A/N: Welcome to the start of what I hope to be an enjoyable story. I do not own Harry Potter or any characters canonically affiliated with the series in any way, shape, or form. Thank you.
1944 - Somewhere in Britain
BOOM
An explosion rocked the quiet street as rubble rained down onto a fleeing woman, her arms carrying her newborn daughter.
"COME BACK!"
She shivered as the bellowing voice loomed in the distance. Another explosion rocked the street, followed by several jets of light. Raising her wand, she barely manages to cast her shield charm in time.
"Protego!" she cries. The charm obeys and an invisible shield expands between the man and woman, just as the jets of light were about to hit her. Without looking back, she disappears with a resounding crack as the howl of frustration from her husband tears through the night.
A little ways away, she looks into the bundle in her arms, still miraculously sleeping even after the horrifying din that would have woken both magical and non magical folk alike but in times like these, no one would have been surprised. Making sure no one else was around, she walked briskly to the gap between two houses. Concentrating for a moment, the gap begins to grow wider and wider until a completely new house magically appears. Not wasting a second, she hurries inside.
The door to the basement is thrown open and immediately she begins to shiver. Her breath starts to come out in clouds of fog as the temperature drops as she continues down the stairs. At the bottom of the stairs was a huge icy cavern, with walls made of sedimentary rock and the likes. The bulge begins to squirm as she realizes that the cold finally woke her baby. Sounds of babbling and gurgling came from the swaddle of blankets as the baby fidgeted.
"Hush my child," the woman soothed as tears began to fall from her eyes. "I will keep you safe, where they will never be able to find you."
From within her pocket, she pulls out a letter and tucks it in with the blankets before suspending the baby in midair. "Strom! Calin!"
A ghost floats into the room, his eerie light illuminating the ground below him and at the same time, a loud crack sounds as a house elf appears before the woman. "Mistress Tempest," the house elf squeaked. "How may I be of service today?"
"Calin, you are to protect and care for my daughter," Mrs. Tempest instructed the elf. "When she wakes up, you will no longer stay here."
"Then where to, Mistress?" Calin squeaked.
"Back to the old family manor in America, far away from here. My wand will go to her," Mrs. Tempest replied.
From within her robes, she pulls out an elegant looking wand and places it into Calin's hands. The wand was aspen with a phoenix tail feather core, 12 inches in length exactly. The elf bows deeply once more and disappears with a crack. "Strom," she addresses.
"My dear girl-" the ghost begins.
"Strom please," the woman begs. "We both know he won't rest until he gets what he wants."
The ghost sighs and shakes his head. "You were always too stubborn for your own good."
"Please teach her our ways. And besides, there hasn't been another like you since you were alive," she says as she watches her daughter. "She will need help."
"Very well then, Katherine. Family helps one another," Strom grudgingly agrees. "It's going to be quite a long wait."
Katherine smiles wanely replying, "Only if you let it."
With that, Strom gives one last nod before floating away, leaving Katherine alone in the underground chamber. She narrows her eyes and raises her hand. Magic sparks from her fingertips and in a graceful movement, she sweeps her arms upwards and ice begins to appear, filling the entire cavern.
What was once a spacious area was now entirely filled with blue ice. She pants a bit from the effort and places a hand on the wall of ice before her. "When the time is right, you'll know. Goodbye my child."
With that, she's moving up the stairs again. A grinding clunk indicates that the door she had entered from was now closed, leaving nothing but chill and darkness for the years to come.
36 Years Later
"Oi, Dave! Get your arse on the ball. We've got to start today!"
A gruffy construction worker groaned as he pulled himself from his spot on the truck. He stared at the old rundown buildings along the street, or rather what was left. Most of the houses had already been demolished in order to make room for the new event center that was going to be put up. Now, these last few houses were the only left.
