Authors Note: So this story started mainly because of a podcast called Invisibilia (Great btw), specifically an episode about frames of references. I wondered what it would be like if somebody who lived a whole life knowing only neglect and violence would react seeing how a real loving family operated. It grew from there into something a little different, but some of the inspirational roots are there in earlier chapters.
The little girls heart pounded in her ears and a cold sweat covered her skin. The blood running through her veins was cold in fear and anticipation, every sound made her jump. She darted from one hiding spot to the next, anxious to not be seen by anyone. She knew instinctually that she couldn't trust anyone, and she also knew that she had not planned this escape all the way through. Sure, she planned how she was going to give her mother the slip, she planned her hiding places, but she had no idea where the end destination was. She would have to figure it out on the fly, it wasn't ideal, but nothing in life really was.
A loud crashed caused her heart to flutter and she tried a few doors as they passed. Most were locked, and fresh sweat began to bead the girl's forehead. Her absence must've been noticed by now; she would be looking for her soon.
Finally a door she tried opened, and she stumbled in quickly and took in her surroundings. It was a bookshop, the lights were dimmed in the back of this shop and there were dizzyingly tall book shelves crammed into it. There was hardly enough room for one adult to walk in between the shelves, and nearly the whole floor space was covered in piles of unsorted books, stacked precariously atop each other. There were a few patrons in the store, however they appeared to congregate up front, where the shelves were more orderly, and the shop seemed cleaner. She would hide here, catch her breath and think.
The girl tip toed around the back of the shop, searching for the best hiding place, her eyes darting around, waiting for danger. After a few heart pounding moments she finally found the perfect place. There was a book shelf that hadn't quite been pushed all way against a wall, and it created a very small gap that she could just about squeeze into, and stacked in front of it, nearly blocking the view of the gap, was a pile of books, that was taller than her. So she twisted and contorted until she was able to wedge herself into the gap. She could just about sit down, though she had to hug her knees to her chest. Once she was confident she was quite hidden the girl allowed the tremors that she had been barely restraining take hold. She shook, and silently sobbed. She hated being weak, but she was safe, for now, and for just this one moment she let the emotions overtake her.
She needed to find a better hiding place. She needed to get far away from this place, and she needed a bloody plan. The girl took a few deep breaths and angrily wiped away her tears. Tears were a sign she was weak her mother would say, and she was not weak. She was strong and she could get through this. She wondered if she could hide here, until everything closed down, and all the shops shut. And then she could sneak out, or maybe they had a fireplace with some floo powder. She didn't know where she could floo to, but she could go somewhere that wasn't here. It was a start, and a very vital start at that if she were to get away from them.
A noise startled her out of her planning, and her breathing hitched. It was footsteps, someone was coming her way. Her blood started to freeze as the person came closer and closer to her hiding place, and she didn't dare to breathe as she glimpsed the person's hair over the stack of books. Maybe she wasn't as well hidden as she thought.
It was a boy; he was skinny, and heavily freckled, with blue eyes and shock of bright red hair on top of his head. He was scanning the shelf she was hiding next to, and was muttering under his breath.
"M…magical creatures, magical creature, ah" he appeared to find something promising as he pulled out a volume and flipped through it.
The girl shoved her fist in her mouth and bit down, if she could just keep quiet, maybe he wouldn't notice her.
He sighed and put the book on the shelf, and reached for another. This continued for another few minutes until he seemed to give up on that particular section. He sighed again, and the girl was certain that her luck had held when it seemed he was about to leave to search somewhere else. Then his eyes lit upon something on top of the pile she was hiding behind. He excitedly moved towards the pile, picking up the book that rested on top and flicked through it. The girl bit down on her knuckles even harder, and she tasted blood in her mouth as she broke the skin. She was in plain sight now, if he were to only look up.
She closed her eyes and sent out a wish to the universe, please don't let him see me. But the universe never answered any of her pleas, and this one was no different. She heard the startled sound the boy made as he glimpsed up and saw her.
"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't know you were there." He apologised hesitantly. As he took in the figure, concern started to flare in his stomach.
"I didn't mean to scare you," he added kindly as he noticed the girl start to shake. She was a small thing, pale as the moon, with a wild mane of black curls shielding most of her face. She was also skinny, far too skinny, and with a shock he noticed blood running from the knuckles she was biting.
"Oh, you've hurt yourself, maybe I can help" he knelt down in front of her. The girl pushed her herself further into the corner in response.
"Are you okay? Do you need help?" his concern was growing as he took in the strange girl. He thought he ought to fetch his mother, but he was afraid that if he left her alone, she would run. And she clearly needed help.
"My name is Charlie. I am 9 years old. What's your name?" the girl hid her face and muttered something.
"Im sorry? I didn't quite catch that." He apologised again, and to his shock his words cause her to violently flinch.
"Please, don't hurt me. Don't tell them I'm here" Charlie's stomach twisted. His mother would know what to do.
