Khgirl08: -holds a large pack of ice to her head- I'm back, but I'm still mad about that cookie incident, Ellie…
Ellie: -laughs ebilly-
Khgirl08: Why are you laughing ebilly instead of evilly? O.o
Ellie: You had the evil part down last chapter, so I thought I'd break the monotony a little bit. :D
Khgirl08: -sighs- Fine. But, yeah, I'm branching out a little in this chapter, actually. I'm definitely NOT focusing solely on a certain eBil redhead…
Ellie: -le sob- Why not?!?!?!?! -sniffle- Oh, yeah, before I forget, I'm giving out freshly made peanut butter pie this time around! The recipients are:
Danielle (the un-pregnant version who I'm roomies with…) and TwiDawnLight!
And if you review this chapter, I shall give you ice cream cake. I'm running out of recipe cards to sort through for yummy foods, so if you have any requests for a special review treat I would be more than happy to accept them. ^.^
Khgirl08: -mutters- You don't have to worry about buying the ingredients, though…
Disclaimer: I do NOT own Harry Potter (in fact, this whole story is written completely disregarding the events of Deathly Hallows, if that clears up any confusion that may begin in this chapter) or Kingdom Hearts or ice cream cake… Though I do wish I owned a really big slice of that right now…
~*random note*~ I know this is kind of weird, but I'm going through some really bad times right now, and I just want all of you guys who actually read this story to keep me in your thoughts, please… Or prayers, if you're like me and pray… Thank you! ~*end random note*~
"Grandma!" Ellie ran into the arms of Abbie, crying from a mixture of weariness and sheer relief. "Grandma Abbie, I can't believe that it's really you!"
Abbie nodded. "Unfortunately, dear, I can't help you very much right now. That's why I'm here, hiding from all of the danger instead of stopping it." She sighed and released her granddaughter, smiling at her appearance. "Dear, dear, I certainly am glad I grabbed some of your clothes from home before I came here. Look at your outfit, it looks like it's two sizes too big all over!"
Ellie giggled a little bit and wiped her eyes. "Well, it is, I guess. I borrowed it from Danielle, Riku's wife. I think you might know her, actually. She grew up with Mother and Dad and Edward."
Abbie gasped. "Oh, you're kidding me?! Little Danielle grew up and got married?! Gracious sakes, I haven't seen her since she was your age, how is she doing?"
"Um… Well, she was pretty good. She has a son who's ten years old, Sky, and she's about to have another baby. I think she's a teacher… Unfortunately, these bad guys called Death Eaters captured her, and then the king brought me here, and I don't even know what all else…"
Abigail's eyes hardened. "The Death Eaters… They made it to Radiant Garden?"
"Yes, but how did you-"
"I've been keeping her updated on all the going-on's, and that was a big one." King Mickey shook his head. "Abbie, do you think that you could possibly-"
Abbie held up a hand. "Your Majesty, forgive me, but no, I can't. I'm just too old to fight anymore, particularly without even a wand to help me. I must not hinder the fight by attempting to help when I know it will be useless."
Ellie looked between the two; Abigail's eyes were full of distraught and vulnerability, while Mickey's were slightly angry, and he looked and sounded fed up. "Abbie, why won't you even try?!"
"I did, and it almost cost me the life of my granddaughter." Abbie turned around and walked into the small cabin as the king sighed.
"Your majesty, why is she acting like that? What won't she try to do?" Ellie stared at the king, who was now shaking his head slowly and massaging his temples.
"Ellie, there's a lot you need to understand about your family, and about me. Where should I begin…" Mickey began pacing as he thought.
"How about telling me why Grandma Abbie has a wand, did she say?"
"That much should be obvious. Your grandmother is a witch, as are your mother and yourself." Ellie cocked an eyebrow, and Mickey chuckled. "Well, ya see, I met your family many years ago, back when I first left Disney Castle to discover what all the disturbances were about. Your mother was just a bit younger than you are now, actually. Anyhow, Maple Brook was one of the first places attacked by the Heartless, so I went there to try to help any survivors escape before the planet totally collapsed. Imagine my surprise when I discovered two women with wands trying to destroy all of the Heartless that were attacking the citizens! With my help, the Heartless there were actually defeated, and Maple Brook was saved."
