p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"Disclaimer: This is a work of fanfiction based off of the story, world, and characters of J.K. Rowling./p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"Chapter One: The Girl Who Almost Wasn't/p
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p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"Two women walked down the alley with the hoods of their robes brought up, disguising both heads of recognizable hair./p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;""This is it." The smaller woman said to the taller of the two, looking up at the markings above the narrow doorway. She reached for the doorknob./p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;""Wait a minute, this looks… dangerous." The second woman said. "Do you emneed /emto be sure the next one is a girl? Are you sure that this is what you want? For it to happen this way?"/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"The smaller woman spun around to face her. "This is the only way it emcan /emhappen. The Healer said… she said I can't have another baby."/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"The woman's friend looked stricken. "I'm so sorry, but I think you should - you should reconsider." She pleaded. "What about the two sons you have? Isn't it enough that you have two beautiful children already?"/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;""You don't understand. I love them, with all my heart, but... I grew up the only girl in my family. You know I love my father and my brothers, but my mother… she was my best friend. And now she's - " The small woman's voice broke as she was overcome with sobs. Her friend put her arms around her./p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;""Okay, it's okay. Shh." She looked her in the eyes. "Let's see what this woman has to say. But please, don't do anything without thinking it through." The smaller woman have her a teary reassuring smile. Her friend was always so logical./p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"The small woman pushed open the door and stepped inside, gesturing for her friend to follow. Once they were both inside, they pulled their hoods off. The room was pitch black. In the corner of her eye, the small woman saw the flicker of a flame./p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;""Madame Gizemli?" The she called out in the direction of the flame. "I'm here to seek your knowledge of a way for me to conceive a daughter."/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"The woman known as Madame Gizemli rose from her seat and seemed to glide over to where the two women stood. The candle she held illuminated her prominent nose and cheekbones./p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;""This is no small feat you wish to accomplish. I should warn you, a fickle preference for a daughter to put pretty dresses on will not be enough to help you survive the journey that you would have to take." Her voice crackled with disuse./p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;""It's not that." The small woman, whose red hair glowed scarlet in the candlelight, said. "It's more than that." She took a deep breath. "My mother… she passed away last night. She was my best friend. I… I want that for my daughter." For me, she thought. Don't pretend this is anything but you being selfish./p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"Madame Gizemli looked at her intently, as though she had heard her thoughts just as clearly as she'd heard her words./p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;""There is only one thing I can think of that may be able to accomplish what you ask. There are rumors, rumors which even I cannot confirm, of Faeries which live deep in the Dark Forest."/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;""The Dark Forest? Where is that?"/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;""Why, I'm sure you know. It lies at the edge of the grounds of Hogwarts."/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;""The Forbidden Forest?"/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;""Yes, the Forbidden Forest, a name for students to use. For others, the forest is not fprbidden, merely dangerous. It spans thousands of miles. The deepest part of the forest… nobody is known to have survived it. The Faeries' Nest is said to lie in the center of the forest. It is believed that the deepest part of the forest does not exist within the mortal world."/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;""The fairies that wizardkind knows are mere echoes of these ancient beings. The muggles of our world have a closer estimation of them than do we."/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;""How do I get to them?"/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;""Listen to what I say closely, Ginevra Potter. This journey will not be easy."/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"AN: Review if it pleases you. Ask me questions, let me know your thoughts, hopes, and dreams. Or just keep reading./p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"Chapter One: The Girl Who Almost Wasn't/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"Two women walked down the alley with the hoods of their robes brought up, disguising both heads of recognizable hair./p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;""This is it." The smaller woman said to the taller of the two, looking up at the markings above the narrow doorway. She reached for the doorknob./p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;""Wait a minute, this looks… dangerous." The second woman said. "Do you emneed /emto be sure the next one is a girl? Are you sure that this is what you want? For it to happen this way?"/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"The smaller woman spun around to face her. "This is the only way it emcan /emhappen. The Healer said… she said I can't have another baby."/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"The woman's friend looked stricken. "I'm so sorry, but I think you should - you should reconsider." She pleaded. "What about the two sons you have? Isn't it enough that you have two beautiful children already?"/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;""You don't understand. I love them, with all my heart, but... I grew up the only girl in my family. You know I love my father and my brothers, but my mother… she was my best friend. And now she's - " The small woman's voice broke as she was overcome with sobs. Her friend put her arms around her./p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;""Okay, it's okay. Shh." She looked her in the eyes. "Let's see what this woman has to say. But please, don't do anything without thinking it through." The smaller woman have her a teary reassuring smile. Her friend was always so logical./p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"The small woman pushed open the door and stepped inside, gesturing for her friend to follow. Once they were both inside, they pulled their hoods off. The room was pitch black. In the corner of her eye, the small woman saw the flicker of a flame./p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;""Madame Gizemli?" The she called out in the direction of the flame. "I'm here to seek your knowledge of a way for me to conceive a daughter."/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"The woman known as Madame Gizemli rose from her seat and seemed to glide over to where the two women stood. The candle she held illuminated her prominent nose and cheekbones./p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;""This is no small feat you wish to accomplish. I should warn you, a fickle preference for a daughter to put pretty dresses on will not be enough to help you survive the journey that you would have to take." Her voice crackled with disuse./p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;""It's not that." The small woman, whose red hair glowed scarlet in the candlelight, said. "It's more than that." She took a deep breath. "My mother… she passed away last night. She was my best friend. I… I want that for my daughter." For me, she thought. Don't pretend this is anything but you being selfish./p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"Madame Gizemli looked at her intently, as though she had heard her thoughts just as clearly as she'd heard her words./p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;""There is only one thing I can think of that may be able to accomplish what you ask. There are rumors, rumors which even I cannot confirm, of Faeries which live deep in the Dark Forest."/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;""The Dark Forest? Where is that?"/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;""Why, I'm sure you know. It lies at the edge of the grounds of Hogwarts."/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;""The Forbidden Forest?"/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;""Yes, the Forbidden Forest, a name for students to use. For others, the forest is not fprbidden, merely dangerous. It spans thousands of miles. The deepest part of the forest… nobody is known to have survived it. The Faeries' Nest is said to lie in the center of the forest. It is believed that the deepest part of the forest does not exist within the mortal world."/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;""The fairies that wizardkind knows are mere echoes of these ancient beings. The muggles of our world have a closer estimation of them than do we."/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;""How do I get to them?"/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;""Listen to what I say closely, Ginevra Potter. This journey will not be easy."/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"AN: Review if it pleases you. Ask me questions, let me know your thoughts, hopes, and dreams. Or just keep reading./p