Chapter 1
The sound of muffled voices and strong smell of bleach were what she woke up to. Ignoring the overall aches of her body, she blinked tiredly towards the white ceiling while her brain took its time to process her surroundings.
She was in a hospital…why was she in a hospital again?
Last thing she remembered she was in her Unplottable shack, away from civilization and definitely away from meddling Healers and the likes. There was white light and…Albus gave her something…it was a charmed jewelry…
"NO!" she gasped, sitting up instantly. Someone in the room gave a small shriek of surprise but Helen ignored everything else as everything came back to her. Albus had given her a gift, a magical necklace…fused with his good intention to let her find happiness.
Even when her heart had frozen over with numbness, Helen had appreciated the thought behind the gift and put it on under Albus's beaming smile. She instantly fingered the chain over her throat with her fingers, the strange metal felt warm and alive under her clammy fingers.
She wondered what harebrained situation Albus had gotten her into this time, in one of his attempts to help her. There used to be a few minor things he urged her to after she had locked herself under isolation but she believed nothing like landing her in a hospital somewhere.
"Excuse me," a voice, calm and a bit hesitant called her out of her internal musings. The voice belonged to a man, with balding grey hair and freckled skin. His brown eyes were concerned as he took her in and he greatly resembled a Muggle Healer…in fact, as Helen finally learned to take her surroundings in, it looked like she was lying on a bed inside a Muggle hospital—complete with one of those beeping contraption she once saw in the telly!
A cold feeling of dread trickled down her spine.
"My name is Dr. Winstor and please, don't push yourself my dear. Relax, are safe now." The doctor said in what he thought was a soothing voice but Helen felt a bit indignant at being talked to like a child. As the doctor was talking, a woman in white uniform was bustling around checking the machines and scribbling notes in the background.
"Where am I?"
"You are in St. Angelo Hospital, Seattle," Helen's eyes visibly widened at the news, no wonder his accent was a bit off, but the doctor was not finished "you've been unconscious for a week after you were brought here from that incident; we thought we've lost you but you are definitely a fighter. It seems like you will be on the recovery road faster then we think, Ms. Potter."
"Incident…what do you mean by incident?" she managed to choke out the question, feeling like something heavy had settled inside her stomach and sinking her into the earth. Unfortunately, she felt like things will get a lot weirder…or worst.
This time, the doctor looked deeply saddened and his brown eyes darkened with sympathy…directed to her.
"I'm sorry, I suggest you rest first. You are wearing yourself out, and when you wake up, I will get someone here to explain everything to you—"
"NO! Tell me! Tell me what happened!"
There must be something from her expression or the steely conviction in her voice, but whatever second thoughts the doctor had was suddenly gone and he nodded to the nurse to dismiss her. Soon it was just Helen and Doctor Winstor in the white room.
The doctor signed, apparently not happy with what he was doing. Maybe he was afraid of aggravating his patient but Helen was too confused to care, besides, what could be worst than hearing about your best friends dying being tortured for days inside a cell with seven Death Eaters.
"Well, I'm surprised you do not remember anything but it seems like we need to check into that head injury of yours soon. You see Ms. Potter, it was a terrible accident I'm sure nobody could expect—well, your parents were great people…nobody would suspect that someone could get past security to plant a bomb inside their private jet minutes before all of you took off for your vacation…I must say, it was a miracle that you survived at all…"
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Helen stared pensively out to the garden from her room's window. It was already a month in this strange sterile place, where everyone spoke strange English and she was ready to scream if anyone subjected her to any form of testing again.
Everything was bloody insane.
Apparently, she was the lone survivor of a freak bombing incident that killed both her parents, who were perfectly Muggle and in conjunction that made her Muggle too! She did not know how to feel about her new situation, since well, she lost her parents once again and she was supposed to be magic-less (the Dursleys would jump with joy at that thought!)…and she was fourteen.
It was all genuine, she had seen the papers. At least her parents were still James and Lily Potter!
If she could get her hands on Albus…
In fact, it was a great possibility that in this strange universe, the wizarding world and things like wands and potions did not even exist! She would bet her entire inheritance on that.
It was a good thing that Helen was no less magical than the last time she was in her old world—she was pretty sure that Albus's little trick had landed her in some strange alternate universe. Her magic still thrummed and purred silently under the surface, reacting pleasantly to her emotions and it was the only familiar thing she had now. She wondered if her magic went through any changes like her physical body, now with no wand to focus her magic Helen was not sure what to expect.