Dave grabs his coffee cup and drags himself to the operating machine for the wrecking ball and inserts the key into the ignition. The machine roars to life, ready for another day of work. By now, the other workers had cleared the area, giving Dave the space he needed to swing the heavy ball into the houses. Grabbing the controls, he gave a great heave. The ball at the end of the chain smashed into the first house, demolishing it like a house of cards. The ground beneath the next house began to crack. Dave frowned.
"Sean! I reckon we got another basement here!" Dave shouted over the noise of the engine.
Sean, the manager, looked at his list and frowned. "It isn't saying it on the list! Probably weak foundation!"
Seeing the go ahead, Dave shrugs and turns his attention back to the house. With another swing, the second story of the house comes crashing down. "One more swing ought to do it!" he shouts.
The final hit sends pieces of wood, metal, and rubble flying as the rest of the house was destroyed. As if on cue, the cracks on the ground began to grow bigger and bigger, leeching its way towards the wrecking ball while sections of the ground began to collapse rapidly.
Seeing this, Dave immediately leaps out of the machine just as it tips over and falls into the new hole. "Not a bloody basement my arse," he growls as he massages his backside furiously.
The curiosity getting the better of him, he peers into the hole. The sight before him is shocking. The house was built over an enormous cavern and it was easy to tell that the structure around the cavern that the house was built on had eroded away. How it managed to stay up was a miracle but beyond that was something that Dave had never seen in his nine years as a construction worker.
The cavern below wasn't empty, far from it. Aside from the piece of ruined machinery and rubble were huge chunks of ice, cracked and broken with small pools of water on the ground. "Blimey!" he exclaims in awe. "You're right Sean, it's not a basement. It's practically a bloody cave!"
The manager huffs as he stares bug eyed at the mess. "Forget the cave, the chief's going to have a field day with this!" he croaks.
A loud crack sounds throughout the house as a house elf and a ghost materializes in the middle of a grand living room.
"You've got the girl?" Strom asks, to which Calin shows the baby fast asleep in his arms.
"Muggles starting the day with an awful din. No respect at all," Strom frowns. "No matter. We are at the family manor now at least."
"Who's there?" croaked another voice.
"It is us, Calin and Master Strom!" Calin spoke, his voice slightly deeper but still squeaky.
"Calin? Master Strom?" A second house elf appears from the shadow, this one old and wizened. "It has been so long since another from the Tempest family has arrived in America."
"Kessler, Calin, tend to the child," Strom instructs. "We must warm her up. Get the crib ready."
The two house elves bowed and disappeared to the upper floors, leaving Strom alone. "36 years Katherine. Your daughter is finally awake," he murmurs as he stares out to the rolling green hills from the window. "36 years…"
"Albus!"
A tall elderly man with a pointed hat sitting atop his silver hair walked with a purpose down the ruined street. His half-moon spectacles glinted in the moonlight.
"Professor Dumbledor!" a woman cried out again as she struggled to keep up with the man in front of her. "Where in the heavens is this? Surely you would have returned to Hogwarts?"
"Not yet Minerva. I have heard the muggle news from today but seeing the events that have transpired today means that this is not something I can ignore," Dumbledor spoke in a heavy tone.
"But what do you mean? We haven't even resolved the other matter yet! The Potters, they had twins! Not just little Harry but Angeline too! Surely that must be of merit to discuss!" Minerva quavered, her worry lines creasing further.
"This matter concerns both the boy and girl. I have mistaken the prophecy but if what I am to discover is true then our next steps will bear an even heavier weight to them," Dumbledor spoke, quickening his pace.
Arriving at the scene, Dumbledor lifted the yellow tape and crossed into the scene with Minerva at his heels. The giant cavern was still there, though most of the rubble was removed. The ice and wrecking ball, however, were left alone. In a swift move, Dumbledor disappeared and reappeared at the bottom of the pit to which Minerva followed suit. Though the puddles of water had grown larger, he placed a hand on the ice for a moment before retracting it. Reaching into his robes, he pulled out his wand and incanted, "Specialis Revelio."
