Disclaimer: There are some parts in this story that were copied from JK Rowling's seven Harry Potter books. This is a fanfiction that follows the same story-arch as her books, just adds and changes a couple characters and tells the story from their POV.

Btw, the reviews are a bit messed up because I decided to combine a lot of chapters together after I posted them. So if you see someone saying 'Chapter 37 was amazing!' when there are only 7 chapters, just smile, nod, and go with it :) Also, please review! It's encouraging!

~ first year: a shadow of her soul ~

She was running down the streets, trying to escape the horrible voice that constantly whispered behind her head, trying to wrest control from her. She flew over the dirty cobblestones, ignoring the pain as stones bit into her tiny feet.

'No, no, no. I won't listen to you!' Shadow cried, clamping two hands over her ears.

Her black hair was stringy and unwashed, her dirt-smeared nightgown equally filthy. She ran, her back bent at the terrible pain in her head.

'Go away!' yelled Shadow.

Suddenly, she slammed into someone, causing her to bounce off and land on her butt in front of them. Shadow looked up to see a kindly woman bend over her, reaching a hand out to help her up.

'Are you okay, dear? Where are your parents?'

'Kill,' the voice hissed in her head. 'Kill her!'

'No!' Shadow screamed as she felt her gut wrench painfully.

The woman stiffened, then clutched at her throat as if she couldn't breath. She spasmed, tipping to the ground with her mouth opening and closing, gasping for air that wouldn't come, her eyes stretched wide.

'Stop! Stop!' Shadow scrambled over to the woman. 'Let her go!'

'It's not me that's killing her,' the voice told her in cold amusement. 'You're the one killing her.'

'No. No! Stop! Stop it!'

Shadow collapsed to the ground, shuddering with sobs. Beside her, the woman was already deathly still, her hands till clenched around her throat, her staring eyes wide and accusing.

A cold laugh sounded from all around them. It sounded very pleased.

'My little murderer.'

Shadow woke to a loud bang that reminded her of cannon-fire.

'Get up, squirt!' A shrill voice ripped through the air. 'There are important visitors at the door, and none of them will pick you if you come down with your hair like that!' Someone ripped open the curtains. Light pierced Shadow's eyes like daggers.

She sat up with a gasp, clutching at the blankets, the dead woman's eyes still swimming in front of her. Her heart threw itself against her ribcage, and she reached a hand up to feel that back of her head, almost expecting to find the horrible face with the horrible voice. But only soft hair met her fingertips.

It's been gone for three years, she reminded herself, though her heart still cowered in her chest.

'Off!' Mrs. Gasket tore the blankets off Shadow, her face merciless, completely disregarding the vestiges of haunted terror on the girl's face. 'I want to see your rump seated in one of the kitchen chairs in five minutes - clean and presentable!' She marched out of the room.

Shadow groaned and rolled out of bed. Sometimes, she was glad for Mrs. Gasket; the woman didn't allow any time to dwell on dreams and memories. Shoving the remnants of the cold, high laugh out of her head, she dashed to the bathroom, which was crowded with orphans trying to make their rumps clean and presentable.

She elbowed her way through the throng of bodies until she had an opening at the sinks. The sudden sight of herself in the mirror made her start. The girl that stared back looked whole, healthy. Green eyes and messy black hair. She still looked alive.

Murderer.

She splashed her face violently with ice-cold water. Of course I'm fine, she thought irritably at herself, I'm not dead yet, am I?

When she finally threw herself in the nearest kitchen chair, Mrs. Gasket was already there, setting out some of the more fancy cutlery so the guests would be more impressed. She slanted a grudging look at Shadow that informed her she had been on time.

'There is fresh bread in the oven. Put it on the table. Now where are those pesky twins?'

Shadow blinked before turning to the kitchen. Fresh bread? The guests must be really important. Already, she could hear the other orphans scrambling around as they rushed to tidy the place up.

The bread teased at her olfactory glands and mocked her morals as she carried it back out to the table. The other orphans had all arrived and seated themselves. She hurriedly placed the bread down and took a seat, kicking away the hands that immediately snaked out to yank the chair from underneath her.

Before Shadow could give her neighbors her daily glare, a tall man in a dark cloak swept in. He had a thin, sallow face that was framed by a curtain of black hair. His eyes were cold, dark, and expressionless as he glanced at the table of kids.

Behind him, a blond woman entered. She had blue eyes that were slightly less frosty than her companion, though she surveyed the orphanage with disdain and a wrinkled nose.

'Children, I would like you to meet Mr. Snape and Mrs. Malfoy,' said Mrs. Gasket, her harsh, commanding voice mutating into a sickly-sweet tone. Several of the orphans coughed hastily into their hands.

Snape's gaze sliced through all the children before turning back to the matron. 'I am only looking for a specific child. She came to this orphanage four years ago, brought by a professor called Albus Dumbledore. I believe her name is… Dawn Potter?'

Shadow stiffened. Beside her, all the orphans exchanged confused looks. No one called her by her real name anymore. Everyone called her Shadow, because she never spoke, really, she was just there. Like a shadow.

She rather liked her new name.

Mrs. Gasket turned to look at Shadow, her eyes narrowed. 'Yes, we do have a Dawn Potter here.'

Everyone turned to follow her gaze. Shadow steeled her spine and stood up. 'Call me Shadow please, Mr. Snape.'

Something flickered in the depths of those black eyes when they met hers, but they turned flat and unreadable before she could discern what it was. 'Yes, that's her. Shadow, follow Narcissa while I settle the paperwork.'

More muttering arose from the other orphans. Shadow snatched a piece of bread and followed the blond woman out. No visitor had ever taken so little time to pick a child to adopt.

Outside the orphanage, another man was waiting. He had long blond hair, his gloved hands curled around a menacing-looking staff with a silver snake head. He strode over to them, pinning Shadow with unreadable gray eyes.

'You found her.'

Narcissa nodded. 'No doubt this time, she looks like a Potter.'

'So she does.' The blond man curled a lip.

She looks like a Potter? Shadow looked at the two adults. They dressed so strangely and talked so ominously. Did they know her parents?

Before the conversation could steer into more illuminating areas, Snape swept out. Shadow was taken aback. Paperwork didn't take fifteen seconds to complete.

'We're done here.' Snape didn't even look at Shadow. 'I will take her from here.'

Mrs. Malfoy's gaze narrowed. 'Why not have her live with us? Draco will be in her year after all.'

Snape didn't even bat an eye. 'Dumbledore believes I work for him now and he wants to see her.'

The woman scoffed. 'So she will live at your house? If you can even call it a house.'

Snape eyed her coolly. 'We can decide that later, after I take her to Dumbledore.'

Mr. Malfoy turned. 'I don't even understand why we are doing this. The Dark Lord hasn't appeared in over ten years, why can't we just leave her here? Besides, the Dark Lord ordered us to kill her, not adopt her.'

Kill?

Shadow stared at the man, feeling her heartbeat begin to rise. Were they going to kill her? Did they know about the voice?

'Do not underestimate the Dark Lord,' Snape said, not noticing the sudden terror in the girl's eyes. 'He may return yet, and I think he would find it rather useful to have this bargaining chip in his possession.'

He then turned to Shadow, putting his back firmly to the other man. 'Come, Shadow. I will take you to a safe place.' He offered her an arm.

Safe?

