The sun rose as it always had, it's blinding rays blanketing all living things along the coast of England. The water of the Thames continued it's relentless flow out to sea from central London, carrying with it the filth of humanity. Birds chirped, perched on picketed fences in the country side. The day had begun as usual.
One thing that was particular to that day was the awakening of a girl who'd been asleep for almost a year. Frozen in time like a true sleeping beauty, she had dreamt of a world she used to belong to, now long forgotten to her conscious mind. She would lose it all the moment she awoke. Her golden waves of hair radiated around her in beautiful rivers and her face was soft with the with the ignorance of obliviation.
Fort Maunsell groaned and creaked from where it perched in the water of the English Channel in the North Sea. From the deck of the abandoned World War Two fort, the coast of Britain presented itself as a thin line, barely legible to the human eye. Wizards and witches paced the hard metal panels of the fort that stood rickety above the lapping oceanic waves. The Order of the Phoenix was alive, albeit, not alive and well.
The wizarding war had taken it's toll on the small army, who had had to continuously change hideouts and safe houses. Fort Maunsell had held up well, surviving from the very beginning as the most protected and reinforced station. It was a set of seven hut-like metal buildings, all supported by a quadrant of metal legs above the water. The buildings were connected by cantilever catwalks and the sheer rust of the exteriors provided no rest for wandering eyes. It was the very paragon of decay, abandoned by muggles as a now useless concept.
The morning was cool with the notes of winter still clinging to the air. March on the ocean was not a forgiving environment, and those standing guard on the decks were consistently reminded of it as the wind tore at their vain attempts to preserve their body heat.
A shrill and unnerving scream woke every inhabitant of the decrepit sea fort before the sunrise had concluded. The girl was writhing in her bed where her arms were clamped down by magic-reducing restraints, the metal biting into her flesh as she fought to gain freedom. No longer a picture of peace was her face, as she shrieked mercilessly.
Ronald and Ginny Weasley reached the door simultaneously, glancing at each other temporarily before blasting it open. Three-hundred and forty-five days had passed since her accident, and no one had been sure if she would even wake. She had been rescued and taken as an uncertain good; perhaps a hostage, perhaps leverage, perhaps even an ally. The real reason behind her saving had been long forgotten with the absence of those who performed it.
Ginny rushed to her side and paused, a look of disgust crossing her face as she stared down at the other girl. She had never been fond of the Slytherin girl and now she was tasked with dealing with her. "Stop it, no one is hurting you," she commanded bitterly.
The girl stopped hollering and laid there shivering with terror and rage in her white nightgown. The room was inappropriately frigid from the lack of insulation. Her golden eyes were red with tears which ran down her pale face in streaks. She shoved her head far back into her pillow, arching her back like a cat and stared with hooded eyes between Ginny and Ronald, "Where am I? Is dis Hogwarts?" Her unused voice came out scratchy and hoarse with uncertainty.
Ron and Ginny shot each other grimaces at the mention of the name. The walls alone spoke for themselves that it was not Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardy they were in. The timeworn metal was rich with rust even on the interior, and the scent of the ocean and decay dominated the small room.
Ginny pursed her lips before finally responding, "No. We're at a safe house, on the ocean. What do you remember, Madeleine?"
Another two boys appeared at the doorway to check on the affair and Ron dismissed them. Madeleine's eyes were busy taking in the small room with wonder. Her breathing was unnecessarily ragged as her ribs jutted back and forth with the request of her lungs. When she finally spoke, the words came out dripping with her Parisian accent "Dere...dere was an accident. I was in a car accident." It was all she could muster as the tears began bristling again, only now they were soft and sad, "I was at Hogwarts...I was a student, and den I was in a car crash. I 'ad to get somewhere. I 'ad to be somewhere but I don' remember." She whimpered softly, seeming to have a sense of pain but unsure of why. She yanked savagely against the restraints again as though they would suddenly open for no reason.
