There's no going back |Harry Potter Fanfiction

Chapter 1

"Who's there?"

The voice came from one of the rooms and was the first thing I heard, when I entered the building after walking along the path between two high hedges, heavily covered with snow, leading towards the entrance door of the ancient manor. It was surrounded by a big garden and the stone building, interestingly bright from the snow now, didn't look at all welcoming. In fact just as unwelcoming as its inhabitants and as the people currently dining in the inside grand living room.

I could basically see them sitting around the big table, discussing their next murders and plans to extinguish every mud-blood, probably also half-blood wizard or witch in Great Britain, who was I kidding, on the planet. I was admittedly surprised that I had been able to enter, without setting off any alarms, that my disguise actually worked that well. Polyjuice Potion obviously was very affective for hiding your true identity, but you would have supposed that the Malfoys would put up some kind of security system to keep out enemies, even those who were not recognizable by sight.

Using the potion to change myself into their oldest daughter, had allowed me to sneak in and out the house regularly for almost half a year now, like this I was able to get information basically from the Dark Lord himself and pass it on to my side.

"Just me.", I answered, recognizing the voice of 'my' oldest aunt, also the one that would never have anything to do with me if she knew who I really was. She didn't even like her pure blood, Malfoy niece very much.

"What do you want?"

"To enter the house." Sarcasm. I live here, what about you? But I didn't say that.

"Who do you think you are to be given that privilege, girl?"

A woman stepped into the hallway, only illuminated by the dim moonlight shining through the half opened front door. Her hair was black and curly, framing a dark, lightly grinning face, when she realized who was standing in the door. Her black robe and dress underneath were swaying around her as she walked towards me. In fact, everything about her was black, even her name theoretically, birth name to be precise.

"Bella please.", i said coldly. She smiled wider.

"Oh yes, it's the brilliant Malfoy heir. She came home at last. Where were you off to, at least done your job this time?"

My 'job', as she pronounced it derogatorily, was rather a variety of missions, mostly recruitment of or business with people the Dark Lord thought useful for building his new order.

"Where were you? We expected you a week ago." A low, accusing growl through her gritted teeth. Frankly, this reaction wasn't that inappropriate, I had been gone for much longer than usual. Complications with transferring secret information to the Order. Bella however had to think that I had just been on another business trip. Which I had too, I had to keep my disguise up so I did what I was told to do first before heading to Grimmauld Place.

"It's none of your business."

"Watch your tongue girl. We'll see what the Dark Lord has to say to that."

I decided to ignore her and strode past her, along the infinite corridor and up the staircase, fast but not hurried like I had something to hide. She didn't trust me already, but she couldn't do anything, my mother, her sister, always stood up for me. She called something after me, that I didn't catch, running up the stairs once she couldn't see me anymore.

On the first floor were a billion living rooms heated up by ancient fire places. It was late December so they were all lit up, blowing a stream of heat into my face, still cold from the snowy outside.
On the floor above you could find my brother Draco's room, he was still at Hogwarts but for the holidays he had come home.
To reach my own room I had to go up another floor, right to the top off the manor. The room was small, dark and dusty. Like the whole place, no wonder the Malfoy weren't good people, who could be positive with all this darkness.

I lay down on my back on the old, black bed spread and starred at the ceiling. It was shortly before 10 o'clock and I knew that my parents still had to be in the big dining hall participating at the daily evening meeting.

I was roused from my thoughts when the door shushed open slowly and my younger brother, well not mine but you know what I mean, entered. I sat up strait.

"Look who's back.", he began. "Welcome back Sis, they want you downstairs."

Never thought I'd be civil with a person like Draco Malfoy, more than that apparently wasn't even possible for his sister, he was still a Malfoy anyway.

"Sure, I'll be down in a second. Thanks." "But really make it a second, Bellatrix is complaining about you again, I can't stand it." Draco rolled his eyes and turned, descending the stairs again.

I got up and picked up a small bottle from my desk. I popped it open, then turned the bottleneck twice so that the liquid inside changed from water to Polyjuice Potion. This way of disguising it had proved very effective. I took a sip and switched it back, then followed my brother to face my raging aunt downstairs.

They clearly awaited me already, the long table was only filled by my parents. As for Bellatrix, she was standing, her back towards the door, discussing with them. Draco was standing, leaning against a wall. He tapped on his wrist and mouthed 'One second' but I only shrugged.

Then my mother's eyes found me and she stood up quickly, hurried around the table and pulled me into a hug. She really had too much heart for this family.
"Where the hell have you been. Were there complications?" She sounded accusing but mostly worried.

"Althea, we expected you days ago." My fathers voice was much colder. "I'm sorry, there were...", I nodded towards my mother,"... complications." "Oho, complications really, always complications with you.", intervened Bellatrix. Why was she still here anyway, everybody else had left. I smiled at her excessively.
" You think, but I always seem to get my job done, different from you and..." Probably for my own best, my father cut me off there.

As I already said, it was Anthea Malfoy that Bellatrix Lestrange couldn't stand, my disguise worked well enough, I was pretty sure because she had treated me like this from the first day on. Apparently there was something the real Anthea had done wrong, which was why Bella questioned everything she, well I, was doing now. I hadn't managed to find out what it was though.

"Let it be, Bellatrix. So everything is alright then, Althea, problems with...?" "The voyage. I had a feeing I was being followed so I was careful and it took me longer." "But no one saw...", he snapped. "No, no one saw me, please trust me, have I ever disappointed you, Father?", I answered quickly. He nodded, then turned to talk to his sister-in-law in a lowered voice, which I knew meant that Draco and I were dismissed. I said 'good night' to my mother and began to climb the stairs again, for the hundredth time, I was growing more and more annoyed of the fact that we weren't allowed to apparate here for some reason.

Draco caught up to me halfway. "So...where were you?" I starred at him, confused. "I was doing what I was supposed to do. If you don't know I can't tell you little bro.", I told him. "No where were you really?" It wasn't going to be that easy then. Fine. I was about to speak but he continued smugly.

"Bellatrix taught me a bit of Legilimency over the last weeks. I totally know you are lying Althea."

Author's note:

This is the first chapter, I hope you enjoyed it! Let me know what you think in the comments :)