9th July cont'd…

Conversation seemed to flow amongst the group, now that the air of nervousness had dissipated. Arthur and Lupin engaged in a deep discussion, none of which I could hear. George and Bill had a bit of a catch up. It was so sweet the way he held my hand under the table, he still managed to give me butterflies. Molly was putting some whipped cream onto plates of apple tart and Fleur was desperately trying to help. It's obvious Molly really doesn't like her. Ginny and Fred started joking and taking the piss out of Ron, who was going progressively more beetroot by the minute. I think Ginny was divulging something about him ripping his pyjama bottoms one morning. I got the impression he didn't have any underwear on. Laughing was not an option, it was a requirement.

"Dessert!" Molly announced as Fleur busied herself handing out plates and cutlery, "If you feel it's too fattening Fleur, don't eat it." Molly rolled her eyes and then winked at me as we dug in.

I imagine it was kind of like having that Auntie over for dinner that no one likes because she speaks her mind, but you feel you have to invite. Fleur was just plain rude and didn't apologise for it. I think that's what made her so disliked amongst the residents of the Burrow. I wonder how Bill and Fleur will pan out…

"I told you, you had nothing to worry about." George whispered and then kissed my cheek gently.

"Did you know about Bill and Fleur?"

George paused, "Yeah, I wanted you to find out for yourself, so I couldn't cloud your judgement. Only good thing about her is that she was offering to go search for you." He gritted his teeth, "It took her longer to be rude to you than to anyone else."

"That's probably because I was the one who -" I paused, "Do you know what, never mind, your mother would have me back in the bad books again if she found out."

"I remember you telling me about your little match-making plan! Don't worry, I haven't told mum." He assured.

I covered my face, "How wrong can one person be?" I felt bad, "Maybe I'll give her another chance?"

"Just one?" George asked.

"One." I smirked.

Lupin made to stand, "I'll be getting off now, Molly, thanks for dinner."

"Us as well mum," George announced, "We've an early morning ahead."

"Ehm-" I stood quickly, "Lupin, I was hoping to have a quick chat?"

Lupin looked pleasantly surprised, "I'll see you out the back."

I grabbed George's arm, "You don't mind? It's something Maura recommended I do." I whispered, before saying, "Besides, I owe my little sister some girl time, if you're up for it?" Ginny beamed at me which was the ultimate sign of approval, "I'm sure you'll sleep like a log tonight." I told George.

"Are you sure?" he furrowed his eyebrows.

"Yeah," I nodded, whispering, "I think we both need this. And I know Freddie's got a date, so you'll be busy all day." I watched his unchanging expression, "George, this isn't me punishing you. This is me catching up. I feel like I owe it to them."

"Alright," he agreed and wrapped his arms around me.

I reached up and stroked his cheek, "I'd super appreciate it if you could bring my pyjamas and wash bag?"

"Only because I love ya!" he kissed me, "Don't keep Remus waiting!"

"Love you, too." I kissed him back before scooting across the room and out the back door where I saw Remus Lupin watching the sunset from the bench in the back garden, "Sorry, I was just arranging a few things with George. Do you need to be somewhere?"

He smiled and shook his head, "It's alright and no, I don't… What do you want to talk about?"

I snorted, "Straight down to business. Not even a teensie bit of small talk." I rolled my eyes at him jokingly, "I guess I just needed a slightly independent adjudicator to have a totally honest conversation with."

"We're good at those, aren't we?" Lupin smiled, "Want to walk?"

"I'd love to!" I nodded and we walked in the direction of the garden gate. It was a warm summer's evening, the sun was lowering in the sky, the gentle breeze was welcome as it touched the warmth of my cheeks. Lupin glanced back at me as we passed through the garden gate, his expression soft but his eyes were tired. We strode along side by side for a while, "How've you been?" I asked.

"I'm not telling you what Dumbledore's mission for me is." He joked.

I rolled my eyes, "I was just asking you how you were! I already know you'll tell me know what the mission is."

"I love your confidence." He chuckled before asking, "There's more to the story of you walking out on George, isn't there?"

"It's that obvious, is it?" I bit my upper lip uncomfortably.

"You took the flak from Arthur to protect one or both of the twins, didn't you?"

"I deserved it, but yes, I did." I sighed, "George and I had a massive argument… and what I'm about to tell you cannot be repeated to anyone, understand?"

He nodded, "Carry on…"

"So after everything that went on in the Department of Mysteries, Dumbledore decides that's a good time to tell me that Bellatrix Lestrange is my mother and he is pretty certain Rodolphus Lestrange is my father…" I told him, "and in order to fulfil that stupid prophesy, the one made -"

"Christmas the year I was teaching at Hogwarts? I remember."

"McGonagall tells me that my Granny was murdered in Dufftown, presumably on her way to find me."

Lupin's eyes met mine, momentarily, "Oh, I'm sorry to hear that…"

"Thanks…" we walked a while in silence before I continued, "So with that all in mind, I think it's only natural that with finding out that my parents are the biggest Death Eaters out, my mother put Tonks, my cousin, in hospital, killed Sirius, my second cousin, my best friends Godfather and all round great guy who I got along really well with and she also tortured another really great friend of mine's parents to insanity… Safe to say I felt fabulous. So fabulous that Madam Pomfery had to knock me out before I lost it completely." I sighed heavily, "Then I had the ginormous task of surviving with that knowledge and telling people. The telling people part went a lot easier than I thought, but the whole surviving thing -" I shook my head, "Not so good."

