~*~Fearless~*~
by Hatter of Madness

One thing Katie Alice knew well was fear. As a girl in the village, she was always afraid of the older girls, but admired them for being so mature. Then, when she found out she was a witch at the age of eleven, she was terrified of what magic might do to her. But she was probably the most afraid at the height of the Death Eater Rebellion when she was just a teenager.

The Rebellion was caused by an evil wizard that Katie had only heard of briefly in school. No one dared say his name, though everyone knew what it was, and that was Lord Voldemort. He was said to hate Muggles, people with no magical ability whatsoever, and people with Muggle parents, like Katie. She wasn't quite sure who Voldemort was, and certainly she didn't know what a Death Eater was. Still, she was afraid, even at the school she had come to call home.

It was in her fifth year at the school known as Hogwarts when she met her first—and only—love.

Braiden Lewis was a loudmouth, sometimes arrogant, and always flirtatious Hufflepuff (an odd combination, as Katie knew). He had been in Katie's year and was only months older than her, though they had never met before the second day of their fifth year. He had sauntered into McGonagall's class—late, as always—and the teacher had forced him to sit in the front row next to Katie, where, she hoped, some of Katie's goodness and generosity, perhaps even her punctuality, would rub off on Braiden. Instead, he was a bit too flirtatious with Katie, who was a Ravenclaw.

He quickly became obsessed with Katie Alice—Katie Alice, with her long, dirty blonde hair that she usually held back in a ponytail, her tan skin, short stature, brains, and chocolate brown eyes fixed onto a heart shaped face. She was pretty, and he decided in his fifth year that she would be his girlfriend, though it took her some convincing. "Alright, alright," she finally said around mid-November, "just nothing awkward."

By the time they finished school, they were both eighteen and decided then and there that they would be married. The main purpose of this marriage was to ensure Katie's safety, though Braiden also claimed that he knew from day one that he loved Katie with all his heart. There certainly was fear in the Lewis house, what with the rumors about Voldemort, even more so when Katie discovered she was pregnant.

Braiden worked for the Ministry of Magic for the Department of Magical Law Enforcement in the Improper Use of Magic Department (though Braiden himself was probably guilty of several things he was supposed to be looking for); two of his closest friends at work soon became his mentors, and their names were Arthur Weasley and Amos Diggory. Braiden was closer to Arthur than Amos; his wild red hair was always in a mess and he was helping Braiden in ways he didn't think possible. He even calmed his fears about his wife's pregnancy, as did Amos.

Amos, at this time, had a son that was almost four. Though Braiden had only seen pictures—moving—on Amos's desk, he had never met this son, but knew his name was Cedric. Amos had been very frank while describing his son: "Very quiet."

Katie, on the other hand, became a Healer and started to work at St. Mungo's. The patients were very kind with her, and she reciprocated his kindness back to them. Many of the patients said that she was very motherly.

Their baby, like the Weasley's, was born in August of 1981; it was a girl. As neither parent wanted an ordinary, common name for their daughter, they named her Maddie Stephanie, but, at the last minute, changed the spelling of her second name to Stefani, leaving the pronunciation the same. This did not please Katie's mother, Joan—in fact, nothing about their child or their marriage, not to mention their sorcery ability, pleased her.

"She's a demon, Katie!" Joan hissed about the baby as she smiled up at her grandmother. "What with those vibrant green eyes, that has to be a touch of…"

"Oh, hush up, Mum," Katie said, picking the baby up. "You know Bray's got green eyes, too—she looks just like him."

That was true. The baby had Braiden's features down to the bone—her face was ovular, just like his; her eyes were almond shaped and green; her nose had the exact same curves; her smile was even similar to his, though, unlike her father, she had a few wisps of blonde hair. Her skin, though, was like neither of her parents—while Katie had a glowing tan and Braiden definitely got enough sun, Maddie was not very dark, even after all the time she spent in the sun with her mother ("I know babies are supposed to be light, but she's something else," Joan had said upon seeing her for the first time).

Joan shook her head. "I'm still telling you, Katie, that this marriage is a mistake."

"No going back now, not with Mad to support," Katie argued.

"Stupid name," Joan said, once again shaking her head. "Maddie Stefani? Maddie Stefani Lewis? Do you want her to be teased?"

"You're forgetting, Mum, that people like us don't exactly have names like Eve and John," Katie said; she had heard of people with names like Regulus, Remus, and Bellatrix. 'Maddie' would not be too uncommon compared to them.

"Maddie's a stupid name for a girl," Joan defended.

"It's a worse name for a boy," Katie countered. By this point, she was wondering the purpose of her mother's visit.

"I don't even know how this happened," Joan said, and it seemed to Katie she was just talking to herself. "When you got that letter eight years ago saying you were a witch, I just about fainted. When you told me that you were in danger because of some deranged—er—deranged wizard, I thought you were mental." By this time, Voldemort had been defeated by a baby by the name of Harry Potter, and Katie and Braiden considered it a great relief. "When you said that you were going to have a daughter, who in turn would more than likely be a witch, I about keeled over. When you told me her name was Maddie Stefani—Stefani, with an 'f' and not a 'ph'—I about keeled over. When you told me that this man was killed by a baby, that's when I knew that you were a bit off."

"Your stay is no longer welcome," Katie decided, and with that, Joan left.

Maddie was a good baby. For the most part, she was quiet and good tempered and smiled a lot. She adored her father and in time grew fond of her mother as well, but quickly a problem sprang up: Both Katie and Braiden had work, and, witch or not, they could not leave a baby by herself.

They asked Mrs. Molly Weasley, Arthur's wife, begrudgingly if she would be kind enough to watch over Maddie along with her other seven children, one of whom was a young infant as well named Ginevra. As she was very kind hearted, she agreed.

Soon, though, they realized they could not depend on Mrs. Weasley until Maddie was old enough to start school. By the time their daughter was seven months old, Katie had requested that she only worked as a Healer part time so that she could stay home and watch the baby. This was the way things were, and they no longer felt like such a burden to Molly.

They were an odd family: Braiden, tall and burly; Katie, small and skinny; and Maddie, the tiny baby. It seemed unlikely that someone like Braiden would fall for a girl like Katie.

Little did they know history happens to repeat itself in many ways.

So how many of my readers have thought I just died? Anyone? It's been about two months since I updated Dear Artie, Count Me In Redux, about a month since I posted The Other Castaway, I don't even remember the last time I updated Saving Grace, and I haven't posted a oneshot in...well, since I joined (sorry about that, I actually do love oneshots). This was a story I attempted to write (twice) on my old account; originally, it was published under the name Four Walls, then Love's Keen Sting. In my opinion, they both sucked. I really like how this one is starting out, though. That last line, though, was crap; I was trying to foreshadow a bit at the story and...failed. xD But I'd appreciate reviews anyway? *wink, wink* Another thing: This chapter, I know, was slightly AU. If Katie and Braiden had really married during the First War, then they'd probably have to make like Lily and James and go into hiding, considering Katie was Muggle born. But I liked this approach better. So, um. Yeah.

-Hatter of Madness