Hello everyone!
While I've been on this website for a while, I've never actually posted any of my own fics on here. Trying to ignore the fact that I'm unsure if my writing is actually good or not, I'm going to start things off with my Harry Potter fic. I hope you guys enjoy the first chapter!
Of course, I do not own Harry Potter or anything written by J.K. Rowling. The only thing that is mine is my OC Alice and the rest of her family.
It was happening again. She knew it right away by the dimly lit street and by the chill in the air. Her vision was set on a small house, no different than the others around it except for the slightest variance in colour. A light could be seen from the upstairs window, providing some sort of comfort in her that the ominous night in which she stood did not.
And then she wasn't on the street anymore, but instead in the softly lit room that she had seen from the window. A woman stood near a crib, holding a baby close to her chest and smiling down at her child with the most loving smile imaginable. Her baby let out a little squeal, causing the mother to laugh softly at the cute bundle of joy in her arms.
A crash could be heard from downstairs, sending both her and the mother's attention towards the open door, which led into the rest of the house. Shouts began and a flash of green filled the entire house, watching as the mother ran towards the door and slammed the door shut. Screams emitted from her mouth as she still held on to her child, a man in black robes breaking down the door. The mother shielded her baby, looking down at the small bundle in her arms with a mixture of fear, determination, and sadness.
The most overpowering of the four was love.
Another flash of green filled the room, sending the mother to the ground, the baby still in her arms. The child sat with his mother, watching the black robed man approach him and lift up his wand yet again.
However, the third flash of green did not produce the same results. The robed man cried out, crumbling into dust.
And what remained was a small child with a lightning bolt on his forehead.
Alice sat up in her bed with a gasp, eyes wide and alert. Her linens were damp with sweat and chills shot through her system at an alarming rate. Green light flashed in the corners of her eyes and she felt sick to the stomach.
The white walls of her room seemed to bring her back to reality, a sigh escaping her lips as she ran a fair hand down the side of her face. She threw the sheets off of her body, spreading her limbs out on her mattress as she stared at the ceiling.
An elaborate patter of a gold lion looked back at her.
Alice felt her jaw clench, staring into the eyes of the beast. It would always be there, staring right back at her in an almost judging manner that made the girl want to rip out her hair in paranoia. It was like her ancestors were shaking their heads at her in disapproval.
She turned her attention to the open window, watching the glow of the morning sun leak into her room through the red curtains. The chirping of birds was enough to get Alice out of her bed and onto the windowsill, looking down as residents of the small village roamed the streets.
While Godric's Hollow was known for being one of the villages where wizards settled in after the ratification of the International Statute of Secrecy in 1689, it wasn't anything spectacular.
Not in Alice's eyes anyways.
With the center of it all being the village square, the Hollow only had a church, a post office, a pub, and a few retail shops in its entirety. The streets where the locals lived were lined with old-fashioned cottages that had a charming air about them. This was probably Alice's favorite aspect of the village; the Hollow held more secrets and history than what she could ever fathom.
Alice took in a large breath of morning air before turning her attention back into her room. She was surprised that her mother hadn't come to wake her up earlier, but she took all the quiet she could get.
Alice wondered if they were even home.
Rubbing her eyes softly, the eight-year old slowly walked towards her closet, throwing on whatever she could find that was comfortable to wear. Alice had continued to sweat after her nightmare, knowing the day would only bring more heat. A white skirt and a simple red shirt seemed appropriate in her eyes, slipping on her flats as she made her way out of the bedroom.
As she walked down the oak-floored hallways of the second floor, Alice could hear voices muttering in the dining room from the first floor. It was rare to hear anyone at all in the house besides herself and her brother; their parents were never home anymore because of their jobs.
"I cannot believe that we're coming up to yet another anniversary of their death. It seems like it had just happened yesterday."
Alice stopped in her efforts of tying up her messy hair at the words that echoed from the floor below. To her knowledge, she couldn't remember anyone dying in recent years that would gather the attention of her family. There was that tragedy that happened when Alice had been barely two-years old, but nobody ever talked about it to her. In fact, she knew nothing about the event whatsoever.