Snape seemed to be avoiding her eyes, merely looking at her general direction. Even as she stared, Snape shifted uneasily under her gaze, until he finally frowned at her with a more commanding expression.

'Are you going to kill me?' The words cowered in her mouth, timid and small.

Shock crossed the dark-haired man's face. He threw the Mr. Malfoy a look of irritation before looking down at the child, though it seemed to pain him to do so.

'No, Dawn,' he said, with surprising gentleness. 'I am going to take you to a school.'

'A school?' she repeated, bewildered.

He held out his hand again. 'Come.'

Shadow hesitated, glancing back at the orphanage. Then she looked back at the dark-haired man, who stood waiting for her.

Obediently, she gripped his arm.

A second later the world twisted and Shadow almost lost her grip on his arm. Snape clamped his other hand harder over her small ones and everything disappeared.

When she finally felt solid ground beneath her again, Shadow opened her eyes. They were in a completely different place.

'What just happened?' she demanded, her green eyes huge. Then she gawked, staring at the orchestra of unfamiliar colors and sounds. 'Where are we?'

Words shimmered into view on top of a huge, sweeping archway of cobblestone. Diagon Alley.

Shape glanced at the eleven-year-old, then away. 'Welcome to the wizarding world, Dawn Potter.'

S

Albus Dumbledore was a strange man.

Everything from his pointed hat, snowy beard, to midnight robes made Shadow confused as to whether she should be groveling at his feet or asking him for her long-overdue Christmas present.

Even now, in an overcrowded and overly warm coffee shop, he managed to look calm and serene, drastically contrasting with Snape's hunched, uncomfortable profile beside him. Though everyone else in this bizarre world - bizarre wizarding world, according to Dumbledore - had the same outlandish fashion sense, Dumbledore still made heads turn. Several people had already stopped at their table to fervently shake his hand, and Shadow could feel more eyes on them as they talked.

Still, she had an inexplicable feeling of safety around this queer man. Though she did not remember much, she'd met him before. He'd apparently been the one who'd found her on the streets of Albania, freezing, half-mad, but free from that dreaded voice that had plagued her for years.

And he knew. He knew about the voice.

'His name is Lord Voldemort,' Dumbledore said, his electric-blue eyes not letting her seek refuge anywhere. 'He was once a very powerful wizard, but now he has been reduced to a weak, vengeful spirit. It was he who tried to possess you when you were younger.'

Shadow skittered under his clear, unmoving gaze. Possessed. Was that what had happened to her? Her eyes flitted to the table, to the window, then down to her hands, which felt cold even in the lazy warmth of the afternoon. She felt dirty, contaminated. Possessed.

What about the woman? The thought stained her mind.

Despair welled up inside Shadow. It had been her. It had been her. She'd killed the woman. She didn't know how, but she knew the power had come from her. The voice had said so.

'Dawn,' Dumbledore said, 'Tell me what happened.'

Shadow shook her head jerkily, still staring at her hands. She couldn't tell him. She couldn't tell anyone. They'd kill her. They'd imprison her.

Possessed.

'We should go to a more private place,' Snape said abruptly. She glanced up. He was looking at Dumbledore. 'Let's take her somewhere quieter. There are too many people here.'

Dumbledore considered this, sweeping his piercing gaze around the cafe. Several pairs of eyes hastily looked away.

'Excellent suggestion, Severus,' he said. 'Perhaps we could go to your humble abode?'

Snape's expression puckered, but he did not refuse. 'Very well.'

He took Shadow by the arm and the world disappeared again.

When the ground inserted itself beneath her feet again, they were seated in a dark room, filled to the brim with books. Shadow looked around, eyes wide.

'I'll get us some drinks,' Snape said, standing up from the fading couch. His departure snapped Shadow's attention back to Dumbledore, who sat opposite her in an armchair, studying her over his half-moon spectacles.

The wizard then sat up and pulled something out of his robes. It was a photograph. He slid the image across the table towards Shadow, who hesitantly took it.

'Those are your parents, Dawn. Lord Voldemort killed them when you were one.'

She stared down at the picture. There was a couple, who laughed and moved, embracing each other even as the snow fell around them. Even as she watched, the woman with a tumble of red hair turned and winked at her. She inhaled sharply. She had Shadow's green eyes.

The wind tousled the man's black hair. He had a kind face, and his eyes twinkled with mischief.

'Parents.' The word tasted strange, foreign. She'd never had parents before.

'Yes,' Dumbledore said, still watching her. 'You also have a twin brother. His name is Harry Potter.'

She looked up. A brother?

'He is well known in the wizarding world,' Dumbledore continued, 'because he ended Voldemort's reign of terror. Voldemort had been terrorizing the country with a band of followers known as the Death Eaters. He believed in purifying the wizarding race of muggle blood, and he'd killed countless people because of it. The night he tried to kill your family, however, the killing curse he cast on Harry rebounded onto him. I do not fully understand why it did, though I have an inkling. Since then, the wizarding world has been recovering from Voldemort's time.'

Dumbledore leaned forward. 'You must understand this, Dawn. Lord Voldemort hoodwinked many great and powerful wizards. He controlled their minds, influenced their decisions. Anything you may have done under his influence is not your fault.'

Snape walked in, holding two glasses of water. He placed them on the table and retreated into the sofa, beady eyes watchful.

Shadow suddenly felt very tired. The memory of the woman's open, lifeless eyes fought to be told. She'd kept it hidden for so long.

'You won't… punish me?' she asked carefully.

'No, Dawn,' Dumbledore said gently, 'we won't punish you.'

Shadow looked down at the moving picture in her hands. Family. She had a brother alive somewhere. Would they take her to him if she told them what had happened?

'The woman,' she whispered, her throat strained, 'she's dead.'

'Who was the woman?' asked Dumbledore.

'I don't know.' She swallowed a mouthful of anguish. 'I don't know. I just ran into her and the voice… the voice…'

She looked up at Dumbledore in despair. 'It told me to kill her… and… I did.'

Everything seemed to stop breathing.

There was a flash of shock, outrage, and horror on Snape's face. Dumbledore's expression didn't change, though he sat back in his chair.

'It wasn't your fault, Dawn.'

'It was!' The two words ripped out from her very soul. 'I killed her! I killed her!'

'Voldemort made you kill her,' said Dumbledore, 'It was not you. Perhaps it was your own power that exploded out, but he was the one that triggered it. You were only eight. At that age, your magic is uncontrollable. It was not your fault,' he repeated.

Shadow stared at the wizard in front of her. She wanted so badly for his words to be true.

'I still see her in my dreams,' she whispered.

'You are not a murderer, Dawn. Lord Voldemort is. Do not blame yourself for the woman's death.' Dumbledore stood up and began pacing. 'Or anything you did during that time. When exactly did it all start?'

'I… don't know.' Shadow hesitated. 'I lived with the other street children for as long as I remember. ThenI went into the forest one day because it had been a year with especially little food and we were all hungry… so I went to try and find some berries or anything, and then it suddenly felt so cold and my head started hurting…'

She looked back down at the picture of her parents. 'I think I lost consciousness for some days, and when I woke again, the voice was in my head.'

'How old were you?'

She frowned. 'Six? Seven? I don't know how old I am.'

'Your birthday is on July 31.' Snape spoke up for the first time, his dark eyes unreadable. 'You just turned eleven a couple weeks ago.'

She looked at him blankly. 'Oh.'

