Children of Fate

The next day was cold and rainy. As if the previous day's events hadn't been revealing enough, as Ana, Liza, and Rey were halfway to the manor they saw Mrs. Davies through the window, bustling down the lawn, her dark blue cloak billowing out from behind her. A tall, elegant, sleek man followed in her wake, his fair blonde hair reaching down to his pointy chin. Ana couldn't place the man's cold, hard face, but something about it sparked her memory.

When Mrs. Davies caught sight of Ana, she paled slightly. Ana did the same. She hadn't planned on facing 'Aunt Peggy' quite so early in the day and she hadn't yet planned how to act civil towards her. Mrs. Davies halted a hundred feet from the trio and tried to veer off course but the man caught her arm with a gloved hand.

"Wait, Pegatha. Who might these three be?" he asked in a sophisticated drawl. Ana squinted harder. The man seemed so familiar, and yet she was sure she had never seen him in her life.

"Oh, just a few servants. My youngest, in fact. But you wouldn't care about them, would you?" Mrs. Davies asked, and though her tone was crisp and her eyes were cruel, something about the way she held herself suggested that she was more than a little flustered.

"Ah, yes I would. One of them might be able to help me with my mission. Why should you have to take time out of your day to show me around?" the man asked, and he suddenly turned to Ana, his gloved finger pointing at her. "You, girl! Do you know your way around the grounds of this manor? More specifically, do you know your way through the woods?" he asked.

Ana gulped before choosing her words wisely. "Sir, I've lived here all my life and I know the grounds-save the private gardens-by heart. I've explored the woods a few times and though my knowledge of them is not as extent as is my knowledge of the grounds, I don't believe I'd get lost." Ana kept her eyes trained on the ground the entire time she was speaking, to show the submissiveness that most Death Eaters--which this man probably was--liked from their 'lessers'.

"That's good enough," the man said, and he glanced back at Mrs. Davies. "I do hope you won't mind if I borrow this young girl for my mission?"

Mrs. Davies was losing her reserve. Her eyes were as wide as saucers and, if one were to watch her long enough, they'd notice that she seemed to be having difficulties breathing. "No, not at all. Not at all," she replied after a few tense seconds.

The man clapped his hands together. "Very well, then. Come with me, girl. I need you to take me to a few different spots on your mistress's grounds. Understand?"

Ana was only able to give the man a weak nod. With one little wave to Liza and Rey, she turned and ran after the man, who was walking in great strides. To her surprise, he seemed almost friendly, for when he saw the effort she was giving to keep up he slowed down.

"I'm not usually like this," the man said when he saw the look Ana had on her face. "It's just that...Well, there's something about you...Something that reminds me of my son, Draco, when he was your age."

Ana stopped dead in her tracks. Now it all made sense. Mrs. Davies hadn't wanted her to go anywhere with this man because he was Lucius Malfoy! Ana shuddered to imagine what would happen if Mr. Malfoy knew that Mrs. Davies had kept a possible grandchild from him for eleven years.

"Keep up, girl!" Mr. Malfoy cried, and Ana saw a bit of his bitter side as he turned around and called for her. Once Ana had caught up to him again, Mr. Malfoy looked down at her and asked what he should call her.

"Girl is fine, sir," Ana replied in a subdued tone.

The man frowned. "Perhaps you did not understand my question, girl. What is your name?"

"Ana."

"Well, Ana, I'd like you to take me to the lake that's around these parts," Mr. Malfoy said. "Mrs. Davies said that her late husband enchanted a forest to grow up between the mansion and the lake so that their children would not wander off and drown. Do you know what I'm talking about?"

"Yes, sir. There's a path that leads directly to the lake. It's a bit overgrown, though," Ana said, pointing to the woods.

"I'll just blast the rubble out of the way with my wand," the man said. "Keep out of the spell's way, Ana. I wouldn't want Mrs. Davies to have to find a replacement, now would I?" The way he chuckled revealed that he wouldn't mind inconveniencing Mrs. Davies at all. Ana gulped and led the Death Eater--and possibly her grandfather--into the woods.

