Chapter Four: Dinner with Family

Kim told Diamond about her dream but as the months flew by, more of them came until Kim wouldn't go a night without dreaming about this boy werewolf who was apparently called Remus. She didn't know why she didn't just take the ring off, but something about the dreams kept her wondering at night what would come next. They were mostly just boring days of his life, nothing too special but Kim felt like she had this weirdly close bond with this boy she'd never met before in real life. It started becoming her mission to find him so she could introduce herself.

"What time are you going over to your godfather's house?" Diamond asked as they sat through another day of mind numbing boredom in Diamond's room. More leather clad guys with no good expressions were gathering in her living room so the downstairs was strictly off limits.

"Seven," said Kim as she re applied concealer to her face.

"I don't think you should cover up your scars," said Diamond, looking into the mirror with Kim. "They make you look tough."

"I don't want to look tough tonight," Kim said. "I can't have my godfather knowing I'm a werewolf. He could let me stay at his house one day."

"Oh so my house isn't good enough?" said Diamond, raising an eyebrow.

"Well frankly no," Kim said as she was getting a little crabby from being stuck in the same room 24/7. "I don't know about you but I'd much rather live in a mansion than be trapped in a room while who knows what goes on below us."

Diamond sighed and stretched out on the bed. "You don't think they're doing anything illegal, do you?" she asked.

"They all look like former death eaters to me," Kim said shrugging her shoulder. "I mean there's probably a pretty good reason we can't go down there except to use the floo network."

Kim cleaned herself up and resorted to Diamond's closet as the dress she wore to the wedding was the only nice thing she had to wear seeing that her real wardrobe was back at her parents house. By seven o'clock she nervously edged her way down stairs and noticed the whole room fell quiet as she approached. Very slowly, but deliberately, she made her way over to the chimney and noticed several of the men had their dark marks showing. Their marks looked fresh, though liked they'd been renewed. That worried Kim but she ignored it anyway and vanished herself into the floo network.

If only there was a cleaner way for underage wizards to travel that didn't require getting dirty as she spilled through into the Malfoy Manor.

"Kimberly, so glad you could make it," said Mrs. Malfoy when she heard a loud interruption in the foyer.

Kim coughed and dusted herself off before realizing she was smudging her concealer on her face.

"Come," Mrs. Malfoy said. "We have dinner already waiting for you."

Mrs. Malfoy lead Kim into a very well decorated dining room with high back chairs and a table with a snake on it. The snake stared at Kim through a glass bowl with eyes cut from emeralds. Mr. Malfoy, Kim's godfather smiled at her and referred to a chair for her to sit. She awkwardly took a seat across from Scorpio, the youngest of the Malfoys and smiled at him as sweetly as she could. He was playing with an enchanted race car across the table very contently.

"How have you been Kim?" asked Mr. Malfoy.

"Good," was Kim's standard response.

"Are you excited for school?" Mrs. Malfoy asked, her eyes gleaming.

Scorpio suddenly looked up from his toy car.

"Tell me all about school," he insisted.

"Scorpio's very excited about going to school next year," Mr. Malfoy said. "He doesn't have many wizard friends so he's hoping he'll make some."

"I do too have loads of friends," Scorpio said bitterly. "They're just boring muggles."

"Now now, Scorpio," Mrs. Malfoy scolded. "Muggles are just as good friends as wizards are. Kim why don't you tell Scorpio a bit about Hogwarts. This is your second year correct?"

Kim nodded and picked awkwardly at her peas. "Well," she said. "I'm in Slytherin house."

"I know about Slytherin house," said Scorpio. "Mum and Dad were in there."

"That's right Scorpio," said Mrs. Malfoy. "But the other three houses are just as good."

"The teachers are all really nice," Kim continued, trying to think up more good things to say about the school. "Donovan, er Professor Umbridge is my favorite."

"It's a shame he's not coming back," Mrs. Malfoy interjected.

Kim was shocked. She hadn't heard any news of this at all.

"Of course you can't expect him to stay when his new wife was just offered one of the best careers in scientific herbology," she continued. "Was it Austria dear that they're moving to?"