"Word is that the young boy is living with his mother's muggle sister. If I remember correctly, she wasn't that nice of a broad."
The second voice caused Alice's eyes to widen slightly. Her father was never home, much less than that of her mother. Even the idea of seeing him sat somewhat weird in her stomach. It had been five months after all.
"I just hope the boy is okay. He is going to have a difficult-" Her mother ceased talking as Alice reached the bottom of the stairs with a loud creak. The slender woman almost jumped out of her skin. "Oh, Alice! You scared the bloody hell out of me!"
"Sorry, mum." Her daughter mumbled, stifling a yawn as she moved further into the kitchen.
"Did you not sleep well again, sweetheart?" Her father asked, which surprised Alice considering she had never told him of her troubled sleeping. She supposed her mother had spilled the beans to him.
"Yeah," Alice said, taking her spot at the kitchen counter as her mother placed her breakfast in front of her. "Thank you."
"Still having that nightmare?" Her mother asked, to which Alice nodded as she filled her mouth with toast.
A beat of silence followed her question, which Alice wouldn't have minded if she hadn't caught the distressed look on both the faces of her mother and father. The eight-year old sighed, looking back down at her breakfast and continued to fill her stomach to her hearts content.
While the silence lasted for a few minutes, it was broken when her eleven-year old brother threw open the front door and skidded into the kitchen.
"Good lord, could you have at least taken off your shoes, Martin?" Her mother sighed as she watched the boy throw some papers onto the table in front of Alice and her father.
"Violet, it's alright." Her father told the woman, grabbing the local paper from the pile of mail that Martin had brought.
"What are you now? Our new owl?" Alice asked her brother, who answered by ruffling her hair. It was a usual occurrence for him to mess with her hair, but she wasn't having any of it today. She responded by swatting his hand away with her own, only for her brother to rip his hand out of her reach.
"She just burned me again!" Martin whined, blowing cool air onto the back of his hand. Alice furrowed her eyebrows in surprise.
"What? No I didn't!" Alice retorted, dropping her cutlery back onto her plate.
"What does this look like then, you twit?" Her brother answered, holding his hand up to reveal freshly burnt skin on the back of his hand. Her eyes widened at the burn that she had caused. Yet again.
"Enough, its too early in the morning for this," their mother groaned, turning the stove off to face her children. "Alice, leave your brother alone and Martin, don't encourage her."
The two of them mumbled a half-hearted reply. Alice stood up from her seat and placed her dishes in the sink. It frustrated her to no end at what was happening to her magic as of recently. She'd burned her brother three times already and almost set her room on fire when she had been in a rotten mood. It was scaring her, but it was angering her more.
Yet she had to agree with her mother; she didn't have enough energy to function properly today, let alone argue with her brother.
"I'm going for a walk," Alice stated, walking to the front door before looking over her shoulder at her parents. "Do you two need anything?"
"No, love. Thank you though."
The young girl nodded as she opened the door and walked out of the house onto the brick road of her street. She figured she would go visit the old man at the bookstore on the other side of the village. He was always kind to her, not to say that the other residents were in any way rude. The man simply treated her like a human being, rather than a prized possession.
The greetings came one after another as she walked down the fairly busy streets and she returned their hellos with a soft smile. Everyone knew who her family was; the entire Wizarding World knew the Fairfax family name.
And having everyone know you just because of your last name and where you came from wasn't how Alice wanted to leave her mark on the world.
As she walked, she counted the bricks in the road, hearing children her age crying out in delight at some street vender who was probably showing them new tricks again.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a light flying in her direction at a rather fast speed. She managed to catch it just before it could hit her in the side of the head, watching as the little ball of light crackled in her hand, similar to that of a small firework in her palm. Alice stared at it for a moment, spinning it around to inspect it.
Interesting little thing, isn't it?
Alice smiled down as her thoughts analyzed the small ball of magic. She eventually looked up, spotting the vender and several other children staring back at her in surprise.
"I wouldn't hold on to that too much longer, little lady." The vender said, worry dripping off of his words as he stared back at Alice.
"Is it going to explode or something?" She asked, raising her eyebrows as she stared down at the mini sparkler in her hand.
"No, it just tends to get very…hot when you hold it for too long."