***

Ana arrived back at her cabin late that evening. The lights were off, but she didn't notice. She was well worn out from the physical workout Mr. Malfoy had put her through. After she had taken him to the lake he had demanded that she lead him through the orchard, into a wooded clearing, and up a hill by the lake. When the two reached each destination Mr. Malfoy would stop and study the area with his cold gray eyes. Then he would tell Ana to wait somewhere out of sight while he did something secret.

A few minutes later he'd call for her to return to the area and demand that she take to the next spot. Finally, just as the sun was setting, Mr. Malfoy declared that he was done. He escorted Ana back to the cabins and nodded briskly before apparating to who knew where. When Ana walked in the cabin, she found it to be strangely quiet.

"Hello?" she called, and her hand fumbled for the switch. "Rey? Liza? Tinkerbell? Are you in here?" By now Ana was beginning to feel a little panicked. Finally her hand found the light switch and she flipped the lights on.

And then she gasped.

The entire cabin looked as if a tornado had hit it. The small table, at which they sat and ate at, had been thrown against the wall. Dishes and plates had been thrown around the room in a wild frenzy, and, as she walked slowly into the cabin, Ana stepped over the broken pieces. The cupboards had been smashed in and the sink had been left running. Ana didn't notice any of this, though.

All she saw was the small purple diary.

It had been left in the middle off her room without a scuff or scratch upon it. Ana bent down to pick her mother's diary up. Somehow she knew it would tell her where he friends had been taken. It might even answer where her mother was.

Ana moved to the back room and sat upon her bed, or what was left of it. Whoever had broken in had torn the pillows, quilt, and mattress of her small cot to shreds. Slowly, Ana opened the diary. Maybe, just maybe, she could open her mother's memories simply by being her daughter. Ana took a deep breath and placed both palms flat on the open pages of the diary.

Nothing happened.

Ana closed her eyes and began to think of all the things Tinkerbell had told her. She thought of all the things she wanted to find out. And slowly Ana felt something begin to happen.

And then the pages began to glow...

***

Entering the memories of the diary was much different for Ana then the first time she had done so. Memories, voices, and pictures whirled before Ana, like a tornado, only calmer. Every once and a while a picture would flash before Ana and the young girl would see just a bit of her mother's life.

"Wait up, Josie! What's the matter?"

"Oh, Kate! I have some bad news!"

Ana turned every which way, trying to take everything in at once.

"Mother, I will die before I quit school to go and marry that moron!"

"Well, zen, Kate, your fiancé will marry a dead woman!"

It was amazing, watching someone grow up before your eyes. Finally one last memory played before Ana. Kate was sitting in a small, sterile looking white room. She was seated on a table and a worried look was on her face. Finally, a woman dressed in a nurse's uniform opened the door.

"Ma'am? I'm afraid those tests you took were right," the woman said. Kate's face looked horrified.

"Oh, Merlin...he'll kill me!" she murmured, placing her hand on her belly.

"It's a girl, ma'am. You're pregnant with a little girl, in case you were wondering."

Kate looked up. "Oh, a little girl...How nice!"

And the image began to fade, into another one. With on final look at her mother's worried face, Ana found herself in the middle of a small kitchen. An Asian woman bustled around the kitchen. She was short, petite, and incredibly pretty. Her black hair was cropped short and was just long enough to tuck behind her ears. Her features were delicate in a certain way that seemed very familiar to Ana, as well as the feeling of shyness that radiated off the woman.

KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!

The woman stopped stirring the pot of soup she had simmering on the stove and rushed through a door behind Ana. A strong tugging at Ana's naval pulled her after the woman, into what appeared to be a living room. The woman was at the door, smiling brightly at a tall man with red hair and the woman on his arm. Though she looked much different then the first time Ana had seen her, there was no mistaking her mother, Kate Lowell. The man must have been Ron Weasley, with his long nose and amber eyes.

Maybe it was just the yearning Ana had for an identity for her nameless father, or maybe she was just tired from the day's work, but she could see bits of herself in Ron. Shaking her head, Ana crossed the room to hear the conversation better.

