Annora sat anxiously in an armchair in the sitting room, shaking her leg. Hogwarts was coming nearer and nearer. Voldemort was watching her closely. He was worried with how bad Annora seemed to hide her emotions. He was afraid Dumbledore would use it in his advantage. He sighed, gaining Annora's attention.
"Hide your emotions, showing emotion is a weakness, how many times do I have to tell you?" Voldemort hissed.
Annora blinked at the sudden change, but closed her eyes, making her face blank.
"That's better," Voldemort said. He stared into the blue depths of his daughter, before speaking again. "Annora do you remember everything that I told you?" he asked.
Annora sighed. "Yes father… don't get myself in the centre of attention, stay away from Dumbledore, don't show emotion, become friends with Potter, don't do stupid things, focus only on school and Potter, don't let anger take hold of me, don't use dark spells, don't let anybody know my real side and gain trust of the Professors."
Voldemort smiled, a smile only Annora would ever see from him. It was a warm smile, a smile of love. The only thing he has ever loved is Annora. He didn't want it to get this far, but it did. He originally only intended to adopt her for power and a weapon in the war, but Annora still won his heart and he will protect her with his life. He honestly didn't know if he'd still be sane if he ever lost his daughter. And that said a lot, especially for him. "Good, the Floo is open. Lucius is waiting for you at the office of King's Cross station. Just say King's Cross Station and you will be right there," he said.
Annora took a deep breath and stood, taking her trunk and owl with her. "Father, could you maybe make Dobby take my stuff straight to the train?"
Voldemort nodded. "I suppose that could be arranged," he said and summoned Dobby.
"Dobby, take Annora's stuff to an empty compartment and spell the door shut with a strong locking spell only advanced wizards or witches could open," Voldemort ordered.
Dobby nodded. "Of course, Master," he said and disappeared with a pop, taking Annora's stuff with him.
Voldemort slowly, elegantly walked towards his daughter, taking her face in his hands. "What's worrying you, little serpent?" 'Little Serpent' was the nickname Voldemort has been calling Annora since she was little. No one knew of this nickname except the Malfoys and the Lestrange, because Voldemort would never admit his weakness to his outer circle. He knew that Annora could possibly be his downfall, that's why he never allowed himself to love someone. But this was his child, his Annora. And no matter what, he would never rid her.
Annora sighed. Her father knew her too well. "I'm worried, father," she explained softly. "What if they use me to get to you? What if they make me spill your secrets with potions? What if –"
Voldemort held up a hand. The other hand was gripping her chin now, forcing her to make eye contact with him. "Don't worry, child. Severus is at Hogwarts at all times, I ordered him to protect you at all costs. I will also send Lucius there sometimes to check on you. I promise that that old fool will never get his hands on you. Do you trust me?"
Annora hesitated a little, before nodding her head and threw her arms around her father's chest. "I'll miss you, father," she whispered.
"You'll be okay, little serpent," Voldemort said softly, pulling her back. He then softly pushed her towards the fireplace. "Go, now. Lucius is waiting for you."
Annora nodded and, with one last glance at her father, she stepped into the fireplace and let herself be taken to Malfoy Manor.
XXX
When Annora got to Malfoy Manor, everyone was already waiting for her. Dev was the first one who came running towards her as soon as she saw her. She threw her arms around her, which got Annora almost off-balance, before releasing her with a muttered 'sorry'. "Oh my god, I can't believe we're finally going to Hogwarts!" Dev said, while basically jumping around.
Annora laughed. "Never in my life I would have thought I'd see you jumping around and saying 'Hogwarts' all at the same time."
Devany smirked. "Oh, but yet here you are! Can't you imagine the fun we'll have Plaguing the stupid Hufflepuffs?!"
Annora smirked at that.
"Are you ready to go?" Lucius interrupted. When everyone nodded, Lucius held out his arm. "Whatever you do, do not let go."
Devany snorted. "Who do you think we are? 4 year olds?"
"Watch your tone, young lady. I'm sure Bellatrix and Rodulphus did not raise you like that?"
Dev blushed and lowered her head. Lucius cleared his throat and when everybody was gripping his arm, he disapperated with a loud crack.
XXX
When they arrived at King's Cross Station it was utter chaos. Trains choo-chooing, Muggles running around the station in hope of getting to their trains in time, parents with little kids walking towards different platforms with their trolleys. When Gryph spotted a certain red-headed woman with her kids, he groaned. "I had hoped mum or dad would have already killed out that family."
Draco snorted. "It surprises me time and time again how they manage so much children on so little money."
