#jonginsufferable

Kate was working on a spell upstairs in the spare bedroom when there was a knock on the door one October morning.  Adrian, who was in the kitchen having some coffee, hurried down the hall and peered through the peephole, then opened the door wide to reveal an older woman with blonde hair peppered with grey.

“I’m looking for Katelyn Turner,” said the woman softly.  “I’m Luella Davis.”

Recognition dawned in Adrian’s eyes.  “Please come in.  Kate’s upstairs; I’ll get her for you.  Would you like some tea?”

“No thank you,” Luella said, looking around the entryway as she stepped inside.  “I only wanted to speak with Kate for a moment.”

“Of course.  Have a seat, and I’ll be right back.”  Adrian gestured to the sitting room just inside the door, then headed upstairs, where she knocked on the open study door.  “Kate, there’s someone here to see you.”

The younger witch looked up from her desk.  “I wasn’t expecting anyone,” she said, but stood and followed Adrian back downstairs.  Reaching the sitting room, she was enveloped in an embrace that smelled of gardenia.

“Kate!  Oh, thank goodness it’s really you!  We were so worried!”

“L-Luella?” Kate gasped.

The woman pushed Kate away and looked at her with a critical eye.  “You’re so thin!  You haven’t been eating enough!”

“Ah,” Kate said, looking nervous.  “Yeah.”  She gave Luella a tiny smile.  “I’ll go make some tea.  This is Adrian Viviano, by the way.  I met her in the States.”  She gestured to Adrian, then hurriedly escaped from the room down the hall into the kitchen, where she took a deep breath.  How had Luella found her?  She hadn’t contacted them in over a year!

The phone rang, and she snatched it up.  “Hello?  Speaking.”  Her expression hardened as she filled the kettle with water from the tap.  “Excuse me?  I sent that payment almost two weeks ago!”

In the sitting room, Luella smiled at Adrian, who smiled tightly back as they heard Kate yelling in the kitchen.  Something about payment reached Luella’s ears, and she immediately pulled out her checkbook.

“Don’t,” Adrian said softly.  “She’ll only rip it up.”

“Surely there’s some way I can help,” Luella insisted.  “What is she even paying for, anyway?”

Adrian smiled.  “You’re just like she described you.”  Sifting through a pile of papers on the coffee table, she retrieved one and handed it over to Luella, who scanned it quickly before gaping at the amount listed.  “Medical care is really expensive in the States, and she was in the hospital for nearly a month.  She’s determined to pay it off herself, but honestly?  If you want to help, you could pay it in secret.”

“I certainly will!” Luella said, quickly tucking the paper away as Kate continued to yell.  There was a moment of silence, and then they heard footsteps and the soft rattle of china.

“Sorry about that.” Kate set the tea tray down on the coffee table with a flick of her wand.  “Idiots can’t keep track of their own things.”  She poured tea expertly into three cups, just as she’d been taught while living at the Davis mansion, before handing one to Luella.  The woman took note that Kate avoided using her left arm, passing the tea instead with her right across her body.  “How are you, Luella?”

“I’m fine.  Everyone else is also fine.  Noll and Mai send their love.”  Luella dropped a cube of sugar into her tea and stirred.

“Are they still in Japan?”

“No.  They’re back at the mansion with the twins and their new little boy named Takumi.”  Luella smiled at her mental image of the little boy running around the gardens.

Kate smiled back, feeling conflicted.  Perhaps it was her fault that Mai and Oliver had gone back to Japan after Gene’s funeral.  “Sticking with the Japanese names, hmm?”

“His full name is Takumi Eugene.”

The youngest witch’s face fell.  “That’s—that’s nice,” she managed to say.  “He’d like that.”

“I’m sorry dear,” Luella said, reaching across the table to cover Kate’s hand with her own.  “I thought you should know.”

“Does he look like him?”  The words were soft, and Luella had to strain to hear them.

“Practically the spitting image.”  Fishing a photo from her purse, Luella handed it to Kate.  It was of Oliver and Mai, with the brown-haired twins between them, and a struggling toddler in Oliver’s arms.

Kate’s eyes filled with tears as she stared at the photo.  He really did look like Gene.  She clapped a hand over her mouth and stood.  “Excuse me,” she mumbled, fleeing the room.

The picture sat on the sofa.  Adrian picked it up, curious to see for herself.  He looked like his father—and by extension his deceased uncle—despite the baby fat.  She smiled, but that was quickly lost when she heard retching from down the hall. Standing, she hurried towards the bathroom, but Kate had flushed the toilet and was rinsing out her mouth when she got there.

“So much for my breakfast,” Kate muttered, spitting into the sink.  She glanced up at Adrian, who looked at her in worry.  “I’ll be fine,” she said.  “It’s just… Thinking about him after all these years, seeing that picture…”  She wiped hastily at her eyes.  “I’ll be fine,” she repeated, this time as if to reassure herself, then made her way back to the sitting room.  “Sorry.  My breakfast disagreed with me.  Violently.”

