Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight and Harry Potter. All characters of both stories, along with their storyline, belong to their respective owners, Stephenie Meyer and J.K. Rowling. However, all unfamiliar characters and storylines do belong to me.
St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries, London, England
Sirius Black's Room
Year 2000
"You seem distracted," Hermione noted, looking closely at her. When Kaylee glanced back at her, she could see that something was occupying her attention from the presence and therefore troubling her mind. "What's wrong?"
Kaylee shook her head once but did not reply.
"You do realize that I'm not letting this go until you've told me? You might as well tell me now or you won't be going home any time soon."
Her best friend sighed, rolling her eyes at Hermione. She was so persistent, but Kaylee knew it was done out of love and concern. "I told my family everything about all the things I've been involved in, starting from the first memory I could ever remember," she began. "And when I mean everything, I literally meant everything."
"And then what happened?"
Kaylee's lips split into an amused smile, the first one since coming to St. Mungo's. "They think that Harry is troublesome, always attracting danger. They think that's how he's able to function by living off of them."
Hermione could not help the short laugh that erupted out of her. It was so unexpected from this slightly tense situation, and what she had in her thoughts was completely incomparable. She had been prepared to hear about her family's refusal to let Kaylee continue with her connections to the Wizarding World, or to visit those that often endangered her life. At least not for a while.
"They worry about Ron and his eating habits, also wondering about how he's not larger than he is from the amount of food he's eating. Daniel also understands his fear of spiders since he used to be scared of them too," she continued. "And they think you're brilliant. They are amazed at your intelligence, how you always manage to get us out of trouble and preventing us from serious injuries throughout all our yearly exploits. They agreed with the title of you being described as 'The Brightest Witch of Her Age'."
Hermione smiled before she became solemn again. "Even with all that you've said, I know that it's not the cause that has your mind in knots."
She caught the sudden haunted look in Kaylee's bright eyes before it flickered away into nothingness, returning back to its normalcy they were previously. It was then that she knew—from that one revealing emotion—that whatever that has her so troubled was something that connected to her past, a part of her life that Kaylee does not willingly share or talk about with others besides those close to her. A part of her life she did not like to revisit for it reminded her of a time where she was at her weakest. Feeling unloved. Worthless. Where it was a struggle to find something to fight for. To fight against herself from becoming a witch that was as cruel and merciless as Bellatrix Lestrange, devoid of any sanity left. Of feeling humanity.
There is only one cause where she would express such a haunted expression; her childhood living with the Malfoys in their manor.
Kaylee knew she should not have held herself accountable—she was too young to defend herself at the time—even if she had already made peace at every wrongdoing that was ever committed against her, she will always be affected by her horrific past. And yes, while she acknowledged the fact that experiencing the childhood she had was what had enabled her to become the person she is now—this strong and powerful and compassionate witch that Hermione loved to remind her of, so unlike what the Malfoys and Lestranges had envisioned for her to be—Kaylee still hated to be reminded of such a time where she almost gave in. To become that cold, emotionless and despicable being they tried to mould her to be, the complete opposite of what her parents tried to protect her from.
If it was not for the wind that brought a whisper to her ears, a voice that broke the spell of the hatred she felt for herself thus battling away her inner darkness that had held a firm, tight grip over her mind. If it were not for that voice, which shone a light in the dark, guiding her and showing a path back to her heart and to her true purpose, she would have become exactly what Bellatrix dreamt her of to be through the letters she sent to her sister. To be a weapon against her own father when the final stand between light and dark occurred, a distraction that will finally allow the Black deranged witch to eliminate the one member of their house that stained their noble name.
The voice...her mother's—Ariella Black. She remembered the wind that had caressed her skin and her hair as if a non-corporeal body was brushing them back. A sentence had then broken in through her protected mind and presented itself in her thoughts.
"I want you to be the best person that you can ever be, Kaylee. Be strong….be compassionate….be mindful, my love."
She had not known who, what or where it came from at the time, but she had felt the love and compassion beneath those words and had felt a spiritual presence beside her. In that moment, she felt lighter, her soul becoming free from the shackles that bound her from the darkness. Enough for her to remember what was right and what was wrong.
