***
December 24, 1983- Morrigan Residence

The snow was no longer floating in the air like soft feathers, but rain was pelting the window panes with resounding thuds and pounds.

A tall, broad-shouldered man stood decorating a lit Christmas tree, holding his squirming four year old daughter aloft to place a star at the very top of the tall tree. The young girl stretched her arms and leaned against the tree so she could reach all the way to the very top. After tilting her fingers back and willing herself to be big enough to place the star on the tip of the tree, it fell into the correct place.

The girl let go and she fell in her father’s out-stretched, awaiting arms. He twirled her around, smiling and laughing a few times, before he lightly put her down on the soft carpeted ground. She wanted him to twirl her again and he surrendered, before finally putting her down near a big pile of wonderfully wrapped presents.

A beautiful woman was sitting nearby on the ground, watching her husband play with their beautiful daughter. Her blonde hair framed her face like a halo, while her white dress enhanced her angelic features. When she smiled and laughed at her daughter’s happiness, the room seemed to shine just a little bit brighter. The young girl hurled herself into her mother’s arms, who accepted the small child willingly. The family was a happy one, maybe one of the happiest to reside in the town for many years.

An hard knock resounded from the front door and made the little girl jump in surprise. She shouted to her parents that a stranger was outside and they’d better let them in because it was Christmas Eve and no one should be alone on Christmas Eve.

The man and woman looked at each other with frightened expressions, but the girl didn't notice as she was spinning around in circles with her hands on the hem of her dress, holding it so it would puff out like a balloon.

The man told his precious family to stay in the room with the decorated tree, while he went to see who could want their presence on this hallowed eve. The mother called her giddy daughter over and clung to her wearily. The girl was told to be quiet, but, thinking it was a game, she just giggled at the outrageous thought. She grabbed a small doll and pretended that she was her glorious mother who was holding on to the one person she couldn’t live without; her daughter.

Suddenly, everything the man and woman had been afraid of came true, because the next person to enter the room was not the one that had exited before. It was an old man with graying hair and a crooked smile. He seemed slightly insane, and he was holding a wand pointed directly at the girl and her mother. He shouted nonsense and demanded the woman come with him. When she refused, he flicked his wand and a green light jutted forth from it.

Before he could turn the magical instrument, and his wrath, upon the unknowing child who was still attached to her doll, the husband darted into the room and attacked this intruder with his own wand. Red sparks emitted and hit the man head on.

He looked at his daughter who had woken from her daydream and lay clinging to her fallen mother’s side, pushing her to wake up, to please, please wake up.

He pulled his daughter’s small hands away and saw his dead wife with her glassy eyes open and staring, her mouth half-closed, letting her last stores of breath escape. He held on to her limp form for what seemed like an eternity.

The girl lay to the left, half underneath the sofa, asleep with dried tear trails on her rosy cheeks. The husband looked back at his wife. He looked at her pretty, elegant face. He kissed her swollen lips for the last time. When he let go of her body, he also let go of something else which would tear his family apart more than the death of the beloved mother; love and any emotion he had formerly known.

If love could hurt him this much, he’d hurt love just the same. He didn’t talk to his daughter before he left for eternity. He didn’t say a goodbye. Just like his wife.

No one ever said goodbye to the little girl and she was left, half dead, by herself, forgotten underneath the sofa.

***

Rhian sat in the last compartment on a train bound for Hogwarts, a magical wizarding school which trained the best wizards and witches of the age.

She watched the expanding landscape slip past unknowingly. Her eyes saw the hills pass, but they didn’t see them really, at all.

It was her first time on the train, yet she was about to enter her sixth year at Hogwarts. She had previously been sorted by a ragged, magical hat that was tattered and torn. The magical talking hat had placed her in Slytherin, a house known for its cunning students. She had been schooled at home by her father’s minions, tutors he called them, but that was before Hogwarts and they hadn’t been teaching her much these days.

