Chapter Eleven: Jonathan
Jonathan joined the Royal Marines when he was eighteen. He was smart – best in his year – but he wanted to serve his country. Within four years he had been recruited by the United Kingdom Special Forces. The nature of such work was dangerous, and he couldn't tell his wife half of the things that he had learnt. But after five years of services he was honourable discharged, and left to peruse a dentistry degree.
While at university he met the women who would become his wife, the mother to his child and the partner at his practise. Despite settling into civilian life, he never gave up his exercise routine. He still ran, he still trained and he still went to the gym. He was mildly disappointed when his daughter expressed absolutely no interest in physical exercise beyond what he made mandatory but he didn't force it upon her.
He had been out of the serves for ten years, his daughter was seven, when he was taken by men in weird black cloaks that reminded him of robes. He wasn't even sure how they managed to take him down – at first he thought it was some knew weaponry. Then they started torturing him without ever laying a hand upon his person. And he realised it was magic.
At the time, he had thought that his time was up. That he was going to be taken from his wife and child by these men using a genetic quirk that he didn't even believe existed before now. And from what they were sprouting, just because he was different. Just because he didn't have this 'magic'. But he didn't give in, when they left him in the cell he tested the strength of the bars, the walls and the joints of the doors. He wasn't going to give in without a fight. It was then that the girl came.
She was small and pale skinned. Her cloths were old, dirty and frayed. The dirt was more than mud from working in the gardens and with animals (from the type of stains and hairs he could see), but there was also blood. Her hair had been pulled back into a tight plate which seemed to be used to keep it out of her way since it was very long. Like it had never been cut in the girl's life. Her face was without any scars, and although her eyes looked cautiously around the cells as she approached she didn't seem afraid.
The girl had placed a tray on the floor and knelt in front of my cell.
"Here," she said quietly, pushing the tray through the bars. I frowned, those bars prevented him from leaving, and the girl from entering but they seemed to let solid objects through. "Its food. I made it so it's safe. They're also potions to help heal you."
"Who are you? Why are you helping me?" Jonathan asked, moving cautiously forward.
"My name is Rose. And, I help because I can't free you." The girl, Rose admitted purple eyes were wide and sad. "What's your name?"
"Jonathan. Jonathan Granger."
"It's nice to meet you Jonathan Granger. You should eat quickly, I can't be gone for long. They'll notice."
"Who are you to them? Why are you being kept here?" Jonathan asked. "And what is this?" he picked up one of the phials that came with the food.
"That's a potion. There is three. One to help restore your blood levels, one to stop any internal bleeding and begin repairing the damage. And one to stop the pain of the cruciartus curse which is what's causing your hands to shake. I make them, to help while I try and find a way of getting you out." Rose explained, shifting so she was sitting cross legged in front of the cell instead of kneeling. "And the men who took you are Ryan and Rulphus. Ryan is my father, Rulphus my grandfather. They try and mould me into their perfect heiress. And while I am so young and without other uses, they use me to maintain their house. They can't afford more servants."
"And your mother?" Jonathan questioned after a long moment while he digested that information. He had accepted that magic existed – he had to with what he had seen and felt – but he was still trying to actually come to terms with what magic could do.
"Dead. Murdered the moment it was confirmed I would live." Rose answered bluntly, resigned to the knowledge of the type of people she was forced to call family.
"Why do you not escape? Leave this place?" he asked curiously.
"I can't. Do you know about magic?" Rose asked curiously, checking the watch she wore on her wrist.
"I have learnt that it is real." Jonathan answered.
"Magic is vast and wonderful. But it is also dangerous and deadly. My father and grandfather use their magic to hurt others. They don't see the wonder and the beauty in it. All the good it can do. Like the potions I made you. They are to heal, to help. But just as potions can be made to make life better, they can also be used to make life worse. Instead of healing a broken bone they can turn your bones to stone; instead of replenishing the blood in your body they can thicken the cells and cause a blood clot. For every good, there is a bad.
