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Bolt Interprises and Quidditch Supplies

Los Angeles, 10:11 AM

Katherine Bolt splashed some cold water on her face. Bracing her hands on either side of the basin, she looked at the mirror infront, hardly recognizing the 5ft 6 profile of the 18yr old teenager staring back at her.

She was dreadfully pale, as white as a sheet. Her normally sharp blue eyes were rather unfocussed. There was agony. There was pain. There were a hundred different pent up emotions in them which she'd masked carefully, just so she wouldn't reveal herself to this goddamn world! She recognized the dark circles underneath her eyes and a lost look about her face, that was so alien to her. She had never known what it felt like to lose something or someone she'd so desperately loved, but the past one day alone, she got a glimpse of what hell must be like.

Katherine's only normal feature appeared to be her caramel blonde hair which fell over her shoulders in graceful waves. At least, it didn't need any taming. It was funny what one devastating day could do to your cosmetic appearance, she thought wryly. Not that she cared.

People had always admired Katherine for her beauty. She had the grace of a swan, beauty of a rose and wit of a sage. Her life had been nearly perfect with men from all age groups trying to woo her. She'd been the target of many a great fantasies. Her enticing beauty, combined with her natural flair was a lethal temptation for wizards. Being the only legal heiress of a great deal of fortune has only added to her elusiveness. She was looked upon as a prized trophy that wizards took up as a challenge to be won!

Having a famous man as her grand father had its own disadvantages too. For not only her love life was relatively non-existent as opposed to her peers, but also young wizards were intimidated by her wealth and success. She acted as a hostess in many of her Granpa's success parties and hence, was a well known face all over wizarding America. Also, her reputation as the star player of her School Quidditch team hasn't hurt either! Not long before she'd turned seventeen, she'd been touted as the future heiress of the Bolt Empire!

Having all things in life one could aspire for at such a young age; name, fame and money, it would be easy for one to assume Katherine to be a spoiled, aristocratic witch when in reality, she was anything but that! She took a great deal of satisfaction in proving anyone who thought otherwise, wrong. She'd loving parents who put her foot firmly down the ground whenever she got a bit carried away.

While her good efforts were always well-rewarded, her mischief hadn't gone unnoticed! She'd always consulted her Granpa for making important decisions, while at the same time, her parents approval and support meant the world to her. As a result, she had learned to be compassionate where it required and invincible where it mattered!

But right now, none of those things mattered as she stood infront of the mirror, looking at her pathetic reflection, Katherine found herself at her vulnerable best. She opened a cupboard, by the side of the basin and pulled out a familiar potion which she had never before felt the need to take...until this day.

She took a sip of the Calming Draught, just enough to keep her nerves for the meeting with her godfather. Whatever her godfather wanted to discuss must have been really important, and she couldn't trust her clouded mind to take any regretful decisions. A sense of calmness washed over her as the potion worked its way through her body. She pulled out her wand and muttered few spells to retain some sort of orderliness to her face. It was prudent to make oneself presentable for a meeting, even a one in as dire a circumstance as this. It was another one of her Granpa's idioms which she completely believed in.

She walked over to the cabin and locked away her father's diary carefully in a secluded place, sealing it with a complicated wand work, which even blasting spells wouldn't be able to break. Its not that she didn't trust Michael or anything, far from that, but if her father hadn't revealed it to his closest friend in all these years, she wouldn't do it either.

There was a knock on the door, and her Granpa's secretory Boris Millstorm came in, announcing her godfather's arrival. She nodded for Michael to be allowed in and instructed for them to be left alone and not be disturbed. Her heart twisted at the thought that apart from her Granpa, her godfather was the only other family she has left!

Michael's pov...

Michael Womack stood outside the cabin door, waiting patiently for the instructions to be allowed in. He had been thoroughly checked by the security personnel; once as he entered the office building and again before being let inside the Chairman office. He was used to this, as it was a standard protocol strictly followed in every branch of the Bolt Interprise, to make sure to eliminate any assassination attempts or prevent any imposters from reaching its founder, Sebastian Bolt. The great man has made more foes than friends in his life-time full of achievements!

Safety wards and security devices, the very latest innovations of its kind were implemented in these buildings, so that it was nearly impossible to get close to Sebastian Bolt with so much as a wand in hand. Michael handed over his wand without further questions at the security desk and once cleared, entered the main office. He dreaded this meeting more than anything else but Jason's haunting words kept coming back to him. And he owed it to his friend, at whatever cost to keep Katherine safe.