Alice looked back up at the vender with mild confusion.
"Like hacky sack with consequences, how wonderful," she mumbled before tossing the little thing back to the vender. "I think there's something wrong with your contraption. It didn't feel hot to me whatsoever."
Bowing her head slightly as a sign of departure, Alice began walking once again towards her favorite spot in the whole village.
A few more greetings were sent her way and the young Fairfax attempted to be as polite as possible when she replied, only to realize that she probably looked like she was grimacing rather than smiling.
Luckily, she reached her store faster than what she had been expecting, but was nonetheless pleasantly surprised about it. She'd almost walked right by, too deep in thought to realize where she was.
"Hugo's Emporium of Literature," Alice mumbled as she stared at the sign, a small chuckle leaving her lips. "He ought to fix his sign."
When Alice opened the front door, hearing the small ring go off to announce her presence, the first thing that calmed her was the smell. The antique store smelled of old parchment and ink, a cold draft welcoming her like an old friend. The shelves that made up the walls and rows of the shop held thousands of dilapidated books, and she could almost sense the wisdom coming from the aged tomes. Books upon books were stacked off to the sides, either to be re-inked or put away. Many people didn't like the timeworn shop, considering what a mess everything appeared to be in, but Alice knew Hugo.
Everything was exactly where it was supposed to be.
"What an honour it is to be blessed with your presence once again, Miss Fairfax." A gruff voice graced Alice's ears, turning around to spot the old man sitting on what appeared to be a throne of books.
Alice frowned at the greeting she had been given.
"I was going to inform you that one of the letters on your sign was out, but I'm really not to sure if you deserve to know which one." She answered, watching as his face fell.
"Is it the bloody 'O' again?"
"I'm not telling you anything, Mr. Hug."
The old shopkeeper groaned and Alice let out a laugh at his reaction. She knew the man wouldn't be leaving the company of his books any time soon to go look at the sign, so she took her victory in peace for the time being.
The man ran a hand through his salt and pepper hair, fatigue evident on his facial features. His eyes were aged and his face world weary, which was when Alice realized she didn't know much about the man's past. He wore a dusty dress shirt, simple pants and worn out shoes that gave the man more character than he probably wanted to believe.
While the majority of his appearance was well worn, his vivacious smile and cunning eyes were Alice's favorites.
"Have you finished reading Self-Defensive Spellwork yet?" Hugo asked after a moment, finally meeting Alice's gaze.
"I finished it last month." She replied, casually stepping through the piles of books that were strewn around the store.
"What about the one by Zygmunt Budge? What was that damn book called…?" The man muttered, scratching at his hairline.
"Book of Potions? I frolicked around with it a bit." Alice stated, side stepping in order avoid getting knocked over by a pile of hovering books that appeared to be moving towards the back of the store.
"Omens, Oracles and the Goat?"
"A well written Bathilda book."
"The Monster Book of Monsters?"
"That book was a handful. Literally."
"What about Dragon Species of Great Britain and Ireland?"
Alice stopped moving in the midst of pulling out an old bound book on herbology at the mention of dragons. It wasn't like she knew nothing about dragons at all, but she hadn't necessarily done her readings on them before either. There were so many types of dragons that it amazed her at how well hidden the Ministry had kept them hidden.
With her recent lose of control on particular forms of magic, mostly that of fire, Alice was definitely intrigued.
"Where would I find that one, Hugo?" She called to the man, putting the herbology book back in its place.
"Last bookshelf towards the right corner of the shop." The man answered, making Alice feel mildly embarrassed.
Of course it was in the magical creatures section, where else would it be?
The young girl managed to make her way to the back without stepping on any spines or falling into any stacks of novels, much to her relief. Thankfully, the book wasn't hard to find. Its thick gold spine stuck out amongst its neighbours, immediately grabbing her attention. Pulling the text out caused a rather large puff of dust to erupt from the shelf, making her cough rather harshly. When looking down at its cover, Alice spotted a silver symbol of a dragon on its front.
"How much?" She shouted from the back of the store.
"No charge." He called back, causing the young girl to sigh.
"You know I can't just take it-"
"My gift to you, little one. You will get more use out of it than me."
