Author's Note: I planned to wait a little longer before posting the next chapter but I finished it so I figured, why wait. Please review! I love any comments, as long as they aren't rude. Constructive criticism is really helpful. Enjoy =)

Disclaimer: Harry Potter isn't mine. The original characters in this chapter are.

There is Hope

Chapter Two: Unraveling the Past

A girl hadn't been born into the Malfoy family since 1362.

Isabel Malfoy lay in a grand wooden bed, pushing the small girl from her womb for hours, exhausting herself. The family feared both child and mother would not make it. When hope was almost lost, the small baby girl finally released herself from her mother and entered the world with a loud cry. Isabel held her small daughter in her arms, her head already full of the trademark Malfoy blond hair she inherited from her father, Deacon, who stood by his wife's side. The two gazed lovingly down at their beautiful baby girl.

"What shall we name her?" Isabel asked her husband softly. She was still weak from the long birth, barely having the strength to hold the small girl. Her husband made to take the child from his wife's arms but she held tight to the child.

"I've got her," she said, her voice stronger this time. Deacon pacified his wife. She would fall asleep soon and the child would be taken by the wet nurse.

"Katherine," he said in response to her question. His wife looked down at the now slumbering baby and smiled.

"Katherine," she agreed. She soon feel into a deep sleep and Katherine was removed from her mother's arms. She would soon be in them again when Isabel awoke. She loved her daughter very much and the wet nurse found it hard to keep the baby from her mother. Katherine was her second child, and it had taken many years since her first born son for a child to come to term. She wanted to keep her save until she had to marry.

The Malfoy's were a very wealthy family and knew that they would need to find a suitable husband for their daughter very soon. They longer they took to find a match, the less wealthy he was sure to be. Within a week of the girl's birth, Deacon Malfoy contacted Vance Galleon. His ancestor was the creator of the monetary coin of the same name, making his family very wealthy, more so than the Malfoy's. A match with this family would be just what the Malfoy's needed to get even higher in society. Both families knew a marriage between Katherine and Galleon's son Archer would be the strongest bond the wizarding world had ever seen. Archer was five years older than Katherine, so the families decided to wait until the girl turned fourteen for the union.

As suspected by all, Katherine grew into a beautiful young girl. Her white blonde hair shinned in the England sun and her pale skin was flawless. She had cool blue eyes and soft facial features. She was often called Aphrodite by anyone that caught sight of her. Not only beautiful, but sweet, kind and generous, Katherine easily captured Archer's love. The two spent much time together growing up. They sat in the great room of Galleon Castle, playing cards and chess, always in the company of a servant. The two were never left alone. It was improper for a young girl of such high class to be alone with a boy, even her betrothed. While Archer fell in love with Katherine during their chaperoned time together, Katherine saw Archer as a pompous, spoiled boy. He treated the servants badly, always yelling at them when something wasn't they way he wished, and acted as though he was already the head of the Galleon fortune. Katherine hated the idea of marrying Archer, but didn't see an escape from the horrible fate her parents demanded of her.

However, Archer was not the only boy to fall in love with young Katherine. A servant of the Malfoy's named Byron also noticed the beauty of little Katherine. He was two years older than the sweet, pretty girl and did anything he could to be in her presence. When she was out riding her pony, he would be out in the fields, just hoping for a glimpse of her. The days she spent indoors, he would dust the house, just so he could be in the same room as her for a few moments, as she walked out the door as he walked in to clean. For many years, he watched her grow from a distance, knowing he would never be with her in the way he dreamt of. He was a servant and she was a Malfoy. Nothing could happen.

But one day, soon after Katherine turned twelve, she was out playing in the forest. Byron was out gathering firewood, trying to stay close to her as usual, when he heard the young girl scream. Byron dropped the pile of wood he had in his arms. He ran as fast as his strong legs would carry him to the sound of her terrified shouts. Katherine was at the bottom of a small ditch, tears streaming down her face and her ankle at a horrible angle. Her wand lay at the top of the hole, sitting next to the offensive log that she had tumbled from.

