Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. J.K. Rowling owns it.
Will be on hiatus for now.
A/N: This is a collection of one-shots about Elizabeth's life, so the chapters will not have 'Chapter One, Chapter Two'. The events in this might be a little scrambled, just a warning.
"I'm not like them! Honest! My parents are horrible people, but I'm not like them!"
Introduction[]
Not many people can say they escaped Lord Voldemort. I'll say his name, because I do not fear him. Not many people can say they are a child of two Death Eaters, either,
Elizabeth Lestrange, that's me. Of course, my mother loved Lord Voldemort but never her husband. I don't think she ever spoke of him, actually. Yet, somehow they had a child together that neither of them cared for. My mother knew I would never serve Lord Voldemort, so she left me on the streets. I was like an orphan, but my parents weren't dead.
But, I'm getting off track, aren't I? I escaped Lord Voldemort, he found me, in my Seventh Year. He decided he wanted to recruit me. Of course I wouldn't, I never would. So, I did the natural thing: I disarmed him like Harry Potter had always done.
This isn't about Harry Potter though, he has his own story to tell, just like everyone else. And I have mine.
This is the story of how I was forgiven for what my parents had become. This is a recollection of the fear I faced, the things I saw during my years at Hogwarts.
This, is my absolution, and I think I'm lucky to even have one at all.
The Sorting[]
"First Years, follow me!" Professor McGonagal ordered and the small mob of eleven year olds followed her through the castle. Many were looking at the ghosts that floated through the walls but some were talking to each other. The Weasley twins were among the students gawking at the castle, being only told of it second-hand. Elizabeth did not ogle at the castle, she was too worried about which House she would be in.
I will not be in Slytherin, she kept saying to herself, I will not. While lost in her thoughts, she bumped into George Weasley who was in front of her. "S-sorry." she squeaked as the twins turned around to look at her. The twins just looked at each other, grinning. "It's alright, who are you, anyway. We heard you had a compartment all to yourself." George asked, his brother nodding in agreement.
"I'm Elizabeth." she replied, and not meeting their gaze she hurried forward into the Great Hall. But even she gasped in surprise when she saw how big it was. And the enchanted ceiling was amazing, a swirling cloud of blue and grey. "Now, you put the hat on and it shall determine which House you are best suited for." the Professor explained and all First Years nodded.
They streamed into the Great Hall and at once Professor McGonagal started calling off names but Elizabeth was too focused in her thoughts to think about who was being called.
"Lestrange, Elizabeth!" Professor McGonagal called and there were gasps from the Great Hall. Of course, they didn't think Death Eaters so terrible would have children, let alone send them to Hogwarts.
She slowly walked towards the chair and sat down. The hat was plopped on her head and she winced as it started to talk. "Interesting, though it isn't surprising. You do look like Bellatrix, my dear. Oh, and what's this? You-Know-Who has branded you, has he? And for one so young too..."
"Stop, please stop!" Elizabeth whispered, her face growing paler and her eyes wide.
"Well, you aren't a Slytherin, that's for sure. Or a Hufflepuff...maybe Ravenclaw, perhaps?" the hat asked but she didn't say anything. "Well, then, it better be- GRYFFINDOR!" the hat shouted but the Great Hall was silent, they couldn't possibly believe this girl could be in Gryffindor, maybe the hat had made a mistake.
Elizabeth sat down at the Gryffindor table, too afraid to say anything. She watched as the Weasley twins were Sorted and politely clapped with the rest of the table but faking a smile. No one would want to talk to her, she knew that. She was the child of two Death Eaters, that was worse than anything.
The Train[]
Elizabeth hurried to the Hogwarts Express, her frizzy black hair whipping her face in the wind. Her brown eyes were wide with fear and her cream-colored skin seemed paler than usual. She was afraid of what House she would be put in, Afraid of what would happen when people found out her parentage. "Hey, you, what's that on your arm?" a boy yelled and she quickly covered her left arm and hurried away to the train. She couldn't let people know what was on her arm. Her mother made her, she made her take the mark...it was an honor she had told her.
She grabbed her trunk and clambered on the train, hoping to find an empty compartment in the back. Yes, that's what she would do. The less people knew about her, the better.
She found a smaller compartment at the back of the train and quickly walked into it, sitting down. Alone, that's how she was. Always alone with no one to talk to. She would probably be a Hufflepuff, but that would be better than a Slytherin on any day. Her mother would be ashamed of her if Elizabeth was put in Gryffindor or Ravenclaw, but Elizabeth didn't care what her mother thought. She ruined Elizabeth, she never wanted her but somehow managed to brand the mark on her arm. Neither of her parents cared for her, only themselves.
But that was alright, she didn't care for her parents either. They were selfish. Too selfish to even understand what their daughter wanted. Too selfish so that they abandoned their only child and wished her to die.
Though maybe Elizabeth expected that. After all, her parents were extremely devoted to You-Know-Who, they would put their own lives after his. Their daughter's life.
Elizabeth was broken from her thoughts by the trolley woman knocking on the compartment door. She jumped in her seat and shook her head to show she didn't want anything. The lady looked at her strangely then left.
Alone, Elizabeth was always alone.
