World Beyond Dreams
Chapter I
By: Saadie
Summary: AU, divergence starts after HBP. A rescued child whom reveals a startling plot. Changelings, sacrifices, kidnappings across the globe, all seemingly unconnected. The Order of the Phoenix finds themselves struggling against the laws of the Other. And they thought Voldemort was their biggest problem….
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. Anyone you don't recognize is either an OC of mine or a really obscure character only mentioned briefly in a blurb.
Standard A/N: None of my stories are beta-d, I'm not actively looking but if anyone ever offers :). I apologize for any and all errors I've made.
He would always remember the first time he saw her; those terrified eyes would forever be burned into his memory. She was a tiny little thing, all sharp bones and not an ounce of fat on her body. Small enough to fit in one of the larger dog cages that muggles sold. He knew that because that was where he found her, huddled into the corner of one as soon as she caught sight of him. Her hair was a matted tangle of curls that hid most of her face from view, her hair colour impossible to discern underneath all the filth that was caked upon her. If her eyes hadn't been such a brilliant colour, he would have been spared several nightmares reliving the memory of when he found her.
He has stared at her in shock and she has stared back, terrified but unwilling to look away. Later he realized that she had identified him as a threat and was forcing herself to keep him in her line of sight so he couldn't sneak up on her. He had contemplated using a cutting curse to sever the lock on the cage but he didn't trust himself not to overpower it in his anger and horror of what laid before him. He couldn't trust himself to aim properly either with his hands shaking so much. Instead he was forced to hunt for the keys in the little time he had before abandoning that task too and just picking the lock. Never before has he been so grateful that his brothers were pranksters and that the boredom of one lazy summer day had prompted him to learn one of the shadier skills the twins had picked up.
Later, he'd wonder why he was so shaken up when his very profession demanded that he remained calm and had drilled it into him long ago. He'd reckon it had to do with the pile of child corpses he'd almost run into before finding her and the bodies of those dissected still strung up along the walls of the corridor like some type of macabre décor; the smell of blood and rot had burnt itself into his nostrils within minutes and lasted for hours afterwards. He swore he could still smell it even after he'd taken three showers and scrubbed himself raw.
The lock gave way with a muted click and he pulled the door open slowly. The child who had watched him silently and motionless up until now tensed up, he could feel her body shaking through the vibrations conducted by the cage. He opened his mouth to coax her out of the cage before realizing he didn't have enough time. Just grabbing her and activating the portkey would probably traumatize her and if she screamed, the Death Eaters would be alerted to his presence if they didn't know already. He could hear the ticking of a non-existent clock in his head, counting down every second before hurried footsteps would echo in the corridor, sounding much too close for comfort. Swallowing apprehensively, he reached out to her and tried speaking anyways, "Hey there, my name's Bill little miss, what's yours?"
He watched as she pressed herself further into a corner, eyes riveted on his outstretched hand even while trying to make herself as small a target as possible. It broke his heart to see her like this, no child should ever be treated like this, and he forced his hand to remain steady, bending over further so as to look less frightening. Steeling himself, he tried again. "I promise I won't hurt you. I'm here to take you away from the bad people."
Still no response, not even a twitch.
"They hurt you didn't they? I promise I won't. I won't let anyone else hurt you either. Do you want to come with me?"
Her eyes are tracing his face, he tries his best to look approachable, harmless, but he's not sure if it's working and time is running out. "They're going to find me soon and when they do, I'll have to leave. I don't want to leave you here. Are you hungry? There's food where I'm going. What's your name? I promise I won't hurt you."
He's repeating himself now and babbling. Merlin, no one ever taught him how to deal with traumatized children! Charlie would have been better for this job with his experience coaxing dragons to comply to his requests and tending to whatever strays he found. Not him. For all that he was the eldest and had helped his mother raise half of his siblings, the most he'd had to deal with were tantrums and fights and tears and pranks and messy rooms. It certainly didn't prepare him for dealing with starved children locked up in cages. It took him a second to realize she'd taken her eyes off his hand and was not staring to the left of his face. He reached up slowly to touch his dragon fang earring. Was this what she wanted?
Fumbling slightly with the clasp, he slid it free from his earlobe and held it out to her. Her eyes darted from his outstretched hand to his eyes, back and forth, rocking on her heels now as if wondering whether she should risk touching him to take the offered gift. He smiled encouragingly and nodded, "You can have this if you want. A gift from me to you, to seal my promise. I will not to hurt you."
Quick as lightening, her hands darted forward and snatched the earring from his hand. He didn't move, just watched her as she traced the curve of the fang with a tentative finger before forming a fist over the gift. She cradled it to her chest, still watching him for any signs that he might take it back from her. He didn't so much as twitch, opting to speak in the same soft, measured tone. "Won't you tell me your name now? Won't you come with me?"
It seemed like years before she inched towards him warily. He held his breath, rejoicing loudly in his mind and not daring to move a muscle as she slowly shuffled closer and closer to him until she was only inches from his chest. He drew back further, allowing her ample room to crawl out of the cage, remembering last second not to stand up lest he tower over her even though his back was killing him. His neck ached from the awkward angle he had held it in but he forced his discomfort to the back of his thoughts. Carefully, she reached one hand out, hesitant as if expecting some invisible barrier to keep her inside. When nothing happened, she place it on the ground outside the cage followed by her other hand.
She remained crouching even after she was well past those bars and he wondered briefly if she even knew how to stand. She was looking at him now, half expectant and half wary, wondering if she was right to trust him at all. He drew the portkey, a muggle coin this time, out of his pocket. Her eyes locked upon the object and he let it catch the dim torch light, having a hunch now that she liked shiny objects. Perhaps she would be more receptive if she liked what the portkey was.
"This is a portkey, little miss. It'll take us somewhere safe when I say a special word. I need you to come over and put your finger on this, can you do that for me?"
She stared at the coin, then at him and slowly nodded. She crawled towards him and stopped, face close to the coin and eyes wide. She raised one hand and touched it with her finger, the other hand still clutching his earring tightly was cradled to her chest. "I'm going to put my arm around you now, to make sure I don't lose you, alright?"
Her eyes snapped up and narrowed, accusing as if he had somehow tricked her and proven her doubts correct with those words. "I won't hurt you," he said softly, "I promised remember? I won't break my promise to you."
He lifted one arm and gently eased it over her bony shoulders. Her entire body was tense again and he waited. When she didn't bolt, he smiled at her. "See, that wasn't so bad was it? I'm going to say the special word now, little miss. Don't be scared when we start spinning okay?"
She kept her gaze on the coin, staring at the point where her finger made contact with the warm, shiny metal. He tightened his arm around her slightly.
"Haven."
AN: There never seems to be a shortage of new ideas that demand to be written and I guess I finally gave in to this one. I'm trying to avoid something that's Harry-centric (again) or really centered on any one character. As of now, the girl mentioned in the chapter is probably more of a plot-device than a major character (unless the bunny does a 180 on me AGAIN). I hope you'll all bear with me and my experiments, hopefully you enjoyed this. Any question, comments, suggestions and such are welcomed as always.
For those who have an interest in Progenis Mater, I'm sorry to say I've lost most of my interest in that story as it stands. However, somewhere way back, I had started on the third chapter before exams and summer hit, so at the very least, I'll aim to finish and post that chapter and see how it goes from there. I sincerely apologize to all readers for my inability to finish my stories.
On another note, I actually don't remember which ear Bill's earring is on, so I just took a wild guess. Apologies for any mistakes. As you can also see, the chapter is remaining nameless because I have no idea what to call it, suggestions are welcome from those who are interested.
Ever yours,
Saadie