Summary:

FemHarry. What if Hilda Potter ran away from her relatives at the age of five, having had enough, and disappeared from the Ministry's sights ever since? Now, seven years later, the Girl-Who-Lived is back, yet she is more dangerous, and she seemed to have her own plans. Cedric/FemHarry. Semi-dark fic. Siding with Voldemort. Fake Prophecy. Dumbledore and Weasley bashing.

Many people have been asking me to start this story, so here it is. I've never written a Harry Potter fic before, so please pardon me if it doesn't go over well or if it seems a little strange. Also, I'm quite aware that grammar isn't exactly my strongest point in English, and I've also quite given up on having a beta reader as the last one that I have took a hell of a time to get back to me, so my suggestion is this: if you spotted any grammar errors or mistakes in this story, let me know via a review or a PM, preferably the former.

Also, this story will be quite AU. It's in my personal opinion that how a child will act will be what they've gone through in life, and Hilda (Harry) will be quite OOC in this story, and probably a few others as well. I've never really liked canon Harry from book five onwards (no offense to JK Rowling!), and I'll be amending quite a few things. And I've never really liked Dumbledore and some of the Weasleys save for the twins, Bill and Charlie, and all the discrimination towards light and dark, and thus, Hilda will probably be on neutral ground until something major in this story really happens.

There will be quite a few OCs who will have a major part to play in the upbringing of Hilda, and they're not exactly human either. Also, I've always liked Cedric, and this will be a Hilda/Cedric pairing, though they will start off as friends before romance blooms during Hilda's third or fourth year. Cedric's parents never really showed up much in the books, and I'm writing them based on what I remember from the books.

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters, but the OC characters belongs to me

Chapter One: Hilda Potter

Ethan Nightwing had never liked the forever ongoing fights between the non-humans and the wizards always taking place in their world.

He was the younger brother of the vampire High Prince of the Eastern vampire clan, and while he was not in line for the throne to lead his clan, he had a side to him that hates to let any injustice slide past him and ignore it like it's no business of his own. Even his older brother, the High Prince was quite amused by this side of his dear brother as it's not very vampire-like, and even Ethan admits it.

And as such, after the war which follows the Fall of the Dark Lord, the non-human clans have scattered all over the world, hiding themselves away from the prying eyes of humans – Muggle and wizard-like, and this includes the vampires as well.

The non-human clans which in particular include the vampire, the shape shifter and the werewolf clans have never really held great love for the Ministry of Magic which seemed to make it their mission in life to make their lives miserable. Treatment towards the non-humans especially grew worse after the war in which they were practically hunted down by wizards.

Ethan's mind, however, was sharper than most to the extent when his brother often asked him for his advice and help. He could see past the cloud of hatred and vengeance which often clouded the minds of his fellow clan members and vampires. And he could see that this was merely the work of a few narrow-minded individuals within the Ministry.

Unlike most of the non-humans, Ethan himself had several friends in the Ministry itself whom he had saved from quite a few tight pinches during the war and several times in the past, and they owed him some high favours. And as such, they were probably the only reason why vampire hunting had been almost non-existent for several years after the war. Unfortunately, that isn't the case for the other non-humans.

With the end of the war, Ethan had taken to travelling, having had enough of the bloodshed and numerous killings that he'd seen during the war, and fortunately, his older brother had always been fond of him, and had agreed to his request.

And this is why one Ethan Nightwing somehow found himself in a Muggle town in Great Britain, with said town being named 'Privet Drive'.

Ethan tried to ignore all the stares at him as he walked down the streets of Privet Drive. As a vampire, he was extremely good-looking with raven-black hair that reaches the nape of his neck which frames his face perfectly and crimson red eyes. And despite being nearly two hundred years old, he stills looks to be around eighteen or nineteen years of age, appearance-wise.

And it was whilst Ethan was passing by the neighbourhood park when his vampire hearing caught the sounds of light sobbing. And it wasn't the frightened kind of sobbing as well. It was more like the owner of that voice was lonely, and the voice belongs to a child.

