Prologue
The mid-morning sun shone over Britain as I finished packing up my few personal belongings into a small knapsack gifted to me by Mother Mary, who, before you ask, is not a nun or anything like that. She's the woman who runs an orphanage for wizardkind children who have no families of their own.
I was one such child. Mother Mary told me that my birth mother died in childbirth and my father was so grief stricken he left St. Mungo's and didn't didn't return. Before she had died, my birth mother named me Anastasia, a name of Russian origin meaning "ressurection". Mary never told me the surname of either of my parents, and instead gifted me a unique one, Silverthorn, since my hair was so light it almost looked silver and my eyes were piercing blue, like thorns on a bush.
Mother Mary has a special talent for telling if a child will inherit magical blood and she takes those orphans in and teaches them all about the wizarding world, so they'll be ready to learn and hone their magical skills. As one of the few older children of the house, I helped Mother with the chores and let her homeschool me for a few years after I turned twelve years old, instead of leaving to attend any of the Wizard schools across the world.
One day however, an old friend from Mother's years at Hogwarts came by and he took a particular interest in me when he saw my "natural talent" as Mother had said. I was fourteen when Professor Fig took me under his wing and began teaching me more advanced forms of magic. He wrote a long and detailed letter to the Headmaster at Hogwarts and that was enough to let me enroll as a fifth year come the beginning of term.
So that leads me here, packing my small room I shared with three other younger girls and saying goodbye as I started a new chapter in my life. My orphanage brothers and sisters were sad to see me go.
"I promise to write every day and tell you about the beauties and wonders of Hogwarts." I promised as Marie, one of my sisters that I'm closest to, hugged me tightly, her face buried in my shoulder.
"You'll come to visit too, right? You won't forget about me and the rest of us?" she sniffled, wiping her nose on her sweater sleeve.
"Of course." I smiled and wiped her eyes.
"Little Marie, it's for Anastasia to go now." Mother Mary told her, placing a soft hand on her shoulder. "She has a very important ceremony to get to at Hogwarts."
Marie nodded and walked to stant next to Colin, Mother's biological son and older brother to us all. I hugged Mother goodbye, inhaling the sweet scent of her honeysuckle perfume. "I'll write as soon as I'm settled in my new Common Room." I pulled back and Mother brushed some hair from my face.
"Do not fret about your Sorting Ceremony, my precious girl. Your House will reveal hidden truths about yourself you have yet to uncover." Mother kissed my forehead. "I'm proud of you and I can't wait to hear about your time at Hogwarts."
Professor Fig let out a grunt as he finished securing my supplies to the carriage parked nearby. "Alright, best be off now Anastasia." he wiped his palms together. "Mary, I promise I'll get your girl safely to Hogwarts and continue to keep her under my wing." he patted my shoulder and smiled proudly.
Apparating out of nowhere, a stout man with glasses called out to Professor Fig and walked over to us. "Geroge." Professor Fig greeted. "Glad you made it before we took off."
The man called Geroge and Professor Fig shook hands. "It's been much too long. When I recieved your owl-"
Mr. George cut him off by raising his hand, "Best not speak here, Eleaza." he gave a rather cryptic tolt of his head.
"Of course." Fig nodded. "Why not speak en route to Hogwarts?" he proposed. "We have a start-of-term feast and a Sorting Ceremony to get to."
George nodded in agreement. "Splendid!" he clapped his hands. "As long as your young charge here doesn't mind me tagging along?" he glanced to me.
"Oh, not at all sir." I shook my head, tucking some hair behind my ear.
"Well then, after you, young lady." George held the carriage door open for me. I glanced one more time at my family and gave them a smile before lifting the hem of my skirt and stepping inside. I slid over so Professor Fig could sit next to me. "Been ages since I've been to the castle." Mr. George laughed. "Would be good to see the old pile of rocks." he closed the door after him.
The driver of the carriage gave a flick of the reins he held, and the carriage lurched forward before taking off into the sky.
"And who is your young friend?" Mr. George asked Professor Fig as the carriage flew across the sky.
"A new student." Professor Fig turned to me. "Anastasia Silverthorn. She's one of Mary's daughters."
Mr. Geroge adjusted his glasses and glanced at me. "New student, eh?" he repeated.
"Yes sir." I nodded, nervously kneading the fabric of my skirt. "I'm starting school, as a Fifth-Year."
"How extraordinary." Mr. Geroge blinked in surprise.
"Indeed." agreed Professor Fig. "None of the faculty has ever heard of anyone being admitted so late." he glanced at me with a soft smile. "Of course, as the other Fifth-Year students will have been honing their skills for four years now, the Headmaster asked if I could get Miss Silverthorn up to speed before the term begins."
"Well, you couldn't have asked for a better mentor, Miss Silverthorn." George boasted. "Professor Fig is not only an exceptional teacher, he is also a remarkably intuitive and gifted wizard."
Professor Fig made a small brushing motion with his hands. "Mr. Osric is prone to flattery. I daresay it's one of the reasons he's risen so far up the Ministry."
We all chuckled at the comment, before Mr. Osric's expression turned more serious. He pulled out a newspaper, the front article was titled 'Ranrok's Goblin Rebellion' and there was a moving image of a menacing looking Goblin who I could only assume was Ranrok.
As Professor Fig and Mr. Osric disguessed the matter, I glanced out the window and caught sight of a faint red glow and the silhouette of something moving under the clouds. I shook my head and turned my attention back to my mentor and his friend, and I heard a mention about Professor Fig's late wife-Miriam-and that she had sent something to Mr. Osric before she died.
The small container Mr. Osric held intrigued me somehow. Even though it was pale in color, I couldn't help but stare at it. "I can only assume-"
"-she had to get rid of it quickly." Professor Fig finished Mr. Osric's thought. "To keep it safe."
"Presumably from Ranrok." George finished.
Now that Professor Fig was holding the container, I could see more clearly small carvings around the mid section and a faint glow coming from the large symbol in the middle."What's that glow?" I asked, not realizing I had said it aloud.
Both men were looking at me with strange, yet inquisitve, looks. Professor Fig handed the container to me and the moment I touched it, a small warm feeling began stirring within me. The light blue glow grew brighter for a moment before the containuer opened, revealing a strange looking key resting on the green velvet interior.
"Merlin's beard!" Geroge gasped. "How did you-"
I felt drawn to this key and wasn't even aware I was about to grab hold of it until Professor Fig lightly took my wrist. "Wait." he halted, reaching to take the container from me, "We do not know what-"
His statement was cut short when something crashed into the carriage, ripping it in half. I grabbed to hold onto my door to avoid falling, my eyes wide at the sight before me; a large black dragon with glowing red eyes and a metal collar glowing a dark red as well. It let out a roar as it crushed the part of the carriage it held between its jaws, instantlly killing Mr. Osric.
My hands flew to my mouth to suppress the scream I felt coming up. I couldn't believe what I had just witnessed. I leaned back as far as I could into my seat, turning over my shoulder and witnessed something else just as terrifying. Right before my eyes materialized four flying creatures that looked similar to horses, only were almost skeletal looking in nature and had leathery wings.
Everything else happened so fast. One second, I was holding on for dear life and the next thing I know, I'm falling down from the sky. "Give me your hand!" Professor Fig called out to me. I reached for him but kept missing his hand my inches. Finally, he managed to grab my arm and used magic to pull the key to him and everything exploded into a bright light.
To Be Continued...