"Oh, I'm so glad you two made it! Ron, you look great! And you must be Kate! Ron's told us so much about you! I'm Cho, by the way! My husband, Lee--He should be down in a few minutes!" she said, and all in one breath. Cho and Lee--Liza's parents. No wonder the woman had looked so familiar. Tinkerbell had been right. Liza had inherited much of her mother's beauty and charm.

"It's nice to meet you, Cho," Kate said. "Ron said that you two work together. Talent scouts for England's quidditch team?"

"Yes," Cho replied, stepping back and allowing the two in. "I told Ron about the job when he got out of Hogwarts. He hasn't been with us too long but already he shows talent. Our keeper's retiring after this season so I'm taking Ron around to check out a few possibilities."

"Cho? Is Oliver here yet?" a voice from upstairs asked.

Cho turned around. "No Lee! But Ron and his girlfriend are here!" she yelled back.

"Really?" Now the voice sounded amused. "The one that's engaged to Malfoy?" There were footsteps on the stairs and a black man appeared, his dreadlocks pulled back into a ponytail and a big grin on his face. His grin reminded Ana of Liza, and for a moment the young girl wondered what had happened to her friends. "Boy, Ron, you sure do know how to pick 'em!"

"Lee!" Cho gasped. "We agreed not to talk about that." she hissed.

"Oh, Cho, it's fine. Your husband has every right to poke fun at me--after all, I am engaged," Kate said.

"Yes, well, that seems to be a growing trend!" Lee said, earning the coldest look from his already miffed wife. "What? It's true! Oliver's girlfriend in engaged, isn't she? To Roger Davies's older brother...Robert, isn't it?"

Ana saw her mother's eyes grow wide, but she seemed to be the only one, for at that moment the doorbell rang and everyone turned their attention to the people at the door. The first to step in was a young woman, not as pretty as Cho, but still quite comely, with bushy brown hair and kind brown eyes. The man who followed soon after could be only one person, with his messy black hair, mischievous green eyes, and gold-rimmed glasses.

It was the great Harry Potter and his fiancé, Hermione Granger.

Ana couldn't help but smirk as her eyes ran over Harry's fit body. If Rey was going to look half that good then he'd be beating ladies off with a stick. Another pang of sadness hit Ana and she shoved all thoughts of her friends out of her mind.

"Hello everyone. Ah, you must be Kate! I'm Hermione. Pleased to meet you," Hermione was saying, and she held her hand out to shake Kate's. Kate took Hermione's hand rather coldly and shook it politely before dropping it like a hot rock. Hermione looked at Ron with a hurt questioning look and Ron mouthed 'pureblood'. Hermione's eyebrows shot up and, before anything terribly dramatic could happen there was yet another knock on the door.

"Oh, this must be Oliver and his girlfriend--Josephine is her name, isn't it?" Cho asked nervously, and she smoothed her hair down before throwing open the door with great gusto and turning on her infectious smile.

"Cho! Lee! Harry! Ron! Hermione! And you must be Kate! Wonderful to see you all!" A tall broad shouldered man with a thick head of light brown hair stepped in, a pretty blonde woman on his arm. "Everyone, this is-"

"Josie. What a surprise." Everyone turned to stare at Kate, who was staring at the blonde woman with amused eyes. The woman blinked a few times.

"Katie?" she asked rather uncertainly, as if afraid she had the wrong person.

"Yeah. So you got tired of Robert? Can't blame you. That man is the biggest-"

"Wait?" Lee asked. "You two know each other?"

The woman--whom Ana already knew to be her aunt Josephine--grinned. "Know each other? This is my kid sister!"

There was a shocked silence. Ron was staring at Josephine, the man--who Ana assumed was this Oliver fellow--was staring at Kate, and the rest couldn't decided who to stare at, so they contented themselves with staring at the ground. Then Lee began to laugh. Harry was quick to follow him, but both men stopped hastily when they saw the looks on their lady loves' faces.

"So," Lee began after a few seconds, "you're sisters. How...interesting. Do you both hate your fiancé's that much or are just--okay, Cho, I'll shut up."