"Help me please," she cried from within the earth. Byron pulled his own wand from his pocket. He may have been a servant, but the Malfoy's would never hire a Muggle to work for them. He levitated the small girl from the hole and set her down on the soft ground.

Her tears had subsided as she said, "Thank you, Byron."

The boy was startled.

"You know my name?"

"Of course I do," Katherine replied, a smile growing across her face, ignoring the pain in her ankle. "You've lived on our land since before I was born. I watch you work."

The girl clapped a hand over her mouth. Her faced flushed in embarrassment. Byron smiled and he bent down so he was eye level with the young beauty. He swept a piece of hair behind her ear, his fingers grazing her cheek. The pink of Katherine's cheeks deepened.

"We should get you back to the manor, get your ankle fixed," Byron said, his eyes locked on Katherine's. The girl could only nod in agreement. Byron picked up Katherine's wand and handed it to her before lifting the girl into his arms and carrying her back to the manor.

From that day on, Katherine and Byron spent as much time as they could together. Now, when Katherine rode her pony, she would find Byron out in the field and talk to him for hours as he did his work. She would stay in the room as he dusted and follow him from that room to the next until the house was clean. The two were inseparable. Deacon and Isabel saw it as nothing but a silly friendship. Katherine was a Malfoy, wealthy, beautiful and poised. Byron was a poor, plain servant. There was nothing to worry about so they allowed the couple to spend time alone. In a few years, she would be married to Archer and all would be well.

Yet Archer saw what the Malfoy's and his parent's did not. Katherine was falling in young with the servant, regardless of the dirt that stuck to his cheeks and the unkempt look to his dark hair. Archer begged his parents to move up the wedding, fearing how close the two young friends were growing. He would not share his future bride with a servant. Regardless of the reason for moving the date of the wedding, both families agree to an earlier union. Katherine was able to bear children. There was no use in waiting when Archer was willing to bed his young wife at thirteen. Two months before Katherine's fourteenth birthday, she was to wed Archer Galleon.

x x x

Katherine stormed into the dinning room where Byron stood waving his wand to shine the silver for dinner that night. The Galleon's would be coming to settle any last minute business before the wedding which would occur the following day.

"I won't do it!" she shouted as she flung herself into one of the large dining chairs. She had given up acting like a Malfoy in front of Byron months ago. He didn't care if she sat up straight in her chair or crossed her legs the proper way. The chair scraped across the wooden floor and Byron winced at the noise and the dark line that it had made across the wood. He had just finished polishing it and now would have to touch it up before dinner. It was already hard enough, preparing the room for the future family of the woman he loved, but to do it twice was even worse.

"You have no choice," Byron replied sullenly as he continued to concentrate on the silver. If he looked at Katherine, he knew he would crumble.

"If I'm old enough to have children, I'm old enough to have a choice in who I have them with," she said. She sat up straighter at hearing her own words leave her lips.

"Yes, I'm old enough to choose for myself! Maybe if I go to my parents, tell them I don't want to marry Archer and want to marry…"

"Who, me?" Byron inserted for her. "That will go over spectacularly, Katherine."

The fifteen year old boy spoke beyond his years as he walked to the girl of his dreams.

"You're parents will never let you marry who you choose, Katherine. You are their daughter, their property, and they will carry you down the aisle if that's what it takes to get their union with the Galleon's."

Byron placed a hand on the arm of Katherine's chair, fearful of touching her inside the house. Katherine, however, moved to place her small, soft hand on top of Bryon's large, work calloused one. She looked up at him, her eyes filled with unshed tears.

"But I love you, Byron," she said as a tear fell. Byron whipped it away with his free hand, leaving his palm against her cheek, no longer caring that someone could walk in and see. His own eyes sparkled with sadness.

"You can't say such things, Katherine. You must marry Archer."

"No," the girl said with defiance. She stood up from the chair, breaking her contact with Byron for a moment before reaching out and grabbing his hands with hers.

"We'll run away together." She spoke softly but her voice was filled with confidence. "We'll leave and be together forever."

"Katherine, we can't," Byron started, but his love cut him off.

"Do you love me?"

"You know I do."

"Then run away with me."

