And this is the sequel to Kissed Me Till the Morning Light.
There's a couple things you might need to know.
First, this chapter is supposed to be confusing. The premise of this whole story will be to figure out what happened.
This takes place during Harry's 5th year. But Harry and everyone else won't have such a big role. Most of the story will be flashbacks.
The flashbacks include Lily/James. That makes it a Lily/James story and I'm quite excited that I get to write another one.
It's also a bit different than KMTTML. You'll see that it's more action. And it's sort of a mystery. If you want, you can even guess what's happening in your review...
But for now, enjoy this chapter.
It was dusk; a dusty dark red seeping over the horizon. The trees outside rustled softly as the wind blew, making the only sound in the quiet.
I glanced out the closed door, watching, waiting. My mother's instructions were to stay here and watch out the door. I wasn't sure what I was watching for but I knew it was important. Nervously, I fingered my wand in my back pocket, just in case.
Questions swarmed through my mind. Why were we here? Why did we have to hide? Why did we have to be so secretive?
I pressed against the wall, wondering what to do next. Across from me in the mirror, I saw a confused girl with dark thick hair and amber eyes staring back at me. I brushed a piece of my hair out of my face, realizing why I was often told that I looked like my mother.
My mother. Where was she?
"Mom?" I called, looking behind me in the seemingly deserted room.
I turned at the sound of footsteps, seeing my mother coming from the other room. "Adrienne," she said softly, speaking in hurried harsh whispers, "I need you to promise me something." I nodded in confusion, as she placed a folded piece of parchment in my hand. "If something happens, you know what I mean,I need you to read what is in here. Just read it and do what it tells you. No questions, just promise me."
I stared up at my mother's tired face. Times like this made me remember what she had told me before we had left America. She had kept our life, her life, a secret for fifteen years. Right before we left she told me some of her story; the parts that I had bugged her about for the last five years. But now that I was in the middle of it, I didn't know if I wanted to stay there. "I promise," I whispered back.
"You ready?" she asked, stepping in front of me, ready to open the door.
Having lead a sheltered life, I couldn't see the danger. She had warned me about something, a war, perhaps. Warned me about...what was his name? Oh, yeah, Voldemort. The ever increasing threat. She had gone through this once before. In response to her question, I nodded.
"Keep watch," she warned me before opening the door and stepping out.
A sudden thought occurred to me if I weren't so scared about a little thing like apparation we wouldn't be in this situation. Mother could have just apparated us there. But, at least this way, we could keep watch on the streets this way. Know what was happening...
The air was thick in the room, making it difficult for anyone to breathe. No one dared to look at each other; instead, they looked at the ground, the table, the wall, anywhere to not show their emotion to each other.
Lily breathed in deeply, silent tears streaming down her face. James held her close, arms wrapped tightly around her, comforting her.
Remus glanced up for a second, seeing the two comfort each other. He shivered involuntarily and wondered how they would ever be able live life the same anymore.
"Two of us are absent today," Dumbledore said at the front of the room, breaking the silence.
Immediately at the end of his sentence, the door behind him opened with a slam, and in hurried Sirius Black, still reveling in his disbelieving shock. He sank down in the first chair he found, refusing to meet anyone's eyes.
"One of us," Dumbledore corrected in soft tones, respectful of the situation.
Lily glanced up at Dumbledore, eyes shining with tears. "She told me to tell you that she's staying home sick today," she told him, voice wavering.
Dumbledore nodded and started to speak. "We lost someone important to all of us last night," he announced, "But she would have wanted us to keep going. This Order is strong. All of us here defied him once. In memory of those who we've lost, we need to keep practicing. Keep fighting..."
Lily sniffed softly. "But he has killed, Professor, he's-"
"That's exactly why we're fighting. We need to stop him," Dumbledore explained.