Cho nodded briskly at her husband before turning to the sisters. "So, you're both Lowell girls. How wonderful! Now, let's just move on into the dining room while I have a talk with my husband, who is, by the way, will be sleeping on the couch tonight."

The memory began to fade, and suddenly Ana found herself outside the Jordan's house and down the street, hot on the trail of her mother. Kaitlyn Lowell was running full tilt down the street, and tears were streaming down her face, on which a black eye was blossoming. Kate stopped running once she was a good three blocks away from the Jordan's house. She sunk to her feet on the pavement and cried openly.

She had been at it for a good five minutes when there was a quiet, "Kate?" Both Kate and Ana started a bit, and both turned to see that Ron had followed Kate. He looked very concerned, but also a little hostile. Something had happened at dinner, Ana thought. Probably something that had stemmed from Kate and Hermione's handshake, something that had stemmed from Ron whispering, "Pureblood."

"What the bloody hell do you want, Weasley?" Kate asked, standing up to her full height. Ron winced at the words that flew from her mouth, and with good reason. Kate's tone of voice was truly acidic, and for a brief second in time Ana saw her mother's bad side.

"I want to say I'm sorry for what Hermione did. She didn't mean to-"

"Shut up, Ron. Just shut up. I heard you all talking about me while I was out of the room. How me and Josie are cold, unfeeling, money-hording bitches!"

"I never said that Kate!" Ron cried.

"But you never stopped it, did you? Let me tell you something, Ronald Weasley! I may be rich, I may be a bitch, but if there's one thing I'm not, it's unfeeling!" Kate paused for a moment and shot Ron a look that would have iced over hell. "Not even money could buy me that!" She turned on her heel and stormed down the block, blasting flowers out of her way.

"Kate! Wait! Come on, Kate! It's not like you weren't at fault! What about ignoring Hermione most of the night, huh? I guess Malfoy did rub off on you!" Ron cried. Kate stopped dead in her tracks and turned around. In the end, Ana would never know what really happened. All she ever really saw was her mother flying down the sidewalk and hitting Ron dead on in the jaw. Ron grunted and fell to the ground, groaning.

Kate turned around to walk away when Ron stuck out his hand and caught her heel. With a screech like a banshee Kate fell to the ground. She tried to scramble away but Ron had grabbed her by the arms and was only pulling her closer. Finally, after Kate had stopped struggling, Ron cupped her chin with his right hand and sighed.

"Kate, I'm sorry for what I said about Malfoy, but you did act weird around Hermione. And I had told you she was muggleborn," he said, and Kate jerked away.

"Muggleborns are lower than-"

"Damn it Kate!" Ron cried and he jerked away from her. "When is it going to sink in? When are you going to get it? People are judged not by how pure their blood is but by how pure there hearts are. And you don't get that. I pity you for that Kate."

Kate was crying again, and Ron wrapped his arms around her. He murmured something into her right ear, something that made Kate sob even louder. "I love you too, Ron. I love you too."Â

The scene began to fade again, and soon Ana was on the deck of a large yacht. Not surprisingly, a little down the deck, leaning on the aide of the boat and looking into the water, was her mother and a man who could only be Draco Malfoy. He looked exactly like Mr. Malfoy, only much younger, and more innocent, though not by much. The two were talking quite cordially despite the relationship Tinkerbell had relayed to her. Inching closer, Ana eavesdropped on their conversation.

"So, do you like the boat?" Draco was asking.

"Oh, yes, it's lovely," Kate replied, and there was not a hint of sarcasm or resentment towards her fiancé. Ana blinked. Could Tinkerbell have been lying?

"Really, then? I'll tell my father to buy it for us. As a wedding gift, or something," Draco said, and Ana saw only the slightest of tensing when Draco mentioned the wedding.

Draco noticed too. "What's the matter?" he asked, an offended look on his face. "I thought you and I--You said that things were getting better, and a week ago at that. I mean, we've been traveling together for a month, Kate, and we've even become friends! Why can't you bring yourself to love me?"