Dumbledore continued pacing. Both Snape and Shadow watched him as he swirled in his own thoughts.

Then, 'Professor Dumbledore, why was I in Albania if my family was here in London?'

He looked over at her for a moment, then at Snape. Snape shifted uncomfortably then sighed. 'You were captured by the Dark Lord because he wanted to force your parents out of hiding,' said Snape. 'But then one of your parents' friends betrayed their location, and he had no need for you anymore. It was sheer luck that you were in a Death Eater Albanian stronghold when the Dark Lord received news of your parents location, because he was in London and he didn't have time to kill you before he moved onto your parents. He'd planned to do that after he returned. But he never did, and when news of his demise spread…' He looked at Shadow, then away. 'You were abandoned.'

'We tried looking for you in the weeks that followed the end of Voldemort,' said Dumbledore. 'But you were already gone, taken, I suspect, by the street children of Albania.'

'Why did you put me in an orphanage when you found me?'

Dumbledore stopped pacing. 'The wizarding world believes you are dead, Dawn. I wanted to keep it that way, because there are still many of Voldemort's followers alive in the world today.;

His words made Shadow look at Snape. There are still many of Voldemort's followers alive in the world today. She still remembered every word of Snape's conversation with the Malfoys. Were they his followers? Did Dumbledore know?

'Thus, I hid you away in somewhere no one would have thought to looked,' Dumbledore continued. 'Now, however, you are old enough to start learning how to fend for yourself.'

Shadow frowned. 'What do you mean?'

For the second time that day Dumbledore pulled something out from his robes. It was a letter.

'Congratulations,' he said, blue eyes twinkling. 'You've been accepted into the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.'

S

Shadow eyed space between Platform 9 and Platform 10 with apprehension. Though both Snape and Narcissa had explained to her how the secret platform worked, she was having trouble working up the courage to run into a very solid-looking wall.

Beside her, Draco Malfoy was also looking rather dubiously at the wall. He had white-blond hair that framed pale, angular features - making him look very much like his father. His eyes were frozen silver, with which he had regarded Shadow with curiosity, uneasiness, and blankness for much of the week she had stayed in his house.

She got the feeling that he had no idea what to do with a girl, but she didn't mind. As long as he didn't bother her, she wouldn't bother him.

Dumbledore had told Snape to look after Shadow for the remainder of summer - much to both of their chagrin. She still hadn't figured that man out. At times, he seemed to hate her with a burning passion - almost to the point of fear. Other times, he'd seem inexplicably softened towards her, almost like he wanted to see her smile.

When he had taken her shopping at Diagon Alley for her school supplies, he had surprised her by buying her ice cream.

'Your mother liked this flavor,' Snape had said curtly, then left her standing alone with a mint chocolate cone.

He had also helped her catch the black hawk that hadn't stopped circling his house since her arrival; the hawk that was now nestled contently in the cage in front of her.

'What should I name her?' Shadow had asked him.

Snape had looked into her bright, eager eyes with an inexplicable expression of pain.

'Nightshade,' he had said abruptly before walking off. The speed of his exit made him seem like he had been running.

It was only later that she discovered her mother's cat had been named Solanaceae, the plant of nightshade berries.

And so Shadow named her hawk Nightshade.

Then she temporarily moved into the Malfoy Manor when Snape had to leave early to prepare for his teaching at Hogwarts. Once again, it had been on Dumbledore's orders.

'Are you sure about this, Dumbledore?' Shadow had overheard Snape ask when the headmaster had decided where to put Shadow for the last week of the holidays. 'They may not be a good influence on her.'

'Yes, I am sure,' Dumbledore had said. 'We must keep up your appearances with the old Death Eaters. Besides, perhaps a friendship between Draco Malfoy and Dawn Potter would be an interesting change of history. As for Lucius, though Dawn Potter may seem unusually cryptic and hidden for her age, I believe she has a strong ability to discern which people are using her, and which people actually care for her.'

'She is only eleven! She's too quiet, too hard to read. Sometimes I hear her at night, screaming. Have you thought about what it means, the fact that she hosted the Dark Lord's soul for over a year without dying of excruciating pain? Have you thought about the state of her soul?'

A deep sigh had emanated from where Dumbledore had sat. 'I have, Severus,' he'd said, voice troubled. 'I have thought long and hard of it. Life has not been treating Dawn Potter with any particular kindness so far, and it shows in her mentality. For years, she's only been able to focus on survival. I know not of the street children of Albania, but I do not think she has experienced much kindness. Perhaps it is, thus, only normal she was able to host Lord Voldemort's soul. But I do not believe she is incapable of love. We must believe she can. Perhaps, when she meets Harry Potter, her soul will grow warm again.' Deep-blue robes had rustled as Dumbledore made to stand up. 'Watch over her, Severus. She needs your help.'

'Come, Draco. I will cross with you for this first time.' Lucius's voice shook Shadow out of her ricocheting thoughts. 'It's better done from a running-start.'

Shadow watched intently as Draco and Lucius ran towards the platform together. Before they reached it, however, Nightshade let out a piercing screech and flapped at something behind them. Distracted, Shadow tried to shush the hawk before she attracted too much attention.

When she looked back at the barrier, Draco and Lucius were gone.

'Let's go, Shadow.' Narcissa said to her with a much gentler tone Lucius had used on his son. 'It's safe, I assure you.'

Before Shadow could think of how to respond, Narcissa focused on something behind her, her lips curling in disgust. Shadow turned to see a large group of red-heads, all of them pushing trolleys with trunks and owls.

Ah, those owls must've been the source of Nightshade's ruffled feathers.

'Weasleys.' Narcissa muttered under her breath. 'We should go before they get here.'

Shadow pushed her trolley towards the platform barrier, but not before she spotted a black-haired boy approaching the Weasleys with a trolley of his own. She did a double-take. The boy had the exact same green, almond-shaped eyes as herself.

Before Shadow could get a closer look, she passed through the barrier and onto Platform Nine and Three-Quarters.

A scarlet steam engine let out a loud, shrill wail. She was surrounded by a crowd of chattering people, hooting owls, and cats of every color. Sounds, smells, and tastes hit her from every corner, and her mouth dropped open.

'Bloody dead, deranged ancestors,' Shadow breathed, thoughts of the other green-eyed boy promptly forgotten.

Narcissa shot her a disapproving look. 'Mind your language, Shadow.'

They picked their way through the crowd to where Lucius was watching Draco attempt to heave his heavy trunk onto the train with his arms crossed.

'Lucius,' Narcissa admonished, 'Help the boy.'

'He should start building strength and determination at an early stage.'

'It's okay, mother,' Draco huffed when Narcissa opened her mouth to retort. 'I've got this.'

He hefted the trunk, teeth clenched, and staggered over to the open train door. With a vicious lunge and shove, he finally got the trunk on board.

'See?' Draco smirked in satisfaction over his shoulder. 'Told you I could do it.'

'So can I.' Shadow hauled her trunk into her arms and almost dropped it.

Merlin's beard, it was heavy.

Shadow ordered her arms to keep working as she lurched towards Draco. She righted herself, arms shuddering with effort, and tottered up the last few steps to drop her trunk beside his.

'See?' Shadow crossed her arms and gave the blond boy a smug smile.

Draco look of surprise changed promptly to a look of calculation, though it was somewhat softened by amusement. 'Your trunk was lighter,' he accused.

