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Chapter Text

!!!Warning: Mentions of Beatings and Eating of Human Flesh!!!       

        In a cookie cutter house in a cookie cutter neighborhood, there was a girl. A girl with hair as dark as a moonless night and silver eyes. Inhabitants of the cookie cutter homes stayed away from the girl, driven away by her unforgiving gaze. Her family were the only ones to stay near her, and that was not by choice. Her family, and this term is used quite loosely, was forced to take her in after the death of the girl's parents. The girl's name was Canis Aconite Potter. Canis for the Uncle she barely remembered, and Aconite for the botany related naming traditions of her mother's family. She was a beautiful child. Strange, but beautiful.        

        Her Aunt Petunia was jealous of Canis's beauty, and went to extreme measures to ruin her niece's looks. And the result was never what her aunt resulted. Shaving her head resulted in her hair growing back, resistant to scissors and other blades. Her nails became subtle claws and her teeth shone, a result of her aunt clipping her nails to the quick and yanking out her teeth. Strangely, they grew back within hours. This process infuriated her relatives, earning her numerous hours in her cupboard and beatings aplenty. Her relatives feared her ad her strange abilities, ensuing more beatings. The beatings did not make her fear them, oh no. They could never make her cower, even if they broke all her bones.

        Just because Canis did not fear them did not mean she felt nothing for them. She felt one thing for them, hate. She hated Petunia and her ugly jealously, she hated Vernon and his sheer hypocrisy, and she utterly despised Dudley and his bullying ways. She abhorred the Dursley family, the day of their deaths would be celebrated. She would laugh, she would sing, and she would dance on their graves. 

        As mentioned before, Canis was a gorgeous child. Her beauty far surpassed her Aunt's, so her AUnt tried the aforementioned methods to take away Canis's beauty. None of those methods worked, and so her Aunt turned to another method. Starvation. Canis was denied a stable meal plan, instead  given scraps like a dog. So she turned to others ways to get sustenance. Her relatives had not taught her that it was wrong to hurt others, so she had no problems in mugging others for money to buy food. That ensured she had sustenance, though she still didn't know how she managed to get food past her pig of a cousin.

        That was her life, her normal. She got up, cooked, did the chores assigned to her, got shoved outside, mugged someone, bought food, and return. But everything changed when she turned 7 years old.

        On that warm July night, creatures came to No. 4 Privet Drive. They were the remnant of an ancient race, living manifestations of shadows. Now, they were little shadowy goblin creatures. They were still Night Blights, but they were far less terrifying than before. Their diets were the same of course, toys and human flesh. In order to become what they once were, they needed to find the Mistress of Death. They were told that she would be a daughter of Peverell, younger than Hogwarts age. Their latest search had brought them to Privet Drive.

        Everyone was asleep as the Night Blights crept inside, everyone but one. Canis sat inside her cupboard snacking on a blueberry scone. She could feel ..... something on the edge of her mind. It felt like a swarm, a group of somethings searching. She smiled in the darkness of her cupboard, a smile full of fangs. These things, they were dark; they were dark and they were hungry. They felt familiar in a way, like how someone would feel when they encountered a friend they had not seen in years.

        Canis continued to smile, even as she felt them climb into the corners of the house; her smile grew when her cousin screamed. She felt his thundering steps lumber towards his parents, and she heard him try to wake them up. Canis's smile shifted to a smirk then, hearing the tub of lard failing to wake his parents and feeling the dark amusement from the Swarm around her. She decided to join in on the fun. A song could work, maybe take a happy lullaby-type tune and turn it dark. Oh yes, that would work.

        "Strip the flesh and eat him whole, eat him whole, eat him whole.

Strip the flesh and eat him whole, my dark darlings"

        Her young voice rang out in the quiet house, echoing eerily in the air. It drew attention to her, both the Swarm's and Dudley's. Dudley continued to run, but a single shard of the Swarm abandoned it's post. It appeared in front of her, in all it's dark glory. It's flesh was dark, far deeper a black than the shadows of her cupboard. It had crooked little horns on it's head, clawed 3 digit hands and feet, and large white eyes. If she looked closely, she could faintly make out a slightly darker patch in the eyes; it was most likely the creature's pupil.

        "Now who," it asked," are you?"

Chapter Text

Canis stared at the creature in front of her with a faint smile on her face. She could sense the curiosity and bloodlust in its mind. It seemed to echo amongst the swarm before it turned back, creating an ever-changing loop.

“Canis Aconite Potter at your service.” she said with a snickering flourish.

The creature blinked its eyes in confusion. The girl looked far more like a Black or a Peverell than she did a Potter. The hair was black, to start with, not the familiar chestnut of a Potter. Her eyes shone with silver starlight and her name screamed Black. How this girl was a Potter the creature had no idea.

