The Ice Queen [s.b.]

↠keep your enemies close, 1.1

Dear Annalee,

Words may not describe my hatred for you.

I hate your stupid hair and your stupid smile and your stupid face.

Please choke,

Sirius

On that very first day of school, Annalee's mother takes her on side-along-apparition. It's a dizzying experience, but Anna is used to it after ten long years.

Despite the enormity and extravagance of her life (and it has been quite enormous and extravagant as the Fawleys are one of the richest wizarding families - only second to the Blacks), her eyes still widen slightly as she looks around the platform. 

She doesn't bother turning around to say goodbye. She doesn't care about her mother enough to want to say anything and she knows she's already gone, anyway. Turning around would be setting herself up for disappointment.

Anna walks onto the train. All of the purebloods know her, and part for her like the Red Sea, dragging their newfound friends with them.

She finally finds a compartment with only one other girl. The girl has the biggest and brightest grin Anna had ever seen on a person. She recognizes that girl as a Hawkins, a wealthy and well-known pureblood family.

She sits, not bothering to wait for an invitation. It was good luck to anyone who tried to stop her, anyway.

The girl looks her over and announces, "Dorothy Hawkins."

"Anna Fawley."

Dorothy's lips purse like a good pureblood girl. Obviously, she knows the name. All of the purebloods except Sirius Black had been told to find her and befriend her. Hell, Dorothy couldn't believe her luck! Her mother would be so proud.

"Nice to meet you," Dorothy says and pasted on a smile, as is the pureblood way. "You want to be Slytherin, yes?"

Anna blinks. She hadn't been made aware there was a choice. "Obviously. And you?"

"Of course. There's no need to look stupid in any other house. How was your vacation?"

"Nothing special. Did you go anywhere?"

"We stopped by Rome for a bit, then went to the Americas."

"Oh?" Anna says, eyebrow raised. "I've never been to Rome. What was it like?"

An hour later, two boys burst into the compartment.

Annalee recognizes one as Sirius Black, her childhood best friend, and James Potter - a boy from a family of "bloodtraitors", as her parents refer to them hatefully.

"Yes?" Dorothy says, an eyebrow raised, after a moment of staring between Sirius and Annalee's face (she refuses to look away from the window).

"We're just lookin' for a redhead girl named Lily. Either of you seen her?" Sirius pants, clearly tired from all the running around.

Annalee, still not looking away from the window, says in a monotone voice, "There are no pureblood girls named Lily, much less a redhead. Disgracing your parents so soon? And with a Potter, no less. I thought your parents did at least a slightly better-" The door slams shut again, and Annalee blinks. "I guess not," she murmurs to herself.

"Do you actually believe in the pureblood stuff?" asks Dorothy, eyebrows furrowed. "I mean, my parents do, but I'm not sure."

"I'm not sure either. I don't really care for the purposes of this conversation, but it's quite fun to piss off Sirius Black," Anna says with a self-satisfied smile. 

Dorothy marvels about how she may be the only pureblood child outside of the Black family itself that could actually say that sentence and not get in trouble for it. That is the reality of the pureblood world. If you want to contest the Blacks, you have to be a Black or a Fawley. Otherwise, you'd do better to sit down, shut up, and pray you can marry in.

The two get to really talking after that. They learn each other's true personalities. Anna gets her first friend since her parents decided Sirius Black was no longer good enough for their young queen. Or Princess, as he called her.

By the time evening arrives, the group of new first years ("Firs' years, Firs' years, this way!") had been herded to the boats by Rubeus Hagrid, the gamekeeper of Hogwarts.

"Black, Sirius!" Minerva McGonagall begins on her list for the sorting ceremony.

Sirius, as confident as ever, struts up to the chair. It waits almost three minutes before spitting out his fate (which had just been locked, and the key thrown out):

"GRYFFINDOR!"

McGonagall goes on and on. The people Anna took note of were James Potter (a Gryffindor), Lily Evans (a Gryffindor, assumedly the one James and Sirius were looking for on the train), Marlene McKinnon (a Gryffindor and pureblood, though a blood traitor), Dorothy Hawkins (Slytherin, thankfully), and Bellatrix Black (a Slytherin and hardcore believer in pureblood supremacy, cousin of Sirius, and little sister to Andromeda Black - a good friend of Anna's).

Anna, of course, is a Slytherin. Though there's obviously some character arc out there that she's brave or brilliant or kind and ends up anywhere else. Alas, Annalee Fawley is entirely too conniving and ambitious to be successful in any house but Slytherin.

For the feast, she sits down next to Dorothy again (who she nicknames Dory) and the two continue talking. Now that Annalee is in public, she does not show any emotion, as she'd been taught. If she's word she'll laugh, she'll raise her napkin to cover it as a cough.

After dinner is dismissed and she's on her way to the Slytherin common room, an arm pulls her into an empty classroom. Upon seeing who it is, she hardens her face as to convey no emotion (save mild irritation).

"Hey, Princess," Sirius says and it's confrontational despite its characteristic flirtatious undertones.

"What do you want?" she asks and lets her eyes flit up and down his figure appraisingly.

"I want to know whether or not we hate each other," Sirius requests and something about the words make him seem smaller.

If Annalee were trying to make friends and be well-liked, she would've said something kind. But she isn't there to be loved, she's there to learn and succeed enough to be autonomous. So, she says instead, "You're in your parents clutches less than I'm in mine. I don't suspect you'll be bothering me anytime soon."

The eldest Black conveys no emotion as he says, "I want you to stay away from me and my friends."

"Gladly, Black."

With that, she turns on her heels and struts away, blonde hair flapping behind her.

She soon discovers that she is put into a dorm room with Bellatrix Black and Dorothy Hawkins. Which is good, she figures, because this way I'll keep my friend close and my enemy closer.

A/N: So the other chapters will all be a lot longer, but I just had to get through the beginning before I can start on the dialogue. The next four chapters will be the first, second, and third years which I'm really looking forward to writing. I hope you enjoyed this first chapter. Please give me any critiques, and remember to comment and vote!

Also, the letter you see at the beginning won't be in every chapter but it'll all make sense in the end. For your sake, I will be copying and pasting all of the previous letters.

Love y'all,

R_F