Author's Note: Hello, Potterheads! I'm Skywalker17! This is a dystopian-ish/futuristic Harry Potter fanfiction that I've been wanting to write for a while, and I just now finished the prologue.
Without spoiling too much, the story follows an OC, Melody Potter (the granddaughter of Albus Potter and great-granddaughter of Harry Potter), who lives in a world where magic has been completely banned. I don't want to ruin the plot, so I'll just leave it at that. I plan on splitting this story into three parts, so it'll be somewhat of a trilogy, I suppose. Currently, I plan on using nearly all OC's for this story. You may seem some characters from the original series pop up every now and then (obviously they'd be really old), but all of the main characters will be those of my own invention.
I'm rating this 'T' for violence, action, thematic elements, and the like. I don't really put any swearing in my stories, so don't worry about that. And finally, this is NOT a romance story, so don't expect any smut (there will be a LITTLE romantic stuff, but not until much later on in the story). The story may get dark at times, so if I feel the need to bump the rating up, I will.
Anyway, this is just the prologue. I didn't want to make it a giant info/exposition dump, so don't expect all of your questions to be answered right away. Enjoy!
Year: 2063
"…and then suddenly, Harry felt something inside of his pocket." The emerald eyes of Melody Potter widened as they met the rippling green gaze of her father, a mirror image of her own. "Do you know what it was?" asked her father in a hushed tone.
"The Philosopher's Stone!" Melody exclaimed, her small voice echoing around their miniscule sitting room. She bounced up and down excitedly, nearly toppling off her father's lap and falling to the hardwood floor below. "What happened next?"
"Well," her father began, chuckling lightly as he steadied her. "He –"
"Mathew?" an irritated voice interrupted. Melody swung her tiny head around to see her grandmother standing on the threshold of the sitting room's entrance. The older woman, with greying brown hair and cool blue eyes, stood with her arms crossed staunchly over her thin chest, a sour look etched across her withered face. "I pray you aren't telling Melody anymore of those stories," the woman continued.
"She should know about her great-grandfather," Matthew replied tartly, pushing his wire-rimmed glasses up the bridge of his nose.
"I like the stories!" Melody offered with a broad smile in the direction of her scowling grandmother.
"You never know who might be listening!" she reminded them, throwing a pointed look at the small window behind the couch Melody was sitting on with her father.
"Nonsense, Ava," Matthew responded, shaking his head as he ruffled Melody's jet-black hair playfully. "AMEA hasn't been by in months. I think they finally believe that I'm not a wizar –"
"Don't say that word!" hissed Melody's grandmother, or Ava, as Matthew had always called her. "You what they'll do if they catch you. You'll end up just like my Andrea, and then poor Melody will have to lose her only remaining parent at the grand age of eight." Melody watched as a look of sorrow briefly crossed the face of her father.
"What happened to Andrea wasn't my fault," Matthew muttered, glancing down at his lap. Melody felt a tinge of sadness herself. He never liked to talk about her mum.
There was a long pause as an awkward silence filled the room.
"Are you going to finish the story?" Melody asked quietly, placing one of her small hands on her father's shoulder. Matthew sighed, exchanging a quick glance with Ava, who was still frowning heavily.
"Maybe some other time," he murmured, hoisting her into the air, then gently setting her down on the floor. He forced a tight smile, scooting to the edge of the couch as he gently tucked her black hair behind her ears. "Now, I think it's time for you to head off to bed. You have school tomorrow, if I'm not mistaken."
"But –"
"No buts," Ava interjected firmly. "You heard your father. Off to bed." Melody felt her lower lip curling outward slightly, but she resisted the urge to complain. She could sense that grandmother was in a foul mood.
"Good night, Mel," her father whispered, leaning forward and planting a soft kiss on her brow. Melody smiled, throwing her arms around his neck and embracing him tightly.
"Good night, Dad," she answered brightly, pulling away and giving him a wide smile before bounding past her grandmother and skipping into her tiny bedroom down the hall. She left the door slightly ajar, then plopped down onto the floor, pressing her ear against the crack as she listened carefully.
"You shouldn't fill her head with these ideas of yours," Ava was saying. "You know how impressionable children are. Before you know it, she'll want to be a…well, a you-know-what." A loud sigh followed, and Melody waited for her father to respond.
"It's in her blood, Ava," he replied. "She was born to use magic, just like her mother."
"Well, in case you hadn't noticed, Melody wasn't born into the same world as her mother," Ava responded dryly. "People like her are killed if they're caught using their…abilities. Is that what you want to happen to your daughter?" Melody gasped softly at her grandmother's strong words. She quickly clamped a hand over her mouth. If she was caught eavesdropping, she would most certainly be in trouble.