"Why didn't you tell me any of this when we first met? It would have been helpful to know…"
Mickey shrugged. "It didn't seem too important right then. All I cared about was the fact that Maple Brook had been destroyed by the Heartless. In fact, it didn't even register that your mother and grandmother were Rebecca and Abigail Swallow from all those years ago until Danielle asked about them, and by then I was more worried about the fact that they had disappeared. You see, your family has powerful magic, powerful enough to almost obliterate an entire army of Heartless, so I knew then something must have been horribly wrong if your mother had been overpowered.
"When I left with Sora and Riku to fight the Heartless in the hospital I was almost caught by Maleficent. Luckily, when I saw Sora and Riku get captured, I escaped before she could get to me. I came straight here, only to discover that my contact had brought yet another refugee of Maple Brook to my hideout, and that it was Abigail from so long ago. She wasn't the bubbly, exciting person she had been when I first met her, though. No, she simply sat in a rocking chair and stared out the window all day, according to my contact. He couldn't even get her to listen to a word he said, because she was convinced that he was an illusion."
Ellie, who was sitting down on the steps leading to the front door by this point, shook her head. "I don't understand, Your Majesty. If he rescued her, then why wouldn't she believe that he existed?"
"Well, he refused to show his face because he was afraid of her, actually. You see, they know each other from quite a long time ago, and he didn't want to make her any angrier than she already was towards him. Abbie is a very powerful witch, top-notch, actually, and when the Heartless attacked Maple Brook she was almost captured by some Death Eaters. They had no idea who she was, however, and she defeated them immediately. She searched around a bit for the source of the Heartless until another Death Eater found her and started a duel. She had almost defeated him when he Apparated away."
Ellie interrupted him yet again. "Your majesty, I heard that word when I was being chased by Death Eaters before Merlin found me, and Draco mentioned it, too. What does it mean, exactly?"
"It's how magical people travel. They turn on their heel and concentrate, and they can warp somewhere instantly. Now, getting back to my story…" Mickey coughed slightly. "Abbie couldn't follow him at first, because she had absolutely no idea where he had gone, but she finally Apparated to a street in downtown Maple Brook to look around, and lo and behold she found you. You were about to be captured by the Death Eater who had fled from the duel earlier, and she decided to send you back to your house, away from the battle. After you were gone, the Heartless converged upon her, and she was forced to destroy them, all of them." Ellie moaned and covered her mouth as tears began to glitter in the corners of her eyes. "When she had defeated all of them, the Death Eater attacked her. It was a brutal fight, and he ended up fleeing yet again.
"Abbie went straight to your house, hoping that you would still be there, but you had already disappeared. She packed up some things for the two of you and was going to set off in search of you once more, but another Death Eater discovered her presence. Apparently this Death Eater was much better than the first, because she ended up losing the ensuing duel after mere minutes. Just as he sent a killing curse her way my contact found her and pulled her through a portal to safety. He brought her here, where she stayed silent and angry until I arrived and coaxed the story out of her. Even now, she still refuses to help us fight. I guess she is getting older, but she is still extremely capable, right?"
Ellie nodded sadly. "Grandma Abbie can do anything… Your Majesty, are you sure that I have magical powers? I don't know that I've done anything that could be considered magic."
"Yes you have, actually. You managed to evade capture from those Death Eaters for quite sometime. For some reason they couldn't directly Apparate to you and just snatch you away. No, they were forced to chase you like any normal person. And remember when I mentioned earlier that your hair streaks could be the result of magical abilities? Well, that wasn't just a random theory, I was being completely serious. I'm sure that you were showing signs as a child, as well, but your mother probably just ignored them or made something up to explain the phenomena to you."
"Okay… But if my mom and grandma are such great witches, why didn't they ever tell me? What did they think would happen?" The front door slammed and Abigail slowly descended the steps.
