Sanguis Novus

Chapter One: Regina

Her hair streamed out behind her as it tumbled in the wind, the air caressing her skin. Her eyes shut themselves, and she knew she was free...free to fly, free to dash away from everything. It was terribly cold, being up so high, but she was immune to that as if she donned a cape of eiderdown. She was the only one there, completely alone, only her. But she sensed the presence of another, and she realized that she wasn't alone and could never be. Someone or something was below her, giving her support and giving whatever it was that allowed her to soar so unburdened, so wild and untamed. She called, "Who are you?" and received silence in return. She moved her head, trying to see this shrouded source of liberty, but she slipped...and fell, the wind stinging her...someone was laughing at her...screaming cruel jibes at her...

"You idiot, quit it!"

She bolted upright, senses sharpening, but the dream remained in her mind. She had already experienced it nearly everyday for a month now, and every time she tried to find out who was helping her, the dream would end with her tumbling back to the ground. It was a source of annoyance to her, really, but it also provided a sort of journey for her seemingly purposeless life. Sometimes, when she thought the world had been stripped of its color, the dream and the sensation of being so liberated felt like the only reason she was living was to discover the mysterious being that was giving her such an escape. Before she could further muse about the details, however, she recognized the screeching voice as her sister's.

"Stop making all that noise! It's giving me a headache," came shouts from the room next door.

"Ugh...I'm not doing anything!" she moaned into her pillow, suddenly feeling very tired.

"Yes, you are! Now stop it!"

"I said I'm not doing anything! It's coming from downstairs!"

"Well, stop it!"

"Why can't you?"

"Because I'm doing my homework!"

Lily Evans scowled as she threw herself off her bed and thundered out of her room, muttering indistinct insults at her older sister, Petunia. Leave it up to someone like her to disturb a peaceful afternoon siesta. Now that she was going to be in her second year of secondary school, Petunia could easily use the excuse of schoolwork to avoid doing virtually anything, including house chores and menial errands. Whether or not she was actually doing the work was a topic worthy of investigation, so Lily thought. When the subject was brought to the dinner table, though, her parents waved it away. Thus, Lily was unfortunately relegated with the task of not only washing the dishes but also doing the laundry...and catering to her sister's every whim, which would include quieting whatever it was that was making a racket.

As she walked down the stairs, she heard the clamor disturbing her sister, her ears longing to seal themselves up to block out the din. Off in the distance, there was a banging sound. It must be the neighbors again, Lily thought, rolling her eyes, playing with their toys, which she considered very akin to metal trashcans.

She strolled into the kitchen and, taking one look out the window, nearly turned around and sprinted back up the stairs. A barn owl was furiously attacking the window (it was a wonder it hadn't cracked yet) while clasping something in its talons. Trembling as she reached for the telephone, Lily's mind frantically raced through all the phone numbers she could think of, trying to locate the local zoo's. Even as she remembered the fifth digit of the number, it occurred to her how incredibly stupid the words would sound. Hello, sir, sorry to bother you, but there's an owl trying to break my window. Lily chuckled wryly, knowing whoever picked up the phone would think her a freak, just like Petunia.

But then, she came up with a better idea.

"Wait here," she told the owl, who, miraculously, seemed to have understood her command and immediately ceased its tapping.

Soundlessly, Lily crept up the stairs and, upon arriving on the second floor, opened the closet door, which was next to Petunia's bedroom. It was here the Evans family deposited any unnecessary items. She was very well acquainted with its contents, having rummaged through it countless times before in search of supplies for her school projects. Also, it was quite an adventure unto itself, diving in and about the many treasures of the closet.

"Oh, here it is!" Lily exclaimed, dizzy with relief.

A few years ago, she had kept a canary for a pet. Its melodious voice and inquisitive manner had enraptured her the moment she laid her sight on it for the first time. After much whining and adamantly insisting she wouldn't leave the pet shop until it was hers, Lily's parents at last gave in, and their young daughter exited the shop, cage in hand, chirping away as merrily as her bird.

But the canary's life had expired too soon for Lily's liking, leaving its owner in tears. She had asked her mother to throw the cage away so she could be rid of the bitter memory of death, but whether that request was ever followed through, she had never checked. Then only a year ago, she had seen it, tucked away in the back. Having convinced herself it couldn't possibly be a birdcage, Lily went back to her business.

Still, she thought, it could still be there, the cage. To her knowledge, no one had touched it for a while.

"Oh, here it is!" Lily declared, suddenly realizing Petunia might have heard her.

After seeing no sign her sister had heard her victorious proclamation, Lily yanked on the cage, causing a few nearby objects to fall over, and tiptoed back down the kitchen, at last opening the window. The owl was still flapping its wings; it feathers ruffling impatiently.

"Now, listen to me," Lily commanded as she turned to meet the luminously golden orbs in front of her, "you're going to have to get in this cage. I'm sorry if it may be a tad small, but it's the best I've got. I don't know what you like to eat, but I'll get you some water. Then I'll take you upstairs, but you'll have to be extra quiet, okay?"