"She won't always live in this world," Matthew retorted, and Melody felt her ears perk up in curiosity. "Someday, people will understand what really happened; then things will go back to the way they were."
"And who's going to prove what really happened?" asked Ava, her voice challenging. "It's been three years since London was destroyed. Three years since the Chancellor ordered the purge, and people still shrink in terror at the mere mention of magic." Again, there was a brief pause. Melody held her breath, leaning closer to the crack between her door and its frame.
"There's talk of a resistance," her father finally answered, clearly being cautious as he selected his words. "A few of us… people like me, I mean. We've been trying to find other purge survivors in the area." Melody just barely caught the sound of her grandmother's horrified gasp.
"Matthew!" she exclaimed. "How can you say that? After what happened to Andrea, and Tiberius, and so many others!"
"And they died in vain if we don't do something!" Matthew riposted. "I can't keep living like this, Ava. I'm a wizard. It's who I am."
"Keep your voice down," Ava promptly replied. "These houses aren't soundproof. And considering how close the neighbors are, they might report us." Melody strained to hear her father's response, but his words were unintelligible to her. "Sometimes I wish my daughter had just been normal," Ava muttered. "Then she never would have met you at that blasted magic school, and I wouldn't spend every night worried sick about the fate of my grandchild."
"Well, I'm –"
Before Melody's father could continue, there was a loud, thunderous knock on the front door. Melody froze, her emerald eyes as big as saucers as she nervously swung her gaze to the broad, oaken door that stood at the other end of the short hallway, perfectly opposite the door to her bedroom.
"Oh dear," Ava muttered, walking at a surprisingly swift pace to the front door. Melody watched as her father emerged from the sitting room, trailing close behind. She could only see their backs, so she wasn't sure what their faces looked like when Ava opened the door.
Peering between her father and grandmother, Melody spotted a tall, burly man sporting a short layer of mud-brown hair. Even from a distance, she could see his dark eyes, glowing menacingly as they hastily inspected the small entryway to their humble house. The man wore a simple, black uniform with four words emblazoned in bold red letters across his chest: Anti-Magic Enforcement Agency, or AMEA, as everyone called it. Melody realized she was shaking, and swallowed hard. She clutched the fleece material of her blue pajama shirt, hoping to stop her small fingers from trembling.
"Is this the home of Matthew Potter?" the man asked in a deep voice. Melody craned her neck upwards, and realized with a jolt of terror that the AMEA officer was holding a large, threatening gun. She gulped, suddenly feeling the urge to run to her bed and hide under the thin blankets. Melody forced herself to stay where she was, however.
"This is," her father answered, his voice hesitant. The man nodded, his beady eyes studying Matthew briefly.
"We received a report from a neighbor that there's been some shouting here tonight?" the officer queried. Melody's heartbeat quickened.
"Just some family matters, that's all," Matthew assured the man.
"The report claimed that there were mentions of magic," the officer continued, dawning a more threatening tone. There was a deathly silence.
"That's ridiculous," Ava finally managed to croak out. She waved her hand dismissively.
"I'm afraid the neighbors heard wrong," Matthew concurred. Melody held her breath, nervously anticipating the officer's response. She pressed her petite body against the doorframe, refusing to blink in case she missed anything.
"Mr. Potter," the officer answered flatly. "This report came from a highly-respected member of this neighborhood, and since you've been on our watch-list for quite some time, I'm going to have to search your home for any incriminating evidence." Melody managed to hold back another gasp, but her heart was still pounding ferociously inside of her chest.
"Of course," her father mumbled, stepping back to grant the officer entrance. Matthew finally swiveled around enough for Melody to see his face. Her pulse accelerated even further when she saw the fear lurking behind her father's bright green eyes. He nervously ran a hand through his shaggy black hair, reluctantly following the officer as he strode into the sitting room.
Melody waited impatiently by her door. She heard the muffled sounds of the officer going through their things, and the nervous ramblings of her grandmother. Melody heard nothing from her father, however.
Nothing happened at first, but after a few minutes, there was a loud shout. Melody nearly jumped out of her skin in surprise.
"Oi, Ralphie!" the officer yelled. "We got a wand!" Melody's heart stopped.
"No, this is a mistake," Matthew exclaimed. Even though she couldn't see him, Melody could hear the terror in her father's voice. Her grandmother's gasp was one of horror.
"Put your hands where I can see them," the officer ordered firmly. "You're under arrest for possession of a magical item. Come with me now, and I'll make this as easy and painless as I can."
"Please, there's been a misunderstanding," Matthew argued, his voice tinged with desperation. "This isn't what it looks like, I swear." Melody gasped softly as another officer appeared inside of the doorway, waiting as the first man shoved Matthew back into the hallway, jamming the barrel of his rifle into her father's shoulder.
