Disclaimer: I am just a mere visitor in the sublime world constructed by the brilliant mind that is J.K Rowling. Anything that rings a bell is hers.

Chapter 18

Ky's POV

"Just two more! That's it!" I rolled my eyes at Mary's voice but couldn't help the smile that must be glowing on my face, I had accomplished all the exercises that we had been working on in the past month with ease, stretching and strengthening alike.

I could hear a chorus of clapping and cheers as I squeezed the large yellow ball between my knees and pulled up for my last crunch, doing an extra one just for good measure.

I loosened my grip on the ball and let it bounce across the cool tiles of the hospital wing, my hands which were already interlinked behind my head relaxed and I lazed on the soft blue yoga mat in self satisfaction.

"I knew you could do it!" I heard Nessie shout from above me, and I straightened off the mat, smiling wider as my back didn't groan…I was finally back in working order!

"Well of course, this is me we are talking about." I hadn't felt this good, scratch that, great, in ages and Mi rolled her chocolate eyes at my cockiness whilst Minnie shook her head, her usually stern face unusually relaxed.

"I wasn't talking to you, I was talking to Mary!" Nessie chided, hugging her dark haired friend in gratitude.

"Agnes is quite right Mrs Towers, we would have been in quite the predicament if it were not for you." Madam Pomfrey added in admiration.

"It's nothing. I was glad to help, not just because you've always been such a great friend Ags, but also because my little boy wouldn't be alive today if it were not for you and Ky. Robert and I are eternally grateful to you."

Agnes continued to argue the fact but I cut in, "Where is Eddy by the way? He promised he'd knick some muffins for me from the kitchens like an hour ago." I'd been craving chocolate muffins all afternoon, a sure sign that blithering bitch Flo was going to rear her ugly head for a week.

Eddy was the little boy that Nessie and I had saved from Fenrir Greyback last year, we had left him in the care of Nessie's friends Mary and Robert. Little did we know that a year later the boy would be getting his letter to attend Hogwarts, being informed about the wizarding world due to this, Mary was an excellent choice as a physiotherapist, it only helped that she was practically the best in her field. We were really lucky to have her.

She smiled, holding out her hand, which I was now too familiar with, and I grabbed it, jumping to my feet, her green eyes were smiling down at me, "I'm going to pretend I didn't just hear that. Don't go doing any cartwheels just yet. Take it easy, maybe get back into running slowly, and think marathons not sprints. Might be a good idea to swim first, less stress on the back."

"And eat all my vegetables and don't have sex till I'm married, I get it, I get it."

"Eating all her vegetables is an impossible feat for Bane, and as to the carnal activites, I'd prefer them to only occur when you're old and I'm dead. Actually, having you ever considered joining a convent, their always in need of troubled little girls like yourself." Sev scoffed out from his place at the door as he walked in, a blushing Eddy at his elbow. "Caught this one trying to sneak into the girls' lavatory in the dungeons."

"Eddy!" Chided Mary and his brown eyes averted her scowl bashfully.

"Ahhh it's my fault." I said, walking towards the first year.

Sev followed my movement, "Well of course it is. Should I ponder as to why though?"

I grabbed the kid in a playful headlock, "I said tickle the pear in the Basement, not tickle your fancy down in the dungeons."

Sev turned to Mary, "My apologies Mrs Towers, I do think that my one is a bad influence on your one, perhaps we should give them time outs. Or may I suggest a trade in?"

I raised my brows; someone is in a very good mood. Before Mary could reply I shouted, "Been down to the Three Broomsticks have you, or should I say been DOWN to see old Ros-"

Minnie gave me a death glare that made me cease my suggestive brow wiggling and Mi burst out laughing. Sev smirked at my being put in my place and turned back to Mary as if they hadn't been interrupted. "Thank you for expending your time on Bane, I must admit I did not envy you your task but you accomplished it admirably, for one thing, you haven't strangled her and I would have barely blamed you if you had."

Mary laughed, "Oh believe me, there were indeed times, but she's quick on the dodge."

Everyone laughed, Sev let a small smile grace his face, Minnie looked like she was tearing up, it had been an emotional month and she was here for every one of my sessions. I slung an arm around her shoulder, which was pretty much all I could do considering even at her age she was taller than me and patted her in comfort. I was exhausted of tears; if my lachrymal ducts resigned indefinitely I would wager no complaint.

"Well…Robert is waiting for me; the man has the nasty habit of not being able to eat supper without my presence." Mary smiled, kneeling down and wrapping her arms tightly around her son. I caught the flicker of sadness on Nessie's face; it has been a while since she and Linus shared the same city, let alone a dinner table.

"Will you and daddy visit again?" Mumbled Eddy, his face was ruddy, he looked like he was about to cry. He was spoiled as a first year, having his mum around during his first month of school, it kind of set him back actually. Most of his peers probably already got used to not having their mother's about, he was about to deal with some delayed separation anxiety.

"Well, hopefully not love." Mary laughed, "That would probably mean that Ky here has had another mishap with her back. You wouldn't want that, would you darling?"

His brown eyes widened and he shook his head, "So, mummy will be out helping other girls and boys like Ky, and daddy will be out catching the bad guys, and you my little wizard," She tickled his tummy and he giggled, "Will come see us during winter break. How about that?"

