Part 1

Chapter Four

Jayde Pierce

It was late afternoon when Jayde Pierce entered the small town of Garbete to do a little dinner shopping. She always enjoyed these trips because it was a chance to get out of the house for a while and away from her suffocating older sister. She knew Brittany didn't mean any harm by it, but sometimes it just got old. Their mother and father were gone and Brittany felt like it was her job to be the parent, but it wasn't. Jayde missed just having her sister, the Brittany who use to sneak chocolate into her room late at night or tickle her belly.

Jayde sighed and pushed a strand of black hair away from her ocean blue eyes. It was nice just to get away for a while and look at the shops. As she walked through the small village she stopping to say hello to a few friends here and there while also looking inside various shops. There were lots of little things around town like a store for magical home care, a broom shop, advertising the latest in quidditch wear, and a book store which she found the most interesting.

When she entered the shop keeper gave Jayde a friendly nod, but something felt off. His heart felt worried for a moment, but quickly returned to friendly flutter. It was strange, but then again maybe he had thought of something he had forgotten to do, like order more copies of Magic Weekly.

Jayde browsed various titles and opened the ones that seemed interesting to her. She felt her lip turn down into the infamous 'Pierce Pout' as she thought about how unfair it was she would never get her first wand or learn to do real magic.

The death eaters forbid anyone considered unworthy from doing even the simplest spells. Half bloods were allowed to practice what their family knew, but only pure bloods were allowed to attend school. Half-breeds could only use magic for the entertainment or assistance of others with better blood. Worst off were the muggle-borns, Many of them hid among muggles or ran for their lives. If you couldn't prove your patronage you were as good as dead.

The thought of them made her young blood boil. If given the chance she would gladly fight to the death, just like her parents did, for the right to use magic. She even begged her sister to teach her how to fight; Brittany however refused to teach her anything useful other than a few handy potions for cleaning clothes. Jayde wanted to hate her for it, but she had to remind herself that Brittany's magical education was only that of a second or third year at best.

She flipped closed the monster book she had been peering at and walked back to the door

"Err…. Don't stay in town long."

Jayde cocked her head to the side curiously. Since when did the old book clerk speak English? She had never heard him speak it before and frankly he never struck her as an intelligent man. She understood enough to know what he said, but it was why he said it that puzzled her.

She nodded to show she heard him and walked to the grocer, thinking it over as she went. Other strange things around the town started catching her attention after that. The streets were oddly empty; most of the towns' people would spend their evenings sitting outside gossiping with one another, yet it seemed as though everyone had closed up early.

Jayde entered the small convince store wondering if it was some holiday she had forgot. She picked out the fruits and vegetables her sister had asked for, along with some herbs. Her puzzled thoughts stopped when she spied a large red trunk filled to the brim with every kind of candy a thirteen year old the size of a ten year old could dream. She poured over the large trunk of candy from the Weasley Brothers, practically drooling. She counted the change in her pocket hastily. Not enough, her sister would probably kill her for wasting even one Kunut.

She looked over her shoulder but the keeper was no where insight.

'He wouldn't notice if one small liquorish snap went missing' Jadye thought as she stick her hand into the trunk to look over the goods.

The shop keeper snatched at her wrist just as her hand was about to slip the small candy into her pocket.

"Ah what have we got here? A little thief!" He snarled at her. His breath reeked and his missing teeth did nothing to help one bit.

"Let me go!, I was just looking I swear!" She struggled to pull away but it was no use. His grip was too tight.

"You're the little half breed filth from over the hill. I should have known better then to trust you alone in my shop. Turn my back for on moment and you're snatching up whatever your greedy little hands can grab"

"No! It's not like that! I was just looking". Jayde dropped her basket and tried to scream for help.

"I think I know just what to do with you. I've got some friends in town; they'll have a nice time teaching you not to steal." One look at his heart made young Jayde feel sick. He enjoyed the thought of handing her over to the Death Eaters.

"Let me go! Mr. Fabray will curse you alive if anything should happen to me!" She shouted as he dragged her by the arm down the street.

"That mud-blood lover won't touch me" he snarled dragging her inside the local bar.

"Avery! I have some filth for you to clean up." He said shoving the small girl into a nearby chair.

Jayde stumbled and shot a death glare back at the old man who betrayed her. From the back of the room came a low chuckle that made her feel uncomfortable.

"My..my, Aren't we the feisty little thing?" Jayde turned to face the amused man.