Kate backed away from the edge of the deck as if afraid Draco was about to throw her overboard. "Draco I never said that things were better. I just said-"

"Well, you made it damn well sound like it was," Draco hissed. "If I'm really that repulsive then why did you agree to come sailing with me?"

"Because," Kate said, and her dark blue eyes were flashing, "you promised that we would stop at France."

Draco's face fell. "So you just wanted to go back home?" he asked. Kate had turned away from him, so she did not see the almost hurt expression on Draco's usually smug face. But Ana saw everything. Strange emotions were written across her mother and Draco's faces. Ana suspected that the same thing was happening to Draco as it was to Kate; both were falling in love without knowing it. Maybe they were already in love, and the slightest twinges of feelings were beginning to show.

"I'm sorry Kate," Draco muttered, though he looked far from sorry. "We'll arrive in France within two days, or so the captain says. I'm retiring to my cabin for the afternoon. Do make sure that the house elves know not to disturb me." He gave Kate a curt nod walked around a corner and out of view, leaving the air just as chilly as ever.

***

Ana had fully expected to find herself in the next memory of her mother's diary. Instead she was sitting on the floor of her cabin, clutching the diary in her hands. Slamming the diary shut, Ana jumped to her feet. She began whirling around wildly, looking for whomever-or whatever-had brought her back to the present time. Ana gasped when she saw that it was a faerie.

Like Tinkerbell, she was only a few inches tall, though that was where the similarities ended. This faerie had ginger colored skin, dark brown tresses, and olive green eyes. She was--now that Ana had examined her--a good inch taller than Tinkerbell, but had the same feminine features.

"It really is you," the faerie gasped, her eyes widening like saucers. "The savior!"

"What?" Ana asked. Obviously this faerie--who was also lacking her wings--had mistaken her for some else.

"You, the daughter of Kaitlyn Lowell!" Or maybe not. "Do you not know your destiny? Do you not know what you are to do?" When Ana shook her head the faerie's face fell. "Well, surely you know your mother?"

"I know her name and bits of her past," Ana said, and the faerie shook her head sadly.

"How sad...Kate would want you to know her story. Well, before I can tell you your future, I guess I have to tell you about Kate's lovers, Ron-"

"Oh, I know most of her tale already. You interrupted me when my mum and Draco were on the deck of the boat," Ana explained, and before the faerie could ask her anything else she gave an expectant look.

The faerie sighed and shrugged. "Very well. First I must introduce myself. I was a gift to Kaitlyn Lowell, from her lover, Ron Weasley. He caught me one day with my band off. But that's a story for another day. I suppose if you've gotten this far you know...Tinkerbell." The faerie spat the name out in disgust.

"Yes, Tinkerbell. She's been a great help to me."

The faerie nodded, a scowl on her face. "Figures that blonde bimbo would leave out the single most important detail of the story. It just figures! I don't know why Kate trusted her to be the key!" Noticing Ana's questioning stare, the faerie gave a dry smile. "Tinkerbell and I...We hated each other as much as Ron Weasley and Draco Malfoy did. It was always a rivalry between us. By the way, my name's Sugar-Plum. As in Sugar-Plum Faerie, from the Nutcracker? Kate thought it was a hoot to give us such names."

Ana could only nod.

"Oh, and call me Sugar. That's what all my friends call me...Or did. I haven't had any real friends for a while. About eleven years to be exact. You see, Kate left Tinkerbell to watch over you and--Oh, but I'm getting ahead of myself again. I guess I should pick up from where you were left off. A week after Kate and Ron admitted that they loved each other Kate was offered a chance to go on a two month sailing trip with Draco. She accepted on the terms that she'd get to spend half of that time in France.

"By the time they were nearing France the two were becoming friends. They respected each other, liked each other a bit, and even shared a few interests. But Kate had made a promise to Ron. When she returned to Salazar Harbor the two of them would run away and get married. They'd move to a faraway place and instead of getting a job right out of school Ron would go to college while Kate finished school. It was a rash decision on both of their parts, but Kate couldn't risk falling in love with Draco Malfoy." Sugar sighed and shook her head. "Silly girl...Draco, too, didn't want to fall in love.