"Oh, Ellie, you have to understand where we were coming from." Abigail sat down next to Ellie and closed her eyes. "We wanted to tell you, but it was far too dangerous. When your mother had just left Hogwarts, the school of magic that both of us attended, a dark wizard reared his head and became known as the Dark Lord. Most of the magical community is afraid to speak his name, but a few of us called him by his true name- Tom Riddle or Voldemort. Your mother and I joined a force called the Order of the Phoenix that was created with the sole purpose of bringing him down. Mind you, most witches and wizards live on my home planet, The World of Magic."
"Wait, you aren't from Maple Brook?!" Ellie was so shocked by this revelation that her voice rose an octave. She coughed slightly before continuing, her voice back to normal. "Grandma Abbie, you mean to tell me that Mom didn't go to school in Maple Brook, that she went to school on another planet?! How is that possible?!"
Abbie laughed. "Well, dear, you're on another planet right now, aren't you?"
Ellie blushed slightly. "Well, this is a little bit different. I mean, Maple Brook was destroyed, and now we have Gummi ships and stuff…"
Both King Mickey and Abigail laughed this time. "Oh, Ellie, Gummi ships have been around for quite a long time, far longer than you have!" Abbie finally managed to calm herself down enough to continue her story. "However, I do understand what you're trying to say. The truth is, I married a Muggle, or non-magical person, who I met while taking a tour of the different worlds after I left Hogwarts. He was a Gummi pilot, your grandfather was, and he and I moved to Maple Brook where we had your mother. It was quite a shock to all of us when, mere days after your mother was born, it became impossible to travel to other worlds via Gummi ship. Of course, the residents of Maple Brook were still able to leave our planet, but we weren't able to visit The World of Magic or anywhere else. It was quite distressing."
"So, how did you manage to send Mom to school at Hogwarts, then?"
"Amazingly, we figured out that we were able to Apparate to The World of Magic. Unlike yourself, Becca always knew she was a witch, and she wanted desperately to go to Hogwarts and learn to use magic. Well, imagine our surprise when my older brother Albus showed up with a letter of acceptance for her! She was so excited to finally be going to Hogwarts and learn how to control her abilities… It did cause a few problems in Maple Brook. She had to come up with something to explain to her friends Edward and Danielle why she wouldn't be attending the sixth grade with them that year, and why she wouldn't be able to write or see them until the holidays.
"Eventually, she just gave in and told them all about Hogwarts and magic, which they believed only when she came back after her first term there with a wand and a her entire stock of spell books. Naturally they couldn't tell anyone else, and until your mother fell in love with Ryan Mason most everyone believed that she was simply going to some boarding school outside of Maple Brook, a place that didn't exist anymore then than it does now. That summer changed everything an awful lot…"
"Is that when you and Sora defeated the Organization, Your Majesty?"
Mickey nodded. "I believe so, yes. See, for a while after peace finally returned, the pathways that connected the worlds came into full existence once again. My guess is that Danielle's family was originally from the Destiny Islands, and they wanted to return there while they had the chance. A lot of families traveled across the galaxies to get home during that time period."
Abbie nodded. "Yes. We actually thought about leaving Maple Brook for a bit to go back to The World of Magic, but before we came to a final decision the gates closed. Your mother was heart-sick; one of her best friends had moved to another world, and the other found himself suddenly interested in going out with other girls instead of hanging out with her. That's also the same time that she discovered something that really scared her.
"You see, at Hogwarts there are four houses of students: Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and Slytherin. Becca and I and probably everyone else in our family was in Gryffindor. The houses were all a little competitive, but none hated each other as much as Gryffindor and Slytherin. That summer a boy named Cyrith Yaxley (a/n: Yaxley never has a first name, so I asked Danielle for one and that's what she came up with. Thanks, Dan! :P heehee) moved to Maple Brook. Yaxley, now, he was a rough character, from Slytherin, and he developed an unhealthy obsession with your mother, even though he was a year or so older. He would call on her at all hours or phone her if he wasn't able to come over, he followed her everywhere she went, and his friends spied on her if he wasn't able to. It was just plain scary, Ellie, just awful."