'Was not.'

'Was to.' He bent to pick up her trunk to prove it.

Suddenly a whistle sounded, startling Draco enough that he dropped her trunk.

'Oops,' Shadow offered him an innocent smile. 'Guess it wasn't really light after all.'

'Behave, children.' Lucius couldn't quite hide the smile on his face.

A second whistle sounded, and Shadow's heart lurched. This was it. She was really going to school. She was really going to learn magic.

'Send us lots of owls!' Narcissa said as the train started moving. 'I want one from you as well, Shadow!'

Shadow and Draco waved at the blond couple as the train picked up speed. When they disappeared around the corner, Shadow lifted one end of her trunk and started dragging it down the hall. 'Let's find a compartment.'

Draco cleared his throat. 'I told my friends I'd meet them on the train.'

'Oh.' Shadow faltered, then picked up her smile again. 'Well, see you at Hogwarts then.'

'Yeah. See you.'

Shadow lugged her trunk down the train, searching for an empty compartment. She finally found one near the end of the train.

'... Percy got an owl from my dad for being made a Prefect, but they couldn't aff-I mean, I got Scabbers instead,' someone was saying inside the compartment.

Shadow pushed the door open.

'Hi, I'm sorry for interrupting but there wasn't any room left and-' Shadow stopped abruptly.

The dark-haired boy with the green eyes was sitting across from a lanky redheaded boy. When he turned to look at her, Shadow saw the same recognition flash in his eyes.

'You're Harry Potter,' Shadow managed to say after a moment of silence.

'I, uhm, yes.' Harry flattened the fringes of his hair over his forehead nervously, before he realized what he was doing. 'And you are?'

Shadow hesitated. 'Call me Shadow,' she said, after a moment. She pushed her trunk in and settled herself beside Harry, though she was careful to put a good length between them.

'I'm Ron,' the redhead spoke up.

'You're a Weasley.' Shadow hadn't meant to sound so accusing.

'Yeah,' Ron said rather defensively. 'What's that got to do with anything?'

'Oh, I uhm... saw you at the train station earlier.'

'Oh.' Ron relaxed.

'So… where are you from, Shadow?' asked Harry.

'London,' she said shortly.

'Are you muggle born?' he persisted.

'Yes,' Shadow invented wildly. 'No. I don't know.'

'You don't know?'

Shadow scrambled for what to say next. The truth? He didn't know she was his sister. As far as she knew, Harry Potter thought his sister had died.

'I'm from… an orphanage,' she coughed out.

'So you don't know who your parents are?' Ron asked, flabbergasted.

'I… I know who they are. Just… I don't know them personally, you know? Just names.'

Harry leaned closer. 'What're their names?'

Shadow cringed. 'I… uh….' What was she supposed to say? Oh yeah, I think I'm your long-dead sister. Nice to meet you.

Without warning, the door to their compartment slid open, making all three of them jump in surprised. When a bushy-haired girl poked her head in, towing along a timid-looking boy behind her, Shadow felt like jumping up and hugging them for providing such a timely distraction.

'Hello, have you seen Neville's toad?' the girl asked, a little pompously.

Shadow scrambled to her feet. 'No, but I'll help you find him! I just need to, er, use the loo first.' Without waiting for the other girl to respond, she pushed out of the compartment and raced for the bathroom, leaving behind a sea of nonplussed expressions.

Hopefully, that toad was very, truly, impeccably lost.

S

Shadow was straightening her Hogwart's robes when she heard a horrible yell sound from Harry's compartment.

She sprang to her feet and yanked open the compartment doors she had closed to give the boys privacy to change. Just in time, a furry gray lump sailed through the open doorway and would have hit her in the face had she not jerked back in time to catch it.

It was Scabbers.

'What are you-' Shadow ogled at the scene in front of her. Ron and Harry were both being pummeled by two rather beefy kids while Draco Malfoy stood in the corner, smirking.

'Hey! Stop it!' Shadow ran over to where Harry was dodging a punch. She tried to wrench the boy away from her brother and nearly got punched herself.

Years of scuffles on the streets made her react fast. 'You-' Shadow slammed her fist into the side of the boy's head and he flew across the room, crashing against the seats.

Everyone froze and turned to stare at her.

Unperturbed, she turned to glower at Draco. 'So are these your friends?'

He opened and closed his mouth several times before spluttering. 'What are you doing here?'

Shadow glared at him. 'This was the only compartment left with empty seats. Besides, I should be the one asking you that question, thank you very much.'

She glanced around at the boys' stupefied expressions. It was only then that she realized she may have done something wrong. 'What?' she said, apprehensively.

Draco looked from her to Harry, then to his friends - who both looked a bit dazed. 'Let's go,' he muttered.

When the compartment door finally slid shut, Shadow shoved Scabbers back at Ron. 'Can't a girl leave guys alone for more than a few minutes before they get into brawls?'

Ron and Harry merely gawped at her.

The compartment door opened again.

Shadow whirled around. 'Malfoy, I swear I'll - ' She blinked at the bushy-haired girl that stood at the entrance. It was the girl who had stopped by earlier to watch Ron attempt a spell. 'Oh, hello Hermione.'

Hermione stared around at the scattered sweets. 'What has been going on?'

'Shadow just threw a bloke twice her height at the wall.' Ron's voice was awed.

'What?'

Shadow faltered. Of course. These kids were normal. They'd never been in a street fight before, never had to pummel and punch as if their life depended on it. 'I'm not that short,' she blurted the first thing that came to mind. 'He was only a couple inches taller.'

Hermione opened her mouth in shock, but before she could say anything Harry cut in. 'You've met Malfoy before?'

'What? Oh yeah. I, uh, lived at his place over the summer.'

'You what?'

'I've heard of his family,' said Ron darkly. 'They were some of the first to come back to our side after You-Know-Who disappeared. Said they'd been bewitched. My dad doesn't believe it. He says Malfoy's father didn't need an excuse to go over to the dark side.'

Harry looked at Shadow. 'You should stay away from him.'

She bristled. 'I'll do as I please, thanks.'

'Can I help you with something?' Ron asked Hermione, who still had her mouth open.

She snapped it shut. 'You've been fighting? You'll be in trouble before we even get there!'

'It wasn't our fault, we were just defending ourselves,' said Ron, scowling at her.

Hermione opened her mouth furiously to retort. Shadow was about roll her eyes when she saw her brother studying her intently, his mouth half-open to say something.

'Oh, I think I saw Trevor!' Shadow lied fervently before escaping the compartment again.

That frog was quickly becoming her best friend.

S

The Great Hall was magnificent.

There was no other word to describe it. Thousands of floating candles hovered over the four long tables filled with students. The ceiling was a velvety black, sprinkled with twinkling stars. According to Hermione, it had been enchanted to look like the sky outside.

It made Shadow want to run outside and lie in the grass so that she could stare at the sky all night.

'Potter, Harry!'

Shadow jerked herself back to attention. Harry was stepping forward to try on the Sorting Hat. All around him, students were hissing and craning their heads to try and get a good look at him. The famous Boy Who Lived. Potter.

Her heart pounded. She would be called next, only because she begged Dumbledore not to be called before her brother. After all, he didn't even know his sister was alive.

'GRYFFINDOR!' The hat shrieked.

The red-decked table erupted into cheers, the Weasley twins yelling, 'We got Potter! We got Potter!' Even people from other tables clapped, their eyes following Harry with something akin to awe.

