Gryffindor Girls

Chapter 1: Winter 1966: 'Tis the Season

Friday 23rd December 1966

Her mother's frantic shaking woke her. Dorcas stirred a little, she sat up slowly rubbing her eyes, blinking into the darkness as she searched for her mother's face. When she found it, her heart dropped. Her usually kind and soft eyes were wild and full of distress, and her face splattered in blood, but it wasn't her own. Before Dorcas had any time to react a green spark erupted viciously outside the bedroom window, followed by a blood-curdling scream. Trembling fingers gripped tightly onto Dorcas' shoulders.

"Dorcas listen to me very carefully," Kiera Meadowes said, her voice quivering. "Bad people are coming, okay?" She was holding onto Dorcas desperately, as if she might slip within her grasp any second. "I need you to hide for me, and stay there no matter what happens."

Dorcas was crying now. Tears burned their way down her delicate skin, leaving a glistening trail down her cheek.

"Can you do that for me?" Kiera's voice barely came out a whisper.

Dorcas froze for a moment then shook her head. "I don't want to leave you."

A crash came from downstairs, startling them both. Kiera jumped up, grabbing Dorcas' hand, and dragged her out of bed and over to the wardrobe that stood on the opposite side of the room. It was decorated in drawings Dorcas had done over the years. Pretty flowers and cute animals, but her favourite was a drawing of her family she had done. It was a stick drawing but the faces and clothes were coloured in. Dorcas was in the middle, her brown curly hair decorated in daisies, on her left was her mum, who was holding her hand, on her right was her sister, Heather and her father Jacob was standing, smiling over them.

Another crash came from below, crushing Dorcas back into reality. She climbed into the wardrobe and Kiera wrapped her with a knitted blanket, which she made for Dorcas on her 4th birthday. She reached forward to stroke Dorcas' hair.

"Mummy I'm scared." Dorcas sobbed.

"I know darling." Kiera looked down at her. Her hair slightly messed from sleep, her small body shaking under the blanket. My darling Dorcas, she thought to herself. Kiera reached up to her neck and took her necklace off. She bent down and put it round Dorcas. "Here, this will make you brave."

Dorcas took the pendant in her hand. It was an amethyst. This was her mum's favourite necklace, she never took it off.

Kiera wrapped her arms around Dorcas, holding her tightly. "Daddy and I love you Dorcas, so much." And without further hesitation, she closed the wardrobe.

Dorcas could see through the slit in the doors. She saw her mum pull out her wand and mutter a spell over the wardrobe. Then it happened. Not even a second later, the door to the bedroom swung open, creaking loudly, and a cloaked figure came striding into the room. The figure raised its wand, as if challenging Kiera to fight back. She didn't even try.

Her body was struck down by a blinding fury of light.

A second figure entered the room. This one was much smaller than the other, but still just as terrifying.

"We need to leave now." A clipped voice filled the room. "They are coming."

"What about the child, Walburga? The Dark Lord will be furious."

"We have done enough. The Dark Lord shall be proud."

The smaller figure held out its arm, and the other took it, and with a crack they were gone.

Dorcas burst out of the wardrobe, and fell to her knees next to the lifeless corpse that lay beside her. A realisation came crushing down on her. She had seen those green sparks before, earlier. No, no!

She stumbled down the stairs, and rushed out to the garden. What she saw made her sick. Her father's body was laying there on the ground. And just like that, everything Dorcas ever knew was gone.

She heard the same sickening crack the figures disappeared with from a few feet away. Dorcas shot up, terrified. And instead of seeing a clocked figure, she saw an old man, in majestic blue robes that trailed behind him. He had white hair with a long beard and crustal blue eyes that rest behind half-moon spectacles. He had a certain aura about him. Dorcas couldn't explain what it was. But she could feel it.

Then she heard another crack. Dorcas turned to look to her left and saw a young looking woman. But her face looked much older, Dorcas noticed, and she had kind eyes. She had grey hair and it was in a very tight bun on the top of her head.

"Oh Albus, this is awful! The young women cried, with a thick Scottish accent.

"Indeed it is, Minerva." The old man said darkly.

They seemed to notice Dorcas standing there, Minerva looked on the verge of tears as she brought her hand up to her mouth.

"Minerva, please bring Dorcas to her sister."

Minerva walked towards her, and took Dorcas' hand in her own. She was saying something but Dorcas couldn't hear what. She didn't remember much after that.

Dorcas and Heather, despite having a large age gap, did get on well with each other. Though they didn't speak much, they still cared for each other. Heather moved out of their family home earlier that year, when she turned 23. She moved into a small cottage in the Surrey countryside with her muggle boyfriend, Greg Davis. Dorcas only ever saw him once.

Dorcas lived with them ever since. Greg was away most of the time, busy with work. They never spoke about the accident; in fact they didn't really speak much at all.

The cottage was covered in bright flowers, and ivy wrapped itself around the building. It had a yellow thatched roof, and yellow stones that trailed all the way down the drive. The village they lived in was small; there were only a few houses. It had a small playground and Dorcas thought it looked like it hasn't been used in years. The village was isolated and in the middle of nowhere, only endless fields surrounded them.

Dorcas often felt lonely, she had no friends, no parents, and sometimes she felt like she didn't have a sister. She felt guilty for thinking that. Heather was trying to settle in to the cottage, she still had boxes to unpack from moving in, and now she had to take care of a child. Dorcas knew that she was a burden, no matter how much Heather would tell her otherwise. She could see how stressed her sister had become since the death of their parents. Dorcas knew how she was feeling.

She didn't go to school but Heather tried to teach her, she learned basic muggle maths and English. Heather stopped using magic when she moved out, she never did like it. Dorcas became quickly shut out from the wizarding world as well.

Dorcas knew that she had magic. She started showing signs from age 3, which is extremely early. Her parents were so proud. After the night of 1966, her magic spiraled out of control. As she got older it became harder and harder to try control it.