“Really”, it asked, "Are you sure? You don’t quite look like a Potter. You seem to look more like a Black to me.”

Canis stared at the small creature of shadows. The way it phrased its words made it seem as though it knew of her family, personally almost. The two were interrupted from their staring contest by a scream from Dudley upstairs.

“Room for one more to torture the tub of lard? Been waiting to get back at him and his parents my whole life.” Canis asked, a gleaming grin of crocodile fangs upon her lips. The creature’s answering smile gave her the answer she wanted.

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Dudley Dursley ran around his house, wondering what his life had come to. Or well, he would be if baby whales could think such deep thoughts. No, young Dudley’s mind held only the thought of beating his cousin Canis for all that was going on around him. His toys were gone, his Mummy and Daddy wouldn’t wake up, and she was out of her cupboard eating HIS cake!

“W-when Mummy wakes up you’ll be in s-so much trouble! And-and Daddy’ll beat you black and-and blue and throw you in your cupboard!” he yelled with his face quickly turning red. He seemed to get even more agitated when she didn’t react in fear.

“Honestly Dudders, think. Your parents won’t wake up no matter how much you shake them, creepy little creatures are crawling around your house saying they'll eat you, and there’s no way out. Just how do you think you’re going to survive?” Canis snickered before taking another bite of her cake. Honestly, watching the little whale run around had really worked up her appetite. She watched his face pale in horror. It was even funnier when he ran to the exits and tried to get out! Canis wondered if this is what he felt when he bullied his victims but realized something was missing from the situation. The pain.

Dudley screamed in shocked pain at the fire poker making contact with his skull. He wasn’t hit hard enough to knock him out, but most certainly hard enough to stun him for a bit. As his head swam he could feel the freak move his body around but he wasn’t sure how. By the time he was awake and aware, his wrists were tied to the tabletop. He thrashed and rolled in his efforts to break free. A swift smack to the face put a halt to that, however.

“Oh no Dudders, you’re not getting away from this~! You wanna know something? I’m gonna make you feel what all of your victims felt, all of the pain and fear and terror; everything you put them through.” She snarled at him. Canis wasn’t going to give him the easy way out, no sir. She felt the swarm seem to shift in interest, then elated joy it seemed. She honestly had no clue why the strange group seemed so happy but quickly pushed the thought away in favor of her current task. 

The first thing to go were his fingernails. Vernon had left his pliers on the table that day, having worked on something in his chair that she couldn't see. They took the nails off quite easily, but not cleanly. The nail came off with pieces of the underskin still attached and blood seemed to flow from the soft flesh continuously. Some of the nails didn’t come off in one piece, so Canis had to go back over them. Most of the time, in her second trips, the grisly skin was scraped and new abrasions added. After his fingernails came some of his finger bones. 

“This little piggy went to the market~” CRACK! There goes the first finger, and the waterworks.

“This little piggy stayed home~” SHRK! The second finger only seemed to increase Dudley’s blubbering.

“This little piggy had roast beef~” SNAP! He really did sound like a pig with the squealing cry he let out that time!

“And this little piggy? Went WEE, WEE, WEE all the way home~!” Three more fingers were hit with that line. The young girl sat there for a minute, deciding upon her next act. What else could she do to her cousin to make him feel like she had? Oh, that’s it!

“Alright Dudders, this next act is called Anything to Eat!” She picked up the butcher's knife from the counter it sat on and approached her cousin. His eyes went so wide you could see the white all around them, and his shrieks and pleas rose to an even higher pitch. She simply carried on with her task and off went his toes. She honestly had no idea how he hadn't passed out before all this. He shuddered in revulsion and stubbornly kept his mouth shut to keep his toes from entering his mouth, but Canis was determined.

“Come on Dudley, you always want to eat. If you won’t do it willingly, I’ll just make you~!” His stubborn jaw gave her an answer. 

“Fine!” she snarled,” Don’t say I didn’t give you an option!”

Canis gave no mercy when she shoved his toes down his throat. Nothing stopped her. Not gagging, or vomiting, or wailing, or pleas. Nothing would get in the way of her work. By the time she had gotten all of his toes in his gullet, Dudley seemed to be all out of fight. Well, she knew what to finish with.

Her grin was dark as she took the knife to his stomach. She hauled his stomach and intestines out and down his exposed throat, taking pleasure in the way the light left his eyes. He died in agony, yet doing one of the things he loved most in the world. Eating. His punishment was done, but not the tub of lard and horse upstairs. And she had the perfect punishment for them.

