Chapter Text
Ten and a half years ago a monstrosity happened, a young girl – barely six months old at the time – was kidnapped, her mother having been killed only moments before. Since then the girl had been kept inside, not allowed to leave the house she was forced to stay in, in case someone recognised her and then tried to rescue her. Her current residence was a large mansion, the home of an old wizarding family. The women of the house were nice enough, and they didn't tend to cause the young girl any particular harm, it was the men she had to be afraid of, they were strong and exceptionally good at magic.
"Get to your room girl, we'll be leaving soon," the girl's 'owner' growled, opening the door to the basement and practically throwing the girl down the steps. The girl's room was only about four-square feet big, and she had just one item of furniture, it was a black, rusting, metal-framed bed that was too small, so she had to curl up on the thin mattress with nothing but a pathetic excuse of a blanket to keep her warm. In the corner of the room, sat a small pile of clothes, items she had owned for a few years, the majority of them were too tight or too short. Picking up the first two items on the pile, she quickly took off her night-time clothes before slipping on a pair of jeans that ended halfway up her calf and a top that used to be white but was now a dirty grey colour. The shirt was decorated with sequined butterflies although half of the sequins had fallen off, so most of the creatures now looked deformed.
For days, stories and rumours were told that a small trip to Diagon Alley was going to happen and the girl had been invited to go with them. Usually, she would have stayed at the house with a few guards watching her, making sure she didn't escape, but today no-one was available to look after her. Excitement bubbled through the small child as she thought about leaving the house for the first time in forever; however, she was extremely nervous and scared about what would happen. She had never heard of Diagon Alley and knowing the people she was going with she didn't have high hopes for the outcome of this trip.
The door slowly opened, creaking with the effort, and a bright light flooded the room as a tall figure made their way gently down the steps until they reached the bottom and gently kneeled in front of the petite child. The girl recognised the man immediately and wrapped her arms tightly around his neck, clinging to him and slumping against his body when he raised his arms to return the hug. "Where have you been Kota? You left," the young girl accused, her teary grey eyes staring up into his dark blue ones, as the child pulled out of the hug and fluttered her eyelashes at him, her lower lip moving to form a small pout.
"I had a job to do, but I'm back now," the man, Dakota, responded, his hand reaching up to move the tousled dirty blond hair out of his eyes. Large muscles peeked out from the sleeves of the black t-shirt he was wearing, scars littered his arms, burns from when he used to work with dragons, a brown, leather satchel hung at his side. "I need you to do me a favour and not ask me any questions. Get your box and bring it to me," Dakota ordered, authority slipping into his tone causing the girl to jump up and rush towards her bed, pulling out a medium-sized, light blue box from beneath the metal frame.
The box itself was coated in a thick layer of dust, the sides had dents and cracks covering them, and the top was concaved as if someone had accidentally stood on it. The young girl opened the box, coughing harshly when the dust blew into her face, she slowly pulled the first few items out, a stack of old, browned parchments with drawings on them, most of the pictures depicted either the view from the living room window or what the girl imagined the outside world looked like.
"Put everything in the bag," Dakota spoke in a rush, throwing the satchel onto the bed and looking behind him in paranoia. The girl gently placed the papers in the bag along with a few other items from the box, Dakota placed a hand on her arm causing her to stop packing and jump back away from him and towards the wall.
"Don't worry, sweetie. I just want to talk to you before you put the jewellery in," the girl nodded at Dakota's words and watched with curious eyes as Dakota pulled out her bracelet, made from what looked like five silver teardrops attached to a chain. He slowly clipped it onto her wrist, pulling the girl's sleeve over the bracelet ensuring that it wasn't visible. "This bracelet is important when you get to Hogwarts I want you to find out what it means," Dakota's voice was soft and quiet as he picked up a golden stag-head necklace and placed it around the girl's neck causing it to drop down her shirt also hidden from view.
The girl looked up at Dakota with one eyebrow raised, her way of asking a question. "This was a gift from your godfather. James made this when you were born, both of your parents were worried you wouldn't be able to handle the amount of magic that comes from being a Dumbledore and a Black, so he created something that would limit the amount of magic you can use."
