Pirates (But Only on Sunday, Around Teatime)

By TwinEnigma

Blanket disclaimer: Anything you recognize, except for my OCs and the plot, I don't own. I do this for fun and absolutely no profit.
Prologue

A woman was crouched beside an old desk in a corner of an attic, near a small window. She could hear muffled voices in the room below and thuds as they searched for her. They had captured her sister and brother-in-law when they broke in and she had been lucky enough to get up the stairs. It was fortunate that the intruders had yet to discover the attic door, but she didn't count on her luck to hold out much longer. She had to get out of here, get to a telephone and call for help before they figured out how to get up here.

Deciding to risk moving, she stiffly straightened up and out of her crouch and tried to creep toward the window as quietly as possible. She avoided the creaky floorboard carefully, mentally cursing the fact that her sister and brother-in-law never got around to fixing the bloody thing in all these years. The window was small – a tight fit for a grown woman – but it would have to do and, luckily, there was a rather nice tree branch just within arm's reach. She could have wept for joy, but rather decided not to press her already thin luck and tossed open the window.

Instantly, she found herself under assault by something brown, feathery and football-sized. She cried out, stumbled backwards and promptly fell on her arse with a rather loud and particularly ungraceful thud.

"Shit!" she hissed, shooting a glare at the trapdoor and then back at the offending object – namely, her niece's pet owl. "Bloody 'effing bird!"

"Did you hear that?"

"Back upstairs, boys! She's still here!"

The woman swore again and scrambled back to her feet. She'd bolted the trapdoor, but it wouldn't hold long against these thugs. The owl hooted, drawing her attention. It was holding up its leg and she could see a letter tied onto the leg. That was it!

"Here, Archimedes... nice bird," the woman whispered, creeping toward the window. The owl seemed to stare at her and cocked its head to the side. She reached out and grabbed the small bird, pulling it close. It hooted in protest, but otherwise didn't struggle. "I need you to do something for me."

"Here! I found a trapdoor!"

"Don't just stand there! Open it up!"

There was a thud and the trapdoor shuddered.

"It's locked!"

"I don't care how you do it, just get it open!"

She reached into her pocket and withdrew a battered old wooden compass on a leather cord. "I need you to take this to Eliza, Archimedes," she whispered, slipping the sturdy cord over the owl's head.

The trapdoor shuddered again.

"Please hurry!" she said, releasing the owl out the window. The bird soared away, hooting loudly and she let out a sigh of relief. Now, to make her own escape... Quickly, she leaned out the window and reached for the branch, grabbing it as tightly as she could. She pulled herself forward and, just as she was about to swing out, the trapdoor broke open.

"SHIT!" she screamed, tumbling out of the window and swinging wildly on the branch.

"THERE SHE IS!" one of the thugs shouted, rushing toward the window. "GET HER!"

She could hear them rushing to turn around and get back downstairs and couldn't resist grinning. They'd never get down the stairs in time to catch her! "You will always remember that this is the day you almost caught-!" she started to shout.

"STUPEFY!"

The entire world went black and she could feel her fingers losing their grip as her consciousness slipped away.

The woman dropped to the ground with a heavy thud, unconscious. A cloaked man emerged from the shadow of the tree and lowered his wand. He kneeled, pressing his fingers to her neck, and nodded. "She's out, sir."

"Good work, Jones," the thug said from the window. "Check her for the compass."

He leaned down and quickly searched her pockets. "It's not here, sir," the man said finally, looking up.

"She has to have it!" the thug spat, slamming his fist down on the windowsill.

The cloaked man searched her pockets again, when he paused a moment. "Hold on, sir," he said, leaning down. "There's something caught in her shirt."

"Is it the compass?" the thug demanded.

The cloaked man shook his head. "It's a letter," he said, turning it over in his hands. "Addressed to Mum and Dad... It looks like we missed one, sir."

"We have to find that compass! Are you certain it's not on her, Jones?" the thug snarled.

Nodding, the cloaked man stood. "Sir, the compass is not here anymore, I'm certain of it. I saw an owl leave the window before she leapt out and I've got a good idea where it's headed."

"Where?" the thug asked through clenched teeth.

The cloaked man pocketed the letter and looked up. "Hogwarts, sir. I will have to show you the way."

"Very well, Jones," the thug sighed. "Tie her up and put her with the others. I'm sure Miss Sparrow misses her family."

AN: I got the idea for this while starting to write A Memory Lost, actually while I was naming the doctor and the nurse. Several of the named OC first years in Nemesis Memory and DDLLF are main characters here as well. I just liked them far too much and wanted to take a peek at them in their seventh year. This is a stand-alone, though, and takes place after Potter and co have graduated. Reviews will be appreciated, as always.