And if there is one great weakness that Ethan is known for, it is that he can't seem to leave a child in trouble behind. Ethan's brother was often exasperated with him for this, and had wondered more than once if Ethan wasn't born in the wrong body as his behaviour and mannerisms…isn't very vampire-like.

The sun was setting quickly as Ethan made his way into the park to track down the owner of the voice that he'd heard. Unlike contrary belief, vampires can come out into the sun. Most of them just never did as even though they won't shrivel up and die in the sun, the sunlight had an annoying tendency to weaken their powers. Vampire magic and powers work best in the dark and in the moon, not the sun. And as such, most vampires never venture out in broad daylight.

Ethan traced down the source of the crying to behind the slide where a small raven-haired girl was crying her eyes out, her small and thin arms wrapped around her knees. She was dressed in an oversized white shirt several sizes too big for her with blue pants that seemed too big for her slender frame. As Ethan approached her, the girl looked up with her mesmerizing green eyes, and Ethan's eyes widened a slight fraction as he noticed the lightning bolt scar on her forehead and knew who she was immediately.

No one in the magical world – human or non-human otherwise won't know who this child is. Their supposed 'saviour' from the Dark Lord Voldemort.

Ethan frowned as he studied the crying child. As far as he recalls – and he had a parrot memory – the Girl-Who-Lived should be five years of age this year, but this child before him looks to be around three or four, yet was smaller than the average child. And Ethan was perceptive enough to note her clothes, and was smart enough to put two and two together to piece together just what had happened, and the conclusion had him seething in anger.

Some of his human friends at the Ministry had told him that the supposed 'great leader of the Light' Albus Dumbledore had taken it upon himself to hide the Girl-Who-Lived away by placing her with her Muggle relatives just after the war had ended. Ethan was never a great fan of Dumbledore as he and his clan which includes his brother and father have faced Dumbledore's manipulations more than once, and the wizard had came close to being a midnight snack for most of the clan had he not wizened up that threats and bribes aren't exactly the best way to give him the support of the Eastern vampire clan.

"Who are you?" asked the girl, sniffing, rubbing at her eyes.

Ethan put on the nicest smile that he could before kneeling down to her height. "I'm Ethan," he said gently, trying not to scare the girl. "Ethan Nightwing. Child. What is your name?"

The girl looked suspiciously at Ethan, studying him for several moments before she answered. "Hilda," she said. "Hilda Potter."

Ethan sighed inwardly. His suspicions were accurate. And judging by the girl's behaviour, appearance and judging by the fact that her clothes were practically hanging off her, she was probably a victim of domestic child abuse. This kind of thing is not taken kindly to in the magical world as wizardry families were small enough as it is, and even the non-humans protected their children with ferocity until they were old enough to fend on their own. The vampires, especially, were especially protective of their young. Ethan knew that if his brother or any vampire caught wind of this, they would be less than pleased. Human or not, no vampire would tolerate abuse that is being done to a child.

"I see. Hilda, is it? Nice name," said Ethan, placing one hand onto the top of Hilda's head, and the girl flinched back a little as if she was half-afraid that Ethan would lash out at her all of a sudden. Ethan frowned slightly as his vampire sight caught sight of the faint bruising that could be faintly seen along Hilda's neckline as well as the unmistakable imprint of four fingers and a thumb around her left wrist, a fair contrast to her pale porcelain-like skin. "Hilda. Who did that to you?" He gestured towards the bruising that he could see, and if Ethan had to take a wild guess, there'll be much more injuries on her body which is being hidden by her overly large clothes.

Hilda looked nearly frightened and tried to cover up her injuries as best as she could, and Ethan could nearly feel the fright and absolute terror emanating off this child before him who could not be older than five. "No one!" she said, fright and terror visible on her face. "I-I just fell!"

Ethan sighed at this extremely poor lie, not that anyone could lie to a vampire without them smelling the lie out. "Falls don't give you that kind of bruising," he said, indicating towards the hand imprint visible on Hilda's wrist, and she flinched. "And falls don't give you that kind of injuries which indicate that you were hit by something or someone." And he indicated towards the injury on Hilda's neckline.