Ellie's mind was beginning to be overrun with all of the unanswered questions she had, and she couldn't help but blurt one of them out. "Grandma Abbie, what did he look like?"
"Erm… Not too great, actually. Let me see, he was rather tall, long dark hair, oily skin and a voice to match… And he had very, very dark eyes, almost black, I would say. He was always either smirking or scowling, never any pleasant expressions on his face, and there was just something about him that scared everyone who met him, especially your mother. She tried to ignore him, but it became nearly impossible. She was having to deal with the loss of her best friends and the unwanted affections of this wizard, and on top of all of that Ryan Mason turned up in her life.
"Ellie, I will put this as lightly as possible: your father was not always a good person. He used to be friends with Yaxley, actually, which his how he came to be friends your mother in the first place. They hated each other until Yaxley came along. It was Becca who finally convinced Ryan that he shouldn't be friends with Yaxley anymore, because it would only lead to disaster. Her words came true on Yaxley's seventeenth birthday, the day that he was legally allowed to use magic outside of school. As soon as he woke up that morning, he headed for our house. Ryan was there, too, trying to get your mother to go out with him. Yaxley didn't like that idea too much, so he decided to try to curse Ryan. I put a stop to that, and after a few well-aimed charms and spells he turned tail and ran, never to set foot upon our doorstep again. Of course, he still saw Becca at school the next year, but they generally ignored each other."
Ellie nodded slowly. "I think he came to our house before the attack, Grandma."
Abbie gasped. "Yaxley came back? I knew he was a Death Eater, but I never expected him to… Ellie, was he looking for you or your mother?"
"He thought I was Mom. He wanted to 'sweep me off my feet,' or some nonsense like that, and he didn't believe that I was Rebecca Swallow's daughter. It was the stupidest thing I'd ever heard. He also came back, at Disney Castle. He knew who I was that time, and he wanted to kidnap me and take me to the Death Eaters. That strange man who brought you here helped me, though." Ellie sighed and stared at her grandmother. "Grandma Abbie, who is he?"
Abbie laughed. "Oh, Ellie, I can't tell you that. He didn't even want me to know, but I am glad I do. It won't make much of a difference, though, since I'm probably not going to be at much of a risk to be captured."
"Abbie, we need your help. You have to help us avenge the death of your brother, doesn't that matter at all to you?" Mickey was glaring at her. "He died to help all of us, and it's time we repaid the debt. Abbie, please, why won't you give it another shot?"
Abbie frowned back at him. "Your majesty, it is useless. I am not physically capable of helping anymore. I'm just too old…"
Ellie rolled her eyes. "No offense, Grandma, but you may be the fittest lady your age I know. If this were just a competition for fun I would understand if you didn't want to compete, but this isn't fun for any of us. A nine-year old girl and a ten-year old boy have already offered to help us fight, but they're too young. You have more experience than anyone else in this battle, Grandma, and we need you badly. If not for me, if not for the king, then at least help us for Mother."
Abbie sighed. "Ellie… What about your father, young lady?"
"Don't change the subject, Grandma. To answer your question, though, my dad is dead. I gave up on ever finding him years and years ago. When the man who made him leave showed up back in Robert's house, I thought for a moment that I had found a way to find him, but now I know that that particular person doesn't just make men disappear, he kills them. Daddy is dead, Robert probably is, and I don't want any of my friends or family to follow in their footsteps. We need you to help us, Grandma, please…" Ellie buried her face in her knees and began to cry. "He took Danielle, Grandma, and if we don't rescue her soon he will kill her. She has a family, and she's about to have a baby! You have to help us find her, Grandma!"
Her familiar emerald eyes glittering with emotion, Abbie shook her head. "I just don't know… Getting back to what you originally asked, Ellie, when your mother and I joined the Order of the Phoenix we had absolutely no idea what we were getting ourselves into. In fact, by the middle of the war your mother was so frightened that she almost refused to marry your father. She was scared that Voldemort would come after him to get to her. She was probably one of the best members of the Order at the time, and definitely the top international and interplanetary member, and Voldemort had made several attempts on her life.
