Interlude: Part 1
The Stage
The alarms came at a price.
The village was never rich to begin with. Every so often, a well to do witch or wizard would parade their way to town, promises like kisses enduring for a better place, a more exciting end for this town between the country and the high life.
It wasn't the people, they'd say, it was the land that always brought them down. Surrounded by nothing on all sides. A forest, filled not with magical wonders, but old-fashioned rabbits and deer of no particular consequence, on one side. On the other, a lake, teeming with fish of all sorts, of the muggle kind of course. It was a travelers town- a place to stop from here to there, but nothing more. A place easily found, a nice place to rest they all said, but just as easily skipped completely. The calm waters and dreamy trails did more to attract stray muggles than anyone else, though the charms embedded in the town's stones kept them from straggling too long.
They had never been a target for anyone, whether it be good or evil intentions. They had never had a reason to fight- they would be the first to admit they had nothing to give. They were willing to lend a hand, but never called to the occasion. It seemed that somewhere along the line, Sundance had been left off the map.
Literally. Whereas Sundance should have been placed between Ramblewood and Junket along Marshall road, there was only the Haymond forest, green in all its glory. Many would have complained, but the artist had done well with the trees- if trees were going to replace the town on the map, they had to be done well. Their tiny leaves moved with a cool spring breeze, changing directions every so often. And so Sundance came to accept the Wizarding World had forgotten about them.
Old man Daughtry was murdered.
Murder wasn't uncommon anywhere- or rather, it wasn't unheard of, and Sundance was no exception. He was a man of no consequence- not good or bad, but there. Or at least, he used to be. He was killed in his chair as he puzzled over last months bills, wondering how he could possibly lost that many galleons, when the Unforgiveable ripped into his chest. A jealous proprietor, an unpaid loaner, or an angered mistress, nobody knew. An auror was requested- none came- and Old Man Daughtry was buried next to the tulips he loved so much.
But then came Jin.
He wasn't from Sundance, nor anywhere near. When one asked the townsfolk, they could never quite agree on where he came from- though the concensus was that it was somewhere colder- but he had a loud voice and a strong chin, so people let him talk. No harm in talking, they'd always say. And when he did talk, they liked his voice enough to agree.
When Jin suggested the alarms, it was met with a sort of acceptance- no one knew if it was necessary, but none were willing to take that chance. The wizarding world had done right to leave them off the map- they were barely considered a wizarding town after all- which meant they had only themselves as protection. They weren't fighters. None had ever come from the town, and that certainly wouldn't change with the times. All they could do was hide.
They hired an auror that was taken off the force years ago- rumors were it was due to bribery- to design the alarm. It was simple, just enough to warn of their arrival in enough time to make it to shelter.
No, they didn't want it to inform the ministry.
No, they didn't want any protective charms.
"What was that? All you want to do is hide?"
"That's all we know how to do- dissapear."
The alarms only took a week. They were childsplay, really, no more than a detection spell with a charm to ring a simple alarm, adapted from the muggle air raid siren. It'd do more to alert the intruders than anyone else, but the tired Auror was only too happy to scam a hapless, fatalist village for all they were worth.
Half the town came to a halt.
The brightly colored confetti from weeks ago- once proudly swinging along the sides of houses and shops in the fundraiser for the alarm- lay limp in the streets, brushed aside by one too many brooms. Torn and muddy, the promised high falling into the anguished low.
It had taken all they had- their humble riches, their steady labor. They got their alarm- at the price of their town.
But that would do. They'd never been rich before. Old Sundance had never been one of those big cities, and it never would be. All the townsfolk knew it –though it's argued that this attitude is the cause. You didn't come to Sundance to make it big, or live the quiet life. You came to be the in-between. And so they were. The war dragged on, and the children played along the city gates, laughing with -and at- the alarms that rang as their tattered boots set them off.
A/N: This is more of an experimental chapter, but it will all make sense by the end. These will only come every so often, and always with an additional chapter, so no worries!
Thank you to all my reviewers, you guys keep me going.