Fallen Witch
Disclaimer: Many of the characters are borrowed from the Potter universe. I will return them unblemished once I have told my story. I am not making any money with this.
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Chapter 1 - A baby drowns
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The night was covered in leaden clouds, pulling a heavy blanket over the sea that was shifting restlessly in its huge bed. Little Tim's parents had forbidden him to go out; the night was too dangerous. A fierce wind had been rattling the windows at dinner. And yet, Tim had sneaked out immediately after his parents had fallen asleep. He could not let the opportunity pass. Anything might be washed ashore on a night like this.
Tim was a treasure hunter. His room was stuffed with his collections: large rocks that bore fascinating cracks and shimmered in the sunlight; shells of any size and colour; pincers of a crab; white, thin bones of a seagull; sand in several bottles that made the shelf they were standing on groan under their weight. Tim's parents had once tried cleaning up his room. He had not spoken to them for a month. Now, they left him to it; they had only advised him to be careful.
And Tim had better be careful on a night like this. Just as he stepped onto the cool sand, lightning tore the leaden blanket high above his head, and a Death Eater rode through the path that had opened in the sky at breakneck speed, clutching his broomstick as he went.
Tim, of course, had never seen a Death Eater or a broomstick that could fly before. He was, after all, a Muggle-born wizard in spe, and still had several years to go until his letter from Hogwarts would arrive. At the moment, his only option was to stare in disbelief at the strange figure that was flying towards him.
Waves crashed onto the shore. The Death Eater was barely a hundred metres away when little Tim finally realized he might be in danger. Quickly, he seized a rock and aimed. It hit the Death Eater on the head; Tim dashed away back home as fast as he could. The Death Eater struggled not to fall off his broomstick, and lost hold of the grey bundle he had been carrying.
It fell into the roaring sea below him. The Death Eater darted after it, but he was too late; waves closed in on top of the bundle, and it was gone.
The Death Eater cursed inaudibly in the storm.
He had not seen who had attacked him; and anyway, the Dark Lord was waiting for his report. Well, he had achieved something tonight, even if the bundle was lost. And so, he pulled up his broomstick and flew back into the clouds.
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Meanwhile, Camilla was putting her baby into its cradle.
"Good night, sleep tight", she whispered, when a deafening crash made her look up. Pasha called urgently from outside. "Camilla! Come quickly!"
She hastened to her husband's side. "What is it?"
He pointed into the dimly lit water. "It's the Dark Gnomes again - they have not taken kindly to being banned from our grounds. It seems they have awoken the Great Shark!"
Camilla gasped. Indeed, a massive black figure was rampaging through the village. Around it, the Dark Gnomes were gathered in a cloud to dodge the spears the villagers were throwing. Quickly, Camilla grabbed her knife and darted forward, lunging at the Dark Gnomes, kicking them as she went. Finally, the Great Shark was right before her. She raised her hand that held the knife, ready to strike -
The Great Shark simply rammed his massive body into her, hurling her almost into the spears the villagers were holding at the ready.
"Pasha, get away!" Camilla shrieked. Pasha ducked under the huge body just in time - and the Great Shark hit the small hut Camilla had just emerged from at full speed.
It collapsed.
The Great Shark was unconscious, so the villagers closed in on him to finish him off. The Dark Gnomes scattered quickly in all directions, brandishing their fists, shrieking and yelling furiously.
Pasha approached his wife. She was sitting on a rock. Her eyes were blank.
"Camilla, dear", he said gently. She did not react.
Suddenly, a dark bundle came floating between them. Instinctively, Pasha reached out and grabbed it. It stirred in his arms, so he flung off the blanket that covered the bundle and saw -
"Baby", Camilla whispered and stretched out her arms. Without hesitation, he placed the child into her arms. It had just woken up and now looked up at Camilla through questioning eyes. Pasha noticed a bubble around its head.
A hand was placed heavily onto his shoulder. Pasha turned and saw the Village Elder, whose eyes were brimming with sadness. "I am very sorry, Pasha", he said quietly. "We could not rescue your baby."
Camilla laughed. "What are you talking about, Elder? My baby is here."
The Elder approached her carefully. "That is a human", he remarked. "Most likely of a wizard family, judging by the fact it has not drowned."
"It is my baby!" Camilla retorted angrily. "Are you telling me I don't know my son?"
The Elder exchanged a long, sad glance with Pasha and sighed. "Of course you know your baby. It is probably the best solution." Pasha started. "What? But, Elder..." The Elder motioned for him to follow, and they swam a few metres.
"Look, Pasha", he said quietly. "I know this is hard on you, but are you willing to raise the child as though it were your own? Your wife is in shock, and this is the best remedy. I shall ask Calypso to concoct a potion that will turn the baby into one of us."
"We are not going to get away with this, Elder", Pasha said. "I would love to take in the baby. But, it is of wizard origin. They are going to take her away from us."
"The wizards are quite busy at the moment; Lord Voldemort is still at large, and nobody will have the leisure to raise someone else's child. If they get rid of the Dark Lord, the boy can still attend Hogwarts when the time comes. But he will be of your family."
And finally, Pasha consented.
He had little regrets about this over the rest of the day, which he spent rebuilding the hut, while Camilla was talking to him and the child happily.
Their first shock came when Camilla changed the baby's clothes; it was wearing human attire, after all. Pasha dropped his tools when he heard his wife scream. He found her in tears. She pointed at the baby, unable to speak.
The Elder hurried towards them, a sullen-looking girl in his wake.
"It's a girl." Pasha had to wrench his mouth open to say the words in the presence of his wife, who was sobbing hysterically. The Elder shook his head resignedly.
"Calypso", he told the girl hovering behind him, "administer the potion."
And so she did.
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One year later, when the village at the bottom of the sea learned that Lord Voldemort had been vanquished by a small child, the girl truly was Pasha and Camilla's daughter already. Everyone called her Vanilla, since it resembled her mother's name; her parents, however, used the name that was sown into the blanket the baby had been wrapped in: Hermione.
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Welcome to my new story! Hope you'll enjoy.
This is a short chapter, but the next ones will be longer, so stick around!
Next chapter: New neighbours.