"It must have been tough, it's a lot to process."

"Most days I couldn't get out of bed." my voice was quiet, I felt my lower lip quiver.

Lupin and I sat down at the top of one of the little grassy hills and he put a comforting hand on my shoulder, I grabbed a handful of grass in my hands. The two of us looked off into the distance, the sun was setting into the horizon and the shades of orange were simply beautiful.

"I felt the same after James and Lily died." Lupin told me, "They were my best friends, we grew up together. Little Harry was just perfect, he could have put a smile on my face, even on the darkest of days. When they were murdered and Harry was taken away, I felt like I'd lost everything… but I had to learn to cope with the feelings."

"I don't know how you got through…" I told him, "Twelve years you were lead to believe something very different from the truth."

"Fifteen years you were lead to believe your parents were Helen and Richard. They have may been different situations, but the way we suffer as a result -"

I looked up to see him looking at me and I nodded, "When I got back to the Burrow, I felt so… empty and Molly decided to let me stay with the twins. The days were long when they were both working, I was left alone with my emotions and slowly but surely things got even worse than they already were. I drifted from George, because I didn't want to bother him and I bottled it up. I wasn't eating properly, when I was awake I was miserable, so I slept. I think George was waiting for me to make the first move in talking about it, but I guess I really just needed him to. Neither of us were particularly at fault, but it turned into us being housemates rather than a couple…"

"And you were probably in such a bad mindset you thought he didn't care?"

I nodded, "Something like that. I just became fixated on my mother, I wanted to know answers, I needed to know. Worst thing was, I knew exactly who she was and had a pretty good idea where she was staying."

"So you decided to go?"

"It wasn't as simple as that… I had overheard Molly telling Ron and Ginny about the dangers of me going and the likelihood that I wouldn't return. I was scared to go but miserable where I was. What I really wanted was a reason. So one afternoon I found a letter Mr Snow gave me that was written by Bellatrix the day she gave me up. It told me briefly why she gave me up, that she loved me and confirmed all the details McGonagall and Dumbledore told me. I heard George come up the stairs from work and I opened the door to greet him and he snapped. He just started having a go at me and I gave as good as I got. In the end I told George that I wished I could have gone back in time and lived as a Lestrange and he told me to go. At first light I had everything packed and a plan, so I went. No one could have stopped me, not even Fred, and he tried."

Lupin nodded, "That makes sense. Fred was panicking, saying something about Wiltshire and George was heartbroken, as though he knew he'd already lost you to them… You definitely had us all in a spin. Then you came back."

"Then I came back."

"So what happened?"

I sniggered, "I travelled to Wiltshire and walked in through the front door of Malfoy Manor."

"Did they welcome you?" he asked.

"Well, yeah." I told him, "Narcissa and I have always gotten along and Draco and I are good friends. Bellatrix seemed happy to see me, a bit mesmerised I think. But I did just show up out of the blue. She gave me a few answers, too, which helped."

"What did she tell you?"

"She told me that because she was a high ranking Death Eater, the other Death Eaters were looking for a way to demote her and threatened to kill me. They wanted her to suffer, they wanted her to kill me, but she couldn't. She did the one thing the other Death Eaters didn't expect and gave me to muggles. To this very day, only the Lestranges and the Malfoys know I survived." I paused, "I just kind of wish Bellatrix knew the muggle adoption system a little better, maybe then she would have given me to a better set of parents. But I suppose she ended up giving me to people who were just like her."

"She definitely did." Lupin agreed, a hint of bitterness in his voice, "Did you tell her what they did to you?"

"Yeah, Draco helped a bit. It's hard to tell a cold-blooded murderer that you're disgusted they gave you to cold-blooded murderers."

He smirked, "How did she take it?"

"I think it knocked her off-balance a bit. Narcissa warned me not to ask too many more questions about my birth and adoption after that. I asked if I had any brothers or sisters and she left the room." I thought back, "You know, she wasn't nearly as crazed as she was in the Department of Mysteries. It was like sitting in a room with a different woman. But when she got the call – you know – with the Dark Mark – she shot off and didn't return until late that night, so I knew exactly where I stood with her. It was like she was coming down from a high the next morning."

"Did it hurt you, when she chose him over you?"

I exhaled, "I think you already know the answer to that." When Lupin glanced at me apologetically I said, "Narcissa had to haul me out of the house to stop me causing a scene. She told me that I had a temper like her sister, that if I felt passionately about something, there's no stopping me telling you exactly what's on my mind."

Lupin laughed, "You're a breath of fresh air when you -" he searched for the word.

"Tell people exactly how it is?" I suggested.

"Yes!" he chuckled, "So do you think the woman we saw in the Department of Mysteries is an act?"

I shook my head, "No, I think there's Death Eater Bellatrix and Bellatrix Lestrange, the woman who just met her kid after almost sixteen years. Narcissa said that I was bringing out the Bella she knew, rather than what Azkaban had done to her."

"So why did you leave?" he asked, "Or should I ask, how did you manage to get out of there alive?"

"That's a bit of a long story…" I grimaced, "So when Bellatrix returned the next morning, there was something going on in Malfoy Manor that was a bit fishy and I was definitely not allowed to be in the know…" Lupin raised his eyebrows and urged me to continue. "We spent some time trying to get to know one another and then she asked me about Harry."

