Livia Black felt her legs growing heavier every moment. How long had she been running? How far did she go? The short legs of a ten-year-old girl weren't helping in her flight for survival.

On the edges of the tree leaves, a lighter shade of green than before, Livia could see hints of sparkling gold… Sunrise.

"Help…" she whispered.

She wanted to shout so that someone–anyone, who didn't have a motive to kill her–could find her, but all that came out was barely even a whisper, muted by the rustle of the leaves.

Help. Please… help…

She wished for it, wished for it badly, as her legs finally let go, dropping her head first onto the damp forest floor.

Rubeus Hagrid was in trouble. He had promised Dumbledore that he'd be back by the 31st, that he'd join the Hogwarts faculty for New Year's Eve. But here he was, watching the first sun of the new year rise, as far away from Hogwarts as he could be. His broomstick, if anyone could call it a broomstick, had snapped in half, dropping him in the middle of absolutely nowhere.

"Should'a listened when Professor Dumbledore told me this ain' gon work…" Hagrid muttered as he picked up what was left of his broomstick. He was rummaging through his pockets–and he had quite a few of them–for the Portkey Professor Dumbledore had given him, when he heard a voice inside his head.

Help

The voice was ringing inside his head, and yet sounded so distant at the same time.

"Hullo? Anybody there?"

Please… help…

"What yeh doin' in my head? If yeh need help, yeh gotta tell me where yeh are!"

It was that moment, when a strong wind struck Hagrid from the side, turning him around to see a faint shadow of a small child collapsing on the forest floor.

"Yeh think she's al'right? She was dead-cold when I picked her up. What she doin' in a mid'le of a forest?"

"Well, Hagrid, I do believe she is very alright, and very alive, for that matter. I reckon she'd wake up any minute now."

Livia slowly opened her eyes as the voices of two people– one loud and rough, the other calmer and softer– flew into her ears. Her sight was hazy, but she could make out the outlines of two men, or, to be exact, one man and a giant, standing besides a fireplace.

"...Hello?"

"Ay! Yeh 'wake! Now tell me what yeh been doin' in that damned forest in the middle of the night, no parental supervision and all."

The owner of the voice was the giant one of the two; a big man with a scraggly giant beard, scraggly hair, and two beetle-like eyes that ― Hagrid. It had to be Hagrid.

The person next to Hagrid was clearly much older, and Livia could make out the half-moon glasses and the twinkling blue eyes that shone behind it. It was no other than the famous headmaster, Dumbledore himself.

"Now, Rubeus, let us not scare the child," Dumbledore said, and then turned to offer Livia a handful of…

"Would you care for some lemon drops?"

Livia nodded, not knowing what to make of this situation. She was safe, of course, except for the fact that her sister– who tried to kill her, she didn't forget– was probably already a death eater.

"So... What yeh been doin' in that bloody forest?."

"I was… Well, I don't remember, but I was killed. And then… I guess I came back alive?"

"Yeh were killed? By who?"

"Bellatrix… Bellatrix Black… and I think she's supposed to be my sister."

Both Hagrid and Dumbledore fell silent for a moment at the name Bellatrix, and she could catch a cloud of remorse in Dumbledore's eyes. It was clear that Dumbledore was faulting himself for his ex-student's wrong doings, as if he could have stopped Bellatrix from becoming the person she was.

"You must be Livia Black…" Dumbledore paused for a moment to find the right words to console a child who was nearly murdered by her own sister.

"Well, Livia, Welcome to 'ogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry– Safest place on Earth, if yeh ask me! That Bellatrix can't follow you here no more. I knew she was cra'zy enough to try to kill her own sister!"

"She wants to kill me because I'm a squib," Livia pointed out. If only she wasn't a squib… She would have run away from the Black family anyway, but she would have had a higher chance of living if she had some spells to help her along the way. And besides, what could a squib do in Hogwarts?

"Yeh… A squib? Yeh jokin'?"

"No, sir. I'm quite very serious…"

"Blimey, Livia, yeh can't be a squib. Yeh spoke inside my brains, remember? And yeh brought that wind– nearly toppled me over, a half-giant as I am– Yeh can't tell me that yeh a squib 'cause yeh ain't!"