Katherine's pov...

He looked atleast a decade older than his age of 46 years suggests. His kindly face was unshaven, his curly brown hair completely disheveled and unkempt, which was so unlike him. A flash of pain crossed his features when he looked at her. She moved forwards to greet him, but he pulled her into a fatherly hug. She wanted to smile, she wanted to speak, but nothing came out. Words betrayed her for the first time in her life. She pulled back from the hug and gestured him wordlessly on to the sofa at the side of the cabin and sat down besides him.

"It would be foolish of me to ask, but consider it an old man's weakness!" he started, his voice trembling slightly as he fought for composure, "How are you doing, Kathy?"

Katherine avoided his eyes. She saw pain in them which might have reflected her own feelings if she hadn't taken the Calming Draught.

"If you mean, do I have any suicidal tendencies? I can totally assure you I'm fine on that account, Mike!" she stated calmly, "I'm way more tenacious than that!"

Michael winced at her words. She could see him holding on to the edge of the sofa so tightly that his knuckles turned white. She didn't know what made her say it, but the constant pity that surrounded her which she was never before accustomed to, drove her on edge!

The last thing she could take now was sympathy from her godfather too! That was the reason she'd avoided much of the public appearances, including the Healing Academy, with the paparazzi constantly hounding in tow, demanding her to declare her exact feelings, and if she'd suspicions on anybody regarding her parents murders.

There was this one nasty question in particular from a female reporter which infuriated her so much, that Katherine nearly hexed her! She had been asked how she felt about having the mighty Bolt Interprises in her grasp, now that, as the reporter put it, "Her path appears to be conveniently cleared!". Everyone stood with bated breath, darting their eyes between Katherine and the daring, blonde reporter.

Katherine felt like she'd been slapped. Of all the nerve, how dare the reporter imply what she had! If it wasn't for the security personnel, escorting her away, she would have hexed that fucking bitch, right there on the public domain! The reporter wasn't going to get away easily though, she would pay the price for her nasty insinuation! After the incident, she'd immediately ordered Boris to find out the details of the female reporter as soon as possible. Rest assured, that lady would end up in the healing academy a lot longer than her Granpa, Katherine vowed to make sure of that personally! After all, she prided herself in her vicious Bolt streak!

Early in the morning, she'd come to the office and made the grave mistake of reading the newspaper. First thing she read was her encounter with the bloody reporter, sensationalized in the front page along with an endless article about her parents brutal murders, her Granpa's stroke and much more in depth look into the fate of the Bolt Empire. By the end of it, she had been sick to death about the countless possibilities, probabilities and postulates being put forth on various aspects of her family problems!

The newspaper had even went to the extent of conducting a poll on whether its readers thought Sebastian Bolt would make it alive or not, with almost 93% saying they didn't think he would after such a tragedy, 5% having absolutely no opinion and only a minute 2% saying he would be fine. She hoped with renewed vigor that her Granpa becomes alright, to prove these gullible idiots, they were wrong! She felt like her personal tragedy was being marketed, as a fodder for millions of witches and wizards to feed upon!

Katherine wanted to disappear altogether from the face of Earth. There was only so much she could handle, she was human too! But people seemed to have no regard for her feelings! Being a celebrity came with a price, everyone wanted a part of her and that infuriated her to no end! Even now, she would much rather preferred for the meeting to be arranged at her Granpa's Mansion than this office which held so many happy memories for her. The sympathetic glances and condolences she'd received from the staff members nearly drove her crazy.

"I'm sorry, Mike!" she replied anxiously, clenching and unclenching her fingers, just so she could do something, "I've had quite a morning."

"So I have heard!" he said, when she looked at him quizzically, he explained, "Your run in with that dreadful woman is all over the news!"

He paused, taking a deep breath, he gently said, "Look at me, Katherine!"

She forced herself to look at him in the eyes, bracing herself for the sympathy. Only, it never came. Instead, she saw only understanding in them and a kind of determination to set things right.

"You've had to confront a lot of things in the past few hours, that even a fully grown wizard wouldn't have handled with the courage and dignity you've managed! I'm proud of you, dear child! But having said that, you're not alone in this. I'm here, Kathy and so will your Grandfather! He loves you too much, to leave you!" Michael said softly, tears falling down unabashedly down his eyes as he eyed the young girl in front of him whom he'd come to love as his own daughter.