"What type of magic is there? Different forms?"
"Oh there are so many. You have the basics like transfiguration, charms, defence, runes, Arithmancy, potions and Herbology. Then you have the advanced magic like enchanting, warding and rituals."
"And do you know this magic?" Jonathan enquired.
"Yes. Most wizards require a wand to perform magic, and we aren't allowed access to one until we are eleven. It's at this age we are deemed old enough to begin learning how to use the gift we were born with."
"Wands. The men they were holding pieces of wood." Jonathan frowned.
"Yes. If you can remove a wand from a wizard he is defenceless. Most do not learn how to fight with their hands or with daggers." Rose explained.
"So you can't do any magic?" Jonathan clarified.
"Oh, no I can. They don't know that." she motioned to the stairs. "I am mostly focusing on potions because it's my escape, but I'm trying to get stronger with my magic. It's taking a long time because I don't have a focus and my body is not strong enough yet. I will get better with age."
"Right…" Jonathan was about to ask something else when Rose suddenly moved. She held her hand out for the tray which silently moved towards her.
"I must go. I'll be back, Jonathan Granger. Be strong. Good luck." And with that, she disappeared behind a door which suddenly appeared in the wall. Once the doors was closed, it disappeared back into the wall it had been before.
The girl kept her promise. She returned later that night with potions and more food. She also came twice the next day, and the day after that. While he ate, and recovered, Rose told him about magic and the world she lived in. The ministry and its system. The school she would be able to escape to when she was eleven. She explained the different branches to magic, and what that meant. She also explained the secrecy her world lived in and why.
Jonathan had been trained to withstand torture, to stand strong and unbroken against the odds. Ryan and Rulphus never asked him any questions because he was simple kept for their entertainment. Rose's aid, the knowledge that he wasn't alone and the distraction Rose brought allowed him to hold onto hope. Because he knew that he wouldn't be found – Rose had explained that the manner he was being kept in was unplottable to the muggle world.
When Rose wasn't talking about the world of magic, when he was feeling strong enough, he told her about his wife and his beautiful daughter. The two women in his life who were likely waiting at home, hoping for his return. Rose had managed to find where his things were being kept and snuck the picture he kept in his wallet out so that he would have something to hold onto and remember them by. He still wore his wedding ring, but being able to look on the faces of his wife and daughter, happy, smiling and laughing, they gave him strength.
It was the morning of his fourth day in captivity. He knew that he would be left alone for a few hours, hours in which he spent trying to sharpen a rock in his cell so that he could get through is chains. He was interrupted in his methodical scrapping of the stone by Rose. She never made a noise when she appeared, unlike his captives, so he was only alerted to her presents when he hear the cell door open.
"What are you doing?" he demanded, when he saw the door open.
Rose was carrying a bag with her as she darted into the cell and knelt at his side. "Getting you out." She answered. Placing one hand over the chains that held him, she frowned in concentration. "Alohamora."
There was a click, and the chains fell to the cell floor. Rose smiled in grim satisfaction as she pulled something from her bag. It was like a small clay human. Placing her hand over the chest of the clay human, it began to grow until it was approximately the same height and weight as him.
"What the hell is that?" Jonathan demanded.
"A golem. I'm going to need some off your hair so that I can make it take on your appearance." Rose answered.
"My appearance. You're leaving a decoy in my place?" Jonathan asked, reaching up and pulling some hairs from his head.
Rose took the hairs and placed them in a potion that she had pulled from her bag. She then poured the potion down the clay golem's throat. The skin started to ripple and bumble.
"If they think you're dead, they won't attempt to locate you. If you are ever seen by them in the future, they will simple dismiss you as looking like their long dead prisoner that they don't know the name off."
Eventually the golem finished taking on his appearance. The nightshirt that it was wearing was then transfigured into the cloths he was wearing, complete with tears and blood stains.
