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DREAMS OF CHILDREN
Chapter Two
Ginny hit the ground with a thud. She'd never felt anything quite like that before. Normally Apparating was instantaneous, the effects little more than a ringing in her ears. But this? She felt like a truck had hit her. Her whole body seemed to be aching like she'd run a million miles, and her chest felt tight as if she had a great weight pressed down upon it. Beneath her she felt cold stone, her hands were damp with mud and scum. The air was bitterly cold, her breath misting in front of her face and as if from far away she could hear a horrible slithering, almost as if a giant snake were stalking her, trying to draw her in…
She jerked as if she'd been electrocuted and sprang to her feet. This was not the Chamber of Secrets. There was no Tom Riddle here, she repeated it to herself over and over, trying to calm her hammering heart, hating the panic that was spreading through her body with a passion she'd believed herself incapable of a few months ago. This was just a nasty stinky alley in London, and that had been where she was heading after all, she told herself. This wasn't so unusual; everything was going according to plan.
Then the plan went out the window.
Because suddenly a huge blue, well thing, with the longest, most vicious claws even she'd ever seen slinked down the alley. It was emitting a terrible, hungry growling from somewhere in the back of its throat, its tail flocking from side to side like a snake's, like a basilisk-
And then Ginny saw the giant. Not a proper giant, like the ones she'd seen in her Magical History books, but the largest human man she'd ever seen. He seemed enormous in the moonlight, an axe in one hand, what appeared to be a crucifix in the other, a long, (and surprisingly chic) coat flapping behind him in he breeze. His hair was stocking up all over the place, a little bit like Harry's in fact (she felt herself begin to blush and ordered her cheeks to stop turning red. It didn't work). But he looked paler than any human she'd ever seen.
The big man yanked the blue thing by the tail and pulled it towards himself, all the while muttering beneath his breath. The thing gave out a slightly comic yowl of pain and turned around, knocking the big man backwards with one of the huge arms it was trailing along the ground. The man grunted, let out a few choice swearwords and picked himself up, shaking his head like a dog that had been winded. He threw himself at the thing, raining down blow after blow with the axe, but still it wouldn't die. Ginny raised her wand with a shaking hand, determined to help with her magic, feeling sure that the man must be an Auror who needed her help, when suddenly the thing stopped moving. Her breath caught in her throat as it lay still, and she felt her eyes prickle with tears. "It's not dead, it's not dead," she chanted, hopping from one foot to the other, unable to tear her eyes from the beast, convinced that any moment it would rear up-
"NOW do you believe that the Osmonds are in league with the dark side?" The voice was female and young, the accent American. Ginny spun around to see a tall, lithe young woman with short dark hair aiming a crossbow at the creature. "It was all, "you're being paranoid Cordelia," and "That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard Cordelia," and then whammo! Mr. Chosen One over there is very nearly Mr. Smeared All Over the Restroom Wall, and the seer here is having to save your championing ass-"
"Thank you Cordy!" The giant stood up and glowered down at the woman, who seemed completely unbothered by him. "The seer was right, the champion was wrong, can we please now go and get some dinner?" The pleading tone seemed funny to Ginny, since she would have thought that the big man hardly needed that woman's permission to leave. But then, she knew from her own mum that most men needed a woman's permission to do anything…
At that moment Ginny stepped back, intent on leaving and finding her way back to Knockturn Alley, when her heel hit off a piece of glass. Instantly both the Muggles turned around, peering into the darkness, which had thus far hidden her. Afraid she was about to find the same treatment as the blue creature, the little girl stepped forward, well aware of what she must look like. Oh God, her mum was going to find out what she'd been up to. Harry was going to find out what she'd been up to. Her dad was going to find out that she'd abused his trust and used the Big Secret of the Shed to go gallivanting about in The Room of Requirement, an establishment most wizards her age weren't even supposed to know existed… In her place most girls her age would've felt like crying. But all Ginny could feel was that hollow, ever-present emptiness…
"Angel, it's a little girl!" the young woman whispered.
"Cordelia, I think she can hear you," the giant man said dryly.
Cordelia shot him a look. "Hey sweetie, what you doing back there?" Ginny stepped further into the light, and the young woman caught her breath. "Jeez, you can't be any more than 12 or 13. What you doing on this end of Sunset on a night like this?" Ginny opened her mouth to respond but nothing came out.
"You a runaway?" the man asked in a no-nonsense sort of a voice. "You got somewhere where you can sleep, y'know, a shelter or something?" He looked more closely at her clothes. "Look, don't be afraid-" Afraid, Ginny thought, did he really think that thing could scare her? - "I know this looks, well, odd-"
"Odd?" Cordelia butted in, "you think it's odd that she just witnessed a demon slaying on her way home from a party?"
Ginny nodded. She still hadn't taken her eyes off Big Blue, even though the corpse was still unmoving and starting to smoke ever so slightly.
Cordelia followed her line of vision and smiled what she hoped was a reassuring smile. "It's ok, honey, that thing won't hurt you anymore. It won't hurt anyone." She nodded at the man. "That's what me and the mook over there do. We make sure that things like that don't get to hurt people."
Suddenly Ginny shifted her gaze to the young woman. Her words seemed so hollow, and yet she seemed to believe in them… And suddenly something else occurred to Ginny. They both had American accents. From far away she could hear passers-by, and they sounded American too. Had the Yanks finally invaded? Or, her heart skipped a beat, had she managed to Apparate herself a very long way past her destination? The warning in the manual about the dangers of Apparating during the full moon floated back to her. She most certainly wasn't in London. In fact, she most certainly wasn't in England anymore…
The enormity of what she had done suddenly hit her and for the first time in months she actually felt something. Granted, it was panic, but just for a moment she felt like her old self again. She gave out a little gasp, unable still to get the words out, and the two Muggles turned towards her. The young woman reached for her, taking her gently by the elbow and crouching down to face the young witch. She smiled that bright smile again, and hooked a strand of her red hair back behind her ear, like her mum used to do. "Do you have anywhere you can go, honey?"
Mutely, Ginny shook her head. She could feel her lips beginning to tremble, and she suddenly felt furious. She's wanted to feel something, anything, for so long, and now that she could feel she didn't want to cry! Cordelia reached forward and tipped her face upwards by the chin, examining her in the moonlight. "Oh honey, don't cry!" she whispered. The woman looked at the large man, who nodded. "I suppose we're gonna have to get you something to eat. And then we can talk about it, ok?" She stood up put an arm around her shoulders, leading her away. The panic was beginning to solidify in Ginny's belly, and she silently felt for her wand in her bag. She would show them if they tried anything. Oh, she would show them…
A/N So you like? Want to read more? Let a girl know..:-P