"You think so, he will be alright?" she asked him in a small voice. Her eyes wide with something akin to hope but he could also see fear lurking there. In that moment, she looked more fragile and vulnerable than he'd ever seen her. Again, Jason's words came back to him and Mike knew he would protect his god daughter with his life. He shuddered for a moment, thinking about his closest friend, before he answered her, "I know so!"

She nodded at him but didn't continue further. She closed her eyes, trying to gather her thoughts. The calming draught may have helped her nerves, but it didn't fully immune her from the torment of losing her parents. It was all rushing back to her, the happy memories, the Quidditch games with her best friends, the joy of not having a care in the world until the news of her parents murders reached her. The numbness upon hearing the news, followed by the shock of it all. How she'd ran two miles straight ahead to compose herself but really collapsed on the road when her knees buckled, how she'd been believing, or rather hoping it all to be a terrible nightmare until she found their bodies in the living room, lying motionless on the floor. The look of horror plastered on her mother's face while her father looked deadly calm, which couldn't have been more apt but sent a chill down her spine. How when she'd felt them for real, she'd stumbled backwards involuntarily and realized it wasn't a nightmare after all! How the tears which had come so easily for others who looked at their bodies were betraying her? How she'd wondered and still did, why anyone would want to kill her parents? Her parents, who'd never harmed a soul! Later, How she had been interrogated by the Aurors and how the whole ordeal was entirely useless as she didn't have any suspicions to share. Her initial feeling of numbness and shock had been followed by blind, cold fury. When she got her hands on the murderer or murderers, their deaths will be so destructive and painful that they would fear to be born a human again!

Not even a full hour had passed since the devastating event, she was consumed with the news of her Granpa's heart-stroke! She pulled herself together, left for Dolohan's healing academy immediately. She had been so detached to everything going on around, at that time, that she forgot to feel anymore!

Her godfather had been waiting for her at the hospital and the first thing that crossed her mind on seeing him was "he's alive!". It wasn't relief either, just a plain fact that occurred to her mind. He'd been sitting in the corridor, silently sobbing into his hands while Healers moved at a frantic pace in and out of the emergency wards.

She didn't talk to him. She didn't want to see her beloved Granpa either, battling between life and death. Fight. Fight. She silently willed him. She didn't want to be inside the healer's academy anymore, and wondered why she'd even come. The Healers were killing her. They said her Granpa's condition was stable, for now, but he was in a comatose state. She detested herself to be so uncertain. That was when she'd ran outside to a herd full of photographers and reporters, waiting to bombard her with their insensitive questions! The rest of the night had passed in constant worry and fear of what she might've to hear next. She felt like she was in a mess in which she didn't really belong in and was unfairly pulled into!

Her head throbbed from the many unanswered questions. The terrifying visuals of her parents bodies kept racing back to her, when she so much as closed her eyes. She didn't have anything to go on either, until the owl post arrived in the morning, containing her father's diary, along with Michael's patronus requesting their meeting. She got ready early and left for the office, only to be upset by the disturbing newspaper.

"It's hurting, Mike!" Katherine admitted finally, opening her eyes, "It's hurting real bad!"

It wasn't fair on the young girl infront of him. Having never had a child himself, Michael was immensely fond of her. He had been surprised and visibly touched when Jason had asked him to be little Katherine's godfather. He had readily accepted the honor, eyeing the tiny, sleeping baby with wonder. Now after 18 years, he felt utterly worthless, that he was doing a poor job of being a godfather, for not only was he unable to lessen her pain, but also he was the bearer of something which would probably hurt her more.

She found him staring ahead, his face blank although his eyes appeared deeply troubled. He'd turned deadly pale that Katherine wondered if he was going to be sick. His hands were trembling slightly, and when she covered hers with his, he was startled at her touch.

"Mike, are you alright?" she asked him, her own voice bordering on edge between concern and panic.

He stared at her for a full minute without a word. Then he fidgeted in his pocket and pulled out a tiny vial containing a silvery blue substance. He had been almost caught at the security check up when the potion detectors ran over his body and since a memory is neither a liquid nor a gas, he'd got away with it.

"Summon your grandfather's pensieve, Kathy!" he started, his jaw clenched in determination, "There's something you need to see!"

