Authors Note: I have been planning this story for ages now, gosh. Since around Febuary 2007, I beleive (which would disregard Deathly Hallows) and I finally got around to really wanting to post it. I always knew I was going to finish this story, but when was always the question. I hope you all like it and please comment with your reviews, as they are much appreciated. Also, I would like to thank my wonderful beta Tash (Pondering), who has done an amazing job helping me out so far. Thanks, hun. (1637 words)
Of Blood and Purity
by potterfan226
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Prologue “ I’ve Got Dreams to Remember
3 April, 1971
If there was anything that Adelaide hated more than anything, it was the fact that whenever she tried to find peace and quiet in her small, rundown home, it was so hard to come by. Every day, she tried to work on her files, however when she finally found a nice, cozy spot and assured herself that her husband, nor daughter, would make any noise, she was proven wrong yet again.
Adelaide Benton was a rather shy and secretive elderly woman who had been happily married for over forty-two years to her husband Phillip. She had white-blonde hair which, surprisingly, had not turned completely gray over the sixty years of her life, particularly the last ten, and very pale, sea-green eyes which, in her opinion, became paler with every year that passed. Adelaide wondered every day just what it was that kept her going. With a ten year old daughter who at times could be a complete hell raiser, Adelaide miraculously managed to live through each day without feeling the least bit sick of her family.
Her time on this earth was wearing thin. Any day now, Adelaide predicted, the clock which held her life together would tick its last tick, sending her six feet under the ground. Although she was a witch, and even though that magical folk seemed to live longer than an average day Muggle, Adelaide’s patience with this earth, and herself, was dwindling.
She hastily scribbled down a few side notes into a wire-bound notebook, with a quill dripping of ink, on an entry which she had written several months ago. Adelaide had a very vivid memory, which came with the territory of being a Seer, and when she had been presented with the dreamlike vision at the time, Adelaide’s interest grew. It was so real, so full of detail that made it impossible for Adelaide to ignore. It was almost like reading a page out of a mystery novel by one of her favorite authors.
She sighed as she finished reading the last sentence of her entry. Adelaide scratched her head and flipped a few pages back to the beginning.
It was still quite dark outside, however the sun could be seen just creeping over the horizon, revealing a man in billowing black robes. He had a triumphant look on his face as he addressed those around him.
“For those who ever believed that I would be defeated by a worthless teenager, I laugh at you, for look at him now! He lies at my feet, dead, while I remain standing, more powerful than ever. Bow to me, for I, Lord Voldemort, am your new master!”
Adelaide continued reading. She contemplated the dream for several hours that night, as she did every night, scratching her head at the names that popped up more than once, and sighed in disappointment at the blanks that needed to be filled in … the page in general gave her a bad feeling, a feeling of defeat. It just couldn’t be true, she told herself, yet it was almost too real to not be. Adelaide sighed yet again; she had to face the truth, there was no point in denying it. She was a Seer who had had a premonition and needed to take course of action. She got up and walked to the door of the den and stuck her head out and called.
“Jordanna, dear, please come here.”
Footsteps down the hall were heard, and within just a few seconds, a young girl appeared in the doorway.
“Yes, Mother?”
“Come in.” Adelaide held the door opened and Jordanna walked in nervously. She was never allowed in the den; it was just one of the rooms in the small house that was off limits. However, it wasn’t like she had never been in here before. She suspected that the den was the one place in the house where her mother could go to relax every day, but she, Jordanna, always managed to sneak in and pester her mum with petty questions.
Adelaide slowly made her way to the sofa and sat down. She motioned her daughter to do the same.
“Jordanna, dear,” she began, “as you are aware, you start Hogwarts this September-”
Jordanna nodded slowly. “Yes, Mum.”
Adelaide paused. “Now, your father and I have never really taught you about the wizarding world, and what Hogwarts would be like, so I am about to tell you. As you know there are four houses-”
“Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin,” Jordanna said matter-of-factly, a small smile plastered upon her young face.
Adelaide nodded. “Correct. Your father and I were both in Hufflepuff … but you however, I want -” She paused and contemplated what she was about to say while wringing her hands together slowly. “-I want you to be different from us.”
