Much to her disappointment, she soon discovered she was still in Little Hangleton. To make matters worse, she had no means of transportation as taxis rarely ever visited the dinky, little town. And today was just one of those days they didn't visit.
The sun had now fully risen, its rays illuminating everything in the town in hues of golden light. Miriam looked up on the large grassy hill that overlooked the small town, and with a feeling of deja vu, her sight came upon the large mansion her father and his parents had once lived in. It looked rather spooky being completely uninhabited - a mere shadow of the once former splendid house. Large ivies covered more of the house than she remembered from before, and a few of the large windows on the ground level were broken, surely from kids throwing rocks at it on a dare.
Crossing a deserted street, Miriam faced the row of buildings as another flash of memories came back to her: The night she left Little Hangleton to escape from her murderous brother.
Not much in the town had changed from what she remembered of it. It was as though time had long since forgotten the tiny town. The same seedy little pub, the Hanged Man, was still there. Seedy or not, she was hungry and tired - all she really cared about at the moment was filling her empty stomach with food so she could properly plan how to get her friends away from Tom's grasps.
Trying to wipe off most of the blood on her arms and neck, she walked down toward the pub and silently hoped that her blood-covered arms weren't too noticeable.
~*~
Two hours later after eating all that she could afford - Miriam set out to find a way to Great Hangleton, where she could find means of transportation to London, and to the one person she knew who could help her: Dumbledore. Though she was still tired, the thought of rescuing her friends gave her the energy to continue on.
Miriam walked down the same little dirt road that had taken her into this place, as thoughts of how long it would actually take for her to make it to London entered her head. The walk lasted more than an hour, and by the time the city limits to Great Hangleton slowly began to come into view, Miriam could barely walk a step further.
Gripping a nearby tree for support, she slowly sat on the ground, hoping to relax for a moment before continuing on.
Once she regained her strength, she made it into the large city where she began to search for the nearest transportation to take her to London.
~*~
The sites of the city were coming into view as the afternoon sun burned brightly in the sky. London never looked so good to Miriam as it did then. Having been fortunate enough to catch a ride with a nice family who was going to London for some "early holiday shopping," she paid them the little bit of money she had left, then set out to find Diagon Alley while horrific thoughts of what could be happening to her friends at that very moment filled her head.
"Please let me be able to get them away from him..."
~*~
The Leaky Cauldron looked the same as she had remembered it. Though there was now a new bartender, a small smile crept onto her face as she remembered her first time there. It didn't seem like it was all that long ago, but the more she thought about it, it seemed more like a lifetime ago.
Even Diagon Alley hadn't changed much; it was still bustling with people buying, selling, and trading goods, owls flying everywhere, and just the general sense of happy emotions she felt whenever coming here.
Miriam looked around the bustling crowds, hoping to fine a familiar face in the sea of people. After walking down the long stretch of road, not one face stood out to her. It was as if everyone she knew from before had suddenly vanished. Disappointed, she turned back and headed toward Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour. Sitting at a small table off in the corner away from everybody else, Miriam was about to kick the table in frustration when somebody came up to her.
"Excuse me, miss, but are you Miriam Riddle?"
She turned around, wondering who they were and how they knew her name. Miriam looked up at Florean Fortescue, who was holding a note in their hand. Miriam opened the letter, wondering who had sent it.
Quickly reading the letter, she received quite a shock when she saw the familiar loopy handwriting. It was a rather short note, but it filled Miriam with a sense of hope that, just maybe, everything would somehow be all right.
Miriam,
I've been expecting you.
Meet me on the Hogwarts grounds ASAP.
A.P.W.B.D.