Prologue
"Ms. Flawier! Go! We'll hold them off!" Jets of light flashed, and faded. Their forever loyal elves and guards had been their last desperate line of defense, and the weakest. Chairs and desks smashed and the floor tiles cracked. Her mother swore. "Anti porkey and apparition wards have been erected. And they're calling for backup." She turned, and put her hand gently on her daughter's cheek. Embry, do you have a plan?
The little girl nodded. "Trust Governess Lucinda, and if all else fails, find a way to go to the Flamels. They're family and won't leave me to beg on the streets."
Even now, her little quips made her mother smile. "They adore you, they'll be happy to take you.
She turned to her governess. "You know what to do."
The governess, Lucinda nodded tensely. "I'll protect her with my life."
" Let's hope it doesn't come to that." She said grimly. "Now go! I'll engage him long enough for you to escape." She kissed her daughter gently just as one of the walls crashed open and a swarm of men rushed in.
Her daughter didn't turn back to watch her mother, but grabbing her governess' hand, rushed to the second level to a hidden room which led outside. Maniacal laughter gave Embry a slight halt in her tracks in her tracks. A foot extended outward prepared to run down the stairs to their hidden exit paused.
"Embry!" Her governess hissed. "Quickly!"
The girl frowned. "No." And pointed a slightly shaking hand to several shadowy figure guarding the exit, nearly impossible to see in the dark lighting.
"We were betrayed." The governess whispered.
"Yes." The girl agreed. "By whom is of no conscience now."
"What can we do?"
The girl's mind turned to something her grandmother had whispered to her mother upon her deathbed only months ago, something that was perhaps best not hers to be had, that she had refused to test, on the account that it was 'too dark' for her taste. Only to be used when in the most precarious situations. Now? Perhaps it would work.
Her eyes turned dark in anticipation.
*Flashback*
"My Embry." A voice croaked from the bed. "Come closer. Let me see your face." The girl moved forward cautiously, floorboards creaking under her feet. The air was dusty although the windows were open, the silk curtains flying airily with the breeze. The girl moved forward gracefully, her quiet steps, loud, her grandmother's heavy breathing being the only other sound in the utter silence of the room. She stepped forward and placed her hands in her grandmother's. A wrinkled old finger traced the girls cheek. "As lovely and smooth as the surface of a pearl." Her son was dead, killed by that freak of a monster, and this child, her grandchild was all that would remain of the Flawier's once she was gone. She'd be damned if she left this Earth without ensuring that her granddaughter would survive. Her hand moved to the girl's hair, "And hair as dark as the ebony of which you were named." The hand fell limp against the bedspread. "Some of us women of the house of Flawier have a gift, those of us chosen by fate, perhaps you've heard-perhaps not-of the gift of apathy?"
*end flashback*
The recollection however, came too late; as Embry came to, she was faced with the horrible sight of her mother's corpse, surrounded by the bodies of her household, and enemies. Her mother's murderer stood alone, in the middle, triumphantly over her, smiling sadistically. He seemed to sense her horrified gaze and looked up to her, triumph lighting his eyes. In a powerful leap, Grindelwald landed in the second level, right in front of Lucinda.
Embry's governess turned to face Grindelwald, terror and defiance written clear upon her face, instinctively erecting a hurried shield charm that was taken down with a careless wave of his wand.
"Stand aside." he sneered looking down upon the weakling who dared to intrude upon his path.
"No please!" She begged
"Foolish woman! Stand aside, and I will spare you and the girl."
"Leave her, take me instead!"
"Stand aside!"
"PLEASE!"
"Avada Kedavra!"
The child's only remaining friend fell to the floor, dead. Grindelwald stepped around the corpse and inspected what remained of the room. Chairs upturned, the table missing legs and smashed down the middle. And in the commotion, the girl was hidden. But she was still here, he could sense the magic around her swirling around the level all coming from one area, and if he could locate it...
Aha. Hiding in a broom cupboard. How fitting. And how utterly weak.
"Foolish girl." Grindelwald sneered. "Come out, and I'll make you my heir when you come of age, cherished and loved by all of Germany. Hide, continue to defy me, and you'll die, just as your pathetic friend."
Pause. Then, a girl, a lovely child, but a girl nonetheless, walked gracefully out of the broom closet. She couldn't have been more than eight. Despite all that happened, she wasn't trembling, her face, a blank mask, her figure straight, tall proud and unbroken, Grindelwald noted. This lovely minuscule creature, was all that remained of the once renowned family of Flawier? She would be an excellent heir. Or bride. He shook his head. He was no pedophile. She was a child, her only use would be as an heir no matter how lovely she was. He nearly salivated as he thought of the ancient manuscripts, all of those wonderful spells, magics, and knowledge he could claim as her guardian.
She stepped into the moonlight, dressed in a dark blue gown,so dark it was nearly black, and Grindelwald got his first clear view of her face. He inhaled sharply. Flawlessly pale skin, dark ringlets curling around her shoulders, and deep brown eyes, shining with a warmth that confounded him. A fallen angel.
Despite his reputation as a Dark Lord, he was a man that appreciated beauty. And her own angelic form of beauty was no exception. She smiled at him, an innocent smile, one that beget no guile. He unconsciously smiled back at her. There was something about her that was utterly endearing, something about her that was so utterly breathtaking, was it the slight tilt of her chin, or her lovely clear wide eyes?
"Grindelwald." Said she. Her voice clear, mellow, and sweet, pierced through the haze in his mind upon seeing her.
"Yes." He breathed almost fervently.
The girl had smiled, and stretched her hand out to him, and a wave of grey flowing from her fingertips. Her newfound magic had instinctively known what to do, and she concentrated on past emotions, of love, safety, sending blasts upon blasts of pure emotion, of contentment, desire upon him.
Waves of contentment, joy in seeing her smile, resonated from her figure, rolling off, and directed only at him. She nearly smiled. And this branch of magic was only detectable by her, attainable by her, wholly and utterly her own. His mind worked still, but churned slowly, only processing how lovely she was, how utterly small and helpless. How much he wanted her.
Her lips were curled, but not once, reached her eyes. They stayed neutral, no emotions showing through. "Do you wish to save me?"
"I'll do anything." He promised fervently, his entirety responding to the charm of her voice and beauty, utterly desiring to protect this little gem from all harm. To keep her safe. Hide her in a remote location away from the evils of the world.
Ironic as he had just minutes ago killed what little protection remained in her residence.
She smiled with her teeth now, and reached her hand out to him. He took it and held her body close, wanting to hold her, reassure her that nothing would ever happen to her. "Make me a porkey to Yorkshire, England."