The hidden presence she now identified as her mother's soul stayed with her until she had gathered her bearings, putting herself together again, and freeing the shadow that would not let go of her. She renewed her purpose that moment on with a vigour unmatched by anyone, that same sentence uttered by a voice that had been filled with the utmost faith in her, had been a rule she had begun to live by.
And eventually, life got better.
But she would have not known the source of the voice if she had not met her house-elf during her second year at Hogwarts. Milly had told her everything, and she began first with the moment of her mother's death for she had been there; a witness to her Mistress's murder by none other than Narcissa Malfoy.
She had found out then that the words that had helped turn her life around had been the very last sentence her mother had uttered before she passed. A sentence full of hope, and an undisguised plea for her daughter. A request from a dying mother who loved her daughter more than anything else in the world. And so, her rule to live by that request was strengthened further.
But which was now being threatened by recent events.
Kaylee refocused her attention back to her best friend, who was patiently waiting for her and noticing just now that Hermione had one of her hands between hers holding it to comfort her. She started to tear up because no matter how many times she fell, no matter how many times she almost found herself in her Black temper and wanting to murder just about everyone who did her wrong, the amazing witch that is Hermione—who never once gave up on her—was always there to pick her back up and remind her what and who they were fighting for. The light and for Harry. Then she would always be reminded of the promise she made to herself, and to her mother.
She sighed as she finally relented.
"It started with the dinner last night…" Kaylee began, and Hermione listened earnestly.
She stared, stoic and unreadable, at her grandmother, her aunt, her uncle, and Daniel, who sat around her in her dining table. Daniel to her left, her aunt and uncle opposite the two of them, with her grandmother sitting at the head chair. They had finished their dinner and when everything was gone, the table cleared out, that was when the questions started coming her way.
At first, she refused to answer. Staying silent and just meeting their eyes without uttering any single word. She had not wanted to burden her family with her past, the horrors that came with the war, the violence and the pain that were produced from it. Or the skeletons in her closet that she tried so hard to bury. It was already bad enough that her closest friends knew of them, she did not want anyone else to know. And there was also that fear from deep inside that resurfaces every now and then. The fear of being abandoned and left alone.
But her grandmother had quickly put her foot down, her green eyes calmly staring back at her own blank ones as she waited for her.
She was stubborn, Kaylee thought with slight surprise, which is probably where she got hers from. She had a feeling that if she were to continue to keep her memories to herself, she would remain sitting here for who knows how long until she got what she wanted.
A soft hand suddenly grabbed her own from where it lay on the table, and she slowly looked at her aunt, following the hand to its owner. Her aunt smiled comfortingly at her. "We don't know the reason why you guard your past so obsessively, and that's one of the things we want to know about you, to learn why you have become this way. If you're scared to reveal something that might scare us away, don't be, Kaylee. We are your family, and we Gardners' and Lewis' always stick together. That's our family motto."
And damn if she hit it dead on.
"What I'm trying to say is that, as your family, we will love you no matter what you tell us. Unlike your grandmother, I understand if you don't want to share your story just yet, but I hope someday you will be able to confide in us." she concluded.
The sincerity in her voice finally made her…, and their unconditional love and support… And so, she told them right from the start, her first year in Hogwarts all the way to her seventh year. They never once interrupted. They let out gasps once in a while
What she did not tell them was her time with the Malfoys before Hogwarts.
But of course, her grandmother was nothing but specific, easily able to distinguish anything and everything. She…
She told them of her first year. Meeting Harry, her godbrother. Draco being his usual arrogant self. Seeing her mother in The Mirror of Erised; green eyes the same as her grandmother's, and her hair as gold as honey when basked in the light of the sun. The longing for the mother she did not grow up knowing. The Philosopher's Stone. Voldemort.
Her second year with her joining the Gryffindor's Quidditch as a Chaser. The first petrification starting with Mrs. Norris, Filch's cat. The Chamber of Secrets being opened. Meeting Milly when the Weasley twins took her to the kitchens. More petrification occurrences. A Quidditch match cancelled when another petrification happened, this time being Hermione. Following Harry and Ron to the Forbidden Forest to follow the spiders. Ron's fear of them. Ginny being kept in the chamber. Retrieving her. Learning Phoenix tears can cure just about everything. Freeing Dobby from Lucius and learning from him that Narcissa Malfoy had been the one that killed her mother.