"N-N-No one hit me!" Hilda was nearly hysterical. "Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon never laid a hand on me! I-I'm just a bad child!" She was nearly in tears, and Ethan thanked his stars that no one was around in the park, or he would have been pegged as a 'big bully'.

"So the ones who hit you were your uncle and aunt, were they?" said Ethan calmly, and Hilda looked absolutely terrified. "Relax, I'm not going to rat you out." Ethan smiled gently at the girl, and placed a hand atop her head. He then turned serious. "Hilda. I want you to tell me. How long has this been going on? I promise that I won't tell anyone. This will be just between the two of us."

Hilda looked suspiciously at Ethan. "Do you promise?" she asked, and Ethan nodded. "I-I don't know how long this has been going on. Nearly all my life, I suppose. And it isn't just them. M-My cousin Dudley too. T-They don't like me a lot. They said that I'm a bad child."

Ethan frowned. What kind of humans were those Muggles, treating a child like this? That does it.

"Hilda." Hilda stared back at Ethan curiously. "How would you like to come with me? To be away from your relatives? No child should have to endure such abuse at the hands of those supposed to be caring for them."

Hilda looked back at Ethan, and was that hope that could be seen in her eyes?

"For real?"

Ethan laughed and nodded. "For real," he said. He stretched out a hand. "Would you like to come with me?"

Hilda took his hand.

XXXXXX

Eric Nightwing, the High Prince of the Eastern vampire clan and the older brother of one Ethan Nightwing was staring at his younger brother.

His younger brother, was in turn, staring back at him sheepishly, and a human girl who don't seem to be older than four or five years old was clinging to Ethan with a terrified look on her face as she stared at Eric.

Eric looks a lot like his brother, only with slightly longer hair, and his crimson orbs have a darker shade to it, and he was dressed in clothes which identify him as the High Prince of the Eastern vampire clan.

Eric was expecting quite a lot of things when his younger brother had arrived back at their home in the Dark Forest which is the land of the Eastern vampire clan, but he didn't expect for his brother to bring a human child with him. And less of all, not the Girl-Who-Lived!

Eric groaned, wondering which celestial being he had offended to have this kind of situation on his hands.

"Ethan, you do know who this child is, don't you?" said Eric wearily, and Ethan nodded sheepishly. "And still, you've brought her here why? Do you really want a war between the non-humans and the humans to take place?"

Ethan frowned slightly, wondering how he's going to phrase it in a way so that his extremely protective and quite cool-headed older brother won't fly off the deep end when he caught wind how Hilda was being treated by her relatives. And people wondered where Ethan had gotten his protective tendency from…

On his way here, he had explained everything about the magical world and what he really is to Hilda. It took him a while to convince Hilda that magic was real, and that was only when he flew with Hilda in his arms halfway up a pine tree and made blue flames appear in his hand. He was actually half-expecting for Hilda to run screaming from him, screaming 'monster' or something, but to his utmost disbelief, the child didn't, but clung tighter to him as he ran at vampire speed through the Dark Forest which was actually hidden by ancient vampire magic to protect their home and the whereabouts of it from being discovered by the wizards.

"I can't help it, Eric!" said Ethan aggressively, and Eric stared at his younger brother. "Her Muggle relatives were abusing her!" Hilda flinched back at Ethan's angry voice. No one liked it when Ethan was angry as his voice made it seem as if a storm is about to break out.

Eric stared at Ethan for a long while without speaking. "What do you mean?" he asked at last.

Ethan sighed and showed his brother the injuries on Hilda's body, and the girl flinched slightly and clung to Ethan tightly as Eric scowled and the red of his eyes darkened even further if it's even possible. Abused children – vampire or not – struck a nerve in Eric.

"And you've brought her here because?" Eric said warily. He knew his brother, and had half an idea as to what crazy idea was currently running through his brother's head.

