Disclaimer: Harry Potter is property of J. K. Rowling.
Inside Job
~)(~
She was painting on the flat cobblestones in the garden, when she heard soft footsteps approaching.
"Charley?" her mother asked, stopping before her.
"Yes mum?"
"I am going out to meet a supplier. I should return in an hour or so." She bent down and ruffled Charlotte's hair.
"Mum!" the girl moved her head out of the way, trying to smooth her dark brown locks. Her mother just smiled.
"You shouldn't sit on the cold stones, Charley." She drew her wand and cast a spell. The stones beneath Charlotte quickly warmed to a pleasant temperature. With another smile, her mother turned and walked back towards the house.
Charlotte watched her go for a moment and then looked at the painting she had made. It was meant to be a witch fighting a dragon. Only the witch resembled a green blob with spiky, hair like protrusions on top.
The blob-witch held a staff in one of her stick arms. It was as tall as she was. Charlotte watched, as the witch moved, casting a spell at the dragon with it. The larger, bluish blob tried to move out of the way, its tiny wings beating frantically, but it was not fast enough. The orange spell hit, causing the dragon to explode in a rainbow of colour.
Charlotte giggled. In the time it took her to dunk a brush into a pot of sparking green colour, the painted dragon had reassembled itself and both figures froze to wait for what she would paint next.
"Good afternoon Charlotte," a wizard's voice said, startling her. She had not heard him coming. Looking up quickly she saw Mr. Audwell the gardener. He had walked through the grass, his shoes flecked with brown earth. "How are you today?" he asked.
"I'm all right Mr. Audwell. What is that flower?"
"This?" he held out a short, thin stalk dotted with a large number of tiny yellow flowers. "This is a Sopophorous vine. Its beans can be used in potions. The vines themselves are useless, but the flowers are nice to look at, don't you think? Here take it."
"Thank you Mr. Audwell," she said, taking the vine into her hand. It was pretty.
"Do you know that we have a small colony of garden gnomes on the property?" Mr. Audwell asked.
When she shook her head, he continued, "Must have moved in recently. I just discovered them. Tiny little buggers. They will uproot half the garden if I don't remove them. Do you want to have a look?"
Charlotte did not need to think twice. She put the brush into its case and stood up. The green colour seeped out of it and flowed back inside the pot, which closed itself. Mr. Audwell was already walking away from the house and she hurried to catch up. The lush grass swallowed the sound of her feet.
"Shouldn't they be underground?" she asked when she was walking beside him.
"They are building tunnels, as they only moved in recently. So you'll see them running to and fro on the ground."
They were silent for a time and Charlotte enjoyed the fresh breeze. She waved her flower through the air and some yellow petals shook free, flying away in the wind.
Glancing at Mr. Audwell, she noticed that he was frowning and seemed a little sad. She was still thinking on that, when they reached a waist high stone wall. It went all the way around the property. Mr, Audwell opened a small metal gate and motioned her to step through. She noticed a warm sensation travelling through her body.
"The gnomes have not crossed the wall yet, but they will if I don't remove them," he said.
Charlotte hesitated for a moment, fingering a silver stud earring on her right ear, before stepping though. Mr. Audwell closed the gate behind him and they resumed, walking together closely.
"How long do we have to walk?" she asked.
"We are nearly there Charlotte."
She felt the warm sensation leaving her and remembered her mother saying that it was the wards.
Suddenly, Mr. Audwell took hold of her shoulder. She looked up at him. He had tears in his eyes.
"I'm sorry," he said. There was a twist and the world rolled madly. Her eyes were open, but she couldn't see anything, as she was squeezed hard from all sides. She couldn't breathe.
And then, as quickly as it started, it was over. She stumbled, head spinning and nearly lost her balance. The flower slipped from her hand. It took her a moment to steady herself and shake off the vertigo.
She was in a small enclosed space. It was open to the sky and a few plants were standing here and there in flowerpots. Mr. Audwell was talking with two wizards. They were dressed in plain black robes and had their wands in hand.
"I have done what you asked," he spat, gesturing at her, "now fulfil your side of the deal!" He sounded very angry.
The taller wizard turned to the other one. "You heard?" he asked and got a nod in reply, "then pay him."
The shorter wizard's wand moved. There was a flash of orange. Charlotte saw as Mr. Audwell dropped to the ground with a loud scream, his chest a red ruin. Another flash and the scream cut off.
Everything happened so fast. Her heart was beating frantically as she turned to run away. She made a few steps and her body froze. She toppled over and fell face first onto the rough stone floor.
Pain exploded as her nose broke.
She didn't understand. Her thoughts felt sluggish and she couldn't hear anything. Her vision swam. Everything was out of focus. She tried to say something, but her mouth refused to move.
When Charlotte finally managed to think clearly, she was lying on a hard bed in a tiny room, without windows. A sphere of light was hanging on a cord from the ceiling. It was glowing dimly. Her nose and head hurt very much. She started crying.
"Mum!" she called, between sobs, but nobody answered. "Mum!" she tried again. She called two more times, but nobody came.
After a while her tears stopped flowing. She sat up. Her head started to hurt even more. The room spun before her eyes. She waited before the spinning stopped and carefully stood up. She stepped to the door and touched the handle.
A sharp pain shot through her hand and she snatched it back with a cry.
The tears returned as she made her way back to the bed. She quietly lay down and closed her eyes. Her fingers touched her earring nervously. Charlotte wondered what would happen to her and who the evil wizards were, before drifting off into a fitful sleep.