Finding out from Ron's father that Sirius Black was after Harry in her third year. Connecting the dots and learning he was her father. Meeting Remus Lupin. Hearing her mother's voice, a touch of betrayal in her tone, when a Dementor came into their cabin. Her mixed feelings on whether to believe her father was a criminal or an innocent, and becoming somewhere in the middle. She wanted to learn his side of the story, a side untold. Her relationship with Draco, from civil and friendly, to being enemies. And finally, her bittersweet reunion with her innocent father. Sweet because they had been reunited at last, but bitter because she cannot live with him yet since he was still recognized as a criminal. Her vow to not only capture Wormtail to bring justice for her father but to also avenge the death of her best friend's parents.
Fourth year with the Triwizard Tournament. Harry as an unwilling second champion of Hogwarts, forced to participate because of the magical contract. Dragons being the first task. Hermione's SPEW. The Yule Ball, which she attended with a Durmstrang student she was crushing on. Being stuck underneath the water, posing as Harry's lost 'treasure' for an hour during the second task. Then that third task that changed everything. The unexpected death of Cedric, who she had befriended since second year and who had been her first crush. Voldemort's return. The whole magical community erupting in chaos at Harry's claim.
She shared with them her fifth year. How Umbridge became a professor with her hidden task to quell Harry's claims that Voldemort had returned. Her cruelty when it came to punishments which led to students rebelling. Her incompetence in teaching Defence Against the Dark Arts, resulting in Harry and Hermione creating Dumbledore's Army. Learning the Patronus charm that she fumbled on because she did not have much happy memories, except with her reunion with her father which had not been enough to produce a corporeal form, not even an incorporeal one. The attack on Mr. Weasley. She and Harry discovering that her father's life was threatened, of which had been a trick that led to a battle in the Department of Mysteries.
She told them how she was fortunate enough to catch Bellatrix in the midst of whispering a curse, wand pointing in the direction of her father, and her stunning spell so strong and powerful that it knocked Bellatrix unconscious with her body falling from the rocky platform she stood on. She smiled in delight when she shared to her family the capture of Wormtail. The vengeance when she and her father tossed him at an unsuspecting Cornelius Fudge, and her demanding a hearing that should have occurred before her father was sent to Azkaban. That sweet justice when her father was declared innocent and free of all the crimes he never committed, and the justice for Harry's parents. Deaths that should not have been if Wormtail had not forsaken his friendship with the rest of the Marauders, Lily and her mother.
Her sixth year was the worst. She told them how before the school started, she and Harry lived under the same roof of her father and they made up for all the years they lost without one another as a family; getting to know each other further, taking trips and going to places she and Harry had never been privy to in the years prior. How she met Professor Slughorn and was invited to be a member of his Slug Club. Trying to perfect the Patronus to produce a corporeal form. Ron's tryouts and him becoming the Gryffindor keeper. Being introduced to Lavender Brown as Ron's girlfriend on the same day, later that night. Consoling Hermione with Harry and learning of Harry's attraction to Ginny. Finding Draco not himself before she went to Slughorn's party. Meeting a vampire by the name of Sanguini. Finally producing her corporeal Patronus which took the form of a tigress.
When it was time to tell of Dumbledore's death, she had to take a deep breath and stop herself from tearing up. The Hogwarts headmaster, for all his flaws and imperfections, had still been someone she looked up to which never changed even when she discovered how he was using Harry.
When she got a hold of herself, she told them of his death. How she had been on her way back to her dormitory when she saw Dumbledore's body falling to the ground from the Astronomy tower. How she heard Bellatrix cackling and had watched, too stunned to do anything, as she conjured Voldemort's dark mark into the sky. And how when she left, she was immediately running to Dumbledore's side knowing it was too late but hoping slightly that she might feel a pulse. A hope that died when she felt nothing. No pulse. No intakes of breath.
The sorrowful faces around her, and the grief mingled with pain. Dumbledore had been loved by many. To lose him all of a sudden was heartbreaking. Besides Harry, Dumbledore had been the other face of their side, the strength and who instilled hope to people. And he was gone.