"To maybe take her in and make her my ward?" Ethan suggested unsurely.

Eric nearly groaned. "Just what are you thinking, Ethan?" Eric asked, exasperated. "What is running through that head of yours? Do you seriously think that Father will even accept this? We've lived in isolation away from the wizards for a reason! And do you seriously want them to wage war against us for 'kidnapping their saviour'?"

"If we perform the blood ritual, we can change her heritage and destroy the magic in that scar of hers," said Ethan stubbornly, glancing at the lightning bolt scar on Hilda's forehead before turning back to his bewildered older brother. "If the wizards will turn a blind eye to one of their own being abused like this, then I can't ignore this! No child should have to go through what she did!"

Eric stared at Ethan for a long time before he looked back at the half-scared child currently clinging to his brother before looking back at his brother and sighing. "I'll go and get Father," he said at last. "Go and wait in the Great Hall. I doubt that he will be pleased though."

Ethan nodded before his brother turned, his cloak swishing behind him as he headed to a part of the castle to get the High Lord. Ethan then took Hilda by the hand before heading towards the Great Hall which is really like a dining room of sorts with long tables and carpeted grounds with chandeliers and a high chair for the High Lord at the end of the room. It's been a while since Ethan had returned home, and he highly doubt that his father will be pleased by this decision.

Soon, Ethan sensed the presences of his father and brother fast approaching the Great Hall where he's currently in, and he turned towards the great ivory doors of the Great Hall as it swung opened, and his father stormed in with his brother close on his heels, a displeased expression on his face.

"Father," said Ethan before crossing his right arm over his chest to greet his father in vampire greeting.

"Ethan." His father – Elton Nightwing greeted coldly with a curt nod. "While I would like to say 'welcome home', your brother has brought me some news that I'm far from pleased with." He glanced to Hilda who is clutching at Ethan's hand and he turned his attention back to his younger son. "What's this that I hear from Eric about you wanting to take in a human child as your ward? And the Girl-Who-Lived of all people!"

"Her guardians are abusing her, Father!" Ethan cut in before his father could continue on his tirade. And by the way that his father's eyes widened in horror told Ethan that his brother probably didn't managed to tell him that before Elton had headed off in search of Ethan. "I can't just ignore it! If I left her there, she would probably wind up dead in a few years! Or worse, she might even pull another Dark Lord once she's old enough!"

Elton turned his piercing gaze towards Hilda who shifted uncomfortably on one foot to another as Elton studied her from head to toe, taking in all the injuries on her person as Hilda tried hard to tug onto the sleeve of her oversized shirt to hide the injuries on her arms, but to no avail.

Elton sighed and turned back to his younger son. "While I can't say that I don't understand your reasoning, she's still a human child," he said patiently. "She'll be literally snack for the other vampires who can't control their bloodlust as well as we could. Furthermore, don't you think that the Ministry of Magic will launch a manhunt for their 'saviour'?"

"That's what I'm going to talk to you about, Father," said Ethan, calming down some once he'd seen that his father had calmed down. "What do you say if we…perform the blood ritual? That way, it will erase all traces of her original heritage from the Potter line, and secondly, it'll also destroy the magic in that scar of hers. And finally, she'll be kind of…part vampire, and she'll also have our protection, and the other vampires will know better than to touch her. And if need arises, I'll take her away with me and raise her and only come back to visit during the Samhain festivals or something." He said hastily.

Elton said nothing for a long while, studying Hilda, making the girl nervous. Eric and Ethan exchanged nervous glances as they looked at their silent father. The blood ritual that Ethan had talked about is a type of ancient vampire magic. But it is mostly used among the ancient vampire clans to 'adopt' a vampire into their clan to carry their blood so that they'll be able to carry on the line and heritage of their adopted clan. Never before had this ritual been used on a human. But if used on a human, said human will be able to gain the ability to use vampire magic – a much stronger type of magic than the type of magic that the wizards used, and the human will also awaken their own innate abilities. Also, they'll be protected by the magic of the blood ritual so that no other vampire will feed on them.