Katherine's eyes widened in curiosity at the tiny vial, but merely nodded as she summoned the pensieve that she knew her Granpa always kept in his office in order to revisit some of the important meetings or events, that might give him an extra edge over his contemporaries! Her Granpa told her about it on her first visit to his office cabin. She'd teased him back then, that he must've been getting senile, if he needed an aid of an old, magical artifact to make him remember stuff! Her Granpa chuckled at her.

Katherine could see the silvery, stone basin moving towards them. She cast a charm to hold it in mid-air and gazed at the silvery light emanating from the basin. Her godfather nodded at her before he carefully emptied the contents of the vial into the basin. Their eyes locked for a moment before Katherine leaned into the basin, as soon as the tip of her nose touched its contents, she felt the familiar swirling of the surroundings and found herself thrust into a chair, in a very familiar place which she recognized instantly as Michael's house.

From the view outside as seen through the window, she guessed it was very late into the night. She was in the living room, alone but could hear raised voices coming from above. Her heart tugged painfully as she recognized one of them as being her father's. She couldn't make out the exact words but her father seemed to be really excited about something. Then she saw them. Her godfather came in first, moving down the stairs, just in his pajamas, rubbing his eyes wearily.

Her father came pounding down the stairs, closing the distance between himself and a very sleepy Michael. Her eyes welled up at the sight of him, his familiar handsome face was alight with happiness and excitement. His metallic grey eyes sparkled with the kind of enthusiasm that she hadn't seen in a very long time.

Katherine ran towards him, tears falling uncontrollably down her face as she tried to hug him tightly but her father moved right through her into the kitchen where Michael was rummaging his cupboard. She stared in plain shock for a moment before realizing she was in a memory. She listened to the clattering of spoons and silverware as she eyed her father, taking in his presence!

"C'mon wake up Mikey! This is really important!" Jason enthused, literally bouncing up and down like a little boy, in an agonizingly familiar way to Katherine.

"For Merlin's sake Jays! Just give me time to make some coffee." Mike cried irritably, "you pop into my bedroom in the dead of the night and expect me to be all alert and excited!"

"Sorry?" Jason offered plainly, grinning. His enthusiasm was so contagious that even Michael couldn't help but give in to a tiny smile.

Her father stood there, shifting his weight impatiently while Mike was making coffee. She moved closer to him, studying his features. He looked very tired but his enthusiasm refused to be bogged down by his fatigue. There were dark circles underneath his eyes, a lot worse than hers. It was then, that she realized something disturbing, he was wearing the same navy blue shirt and grey trousers that he'd been wearing the day he was murdered!

She looked around the house and found the magical calendar pointing to the date. It was exactly a night before her parents were found dead at their residence! Katherine held on to the edge of the dining table for support, her father had come to see Michael excitedly, her father who'd no idea he would be murdered in less than 24 hrs!

Katherine clutched her stomach as she felt a sudden urge to throw up! She sucked in deep breaths, counting till ten and exhaling again. It was a technique which helped her calm down usually but failed under the present circumstances.

She was barely aware of Michael taking a place on a chair, right beside where she was standing and her father seated, across from them.

"So, what it is you want to tell me that has you scurrying over to my bedroom rather than spending it in yours with yo-"

"Stop it! Right there!" Jason bellowed at his friend, who was grinning smugly, taking a sip of his coffee, "I knew it was a mistake to sober you up!"

"Well, you got that one right!"

Jason rolled his eyes, "Could you atleast pretend to be mature for my sake, Mikey?"

"I always knew there was a downside to getting married! Just look at you now!" he exclaimed in mock-disappointment "I can see Emily rubbing off on you! That's why I never got hitched!" her godfather proclaimed triumphantly.

It was Katherine who rolled her eyes this time. Men will be men. She loved the friendly banter between her father and Mike, especially when her mother wasn't around. Their friendship went back a long way, to their school days and had only went from strength to strength, ever since. Finally, ending up as Colleagues in the same School too, in which her father taught History of Wizarding Arts and her godfather taught Ancient Runes!

"You weren't married because birds were smart enough to stay away from a professor who was far more intimately attached to his academics!" Jason retorted back.

Michael looked unperturbed at the apparent insult, "Like I said before, I crave my independence too much, moving on, what is it that you wanted to tell me?"

Katherine leaned in closer sensing a change in the mood around her, there was a palpable excitement in the air as her father stood up, switching into his academic mode in smooth transition.