"He wanted to get Kate to fall in love with him. Then he would crush her heart and turn her into an obedient wife. But both of them made one big mistake on that trip...They went to the city of lights, love, and romance; Paris...And that's where the story picks up..."

***

In Paris, in a not-so-nice neighborhood, down a dingy alleyway, and under a banana colored fence, there was a small lot. Now, to the normal, non-magical, muggle eye, this lot would be empty, save for a sign that read 'No Trespassing! Keep Out!' Those who had the slightest bit of magical blood in them might see a glimmer of something, but in the end a foreboding feeling would overcome the person and they would scramble under the fence faster than a Niffler after gold.

However, if one were magical, they would see a decrepit old shack standing in the middle of the lot. Posted by each door were two large black Kneazles, forever guarding the doors into Lumière et Amour the only all-magical city in all of Paris. All you need do to get in was pass let the Kneazles check you over. No one who was not of pure heart and valor was ever allowed in Lumière et Amour. That had been the first of the three hitches in Kate's stay in Paris.

When she and Draco reached the door the Kneazles allowed her to pass them, but began hissing and spitting when Draco tried to follow Kate.

"What's going on?" Draco had asked, biting his lip in frustration as the smaller Kneazel began to claw at his new designer robes.

"Draco, don't you know French?" Kate had retorted, frowning and pointing to a plaque on the side of the building. Though worn and old, the poem on the plaque was still as readable as the day it had been placed there.Â

"No, Kate, I never saw a point to learning French," Draco snapped irritably.

"Well, Draco," Kate said, frowning and shouldering her bag, "it reads: May thee enter if thy heart is pure and thy intentions of good meaning. May thee enter if thee is an innocent child or carefree young girl. But stay away if thee wishes to bring pain upon thy fellow human being and if thy heart is full of malice."

Draco just stared. "Well, then, Ms. Pure-of-Heart, how might I get in?"

Kate shrugged. "No one has ever entered Lumière et Amour without being given the Kneazles' approval. I don't see how you could get in--Wait! There might be one way!" Kate knelt down beside the smaller of the two catlike creatures and pulled out a necklace Draco had never seen before. She dangled it in front of the Kneazle's large golden eyes and whispered, "Salutation, frères. I, a soeur de l'Lumière, demander a faveur de vous."

The Kneazle seemed to understand Kate's words for it turned to its partner and nodded. The other Kneazle almost seemed to smirk before doing a small circle. Then both Kneazles began to grow. Kate stood up and stepped back to where Draco stood, rooted to the ground, and stood stalk still.

The Kneazles kept growing, there paws turning to hands and their tails shrinking into their behinds. Fur disappeared and limbs lengthened as the Kneazles began to become human. Finally, after a minute or so, two grown men stood in the place where the Kneazles had only moments before.

"Welcome, sister," the first said, bowing to Kate and nodding curtly to Draco. This man was the smaller of the two, with soft looking black hair that hung down to his elbows. He was of a slender, lithe build and his nose, cheekbones, and lips were so delicate looking that they seemed feminine. His companion was, by all means, the exact opposite: tall and broad, with hair cropped short and three earrings in his left ear.

The second man--who seemed to know Kate--bowed also, then stared down his long, pointy nose at Draco. "Well, Kate, what can I do you for?"

"Lisle, please--we've been friends forever! Can't you reexamine him? Draco's really quite a nice man, once you get to know him." Kate's blue eyes pleaded with Lisle's cold gold ones.

"Oh, he's bona fide, Kate. Even I wouldn't deny it! But there's something in his soul. There's a burning hatred for everything that defies him, though he masks the hatred so well that even he may not be aware of it. Kate, there's something in Draco Malfoy that made my fur stand on end. He has the makings of a Death Eater all within his head. And I don't like the way he treats you."

Of course, all this was whispered in French, so that Draco could not understand a word of what they were saying. The trademark Malfoy sneer was upon Draco's lips as he surveyed the first, smaller guard, who seemed bursting to interrupt his partner. Finally, when the temptation became to great, the first guard cut into the conversation, in English, much to Draco's relief.

