Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of its characters.

Summary: ANOTHER HARRY-AS-A-GIRL STORY! What if Tiana Potter had been abused by Uncle Vernon, and received another letter before the Hogwarts one? What if she accepted and went to Fruitfangs School of Mythical Creatures and Powers instead of Hogwarts, where she learned about her strange history, had different adventures, and even fell in love? Well, she's not a Golden Child, I'll tell you that.

Pairings: Tiana/Draco, Lupin/Snape

Warnings: Harry and Snape are girls, Dark!Tiana, Dark!Snape/Lupin, Dumbledore/Ron/Hermione bashing, non-human Tiana/Snape/Draco, slight child abuse

Shadowed Hearts: Year One

Tiana Potter sighed as she pulled weeds from her aunt's garden. Her black hair, streaked with dark red, was pulled into a high ponytail, and her dark green eyes glittered behind thin black frames. She wore a light gray turtleneck and a pair of baggy blue jeans, both of which were two sizes too big for her small, delicate build.

"Stupid Uncle Vernon," she muttered under her breath, as she yanked another weed. "Giving me this work after he knows how much my arms hurt." She pulled out another weed and dropped it in the bucket lying by her bare feet.

"Hey! Tiana!"

Tiana turned and saw the mailwoman, Natalie, walking up the street towards her. She smiled and waved, wincing when she felt her shoulder muscles stretch.

Natalie, only in her early twenties, was working as a mailperson for a part-time job to earn some extra money- at least, that's what she said. Everybody liked her. Her light brown hair, highlighted with blonde, cascaded down her back in waves and curls. Her blue eyes seemed to always be shining. She dug through her bag and pulled out a pack of letters, handing them to Tiana. The younger girl took them and stuck them in her large pocket. "Thanks, Nat," she said.

Natalie hesitated, then pulled a letter out of her pocket and handed it to Tiana, who took it and glanced at the address. Her eyes widened. "Hey! It's addressed to me!" she exclaimed. Natalie nodded and smiled. "Be careful with that letter, Tiana. It's very important." Then she walked away.

Tiana stared at the letter for another moment, then stuck it way down in her back pocket. She continued weeding the garden for another few hours, then stood up, brushed off some of the dirt that had gathered on her butt, and walked inside. She threw away all of the dead weeds and put away the pail, then laid the pile of mail on the kitchen table and walked to her cupboard under the stairs. She entered it, shut the door, turned on the weak light hanging from the low ceiling, and sat on the hard mattress that served as a bed. She stared at the letter she now held in her hands.

The envelope was strange all by itself. It was thicker than plain paper, but seemed slightly softer than parchment, and was tinted a light blue. It was sealed on the back by a large ink F, which was surrounded by a wreath of thorns and roses.

Tiana thought for a moment. From what she knew, most people did not seal their letters like this. Most just licked them shut. She took a deep breath, broke the seal, and pulled out a sheet of similar paper. She unfolded it and began to read.

Natalie entered a large three-story house and shut the door. She ran up to the second floor, down the hallway, and knocked on a shut door. Hearing a faint, "Come in!" she opened the door and walked into the room.

"Hello, bro," she said cheerfully, jumping onto the end of the bed in which her brother lay. Remus Lupin smiled down at her. He shared her hair and eyes, although both were darker. Natalie was pleased to see that the wrinkles previously on his face had disappeared, making him look much more like the twenty-eight-year old he was.

"'Lo, Nat. Did you give her the letter?" Natalie nodded. "Yep. She should be reading it right about now. So how are you feeling, wolfie?" Remus rolled his eyes. "I'm fine, Squirt. Serena gave me the potion last night, and I spent the night in my room, sleeping. Actually, it's been peaceful without you here."

Natalie looked insulted. "Do you mean to say that I can't be calm?" She and Remus stared at each other, then burst out laughing. Natalie gave her older brother a quick kiss on the cheek. "Tell Serena I said hi whenever she drops by again," she said, then hugged Remus and left the room.

Tiana sat numbly, holding the letter loosely in her right hand. This was just too unreal. It was near impossible, actually. She looked down at the letter and read it again:

Dear Tiana,

Well, to start, congratulations! You have been accepted into Fruitfangs School of Mythical Creatures and Powers! Now, I know you are surely wondering what is going on, as most people have ever even heard of our school, even wizards!

Fruitfangs is a school designed to teach basic magical courses, such as Transfiguration and Charms. It also teaches muggle (non-wizard) classes, such as Algebra and English. Then we have many recreational classes, including muggle and wizard sports, and even advanced courses for those fast-moving thinkers, like Occlumency and Advanced mathematics courses. However, the best courses are the Mythical Creatures and times classes, where we teach students about many magical beings and famous tales that happened in history, usually ignored in books. As you can tell, Fruitfangs has a little of everything mixed together.

However, the real reason for this school is to allow creatures with differences from most others to have a chance to get to know and mingle with others like them. Our school doesn't have any pure humans/wizards in it. The entire student body, as well as most of the teachers, is made up of either full or part werewolves, vampyres, faeries, elves, and other non-human creatures. Each student is also given the opportunity to learn about their history and some of their individual powers.

Fruitfangs is a chance for those children that normally would feel out of place to feel completely at home. Unlike Beauxbatons, Durmstrang, and Hogwarts, our school is mixed, and we are proud of it.

Now that I have gotten over that winding introduction, it's time to tell you why you have received this letter. As I'm sure you can tell, we are inviting you to join this school for seven years of wonder. I would like it if you would send a reply as soon as possible. If you choose yes, a teacher from our school will be over there on July 31 to take you to Blender Square to receive your supplies. If not, then we respect your decision and hope you have fun at Hogwarts.

Awaiting Your Reply Anxiously,

Renae Warren

Art Teacher

Tiana sighed and shut her eyes. Was this some kind of joke? If it was, it wasn't very funny. But when she thought for a few moments, why would someone work so hard just to set her up?

On the other hand, did this mean that she wasn't completely human? And that she could learn magic? Tiana smiled. No matter what her uncle said, she believed in magic. She had experienced too many strange moments not to! Glancing down at the letter again, she sighed and turned it over, pulling a black pen out of her pocket. Pulling off the top, she quickly scribbled the words I accept- Tiana on the paper, then folded it back up and stuck it back in its envelope. Just as she was wondering how she was supposed to send it back, when there was no return address, she gasped when it disappeared from her lap with a small pop, leaving nothing behind.

Tiana just sighed again and rubbed her face tiredly. What was she getting herself into now?

New story! Okay, I have slight writer's block on AFP, which is why I started this. I'm already writing the second chapter, and I might get out that and POSSIBLY the third one by tonight, but I'm not sure. Unlike AFP, these chapters are going to be a lot shorter, but will hopefully come out more frequently to make up for it.

Enjoy!

-calmbreeze