Title: On the Run
Author: The*Spangled*Pandemonium
Chapter Title: Broken Down
Summary: In one night, Alyssa Farrell's family is killed by Voldemort. The Ministry of Magic decides to temporarily place her in a safe haven, Hogwarts, where she lives under a false name. With her new best friend, Lily, she falls in love with James Potter. Will she back off, because she knows she won't stay? Or will she follow her heart?
~~~*~~~
The moon glowed its pale watery light down on a little suburb a west from Harwich. It was a moon that had seen thousands of deaths and tragedies. A moon that gazed down blankly at all the sadness in the world.
Alyssa Farrell ran down the street where her house was perched, frantically whipping out her wand. Tears were already streaming down her cheeks, and her heart tightened as she shoved open the door.
She already knew what lay inside.
"Mom! Dad! Jason!" She yelled despairingly to the silent house.
There was no disarray showing that any stranger had stepped foot in her home, yet the most obvious sign loomed over the two-story Victorian house. It was the Dark Mark.
The grandfather clock ticked steadily to her right, oblivious to the horror that had happened to its owners.
Alyssa collapsed to her knees, unable to deal with the heart-wrenching anguish that shadowed her mind. Her forgotten wand lay on the polished floor beside her.
"Mom… Dad… Jason…" She murmured into her hands, unable to stop the terrified sobs that shook through her body.
It had been such a happy life. A typical magical household. Mostly ups, little downs. But her father… Why did he ever think that he could be an Auror, and yet still have an ordinary family? Didn't he see that they were vulnerable because of this?
Deep in her soul she knew that he loved them more than anything in the world, and would fight to his death protecting them, but…his duty was his imprisonment.
Now she was alone.
Get up. They may still be alive.
She knew all hope was lost, but she had to see first. She needed to.
She felt so numb. Her mind told her that, yes, her whole family was dead, but her heart refused to accept it. It did not seem to comprehend that she would never have a defensive magic lesson from her father again. That she would never again help her mother bake a pie for Christmas. That she would never fly a broomstick with her brother anymore. The only sign of understanding in her face were the salty tears that fell from her eyes, landing on the dry wood.
Staggering to her feet, she wobbled towards the dining room, her limp fingers picking up her fallen wand. If there were any Deatheaters left in her house, she wanted to breathe her last breath with a weapon in her hand.
The first sign of any trouble lay inside. The Dark Lord seemed to have disrupted her family's dinner.
Three of the chairs were thrown backwards from the table, as if her family had anxiously stood up because of some disturbance. The food on the antique timber table was untouched. The door to the kitchen hung open, a gaping mouth that would lead her to her lifeless relatives.
Gingerly, she stepped inside, afraid at what she might see.
But there was nothing. The dark room was untouched.
Yet back door was unfastened, leading to the woods that nestled by her house.
Maybe they escaped!
A small bubble of hope emerged in her mind, letting a bit of light shine through her veil of despair. She would find them.
Dashing through the door, she ran into the yard the moonlight making her blonde hair glow silver. The tears on her pale face had turned into a crystalline shine. She was painfully beautiful, bathed in that pastel light. Even though the moon had seen so much grief in humanity, its essence was one of kindness. It pitied that poor soul.
Alyssa trudged through the forest, occasionally using her wand to blast a way through the thick foliage. Perspiration matted her flaxen hair to her forehead, and she ignored the dull cramp in her legs. She didn't even care anymore if her path was visible or not. Her determination had smothered reason.
Her family had a little hideaway in the woodlands. A tiny clearing that was surrounded by thick undergrowth that repelled any other wizard but her kin. It had a small cottage that contained supplies that could be used if they needed to go into hiding. Alyssa knew if her family were still breathing, they'd be in this area, worrying about her, and waiting for her to come.
A short gasp came from her throat, followed by a tormented wail of helplessness.
All that was left of their shelter was a smoldering ruin of charred bricks. There was no more doubt that her family had perished in the fire.
Alyssa stood there, eyes wide, with bitter tears that snaked their way down her face.
And that's how the Ministry of Magic found her.
~~~*~~~
"Alyssa? Alyssa?"
The lass had once again lapsed into one of her dazes that could only an amount of prodding would make her return to the world of the living. And frankly, Christoph Baldwin was getting annoyed.
He had been assigned to the sixteen-year-old, to plan her future and to take care of her finances until she was of age. He was an honest man, even if he did have low tolerance for self-pity.
"Alyssa!"
She recoiled from the bellow as if slapped. Her gray eyes had lost its glazed look, and it finally focused on him. "Yes, sir?"
Christoph ran his hand through his brown hair irritably. "As I said before, Dumbledore has allowed you to temporarily stay in his school until you find safer ground."
"What could be safer than Hogwarts?" Alyssa wondered out loud, propping her elbows up on his desk.
He ignored her question. "You will stay there in hiding. You mustn't tell the students your real name or give any personal information about your family history." He said. "Our sources say You-know-who is still after you, for some reason. You should not give him any chance to track you down."
She nodded grimly. Her parents would have wanted her to stay strong through this. And she would.
"You'll have to disguise yourself a bit too." He waved his hand carelessly at her shiny golden curtain of hair. "The next time I see you, that'll be black."
She felt a tremor of outrage in her voice. "Black! I can't! My whole family had this hair! It's that one trait that made us unique! There's no way that I'll—" She paused for a second, then her shoulders slumped resignedly, "I understand."
"Good."
"Anything else?" She asked.
"Your new name will be 'Catalina Dylan,' nicknamed Cat." He said, watching her wrinkle her nose at the unfamiliar appellation. "We have a folder containing your so-called history. You'll have to memorize it."
"When do I go to Hogwarts?"
"Why, on September 1, like everyone else. A special transferee. Dumbledore will introduce you to the school in an assembly. They'll even use the Sorting Hat."
She blinked her eyes that were filled with disbelief.
"September 1?! That's tomorrow! I don't even have a uniform! Or supplies!"
"You can use the items that we'll retrieve from your house… As for the robes, you'll have to deal with the ones you have in your closet."
"Yeah right…" She mumbled under her breath. "I'll be stoned to death for being different."
"Nonsense." He said happily, with an infuriating look of self-satisfaction in his eye.
Sadist! She thought snippily, and rolled her eyes.
Over the past few days, she had learnt to suffocate the waves of melancholy by keeping busy. Alyssa had buried herself in books, studying forms of magic to make her stronger, more able to defend herself. Christoph had approved of it, wanting her to be independent, for she was unaided now.
Am I ready?
Alyssa had been home-schooled by her parents, and was allowed to practice magic out of the classroom. It was her first time to attend any school, much less boarding school. But her mind flew back to those horrible memories of the nights before.
Yes. I am.
~~~*~~~
Author's note: This is my first piece of fanfiction that happened in the past. Usually I love Hermione/Draco stories, but I felt compelled to write this. Please review if you want me to continue it. It's only a side story of mine, since I'm mostly into D/H, but I can put it up on stage if it gets enough reviews. Thank you.