She didn’t know anyone, so she sat all alone in this small, cramped compartment bound for an unmistakable future, but she was fine being alone. She had practically been alone all her life, and why should a change of scenery and people make a difference? She was content being alone.

She heard footsteps outside the compartment. They were thudding down the small corridor towards her end of the train, but surely no one was going to peep into this compartment. To her great surprise, someone was standing outside her compartment, looking in at her. Some stranger was paying her more attention than she had ever gotten in her life. This small piece of knowledge scared her and made her react rashly.

So she stood up defiantly and looked through the door and into the stranger’s face. Rhian was curious to know what his reaction would be. He seemed shocked and curious all at once, because a girl was staring at him with such intensity as if he would melt right off the face of the earth. But he quickly recovered from the momentary shock, as he pulled out a finely polished wand and opened the door with a flick of his wrist.

Rhian did not know what to expect, but it surely was not what he did. He opened the door, inviting himself to join her. She was confused and she did not know what to do, so she stood rooted to her spot with fear.

“Excuse me, I know you’re new here and all, but who do you think you are, staring at me like that? It's scary,” he said, as he entered her surroundings.

His short, blonde hair made his face seem pinched and drawn back, while his piercing, blue-grey eyes made him seem able to see everything at once and yet nothing at all. He was so much like herself in that instant, yet he was completely the opposite.

She was scared of this comparison, and God knows she hated being scared and unprepared for the unknown. She reacted once again out of compulsion and habit, wanting to put up imaginary walls and defenses. She had not answered him and was not planning to, as she was not quite sure what the proper reply could quite possibly be. Apparently, this just ticked him even more off.

“I’ll have you know that I am Draco Malfoy!”

He paused, waiting for a reply, but none came from Rhian’s direction.

“Answer me!” he shouted at her. Rhian finally gave in and looked up at him and into those stunningly haunting eyes.

“You are a Malfoy?” He looked at her like she had finally understood who he really was. “Just a Malfoy?” she replied, adding a scoff. “Well then, there really is no reason to feel threatened, is there?”

Had she really just said that? Dear god, what had she done? Malfoy did not look like the type of person to take her response lightly.

“What do you mean ‘just a Malfoy’? My family is one of the most respected pure blood wizarding families in all of Great Britain. And what are you? Nothing, halfblood or a Mudblood, my bet.”

He said these words with as much malice as he could manage, but still Rhian did not seem to be moved. He tried to deflect her insult with a poorly aimed observation that contained no actual worth. It just proved that there was no difference between a pureblood and anyone else which was what she was sure he prided himself upon. Before she knew what she was doing, she continued her remark to phase him.

“When I said that you were just a Malfoy, it meant that you are so cocky and arrogant I would have expected someone of a higher position. But you are only a Malfoy, which is nothing to be impressed by, if you think about it. I am no halfblood or even a Mudblood, for your information, but a pureblood as you so pride yourself on being. And since you are a Malfoy, we really should not be talking. It would kill my father if he knew I was associating someone as low as you.” Rhian was devoid of emotion, because she was speaking of her father and he was not worth any emotions.

She pointed at the door behind him, his head turned to see what she pointing at, but he did not move away, instead he pressed on.

“So you do everything that your father says so far away from home? Daddy’s little girl are we?”

He was laughing at her and didn’t look near finished. It seemed that he was accustomed to being the one to finish things, and she had no idea why she was saying all this. She had never stood up to anyone in her life, and this wasn't just anybody. It was a Malfoy, one of her father's potential partners. If she messed things up for him, he would disown her. She made a silent vow to stay silent.

“If you’re a real pureblood, like you say you are,” Draco continued, “then who are you? There are not many left that I do not know. Besides, it doesn’t matter if you are a pureblood. It depends on which house you are placed into. I’m a Slytherin, you’re probably a Hufflepuff or some low house like that.”