Remus was listening to every word Dumbledore said, making mental notes with every word he said. James thought about each person they had lost and now everything else they had to deal with. Peter was staring at the ground, a blank expression on his face. Sirius kept his eyes fixated on a spot on the table, not even listening to Dumbledore's speech; one thing going through his mind.
He was going to kill Voldemort...personally.
"Where are we going?" I asked, shivering from the cold. It was an August night, but for some reason, it was chilly this night.
"Away," was the only response I received.
"I want to know," I complained about her short answer.
My mother sighed, taking out her wand. It was a wonder she even remembered. "We're going to find some people. But the war is making it really difficult."
I fingered my wand in my pocket again. "People you know?"
"You could say that," my mother answered.
I jumped as I heard something make a cracking sound behind me. Whipping around, I faced whatever it was. Nothing. "Mum, I heard something," I told her loudly.
"You're just being jumpy, Adrienne."
I frowned, staring out at the horizon and the deserted road. I turned back around, sighing because my mother was right.
We continued walking down the winding trail. The road took a sharp curve, sneaking its way through a thick forest. "Strange..." I heard my mother muttered and shrugged as if she didn't say anything at all.
I was going to ask what was strange but I stopped myself, deciding to leave questions for later. I stepped into place next to her and we continued down the trail. It was silent, an uncomfortable silence that made me twitch and want to yell just to hear something.
My mother stopped in the middle of the forest, looking around at the scenery. Suddenly, she turned around, kicking the stone on the side of the road. To my surprise, her foot went right through it, as if it were a hologram or something.
She quickly caught my gaze and said a word that sent chills up and down my spine.
"Run."
As soon as the word left her mouth, the forest began to fade away, from the tops of the trees to the roots, slipping away into darkness. I spun around quickly, looking at each thing as it dissolved into the dark. I turned and came face to face with a dark hooded person.
My mother's command flickered across my mind in an instant and I immediately set one foot ahead to run, to scream, to get away. A strong hand grabbed my arm before I could run, pulling me, hurting me with its grasp.
I opened my mouth to scream but nothing came out. "Master..." the hooded figure yelled, catching me off guard.
I couldn't see what was going on behind me. My mother was to the side, jaw set, staring at whatever was coming up behind me.
Was this the danger?
Was this...Voldemort?
"Ah, I remember you." I let out a choked gasp at the voice. No, it wasn't even a voice. A breathy whisper of a voice. A hiss. "You are the one that got away all those years ago. Aliquantus veneficus." I saw something vivid blue fly over my head, and I let out a shocked high-pitched scream as the spell hit my mother, making her rise up into the air, immobilized.
Her wand was left on the ground.
"MOM!" I screamed.
My mother kept her stone cold gaze on whatever cast the spell. Not whatever. It was him. Even though I couldn't see him and I couldn't know for sure, I still knew. It was...Voldemort.
She still didn't say anything. She didn't try to scream, yell, or do anything. She just...stared.
I heard a cold chuckle. "It's been around fifteen years, has it not? One of the those days I remember so well. You thought you had defeated me. You thought everything would be okay, and then, they lost you. At least that's what your friends thought. But you got away, didn't you? Away from my Death Eater. I don't know how, don't want to know, but you did. And I knew one day I'd be able to kill you for real. And here we are." He spoke slowly, stopping after each sentence.
My mother continued her cold stare, not saying a word. Not even fear flickered in her eyes.
"And, surprise. You were carrying a child. I suppose none of your...friends knew that."
I moved my arm a little and the grip on it tightened "Don't move girl," my captor hissed.
"I don't like it when people defy me," Voldemort continued, "I don't like it when they believe they have won. And I don't like you." He stopped, paused, for something. "And I don't like your daughter."
"Leave her alone."
I blinked in surprise that she said something. My heart hammered as the silence continued.
"She is an obstacle. You are an obstacle. Obstacles on my way to what I really want. To kill Harry Potter."