Kaylee stopped there, taking a break as she looked at her hands which were still held by her aunt who was now gripping it tightly. She closed her eyes and sighed.
"Everything else went downhill from there," Kaylee announced, grimacing. This was the part of her life she never wanted to revisit. "Seventh year was different. It started light with Bill's and Fleur's wedding," she smiled slightly at this but soon grew somber as she continued on. "However, the morning before the ceremony started, Harry mentioned that he was going to find the rest of Voldemort's horcruxes. Hermione and Ron immediately decided to join him while I was torn with either coming along or staying to support Ginny and Luna, along with Neville and Seamus. At the end, I chose to stay, and to help Professor McGonagall, all the other professors and the students that were to return to Hogwarts. To give them hope while Harry, their hero in a sense, were away with Ron and Hermione. After they understood why I wasn't coming, I had them obliviate my memory about Voldemort's horcruxes and their reason for seeking them out. I didn't want to risk their mission in case something happened. So—"
"Wait, wait, back up for a moment," Daniel interrupted. "What exactly is a horcrux? And what do you mean by obliviate?"
Kaylee stared at him, wondering how she could explain in a more simpler way. "A horcrux is known as the most terrible of all Dark Magic. It is only used by a Dark wizard or witch who desire attaining immortality. The horcrux is an object which they use to hide a part of their soul and can only be created after committing murder using a spell, and afterwards another horrific act is carried out. Voldemort had seven horcruxes in total, one of which he was not aware of. Harry."
Their eyes widened in shock, her aunt's hold on her hands slackening.
"Voldemort's soul had been unstable and had broken apart after murdering Harry's parents, and attempting to murder Harry while he was an infant. His shattered soul had latched on to the next living being, and Harry was unfortunately made into a pseudo-horcrux," Kaylee explained, then moved onto the next after giving them a moment to register her words. "Obliviate, however, is a memory charm which can be used to erase all memories or in parts. It is difficult to recover a memory and can also be permanent if the charm put on an individual was particularly strong. However, the memory charm can break and only through extreme torture. Those who have fallen victim to the memory charms never really recovered completely, and torturing them to return their memories is forbidden and a crime since there are side effects like mental and physical damage that are irreparable."
"But you remember? You were obliviated, but you know about it." her grandmother said, her tone rising an octave.
She smiled ruefully, remembering just exactly how she was able to remember her lost memories. A dark room flashed in her mind then. Her screams of pain as it echoed within the room. Her evil aunt cackling madly, and her other aunt just watching it happen with her son wincing every now and then. She shook her head, shaking the dark memories away. "That will be answered later. For now, let me get back to my seventh year."
And so, she continued. Telling them how the Ministry had fallen, with Rufus Scrimgeour dead and the ministry in the hands of Death Eaters. Their attack during Fleur's and Bill's reception, and her separation from Harry, Ron and Hermione. The invasion of Death Eaters on the Hogwarts Express, searching for Harry. The horror when Ginny, Neville, Seamus and she discovered that Snape was the new Headmaster. Meeting Alecto and Amycus Carrow. Their laid-out rules, and the punishments they planned to give when they were broken. Becoming the Head Girl with Draco as Head Boy. Standing up to the Death Eaters before they could torture the first years and taking it for herself for she was unable to stomach the first years being under the pain of the Cruciatus Curse. Ginny, Neville and Seamus following her, and the start of their plan to protect the younger students from harm. Running DA back again. Being offered an apprenticeship under Madam Pomfrey's care after she graduated from Hogwarts. Her first taste of Sectumsempra. Snape being furious on her behalf, and healing her. The first seed of doubt planted when he did. Why did he help? Repairing her relationship with Draco. Being summoned to the Great Hall privately with her cousin. Bellatrix was there. Her capture. Back at Malfoy Manor where she had lived the first seven years of her life. And from there, all she knew was pain, her constant companion in the dark cellar they threw her in. Ollivander and Griphook joining her in the cellar.
Seeing Wormtail again who had escaped from Azkaban and feeling nothing but the familiar hatred she felt upon seeing him. And then Luna came. Kaylee remembered feeling a surge of panic when she was led in the cellar to join them. Already, before she came, Kaylee's emotions were unstable and turbulent, having reached past its boiling point. At the sight of her, bruise marring her fair features, the emotions she was barely controlling had burst through. And she had snapped.