Lupin tensed up, "Of course she did, I'm sure she didn't make it easy for you…"

"She started teasing me about Sirius." I told him, watching the anger grow in his face as I said, "Thankfully I know how to let stuff like that not bother me, and I just sassed her."

Lupin snorted, his demeanour softened, "Bet she took that well."

I raised my eyebrows, "Oh aye, I was playing it very close to the line. But then she tried to recruit me to join ranks and that's when I had to be really careful!"

"She did what?" Lupin turned to face me, sitting bolt upright, "Have you told anyone this?"

I leaned forwards, "So here's the thing… when I confided in Draco he panicked and told me to leave and go back to the Burrow."

"He did what?"

"Oh, there's more… So when Bellatrix was trying to recruit me, I was all very modest and eloquent and told her that it wouldn't be appropriate whilst I was under foster care and that I'd have a think about it. I couldn't say no, she was just so full of life when talking to me about it, she wanted to hand me over to the Dark Lord. Then after that, she used legilimency on me."

"Oh shit." The colour in his cheeks drained.

I took his hand, "It's okay, I don't think she got anything, I blocked the memories she wanted and forced all the Helen, Richard and Barbara stuff at her until she couldn't cope and broke the connection."

Lupin leaned over and wrapped his arms around me and held on tight, "Oh, I'm so proud of you!" when he pulled back, his eyes were wet and his smile was wide.

"But something is definitely going on between Draco and Voldemort and Draco isn't allowed to talk about it. Narcissa is worried sick and Bellatrix is delighted." I got serious again, "I'm worried about him, we had a great time together last summer, so he must be worried about something so badly he wanted me out of there so I didn't get hurt. He would have wanted me to stay otherwise. He made me promise I'd go back to you all. He said that he didn't care how I made it up to everyone, as long as I did it."

There was a hint of fear in Lupin's eyes, "You didn't want to come back?"

"Not really." I told him, "Yes and no." I moved my jaw from side to side as I thought about what I was going to tell him, "Look, the stuff that went down between George and me was awful, I was convinced he never wanted to see me again. Yes, I missed him and yes, I loved him despite everything he said but it hurt. I will never be able to describe that feeling when I got to Malfoy Manor, they welcomed me, made me feel loved, I felt like a weight had been lifted off my shoulders." I felt myself well up, "I had proper conversations with people who cared, I got answers about myself, I felt so loved -" Tears started streaming from my eyes, "It's so bad that I actually wanted to stay there because I had never felt anything like it. Helen and Richard didn't love me. Bellatrix, Narcissa and Draco are my family, my flesh and blood and they love me." my voice was barely a whisper as it was so thick with emotion, "But I knew what I had to do, I knew what was right. I don't want to end up like either set of parents. So I made up this story to Bellatrix that I was going to tie up some loose ends back in Northern Ireland and by the time I turned seventeen I'd have my answer. She let me go. Narcissa was in two minds about letting me leave, but knew she had to, she pushed me to tell Bellatrix I was going to Northern Ireland. I left the house and had a plan to get to London and get on a plane and just – go. But the closer I got to London and the closer I got to George -" I sighed, feeling my chin wobble again, "this sounds ridiculous, but the stuff that happened didn't matter anymore and all I wanted was to tell him I was sorry and – and to tell him that I loved him. I was terrified of the reception I'd get, cause I don't deserve any of this -"

My head was on Lupin's shoulder as I cried to him, pouring my heart out to a man I put all my trust in, "I'm really glad you came back."

"Me too." I said earnestly, "I talked to my therapist earlier and she told me why I feeling how I was about them. It makes sense now. Being brought up in an abusive home and being shown what might have been – I have no doubt that if Bellatrix raised me that I would've been loved and treated right. But now – now they would use me as a weapon and – Draco was right, I needed to get out of there – I was blinded by it all."

"Yes, you were, but you're at the other side of it now." He nodded, "Can I ask you something?"

"Go for it."

He sat up straight again, "Do you want to go back? Join up?"

I laughed, "Me? A Death Eater? I'd be murdered in the first five minutes for pure cheek. But on a more serious note, no, I was being serious earlier, I have no intention of going back there any time soon. But if the Order –"

"I won't be asking you to go back!"

"Thanks, cause I think if I get to seventeen and don't give her a big fat 'yes', I'll be up at the top of her murder list – right up there with Tonks, I reckon."

"Shall we head back?" Lupin stood up abruptly and brushed off his trousers, "It's getting a bit chilly."

I sat still in fear that I'd said something wrong, or to offend him, I had a tendency to make flippant comments about this sort of stuff when I really shouldn't, "Speaking of Tonks," I said, pushing myself up from the grass, "how is she? I haven't heard from her… she's probably keeping her distance, isn't she?"

"Don't worry, she hasn't forgotten about you." Lupin assured me, "She was here last night, worried sick like the rest of us. She was blaming herself and was fighting Fred and George to visit you, but they said that you weren't in the mood for seeing anyone. Apparently you were soaked through to the skin and wanted a shower."

"Drenched."

He chuckled to himself, "She's just been really busy at work and with the Order, she's been looking for you whenever she's been at meetings, but you haven't been around…"

I felt myself get a chill, even though it was a warm summer's evening, "I don't have an owl… Tell her I'd love coffee and cake whenever she gets a free half hour."

