So the comment from Sherlock Harry Winchester was so simple but it made me inspired to write this chapter so quickly. It also helped that Hamonicanoise helped me out so much. Please review and again any suggestions are welcome.

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter

Chapter 15

Jem woke up in a place that was familiar yet strange to her; the springs in the rickety bed felt oddly familiar, despite the alien feeling of chains lashing her to it. Wait… chains? Jem squirmed her way into a sitting position. Great. The chains were enchanted with spells even her father hadn't thought of yet, which meant Dumbledore himself had probably done them. Well, how about that. Jem almost felt honoured.

The door opened, and through it came the absolute last three people she wanted to see. James Potter, the beanpole with messy black hair, his wife (Jem thought of a stronger word, but didn't say it out loud) Lily Potter, stupidly gorgeous green eyes and all, and Albus Dumbledore, who had to throw his silvery beard back as he strode into the doorway.

Dumbledore drew his wand, pulling three wooden chairs out of midair. They sat.

There was a long moment, where the three stared and Jem could do nothing but stare back. Then, Dumbledore cleared his throat. "We should probably get on with the proceedings."

James, blinking in surprise, mumbled something like, "Yes, right, okay."

Jem decided to start out strong. She rolled her eyes and drawled, "Wow, this is who the Death Eaters are so afraid of? Pathetic. You're built like a grandma and have half the wits of one."

Potter didn't seem to get the joke, which was strange, as Jem had heard he was quite the jester back in his old school days. He started, "Alright, Alexa-"

"Jem," she spat. "It's Jem Lynn Riddle."

"No, your name is Alexa Potter. The sooner you accept that, the better off you'll be," James retorted. "Alexa-"

She spat on the floor in front of him.

"I know you've probably led a tough childhood with Voldemort, but we're here for you now. I'm not sure if you know this, but I'm your father."

"And I'm your mother," Lily chimed in, resting her hand on James'. Her eyes swelled with tears.

"And I'm a bloody llama," Jem said sarcastically. They recoiled in surprise. "A llama who's not as stupid as you lot, anyway. I learned the hard way that it's better to stick with Dark magic. Voldemort taught me that, and frankly, I think that makes him father of the century. You two are as much my parents as that old house elf that lives here…what's his name…Kreature? I like him."

"Of course she does," James muttered.

"Enough." With that one word, Dumbledore cast a heavy silence over the group. He continued, "Jem, I understand that your life must not have been easy-"

She could agree with that much.

"-but it doesn't have to be that way anymore. I know that despite all of your knowledge of spells and potions and strategies, there was probably one thing that you never learned from your father. And do you know what that was?"

"Love?" Jem laughed. "It's always love with you, isn't it?"

"Well, I was going to say a sense of manners, but ultimately, yes." Dumbledore's eyes twinkled. "Your mother and father love you. Do you know what it was that rebounded Voldemort's Killing Curse the day he took you?"

"He didn't take me, he-"

"Love, Jem!" Dumbledore exclaimed. "Your mother's sacrifice and love for you blocked the unblockable curse! Love is always the answer, and your answer is sitting right here, with us!"

"First of all let's get this straight, I have no mother, and my father is somewhere plotting my escape," Jem retorted.

"Please, Alexa, come home with us," Lily breathed, starting to sob. Pathetic. Her husband slung an arm around her back, pulling her close. "Your father and I have missed you so much. Please, there's so much we could show you, about love and kindness and compassion-"

"Emotions have never gotten me anywhere!" she shot back. "Do you think I haven't felt them? I'm human! But you know what they gave me? Pain. Endless, terrible pain at the hands of a man who cared for me more than you ever could, because he taught me what pain could really do!" Her voice was rising now, her emotions clear on her face, but for once, she didn't care. Lily's cries crescendoed, echoing off the walls of the room. "SHUT UP!" Jem screamed.

And like someone had flipped a switch, the sobs cut out completely. James rubbed her back and shot Jem a look like, How could you?

She knew she should have been ecstatic to see her enemy wailing before her, but all Jem could feel was a pit of emptiness and despair.

"Alexa-" Albus started.

"Jem."

"Alexa," Albus said stubbornly. If the old coot wanted to be stubborn so could she.

"Jem,"

"Alexa,"

"Jem!"

"ALEXA!" James burst in, unable to contain himself.

"Jem," Jem said, smirking after a short pause.

"Ale-"

"For the last time my bloody name is JEM LYNN RIDDLE!" Jem shouted exasperatedly. "Actually, to you, it's the Dark Gem."

It was silent after that. Jem refused to break the silence first. Albus was trying to get her to reveal something.

"My dear…" Albus finally said.

"I'm not a deer and I certainly don't belong to you!" Jem snapped.

Albus took a deep breath to regain his composure. He opened his mouth to speak, but there was a knock on the door.

An Unimperiused Rufus Scrimgeour opened it.

"Am I interrupting something?" he asked, limping through the doorway. "I hope not, as this is urgent."

"This is a very bad time, Scrimgeour," Dumbledore answered.

"Couldn't be worse," James agreed. Lily nodded.

"Well, that little she-demon is leaving for Azkaban right now." Scrimgeour nodded to a team of hired goons behind him.