Devany sighed. "I kinda hope they let them live long enough for me to be old enough to kill them. I wonder how that little girl screams," she said dreamingly, which got a chuckle and a snort from the rest of them.
They arrived at the barrier between platforms 9 and 10 a few moments later. "I'm afraid I have a meeting I have to attend to in a couple minutes, so I can't go up the platform with you guys. "Draco, you will go first through the barrier, but you'll wait for the rest. After Draco Gryphon, then Devany and then Annora," Lucius ordered.
Draco nodded and took a couple steps forward, before looking back at his father. "I'll see you at Christmas, father," he said with a smile.
Lucius smiled back and waved at him. "Go, Dragon, you'll be late otherwise."
Draco took a deep breath and made a run towards the barrier. And with that, he disappeared.
Gryph and Dev soon followed closely after each other, both trying to get there first. Gryphon won with a teasingly smirk towards his twin sister. Annora took a deep breath, trying to soothe her nerves.
"Annora," Lucius said, getting her attention. "Don't be so nervous, you'll be okay. Dumbledore won't do anything if you haven't proven yourself to be dark."
Annora smiled briefly and thought about this. It was true, she thought. It would be very unlike a Headmaster to just assume. "Thank you, Uncle Lucius, I'll try my best." And with that she also ran through the barrier.
XXX
When Annora got through the barrier, she looked around and immediately felt herself smile. The platform was beautiful, there was no need of denying it. She looked around and saw a lot of mothers running around the platform with the trunks their children must have forgotten. She also could see the plump Weasley woman running towards the youngest boy with a rat in her hands.
"We better get going,", said Gryphon after a couple seconds.
The four of them casually walked up the train and began searching for an empty compartment. The train was already full of excited students running from compartment to compartment to chat with their friends. Devany had to resist herself from cursing a short little girl who accidentally bumped into her. Gryphon gave her a pointed look before they walked further, finally coming across one that was empty. They quickly opened it and sat down; Draco and Annora on one side and Gryphon and Devany on the other, Devany across from Annora and Gryphon from Draco.
After a short while of comfortable silence, Annora mad sure no one was listening before quickly placing silencing wards around their compartment. Her father had smartly charmed their wands so that they could perform magic outside of school, though they had to be careful with it because if they got caught they would get into a lot of trouble.
The rest of them looked at Annora confusingly and waited patiently for her to start talking.
"I have to tell you something," she started off, not sure where to begin.
"That's obvious," Gryphon said jokingly, receiving as answer a soft kick to the leg from Annora.
"Okay, so father has given me several quests I have to do this year… I know this will be difficult for some of you," She looked pointedly at Draco and Devany. "But I have to get Potter to trust me and even become friends with him. If I can get Potter to trust me than it would be a lot easier for father to get to him," she explained.
Draco groaned. "Are you serious? I don't want to befriend Potter," he said with pure hatred.
Annora glared at him. "Draco, get yourself together. If father wants this from me than I will do this for him. I do not care if any of you will help me but I will do this no matter what," she said angrily.
Gryphon cleared his throat. "I will help you, Annora, but I'm not sure if I can get myself to become friends with him. However, I will do my best to refrain from insulting him or anything like that."
Annora smiled at him. "Thank you, Gryph."
Devany and Draco glanced at each other before looking away again.
After a couple of tense minutes, Devany gave up. "Okay, fine! But as soon as he does anything stupid or says anything rude towards any of us or other Slytherins, I can assure you I will not be so friendly," she said.
"I do not expect you to, Dev, I'm sure I will do the same thing, but if all works out well, he should not even have any reason to insult any of us," Annora said with a small smile.
They then all turned their heads towards Draco, who was glaring at every one of them in turn, before he sighed. "I will refrain from insulting saint Potter only because the Dark Lord requests this. However, I am not sure if I'm able to hold back at all times."
Annora laughed at this. "That's so typically Malfoy!" She grinned and removed the silencing wards around their compartment, having said everything that had to be said.
They all fell into a comfortable silence as they all decided to do something for themselves. Gryphon started reading a magazine on night animals, Devany was writing her mother, Draco was sitting against the window with Annora resting against his shoulder, while he was playing with her hair.
It was a comfortable silence. If anyone knew who they really were and how they were acting in their compartment they wouldn't believe their eyes. Annora was on the edge of falling asleep, when they compartment door was slid open. She quickly moved away from Draco and glared at whoever interrupted their rare moment of peace.
