บท 145: Chapter 142

All the lights in the houses of the neighborhood were off, and the darkness was enough for Harry to sneak into the boundaries of the house undetected. He peeked in through the windows of the house, looking for the bedroom in which the little girl, Anny, slept.

After the kitchen, the living room, the father Chadwick's bedroom, and what looked like a guest room, Harry found the window which led to her room. The girl looked like she was asleep, with a small teddy bear clutched in her hands.

"ID Create," Harry muttered, and the moon took on a red color. He blasted a hole in the wall, and entered the girl's room in the ID, after which he commanded, "ID Escape". And just like that, he appeared in Anny's room in the real world.

Harry took one step closer, and somehow, despite him not making even a little bit of noise, the girl shot up, wide awake.

It took Harry less than a second to pull out Riddle's wand and snap a Quietus at the girl to lower the volume of her voice before she caught sight of him.

And it proved to be a smart action, because the moment Anny saw him, she let out a scream and curled up into a trembling little ball, clenching her teddy as if her life depended on her.

Harry carefully and slowly moved closer.

"Anny?" he asked quietly. The vice grip she had on the teddy eased slightly, as two tear-filled eyes peered at him.

"I'm not going to hurt you, Anny, I am here to help you," Harry said softly.

"You're lying," she whimpered, squeezing her eyes shut, "You're going to hurt me. Did papa send you? I promise I didn't say anything to the boy at the park."

"Anny I-"

"NO! Please! Don't hurt me!"

Harry stood in his spot, looking sadly at the girl's trembling form. He had to calm her down somehow.

"Anny…Do you remember your mum?"

She didn't uncoil, nor did her trembling stop. A short nod was all Harry got.

"Well, you see, there is this whole world around us…different from the one you live in…special…like you. Like your mum. She was very special Anny. So special that she sent me to take you away from here. She sent to me take you somewhere safe," Harry said slowly, hoping that his tone was reassuring enough to the troubled girl.

"You're lying. My mummy is dead. I was there…" Anny replied back shakily.

Harry took a second to process that before continuing. "That's true Anny. But your mum was very special. She was so special that even after she was…gone, she was able to send me to help you. To take you away from here and to a place with special boys and girls just like you," Harry said.

"What do you mean special?" Anny asked quietly. Harry removed the Quietus from her voice.

"Your mum was a witch Anny. She could do magic. She went to a school and learned all about it, just like you will one day."

The little girl looked at Harry, who let her look over his form, wondering what illusion the wolf jacket was showing her.

"Prove it," she finally said, and Harry was glad to see her finally gaining some confidence.

Lifting the Riddle's wand in his hand and pointing it at a spot over Anny's head, Harry incanted, "Periculum." A burst of red sparks flew from his wand and coalesced into a circle of sparkling red light above the little girl's head.

A spark of pure joy lit in Anny's blue eyes as she let go of her teddy bear and happily tried to catch some sparks with her tiny hands. Harry watched her play for a few minutes as he sat on the edge of the bed before he heard her stomach rumble.

"Haven't you eaten Anny?" he asked, suddenly noticing her frail frame. This was even worse than he had been with the Dursleys.

The little girl shook her head, hesitating a bit.

"Do you like crisps?"

She nodded, this time more eager. Harry wished he could offer something more nutritious, but his inventory was running low on food at the moment, since he so rarely ever had to worry about it anymore.

"Watch," Harry said, before he made a big show of moving his hands and saying some magic words, before he pulled a packet of crisps out of his Inventory.

Anny's eyes shot wide open, "How did you do that? And how did you make the pretty lights! Will I be able to do that too?"

Harry smiled, "Of course you will. When you go to school, Professor Flitwick will teach you a lot of cool things, like magic spells and Professor Snape will teach you how to brew magic potions. You'll even get your own wand like I have. By the time you finish school, you'll be able to do a lot of really cool things."

Anny eyed the yew wand Harry was holding, eyes filled with fascination. Harry frowned as he noticed the bruises and cuts around her neck. No doubt the father had done his best to make sure no injury ever showed. But there was one large slightly infected cut running across her left cheek, so the man wasn't holding back too much either.