Ok this is my attempt at a Hunchback of Notre Dame fanfic. I do not intend to be a writer or anything of the sort, this is just so that I can use my imagination and share it.

Disclaimer: I do not own The Hunchback of Notre Dame, which is copyright Disney or the original book and concept which is copyright Victor Hugo. I only own the character of Harmonique and other various characters, which will appear as time goes on. Most characters are owned by Disney.

Alrighty then now that that's been said on with the story. Please R&R or I won't know if I should continue writing. Thank you.

1419. A fantastic life about to end or an even better one about to begin?

This is the question that Harmonique Eternaire had been asking herself for the past 2 years and, as she sat on the steps of the famous cathedral, it seemed that the answer to that question was seconds away. As she looked out across the crowded square and watched the Parisians go about their daily duties she recalled the reason she was here and how a simple trip to Paris 2 years ago had turned into a nightmare…

1417. Rene Eternaire and his performing troupe of gypsies descended a dark, dank staircase. He had brought his troupe to Paris and more precisely, the court of miracles, to meet up with some old friends and to hopefully find a suitor for his daughter. His daughter, Harmonique, was becoming a burden to him. It wasn't that he didn't love her, because he did, but he felt that it was nearing the time when she should get married. Although she was only 16 she could already sing, dance and act with the ability of a professional and drew in large crowds when she performed and with the crowds came a lot of money. Rene would've thought twice about seeking a suitor for her if she had been more generous with the money that she earnt, as she cold easily have supported him for many months with what she earned in a week, but she refused to give her father anything. She'd tell him that if he needed more money then he would have to work harder. Harmonique was not selfish in any way, she just felt that it was unfair for her to work hard all day long and then give her takings to someone who hadn't been bothered to go out and work. This was not the only problem that Rene had with his daughter. When she was a little girl, she had been very obedient and well behaved up until the age of about 14. It was then that Rene had met another troupe of travellers looking to join a group and, being the man he was, Rene accepted them into his clan. They were all well behaved and brought a lot of profit into the group. There was however one problem, a group of lads in the group all aged around 15, some a bit younger others a bit older. They'd seemed harmless enough at the beginning but soon enough they became quite a nuisance to Rene.

1415. The new group of performers had been with the Eternaire family and their original clan for 8 past moons. Harmonique had mainly stayed away from them, only talking to them if they spoke to her. She had noticed a few of the boys from the new group watching her when she performed and as she rehearsed and she knew that as they were walking away they had been talking about her. What they had been saying she didn't know nor did she care. She had always been reserved and quiet off-stage. Never wanting to be around other people and often she was found staring into the sky, lost in her own thoughts. And on that mild September evening that's exactly what she was doing. She sat up on a hill and watched the sun as it melted down out of sight and the night began to set in. She jumped as a hand touched her shoulder and turned around to see who had startled her. Towering over her stood the group of 9 boys who had been watching her performances over the last few days. Feeling daunted by them she stood up and straightened her skirts out as she faced them.

"I'm sorry for startling you Harmonique", the boy who had touched her shoulder apologised whilst the others obviously tried to contain their laughter. The boy who spoke to her was a couple of inches taller than herself and had dark black hair, which nearly came to his shoulders. His eyes were an emerald green and his skin was the usual Romany colour. She knew that his name was Christien. Harmonique looked at each one, studying their face before politely asking what they wanted and then, without even waiting for an answer, sat back down again with her back to them.

"Do you mind if we join you?" another asked.

"If you wish but I warn you that I am not much company", she said with complete seriousness.

The boys all sat down around her, forming a circle. Harmonique was not happy that they had joined her but she hadn't had much choice. If she had told them to go away then she would have had her father to deal with and she didn't want to disappoint him.

"Are you always this quiet?"Christien asked her.

"I did warn you that I'm not very good company." was her reply.

"But you're so different on the stage, when you dance and sing."

