Author's Note: I started writing "Bound", my first fanfic, fourteen years ago this month. At the time, I hadn't written fiction in twenty years and in places the story is clumsy and poorly crafted. I have also come to realize it was far too idyllic. The war would have been closer, their lives would have been a bit darker. This is a different version of the Marauders, Lily, Marlene, Emmeline and Anwen. They're all the same age, which is the other big change (Anwen is no longer four years younger). If you're reading "Manipulations to War" it's a good backstory. I appreciate anyone who takes time to read. MNF
Restrain:
A Darker Version of "Bound"
By Mutt N Feathers
Prologue:
Explode
3 June 1966
Hodgson Family Farm, Cardiff, Wales
The little girl stood among the damage and detritus of what was once a barn. She was shaking from both the magic she'd just expelled and her fear of what would happen next. Her little brother, two-year-old Islwyn, stood next to her crying. Her Tad and Mam rushed in, she picked the toddler up, and he surveyed the loss.
"I told you we couldn't leave him in her care," her Mam said. She gave her daughter one last seething look before departing.
"Anwen, there are two dead cows!" Tad screamed at her. "Why did you kill them?"
"I didn't mean to," the six-year-old wailed. "Wyn was playing in the hay I was trying to muck, and he was getting dirty, and I know Mam doesn't like it when he gets dirty that way. I kept moving him out, but he'd just go back in it. I just told him to stop."
"That's no excuse, Anwen. The barn, our farm – you destroyed it! Two cows, six chickens, and the lamb, Anwen. Go, get out! Go to the field or the stream, somewhere you can't hurt anything!" Cadwalader Hodgson roared at his daughter. She did just what he asked; she ran. She ran past the willow tree in the yard where she liked to sit and read, past the pasture where the cows grazed, even past the brook that marked the edge of their property. Finally, Anwen came to a stop at the dilapidated cottage she often ran away to. No one ever came here.
"I hate magic!" she cried into the pillow on the small bed, and eventually, she fell into an exhausted, fitful slumber.
Back at the farm, Albus Dumbledore stood with his friend, Monty Potter, surveying the damage.
"She did this all by herself?" Monty asked.
"Yes, her discharges are becoming more dangerous," Albus answered. "Her parents are very much against her magic."
"Violet was worried about this happening," Monty replied. "Her children all came into their magic early. Hard to believe that man was once as strong as his daughter."
"He has no magic now," Albus countered. "I disagreed with what Violet did, but at the time, she was desperate and had few options. What do you think we should do now?"
"As Head of the Magical Child Welfare and Protection Department, it is within my purview to remove Anwen from this household and put her into a magical one. We know she has magical relatives," Monty said with a twinkle in his eye. "As for the family, I propose we repair the barns, secure new animals, and Obliviate the parents and younger daughter. The toddler is unlikely to remember much."
"I agree," Albus replied wearily. "I dislike removing children from their Muggle birth parents, but I am concerned leaving Anwen here poses a grave risk of creating an Obscurial."
"It does," Monty agreed sadly. "Shall we get to work out here, then we can deal with the family?" Albus agreed, and the pair raised their wands. "Do you know where Anwen is?"
"She's about half a mile to the north," Albus answered. "She runs off to the same place whenever she's had a mighty discharge."
The sun was high in the sky when Albus appeared outside the cottage and knocked on the door. Inside, Anwen was confused by the action, as no one ever came to find her. Nevertheless, she put aside the battered copy of The Secret Garden she'd found and rose to answer the door. Upon opening it, she sighed, recognizing Albus immediately.
"You saw what I did?" she quietly asked.
"I did, and I fixed it. There are even new animals to replace the ones who died."
"They didn't die, Mr Albus; I killed them. I got angry, and I killed two cows, six chickens, and the new lamb!" Anwen became upset, and the little cottage rattled. Albus raised his wand and put a mild Cheering Charm on the girl to ease her anger, thereby quelling some of her magic. "How did you do that?"
"It was a simple charm intended to help calm you. Magic can do amazing and wonderful things, Anwen, and you're going to learn it all."