Wormtail did not see her coming until she was upon him, dealing a blow on his rat-like face with her fist. Which continued until he finally got the upper hand, and stunned her unconscious. She woke up in the presence of Voldemort, his ever-loyal follower, Bellatrix, and Narcissa and Lucius. Draco had also been there, but he was not looking at her. She knew why Voldemort was there. Not only to torture for what information she had of Harry's whereabouts, but he was also there to break her, to become a mindless being that they could readily order to do their bidding. Apparently, Bellatrix had not given up into turning her as one of them, and to hurt her father in the process.
The Cruciatus Curse was his specialty. He had too much anger, and so much hatred for the curse to be powerful and strong. Then there were also other curses she could not name, others that made it impossible to think through her pain, mind slowly becoming addled.
That was how she remembered her obliviated memories. Once Voldemort's torture was finished when he could no longer use any more curses as his magical core was depleting quite quickly, they left her on the cold granite floor with another Death Eater keeping watch. She recovered her memory of the horcruxes and what Harry planned to do with them with the risk of losing her mental stability. She remembered feeling the insanity creep into her conscious, waiting in the shadows to devour her whole.
"I could feel myself slowly losing the battle over the control of my being. My mind was hazy with pain. And aside from my body feeling the aftereffects of the Cruciatus Curse, that familiar flames licking and burning the bones in my body, but it also felt like I had dropped from a hundred feet tall building and was being ran over and over again by a truck. The pain had been too much, I was ready to lose it." Kaylee recalled. "But then I saw faces. My father's. Harry's. Hermione. Ron. Ginny. Luna. Tonks and Remus. Baby Teddy. The rest of the Weasleys. Even Mum's. It was enough to bring me back to my senses. I realized I could not give up fighting. If I became like Neville's parents or even worse, become one of them, my father would blame himself for not protecting me. So, with whatever strength I had left, and when Voldemort came back, I used that strength to fight back against him and his attempt to see through my mind. Panicked as I was to have information on what Harry was doing, I fought back against Voldemort's attack. I was so lucky that
She finished off the seventh year by telling them how she had come to be in the company of her best friends again, when they too were captured. Hermione's own torture. Her helplessness in knowing her best friend was being tortured but unable to do anything as she was too weak. The escape from Malfoy Manor before Voldemort can come back. Saving Dobby with the accumulated knowledge she had of healing spells that she had learned from Madam Pomfrey throughout the year. Dumbledore's brother. The return to Hogwarts.
By the time, she got to the part of the battle in Hogwarts, her voice was already shaking as she tried to repress the tears that were to come next. Seeing people dying left and right. Lavendar, mauled by a werewolf. Fred, Tonks and Remus almost joining the dead if it were not for her timely save. Harry's decision to go to Voldemort in the Forbidden Forest, and being stunned by him because he knew she would follow after him. The Death Eaters coming to negotiate, Harry's lifeless body in the arms of a shackled Hagrid. Ginny's pain filled scream. Everyone's shock. The battle starting again after Harry had miraculously woken.
Joining her father in the fray and fighting side by side. Being separated, and once more subjected to the Cruciatus Curse. Her father coming in and taking what was meant for her and losing his mental health in the end for it. The fall of Voldemort, final and never coming back to wreak chaos and order within the magical community. Her father being taken away to St. Mungo's, and being declared comatose. Being consoled and comforted by Harry, Hermione and everyone else she loved.
When she was done, only then did she realize that her grandmother was shaking from the force of her sobs. She pushed her chair closer to her and wrapped her grandmother's frail body in her arms.
"It's okay, grandma. I'm all right now." she told her. "It wasn't all bad. There was always light even when there was darkness, or else we would not have come this far. Like during my fifth year, Dad treated Harry and everyone out for two whole weeks. We went to all sorts of muggle hotspots. The amusement park being my favourite. He had to conceal himself, of course. And these memories reminded us exactly what we were fighting for during the war."
"That doesn't sound bad." Hermione said, her expression confused.
"There's more."
"Shoot."