Feeling a little silly, she extended her arm cautiously, bracing herself for the vice-like grip of the owl's claws. It dropped the package before landing with unprecedented lightness, making Lily double back in amazement. She had been brought up believing owls were bloodthirsty nocturnal beasts that prayed on innocent creatures like squirrels and rabbits, yet this one defied her assumptions and radiated nothing but tenderness.

You're so...so royal, she thought. Like a queen, a queen that's kind to her people, but still so regal...

"Regina," she whispered in awe.

From the word, something was evoked, something Lily had wanted her entire life and lacked for that long as well. No one liked her at school. She was the shy little redhead who was always preoccupied with a history book of some sort. She was only desired for her ability to complete "group" projects single-handedly and nothing more. And as she savored the feeling of "Regina" echoing through her mind, the owl seemed to be talking to her. My name might mean "queen," but we are equal. We are friends.

"So, Regina, you're going to be staying with me now, I guess. I don't know where you came from, but I hope that you'll be happy here, even though that's next to impossible with someone like Petunia living in the same house."

Regina hooted in agreement but gestured to the nearby cage, reminding Lily that the consequences wouldn't be too pleasant if her sister happened to meander downstairs in search of a snack. Guess I really am a freak, then, she thought, befriending owls and talking to them like I've known them forever. She moved her arm to the opened cage door and waited for Regina to climb in. Yet, for some reason, she was having a difficult time and was whimpering in what seemed like pain.

"What's the matter?" Lily inquired softly, absentmindedly stroking the owl's feathers.

She studied Regina slowly. There didn't seem to be any visible problem with her; the feathers still gleamed in the late afternoon light. Her hand passed over the left wing...admiring the chestnut hue of her owl...she liked that phrase: her owl...the right wing...

"Hmm, this is odd," she murmured, pulling her head back to view the wing.

It took more than a few moments to realize Regina was injured. How did that happen?

"Who did this to you?" she demanded, absolutely horrified that anything this cruel could be performed on any creature, especially one as tender as this.

The owl only replied with a feeble hoot, informing Lily she hadn't anymore of an idea as to who it was.

"Well, I don't know how to fix you up, sorry, and I don't think the local veterinarian has ever treated an owl before. I suppose you'll just have to make due with a little bit of water. Maybe that'll help..."
Snatching a bottle of water as well as the package Regina had brought, she lightly pushed her owl into the cage. Struggling a little to keep it all balanced, Lily managed to force herself up the stairs without making an excessive amount of clamor. Only when she had shut and lock the door did she dare to breathe regularly.

After pouring a copious amount of water in the cage's food tray, Lily busied herself with the odd piece of mail - she assumed it was mail - Regina had been carrying. It was a box wrapped in plain brown paper and encircled by an emerald green ribbon. The ribbon was also tied around one more thing: a letter whose envelope seemed to be made of some thick parchment-like material. Intrigued, she slid it out of its ties and flipped it over.

"Wow..."

The wax seal felt cool under her fingers, the engraving so finely created. She never thought the letter H could be written so perfectly. The lifelike lion, eagle, badger, and snake stared up at her, beckoning Lily to just open it...

She broke it.

HOGWARTS SCHOOL

of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore

(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock,

Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. Of Wizards)

Dear Miss Evans,

We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.

Term begins on September 1. We await your owl no later than July 31.

Yours sincerely,

Minerva McGonagall,

Deputy Headmistress

Lily nearly laughed. What was this? Some prank letter sent by Petunia so she could further ridicule me? And this...this Hogwarts. It sounds like a toddler's nonsense word. As for witchcraft, the only "witches" I have ever heard of are those that were hung in America, but that was centuries ago, and everyone knows they weren't witches.

"This is all poppycock," she huffed, crumpling the letter and aiming it at the nearby wastebasket. "Nice try, Petunia, but your joke wasn't funny. I'm a lot smarter than you think."

As she coiled her arm back to toss it in, a sudden shrieking startled Lily.

"Regina!" she scolded, trying unsuccessfully to pacify the owl that was flapping about the cage wildly. "You're not only going to hurt yourself even more - and trust me, I don't want that happening - but you're also going to annoy Petunia. She'll see you, and a mad Petunia is not fun to deal with."

Feeling thoroughly petulant, Lily hurled the deformed letter into the trashcan. Rage had replaced the initial feeling of amusement. What is she playing at? she thought angrily. Thought I'd fall for it, did she? A pretty and pitiful owl and some cock-and-bull letter with a made-up school for wizards? I would think she'd know better, after torturing me for my entire bloody childhood with her -

"Regina! Will you quit it?"

But the owl would not stop. In fact, it was only possible for the volume of her tantrum to have escalated since watching Lily dispose of the letter.

"Oh," Lily mocked, her words a cracking whip cutting through the air, "you want me to throw the envelope away as well?"

She snatched it off the floor triumphantly, but something caught her attention.

