Well, here's chapter 2, where we get a little background and meet our group of heroes.
Chapter 2
During the first war against Tom "Lord Voldemort" Riddle, the Titanica became the main base of operation for the Avalon Special Forces. This mansion, designed by Turner Keeney in the early 1920's, became famous as a werewolf retreat and treatment center long before its wartime useā¦.
-Les Familles D'Avalon, page 1125
The Titanica, as it was called, was built shortly after World War One by one of the Keeneys-no one quite knew except that it was most likely Turner Keeney, who after being bitten by a werewolf, decided to build himself his own retreat for the full moon. Since his death during World War Two, it had been used by Avalon serving every purpose from a wartime hospital to hideaway when Voldemort first rose to power. The interior was designed exactly as the first-class section of the RMS Titanic had been. Keeney even had a grand staircase built in the reception area, the dome itself hiding the rest of the building from view when facing the front.
As for the Muggles who were paid for this work, the rumor that "an old madman" who had "a relative or someone close" die on the Titanic was building this as some kind of memorial was sufficient enough to sustain their curiosity. Subsequent to their endeavor that lasted about ten years, each of the workers was paid the modern equivalent to 10,000 pounds in compensation.
During the first war against Tom Riddle, this was used by Avalon spies and people who had been bitten by Greyback and his faithful gang. The healers and nurses treated them as best as they could, then gave them a choice: go to Avalon under the Werewolf Protection and Equal Rights Acts of 1789 or take their chances dealing with the Ministry. In this way, the population of the isle of Avalon rose a quarter of what it had been before the war and the families of those afflicted were notified how to contact their loved ones.
Six teenagers sat in a large, spacious room. Once a smoking room, over the years it had served every function from nursery to playroom to sickroom to the eventual sitting room where they were allowed to be alone without adult supervision. "Remind me," a tall blonde-haired boy asked as he stared out the window at the sun. "Why in hell aren't we allowed outside again?"
"Because your aunt's a psychopathic bitch," A red-headed girl snapped back, staring at the wide open space that surrounded the mansion. She threw herself into a chaise that sat at perfect angle to catch the sun, making her hair shine a more fiery red.
The group, you could say, was a mismatched bunch of friends all thrown together out of nowhere. Dark-haired and green-eyed Harry Potter was somewhat of a leader in the group, having been stolen away to Avalon and Inis Wintrin when Voldemort had killed his parents. Abigail Keeney, not even a year younger, could've been his sister except her eyes were Avalon gold, something that marked her as a true Avi-born, making her even more exotic than anyone else in the room. Draco Malfoy was tall, pale and blonde in the extreme, telling an opposite story to his personality. Where Abigail was night, he was day and where she often got lost in the stars, he focused his attention a bit closer to home, although at first glance, you'd expect the opposite.
Ginny Weasley was red-haired and fiery, easily the best duelist in the group. The thing that made her perfect for Harry, though, was the fact that she balanced him out-fire and ice, and where she was likely to rush headlong into a situation, he would consider his options. Hermione Granger was the bookworm-and other students at school said-the only reason that they passed their classes. As for Neville Longbottom, he often spent his time in the greenhouses, making this house-arrest scenario even more confining for him as the perfect day to examine the new batch of Devil's Snare that was put in a special light-blocking greenhouse.
"Just because she's a psycho maniac isn't a good enough reason to keep us locked up like animals."
He was just better at keeping his cool than others.
"This is effing ridiculous." Now, Ginny was pacing. Neville tried edging towards the door in case World War Three was about to break out. The two most likely to start it were Abigail and Ginny. "You're telling me." He glanced at Harry and Draco and motioned with his eyes to the door. They nodded almost imperceptibly. Harry tried edging off the couch but Ginny stopped him with a glare.
"They do know that this only encourages rebellion?" Ah, Hermione was dragged into the mix.
Run lads, run.
"That and I'm sure that when Morgaine found out she was knocked up-by her brother no less, she didn't sit around at Avalon, pretending everything was hunky-dory." The door creaked as Neville opened it and he cringed, wondering if the girls had noticed. When a snapping demand wasn't directed at him, he walked, quickly followed by Draco and Harry.
"Merlin, that was close." Draco said, shutting the door behind him. "You're telling me." Harry said as they made their way along the corridor. "A couple of more minutes and I probably would've joined in." Neville winced. "That would've been bad." Arguments that originally started out verbal between the group usually escalated into blown-out duels unless of course, a class interrupted them, in which case, Neville usually found himself the victim of some misguided attempt at revenge.
They made their way towards the greenhouses-hoping no one would catch them as they had been only the day before while attempting to sneak out to play Quidditch. "Did you see the article in the Advocate this morning?" Neville asked. "They're going through all the files to see who's got an Act of Attainder against them." The Avalon Advocate was essentially the equivalent of the Daily Prophet, although it was less monitored by the government. If anything, the AWAA (Avalon Werewolf Advocacy Association) had final say in what was going in it, something that AWAA president, Evan Johnson, took great pleasure in during Regency Council meetings (though Narcissa Malfoy could've held him back with a strategic hex, she refrained from doing so).
"Well, we know that psycho bitch and her married family each have one." Draco said, refusing to acknowledge any connection to Bellatrix LeStrange. "Who else has got one?"
"Pettigrew has one," Harry said. "Though that's probably Abigail's dad trying to get even for what happened at Hogwarts when they were there."
"Not to mention he's the reason Voldemort found your parents." Neville added. "So, what exactly happens if the Guard captures her?"
"What do you think? That's probably why she chose Azkaban. She's still alive, ain't she?" They reached the landing and grew quiet as they trooped down the stairs and tried to blend into the shadows. "She may be crazy, but she does have some self-preservation."
I think one thing that sums up dear Bella's problems: two words "Oh, dear."
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More next week.
Respectfully,
R2-D2106