“If you would mind waiting to eat them, I’d like for them to have their turns. After it’s all done I don’t care. Have them, but I want my revenge first.” Unknown to her, but easily seen by the exultant Night Blights, her eyes had darkened to a blackened sclera and mercury irises. She quietly cackled as the Blights moved around her in order to achieve her plan. Nothing would get in her way. The Swarm would make sure of it.

Chapter Text

The next day, police swarmed Privet Drive. They had recieved an anonymous call reporting of a murder in the home. The caller told how Vernon and Petunia Dursley had murdered their son, and abused their niece for years on end. A call that was found to be true. Neighbors and news crews alike watched as the Dursley's were hauled out of their home, the husband yelling at the police about his "freak of a niece had bewitched them with her freakishness". Petunia was slack in the arms of the officers, not even bothering to fight. Little Canis was gingerly carried out of the home after them.

A bit further from the crowd stood a large and animalistic man. His long silver mane fell down his back while his piercing amber eyes were locked on the spectacle in front of him. He was hardly expecting this to happen when he chose to pass through the sleepy little muggle street. Didn't mean he wasn't sticking around to laugh at the muggles, though. His ears perked up at hearing the conversation of a pair of housewives a fair distance from him.

"- it's such a shame, I said. Poor little Canis, and no one ever knew!" a muggle woman said to her friend.

"It really is terrible, what happened to the children. Poor Dudley murdered and Canis left alone again!" the other woman wailed.

The name Canis caught the man's attention. It wasn't a very common name in the Magical World, practically nonexistent in the Muggle one. He only actually knew of one person with that name. Little Canis Potter. The werewolf gave himself a fanged grin before carefully schooling his features into a mask of confused concern.

"You wouldn't happen to be talking about Canis Potter would you? James and Lily's little girl?" he gruffed out," I knew her parents, you see, and I've been wondering what happened to her after her parents were murdered."

"M-murdered! Petunia always said they died while drinking at the wheel!" one of the housewives gasped

Fenrir blinked and stared at her, taking a minute to translate the muggle talk in his head. The idea of the Potters, a fairly strong pair of wixen, being taken out by a muggle automobile was inconceivable.

"Lord and Lady Potter, drinking at the wheel? Utter crock! They were murdered is what they were!" Fenrir scoffed out. As much as he disliked the two, he wouldn't lie on how they died.

"Lord? Lady? They were nobility!?" the two housewives resembled fish uncannily at that.

Fenrir just sighed, this is what happens when you talk to muggles. He gave them a look and went to approach the muggle aurors. He could see the girl looking at him with moonlight eyes, observing him shrewdly. Strangely, he could feel others watching him, but could not see them. The girl gave him a feral grin, and he stopped. There was something wrong, something not quite right. He watched a little closer and finally noticed. There was a small amount of blood in her teeth. He smirked, seemed the pup had decided to take matters into her own hands. Fenrir looked her directly in her eyes and gave a fanged grin back, letting her see what looked to be blood around his gums; in response to her own monstrous grin, he gave his own.

~\/~

Canis let herself be held by the officer, spending her time examining the wild man approaching them. The blood in his teeth seemed to match hers. The Blights in her shadow whispered to her who he was, feared werewolf Fenrir Greyback. His very presence seemed to unnerve the sheep of Privet Drive, but it only made her more interested. How could she get an aura like that?

The officer noticed where she was looking and turned his body to face Fenrir. He was looking at him with suspicion when Canis piped in.

"Uncle Fen?" she spoke softly, aiming to appear like a traumatized child finding something they recognized. It seemed to work too, as the officer relaxed and lost a good bit of his suspicion. When the werewolf flicked his eyes to hers she gave him a look, silently telling him to play along.

"Hey pup, didn't think you'd remember me. You were just a little tyke the last time I saw you." Fenrir said softly, focusing on her rather than the officer.

Canis gave the officer a small smile as she made a sign to let her down. The officer did so slowly, allowing her to go to the werewolf and give him a hug. She felt him tense, then quickly relax. She tugged him down slightly to get his head near hers.

"Play along and we'll both get out of here scott-free. My parents were your neighbors wherever they lived and I was kidnapped from the home after they died. Use a bit of magic to 'adopt' me, and then get us the hell out of here." she whispered, an angelic smile showing to the people around her.

~\/~

Fenrir had to hand it to the girl, that was the easiest way for the both of them to get out of the muggle hell hole called the police station. They pretended to know one another, Fenrir adopted her, he obliviated the muggles, and they fled to the forest not 3 hours from Little Whinging. Easy as pie.

"Alright Potter, the hell happened." he gruffed out. The girl just looked at him with a smile, before her shadow seemed to ripple. Small shadowed beings crawled out to stand beneath the tree canopy. Fenrir froze when he recognized what they were. Any dark mage worth their wand knew what Night Blights were, as weak as they were at the moment.