"Has anybody seen a toad?" the strange girl in the doorway asked. She was already wearing her Hogwarts robes and her tone sounded sort of bossy. She had a lot of bushy brown hair and rather large front teeth.
Devany glared at the intruder. "No, we haven't, and we can assure that if we would that toad would be a long time death," she said with narrowed eyes.
The girl looked taken aback by Devany as her eyes widened a little before narrowing. Choosing to ignore the girl, she looked at the others. "If you do find him, please bring him back to Neville. He's crying his eyes out in a few compartments away, it's really sad."
Draco snorted. "Neville? As in Neville Longbottom?"
The girl nodded which got the whole compartment in laughter.
"We haven't seen his toad, girl, but if you see him again tell him to say regards to his parents from us," Annora said with a smirk.
The girl in the doorway glared hard at Annora before turning away, not bothering to close the compartment door.
As soon as the girl was out of sight, Devany closed the door and the whole compartment erupted in laughter.
XXX
The rest of the ride went smoothly and before they knew it, the train stopped and they arrived at Hogsmeade.
Everyone quickly got out of their compartment and to the exit of the train were a half-giant was waiting for them.
"Firs' years! Firs' years over 'ere!" the giant called. He had uncombed bushy brown hair and a large beard, he was holding a small lantern and next to him sat a large dog which was drooling disgustingly.
The four of them got out of the train, staying close to each other before walking towards where the half-giant was standing.
When every first year was outside the train and facing the half-giant, he spoke again. "My name is Hagrid and I'll be takin' yeh to 'ogwarts today. Good – er – if yeh would all follow me." And with that, he started walking towards a giant river where at least a hundred boats were floating. "No more'n four to a boat!" he called out before stepping into his own bigger boat as well.
Draco, Devany, Gryphon and Annora quickly stepped into one of the boats, Draco at the front, Annora behind him, Devany behind her and Gryphon at the back. Devany leaned forward and rested her head on Annora's shoulder. "Can you imagine the looks on everybody's faces if they knew you were the Dark Lord's daughter," she said jokingly. "Imagine the terrified looks on their faces when after a couple years, we get to join in attacking Hogwarts and they all realized they were breathing the same air as the Dark Princess."
Annora chuckled. "Sometimes you scare me, Dev. I do not want to think about everything that goes on in your brain," she said and smirked.
Devany smirked before leaning back again. Annora shook her head at her best friend. She really was a copy of her mother.
"Everyone in?!" Hagrid shouted. "'Right then, FORWARD!"
And magically all the boats started to float over the water at once, slowly but surely getting a better look at the beautiful castle that would soon be their home.
The castle shone beautifully under the full moon's light, making it seem more magical than it already was. From where Annora sat she could hear many 'Whoah's' and gasps from other first years. She, too, couldn't believe her eyes at the beauty of the castle and a small smile formed on her pale face.
When they arrived at the castle, everyone got out of their boats and followed Hagrid up to the entrance where a tall, grey-haired witch in emerald-green robes was waiting for them.
"The firs' years, Professor McGonagall," Hagrid said before stepping away from them.
"Thank you, Hagrid, I will take them from here," McGonagall said. She let her eyes gaze over the students until they rested upon a jet black-haired witch with dark blue eyes. Annora met her eyes and raised her eyebrows, very much like her father would do. McGonagall inhaled deeply before looking away from the Riddle heir. "Very well, follow me," she said and turned around to walk up the many stairs leading to the Great Hall.
Annora met Gryphon's concerned eyes but she brushed them off with a small smile. This, however, did not stop the boy she had grown to love like a brother from worrying. Annora was certain he wouldn't leave it like that.
They stopped when they had reached a pair of gigantic doors. "Before you will take your seats, you must be sorted into your houses," McGonagall explained as she turned her back to the door to face the first years. "They are Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin," she waited a couple seconds to let this sink in before continuing. "Your house will be like your family, so treat them like such. While you are at Hogwarts, your triumphs will earn your points and any rule breaking will lose you points. At the end of the year, the House with the most points will be rewarded with the House Cup. The Sorting Ceremony will begin momentarily." McGonagall then turned back around and walked through the big doors, leaving the first years waiting for her to come back.
As soon as the doors were closed again, whispers began to surround the room.
"That's Harry Potter!"
"Is it true?"
"Is he really the boy-who-lived?"
Annora sighed and rolled her eyes as she saw Harry looking very uncomfortable. She quietly and unnoticedly walked towards him and whispered in his ear, "Ignore them. It seems as though they have never seen someone with a scar before."
Harry looked at her uncertainly, before smiling. "That's nice of you to say, but I doubt that'll stop the whispers." He looked at his feet.