Byron couldn't respond right away. He wanted to run away with Katherine more than anything. But her family was powerful. However, so was their love.

"Ok," he said. The couple would meet in the woods that night at the ditch Katherine had fallen into two years before. Katherine would sneak out after the dinner to not draw suspicion early. It seemed like the perfect escape.

x x x

Katherine slowly climbed down the rope ladder she had created with a wave of her wand. Even though she was not yet fourteen, she was a very powerful witch. She silenced her footsteps and ran through the trees until she reached Bryon. He was sitting on a log, the same one she had fallen off in, what seemed like, a completely different time of her life. The time before Byron. He smiled when she came into sight.

"Katherine," he sighed in relief, standing up. Katherine ran into his arms.

"We have to go," she said, grabbing his hand in hers. They could waste no time. The two started off through the forest, winding their way between trees and bushes. Fearful of being caught, their wands remained unlit and they stumbled through the darkness for hours, hands held tight the entire time. Dawn was just approaching when Katherine heard the crack of small twig breaking. She paused and turned her head in the direction of the noise but saw nothing.

"Just keep moving," Byron whispered to her, tugging on her hand to get her moving again. Katherine turned around, still weary, but continued to walk in the early morning light.

Suddenly, shouts of "Expelliarmus" and "Stupefy" were heard from all directions surrounding Katherine and Byron. Their wands were ripped from their fingers and they both fell to the hard ground, caught off guard by the many wizards who had found them. Isabel had woken early to find Katherine's bed empty. Deacon sent out a search party at once. Without magic, the two had not gotten far enough to be safe.

The two were levitated back to the manor where Katherine was returned to her room to begin the preparations for her wedding. Byron was thrown into the dungeons where he would be kept until the wedding was over. The family would not risk having him ruin this joyous day. Katherine was forced into her grand wedding gown and her hair was pulled in many directions until it sat in an elegant pile on top of her head. She fought at the servants ushered out of her room and into the carriage that would take her to her wedding. She banged against the walls, doing anything she could to escape but to no avail. By the time Katherine arrived at the hall, she had calmed. She didn't fight as her father lead her down the long aisle. Deacon smiled, glad his daughter had come to terms with her marriage. Archer stood at the end, a smug smile spread across his face at the seemingly tranquil form of his almost bride. Katherine let her father guide her all the way to Archer. Standing in front of Archer, Katherine's face was clam. Then she turned to face the crowd, her eyes suddenly fierce

"For nearly fourteen years, my life has been controlled by the people in this room. I have never made a decision for myself. Everything I have done has been dictated to me by others. You have controlled my life, but you will not control who I love."

The young girl spoke with power neither the Malfoy or Galleon families present had never witnessed from her. The room was silent. Katherine slowly withdrew her wand from within her wedding gown.

"If I cannot life with the man I love, I will not live at all," she said as she raised her wand to point at her heart. Archer made to grab the wand from her hand but Katherine was quick. She turned her wand on the nineteen year old youth, pointing it directly between his eyes. His hands froze and he slowly backed away from the deadly weapon. With a jerk, Katherine's arm shot away from Archer and back to herself. A loud crack rang out in the hall and Katherine was gone. The hall erupted in noise, wondering where the Malfoy girl had hand. Guards, along with Isabel, Deacon, Archer and his parents searched for hours. It was only when they remembered Byron back in the manor did they find her. Katherine lay in Byron's arms in the cold dungeon cell. Both were dead.

x x x

The young couple knew they would never escape the rules of the wealthy. Instead of living in misery apart, they took their owns lives to spend eternity together in death.

A girl born to the Malfoy name had not survived infancy since that day. Katherine had ruined the family's reputation. She was called a harlot by the rest of the town. Everyone knew it was she who had convinced Byron to run away with her, no matter how often the Malfoy's countered this notion. The family vowed they would not experience such shame again. Every time a girl was born, she was killed. As years progressed, the sex of the child could be determined before birth and less infants had to be killed. As generations continued, less and less girls were conceived to the women who had married into the Malfoy family. It was as if the future children knew the fate that awaited them if they were born a girl. Narcissa Malfoy's second child did not seem to know. Or maybe she didn't care.