Andrea picked herself up off the ground, shaking and sore from her latest bout of punishment. Freak, he called her. Bastard, whore, the latest labels her uncle had roared at her as cane and meaty fist pounded her thin frame. Tears ran down her face as she gingerly fell back onto her cot under the stairs. Why did she have to be stuck with her family, she thought. She'd heard it from her master's wife, Petunia. How her parents didn't want her, so she was left to the tender mercies of Vernon Dursley and his wife and their whale of a son Dudley.
Her crying continued into the night, though thankfully the blood had stopped. The click of the door made her flinch as the visage of perhaps the only kind soul in number four Privet Drive opened and pushed a bag of ice and a bowl of cold stew. "Sorry it isn't much." Came the soft voice of Abigail, the four-year old daughter to the great pig of a man and his scarecrow of a wife.
She was an anomaly, something that shouldn't be able to exist. Abigail Dursley inherited none of her father's temper or anger but his charisma and some of his strength. Contrary to popular belief, he could talk clients into the company better than most and if his strength at injuring Andrea was any note, he was incredibly strong. She inherited none of her mother's close-minded nature or her utter loathing of most things in life. She had inherited her mother's love of growing things, and her mother's keen and perceptive mind, for how else was one to learn anything of importance if not to think and listen in on anything.
She was the best of the Dursleys, and was as unDursley as was possible to be and still be one of them. Abigail, at her very core, was a kind and loving individual. Andrea couldn't help but think that she could have grown up like her had she been given the chance to do so. She figured Abigail felt sorry for her, and found herself surprised at how much she . . . hated it. Hated being pitied more than being beaten.
Instead of voicing her opinion and possibly losing her only ally within the household, she smiled, wiping tears from her eyes. "Hurry and eat. Before mother and father wake up." Abigail whispered, holding the ice to Andrea's head. Despite her hate for the girl's weakness, proving that it wasn't weakness that was a bad thing, but she could be her if their roles were reversed, she felt a warmth rise from her chest to her cheeks at the soft contact.
Quickly, she began shoveling the cold stew into her mouth, chewing hungrily as the ice moved to her cheek to soothe the painful feeling with a welcoming numbness. Humming her appreciation, she took the ice as Abigail quietly headed to the kitchen and placed the dishes in the washer. "Thank you." Andrea whispered back as Abigail shut and relocked the door, her soft footsteps disappearing quickly.
Content for the moment, the pain slowly fading, Andrea fell into a fitful sleep.
"Girl!" Petunia called, shaking Andrea from her sleep. Hissing in pain, she struggled to her feet and shouldered the small door open and stumbled into the hallway. The spatula smacking into her shoulder caused her to jump and yelp in pain. "I've been calling you for five minutes. Prepare breakfast, eggs, bacon. I want everything perfect for Dudley's birthday."
"Y-yes ma'am." Andrea said, hurrying to gather the ingredients to prepare a breakfast she'd never eat. She cracked the eggs one-by-one into the pan, the grease crackling and popping as the eggs turned white and the yolk began to solidify. Putting a pinch of salt, she slid the eggs from the pan to plate as she turned her attention to the bacon.
As she was preparing the meat from the stool, she heard the lumbering footsteps of the little whale, Dudley. Time seemed to slow as Dudley's mind seemed to think it a good idea to perhaps ruin his cousin's day. The wide-eyed Abigail shouted for him to stop, before being shushed by Vernon in return.
Petunia gasped in surprise as Dudley's foot collided with the stool, sending Andrea reeling at the loss of balance and an "Oops." On his part.
Andrea scrambled to grab something to hold onto, the pan being the first thing her flailing hands came into contact with. The house was filled with screams as Andrea felt the searing, boiling pain come alive from her left arm. Dimly, she was aware of the stench of burning skin and the pain coming from her arm was nothing compared to the brief lance as the knife in her hand slashed her across the face.
On the plus side, she thought as she fell into unconsciousness, this was perhaps the first time that Petunia had actually yelled at Dudley.
Awakening to more yelling, Andrea supposed she shouldn't have been surprised to see the pig arguing with her aunt. Shaking her head, she inspected the bandaged left arm she bore and the face of an irate man with glasses.
"- doing cooking food at her age?" the man in glasses said, his white coat seeming to billow around him in his apparent anger. "- lucky the blade didn't do too much damage." Andrea heard dimly, shaking her head, the doctor frowned and put a hand to her forehead, apparently scowling at her for some reason. Later, she'd figure out that it was because she was tense, as if fearing to be hit.
"Well. She's fine now. Doctor, thank you, you may leave." Petunia said in her sweetest voice, lacing the tone with worry in that way she was with the social worker. "We'll take care of it from here." She said, escorting him from the room.
"Very well, Mrs. Dursley. I'll return in a week to check on her condition. Make sure she doesn't do too much physical activity; it may worsen the injuries she sustained in the fall. The doctor said, sparing her a glance before tipping his hat and exiting the room.
Andrea's head tipped back and sleep called to her once more. Her eyes were becoming heavy as Petunia reentered the room, a look between worry and appraisal in her eyes.
Andrea screamed. Her fat and useless excuse for an uncle loomed over her, the alcohol heavy on his breath, his face ruddy and flushed in his inebriation and anger. "Do you know how much you cost me, girl?" he growled, low and menacing, his hands roaming over her body as she struggled underneath him. "All this trouble for a useless, pitiful girl. Your own parents didn't want you, did you know that?"
She shook her head, turning away from his hungry gaze. "Get away from me!" Andrea shrieked, crying out as one of Vernon's meaty hands smashed into her face, silencing her.
"Doctor says you can't do chores. Fine. Here's another way to earn your keep, brat. Lie down there and stay quiet." He rumbled, his hands forcefully gripping her wrists and if the cracking sounds were anything to go by, something had given as he wrenched her arms away from his chest and above her head, tying her wrists to the bedpost.
Pain blossomed between her legs and she screamed, a high, drawn out sound that rattled the windows and the lights. Simultaneously, Andrea found herself gone with a crack as the lights and glass shattered and her uncle roared like a wounded animal as she disappeared from view and yet an Andrea Potter remained tied to the bed as he stumbled away, fire catching from the burned out filament.
While the Dursley family survived the inferno, the body of a young girl was discovered near the charred remains of the bed. An inquiry was conducted and yet no trace of the young girl was ever found in any register within Great Britain. So it was that, for the Dursleys, Andrea Potter perished during the blaze that consumed the house.
Hello everyone,
Welcome to the first chapter of The Lion's Rose and thank you for taking the time to read this. This story and its sister, Flowers for Ravens, will hopefully be updated on a weekly basis, considering the length of the chapters. I've had these ideas floating around in my head for the longest time. This version is the "turned to the dark side" story. Hopefully, there won't be anything too explicit, but if the muse judges otherwise, I'll put up a warning.
Rate and review, favorite and follow. I'm always grateful for Constructive Criticism so get reviewing. I'd appreciate it if nobody posts anything insulting to me or other readers.
Mischief Managed,
Arilia