Read the Author's Note at the bottom. Oh, and I would strongly suggest listening to the song Deliver Us from the Prince of Egypt while reading this.
Deliver Us
Prologue
"Enter."
Sirius Black opened the door to Albus Dumbledore's office for himself and Rosmerta. Without looking up from what he was doing, the Headmaster beckoned them inside. "Please, sit," he offered when the two had reached his desk. Curious, Sirius began to open his mouth to speak but was stopped by Dumbledore. "I suppose you are wondering why I called you here?" Both Sirius and Rosmerta nodded. At that moment, Dumbledore looked up and addressed Sirius directly. "We have reason to believe that Voldemort has discovered where the Potters are hidden. I believe he would be after them tonight."
"Tonight?" Sirius asked alarmed.
"But why would he go after the Potters?" Rosmerta asked
Dumbledore looked at Rosmerta curiously. "May I remind you of the Prophecy, my dear Rosmerta?"
"Prophecy?" she asked confused.
Glancing over at Sirius, Dumbledore nodded when he realized he hadn't told his wife of the Prophecy or his declined duty of Secret Keeper to the Potters yet. Turning around, Dumbledore reached up to a shelf behind his desk and pulled down the Prophecy, placing it in front of Rosmerta and Sirius.
"The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches … born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies … and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not … and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives … the one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies …"
As it ended, Rosmerta stared at the Prophecy for a few seconds as it soaked in. "And you're sure the Prophecy refers to Harry Potter?"
Sirius and Dumbledore nodded. "I was to be the Potter's Secret Keeper, but I declined due to the fact that Voldemort would know instantly that it was me. So I told James to ask Peter to be Secret …" Sirius trailed off as he said the name. "Pettigrew …" he mumbled. "He's betrayed them! That's why Voldemort is after them tonight!" Dumbledore nodded grimly. "I need to go warn them." He turned to Rosmerta. "Go home to the baby, I'll be back soon."
With that, Sirius stood and began to leave the room, Rosmerta following. "Sirius," she began as they made their way out of the school. "She's not safe in our world. Not while He's as powerful as He is."
Sirius stopped and turned to Rosmerta. "No one is," he told her grimly. He turned and began to go out the front doors of the castle when Rosmerta grabbed his arm.
"Be careful," she whispered, giving him and light kiss in the corner of his lips.
….
Rosmerta walked back into the house with her sleeping daughter in her arms. She sat down on the rocking chair after putting the baby in the basinet and waited for Sirius to come back.
"Kill …" she heard something whisper. "Come … come to me … let me rip you … let me tear you … let me kill you …" She looked around the room frantically, trying to find the source of the sound and its victim. " … rip … tear … kill …" She became even more frantic as it continued to whisper. "I smell blood …" it hissed. "I SMELL BLOOD!"
At that, she became hysterical and quickly ran upstairs to her bedroom as she heard the wails of her daughter. The crying ceased as soon as she opened the door. In no way was she prepared for the sight she saw at her daughter's basinet. There, standing over her daughter, was a hooded figure, almost demon-like. As soon as it heard the door open, it instantly flew out the window. Hysterically, she ran up to the basinet. She gasped at the sight she saw there; there was nothing … nothing but blood. Her daughter was gone.
Rosmerta opened her eyes to the sound of tapping at her window. Frantically, she glanced over at the basinet and saw her daughter sleeping there soundly. It was a dream … she thought, relieved. Only a dream …
The tapping came again. Taking a deep breath, Rosmerta turned to the window and saw an owl. Breathing a sigh of relief, she opened the window and untied the note from the owl's foot and fed it a treat before it flew out the window again. After closing the window, she unrolled the note:
Dear Rosmerta
Peter Pettigrew has framed your husband for betraying the Potters and performing his staged murder. The ministry has taken him in. I am doing everything I can to help him.
Sincerely,
A.D.
By the time she had finished reading the brief letter, Rosmerta had hot tears stinging her eyes. The tears were partly out of anger at Peter Pettigrew and partly out of sorrow for what was most likely to be Sirius' fate.