Luella looked at her, concern evident on her face.  “Does that happen often?”  Perhaps that was why Kate was so thin.

Kate shrugged.  “Sometimes the nerves in my arm decide to rebel, and the rest of my body follows.”

She was ensconced in another gardenia embrace.  “You poor dear!  What on Earth happened to you?”

Letting out a short, bitter laugh, Kate asked, “What hasn’t happened to me?”

Luella released her and sat back down.  “When you left, Martin and I were concerned.  But you seemed to be happier there, so we let you be.  Then you stopped writing, and we were so worried!  Did you get any of the letters we sent you?”

“Yes.”  Kate looked at her hands, her eyes shifting to Adrian, who shrugged.  This was Kate’s story to tell, and she’d only help if she felt the need to.  “He cut me off from everyone, even Adrian.”

“He?  Do you mean the boy you were dating?”

“Jason, yes.”  Her mouth moved into a grimace.  “I should have realized, should have seen the signs.  I’d grown up with them, after all.  But I guess after the years of safety with you and Martin and… Gene, I was gullible.  Gullible and stupid.”  She closed her eyes and sighed.  “He looked different from Gene.  I thought it could work.  I moved in with him—my biggest mistake.”

“I don’t think I quite understand,” Luella said slowly.  “Did he—was he hurting you?”

Kate nodded.  “And I let him.”  Her right hand rose to rub her left shoulder.  “I don’t know why.  Maybe I thought I could change him.  That illusion was shattered when he—”  She cut herself off, shuddering.  “I got away, finally. But he found me and tried to kill me.  Pretty much did, since I died at least once on the way to the hospital.”

Her former mother-in-law was staring at her in horror.  “Kate… oh, Kate.”

The witch leaned back against the couch cushions, closing her eyes.  “Adrian.”

The other witch nodded, knowing what Kate was asking.  “She was in a coma for two weeks.  Her shoulder was really messed up; I had to sneak a couple Healers, including a specialist, into the hospital to get it fixed as best it could.  The nerves were badly damaged, and her arm’s still not fully functional.  They had to remove part of her liver, and her lung—”

“My lung is fine,” Kate grumbled, cutting her off.  “Just scarred.  It functions perfectly normally, unlike my arm.”

“Tell me the boy got caught,” Luella pleaded.  This explained that incredible hospital bill, at least.  If this Jason boy was still on the loose, she and Martin would certainly have something to do about it.

Kate gave Adrian a sharp look, and Luella got the feeling that she was hiding something.

“They caught him before he’d left the apartment thanks to Kate’s quick thinking,” Adrian said.  “He’s doing twenty-seven years in a state prison.”

“Good!  He deserves it.”

Kate hadn’t seen that look on Luella’s face in years, and she felt sick.  “I’m sorry,” she said again.  “It was my fault.”  The phone rang again, and she groaned.  “If it’s those idiots at the collection agency again—”

“Let us help,” Luella said as Adrian went to answer the phone.  “If you’re having trouble paying, we can help.”  She had to at least try.

“I got myself into this mess, and I’ll get myself out.  Don’t worry about me.”  She tried to smile at Luella, but it didn’t quite work.

“I will always worry about you,” Luella said softly.  “You’re my daughter, or as good as.”

Kate’s eyes filled with tears, and she looked away and down at her lap.  “But I left.”

“All children leave home eventually.  It was inevitable, my dear.”

The brown-haired witch let out a choked sob, and Luella moved to the couch and wrapped her arms around her.  Kate let herself cry.

“I’m only sorry we couldn’t protect you,” Luella murmured, rubbing Kate’s back.  “It’ll be all right.  We’ll take care of you.  You can come back to the mansion and live with us, Adrian too.”

“No,” Kate hiccupped, “I need to take care of myself.  I’m an adult!  I should have—I should have known he was bad, and I didn’t—Gene must be so disappointed in me.”  She cried harder.

“I don’t think so.”  Luella continued to rub soothing circles on the witch’s back.  “He’d be happy you’ve lived through it and come this far.”

Adrian stood out of sight in the hallway, smiling.  Kate definitely needed this.

“Will you at least come and visit?  Have dinner once in a while?”  Pulling her handkerchief from her purse, Luella began dabbing at Kate’s face.

“I—I guess, if Mai and Oliver don’t mind.”  If she had been the reason for their move back to Japan, it was possible they didn’t want to see her.

“Of course not, sweetie!  Why, when I told Mai we’d found you at last, she was ecstatic.”

“How did you find me?”  Kate looked at her former mother-in-law with curious green eyes.

“I have my ways.”  Luella grinned at her.  She wouldn’t divulge that Adrian had owled her as soon as they’d reached the country and gotten settled.  “Now, what do you say to dinner tomorrow night?  Adrian will come too, of course.”