Alice slowly made her way to the front of the store, once again managing to avoid falling over onto anything. With the book in her hands, she approached Hugo's front table and the old man looked up at her curiously.
"I also pulled aside some books that the professors at Hogwarts use in their teachings," the old man stated, nodding his head towards a pile of books off to their left. "The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection, The Dream Oracle, Ingredient Encyclopedia, A History of Magic, Magical Draughts and Potions, Spellman's Syllabary, and A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration."
The young girl stared at the pile in awe, shocked that her had pulled out all those books just for her. She still had roughly three years until she would be attending the school of witchcraft and wizardry, but she always liked getting ahead while she could.
And her old friend knew her well.
"Hugo, which house were you sorted into?" Alice asked, apparently startling the man with the question, for his eyes widened and his eyebrows shot towards his hairline. After his initial shock, a large smile stretched over his facial features.
"What house would you have me sorted into?"
"Slytherin, hands down."
"But that's the house for bad witches and wizards."
"It is not, old man! It is for the most ambitious, cunning and resourceful wizards in the school and you fit all of these traits."
Hugo seemed mildly surprised but his grin only widened at her words.
"Well, you've chosen my correct house," he stated, putting the book that previously resided in his hands down beside him. "But the real question is, which house will you belong to?"
Alice laughed dryly, shaking her head at the older man in front of her.
"You know exactly which house I'm going to be sorted into," she sighed, putting her forearms on top of the front table. "Everyone knows which house I belong to."
"I'm not so sure," Hugo said, getting up off of his paper throne and walking towards the young girl. "You have the dedication and loyalty of a Hufflepuff, the intelligence and wit of a Ravenclaw, and the ambition and cunning of a Slytherin."
"I've had a gold lion over my head since the day I was born," Alice retorted, giving the old man a soft smile. "I must stick to my roots, I suppose."
Hugo returned her soft yet sad smile. A part of her felt bad about not experiencing happiness at the thought of being a Gryffindor. She was sure it would be wonderful, just not the gossip and talk that came with it.
"All in due time," Hugo said, patting her head softly, turning his attention to the pile of books that he had put out for his young friend. "I do not expect you to take all of these things with you today. I will keep them here until you are ready to bring them home."
"Thank you, sir," Alice smiled tiredly, tapping her fingers together in a nervous manner. "Um, would it be okay if I spend today reading in here? Or I could help you clean the shelves. I just…really don't want to go home yet."
"Of course, little one. Take your time."
And she did, with an unwavering smile on her face.
She stayed longer than she had wanted to, knowing her parents would be furious at her for staying out so long. It was roughly eight o'clock when she left the bookstore, Hugo wishing her a safe walk home. Her fingers clutched the gold bound book close to her chest as she walked, watching as one by one the light posts turned on. She frowned slightly and stopped to look at one of the dimly lit streetlights. Something about it seemed off and vaguely familiar, but not in a good way. Picking up her pace as she began walking once more, Alice was now ready to go home.
Right away.
She got home without a scratch on her, only to see nobody in the kitchen or dinning area. The family had probably had dinner without her, and she didn't blame them. Her brother was probably in his room listening to music or doing something else absurd, while her parents were most likely in their room talking.
Well, she'd been right about the talking, except they were in her room rather than their own.
"He needs to meet them, Colin. He's their godfather!" Her mother's hushed voice said, her words firm.
"I know, but he does not have full control over his shifting abilities yet! What if something happened and he ended up hurting them?" Her father replied in an equally quiet but strong voice.
"He's had a few accidents, haven't we all? He deserves to meet them and vice versa! How unfair would it be for us to parish and have them be left with a man they barely know?"
"We will not parish!"
"The risk comes with our job, Colin. It's going to happen, we just don't know when."
Alice finally had enough of the quarrel between her parents, knocking on the open door to inform them of her presence. Both heads of her parents snapped in the direction of the sound, her father looking rather worried at the fact that she had appeared, while her mother looked furious.
"Alice Roselyn Fairfax, where on earth have you been all day?!" Her mother yelled, most likely upset that her daughter had snuck up on her once again. "And how long have you been standing there?!"