Shadow swallowed as she dragged her gaze to the head table. Dumbledore sat there, along with Snape and all the other professors. The headmaster gave her a reassuring nod.

Professor McGonagall cleared her throat to get the hall to be silent. Shadow wished she hadn't.

'Potter, Dawn!'

If it were possible, the silence was even more deafening than the cheers. Beside Ron, Harry had started and twisted in his seat to stare at the McGonagall as if he couldn't believe what he had heard.

Shadow grit her teeth and strode forward, looking at nothing but the ragged piece of cloth that sat on the stool. She took the ancient hat and gingerly put it over her head, glad that it slipped over her eyes.

'Why hello, Dawn Potter, so glad to know you're still alive,' the hat said snidely into her ear. She almost snorted.

'Rather interesting, your head. I think we can eliminate Hufflepuff though, you don't hold much value for generosity and kindness.' The hat paused. 'You're even more difficult to place than your brother, you know? You have plenty of courage and an excellent mind, but... I think I'll put you in SLYTHERIN!'

Shadow pulled off the hat in relief, barely noticing the cheers and stares she was getting as she walked to the Slytherin table. She glanced at the Gryffindor table to find both Harry and Ron staring at her, disbelief clear in their gazes.

She looked away and sat down beside the nearest Slytherin without looking at them, hunching low under all the stares. On the streets, attention meant certain death. Her heart pounded loudly in her ears.

When the sorting finally finished, Dumbledore stood up, his arms held wide and a large smile on his face. 'Welcome! Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts! Before we begin our banquet, I would like to say a few words. And here they are: Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak! Thank you!'

Despite her tension, Shadow couldn't help smiling at the headmaster's oddness.

'You never told me you were Potter's sister,' said a cool voice from beside her.

Shadow turned in surprise to find Draco sitting next to her.

'I thought you knew,' she replied, a little uncertainly.

'They only told me they were letting you stay over as a favor for Professor Snape.' Draco's silver eyes darkened to stormy gray. 'I guess my parents didn't consider it important enough to share with me.'

Shadow studied him. 'If it makes you feel any better, I didn't even tell Harry.'

Both of them turned to look at the Gryffindor table. The Gryffindor ghost was talking animatedly to Harry and Ron, but Harry was only nodding robotically and poking at his potatoes. He glanced up to lock gazes with Shadow.

She looked away hastily. Brother, brother brother. The word thrummed over and over in her head. What was a brother? She wasn't ready to have a brother.

'He's coming over,' said Draco suddenly.

Shadow looked up in dismay to see Harry walking towards the Slytherin table. Half the heads in the hall followed him, including all the teachers at the head table.

She wanted to run. She wasn't ready for this. She didn't know how to be a sister. What does one say to a brother you've never before?

'Hello Dawn,' said Harry once he stood in front of her.

'Hi Harry,' she said mutedly.

He offered her a hand. 'I'm your brother.'

The bizarreness of the whole situation would've made her laugh, if the entire hall wasn't straining its ears to listen to the first meeting between the Potter siblings.

She took his hand and shook it. 'I know,' she said, a little strangled.

Beside her, Draco coughed into his napkin.

Harry looked at him, startled, and seemed to realize for the first time that everyone had fallen silent. He looked around, self-consciously, before lowering his voice into a whisper. 'I thought you were dead.'

At this, a snort escaped Shadow before she could reign it in. Harry sounded so confused. This conversation was messed up on every level. She buried her face in her hands, trying to compose herself before looking back up at her twin brother.

'Truth be told, Harry, I didn't know I had a brother until a couple weeks ago.'

'Why didn't you tell me your real name on the train?'

'Shadow's just… the nickname I've gotten used to it.'

He blinked. 'Where've you been for the past eleven years?'

The question hung in the air, loud and clear. With every passing second, she could feel the added weight to it, as everyone else in the room thought the same thing.

'I…' Shadow looked at Dumbledore, who was watching from the head table. 'I was in an orphanage. Then Professor Dumbledore found me.'

At this, everyone turned to look at Dumbledore, who smiled and waved.

Harry lowered his voice even more, until only Shadow could hear him. 'Hagrid told me you disappeared even before Voldemort came. He said everyone was busy looking for you when he came to..." He didn't seem to be able to continue.

'I don't know what happened to me,' Shadow lied.

'Do you -'

'Harry,' Shadow hissed. 'Can we continue this conversation another time?'

Her brother looked up and flushed red when he realized just how many people were staring at him. 'Sorry,' he muttered. 'I… it was nice to meet you, Dawn.' He cast one final glance at her before slinking away back to the Gryffindor table.

Shadow turned back to find the entire Slytherin table staring at her. She felt all the blood rush to her face. Her heart began pounding.

'Was that really the first time you met your brother?' One of them asked her.

'Yes.'

The boy glanced at his friend. 'I think we just witnessed history.'

S

'Potter, what would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?' Snape asked suddenly.

Shadow looked up, thinking he was asking her, but he was looking at Harry.

Her brother looked blankly back at the teacher. 'I don't know, sir.'

Beside Shadow, Draco and the other Slytherins sniggered.

'Tut, tut - fame clearly isn't everything.' Snape sneered. 'Let's try again. Potter, where would you look if I told you to find me a bezoar?'

Hermione Granger's hand shot up again from where she sat beside Harry. Snape ignored it.

'I don't know, sir.' Harry looked like he was forcing himself not to look at Draco and the Slytherins, who were shaking with laughter.

Shadow frowned.

'Thought you wouldn't open a book before coming, eh, Potter?' Snape curled a lip. 'What is the difference between monkshood and wolfsbane?'

This time, Shadow smacked Draco on the chest to stop him from laughing. She stared at Snape, who didn't look her way. Why was he doing this?

'I don't know,' Harry said quietly. 'I think Hermione does though, why don't you try her?'

A few people laughed. Shadow winced. If Harry was to do anything else to infuriate Snape, it was making people laugh. He seemed to hate the sound of laughter.

'Sit down,' Snape snapped at Hermione, who had gone as far as stand up with her arm in the air. 'For your information, Potter, asphodel and wormwood make a sleeping potion so powerful it is known as the Draught of Living Death. A bezoar is a stone taken from the stomach of a goat and it will save you from most poisons. As for monkshood and wolfsbane, they are the same plant, which also goes by the name of aconite. Well? Why aren't you all copying that down?'

Shadow, who was already writing, looked up when he added, 'And a point will be taken from Gryffindor house for your cheek, Potter.'

At the name Potter, she stood, ignoring Draco's sudden tugging at her sleeve to make her sit back down, a sudden wave of indignation sweeping through her. 'I don't think that was very fair, professor,' said Shadow loudly.

Everyone froze.

Snape turned slowly to her, his expression appropriate for one having eaten a lemon. 'What did you say?'

'I thought the point of a school was so that we would learn things. If we knew everything beforehand, it would completely defeat the point of Hogwarts. Why are you quizzing Harry things that are clearly something you should be teaching us instead? Besides, Harry was right. Hermione, who must have done some extensive reading, knew the answer. Why didn't you-'

'Enough!'

Snape's roar echoed around the dark dungeon.

'Two points from Slytherin,' Snape hissed as he stalked towards her. 'For Ms. Potter's insolence. Be thankful it's not more.'