Much to her surprise he was tall and very handsome. His chizzled features were turned up into a warm inviting smile, his dirty blond hair neatly combed back, and his black suit looked perfectly tailored for him.

"Tell me Garvois, what terrible atrocity has the poor girl committed, hmm?!"

He raised his eyebrows expectantly. It was clear he didn't find her worth his time in the slightest. His friends looked annoyed that their card game had been interrupted. Avery's French was good, but there was still a small hint of an accent which she picked up on, yet another Englishmen. Why were so many turning up here in Garrbet all of a sudden? The only English people she ever spoke with were Quinn and her family. True her understanding was much better than her sister's because Jade practiced, but that didn't stop her from being very confused.

"This Veela scum was trying to steal from my shop!"

"I was not!" Jayde shouted in her own defense and tried to push the old decrepit shop keeper away.

"I see and what was it she was trying to steal?"

"Candy, Monsieur."

Jayde's heart began to pound rapidly as the handsome mans smile left. She could feel his emotions turning black with hate. More often then not, Veela in the hands of Death Eaters were forced into exotic dancing or prostitution, or so her sister had warned. Tentatively she took several steps back toward the door preparing to run if it came to that.

"Candy!, You brought me a child because she stole candy!" He snarled.

The simple rumble in his voice was enough to make the waitress standing nearby jump. The man took note of the fear in everyone's eyes and took a moment to calm down. Jayde could feel his relaxed emotions slowly returning which made her wary. Her papa always told her to watch out for looses canons. At the time she had no idea what that meant, but now she was pretty sure she knew.

"Darling child, come here please." He said calmly reaching out his hand for her.

Jayde simply shook her head no. The man once again smiled. She could also feel the grimy shop keeper smirk knowing she was about to be punished. All she wanted was to return home to Brittany and never leave again.

"I promise if you come to me now you will not be harmed." She could feel a nearby waitress become consumed with worry.

From the corner of her eye she could see the older women shake her head no, but what choice did she have? She knew she couldn't trust him, yet she knew if she defied him it would be worse. Slowly Jayde stepped toward the handsome man who went by Avery. Tentatively she reaching out her own hand for his. His face lit up with another warm smile as he took her hand. He seemed very pleased by her obedience.

"See Garvois, dealing with half-breeds and children takes patience. True we may rule over them, but a kind and forgiving master will always have the most loyal subjects."

Avery pulled Jayde in closer to sit on his lap. He must have assumed, like everyone else, that she was much younger than she really was. It was a common mistake, but she said nothing. She didn't understand why he was being so nice. Why didn't he just beat her and get it over with already?

"What is your name beautiful?"

"Jayde, Monsieur" she croaked

"Did you steal candy from this man?..Ah!..Don't lie, Lying gets us into trouble."

She opened her mouth to protests, but when he stopped her Jayde went quiet before giving a tiny nod through clenched teeth.

"Tisk, you know that stealing is wrong do you not? Some wizards like Mr. Garvois are not as forgiving as I am. Do you promise to never steal again?"

"Yes, Monsieur." She said softly

"She's only telling you want you want to hear! I know the type…filth all of them!"

"Good girl" He said patting her long dark hair and smiling at her. From his pocket he pulled out a few coins and tossed them at the shop keepers' feet.

"That should cover whatever she took. Now get out of here!, Oh! And if you waste my time again I'll rip your remaining teeth out the muggle way; with a wrench."

He kept a firm grip on Jayde's side as he turned a little to speak with the older waitress, who was still overly concerned for her well being.

"Bring out a jar of candy for my beautiful new pet" the women quickly scampered away and returned with a bowl of chocolate frogs. Jayde's ears rang with the word pet. That did not sound good to her.

"Go on. Have one." He nudged her.

Begrudgingly she took a frog a nibbled on its leg.

'If I make it out of here I'm never going to going to eat candy again.' Jayde swore to herself.

From outside she could hear old sound, but didn't know what they could be.

"Please Monsieur; I need to get back home to my sister." She said trying to get up and leave, but his hand held her firmly in place. Avery's frown returned.

"I'm sorry little one but you can't leave. You're mine, I've taken responsibility for you. That means I must protect you and make sure you no longer get into trouble. You'll find I can be a very giving master. In return you will serve me—just little thinks like fetching me dinner and beer because you're so young. Is that not fair?"

Jayde whimpered and nodded. All she wanted to do was go back home to Brittany.