"I was at Hugo's reading," she explained, staring at her mother. "I've been here since the term 'godfather' was used."
"We were worried about you, sweetheart," her father said, running a hand down his tired face. "But I'm glad you're alright."
"No, this is not okay. You need to start telling us where you go, young lady! The two of us thought the worst!" Her mother yelled at her, causing Alice to furrow her eyebrows.
"Where could I have possibly gone?!" Alice replied, her own voice rising as she stared at her parents in disbelief. "Where do I spend all my time, huh? You wouldn't know, because neither of you are ever around! How am I supposed to tell you where I go when the both of you aren't here?"
"We're working to save lives and keep food on the table, young lady!" Her mother replied angrily.
"There's nothing wrong with being Aurors, you're missing my point!" She stated, her facial features scrunching up in annoyance. "What am I supposed to do when the two of you are gone? Just sit around here all day?"
"You're eight, Alice! What could you possibly be doing out of the house?"
"Maybe not sit around here in my room worrying that the two of you might not come home?"
Both her mother and father's faces fell at her final statement, a new reality crashing down on them.
"I'm going out into the world every day in order to build more courage and avoid the worry and fear that builds up in my chest at the thought of losing the both of you," Alice mumbled, her eyebrows knit together in the attempt of keeping her voice from wavering. "Whenever I see the two of you, I'm reminded of the constant expectation of living up to our bloodline. Everything in this house reminds me of that expectation, and I'm trying to live up to it. I really am."
The tears were rolling down her cheeks now. She didn't like crying in front of others, it bothered her to no end. Quickly lifting up her hands and wiping away her tears, Alice continued while she still had their attention.
"I'm tired of being a Gryffindor and I'm not even at Hogwarts yet!" Alice cried, unable to stop her tears once again.
Silence filled her bedroom, only the gentle cries and sniffles coming from the young girl. She felt awful, wanting nothing more than to crawl into bed and sleep her pain away. The look on her parent's faces only made her pain worse. She knew that she'd hurt them, more than she'd ever imagined.
Her mother was the first to move, slowly moving towards either the door or Alice. Which one, she didn't know, but she concluded both as her mother planted a soft kiss on her head and left the room. Her father stayed a few minutes longer, looking down at the ground. Alice was worried, since she was always able to read his expressions perfectly, but now she didn't see anything legible on his face.
He got up as well, pulling his daughter in for a soft hug before leaving the room to go after his wife.
Alice had ruined everything and she knew it well.
She stayed standing in the same spot for at least five minutes, unable to move as she processed what had happened. Eventually, she moved to shut her door and crawled into bed, her clothes and shoes still on her person. She moped in silence, staring at a spot on her wall. The thought of closing her eyes and going to sleep seemed terrifying to her right now, not wanting to dream that horrible nightmare once again.
She was stuck with her unhappy thoughts.
Alice's eyes eventually flickered towards the drawer of her side table, a thought making itself known in her tired mind. She waved her hand softly, causing the drawer to slowly open. Leaning forward and sticking her hand into the drawer to feel around its contents, her hand made contact with what she had been looking for.
She grabbed the thin book from the top of the drawer, automatically feeling calmer as she read over the letters and observed the images on the front of the book. The book in her hands had been the first piece of literature she had ever read, and she knew every word of every line of every page of every section of the book. It had been a while, however, since she had picked it up.
"Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them? When will you ever put that book down?"
Alice peered up from the book and looked tiredly over at her brother, who stood in the doorway of her room. She hadn't heard him come in whatsoever, and under normal circumstances she would be mad that he hadn't knocked.
She didn't really care about anything at the moment though.
"Also, wandless magic isn't something you should know at the age of eight."
"I shouldn't be burning people without control but here we are, Martin."
Her brother stared at her, a mixture of pity and sadness filling his eyes. Alice's own tired eyes stared right back, wondering what he wanted from her. He always wanted something, but she wondered if today was different.
"I heard the argument."
Yeah, today was different.
"I've messed up everything." Alice replied, her eyes watering once again.
"No you haven't. You told them how you felt and that needed to be done," Martin stated, closing the door behind him as he came to sit on the side of her bed. "It was very brave of you."
