"Arms up, little miss." Kippy told the five year old toddler as she splashed innocently in the large marble tub filled with bubbles.
"Not now, Kippy! The kraken is attacking." She said seriously as she skimmed her hand along the surface of the bubbles, her other hand lurked underneath the surface and began to pull on the other.
"Helen." A sharp voice spoke from the doorway.
The child's emerald eyes grew wide and she instantly stood at attention the bubbles falling off her slippery torso, "Yes, Lady Bootes?"
"Why are you giving Kippy such a hard time? When she asks you to do something you will act as a proper lady and listen." Aquila scolded.
"Yes, ma'am." Helen turned to the small house elf who stood with a large scrub brush in hand, "My apologies, Kippy." She raised her arms and the elf continued to clean the little girl.
Aquila waited until Kippy had finished cleaning Helen, "As a punishment for your misdeeds, you will get out of the tub this instant and will help Kippy in the kitchen to prepare dinner."
"But!" The little girl protested. Aquila raised a hand and Helen's lips sealed.
"This is what happens when you don't listen and behave uncivilized. You know our rules." The elder witch affirmed before walking away.
Helen had tears in her eyes as the house elf dried her off with a snap of her fingers and emptied the tub. It wasn't fair she was being punished and it wasn't fair Aquila was so strict with her. She had only wanted to have some fun.
The disappointed look in her caregiver's eyes struck the young girl like a hot iron.
"Do you think she doesn't like me anymore?" The sniffling child asked.
"Mistress just wants you to be the best witch you can be. You has to start listening to the rules. She will always like you, you is like Mistress' own child."
Helen nodded with a determined look on her face, swearing to be on her best behavior as to not disappoint the closest thing she had to a mother. There were many rules to keep track of, but she was certain she could at least try to make things right.
Kippy had the young girl follow her into the kitchens that gleamed with copper, oiled cherry wood, and porcelain. A copper basin was filled with self washing pots and pans of all different shapes and sizes. The stove top was covered with bubbling concoctions that smelled of rosemary, thyme, and basil. Over the fire there roasted a large portion of red meat.
Helen could feel her mouth water at the sight of it all, her previous plight nearly forgotten. She was almost never allowed in the kitchen. Kippy handled all the cooking for Aquila and her charge, so there was never any need.
"You will help by taking this spoon," Kippy handed her a large wooden spoon, "And stirring the soup. You must go slowly and carefully so you doesn't burn yourself."
Helen stood at attention on a small stool that had been set by the stove with the single dark pot. Inside there stewed a mix of vegetables and spices in a rich beef broth. She stirred and stirred, sometimes counter clockwise other times clockwise.
Just standing there stirring was so boring and despite her best intentions, after about ten minutes her mind began to wander. She imagined riding a loud black broom device through the starry night sky. She had dreamt a few nights ago of some large furry creature guiding her through the air, but unlike most of her dreams this one had stuck in her mind. She remembered the creature smelled of oiled leather and earth.
The recount of her dream soon became boring to the little girl and she embellished the dream with tales of her and the giant furball, she had dubbed Franklin, swashbuckling with pirates and playing Quidditch. He seemed as if he would be a good pirate, although a clumsy Quidditch player.
However, in her distraction the soup had begun to bubble and spit from a lack of stirring. A small portion of the spitting soup burst from the pot and stuck itself to Helen's small fair colored hand. Instantly the flesh welled with red and began to form a small blister.
"Ouch!" The girl exclaimed and dropped the spoon to the floor with a loud clatter. The pot began to wobble dangerously on the stove threatening further harm to the child, but with a snap Kippy righted the unstable pot and calmed the churning liquid.
"Let Kippy see." The house elf cradled the small tearful child as much as her tiny body allowed as she looked at the now growing blister. She lifted Helen with a spell and placed the girl's hand under some cold water as she examined the injury. Helen winced at the feeling of the water rushing over her wound.
"Mistress will have to give you a potion for this." Kippy concluded.
"No!" Helen cried, tears running down her blotchy reddened cheeks.
"Doesn't it hurt? Wouldn't you like to feel better?" The house elf reasoned with the child.
"B-but, she will be upset with me again." Helen explained abashedly. She had failed on her mission to make up for her mistake. How could she have let this happen?
