Chapter 38: Morphed memories

She dreamed skies.

/What…/ She blinked her eyes in wonder. The strange cubic-shaped airplanes flying above her were a mystery that disappeared through clouds. /Is this…?/

Her thoughts were so loud in her mind, as they echoed through her soul. It was hard to move her body, and she turned her head to the side, the grass tickling her nose. /Purple…/ The blades of violet waved in rhythm with the wind. /The grass isn't green…/ She glanced at the red coloured sky, bathed with spots of yellow clouds. /And the sky isn't blue…/

The airplanes were long gone. The wind had stopped. The grass stilled.

The ground cracked and bellowed from far away, and her body shook with the rest of the world. She couldn't move, and her eyes were so heavy…

A women's scream echoed in the distance. A place that burned. A green light.

"Holly."

She felt like she had fallen into a deep pit, as her eyes snapped open and her heart jumped. She blanched and looked around the dark room, terrified. Someone exhaled loudly right next to her, and a cold hand squeezed her shoulder gently. "Relax. It's me."

Holly recognized that blunt voice anywhere and her shoulders eased up immediately. "Dudley….?" She yawned, sitting up as the covers shifted. "What is it…? It's still early…" She whined, body shivering and beginning to be snuggled back in the warmth. Dudley's head was turned towards the door, a stream of light peering into the dark room from the hallway.

"Get up." He turned to her with cold eyes, dead serious. "We have guests."

Holly blinked at him strangely, rubbing her sore eyes. "Wha-?" She began, but Dudley had already floated through the wall and onto the other side wordlessly. Holly frowned, racking her brain if she should just go back to sleep.

"Holly!"

"Okay!" She hissed back, grumbling underneath her breath. With a heavy heart, she took off the covers and stood up, shivering in her nightgown. /Cold/ She winced as her toes touched the barren floor /This better be good…/

She found Dudley leaning against the wall/air, impatiently waiting for her in the hallway. Before she even stepped out in the hallway, he floated down the stairs and Holly jogged after him. "Wait!" She hissed, and wondered silently if Petunia was up. The entire house had the lights on, it seemed. "Dudley!" She barked quietly, as he ignored her calls and went through the kitchen doorway.

But he was right, for once. Holly's ears perked up as she jumped over the last creaking step, hearing hushed murmurs coming from the kitchen. /Who is that...?/

"-All I'm saying, is you should think about it. It would be the best cho-"

"The best choice? Don't make me laugh- they would know, and only then would she really be in trouble."

"We would-!"

"Enough. I refuse to hear it. She would die sooner if she was with you, than with me."

"What does it take to convince, you stupid muggle?! He was here. Monitoring you. He knows."

"Then, pray tell, how am I still standing? And Holly? You're delusional. We would have been dead by now!"

"Either way, he suspects. He suspects she's still alive, and you have no idea what-!"

"That is enough! You're not going to take her from me, and twist her into a mind-slave for your convenience. She's just a kid."

"…Since when have you take such a liking to the child?"

"She is my niece."

"You hated her."

"Well, I guess things do change. She's the only family I have left."

"So why are you putting her in danger?"

"…"

"Auntie?"

Auntie spun around to meet the child standing near the doorway, eyes calm and a bit surprised. "Oh Holly." She sighed and immediately approached the little girl, crouching down to her, offering a light smile. "Why are you out of bed? What's wrong?"

A small clattering and gust of wind rattled the room, but no one paid attention to it.

"I heard voices." Holly murmured, narrowing her eyes as she thought about it, confused. "But I…"

"You must be tired." Auntie mumbled soothingly, patting her cheek gently. Holly was a bit shocked at the sudden attention and the warm hand on her cheek, but she couldn't think more on it, as auntie gently grabbed her hand and got up. "C'mon. I'll escort you to your room, majesty." Auntie mumbled with a smile, and Holly looked up giving her undivided attention as they walked back to the stairs. "I know you're scared of the dark."

She huffed at that, pouting. "Am not." She mumbled, and their voices disappeared on the second floor, quietly teasing and arguing. A young boy, unseen by all and left behind, stared at the sky through the open kitchen window, pondering on the events that had unfolded.

"So why are you putting her in danger?"

"…"

"Auntie!" A voice shrilled loudly, as the topic in question ran inside the kitchen. Her eyes were wide and worried, and she glanced at the two equally surprised women in the kitchen. "Holly…" Her aunt whispered quietly while the other woman in the room simply regard her with slight interest.

