Sydney Cunning was one of the shy girls at Hogwarts and was rarely noticed. She didn’t talk much, but when she did, it sounded like a very faint whisper. Her long, faded blonde hair usually hung down in front of her face, hiding her beautiful brown eyes. It was rarely done in a neat ponytail or anything else.
This year, Sydney would be starting her seventh year at Hogwarts. She loved school, only because she hated home. Being raised in an orphanage wasn’t the best way to live, well, for Sydney at least. She felt like nothing. She felt useless and she felt as if nothing were ever to change that. She felt nothing could ever make her feel better, not after her parents’ death. It was too much of a devastating moment and even though she only knew them up to five years of age, she remembered the event vividly:
It was a cold Wednesday night and her father had still not come home from work. Her mother was sitting by the fire, reading her favorite book, while little Sydney played with her stuffed doll.
Sydney brushed the faded-red strands of yarn hair with her fingers. The doll was very tattered-looking and it looked to be one hundred years old. Yet, it was Sydney’s favorite. She looked at her and smiled, then hugged her as if she were her own child.
A sudden clamor of the door opening and closing alerted the two of them that the father of the household had come home. Sydney’s mother stood up from her armchair and started for the door to greet her husband. Sydney heard the sound of locking the door rapidly.
“Ben, what’s going on?” asked Sydney’s mother. Sydney crawled over to the wall that separated the hall and the family room to eavesdrop.
“Emily, they’re coming”tonight. I…I…I can’t explain right now,” stammered her father. Sydney heard her mother gasp.
“What do we do?” asked her mother, panicking.
“Hide…hide, that’s what we do. And make sure they don’t find Sydney. Oh lord, there they are! Hurry! Go and hide!” commanded her father. The sound of scampering feet was heard and Sydney crawled back, picked up her doll and stood up, holding it close to her.
Her mother rushed back into the family room.
“Okay, honey, come with me, okay?”
“Mummy, what’s going on?” said Sydney, her voice trembled.
“Oh, baby. Don’t cry okay? Everything will be all right.”
“I’m scared.”
Sydney’s mother hugged her tightly.
“Oh, baby, it’s going to be alright, I promise. Come with me okay? Grab my hand.” Sydney obeyed and her mother led her to her bedroom. Sydney could sense the fear and panic going through her mother and father, but she didn’t know what had caused it. What was going on? Who were ‘they’?
They reached Sydney’s bedroom. Her mother pushed her in without turning the light on.
“Okay, honey, I need you to hide under your bed, okay? I will tell you when it is okay to come out.” Sydney saw the glittering tears shine in her mother’s eyes through the dark as her mother kissed the top of Sydney’s head. “I love you, Sydney.”
“I love you too, Mummy.” replied Sydney.
“Okay, now get under your bed. And don’t make a sound!” Sydney obeyed and crawled under her bed, her doll still attached to her. Her mother walked for the door, turned around and said to her daughter, “I’m always there for you,” she put her hand on her heart. “In here.” Her mother smiled. Sydney copied the hand gesture and smiled as well.
“Okay, Mummy.”
After Sydney’s last words, her mother rushed out of the room and downstairs.
Sydney heard a loud crash at the door. She then heard her mother scream. Tears formed out of Sydney’s eyes and fear overwhelmed her as she lied on the soft, cream-colored carpet underneath her bed in the dark. She was afraid and worried for her parents.
“Mummy,” she whispered, more tears rushing down her face.
“No, what do you want?” asked her father from downstairs, his voice filled with fear.
“You know exactly what we want,” replied a cold, stony voice.
“I’ve told you before, we don’t have it! You have the wrong house!” cried her father. Sydney’s mother’s muffled sobs filled the house.
“Give it to us. We know you have it.” the cold voice said again.
“I don’t have it!!”
“AVADA KEDAVRA!” There was a flash of blinding green light. Sydney shielded her eyes and heard screaming, screaming and more screaming.
“NOOOOOO!!!!!! NOOOOOO!!!!!” her mother screamed between sobs.
“AVADA KEDAVRA!” And again, the blinding green light burst through the whole house. There was a thud and nothing else. Sydney waited for her mother’s voice again, but all was quiet.
“Search the house. You know what He wants and you know what it is,” ordered the same voice and the sound of scampering feet was heard.
Sydney lied under her bed, sobbing uncontrollably, yet silently. She kept to her mother’s word to stay silent.
‘Mummy…Daddy…’ she said in her mind.
There was crashing and banging from furniture and other items being thrown around. Sydney was scared to death and was terrified by the thought of what they would do if they found her. But she had to be silent, so she was.
Sydney heard a pair of feet moving up the stairs. She froze. She felt her heart stop. Sydney just watched as she lay there under her bed, still as stone.
The feet walked across the hall. Sydney saw the feet of a tall figure, his black cloak reaching the floor and dragging behind him. He walked across the hall and then into her own room. Sydney felt as if she were dead. She watched as the black figure made his way across her bedroom, rummaging through all her things on and inside her drawer, wardrobe closet and toy box. She clutched her doll even tighter as he made his way closer to the side of her bed.
There he was, his feet right there in front of her. Sydney just stayed, her eyes wide open, not breathing a single breath. She trembled inside her body, but outside, she was frozen. She was petrified. He reached down slowly to look under the bed when…
“Macnair!” Another pair of feet arrived at Sydney’s doorway. “Let’s go, their home is filled with nothing but junk. The Mudblood was right, this was the wrong house,” said the cold voice. “We’re leaving.” And the two of them left. Sydney sighed with relief and all in her body went back to normal.
She waited for the sound of the front door closing to get out from under her bed. Once the coast was clear, she climbed out from under the bed and carefully walked downstairs. And with each step she took, she was cautious.
The entire downstairs looked as if a hurricane had been through it. Furniture thrown, lamps and glass valuables broken, pots and pans in the kitchen scattered and canned food was thrown aside.
Sydney was upset and afraid. But, what frightened her most was the sight of her parents, absolutely no life in their eyes, lying there, motionless, and speechless.
Making Things Better by Slytherin101
Chapter Notes: Hi everyone! This is my first fanfic submitted to MuggleNet Fan Fiction. I have a history of writing Harry Potter fanfics, but they all suck so I'm not going to post them on this site. Anyways, I hope you enjoy my story! Okay, that's all for now!