This time, Shadow allowed Draco to drag her back down to her seat.

'What were you thinking?' Draco growled when Snape put them in a pair to mix a simple potion that cured boils.

'I wasn't,' Shadow muttered, feeling a glimmer of astonishment at herself. She'd never risked herself for anyone else before. She had never seen a point to it.

'Clearly,' he muttered. 'Don't stick up for Potter anymore. It'll cost us too many house points.'

Suddenly, clouds of acid green smoke and a loud hissing filled the dungeon. Neville Longbottom, the clumsy Gryffindor, had somehow managed to melt his cauldron, causing the potion to spill across the floor. Within seconds, everyone was standing on their stools while Neville, who had been drenched in the potion when the cauldron collapsed, moaned in pain as angry red boils sprang up all over his arms and legs.

'Idiot boy!' Snape snarled, clearing the potion away with one wave of his wand. 'I supposed you added the porcupine quills before taking the cauldron off the fire? Take him to the hospital wing,' he spat at Seamus.

Then he rounded on on Harry and Ron, who had been working next to Neville. 'You - Potter - why didn't you tell him not to add the quills? Thought he'd make you look good if he got it wrong didn't you? That's another point you've lost for Gryffindor.'

Shadow opened her mouth in dissent, but Draco clamped a hand over it.

'Don't you dare,' he hissed.

Anger colored her vision, and she bit down on his hand.

'OW!' Draco yelled, snatching his hand away so hard he hit their cauldron. It fell to the floor with a mighty crash.

'What is the meaning of this?' Snape demanded, sweeping towards them. 'Malfoy, I expected better from you!'

'She bit me, professor!' Draco said balefully, pointing at Shadow. Adrenaline pumped through her, and she bared her teeth at him.

'Ms. Potter,' Snape said, his voice filled with deep disapproval, and maybe even a hint of betrayal. 'Do not think that just because the headmaster personally invited you to Hogwarts that you can do whatever you want here. Do you want detention on the first day of school?'

Now that the moment of threat had passed, her brain was catching up again. She swallowed the horror that rose in her throat. What was she thinking? This wasn't the streets. She couldn't just bite someone and get away with it, though that had saved her life several times before. It had just been an instinctual action.

'I'm sorry, professor, I won't do it again,' she said sincerely.

'Good,' he said angrily, then looked at the rest of the class. 'Well, what are you waiting for? Clean up the mess!'

The class scurried into action. Draco glared at Shadow with loathing. 'Filth,' he hissed, before stalking away.

S

The next few months passed in a blur. Shadow soon discovered that magic came quite easily to her - at least she could keep up with most of Hermione's conversations. The only class that gave her any premonition was, surprisingly, Defense Against the Dark Arts. For some reason, whenever she went into the classroom, an old terror would knife through her, sending her mind to dark places. Perhaps all the talk of dark magic awoke painful memories.

Shadow spent most of her time alone, though Harry and Ron stayed with her whenever they could. Since the fiasco at potions, Draco seized every chance to mock her, shun her. He didn't stop Shadow from getting into arguments with Snape, which resulted in multiple detentions for her.

Though Shadow knew a few words would soothe his injured pride, she didn't apologize. His actions were costing her friends though. Slytherins avoided her or treated her the same way, just to avoid Malfoy's wrath. Now, Shadow pretty much only talked with people from the other houses. It caused the hissing of 'house-traitor' more than once.

Shadow told herself it didn't matter. She'd always been alone anyways.

Christmas came and went. Shadow drowned herself in her studies. It was hard for her. She'd never had any formal schooling, just some writing classes at the orphanage. So the library became her refuge, where she'd sit there and try to absorb as much information as she could. Sometimes Madam Pince, the librarian, would help her, taking pity on the tiny first year who struggled day and night to catch up with everything she didn't know. She sought anything and everything the library had to offer on spirits, the possessed, and souls.

Now you're old enough to learn to defend yourself, Dumbledore had said. So she threw herself into books, trying to find a way to stop her dreams.

Meanwhile, she knew Harry, Ron and Hermione - who had become great friends with them after the troll attack - were up to something. They were always discussing Nicolas Flamel, the Gringotts break-in, Snape, and the Philosopher's Stone, but Shadow didn't ask. She didn't want to know what she didn't need to know. She didn't want to think about anything else if she couldn't defend herself first.

Sometimes, Shadow still woke up in the middle of the night, her scream still in her throat, her eyes still staring into the dead woman's blank ones. There was one girl who was always there to comfort her when she woke. Her name was Daphne Greengrass, a girl from her year, and one of the few Slytherins who braved Malfoy's ire to talk to her. She never asked what Shadow's dreams were about though. She just offered to teach Shadow the silencing charm, so that she wouldn't wake the rest of the dormitory up every time she had a nightmare.

At breakfast sometime in late spring, Shadow was heading towards the library when she heard a familiar drawl.

'Wow, look at the Gryffindor hourglass! It's so low it'd be scraping my feet had there not been a bottom.'

Guffaws of laughter rippled around the hallway as more kids stopped to look at the hourglasses.

'You know what happened? Potter and his friends got caught sneaking on the Astronomy tower, trying to send off some dragon they'd been nursing.'

Ignore him, ignore him, ignore him, Shadow chanted in her head. She'd promised herself she wouldn't get into anymore fights this month. Not after she'd had to clean the toilets last detention.

Unfortunately, Draco spotted her and his eyes gleamed. 'Look who's here! Potter's sent his baby sister to defend him!'

Snorts of laughter sounded from the crowd.

Shadow glared at him. 'Can you please shut up for once, Malfoy? It's too early in the day.'

'Oh is it?' Draco sneered. 'Spent the night cleaning the slime in Snape's dungeon, did you?'

Shadow gave him a cold look. 'You're pathetic.'

She turned to push through the crowd of people that had gathered around them. It was only a flicker in the nearest person's eyes that gave her the split-second warning.

'Locomotor wibbly!'

Shadow threw herself out of the way and the spell flared by her ear, missing her. Barely.

She lifted her wand. 'Furnunculus!'

Draco ducked just in time, but Crabbe - who had been standing behind him - wasn't so lucky. Fur sprouted from his face and arms, causing him to howl in pain.

Before Draco could recover, Shadow was on her feet. 'Locomotor mortis!'

The spell hit Draco fully. He cursed and tripped as his feet froze together.

Before Draco could utter a retorting spell, his face flushed with anger, another voice reached them. 'What is this?'

Shadow groaned inwardly. Anyone would have been better than Professor McGonagall.

The students dispersed, leaving the livid teacher a full view of the three Slytherins; Draco on the floor, Shadow standing over him, and Crabbe, still covered in fur.

'How dare you! Dueling in the halls! Shadow, I thought you knew better than this!' McGonagall shrieked.

'He was insulting my brother,' said Shadow irritably.

'Still, there are more civil ways to deal with that. Goyle, help Crabbe to the hospital wing. Malfoy, Potter, you will join Harry and the others in their detention tonight at eleven o'clock.' She pointed a finger at each of them. 'Now get to class!'

At least I didn't lose house points, Shadow thought as she hurried off.

When she went down to the entrance hall that night, Harry, Hermione, Neville, and Draco were already there. Tension was thick in the air, as if an argument had just ended.

'Shadow! What are you doing here?' Harry exclaimed.

Draco gave Shadow a side-long snide look.