Jordanna raised her eyebrow in a confused matter. “What do you mean?”
Adelaide sighed. “Pure-bloods in the wizarding world are intended to befriend only pure-bloods. Especially those with families who trace back generations upon generations.” She paused and stroked her daughter’s hair lightly. “What I’m trying to say is that you, being a pure-blood, will be expected to follow the way in which some people might consider ‘the right way’.”
Jordanna raised her eyebrow again. “I don’t get it, Mum.”
“Well,” Adelaide began, “‘the right way’ is mostly the way in which those who are in Slytherin consider to be right. I want you to go that way, Jordanna.”
There was a long silence. “You want me to … be in … Slytherin?” Jordanna asked. She seemed still quite confused. “But why?”
Adelaide sighed. “You know what a Seer is, right, dear?”
Jordanna nodded. “Yes.”
“Well,” Adelaide started. “Seers, as you know, have the ability to see the future. I am a Seer, as you are well aware of. Several months ago, I had a vision, Jordanna, of what I believe was the future. Now I’ve been contemplating this vision for-”
“What did you see?”
Rubbing the back of her neck, Adelaide pursed her lips together. “What I saw was the end of the war, which is just beginning. You’ve heard your father and I read about these mysterious deaths in the Prophet these past few months; it’s all the act of one individual, I suspect. It’s common sense to have two sides of a war, Jordanna, and the side that I saw win was the dark side. A side that a Slytherin would generally belong to. What I want from you is to befriend that side: be one of them.”
“Mum, I’m still confused.”
“Jordanna, this is crucial, you must listen,” stressed Adelaide. “In the wizarding world, you must either be on the side of light, or on the side of dark, not in between; that’s not how it works. What I saw in my dream was the side of dark winning. And I can’t stress enough, that I only want what’s best for you; you are my only child, Jordanna, and if it means being someone who you’re not just to get through in life, to survive, you must do it.”
Eleven-year-old Jordanna sighed in thought. “So let me get this straight,” she confirmed slowly. “You, you want me to get sorted into Slytherin, so I can befriend other pure-blooded families so I “ I won’t d-die?”
Adelaide nodded. “Sadly, yes.”
Jordanna opened and closed her mouth several times. Stuttering, she said “But I-I don’t t-think I can.”
Closing her eyes, Adelaide stood up and began pacing around the small room, rubbing her hands together anxiously. “Jordanna, you must. You must do whatever “ it takes to befriend these children. You’re a smart girl. I do not want to have to attend your funeral, or kick myself in my grave knowing you died and I knew exactly what I could have done to prevent it.” She stopped pacing and turned to face her small daughter. “The Bentons are one of the poorest wizarding families in all of England; we have no money to bribe with, and we are known to be blood traitors. The Bentons have been Hufflepuffs for as long as I can remember, or could even trace back. These children will not go easy on you if they know that, Jordanna. You must be one of them; I cannot stress that enough. You are a Benton, Jordanna, and when a Benton puts their mind to something, they follow through. Do not disappoint me on this.”
Jordanna’s mouth was opened slightly as tears spilled over the brim of her eyes and down her cheeks. Adelaide made her way over to the couch slowly and brushed the tears away with her thumb. Her daughter jerked back slightly at her touch.
“Jordanna, trust me on this.”
She nodded. “I will.”
“Promise me you’ll do whatever “ it “ takes-”
“I will.”
Adelaide bent over and kissed the top of her daughter’s head. “Good girl. I know you don’t fully understand, but in a few years, once the Dark Lord has begun this war, you’ll begin to see why I did this. There are still quite a few months before Hogwarts starts and I figure you should have enough time to … change your ways.”
Jordanna nodded. She stood up quickly under her mother’s arm and exited the room as quickly as she could. Adelaide sighed as she watched her daughter go.
“She will understand,” Adelaide told herself confidently. At that precise moment, she heard a crash of glass come from the other side of the house. Adelaide sighed. She felt like an awful parent for putting her child through what she was making Jordanna do, but she just wanted her child to live and to be safe. Was that so bad to want?
“She just needs some time.”