Chapter 2
I know I said I'd only be updating once a week, but I finished a chapter last night and figured I'd post another to get a bit of a following going. After this (depending on how quickly I spew out chapters) It'll be once a week, MAYBE twice.
Another thing: This is officially the first story I've ever written where I can't wait to get to the middle parts. Usually I have the beginning and end plotted out and the middle causes me problems. But this time, I'm actually excited to get to the nuances in the middle.
Also: Special mentions in a A/N and an Internet Cookie if someone can tell me what common detail all the chapter titles share.
Umm, I think that's it for now. Onward!
-I do NOT own HP or it's characters
-I DO own Sonya and the plot
~TL
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Death, it's peaceful. No running, no burning skin, and yes, I'll be cliche and say there's no pain either.
Well, that's what everyone else tells you, what people, who have never experienced death before, have said. In reality, death hurt, full of fear in those last moments.
Those last few moments you have after your heart stops, those fifteen seconds of brain acitivity last forever. You can feel everything, your entire body aches from lack of function, to top it all off, you feel that there's something wrong, but you can't do anything about it.
All you can do is sit there in the silence and darkness until it all goes away. I can still feel the muscles in my back burning. I still remember clearly the feeling of that metal beam landing on me just before hearing that-
The little girl! Crap, here I am getting ready to drift away and there's some little girl out there in the building in trouble! Damn... Should have done something about that. Not like I could do much, but hey, nothing like trying, right?
Another thing that's worth mention, is this peace, if you can call it that, is full of... Well I guess you can call it static. Like a radio that isn't tuned right and all you get is that fuzz in-between stations. Everything I was feeling and thinking had that damn static all around it. Like I wasn't fully there, but obviously I was.
The static sound grew louder, turning into a rushing sound...
A very familiar rushing sound.
And crackling.
Shit, am I still alive?
I tried to move and found that my hands and feet were wiggling around just fine, just... Sore. Very sore actually, everything hurt. Dead people don't hurt, and they sure as hell shouldn't be able to move if there's a steel beam pinning them down on the floor.
The static feeling in my limbs slowly ebbed away, giving me the full sense of how much pain i was in, thank you very much, static, you racist bastard.
Alright, even I will admit that was unintentionally harsh, but I was hurting! Imagine being bulldozed by the biggest guy you know, then slammed on the floor at full force and maybe you can get an idea of what I'm feeling. Every muscle screamed when I moved it, every bone groaned as I managed to push myself up into a sitting position.
Alright, now for the eyes, might as well see the fire I could hear... And feel I might add. Thankfully it wasn't close enough to be burning hot, at a distance...
Huh, maybe someone saved my ass after all.
Fumbling around with motor functions, I struggled to open eyelids that felt like they were being held down by a pair of weights. Finally, finally! I managed to crack them open, just enough to see something dark in front of me, not completely black, but dark enough to make it difficult to figure out what the hell I was staring at.
Somewhere in the distance I could hear voices, just the shouts, mind, nothing else. Pushing my hands on the floor, I struggled to stand up and stumbled forward into what I now knew was a wooden door. A wooden door that decided it would be a good idea to meet my face rather forcefully when I failed to move my arms out in front of me.
With a groan, I pushed myself back away from it and rubbed at my nose with a frown. Now on top of my sore muscles, my nose might be broken, fan-frikkin tastic, thank you, Death!
Turning around, I studied the room I was in and frowned. It was small, very small, the top of my head was brushing against the ceiling even as I stood at my full height. A closet? Maybe-
The crackling sound grew louder outside the door and made me spin back around to stare at it apprehensively. I die only to come back into the same situation!
Well not the same, but fire means death. Espeically if you're stuck inside a tiny room with the flames dancing around outside of it. Eyeing the handle, I reached out hesitantly, the memory of burning my hands on another handle still fresh in my mind as I reached out to tap a finger on it lightly, jerking away quickly before I could be burned.
Nope, still cold to the touch, either that or it's so hot it feels cold. Looking down at my finger, I tried to make out if there was a red mark on it and frowned. Now that I get the chance...
Where was the burn from before? My entire palm should be blistered and red... And bleeding for that matter. And why the hell do I get the feeling that my fingers aren't as long as they were before?
Squinting in the dark, I tried to study it closer before remembering that, yes, I was still in a closet and still in a burning building. Figure out the oddities later, Sonya! Priorities.
Reaching back out, I grasped the handle of the door and turned it slowly, waiting for the burning feeling that never came and swung the door outwards quickly, wincing back just in case the flames were closer than they sounded.
When nothing came to burn my skin off, I peered out the small cubby and immedately got a face full of smoke for my effort. Coughing, I stumbled out of my hiding place and squinted through the thick air, trying to make something out as I slowly made my way forward.