She snorted. 'Someone was yapping about missing Gryffindor rubies, so I told them they could stuff their-'

She broke off as loud, shuffling footsteps announced Filch's approach. Beside her, Harry and Neville grinned at her, while Draco flushed pink.

'Follow me,' said Filch, after a suspicious squint. He lit a lamp and lead them outside. 'I bet you'll think twice about breaking a school rule again, won't you, eh?' he leered. 'Oh yes... hard work and pain are the best teachers if you ask me... It's just a pity they let the old punishments die out...'

Shadow tuned him out, noticing the direction they were taking. She frowned. 'Doesn't this way lead to the Forbidden Forest?' Shadow interrupted Filch in the middle of his speech.

Filch halted and smiled at them nastily. 'That's right. And I'll be much mistaken if you all come out in one piece.'

At this, Neville let out a little moan and Malfoy stopped dead in his tracks.

'The Forest?' he repeated, and he didn't sound quite as cool as usual. 'We can't go in there at night - there's all sorts of things in there - werewolves, I heard.'

'That's your lookout, isn't it?' Filch's voice cracked with glee. 'Should've thought of them werewolves before you got in trouble, shouldn't you?'

Hagrid came striding towards them out of the dark, Fang at his heel. He was carrying his large crossbow and a quiver of arrows. 'Abou' time,' he said. 'I bin waitin' fer half an hour already.'

'I'll be back by dawn,' said Filch nastily, 'for what's left of them.' He turned and started back towards the castle, lamp bobbing away in the darkness.

Draco now turned to Hagrid.

'I'm not going int hat Forest.' Panic laced the edge of his voice.

'Yeh are if yeh want ter stay at Hogwarts,' Hagrid informed him. 'Yeh've done wrong an' now yeh've got ter pay fer it.'

'But this is servant stuff, it's not for students to do. I thought we'd be writing lines or something. If my father knew I was doing this, he'd-'

'Scared, Malfoy?' Shadow drawled.

'I'm not scared!' Draco rounded on her furiously. 'I'm just-'

'Save it for later.' Shadow patted him on an arm and then turned to Hagrid. She stifled a laugh at the outraged choking noises Draco made behind her.

Hagrid lead them towards the mass of dark, foreboding trees. 'Look there,' he said, 'see that silvery stuff shinin' on the ground? That's unicorn blood. There's a unicorn in there bin hurt badly by something. Second time this week - I found one dead last Wednesday. We're gonna try an' find the poor thing and help it.'

'And what if whatever hurt the unicorn finds us first?' Draco tried to sound nonchalant, but he fooled nobody.

'There's nothin' that lives in the Forest that'll hurt yeh if yer with me or Fang. Right, let's split into groups...'

Somehow, Shadow found herself in a group with Draco, Neville, and Fang. They searched the ground for silver traces in silence, Neville jumping at every noise and Draco trying not to twitch. Shadow forged ahead, unease building in the back of her head. She wondered if Draco's twitchiness was infectious.

'You know my father told me students died here before.'

Shadow turned, surprised by how far away Draco's voice was. Beside her, Fang whined and turned in a circle impatiently. She saw Draco stalk around Neville, the poor Gryffindor boy already so scared he looked like was going to wet himself. Then the blond head ducked into the bushes, out of sight.

Neville whirled around.

'Malfoy?' The round-faced boy stuttered out. 'Shadow?'

Knowing what was going to happen next, Shadow broke into a run, but Draco leapt out before she could stop him.

'Boo!'

'Aaahh!' Neville screamed and tripped backwards, red flares shooting from his wand.

Draco doubled over in laughter. 'And I thought Gryffindors were supposed to be brave!'

Shadow glowered at him as she skidded to a halt beside them. "You're despicable," she muttered as she helped Neville up.

Draco merely wiped tears of mirth from his eyes. 'Did you hear his scream? It sounded like a girl's!'

Just then, Hagrid came thundering over, crossbow at the ready.

'What happened?'

Draco collapsed into laughter again and Neville turned bright red. Hagrid looked from one boy to another, his face growing dark. 'This ain't ruddy funny!'

'We'll be lucky ter catch anythin' now, with the racket you three were making.' Hagrid growled when they reunited when Harry and Hermione. 'Right, we're changin' groups - Neville, you stay with me an' Hermione, Harry, you go with Fang, Shadow, an' this idiot.'

So Shadow set off into the heart of the Forest with Draco, Harry, and Fang. They walked for nearly half an hour, deeper and deeper into the Forest, until the path became almost impossible to follow because the trees were so dense.

'The blood is getting thicker,' Harry murmured beside her. He threw his arm out to bar her path, causing Draco to crash into her.

'Look.' Harry said, ignoring Draco's indignant huff.

Shadow peered around him, where something bright white was gleaming on the ground.

The unicorn was dead, its beautiful mane spread pearly white over the dark leaves and its legs stuck out in odd angles.

But Shadow wasn't looking at the unicorn.

Her head throbbed, as if long suppressed memories were trying to blast its way out. She felt an old fear rise up inside her, a fear she hadn't felt in a long time.

Harry stepped forward, but Shadow yanked him back.

Out of the darkness, a hooded figure glided into view. It slithered over to the unicorn and lowered its head over the wound in the animal's side. And began to drink its blood.

'AAARRRGH!' Draco yelled and bolted - so did Fang.

Shadow tried to pull Harry after them, all her senses screaming for her to run, but her brother suddenly crumpled, clutching his head and yelling in pain.

The hooded figure rose swiftly and lunged for them.

'Get back!' Shadow shrieked, stumbling at the black tide of fear that threatened to consume her. 'Incendio!'

Flames shot out of her wand, blinding the clearing. The hooded figure swooped backwards to avoid the fire and Shadow suddenly felt as if icy claws had dug themselves into her brain.

'We meet again, Shadow...' A terribly familiar voice hissed in her head. 'And this time, you won't be able to surprise me...'

Shadow screamed, and the world went black.

S

'If she sleeps any longer, she'll miss the exams.'

'Quiet, Ron.'

'I wish I could miss the exams.'

'Why? Don't you want to see how much you learned?'

'No.'

Shadow squinted against the sunlight, slowly coming to consciousness. She was in the hospital wing, the pristine white walls overly cheery.

She tilted her head to see Hermione and Ron arguing. Beside them, Harry stared out the window, his forehead furrowed. He must know that he was back. And gaining power.

'What a convenient time for me to wake up.' Shadow's voice was raspy from disuse. How long had she been unconscious? 'Maybe I should skip exams.'

'Shadow!'

'You're awake!'

'How are you feeling?' Harry leaned over, concern written all over his face in broad strokes.

'Terrible.' Shadow tried to sit up, but a splitting headache sliced through her concentration. The pain brought back echoes of her fear. 'And in a great need to see Professor Dumbledore.'

Madam Pomfrey walked in, her arms laden with strange bottles.

'Oh, Shadow, you're awake! Excellent!' She put down the bottles and bustled over. 'Right, drink this.' A cup filled with dark liquid appeared on the table beside Shadow's bed. 'And eat this.' She unwrapped a bar of chocolate and offered it to her. 'I don't know what happened to you, but the effects are quite similar to a dementor's.'

'A what?' asked Hermione, but Madam Pomfrey had already hustled away.

Shadow drank the medicine with one gulp, made a face at its bitter taste, then stuffed the chocolate in her mouth. It was a very convenient excuse not to speak when Harry started to tell her what happened after she passed out.