"W-who is that?" Holly whispered, pointing to the woman on the other side of the table, not caring if the action was impolite. "And what do you mean, putting me in danger?" She turned to her aunt, who looked horrified and guilty as the words escaped her lips. This only frustrated the little girl even more. "I-I'm not…" Holly choked on her words, licking her lips as she glanced at the other woman for a second. "Y-You're not… I-Is someone going to take me?" She choked out, her heart heavy and the room felt oddly small all of a sudden.

Auntie turned to her fully, surprised beyond everything, but still managing a small smile. "No… No, no of course not." She took a step forward, flinching lightly as Holly took a step back. "Everything is alright." Petunia whispered, but the grimace on her face wasn't helping.

Holly shook her head in frustration, her loose hair flying with her. "No… no! I heard what you said!" She stated quickly- danger, twisted mind-slave? Her heart was pounding in her ears /I don't want to…/. "Who's coming? What-"

Holly shivered a bit and almost jumped, as a figure crouched in front of her. Her nostrils flinched as new scents attacked it. She could smell the forest and smoke the elderly grandpas in their neighbourhood had, forever stuck to their clothes. Mystery, an odd sadness and curiosity- she saw all that as she looked into vibrant brown eyes.

The woman grinned, long black hair framing her face. "Don't worry." Her voice was raspy and even, not at all deep or bell-like, and she even somehow sounded like the elderly even if she looked so young. But it was oddly comforting. "Everything will be just fine." She cooed as she placed a warm palm on the wide eyed girl's forehead.

In an instant, Holly's hair seemed to jump at the impact and her eyes glazed over, heavy and hard to move. Her mind fogged and her thoughts blurred, and she distantly heard one word she couldn't even pronounce, before it all went blank.

Holly's body slumped forward, and the woman caught her with ease, before gently laying her next to the doorway. The entire room is silent, and Petunia didn't dare say a word as she sat back down at the table, staring into her tea cup with regret. The woman walked back to the window, her back to Petunia. "I know it must be hard." She whispered hoarsely. "I know you don't want to let her go, but…" She sighed and turned her head an inch, looking back at the child. "You must understand… you can't hide her birth-right. They will find out." Her voice was heavy and grave, as she stressed out the last words. "It's either them or us."

"Is it wrong to think…" Petunia began, gripping the tea cup, voice angry and sad. "That I believe, none of you, will provide her a life?" She whispered, shaking slightly.

"I wish I could say, that we won't use her." The woman, Hestia, whispered back, smiling bitterly. "But then I'd be lying."

"Has the Light side fallen to the Dark?" Petunia bit out in harsh amusement, taking a deep breath as she tried to calm herself. Tried to keep some of the hope nestled inside. Trying to think for the best, even if such luxuries didn't exist now. And they wouldn't, not for Holly… or herself. Not for a long time.

"No." Hestia's voice was distant. "It doesn't even matter anymore. Now it's just us, against them." She bit her tongue, not letting the rest fall from her lips /And the fights are growing more desperate, and the sacrifices mean nothing, if we can't achieve victory/ She looked at the child with sorrow /There are no fates or prophecies, no miracles or prayers. Now, we can only help ourselves/ But they didn't need to know that. Not yet.

"She will wake up soon enough." She coughed out, her voice growing serious as she looked out the window, back tense. "And this conversation…never happened." She met Petunia's gaze with a firm nod.

"Auntie?"

She didn't look back as the girl woke, and she transformed and lifted herself loudly and quickly out the window and in the dark open, Petunia shielding anything from view as she soothed the confused child. Hestia didn't look back, not once, even as the chill ran up her spine at being watched…

Dudley stared at the last place he saw the owl, eyes blank and lidded. "So…" He whispered into the dark and quiet room. "I guess there is a future path laid out for us." He wondered idly, his deep brown eyes flashing just the smallest hint of red, as a smirk grew on his lips. "Interesting. For the first time, I feel completely left out of events." He hummed silently, as he floated back to the hallway and stairs.

"It doesn't matter." He grinned maliciously, the spiders and other vermin crawling back into their holes as they shivered at the invisible dark force passing by. "Let them come." He slid through the closed door, his eyes landing on her small, sleeping form immediately. Her chest rose and her breath was even, and he laid his hands beneath his head, lounging on thin air.

"We won't be just pawns in this game."

A/N: …