Hey everyone - this is my first shot at writing fanfiction. I've been lurking on the SS/HG fics for ages and this story has been forming for a while. It's a slow burn and we won't meet Severus for a while but please don't let that put you off. I've got it mostly planned out but I am looking for a beta-reader to keep me on track. I really hope you enjoy it and if you have any constructive criticism then please send it my way. I'm always looking to improve. I'll be updating this fic hopefully quite often (not weekly or anything but hopefully about twice a month). Let me know what you think.

Chaos Reigns

Prologue

17th October 1966

A Churchyard - Warwickshire

She looked up as the rain began to fall, softly to start with. The kind of rain that made your hair frizz. The monotonic drone of the priest before her and the gentle touch of the rain had a soporific effect. Her attention wandered away from the service around her as her mind drifted to the future. What would they do now? She didn't know, couldn't decide. She had choices of course but which would the right one? Which would be for the best?

The voice the priest was rhythmical and his manner disinterested: he had clearly performed this exact service many times before. She felt numb, a sensation not helped by the cold dance of the rain against her skin. A small, warm hand slid into hers and clung on tightly. She clasped it reflexively and blinked herself back to concentration. Her eyes moved to take in the scene before her.

Her husband's coffin was suspended above the pit, the weight clearly getting to be too much for the trio holding the straps designed to lower the glossy wooden box into the ground. They shuddered under the strain of holding on for so long, one man glaring at the priest in frustration.

An arm brushed against hers and she breathed in the familiar scent of her brother.

"What will you do now Cass?"

She turned to look at him and sighed. Their grey eyes met she shrugged.

"I haven't decided yet"

"The way I see it you've got two choices" he remarked softly "You either go back or you stay here with me"

She snorted and inclined her head in agreement.

He slid his hand into hers and squeezed.

"She'll start to manifest soon if she hasn't already" he stated with a look at the golden haired child on his sisters other side.

Cassiopeia turned her head to look at her daughter "She's already started" she sighed "She made the rain sparkle last week, just before….." she trailed off and looked back in the direction of her husband's freshly dug grave. "it was so beautiful, I came outside to check on her and there she was. It looked like she was standing inside a crystal chandelier, the way she had made the light glitter…"

As she trailed off he moved his attention to the priest too. The coffin bearers were now all shooting the priest poisonous glances as they struggled to keep the coffin suspended above the pit. The old man seemed oblivious to the plight of the three struggling men and the angry looks being sent his way. After a few moments he turned back to his sister,

"and after…?" he asked tentatively

She drew in a deep breath and paused for a few moments before replying, eyes still fixed on the coffin as they finally began to lower it into the ground. "I couldn't get in her room for 2 days. She'd managed to lock her bedroom door. I couldn't find a charm that would work"

They both looked down at the little girl. She was moving the mud around with the toe of her shoe, digging her foot deeper and deeper into the wet ground. Marius allowed himself a rueful smile as he watched his niece: no mud was sticking to the child's shoe and there was not a mark on her new white socks.

His sisters hand tightened on his and then let go. He looked up, the priest was looking at them expectantly. The three coffin bearers had lowered the coffin into the ground and were not-so-subtly stretching their arms in relief. Cassiopeia grimaced and squeezed her daughters hand.

"Rosalind, are you ready to say goodbye to Daddy?"

The little girl turned her face to look up at her mother and nodded stoically. They had both shed their tears last week, once Rosalind had finally opened her door to her mother they had clung together the let their grief flow. Neither would cry in public. Her eyes darted to her uncle and he nodded encouragingly at her.

The pair moved toward the coffin to say their goodbyes.

17th October 1966

Cassiopeia Ash's Home - Warwickshire

"So?"

"So..?"

Marius raised his eyebrows at his sister "So what will you do?"

Cassiopeia sat back in her chair and stared at the table petulantly. She rolled her eyes back to look at her brother after a moment. "Well, she'll have to go to Hogwarts"

"Obviously" he remarked wryly.

She sighed heavily and tipped her head back against the back of her chair "So we'll have to go back. I won't have her be as clueless as a muggle when she goes". She stared at the ceiling.

"She won't be" he assured her "You're a witch and I'm a squib. If you decided to stay here then she'll know about magic, you can show her, I can tell her stories. Help her learn the family tree…" he paused as she snorted loudly. He looked at his sister, her head tipped back to stare the ceiling, he could see right up her nose "well, that was unattractive Cass"

"The family tree" she laughed in response, her head falling forwards to goggle at him.

"Yes. She'll need to know who her cousins are because.." he trailed off and looked away from her, flushing slightly.

"Because she'll already be at a disadvantage by not knowing them before she goes" Cassiopeia finished for him.

He shrugged uncomfortably "We've got a lot of cousins, it's better she knows who they are before she goes. We've got 6 years before she goes"

She nodded unhappily.

"Dorea's boy and Cygnus' kids will all be there" he assured her "Having family at school will be nice for her"

"But family she's never met" Cassiopeia reminded him sharply.

"Well, that's on you Cass. You can take her to meet them if you wanted" he said with a shrug.

She glared at him "And what a wonderful reunion that will be" she snapped at him "I ran off with a muggle Marius! They don't look kindly on that. Anything less than a pureblood is an animal. And Rosa, she's a halfblood. Imagine how they'll treat her. I can't subject her to that. She's too little.

"At least at Hogwarts there will be muggleborns. She won't be so much of a target" she sighed after a moment

Her brother nodded silently. For a Black being a halfblood meant you were less, but it gave you a higher status than a squib he thought ruefully, at least his little niece had already proved that she could could cast.

"So stay with me then. Sell the house" he held his hand up as she opened her mouth to protest "or I'll sell mine. We'll need the joint income Cassiopeia. You should get a job though, a magical one. You were always good at potions, maybe go and work at an apothecary? There's several good ones in Warwickshire without you having to go all the way to Diagon Alley"

Cassiopeia nodded in agreement "That makes sense, it'll get her used to the magical world"

"Exactly" he responded with a curt nod "And it saves us having to go to Gringotts to get muggle money changed"

Cassiopeia stood, suddenly businesslike and full of purpose "Well, that's that sorted then. I'm going to check on her."

Marius nodded at his sister as she left the room and sat silently as her gentle footsteps faded away up the stairs.

Everything was going to change.

*runs and hides*