Reaching the Crossfire

Harry Potter © J.K. Rowling

Chapter 2

Summary: She didn't get the chances to savor the defeat of one Lord Voldemort before she is at wand point being cast a spell she didn't recognize by the man she thought as a grandfather. Waking up in the past, she flounders what to do before she ultimately decides to put her luck with the enemy. [Fem!Harry Potter x Tom Riddle]

Rate: T

May contain Cursing, child abuse, and bullying.

Author's Note: I have no excuse for my late updating, but I hope you enjoy the update either way! I do promise I am working on my stories so there will be updated here and there...soonish...

Everyone is still asleep, and Aster knows she won't be able to fall asleep, only three more hours left before she must get ready to start the school day.

With a shaky breath, Aster wraps the covers around her tightly, trying to suffocate herself. Trying to erase the memories that continued to repeat themselves. Still, she could smell the wet forest ground, feel the light drizzle of the rain hitting her skin and the sunlight beams peaking through the clouded sky. Bringing in some happiness, but happiness wasn't something that lasted long in Aster's life.

It's the unknown wand that is pointed at her, the foreign words chanting a spell she has no knowledge of and the familiar man dressed in the robes she had lost saw him as they buried him in the ground of Hogwarts. Telling him their last goodbye before she began her mission to bring down Voldemort.

"Dumbledore will be your death, Potter,"

The words repeated themselves like a broken record as she continues to watch the painful memory of Dumbledore killing her off; however, something went wrong.

She isn't dead. She's alive. Very alive with a beating pulse and air filling up her lungs. Alive with her own memories and thoughts. Alive with her magic still humming under her skin, ready for her to use.

And the seething hot of anger boiling inside her, it is a reminder of her being where she is at and whose fault it was that she's there in the first place.

Running her hand through her locks, Aster decided to stand up from her bed and head to the bathroom, no longer able to stand sitting in her new bed, feeling pitiful and angry.

It's the bloodshot eyes hidden behind the round spec that is staring right back her, her messy black hair seems lifeless and hung dead past her shoulders.

Aster Potter isn't alive. Aster Potter has no reason to continue to exist in a world where she is a no one. In a world where the people she held close to her heart are no longer there by her side. Where her family she created through bonds wouldn't even recognize her, they wouldn't be sharing the bonds they have created through laughter, tears, blood, and sweat. She isn't the roaring lion in red and gold, fighting for the light and following Dumbledore's orders.

Aster knew she got a major opportunity to change the future; however, Hermione 's stern tone about bad things happening to wizards who messed with time constantly repeated in the back of her mind. Yet, here Aster stood, in 1941, starting three days late in Hogwarts and being freshly sorted in the house of snakes.

Try as she might, she couldn't remember seeing herself in the past when she viewed all of Riddle's memories. For all she knew, her own timeline isn't the same timeline she's in now.

With a shaky breath, Aster transfigured her hairbrush into scissors before grabbing a handful of black hair. Staring at her hair, it shows how upset she is, hesitating in bringing the scissors near the locks. Aster wonders if she has finally gone mad.

Her long hair is the constant reminder that she can be feminine, that no matter how much the Dursley tried to take her femininity – her long hair would always remind her she is a normal girl like the rest of her classmates. No matter the oversized boy clothes that she had to wear. Her long her also grew to recognize that no matter how much she looked like her father, she inherited her mother's other traits besides the unique colored green eyes. The long black locks that cascade down her back also has memories of her sitting with Sirius, the man brushing her hair as he retold her the old stories of her father's and their friend's adventures.

As she stared at the mirror, hesitating with the scissors and a handful of black locks. Aster isn't sure why she's so willingly wanting to cut her hair. However, the longer she continues to stare in the mirror it's the dawning realization that the Aster she is seeing will never be the same. It's the heavy sorrow, and hot anger that she blames Dumbledore for the position she's in. Swallowing a sob, Aster clips off a large amount of black hair.

Letting the hair slowly fall out of her hand she feels something inside her shift. It's the heated anger, the heavy sadness echoing inside her chest that lets herself cry. It's with blurry tears she continues to cut her hair, trying to even out the locks.

Coming to a stop, her wavy hair stopped right at her chin. Slowly placing the transfigured scissors on the sink, Aster hesitates as she makes a grab to the round glasses. The only glasses she's worn, broken, taped together and spelled together, the round glasses showing another Potter trait. Her father, the man she wished she knew but also wished to not know the man of what he was before her mother came into the picture.

Taking the glasses off her face, she expects her vision to become a blur like it has always happen when her glasses were taken away or knocked off from her face.

Yet, it didn't happen, and it made Aster realize how much coming into the past has changed her.

Staring clearly at the mirror with her own eyes, with no assistance from the glasses she's known all her life, she sees a stranger. A stranger whose went through so much, confused and floundering what her next step would be. Hoping to find a home in Hogwarts just like she found one when she first entered when she was once elven-years-old.

Aster Evans stood in the place of Aster Potter, which was probably the best for the time. She has no idea if she could go back and with how everything went down, it probably is best to just stay where she is and try her hand in the past.

See what changes she can bring forth and maybe, maybe she could have a better future than what she expected.

She takes her words back; her future may not exist. Not with the way Riddle seemed to be very keen in keeping an eye on her.