Rosmerta knew at that moment what she had to do; she knew from the message her recent nightmare had sent her, and from the letter. If her daughter wasn't safe in the Wizarding World, she would have to get her safely out of their world. Wiping the tears from her eyes, she walked over to the basinet and gently lifted her daughter out. She whimpered slightly. "Hush, don't be frightened," Rosmerta soothed her daughter. "Don't be scared. My darling, I have nothing I can give, but this chance that you may live." Gently, she bent over and kissed her daughter on the head. "I pray we'll meet again."
Quickly, she swaddled the baby in a blanket and grabbed an extra one as she made her way downstairs. She hastily scrawled a note and grabbed a basket with her extra hand as she ran out the front door. She ran all the way to a riverbank and only stopped when she'd hear voices nearby only to start up immediately after the voices had disappeared.
When she stopped at the riverbank, she knelt down on the ground and set the basket in front of her. By this time, her daughter had started crying again. "Shh," she attempted to shush the baby. "Hush now, my baby, be still now don't cry," she started to sing, once again attempting to sooth her. Slowly she began to lower her into the basket. "Sleep as you're rocked by the stream. Sleep and remember my last lullabye, so I'll be with you when you dream."
As soon as she was sure she had finished crying, Rosmerta placed the letter and the extra blanket on top of her and covered the basket with the lid. "Protego," she whispered, pointing at the basket with her wand as she placed it in the water. She watched with tears running down her cheeks as the basket began to be carried away by the tide. "River, oh river flow gently for me," she continued to sing her lullabye softly. "Such precious cargo you bear. Do you know somewhere she can be safe? River deliver her there."
Minerva McGonagall watched in her Animagus form as the small basket began to float downstream. As a last minute decision, she decided to follow the basket to make sure it remained safe; and as a favour to Rosmerta. She would be lying if she said it was a smooth and easy trip; in fact, it was anything but an easy trip.
She followed the basket until it washed up on the shore of a beach five hours later at about 5:30 a.m. Looking around the area, she noticed there seemed to be absolutely no sign of human life and her heart began to sink for the little girl in the basket. At second glance, however, Minerva noticed a beach house about 20 ft. down the beach and her heart raised again at the sight of a woman coming toward the basket.
As the woman approached the basket, a whimper escaped it. She looked slightly taken aback by this sound but proceeded to lift the lid from the basket. Curiously, she looked at the baby inside. As she gently lifted the little girl out, Minerva let out a sigh she didn't know she was holding.
Satisfied, Minerva drew back further into the foliage and transformed back into herself. Now I can tell Rosmerta her daughter is safe, she thought before Disapparating.
….
The woman looked up from the sleeping baby slightly startled when she heard a loud 'pop' from nearby, but dismissed it as merely her imagination. Slowly, she looked from the baby back down to the basket. Sticking out from under the blanket, she noticed the corner of a letter. Upon picking up the letter, she noticed something on the front. Sophia. Looking back down at the little girl, she realized that must be her name. With slightly shaking fingers, she opened the letter and began to read.
"Elizabeth!"
The woman turned away from the letter as she heard her name called and saw her husband walking toward her. As soon as he reached her, she handed him the letter without saying a word. She watched him move his lips as he quickly read the hastily scrawled letter. When he was finished, he looked at the tiny bundle in his wife's arms. Gently, he lifted the girl into his arms.
"We should keep her, Andrew," she said. "She was obviously sent to us for a reason. She needs a home."
Andrew turned to his wife and nodded. "Sophia," he whispered, testing the name. "How old did it say she was in the note?"
Elizabeth unfolded the letter once again and glanced over it. "Her birthday was July 17th of this year," she observed. "So I would say about 3 and a half to 4 months old."
Andrew shook his head and looked down into the innocent, sleeping face in his arms. "I wonder what makes it so unsafe for a baby?" he wondered out loud.
…
Thanks for reading guys! This is something that came to me while I was listening to the song Deliver Us from the wonderful DreamWorks movie The Prince of Egypt. I thought it fit this time period in Harry Potter perfectly, although I did think of something for The Hunger Games based on this song as well. Now, I know Rosmerta isn't supposed to be the same age as Sirius, but for the sake of my story, I made her the same age as Sirius, so at this point, about 21. Also, if you want to know how I imagine all of my OC's I will post the links to pictures next chapter. Oh and I don't own anything in this chapter except the plot and Sophia. Now, please review, alert, favourite, favourite author, and alert author, all that good stuff!
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