The Day After

"Drink this."

Kiara gladly took whatever Severus was offering her. The aftershock of the night's events was finally getting to her and for the past ten minutes she had been seated on the bathroom floor, emptying the content of her stomach. Severus had hardly spoken, his dark eyes expressionless and his face a drawn blank. Kiara was too busy trying to calm down to be bothered about it.

"Thanks," she mumbled, downing the mixture in the goblet. It was reminiscent of water but with something else added in. The squirming sensation in her stomach eased, as did her nerves. "What was that?"

"Calming Potion," he answered. "I take it the potion has worked?" Kiara nodded. "Then I'm guessing you want to move from your current position."

Kiara accepted his help from the floor. Her body ached as she shed the black robes she had donned for the Initiation and into her silk pyjamas, before climbing into the large bed. She looked over at Severus and this time his blank face did concern her. Why was he concealing his emotions from her at this particular moment in time? He looked away from the painting he had been studying.

"Narcissa will tend to your bruises when you wake up tomorrow. I am going back home, I have business to attend to. I will see you at the Ball." He turned to leave but Kiara stopped him, studying him from her position on the bed. Severus gave her a questioning look. "Yes Kiara?"

"What have I done wrong?"

"What gave you that idea?"

"You're hiding your emotions from me."

"That does not instantly mean you've done something wrong."

"Yes it does," insisted Kiara. "It means you're either angry or disappointed at me and you don't want to show it."

Severus sighed, sitting on the edge of the bed. How was he going to phrase this? He wasn't even sure exactly why he was angry and disappointed at her. Those were two of the emotions currently running through his mind, and the others were hard to describe. Running a hand through his hair Severus turned to Kiara, letting his mask of indifference slip down to reveal his true emotions. He did look disappointed, almost regretful of something.

"The Initiation has brought back memories for me. I was exactly like you. I went in willingly, did all that was commanded of me and more and went away as a favourite of the Dark Lord. It was only months later that being a follower of the most feared man in the world began to take its toll. Every day I saw more and more innocent blood shed, sometimes at my hand. Then one day, I did something that I regret till this day and I don't want it to be the same for you. I don't want you to reach my age and look back and wonder how your life might have been if you had just said no."

"I had no choice. It was either do this or lose you."

"Maybe so but you didn't have to go and become a bloody leader!" He sighed, rubbing his face with his hands despairingly. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have snapped. It's just that when I adopted you, I was hoping to give you a better life. To give you something I never had."

"You have given me a better life," Kiara reassured him. "Sure I've taken it for granted a lot of times but I promise you living with you is a thousand times better than living with Mr. Brentwood. Please don't beat yourself up about it."

"In a few months time you won't be saying that. You'll wish I never asked to adopt you or that you'd refused point blank. Something big will happen. Something that you have no control of. And that will act like a stone thrown in a still lake. It will trigger other things. From then on it'll be one regret after another."

"Am I a regret?"

"No of course not," Severus said somewhat annoyed. "What I'm trying to say is that I wish things were going in another route. That things weren't turning out this way."

There was a silence and Kiara stared at him, wondering what to think of his little speech. What had he done that was so wrong?

"What did you do that you regret so much?"

He looked at her, his eyes full of regret and remorse. Swallowing hard, he said four words that for twenty years he had refrained from using in that order.

"I killed my father."

---

Sunlight hit her eyes and Kiara groaned. Rolling over, her aim was to avoid the sunlight and fall back to sleep but a sharp pain shot up her arm. Jerking awake, she realised she had rolled onto a bruise received during her task with Bellatrix. Now she was alert, the rest of her body exclaimed from the pressure of lying down. It seemed every single part of her body was aching.

Getting out of bed, she slowly made her way to the bathroom, her aim to have a long bath and let the warm heat to ease some of her pain. Whilst the water filled the large white bathtub, she looked in the mirror to inspect her face. Severus hadn't let her the night before. The bruise under her eye was a deep purple with tinges of yellow, her lip had swollen quite a bit and the scratches made her look like she'd had a fight with Professor McGonagall in her cat form.

Slipping into the water, Kiara took in a sharp breath but soon relaxed, the warmth embracing her. Leaning back, she let her thoughts wander. Hogwarts seemed like a distant memory at the moment. So much had gone on and was still going to go on. The engagement, the Christmas Ball, the Initiation and all whilst trying to learn what she didn't know about the social circle she was in. She couldn't wait to be away from all of it and back to concentrating on lessons.