"That's because I'm not being myself, I'm being someone else, someone with different opinions and views. You're all actors you should understand what I'm talking about."

"Oh you've seen us perform?" he enquired with a cheeky grin.

"Yes"

"And…?"

"And what?"

"What did you think?"

"You're very good." She paused to think "I wish that I could act like that."

"Well it's funny that you've said that because we've been watching you perform.."

"I'd noticed." she interrupted.

"Well we've been discussing how good you would be at acting and that's what we came here to ask you."

"What have you come here to ask me?"

"We wondered if you'd let us teach you how to act and then you could perform with us but you're obviously not the person we thought you were so maybe we should just forget it." They all moved to stand up but she called to them.

"Wait. What do you mean I'm not the person you thought I was?" They all sat back down again.

"Well we thought you were more" he paused, searching for the right word "Lively. At least that's how you appear to be on the stage."

"Well doesn't that just show how good I would be at acting? I mean, if I could fool all of you then I could fool anyone, right?" she said tactfully. This last sentence caught Christien off guard but he was delighted by her initiative and there was no way that he was going to give up on her now.

"A fair point. So does this mean that you will let us teach you?"

"No." she shook her head.

"Why not?" one of the other boys questioned.

"Because girls aren't allowed to act and you know it. If I was to act no-one would pay me any attention and I'd probably get arrested."

"But don't you want to act?" She thought for a moment.

"Yes. I would love to act more than anything but I couldn't"

"Why not?"

"Well I wou.."

"What's stopping you?"

"My father would kill me and I just.."

"I'll tell you what's stopping you. Your conscience is stopping you. Oh well I guess you just want to be silent and unnoticed all your life." Christien smiled to himself knowing that there was more to her than what she was letting on.

"No you're wrong." She shouted. The other boys were quite shocked by her outburst but Christien was pleased, knowing that now he would see what her true personality was. "I don't want to be one of those quiet, boring everyday people who blend into the background. I want to stand out and be noticed. I want to be different and most of all I want to shock people and do what I want, not what other people tell me to do. I want to break free."

"And you can. Stick with us and you will be. We don't let anyone tell us what to do. We support ourselves and don't need anyone else's help." Christien crouched next to her and draped an arm around her shoulders.

"That's the life I've been dreaming of all my life." She spoke quietly.

"Well we can make your dream come true. You too can be strong and independent. We will teach you all of this if you agree to let us. So what about it?"

"What's the catch? You're not going to just teach me all of this for nothing so what do you want?"

"My, my you are clever." He turned to his friends "She will be easy to teach. All we ask is that you perform with us once we have taught you. That's all."

"That's all?"

"Yes. So have we got a deal?"

"We have a deal." He reached out his hand and she shook it, confirming the deal. Then, unexpectedly, he hugged her and whispered into her ear "You're going to make a fantastic rebel." He let go of her and she smiled.

"Well we might as well start to get to know each other better now." One of the other boys said and they all began to introduce themselves.

"I'm Thiere"

"I'm Michaèl"

"I'm Luc"

"I'm Paule"

"I'm Adrien"

"I'm Farcè"

"I'm Stefan"

"I'm Adaim"

"And I'm Christien"

"You all know my name." She said matter of factly.

"Yes but we've sort of abbreviated it." Paule said.

"What to?"

"Harm." They all said in unison.

"Harm?"

"Yes we thought that sounded more rebellious and dangerous" Farcè explained.

"Well I can't argue with you there."

And that's how it all began. Over the next few months the boys taught Harmonique how to act, fight, stand up for herself and do what she wanted. Rene had begun to notice a change in his daughter and it wasn't for the better. Over the next year she became more and more rebellious. She no longer performed with her family but instead she chose to act with the group of lads, with whom she had become great friends. Rene had constantly objected about her acting but she would pay no notice to him so he stopped nagging her about it. The only thing that he asked of her was that when they went to Paris to meet some of his old friends she did not do any acting. She promised to obey him.