Around them, slight red and blue lights appeared briefly before Dumbledor dismissed them with another wave of his wand. A look of triumph appeared on his face. "Remnants of the Fidelity Charm and various other warding spells are still here. She was clever, very clever."
"What does this mean, Albus?" Minerva asked, now thoroughly confused.
"It means that the Potter children are in graver danger than we thought," Dumbledor replied solemnly. "It is only by luck that I had the forethought to instruct Severus to send Angeline Potter to where she is now."
"So is this it then? Is this all we can do?" Minerva asked.
"For now, yes. This is all we can do," Dumbledor replied. "We will discuss this again with Severus tomorrow."
Present Day
Five more minutes. Angeline Potter's foot tapped at her desk as she stared at the clock in the classroom, slowly ticking down to her freedom. She watched as Ms. Avacent began wrapping up the lesson and when the bell finally rang, Angeline grabbed her bag and booked it towards the door.
"Ms. Potter!"
She froze and her heart began to sink. Slowly she turned around to see Ms. Avacent beckoning her with a finger and a grim look. She sulked back to her teacher and caretaker's desk.
"Ms. Potter. As I recalled, I've been asking you to meet me after class for the past three days and none of the times you show up," Ms. Avacent clicked.
Angeline could do nothing but take a sudden interest in her shoes. "Your test results."
Angeline could see the slip of paper she had turned in earlier that week that she had taken her test on. On it was a big fat 0 written in red marker. "It doesn't seem like I did too well on the history test did I?" she asked in a small voice.
"Angeline, please don't take me to be a fool. The only way to get a 0 on a true or false test is to know the right answers," Ms. Avacent deadpanned as she added on a 1 and a second 0, giving her full marks.
"I understand you don't like class but please and try to apply yourself. You're kind, sweet, and caring-" Ms. Avacent began.
"Tell that to Martha and her girl squad," Angeline grumbles.
"I know dear. Just try and stay out of their way for now. It's more trouble than it's worth," Ms. Avacent sighed. "You may go. Enjoy the rest of your day and I may recall you're meeting with a certain someone?"
"It's not a boy Ms. Avacent! She's my friend!" Angeline protested.
"Oh yes. Run along now," Ms. Avacent smiled. "And do try to make it back on time, will you? Cold pasta just doesn't taste the same."
Beaming, Angeline gives the lady a hug and rushes out the classroom and into the garden. It was quite a beautiful and serene place, that is if Martha and her squad weren't around. Sadly, they were.
Like usual, they were sitting at the edge of the fountain, gossiping about who knows what. Steeling her nerves, Angeline prayed to whatever god was listening that she wouldn't get caught and began to sneak by. Halfway through the garden, the shrill voice sank her hopes.
"Well look who it is," a sing-songy voice trilled through the air as Martha hopped into view. "If it isn't little Miss Potter herself!"
"Hi Martha," Angeline squeaked as she started to edge by. "I was just leaving so if you could excuse me-"
"Leaving?" Martha gasped, placing a hand on her chest. "But we were looking forward to spending time with you! Isn't that right girls?"
A chorus of agreement and mocking eyes surrounded Angeline as she found herself trapped by the group. "Umm I really don't want to- HEY!"
The group of girls had already grabbed on to her and started to drag her towards the fountain. "You know, I'm really jealous of your hair. Such a sleek, vibrant red," Martha gushed as she ran her fingers through Angeline's hair. "I think you should show us just how well you take care of it."
Angeline's head was forced lower and lower as she was face to face with the scummy water at the old fountain. She could see dead bugs and old algae floating around. The stench was horrible too. Closing her eyes shut, she could only hope that whatever torment they were going to inflict on to her was going to be quick.
"Well, I think she just uses conditioner but even if you tried, you'd look more like a mangy wet poodle with your curls Martha," a clear voice rang out.
