From the End to the Start

Chapter 1

Maleficent was walking quietly alongside her Uncle Balthazar, making sure she doesn't lose him amidst all the witches and wizards doing their shopping in Diagon Alley. She wanted to hold his hand, but it was an action that was frowned upon by her parents and she didn't want to get used to it so she balled her fists and kept her eyes planted firmly on her uncle.

Making their way through the throngs of people on the streets, her uncle ushered her inside Madam Malkin's to get her school robes. Thankfully, there were only a few people inside- witches who were doing casual browsing, and only one other kid about to get fitted. The boy, about her age she presumed, looked ecstatic. He seemed to ooh and ah at just about anything he saw in the shop. Muggle-born, Maleficent guessed. She's never met a muggle-born kid before.

Balthazar spoke briefly with a witch, and with a nod her uncle instructed her to get on a stool. She obeyed, stepping onto the stool about the same time as the boy did. Soon enough, the witch her uncle spoke to waved her wand and the tape measures on the floor came to life.

"That is so cool. How does that even work?" Maleficent heard the boy beside her exclaim, and she turned her head to him. She watched as his eyes tried to follow the animated tape measure, grinning with uninhibited glee. It's weird, she mused, how something so commonplace for her could evoke such wonder in another, and she found herself thinking what it was like for muggle-borns when they find out for the first time that they're magical.

The boy must have sensed her staring because he whipped his head in her direction and smiled. "Hello! Are you starting Hogwarts, too?"

Berating herself mentally for her sudden lack of discretion, she replied with a timid 'yes'.

"I'm starting this year as well! My name is Diaval Blanchard. What's yours?"

"Maleficent Moor."

The boy's grin hadn't wavered. "Wow, that's a unique name. Is that common in the wizarding world?"

Maleficent almost shook her head at the boy's naïveté. He really shouldn't go blurting things out that would reveal his heritage easily. Then again, his uncontainable excitement was a dead giveaway.

"I'm not sure. I know a lot of wizards who have common names. However, I do have relatives named Andromeda and Bellatrix, so I guess it's a trait exclusive to the family."

"I see. Well, it's nice meeting you, Maleficent. What house do you think you'll get sorted in?"

"Slytherin, I think. Everyone in my family has been in Slytherin." Maleficent looked away then, suddenly feeling guilty. She knew her family- immediate and extended- displayed an intense hatred of muggle-borns. Uncle Balthazar has taught her that pureblood supremacy was nothing but a load of codswallop, and looking at this boy now, she felt that her uncle was right. The way her parents talked about Diaval's kind, calling them mudbloods, somehow just doesn't seem to fit him. He didn't look tainted or dirty. He certainly didn't look like he's out to overthrow purebloods and throw the wizarding world to chaos. But she knew not everyone else would think that way, and Diaval would have to face the reality of this world soon. Sadly, she pondered on how much of his wide-eyed innocence he would lose.

"Do you have to be in the same house as your family? Don't you have some say in it whatsoever?" Diaval asked, a confused expression on his face.

"The sorting hat puts a witch or wizard in a house in accordance to their character strengths. A lot of times, family members share the token traits represented by each house, so for the most part family members tend to be sorted in the same house, although there have been exceptions to the rule. And no, I haven't heard of anyone who chose their own house. The sorting hat alone decides which house you'll be in." Maleficent explained, observing the ever-growing wonder in Diaval's eyes.

"Did you say 'the sorting hat'? As in a hat you put on your head?"

With a small smile, she responded, "the hat is enchanted. It even speaks."

After a pause, Diaval exclaimed, "Wicked!"

She was going to ask what house Diaval wanted to be in when the witch who took their measurements interrupted their conversation. They both stepped off the stools.

"I hope I'm in the same house as you." Diaval said.

Maleficent could only smile weakly, knowing that that was impossible.

Walking to where her uncle was, she mumbled, "See you on the train, Diaval."

Waving enthusiastically, he responded, "Yeah, see you!"

Maleficent followed her uncle Diaval to platform 9 ¾. Once again, it was her uncle who accompanied her, because her parents didn't want to deal with all the frantic activity that getting her on the train entailed. She didn't mind because she liked Uncle Balthazar. Truth be told, if she had a choice, she would go live with him instead.

Her uncle told her to board the train early, so that she'd have no difficulty finding a seat. She did as she was told, lugging her things inside a compartment. She began to hoist them up to put them on the compartment rack, but had to set them down again. They were too heavy! Maleficent mentally scolded herself for not asking her uncle to put a Featherweight charm on her things. When she was about to try again, another pair of hands came up from behind and helped her.

"Hello again! Alright if I sat with you?" The boy from Madam Malkin's stood before her. She nodded in assent, and he proceeded to lift his luggage to place it beside hers. Breathing heavily and slightly sweating, he sat across her.