"Your father finally convinced her that he would rather die than live without her, and they were married. You were born on Halloween the following year. When you were born, she was instructed to take a sixth month break from all Order activities, and she did so. Sixth months turned into a year, and suddenly the war was over. Your first birthday brought the end of the war and the deaths of two of your parents' best friends, Lily and James Potter. Voldemort tried to kill their son, but the curse backfired because of Lily's love and ended up almost destroying Voldemort instead."
"What about their son? Was he alright?"
Abbie smiled and nodded. "Yes, he survived. He was raised by Muggles, and when he turned eleven he learned the truth about his abilities and his parents' deaths, and he went to Hogwarts, but I'm assuming you'll find out more about Harry Potter a little bit later. Moving on, your mother was horrified by the events surrounding the destruction of Voldemort. Your parents were some of the few who always believed that Voldemort would return, one day, and they were quite right. They vowed to protect you at any cost, any cost at all, and they decided that they would never mention The World of Magic again, go to Hogwarts or any other places on that planet, or tell you about your magical abilities. I know that something happened when you were three, Ellie, that caused your father to disappear, but I'm not exactly sure what it was…"
The memory of her father's disappearance swarmed over Ellie's mind once more, and she scowled in rage. "Lucius Malfoy…"
"Lucius… Oh, how I despise him… He was after your mother, Ellie. He had quite an obsession with her, actually, probably because the Dark Lord had assigned him to capture or kill her. He and your father actually met, just once, and they took an instant disliking to each other because of Becca. You're probably quite lucky that you don't look like him, because he probably would have killed you on sight." Abigail stood up and stretched. "I don't know if I have it in me any more, Your Majesty, but I'll think about it…"
Mickey nodded. "That's better than not thinking about it at all, isn't it?"
Abbie smiled slightly. "Yes, I suppose so."
"Your Majesty, I want to find Danielle. We have to find her." Ellie stood up as well, flexing her fingers. "I'm going to rip Lucius Malfoy limb from limb if he hurt her or her baby, and depending on my mood when I get my hands on him I might go ahead and do it even if she doesn't have a single hair misplaced."
Mickey smiled. "Yes, I thought you might say something like that. I think I know where she is, and it shouldn't be too dangerous. In fact, I should be getting some information on her location in a couple minutes…"
A couple minutes dragged by; slowly but surely they became a half hour, then one full hour, then one and a half hours. As Ellie began to pace back and forth for the umpteenth time, someone landed lightly on the grassy yard underneath the trap door; it was the man who kept rescuing her. "Your Majesty, I have good news. Danielle is safe, and the world Lucius hid her on is still at Radiant Gardens."
Mickey smiled broadly. "Good! Now, Ellie, let's go!"
Ellie was frozen in place; something had just clicked in her mind. "Wait a minute, I do know you, don't I?!" She took a few steps towards the tall man, who turned his head away and sighed.
"I can't tell you that, Ellie. I'm sorry…"
"But, I did know you, a really long time ago, I know it!" Ellie was suddenly remembering her third birthday party, something she had blocked from her memory because it went hand in hand with her dad's disappearance. The man was sitting on the floor across the room, smiling as she opened her presents with her mom's help. "You were at my birthday party, weren't you?"
The man's eyes widened with shock. "You- you still remember that day?"
"That's impossible." Abigail shook her head in disbelief, her braids swinging wildly. "I took away all memories of that day from you when you were just a little girl, as soon as it became apparent that you remembered it after all, and there is no way that they could have come back to you."
"You made me forget?! I thought I just blocked them myself!"
"Yes, I did it, but when did you remember, and how?"
Ellie thought for a short moment. "Well, I just remembered my birthday party a few moments ago, but I think the first thing I remembered about that day was when Daddy actually went missing. When Lucius came into Robert's house to kidnap me, I heard his voice and it hit me like a load of bricks. I remember him telling Mom to take me and go, and Lucius saying to "give him the girl," and Mom taking me away, and Daddy smiling at me before he tackled Lucius." She paused for a minute before shaking her head futilely. "The memories are still really fuzzy, though. I can't really see my dad's face or hear his voice, I just remember that they were there, you know?"