Elton finally sighed before walking towards Hilda and Ethan and kneeling down to Hilda's eye level, and the girl flinched back a little. Elton smiled a kind grandfatherly smile at Hilda, placing one hand on Hilda's head.

"Tell me, child," he said gently. "Hilda Potter, is it? If the Nightwing clan, the ruler of the Eastern vampire lands takes you into our clan, would you turn against us one day?"

Hilda looked at Elton like he had just spoken in Greek. "Why would I do that?" she asked, pure confusion in her voice. "You never did anything to me. If there is anyone that I would fear…it's my relatives."

All three vampires present could sense the truth in her words, and Elton smiled a small smile. He can see why his son is so adamant on taking this child into their clan and adopting her. He's starting to like this child himself, despite his severe dislike and distrust of humans especially after that fool of a wizard by the name of Albus Dumbledore tried to manipulate him during the last war to 'help the Light'.

"Tell me, child," said Elton quietly, and Ethan and Eric both stayed silent. "If we adopt you into our clan and give you our protection, would you turn against us one day once you've returned to your own kind should a war break out? Or would you protect the ones who have protected you during your childhood, and fight against your own kind?"

"I may be young, sir, but I'm not an ingrate," said Hilda quietly, meeting Elton's eyes. "I don't bite the hand that protects me. If you want me to state the ones that are truly evil, it's the humans themselves. But like it or not, Dark and Light can't live without each other as they are merely different sides of the same coin."

Elton smiled before standing up, his mind made up. He then turned towards Eric. "Eric, go and prepare the ritual room as well as the things that we require for the blood ritual," he instructed, and Eric nodded before disappearing in a wisp of black smoke. He then turned towards Ethan before sighing. "I might be making a mistake here, but I'll take her into our clan. But you might have to raise her away from the Dark Forest. The ways that we brought up our young…shouldn't be implanted on a human child. You understand that, don't you, Ethan?"

"Yes Father," said Ethan quietly.

Elton smiled. "That overprotective tendency of yours…" he muttered. "I wonder where you even got it from. Raising a human child is not easy, you realise that, don't you?"

"Yes Father."

"I'll get the ritual started up," said Elton. "Head to the ritual room. And after the blood ritual, you're going to have to teach her how to control her magic, especially because within her veins flows both wizard and vampire magic. And if she don't control her magic, it will be disastrous."

"Father. Thank you."

Elton sighed. "Your mother would have done the same thing if she was still alive," he muttered. "Don't make me regret this decision, Ethan."

"I won't."

XXXXXX

Four Years Later
Knockturn Alley

"This is the place?" grunted Severus Snape, looking up at the ivory signboard hanging above this inn-cum-bar which had the words 'Starlight's Hall' written on it in cursive writing with the designs of what seemed like a meteor shower on the signboard itself.

The windows of the inn-cum-bar that he was currently standing outside of in Knockturn Alley was tinted to prevent anyone from seeing inside, but from what he could see of the outside, it seemed rather spacious and well to do, and every now and then, Severus could see the occasional customer walking in and out of the bar, and he had been around long enough to tell that the majority of them are definitely not human.

"That's right," said Lucius Malfoy from beside him, nodding. "This place was set up about three years back. It was specifically for the non-humans – the vampires, the werewolves, the goblins and so on. That's why it's based in Knockturn Alley. But it's quite popular, even among the wizards. Though the wizards that come here are usually…people like us."

Severus grunted at this. 'People like us' meant wizards who are rumoured to be members of Dark families, or were involved in the circle of the Dark Lord during the war. Lucius had been going on and on about this bar for months now, and how the rumours at the Ministry went about that the owner of this bar isn't exactly human himself. But even Severus can't deny that werewolf attacks have declined considerably ever since this bar was set up. And according to Lucius, all kinds of charms and spells were placed on this place so that wizards can't Apparate in and out of this place. And those spells aren't the wizard kind.