Kippy locked eyes with the young girl and shook her head gently. "Mistress will be disappointed that you weren't careful. She'll be more upset if you don't tell her the truth and get hurt worse because of it."
The house elf let Helen down from the floating spell and the girl stood in the middle of the kitchen clutching her hand. She shifted her weight from foot to foot as her eyes bore into the polished cherry floor. What was going to happen to her? She had disobeyed not once, but twice now.
Helen tried to contemplate the consequences, but the throbbing caused her to rush from the kitchen towards the one person she knew could make it better. Kippy shook her head knowingly as she finished the dinner.
-x-
Aquila was sitting the library window sill watching the snowfall as she waited for Kippy to finish dinner. Her thoughts wandered to the little girl in her house elf's care. Helen was growing up to be a beautiful girl full of creativity and intelligence, but her rash behavior before considering herself or others was beginning to start a dangerous pattern of carelessness. Just last week, the girl had tried to climb a twenty foot tree in an attempt to pet a squirrel she had seen scamper up its' boughs. Helen had gotten about two feet off the ground before Aquila had stopped her.
'She is going to be the death of me.' She thought idly as she looked off into the deep, dark woods surrounding the property.
Just then the doors of the study burst open with the crying five year old running over to her caretaker. Aquila rose fluidly from the sill and crouched down with her arms open to the little girl. Helen buried her head into the woman's shoulder as her body heaved with shaky tearful breaths.
"Breathe, love." She coaxed as she picked up her charge and walked towards the bathroom. Her brow furrowed in concentration as she tried to determine the cause of Helen's unrest.
Helen took smaller, steadier breaths as she took in the calming scent of lavender, rosemary, and mint Aquila always seemed to exude. She knew the woman would make it better, it would be okay now.
The short trip to the bathroom seemed to be enough time for the crying to stop and for the child to breathe for which Aquila was extremely grateful. She set the much calmer toddler upon the bathroom counter as she wet a small washcloth from the basin.
"What is a matter, child?" She inquired as she washed away the sticky tears and mucus from Helen's puffy face.
Helen rose her small hand and showed her the large splotchy blistered skin. The witch placed down the rag and grasped her arm tenderly as she evaluated the damage. Helen winced as Aquila turned her hand over at different angles to examine the wound. After some time the woman let go of the child's wrist and pulled her dark wand from her sleeve.
"Accio burn-healing paste."A small brown jar whizzed across the house and into the witch's outstretched hand. "While I apply this, why don't you tell me how it happened?"
Helen sniffled and recounted her tale of black brooms and fuzzballs as Aquila worked quickly to get the yellowish paste on the burn. As the cream set in the blister faded into nothing more than a small red mark that would disappear within the hour.
Helen gasped as she moved her hand around, it certainly looked much better. It only seemed to sting a little as she moved it and compared to the burning sensation earlier, that was nothing at all. Her face lit up with glee at the idea of not ever having to go through such a thing again. However, when she looked up at her caregiver's face, her smile dropped.
Aquila, despite her relief and happiness at her charge's recovery, had put on a stern mask. This was the exact sort of reckless thing she had been so worried about earlier. The girl had absolutely no sense of self preservation. It just wouldn't do. Not when so many people had died for her.
The older woman's heart cracked a little as she thought of Lily and James. They had been as much her own as Pura had been and now as Helen was. She hadn't told Helen of her parents' demise. She had agreed she would wait until the child was old enough.
However, the tale of the dream of the black broomstick disturbed her. That was no broomstick, it was most certainly a motorbike and the creature upon it sounded like the Hogwarts' groundskeeper, Rubeus Hagrid. From the details she had managed to scrape up about that fateful night, it seemed to line up; if Helen's memories were coming forward, it would be better to tell the girl sooner rather than later.
Her face softened as she plopped the young girl back onto the floor. She reached for Helen's hand and the child grabbed it greedily, but with confusion.
"Come, I wish to show you something." Aquila led her into the third floor of the house. This was where her Pura had kept her rooms and where Lily had stayed for a time. She hadn't been up here since that night, but it seemed Helen and she would both face their histories this night.
She opened the mahogany door with a small creek and let go of Helen's hand.
Helen stepped into the room hesitantly. Perhaps this was where she was going to be kept from now on? Perhaps her caregiver didn't want to see her any longer because she couldn't behave? She frowned at the thought, but as she began to look around, her thoughts quieted.
