Hantelep - Year One
Chapter One – A Refugee Family
In north London, fear and dark clouds covered the atmosphere like a thick blanket, blocking out all heavenly light. One by one, the street lamps along Grace Avenue flickered and went out. A group of dark figures made its way down this street and stopped at house number seven. The leader pulled out a wand and knocked lightly on the front door.
Suddenly, the door flew open, and a pair of voices shouted, "Expelliarmus!"
Two bursts of light hit the leader of the group. He flinched slightly as his wand landed some feet away in the front yard of house number six across the street.
"Dumbledore!" a man, one of the two occupants of number seven, cried out. "I'm so sorry, sir!"
His bright brown eyes were wide with fright, as were the green eyes of his wife beside him, as they look upon the old wizard. "That's quite all right, Geoffrey," Albus Dumbledore replied. "You and Jill acted as you should. We have just come to see if you are fine."
Geoff and Jill Walker looked into the faces of the frightened, but relieved faces of several professors from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. "Y-yes, sir," Geoff replied.
"Also," continued the headmaster of Hogwarts, "We are here to make sure you get safely to the United States…"
"What do you mean?" Jill inquired. "We can't just leave. Our friends need us just as much as we need them."
"It isn't safe for you here anymore," Professor McGonagall explained. "You-Know-Who was sighted on his way to the Potters'. If he found out where they're hiding, he no doubt knows that you two are Lily's best friends…"
"N-not James and Lily," Jill cried, burying her face into her husband's shoulder.
"Wh-what do you want us to do, sir?" Geoff asked, obviously shaken by the news that his best friend and her husband would become You-Know-Who's next targets.
"We have set up a Portkey for you. Some agents of the Ministry are guarding it. Get your son and follow us. Don't worry about your belongings; we will take care of them when this nightmare is all over. We have already secured a house and jobs for you in the States."
Geoff nodded, and he and Jill got their son. Dumbledore and the other professors led them to the end of the street, where some wary-looking men waited with an old rubber tire. Dumbledore looked at the Walkers with tears in his eyes and waved goodbye as they grabbed the tire and vanished…