"I should have fought harder for custody over you," her grandmother said, regret and pain in her voice. Her aunt and uncle were nodding along to her words. "It might not change most of what happened to you during your first to seventh year of Hogwarts, but at least the first half of your life would have been normal. You would have been loved and cared for than someone ignored, mistreated, and punished for the most ridiculous things."
She remembered telling them once all those years ago that her childhood had not been what children should have been confined to. Telling them in full detail exactly what it was like for her. They had wanted to know, exactly like how they wanted to know the rest of her past just then. Her early, if she were to explain only with one word, she would describe as hell.
Having been tortured or punished for not listening nor following her superior's orders. Especially for showing emotions, and she had to constantly try not to slip up. A couple of times she went to bed hungry—their punishment when she broke the rules or showed any feelings—stomach growling and having no ability to sustain herself. Malfoy's house elves would not even feed her, excluding Dobby. But only then she was only given a meagre portion. Never really being enough to satisfy her needs that it was a wonder why she even grew as tall as she was now, five feet nine. Taller than Harry's five feet five.
Kaylee once more focused in the situation she was in now, backtracking to what her grandmother had just said. Was she mistaken, or did she hear her say custody?
"What do you mean, grandma? About fighting for my custody?" she asked, confused and terrified at once.
Her grandmother paused, eyes blinking, the words she was about to say stilling at the tip of her tongue. "Did no one mention that to you?" she wondered. Kaylee shook her head. "That explains why you never visited." she sighed sadly. "When your mother died,\ and your father was taken to Azkaban, your aunt and I petitioned for a hearing on your behalf. We wanted to take custody of you. You were only a year old then and were being taken care of by your professor, Minerva. The minister granted our request, and your magical version of a court and the members attended. But they weren't alone. Your father's side of the family was also brought in to also request permission for your custody. The Malfoys."
Once she heard that name, her jaw clenched, sensing that she will not like whatever her grandmother will say next. Nothing good ever came from any mention of the Malfoys.
"We pleaded our case and they plead theirs. And that Lucius Malfoy—" her grandmother hissed in contempt "was cunning, using his charms to collect most of the votes. He used his wealth as a means to provide a better lifestyle for you, that you should be brought up in a magical household as it would be beneficial for you in the long term, to know the magical history before you attend Hogwarts, making you advanced in that area. Like us, he used our familial bond with you to further their case. And it worked in their favour for they had won. I was comforted to know that you will at least be safe and unharmed while you were there, as was the agreement between Lucius, the Minister and I. Failure to follow through would have your magical cops immediately knocking on their door and removing you from that environment. Fortunately, we had been given a moment to hold you before they took you away."
"And we would have let them take you, but that man—if you can even call him that—had stared at mother and father with disgust and had told the rest of the Wizengamot that we would be incapable of caring for you because we didn't look well of," her aunt added. "They had already won, why did they need to say anything like that?"
If anyone was to look at Kaylee's eyes in that moment, they would have seen a dangerous glint make an appearance in those blue-green depths as she listened to them speak of an event she was never aware of. Another thing that the Malfoys failed to tell her.
"I had not liked the tone he used on my parents, and I'm the kind of girl who doesn't think before she acts," her aunt continued. "So, you can imagine what I did next. I attacked him, uppercutting that smug smile off his face that not even he or the rest of the Wizengamot had seen it coming."
"You had to be restrained." her uncle admonished.
Aunt Isabel stubbornly raised her chin with pride. "It was so worth it, and it was tamer than what I had in mind for him." her eyes darkened. "If I had it my way, I would have taken that long blonde hair of his and strangled him with it until he's begging me to let go. Or taken that cane from his hand and beat him over the head with it." she paused, glaring. "But if I had known then that Narcissa—who should have treated my younger sister as a family member since they were in-laws—had killed Ariella, I would have killed that woman. I just can't believe she would do that to her."
Ah, right, Kaylee thought. Dad mentioned that Mum and Narcissa had once been friends until my mother took Lily's side rather than hers. She was not informed exactly what that showdown had been about, but she knew it had something to do with purebloods and muggles as can only be between purebloods and a muggleborn. And somehow, Narcissa never got over it so she had to resolve murdering her mother to find peace.
"My little dove," her grandmother spoke up, reaching for her hands and looking at her intently. "If I could, I would go back in time of the hearing and did everything I could to have you in my arms to take home. It is my fault that you ended up there. I didn't fight hard enough for you." she finished in a broken whisper, eyes still in a mess of gathered tears.