Abbie, the king and the strange man all stared at her in disbelief before the man shook his head and laughed. "Only you, Ellie, would be able to overcome that spell."
Ellie snorted indignantly. "Well, if you aren't going to tell me who you are, at least explain to me why I should trust you, and don't give me anything about trusting Grandma and the king who trust you, because that isn't enough for me."
"Princess…" The man whispered her newest nickname, and yet another memory came rushing into her mind. She was just a little older than her last memories, maybe five or six years old, and she was coming inside from playing with Robert on the street.
"Mommy, Robert pushed me and it hurt!"
"Ellie is so much like you, Becca, right down to her tendency to scrape her knees while doing the least dangerous things!"
"Oh, Ryan, you're so mean, she's just a baby!"
"Yes, I know, but she's also clumsy." Footsteps clattered from the television speakers as a pair of big feet moved to stand next to the screaming toddler, and the man chuckled as he picked her up. "There, there, Princess, Daddy's here. Don't cry…"
Rebecca had been watching an old video of Ellie as a tiny toddler, trying to walk in circles around the kitchen table but falling and bumping her knee instead, and that was the last time Ellie had ever seen her mother cry. "Wait a minute…" Ellie turned to the man with light brown hair and gray eyes who was smiling wanly. "You couldn't be… Daddy?"
The man sighed and slowly nodded. "Yes, Ellie. I am Ryan Mason, your dad."
Ellie stumbled backwards in shock, nearly falling but catching herself just in time. I can't believe it! Daddy has been alive this whole time, he's not dead, he's just fine! But wait… if he isn't dead, why didn't he come home?!
"Ellie, are you alright?" Abbie tried to grab her arm, but Ellie pulled away and ran inside the house, tears streaming down her cheeks as she slammed the door behind her and fell on the couch sobbing.
"Let me go!" Hope struggled against the blond man who was holding her close to his chest, screaming and flailing her fists against his hard torso. "Ellie is going to hurt you really bad if you don't let me down!"
"Oh, would you shut up already?" The man finally listened to her and set her down on top of a rather large stump. "Ellie is not going to hurt me for bringing you here, she was in on it!"
What?! Ellie would never do that! "You liar! Ellie would never, ever let you bullies hurt us! You even kidnapped Aunt Danielle!" Hope stood up and tried to run, but the man grabbed her arm and pulled her back. "Hey!"
"Hope, you must realize that if I were going to hurt you I would have done so already, and if I were intending to keep you captive I would have thrown you in a cage by now. Try to be a little more objective, would you?" The man sat down on the stump, still holding her by the arm, and rested his chin on his other hand. "I told Ellie about this during the attack because I knew she would freak out. King Mickey actually helped me plan this, and he told everyone back on Radiant Garden. Seriously, Hope, I'm on your side."
"If you're on my side, then let me go!" Hope tugged anxiously on her arm, but the man simply rolled his eyes as if he was bored.
"My name is Draco Malfoy, by the way. And I will release you as soon as you stop trying to get away from me. It wouldn't be particularly beneficial to either of us if you ran off and got lost in this crazy forest, now, would it?" Hope gave one last fruitless tug and gave up, slamming herself back onto the tree stump and crossing her arms tightly when Draco removed his grasp.
"Why didn't Ellie bring me here, Draco?! Why would she let you take me from Sky, anyhow?!"
"Actually, I'm not sure she was overly excited with the arrangements, but we had no choice in the matter. See, I'm acting as a spy against the Death Eaters, feeding information to your friends, such as this. Unfortunately, in order to remain a spy I sometimes have to do things I'm not particularly proud of. I was recently assigned to go with most of the Death Eaters to Radiant Gardens and wreak enough havoc to kidnap you and Ellie. I was assigned to you, my… father… was assigned to Ellie, and the others were assigned to the havoc-wreaking." Draco smirked slightly and looked down at the nine year old girl. "I'm going to be in a huge lot of trouble when I report back to headquarters."
"Why should you be in any trouble? You kidnapped me, so you did your job!" This guy doesn't make any sense! He acts like he is all big and bad, but then he starts going on about how much trouble he's going to get in!