“We’d love to,” spoke up the American witch, making her presence known.  “When would you like us over?”

“Five sounds good,” Luella replied.  “That’ll give you some time with Noll, Mai, and the children.”  She stood.  “I’ll leave you for now, Kate dear, and see you tomorrow.  Please don’t be a stranger.”

All Kate could do was nod mutely.  How had this happened?  She’d been happily working on a spell, and now she would be seeing Gene’s family again.  Her family, she supposed, if she was truthful with herself.  The Davises and Adrian were the only family she wanted.

“Luella?” she said suddenly.  The woman looked at her.  “Don’t tell them about—about what happened.  With Jason.  Please?”

“Certainly.  But I’m sure they’ll ask.”

“I’ll come up with something.”  Kate gave Luella her first genuine smile of the day.  “I just don’t want them to know.  Not yet, at least.”  She stood and hugged the elder woman, though her left arm more or less hung by her side.

Luella hugged her back, then released her and headed for the door.  “Until tomorrow then.”

“Tomorrow at five,” Kate confirmed.

Adrian opened the door for Luella, who gave her a grateful smile and left.

“Who was it on the phone?” Kate laid down on the couch, her eyes closed as Adrian shut the door and locked it.

“Angel.”  Adrian sat in one of the armchairs and shook out her hair from its braid.  “He wanted to make sure we were getting settled—which is ridiculous, since it’s been a month—but he also had some news about Jason.”  Kate did not reply, which Adrian took as her cue to continue.  “He’s trying to get an appeal.  Angel says the lawyers are telling him it won’t go through, though.  Which is good news.”

Kate grunted.  “He’s still locked up, right?”

“Right.  Not really a chance of his getting out right now.”  Adrian looked up from rebraiding her hair.  “Will you be okay?  Seeing them tomorrow?”

The younger witch sighed, running her right hand over her face.  “Yeah.  I guess.  I mean, I have to try.  They’re the only family I’ve got, apart from you.”  She grimaced as she sat up, her left arm moving strangely.  “I think I need the sling today.”

“I’ll grab it.  Hopefully you won’t need it tomorrow.”  Rising, Adrian headed out of the room to grab the object.

Kate ran her hand over her face again, letting it settle on her chin.  What sort of excuse could she make for her injuries?  She’d need to think.

-------

The next day, the two witches were ushered into the Davis mansion with a smile from Luella.  “Everyone’s in the garden, dears.  I’ll join you shortly after I check on dinner.”

Kate led the way outside with some trepidation, which only increased as the laughter of children reached her ears.  She adjusted her sling, then stepped around the hedge to find Mai playing tag with the twins while Oliver sat on a bench, the toddler in his lap, talking to his father.  The sight stopped her, and she gripped Adrian’s arm.

The elder witch muttered something in Spanish.  “What?” Kate asked, then glanced down at where she held tight onto her arm.  Blood had begun to drain from Adrian’s arm there.  “Oh.  Sorry.”  She immediately released it, and the dark-haired witch massaged the area.  “Sorry,” Kate repeated.  Her eyes were trained on the toddler who had escaped Oliver’s lap and was now running around the clearing.

Little Takumi suddenly caught sight of Kate and Adrian and ran as fast as his little legs could carry him towards them.  “Hi!” he said, stopping in front of them.

Kate knelt—with Adrian’s help—to his level and smiled.  He really did look like Eugene.  “Hello, Takumi.”

His head titled.  “How d’you know my name?”

“Your grandmother told me.  Is that okay?”

He nodded enthusiastically.  “What’s your name?”

“I’m Kate, and this is my friend Adrian.  Why don’t we walk you back over to your father?”  After he nodded again, he ran back over to Oliver and began talking excitedly to him, as Kate and Adrian followed at a more sedate pace.

Oliver glanced up, and his eyes widened at the sight of them.  “Mai!” he called, standing.  Martin turned to look and jumped to his feet.

“Kate!” said her father-in-law, hurrying over to her and embracing her.  “It’s so good to see you!  Here, come sit down.”  He led her over to the bench he and Oliver had been sitting on.

Gene’s twin took her free hand in both of his, looking her in the eye.  “Mai’s missed you,” he said, and gave her the tiniest of smiles.  Kate knew it meant he’d missed her too.  She smiled back at him and sat down on the bench.

“I’ll go find Mai and the twins,” Martin said before walking off.

“Takumi, this is your Aunt Kate,” Oliver said seriously.  He picked the little boy up and deposited him in her lap.  “Say hello.”

“I already did,” the toddler replied.  “Papa, what does ‘aunt’ mean?”

“It means that Kate is my sister.”

The witch’s eyes filled with tears.  After all these years—after everything that had happened—he still considered her family.  “Thank you, Oliver,” she said quietly.

“Aunt Kate?” Takumi asked.  “Why are you crying?”

She smiled at the little boy.  “It’s because I’m so happy to meet you.  It’s been a long time since I’ve seen your mother and father.  I didn’t even know about you until yesterday!  Now tell me, what do you do for fun?”