"Of course," he smiled, "I'm sure she'll be delighted to hear from you. She gets off work in half an hour, I'll pop by this evening."

"Did she know we're cousins?"

"I think she had her suspicions." He smiled, "The two of you certainly share similarities."

I laughed, "Aye, we're both drop dead gorgeous." I said sarcastically in a strong Belfast accent, flicking my hair off my shoulder, "And have an affinity for trouble."

"I don't know why you're being sarcastic, you're both very talented witches." He looked back to where we had just been.

"Do you like her?" I asked casually.

"Of course I do; why wouldn't I like her?"

I gave him some serious side-eye, "You know exactly what I mean."

"That's a slightly more complicated matter." He said, "I'm too old and by no means good enough for her. She deserves someone whole. I've told her this."

I swallowed, forcing myself not to answer too quickly, "You have?"

"I think you need talk to her yourself."

"Alright," I nodded, "but I will say this, you're not too old, she's not too young and why should an age gap matter when there are feelings involved? Deep, meaningful feelings."

I watched as Lupin shifted uncomfortably. He probably didn't like talking to a sixteen-year-old ex-student of his about his love life with her cousin. I had to giggle to myself. He looked down at me and smiled, "What are you laughing at?"

"Us; the unlikeliest of confidants."

"Well, that's true," he agreed, "I never thanked you for saving my life."

"Saving your life?"

"Me vs two Death Eaters, you sending a Knockback Jinx at one of them and managing to avoid about ten Killing Curses?" he listed and I pretended to be oblivious, "then you blasted the floor and knocked him off his feet?"

I blinked and then acted as though experiencing sudden realisation, "That?" I questioned sarcastically, "I think that was me saving my own skin ten times over?" I said, "I think that particular bloke wanted me dead."

"The Killing Curses gave that away…"

"So many of my family members were in that room. My mum, my dad, two Uncles, a cousin and a second cousin. Strange, isn't it?" I thought aloud, "but at the same time, the Weasleys are my family, Harry is, Hermione is, you are…" I felt awkward, "and Fleur is soon to join the family." I sighed, I could see her in the window of the Burrow following Molly about.

"You'll be fine." He nudged me gently with his shoulder, "I'm living and working with werewolves for the Order, watching for signs of Death Eaters, trying to stop them from joining ranks."

I looked up at him and nodded, "Good luck, and thanks."

"Any time!"

I wrapped my arms around Lupin and smiled, "Now, don't forget –"

"I'm going to see Tonks now!" he smirked, "Goodnight, Kathryn."

"Goodnight, Lupin."

"You're going to have to learn to call me Remus, you know."

"Night Lupin!" I laughed.

I passed through the threshold into the Burrow and Lupin disapparated seconds after. I pushed open the back door into the kitchen where Molly and Fleur were having an argument. I tried to blend into the background as Fleur muttered in quick indistinguishable French to herself. Molly tried to grab me for her defence, but I ducked out of the way just in time, escaping up the stairs to Ginny's room where she and Ron were sitting waiting for me.

Ginny was giggling when I walked in, "Mum was going to use you as a weapon against Fleur wasn't she?"

"She tried." I laughed.

"We've been listening to their argument since you left with your favourite older man." Ron winked.

I felt my eyes widen, "Don't let George hear you say that about my other man." I warned them with a hint of sarcasm, "What is it they're arguing about anyway?"

"You." Ginny rolled her eyes.

"Me?" I was taken aback, "What have I done now? Not enough affection with George? Too much of an attitude problem? Gained even more weight than she was happy with? Did I eat too much dinner for her liking?" I sighed.

"Mum told her to apologise." Ginny told me.

Ron added, "Bill made a run for it."

"So did Dad."

Ron reasoned, "They've been arguing constantly from when she got here two days ago."

"When you lot found out I'd done a runner?"

There was a very pregnant pause.

Ginny tapped the bed beside her and I sat, "What happened with you two?"

"What didn't?"

Both Ginny and Ron sat with their legs crossed, "Go on…" Ginny leaned forwards.

"Well you saw what I was like when I left and things only got worse." I told them, but they wanted more information and I didn't know what I wanted to tell them, so I said simply, "I wanted to go. I was being haunted by my own mind." I wiped my face with my hands, "Too many uncontrolled emotions."

"Did anything like that happen to you as a kid?" Ginny asked, "the emotions and -"

"It was different then. I've seen a few people get murdered since." I told them, "I didn't understand what was happening to me when I was a kid; I had a lot of it explained to me as I went from counsellors to psychologists to specialists. I was pretty messed up, probably still am -"

"You're not!" Ginny jumped in, "You've been through a lot and you're still sane, so that's good."

I laughed, "You're just as sane as I am." Mimicking Luna perfectly.

Ron laughed, "Which suggests we're all bonkers."

Ginny glared at him, "Make like a tree, Ron."

Ron looked at me in disgust, clearly hoping that I would fight in his corner to let him stay, but I doubt he would do the same for me if Harry was here. He left Ginny's bedroom displaying the middle finger and a glance that could kill.

