Disclaimer: Don't own Harry Potter, or anything you can recognize… Jk Rowling does. But if I did insert naughty thoughts here

Untitled for the moment

Dark

Cold

Alone

Scared

She lifted her head, trying to make sense of the outlines she saw before her. Who am I? Where am I? Lifting herself up and wrapping her blankets tighter around her, and her special package, she looked around. Moonlight filtered through a dusty window, making the room shadowy and mysterious. She sat on a chair and tried what had happened, why she was here. She drew a blank.

Suddenly she heard footsteps, she panicked. What had happened?! She felt, an urgency to remember before it was… too late.

The door swung open and at that moment she remembered. She screamed and leapt to her feet, still clutching her precious parcel to her breast. She glanced around wildly, only thinking of escape and saw the open window. Like a flash she leapt out and ran down the bottle littered streets of Bristol, desperately searching for a friendly, sober face. She heard her follower's footsteps pounding loudly, coming closer, and pushed herself to run faster, doing everything she could to escape the nightmare that chased her.

Finally, she saw someone, a tall man, his face shrouded in shadow. She dropped at his feet, panting, but careful not to damage the bundle in her arms. Breathlessly, she told her story, hoping like hell the guy was sober, and could understand her plea. She looked up, eyes shining with tears, and gasped. The man wore a black cloak, and a white mask, he was one of them. She whimpered, the tears pouring down her face, as she watched him raise a slender stick and pointed it at her head. She saw his grin, light glinting of his leer as he uttered an incantation. Her scream echoed into the empty night, to be heard by no one, as it was immediately followed by a flash of green light, and then, nothing.

The child in her arms slept silently, only its chest moving showed its living state.

"Took you long enough," grunted the man holding the stick, as the other bent over, panting and glaring at him. "I'll take care of the brat, you search the body, then dispose of it, no slip ups this time, we can't afford another investigation… got it?"

"Boss, I searched her while she was knocked out, this ain't the one, it wasn't there!"

"So the little mudblood hid it somewhere else… no matter, check again anyway, then get rid of her, no one will miss this worthless whore!"

"Got it Malfoy will do." (A/N it's not Lucius, or Draco, it's another one I made up, the ages wouldn't work out otherwise.)

The other man slipped into the darkness, carrying the woman's body, which was now a bone. Malfoy looked down on the sleeping child, watching it sleep, completely unaware of what he had just done to its mother, and last remaining family member. Finally sick of watching it, Malfoy raised his wand, only to here some noise coming from down the street. Looking up, and cursing, it was a wizarding house, Malfoy ran for it. Leaving little Katie lying on the road, to be discovered 2 minutes later by one Alastar Moody doing his rounds.

(14 years later, the house now containing Katie Brookes, adopted child of Thomas and Mary Brookes, and student at Madame Foster's house for young Witches, on her Christmas holidays of her 5th year, she is 15.)

Katie Brookes stood in the doorway of her bedroom, listening to her surrogate parents' fight. They were arguing over her schooling, again. Her mother wanted her to go to Hogwarts, the school she and her husband had attended, as she knew you could not get a better education anywhere else, all her friends children went there, some of whom Katie knew, and their were boys, always a plus in Katie's mind. However, for some untold reason, her father objected. Katie didn't like her father, he was a mean cold man, who bet his wife when he was drunk, never came home until late, and was very rude to Katie. Anyway, her father wished for her to go to Madame Foster, where they emphasized the dark arts, much to Katie and her mother's dismay, and had no boys, strict rules, and was rather close to home.

Tonight, Katie's father had come home late, again. Katie had just come home from her school, and on a hunch, had left her trunk packed, added a few things from her brothers wardrobe, filled a bag with her savings, and some money she had taking from her father, and had gotten her wee brother dressed, discreetly, in clothes warm enough to travel in. Her wand was up her sleeve, and the bags and her trunk camouflaged in the corner of the room. Upon hearing a scream, seeing a flash of green light, Katie whipped inside the room, her long dark, auburn/brown hair flowed behind her and her piercing green eyes widening in fear. There was only one spell that could cause that color, Avada Kadavda, the killing curse. Pressing herself against the wall, she shifted her wand in her sleeve so she could use it as soon as the door opened; Katie positioned her self on the wall beside the door. A door was flung open, but it wasn't Katie's!

At the sound of the door, Doyle awoke with a start and began wailing loudly. "Shut up!" shouted Thomas, as he advanced on the child. He reached into the cot and roughly hit him in the head. This only provoked Doyle, and he wailed louder. Raising his hand again, Thomas heard a noise, and spun round.

Katie had tiptoed from her room, and down the hall, towards Doyle's room. She walked into her father, seeing his eyes blazing and hair sticking out every which way.

"You!" he said, glaring violently at her "This is all your fault!"

Not wanting to hear any more, Katie drew her wand and shouted "Stupefy," watching his eyes bulge at the sight of her wand before he collapsed. Jumping his body and rushing over to the bed, Katie picked up Doyle and cradled his head, putting her cool hand on the bump and whispering soft words to calm him down. Upon seeing his wound, Katie suddenly remembered why she was in her, and, carrying Doyle, hurried down the hall to her room. Grabbing her pack and slipping it on her back, careful not to hit Doyle's head, then, waving her wand, Katie whispered "wingadium leviosa" and guided her floating trunk down the stairs. Turning Doyle's face away from his mother, she cast a quick "no transfiguration charm" and a "stick floor charm" making sure her father had no way of removing the body. Grabbing some papers from the side board, thanking god her father hadn't destroyed them, although they were imperious to most forms of magic, she walked out the door. Setting her trunk down and placing the papers on top of it, Katie used a spare arm to stick her wand out.