“I read and play in the gardens!  Sometimes I chase the house elves, but Mama doesn’t like it when I do that.”

“I can understand why!  Don’t the poor elves have work to do?”  Kate grinned, running her hand through Takumi’s hair.  It was soft and silky.

“Kate!”  Mai came running from somewhere in the gardens and embraced her tightly.  “I’ve missed you so!  Where have you been?”

It started out as the usual one of her father dueling Lucius Malfoy. Then she blinked, and instead of her father, it was Gene trying desperately to hold his own against the more-skilled wizard.  Everything around them was on fire, and then Gene flew backwards, hitting the stone wall with a sickening crack.  Kate screamed.

She woke with a start.  The other girls in her dorm were standing around her, looking concerned.  ”S-sorry,” she stammered.  ”I was—nightmare—did I wake you?”  Her hands, touching her face, came away wet.  She was crying.

Jessica looked annoyed, but all the girls were distracted by a shout from down the corridor.

"Gene," Kate whispered, throwing the bedclothes aside and running from the room.  She practically launched herself at her husband, who was waiting in the common room.

"I heard you screaming," he said as he wrapped his arms around her.

"Nightmare. You—dead," she replied, her hands fisting in the material of his pyjamas.

"It’s all right," he murmured. "I’m right here, safe and sound.  So are you."  He inclined his head and kissed her briefly.

Kate continued to cling to him.  ”Stay with me,” she pleaded.  ”I can’t—I haven’t—nightmares.”

"I know.  That’s why I’m awake."  He guided her to one of the larger sofas.  "Our souls are bonded, remember?"

She nodded against his chest, breathing in his familiar scent.  School was always awful, because she was never able to sleep in the comfort of his arms, but maybe tonight….

"We can sleep out here tonight.  I think this sofa’s big enough."  He kissed her again, slowly pulling her hands from his pyjamas.  "I’m going to get my blanket, all right?"

Kate shook her head, which made him sigh.

"Come with me then.  But you can’t come inside.  It’ll just be a moment."

She followed him to his dorm room, clutching his hand, dropping it only when he vanished inside.  The moment without him seemed to last forever, but when he reappeared in the doorway to his dorm and took her hand, everything was better.

As they nestled beneath his blanket, Kate safely wedged between Gene and the back of the couch, Kate whispered, “I love you.”

"I love you too."  He kissed the top of her head, then looked to make sure she was completely covered.  "Go to the Hospital Wing tomorrow and see about some Dreamless Sleep Potion, okay?  O.W.L.s are coming up."

Kate nodded, but she wasn’t focusing on O.W.L.s.  Things were rapidly coming to a head outside of Hogwarts, and she had to make sure Gene was protected.  She would start on the wards immediately.  The only setback would be getting some of his blood.

She was pondering ways to do it as she finally fell asleep.

----

Over the next week, their housemates found them cuddled together on the same couch every morning.  The Dreamless Sleep Potion had worked, but Kate had begged Gene to stay with her, and he couldn't bring himself to say no.

Kate had managed to transfigure a locket similar to her own and was working on weaving as many wards as she could into it.  As long as he kept it close, it would protect him from almost anything.

On April 30, it was done.  All it needed was his blood.  Just a smear on the inside would do, just enough to activate the magic and tie it to him.

She considered Gene, who was staring at his Charms homework, then stood, leaning over him.

"This is wrong," she murmured, her lips close to his ear as she pointed to a spot on his essay.

"Yeah?" His voice was soft as he turned his head to look at her.  "What part of it?"

Her eyes were warm.  "The Shielding Charms... your definitions are off.  None of them will protect against the Unforgivables, even Protego Horribilis, which is the one that protects against dark magic, not Protego Totalum."  It was the one thing that worried her, the fact that she couldn't protect him against the Unforgivables.

He didn't see the change in her expression as he had turned back to his essay and was crossing out the offending section.

“How do you know so much about Shielding Charms, anyway?”

With a nod to herself, Kate sat back down next to him and pulled out the locket.  "Because I was making this."  At his look of confusion, she added, "It's for you.  Infused with as many protective spells as possible, all tightly woven together.  It just needs something to activate it and hone it to your magic."

He was staring at her.  "Kate, I--"

"All it needs is blood.  It's the strongest bond there is."

"You're supposed to be studying for O.W.L.s," he said, picking up the locket.  "But instead you were doing this?  For me?"  He looked at the locket around her neck.  "I hope you were putting wards on your own."

"The wards don't take that long, actually.  I can do them tonight.  It was the research that took a while."  She touched his arm.  "Will you wear it?  I made the chain long, so you can hide it beneath your robes."

"Promise me you'll start studying?"

She nodded, so he pulled his penknife from his bag and cut his finger with it, then smeared the locket with the blood.  The locket glowed blue before fading.  Kate grabbed his hand and murmured the spell to heal it, kissing his palm and holding it against her face for a moment before speaking again.