Draco laughed humorlessly. "Well, Hope, that's part of the plan that Ellie helped me with. She made it look like she attacked me right before I Apparated with you, and when a person gets hit mid-Apparition they are sometimes thrown off course just a bit, and sometimes they lose a grip on whatever they're holding at the time. It looks like Ellie hit me, meaning I got lost and I lost you, or so I'll tell the Dark Lord."
"So…"
"I 'lost you,' Hope. If I had done what the Dark Lord wanted me to do, you would already have your heart stolen. If I had done what the Dark Lord wanted me to do, he would simply be that much closer to unlocking the realm of Kingdom Hearts, and then he really would be undefeatable, completely unparalleled in every way." Draco shook his head. "He expects me to bring you back, and I am not going to do that. No one fails Lord Voldemort," Draco shuddered and gulped after whispering the name of his "master," "no one who wants to come away unscathed, that is."
"So, you're doing this to protect me?" Hope's eyes were huge, and she suddenly felt a rush of gratitude towards the blond man. "Thank you, Draco."
Draco smiled half-heartedly at her. "You're welcome, kid." He stood up and stretched before turning back to the burgundy-haired girl. "Listen up, Hope. I have to get going now, but I assure you that you will be relatively safe here. If anyone tries to give you trouble, just tell them who your father is and they should go a little easier on you."
"Wait, you're leaving me here by myself?!" Hope jumped up and grabbed his hand. "No, please take me back to Radiant Gardens or something, I don't want to be here all alone!"
"Are you serious? Hope, I just risked my life to save you and bring you here! I can't take you back to Radiant Gardens. The Death Eaters may not be able to get in there, but they are still watching it closely. If you go back there, they will do whatever they can to break through the defenses and take you!" Draco blinked and coughed awkwardly when tears began streaming down the little girl's cheeks.
"But… I don't know how to take care of myself! I've never been alone, ever, and Mom and Dad and Aunt Danielle and Uncle Riku aren't here to help me and I don't know what to do and Sky is probably going crazy with worry and he's all by himself and Ellie doesn't know where I am to come help me and I can't stay here alone, I can't!"
Draco sighed and knelt down in front of her. "Hope, I am going to tell Ellie where you are. I'm not just leaving you here forever or something. This place is probably one of the ones that Maleficent will advise the Dark Lord to attack, and by that time Ellie will be ready to come find you."
I… "Why can't Sky and Ellie be here with me?" I don't want to be by myself! Mommy? Daddy? Where are you?!
"Sky has to… er… stay behind and protect Radiant Garden… and Ellie has to rescue Danielle and then go get some much needed training. If what I've been told about her is true, she'll be here in no time at all to take you back to Radiant Garden. Sound good?"
Hope dropped Draco's hand and nodded slowly. "I guess… I'm just scared, Draco. What if the Death Eaters come to get me? How am I supposed to fight them off?"
Draco smiled and stood up straight, towering over the little girl. "Hope, you don't need to worry. The Death Eaters won't get here, I promise." With a final grin, Draco turned on his heel and disappeared with a loud snap. Hope fell to her knees and began crying.
I want Mom and Dad!
Khgirl08: That was a shorter chapter than usual.
Ellie: Couldn't you have come up with something a little more original than having him be my father?!
Khgirl08: Nope! XD I like it that way.
Ellie: Meany…
Khgirl08: Anyhow… I need your help. That's right, all of you. I need you to help me.
Ellie: We get the point, Khgirl08. What do you need us to do?
Khgirl08: Well, I am definitely NOT sure what world Draco has taken little Hope to. I need some assistance in figuring it out. There are some criteria- 1. It must be a world that Sora saved; 2. There must be a large stump or at least have the possibility of a large stump being in the world; 3. It must be a Disney world; and 4. You must tell me why it would be a good world for Hope to be left on while Ellie takes care of other stuff. :) If I get the same world from more than one person, that's it. Wonderland already has one vote, from Danielle, so take that into consideration!
Ellie: I vote for Maple Brook! :D
Khgirl08: -le sigh- Please review and vote!