"No!" Melody screamed, abandoning her position and throwing open the door to her room. She bolted out into the hallway, running straight for her father.
"Melody, stay there!" her father shouted as the officers led him out of the door.
"Melody, come here," her grandmother beckoned, reaching out her hand. Melody ignored Ava, rushing past her as she continued heading for the doorway. The officers didn't seem threatened by her presence and kept walking calmly out onto the sidewalk.
Screeching to a halt at the front door, Melody watched in horror as her father was led away from their house. Matthew struggled relentlessly against the two officers, but they held on tightly as they dragged him out onto the road. The street was empty and silent; the glowing lights of the AMEA hover-car parked out front was enough to convince people to stay inside.
"Dad!" Melody yelled. She started to run forward again, but a hand grasped her shoulder from behind.
"Come inside, dear," the voice of her grandmother insisted.
"Let me go," Melody growled, trying and failing to wrestle away from the tight grip of her grandmother. "Dad!" she exclaimed again, forced to simply watch from the doorway. This time, her father glanced over his shoulder.
"Melody, go back inside!" he shouted back at her. His voice sounded different; it was raw, and hoarse, and thick with emotion. Melody resisted the persistent tugs of Ava, holding on to the doorframe as she watched the officers shove her father to the pavement in front of their house. One of them shouldered their gun, aiming the barrel directly at his heart.
"NO!" Melody screamed, starting forward. But it was too late.
A single gunshot resounded through the night air. Matthew slumped to the ground, his body going limp. Melody froze, her blood going cold. She opened her mouth, but nary a sound escaped. She couldn't speak. She could barely even think. A pool of dark liquid had already formed around the abdomen of her father's body, and his lean frame started to convulse.
Suddenly, one of his legs shot out, kicking the burly officer in the knee. The man's knee bent inward, and he stumbled to the ground. Melody gasped alongside her grandmother as Matthew downed the other officer with a neatly-aimed kick to his knee as well. Her father crawled across the pavement towards the first officer, frantically searching his pockets for something. He quickly found whatever it was that he was looking for; something long, and thin. At that instant, Melody finally found her voice.
"Dad!" she shouted, and her father suddenly looked up to the doorway.
"I'll find you, Melody!" he responded, and for a brief second, their gazes met. Despite the distance separating them, Melody could see the love and sorrow that overwhelmed his pained, green eyes.
Then, as the officers were scrambling back to their feet, Matthew made some sort of movement with the object in his hand. There was a loud crack, and suddenly, the spot where Melody's father had been standing was empty. Melody blinked, making sure she was seeing correctly.
Her father was gone. He had disappeared into thin air. Her jaw fell open, but it was a moment before any sound came out.
"D-dad?" she stammered. "Dad?"
The officers, clearly as shocked as everyone else, suddenly whirled around at the sound of Melody's shouting. The burly man quickly walked back to them, a scowl painted across his face. He marched up the sidewalk, halting in front of Melody.
"Listen here," he growled, and Melody shivered at the piercing gaze of his dark, murky-colored eyes. "You both saw that man die. Matthew Potter is gone, you hear me?" Ava murmured quietly in agreement, and Melody glanced upward to see her grandmother trembling in fear, her blue eyes wider than she had ever seen.
"B-but he didn't –" Melody began, before the officer promptly cut her off.
"Your father's dead, kid," he said bluntly. Melody's lower lip started to quiver as she stared up at the AMEA officer. Tears formed inside of her bright green eyes, and she gulped, struggling to keep them at bay.
Unable to stand it any longer, she tore herself free from her grandmother's grip and raced back down the hallway to her bedroom. Closing the door with a loud thud and locking it with a forceful click, she slid down the wooden surface, collapsing on the floor and leaning back against the door. She clasped her shaking hands together, her eyes laden with unshed tears.
She knew what she had seen. The officer was wrong. And so Melody stayed awake all night, crouched by the door. She ignored all the knocks and attempts by her grandmother to talk to her. Instead, she whispered three words to herself all throughout the night. She engraved them into her mind so she wouldn't forget. Because she mustn't forget:
"He's not dead."
A/N: There you have it! Hope that wasn't too terrible ;)
If I do continue this, it won't be for another few weeks. I still have to finish up my other HP fanfiction, but hopefully that won't take much longer! I just needed a break from that fanfic, so I went ahead and wrote the prologue for this one.
Anyway, thank you so much for reading, and please leave a review if it's not too much trouble and let me know what you think, and whether this is worth continuing or not! I'm always open for constructive criticism, suggestions, thoughts, opinions, so feel free to let me know! God bless, and may the Force be with you all :) -Skywalker