Her attention was drawn to the strange noises outside once again. They turned into a mix of shouting and screaming. The sound of explosions rattled the windows. She could just make out a large duel of no less then twenty people outside. Many appeared to be town folk fighting one another. There were a few black hooded Death Eaters fighting along with sympathizers.

Avery grumbled something Jayde did not understand and released her from his lap. She stood and backed away from them as he and his men reached for their wands. There was an even louder blast form outside which had Avery reaching for his wand, as did his men.

"Don't!"

Jayde looked around to see the worried waitress holding a wand to the regal Death Eaters' neck. When had she snuck up on them? The older women shouted something that had her name in it, but Jayde didn't understand. She was too afraid to move.

"You're outnumbered filth!"

The door to the bar slammed open and the book clerk entered with his wand pointed at the small group of Death Eaters. Jayde could see wizards still dueling out in the center of town.

She looked back at the book clerk, but he no longer looked the same. His chubby features were contorting and twisting violently. She looked back and saw the waitress was suffering from the same affliction. The image was so grotesque that Jayde wished she hadn't eaten the chocolate frog, for fear of losing it. The clerk was soon replaced with a much thinner and younger looking man. His hair was shaggy,long, and nearly covered his brilliant green eyes. Out of his pocket he pulled out a pair of specs and tossed Jayde a small wink, which seemed to revive her nerve. He only said one word to her that she understood perfectly.

"Hide"

Handsome Avery began to laugh. He seemed overjoyed that this young man was standing there in front of him. Jayde ran and hid behind the liquor bar before both wizards started sending jets of light at each other. The old waitress, who was now a young woman with mousy brown hair, stood fighting off the other grunts.

Jayde heard a series of blasts, accompanied with yelling and moaning. It sickened her that all she could do was hide, but what made it worse was that she was afraid. Never in her whole life had she felt so weak. Tears fell from her cheeks as she covered her eyes and ears. This is how her life would end and she wasn't even going to fight back.

The battle ended just as quickly as it had began. It was too quiet and a part of her wondered if they had all killed each other, but when she felt young women's touch on her shoulder, she knew the good guys had won. The now young waitress took her hand and led her out to the porch step, where the shaggy haired man sat looking at the early evening sky. The two exchanged more words that she didn't understand, but Jayde took a seat next to him none the less. The towns people who had also fought stood in the center of town taking care of the wounded and congratulating each other on the small victory. After a moment she felt a playful nudge to her arm.

"Do you speak English Jayde?

"Oui…err…yes, some… I understand some. I do not know much, but some."

The young man smiled and nodded his head. He looked to his friend who nodded.

"Do you know who I am?"

"…No, Monsieur."

The young man took a look up at the purple and red sky for another moment before looking back and holding out his hand for her to shake.

"Harry Potter"

Jayde giggled for a moment. There was no way he could be the boy who lived. Harry Potter was dead or worse. The women behind her smirked and Harry held up his hair so that she could see a distinct scar that looked like a lightning bolt down his forehead. The young Veela stopped laughing and looked as though someone had just confounded her.

"How would you like to come with us Jayde and learn magic?"

Jayde's eyes lit up right away when she heard the words 'learn magic'. It was all she had ever dreamed about since her parents had died. Brittany would be so happy to hear about all of this.

"Oui! Yes! I would love this! My sister…is…" she pointed to the hill where she lived.

Harry and the other women frowned. They looked very sad.

"We can't. There are only a few of us and there are many Death Eaters over there. Avery got away. I'm sure he will alert them. We must leave now. You have to choose."

Jayde looked confused and frustrated. She couldn't just leave her sister behind, but then again when would she ever get the chance to learn magic from Harry Potter ever again? She whipped away a few tears.

"You'll see her again one day, I promise."

Jayde looked to her house on the hill. Brittany would forgive her, but it didn't make the choice any easier. She turned back to Harry and gave a small nod.

The young women gave her a hug and took her had. Harry stepped out into the street and pointed his wand in the air;the dark mark swirled from the tip. Another near by wizard set some of the houses on fire.

"The people are safe, We've planned this rescue for months. The Death Eaters won't look twice if they think their own did it. It buys us time to cover our tracks. Are you ready?"

Jayde looked around once more at the life she knew. It was time to move on and fight for the rights of her people. The few towns people that were left broke off into small groups and locked hands. There were several loud popping sounds and then they were all gone.


End of Part 1