"What about my injuries?" Jonathan asked, frowning uncomfortable at the golem. It was very odd to see something take on your appearance.
Rose placed her hand on the golem's chest again before reaching out a hand to place on Jonathan's leg. She took a deep breath before gritting her teeth and chanting something he didn't understand. "Tire as feridas, entrégalles como dobre sobre esta persoa. Eu son o condutor, o transferente. Tire as feridas e duplica a esta persoa."
Cuts and bruises appeared on Rose's skin for a moment before appearing on the copies' skin and staying. Realising that she was somehow inflicting herself with his injuries in order to transfer them to the golem, he tried to pull back but Rose's grip was surprisingly strong on his leg and he didn't want to hurt her in order to make her release him. After a minute Rose lot out a shuddering breath and released him.
"Are you okay?" he reached forward to steady the girl.
"Yes, that spell doesn't leave any lasting damage on the conductor. But it's mentally and magically draining." Rose touched the copy one last time. "Animatus." Suddenly the chest on the golem starting to rise and fall. "I've given it enough magic to respond for another twenty hour hours then it will stop and it will appears as though your heart gave out. We must be going."
Jonathan nodded his understanding and climbed to his feet. He frowned and put his weight through the leg that he knew had been broken. It was odd, he could feel that his ribs were still broken, there were still cuts and bruises on his body that were stinging and pulling as he moved. Yet, the leg that he thought completely destroyed passed medical help was healed, leaving only the feeling that it had been bruised.
"The spell I used transfers injuries. I couldn't take everything from you without causing suspicion with the muggle authorities. But I could take the worst of it." Rose explained leading him out of the cell. She closed the cell door behind them. "Now, please remain calm. I'm going to call one of my friends."
"Call your friend?" Jonathan repeated confused.
"Yes. Floppy." She started firmly.
There was a pop and a creature appeared before them. It was around four feet tall, with pointed ears which were larger then humans but still proportional with the beings head. Its skin was an earth brown, and its eyes a sparking green. For a reason he couldn't understand it was wearing a butler's suit.
"This is a house elf as they should truly look." Rose explained. "Floppy, you know where we need to go."
The being – Floppy – offered its hands to them. Rose took one without hesitation. Jonathan however paused for a moment being sighing resigned. He had no reason not to trust Rose, who clearly knew far more about magic and the magical world then him. He knew when placing his trust in someone else was beneficial.
With a pop and the weird feeling of being displaced they reappeared in an alley way. "Jonathan, take this." Rose held out a folder which had been pulled from her bag. "It has the names of everyone they have taken before you since I found the dungeons. Their names, their likeness as best I could draw them, the dates they were taken and when they died. Some of them had messages for their families, can you make sure they get them and tell them I'm sorry that I wasn't able to help them."
"You can tell them yourself. Come with me?" Jonathan asked.
"I can't. There's something that needs to be done, and I can't do that from the muggle world. I'll survive, and one day I'll be free to live my own life. But for now, I must go back." Rose answered. "I've cast a spell on you. You can't speak of magic to anyone who doesn't already know what it is. So, when I free more prisoners you will be able to speak with them. Good luck, Jonathan Granger."
"Good luck, Rose. I hope we meet again." Jonathan answered, straightening his spine and offering the young girl a salute. "I've never met anyone braver then you."
Rose disappeared with her friend, offering him a sad smile. Jonathan remained in the alley for a moment, staring at the space the brave young lady had stood before he turn, clutching the folder close to his chest and leaving the alley. Looking around the quiet street his eyes widened in recognition. He was just around the corner to the police station in his home town. Not wanting to be stopped and questioned by the early morning rises, he straightened his spine determinedly and marched to the police station.
He wasn't stopped until he had stepped into the station. There were officers and detectives moving around the place, on the phones at the desks and otherwise moving about in organised chaos. He spotted the board room, where his face had been pinned up along with the other information from his disappearance. It was one of the people from inside that board room who realised who he was first.
