my lap like a large, furry pillow. Snow on the other hand lay down like a loyal dog, next to me. I rubbed the soft fur under his chin, relaxing into my position, waiting for my family to appear. I lowered the walls that surrounded my mind. I reached out calmly towards the consciousness of Snow.

'How are you, old friend?' I asked. I watched as Snow tossed his head around.

'Stiff. I feel like I've been lying down for ages,' complained Snow.

I felt a surge of affection for my canine friend and patted him on the head.

"Just a little longer, my friend. Just a little longer," soothing Snow with a comforting hand. Then I heard the clearing of a throat and I whipped my head around. I found myself faced with the kind and weathered face of my father. I looked into his light-green eyes.

'Ah, my little girl is so kind. A pity that she doesn't show this side of herself to others,' I heard, recognizing the echoing quality. I shook myself. So this is what everyone thinks hmm? I guess this mind-reading thing can be useful, I thought to myself.

"Father, when are we leaving?" I questioned my father. He seemed deep in thought before realizing I had asked him something and turned to face me.

"We'll leave as soon as your mother's ready, dear," he replied, though a misty, faraway look still lingered in his eyes.

"Yeah, and when's that going to happen? When hell freezes over?" I grumbled quietly to Snow. He raised his head and nuzzled my side in a friendly and understanding sort of way.

Unfortunately for me, my father overheard the comment as well. And as kind-hearted as he is, I would not get on his bad side. He's like a dormant volcano until you do something that makes him erupt. And you can never stop him once he gets going. But luckily for me, he can be mischievous or understanding at times.

"Oh Arty, just be patient. We are completely moving our entire family after all. Just give your mother a bit of time to gather up all her memories. Unlike you, she was brought up entirely in Japan, so it must be a big blow for her to leave," nodding his head sympathetically.

I looked up at my father again, and swallowed the lump that had formed in my throat. Then the reality of the situation crashed down around my head.

Though I had never really had many close friends at school, I had still considered it my home. My home away from home, if that makes any sense. A place that had given me comfort, and eased my pain. And now it would all be over and I would be gone. Going to a foreign place with a school with a ridiculous name. With foreigners like the ones that had destroyed my ancestors.

A surge of anger came from nowhere and I could hear the blood pounding in my ears. I wonder, what would it be like, living amongst the ranks of those who had destroyed my Clan, my life, my home. Would they be friendly, or discriminative, welcoming, or inhospitable? A voice shook me out of my thoughts and directed my attention towards the voice that was speaking.

"…give to know her thoughts. She's always thinking of something or the other."

This was my mother. I would've known her voice anywhere, having memorized its tone, accent, everything. I had made sure as a child that I knew how to instantly recognize any of my family. I wonder what they're talking about. Maybe about my tendencies to drift off, I mused. Most likely.

Oh for the Archers sake, I keep spacing out! In the name of Merlin, I've got to stop this ridiculous spacing out. I forced my mind to focus on the figures in front of me.

I could distinctly make out my mother and father in the crowd of black haired individuals. Most of them were chattering away in rapid Japanese or Chinese. I could just barely make out separate sentences from different conversations. And then they noticed me. And all hell broke loose.

"ARTY!!!!"

Queue the crazy family hug attack.

"AAAAAH!!!"

I wonder if this is what it feels like to be buried alive, I thought.

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A/N: Muahahaha! My first cliffie! Hehe…lol. Well read and review people.

-Seth