A/N: HP fanfic due to magical references and peoples. HP chars appear on occasion. I do not own anything you recognize, they are JKR's.
THE STORY OF AMARA GREGORIA DUNMORE
Prologue or, How They Came To Be
The Dunmore Family lived in the outskirts of the New England town of Williamstown. They were a respected and well-to-do upper-middle class family. The head of the family, Grant Rainier Dunmore, grew up in that same town with his parents. As the only son he inherited his family estate when his parents- Pythia Fiona Darcy and Henry Marc Dunmore- decided to move near the sea. Mr. Grant Dunmore was a businessman who traveled much, but preferred to work in his office in town. The Dunmore's business provided many jobs for the locals, and for that they were respected. Mr. Dunmore's wife, Narella Brigitte Murdock, was only recently granted American citizenship. The couple had met when Mr. Dunmore had gone overseas for university. They have two children, Amara Gregoria and Chrysander Darius, aged 6 and 12. Amara, or to most, Mara, is a first grader at Williams Elementary while her brother, Chrys, attends Brandeis Academy and College, which is located near the wizarding town of Dacia. The townspeople did not question the location of the school or the name; it was merely tradition for the Dunmore children to attend boarding school at the age of 11. Any muggle, who saw the family, saw a normal average family. There was nothing wrong with them, nothing abnormal or "freakish". One would never expect to be a wizarding family, a pureblood one at that. But the family would forever remember the events of one Monday, in early September 1995. Chrys Dunmore had just been sent off to Brandeis a week before the "incident" for his second year of magical training.
"Hello there Mara, exited about your first full day of school?" Mr. Dunmore asked his daughter.
"Uh huh" Mara looked up from her bowl of cereal and grinned at her father, "I'm a big girl now!"
Mr. Dunmore chuckled at his daughter's answer and continued to finish his cup of coffee.
"Grant, could you please bring Mara to school today? I know how much you'd love to meet her new teacher. It's tradition, any ways." Mrs. Dunmore said lovingly as she entered the kitchen. "Oh, please daddy? You always did it for Chrys." Mara begged. With a laugh, Mr. Dunmore consented.
"Thank you dear, I have to get the schedules set for the house-elves. You know how they get when they don't know what to do."
"Of course, that's why I married you. You know how to handle them so well." He jokingly said.
"Well, you too better hurry. We wouldn't want Mara late on her first day."
He looked at his watch and said, " Righty, let's go princess."
With a kiss to his wife, Mr. Dunmore and his daughter left for town, with Mrs. Dunmore waving goodbye and wishing good luck to Mara.
Little did she know, that would be the last time she was to see her husband alive...
Mr. Dunmore held a secret. A very deep secret, one only so few people knew. During his time at the Oxford College for Wizards (one of Oxford University's many colleges), where he met the stunning Narella Murdock, he met other pureblooded wizards. These wizards, they convinced him to join their "group". He became one of them, a follower of the Dark Lord. So young and naïve of the happenings of Europe, he believed he had joined a rightful cause. After five years of loyal servitude, as muggle consultant and formulating ways to make the murders hidden to muggles, he decided he needed to right his wrongs. Narella, who had lost both of her parents to the Dark Lord, helped him go through this change. He went to Dumbledore and soon became another Spy for the Order. But he was with the American section of the Order and Death Eater's. After the Dark Lord's fall, which he had only been a Death Eater for seven years, he was proved innocent in court. Pleading the imperious curse, saying that he could never have hurt muggles since he had grown up so near to them - but this was only part truth.
But, that June, Voldemort had resurrected. They had seen his kindness to muggles at work. He had not answered the Lord's call, for reasons unknown. The Lord became angry, he knew that Dunmore was not loyal. And because of this, he must die. After dropping off Mara at her classroom, and meeting her new teacher, Mrs. Foster, he headed for his office. As he was turning into the parking lot, another vehicle came crashing into the Driver's side of his car. And a Death Eater apparated beside him.
"Hullo Dunmore. Not yet dead I see, we must change that." He grinned evilly and pointed his wand at Dunmore.
"Sectumsempra! Remember, Severus taught us that one at Oxford."
Dunmore looked at his former friend, "Why?" he asked.
With pain and sorrow filling his eyes, and him bleeding profusely, with his last breath he muttered, "Ella-".
The Death Eater disapparated out and saw the muggles come to the rescue.
"He's dead. Stupid muggles, stupid Grant for not listening. I'm sorry, dear friend, but you had to die."
The Funeral of Grant Rainier Dunmore was held the following Saturday. The whole town grieved with the family and Chrys was allowed a week off to grieve with his family.
But tragedy would soon strike the Dunmore Family once again.
Narella had seen her body and recognized the curse Grant was hit with. During the funeral she had talked with her mother in law, Pythia. Unbeknownst to them, a death eater was spying nearby.
"Oh Pythia!" She sobbed, "It had to be one of them!"
"Ella...Ella. Calm down dear, it was a car accident. That man should have been drinking so early in the morning."
"You...you didn't see his body. I know that curse... I've seen it before..."
Amara looked at her mother, she was sad her daddy was gone. But it hadn't hit her yet.
The Death Eater disapparated back to his master.
"Yes, Wormtail? What news about Dunmore's family?"
"My... My Lord." He bowed down, "Ella. His wife, sir-"
"Yes? What about Narella?"
"She...she sus- suspects us, My Lord."
"Something must be done then."
Two weeks later the doorbell rang in the Dunmore household.
Amara peeked down from the staircase and saw her mother greet a strange man.
"Hullo, Narella. How are you doing?" the stranger asked with a tone of amusement in his voice.
"Lucius!" She exclaimed, anger and surprise evident in her voice.
"I'm glad you remember me."
"How could I forget? You were close to Grant. His best man, too. Known each other since childhood."
The man named Lucius grinned.
"Too true. And you were good friends with Narcissa, I believe?"
"We grew up together, neighbors. Of course, we were close. The best of friends since grammar school. Of course, that friendship is long over."
"Oh...what a pity."
"What do you want Malfoy?" she asked coldly.
"Nothing...nothing, but answers."
"Well, I'm sorry. I don't believe I can help you there."
"Oh, you can. I'm quite positive."
She glared at him as he continued, "Do you know what truly happened to your husband?"
"He died in a car crash."
"True...too true. You know why?"
"What's your point?"
"DO YOU KNOW WHY HE DIED?"
"The other man had been drinking too much. That's all, end of story."
Malfoy stopped his pacing and glared at her. "NO!...it was because he was unfaithful to the Dark Lord!"
"Really?" she replied sarcastically
"Why was he unfaithful?"
"I do not know."
"LIAR!...you know."
"I do not."
"CRUCIO! YOU WILL ANSWER MY QUESTION!"
Narella fell in pain, "NO!"
He kicked her and asked once more, "Why was he not loyal?"
She remained mum.
Amara saw this. She was frozen in shock, tears streaming down her face. But she was too afraid to move, to even speak, make a sound for she feared the stranger.
For a whole hour Narella was hit with many curses, once she had fainted, he still remained the Cruciatus for another five minutes. Then he left.
"MUMMY!" Amara cried as she ran down the stairs.
"Mummy? Mummy?" she tried to wake her mother...tears streaming down her face.
This was how her grandmother found them when she came for her daily visit.