As soon as her bedroom door snapped shut Ginny put a wide smile on her face, "George seemed very happy with himself when he returned with your stuff." She handed me a bag full of my belongings and raised her eyebrows at me, "Then I came across these…" she lifted out a pair of particularly lacy underwear, "Care to tell me anything?"

"They're really comfortable?" I replied, unsure of what she wanted from me.

"So you and George aren't secretly getting it on?"

"No." I said very seriously, "There's too much else going on for that."

Ginny shrugged her shoulders, "I don't see why not, it's not like you're going to break up or anything."

I gave her a small smile and changed the topic of conversation, "Let's see what he packed for me, then." I lifted the bag from her and saw the pyjamas, which were sensible and all my toiletries. It appears that he had a good hoke through my trunk and lifted out the sexiest pieces of underwear I have and a low cut top I daren't wear in front of Molly, but perhaps I should, just to show Fleur that curvy girls can be pretty, too. Decisions, decisions.

"Earth to Kit-Kat?" Ginny poked me in the arm.

"I'm just planning my revenge…"

Ginny's eyes widened and she jumped on the bed a bit in excitement, "Against Fleur? Oh please let me in on it! She's going to be our sister, Kit-Kat! Do you know how many birthdays and Christmases that's going to be with her?" she mimicked being sick.

"A few, I imagine."

"So let's join forces and we can plot against her." She rubbed her hands together, "What shall we do? Put something in her tea? Could you get a hold of some of Fred and George's skiving snackboxes? Or do they have a potion that would make you really ugly for a while? That would work."

I smirked, "Oh Gin… You clearly fantasise about this in your sleep. Perhaps we should talk about you and Dean? Has he written?"

Ginny let out an excited squeal, "He did." I saw another side of Ginny, the side she didn't show often; the girl.

"Ooooh a soaring improvement on Michael."

"You like Dean?"

"I think he's one of the good ones, not my type, though."

"Not ginger or old enough for you? You've always liked your men old."

The two of us were in fits of giggles, "You know me too well."

"I also happen to know that if Remus were slightly younger, and by that, I mean not old enough to be your dad, you'd have him snapped up in seconds. You two seem to get on well, anyway."

Tears of laughter were streaming down my face as Ginny mimicked me and Lupin and I had to defend myself, "But the fact stands that he's old enough to be my -"

"Say he was our age…"

"I think I'm going to have to stop you right there, Ginerva Weasley." I put my finger on her lips to stop her talking, "Not going to happen, besides the conversations I have with Lupin are very important to me and without him, I'd probably be in a worse off place. I respect him and I enjoy his company, I am not in love with him. George understands, he knows me. Just trust that."

Ginny took my finger off her lips and said, "You've gotten very serious. You've changed in these last few weeks. Where's my old Kit-Kat? The one who -"

"A few too many things have happened in the last few weeks for me to be as carefree as I was."

Ginny let out a sigh, "Tell me what happened…" she leaned in close, linking her arm into mine, "I was stupid and got stupefied and missed everything. Things happened, Kit-Kat, and no-one is talking about it. You'll tell me, won't you?"

"Ginny, I can't…" I told her.

"You can and you will." She said, "I'm not a child anymore and people should stop treating me like one."

I sighed, "But you are, and sometimes things are just best left unknown. You need to trust me on that one."

"You're not even seventeen yet but Dumbledore trusts you, you've sat in on Order Meetings, you've been in the middle of everything and -"

"Don't you dare suggest that I've asked for this." I felt my chest rise and fall rapidly, "I've been told things that I wish I didn't know. Things that would make you toss and turn at night. Trust me, Gin, I'll tell you what you need to know, right now, I'm protecting you for the right reasons." I let out a massive sigh to calm myself, lowering myself from the bed onto the floor, feeling like yet another argument was brewing and this is one I didn't have the energy to fight.

Ginny sat on the floor beside me, "I'm sorry Kit-Kat… It's just difficult being so ignorant and I just wished you'd -"

"My mother murdered Sirius Black. My mother put Tonks in hospital. My father and two of my uncles were all there in the Department of Mysteries, all Death Eaters. I was bloody lucky I wasn't killed. We all were." I said sincerely, "And soon I'm going to be close to top of a few hit lists, so I'm going to try and enjoy what time I've got left."

Ginny leaned forwards, "What happened?"

"I chose The Order."

"Ah…" I could see she was trying to comprehend just how significant a decision like that was for me to make. She shuffled a little before climbing onto the bed, encouraging me to join, holding a letter. I breathed a sigh of relief: she knew she had almost pushed me too far and was now backing down. The two of us spent quite some time talking about Dean, I was humouring her and she asked me for advice, "Should I suggest we meet up this summer or should I let him make the first move?"

"Give him a couple of weeks?" I suggested, "Can I ask you something?"

Ginny nodded, "'Course."

"Have you moved on from Harry?"

Her eyes met mine, "I don't know. I guess it's just nice to be liked back for once."

There was a knock at the door, "Kasrine?" Fleur popped her head in, "May I talk to you?"

Before Ginny could object to the conversation taking place, I stood and said, "You may."

Fleur guided me out of Ginny's bedroom and down the stairs into the kitchen where Molly was standing with her hands on her hips with a very sceptical look on her face. "Tea?" Fleur asked and I nodded, my brain struggling to comprehend the strangeness of the situation. A mug was placed into my hands and I was directed out the back door onto the old wooden bench, "Eet is of'en 'ard to breath in zat house."