"But, Lisle, cannot we send a guard to watch over Mr. Malfoy? 'Ow could we part our dear Kate with zee man who is to be 'er 'usband in only a few months?" he asked, and Draco noted that the first guard's accent was almost as heavy as Mrs. Lowell's.

"I think that's a wonderful idea!" Kate cried, clapping her hands together.

"I don't," Lisle said, wiping the smile of Kate's face. "But Kate, if you swear that he'll behave, then I suppose I could post...Maybe Felicite could keep an eye on him...But if Silas Maire gets word, he'll be furious." Lisle seemed very nervous at the moment, so unlike the machismo attitude he had displayed earlier.

"Oh, Lisle--How can I thank you?" Kate asked, smiling brightly and hugging the tall man. Lisle blushed and bowed again before turning to the other.

"Chevalier, please go and fetch Felicite. Tell her that for the next few days she will keep a constant eye on Mr. Malfoy here, and tell her that if she feels he is a danger to our society that she should go to you or I. You're dismissed!"

With a quick nod the other guard, Chevalier, turned back into what Draco assumed was his animagi form. Chevalier the Kneazle winked at Kate, bowed his black head to Draco, and flicked his bushy tail at Lisle before running through a cat door at the bottom of the door into Lumière et Amour.

"Well, Kate, it was nice talking with you. Now, if you don't mind, I have to get back to guard duty. It's the holidays and people are coming in by the boatloads." And with that Lisle too was in his animagi form.

Kate and Draco stood awkwardly for a moment, making sure that there was a good five foot area between them. Kate suspected that Draco would have gotten closer to her and struck up a conversation had it not been for Lisle's almond shaped eyes on them and the way his tail swished in the air. Thankfully, though, they did not have to wait long. Within fifteen minutes after his leaving, Chevalier returned through the cat door, followed by a slender brown female Kneazle with a sleek glossy coat. Chevalier, after purring and rubbing up against Kate's leg, went back to his post, though his eyes didn't stray from the female Kneazle, who was, by now, transforming from her animagi form.

Soon a young woman stood before the engaged couple. Her hair was chin length and everything about her--from her nose to her shoulders to her hips--seemed sharp and spiky. The woman--no doubt Felicite--gave Kate the impression of a cold, harsh, ice queen with little emotion other than contempt. Her beauty, though, was breathtaking. Her hair was a rich shade of milk chocolate and her eyes were deep hazel flecked with green and gold. With lips like that of a Roman princess and skin that had never seen a blemish in its entire life, Felicite had the attention of every man in the small lot.

And none more than Draco's. Kate's dislike for the woman doubled when she saw the look Felicite shot Draco.

So when Felicite did finally reach out to shake someone's hand, it only made sense that that somebody was Draco. "'Ello," she said, flashing brilliant white teeth. "I am Felicite Delacour-Audric. You must be Draco Malfoy! And you are 'is...fiancée? Kaitlyn Lowell?" Felicite gave Kate a check over.

Kate could only manage a tight smile. "Delacour?" Draco asked. "I knew a Fleur Delacour once...A pretty thing, she was."

Felicite smiled and took Draco's hand. "Ah, yes. My dearest cousin Fleur. But let's not zalk about 'er. What about you, 'andsome?"

Sighing, Kate shouldered her bag and followed her enchanted fiancé into Lumière et Amour. As Felicite and Draco talked animatedly her thoughts drifted to Ron. He had given her a ring before she had left--a small opal set in gold. It had been his grandmother's, he told Kate, and he had convinced his father to give it to him...

***

Suddenly Sugar stopped talking. She held up her hand, signaling Ana to be silent, and crept over to the doorway of Ana's room. The faerie peaked her tiny head around the corner, gasping when she saw whatever it was that had disturbed her. With agility and speed surprising for someone so very little, Sugar shot back to Ana's side.

"Keep very, very, very quiet Ana. We have visitors. Unwanted ones." Sugar motioned Ana under Liza's small cot. Ana didn't have time to ask who the unwelcome visitors were, for, just as she disappeared under the bed a pair of boot clad feet appeared in the doorway to her bedroom.