"It is not your fault, grandma. Please don't ever think that again." she gently told her, yet firmly. "You did your best and that is all that matters to me."
But if she had known there was a family that loved her all this time, who did everything they could to get custody over herself, she would have fought tooth and nail to escape and flee from the manor. She would have searched for them even if she was five, go hungry even, just to get away from them.
"Life for me eventually got better," Kaylee announced, this time with a genuine smile on her face. "Andy, a nickname derived from Andromeda, Narcissa's sister, came over for a visit back when she was still welcomed in the manor. She had not known the Malfoys were taking care of me, and so she was surprised to find me in the garden. In truth, I was supposed to hide in the room they had me sleeping in until Narcissa told me it was clear to wander about the manor. But that wasn't the case and before I could try and fix the damage, it was already too late. She had connected the dots, figured out I was my father's daughter by one look at me. Then she took notice of the state of my condition—a skinny child with bruises, old and new, all over her body—and became furious. She took my hand and led me out of the garden but Narcissa stopped her. They had this huge argument. I can't remember what they said to each other because I was scared at the time, mind wondering about what form of punishment they will inflict upon me after Andy left.
"When their argument ended, with Narcissa calling Andy a 'blood traitor', I was surprised when Andy left with me, and Narcissa didn't even do anything. She took me to her home, introducing me to her family, and telling me I could live with her and her family from that point on. And I remember the feeling of immense joy when I realized I was free from the cruelty of the Malfoys, though sad that I would be leaving Draco behind as he was the only one who didn't hurt me and who truly made the effort to know me."
And it had hurt when the first time they met one another again aboard the Hogwarts Express, he was not the same person that she knew him to be, treating people he deemed inferior the way his parents treated her, and so becoming a shell of the boy he once was, she thought to herself sadly.
"She had told me later that she and my father had always been close, he was like the younger brother she never had, and he looked up to her. It was no wonder that he named her my godmother, I would have been surprised if he hadn't. And for her to see me looking like the way she found me, she must have thought of herself as a failure for not looking for me.
"And why did she not take you earlier from that manor?" her grandmother asked.
"She didn't know I was there," Kaylee defended. "When she asked about me, all they would tell her was that I was in safe hands and being taken care of. They didn't tell her that her own sister had me, and she had to find out the hard way through that visit."
Just another thing to add to the list of reasons why she abhorred Narcissa and Lucius Malfoy.
"That's what had me distracted." Kaylee told Hermione, sighing. She stood up, facing away from her best friend. "My mother told me to be the best person I can be, and I have tried, 'Mione. I really have tried. But how can I forgive the people who fed me lies after lies? They started lying to me from the moment I was able to comprehend anything, and I soaked them all up because I had no one else to turn to that would deny everything the Malfoys claimed. I'm starting forgive them for that but can I really forgive the act of the woman who took the life of my mother? Or can I forgive Bellatrix for almost killing my father during fifth year? I can't, because doing so would mean I was okay when I'm most definitely not okay."
"And now, I find out that Malfoy had humiliated my family in front of a whole court of wizards and witches by mentioning how poorly he seemed to think of them. That arrogant, blood supremacist, arse-kissing git!" Kaylee ranted with vehemence, whirling back around to look at her. "And what was Bagnold thinking by giving custody of me over to them?!"
"It's not her fault, Kaylee. We both know that whichever side had the majority of votes will win. Your family was outvoted and Bagnold had no choice but to hand you over to the Malfoys unless the Wizengamot deemed her unable to take on the role of a Minister. They would have elected another if they ever had a doubt."
Kaylee stared at her, torn. "I know but that doesn't make anything feel better."
Hermione smiled at her gently. "I know."
They fell in a comfortable silence then, each in their own thoughts. Being reminded of everything she had experienced from five years old to her seventeen, Kaylee had to admit that her life was not entirely calm and peaceful. Danger always lurked in the shadows and she can see exactly why her grandmother would feel panic every time she was being tortured or taken to receive the punishments of the first years'. There had been many times when she would have been lost, unable to recover.
Pulling herself from her dark thoughts, she thought back to earlier when she walked out of the Weasley's fireplace from hers. She was so confused.
