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[CHAPTER ONE]
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"A GIRL?" said a middle aged woman as she stared at her husband in disbelief, "Are you sure?"
"Yes," he replied, "Down by the river."
Margot bit her lip as she stared at her husband, who was packing a few things in a bag.
"I don't think this is such a good idea, Robbie," said Margot, "What if it's a trap?"
"There's only one way we can find out," said Robbie, "This girl can't be older than in her late teens. I have to help her. I'll bring her here and then we can call Dumbledore, how does that sound?"
". . .Alright," Margot agreed, "I'll come with you."
The trip to the river was just like so many others they made, but they knew it wasn't. This time, they were going to go look for a girl that they knew nothing about. Robbie was quick, despite the limp in his steps. Margot was awfully slow to keep up with him, but she made sure to not stray too far from him.
Robbie suddenly stopped, handing the bag to Margot as he picked up his pace. Margot was quickly behind him. She peered at the body, a gasp emitting from her lips.
"Is she dead?"
Robbie checked for a pulse before shaking his head, "Her pulse is faint, but it's there."
Margot kneeled down beside Robbie and observed the girl. She looked to be quite a beautiful girl before she somehow landed herself in the river. Her blonde hair was spread out all around her in a messy fashion, it was dirty and matted. Margot could only imagine that it was once soft and straight, like silk. Her skin was deathly pale and her lips were a purple color. She was cold at the touch. She really did look dead.
Her blue dress was ripped and was smudged with mud. They knew she must have been from a wealthy family as the dress seemed to be made from silk. She was missing her shoes and socks.
Robbie picked her up, her body was limp. Margot opened the bag and pulled out the blanket Robbie packed, handing it to him. Robbie wrapped it around the girl before they headed back to their house.
Robbie placed her down in their bedroom before he left her to Margot. He went to send a patronus to Albus Dumbledore, he would know what to do. Until then Margot was left to care for the girl to the best of her ability.
Margot went and started the bath with hot water. She lifted the girl and placed her in the tub. Margot locked the door before turning her attention to the teenage girl. Margot allowed her to soak and only really washed the girl's hair. She was sure her shampoo and conditioner was nothing compared to the luxuries the girl grew up with, but it would have to do.Once she finished rinsing out her hair, she drained the water. She dried the girl's hair gently.
Margot went back into the room, she went into her closet and found a jumper. She dried off the girl and changed her clothes to the jumper before moving her back to the bed. She covered the girl in blankets and made sure the temperature in the house was the warmest it could be, all to make sure the girl warmed up.
She left the girl in the bed as she walked outside, where Robbie stood.
"Have there been any fires that happened as of late?" she asked.
Robbie shrugged, "No, why do you ask?"
"Well," said Margot, "As I was cleaning her off, I noticed she had a burn mark on her back, it didn't look old either."
"Perhaps death eaters attacked her home and she somehow survived," said Robbie, "We could ask her when she awakens."
"Did you send the patronus?" asked Margot, Robbie nodded.
"I'm sure it's only a matter of time before he arrives."
Margot turned to Robbie, "I'm going to head down to the river to see if there's anything else that could belong to her. Try to talk to her if she wakes up."
Robbie nodded and headed inside.
Margot headed down to the river quickly. She quickly located the spot where they found the girl and started to look around for anything. She found a shoe, which she put in the bag, despite it not being wearable. As she dug around the dirt, she also found a bracelet. She put it in the bag before she continued to look around. A few feet away from the river was half of a wand. The girl was a witch. Margot continued to search, trying to find the other half of the wand, but there was nothing else and so Margot returned to the house.
THE LAST THING she remembered was the icy cold water as she drowned in it. Her lungs desperately begged for air, but no matter how much she tried to paddle her arms against the water, she couldn't find the surface.
Then it went all black.
She could feel her body heating up, much to her discomfort. Her body was awake, but she couldn't open her eyes. She tried to wiggle her fingers as she continued to lay there, counting down until she could move. Finally, her eyes snapped open.
Her hand went up to her head as she felt it throb. She sat up slowly, her hand still resting on her head. She scanned the room, she didn't recognize it.
Despite being covered in blankets, she still shivered. She had enough of this, she didn't know what was going on and she was starting to panic. She threw the blankets off her, revealing a maroon jumper and a pair of sweats.
She stumbled around the room, finding a mirror. She stared at her appearance. It felt so strange as she stared at herself. It didn't feel like she was staring at herself, it felt like she was staring at a total stranger. It frightened her.
She backed away from the mirror and tripped over a chair as she did so. She landed on the ground, causing her to wince. Who had a chair in the middle of the room?
