Disclaimer: I don't own any of the original Phantom of the Opera characters, so please don't sue me. I do own Catherine and Philippe, so if you want to use them (and I don't know why you would) please ask me first.

Chapter 2 of A New Life

As the carriage rolled down the congested streets of downtown Paris, Philippe amused Catherine by bouncing around the carriage and trying to peek out the windows. But as they pulled up in front of the newly rebuilt Opera House, she hushed him and asked that he stay in the carriage a little while longer. He was disappointed, but did as he was told.

Catherine walked over to the coachman, gave him whispered instructions to stay there, and made sure that he was well paid for doing so. Gracefully, she ascended the steps to the Opera house where she paused for but a moment before entering. Luck was with her, for Madame Giry was in the hall speaking to Meg. She walked up to the formidable woman, and politely waited for a break in the conversation.

In the end it was Meg who first noticed her presence and broke off the conversation. By this point Madame Giry had also noticed her and waited for her to speak.

"Good afternoon Madame and Mademoiselle Giry. Excuse me for interrupting, but I was wondering if one of you would be so kind as to watch Philippe while I went house shopping?" Catherine looked to the women hopefully. Madame Giry had been one of the only people who had seen Philippe since the fire, and so far had been the only one to not appear horrified.

Madame Giry seemed a little surprised, but recovered quickly enough to reply. "I would be happy to, but why do you need to buy a house and why is Philippe with you? Shouldn't he be with your brother?"

"My brother is a superficial idiot, who is incapable of being a fit parent, and I refuse to be in the same house as him or to see Philippe raised by such a fool." Catherine's bitterness was evident to any who heard her.

Rather than pry further Madame Giry simply nodded. "Finding a house in one day will be difficult, where will you stay if you do not find one right away"

Catherine shrugged. " We'll probably be staying in a hotel, until a suitable residence can be procured." Madame Giry shook her head.

"I do not think that that is a wise idea, given Philippe's condition."

"I agree with you, but I see no other option...."

"If you wish, the two of you may stay here, in one of the empty dormitory rooms, until you find a house."

Catherine shook her head "I would not wish to impose, and besides that space is probably needed by someone."

Madame Giry smiled at that last comment. "I assure you it would not be an imposition, and as to the space, we have more then enough. Please stay here. It would be better for Philippe to be in a place with people who can look at him." Catherine sighed and nodded.

Meg was surprised that her mother had made the offer, but simply smiled and asked for leave or else she would be late for practice. Shaking her head at her forgetfulness, Madame Giry excused her and told her tell the other teacher that they were in charge of the rehearsal sense she would be late, if she was able to come at all. While Meg hurried away, Madame Giry stepped out with Catherine to help with the luggage. Philippe ran out of the carriage to meet his aunt half way. Madame Giry smiled at the small boy, but as he looked at her she could not help but remember another boy who had a similar problem. She knew Catherine also knew of the other boy, man now, but would not say anything of him, or his opinion of a De Changy in his Opera house. Catherine had enough problems to deal with. She took one suitcase while Catherine took the other, and Philippe.

Catherine couldn't help but sigh. Philippe looked at her eyes filled with wonderment, which brought a smile to her face. She didn't know how she would ever be able to thank Madame Giry for this, but do matter what she had to do to repay her she would. A moment of happiness for Philippe was worth anything. They had just asscended the steps when Meg came rushing out to them. She seemed to be in shock. Her words started as barely audible but finished almost in a shriek, "Mother, the managers came to rehersal. The Opera House is going to close!"

Madame Giry froze, and Catherine turned pale. Catherine was the first to recover, and found herself questioning Meg. "Why?"
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Review Responses:

ButterflyOfLothlorien: Here's the update, and I tend to share your views of Raoul. Thanks for the review.

Flare Conlon: Thank you. I do plan on continuing to the end. Thank you again for the lovely compliment and the lovely review.

tomluver123: I will. Thanks for reviewing.

Mia: Thank you for the review. As to what Raoul's thought were and will be, will be revealed as time goes on.

IChooseTheScorpion: Thank you for the tip. I've tried to make them smaller now, but please tell me if you think they need to be shorter, and yes I agree Raoul is a bd.

Princess: Thank you.

AN: The end of another chapter. I know I should have posted sooner, I was planning to. Life got in the way. Hopefully the next update will be more punctual. Please Review. Flames will be used to light my chandelier.

AN 2: If you read this story earlier, I apologise. I uploaded the one one that hadn't been proofread yet by mistake.