The Girl Who Survived
Prologue
Prompt; death
She was dressed in pink, a pair of pyjamas that were new. They were from her uncle Peter, a nice but nervous man. He was more interested in Harry for some reason, but that didn't mean he hated her.
Most of the others were more interested in Harry as he was younger; except from Sirius, her godfather. He doted on Harry for being an exact replica of James, his best mate, but she was the female version of them, even having the hazel eyes Harry lacked. The only difference was her hair actually was containable, with much taming; although it was not worth the effort. When she was in her natural form, anyway.
The night was All Hallow's Eve, a boring event for the siblings due to the protection they needed to be under. Why they needed to be under the protection was a mystery to her, although her father complained a lot of the time about it. She had even got in trouble once for using one of the words he regularly used, although how was she to know she shouldn't have said it? Exactly!
Lily sat near her, carefully speaking to her. "A big blue sky full of clouds."
"A big bwue s'y fu' o' cwouds."
"A yellow ball rolling down the hill."
She bit her lips in concentration, before repeating her mother's words. "A ye'ow ba' rowing dow' the hi'."
Lily smiled. The two year old was not the best at speaking, but for a toddler she was doing well. They regularly did exercises in the evening to develop her speaking skills, due to having nothing else to do. Sometimes, Harry joined in, although the one year old was only attuned to a few words. She could speak whole sentences! However, that only happened when Lily spoke them before her.
Behind them, James was making smoke spew out of his wand, much to the delight of his son, who was trying to catch the pretty swirls. He glanced at his wife, who smiled at him before turning to their daughter. "Holly is a happy baby," Lily stated to her daughter.
Her face screwed up in concentration. "I Ho'wey!" She exclaimed happily, clapping her hands.
"How would you say it?" Lily asked her daughter, resisting the temptation to hug her small girl.
"Ho'wey is a ha'y baby!"
Holly then yawned. "I think it's time for these two to go to sleep," Lily stated, and James nodded, reaching out to grab Harry, dropping his wand.
Without any warning, the door opened, and James dropped his son gently, flying out of the room. "Lily, it's him! Take Holly and Harry and go! It's him! Go! Run! I'll hold him off!"
As they were pulled into their mum's arms, Holly glanced back, seeing a green light hit her father. He crumpled to the floor, and she thought he was playing a new game as she was placed in her cot, her mother screaming as she attempted to block the door with a rocking chair.
Maybe not.
The door blasted open and the chair splintered apart, the baby toys that lingered flying at the impact. A man in long black robes flew in, glancing at Harry like he was a piece of prey. Their mother stood in front of them, her arms spread wide as if to protect them from the man, looking like an angel in disguise.
"Not them, not Harry, not Holly... Please, not them, take anything but not their lives..."
"Stand aside, you silly girl... stand aside, now!"
Holly perked up her head from where she sat in the crib, a curious expression on her face. Maybe this new man was playing a game with them? Maybe he was going to take them to get ice-cream...
"Not my children, please no, take me, kill me, kill me and not them, please!"
"This is my last warning-"
"Have mercy... Have mercy! Not Harry! Not Holly! I'll do anything, please!"
"Stand aside, girl. Stand aside!"
Stubbornly, Lily remained where she was. Green light flashed through the room again, hitting her mother in the chest and causing her to collapse. Maybe he wasn't taking them for ice-cream...
Harry had stood up, clutching the bars. Holly was watching her brother as the man stepped closer. In retort, Harry fell to his bottom, crying. Holly resumed the position her brother had, frowning at the man who had hurt her parents.
Her knuckles turned white as she clutched the bar tight, staring at the man. "Why?" She asked him, and he looked surprised at the question.
"For power," he said, turning to her brother again. "It wouldn't do for mine to be taken away, not after I've gotten so close to winning. It's best if we eliminate your brother now. You'll understand that one day, after being raised by my minions. The child of the Potter's on my side. That would destroy them all..."
"All?" Holly repeated, a glint in her eye.
"Avada Kedavra!"
The older sibling was closer to him as he cast the killing curse on her brother. The light hit her brother, then ricocheted off his forehead and struck the man. A dark presence whooshed through the room, and struck her in the heart where she collapsed with exhaustion.
.-.
Dylan Winters was a perfectly normal man. Once, he would have been reluctant to admit it, but now he embraced it. His sister had died for the others, trying to defeat the terrorist who threatened their lives. That terrorist threatened everyone's life though, and her attempts to defeat him had gone to waste. She died at the hands of one of his servants, just for being a Muggle-born Gryffindor...