Starlight's Hall was a major hit with the goblins of Gringotts as well, as even the goblins need a place to unwind. And Severus and Lucius really wanted to find a place where they could relax without that dreadful feeling of having someone whisper not far from them that they're involved with the Dark Lord. Well, that 'someone' isn't exactly wrong, but still…

"Shall we go in?" asked Lucius, glancing at Severus. "I promised Narcissa that I'll be home early tonight. And if all goes well, we might have even found a place where we could relax at last."

"After you," grunted Severus, and Lucius smirked before opening the oak door with tinted glass set in it, and a bell tinkled somewhere in the bar as both men stepped in, and soft soothing music could be heard coming from somewhere in the bar.

Severus was pretty impressed by the layout of the place as he stepped in, and he knew that his friend is too. The place is even bigger than it looks from the outside, and it even had a staircase heading upstairs to what Severus assumed must be in the inn rooms. A bar counter was at the front of the bar, and there was an assortment of drinks in the shelves set against the wall. A raven-haired young man who doesn't look to be much older than twenty-three was busy mixing some drinks together. A dark room covered with a curtain could be seen behind the counter which Severus guessed must lead to the kitchen or something. A large tree tapestry with several leaves painted on it was set against the wall not far from the bar counter, and several numbers were on the leaves, and a few numbers were glowing red for some reason.

A couple of tables were occupied with goblins chatting after a hard day of work, and Severus could have sworn that the occupants of a corner table were vampires. Not a single occupant in the bar was covering their faces or something which is something that Severus will find in a place like the Three Broomsticks. Severus could see why Lucius wanted to visit this place so much. A couple of house elves were running around, delivering food and drinks to their customers, and a few were taking orders. All were dressed in the standard tea-towels that every house elf seemed to wear, but they even have a mini dark blue apron tied over their tea-towels with the words 'Starlight's Hall' written on it in white.

"Welcome!" said the young man as Severus and Lucius both settled into seats at the bar counter at the front of the bar. "What can I get you?"

"Erm…" Severus blinked as a menu appeared with a light 'pop' before him, and he took it in his hands, reading it carefully. Beside him, Lucius was doing the same. There were pictures of the drinks and food on the menu as well, and Severus suddenly found himself wanting to try them all as it all looked so appetizing. "One Odin's Apple for me. And may I have your…" Severus paused as he studied the picture of one of the menu meals. "…Blue Enquita?"

"Same here for me, thank you," said Lucius politely, and the young man nodded.

"Two Odin's Apples and two Blue Enquitas coming right up!" said the young man before the menus in both their hands disappeared with a light 'pop'. "I'm Ethan. Ethan Nightwing. I've never really seen you two around here before. First visit here?"

"Kind of," said Lucius with a smile. "I worked at the Ministry, and I've heard about this place from some of my colleagues, and I thought that I would like to take a look at it for myself. It's…a refreshing change from all the bars that I've went to with Severus here."

Ethan blinked before studying the two men before him before smiling. "Let me guess: you've been discriminated against in other bars?" he guessed, and Severus and Lucius blinked. "Most wizards who come here usually have the same problem that you do. That's why I set up Starlight's Hall in the first place. Not only to help my niece."

Lucius and Severus blinked simultaneously. "Your niece?" They echoed together.

Before Ethan could say anything, two drinks and the meals that they've ordered were placed before them just then, and Severus looked up to see a raven-haired girl with blue-red eyes who don't look to be older than nine years old standing before them, wearing a white long sleeved shirt with a black shirt worn over it and black jeans with blue and white sneakers.

"Thank you for waiting," said the girl with a small smile. "Here are your orders."

"Thank you," said Lucius, inclining his head to the girl politely as a gentleman would a lady, and Severus did the same next to him. "I'm digging in."

Lucius and Severus then dug into their meals which were extremely delicious, and they listened with slight smiles on their faces as the girl and Ethan exchanged small talk, with the latter cracking the occasional joke. The Malfoy head can't help but like this girl despite barely exchanging a few words with her, and thought about introducing his son to her who is around her age, thinking that it might help Draco to get out of that shell of his. Severus who doesn't usually like children seemed to like the girl as well.

