MADISON ZELLER AND THE PERFECT WORLD
A/N: Harry Potter obviously doesn't belong to me, that's why we call this FANfiction. I only own the plot and some of the characters. All other rights belong to the wonderful J K Rowling.
Contents:
Chapter One: Maybe If
Chapter Two: Passbooks and Letters
Chapter Three: The Crusaders
Chapter Four: All Aboard
(More chapters coming soon)
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CHAPTER ONE: Maybe If
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Godric's Hollow was a very quiet village. Nine times out of ten, you could go through the entire day without seeing a car or van drive through the streets. The reason for this was that the nearby town of Helston, Cornwall was where most shops, cafes, parks etc. were located.
It was this fact that meant that the residents of Godric's Hollow were very relaxed about safety on the roads. It wasn't uncommon for children to play on the streets with their friends, scooting up and down, playing hopscotch, and generally disregarding any warnings about road safety.
It was on one of those days, in the middle of spring, that two young boys were playing catch by the side of the road oblivious to their parents' discussion about the rapidly escalating war. Despite the fact that this was supposed to be a happy occasion (or, at least, as happy as a farewell party could be before six members of the party went into hiding), the topic had turned to the war as it so often did those days. Back when they were teenagers, it was easy to ignore the newspaper articles, to smile and play jokes and ignore the looming darkness that was gradually taking over their world. But now… they weren't kids anymore. They couldn't hide from the truth.
"I hate to think that we're going into hiding while the rest of you keep fighting," said Lily, turning away from where she'd been watching her son and his friend, "We're going to be no help at all."
Sirius shook his head, "The most important thing is ensuring you three's safety. You'll be even less help if you're dead."
"Who knew you could be so sensible Sirius," laughed James, punching his friend lightly on the arm.
"Since the Prewett's were killed last week."
There was a moment's silence as the six friends honoured their fallen friends, broken only by the quiet chatter of the children and the whistling of the wind. Then, Alice sneezed, snapping the adults out of their reminiscing.
"Bless you!" said her husband Frank, pulling out a tissue.
Alice took it and blew her nose, "Sorry, I thought my cold was gone."
"Evidently not," laughed Remus, gesturing to the snot covered tissue.
Alice glared at him for a few seconds before letting out a giggle. This set the others off and they all burst out laughing.
Maybe if they'd been paying a bit more attention, they would have spotted the car. Maybe if they'd stopped for a second, they would have noticed how Harry had dropped the ball in surprise, being startled by the sudden laugher. Maybe if even just one of them had glanced over for a second, they would have seen Harry and Neville run across into the path of the car to get their toy. But they didn't.
And with a screech of brakes and a bang - history was changed forever.