Phouka
A quiet rustling, then silence. Silver eyes flash in the soft, round ball of light, slit like a cat's. There's a soft rustle as the child creeps closer, curious as to what the strange light is.
The overhead lights snapped on, and the child let out a scream. The over-dilated silver and golden eyes filled with tears of pain, and they slammed shut. A woman rushed forward, crying, "Child, hush…please! We are here to help!" the lights dimmed and the screaming stopped.
A heavy iron door slammed open and a livid man stormed into the room. "Shut up, girl! I don't want to hear any more noises out of you!" he ignored the three invisible people hiding. The man raised a hand and whacked the unfortunate girl halfway across the room. "Not another sound out of you, girl, or you won't eat for another month!"
The people yanked off the invisibility cloak in horror as the door slammed shut. Hoary eyes gleamed like a cat's in the light. There was a tense silence as the group listened to the foul man storm away.
"Who are you…?" a soft but silky voice interrupted the wizards. They jumped, pointing wands at the threat. A tall teen stood there, over the child. Shadows gathered around him, almost…caressing him as he protected his guarded. When they did not respond, he introduced himself.
"I am her Protector." The young man knelt at the child's side, dark fingers playing with the girl's filthy hair. From his fingers, darkness trailed in thin streams. "What business do you have with my Light?" the boy's tone grew darker, more menacing.
"We are here to take her from this hell." One of the wizards said bravely.
"And you are?"
"My name is Kingsley Shacklebolt. These are my comrades, Emmeline Vance and Arthur Weasley." The other two inclined their heads.
"What is your business with my Faolin?" the shadowy teen demanded, placing his arms defensively around the child.
"We have come to bring her to a safe place, where she cannot be harmed." The dark teen nodded. Suddenly his charge whimpered.
"I don't wanna go, Yami. I wanna stay with you." The young man looked at the witch and wizards inquiringly, all of whom nodded immediately. To separate an abused child from the only comfort the child had would be disastrous.
"What if I went with you, Faolin? Would you go then? They're going to take us to a safe place, where your uncle can't hurt you anymore." Faolin nodded fervently.
"How old are you, Faolin?" Emmeline inquired gently, conjuring many candles and lighting them as Shacklebolt cast silencing charms on the walls, floor, ceiling, and door. They floated in the room, lighting it well.
"Fourteen." The girl whispered. Arthur bit his lip, and Kingsley lowered his head. They had been fourteen years too late to stop this abuse. Emmeline watched as Yami pulled the unresisting child into his arms. "Yami, are we gonna Flicker somewhere?" Yami's face lit in a bitter-sweet smile. His eyes glossed slightly, as if lost in memories.
"I don't know, 'Lin." He looked at the witch inquiringly. Faolin he boosted onto his back to ride pig-a-back.
"I'd best transport you…" Arthur said slowly, uncertainly. Yami extended one hand, and Arthur grasped the cold, thin limb in his own warm, slightly pudgier one. Waving his wand in a long sweeping motion, the three vanished with a loud crack. Shacklebolt and Emmeline followed soon after. The only trace they'd been there were the candles, their flames flickering in the sudden gust of air.
Shacklebolt and Emmeline apparated onto a scene that could only be called chaos. Faolin was clinging to Yami's back like a monkey as the teen chased Arthur. The red haired man was crying, "I didn't know she'd react like that, honestly!"
'Lin wiped tears from her face then said, "Go get him, Yami! He's a bad man!" Smiling wickedly, Yami dropped Faolin to the ground, then took off after Arthur like a streak of black lightning. The younger slammed the balding man against a nearby wall, all traces of earlier amusement gone. Faolin grew pale, hiding her head in her arms. Yami glanced at her quickly, then returned his attention to the pinned wizard.
"Listen to me, Komo-san." His voice was low and deadly, "If you so much as think about hurting my Faolin, you will lose more than just your dignity. Aa?" at Arthur's baffled nod, Yami dropped the man to the ground and strode over to Faolin. "Daijoubu-ka, Faolin?"
"H-hai, Yami." The dark teen smiled gently at the quivering girl.
"Faolin…" his voice was wheedling and yet cheerful, making Kingsley and Emmeline smile just to hear it, "do I look angry to you?"
