I decided to change chapter one, for the simple fact that few people can
read the Welsh. I shall now make the necessary obsequities to J.K. Rowling,
for unlike everyone else most of these characters are hers, though Kate,
Gwen, Lorenzo and, the most important character, Orion (just ask him) are
mine…
Thanks to all reviewers.
K.S.
"We were born into a time when legends hold sway, and the fate of the world hangs in the balance . Children still, two live hold the evil in check – the boy who lived and the girl who was born."
Halloween night
The young woman was straining on the bed, drenched in sweat. The nurse held the girl's hand, encouraging her.
"Now there, my dear. Your baby is born. Oh what a beautiful little girl you have! See Gwen, here is your daughter," Madam Pomfrey gently placed the bundled baby next to Gwendoyln Rhys, then motioined for the man with the silver beard to enter the room.
"There you have it, Professor. She won't tell me anything. Not even who the child's father is. And," Madam Pomfrey continued in an even lower voice, "She was muttering something about Lily and James Potter. They are quite safe, quite hidden, aren't they? Their little boy too?"She asked worried. Albus Dumbledore did not have a chance to reply. Gwen, the baby at her side, began to speak, in harsh tones quite unlike her clear, rather lilting voice.
"Tonight, it happens. As the girl is brought into this world, the Dark Lord will attempt to destroy the boy-child. The mother, the father, the home-hearth, all are decimated, and the child lies in the ruins. HE LIVES! And he will live. They will face great perils, both together and apart, these two children. The boy has defeated the Dark Lord; he shall do so again. The girl will face yet another Lord of Evil, and she as well will triumph. For he has dared to live, and she has dared to be born. They shall be united under the same banner, each wielding one of the lost swords. And the world shall be given a new sort of hope. The High King shall return!"
"She's in a fey trance. We'd best send someone to the Potters. Hagrid, I think. We must hurry. Gwen, Gwen, can you hear me?" Dumbledore sat on the edge of the bed, and gently pushed sodden blonde hair from her forehead.
"Professor?" Gwen opened her cat-like eyes and looked about for a moment.
"Who is this little one's father, Gwen? Where is he, he deserves to know."
"I can't tell you, for I do not know for sure myself. It's either Sirius or Severus. I've been so frightened, Professor Dumbledore. Don't tell, either one of them. They hate each other so. And… And I love them both. She won't understand," Gwen said softly, a hesitant finger brushing the baby's dark hair, "So tiny, so pure. Katherine. That's her name. Katherine Ariana Rhys. A proud name, fitting for a descendent of enchantresses, warriors, and kings. Give her to Anwen. Give my baby to my twin. She can't have children and I know that she and Patrick will love my little girl. I can just be Aunt Gwen. When my Katherine, my Kate, is old enough, I'll tell her. But the past months have been a nightmare, Professor. Lily and James and their little boy in danger; Sirius in hiding, and Severus… I'm glad he was able to get me here to Hogwarts without causing undue suspicion. He never knew, I didn't tell him, or Sirius, that I was going to have a baby."
Dumbledore took the baby in his arms. The child's eyes were not the mild sky-blue of a normal infant's, but a dark stormy blue, eerie golden rings surrounding the pupils. Her hair was thick and dark, with a slightly silver cast to it.
"Katherine Ariana. The Child Silverhair, I ought to have guessed it," he crooned to the child, who wasn't red-faced, like most new babies, but pearly white, proclaiming her half-fey blood, " You've great things in store for you But I promise you, little one, I shall discover your father for you, or help you when you must go on that quest." His grave faced lightened as the child tugged at his beard, and looked at him as though she knew exactly what he had said, with an unflinching gaze.
"Oh yes, you're a fey child, and willfull as a cat already, I see. You'll be a force to be reckoned with when next you see me, little one."
Nine years later
The little girl stood next to Gwen throughout the whole funeral ceremony. Long dark hair braided into a plait only served to accentuate the tragic paleness of the little face. But there were no tears. None of the wizards and witches who came to the funeral of Anwen Rhys ever saw the child cry. And Gwen could not bear to part with her. Dumbledore took Gwen's hand and guided her to a seat in the front of the tent in the cemetery at Gettysburg. Professor McGonagall sat next to the other woman, cradling her head when she finally began to weep. Severus Snape looked at the child, who gazed up at him with an uncanny, searching look. She would not sit.
"It's my fault, you know," she said solemnly.
" A thing like this is never anyone's fault, child," he replied just as gravely. Something told him that to speak to this girl as one generally would to a small child would be making a terrible mistake, "Come, I'll take you to your aunt. They're getting ready to give the last benediction." He reached for her hand, but she snatched it away.
" I'm not going to go. I don't want to see them put Mama in the ground forever. I won't! I won't!" She turned and fled. Snape followed, but he was not quick enough to catch the spritely child.