"How? My parents won't even talk about my being magical, much less let me practice it." Anwen studied Albus' face for a long moment, hoping she'd recall their earlier visits and conversations. "You're taking me away."
"Yes, Anwen," Albus said. He always talked with her honestly and as openly as was appropriate. Even when she was four and had their first meeting, he knew she was a brilliant child. This was his fourth visit to the Hodgson farm for serious accidental magic. He would never tell her of the language her parents used regarding their eldest child. Freak, abomination, and killer shouldn't be said about a six-year-old.
"Will I go to an orphanage? We visited one with my nursery class. We were to play with the children who lived and went to school there."
"No, Anwen, I'm taking you to a special magical family," Albus explained. "They have a son only a few months older than you. Would you mind if we sat and talked about it? My knees are not what they used to be."
"Pardon my rudeness, please, sir," she said as she moved aside to let him come in. Then, finding a single ladder-back chair pushed up to the table, he removed his wand and transfigured the small bed into a fine wingback chair and pouf.
"Wow!" Anwen whispered in wonderment.
"Definitely a wow. Magic can do wonderful things, Anwen. The family you're going to live with will help you learn how to manage your magic."
"They can't, sir. I only break things and hurt people when I do magic."
"No, Anwen, magic does not only create chaos. You do magic all the time, good magic, and you don't realize it. But, I promise everything will look brighter with the right people caring for you and helping you."
"Why are these people willing to let me live with them?"
"As I said, they have a boy just your age. So, when it is time, you will both come to Hogwarts together."
"That's the school you teach at, right?"
"You've remembered. Yes, I'm the Headmaster at Hogwarts," Albus said with a warm smile. "More importantly than their having a son your age, you are related to them."
"I can't be; I don't have any magical relatives. Believe me, if I did, my parents would have made me go there already." Anwen's whole demeanour had changed. She became withdrawn and sullen.
"Anwen, because they can do magic, they live away from people who can't. We call people who aren't witches and wizards Muggles. Muggles are often frightened of us. Most magical folks live in enclaves with others like them. I believe you will be happy at this home." Albus hoped to coax a smile out of her, but it didn't come. He then noticed the book lying on the floor, open and face down to hold a place.
"Were you reading this book?"
"I was, although some of the words were too hard for me. I like to read."
"That you understood any of it is remarkable. You are quite gifted, dear child, in many ways." Anwen half-smiled at the compliment.
"Should I go say goodbye?" Anwen asked in a sombre tone. Albus steeled himself to respond. This was often the worst moment for magical children whose parents turned them over. The rejection often took years to recover from, and occasionally, for children who simply were unable to move past it, extensive memory charms were done to help the children go on in their lives. This would be one of the few lies he would ever tell this exceptional girl.
"I have already said your goodbyes for you, as to make it easier on your siblings."
"Oh, it's just that my favourite doll is sitting on my bed –"
"Anwen, your things have been collected and will be at your new home."
"I see. Thank you, sir. I think it's time we go." Albus nodded and rose. He reversed the spell on the bed, returning it to its previous form. Anwen stood, pushed the chair under the table, and nodded. Albus took her hand and led her outside. There he picked her up.
"It would be best if you closed your eyes," he said. "Hold on tight." Albus Disapparated them from the lonely meadow, and the cottage Anwen had hidden in. It would be the last Anwen would see of Wales for many years.
They landed in front of the largest house Anwen had ever seen, and Mr Albus set her on her feet and retook her hand. She quickly counted twenty windows across on the front, which was five times as many as she'd had on the farm. Next, they walked up a path made of cobblestones to a front door that had three panels. She'd never seen a three-panel door before, anywhere, not even at her church.
The door opened, and a very pretty, older woman stood there. She smiled at Albus and then knelt to look at Anwen. "Welcome home, Anwen. My name is Fee, and I am so happy to meet you." Anwen nodded, and Fee directed them inside. Anwen supposed if she had to live away from her Mam and Tad, living in a massive house with a nice woman was okay. But, being magical, that wasn't something Anwen was sure about.