The girl looked up at her friend with disbelief splayed across her face. "Don't give me that look, it's true; my brother was friends with James' when they were at school, he used to tell me everything." Dakota stopped and glanced down at the child, smiling when she stared up at him with sadness filling her eyes. "Your father did not kill him; I've explained this to you before. He's not dead, and it's your job to prove it."
Dakota packed the rest of the items into the bag and repositioned it back on his shoulder, giving the girl one more hug before beginning to head back up the steps, he stopped in his tracks when a small hand grabbed his arm and pulled once. "I'm getting you out of here, sweetie," Dakota grabbed the girls arm and pulled her up the stairs and towards the front door.
"Do not forget the rules today, girl. Do not speak to anyone or even look at anyone. I will know if you did and the consequences will be dire," the master of the house hissed out once his eyes fell on the girl. She nodded slowly, gripping onto Kota's hand when the master pushed a piece of parchment towards the pair. "This is what you need to buy today, don't let me down," the master of the house stalked off, his shoulders tense as he walked through the house with effortless grace.
The girl slowly walked towards the large, iron-cast doors and tentatively reached out a hand to open it. "You can open it, you know. No-one's gonna stop you," a small voice sounded from behind the girl, she jumped and spun around, her arms tensing as she did. "I didn't mean to scare you," a young boy spoke, a broad smile spreading across his dark-skinned face. The young boy slipped a letter into her hand and smiled gently when she glanced down at the aged parchment in confusion and wonder.
"Thank you," she whispered, her voice quivered as she spoke, it was scratchy and raw from having not spoken for such a long time. Her entire body shook as she glanced over her shoulder trying to make sure that nobody could hear her talk. The young boy simply smiled and motioned towards the letter, and the girl looked down, deaf, trembling hands turned the envelope, and she read the words that had been inked on in calligraphy. Her name had been shortened and written on the letter with the Hogwarts address printed below it, the fact that it wasn't her actual address caused a small smile to spread across her face as it showed that she hadn't been left to suffer and die. She glanced up at the young boy with confusion spread across her face. "If no-one knows where I am, how did you find this letter?"
"Your father's owl, it knew where you were. Owl magic is hard to explain," Dakota interrupted the conversation, coming to stand in front of the young girl, taking the letter out of her hand and placing it in his satchel. "It's time to go."
The young girl hesitantly opened the door, wincing and flinching back when the sun shone into her eyes, she glanced around the large garden and smiled, a broad smile which for the first time in a long time reached her eyes. Dakota grabbed her hand, smiling sadly when she flinched away pulling her hand from his grasp and wrapping both arms around her midsection in protection, she calmed slightly when she saw it was only Dakota, but, her body remained rigid.
"We have to apparate to get there, sweetie," Dakota softly informed the young girl, gently grabbing her hand as four other men joined them outside before apparating away from the house. The group reappeared in the back room of the Leaky Cauldron, the leader of the small group tapped on the wall with his wand a few times causing it to slowly break apart until nothing but a hole was left in its wake.
"Do this quickly, Dakota. We know they're here, get rid of her and report straight back to us. Keep her safe," the leader spoke, nodding towards the young girl and offering her a small, weak smile. Dakota grabbed her arm and proceeded to tenderly drag her through the streets of Diagon Alley, stopping before a giant, with a big bushy beard, a mane of thick unruly hair and black beetle eyes. A small boy was standing next to him, with round glasses covering bright green eyes and a mop of thick black hair which spread out in a thousand different directions.
Dakota let go of the young girl's arm and walked over to the giant, talking in hushed tones which neither child was able to hear correctly. As he spoke the young girl moved towards the other child and glanced apprehensively at him. "I need you to look after her. Listen, I don't have time to explain, get her to tell you her name but don't push. She's had a bad life, but she's free now, and she's looking forward to going to Hogwarts," Dakota spoke rapidly, he took one last look at the young girl, shoving the bag into her hands before rushing off and blending himself in with the crowd. The giant turned around to face the child, and when his eyes rested on the girl's face, she flinched back like she'd been struck and moved to hide behind the boy.