"Oh, you're awake."
She spun her head to see an older man standing in the doorframe. She crawled away from him and to the closest corner.
"I'm not going to hurt you," he said, walking towards her in a slow and calm manner.
She continued to press herself against the corner. Did he know her?
"What's your name?" he asked gently.
He stopped walking, noticing her fear. Either he didn't know her or he was testing her. She opened her mouth, ready to answer, only for her to close it.
"I . . . I don't know," she said, tears pooling into her eyes, "I don't know!"
"That's okay, that's okay!" said the man, hearing the panic and fear in her voice.
"I can't remember! I can't remember anything! Why can't I remember anything?!" she shouted, a sob leaving her mouth.
She crawled up in a ball, crying and sobbing. Not only was she cold and had a killer headache, but she didn't know anything. She didn't know her name, her age, where she was from, nothing.
"It's okay," he said, "We'll figure it out."
She didn't feel soothed at all as she continued to sob. He didn't know her, what if they never found out who she was? She was a nobody, literally.
A woman ran into the room and stared at her before she turned to the man, "Robbie, what happened?"
"She started crying after I asked her for her name," said Robbie, "She doesn't remember anything, not even her name."
"Oh poor thing. . ." said the woman, walking over to her. The women went to touch her, but she flinched away from her.
The woman dropped her hand with a sad smile, "I'm Margot and that's my husband, Robbie. We found you unconscious near the river."
"Please help me," said the girl, "My mind feels so empty — all I have are my thoughts and they aren't pleasant. . . Please!"
"We called someone who should know what to do," said Margot, "Until then, here."
She opened her bag and pulled out a shoe, "I found these things by the river, maybe they'll help you remember."
The girl grabbed the shoe and stared at it. It was a black mary jane, she felt nothing. Margot pulled out the bracelet, which she snatched right away. She stared at it and continued to cry.
"So. . .what should we call Jane?" asked Robbie, "Unless we're going to stick with Jane."
"No, we aren't going to give her a name after Jane Doe," said Margot, "We'll wait for Dumbledore."
"It's. . .cold," said the girl quietly.
"Cold?" said Margot, she overcame her surprise as she grabbed the girl's arm, "Come — you're hot! Do you have a fever?"
She pressed her hand against the girl's forehead, her eyes widening.
"Come sit down on the bed, I'll get you some potion."
"Potion?" she asked, her lip trembling.
Margot smiled softly, she reached into her bag again and pulled out the half of the wand she found.
"I believe this is yours," she said, handing it to the girl.
"A stick?" she said as Margot left the room.
Robbie laughed, "It's a wand, you really don't remember anything?"
"I didn't even recognize my appearance," said the girl as she looked down in shame.
"You must be afraid," said Robbie, "Knowing nothing about anything. . .I can't even imagine how it must feel."
"It feels like I was just born," said the girl, "I could understand, speak, and read English and that's all I really know. You know, I do remember one thing though."
"You could tell us once Dumbledore arrives," said Robbie, "He'll help you."
"Who's Dumbledore?" she asked.
"He's a very powerful wizard," said Robbie, "and the headmaster of Hogwarts."
"H — Hog — warts?" said the girl, "What kind of name is that?"
Robbie laughed, "It is an odd name, but it's the best wizarding school out there."
"Why don't I remember. . .?" she asked, "I don't remember anything about magic."
"Well, you don't even remember your name," said Robbie. That didn't help her on the slightest.
Margot arrived with a potion.
"It might taste odd," said Margot, handing it to her.
She drank it, making a face at the taste.
There was a knock at the door, causing Robbie to stand up.
"It must be him," he said, running out of the room.
"You'll be okay," said Margot, "You could trust Dumbledore."
She was led into the main room by Margot. There was another man with Robbie. This man had the longest beard she had ever seen, not that she remembered many beards. The man looked over at her through his glasses.
"Professor," said Robbie, out of habit, "This is the girl I told you about."
"Hello," he said, "I am Albus Dumbledore. I have been informed of your unfortunate situation."
She nodded.
"I am glad to see that you are in the road of recovering soon," said Dumbledore, "Robbie, here, has just told me that you remembered something. If you don't mind sharing, it might prove to be useful."
"Water," she said, "I remember the feeling of drowning, my lungs crying out in pain. The surface seemed so far. . ."
Dumbledore nodded, "I could contact other schools near here in order to find out more about you. You weren't a student at Hogwarts and your voice has a faint accent, until then, is there anything you'd like to be called?"
She looked down at the bracelet. She noticed a name carved in the back.
"Odette," she responded, "Call me Odette."