Drowned Hearts

Chapter 1

Thirty Years Later...

The ghost of Liana Porter glided silently over the lake at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. She had been there watching every student that passed through the school, guiding them unwillingly, helping the souls that passed there to find their final resting place. Once or twice people talked to her. Mostly she went unnoticed. The new first years were coming across the lake now, ooing and ahhing at the magnificent castle they would call home for their next seven years.

"Good evening, Liana," Hagrid said as he passed. He had always been very kind to her having actually being one of the select few to notice her and know her when she was alive.

"Hello, Hagrid," she said glancing at the excited faces.

"Will you be joining the sorting this year?" He asked conversationally.

"I think I will," she said sadly, forever sad. Hagrid smiled sadly too. He had known her in school. Pretty little thing all smiles. She hardly smiled now and Hagrid knew why. It was a sad story and not many told it. It was her story, for her to tell. Liana glided towards the school her old-fashioned skirts flying out behind her dripping imaginary water. Her hair clung to her transparent face, dripping, always dripping, a constant reminder of her watery grave. She floated towards he beloved headmaster at the front of the room and hovered in the air next to Severus Snape.

"Good evening, Liana," he remarked to her.

"Is it?" She asked once again falling into her gloomy state. Severus watched his ghostly companion closely. He had known her through school as the older woman no one could touch but Tom Riddle. Her story was a legend in Tom Riddle's book, his first real kill. She still remained her beautiful 17 year old self. Still long blonde hair and sparkling blue eyes except now her hair hung wet, clinging to her pale face, her eyes were surrounded by a smear of makeup. He frowned slightly. The girl was an innocent wrapped up in the wrong thing and now she would suffer forever for His mistake, only to leave this earth when He was truly gone, when He was suffering in hell. She gave him a slight smile the biggest one she had given for thirty years. The students just passed through her not noticing her transparent self.

"How are you, Liana?" Snape asked her as she floated next to him.

"Dead and wet," she said simply. Snape's scowl threatened to turn into concern but he recovered. He cared much for the ghostly girl. This was always the day she thought about her death, the first day of school when she had met her murderer. The sorting went as planned and soon Dumbledore was standing.

"Hello and welcome to another or new year at Hogwarts," he said smiling warmly around at the students. Liana had the speech memorized after hearing it every year. She beamed at her professor. He had tried to warn her and she hadn't listened. She respected him more now that she was dead than when she had been alive. She gave a small smile at the end of the speech, another ball this year. She remembered her first ball. It seemed so long ago. It had been over 30 years. She sighed openly looking at the excited faces. Her eyes fell on the Slytherin Table. She had been a Hufflepuff, herself. She didn't care much for house relations. She liked pretty much anybody but now she was wary of all Slytherins. She swore to herself she would never get close to one again.