"I love you."

"I love you too," he replied, slipping the chain over his neck before kissing her properly.

"Oi, get a room!" said a passing Gryffindor.

Gene grinned at Kate.  "I wish we could."

She nodded.  "It's been a while."  As if to close the issue, she pulled out her Ancient Runes book.

It was too dangerous with Voldemort's lackeys ruling the school, though.  With the professor Kate feared most at the top, there was no way she would risk anything like it.

"I did hear of a place, though," he murmured thoughtfully.  "Zacharias Smith mentioned it in passing.  Said it created a safe haven when Potter and his friends needed a place to practice defensive spells without Umbridge finding out.  Could do the same for us."

Kate didn't look up from her text, but her hand had moved to his leg under the table.

Gene continued on. "Of course, you should be studying..."

"Sod studying," she said suddenly.  "Something's going to happen, and soon.  Why do you think I was making that?"  She gestured to the locket.  "I'd rather spend the time with you."

He shut her book with a snap.  "Well then," he purred, leaning close to her ear, "let's go spend some quality time together."

---

There were no classes after noon the next day due to the news that Harry Potter had broken into Gringotts.  Despite this development, there was no real change in the students’ behaviour, as threats from the Carrows and the presence of the Death Eaters frightened them into obedience.

Kate and Gene spent the time not studying, but together in a hidden room, exercising their conjugal rights.  It was after one of these sessions that Kate clutched Gene to her, nails still digging into his back, and whispered, “Stay here. Just a little bit longer.”

His weight on top of her, his scent, the feel of his body against her own—all of it made her feel safe.

He rested his head in the crook of her neck, leaning on his forearms.  “I don’t want to crush you.”

“I don’t care,” she breathed, her grip tightening, which made him hiss slightly.  Whether it was from pain or pleasure—or both—she wasn’t sure.  “I just want you here—with me—safe.”

A low, throaty chuckle escaped him.  “I’m not exactly sure how safe we are here, Kate.”  His voice was husky from their lovemaking, and Kate had to close her eyes so that she wouldn’t immediately demand another round.  He nipped at her neck.  “Now, are you going to let me go, little cat, or are we going to stay here all evening?”

“You know what my preference is,” she replied, but reluctantly released him.  He pulled out of her and rolled to the side, propping his head up on an elbow.  She immediately missed his warmth and wrapped her arms around herself.

“We’ll need to get some dinner sometime,” he reasoned, brushing hair from her face.  His hand traveled down her neck, past her collarbone, and swooped under her arms to caress her right breast.  She let out a soft moan as his thumb rubbed her nipple.

“Once more into the breach?” she suggested breathily, arching into his touch, hands falling to her sides, then wandering to touch him anywhere, everywhere.

Gene paused, contemplating.  She took the chance to push him over and straddle him, making his eyes go wide.  “Dinner,” he gasped, trying ignore the sensations she was creating down there.  “We need to eat—regain fluids—”

It helped that Kate’s stomach let out a soft rumble just then.  With a sigh, she glared down at it, then looked at his face.  “Promise I can have you for afters?”

He let out a snort.  “What are you going to do, eat me?”  Then he let out a gasp as she reached behind her and stroked him, looking at him through her eyelashes.

“Maybe,” she purred.

Growling, he yanked her down towards him and kissed her hungrily, rolling over so that he was on top again.  “Feisty—kitty,” he said between kisses.  “Wants to—play—does she?”

Kate batted her eyelashes at him as he pulled away before leaning forward and kissing his nose.  “I love you, Gene.”

“I love you too, Kitty-Kate.  Now how about dinner?”  He got to his feet and held out his hand, helping her stand up.

“Okay.  But we’ll come back here after, promise?”  She looped her arms around him, nuzzling his chest.

Laughing, he kissed her head.  “You’re so insistent.  That time of the month?”

“No!” she objected.  Her cheeks were turning pink.  It was true that she did get…needy…for several days during the month, but that wasn’t why she wanted to spend so much time with him lately.  “I’m just worried about what’s going to happen.”

His arms tightened around her.  “We’ll be all right.  We’ll take care of each other.”

“Promise?”

“Promise.  Now, let’s find your bra.  I think I threw it over here…”

Kate let out a giggle as he turned to gather their clothes.  There was a reason he called her a cat.  Gene’s back was covered in scratch marks.  “I should trim my nails,” she mused.

“You should,” he agreed, tossing her her knickers.  “You should also fix my back before we go down to dinner.”

She wrinkled her nose and pulled them on.  “Nah.  It’ll keep you to your promise.”  Giving him an impish smile, she wriggled into her skirt.

Several minutes later, they made it safely down to dinner.  “Where have you been?” asked Jessica.

“Revising for O.W.L.s,” Kate replied.  “Something you should consider, judging from your latest exam grades.”