He didn't have a job, not yet. He had tried to look for one, but had failed. He was thinking about moving to France anyway: his parents money would permit it. He had been interested in that country for as long as he could remember, and his mother was French so he knew the language well enough.
His day was spent shopping: for as long as he could remember he loved the satisfaction of buying something new. Anything that looked good went straight in to his bag, after he bought it of course.
When he left one shop he saw an owl fly over his head. Watching it, he didn't realise he stumbled into the middle of an odd group. All of them were wearing cloaks, and he could only think of his sister's lot.
"Sorry," he muttered sombrely, but the people he bumped in to were smiling still.
"It's alright!" One man exclaimed.
"Even Muggles like yourself should be celebrating news as good as this!"
"What news?" Dylan asked, and the wizards- he decided that was who they were- looked quite shocked.
"Haven't you heard? He-who-must-not-be-named has been defeated!"
"By who?"
"Little Harry Potter!"
"Potter? Is he a relation of James and Lily Potter?"
They looked at him like he had grown two heads. "How did you know that?"
"My sister was one of you. Was he?"
They nodded, adding, "they died."
Dylan left them. Wizards were strange. Celebrating the deaths of two of their kind was too absurd for him to get his Muggle-y head around...
Later that night, he was watching his television when a feeble knock was heard on his door. Warily, he opened it, to find a toddler looking up at him. "Hello," he smiled as he crouched down to face the small girl. "Who are you?"
.-.
He was down a street, waiting for the large man with the bike. Beside him was a woman, who decidedly hated this whole affair. "Need we split them up?" She questioned, her voice begging him to say no. "They should be together! The last of the Potter's!"
"It's better if Harry was raised alone," the man stated, twirling his beard. "The girl-"
"-Holly, Albus!"
"-needn't distract him."
"Harry was gurgling all the way to their house. Doesn't that prove he would be the distraction?"
"Ah, Hagrid is coming!"
They watched as the man landed for the second time, a small pink bundle in the side car. Before, it had curled up with a blue bundle, but it was now alone.
"Did she arrive well?"
A short nod. He was still crying.
Albus reached in to the car, and brought out the young girl. She squirmed in his arms, blinking open her eyes for the first time since the man was eliminated. "Ha'wey?" She questioned, staring up at them with her hazel eyes.
"Harry isn't here..."
"Wha'?" The toddler demanded, her hair turning a bright red as she stared up at this old man.
"He's still alive," he reassured, unfazed by her hair change.
"She's a metamorphagus? And you didn't tell the order?"
"No need for the order now, Minerva dear... Not until he is back."
"You are certain he will be back, Albus."
"You are certain you don't want to join in on the festivities."
"There is nothing to celebrate, old man."
Albus hummed softly to himself, the little girl joining in after a few moments. "Wha' now?" She asked.
"There's a nice Muggle here; Dylan Winters. He never had the chance to go to Hogwarts, whilst his sister did. You would stay with him."
"I's bes' if I s'ay wi'h Mugg'e?"
The old man nodded sombrely.
"Pa'foo?"
"We aren't sure where he is," the old man lied.
"Down!" She ordered, and Albus set her on the floor.
Unsteadily, she toddled over to the door that Dylan Winters lived at. The adults remained behind her, Hagrid sobbing. "I knock?"
Albus nodded as her knuckles rapped on the door. She could hear bolts unlocking as Albus stood beside her, his knees towering over her. A pair of knees met her eyes, and she smiled as the form crouched to meet her. "Hello," it smiled warmly. "Who are you?"
"I-I Ho'wey."
"Holly?"
She nodded timidly. "That's a lovely name. May I ask why you are here, Holly?"
"Bad man hurted pawents. Pawents gone."
"Who were your parents, Holly?"
"James and Liwy Potter. They-they gone..."
The man slowly made his arms snake around her. "My sister has gone too. She was like your parents. Fighting against that man who hurt your parents. One of his allies hurt her."
Her own arms snaked around the man, a small flurry of tears flowing out of her eyes. "I so'wey. Lywa?"
"Lyra?" He retorted.
"Lywa Win'ers? Your sis'er?"
He nodded. "Mama knew her."
Slowly, the three elders walked away, leaving the young man and the toddler bond over lost family members. "They tooked my bwother," Holly sobbed as they parted, the large man on the bike and the old man and lady disappearing into thin air.
"Dumbles- he took my sister. Away to a school, far away from me. I barely ever saw her again."
"Du'bles?" She questioned. "Ol' man?"
He nodded.
"I hate him."
Word Count; 1878
Holly may speak more than the average toddler, but I believe that magical children would speak more than Muggle children.
~Buttercat