Finally! I got the files off my old laptop and onto my new one! Since it's been such a long time, I'm giving you all TWO chapters! That's right, two!

------Chapter 4-------

Amalia had just picked up the jar of Floo powder when a commotion in the hall drew her attention. By the sound of it, a minor war had erupted between the children.

"You KILLED him! You knew he couldn't fly!" A girl screamed as the door swung open and she ran in.

She cradled an odd kitten in her arms, it was pure white, but what made it truly remarkable was the pair of wings on it's back. It was absolutely still.

"I did not! The stupid thing jumped out the window!" A boy with sandy colored hair yelled back. He was older than the girl by at least six years.

"What's all this?" Giovanni snapped as three other children came in. They were all crying.

"Bryan murdered the wierd kitten!"

"I did not!"

"You were standing by the window!"

"Dahlia, what happened?" Amalia addressed the child with the kitten.

"We came in from playing...and Bryan was holding the kitten, then he dropped it and it fell out the window...I think it's d-d-dead." Dahlia replied. Sela looked at Bryan, then back at Dahlia.

"Well, what have you to say in your defense?" Giovanni asked looking at Bryan. His gaze said that he would tolerate no lies.

"I...so what? It's just a stupid cat. It's only got wings because it's stupid idiot of a mother has been hanging around here too long. It was a freak anyway..." He said with a defiant set to his jaw.

"You're stupid."

Bryan jumped. He turned to look at the person who had insulted him and was surprised to find Sela glaring at him.

"What do you know? You're only, what? Three?" he snorted.

"You're even stupider than I first thought. I'm four and a half."

Bryan ground his teeth. "Could someone, I don't know, DO something with her? Before I hex her."

Amalia looked at Sela. "Sela, this hasn't anything to do with you." Sela frowned at her.

Giovanni was now holding the kitten muttering under his breath. Bryan continued, "How important can some cat be anyway? They get hit by muggle audiomobles all the time, not counting the ones that the muggles put out of their misery. Who does one kitten matter to in the scheme of things?" He turned and glared at Sela again. "What did you just say?"

Sela didn't answer and stood holding her toy cat close to her.

Severus snorted. "She said, it matters to the kitten." he drawled.

"Like a dumb animal has feelings."

Sela still said nothing, and continued to pet the toy. Albus watched her, noting it wasn't a normal sort of absent petting, it was almost as though she were trying to comfort the thing. Albus managed to get Severus's attention and looked pointedly at Sela, who was now talking to the toy.

"They won't get you, because they aren't going to find me." She whispered with a shudder. "They got Giddy and Felli and m-m-mother, but not you..."

"What the heck is up with her?" Bryan said edging away.

"She's having a flashback, she's had a very traumatic expirence." Giovanni snapped looking up from the now wiggling kitten. "Don't touch her, or you might set her off."

"A flashback? Please." Bryan rolled his eyes. While what everyone else saw was a room in a house, Sela was seeing her hiding place from less than a week before. She shivered as she hid underneath the house. It was cold and it was musty, not to mention the spiders that ocassionally walked on her. She couldn't see what they were doing, but she could hear plain enough. A group of them walked by, robes rustling. Sela dared not move.

"They're coming, shhhhhhh..."

Bryan snorted. "She's crazy! The little freak."

Sela snapped her head up suddenly and leaped at Bryan snarling like a dog, only Severus's quick reflex saved Bryan from getting worse than a scratch. She hung from Severus's grip by the back of her robes, growling threats.

"She's bloody insane!" Bryan yelled.

"I told you to leave her alone." Giovanni said quietly. He walked up to Sela.

"Sela, look." he held up the kitten in front of her. "They didn't get this one." Sela stopped struggling and stared at the kitten which was wriggling in a mad attempt to get onto Sela's shoulder. Sela looked at it quietly as it managed to balance itself on her shoulder. She reached up and took it down, holding it in her free hand and glaring at Bryan as if he even tried to touch it, he would pay.

"I want you to do something for me, could you take him to Hogwarts with you? I hear that Madam Hooch is a great flying instructor, and maybe he can pick up something by watching her. Can you do that?"

Sela nodded her head slowly.

At a motion from Giovanni, Severus lowered Sela back to the floor. She stood there for a moment before she hid herself in his traveling cloak, crying. He looked at Amalia, half hoping for her to pry the creature off of him, but she just looked back at him. She mouthed the words "She's your kid. You do something." Severus glowered at her.

"I think we'd best be on our way." Albus said softly.