"Damn!" he said under his breath, and went to Albus Dumbledore.
"The child has run off. Said she won't watch them put her mother into the ground. We have to go find her," he said in low tones. Gwen Rhys began to weep again, panicked about Katherine's disappearance now of all times. When she calmed herself, she told the ministering wizard to carry on, as Snape, Dumbledore, and McGonagall went to search for the child.
"Where would she go?" Professor Minerva McGonagall asked.
" The battlefield," Dumbledore said with certainty, " She is a Rhys, above anything. She will go to a place where she feels safe."
"Albus, why would such a little girl feel safe on a battlefield of all places?"
"Gwen told me that is her favorite place in the world."
"That battlefield is enormous, Headmaster," Snape said, "How shall we find her?"
"We'll split up and look, Severus. We must find the child unharmed. Minerva, you shall take the area known as Pickett's Charge. I shall search the two hills. Severus, you take the valley with the woods and the rocks. Devil's Den, the rocks are called. Send up a signal with your wands if you find the child. Hurry now."
For nearly an hour did they search, and found nothing. Then, a sound caught Snape's attention. It was a clear, pretty voice: a child singing a song. Snape listened to it, and nodded his head. It was a song he knew well. Llwyn Onn, The Ash Grove. The child sang of rowan trees in her grief.
The ash grove, how graceful, how plainly 'tis speaking,
The harp wind through it playing has language for me.
Whenever the light through its branches is breaking
A host of kind faces is gazing on me.
The friends of my childhood again are before me,
Each step wakes a memory as freely I roam.
With soft whispers laden its leaves rustle o'er me,
The ash grove, the ash grove again [alone] is my home.
My laughter is over, my step loses lightness,
Old countryside measures steal soft on my ear;
I only remember the past and its brightness,
The dear ones I mourn [long] for again gather here.
From out of the shadows their loving looks greet me
And wistfully searching the leafy green dome,
I find other faces fond bending to greet me,
The ash grove, the ash grove alone is my home.
My lips smile no more, my heart loses its lightness
No dream of my future my spirit can cheer;
I only can brood on the past and its brightness,
The dead I have mourned are again living here.
From ev'ry dark nook they press forward to meet me;
I lift up my eyes to the broad leafy dome,
And others are there looking downward to greet me;
The ash grove, the ash grove alone is my home.
He found her in the great maze of boulders Dumbledore had called Devil's Den. Katherine sat on a rock, a large yellow and white cat sitting on her lap. He watched her for a moment, not betraying his presence. It was the cat who noticed him first. It saw him quite plainly and gave a very loud mew. The girl stood up and saw him.
"It's all right. Are you ready to come back yet? Everything is over, but your aunt is very worried about you. I see you have Leonidas. We're old friends, that cat and I."
A hesitant smile played over the white features, "Leonidas isn't the only one here. The ghosts are here, listening. They like it when they can hear the old tunes, ones that they heard in life. The Major picked 'The Ash Grove.' General Armistead prefers 'Kathleen Mavourneen'," she looked away, towards the sunset, "Is it really all over?"
"Yes, it is. And your aunt Gwen will be missing her kitty as well as her little girl. Shall I carry you back, Katherine?"
"Call me Kate. Not Katie, but Kate. And I think I shall allow you to carry me back… my feet are tired and these shoes make them hurt."
Snape gathered the little girl in his arms, letting the cat walk behind them. He sent up the signal and headed towards the farmhouse which was the old Rhys homestead. Kate fell asleep very soon as he walked on. Dumbledore and McGonagall soon met up with them. Leonidas, tired of walking himself, allowed Minerva McGonagall to pick him up and carry him.
"Where on earth did you find her, Severus?" McGonagall asked.
"She was sitting on a rock, the cat in her lap, and she was singing, like a little lark. She looks so like Gwen now, could be a small Gwen, save for the eyes and the hair."
"That she does, Severus," Dumbledore said, " Did you see any of the ghosts? I've met up with a few on the hill, including Major Rhys, the child's forefather, Bran's father. Remarkable child. He also told me why she ran away. I think that we ought to put a memory charm of this day on her. We shouldn't take away the memory of her mother's death, or of her own role in it, but let's remove this day." Snape handed the child to Dumbledore, who touched the shining head with his wand and uttered a few words. When they got to the farmhouse, Gwen came running to meet them.
"Alive and unhurt! Oh my precious, precious girl!"
"She won't remember any of this day Gwen, which will be easier on her." Dumbledore said. Gwen nodded and, taking the child, bore her to an upper room in the house. She stayed up there for a few minutes and came downstairs with rather red eyes.
"Would anyone like some coffee or tea? I'm making my Kate-Kat some hot chocolate, she's woken up and is a tad cold."