My mother frowned. "You won't be able to. His mother died for him and because of her sacrifice-"
Another chuckle. "I know all about that. I solved that problem already." Pause. "Now, I don't have time for this."
"Don't!" I yelled, jabbing the hooded figure in the gut, successfully pulling away from him. I whirled around to face my fear.
Instead of flinching at his face, his horrible face, I showed no emotion, showing myself and everyone that I could do this. I could... Oh god, his eyes...were...staring...mercilessly.
"Adrienne, get out of here!" my mother yelled from behind me.
I shook my head, stepping back, keeping my stare on...him. "Child, you will move." He flicked his wand and my mother fell to the ground, landing with a thud. I cringed and took a step forward to help her but noticed him. He was opening his mouth to say another spell.
Spell. Killing curse. Death...
What the hell was I doing?!
"Avada kedavra." In a rash decision, I quickly fell to the ground, ducking the spell. A jet of green flew across my head and disappeared out of sight.
"ADRIENNE! GET OUT OF HERE! NOW!" My mother had an urgency and an anxiousness to her voice that I had never heard before.
I was going to die.
She was going to die.
I stumbled as I tried to run away.
"Don't worry about me!" I heard behind me. Except I had to worry. I was worrying...
Voldemort chuckled again. "Oh, this is priceless. Get her." All of the hooded figures started to run toward me, arms outstretched with their wands ready.
Without even thinking, I responded. "Stupefy!" I cast the same spell over my shoulder as I ran, out of there, out of danger.
Yards away, I turned around, and screamed, "MOM!"
She looked at me, softly, as if to say 'I love you'. "Go," she mouthed, and I turned away to hear the two words no one ever wanted to hear.
I couldn't think. Couldn't breathe. All I knew was that I had to keep running. Tears blurred my vision as I ran, just ran, and ran and ran...
I spent the entire night awake, watching every movement in the darkness. Huddled in a corner of the house that we were staying at before we left, I watched everything. Listened through the silence. Felt the cold.
I shivered, putting my hands in my pockets. My left hand wrapped around something that crinkled and I brought it out to see, by the dim dawn light, the parchment I was given the day before.
If something happens. She had known something was going to happen to her. She had made me promise I would follow whatever was on this paper. Slowly, I unfolded the parchment and read the few words on the page.
"Number twelve, Grimmauld Place. London."
Number eleven...Number thirteen...
I stared at the two houses. There was nothing in between.
With a frown, I looked again.
Number eleven, Grimmauld Place.
Next house.
Number thirteen, Grimmauld Place.
Maybe the address written on the parchment was wrong. And if it was, where was I to go? I had no one, I had nothing. I only had this address. It was my lifeline.
Where was Number Twelve Grimmauld Place? Where?
I scuffed my toe of the shoe on the ground, looking down briefly to see the mark I had made. How come number twelve didn't exist?
I absentmindedly looked up and was startled when I was greeted with the presence of an old house that wasn't there before; a house proudly declaring to be number twelve.
Should have known there would be some magic involved.
I found myself on the worn steps, not even remembering how I got there. 'Okay, Adrienne, you can do this.' I stared at the black door, staring at its peculiar shape and form. Just knock. You need to do this. You have to do this.
I took the cold steel of the serpent door knocker in my hand and lifted up. And with an exhale of breath, I brought it down, making three short taps.
Silence.
Maybe no one was home. Maybe it was abandoned now.
Might as well give it another try. I tapped again three times. This time I heard a slight scuffle and then upcoming footsteps.
I tried to take calming breaths to ease my speeding heartbeat as the footsteps came to a stop, leaving me in silence. Was there a peep hole that they were looking at me through? Finally, the door creaked open revealing a man with sandy graying hair. He stopped right before the threshold and stared at me.
I stared back nervously. I stepped forward confidently, clearing my throat and offering my hand. "Hi. I'm Adrienne Hatcher."
"Oh god," was the only thing that escaped his mouth.
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Review if you want to know what happens. And I know you do.