Ginny pulled up a chair next to the bed and sat, Ron remained standing with an uncomfortable expression across his face, his ginger hair now hung long and wavy to his neckline. He was gaunt and underfed, tired from the war and from grieving the loss of loved ones. Ginny who had a similar appearance crossed her legs looking particularly pitiless, "Do you remember a man named Draco Malfoy?" She cut right to the chase, narrowing her eyes at the helpless girl.
The girl's eyes glazed over. She stared at the ceiling looking faraway and lost. Her eyes eventually slid to Ginny, and in a small voice she simply said, "No."
Ginny grinned wickedly, "Good. Trust me, he's the very symbol of evil."
Ron looked murderous and hardly let Ginny finish her sentence, "Symbol of evil? More like straight of bloody hell! If I ever get my hands on him I'll...I'll pull out his innards and hang him by his guts while he's still alive!" His yelling caused the girl in the bed to wince in fear.
"Ron, get a grip," Ginny warned, turning back to Madeleine, "He tried to kidnap you. We rescued you, but just barely. He's a follower of the dark lord, who has risen again. He's a highly treacherous death eater. And we," She motioned her hand around the room, "We are what's left of The Order of The Phoenix. We are fighting for our freedom against Voldemort himself."
The beautiful girl looked pale as she took in the numerous counts of confusing information. Ginny held her gaze blankly, allowing her to register what she'd just said. Ron kicked at the bed post restlessly, clearly wanting to butt in.
"Why did 'e kidnap me?" Madeleine feebly questioned with a puzzled expression.
Ginny sighed in exasperation, "He was obsessed with you. He raped you and forced you to marry him. It's better that you don't remember any of your memories with him."
Madeleine let out a cry of anguish at the statement. Even without the memory of anything that had happened, the thought alone that she had been raped and was forcefully married was punishing enough. She angled her head on the pillow to send Ginny a horrified look, "And...de dark lord has returned? What es 'appening in France?"
The question confused both Weasleys. "Nothing is happening in ruddy France," Ron barked in aggravation. His fingers were now wrapped angrily around the metal bars of the bed frame near her feet, "It's England that's burning!" His roaring tone echoed around the tiny metal room.
Madeleine looked uneasy, and Ginny finally offered some explanation, "He hasn't been able to take over anything further than England. Yet. Your family is safe. Not that they deserve it, filthy dictators."
"Why can't I remember anything?" Madeleine begged.
"When you were pulled from the car wreckage you were obliviated for your own sake," Ginny quipped, saying it like it was a fact and nothing more, "You probably think you're seventeen, but you're actually nineteen." The reality that the girl had lost two years of sentience clung to the air like a noxious gas and Madeleine shook her head in shock.
Almost as the words had left her mouth, Ginny watched the girl begin wailing again, yanking against one of her shackles, "My-my neck! It burns! Something is wrong!" Her tears slid out of her eyes in droves of hot currents. Ron sent her a pitying look.
Ginny closed her blue eyes without regard for the suffering before her, "There's nothing you can do about that. It's the Malfoy Crest on your stupid neck. We've confirmed it's unremovable. It's part of your betrothal to him."
They watched as she writhed and begged for it to stop. Her frail body arched and curled in misery from the scalding crest. Little beknown to any of the inhabitants to the room it was trying to call to the very person who had given it to her, somewhere far across the tides of the water, far across London, and somewhere deep in the country side at a certain demonic manor.
"You know how powerful she is, she's gonna burn the bloody place down!" Ron cried.
"She can't, she's being kept magicless," Ginny pointed to the shackles around Madeleine's wrists. When she finally laid still, panting and weeping, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Ron was digging his palms into his eyes to avoid the awful imagery of her torment.
Ginny stood and approached the bed, "Listen, Madeleine, we're going to need your help to fight against Malfoy and some other very dangerous people. You're an invaluable ally given his interest in you, and of course your Veela powers which you will need to master. Can we count on that?" She placed her wand against the shackles suggestively, her freckled face was cold with apprehension.
Madeleine's eyes drifted down to the display. She paused to consider the offer, albeit completely out of other options, and then gently nodded her head, "Okay. I will 'elp you."