Dumbledore's eyes twinkled, " I would not say 'no' to some of Kate's hot chocolate."
Thanks to all reviewers.
K.S.
"We were born into a time when legends hold sway, and the fate of the world hangs in the balance . Children still, two live hold the evil in check – the boy who lived and the girl who was born."
Halloween night
The young woman was straining on the bed, drenched in sweat. The nurse held the girl's hand, encouraging her.
"Now there, my dear. Your baby is born. Oh what a beautiful little girl you have! See Gwen, here is your daughter," Madam Pomfrey gently placed the bundled baby next to Gwendoyln Rhys, then motioined for the man with the silver beard to enter the room.
"There you have it, Professor. She won't tell me anything. Not even who the child's father is. And," Madam Pomfrey continued in an even lower voice, "She was muttering something about Lily and James Potter. They are quite safe, quite hidden, aren't they? Their little boy too?"She asked worried. Albus Dumbledore did not have a chance to reply. Gwen, the baby at her side, began to speak, in harsh tones quite unlike her clear, rather lilting voice.
"Tonight, it happens. As the girl is brought into this world, the Dark Lord will attempt to destroy the boy-child. The mother, the father, the home-hearth, all are decimated, and the child lies in the ruins. HE LIVES! And he will live. They will face great perils, both together and apart, these two children. The boy has defeated the Dark Lord; he shall do so again. The girl will face yet another Lord of Evil, and she as well will triumph. For he has dared to live, and she has dared to be born. They shall be united under the same banner, each wielding one of the lost swords. And the world shall be given a new sort of hope. The High King shall return!"
"She's in a fey trance. We'd best send someone to the Potters. Hagrid, I think. We must hurry. Gwen, Gwen, can you hear me?" Dumbledore sat on the edge of the bed, and gently pushed sodden blonde hair from her forehead.
"Professor?" Gwen opened her cat-like eyes and looked about for a moment.
"Who is this little one's father, Gwen? Where is he, he deserves to know."
"I can't tell you, for I do not know for sure myself. It's either Sirius or Severus. I've been so frightened, Professor Dumbledore. Don't tell, either one of them. They hate each other so. And… And I love them both. She won't understand," Gwen said softly, a hesitant finger brushing the baby's dark hair, "So tiny, so pure. Katherine. That's her name. Katherine Ariana Rhys. A proud name, fitting for a descendent of enchantresses, warriors, and kings. Give her to Anwen. Give my baby to my twin. She can't have children and I know that she and Patrick will love my little girl. I can just be Aunt Gwen. When my Katherine, my Kate, is old enough, I'll tell her. But the past months have been a nightmare, Professor. Lily and James and their little boy in danger; Sirius in hiding, and Severus… I'm glad he was able to get me here to Hogwarts without causing undue suspicion. He never knew, I didn't tell him, or Sirius, that I was going to have a baby."
Dumbledore took the baby in his arms. The child's eyes were not the mild sky-blue of a normal infant's, but a dark stormy blue, eerie golden rings surrounding the pupils. Her hair was thick and dark, with a slightly silver cast to it.
"Katherine Ariana. The Child Silverhair, I ought to have guessed it," he crooned to the child, who wasn't red-faced, like most new babies, but pearly white, proclaiming her half-fey blood, " You've great things in store for you But I promise you, little one, I shall discover your father for you, or help you when you must go on that quest." His grave faced lightened as the child tugged at his beard, and looked at him as though she knew exactly what he had said, with an unflinching gaze.
"Oh yes, you're a fey child, and willfull as a cat already, I see. You'll be a force to be reckoned with when next you see me, little one."
Nine years later
The little girl stood next to Gwen throughout the whole funeral ceremony. Long dark hair braided into a plait only served to accentuate the tragic paleness of the little face. But there were no tears. None of the wizards and witches who came to the funeral of Anwen Rhys ever saw the child cry. And Gwen could not bear to part with her. Dumbledore took Gwen's hand and guided her to a seat in the front of the tent in the cemetery at Gettysburg. Professor McGonagall sat next to the other woman, cradling her head when she finally began to weep. Severus Snape looked at the child, who gazed up at him with an uncanny, searching look. She would not sit.
"It's my fault, you know," she said solemnly.
" A thing like this is never anyone's fault, child," he replied just as gravely. Something told him that to speak to this girl as one generally would to a small child would be making a terrible mistake, "Come, I'll take you to your aunt. They're getting ready to give the last benediction." He reached for her hand, but she snatched it away.
" I'm not going to go. I don't want to see them put Mama in the ground forever. I won't! I won't!" She turned and fled. Snape followed, but he was not quick enough to catch the spritely child.
"Damn!" he said under his breath, and went to Albus Dumbledore.