The slight dragging of chairs against the smooth oak floor of the bar caused the three men and one girl to turn around just then only to see a man with a cloak on with the hood over his head, concealing his face standing up and leaving Starlight's Hall. Ethan and his niece exchanged glances before the girl looked at the departing back of the man as he left the bar, the bell tinkling as the door swung shut once more.

"Ethan?"

Ethan sighed. "Go," he said as if this was a common occurrence, and then again, it probably is. "But minimize collateral damage please. I don't want to have to repair the bar again. And take Lyra with you."

Lyra turned out to be a female house elf who appeared with a crack next to the girl the moment that Ethan had called her name.

"Okay," said the girl, nodding before leaving the bar with the house elf close to her heels.

Severus's eyes widened a slight fraction as he could have sworn that he saw a slight image of Lily Potter when she was a child overlapping with the niece of the owner of Starlight's Hall. But how could it be?

Lily Potter's only child disappeared four years ago, presumed dead. He could still remember when Arabella Figg had contacted Dumbledore four years ago, panicked, when she reported that the girl hadn't been seen for over a week, and Severus had to prevent himself from hexing the dumb Squib on the spot. How could she wait for over a week before contacting them? Now, Severus Snape isn't exactly the nicest man in the world, but even he had a soft spot for small children.

Dumbledore had contacted the Order of Phoenix – a group that he's put together during the war to fight Voldemort, but Hilda Potter can't be found anywhere, and even the Ministry was brought in. And even now, after four years, no one had found any trace of the girl. The Dursleys were frightened when a group of wizards have paid them a visit four years ago – with Dumbledore and Severus among them, and all that they could get out of them was that the girl had run off after a beating by Vernon Dursley and had never returned.

And even to this day, the entire magical community had been in search of the Girl-Who-Lived. Even Fawkes, Dumbledore's phoenix couldn't manage to find the girl which could only mean one of two things: either she's dead or her magical signature had changed so much that even the phoenix can't locate her.

'Could she be…?' Severus thought to himself, staring at the door which the girl had just headed out of. 'Lily's child?'

In an alley in Knockturn Alley not too far away from Starlight's Hall, the hooded man suddenly found that he couldn't seem to move and toppled to the ground, his hood being thrown back at this, and he looked up as he saw the niece of the owner of Starlight's Hall with a house elf tagging along with her standing before him.

The girl had a cold look on her face which shouldn't even be seen on the face of a child this young, and she had her left hand held out which was glowing blue slightly. The house elf next to her even had a slight sneer on her face.

The girl sighed. "I knew it," she said coldly, her red-blue eyes boring into him. "Mundungus Fletcher. And I know for sure that Ethan had told you six months ago that you and your group are not welcome into Starlight's Hall! What are you doing back here? Spying on us?"

Mundungus gulped nervously. This girl gives off a vibe of danger…

"N-No… Just for a drink…"

The girl snorted. "A drink when you didn't even order anything?" she said, deadpanned. "Who are you trying to fool?" Her eyes hardened. "Did Dumbledore send you?"

"I…"

"I'll give you until the count of three to tell me what your purpose is, or I'll deal with you my own way."

"I…"

"Three."

"N-Now, don't be hasty. I—"

"Two."

"I'm just—"

"One."

"Shit."

XXXXXX

Meanwhile, in Starlight's Hall, Lucius Malfoy and Severus Snape have both been getting on like a house on fire with Ethan Nightwing, and both liked him, finding it refreshing, compared to most of the people whom they met in their daily lives who were either so fake that it's nearly sickening or downright despise them for having connections with the 'Dark'.

"You're not really human, are you?" asked Severus. "I know that I've heard that name 'Nightwing' somewhere."

Ethan laughed. "Very perceptive," he said. "You're right, I'm not really human. I'm a vampire. I'm the younger son of the High Lord of the Eastern vampire clan."

Silence.

"You don't act…very vampire-like, if you must know," said Lucius at last.