He nodded and Mary straightened up, her eyes watery regardless of her brave words, she pecked him and hugged me briefly, warning me again about taking it easy. Sev walked the ladies to the fireplace where they were to exit through and I felt an arm snake around my waist. I leaned into it, expecting the bushy strands to stick onto my face, instead feeling a bony surface instead at my temple as I rested on the shoulder.

"I'm so proud of you." Minnie murmured into my ear and I bit my lip, avoiding Mi's gaze, knowing she had a misty eyed expression on her face at the scene before her, I instead fidgeted with the dragon stone bracelet at my wrist…thinking of my family that were not here to celebrate my accomplishment yet feeling so grateful for the family that were here to do so…

ÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎ

I landed, tripping on my bare feet and righting myself before I could actually fall, giggly at my lack of coordination and flopping down on the moist grass. The blades were damp hence less prickly and they massaged my skin as I gazed up at the night sky, Kyrianna's Thunder falling from my fingertips and rolling out next to me.

The whole scene looked like it was straight out of a portrait, the half moon glowed amidst the unmoving leaves of the trees that bordered the quiditch pitch, the stands loomed around me, like stone giants amidst nature and I drunk in the smell of midnight at Hogwarts.

"Finally back to working order but of course the first thing you'd do is laze on your laurels."

I glanced up at him, not even he could ruin my day. I was officially done with my physical therapy, I had just run into Silvaine on my way to the pitch, he notified me that Linus and Len were in Siberia, Selina met with them just yesterday to relay intel.

I heard the soft thud and felt the flicker of displaced dew as Harry lay down next to me…we hadn't spoken much since my first day out of the wing…I had decided that I was not going to play the role of the wounded ex girlfriend, I was much too big for a part such as that, whilst he decided that he'd much rather be anywhere but where I am.

I could fake my expressions well enough, hone my reactions like any talented player on the stage, yet my heart thudded sadly beneath me and I felt my skin prickle at his closeness, my whole body screamed as his scent wafted over me.

"How was your fly?"

I shrugged, cursing myself for the action immediately as our shoulders brushed and I tried to discreetly increase our distance from each other, "Didn't. Hovered for about a minute and called it quits…"

He remained silent, thinking what I had said through. I don't know why I even answered him, I really should have walked away once he appeared…yet regardless of my thoughts my butt remained plastered to the soft carpet of grass.

"You want to try again?" I raised my brows, Harry was very perceptive, he knew why I didn't fly today…falling fifty feet can produce an aversion for great heights in some eyes, and unfortunately that seemed the case with me. I was just so happy to learn that Linus and Len were alive and well I didn't care that I was currently too afraid to fly…which probably should be the least of my worries.

"And I suppose if I fall, you will catch me?" I responded, my voice dark.

"Have I ever not?" He responded, reminding me of the girls versus boys' quidditch match we had at the Burrow.

I sighed, pulling myself up and grabbing my broom, "Yes Harry, yes you have."

He may not have literally let me fall, but he did let me fall through his grasps, and somehow that effect was much greater than the former.

"Ky…" I stopped walking, staring at the castle in the distance. "I'm sorry."

The words scuttled over to me in the silent night and I closed my eyes. In a matter of moments there was a picture, an easy picture in my head, of his arms around mine, of forgiveness dripping out of every pore of my skin, of my mind wiped blank as I forgot what he had done… And as my eyes opened again the picture cracked down the middle, ripping the notion apart…

The two words I had waited months to hear fell emptily onto my ears, "I…I know you must want to know how it happened-"

"I don't." My voice was deathly soft.

"You…don't?"

I turned, facing him, finally looking into his bright green eyes, his lips were held in a sad line that curved down to the slightest degree and his face was back to its clean-shaven smoothness. "What does it matter the how, what does it matter if it happened once or ten times, what does matters is the why…why?"

With every word I felt smaller and smaller still yet they kept coming out, I should have been by the castle by now, why was I standing here, pitifully asking the boy I love why he had cheated on me. Wasn't it as easy as you weren't enough, hence I had to seek enough from someplace else. What did it matter if enough was blonde or brunette, thin or short, plain or beautiful… enough was enough to have broken…everything we had…

He ducked his head and the gesture somehow helped my shoulders straighten, my nostrils flared and I felt a little taller still, "Harry, chin up. Get over it." I swallowed slightly but I don't think he caught it as he just about made eye contact with me now, "I already have."

And I turned on my heel, concentrating on my neck and it's extension, my shoulders and it's broadness, my back and it's straightness…making sure the package was held together perfectly because the contents was sadly falling apart, but thankfully my lachrymal ducts remained dry.

But ten minutes later, as I picked up the lid on the clear plastic container that sat on my pillow, the smell of cocoa wafting out of the four mousse topped chocolate muffins with the caramel centre…the package fell away with the contents as the small tear rippled down my cheek…the note with the familiar writing shining up at me…

Congratulations on your full recovery…

And with those five little words I suddenly felt the loser once again… and it took my all not to run back down, to fix the picture…to paint it even brighter… yet instead I jumped into my bed knowing that forgiveness shouldn't come so easily…if it did at all…

A/N: Sometimes it's easier to go back to how things were before at the expense of not truly forgiving the person, it's harder to stay and hold back from someone you love because your decisions are softer when it comes to them…what do you guys think of Ky's decision?

Please review : ) They are very much appreciated

Kalina