Fate's Chosen (Harry Potter Fanfiction)

Chapter 3: Just You Wait

Ashley spent the majority of the night learning how to control and channel her magic and practicing wandless spells. She began with trying out simple first year spells such as Wingardium Leviosa and Reparo. She used the latter to successfully fix her glasses when the tape around the bridge got too uncomfortable. She had camped out in the living room, making lamps and books levitate. She also snuck some food from the fridge. Her new body may have been used to starving but she needed the proper energy as to not pass out from exhaustion. Magic, although natural for her, was not as easy as it seemed, especially when it came to wandless magic. She retired to her cupboard after two straight hours of continuous practicing, making sure to lock the door with a sleepy Colloportus.

She didn't worry about the Ministry and what they would do if they found out about her using magic. The Trace had been explained to be placed on wands and since she didn't have a wand yet, she was safe to use her magic. Either way, she was pretty sure the Trace was just location-based. It made sense, really. Hermione had gotten away with practicing her magic before going to Hogwarts. It must have been written off as accidental magic. Hopefully, that was the case since Ashley really didn't want to be expelled or worse before she could actually go to school.

Her magic wasn't the only thing that grew that night, so did her hate for the Dursleys. With her new life came new, in this case old, memories. Some were good; she remembered the short but happy time she spent with her real family consisting of Lily, James, Sirius, and Remus. Most were bad; she remembered how the Dursleys had been treating her for the past ten years she'd spent with them. The horrid beatings, both verbal and physical, being left for dead in that cupboard, being starved for weeks on end before being given only a stale piece of bread and a tiny glass of water... She had to live through those memories and experience the pain of it all over and over again.

The Dursleys truly were monsters. If it wasn't for her magic, Ashley surely would have already died. No more, they were no longer allowed to treat her as anything less than what she was. She was not a freak and her magic was a gift. Her father was a great wizard and her mother an even better witch. They were not the lazy drunk and common whore Vernon described them to be. The Dursleys had hell to pay for all the torture she had been through. Alas, she had to maintain her helpless and vulnerable state until she was given the chance to finally get away.

She only had about five hours of sleep before her aunt was loudly knocking on the door, telling her to get up and start on breakfast. Sighing, Ashley put her glasses on and trudged to the kitchen. When she took a glance in the living room and saw Dudley in his school uniform, she belatedly remembered that today was the day that her first Hogwarts letter would arrive. She bit back an excited smile and focused on cooking, ignoring the sounds of Dudley being fussed over. However, she looked up when her aunt called her.

"You, girl, be useful and go get the post." Petunia said, pushing her away and taking her place in fixing breakfast.

Ashley didn't let the horse ruin her good mood. She walked into the hallway and gathered the letters from the letterbox. She stood there for a second, sorting through them until she found the letter with her name on it. She glared at it for a second, seeing that it was addressed to her cupboard and realizing something about Dumbledore. He had known all along about how the Dursleys treated her, he must have. And yet, he had done nothing about it. He made Harry go back to this hell every summer, claiming that it was safer for him here. Why? Was it to morph Harry into this malleable person Dumbledore could order around? How had Harry never questioned him? Ashley was well aware of the blood protection that linked Harry, and now her, to Petunia but that protection had certain requirements that would never be met. Thus, being with the Dursleys was absolutely pointless.