I wrapped my hands around the mug which was illuminated only by the light of the kitchen. I knew this was one of the times I just needed to sit there and shut up.

"Kasrine, I wanted to apologise -"

"If you've been forced into this apology and don't mean a word of it, don't waste your breath." Oops. Looked like the vow of silence worked well.

"I 'ave always admired your 'onesty." She said, "You zot it waz better to tell ze truth zan to lie or keep uz in ze dark." She took a sip of tea and continued, "I apologise if I waz rude to you earlier, I do not weesh to offend ze only person ooh will be my friend around 'ere."

I realised I had sat completely still in one position and relaxed myself a bit and sipped the tea and nearly burnt the tongue off myself.

"Zere is nuzzing wrong wiz your body, you 'ave ze curves of a woman, zere is nuzzing for me to be criticising you for. I waz commenting only on ze weight, I zink you are very good-looking girl. George is correct."

I blinked at her in the near darkness. I felt like I had been offended and appraised in one sentence and wasn't too sure on how I should be feeling. I have always struggled with myself, my self-worth, the way I look in the mirror, the fat, the curves, not to mention my thighs. I was once told by my father, Richard, that I had tree trunks for legs. He told me that he was revolted by the way I look, he offered to take a knife to my excess fat and cut it off himself. I had nightmares about it for weeks. Truth is, I do carry extra weight AND I've got stretch marks, most girls do and most girls will look in a mirror and dislike what they see. I've learnt that from living with Fay, Parvati, Lavender and Hermione, but really we should learn to love ourselves, to respect ourselves and when we do that, then we can truly appreciate ourselves as unique individuals.

I don't know where that came from.

"Kasrine?" Fleur touched my arm gently.

"Mmmm?" was my response as I zoned back into reality again.

"Are you okay?"

I nodded, "Yeah, I'm good. Thanks." I got up off the bench and found Ginny getting into bed when I returned after a short chat with both Molly and Fleur in the kitchen. I wanted to help Molly hate Fleur less, so I assured her that Fleur apologised in full and that we were, indeed, on speaking terms again. Fleur seemed delighted by this statement and Molly was seemingly defeated for the evening. I gladly collapsed into bed, Gin and I talking nonsense before one of us fell asleep.

10th July

"Kasrine!" Fleur's voice sounded up the stairs. Ginny and I had been hiding up in her room from breakfast, as Fleur and Molly had yet another disagreement and Ron was nearly in trouble with his mother for coming in Fleur's defence.

Ginny rolled her eyes, "Your new bestie is looking for you."

"Come on, now." I shot her a warning look, "Be kind."

She smirked, "I know I'll always be your number one bestie."

"You know it sis." I smiled, lifting up my hands from the bedside table where Ginny was painting my nails in a sparking teal blue colour, testing out a new 'everlasting polish' Fred and George were working on. I turned the doorknob and Fleur was at the door, "Did you call me?" I asked, closing the bedroom door to a nosey Ginny.

"Oui, zere is a man at ze door." She told me as I followed her downstairs, "Zaid his name is Meester Snow." We crossed the kitchen and she opened the door.

I smiled, "Hello!"

"As per Ministry protocol I should tell you something that would make you certain that I am who I say I am and vice-versa." He nodded, "It was your parents' sentencing when I last saw you. You are under the shared custody of Mrs Molly Weasley and Mrs Narcissa Malfoy as they foster you until you turn seventeen. I also handed you two envelopes when I saw you in Hogwarts for our -"

I glanced up at Fleur, "It's him."

"And you are?"

"Katy Belle Lestrange. You gave me the envelope with the information."

Snow cleared his throat, "Yes… I did… May I come in?"

"Course," I said politely, "To what do I owe the honour?"

"Is there somewhere we can talk in private?" he looked around the Burrow's kitchen, his eyes focusing on the dishes washing themselves, the knitting needles at work and then flicked to the clock with the Weasley family members perched on the kitchen table.

Fleur looked oddly uncomfortable with the situation before saying, "Ze sitting room is free. Can I offer tea or coffee, zat is the British way, isn't eet?"

"A cup of tea would be lovely, Fleur."

"Coffee, black, two sugars, please." Mr Snow said before following me through the kitchen and into the sitting area. He took the armchair closest to the coffee table and I sat on the seat beside him, "How are you?"

"I'm alright." I nodded, "How's the new addition… Ella?"

Mr Snow smiled, "Mum and baby are doing great, thanks!" he seemed chuffed that I remembered before hoking into his briefcase, "Has much changed since we last met?"

"Been a bit of a whirlwind recently, found out about my birth family a few weeks ago."

Snow cleared his throat again and shuffled in the seat uncomfortable. Then Fleur opened the door, bringing in a tray with two mugs and a plate of shortbread Molly baked yesterday. She hovered for a while and I said, "Thanks, Fleur, I'll call you if we need anything."

She reluctantly left the room and as soon as the door closed I said, "You're here to tell me some bad news, aren't you?"

"What gives you that impression?" he asked, doing that uncomfortable shift on the seat again. The chair was Arthur's and was by no means lumpy or hard, and I checked that there was nothing on the seat before he sat down.

"You're nervous." I told him, "Your body language tells a story. You're a lawyer, you know this better than I do. Just tell me."