"My name is Canis, pleasure to meet you Fenrir Greyback! These are my Blights." the girl cheerfully said, as though she wasn't standing next to a creature capable of devouring them both in minutes. Fenrir watched with bated breath as the creatures seemed to flow about her body, one sitting on her shoulders with a matching crocodile grin.

"I ask again, the hell was that." Fenrir growled out. Frustration or fear, he didn't know which of the two he was feeling the most at the minute. The girl just continued to grin before the shadows moved. A large cloud of them stood next to her, allowing Canis to place her hand in the swirling mass. Fenrir watched as the girl's memories began to play on the makeshift viewing screen, silently in awe of her power.

"Clear enough, Greyback?" the girl smirked,"Now then, I have a bit of a proposition for you. How would you like practically free reign on an uninhabited island?"

Fenrir stared at the girl, unsure if he was hearing her correctly. Did she truly just offer the usage of a private island to a notorious cannibalistic werewolf? The answer? Yes.

"What? I have a private island on the Peverell side, according to the Blights at least. I believe it's called Shadowmere Isle. It wouldn't be that hard to host you and your pack in the little village. Call it gratitude for your help getting out of there."

Fenrir continued to stare in disbelief. None had ever managed to rattle and surprise him like this slip of a girl had. He liked it.

"Alright pup, you have yourself a deal! We'll camp here for the night before going to Gringotts in the morning, grab the portkey, and get my pack. Be prepared though, my pack is quite large." Fenrir spoke, shaking her hand. He had a good feeling about all this, like he was making the right decision.

~\/~

The morning dawned bright and early, casting golden light through the treetops. It wasn't the only thing falling though, as evidenced by the scrapes along Canis's legs. The girl had already tripped several times on the underbrush. She gave a huff, idly wondering when they'd call the Knight Bus. No sooner had she thought that did the pair finally reach a road, where Fenrir held out his wand to call the large bus. The pair stepped up, paid their fee, and were on their way to Diagon Alley.

Canis was in awe of the street, never had she seen so many things in one place. She trailed behind Fenrir, gawking as she passed the ships with floating displays or moving signs. She loved it, she truly felt like this was where she belonged. She stopped as she saw something moving about in the shadows between two shops. She could faintly hear someone speaking. Canis turned to look at Fenrir, judging the distance between them. Confident she could catch up in a few minutes, she darted to the small space between them.
Canis looked around, trying to find the source of the voice she was hearing. Finally looking downward, the direction where the voice was strongest, Canis found what appeared to be a small dark blue kitten with feathered wings of a lighter sky blue.

"Great, another fucking two legger. Can't let me have a break, can you assholes!?" it snarled at her, "Well, you ain't taking me back. I refuse!"

Canis blinked. The kitten was...speaking English? Granted it sounded American, but English nonetheless. She silently watched as the feline threw itself into another rant before it gave a rather abrupt pause to breath, and stopped. Its brows furrowed as it sniffed in her direction. Its eyes widened in shock at her smell before it threw itself at her.

"Holy shit it's you! I've been waiting forever dammit! My perfect partner! Do you know how many two leggers I had to deal with, Boss? Too many of them fuckers!" the feline screeched at Canis, seemingly relieved at finding her. Canis watched as the kitten's amber eyes turned a matching mercury as the small mammal purred on her shoulders.

Canis, having no clue at what was going on but finding it honestly hilarious, rushed out of the alley to catch up with Fenrir. The kitten clung to her shoulders, complaining and drawing the attention of passerby for a brief moment. At least, before they realized it was just a girl seemingly talking to herself. Canis caught up right as Fenrir entered the bank, the small feline mercifully falling silent as the trio walked inside. They walked directly up to a free teller, where Fenrir let Canis take the lead to get to her account manager. He did a brief second take at the small kitten though.

"Greetings, Honored Teller," she said, repeating the words the Blights were giving her in her mind, "I wish to see the Peverell account manager."

The goblin gave her a look of suspicion before speaking.

"Do you have your key?" He could clearly see that no, she did not have her key.

"How unfortunate, walk through that door to get an inheritance test. If you are allowed in the accounts, the test will tell. Now move."

Canis blinked in surprise before turning to head in the direction the goblin had pointed out. She honestly didn't care that the goblin didn't believe her, she was just a bit shocked at how rude he was. Then again, if she heard people being as rude to her as the other wixen were, she would probably be just as rude. Or there would be wixen missing body parts. A toss up, really.

Her and Fenrir reached the door in a matter of minutes. Canis took a deep breath, and knocked.