Heiress of Slytherin

chapter 1 - heroes and villains

hey, sorry i'm late, i didn't want to come

Mara Grimsbane looked over her shoulder as she stepped into King's Cross Station in London, a natural frown on her lips. She came to the UK from the United States to avoid certain wizards belonging to the MACUSA who were hunting her parents for siding with dark wizards. There was absolutely no way she could return to Ilvermorny, so she was to stay with Alastair and Ginerva Pearce and their son Bram, colleagues of her parents, under the pretense that they were her aunt and uncle while her parents were in danger back in America. So Mara was to go to Hogwarts for her sixth year and to graduate from there in order to allow her parents to serve dark magic in America.

Mara had been to Hogwarts once before, on the last day of school a few months before, where she was sorted into Slytherin house and met Professor Snape, the head of her house, so that the transition from Ilvermorny to Hogwarts would be relatively seamless.

Mara was prepared for changes. For one, switching wizarding schools was unheard of. All Mara wanted to do was complete schooling and perhaps serve the famous dark wizard of England, Voldemort. There had been rumors of him and his deadly followers in America, but otherwise the two countries were extremely separated.

Mara was an experiment, you could say. A trial to see whether the two ministries could work in companionship together.

So there she was, standing at a platform in King's Cross, looking for Ginerva Pearce who would be her guardian and escort her to Hogwarts. Her trunks were sitting behind her, along with the carrying case for her owl, named Rue.

Finally, a woman apparated our of the steam of an oncoming train, and Mara knew it must be Ginerva. She was of medium height, deathly thin and pale, with thick white streaks running through her black hair. Her dark robes swished around her ankles. Suddenly, Mara felt quite insignificant in her black skinny jeans, dark green v-neck sweater, and high-top black converse.

No conversation was made as Mara followed Ginerva through the streets of London. With a snap of her fingers, Mara's luggage had disappeared, so off they went. Ginerva apparently worked in a higher-up position for the ministry of magic.

The streets grew darker and narrower, and the electric streetlights were exchanged for gas lamps. Even in late August, this part of London was dark and dreary. Dark characters in cloaks replaced drably-dressed no-majs as they hurried from one place to another, dodging the slight drizzle. Finally, Ginerva swooshed to a stop in front of a tall rowhouse and ascended the steps to the door, where she whipped out her wand and traced a golden pattern on the door, which opened and admitted both Ginerva and Mara.

The foyer left a bit to be desired. It was long and dimly lit, lined with portraits. It smelled damp and dusty, like the windows had never been opened. Somehow, in this creepy atmosphere, Mara felt right at home.

Finally, Ginerva spoke in a gravelly, slow, and self-righteous voice. "Mara Grimsbane. Welcome to our home."

Every word she said sounded almost sarcastic, but Mara doubted the woman was trying to be funny.

"Thank you for allowing me to stay," She replied, shifting from foot to foot.

"The pleasure is ours. Your room is upstairs. Meet me back here in twenty minutes. We will need to purchase some more... suitable things for you to wear at Hogwarts."

Without another word, Ginerva swished down the hallway and out of sight.

Mara found her room quickly, unpacked her things, and changed out of her wet clothes into something more wizard-like. Apparently in London wizards were less concerned about blending with no-majs.