The Lost Black (The Predestined Trilogy - Bk 1) (A HP FanFic)

Chapter 14: Bonds and Connections

 "Sleep tight, my little nightingale." Dad leaned over and kissed the top of my head as he pulled my blanket up to tuck me into bed.

"Dad, I'm not little anymore!" I protested with a laugh. "I am now officially thirteen! I'm a big girl now."

"Well, then I guess I won't tuck you in, then." He threw the blanket down to the bottom of the bed. "After all, big girls don't need to be tucked in." He started to turn, but I jumped and grabbed his arm.

"No! What I meant was that I'm not a 'little' nightingale. I'm a 'big' nightingale. I didn't say that I was too old for this."

He chuckled. "Point taken." He reached for my blanket and restarted tucking me in.

"Dad?"

"Yes, Mija?"

"I love you," I gave him a big, toothy grin.

He smiled. "Yo también te quiero. Happy birthday, Mija." He gave me another kiss then left, shutting off the light behind him. I turned in my bed and curled up into a ball and ready to welcome sleep instantly.

However, it felt like it was only seconds when an alarm started going off. I bolted upright, clutching my blanket. I looked to the door and could see smoke coming from underneath it. Is there a fire? How?

"Amelia!"

"Dad!" I cried out.

The door barged open and Dad stumbled in. He had a shirt wrapped around the bottom half of his face.

"Where's Mom?" I asked as he came over.

"She's already outside," he assured me. He pulled out a piece of cloth from his pocket and wrapped it around half my face so that my nose and mouth were covered. "Keep this on," he told me. "It should help keep most of the smoke from your lungs."

I nodded. He took my hand and led me from my bedroom. Intense heat greeted me in the hallway. The end of the hall with the steps were clear, but the other end of the hall was engulfed in raging flames. I clutched Dad's hand as he led me towards the stairs.

"Stay focused, Mija," He said. "In times like these, a calm head is best to have if we want to get out unscathed."

We reached the steps but came to a halt. At the bottom of the steps was more fire.

We were trapped.

Dad cursed in Spanish as he looked around.

"Dad?" I asked, trying to keep calm and failing.

"We'll get through this, Mija," he assured me. "This fire isn't anything I've ever seen. How is it spreading and growing so fast?" He muttered. He looked around the hallway until his eyes landed on a door. He gripped my hand and pulled me into the bathroom, closing the door behind us. He ran to the window and threw it open and peered below it.

I was still barefooted and could feel the heat from the floor. It was growing more and more hot to the point it felt like I was standing on hot coals. Smoke was starting to come through underneath the door. Dad grabbed the shower curtain and ripped it from its hinges and stuffed it under the door.

"Mija, I need you to be brave for me, okay?" He said, returning to the window. "You're going to climb through the window and onto the porch roof, ok? And then use that tree next to the porch to climb down."

I nodded. Even though the room felt like a sauna, I was shivering. Stay calm, I told myself. I need a clear head and to focus, just like what Dad said. Dad helped hoist me through the window. The porch roof was a few feet from the windowsill, but the fall to it was nothing compared to the many times I jumped from the trees in our yard. I dropped down onto the porch and looked back up at Dad, giving him the thumbs up.