Not another letter?

Scanning through it disbelievingly, Lily wondered what new artifice had just been introduced. A reappearing letter? Couldn't be. Why, it would take, well...it would take magic for that to happen.

THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS MAGIC!

Blazing with a heated fury, she threw the new letter away...but there it was again...and again. No matter how frequently she tore and screamed at it, it badgered her to the point of tears of humiliation.

"What do you want from me?" she shouted, overcome with madness and shame that a supposedly simply sheet of parchment could have her so tortured, so tormented.

A soft call from the side attracted her blurry gaze. Though Lily's vision was somewhat obscured by her tears, she watched Regina urgently point her peak at the package.

"Should I open it?" she asked quietly, more to herself than to herself, as if needing affirmation.

Desperately, she ripped off the paper. Out of it tumbled the most beautiful book Lily had ever seen. Her hand quivered as it passed across the embossed velvet, colored with a deep and fiery scarlet. Her eyes widened significantly as the scintillating gold letters pierced through her sight, a brilliant sun shooing away the clouds of unhappiness.

The Basic Muggle's Guide to Everything Wizarding (Updated Edition!)

Oh, it's the wizards again, is it? She automatically moved to the trashcan, reconfirming her decision of never picking up a book that dealt with magic for the rest of her life, but cried out in shock as the book tumbled out of her hand, almost by its own accord, and opened to the very first page.

To whom this book has been sent:

If you're a Wizard, be gone and spend your Galleons on other books. If you have received a letter stating you have been accepted to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and doubt its existence or feel very confused, guard this book with your life. It will explain everything.

Lily still wanted to think this was still just a crazily complex hoax concocted by someone like Petunia (she could easily imagine her sister's eyes gleaming madly and bubbled over with hysterical evil). But her mind, the mind that had taken her on an infinite number of breathtaking adventures as a young girl, was conjuring the most magnificent images, images that she thought could only exist in an ideal world. There was Lily, freed from the shackles of her sister. There was Lily, finding tolerance and acceptance after so many years of believing such things were unattainable and utopian. And there was Lily, discovering a richly woven tapestry - what seemed like a fantasy but her reality - beneath the bland veneer her life had been.

She had to believe in this, and she had to trust in hope. If this was the only way to a new beginning and a clean slate, she would undertake the journey, no matter how many mountains she had to climb and no matter how many rivers she had to cross.

Always the one to devour a book, Lily set off reading immediately. It proved to be an adequate guide, answering virtually all the questions she had harbored since receiving the letter. The introduction, too, was fascinating. Apparently, Albus Dumbledore, the headmaster of the school she might be going to, had commissioned this book to be written in order to introduce the Wizarding world to those who weren't familiar with it. Nevertheless, a Limiting Charm (that meant nothing to Lily) had been placed on the book so that only the most rudimentary details were revealed. It had never occurred to Lily that an entire society was operating unbeknownst to her...and that she was part of it. Endless possibilities were opening up to her...but she had to concentrate on learning about her world first. There was a time for imagination and a time for learning, and in this occasion, it was the latter. There was no way she would be able to fit in a new world without knowing anything about it.

People like Petunia, her parents, and everyone she knew were called Muggles, meaning they were dull and had no magical skills...Hogwarts really existed and was located somewhere up north...Students got there by way of a train...that was funny. She thought that being wizards, they would have come up with a more creative way of going to school. Strange, really. The book seemed to be reading her mind and was ready to answer anything that was related to the Wizarding world. I guess it's magic at work, she thought.

A rapping on the door knocked her out of her reverie. Oh, it's Petunia! Lily's head spun as she tried to grasp the situation. Her boringly conservative sister, opposed to anything out of the norm, was about to enter her room, undoubtedly the oddest room in the house with a book on wizardry and an owl. Eyes darting back and forth, she couldn't find anywhere to hide Regina...or even the book!

A click signified Petunia had picked the lock of the door.

She hastily shoved the book under the bed, as well as the letter, but there wasn't a single place to conceal the owl. Well, Lily thought, feeling a bit diabolical, she's going to be in for some surprise...

"Lily, I thought I told you to shut up that noise and now I'm hearing it from your room - OH MY GOD! WHAT IS THAT?"

Petunia's face blanched, but her eyes glittered as if she had seen her sister commit a serious infraction against the sacred and holy house rules.

"It's an owl," Lily said, amazed at the poise her voice carried.

"And what are you doing with one?"

"It's my pet. Is that against the rules now?" Lily snorted. Even her parents probably wouldn't approve of such a pet. What a stupid thing to say, she berated herself. However, the knowledge that she would soon be whisked away by a train to an entirely Petunia-free world made her feel more reckless than she would have liked. "Well, is it?" she challenged, although aware that picking a fight with her older sister wasn't always the wisest decision.

"Nothing," Petunia muttered glumly, heading back to her own room and looking as though an opportunity had been lost.

But that glint in her eye remained. It frightened Lily.