Jessica went pink.  “How do you—”

“Don’t leave them lying about in the Common Room where everyone can see them.”  Kate turned away and served herself some shepherd’s pie.

The rest of dinner passed without comment from their Housemates, and Gene and Kate excused themselves to continue “revising.”

“Now, insistent Kitty-Kate,” Gene laughed when they were safely ensconced in the room once more, “what were you saying about having me for afters?”

She dropped her bag and kissed him.

---

Kate blinked slowly, registering dim candlelight.  Bollocks.  They’d both fallen asleep.  Glancing at her watch, she winced.  It was after ten, well past curfew.  Quietly, so as not to disturb Gene, she stood and began getting dressed.

There was the sound of footsteps in the hall, and she froze.  Hushed whispers—something about Harry Potter in the castle.  She let out a quiet curse and dug her wand out of the pocket of her robes.  So it would happen tonight.  Offering up a silent apology to her husband, she whispered, “Stupefy.” That would ensure that he stayed unconscious while she did what she had to do.

She pulled her penknife and a roll of parchment from her bag, then went back over to Gene.  Quickly healing the marks she’d left on his back, she got to work.  After unfurling the parchment, she read over the notes she’d made, before making a quick slice of her index finger with the penknife, wincing as she did so.  Then she began to draw runes on his chest as she muttered an incantation with her wand in her left hand.  When it was completed, it glowed golden, sinking into his chest and disappearing.  He’d never know.  She was already bleeding, so she opened up her locket and reactivated it, then took his finger and reactivated his.  The more protection, the better.  Once she’d healed both their fingers and cleared up the blood, penknife, and parchment, she pointed her wand at him and said, “Rennervate.”

Gene woke with a start, looking confused.  “Kate?  What—did we fall asleep?  What time is it?”

Kate passed him his clothes.  “After ten.  You need to get dressed; something’s happening.”

He obediently began pulling on his boxers.  “What do you mean?”

There was a bang from the hallway.

“I think Potter’s here,” she whispered urgently.  “I’m sure he’s coming to fight him.  We need to get to the Common Room, find out what’s going on.”

“If we’re fighting, then I’m fighting,” he said with a determined expression as he pulled his shirt on over his head.  His fingers paused as he fastened the buttons.  “That wasn’t there before, was it?”

The witch mentally cursed. The main rune was still visible, just faintly glowing beneath Gene’s skin.  It was hard to see unless you were close to it.  “No,” she admitted after a moment.  “It wasn’t.”

“What is it?”

“Protection.  Here’s your shoes.  Hurry, I hear other people.”

Pulling them on, he said, “What sort of protection, Kate?”

“Protection for you.  I assumed you were going to fight when I heard people in the hall discussing Potter and I knew—I knew—that something was going to happen tonight.  I have to protect you.  I have to, Gene.”  She was near tears.  Why did she have this awful foreboding sense that something terrible would happen tonight?  Why had it only come upon her in the last couple of weeks?

“Hey, don’t cry,” Gene said quickly, taking her hand.  “C’mon, give me a smile.”  Kate managed to give him a tremulous smile, her eyes still watery.  “There’s my Kitty-Kate.”  He kissed her, then grabbed his bag and swung open the door.

They were met by the entirety of Gryffindor House, all trooping downstairs.  One of the prefects sniffed disdainfully at them, but Kate just grabbed Gene’s hand and joined the throng of younger students.

“Really though, what is it?” Gene asked curiously, touching his chest.

“A rune for protection.  Directly into your body, the magic flowing through your veins.”

He stopped and stared at her, making a first year bump into him.  “Kate… That’s very advanced magic.  How did you manage it?”

She ducked her head, which meant she was embarrassed.  “I had help.  Flitwick, Vector, and Babbling all looked at my theory and calculations and approved it.”

“Why aren’t you in Ravenclaw again?” he asked, wrapping his arm around her as they began moving.

“They can be snooty,” she replied.  “I’m too open-minded.  Too loyal, too friendly.  That’s what the Hat said.”  Kate looked up at him through her eyelashes.  “You’re not mad?”

“I can’t be when you’ve done something as cool as this.”  He ducked down and gave her a peck on the lips.  “But you know you’ve got to go home now.  These spells take a lot of magic, don’t they?”

“I know,” she murmured as they reached the Entrance Hall.  “That’s why I did it.”

They sat down with the Hufflepuffs, who gave them strange looks as most of them were still in their pyjamas, and Kate and Gene were in their school clothes.  McGonagall spoke, and then was cut off as Voldemort’s voice filled the hall, demanding Harry Potter.  Kate gripped Gene’s hand tightly, feeling faint.  But soon it ended, and the Slytherins were being led out, followed by the Ravenclaws.

Gene walked Kate as far as the Entrance Hall as their house was moved out.  He turned to look at her, only to find her crying.  “Kate—”

She shook her head and pulled him close, wrapping her arms around him tightly.  “Come back to me, Eugene Davis,” she said.  “Promise you’ll come back to me.”