And she had a feeling it would stay that way for awhile.
Christmas[]
Elizabeth woke up on a particularly snowy day at Hogwarts. She yawned and noticed the smell of pine in the dormitory. She looked around the room and saw that the other girls had presents piled by their beds. Elizabeth had no presents, which must have meant it was Christmas. She sighed but didn't say anything. She got up and started to put a sweater on when the other girls woke up. "Oh, morning Elizabeth." the one girl greeted. It was Angelina Johnson. "Hello." Elizabeth mumbled and quickly headed to the Common room with a book under her arm. She would at least try to read over the holidays. It was something she liked.
On her way to the Common room to bumped into two familiar red-headed twins. "Sorry." she mumbled, without looking at them. "Why are you bringing a book to the Common room? Shouldn't you be unwrapping presents?" one of them asked. Elizabeth figured it was Fred. "I didn't get any." she muttered and the twins looked at each other. "No presents? But don't you have friends?" Fred asked. His brother elbowed him when Elizabeth looked at them, tears threatening to fall.
She bolted out of the Common room, Fred and George looking at each other. Fred looking embarrassed but didn't say anything about it. Though he felt guilty about what had happened.
Elizabeth found herself in the Great Hall at the Gryffindor table. She started to pile her plate with food and took out the book she had. It was a Muggle book, one she had liked. It was Northern Lights, though she had read it a few times. Someone sat next to her on either side but she didn't look up from her book. "Northern Lights...is that a Muggle book?" a familiar voice asked and Elizabeth pulled the book away to look at the speaker. "Yes, it is." she replied, frowning slightly at Fred Weasley. "Er, Fred didn't mean to upset you." George told her from the other side. Elizabeth didn't respond.
"Elizabeth, take this." George told her and put some Chocolate Frogs in front of her. As much as she loved them, she didn't want them.
"No, you keep them." she told them, "But...thank you anyway." Elizabeth added after a few seconds. She smiled and got up from the table.
"You two have been some of the few people nice to me." she explained and then left to leave the twins looking at each other in confusion.
The Letter[]
"Oi, Lestrange girl!" a boy yelled and Elizabeth turned her head. She was in the Great Hall at breakfast, and the owls had all flown by. It was her Second Year at Hogwarts, so she knew not to expect anything. After all, she was a disgrace to her Death Eater family and she had no friends except for Fred and George. Even the other Gryffindor's and Houses tended to avoid her.
The boy yelling was a fifth year at least, and he had curly brown hair and a permanently annoyed face. He almost reminded her of Percy, Fred and George's brother. Percy, however, didn't call her "Lestrange girl". He was one of the few, actually.
"What?" Elizabeth asked, almost defensively.
"You got a letter." he muttered, avoiding her gaze. He glanced at her left arm like he knew something was there when he handed her the letter. She looked at the letter and saw her name was messily scrawled on it. She opened it and silently read it.
Dear Elizabeth,
Fred and George have told me so much about you, dear, and I thought you should stay with us at the Burrow for the summer, only if you would want to though dear. Please send Errol with a reply soon.
Mrs. Weasley
Elizabeth stared at the letter, then at the owl who must be Errol. She looked at Fred and George who pretended to be talking with Lee, and she felt a rush of affection for them. They actually didn't think badly of her, they really didn't judge her because of her parents like she had thought. She smiled as she took out a piece of parchment and a quill from her bag and wrote a reply. She tied it is Errol's leg and he gave a hoot and flew off.
"Thank you, Fred, George. Thank you." she whispered as she left the Great Hall. This was first time she felt truly accepted; at the Muggle Orphanage she was picked on because her hair was wild and her skin was pale, and in the Wizarding World her parents were both in Azkaban for torturing a poor husband and wife who were Aurors.
She wasn't used to this kindness, but she was thankful for it.
Determination[]
Another summer quickly went by and Elizabeth was now in her third year of Hogwarts. She had spent a wonderful summer at the Burrow and had gotten to know Fred and George's little sister, Ginny. The younger girl had fiery red hair like the twins and was a little shy to begin with.
She had also met the twins' younger brother, Ronald Weasley. He had greeted her nicely but she hadn't seen him many times. From what she had gathered, Ronald would be starting at Hogwarts this year. She hoped that he would be Gryffindor with them. Considering the family line he probably would.
When she had been laughing with Fred and George at the Burrow she realized that some part of her had changed the last two years, She wasn't as afraid anymore and she slowly seemed to forget the looks that students gave her in the corridors. She still was timid deep down but she left that having friends had changed her in a way. Had she not made friends she didn't know what would have happened.
She gazes outside as she sat in her compartment in the train. Fred and George weren't there yet so she assumed they were running a little late. She could hardly blame them, having to get four people to KIng's Cross and back.
Lee Jordan sat across from her holding a large box with a larger spider in it. He looked up at her and grinned. "Found this little bugger in the Forbidden Forest last year." Elizabeth shook her head, slightly repulsed. She didn't entirely hate spiders, but this one was absolutely disgusting.
She and Lee Jordan didn't really talk much, as he hung more around Fred and George. They had more things in common, she supposed, since they liked to pull pranks.