"Kitty!" He called, walking towards her. Kitty couldn't move, her mouth and eyes open in shock. Same short, brown hair; same collared white shirt; same black pants, but it couldn't be. Nathaniel? "Hey," She smiled. "I was waiting for-what are you doing?"

She held up her hands defensively, in a stance that just screamed 'ready to fight you', not helped too much by the unmistakable bloodlust in her eyes. "Stay away demon!" She said. Nathaniel just sort of stared. "I read about this, night demons, called the succubus, who invade your mind while you're sleeping to force you to do their-ouch!" She said, recoiling from a hearty flick on the forehead.

"We don't have time for this," He said, impatiently, grabbing her hand to drag her along. "Come on let's go," He said, as she stumbled after him down the busy street. Kitty was shocked and blushed slightly at the whole 'sort-of-kinda-hand-holding' situation going on here, as her petite hand seemed to fit so easily into his larger and warmer one.

"Wait wait wait wait waaaait!" She said, stopping. "You're..." She started. "You..." She couldn't say it.

"Died?" He supplemented. Kitty looked down, a bit embarrassed. "Well...yeah..." He said.

"Then why are you here?!" She demanded, hot tears welling at her eyes as she pulled her hand out of his. "You shouldn't be here!" She said, her face red. Nathaniel recoiled. "Just go away!" She yelled.

"Kitty," He said softer, putting a hand on her shoulder. "I'm here because you need me, I promise I'll be gone soon enough, but now," He said, leading her to a bench sitting near a bakery. "I need you to do some things for me,"

"Oh I get it," She sniffed, wiping at her eyes with her sleeve, not looking up. "You come back from the dead to take over the government or whatever you thought you were going to accomplish before you blew up!" She said, angry. "I guess ambition never does die does it?" She hissed. "You are just like all of them aren't you? And to think you were different, you are just a conceited, stupid-"

"I need you to talk to your parents."

"What?" She stopped. "My parents?"

"You have to go home and talk to them," He said, in all seriousness.

"What?" She repeated. "Why do you want me to talk to them, I haven't spoken to them in...in forever! They don't care where I am or what I do or...anything..." She whispered sadly. She suddenly looked up. "Oh I get it," She said. "Its because you feel bad about the whole kidnapping me last time I even saw them! Think you can just turn my own parents against me and fix it with a few nice words?! Well you are wrong!" She said, stressing the last word.

Nathaniel didn't say anything, just stood up and looked towards the street. "They probably did their best for you," He said quietly. "You should be more thankful for them," He said, not a hint of emotion in his voice. He turned towards her, and she almost flinched at the hurt look in his eyes. "Come on, I want to show you something," He said, walking across the street.

"Wait!" Kitty called, dashing after him. They walked in silence for a bit, down dark alleys, across busy streets, through parks, until they arrived at a dingy section of London. The buildings looked old, and ornate, made of stone and bricks. They stopped walking in front of a large building, marked by large arches and high steps carved from some sort of grey stone, weathered and dirty with age.

"Do you know what this building is?" He asked. "Ministry of Magical Education."

"I don't understand," She said.

"Officially, this is the registry for master/apprentice bonds for Magicians, a center where children with magical prowness get inducted into more important status." He smirked. "They grow up here, receive an education, then are shipped out to a master."

"What about their parents?" Kitty asked hesitantly.

"Gone," Nathaniel said. "Along with their compensation money..."

"Compensation? So they sell their own children?!" Kitty said. "That can't be! Thats just so wrong!"

"Parents would only be a burden on the system," he said. "They get in the way of studies, create unessecary bonds, and know the birth names of the children. In two or three years, I doubt they would even remember they had a child." He said sadly. "The government does pay quite handsomely for talent, might I add..."

"Nathaniel..." Kitty started. "Did you...?"

"You should go see your parents." He said, cutting her off. "What's the matter?" He said walking over to her, and letting his hand rise gently to her face. She took a sharp intake of breath, as she felt his warm hand against her face. "Afraid they won't like you taste in hair color?" He smirked, lifting a strand of her mottled white-black hair. "Admittedly, its better than the whole 'dead' look but..." He said, cut off by a infuriated woman smacking his hand away.

"Nobody asked!" She seethed. "Maybe I like it this way! And your one to talk, 'the whole dead look' really Nathaniel? Really?" She fumed. "Geez!" Nathaniel laughed. To think she ever felt sorry for this guy! "Jerk!" She said. "To think I even missed you!? Stupid-"

"You missed me?" He said, grinning like the Cheshire Cat as Kitty turned into a volcano. "That's okay, to think you could resist my natural charm? Silly me." He purred, running a hand through his short hair.

"Charm?! Get real!" She yelled, going beyond the point of furious. "Your just a stupid magician! A stupid, stupid, stupid magician!" She turned on her heel and stomped away. "And I AM going to see my mom and dad, but NOT because you said it!"

"One last thing, Kitty!" He called to her.

"What?!"

"Good morning."

Kitty opened her eyes with a start. The moonlight in her room had turned to sunlight and stung at her eyes. She ground her teeth, why was she getting so worked up over some dumb dream? She quickly got dressed and dashed out of her room. Nathaniel was dead. D-E-A-D. Dead and blown up. She knew it. So why couldn't she say it?

Kitty sighed as she found herself outside a familiar little house. It was a Saturday, and she could almost picture the scene in her house: her mom at the stove, her dad at the table reading the paper, the smell of bacon and eggs in the air...Slowly, she walked up to the door and hesitantly knocked at the door. Seconds passed. Suddenly the door clicked and opened.

"K-Kitty?"

"Hey Mom," She smiled at the small, brown haired woman, swallowing slightly. Last time they had parted it hadn't exactly been on the best of terms...she hadn't even contacted her for the last three years...this had been a dumb idea...

"Oh my God, Kitty!" Her mother dashed out at her and enveloped her in a bone crushing hug. "Kitty, oh my little girl, they said, in the newspaper, that you had died, with those attacks, oh Kitty!" She sobbed. "I knew you were out there, my little girl, all alone...I was so afraid you blamed me for what happened with Jakob and the government, Kitty I was so scared.." She cried.

"Mom," Kitty said, pulling away from her to look on her mothers aged face. "Its okay Mom, I...I always knew you tried your best for me, and you never did anything wrong by me," Her mothers hand rested on her own tear stained cheek as she struggled for breath.

"Kitty your so grown up now," She said, looking her daughter over. "Sometime I wondered if you ever needed me at all,"

"No," Kitty said, embracing her mother once again. "I will always need you Mom," She said. "I-I love you." When was the last time she had said that to her mom? Ten years? Twelve? She could remember days when she was a little girl, no thoughts of government, revolution, or sadness of any kind...just a little girl and her mommy...

"Oh, I love you too Kitty." Ms. Jones sniffled. "But what on earth have you gone and done with your hair?"