The First Time 'Round
Summery: Fate, it seems, has been interupted in her quest for the greater good, and so she asks a favor of her friend, Mother Nature. This story tells about the fragile relationship of time and fate, and how one seemingly normal woman, must help a man she should have never been introduced too, to become the great and evil and powerfully flawed leader that his destiny doomed him to be.
AN: I'm saying sorry in advance for the spelling and gramatical sucktitude, I used spell check, but even that wonderful thing can't spare you all from the English classes that I obviously wasn't present in.
Disclaimer: I own nothing what-so-ever. I probably don't even own the things that i thought i made up...
Chapter 1 : And so it begins...
It was a gray and dreary day on the streets of London, just like most any other day in mid-summer. It was the end of July, and the dreadfully hot afternoons and evenings would be coming as soon as August hit, those times when only the early morning hours while the dew drops are still on the blades of freshly cut grass would offer any sanctuary from the nearly apocalyptic heat. So it was cool on this day, one could even say it was a bit chilly, even nippy, if you will. The steady rains had started at about quarter of 8 that morning, and had been coming down in dramatic spurts ever since. It must of been nearly 40 degrees out, unusual summer cold, a person could even see their breath faintly if they were watching.
However, this was not that dreadful kind of rain, that type that you get get everyday, and soon every thing around you is in a miserable muck. No, this rain was warm as it fell down on your bear skin, causing you to sigh and relax were you stood on the street, or in your yard. It had been the first good rain in five weeks. And so, in a way it was a rain of life, a rain of hope, and a rain of new beginnings, for everything.
It was three hours after noon at the point were our tale begins. Children were appearing in the previously dormit back yards, and employs and their employers alike were coming out to feel the refreshing liquid, before getting back to there jobs and lives, none noticing a young woman, very much with child stumbling timidly near the walls of the building.
Looking around, her gaze is held by a bright red phone booth on the corner of the next block. Making her way carefully over to the curb on the edge of the block she was currently on, she suddenly leans over, hand flying up to grab hold of the light post just to her left, the other going down to clutch her bulging stomach. She lets out a soft whimper, going unnoticed by the pedestrians traveling all around her, her damp, dank, murky blonde hair falling in to her face, and sticking to her pale, clammy skin as she scrunches up her face in pain. Because of the soaking rain falling everywhere around her, nobody can see the wet spot that would have, in other circumstances, created a damp spot on the back of her long, tattered skirt. As soon as the enitial pain subsides, she makes her way, much slower now, across the cobble stone road and over to the booth. Once inside the dry albeit slightly cramped space, she turns to find the book of numbers. She is not however, looking for a number, or even one certain place in particular, she is looking for an orphanage, because of the war, the number of orphanages in London had gone up dramatically some years before, so there is bound to be one close, all she needs to do is find an address. Running a bony finger down the page she spots a close one, Veterans Heart Children Center, it was only seven blocks away. If she starts now she should be there in an hour.
Making her way out of the phone booth, she starts an east bond direction, towards 7th and Lexington. 40 minutes an 5 blocks later, she is shivering and throughly exhausted. With two more blocks she decides to sit down for a minute or at least lean on something until she begins to regain some of the strength in her weak limbs. That's when he catches her eye again.
He has been following her since she got here in London five days ago, and now it looks as though he has made up his mind to close in. The sight of him makes her blood run cold, and she know that she should run, but this young man looks so. so much like her love, her Tom, that she can hardly bear to look the other direction. She catches his eye and he stops advancing for a moment, looking like something very much akin to a deer caught in head lights, he knew he had just been caught.
Getting flustered he quickly starts forward again pulling a wand out of his left hand sleeve, not caring who might have been watching. He is coming after her, she thinks, that is diffenitly not her Tom, this stranger wants to take her baby.
She turns around quickly and waddles as quickly as her swollen ankles will take her towards a near by alley way, hoping to hide somewhere until he goes away, of at least to stall for a few moments while she figure out what to do in this situation. Hiding herself behind a dumpster, she dares not look around it's iron corner, lest this awful man see her.