BANG!
The loud noise startled her awake. There was a crash of breaking pottery. A hateful yell. Something else broke with a sharp sound. She sat up, blinking the sleep away.
"No further, you fucks, I'll kill her! Stop, I said!" a wizard screamed loudly. She felt a tremor in the floor and thought she heard a witch scream.
There was another bang and then silence.
Charlotte stood up and moved as far away from the door as possible, until her back touched a wall. She waited tensely, trying to listen to all sounds. She heard her heart pounding. What was happening? Would the evil wizards come and get her now? What would they do to her?
Her thoughts were interrupted, as she heard a wizard muttering something right outside the door.
"Williamson! This door here is warded," he called and continued somewhat quieter, "Hmm... Finite!"
Nothing seemed to happen to the door that she could see. Still, a moment later the handle moved and the door swung open.
A tall wizard was standing there. He had his wand raised and his eyes darted right and left, before settling on her. He wore red robes and had reddish hair.
He was an Auror, she was certain.
"Charlotte?" the wizard asked in a soothing voice, holstering his wand. She managed to nod. "My name is Ron. I am an Auror. You are safe now, Charlotte. I will take you to your parents. Will this be all right?" She nodded more firmly and he slowly approached.
The tension left her and her legs grew weak. Before she could sink to her knees, Auror Ron lifted her up into his arms and carried her out of the room.
Another, older Auror joined them. He looked grim and had his wand out. "I see that you have the situation under control, Weasley," he said.
"Thank Merlin the girl had a tracker," Auror Ron replied, "I will Apparate her to St. Mungo's."
"Do that and then get back here. I don't want to enjoy a long day alone and this day promises to be a very long one." He walked past them and Auror Ron started carrying her through the house. She noticed a few of other Aurors and they all seemed unhappy.
Then they were back in the enclosed space, where she had arrived. Her yellow flower was lying trampled on the floor. Looking up she saw that the sky was dark.
"Here we are, Charlotte. I will Apparate us both to St. Mungo's," Auror Ron said and she stiffened in his arms. "On three. One, two, three!" He turned on the spot and she felt herself being squeezed through a tube. It was nowhere near as bad as with Mr. Audwell. Abruptly, they were in a large, brightly lit room. She had to blink.
"Healer!" Auror Ron shouted, "Ms. Ketteridge needs treatment. I suggest a private ward."
A witch and wizard in green robes came with a floating stretcher and Charlotte looked at Auror Ron worriedly. He gave her a gentle squeeze. "Don't worry, I will stay with you until you meet your parents," he said reassuringly.
She was placed on the stretcher, which started floating quickly through white corridors. All the while the Healer, for that was what the green robes meant, hovered over her with a wand, humming to herself. After they entered a spacious room with a window, the second Healer cast a spell and Charlotte levitated over to the only bed.
The witch continued to examine her and even made her drink a vile grey potion, while Auror Ron and the other Healer, conversed in hushed voices.
The door opened and another witch stepped into the room.
"Mum!" Charlotte cried. Her mother rushed to her bed and embraced her. She had tears in her eyes and didn't look well.
"Charley! Oh, Charley," her mother said, stroking her head, "everything will be all right now, I promise."
Charlotte herself did not think much of anything. She felt tired and sleepy. But most of all, she felt relieved.
KETTERIDGE HEIRESS RESCUED
By Betty Braithwaite
(DP) – Ketteridge heiress rescued from hostage takers yesterday. Two wizards dead and one placed into custody. A witch admitted to St. Mungo's in critical condition. Auror injured during the rescue raid.
The search for 7-year-old Charlotte Victoria Ketteridge, ended late yesterday evening, just five hours after it started. Mrs. Ketteridge informed the Auror Office at 4:30 pm on Friday that her daughter Charlotte, as well as the longtime gardener Mr. Jason Audwell, 48, were missing from Ketteridge Manor.
"The Ketteridge family are well known merchants of potion ingredients in Britain and France. We started a thorough investigation without delay," a Department of Magical Law Enforcement (DMLE) spokeswitch stated.
Auror Williamson and Trainee Auror Weasley, reportedly a good friend of Harry Potter, were put on the case. They quickly located Charlotte at a Muggle house in the outskirts of Nottingham. The Aurors detected the presence of several wizards at the property, assumed that it was a hostage situation and called for reinforcements.
According to DMLE, the Aurors faced two wizards, who in the ensuing fight used Dark Magic against them. Nigel Bungs, 36, was stunned and placed into Auror custody. The second, currently unidentified wizard, was killed. Auror McLeod received minor injuries during the raid and is expected to make a swift recovery.
Nora Toulson, 46, Mr. Audwell's younger sister, was present at the house and was injured during the spell exchange. She was rushed to St. Mungo's, where she remained in critical condition on Saturday morning. St. Mungo's declined to comment further.
Charlotte, who was held in a warded room at the time of the raid, was immediately relocated to St. Mungo's, where she was reunited with her parents. Trainee Auror Weasley stated that "Charlotte got banged up a little, but nothing serious. She was very brave and should be up and about in no time."
DMLE confirmed that Mr. Audwell's body was found at the house, after the Aurors secured the location. He was killed some time before the Aurors arrived at the property.
Though no firm conclusions can be drawn at this time, an extortion motive is possible, the DMLE spokeswitch said. Investigations are ongoing.
The Ketteridges themselves were unavailable to comment.
A/N: Many thanks to Taz (u/1424129) and Stella (u/1988548) for beta reading.