That was when Ron stepped forward. "Who even are you? And how are we supposed to know that you're not just using him for popularity?"
Annora glared at him, but before she could say another word, Draco interrupted her. "I could ask the same thing about you, Weasley. I'd never imagine Potter hanging out with the likes of you, but then again…" He stopped as he let his eyes look at him from up and down. "maybe it's just out of pity."
Weasley became almost as red as his hair. "I know you! You're Draco Malfoy!" he said accusingly. "And who even are you?" He narrowed his eyes at Annora.
Annora opened her mouth again and closed it, unsure what to say. Would Ronald know who her father was? Would Ronald know her father's real name? Luckily, she was spared to answer, when McGonagall cleared her throat. Annora turned around and saw the Professor looking at them with concern, before she quickly masked it into an emotionless expression. "Time to go," she said softly and the doors opened wide, revealing a beautiful Great Hall.
The first years anxiously followed Professor McGonagall up the Great Hall, everyone receiving stares from the older students as they walked past them. Annora looked around and spotted some of the older Death Eater children. She smiled politely at them and they returned it. She then let her gaze wander to the Head Table. She made eye contact witch Severus who nodded encouragingly at her. She then got sight of the other teachers, many of which she did not recognize. She then felt Dumbledore staring at her and quickly looked away again. That man made her want to turn around and run back outside the castle. Unfortunately, they reached the front of the Great Hall all too soon.
"Form a line over here, please," McGonagall ordered and walked up to where a stool and a table with an old hat and a stroll were placed. She picked up the stroll and charmed it so that it was levitating in the air at eye-level. She then picked up the old hat and cleared her throat. "Now, when I call your name, you will step forward and place the Sorting Hat on your head and you will be sorted into your house," she explained.
"Abbot, Hannah!" she called first.
The pink-faced girl walked forwards and sat on the stool, before placing the Sorting Hat on her head. It took the hat a little while to decide, but then he roared loudly, "HUFFLEPUFF!"
The Hufflepuff table cheered and clapped as Hannah made her way towards the Hufflepuff table.
Susan Bones, Terry Boot, Mandy Brocklehurst, Lavender Brown, Millicent Bulstrode, Finch-Fletchley and Seamus Finnigan were next before the bushy-haired girl was called.
"Granger, Hermione!" McGonagall called and the annoying girl walked forwards.
"I swear, if that girl gets sorted in Slytherin, I will willingly kill myself," Annora heard Devany mutter to her brother.
"GRYFFINDOR!" The hat roared and Devany let out a sigh of relief.
Devany was called next and she walked with full confidence to the stool. When the Sorting Hat was placed upon her head it took a shorter than usual time to decide in which House she belonged.
"SLYTHERIN!" The hat roared and the Slytherin table burst out with cheering. Devany smirked towards Draco, Gryph and Annora before quickly walking towards the Slytherin table.
Soon after Devany was seated and the noise was calmed down, Gryphon was called. This took a longer time than Devany but he, too, was put in Slytherin. With a sigh of relief, Gryphon walked towards his sister and sat down as well.
Neville Longbottom and Morag MacDougal were next before Draco was called. The hat had touched his head for a maximum of two seconds before it called out, "SLYTHERIN!" as well.
There weren't many people left and Annora was starting to grow impatient. Moon, Nott, Parkinson, Patil, Patil, Perks and then Potter, Harry was called.
Annora got quick eye contact with the black-haired boy and smiled encouragingly at him, in which he returned with a small smile of his own.
It took the hat a very long time to decide where Harry belonged to and Annora was slowly thinking that he wouldn't get sorted at all. Just as she started to search eye contact with her friends, the hat roared, "GRYFFINDOR!" and Harry happily joined the Gryffindor Table, leaving Annora disappointed as it would be a lot more difficult to befriend him now.
And then finally…
"Riddle, Annora!"
Annora noticed Dumbledore's movements stiffening and his smile fading away from his face. She smirked in herself at how her last name had influenced the poor excuse of a Headmaster. She confidently walked towards the stool and sat down, McGonagall looking at her with a sort of uncertainty. She slowly moved the hat towards her head but before it could touch her it already roared, "SLYTHERIN!"
Annora smirked at the Professor holding the hat and walked towards her friends. She couldn't wait for this school year to begin.
XXX
A/N:
I have noticed a couple of errors in the previous chapters, I'm sorry and I hope you can overlook them also with future chapters! I'm focusing more on the making of more chapters, than perfecting one of them. I hope that's okay. Please review.