Suddenly, Angeline found herself jerked back up and knocked roughly to the ground. Atop the garden wall sat another girl, with straight flowing white hair and amber eyes. She smiled cockily down at the group. Jumping down from her spot, she landed gracefully on her feet and began to make her way to the group of girls.
"You know, I really thought you would've learned to stop after the last time I came around," the girl continued. "Truly, your hair smelled and looked like vomit for days."
Martha was visibly shaking as she pointed at the newcomer. "You don't even belong here!" she shouted.
The two girls were now face to face. In a blur of motion, Angeline found herself pulled forward as a body fell backwards followed by the splashing sound of water. Martha barely had time to scream as she was tripped and soaked in the water that she herself was going to torment Angeline with just moments ago. Even out past the gates, Angeline could hear Martha's scream of rage and stream of insults.
By the time they stopped, the two of them were doubled over with laughter. "Oh my god! Did you see her face?" Angeline gasped in between fits of laughter. "You're going to get into so much trouble Ariya!"
"I don't care but I think Martha's the real loser here! She's going to be spending the rest of her money on shampoo again," Ariya cried as she clutched her stomach.
After the laughter subsided, the two girls sat up. "Why did you come?" Angeline asked.
"Well, you were late again and I figured that Ms. Avacent might have pulled you aside after summer class but even then when you didn't show up, I figured it might have been Martha," Ariya explained as she flashed Angeline a smile.
She positioned herself behind Angeline and began to braid her hair. "Though I do have to say Martha was right about one thing. You do have really nice hair," Ariya whispered, her lips almost touching Angeline's ear.
Angeline immediately felt her cheeks heat up, feeling grateful that Ariya couldn't see her reaction from her spot. "Stop doing that!" Angeline cried out.
Ariya laughed, her voice as high and clear as the summer streams, the kind that made Angeline's heart skip a beat each time she heard it. "What? Can't handle it?" Ariya teased, her voice turning into a seductive purr.
"Ugh. I swear, you could have half the town's boys chasing after you for doing that," Angeline warned.
"Well too bad I don't like any of them," Ariya replied as she tied the band at the end of Angeline's new braid.
"I can't believe you have to go again," Angeline pouted. "Why can't you stay longer?"
"I've got business to finish up elsewhere. Not much I can do about it sadly. I'm glad I still got to celebrate your birthday with you but sorry I had to leave right after. You know how some of my trips can pop up unexpectedly," Ariya answered. "It also doesn't help that actual school starts soon. My boarding school starts next month and so does your school too."
"It's going to be a whole year until we can see each other again then!" Angeline cried. "Argh! I can't stand it!"
"Well, there are the holidays. I'll be back then," Ariya reminded. "You better get back soon. It's almost time for dinner. And I have to start packing. Again."
"Another trip?"
Ariya sighed as she helped pull Angeline to her feet. "Yep. This one's gonna keep me occupied for the rest of the month. After the trip ends, I'm headed directly to school. I'll be sure to keep in touch with you though."
After the goodbyes and the hugs, Angeline watched as Ariya retreated into the distance before trudging back to the orphanage. When she entered the dining room, Ms. Avacent once again rushed her to clean up before her meal, though giving her credit for being on time.
"Angeline, you have a visitor today. Be sure to finish dinner quickly and wait in your room," Ms. Avacent instructed as she scooped a steaming helping of spaghetti onto Angeline's plate.
The food was as excellent as ever. Giddy with excitement at the thought of a visitor, Angeline shoveled the food into her mouth as fast as her manners and the hot meal would permit. After hastily thanking Ms. Avacent for the food and excusing herself from the table, she flew back up the stairs to her room. Taking a minute to compose herself, she pushed open the door and was greeted with the sight of an elderly man. "Ah, you must be Angeline Potter," he spoke, his eyes twinkling behind his half moon spectacles. "My name is Professor Albus Dumbledor. Please take a seat. We have much to discuss this evening."
Please review.
~Polaris