"The child has run off. Said she won't watch them put her mother into the ground. We have to go find her," he said in low tones. Gwen Rhys began to weep again, panicked about Katherine's disappearance now of all times. When she calmed herself, she told the ministering wizard to carry on, as Snape, Dumbledore, and McGonagall went to search for the child.
"Where would she go?" Professor Minerva McGonagall asked.
" The battlefield," Dumbledore said with certainty, " She is a Rhys, above anything. She will go to a place where she feels safe."
"Albus, why would such a little girl feel safe on a battlefield of all places?"
"Gwen told me that is her favorite place in the world."
"That battlefield is enormous, Headmaster," Snape said, "How shall we find her?"
"We'll split up and look, Severus. We must find the child unharmed. Minerva, you shall take the area known as Pickett's Charge. I shall search the two hills. Severus, you take the valley with the woods and the rocks. Devil's Den, the rocks are called. Send up a signal with your wands if you find the child. Hurry now."
For nearly an hour did they search, and found nothing. Then, a sound caught Snape's attention. It was a clear, pretty voice: a child singing a song. Snape listened to it, and nodded his head. It was a song he knew well. Llwyn Onn, The Ash Grove. The child sang of rowan trees in her grief.
The ash grove, how graceful, how plainly 'tis speaking,
The harp wind through it playing has language for me.
Whenever the light through its branches is breaking
A host of kind faces is gazing on me.
The friends of my childhood again are before me,
Each step wakes a memory as freely I roam.
With soft whispers laden its leaves rustle o'er me,
The ash grove, the ash grove again [alone] is my home.
My laughter is over, my step loses lightness,
Old countryside measures steal soft on my ear;
I only remember the past and its brightness,
The dear ones I mourn [long] for again gather here.
From out of the shadows their loving looks greet me
And wistfully searching the leafy green dome,
I find other faces fond bending to greet me,
The ash grove, the ash grove alone is my home.
My lips smile no more, my heart loses its lightness
No dream of my future my spirit can cheer;
I only can brood on the past and its brightness,
The dead I have mourned are again living here.
From ev'ry dark nook they press forward to meet me;
I lift up my eyes to the broad leafy dome,
And others are there looking downward to greet me;
The ash grove, the ash grove alone is my home.
He found her in the great maze of boulders Dumbledore had called Devil's Den. Katherine sat on a rock, a large yellow and white cat sitting on her lap. He watched her for a moment, not betraying his presence. It was the cat who noticed him first. It saw him quite plainly and gave a very loud mew. The girl stood up and saw him.
"It's all right. Are you ready to come back yet? Everything is over, but your aunt is very worried about you. I see you have Leonidas. We're old friends, that cat and I."
A hesitant smile played over the white features, "Leonidas isn't the only one here. The ghosts are here, listening. They like it when they can hear the old tunes, ones that they heard in life. The Major picked 'The Ash Grove.' General Armistead prefers 'Kathleen Mavourneen'," she looked away, towards the sunset, "Is it really all over?"
"Yes, it is. And your aunt Gwen will be missing her kitty as well as her little girl. Shall I carry you back, Katherine?"
"Call me Kate. Not Katie, but Kate. And I think I shall allow you to carry me back… my feet are tired and these shoes make them hurt."
Snape gathered the little girl in his arms, letting the cat walk behind them. He sent up the signal and headed towards the farmhouse which was the old Rhys homestead. Kate fell asleep very soon as he walked on. Dumbledore and McGonagall soon met up with them. Leonidas, tired of walking himself, allowed Minerva McGonagall to pick him up and carry him.
"Where on earth did you find her, Severus?" McGonagall asked.
"She was sitting on a rock, the cat in her lap, and she was singing, like a little lark. She looks so like Gwen now, could be a small Gwen, save for the eyes and the hair."
"That she does, Severus," Dumbledore said, " Did you see any of the ghosts? I've met up with a few on the hill, including Major Rhys, the child's forefather, Bran's father. Remarkable child. He also told me why she ran away. I think that we ought to put a memory charm of this day on her. We shouldn't take away the memory of her mother's death, or of her own role in it, but let's remove this day." Snape handed the child to Dumbledore, who touched the shining head with his wand and uttered a few words. When they got to the farmhouse, Gwen came running to meet them.
"Alive and unhurt! Oh my precious, precious girl!"
"She won't remember any of this day Gwen, which will be easier on her." Dumbledore said. Gwen nodded and, taking the child, bore her to an upper room in the house. She stayed up there for a few minutes and came downstairs with rather red eyes.
"Would anyone like some coffee or tea? I'm making my Kate-Kat some hot chocolate, she's woken up and is a tad cold."
Dumbledore's eyes twinkled, " I would not say 'no' to some of Kate's hot chocolate."