Dedicated to CoralCupid

     Outcast. Traitor. Disgrace. Words my family would often use to describe me. Though these words were intended as insults, I thought of them as compliments, for it meant I would never live up to my family name:

     Lestrange.

...

     During the First Wizarding War, my mother longed to be the Dark Lord's right-hand woman, though she quickly grew frustrated when he ignored her every advance. Deciding to take revenge on Voldemort, Bellatrix Lestrange forced her fellow Death Eater, Severus Snape, to partake in a night of passionless love-making. Nine months later, on the eve of July 30th, 1980, I - Lily Lestrange - was brought into a world that would prove to be a cold and heartless place for someone like me.

     Someone who, because of her reluctance to continue her family's legacy of death and destruction, would be cruelly mistreated by her own flesh and blood. Shortly after I was born, my mother sent me to Malfoy Manor, where I would stay with my aunt, uncle, and cousin for the first thirteen years of my life. Because she knew I would want to live with my father if I were to learn his identity, my mother made sure his name was never spoken, as did the Malfoys.

     Fate, however, had other plans.

     Against my mother's wishes, my father would come forward during my third year at Hogwarts, revealing the connection we shared and apologizing for his absence in my life, an absence I wouldn't come to truly understand until after his death. Though we lived in the same house, the Malfoys acted as though I didn't exist, only acknowledging my presence when they felt the need to punish me for some imagined slight.

     I spent the first twelve years of my life haunting Malfoy Manor, the mere ghost of a girl as I roamed from room to room, quietly taking advantage of my limited freedom when I wasn't locked in the cold basement below. However, on an overcast morning in June of 1993, my life would change forever.

...

     I followed on the heels of Lucius Malfoy as he marched briskly towards the office of Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts, School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Taking care to avoid tripping over my uncle's dark robes, I glanced back at the Malfoys' house-elf, Dobby, who cowered behind me, his eyes darting nervously across the corridor and meeting mine for a moment before he cast his gaze towards the ground once more.

     With a flourish of his wand, Lucius swept the door to Dumbledore's office aside with a loud bang and strode into the room with a confidence few possessed, the headmaster looking less than surprised while a startled young boy quickly whipped around.

     Though the boy's school uniform was quite filthy and his hair was mussed, the only thing I noticed were his sapphire eyes, which widened when he spotted the house-elf, "Dobby! So this is your master. The family you serve is the Malfoys."

     Dobby nodded in confirmation before glancing fearfully at Lucius, though he avoided my own eyes when I arched an eyebrow. Dobby had disappeared several times throughout the year, and now I wondered if this boy had anything to do with his absence.

     Lucius turned, his hateful gaze sweeping over myself and Dobby as though he thought I had something to do with the boy's knowledge of his house-elf, his teeth clenched as he said, "Wait outside. I'll deal with the two of you later."

     Though Dumbledore's expression had hardened upon my uncle's entrance, his grandfatherly face softened as his gaze met my own, and he smiled the smallest of smiles. Puzzled, I quickly turned on my heel and returned to the corridor, the young boy appearing at my side a moment later.

     "I don't think we've been introduced," he said. "My name's Harry. Harry Potter."

     Mustering the courage to meet his breathtaking gaze, I looked up and found his expression unreadable, cursing myself inwardly for not having noticed the infamous scar sooner.

     Glancing down once more, I hesitated several moments before shaking his offered hand and mumbling a reply, "My name's Lily. Lily Lestrange."

     Before he could reply, I heard the familiar thwack of my uncle's cane, followed by a high-pitched squeal. Knowing it was Dobby who had cried out in pain, a grim realization overcame me: The house-elf and I were practically equals, though only one of us could be freed. Knowing that Lucius would appear at any moment, I quickly reached down and removed my sock, pulling Harry aside and reaching for the tattered notebook in his hands.

     When he instinctively pulled away, I snapped, "There's no time, give it to me."

     I opened the notebook to a random page and shoved the sock inside, closing the diary once more and returning it to Harry as a seething Lucius strode past, Dobby struggling to stay on his master's heels as he limped through the hall.

     As Lucius gestured for me to follow, understanding dawned on Harry's face, and he called after my uncle, "Mr. Malfoy? Mr. Malfoy! I have something of yours."

     When Lucius turned towards the boy and spotted the notebook in his hands, his pale skin flushed, "Mine? I don't know what you're talking about."

     "I think you do, sir," Harry replied as Lucius ripped the notebook from Potter's hands, and I struggled to suppress a smile upon hearing the smugness in his voice. "I think you slipped the diary into Ginny Weasley's cauldron that day at Diagon Alley."

     Though I was unaware of their history at the time, my uncle clearly knew what Harry spoke of, for I could practically hear Malfoy's teeth grinding together as he clenched his jaw and passed the diary to Dobby, "You do, do you? Why don't you...prove it?"