There was a soft knock from the door, and Ms. Bentley poked her head inside to nod at her. "'e's ready for you," she said in her thick drawl.
Helen nodded and politely thanked at the nurse who was quite taken with her during her duration of stay in the hospital. The nurses and some of the doctors referred to her as 'the poor young English girl who lost her parents' and were delighted with her politeness and 'adorable' accent.
Helen rather thought these people never saw real war and pain. They never commented on her constant nightmarish dreams or the dull pain in her eyes, they only saw a small fourteen years old who just lost her parents.
She let them be, in a way, it was refreshing to see people treating her like a normal patient, and not a fragile and mentally and emotionally crippled war hero. These people didn't know her, didn't treat her anymore special than the other patients here…wasn't this was what she often wished for? To be anonymous?
Clutching the handle of the small trunk containing her meager belongings that the hospital staff bought during her month in the hospital, Helen slowly marched out of the room. Ms. Bentley smiled and placed a comforting hand over her shoulder while several people she passed waved and wished her luck. A twelve-year-old boy, who was recovering from serious burn from next door room, gave her a hand-made card with a bright blush on his plump cheeks while his parents looked on with amusement. To her horror, she flushed light scarlet and was mortified at how preteen she was.
It was…warm.
Ms. Bentley steered her calmly towards Dr. Winstor's spacious office, where the good doctor was sitting with a curly haired man with stiff posture. With a last parting 'good luck' and a strangely sudden hug, Ms. Bentley left her in the mercy of the two men sitting awkwardly on the couch.
Dr. Winstor motioned for her to come forward while the other man stared at her in silence.
Helen knew what was coming so she slowly approached the silent man and struck out her right hand, her green eyes watching.
"Hello, I'm Helen Potter and you must be Mr. Charlie Swan, it's nice to meet you and thank you for taking me in."
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Charlie Swan was Lily Potter's cousin and the only living kin she had. He was divorced and lived in a small town of Forks, Washington as Chief of Police there. After the papers were settled he was now her legal guardian.
The trees had gotten denser as the car cruised closer to their destination until they spotted upon a sign welcoming them to Forks, Washington with three digit population. Charlie warned her that the weather in Forks was rarely sunny, but Helen appreciated the rain and gloom. It reminded her of home.
Charlie was a man of few words, he seemed committed to his job and quite content with the simple bachelor life he was living. Helen vowed to remain as unobtrusive as she could; she was already guilty enough to impose on this perfect stranger as she was now.
All through the whole ride, they barely spoke. Helen was never one for small talks, and it seemed so was Charlie. He stared at her a lot, sometimes telling her how unbelievable he thought everything was and how much she resembled her mother. The topic of her mother was a common ground and Helen rather thought Charlie seemed happy that she was living with him.
They pulled over a decent two-storey house, with a yard and garage and thick forest as the backdrop. Seeing all the untouched land, Helen wondered if she could transform into her Animagus form and flew through the forest.
Sweeping her ridiculously long front bangs from her eyes, Helen took everything in with detached interest. Everything was so…new and strange. She wondered if she could make it here before Charlie decided that she was unstable or a freak and kicked her out.
'Albus do you think I deserve this chance…should I grab it…?'
Charlie seemed to sense her dark mood as he glanced at her expression. He seemed pretty ashamed, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly.
"Well, this is all I have. I know it's not what you are used to…"
Horrified, Helen shook her head "Oh no, I'm sorry it's not that! Your house is wonderful, I like it very much. I just hope I wouldn't be troubling you too much." It would be horrible if Charlie was to think of her as a spoiled heiress…she didn't know about the previous Helen in this world but she was definitely not unreasonable.
It seemed like he took her words as genuine, as he beamed and helped her inside his house. Everything in the house was what she expected of him. Simple and cozy, Helen saw feminine touches in his house—"it's my ex-wife, I never got around to redecorating"—and the happy pictures displayed in the living room touched her core. A smiling dark haired girl in pink tutu, a smiling woman hugging a baby in her arms…all pictures of family love, Helen suddenly felt very lonely.
Charlie showed her a small room with a window overlooking the back yard to call her own. She realized he prepared for her arrival as she noted the new bedspread and comforter and the new white curtain. Charlie remarked on her small pack and told her that all of her stuff in England will be delivered here next week after her family's lawyers settled all of her legal affairs and international transfer.
Helen didn't know about receiving things she had no actual right to, even if she was entitled to it legally. The Potters in this world seemed like a right bunch, she wondered if everything Helen Potter owned in her overdone mansion could fit into Charlie's humble house.