"Shouldn't she have a trial first?" James asked.

"Must I remind you that she is the daughter of the most evil wizard of all time, and just tried to kill thirty Aurors at once?" he let out a wheezy chuckle. "There is no need." He nodded to his team, who took out their wands and levitated her off the bed and into the hall.

"Wait, please, she's our daughter!" Lily exclaimed.

"I'm so sorry, ma'am." He nodded to the gathering behind him. "You know where we're Apparating, correct?" His team nodded.

And before they could say another word, the girl was gone.

Jem couldn't believe her luck. She was going to Azkaban, the one place she knew that she could confidently escape from.

She heard the water sloshing across the front of the boat as they made their way to the island. A dark mist settled over the air, and it suddenly felt very cold. Jem let out a sigh and tried to keep warm despite the freezing chains that bound her.

As soon as she disappeared from the Order headquarters, she had appeared at a dock. The Aurors, not trusting Dumbledore's magic, had immediately replaced her chains and shoved her in a boat along with a few others, all within two minutes.

It had been a long time since then, so long that Jem could barely feel her legs. The mist was thick as syrup now, coating her surroundings in a layer of dull gray. If the colour had a name, Jem decided, it would be Hopelessness, because as they moved further and further into it, that feeling was etched deeper and deeper into her bones. Luckily, her father had prepared her for this. She was able to ignore it by going into an almost meditative state, completely focused on the thought of escaping. It wasn't a happy thought; the dementors would have a hard time taking it away from her.

Finally, a dark shadow loomed over the boat, and with it, the floating, robed forms of dementors. She could hear the whimpers and screams of the prisoners from the docks. For once, Jem wished her hearing wasn't quite so good.

The guards threw the prisoners like they were pieces of luggage onto the shore and left without a second glance. A new group of Aurors trudged down the beach to where the prisoners were. A short, stocky man grabbed her chains and began hauling her to the prison.

After several identity checks Jem and her guard were directed to a maximum security cell. Immediately after she was thrown into the room, the door clanged shut.

Jem wasted no time undoing the locks on her chains. She sighed in relief as they fell, rubbing warmth back into her arms and legs. The feeling was short-lived, as the twenty-odd dementors surrounding the cells immediately sucked away her good cheer. Suddenly, as the cloaked figures closed in, her knees hit the floor. She started to crumple the ground as she saw, playing like a film reel in her head, as everything she loved began to shift away...

"So, you're You-Know-Who's brat," said a mocking voice nearby. "Not so smug now, are ye?" The face of a prison guard appeared between the bars on her door. He tossed some prison rags into the cell. "Hope you're enjoying your Kisses." He laughed.

With a start, Jem jumped out of her stupor. She hadn't realized how close the dementors had gotten. Two or three had even taken their hoods down, exposing their grimy skulls. They moved back in obvious disappointment; Jem had become an emotionless void once again.

That was close, she thought. Her father's look of disapproval entered her mind, making her cringe. He would kill her if he found out about this.

Alright Jem, concentrate. She surveyed her surroundings. There was nothing in the room except a bench and a small window in the right corner. She looked into it, scanning the perimeter. Jem had hoped for a room overlooking the water, but she instead got one overlooking the building that she had first entered. It would have to work.

Silently, she broke the glass, using a technique that her father had taught her when she was very young.

"Whoa, there, girlie, what're ye doin'?" the guard asked. Jem stopped; she hadn't even remembered he was there.

"What does it look like?" She figured there was no hiding it now.

The guard just laughed and laughed. "Ya got guts, I'll tell you that," he chuckled. "The drop's around twenty metres down. Try to escape, and you'll fall to your death. Trust meh', no one has ever survived it. Or maybe you just want to end your misery? Ye wouldn't be the first to try that." He grinned crookedly. Jem noticed with a lurch in her stomach that he only had about ten teeth.

"You talk a lot," was her only response. She steadied herself on the ledge of the window and leapt upwards.

The one thing the Ministry hadn't accounted for was Jem's extraordinary strength; while an ordinary person would have died, she easily sailed onto the roof of the building.

She crouched down on the roof and silently made her way to the edge of the building. She flipped off but slipped, landing in the cold sand.

Jem ran down the beach, not caring if anyone saw her. She jumped into a boat and silently thanked Malfoy for teaching her how to sail. She was off in about five minutes and cruising at a speed much faster that she should have been going.

She had to get out of the bubble that the prison was located in. There were compulsion charms that would make boats that weren't being driven by Ministry-appointed people go in circles around the island.

Jem could withstand the Imperious curse, so shaking off the compulsion charms was not a challenge. Once Jem was through the bubble, she considered Apparating but found that the boat had anti-Apparition wards. It also had wards against doing any sort of magic. She settled in and waited for the boat to arrive at the port.

Several hours later the boat pulled into the harbor, and she parked in an empty spot. Jem hopped out and dissallusioned herself as quickly as she could. She was about to transfigure her prison rags into normal clothes when a figure that had been standing on the dock spoke. Jem was so filled with the excitement of escaping the prison that she had allowed her emotions to blind her once again.

"Ah, Miss Potter, just the person I was hoping to see," chuckled Albus Dumbledore.

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