Yet something told her that it wasn't going to be that simple. Voldemort had to have something up his sleeve so she had to be prepared for whatever he was going to ask of her. She couldn't imagine Harry's face when he found out she was a Death Eater. He was quite unpredictable. Kiara didn't even know how he was going to react to her and Blaise being 'together'. Blaise was something else as well. His mood swings were as bad as Harry's and Sally-Anne's presence was hardly going to be helpful.

Her life was complicated.

Kiara was about to reach out for a shower puff when there was a knock on the door.

"Who is it?"

"Draco. Are you decent?"

"Well what do you think?" Kiara snapped, shaking her head. "I'm having a bath. Do you think I'm decent?"

There was a pause, where Draco seemed to be contemplating what to do next. "I'm coming in. I won't look. I promise."

"Draco, let me-" Before she could finish her sentence the door swung open. She ducked down into the water so her head was just above the surface, thanking the bathtub for being so deep whilst counting on the bubbles to cover her. "What was so fucking important that you had to come in here whilst I was in the bath?"

"Someone has to tend to your bruises," Draco said offhandedly, searching through a cabinet containing different vials and tubes. "Now where did Mother say that stuff was?"

"Where is your mother?"

"Mother has come down with a cold. It is most unfortunate. So she's sent me to help you." He continued to search through the cabinet. "Aha! Here it is. Two shakes into your bath should do it." Pulling the lid off a cylindrical container, he held it above the water and gave two shakes. "Give it a few seconds and you'll feel it working."

"What is- ouch!"

He'd poured the powder stuff at the bottom of the tub so it was slowly making its way up, therefore attacking her legs first. Not all of her legs, more specifically the bruises. Kiara guessed it was some kind of healing powder but it didn't have the usual numb stinging. This stinging was sharp and acute, actually quite painful.

"Painful isn't it?" Draco said, lowering the toilet seat cover and sitting on that, facing away from Kiara. As curious as he was, that would be wrong. She was like a sister. "I didn't have to use any today but I have used it before and I hate it like hell. It does the trick though. Instant removal of bruises."

"Couldn't you have warned me?"

"And where's the fun in that?"

"I really hate you sometimes Draco," Kiara said through gritted teeth. She was never using that stuff again, even if it did instantly remove bruises. The pain on her legs was beginning to numb but that in the rest of the body still hurt. "In fact, I simply hate you."

"What have I done?" he asked innocently.

"First you put me and Harry through hell, and then you placed me and Blaise in hell and now, you're torturing me. You might as well be called the Devil. Is that reason enough for you?"

"Potter's a loser and I'm not torturing you intentionally. Beauty is something one must suffer for. But I never put you and Blaise in hell. What are you talking about?"

Kiara sighed. "We just weren't meant to be. Can't you see that Blaise doesn't want to be with me? And that means he's always in a fucking mood when we're together. And he's hardly going to be happy about me becoming a leader. That's supposed to be his job."

"Stop being so dramatic. You know he'll get over it eventually. You and him make a good couple, and he'll have to live with the leader thing. You were a lot better than him. You were a lot better than the lot of us. You deserved it."

"Thanks."

Draco kept her company as the powder did its magic and then began to apply a similar salve to her face. At least this time he did warn her that it was going to hurt but it didn't stop her from pushing him away. By the time they were finished it was time for dinner. Kiara realised she must have woken up at sunset, explaining the sunlight that had woken her up. He left her to get ready, coming back to walk down with her.

Aunt Narcissa wasn't at dinner and her absence was sorely missed. Everything just seemed to tense up as if it was her presence that kept the peace between the two male Malfoys. Kiara kept her head down, having a feeling that the silence was better than any discussion without Aunt Narcissa there. When Kiara thought about it, she was the one that always changed the direction of the conversation so it didn't turn into an argument.

Waiting for the dessert, Lucius started a conversation.

"So both have you have been made leaders. Are you pleased?"

"Of course," Draco replied instantly.

"What about you Kiara? Obviously there's going to be a lot more pressure on you because of your gender. Are you having any doubts?"

"No, not particularly. I'm curious to find out what the role involves but nothing more."

"I was having a conversation with Michael Zabini this morning. Naturally he's not happy with Blaise for not being picked to be leader and Blaise himself is upset. It would be in your interest to tiptoe around him, both of them actually, carefully for awhile. The Zabini temperament is not unknown."

"I'll bear that in mind," Kiara said before turning her attention to the fruit salad in front of her. She didn't know if Lucius had said that in an attempt to help her because he only made her feel worse. She had had a feeling that Blaise was not going to be happy and he just confirmed it.