He brushed hair from her face.  “I promise I’ll try my damnedest,” he replied.  “I love you, Katelyn Davis.”

“I love you too,” she murmured before kissing him deeply, her wand hand splayed on his chest.  It glowed gold for a moment before she pulled away, looking a little dazed.

Gene could actually feel the spell now.  It tingled slightly as it pulsed through his veins.  “Kate, you beautiful idiot.  Stop shoving magic in me.”  He kissed her deeply once more, then pushed her into the arms of one of the Gryffindor prefects.  “Go home and rest.  I’ll see you later.”

“I love you,” she repeated as the prefect led her away.

“Love you too.  Let Mum and Dad know what’s going on.”  He turned and disappeared back into the Great Hall as Kate moved up the marble staircase toward safety.

---

Kate practically fell from the fireplace in the sitting room of the Davis mansion.  Luella, who had been sitting there reading, gasped and hurried to help her up, brushing soot from her clothes.

“What’s happened?  Where’s Gene?” she asked as she led Kate to the couch and sat her down.

“Harry Potter.  You-Know-Who.  They’re battling at Hogwarts.  Gene made me leave.  He’s fighting.”

Luella let out a soft cry.  “I need to tell Martin.”

“I tried to protect him as much as I could,” Kate mumbled.  The clock on the mantelpiece began chiming midnight, and she went still.  “It’s starting.”

“You stay right here, dear.  I’ll go tell Martin and get some tea.”  Luella patted her hand and hurried off once Kate nodded mutely.

The next few hours were tense.  Kate seemed to have less and less energy.  At some points she sat up and gasped, as if something had happened to Gene, then settled back down, though looking paler than before.  The cup of tea sat forgotten in front of her.

Then, something happened.  Kate’s eyes went wide, her body going rigid, and she whispered “Gene…” before letting out a horrifying scream and fainting dead away.

Martin came running into the room.  “What’s happened?” he asked Luella, who was checking Kate’s pulse.  “I heard a scream.”

“It was Kate.”  Luella looked up at him.  “She said his name before she screamed, then collapsed.  Martin, does that mean—?”  She couldn’t bear to even think that her eldest son might be dead.

His expression was grim.  “It does not bode well.  Let’s get Kate upstairs.  Then I’ll go to the school and find out what’s going on.  We’d better prepare for the worst.”

Luella could not stop the tears that began to flow at the thought of Gene being gone, and Kate without him.  The girl would be devastated.

---

It had been searing pain, like she was being torn in two, and then merciful darkness.  Now, Kate found herself in a meadow full of wildflowers, with snow-covered mountains in the distance.  Large, puffy cumulus clouds floated through the sky.  It was basically one of those cliché dream-meadows that she’d read about in Muggle fiction.

A figure approached her from the distance.  Kate squinted, trying to see who it was.  As soon as she recognized him, she began to cry, with great heaving sobs that brought her to her knees.

He ran to her side and pulled her into his arms.  “Kitty-Kate, love, it’s all right.”

She shook her head.  “It’s not,” she sobbed.  “Y-you’re dead.  And it—it hurts.”  Her chest felt like it was on fire, and it wasn’t from lack of air.  She coughed.

Gene rubbed her back soothingly.  “I’m sorry.  I couldn’t dodge that Killing Curse.  But”—he tipped her chin up so he could look at her—“I’m pretty sure your rune tried to stop it.  That may be why it hurts.  I’m no expert, but I think that spell of yours was taking magic from you to reinforce the protections whenever I got hit with something.  It never seemed to fade; it just got stronger.”

Kate hiccupped.  “I was feeling more and more tired as the night went on.”  She paused.  “Did they—did they leave me on the couch?  I must have passed out.”

“Mother took you up to our room.  Father’s at the school, getting my body, and they’ll put me in my old bedroom.  Noll and Mai and the twins are on their way here from Japan.  I think Noll probably felt it.”  He pulled her into his lap and kissed the top of her head.  “I’m sorry, Kate.”

“Did we win?  Is he dead?  For sure this time?” she asked after a moment of silence.

“Yes.  Potter and his friends took good care of that.”

Nodding, she closed her eyes.  “I’m so tired of the fighting.”

“I know, love.  I know.”

There was another longer period of silence before Kate spoke again, her voice barely above a whisper.

“When I told you to come back, I meant alive.”

He sighed.  “I wish I could.  But this may be fate.  You’re destined for some great things, Kate.  I came back to say goodbye.”

Her eyes filled with tears again.  “I don’t want to.  I don’t want to do great things if you’re not there.”

“But you will.  There’s a man who will fill the space I’m leaving behind, and you will have four beautiful children with him.”

“I wanted to have children with you!”

Gene held her as she began to sob again.  He had never really believed in Divination, but now that he was dead it seemed that he was precognitive.  His eyes unfocused for a moment, and then he said, “Mother has a Healer looking you over.”