Mr Snow let out a slow and measured breath before taking out a number of documents from his briefcase and laid them on the table. My heart began to speed up nervously as he prepared himself. Then after a minute he sat and faced me, "I do not know if you will consider this good or bad news." He began, "But I received a notification late last night that both your parents, Helen and Richard Pink, were both found dead in their cells yesterday evening."

"Oh." I said, quite unsure of how to feel.

"I have been informed by your parents' lawyer, I believe you know him as 'Jeremy', that there was no clear cause of death, there are no wounds to be found, nothing ingested, nothing to suggest internal issues. Helen died five minutes before Richard in their cells, late at night. Neither of their cellmates have been unable to provide any form of statement."

A shiver ran throughout my body, "No apparent cause of death?" I clarified.

"None."

I felt like my heart was going to stop. I stood quickly and swayed on the spot, placing a hand on the wall to steady myself.

"Are you alright Kathryn?"

"Yes," I said with a very definite tone, "I think I might – do you mind staying here whilst I go tell George? I'll erm – be right back – drink your coffee – eat the biscuits." I grabbed a travel cloak which was lying over the other side of the sofa and wrapped it over my shoulders.

"Kathryn?" Mr Snow called out as I reached for the Floo Powder.

I turned back, "Yeah?"

"Breathe." He said.

I threw the powder into the fire and stepped into the fireplace, "Weasley's Wizard Wheezes." And within seconds I was standing in the apartment, making a run down the private staircase into the busy shop. "Sorry, excuse me." I said constantly, looking on the second floor, "Excuse me." I pressed on past a particularly portly man, searching for the shock of ginger hair. The ground floor was even busier with customers crowded around stands and displays.

I caught eyes with someone wearing magenta robes, the staff uniform, "Hey, I was wondering if you knew where George is…?"

"Mr Weasley?" the young girl had blonde hair cut into a stylish choppy bob. "He's serving a customer at the cash register at the minute, can I help you with anything?"

"No, sorry…" I swallowed hard, feeling a lump at the back of my throat, "Oh, I see him now." I breathed a sigh of relief, "Erm… thanks." I stalked off in George's direction.

The shop was so busy I felt bad for even being so weak and stupid to feel I needed to go talk to him. I knew that all I needed to do was tell him, for him to confirm my musings about the situation, a quick hug and I'd go back to Mr Snow. "Katy?" he looked up after finishing serving a customer.

A stray tear fell down my cheek, "Can I talk to you for a sec?"

"Of course," he stood out from behind the counter, glancing around the store before calling out, "Chris? Could you take over from me here?"

"Yes, Mr Weasley." Chris, with a wave of his wand, made the extra stock zoom into place and he hurried over to the register to take over.

George then said, "Let's go somewhere quiet to talk… break room?" he was about to direct me, but I remembered where I was going from my tour. I pushed the door open and saw the girl who directed me towards George sitting eating a sandwich.

She stood quickly and I said, "It's fine, take a seat, eat your lunch!"

She awkwardly sat back down and glanced between George and me, "You're Kathryn?"

"Yeah," I told her.

"I'm – eh – Verity."

"Well, eh Verity," I smirked, "it's lovely to meet you. Please don't let us disturb you." I looked up at George whose concern was etched all over his face, so I decided to relieve him of his worries, "Mr Snow popped by."

George's eyebrows furrowed, "What's happened?"

"Mum and Dad are dead. I mean – Richard and Helen." I told him matter-of-factly, "And I don't know how I feel."

"Oh…" was his response, "That's a good thing, right?" he said, then he lowered his voice, "Both of them? Aren't they in separate prisons?"

I nodded, "But here's the thing," I leaned in close, "there's no apparent cause of death from the muggle coroner." I dropped my voice even lower and George put his hand in mine, "I think they were murdered, by the Killing Curse and I'm pretty sure who did it."

Realisation struck in George's eyes, "She wouldn't." the shock in his voice sounded a lot louder than he intended.

"I told her about what Helen and Richard did to me, I showed her -" I lifted his hand up to my head, "she used legilimency on me and I fought back, she knows exactly what they did. She was affected by it. It's the only thing that makes sense. Narcissa would have filled in the blanks from the trial. And I left that afternoon. It has to be her, George, it has to be. Please tell me I'm not going mad."

George's hand that I held up to my head now caressed my face, "Two murders, both muggles, in separate prisons, same night, no cause of death? And you met your mother and told her what happened? You're not going mad. No chance."

I stood on my tiptoes and kissed him, "Thanks." I then made my way to the door, feeling yet another tear emerge from my eye for no darn good reason, "I'd best get back to Mr Snow."

"Hey you…" he pulled me back into a hug, "please don't be upset…"

"I don't think I am… I just don't know if I should be happy with one parent murdering the other two." I wiped away yet another tear, "I mean… it's two fewer people to worry about in the world and it shows that Bellatrix cares, but she's just killed two more people, who were already in prison, and -"

"It's complicated." He nodded.

I nodded, "Thanks for listening, Georgie, come by your parents for dinner, your mum has me cooking." I gave him a smile, "I might even consider doing a bit of baking." I winked, his eyes meeting mine and he was assured that I really was alright, "Right, I really ought to get back! Love you!" I kissed him gently and opened the door, travelling cloak swishing behind me as I got submerged into the lunchtime rush of customers. I battled my way up to the apartment and made my way back to The Burrow where Fleur was chatting to Mr Snow, "Sorry about that."