Malfoy was sizing up his competition. He sat down opposite her. Rhian stared at him like she could not believe that he was actually sitting down with her. Being left alone by herself, she could not judge other people’s reactions because she had never had to worry about other people, as there had never been anyone else. Now that she was out in the real world, she had to think before she spoke and acted or she would have to deal with serious consequences. But since she was already in the situation that her big mouth had gotten her into, why not keep up the whole charade? She forgot her vow to say silent.

“Once again, it is you who are ultimately wrong. You tend to make judgements about things you don’t even know about. I am in Slytherin, along with yourself, much to my horror. This is my first year here at your precious little school, but I am a sixth year. My name is Rhiannon Morrigan.”

She said it as if it was nothing to be a Morrigan, then she returned to watching the landscape unfold in front of her. Suddenly the train went into a tunnel and the lights flickered on and off. Once the lights returned to normal, Rhian glanced back at Malfoy out of the corner of her eye. He seemed to look at her with a peaked interest.

“Who? I’ve never heard - ” he cut himself off, as if he had recalled a past memory involving her surname. Fear and confusion entered his eyes and he stood up.

Rhian looked at him with a pained expression. Once again she pointed at the door for him to leave, because she did not know what else to do, and he was so shocked that he left without another word.

***

Malfoy couldn’t believe that she was a Morrigan. As soon as he had left her compartment, he marched to the one he was sharing with Crabbe and Goyle. Just to his luck, Pansy Parkinson was in there too, waiting for him to return.

Malfoy wasn’t sure what had compelled him to go to the last compartment on the train where the lone girl had been sitting, but he was in this situation now, and he knew he shouldn't be. He was glad though, because otherwise he might have been too late to take the situation into his own hands.

He took a deep breath and looked inside, before actually going into his compartment. When he finally entered, Pansy looked up and, realizing it was him, latched her fat arm onto his normal-sized one and dragged him down to sit beside her.

Malfoy shoved her off him as quickly as he could and she pouted. He didn’t even look at her, but quickly reached inside his robes for a letter his father had written him.

He opened the envelope and began to unfold it. Pansy saw this and shrieked, looking over his shoulder at the parchment, but Malfoy looked at her annoyed and said, “This is private.”

Pansy looked like she didn’t hear him and stayed rooted to the spot, still staring at the parchment.

Malfoy rolled his eyes.

“Did you hear me? Private, that means go away.”

Pansy wailed and pouted, but stood up and walked out quickly, slamming the door behind her.

“Finally, she’s gone. Honestly, I don’t know why you are with her, Goyle, it's me she latches onto like a leech. Shouldn’t she have you for that?”

Malfoy unfolded the letter. He knew it was a soft spot for his friend, but he was so agitated right now that he didn’t care and began to read the letter.

Dear Draco,

I am writing to tell you that someone of very high power will be joining you at Hogwarts this year. She will most undoubtedly be in Slytherin, and in your year.

But beware of her, for she has great power and knowledge. Become her friend and use her to your advantage, and make a connection with her. Just enough to have influence over her, I am fully confident that you will be able to do this, and use whatever means necessary.

I am already trying to forge one with her father, but it is very hard. He thinks he is above me, so it is a little harder than I anticipated. I have no idea where he got the idea that they were better than us, it must have been that country. They live in Ireland, and up to this year his daughter has been schooled by private tutors.

Her father has some business in another country, so he cannot take care of his daughter and is sending her to Hogwarts for the school term. I do not know how long she will be there, so use the time you have with her wisely. Her name is Rhiannon Morrigan, and she will be helpful to our situation. I will write you more later and tell you a little of the history that I know of the Morrigans.

Sincerely, your father, Lucius.

Draco looked up from the parchment. He had already read the letter a few times before he had gotten on the train, and he hadn’t known who she was before, but he had heard his father late at night speaking to his colleagues of the Morrigans. He had spoken of how much of a threat they could be to their cause or how they could help with their enormous power.

Draco looked over at Crabbe and Goyle, who were stuffing their faces with food from the trolley. Did they ever stop eating? At least he wouldn’t have to talk to them for awhile. He should go and bug Potter and the Weasel and his girlfriend, but he didn’t want to be disturbed.