"I don't see anyone in here," a voice--a man's--said.

"Our lord w-will be v-very mad if we have missed the fourth child," another voice added.

"Yes, Lucius," the first voice continued. "You were out with her all day. Are you sure she came straight back here?"

"Positive." Ana recognized the voice of her might-be-grandfather. No doubt his cronies were also Death Eaters. "I saw her back to the perimeter of the cabins."

"Might she have l-left?" the second voice asked. Ana found his consistent stutter to be quite annoying.

"Well, if she did, it would only be because you two boneheads tore the cabin up. If I were a little girl I'd be frightened of the mess you two caused. I trust that you placed the first two children in their proper homes?"

"Yes Lucius," the men said together.

"Oh, bloody hell!" Mr. Malfoy said after a few more minutes of tromping around the cabin. Ana thought them to be incredibly stupid to not have looked under the bed yet. "This is a waste of our time. Pegatha Davies is already suspicious. We might as well clear out for the night."

"But, L-Lucius! The Dark Lord-he'll b-be furious!"

"Of course he will Wormtail! Which is why we will be forced to take up on Pegatha's offer to house us for the night."

"Very well, L-Lucius," the first man said.

"Lucius, why do you call Mrs. Davies by her first name? I thought that-"

"Paulson," the second, stuttering man--Wormtail--whispered. "K-Keep quiet."

But the question had already reached Mr. Malfoy's ears. "Why? Because she was Kaitlyn Lowell's sister. I began to call her by her first name when I first met her and just because her sisters were complete fools was no reason to stop. Not that I'm fond of anyone with Lowell blood running through their veins."

"Who was Kaitlyn Lowell?" the man called Paulson asked.

The silence that followed Paulson's question was charged with nerves. Finally, after the silence had reached the point where the air was crackling with an unseen electricity, Lucius Malfoy answered.

"Kaitlyn Lowell was my son's fiancée. All you need to know is that she broke his heart and destroyed him. Draco was never the same after the Lowell girl was finished with him..." Mr. Malfoy trailed off and Ana could feel the hate for her mother radiating off him. Then, without warning, Mr. Malfoy stormed out of the small cabin, slamming the door after him.

"N-Now look what y-you did!" Wormtail hissed. "C-Come on. Let's g-get up to the m-manor." And, with great speed, both men cleared out of the cabin.

After waiting for a long period of time--to make sure that the Death Eaters did not return--Sugar turned to Ana. "Come on, Ana. We have to make a break for the woods. We can't be here when those goons decide to come back."

Ana suppressed the many questions she had swirling around in her mind and nodded. She crawled carefully our from under the small cot and grabbed Sugar. The faerie was slipped into Ana's apron pocket and she remained quiet as Ana hoisted herself up onto the small windowsill high above the cot. The window was very small, but Ana was skinny enough to barely squeeze through.

The fall to the grassy ground was farther than Ana expected, and when she landed a nasty jolt ran up through her bones. Silently the young girl padded into the woods bordering the cabins. There was no trail to follow and she had to beat bushes and branches out of the way. Once or twice Sugar gave a loud sigh, but then she would become quiet again. Finally, when the sky was just beginning to grow light, and Ana was near dead on her feet she stumbled into a small mossy clearing. Long ago had she begun to feel that she would drop from exhaustion and when Sugar yelled for her to stop she was all too glad to oblige.

"Ana, you've done a good job. Now you see that ring of flowers over there, in the middle of the clearing?" Ana nodded. "Now, you just go to sleep in there. Don't worry-I have enough magic to summon up a blanket and pillow."

"But what if the Death-"

"Ana," Sugar said, and she smiled a little, "as long as you are in that circle of flowers, and I am with you, nothing in this world could harm you."

Somehow Ana believed her. With a tired yawn she stumbled over to the circle of flowers. As she had promised, Sugar waved her small hands and a warm blanket and soft pillow appeared. Nothing in the world had ever felt as good as when she lay down on the soft moss and snuggled up under the blanket.

Ana fell asleep almost instantly; awaiting what dreams may come.