"Major Granger." He called in shock, him and his team leaving the board room to approach him. The rest of the station fell silent and looked to take in the man who stood in the middle of the room. He was tall, stood proud and strong despite the ruins that were his cloths, and the blood stains they could see.
"Detective. I need to speak with you urgently. Could you have one of your men call my family while we talk?" Jonathan requested.
"Major, you're hurt. We need to get you to a hospital. We can talk once the doctors have seen to you." The detective disagreed, trying to step forward and lead him to a seat.
Jonathan didn't move. "I have a broken rib, cuts which have scabbed over or been sealed. Nothing that is presently presenting a threat to my life. I will go to see a doctor once we have spoken, detective." He answered before marching passed the man and into the board room. There was a hesitant pause before the detective and three of the other members of his team followed him into the room while the last person grabbed a phone.
"Major, what happened? How did you escape?" the detective questioned once they had all sat down.
"I was given help by another prisoner." Jonathan answered, gentle placing the folder he carried onto the table. He brushed a hand over it. "The men who took me, they were a father and son pair. Ralphus and Ryan, I don't know how long they have been doing this but they've been pulling people from the streets to torture them for a long time. They have no goal, no purpose in doing so. They just like the joy of causing other people pain. I don't know where I was taken, all I knew was that I was kept alone in a cell – I can't tell you anything other than the dimensions of that cell. I can't even tell you what the men looked like – they always wore white masks and black cloaks which hide them.
But Ryan had a daughter. They want her to grow up to be part of their 'family business' to take over from them when they die. Trying to break her spirit and turn her into something that will follow their every command. They make her maintain the house they live in. I know that they likely torture the girl since her cloths were dirty and bloody and she moved carefully, always aware of her surroundings and how much time she could spend in the dungeons before she needed to leave. She brought me food and talked with me. She was the one who told me the names of the men.
She said she always visited the prisoners, to help them as best she could while she tried to find a way of getting us out. I'm the first person she had managed to spring from those cells, and I tried to get her to come with me. But she refused because otherwise there would be no way of stopping her father and grandfather. This folder contains the names of every person that she knows they have taken going back years, but there are people she knows who were taken before she found the dungeons. Before she was even born. And they come from across the entirety of Britain. Their reach is far, and from the way she talked, I fear they also have power pretty high up the chain. She feared that if she came with me, they would simple disappear and start again. By staying with them, she now knows that she can free the prisoners."
"What was the girl's name?" the detective asked.
"Rose. Her name is Rose." Jonathan answered. He pushed the folder across the desk. "Take this, Rose included the last massages of the people taken in this folder. The families deserve to know the truth about their loved ones and their last words. When Rose frees more prisoners, I would like to be kept informed. They will need help to come to terms with what happened to them and I can give them understanding."
Before the detective could respond, Jonathan stood. He knew exactly how long it would take his wife and daughter to make it too the police station, and their time was up. He moved to the door and opened it just as his wife entered, holding his daughter's hand.
"Daddy!" Hermione shouted, tears already falling from her eyes.
Jonathan took two steps forward before falling to one knee so he could catch his daughter. "Hello princess," he greeted quietly, holding on tight to his little girl. He looked up when he heard his wife approach. Shifting his grip on Hermione, he stood while holding her against his hip. He reached his free hand up to trace Helen's face. "Hello, love."
"John," she whispered, closing her eyes as she reached up and held his hand against her cheek.
"Can we go home, daddy?" Hermione asked quietly.
"Not yet sweetie. Daddy's got to go see the doctor." Jonathan answered.
"I'll drive you to the hospital." Helen said, unwilling to be parted.
"I'll have a car escort you so that you're seen to immediately." The detective said, his eyes soft as he looked at the family that had been reunited.
"Thank you, Detective Chancy."
Word count: 3,538
Edited: 15/07/18
Please leave a review. Let me know what you think of the story. Rose will be back next chapter for her first night at Hogwarts.