Mr Snow smiled, "Just finished my coffee," it appeared as though he was breathing a sigh of relief, "all okay?"

"Yeah," I spoke convincingly, "I'm pretty sure it was my birth mother who killed my adoptive parents."

"That is a very serious accusation." His face turned as white as his namesake, "Your evidence?"

I shooed Fleur out of the room again and explained to Snow as I had shared my musings with George. It made more and more sense the more I thought about it. There was no doubt in my mind that Bellatrix loved me, she was proving it, she did what she knew best.

"Kathryn…" Mr Snow sighed, "you are aware that all you have just told me is speculation?"

"I'm just telling you what I think," I told him, "My opinion on who killed my parents has got to count for something."

He glanced at me, then looked down at the pile of documents on the table, he wasn't going to dignify my statement with an answer, "As it stands, and probably most unfortunately for you, your parents' Last Will and Testament states that their entire estate would be bequeathed to your brother."

"That doesn't come as a surprise." I told him, folding my arms, "I thought you'd know me and my situation better than this."

"Yes," he said, "Because what I was leading on to tell you, is that when your maternal grandmother passed away, she left a Will that stated that you were to receive a large sum of money. Your mother and father – Helen and Richard – did their very best to prevent this from happening, and in recent weeks, I have been fighting in court for the money to be granted to you, as denoted in the Will." He handed me a document.

I scanned through it. Her Will had been modified from the summer before starting third year. Emily and I were now the main beneficiaries, a few items going to other family members – Emily getting all the family heirlooms, rings, jewellery, that sort of thing – then beside my name it said, after all funeral costs and legals fees, the rest of the money would go to –

"I know it can be confusing, but the document states that your Grandmother's money -"

"Has been left to me." I said, "Yes, I understand."

"I keep forgetting just how intelligent you are." he smiled, "I will sort out the legal aspects of the transfer of money in accordance with the Will, if that is your wish?"

I nodded, shrugging my shoulders at the same time, "Sure."

"Aren't you going to ask me how much you may receive?"

I shook my head, "I'll be honest, I'd rather have her here by my side than have her money." I told him honestly, "Money is half the reason why I'm in this bloody situation in the first place. Drugs, money, murder, you name it, my family have been caught up in it."

"Your grandmother was a very wealthy woman." Mr Snow told me, deviating from my grievances about my adoptive family and trying to change my apparent lack of interest in money, "You will expect to be able to afford a modest lifestyle – study in a further education course, travel the world, invest in businesses – the world will be your oyster, depending on how quickly you spend £450,000."

I nodded, breathing out a sigh, not quite knowing how to deal with this other piece of news. I don't want her money, I don't want any connection to my muggle life, the life before this magical reality. I wanted to be back upstairs, with Ginny, painting her nails. I didn't really give a shit about Helen and Richard, as far as I was concerned before this morning I didn't care if they were dead or alive. As long as they were both no longer able to bother me. My life always seems to be able to drag up things from the past. I can't escape from it. I felt myself get so angered by the whole situation.

"So my Grandmother was murdered?" I changed the topic.

"Yes, by two young men, sent by your parents as hitmen, the police got full confessions." He scratched behind his ear awkwardly, "It is expected that they will be imprisoned for a long time."

"And Helen and Richard were murdered, minutes apart, both locked in their cells, about a hundred miles away from each other, with no apparent cause of death, other than a potential Killing Curse and their cell mates are not able to provide any story?"

"Yes."

I wanted to pick up the mug of tea that had been left untouched. I wanted to throw the contents at the wall. I knew that wouldn't be a very good idea. I wanted to scream, to cry out, to run away for a while and escape this mess. I knew those weren't very good ideas either. So I sat there and bottled it all up. It was a warm summer's day, the heat of the sun beaming down through the window, rays on my back as I sat, yet I shivered.

"Do you wish to attend the funeral of your parents?"

"No I ruddy well do not." I said rather aggressively, "I'd spit on their graves. I'd perform the Killing Curse myself just to make sure they were really dead."

Mr Snow took a few seconds before replying, "You know I had to ask." I could feel his eyes watching me, he knew I was riled up, that I was having an internal struggle with myself, "May I speak to Molly or Narcissa regarding the recent developments, as you are a minor, it is -"

I stood abruptly and opened the door, Fleur was sitting in the kitchen and jumped off her seat at my presence, "Where's Molly?"

"She will be back, soon." She assured, "Eez zere un probleme?"

"Just some legal stuff." I said my chest rising and falling, I was completely aware of the shake that was now presenting itself, "And Mr Snow, don't go to Narcissa, you'll probably get murdered for standing on her doorstep, it won't be personal, it's just the people who occupy that house now don't tend to like anyone less than Pureblood status and even at that -"

He blinked at me, "I can tell you're annoyed."

"I'm not annoyed, far from it." I told him, "I'm just sick and tired of all this, I just want to be normal, I just want to live a normal life, to be free from all the bonds of having been adopted and gotten into all their troubles -"

Molly stepped out of the fireplace.

"Mr Snow?" the surprise in her voice was mixed with worry.

"He wants to speak to you about me," I told her, shaking my head in disgust, "I'm going to go for a long walk to get my head showered. I won't leave the confines of the house, promise."

Without further ado, I walked.