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─── 𝖺𝖼𝗍 𝗈𝗇𝖾, 𝗅𝗈𝗏𝖾'𝗌 𝖾𝗆𝖻𝖺𝗋𝗋𝖺𝗌𝗌𝗂𝗇𝗀 𝖺𝗌 𝗁𝖾𝗅𝗅 !
JUNE 1976 ╱ somewhere in paris
The smell of copper filled her nose as she lay on a damp mattress, crimson blood dripping onto the floor. It was often that she had nosebleeds, or occurred random cuts. She should've been able to heal them by now, but she had nothing to use and did not want to cause infection.
Katya rolled onto her back, staring at the ceiling where above she knew that one of the other children was being punished for something a cool mother or father might praise. She never had one of those.
It was mere luck that she wasn't up there, dealing with whatever poor Lydia was going through. None of the children ever did anything wrong in Katya's opinion, not even the boys. Madam Odette must like hurting people.
Madam Odette often said things while she was beating the orphans. 'Life feels worse than this' or 'You're lucky this is it.' The children just cried in silence, they had all accepted that it would be a long time until they had freedom, and even then they would have to deal with the hardships of poverty in such a glamorous city.
There was a heavy knock on the door and Katya sat up instantly and surveyed the room, checking for anything untied. She wiped the blood from the side of her bare leg and her nose as she wiped the blood on the floor with a ragged t-shirt that was too small.
Kicking the shirt under the bed, she opened the door, clutching her sleeve to her nose and the other pressed against the wound on her side.
Madam Odette, stood in the doorway dressed in pastel, holding a little package. She didn't make eye contact with the girl, instead she looked past her tall figure into the room, checking for misplaced objects. But Katya was always prepared.
"Someone is here to see you," she said in her haughty voice.
Though the orphanage was situated in the dirty parts of Paris, however the children mostly spoke English. If they were lucky, they would be shipped to other parts of France or to England, America even. Maybe this was her chance.
Katya nodded and took the parcel. "You will pack your things and prepare to leave, get changed into those clothes and shoes. No goodbyes."
In an instant she felt elated. She was leaving this hell hole and escaping to some far away land, Niece, London, New York even. She closed the door and tore the brown paper off the clothes.
It was nothing exciting; a pair of jeans, a faded pink long sleeve and a pair of shabby white trainers, but anything given to her she would take.
Once she changed she moved to a chest of drawers missing all its legs and the middle drawer. She pulled out a bag and scooped the seven possessions into her bag. A picture of her and the girl that shared her room, Annabelle. A pressed flower in a frame she had found when she snuck out. A fountain pen she'd stolen from Madam Odette. A hair band, a hairbrush and a rose gold thimble.
Katya didn't spare the room a single glance as she left, quite ready to leave for some unknown safe haven.
The blood had stemmed and she wiped the dried blood from her face as she made her way from the top of the house to the bottom.
When she reached the set of stairs leading to the entrance, a tall man with a pearl white beard and half moon glasses, stood at the bottom of the stairs, in deep conversation with Monsieur Odette, Madam Odette's husband.
In Katya's opinion, Monsieur Odette was considerably kinder than his wife, but not that much different. She supposed he was sympathetic. He would not punish them personally but would not object to it. He would heal them in secret with what looked like a wand of sorts, none of the children knew what odd powers he possessed.
"Ah, Miss Duval." The white haired man beckoned her to come forward and she obeyed but cautiously. She kept her head down, curious about why she had been chosen. The wooden floor boards beneath her cracked, as she stepped onto them. Whether she was strong or had unknown powers she did not know.
The man noticed this and Katya lightly placed her feet on each board. Monsieur Odette began jabbering away in French to the brunette and took her wrist and pulled her forward.
"Katya, this is Professor Dumbledore–"
"Professor? Like Doctor?" She said instantly. She did not want to be inspected. She may have accidentally inflicted pain upon herself and others but she never meant to. She didn't understand it like a lot of things, that wasn't to say it made her different or special.
She was normal. Just Katya Duval. No one else.
He shook his head. "No, Miss Duval, I'm a teacher and I'm here to take you to my school in Scotland."
Katya raised her eyebrows, and glanced between the two men. She sat down on the chipped stairs, prepared to get splinters and stared at her feet.
She was not fully convinced this is the true reason this man had come here. In addition, Madam Odette would never let her leave if she had a choice, she was one of the first children to live in the house.
"When do I leave?" Her English had always been perfect, the only way you could tell she was French was her light accent and the way she rolled her 'r's.
"Now, if you are willing to come?" Dumbledore checked a watch on his wrist and tapped it. "I have a carriage waiting outside, and if you have any more questions you can ask during the journey."
Katya knew what she wanted to; she wanted to go. But she didn't know why she was going to this place. "Will I ever come back?"
"If you wish."
She nodded at his response and stood up. She nodded to Monsieur Odette and he reciprocated the gesture.
Leaving this house had always been her dream, yet she didn't feel any safer going with this mysterious 'Dumbledore' man. There was a person in her head trilling 'Danger. Danger. Danger.'