Ethan laughed. "Everyone tells me that," he said. "Even my brother and father. I've left the vampire lands to raise my niece and to open this bar."

"Your niece…" said Severus slowly. "She's not a vampire, is she? I don't sense anything from her, save for the fact that her magic seems to be quite powerful."

"No, she's not," said Ethan with a slight shake of his head. "I…blood-adopted her." He didn't bother to go into further details, and both Lucius and Severus were wise enough to not ask further. "She's under the protection of the Eastern vampire clan, and technically, she's part of our clan now. I met her about four years ago in some human town. She was getting abused badly by her guardians, and I took her away from there as any later, and she might have died from the abuse."

Severus froze. It can't be…

"Because she had both vampire and wizard magic running within her veins, her magic is quite powerful. Even more so than the usual wizard or witch. I've been training her to help teach her to control her magic."

"That man from earlier…" said Lucius slowly. "What is that all about?"

Ethan was silent before he answered. "He's probably one of the 'spies' from the 'Light' side. People like him come around here occasionally. Probably trying to find some 'evidence' to shut down Starlight's Hall or something. I don't know." Ethan shrugged. "Hilda usually deals with people like them. We don't welcome people who are supposedly from the 'Light' side around here. They discriminate against people and beings different from them far too much. It is because of people like them that I even set up this bar in the first place."

Severus and Lucius can't help nodding to this, though Severus was concerned as he heard the name of Ethan's niece. Hilda. The same name as his best friend's daughter who is currently missing, presumed dead.

"Ethan, your niece…what is her name?" asked Severus, trying to keep calm.

Ethan looked at Severus innocently, though his mind was in a whirl. Had Severus recognised Hilda despite her looks and magical signature changing as a result of the blood ritual done four years ago? As a result of the blood ritual, even the scar that identifies Hilda as the Girl-Who-Lived had vanished, thus severing the bond between Hilda and Voldemort permanently. That was only part of the reason why Ethan don't usually welcome people who are known to be extremely close with Albus Dumbledore, the number one wizard on Ethan's black list.

"Hilda Evans," said Ethan innocently. "Why?"

Severus growled low in his throat, running out of patience as he knew that the vampire was playing around with him. "Her real name, Ethan," he said.

That does it.

The playful banter came to an end, and Ethan studied the two wizards before him carefully. As a vampire, he could detect lies, and his gut feeling told him that he could trust those two, and Hilda seemed to like them as well, and the girl is an excellent judge of character. She is rarely wrong about people.

"Can I trust the both of you?" asked Ethan warily. "Will you swear that whatever you hear from me does not leaves this place, and more importantly, does not reach the ears of the Ministry and Albus Dumbledore?"

Severus and Lucius exchanged bewildered looks before turning back towards Ethan before nodding. "You can trust us," said Lucius.

Ethan sighed. "If you knew her real name, you'll be pretty freaked out," he said. "I had to pull all kinds of strings as well as to use all kinds of vampire magic in order to hide her identity. Hilda…isn't exactly a fan of the Light, so you can trust her."

"Why?"

Ethan sighed. "Her first friend that she's made in her life after I met her goes by the name of Eve Nightwing. My cousin." He sighed. "She was the princess of the Northern vampire clan, but she was unfortunately killed about a year ago by someone working for Dumbledore just because she is a vampire. Before that, Hilda never really thought much about the Light, but after that, she simply snapped. She now hates them with a passion."

Severus studied Ethan carefully. "Her real name, Ethan," he said again.

Ethan sighed before speaking the two words that nearly gave Severus and Lucius cardiac arrest.

"Hilda Potter."

A/N: How's this for the first chapter? Good or bad? And what do you think about Ethan? Next chapter will have a first meeting with Draco, and possibly Hermione. And if anyone is wondering, yes, I'm going to make them both Hilda's best friends. Also, as for the House that Hilda is going to be sorted into, I'll leave it to the voting:

Ravenclaw

Slytherin

Anyway, I hope that you like this chapter, and please read and review!