"No…" Yami bent and pulled the small child onto his back, ruffling her hair tenderly. Faolin slung her arms around his neck, locking her legs around his waist. Arthur rubbed his throat ruefully, eyes clouded.
"So, Kingsley, where do we go from here?" Kingsley cleared his throat.
"From here, we'd take you to a school known as Hogwarts. It has a fully stocked infirmary and a nurse, where we would heal your…Faolin. We will take you in the morning, after your Faolin gets a good dinner and some sleep. After that, Emmeline and I are headed to the Ministry to get guardianship papers for her. I assume you would sign for care of her?" Yami nodded. "For our stuck-up Ministry, I believe you would need a different name. Our Minister is not fond of foreign people coming into the country." Yami grinned at the man's comments against the Ministry he was supposed to work for.
"If we go, is there a way that's less…violent than apparating? Floo might scare her more, but she might appreciate brooms…" Arthur intercepted randomly, not keen to get pinned by Yami again.
"If you show me the coordinates, I could Flicker her there myself." Yami argued, playing with a long lock of Faolin's hair. She was giggling quietly.
"Yami, can't we fly there? I won't get lost this time!" Emmeline looked the pair curiously, mirrored by Kingsley and Arthur. Yami turned his head at a painful angle, meeting Faolin's metallic eyes with his own crimson ones. Yami had taught Faolin how to turn into her Animagus form early on.
"That's what you said last time, 'Lin. Unless I am to carry you there myself, we are not going to fly until you can curb your curiosity. Fair?"
"Fine." Faolin pouted. Then she looked at him with enormous, glittery eyes. "Will you carry me? Pleeease, Yami? I love you…" now it was her wheedling tone that made the adults smile. Yami fought to maintain his stern façade, but lost it within the minute.
"Fine. Stay on, now." He turned to the adults. "I trust you have brooms on your person?" the adults looked at each other for a moment, then shrugged.
"Let's do it." Kingsley said, pulling a shrunken broom from his pocket. The other two followed suit, resizing them with a tap of their wands. Yami closed his eyes and began to shift. Arthur and Emmeline stared at the black horse in awe. Its mane was a glossy black striped with bone white. The tail was the same. The hooves of the horse had tufts of hair off the backs. Yami's eyes had changed to glowing silver.
Kingsley coughed discreetly, "Phouka." Yami half reared, whinnying. Faolin laughed and clung onto the Phouka's mane. The adults mounted their brooms and pushed off, soaring fifteen, thirty, sixty feet in the air. Yami tossed his head and pawed at the ground. He took off at a gallop, fighting gravity to climb into the air. Darkness streamed from his hooves, Yami using his magic with darkness to lift himself.
For two hours, the Phouka, trailing three brooms, galloped through the sky. When they touched down, Yami could barely walk straight. He heaved for breath, his mouth foaming. Faolin scrambled off him, latching onto Kingsley's sleeve. The dark man eyed her, his eyes gentle. Yami shifted back into his human guise, his chest heaving.
"I…need…more exercise." Emmeline and Arthur led them through the dingy square to stop outside Number 11, Grimmauld Place. Arthur passed a small scrap of paper to Yami, who read it silently, eyebrows raised. He then handed it to Faolin, who blinked in confusion.
"Yami, I can't read it. You know that." Yami sighed and bent down to whisper in his Faolin's ear, "the headquarters to the Order of the Phoenix may be found at number 12, Grimmauld Place." To both of their surprise, a building squeezed itself out from between numbers 11 and 13. The building was dingy and dark. Faolin quivered at the dark aura seemingly seeping off the house.
"Come on. It's kind of scary out here, but it's perfectly fine inside. We've gotten rid of all the Dark artefacts…there's just a Bogart or two left." Faolin clung to Yami's shirtsleeve as the door creaked open. A shorter woman with a mane of bright red hair peeked around the open door.
"Arthur! Oh, come in. Best not to linger…" she gestured them all inside and Faolin noted the similarities between Arthur and the woman who had opened the door.