She can hear his heavy foot steps as he walks up and down the alley slowly, his steps getting louder and then quieter, as he passes by her over and over again, scaring the very wits out of her every time, because she thinks he will catch her. It's as though he is daring her to finally break, and stand up from her hiding spot and shout 'I'm over her already, you bloody newt-wit.' But she will not break, not if the life of her child is in danger.
He getting closer once again, and she is waiting for the sounds of his foot steps to grow fainter like they have been for the past 10 minuets. But instead they continue to travel closer, and she can see his shadow advancing on her iron corner. She attempts to wedge herself more soundly back between the dumpster and the brick wall, as though if he were to look around this corner he would no longer be able to see her.
Finally he is upon her looking like a mad man, his black hair past his chin and tangled, the hair upon his face uncut, dirty and ripped clothing, and his bright green eyes sparkling maniacally. There is a wicked grin on his face, much like the one that her father used to look at her with before he would use her for his own pleasures.
"Good Bye, Merope." He said in a raspy baritone, pointing his wand at her once again. Closing her eyes tightly she waiting for his next action, and then she heard muttered the two most fearsome words in the wizarding world.
"Avada Kadavra" There was a bright flash of sickening green light, and the resounding sound of a thump on the pavement of the alley. The rain continued to fall down on a now lifeless body.
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Up in the moisture filled clouds above there stood a carefree young figure. Her long chestnut hair cascaded in lovely curls down south of her slim waist. She jumped around and spun gleefully in the oppressingly humid air of the storm cloud, lighting acting as a sort of strobe and the loud rumble of thunder ever-present. The cloud was of course, thoroughly saturated, but the young girl was as dry as if she'd been in a desert, the rain that was all around her, seemingly refusing to touch her person. Pale skin covered her naked young body, but she held no inhibitions about being nude, as that was how she usually was.
She looked down into the murky space below her, and seemingly unabashed, let out a peal of laughter at the mushy, bleak and all around dreary sight on the earth so many miles beneath her. There was another deafening clap of thunder, which only improved the girls already ecstatic mood, but said mood was quickly brought "back to earth" so to speak, when there was an alien sound from behind her. Someone had obviously just cleared there throat, and rather loudly at that. One might think that in the middle of a massive thunder shower, you would not be able to hear such things, but one must also understand that when the noise of a large thunder shower is frequent occurrence then it is not so hard to hear foreign sounds which one is not terribly accustomed too.
Immediately the smile on the girls face turned in to a frown, stern beyond her apparent years. Turning around with pale arms crossed over her chest, and looking terribly impatient.
"What do you want this time, Constance?" she said with an icy tone that cold make the devil himself freeze over.
"Now, whatever do you mean Cordi?"The Woman standing across from the young girl, who's name, we have found is, in fact, Cordelia, mocked in a playful but none the less throughly annoying tone. Her silver hair was cut short to her head, barely reaching the tops of her ebony ears, and dark brown stared at the younger looking girl, with a playful mirth, that the girl knew that she herself had not possessed in many many millennia.
Constance was short, perhaps five feet in height, was rather plump, and was Wearing what looked to be a pair of deep blue robes, that made here look quite like the blueberries that some of the humans on the sopping earth below enjoyed eating.
"You know exactly what I mean, and don't call me Cordi, you know how much I dislike it." said the young girl glaring pointedly at the plump woman across from her, a look of utter distaste in her shining through her large hazel-green orbs. "Now what do you want?"
"Can't I just come to visit my favorite being in the universe? I never get to see you anymore!!!"said Constance, the playful gleam in her molten silver eyes refusing to falter.
Cordelia gave her yet another smoldering look. "We both know that I have neither the time nor the patience for your games right now...or ever, now that I think about it." she snapped at the women, "Now what could you possibly need this time?"
"Oh you know," Constance replied, giving Cordi a break, if just this once," Just little favor."