"So… are you excited?" Diaval asked, leaning towards her.

"I'm not sure."

"Why not? Then again, I suppose you grew up with stories about Hogwarts. You're a pureblood, aren't you? I read about wizard types in A History of Magic."

Maleficent almost cringed at the thought of him reading about pureblood supremacists. There was no point in denying her heritage, however.

"Is that why you think you'll be in Slytherin? I had my dad buy me a book about wizarding genealogies, and I saw your surname. Apparently, the Moors are one of the most popular Slytherin-only families."

Raising a brow at him, she countered, "How many wizarding books have you read exactly?"

A thoughtful expression crossed his face. "Uh, I've read all of our textbooks, and I also read Hogwarts, A History and Nature's Nobility. I wanted to be adequately prepared."

"Keep using words like adequately in normal conversation and you'd be a shoo-in for Ravenclaw." Maleficent remarked with a small smile.

Laughing, he responded, "I think so too."

The train whistled loudly, and Diaval ran to the window to get a glimpse of parents waving goodbye. He spotted his own parents and shouted, "Bye mom, Bye dad!"

Diaval sat back down as the train gathered speed. Fiddling with his new wand, he asked, "Do you really think you'll be in Slytherin?"

Sighing, she put the book she took out of her bag down. "Why are you being so persistent about this?"

For once, he isn't smiling. Nervously, he explained, "Well, I found out that Slytherins are the biggest propagators of blood discrimination. And as you have probably figured out by now, I'm muggle-born. I guess I wanted to know… why would you talk to me if you hated muggle-borns?"

"I don't hate muggle-borns." She said quietly. Maleficent almost looked around to see if there would be explosions or anything, because she just confessed her biggest secret- she couldn't care less about her parents' pureblood ideals. She doesn't want to adhere to them. All her life, she felt oppressed under all that hatred and abhorrence, and suddenly she felt like crying. Here, at Hogwarts, there might be a chance to get away from all that. Maybe, just maybe, she could be her own person.

Diaval's grin was back now, a mixture of relief and glee. "That's good, because I would be bummed if you hated me."

Just then, the compartment door slid open.

"Maleficent! I've been looking all over for you!" The speaker grabbed her arm and pulled her up to her feet. "Come, I'll take you to our compartment."

Maleficent made the slightest hint of resistance on impulse. The boy- Stefan, her childhood friend- sensed this and rounded on her. "What's wrong? Don't you want to sit with me?"

Maleficent's eyes darted towards her companion.

"Oh, made some friends, have you?" Stefan sneered. "What's your name?" he addressed the black-haired boy.

"Diaval Blanchard."

Stefan's sneer became even more pronounced. "Blanchard. Really, Maleficent? You haven't even set foot in Hogwarts yet and you're already mingling with the wrong sort? Haven't I taught you anything?"

Diaval's grin was gone now, replaced with a scowl. He looked at Maleficent, waiting for what she would do.

"Let's just go, Stefan." Maleficent murmured. Stefan scoffed. "I will be writing to your parents about this, Mal." To Diaval, he spat, "Later, mudblood."

Maleficent followed Stefan, mouthing "I'm sorry" to the boy who now looked about ready to cry.

Maleficent kept sneaking glances at Diaval as they trekked towards the castle. Once or twice their gazes met, but he averted his eyes immediately. With a sinking feeling, she thought, 'I let him down'. She should have said something in his defense earlier, but she chose to remain quiet- just like every other time Stefan forced his decisions on her.

They were now lined up, waiting for their turn to be sorted. Diaval didn't have to wait long, and the sorting hat barely skimmed his head before it shouted "Ravenclaw!" Diaval was grinning ear to ear as he was welcomed by his new housemates, but he did catch her eyes and flashed a lopsided smile. Maleficent responded in kind, hoping that he would understand, somehow, that she was happy for him and incredibly sorry for what happened earlier.

Maleficent didn't expect for her turn to take long, but as the sorting hat was placed upon her head, she immediately sensed the conflict. She watched a lot of student's expressions change from expectant to surprised.

She knew she could never be a Gryffindor, because she was a coward, as proven by the event earlier. She can't be Hufflepuff because- well, her parents won't take that lightly. But she desperately wanted to be Ravenclaw. She wanted to get away from Stefan and his lot. She wanted to be with Diaval in the same house, so that they can be friends.

Only when the sorting hat finally declared her as a new member of Slytherin house did she realize that in the end, there was no escaping her destiny.

A/N: Sooooo, I might have lied when I said I'm done with writing. I really did intend to stop. After writing that HP AU (see One Week, Day 7-2) I've had this idea of writing just how exactly they got to that situation. So here.

I'm not entirely sure when I will finish this. I will strive to write a chapter a day, but if med school starts before I finish this, I'm sorry. Oh well.

Cheers!