"He-" A bought of coughing cut me off, a hand reaching up to cover my mouth as I struggled to breathe without killing my lungs with smoke. Twenty five years old without one cigarette and I'll end up with smokers lung thanks to a burning building. Just my kind of luck.
Shuffling my numb feet forward, I tried to find a door, anything to get out of there only to feel my toes come into contact with something heavy an soft. Oh god no, not another body, I've seen enough burnt corpses to last a lifetime. Squeezing my hands into fists, I clenched my jaw and looked down, ready to get it all over with.
It was a man, a little older than myself. Maybe thirty? It was hard to tell with all the smoke. Dropping down to my knees, I ignored the fact that it was a lot smaller of a drop than I was used to and reached out to rest my oddly small fingers against his throat, searching for a pulse and came away with nothing.
Well so much for being a hero in my final moments. Climbing back to my feet, I looked around the room, trying to figure out where the smoke was coming from and spied another door, one I guessed lead out of there. Unfortunately said smoke was pouring in from the cracks around it. I had to find something to cover the cracks, if only a little bit, or... A window!
Feeling my heart leap in my chest, I scrambled towards the beautiful glass panes and paused in front of them. Man, these were really high up, I mean, I know I'm short, but even at five-six I was tall enough to know that these people obviously had no idea someone might want to look outside while sitting down. Reaching up, I pulled myself high enough to rest my chin on the windowsil and peered outside.
It was dark outside, I could see stars winking back at me through the rolling smoke coming off of the building. But that wasn't what made me stumble back away and fall right onto my ass.
It wasn't the fact that I was now suddenly on the first floor either.
No, it was the fact that my reflection wasn't the one I had grown used to throughout my many years of life. No blue eyes with odd little dark specks in them, or the short, red hair I kept dyed carefully every other month.
Hazel eyes, long black hair... And the face of a little girl with smudges of soot on her chubby cheeks. Looking down at my hands, I finally noticed the clothing I was wearing for the first time since waking up in the closet. A long, green nightdress straight from the 1960's or 70's. Bare feet peeked out from the edge of the hem and tiny toes wiggled back at me when I moved them.
No, this wasn't right, maybe I was dreaming in my last moments of life? A coma leading to death? Probably. Even with that assumption, I couldn't look away from my tiny hands, short legs and weird clothes. I couldn't move away from the fact that they so obviously weren't mine. Not even the sounds of flames could get me moving.
A loud crash from behind did however jerk me away from my shock and made me spin around to face the now open door I had debated on covering earlier.
A tall man with a long beard stood there in the doorway, his blue-grey eyes roaming around the room until they landed on me, obvious relief crossing his face as he moved towards where I still sat. "Darliene." He called, making me frown and furrow my brows. Now that name was definately familiar.
The man paused beside the other man's body, looking down at it with regret and sadness before turning back to me, a hand reaching out to me accompanied by a gentle smile. "Shall we leave?"
I opened my mouth, trying to say something but my voice caught in my throat. Tears welling up in my eyes as I stumbled back to my feet and tripped over towards the man. All of it crashing down on me as I reached out and gripped the man's hand tight. I had been burned, crushed and now my body changed! No one had better judge me if I cry, no matter how ugly it sounded.
"Hush now, you're alright." The man soothed, his arms coming around me as he tried to calm me down. "I am so sorry you had to see this. No child should ever have to." He murmured, a hand reaching up to rest on my small head as he let me cry into his clothes like the child I now apparently was.
"I-" I hiccuped, that familiar hiccupy sob I remember hearing earlier only cementing the niggling idea of just what body I had now. "I'm not Darliene."
I could feel the man freeze under my fisted hands, then slowly pulled back to study my face when I looked up at him, tears still streaming down my face. "What are you saying?"
"I'm- I'm not her. I... I don't know where I am!" I sobbed, overwhelmed by everything happening as I tried to rub at my eyes. "I was dying in my apartment building! Then-Then I heard voices and a little girl! I saw this green light and next thing I know I'm here! I'm not her! I'm- I'm-"
Let's just skip past the embarassing outbreak of screaming and crying, shall we?
A gentle hand on my head made me sniffle and look up again through blurry eyes. "We will worry about that later, for now let us leave this place." The man murmured softly, making me nod and reach up to take his offered hand to stand up. He sent one last glance at the man laying on the floor then glanced back down at me.
"Hold tightly to my arm." He instructed, reaching over to place my hand higher up so it gripped his forearm instead and offered a gentle smile when I squeezed my fingers tightly. "I do not know if you are aware of the magical community, and there is not enough time to explain. Please forgive anything I fail to mention from now on."