"Yami…" she whispered as the door clicked behind them. "I don't like this place…" the dark teen hoisted her onto his back, where she latched and clung like a monkey. Yami could feel her quivering as she buried her head in the back of his neck. In turn, she could feel him panting silently for breath. She felt bad, now, for making him pick her up.
'You're a useless burden.' Her mind snarled. 'All you do is cause trouble.' Blinking back abrupt tears, Faolin wiggled out of Yami's reassuring hold to walk beside him. At his inquiring gaze, she ducked her head, sniffling. Faolin didn't hear Yami ask for the others to go on ahead, leaving them in the dusty hallway.
"'Lin, is something wrong?" Faolin shook her head. Yami dropped to one knee, lifting Faolin's teary eyes to meet his. "Tell me…what's up? Does something feel wrong to you?" Yami knew Faolin had dormant sixth sense ability. It hadn't come out yet, but it would before the girl turned fourteen.
"No…" she whispered. "Nothing feels wrong. I'm sorry for being trouble." Yami's ruby eyes filled with understanding, and he pulled Faolin close to him. She stiffened but he didn't let go until she relaxed.
"Never think you're causing trouble, okay? Never. It was not your fault he hurt you. I want you to say it. Say it wasn't your fault." Faolin looked away. Yami sighed and flicked a wall of darkness around them, hiding the two from sight, sound, and smell. He gripped Faolin by the shoulders and stared deep into her silver and gold eyes, saying louder, "Say it, Faolin." When she didn't move, he shouted almost desperately, "Say it!", shaking her slightly. Faolin bowed her head, hiding her teary eyes.
"It wasn't my fault." She whispered.
"Louder." She swallowed, a tear dripping from one eye. She had thought he wasn't like them…
"It wasn't my fault." She said, bolder.
"Louder!"
"It wasn't my fault." She cried. At his continued urging she shouted it, closing her eyes and clenching her fists. "It wasn't my fault!" she screamed, before dissolving into tears. Yami swept her up into a hug, murmuring, "It's okay. You're gonna be fine. You're gonna heal, okay? You're gonna be just fine. The only thing you can do now is heal." Faolin hiccupped, hating herself for ever doubting him. Yami pulled her out of his chest and said with a quirky half-smile, "Pet the kitty?"
He shifted into an adorable black kitten, which pawed at her leg, meowing cutely. Faolin giggled through her tears and stroked along its back, making Yami purr. She petted him in his cat form for a while before he stepped away and returned to his human form. Faolin pouted before clambering up Yami's back as he stood. He laughed, a rich, heavy sound. Faolin heard bells ringing in his voice, dark, heavy, and mournful. Dissolving the wall of darkness, he came face to face with Kingsley, who had been leaning against the wall in relaxation.
"Shacklebolt." Yami nodded, hoisting Faolin higher.
"I decided to show you the way to the dining room, seeing as you've never been here before. How're you, Faolin?" he smiled at her, white teeth flashing in a grin.
"Good, sir." She ducked her head.
"Don't call me sir. I work for a living!" he reached forward and tugged playfully on her hair, making her swipe at him, pouting.
"My hair." Kingsley swept a hand over his own bare skull, frowning.
"But…but…Faolin! Can't you share some with me? Yours can grow back…" Faolin exploded with laughter before jumping off Yami's back and running. Yami shot a grateful smile at Kingsley as the older man took off after Faolin. Kingsley winked as he passed, calling, "Faolin, wait! I just want a little bit of it! Not a lot!" Yami followed the sounds of laughter, which became easier as Faolin ran into what sounded like a crowd as she cried, "Don't let him get my hair!"
Yami walked into a big room with a huge table. At least fifteen people were there, two of which were his charge and Kingsley. Faolin was hiding behind Arthur, who was 'defending' her from Kingsley. Two redheaded boys that looked exactly the same snagged Faolin from behind Arthur, laughing so hard they could barely hold her.
"We've caught…" one started.
"…the little rascal…" the other continued.
"…for you…"
"…Kingsley." They finished together, setting the child in front the older man. Kingsley grinned and tugged at Faolin's hair gently. She smiled cutely at him. Kingsley laughed.
"Come on, sweetie. You must be hungry…" Yami stepped up behind her silently, then hoisted her into the air upside down. Faolin shrieked with laughter, making everyone around them grin.