     When Harry fell silent, Lucius turned on his heel and ordered Dobby to follow, though the house-elf remained where he was and furrowed his brow in confusion when I gestured to the notebook in his hands.

     "Open it," I whispered, Lucius glancing over his shoulder when he realized that Dobby wasn't following.

     "Dobby, come!" Malfoy demanded, though the house-elf ignored him as he opened the diary, his eyes widening and his hand shaking as he slowly reached down to grab the sock that had fallen out.

     "Master has given Dobby a sock," he said in awe.

     Lucius whipped around, "What? I didn't give you a-"

     "Master has presented Dobby with clothes," the house-elf continued, interrupting his former master. "Dobby is free!"

     As Malfoy's jaw dropped, I lifted my pant leg to reveal my bare ankle, managing an arrogant smile even though I knew my actions would later lead to severe repercussions.

     My uncle's left eyelid twitched, his face turning bright red as he screamed, "You lost me my servant!"

     Just as he whipped out his wand, Dumbledore appeared on the threshold of his office, clasping his hands in front of him as he asked, "Lucius, I was wondering if I could borrow Miss Lestrange for a moment? We won't be long."

     I glanced between the headmaster and my uncle, the heat of Malfoy's hateful gaze boring a hole in the back of my skull and threatening to incinerate me.

     Finally, Lucius nodded, "Very well. We'll talk once you've returned to Malfoy Manor."

     With that, he turned on his heel and I breathed a sigh of relief, though I knew Dumbledore's intervention had only delayed my punishment.

     As I followed the wizened wizard into his office and closed the door, I said, "Forgive me, Headmaster, but I was under the impression that you'd been removed from your position."

     A smug expression appeared on Dumbledore's face as he replied, "Though several of the governors were under the impression that your uncle would curse their families if they did not agree to suspend me in the first place, they saw fit to summon me back when they learned that Arthur Weasley's daughter had been taken captive. Though Lucius claims that his sole purpose will always be the welfare of this school...and its students...I think you and I both know this is not necessarily the case."

     I hummed a response, then asked, "Has the culprit been identified?"

     The amusement on Dumbledore's face disappeared, and he nodded solemnly, hesitating a moment before answering, "Voldemort."

     The hair on the nape of my neck stood on end, and when I found myself unable to reply, the headmaster continued, "Only this time he chose to act through somebody else by means of the notebook now in Dobby's possession. Fortunately, young Mr. Potter-Whom you met only moments earlier-discovered it. One hopes that no more of Voldemort's old school things should find their way into innocent hands. Which, unfortunately, is why I have asked to speak with you."

     When I arched my eyebrow in a silent question, Dumbledore asked, "Am I correct in assuming you possess the same magical abilities as your mother and father?"

     I nodded, for though my uncle had prevented me from attending Hogwarts, Narcissa chose to tutor me when he was not around. Initially confused by her compassion, I quickly came to realize my aunt was far kinder than the man she had married.

     Dumbledore hummed and nodded thoughtfully, falling silent for a moment before stating, "In the coming months, you will receive a letter via the Owl Post inviting you to start your journey at Hogwarts this coming September. Though this will be your first year attending the school of Witchcraft and Wizardry, you will be assigned to the same classes as the other children your age."

     "May I ask why?" I questioned.

     "Miss Lestrange...your connections to Death Eaters, both past and-I fear-present, places you in a unique position," the headmaster explained after considering his words for a moment. "What I'm asking of you is risky, but I fear not taking advantage of your ties to the Wizarding World will only lead to greater tragedy."

     "Risky?" I replied incredulously as I realized what he was implying. "You're asking me to spy on my family, who may or may not be working for the Dark Lord himself!"

     Once again, Dumbledore fell silent, and seemed hesitant to continue, "I'm afraid, Miss Lestrange, that there is more I must ask of you...Should you agree to observe your family's whereabouts and report their actions, I will also require you to protect Mr. Potter at all costs. His survival, should the Dark Lord return, is essential to defeating Voldemort."

     "And if I agree?" I asked. "What do I get in return?"

     "Freedom, Miss Lestrange, I am offering you freedom," the headmaster claimed. "Though I can only imagine what you have been through during your young life, I can see the hardship and pain in your eyes. Should you agree to help me protect the Chosen One, you will be given free rein of the school grounds and, should you wish, permission to live within the walls of this castle full-time. Should you be forced to return to Malfoy Manor, your protection will be ensured to prevent any mistreatment on your uncle's part."

     I blindly reached for the chair that sat behind me and lowered myself onto its plump cushion as the weight of Dumbledore's words seemed to pull me down. The freedom to live where I chose and protection from my uncle's wrath.

     Looking up, I held the headmaster's gaze and slowly nodded, Dumbledore smiling as he said, "Welcome to the Order of the Phoenix, Miss Lestrange."

     "Call me Lily," I replied, and though he smiled once more, a sadness crept into Dumbledore's eyes as he shook my hand.