Alice blinked a few times, realizing that her annoying, sneaky, infuriating brother was actually kind and considerate when he needed to be. She thought back to the times whenever they fought when they had been younger, much younger than they were now. He would pick on her, tease her to no end, but he was also the type of brother to sneak extra food onto her plate, read to her when she wasn't feeling well, and give her his sweater when she was cold.
What upset her was that she was only realizing this now.
"Thank you for being my brother." She mumbled, her tired eyes struggling to stay open.
Martin didn't answer, but before she drifted off, she swore that she saw him smile for the first time in months.
There were a few things that alarmed Alice when she woke up.
First off, it was uncharacteristically bright in her room.
Second, she smelt smoke.
And third, she heard yelling.
Alice sat up in bed and saw flames all around her. Her drapes had fallen and were practically ash, all the furniture was on fire, including her own bed, and the worst part was that she was positive that the fire wasn't only happening in her room.
She'd screamed when she had seen her sheets on fire, throwing them off of her body. It didn't burn, nor did it hurt, but she didn't have any time to think about how she had no burns on her skin or no sense of its heat.
Alice scrambled out of bed and ran towards her door, turning the glowing red handle and throwing open her door.
The fire was everywhere.
It shot along the banister, along the walls, burning every picture frame and shelf it could. The floor was covered in flames, as if someone had covered the surface with oil beforehand, but what scared her even more was that the way the fire moved wasn't natural. It had its path laid out for it and it burned with a purpose to destroy everything in its way.
Alice had barely heard the screaming coming from a few rooms away over the crackling of burning wood. She could hear the wooden beams in the structure of their house crackling as well, knowing that the house would collapse in a matter of minutes.
Running through the fire, the young girl barely missed getting crushed under a wooden pillar as it was broken and destroyed by the fire. She found the room where the screaming had originally came from, but she couldn't hear anything anymore. It was her brother's room that she had stopped in front of, griping the handle tight and throwing open the burning door.
At first, Alice saw nothing but fire. The Quidditch memorabilia her brother had collected remained burning on the floor or still on the walls. In fact, every wall in the room was engulfed in flames. She could barely make out the color of the room anymore. Her eyes searched the room for any glimpse of her family.
And her blood ran cold when she finally did.
"No, no, no, no, no!" Alice wailed, running towards them.
Their bodies weren't moving as they lay on the burning floor, their clothes destroyed by the fire and their skin blistering from the heat. She could barely make out their faces when she got closer, for they were no longer recognizable. Her tears distorted her vision as she stumbled towards the window in order to open it and call for help. While she couldn't see much through her blurred vision, Alice saw one thing for sure.
Figures dressed in black cloaks striding quietly away from their burning house.
Alice was starting to have a hard time seeing anything, the numbness making itself known all over her body. She looked down to see that her clothing had caught fire, but she didn't care. It didn't hurt her, so why would she care?
She kneeled beside the bodies of her family and began to cry feverously, her anger building up to the point where she was sure she would explode.
"You cannot leave me alone! I'm only a child, how am I supposed to survive without someone looking after me!" Alice screamed at the bodies. "I need all three of you, you're all I have! Please, don't leave me alone. Oh Merlin, please don't leave me alone!"
The young girl had lost it, sobs shaking her core so badly that she was sure she felt a rib give out and snap. She couldn't breathe, either from the smoke or because of her sobs, she didn't know. She didn't care. She was alone and she couldn't do anything to stop the scene in front of her.
"I'm so sorry," Alice bawled, leaning over the bodies. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Please, oh no, please. No, no, no, no, no…"
The girl was a blabbering fool, her fear and pain swallowing her whole as she lay with what was left of her family. Sorrow was her friend and despair was her state of mind. She couldn't remember her name, where she was, who she was, what she was, when it was, or anything at all.
All she knew was that she would rather burn with her family in her home than go on living whatever life was set out for her.
She only realized she wasn't burning when the roof above them collapsed, taking away the consciousness Alice had longed to lose since the day had began.
A bit of a depressing opening chapter/prologue, but I hope you all enjoyed!
Feedback is always welcome :)
- GuiltyCalamity