6 Years Ago...

At the young age of 11, Mal had already experienced more death and decay than most people would in their whole lifetime.

It had all started when her father died. She was far too young to remember him, but her mother definitely wasn't. She was known as Maleficent, one of the smartest witches to have ever graced the magical world. However, at the passing of her husband, everything changed. She grew bitter and mean, using her powers for evil rather than good.

Mal was too young to know at the time, but her father had died at the hands of a muggle, and the Ministry of Magic had done everything in their power to cover it up. Of course, Maleficent had grown resentful over this, and so she created a force so powerful that even the most powerful wizard in the world could not defeat; the Resistance.

Maleficent gathered all the wretched and rotten wizards and witches, binding them together to create a new ministry: the Ministry of Villains. They terrorised both the magical world and the muggle world for years, Maleficent as their leader. However, it all ended on one faithful day.

A letter arrived on young Mal's birthday, a letter to the most prestigious magical school: Hogwarts. As soon as Maleficent has found the letter, she burnt it right in front of the little purple-haired girl, forbidding her to attend the school. She did so with the letter after that, and the next, and so forth.

It was just about a week before the school year began that the Resistance was stopped.

Banded together, a group of the most powerful wizards and witches managed to capture Maleficent, taking down the Ministry of Villains. Maleficent, along with her followers, were sentenced to live the rest of their lives in Azkaban, a prison hidden in the depths of a lost island.

That left Mal, an orphan, to fend for herself. Thankfully, one of the hero wizards found her, also bringing her a letter from Hogwarts.

However, young Mal wasn't the only child of an imprisoned villain. Three more kids were selected to study at Hogwarts as well, all of which had parents in the Resistance.

Evie was a bright young girl with incomparable beauty, but who came from a whole past of ugly. Her mother was known for her dreadful curses and potions, selling them to evil wizards to aid their poisonous plans. She was captured by Snow White, a young witch she'd tried to curse to take her beauty. This left Evie, also now a young orphan, to fend for herself in Hogwarts.

Jay was the son of Jafar, a wizard known to take other wizards power. A thief of sorts, who taught his son the same values he lived by. Jay was a sports fanatic who really had no interest in stealing, however like most kids, he followed in his father's footsteps.

Lastly was Carlos, son to the one and only Cruella De Vil. She hunted magical creatures for pleasure, taking their fur and creating pieces of clothing for her own vanity. Rumour has it that she even drank the blood of a unicorn, and sold what was left to those who sought it. She was too imprisoned, Carlos left with his aunt and uncle, both professors at Hogwarts.

The four were different in many ways, but also alike. Each valued different things, but they also sought for love and acceptance.

Their first day in Hogwarts wasn't the greatest. Mal could feel the piercing stares of her soon-to-be classmates. She knew what they thought of her and her mother. However, 11 year old Mal was tougher than most people, and so she boarded the Hogwarts express with her nose held high, taking great pleasure in tripping up a third year on her way to a compartment.

Mal may not have been her mother, but she was definitely raised by her. She was as hard and as strong as stone, and she was determined to follow in her mothers footsteps. Of course, voicing that out loud would result in her immediate expulsion most probably, so she kept her schemes to herself.

The door of her lonely compartment slid open. A boy she'd never seen before peered in, with sandy blonde hair and bright blue eyes that could melt the coldest of hearts.

"Hi, do you mind if I sit with you? The other carriages are full," the blonde boy explained, a dashing smile on his face.

Mal looked up for a moment, shrugging with disinterest and turning to look out of the window. She didn't tend to interact with many children of her age, save for the few she'd met during her mothers time in the Resistance, so she really hoped the blonde boy didn't try to strike a conversation.

On the train platform, she could see numerous parents waving their children away tearfully, some even refusing to let go of their child during their last hug. Mal didn't really see the big deal in it all, however she hadn't really had the warmest of mothers. She knew it would be a long while before she saw her mother again, but she tried not to think about it too much.

Mal felt the train start up below her, the platform slowly moving away from her until they were out of the train station and onto the main rails. Mal sighed, leaning back into her seat. She knew it would be a rather long journey, but she didn't know if she'd like what she was travelling to.

"I'm Ben, by the way," the boy across from her smiled, holding his hand out, "And you are?"

Mal frowned at the hand. She didn't tend to shake peoples hands, never had really. Her mother had kept her rather sheltered for most of her life, allowing her to study only what she was given and unable to interact with most people. Hesitantly, Mal grasped the boys hand in hers.

"Mal," she replied as she let go of the hand, turning to stare back out at the landscape.

"Your hands are really cold. Are you nervous?" Ben asked, desperately trying to strike a conversation with the purple-haired girl, "I really don't know what house I'll be put in. My father said I'd be in Gryffindor, but my mother was in Ravenclaw so I'm not so sure anymore."

"What's a Gryffindor?" Mal asked in confusion, scrunching her nose up.

"It's one of the Hogwarts houses," Ben explained, excitement in his eyes, "Hogwarts students are split into four different houses based on their personalities and what they value. Theres Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff and Slytherin."

"I think I've heard about Slytherin," Mal commented, "I think my mother used to be one."

And so, the pair chatted the journey away, truly believing they'd made friends with each other. However, that all changed during the sorting ceremony, where their friendship ended in ruins.

"Gryffindor!" the Sorting Hat cried with glee as Ben felt a grin plaster onto his face. He'd heard all about the other houses, and he was certain that Slytherin was evil. He just hoped that his new friend wouldn't be.

"Next is Mal... Maleficent?" the Charms teacher read out as she peered at the odd name on the scroll.

The room fell silent, a few gasps audible from the younger students and the staff. Mal rolled her eyes, proceeding to step towards the Sorting Hat. She flinched as she felt it's weight on her head, her hands tense as it began speaking.

"Ah! Maleficent's daughter!" the hat exclaimed, "Funny that, your mother naming you after herself twice. Now, let's see...

"Definitely brave at heart, a true Gryffindor quality. But you're also loyal to your mother, somewhat like a Hufflepuff. And that brain... You have knowledge far beyond your years. But you're cunning, you're sly and ambitious, so I guess there's only one place to put you... Slytherin!"

Ben felt his heart sink as he watched his new friend make her way to the green table. No one clapped for her like they did for him, and that made him sad. He really hoped there'd been a mistake, that she wasn't really evil and that they could stay friends forever.

If only young Ben had known the path that lay ahead of him.