"Y'know how I have been working on something for a long time?" Jason asked seriously.

Although Katherine knew she was invisible to her father, she pretended she was being addressed as well and nodded at him along with Mike.

"You wouldn't tell me even if I threatened to hex you!" Mike said humorlessly. Katherine sensed a slight hurt in his eyes and from the look on her father's face, she knew he noticed it too. They had been such thick friends that they trusted each other with their darkest secrets, except she guessed her father had broken that code of friendship!

"I'm sorry, Mikey! I wasn't really sure whether I could pull of this work, it was-" Jason struggled for the proper words, "was not easy, y'know? If I had voiced it out, people would've laughed at me! wouldn't have believed me!"

Katherine stared at her father in disbelief, never had she known her father to be having doubts over his own ability regarding his work! For her, he was the epitome of assurance!

"I would've believed you, Jays! No matter how crazy you might've sounded!" Mike said quietly, "but, I'm happy whatever it was, that you pulled it of!"

Jason gulped. She could see her father looking guilty, "That's partly why I came here at this late hour. I want to share this news with you, first Mikey!"

"You haven't told Emily yet?" Mike asked his close friend, dubiously.

"No." Jason shook his head, "She was fast asleep when I returned home!"

Michael let out a sigh and finished his coffee. Setting it aside, he glanced at Jason with a smile, "Fine then, on with it Professor!"

"Before I go into the details, I want to ask you a question myself!"

"Shoot!"

"What makes us magical, Mike? You, me, the other witches and wizards all over the world? What is it within us, that differentiates us from Muggles?" Jason fired away in rapid succession.

Michael considered this for a moment. For Merlin's sake, he was an Ancient Runes professor, not some bloody ideological thinker. That was Jason's forte!

"We are born this way?!" he replied lamely.

Katherine had to suppress a hysterical giggle welling up inside her. That was her godfather. When in doubt, find solace in humor!

"You mean within Magical families?" Jason challenged.

"Even I'm not stupid enough to admit that, Jays! I'm very well aware that there are wizards from muggle families too! Your own wife being a living example!" Mike took a deep breath, weighing his words carefully, "What I meant was that we're born with magic inside us! Those who do not possess magic, yet belong to magical families become squibs!"

Katherine gave an appreciative smile, and nodded whole-heartedly. Although, what this had to do with her father's research, she couldn't fathom!

"Your theory is right, mate but you misunderstood my question!" Jason replied unimpressed. He raised an eyebrow, looking smugly at his best friend.

"What?" Mike asked irritably. Screw Jason's academic methods, it was starting to bug him, making him feel like an over emotional toddler who couldn't accept the simple fact that one plus one equals two!

Even, Katherine looked perplexed for a moment, just looking at her father when, suddenly it hit her...and she was still as perplexed because she had no answer!

"What I asked you was why is it that some people are born with magic, even if they are muggles while some others do not possess magic and become squibs?" Jason explained patiently, "On what basis was it decided, who should possess magic and who shouldn't?"

Mike was speechless as the realization of what Jason had asked hit him. On what basis indeed?

Jason gave a moment for his words to sink in and he continued, "Surely it can't be a theory of randomness? I've always wondered Mikey, and from this question, stems my life-time work and the subsequent facts!"

Although Mike was surprised by what Jason had said, there were still some minute details, his friend was missing. He himself didn't believe what his grandmother had told him once, about squibs possessing no magic as a penance for their past sins! This kind was so very rare that he just attributed it to their plain bad luck! He voiced the same to Jason!

"Somehow, I had a feeling you would say that! Quite the contrary actually, it's another aspect of my research, Mikey! Squibs have been on the rise as compared to what it'd been, say a century before! This past decade alone, they've comprised an astounding 29% of the magical population in Great Britain! Its not a very rare incidence, now is it?" Jason asked, speaking rapidly with each passing word. He eyed the stunned expression on his friend's face with great satisfaction.

Katherine felt her own excitement bubble up inside her. It was something she'd never cared to think before. Her magic was something she took for granted, but her father's research opened up new possibilities.

"Its what you've been researching on all these years?" Mike asked him, when he finally found his voice. Jason nodded, "And you've been successful in finding out the answers?"

"It took time Mikey, I'd my share of lows! But finally, I've done it!" Jason announced triumphantly, "Behold gentleman, for one of the greatest mysteries of the Wizarding world is being unraveled..."