The Knight Bus soon arrived, and Katie stepped forward. "Could you please help me with my trunk?" she asked her voice shaking with repressed tears.

"elp oo with your' trunk, ok, oh, and by da way, welcome to the Knight bus!"

Giving the conductor a shaky grin, Katie entered the bus and deposited her bag and Doyle on an empty bed, before going back out to help Timmy with the trunk. When everything was aboard, Katie paid Tim, with a big enough tip to get 2 glasses of water, and bumped up in the queue to first. She settled down to get to Hogwarts, or Hogsmeade, as Tim had said that was as close as they could go.

As luck would have it, their next flag down bought them straight to Hogsmeade, and Katie gathered her things, heading towards the imposing gates of Hogwarts.

She closes in on the gates, clutching Doyle close to her chest. He whimpers and says "Kitty Kat, I'm scared…"

"I am too" replies Katie, kissing his forehead, "But don't worry, Dumbledore will know what to do." "I hope," she added, more to herself.

They arrived at the gate, and found them locked. "Oh god no… this can't be happening" said Katie. "We need to get in!" This last part she cried out, kicking the gate lightly, although that was more to quell her own feelings then to hurt the gates. Unfortunately, the gate had not been informed of this, and retaliated.

"Ouch!" cried Katie, nearly dropping Doyle in an effort to clutch the offended appendage.

"Ello, wat are you doin ere at dis time o night, wailing like a banshee 'n' all." Asked a huge man, peering at them on the other side of the gate. "You're not death eaters are ya," he asked, then seeing Katie's tearing eyes, and watching her efforts at hold Doyle whilst clutching her foot, he answered his own question. "I guess not, a Death Eater wouldn't kick a gate, or carry a kid at that… Hey little fella!"

"Hewo miser, I am the dingle, and dis is my sissa Kitty Kat, we is here to see Dumbles door cause dad use da green light, and give me a bumpy on da head!" At this, Doyle rubbed his head and continued, "Da bump made me sleepy but Kitty Kat said no sleepy Dingle, not till we see Dumbles door!" Doyles face lit up at remembering everthing, "And dat's why we is here…. Why is you so big?"

"Sorry about Doyle here "I am the Dingle" said Doyle he just tierd, and sore… come to think of it, so am I, we came from Bristol, to see Dumbledore, but first I want to get this little one to so medical care, I think he may have a concussion, do you have anywhere we could put him, just while I speak with Dumbledore, then we'll be on our way. You see, it's rather important!" She said this all rather quickly, and it took the man a while to respond.

"O' course you can come in, I'm Hagrid by the way, the groundskeeper, we have a hospital wing here, the littlun tike can get checked out there, and I'll take you to Dumbledore… just let me open the gate." Just then, Hagrid gripped a large handle protruding on the side of the wall, and pulled, making the Gate slowly scrape open, and filling the night with a loud groaning sound.

"Thank you so much, just let me grab my trunk, and I'll be inside." Katie said, visibly drooping with relief, now that she had got to Dumbledore, she could stop being strong. Hagrid grabbed her trunk, and carried it with one hand. Gaping at his strength (it was a heavy trunk) she followed, carrying Doyle. She gasped and span around, looking at the grounds in amazement. Madame Foster's was nothing like this, it had no grounds, and was dark and foreboding, nothing like the immense welcoming castle of Hogwarts.

About 10 mins later, Hagrid said, "This is the hospital wing, I'll have a quick word to Poppy, she's the nurse, then we'll leave the tike with her and I'll take you to Dumbledore." Seeing her worried look, he added "Don't worry about the Kid, Poppy 'll set him right, and won't let him get into anything, heck, 10 to 1 she'll have him tucked in a bed by the time you come back down." Seeing she still looked worried he asked, "What's the trouble?"

"I, well, my father might come!"

"Don't worry about that, what with all these death eaters about, the only way to get into the castle is through the gates, and they're locked tight, no one else 'll get into here till morning!"

Sighing with relief, Katie followed Hagrid into the whitewashed hospital room carrying the now almost sleeping Doyle.

"Hagrid, I didn't expect anyone at this time of night, why are you here?" a tall woman with an imposing air and shoulder length black hair asked.

Creeping out from behind Hagrid's immense bulk, Katie said shyly, "It's my brother mam, my father (at this she spat, much to the disgust of Madame Pomfrey) hit him on the head, and he has a rather large bump, and I think a concussion, I kept him awake jus in case, could you look him over then let he go to bed, I'd say he's fair tired."

Madame Pomfrey looked the girl up and down, then the child in her arms, obviously almost asleep, softening visibly she said "Of course dear, just pass me the little man and I'll fix his bump no problem." Smiling at her, she reached out and carefully received Doyle and touched a hand to his forehead. "You did well to keep him awake, he has a concussion, I'll give him a potion to get rid of it, along with something to give ham a peaceful sleep," Looking Katie up and down she also said "I could give you some to if you like, you look dead on your feet1"

Thank you but no, I have to see Dumbledore, but thank you for helping Doyle at this, a yawning Doyle said, "I am the Dingle" Hagrid said he would take me to the professor."

Sniffing with a look that obviously said you should be resting, she nodded her head and proceeded to grab various potion bottles for Doyle, "you come straight back here from Dumbledore's and I'll give you a bed and some potion to, Ok!" she said this in a tone clearly telling Katie not to argue.

"Thank you, I'll do that" Katie replied, before following Hagrid, who had just exited, "Bye Dingle, see you soon."

Sorry to end it just there, but I really wanted to post it, New chapter soon.

I hope you like my story. This is set in the Marauder times and will become a Remus/OC soon.