"'Mione, before I came to St Mungo's, I managed to cross paths with Harry, Remus, Bill and the twins. They looked like they wanted to say something to me but was held back from doing so when Molly appeared to give me one of her hugs. They scattered away when she came." Kaylee said, amusement but confused at their reaction.
Hermione laughed. "Well, your letter from yesterday wasn't exactly good news to some people."
Understanding dawned then and she laughed with her. "Was it bad?" she asked.
"Molly had to threaten Remus' chocolates for him to agree not to interfere with this blossoming relationship between you and this Edward." Hermione replied. "Which reminds me, Ginny, Luna and I want to meet him as soon as possible."
She nodded. "Maybe on my birthday in a month? You and the girls can come over and help me set up my place for a party." she paused. "The only thing is I won't be turning twenty, I'll be turning seventeen. I am posting as a junior in high school after all, and the Cullen siblings, Tanya, Kate and their remaining family members I haven't met yet are joining us so we have to keep up the pretense."
"That sounds good, I'll make sure to tell the others." Hermione said. "Does that feel weird to you? Being, what? Three years older than Edward?"
Kaylee frowned, thinking. "I never really thought about it. Most of the time, Edward doesn't even feel like he's seventeen and a teenager. He acts too mature that I could identify him as being years older." she chewed her lip. "Should I be worried? Do I even pass off as being a soon-to-be seventeen-year-old teen?"
"Don't think too much about it, Lia. Actually," Hermione pursed her lips, looking over her figure. "Now that you mention it, you can actually pass off as that age, you cougar." she teased. "Your animagus and patronus forms should have been a cougar rather than your tigress."
She rolled her eyes, getting her meaning. "Age does not matter when it comes to love."
Hermione's brown orbs widened, her mouth falling slightly open. "You love him?" she almost shrieked.
"What?! No! I'm just saying that because it's true." she denied. "I'm still in Stage 2, 'The Crush'."
Her best friend's eyes glinted. "Oh, yes, the stages," she smiled fondly. "I remember when we made that up. Stage 1: The Attraction. Stage 2: The Crush. Stage 3: Caring. Stage 4: Falling Hard. Stage 5: In Love."
"Or also known as Stage 1: You know you're in trouble. Stage 2: But you don't give a crap. Stage 3: You know you should stop. Stage 4: But you can't bring yourself to. Stage 5: You're stuffed, and there's no going back."
They laughed together.
Kaylee would have originally chosen the word that started with the letter 'f' and ended with a 'k' and added an 'ed' than 'stuffed' if Hermione had not put her foot down, and reprimanded her for her cussing.
"We were in third year when we made that, right around the time we started to have crushes. Or crush, in your case." Kaylee pointed out. "You never really looked at anyone else but Ron."
"I just knew, you know. If someone didn't like you at first but made an effort to befriend you later, even with all that you stood for—bossy, overbearing—and he can still manage to stick by you, then you know he might just be the one."
"You guys are great together." Kaylee smiled, wistfully. "I hope one day, I'll have someone look at me the way Ron looks at you. Someone who'll love for the way I am, flaws and all."
~O~O~O~
Sorry for the long wait! This was initially meant to be updated on the third week after the previous update, but I had the worse case of writer's block, and I kept on rewriting and deleting things which made me put the chapter off. Again, I apologize for that.
I'm not really sure how I feel about this chapter. Kaylee's revelation took up most of my time writing this (and there are still so many things I left out), and it was mostly why I kept rewriting because I wasn't sure if I should include all the details of the seven years or make it short. I decided to just include the most important ones to Kaylee, which explains the reason why everything that happened in the films were not mentioned. Her memories of her seventh year was so much longer because I felt they were needed to be mentioned, and that wasn't even everything. So, I'm not sure if I did all right but hopefully, the chapter was okay.
Before I close off, I chose her Patronus and Animagus form to be a tiger because I felt it was the closest animal that represented who she is as a person. But it was a close call between a tigress and a panther.
If you have any questions, or if you're confused about something in this chapter or any in the future, don't hesitate to ask me by either commenting or sending me a private message.
I will try my best to get the next chapter up as soon as I can. Rest assured that it won't be taking this long again.