"Evans, I would like to introduce you to some of my acquaintances," Riddle's word flowed out of his mouth like smooth butter, refined and rich. If it was not Aster, she may have felt sorry for anyone that Riddle took a deep interest in.

But for some unfortunate reason, Riddle seemed to be enjoying Aster's displeasure in interrupting her quiet life in hopes to gather her into his own circle for unknown reasons.

It has only been a few days since the Headmaster introduced both, and in those few days, Aster made sure to ask question that new students would like to ask about where they would be spending majority of their lives in and how things worked around before deciding that she would be okay by herself and detach herself of Riddle.

But that did not seem to deter Riddle from still trying to approach her. Making Aster curse the Potter luck because no matter how much she wishes to tell off Riddle, she knew the teen has connections and could very well make the rest of the years in Hogwarts hell.

Because she damn well knew that she wasn't getting bullied as much as she thought she would be for having gone with her mother's maiden name. She knew the purebloods would have sneered and verbally assault her by the time she steps a foot anywhere near the Slytherin common room.

Aster politely smiled at the group of boys standing not far from Riddle as the teen made his presence known in front of her small clutter of books.

"Ah, Riddle, I wasn't expecting any company at the moment," She began, closing her book and push a strand of her hair behind her ear and sitting up straight to see Riddle in the eye.

"Sorry for the inconvenience, however; I know you are always occupied and sometimes hard to find you," Riddle said pleasantly, pointing to the fact that Riddle has trouble finding her when she isn't in places student tend to congregate together, making the teen agitated that someone knows better hiding places than he did.

"Ah," Aster opted to say, unsure how to feel that Riddle hasn't found the come and go room or that she is able to make the male more agitated than most people would want the teen to become. The girl isn't even sure that it is even a good idea to get on his bad side seeing as the only other person right now on her list is Dumbledore. Aster knows she wouldn't be able to handle having a Dark Lord and Dumbledore at the same time.

With her two months free in trying to regain her strength again and scouting information in the year, she has been sent to, Aster knows that her plans aren't very well formed and the ideas she has for her revenge will take longer to plan. Especially with what the date is, all her future information she has known about Dumbledore won't be worth much at the time being.

But with three certain items she has in her possession, she knows Grindelwald will be hitting it hard in trying to find the missing wand. She has also heard rumors of someone stealing the Potter's invisible cloak and they are out for blood trying to find the person who took the family heirloom.

Yet, she hasn't heard anything about the Gaunts making a racket about their own missing heirloom, but it is possible that they might still be held in Azkaban. She isn't sure with that; however, she has made precautions to have the items hidden in her trunk that no-one will be able to access it unless she tunes in their magic and blood into the wards she had painstakingly made.

She knows Dumbledore would kill to have all the Deathly Hallows who seemed to have become very attached to her much her disinterest in the bloody artifacts. With some possible ideas forming, Aster is becoming to believe that with a certain title she doesn't want to think about as well having the goblins confirm a certain last name. She knows will only paint a target on her back for the power she apparently holds.

Taking a good look at the teen in front of her she decides that maybe, maybe it would be a good idea in having him on the same side that will bring Dumbledore.

But deep down she knows she'll never be like the fools who bow down to a madman, kissing the hem of their robes. Which will cause problems in the future Aster doesn't tread carefully with Riddle.

"Well, you have my attention now," Aster slowly says, pushing the books to the side and gives Riddle all her attention, which seems to please the teen in front of her.

Pulling the seat in front of her, Riddle motions for the rest of the teenagers to come forward and take their place around the brunet.

"I'm glad we are able to converse, you seem like someone worthy of having around," Riddle began, looking at the books she has gathered. "I would like to introduce you to Heir Orion Black," The teen being introduced nodded his head and continued to observe her. Aster nodded back, unsure how to feel about having the teen who is the father of the one person she had the closest thing as a family. Their similarities would cause problems for her, knowing she'll have to work hard to not mistake the future Lord Black for Sirius.

"Heir Abraxas Malfoy," The blond teen sitting next to Riddle only just glance at her before turning his attention back to the book. Aster knew that look very well with how many times she has gotten into petty fights with Draco Malfoy. Ignoring his attitude, she turns to the next teen that seems ready to introduce himself. "Heir Augustus Rosier," chestnut hair waved at her, making sure not to interrupt Riddle's introductions.

"Heir Ranulphus Lestrange, Heir Darius Nott, Heir Barnabas Mulciber." The rest of the heirs only seemed to keep their eyes on her, trying to figure out why Riddle seemed to be going out of his way for a girl whose name is Muggleborn, but they all knew not to question the teen with whatever idea the teen started to brew.

"It is a pleasure to meet you," Aster said softly, "Of course you all might already know me, but my name is Aster Evans," and before she could even finish her sentence. Rosier decides to interrupt her.

"Your last name isn't Evans," the chestnut teen mused, a gleeful smile on his face as Aster narrowed her green eyes at the teen. This was something she wasn't expecting and having Rosier all but blurt out something she is desperately trying to hide from everyone until she was on her way out of Hogwarts.

And one of the people she didn't want to find out is sitting right across from her with narrowed blue eyes.

Bloody hell.