'Right.' Shadow said, as soon as she swallowed the last of the chocolate. 'Can I see Dumbledore now?'

Harry frowned. 'Shadow, can you at least tell us what happened to you?'

Shadow didn't look at him. 'I need to see Dumbledore,' she repeated.

Harry opened his mouth to retort, but Madam Pomfrey came in and said, 'Shadow, the headmaster said to send you up to his office as soon as you awake. Here, I'll take you there.'

Shadow jumped out of bed. Finally something was going her way.

'Sherbet lemon,' Madam Pomfrey said clearly once they stood in front of the entrance to the headmaster's office.

The ugly gargoyle sprang aside, and Madam Pomfrey gestured for Shadow to enter. 'Professor Dumbledore will be waiting just inside.'

Shadow sprang up the spiral staircase and threw open the heaven wooden door without bothering to knock. She had to tell him that Voldemort was here, in this school. He was living off of someone else; she could recognize his presence now. That hunched figure last night must've been his host, just like she had been when he had been in her head. But which person could hide the hideous -

'Ah, Shadow. I was expecting you.'

'Professor Dumbledore, I -'

The headmaster turned around, and Shadow halted abruptly at the sight of who he had been talking to.

'H-hello Shadow,' stuttered Professor Quirrell.

She stared at him, her eyes straying to his giant purple turban. She hadn't given it much thought, believing the ridiculous story of him stuffing garlic in it to ward off vampires. But if that story was a bluff, a cover for something much worse...

A high, cruel laugh whispered in her ear, and she felt as if the room had dropped twenty degrees. Heart thundering in her ears, Shadow didn't say another word.

She turned and ran.

S

Shadow wasn't quite sure how she completed the exams when her heart was frozen with fear and dread, but she made it. Even the Defense Against the Dark Arts exam passed without much excitement, though Shadow had avoided Quirrell's gaze at all costs.

Perhaps it was the relaxed atmosphere after the exams that lulled her into the delusion of safety. Or maybe it was Draco's fault, for making her so irritated that she had temporarily forgotten the threat. But whatever the reason, Shadow was caught completely by surprise when Professor Quirrell stepped around the corner and clamped an iron grip on her elbow the moment she stormed into the library.

'Come with me, Shadow.'

There was no more stutter in his voice, and it was unusually cold.

Shadow stumbled back, fear slamming through her once again.

'No... Let me go. Let me go!'

Quirrel muffled her screams with a hand. Shadow thrashed, terrified by the lack of warmth in his hands. Pain cleaved her mind, shattering all the careful barriers she had raised around herself. A torrent of terrifying memories swamped her until she was drowning... drowning...

The floor beneath her was cold. She was crawling between the shelves, trying to stay out of the store owner's sight. Starvation gnawed at stomach. For weeks, she'd tried to stay away from the town, tried to protect the people from the voice in her head. But the meagre scraps of fruits she'd managed to gather in the forest were too little to sustain her. Eventually, she'd been driven back to the town to look for food.

Just one piece of bread, she thought desperately. One piece, then she'd leave, before the voice realized she was within proximity to human beings again -

'Who's there?' the store owner said sharply, straightening.

Shadow froze.

Coldness stirred.

No! She tried to backpedal, tried to leave the store before the voice spoke, but she was too late.

Kill him, it hissed.

'No!' she cried out loud.

The man seized her by the leg and dragged her out from behind the shelf. 'What do you think you're doing, thief?'

Kill him! The voice commanded.

'Get out of me!' She screamed, and a terrifying rush of power exploded from her. The man was flung across the room by an invisible force. The shelves crashed against each other as they were blasted away from her, and the windows shattered at the impact. Her vision flashed red, then white, and she collapsed to the floor, shivering, sobbing, dying.

It took a while in the silence for her to realize the voice was gone.

Shadow sat up carefully, her heart pounding. Where was the voice? Even the coldness was gone. There was no more pain. She reached up shakily to feel the back of her head.

Smooth.

Completely smooth.

The face was gone.

Then she felt it, the stirring of the dust on the ground, as if something cold was gathering itself together. A terror set her heart on fire. It was going to come back. It was speak to her again.

She struggled to her feet and ran towards the shattered entrance of the store, even as the air grew colder. 'Help me!' she screamed. 'Someone help me -'

Suddenly, there was a thunderous series of loud cracks and a sudden voice - 'Stupefy!'

Shadow was crashed backwards into the floor, her breath knocked clean out of her. What happened? she thought wildly, as she lay there, stunned. She couldn't move. Her arms and legs wouldn't obey her. She almost choked on her own panic.

'Merlin's beard, it's a girl!'

Someone rushed over to her. She cowered away from their shadow.

'Is she the source of all this wild magic?' another voice asked.

'I think so, there's no one else around,' replied a third. 'Oh wait, no, there's a muggle here. It looks like he's dead.'

Shadow stopped breathing. No….

'Oh no, never mind, he's just unconscious. I'll just erase his memory, hold on.'

Shadow sagged against the floor in relief. Alive. He was alive.

'Hey, it's okay.' A man leaned over her, holding a stick in his hand. He had kind, brown eyes. 'We're not going to hurt you. We're with the Ministry of Magic. Everything will be okay.'

Shadow looked wildly around for the coldness, for the voice. It wasn't there. It seemed to be afraid of the men.

'Please,' she begged the man. 'Take me away from here.'

The man frowned. 'I will, don't worry. We need to take you to the Ministry, because it's obvious you have a lot of magic in you. How old are you?'

'I d-don't know.' She looked around again, fear growing in her heart. What if it came back anyways and told her to kill these men? 'Please, just take me away!'

'Alright, shh, everything will be okay.'

The man looked up. 'Hey Ralph, she's seriously spooked. I'm going to take her back first.'

'Yeah sure,' the other man replied, 'I'll just finish checking up here.'

'Come.' The first man scooped her up. 'I'm going to take you to London.'

Shadow looked over his back as he stepped out the door. The last thing she saw, was a pair of crimson eyes gleaming out from the smoky shadows gathered in the corner.

Shadow was wrenched out of the memory with a vicious slap. But what she opened her eyes to wasn't any better.

'Ah, dearest Shadow. My master has wanted your death for a while.'

She scrambled backwards away from Quirrell, only to find a stone wall behind her.

'Get away from me!'

'The Dark Lord has a special punishment planned for you. Your soul is abnormally bright, and it strengthens him, you know? He wants to feed on that light one last time before he goes down to get the Philosopher's Stone.'

'No!' Shadow yelled, wondering if anyone would hear her.

'He will drain you, as punishment for disobeying him all those years ago. It was nice of Snape and Dumbledore to fetch you out of your safe haven and plop you right in front of me.' Quirrell sneered and walked towards her, his hands outstretched.

'Expelliarmus!' Shadow wrenched out her wand, but Quirrell merely deflected it.

'For you, master.'

His hands touched Shadow's forehead and she screamed.

Ice replaced her blood as the dreaded presence drilled into her mind.

She didn't know for how long the burning pain blasted through her system and ripped her to shreds. She didn't know when exactly it stopped. She only remembered retreating back into the corner of her mind, curling against wave after wave of the cold, cruel presence.

The last thing she heard was, 'Dumbledore received the owl, master. We should go.'

Then everything dissolved into shadows.