Professor Silva was running away, Kim realized. No, she couldn't let her take away Kim's dearest mentor. Kim hadn't spilled her secret, not to anyone, unless there were others that knew of her loyalty to the dark side.

"They found that man who cast the dark mark at the wedding," Mr. Malfoy said, ruining Kim's mental downward spiral.

"Oh honey can we talk about something other than that at dinner, they way they found that other poor guy. It's just not right," complained Mrs. Malfoy.

"I saw the pictures daddy," said Scorpio was a twisted grin on his face. "They were on the cover of the Daily Prophet."

Kim had heard about it too. Someone had been killed at the wedding although the ID was still yet to be revealed. Apparently he wasn't on the guest list and neither Donovan or Professor Silva knew who he was. The way they'd found his body was not a pretty sight.

After contemplating it for several minutes, Kim finally worked up the courage to ask what she'd been meaning to ask.

"You don't know anything much about that cousin," she said, staring intently at what was left of her dinner. "The one who's husband had the ring you gave me."

Mr. Malfoy seemed to ponder this for a few moments before clearing his throat.

"I ah, know they both died in the Battle of Hogwarts, fighting with Harry Potter," he said. "The man was close friends with Harry's father, James."

Kim knew she'd seen that face before. Whenever she looked at James in her dream visions he always reminded her of Harry Potter who she'd met briefly last year.

"Did he have any kids?" Kim asked, hoping to at least make some connection with this man's lineage. She felt this weird bond with him now that she'd learned so much about him through flashbacks.

"Uh yes as a matter of fact," said Draco. "Teddy Lupin I believe. I only know this because Harry Potter is his godfather. He's kind of like the Potter's fourth child."
"Were you and Harry Potter friends?" Kim questioned.

Mr. Malfoy suddenly looked very uncomfortable and wished she hadn't asked. She felt stupid. Of course they couldn't have been friends if he had fought for the death eaters and Harry was their number one enemy.

"No not exactly," said Mr. Malfoy. "We did know each other well I will say."

"How are your parents?" asked Mrs. Malfoy, eager to change the subject.

"Fine I guess," said Kim as she went back to shuffling around her potatoes.

Mr. Malfoy raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean you guess? I still haven't heard back from my cousin even though I sent him an owl about you a month ago."

Kim wasn't sure if she wanted to tell them that she wasn't living with her parents in case they asked why, but she realized she might not make it through another summer cramped in Diamond's little room.

"I'm not exactly staying with them," she confessed.

Mrs. Malfoy looked worried. "Where are you staying then?" she asked.

"My friends house," Kim said quickly. "I'm fine," she assured them as both Malfoys were looking concerned at each other across the table.

Mr. Malfoy took a deep breath. "Kim, we're not going to ask you why you arn't staying at your parents house, or why you didn't tell us sooner," he added. "But you are welcome to stay here. We're your legal guardians and we always have a spare room."

Relief washed over Kim but a small part of her told her this wouldn't work out. Nothing would ever work out until she told the truth. Kim took a deep, shaky breath, it was better to rip the band aid off now then be kicked out again next week during the moon.

"Thank you very much," she said, her heart beat quickening as she spoke. "But I can't stay here if you all don't know something."

"What is that?" asked Mrs. Malfoy, putting her fork down.

Kim felt nauseous, she wanted to throw up. She hadn't actually told anyone since Diamond the day after she'd been bitten.

"I'm a werewolf," she said.

Kim felt her cheeks grow hot and wished she had just kept her mouth shut. Now they would hate her for sure and she wouldn't even get to spend a week with them.

"That's so cool!" shouted Scorpio, which was not the reaction Kim had expected.

"Scorpio dear, be a little more sensitive," said his mother. "Kim that's fine. We'll find a place for you to stay during your more... difficult times."

"We wouldn't throw you out because of something like that," said Draco Malfoy said with the hint of a grin.

Kim felt her stomach settle down. She felt as if an anvil had just been lifted off her shoulders. So maybe the Malfoy name had a reputation for evil, but these people right now were some of the best people Kim had ever met.