Hogwarts: The Adventure Begins - BOOK 1 (A Harry Potter Fanfic)

Prologue

1989

'BLACK! I told you to bring us our dinner,' Lucius Malfoy's voice boomed throughout the house.

'I... I'm sorry, Master...' I prepared myself for the punishment.

I heard him mutter the words I was used to and fell to the ground, screaming. The pain never got any better, I never got used to it. It broke me down, piece by piece. It was a daily occurrence, something I came to expect. Do the slightest thing wrong and get punished. But I always did wrong. I was useless, I never came when expected to. I deserved the punishment. Even Dobby, the house elf, performed better than me. But I never got to see him, he was the only friendly face in the house.

'Exactly like your father. Get up, and bring us our food,' Lucius grabbed the front of my shirt, placing his face right up to mine, 'Or else.'

I scurried away, grabbing their food as quickly as I could. Their son, Draco, gave me a pitying look for a split second before glaring at me. He was my age and while he treated me similar to his parents, I would occasionally find the odd bit of food left on my blankets. I suspected it was him.

'Get out. Why would we eat while you were here? Put us off our food...' Narcissa barked.

I bowed as I backed out of the room, heading to my corner of the kitchen. It was a repurposed cupboard, one that wouldn't be fit for a house elf. As I sat there, waiting for my next order, I examined myself. The only way you could tell I how I lived was how thin I was. Lucius never struck me, he only used his curse. He was careful, but he made sure I got what I deserved in the end. The only mark on my body, save for the few cuts and bruises I got every time I fell to the ground, was the word 'DISGRACE' on my wrist, but it was covered by a bracelet. A bracelet he always made me wear, one that was just a few pieces of rope wrapped around my wrist, the sole purpose was to cover the words etched onto there. He did it to be safe, he didn't want anyone to see them, ask questions.

I realised how hungry I was. The last meal I had had was around a week ago. I had never gone so long without any food, but I could not eat without permission. I reminded myself over and over until the pain in my stomach became too much.

They won't miss a slice of bread, I thought.

I grabbed the slice but before it even reached my mouth, I flew across the room.

'How dare you,' Lucius' voice was dangerously quiet.

'I... I'm sorry, please,' the fear was clear in my voice.

He grabbed me by the neck, lifting me up high. I struggled to breathe as his hand tightened.

THUMP

His fist connected with my face and he dropped me to the ground. I could taste blood and I cried in fear.

A thin white strip came out the end of his wand and he flicked it towards me. It cut the skin on my arm and I screamed.

'Please,' I begged.

'Speak only when spoken to,' his voice was still quiet as he forced me to show him my back.

Every strike was more painful than the last, made me scream a bit louder. I could feel the blood soaking my back and tried my hardest to stay conscious. It was in vain.

When I woke, I heard yelling.

'Why couldn't Lupin have taken her? He was friends with her deadbeat father, she would have fit with him better!' Lucius was yelling.

'We didn't have an option, it was this or Azkaban!' Narcissa yelled back.

The door suddenly swung open and I recoiled in fear, the pain in my back still causing tears to form in my eyes.

'Don't worry, it's just me,' it was Draco, 'Go. This is the address of the man they are talking about. If you don't go now, I don't know what my dad will do when he comes through.'

I gingerly took the bit of paper he offered me before he ushered me out of the door, using a key he had clearly stolen.

'Go, before he comes,' and that was the last thing Draco said to me.

With the help of a few concerned individuals, I made it to the house on the bit of paper. I knocked hesitantly, unsure whether I should trust this person. But they couldn't be any worse, could they?

The door swung open and a tired man came to the door.

'Can I help y...' his voice trailed off when he caught sight of me.

'Are you Lupin?' I asked, my voice weak.

'What happened to you? Who are you?' he asked.

'My name is Black,' he grabbed me as soon as I said that, pulling me inside.

As soon as I was inside, I recoiled from his touch. It was strong, but it wasn't the same as I was used to. He let me move away and held his hands up.

'Black? Is that your last name? Are you Molly Black?' I nodded slightly and he reached for me again but dropped his hands as my eyes widened in fear, 'I won't hurt you. You've met me before. I've been searching for you since... What happened to you?'

I explained. I told him how I had been dropped at their doorstep because my father couldn't take care of me anymore. I explained that they hated him and so hated me as well, they didn't want to take care of me but had no choice.

'I couldn't do anything right... They punished me whenever I was late with what they told me to do... They said I was worthless,' I looked down. 'You don't have to keep me. I just needed away from there.'

His eyes traced the scars clear on my arms and rested on my neck where I knew purple bruises in the form of fingers lay. He pulled me towards him and I froze, fear taking over my every sense. He sensed this and let go.

'This isn't fair...' he looked at me before raising his wand.

'Morning Molly! How are you?' Remus was at my bedside.

'I had a weird dream... I don't know what it was, but it wasn't nice,' I said and a concerned look came across his face.

'Don't worry, it was a dream,' his voice was weird, strained.

'Is everything alright?' I asked.

'Yeah, I had a stressful night last night. Don't worry,' he smiled but he was looking at me like he hadn't seen me in years.

'If you're sure?' I frowned but ignored it. Whatever I dreamt, it was just a dream and I was safe with Remus.

I glanced down at my wrist and sighed in relief. No words, it didn't say 'DISGRACE' like I had dreamt. Remus was right, it was just a dream.

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Remus erased her memories??? Wut?