"If I remember correctly, the last several favors that you asked me too do consisted from anywhere between that flood that had to last for forty days to the drought that created the Sahara Desert in northern Africa." retorted Cordelia, cocking one thin brow, and shifting her weight from both legs, to one, causing one hip to protrude, and looking very satisfied.
"Yes I am perfectly awear of the debt I owe to you, but I only ask these things because they need to be done."
"Done for what purpose? To save those precious little humans of yours? I'm not interested in helping you with such tasks, when all that they succeed in doing, is ruining the world that I have so painstakingly put together!"
"Oh please, Cordi, just this one last one, and I promise I'll keep..."
"That's the same thing that you told me last time, and what did I tell you about using that damn nickname!!!"
"Oh no please, you must help me this time, dear. It's something near irreversible, and to be honest, I would quote happily do it my self, if not for the fact that I can not contact the humans, but you can, don't you see, it's the only way, and if this fails, all could be lost."
Cordelia gave he one last long, hard stare, the wheels in her head turning. "And you promise, that this will be the last time?" she asked cautiously.
"Oh diffenetly!" Constance shrieked, jumping up and down, looking quite graceful for a woman her size. "Oh thank you, thank you..."
"Alright already, what is so awful that you needed me, and in such a fit as well." said Cordelia, beginning to lose what little patience that she had.
"Oh goodness deary, you'll never believe it" Constance cried out, clutching her chest, "Some dunder head from the future has messed with the fabric of time. He gone and scared this poor girl and it's ruined everything."
"So some girl got frightened, and now the world is going implode."
"Well no, not if you get your arse down there. And don't look at me like that. She carrying a child" Constance took several paces forward until she was standing right in front of the young looking girl, and looked down at the girl, the serious expression on slightly unnerving, "That child is going to change the face of both the wizarding and the muggle worlds, and set the world upon the correct path, but with things getting off course like this, everything is going to be ruined, and even I don't know what might happen. I don't understand, I keep trying to put in to their heads that time travel can only hurt them, because it is always done right the first time around, no matter how much they dislike it!!!"
Looking up at the seething woman in front of her, Cordelia let a light smirk appear on her face. "So, I guess that won't me to show the wanker what happens when he messes with Fate, huh?"
A huge smile erupted on Constance face. "Alright then deary, here what you've got to do..."
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He getting closer once again, and she is waiting for the sounds of his foot steps to grow fainter like they have been for the past 10 minuets. But instead they continue to travel closer, and she can see his shadow advancing on her iron corner. She attempts to wedge herself more soundly back between the dumpster and the brick wall, as though if he were to look around this corner he would no longer be able to see her.
Finally he is upon her looking like a mad man, his black hair past his chin and tangled, the hair upon his face uncut, dirty and ripped clothing, and his bright green eyes sparkling maniacally. There is a wicked grin on his face, much like the one that her father used to look at her with before he would use her for his own pleasures.
"Good Bye, Merope." He said in a raspy baritone, pointing his wand at her once again. Closing her eyes tightly she waiting for his next action, and then she heard muttered the two most fearsome words in the wizarding world.
"Avada Kadavra" There was a bright flash of sickening green light, and the resounding sound of a thump on the pavement of the alley. The rain continued to fall down on a now lifeless body.
The alley way was still, the man was no longer coming after her. Did he know that his spell had missed? But it hadn't sounded like his voice, the voice she had heard had sounded decidedly more feminine. Had someone really come to save her, she thought excitedly. Barely daring to open her eyes, she managed to push herself off the damp and dirty ground, and proceeded to crawl towards the light until she was able to peek out and around the corner of the dumpster.
There she could clearly see the limp form of the man of had been haunting her, and the silhouette of an attractive woman, who was only just now lowering her wand. Looking down her the woman, who must have been in her early thirties, pushed aside a couple of her own velvety black curls before walking the three or four steps between them and kneeling down lightly in front of her, a kind smile present both on her face and in her sparkling green eyes.
"Hello Merope dear, don't worry, I'm here to help you."