***

Rhian sat on the seat of the carriage that was taking her to her new home and prison. It loomed before her like a deep hole devoid of life. She knew that Hogwarts was supposed to be one of the best wizarding schools in England, but she couldn’t help but feel a sense of foreboding and danger.

She hadn’t wanted to leave her home in Ireland, but she had to and now she was here in this god-forsaken place with strangers and many dark secrets to hide. She shuddered over what would happen if anyone even knew any of her dark secrets.

The carriage stopped at the steps and Rhian got out behind some other people. They had paid her no attention and yet she couldn’t find it in herself to care. Rhian walked up the front steps, looking at her black robes as she walked upwards.

She walked into a magnificent hall with four huge tables lined up beside each other and one stationed in front of them. Everything was sparkling and gleaming. Too bright to be normal, Rhian thought. Rhian looked around at the students and saw maroon and gold clad people settling down at one table, yellow and black at another, blue and gold at the third table, and green and silver at the last one.

Rhian did not know where she was supposed to go, but she decided that she would go sit down with the group of people with green and silver, which was what she was wearing. She saw the Malfoy boy standing at the far end of the table, so Rhian sat down at the other end of the table, and opened a book that had laid forgotten on the train in the midst of her argument with Malfoy.
Students milled about and hugged and chatted with other students they had not seen in months. They gossiped about their summers and their holidays in France or another foreign countries.

Once again, Rhian couldn’t help but feel like she wasn’t normal. She didn’t have anyone to talk to.

Even if she did, she wouldn’t be able to say that she’d spent her summer in the hills of Ireland practicing making deadly concoctions and potions to poison her deadliest enemies. She couldn't say either that she had been practicing her magical abilities and testing them out on anything that moved. She practiced underground in old tunnels that had been carved out and used by faeries.

Suddenly the students sat down at their designated tables and a mind-numbing silence overtook the once boisterous crowd. An aged man stood at the table in the front.

He wore a long, elegant purple robe and the crowd had silenced for him alone. He was Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts and one of the most acclaimed wizards of this age. Rhian heard words spew forth from his mouth, no doubt they too were elegant like himself, but she didn’t want to hear a word he had to say. She took to reading her book.

***

Draco watched Rhian scan the hall, she must have realized she sat with her own kind. She looked over in Draco’s direction for a minute and sat at the end of the table away from everyone, probably with the hope that no one would bother her. Though many of the guys kept looking over to her and trying to put the charm on her from afar, but she would turn away from them, and they were smart enough to take that as a sign to quit.

Draco guessed that she didn’t want to be bothered and he wanted to get on her good side, so he just watched her from afar. He saw Professor Snape, who was the Potions Master and head of Slytherin house, and rushed up to him.

“Sir? I was wondering...we have a new student here in Slytherin, as I am sure you know, and I was wondering if I could...” Draco stammered out, but before he could finish his sentence, Professor Snape finished it for him.

“If you could escort her and show her around? Yes, yes, I have had many requests just this evening about her, and I have told everyone so far no, but seeing as it is you and my leading prefect, I will consent. I will tell her when we get back to the common room. Now go sit down, the sorting will start soon.”

Draco walked back to his seat with a hop in his step, so to speak, and began chatting about his summer to Crabbe and Goyle. Draco kept talking until the current headmaster Professor Dumbledore stood up to announce the sorting and a line of timid first years followed a regal looking Professor McGonagall.
Draco thought she was a pest, a fair pest, but a pest none the less. She was a Gryffindor, and all Gryffindors were scum...especially Harry Potter. He had embarrassed him in front of his father so many times that he had lost count.

He had not heard the names of the people being sorted, but he clapped like he was supposed to for anyone who joined Slytherin. He looked over at Rhian to see what she was up to, but she was still reading her book.

It can’t be that interesting. I mean, It’s just a book, thought Draco. Well no matter, after the feast, when we’re in our common room I’ll be able to show you around for the next week or two. We’ll see how much reading you’ll get done then.

***