The room was a dark gold with a black wood crowned along the top and the bottom. The floor was covered in a thick plush red carpet that matched the four poster's coverings. There was a small dark desk covered in books and quills and rolls of parchment that spilled on to the floor. In the large window there sat several plants that had since overgrown their pots. The room seemed familiar to Helen, but she couldn't place where from. It seemed to radiate the smell of cinnamon, vanilla, and apple.
"What is this place?" The girl asked as she ran her freshly healed hand along a large leather trunk.
"This," Aquila choked on her words for a moment, "Was your mother's room. When she stayed here, of course."
"My mother?" Helen's eyes widened. She knew she had a mother and she knew Aquila wasn't a blood relation, but rather a guardian. The woman had never told her anything about her parents before, other than she looked very much like her mother, but had her father's coloring and hair.
"Yes. Now I know I have told you that when you were older I would explain about your parents and why you've come to live with me, but now I think it is time." There was a strange quiver in her voice that seemed uncharacteristic.
Helen stared at the woman intently focusing on what she had to say.
"Your parents loved you very much." She began, "When you were born, they lived in a small village not very far from here called Godric's Hollow. Your father, James, was an Auror for the Ministry and worked to stop very bad men from hurting good people."
"Like you and me?" Helen asked and Aquila nodded.
"Your mother, Lily, stayed at home and took care of you mostly. However, she was constantly researching new spells. If I remember correctly, she had a special affinity for charms. Remember how I showed you the featherlight charm earlier this week?"
It was now Helen's turn to nod as she sat gingerly on the carpet, afraid to ruin anything that had once been her mother's.
"Now, when you a little shy of two years old, a bad man attacked your parents and you."
"Why?!" Helen exclaimed in outrage. Why would they hurt her family?
"Because your parents had something very special that no one else in the world had."
"What was it?" Helen whispered. What could be so valuable somebody would attack her parents? Maybe jewels or gold?
"It was you." Aquila replied sadly.
"They attacked my family because of me?" She whispered even more quietly and her eyes began to well with tears.
"I'm afraid so."
"Why didn't my father stop him, the bad man? You said that was what he did, he stopped bad people." Helen said as fat tears began to roll down her cheeks. She knew, even without her caregiver saying, she was the reason her parents weren't here.
"He tried. James fought valiantly, but the bad man was much stronger. Your mother," Aquila paused to calm her own nerves and wipe away Helen's tears. "Lily, was clever. She had found a way to protect you - to keep the bad man from being able to touch you, but she had to give herself to do so."
She knelt beside the distraught little girl. Helen buried her face into the witches' robes and cried for what seemed like an eternity for the two of them.
"Did somebody get him?" Helen croaked as she lifted her puffy face from the woman's side.
"Who, child?" Aquila implored.
"The bad man. Did somebody get him?"
"Oh yes, somebody got him. Do you know who?" Helen shook her head, "It was you."
"Me?" Helen stared at Aquila in wonder. "I stopped him?"
"Yes and you're very famous for it as well. They call you the girl-who-lived. Which honestly, I think is a ridiculous title, but it's one you'll have to live with." She joked lightly and half-heartedly. "You had a scar right above your brow from it, but I had it removed when you were young.
Helen didn't respond, but rather stared at the floor processing all she had been told. Her parents were gone forever because of this bad man - because of her. They had protected her. In return she had gotten rid of the bad man, but was that enough? They would have been happy and okay without her. Was she really worth both of them?
"What if he comes back and tries to get you?!" Helen suddenly questioned in panic. She couldn't have another person leave because of her.
"Well," Aquila paused. She had often thought of the possibility, but was it time to tell the child that? Her grey eyes interlocked with green. They searched each other for a few moments, "I imagine that it would be very hard to find us, but even if he did I know that it would be okay."
"How?"
"Because we would run and if we had to fight, I would make sure you were safe. No matter what. I love you, Helen." Aquila had spoken the words she had dared not utter aloud before to her charge. She had kept her distance, afraid to be hurt again, but something about this place and about her had changed that. Somehow, this little creature had found her way through those walls.
"I love you too." Helen pounced on to her guardian and beamed. Love. This was love. Somehow, knowing that made it seem like they would be okay. That everything would be fine, forever.