"I wont hurt you silly, I want to help you. Maybe my mum can help you, she's just over there." This seemed to be the wrong thing to say as the girl retreated even further into herself, and wrapped her arms around her legs. She was covered in bruises, he noticed. They stood out especially against her pale skin, bruises he noticed with some horror, which were in the shape of handprints. He gulped; he definitely wasn't leaving her alone now.
"I promise I wont hurt you" he held up both hands now and took a step back to give her some more space and sat down. The girl eyed him suspiciously under her dark mane but seemed to relax as he moved away.
"What's your name?" Charlie asked again patiently. He knew his mother would come searching for him soon.
The girl stayed silent.
"Well, like I said, I'm Charlie. I was just back here looking for books about magical creatures. I love animals; in fact, I have this very cool book all about wild magical animals from around the world, and its got moving pictures and diagrams and everything. What do you like?" the girl's breathing started to return to normal, though a sheen of sweat still covered her.
"I also love sweets. Chocolate frogs are good of course, and I do like a cauldron cake, but when I'm feeling really adventurous, I like Every Flavoured Beans, do you have a favourite sweet?"
The girl jerked her head, and asked softly "what are sweets?" Charlie's eyes bulged in surprise before turning to quickly dig through his pockets. He had a box of sweets that he had been carrying around to ensure his brothers didn't eat them before him. The girl shrank back as he pulled out a large red and white box, filled with multi coloured things. She jerked back into the corner as he tried to offer it to her.
"They're great. Honest. See?" to prove his point he picked a bean and popped it in his mouth. Grass erupted on his taste buds, not so bad, and he made a show of enjoying it. "Sweets, they are the best thing ever. Here try one?" he held them out again to her, shaking the box slightly. At first, the girl didn't move, and Charlie's arm started to hurt so he simply put them down on the ground between them and kept talking about what he liked.
"Do you like quidditch?" He no longer waited for her answers, "I love it, Ireland of course is my team but this season the Holyhead Harpies have really outdone themselves" as he rattled on about quidditch the girl watched him, tried to find a pattern to his being.
She had no idea what he was talking about, and occasionally he would fish out something out of the box between them and eat it. Her eyes narrowed as she tried to ascertain whether he was carefully choosing certain things to eat out the box. Her father had done that once, convinced her to eat out of a box of chocolates, and even ate one himself to prove it was safe. He had instead put something in the rest of them that had made her ill for a week. She didn't think this boy was paying too much attention; he certainly wasn't looking at the things as he popped them in his mouth. Quick as lightning, her hand shot out to grab whatever those things were out of the box and she stuffed it in her mouth. The boy paused for a moment, as he waited for her reaction with a smile. A sweet taste exploded across her tongue, it was something she had eaten once before. "Strawberry" she whispered, her eyes widening in awe.
The boy's grin grew even wider "yeah, that's a good one. Have another bean." He encouraged. Emboldened by her first taste, her hand darted out again, grabbed a—what did he call it, bean? From the box. She coughed as she bit into it, it was spicy. "Pepper" she said.
"Charlie?" a voice called down the aisle and the boy's face reddened a bit. The girl pushed herself back into her corner, and once again buried her face in her knees.
"Charlie, are you back here? We need to leave, now." Charlie looked helplessly between the voice and the girl. Something in his mother's tone made his stomach twist unpleasantly.
"Its alright," he tried to placate the girl who was retreating further and further away "its just my mum. She can help you." This seemed to be the wrong thing to say as she flinched away from him, her breathing beginning to turn into frantic gasps. She was terribly frightened.
He saw his mother across one of the aisles, she looked pale and concerned, something was happening outside that was cutting the shopping visit short.
"There you are, when I call your name young man, I expect an answer." Her tone held no venom, only relief as she located her wayward son. "You're always disappearing and oh—" The woman stopped as she took in the sight of her son and the small figure in the corner. "Mum, im sorry but, she needs help." Charlie said softly, looking between his mother and the girl.
The girl in the corner stuffed her bleeding knuckles into the mouth to stifle a sob, as tremors took over her body once more as she curled herself into a ball. It was over; a mother, who was surely friends with her mother, had discovered her. She would have to go back to that place, and she would be punished for being naughty. More tears leaked out of her eyes as fear seized her lungs. She couldn't breathe, she gasped, and maybe she would suffocate. Maybe this was the end. The girl found herself hoping that it was, as any fate was better than going back to that place.
"You have to help her mum, something isn't right." He implored the woman. His mother agreed, her heart twisting as she took in the girl. She was malnourished, and covered in bruises. Whoever this girl was she was running from something bad, and she was obviously petrified. She wondered if she was the reason for the alarm that had fallen over Diagon Alley, the alarm that caused her to seek out her son in the first place. The Death Eaters were coming, and they were looking for something. She looked at her bruises and obvious mistreatment, and realised she couldn't leave this girl behind, whoever she was.
The mother was shocked to see the girl suddenly slump against wall; her hyperventilation causing her to pass out. Looking around quickly to make sure there was no one watching, she plucked the girl out of her hiding space, instructed her son to hold onto her, and disapparated out of the back of the store, leaving all their purchases behind.