It seemed even Charlie was nervous about it.
"The room next to yours is my daughter's room, since she will be back here every summer vacation. She's the same age as you and is easy to have around, I hope both of you could be good friends." There was no mistaking the obvious pride in his voice as he spoke about his daughter. Helen had no will to tell him that the few friends she had were already dead and she was not looking forward to making new friends any soon.
Both of them clambered downstairs once again and Charlie showed her the kitchen. It was sadly lacking in a sense, only down to the bare essentials and Helen was reminded of the sad state of her old kitchen in the shack.
What good would it do if you had no one to share it with you?
Right that instant, Helen found herself a kindred spirit in Charlie Swan.
"I guess we will eat out for dinner today, I'm afraid that I don't have anything good to eat in the house." Charlie finally announced, his head still stuck in the cupboard trying to find decent ingredients for a simple stew.
"I'm sorry Helen; you must be pretty tired after that long drive. I'll go to get some groceries done after we're done with dinner, and stock up everything else in the house. I wish I had thought about it…you must need some toiletries and a few clothes to wear until all of your stuff gets here."
He seemed pretty beat up about it, with his dark brows crinkled in worry as he stood stiffly in the kitchen, clutching the countertop tightly with his hands.
Helen tried to reassure him. "Don't worry; I'll survive with what I had from the hospital. It's not your fault."
Charlie sighed, his anxiety finally caught up with him.
"No, it's not, and it's not your fault either Helen. All of this must be very hard for you…James and Lily, and then the hospital—"he didn't finish it but the rest of it hung silently in the air.
Helen didn't know what to say to him. Yes, it was a bloody horrible thing to happen to a person…but Helen was not a normal girl. It was just a few more things to add up in her messed up life. She was just thankful that Charlie was not the type to pry.
She didn't know why she did it, offering comfort was almost an alien thing to her, but she found herself placing her hands over Charlie's as a warm gesture.
"Its fine, Charlie. You don't have to worry about me; I know it's been horrible to you too. My mother is—was your only relative left, you told me both of you used to be close. No matter what happens, I'm sure that my mother and father would be happier knowing that you are taking care of me. They will always be grateful to you, so as I and you will be just fine."
Those words felt strange coming out of her mouth, they were the longest she spoke in the past month but it seemed like they were the right things to say as Charlie sucked in a breath like he was punched and slowly calmed.
They stayed like that for what seemed like hours, with Helen holding one of Charlie's hands but later, it seemed the air was lighter between them even if they never spoke about it again.
They had dinner in a homely steak house, where everyone seemed to know everyone and Charlie was greeted with familiarity and Helen smoldering curiosity. It seemed like her arrival sparked the whole town's interest and they were all welcoming and staring at her.
She braced through the attention with will of steel, if only to not let Charlie down if she broke down in front of the whole town. It was not long before she felt claustrophobic and Charlie quickly steered her out of the restaurant with their dinner wrapped up in a plastic wrap.
Seeing her pathetic state, Charlie suggested that they head straight home and go grocery shopping another time.
"Are you sure you do not need to go see a doctor? You are shaking and sweating." They were in Charlie's patrol car, parked in front of Forks Hospital. Charlie insisted on a check-up but Helen rather got run over by rampaging Hippogriffs than going to the hospital, after being subjected to it for one month.
"It'll pass, it's just normal anxiety attack…doctors said I couldn't handle crowd well." Helen willed her body to relax, her attention mostly on her erratic magic and trying to keep it under wraps. She didn't want any accidental burst of magic around her that would really raise some questions. She had been doing remarkably well so far.
The frown on his face showed that Charlie was unconvinced.
"I'm fine, really Charlie! No need to raise any alarm, this will pass," she said, and for good measures, shot a look at the warm dinner wrapped up nicely in the back seat "besides, dinner's getting cold. We should head back."
She suddenly felt guilty for handling Charlie like that but she felt no need for more check-ups. She was fine up until now.
"If you are sure—" Charlie hesitated, his hand already clutching the keys to start the car. Helen just gave Charlie a heavy look, she was already feeling better. "—well, if it get worst tonight, I'm calling the ambulance." He warned and then they were off from the hospital's compound, letting Helen breath easier.
That night, Helen had one of the most restful sleep for awhile. She only dreamt of lifeless bodies and blood twice before they were overtaken by feeling of rushing freely through thick dense forest.
Perhaps things were finally looking up.