"Don't worry too much about it though Kiara," Draco added, stabbing at his melon piece with some anger behind it. "I'm sure Blaise will be fine once you get the chance to comfort him. You always manage to calm him down."

"On the contrary, I think Kiara should consider calling off the engagement."

"And why is that?"

"Apparently, Blaise had the nerve to ask his father if it was alright he married a Hufflepuff muggleborn instead of Kiara. He's obviously not committed to the engagement. I'd hate to see Kiara hurt."

"I don't think my feelings are on the top of your priority list," Kiara said coldly, holding onto her spoon so tightly her knuckles were ashen. "Otherwise you wouldn't be gossiping like a bored housewife as if I were not even there."

"I do apologise if I did hurt your feelings. I should have addressed you directly," Lucius said although there was absolutely no trace of remorse in his voice, not even a mock one. "Kiara I think you should break of your engagement to Blaise because he's not committed and I don't think he's going to come through. He's in love with a Hufflepuff muggleborn. There is obviously something wrong with him."

"That is a load of-" Draco cut her off.

"There must be something wrong with that. Blaise is faithful to Kiara, and was even close to her when she was with Potter. That is rather far-fetched," he said saving Kiara from a major slip up. She had been about to swear and he could tell. She was giving off an agitated aura.

"Are you calling Michael Zabini a liar?" Lucius demanded.

"No, of course not but-"

"Are you calling me a liar?"

"No, but-"

"Then why is it far-fetched?"

"May I please be excused?" Kiara snapped, putting down her spoon. Somehow, she had just lost her appetite. "I find all this childish talk quite nauseating. I am very sorry to hear that you have nothing better to do with your time than discuss such rubbish but I'm still very tired and would like to get some rest."

"You seem very upset by this news," Lucius continued, choosing to completely ignoring Kiara's speech. "Is it because you did not know, or you got engaged knowing where his true feelings lay and are upset because its out for everyone to talk about?"

Kiara narrowed her eyes at the man she had previously thought was alright. He had gone from polite to downright malicious. She was attempting to keep her temper in check though she could feel it bubbling at the surface, ready to explode. Not only was she angry at Lucius, she was angry at Blaise for being so bloody stupid. How could he have just gone and asked something like that? And as for Michael, what was he thinking when he told the husband of Narcissa Malfoy, one of the biggest gossips in the country?

"So which is it? I'm judging by your silence, it's the latter." Kiara said nothing. "Indeed. Quite a pity children seem to inherit a parent's bad points as well as good. You seem to have inherited your father's bad luck in love. First Potter, now Zabini. Oh dear, who will be next?"

"Alright, that is it!" Kiara shouted, banging her hands on the table as she stood up. "I have had it up to here with your sarcastic remarks. I have no idea what is wrong with you but I am not sitting around and listen to you insult me. If I wanted sarcastic remarks, I would have stayed at home. I am going to walk away from this room before I do anything that I may regret."

"Kiara!" Draco said, glancing over at his father to check his facial expression. At the moment, he seemed rather amused by something. Kiara turned to him, as if to ask 'What now?'. "Calm yourself. Owl Blaise to come over and sort it out. No need to get angry."

"Draco is quite right. Calm yourself," Lucius said smirking the same famous smirk as his son. "Then again, at least you'll fit in with the Zabinis perfectly. All of you, even delightful little Helena have short fitful tempers."

"Maybe we have short tempers with people like you."

"And what are people like me like?"

"People like you are narrow-minded, conceited, dim-witted twats, who would be nothing if it weren't for their name, blood and money. However you, Uncle Lucius, have something different as well. You are quite simply a bastard."

The last word rang through the dining hall. Kiara had just called the great Lucius Malfoy a bastard. Nobody had ever called him a bastard to his face and remembered/lived to tell the tale. Lucius rose as well, towering a head above Kiara but that didn't faze her. She was very angry. Kiara could feel herself heating up, her skin was beginning to itch from the sudden heat change. He glared at her with his steely grey eyes but she was still not intimidated. The worst he could do was kill her. She'd just come back and haunt him for the rest of his life.

"You are very cocky Miss Snape."

"And you are messing with a currently hormonal and very irate witch, Mr Malfoy."

"I think you should both take a deep breath and not do anything rash," Draco said standing up as well in an attempt to keep the peace. That was usually his mother's role as he and his father argued but it seemed to day he was taking her place. "You are both under a lot of stress. There is no need to add more."

"Miss Snape, I suggest you take back that comment, right now."

Kiara gave a dry humourless laugh. "Do you really think that I'm going to take back one comment after half a dozen insults?"

"I think you don't know who you're dealing with."