Before I could say anything, he spun around on the spot, his hand still covering mine to keep it in place. Darkness engulfed me, squeezing tight enough to choke off any air I might have. Seconds felt like hours as I struggled to keep myself from being crushed.
Then, just like that, it was over and we were standing on a dirt road just on the edge of a town. Stumbling away from him, I leaned over and gagged once I could breathe again. "Wh- What the hell was that!" I gasped out, turning to look at the man with wide eyes as he stared at me in amusement.
"Apprition." He explained simply, as if that explained everything.
Unfortunately, it did. It explained way more than what I was prepared for.
Only in one case can I think of where that word would ever be used. Only one world and let's be honest. A tiny tiny part of me jumped in excitement at the faint possibility I was right.
Straightening up, I tugged a hand through my tangled hair and grimaced at the long strands getting caught. "So... Uh." I stammered, eyeing the man as he eyed me back, one eyebrow raised up in polite inquiry to what I was saying.
"What's your name, anyway?" I managed to get out, earning an eye-twinkling smile from him. "Albus Dumbledor, I would tell you my full name, but I doubt you would remember it."
There it was, the cement I needed to finish building the brick wall I planned on bashing my head in on. "Dum- Dumbledor." I muttered, eyes popping open wide again as I gaped at the man, this time with a new light. One of the most powerful wizards alive in the world of Harry Potter just saved my confused ass from what I assumed to be a burning building.
And then just stood there with amusement written all across his face like it was nothing. "It is curtious to return a name for a name." He prompted softly, making me flush with embarassment. "Um... Sonya. My name is Sonya." At his nod, I smiled sheepishly and lifted a small shoulder in a shrug.
"You do know of the magical world then." He responded easilly, catching my attention once more and made me snap my mouth shut again. "I... Uh, I suppose you could say that." I muttered sheepishly, earning a piercing look from him this time.
"Look, I didn't plan this, so whatever you're thinking in that frankly magnificent mind of yours, don't." I waved my hands in front of me frantically. Last thing I needed was the one person who could believe my unbelievable tale to view me as some sort of threat.
"Then please explain, we have time." He waved a hand at the quiet town ahead of us and turned to begin walking, his strides slow so my shorter legs could keep up with him. "Where to begin?" I muttered, falling into step beside him as I rubbed at my face forcefully.
"Obviously I'm not from here." I said first, getting a soft hum from Dumbledor that I took for agreement before going on. "I came from America for one, and I was twenty five. The building I lived in was burning down and I was inside of it."
"You mentioned this earlier." He cut in, curious eyes drifting over to my smaller form. "Yeah... I don't really want to talk about it." I murmured, hands reaching up to rub at my cold arms as I pushed back the memories that began to resurface.
"Understood." He waved a hand, motioning for me to continue with my story as we turned down an empty road leading the way out of town. I pursed my lips in thought then continued. "I thought I died. The next thing I know I was in this cabinet or closet and in this girl's body."
Looking back up at Dumbledor, I studied his profile until he turned to look down at me. "Thing is, where I came from isn't... Here." I stumbled, trying to explain to this wonderfully kind man as he paitently waited.
"You, all of this-" I waved a hand around us. "Is a book. A story, a story about how Harry Potter fights an defeats Lord-" A hand clamped down on my shoulder, cutting me off as I blinked up at a now very serious Dumbledor.
"It would be wise to say no more." He murmured softly, eyes piercing straight through me and to my very soul as we stood there staring at each other. "I have no knowledge of a Harry Potter, however..." He turned his head to look at the house we had been steadily drawing closer to while we walked. "You will meet the family."
"The- The family? As in the Potters?" I squeaked out, my inner fangirl already in full on freakout mode. Would that mean I could meet James and Lily before they died? Maybe I could change it, fix it so poor Harry could grow up with his parents.
Serious eyes twinkled again as Dumbledor straightened back up and gestured towards the house with one long-fingered hand. "Of course, come now, they'll have recieved my message by now."
Message? I frowned in confusion. I never saw him send out a message, unless he did before coming into the house to get me. But, I don't see why he would have. Unless, he already planned on taking Darliene to the Potters before.
"Come." He held out his hand to me, that familiar smile on his face as I slowly placed mine into it and let him lead me up towards the door. Pausing on the stoop, he turned to me before knocking, a thoughtful look on his face. "I do not think I need to tell you the importance of not saying anything you may know about them and their futures."
Of course, it made sense. I had watched enough tv to know fucking with timelines could end up horribly wrong, no matter how good the intentions were. Biting on my lower lip, I nodded my head hesitantly, earning another smile before he knocked on the door.
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