"I know exactly who I'm dealing with. Lucius Malfoy, the man who is only out of Azkaban because the Dark Lord had pity on him after failing to retrieve something oh so very important, and now has so much spare time on his hands, he is arguing with a sixteen year old witch. That is pathetic."

"One more comment Miss Snape, and I will get angry."

"I am so scared. I'm just shivering with fear."

Kiara had no time to add any other insults because she found herself hitting the wall behind her forcefully. Dazed, she reached to the back of her head, where a pain was beginning to appear. Bringing her hands back down, she saw blood. Kiara looked up and saw Lucius with a wand in his hand, him and Draco having some kind of argument which sounded oddly muffled to her. Shaking her head, Kiara concentrated on it.

"Are you trying to kill her?" Draco shouted. "What if she's badly hurt? What are you going to tell Professor Snape? What are you going to tell the Dark Lord? We all know he's taken quite a shine to her."

"Exactly," Lucius answered calmly. "Which is why I needed a valid reason to put her out of action at least for the Initiation Ball. Then he would take a liking to you instead. My son will not be beaten by a girl."

"So you were making all that stuff about Blaise up to annoy her?"

"No, but I mentioned it to wind her up. I was counting on her having Severus' temper. If you know where to push, he will get so angry, he might even kill."

"If Kiara had her wand I think you'd probably be dead by now."

"And only two people would miss you," Kiara said, standing up slowly to clear her head. Lucius turned to her with raised eyebrow. He'd have thought the force of the spell knocked her out. She touched her head again, flinching as she did so. "For fuck sake Uncle Lucius, if you'd needed me to pretend I'm a worse leader than Draco, you should have asked. We're meant to be like family."

"Is that so?" he asked.

"No. Accio Wand." Just as Bellatrix's wand had flown into her hand, Kiara felt confidence once more at the feel of the wand in her hand. This wand was different though. It glowed a strange yellow light. Twirling it in her hand she smirked at Lucius. "This is not a Ministry-approved wand Uncle Lucius. I suppose its covered with an some kind of anti-tracing charm. Better for me."

"Draco, is she always so sure of herself?"

"I…err…um…Kiara's very…err…confident," Draco stuttered, wondering if there would be time to duck under the table if there happened to be some kind of duel. He was not going to get involved. He knew what his father could do but he had also seen what Kiara could do, however young she was.

"The problem with those wands Kiara," Uncle Lucius said, taking small steps towards her. Kiara ignored the throbbing pain in her head, tightening her hold on the wand, preparing herself to fight. The consequences at the moment didn't matter. "Is that unless you have enough power to weal them, they are close to useless."

"Don't worry about me. I know how to handle pretty much anything," Kiara said although she glanced wearily at the wand in her hand. If it failed her at an inconvenient moment, she would probably find herself in St. Mungo's. "Take another step forward and I'll blast you back as hard as you did me."

"You really are something else." And he took that step.

Her hand clammy from the nervous sweat, Kiara waved her wand hoping for a miracle. Her mind had gone blank and was currently devoid of spells. It happened for Lucius was lifted a few feet off the ground before hurtling backwards until he crashed into the wall. At that point Draco dived under the table. He was too young to die.

Lucius was slumped against the wall, a dash of crimson appearing in a similar spot to where Kiara had been hurt but his was a lot more visible due to his platinum blonde hair. He appeared unmoving and Kiara began to worry. What if she had just killed Lucius Malfoy? The current Ministry would probably give her a medal but the Dark Lord would not be pleased. Inching forward, wand poised, she went to see if he was still breathing. It never occurred to her to ask Draco to do so.

"Uncle Lucius?" No response. "Uncle Lucius, that didn't hurt did it?"

"Of course it did you stupid child," he groaned. "But not as much as this is going to hurt."

Kiara gasped in pain as she once again found herself impacting the wall. This was getting childishly tiring. Trying to push herself up whilst clearing her blurring vision, Kiara rooted around for the wand. However she should have known all hope was over as another spell hit her. And another. Groaning in pain, she was rather surprised that he wasn't using the Cruciatus. Opening her eyes, she saw a pair of shiny black shoes with a diamante encrusted buckle in the shape 'M'.

"You need to remember one thing about all Death Eaters and Aurors alike. If they're any good at their job they'll always carry more than one wand. And that you could never get the upper hand on me if you tried. Malfoy's always triumph."

"Fuck you."

"It really is a pity. We were getting on so well until you proved to be more of a threat than anything else. Oh well. Severus will not be pleased but some things are inevitable. Obliviate."

Her mind went blank before succumbing to the darkness.