“I don’t care if I die,” she said fiercely through her tears.  “There’s no point living without you.”

His arms loosened around her.  “I was going to stay until you woke up, but if that’s how you feel, then I should probably leave now.”

“No!” she yelped, clutching his shirt—his arm—anything she could reach.  “Not yet—please, not yet!”

“You have to promise to keep going, Kitty-Kate,” he murmured.  “Promise me that you’ll keep on living when you wake up, and I’ll stay until then.”

“How long?” She continued to cling to him.

His eyes unfocused again.  “A few days.  Five at most, according to the Healer.”

“Not enough,” she mumbled.  He looked at her and gently wiped tears from her face.

“You should have only slept for a few hours with the bond being broken,” he replied, brushing more tears away.  “But with your magical energy depleted and possibly a partial absorption of the Killing Curse…”  He kissed the top of her head.  “They don’t know that, though.  And they probably shouldn’t.  People might start experimenting.”

Kate nodded, her expression hardening.  “The spell needs work.  It shouldn’t have kept draining me.  I’ll need to speak with the professors.”

“You shouldn’t experiment with the spell either,” he chided her gently.  “You need to recover first.  You’ll be on bed rest for a while.”

She shook her head.  “I can’t.  There’s too much to do.  Your funeral, I have to be there.  Then—then O.W.L.s, I suppose.”

Gene smiled.  “So you’ll keep moving forward?”

Her eyes closed briefly, and she nodded before opening them and looking him in the eye.  “I promise.  I’ll be the top in my year, every year.”

“Now you’re sounding ambitious.”  He kissed her forehead.  “You were already the top in your year, weren’t you?”

“I’ll stay there,” she said stubbornly.  “I won’t falter.  I promise.”

“Good.”  He kissed her then, and fresh tears began to fall from her eyes.

“I’ll never get to kiss you again,” she whispered against his lips.

“No,” he murmured back, lips still touching hers.  “But there are loads of other people to kiss out there, Kate.”

“They can wait,” she decided, and kissed him deeply.

---

Several days passed, and Kate began to accept that Gene would not be there when she woke up.  She often dozed off in this dreamscape, and he took to making himself scarce when she awoke.  He’d watch her as she wandered around, dipping her feet into the lake that had appeared, then finally emerge from the shadows to take her hand.  Every day he was there less and less, but he made sure he was with her when she fell asleep, because eventually she would wake not in the dreamscape, but in their bed at the Davis Mansion.

The fourth day of Kate’s physical slumber slipped by.  “What if I don’t wake up?” she asked, trying to hide the fear in her voice.

“You will,” Gene reassured her, tucking a daisy into her hair.  They were lying in the wildflowers, watching the clouds go by. She would wake very soon in fact, but he daren’t tell her.

Kate took in a deep breath, relaxing against his chest.  The lack of a heartbeat still unnerved her, but he was still Gene.  He still seemed to breathe—at least, he did here, in her dream.

Clouds rolled in from the mountains.  Gene ran his fingers through Kate’s hair, something he knew would soothe her into sleep.  It was time.

Just before she fell completely asleep, Kate could swear she heard Gene whisper, “I love you, Kitty-Kate.  Goodbye.”  She wanted to wake up, but she was too far along—something was pulling her into the darkness of slumber.

Her eyes snapped open to view not the sky of her dreams, but the ivory ceiling of the room she shared with Gene at the Davis mansion.  The feelings of Gene’s fingers in her hair, his lips on her own still lingered, but he was no longer here.  She thought she’d cried all the tears out earlier, but a sob escaped her throat, and then she was turned over on her side, bawling.

She’d known it was a dream.  She’d known all along.  But the cold, physical reality still ached.  Footsteps echoed down the hall, and Luella burst through the door and hurried to the bed.

“Kate!  Kate, oh, thank Merlin!  We were afraid—” She cut herself off, and instead gathered the sobbing girl into her arms.

“Gene,” Kate managed to say, her tears slowing.  “I need to see Gene.”

Luella’s own eyes filled with tears.  “Sweetie…”

“I know,” Kate said after a moment.  She wiped the tears from her eyes.  “I know.  But I need to see him.”  To emphasize this, she pushed the sheets—and Luella—away from her so that she could swing her legs around to the side of the bed.

“You shouldn’t be getting up,” her mother-in-law protested, but Kate ignored her.  Shakily, she stood and made her way over to the door.

“I need to see him,” she repeated, and stepped into the hall.  Slowly, she made her way to Gene’s former bedroom, keeping close to the walls in case she needed the support.  Her legs felt like rubber.  He had been serious when he’d said she would need bed rest for a while.

Finally, she reached it and eased the door open.  There he was on the bed, pale and unmoving.  She choked back more tears and almost blindly made her way to the bed.  “Idiot,” she growled at him.  “Idiot, idiot, idiot.  You could have said goodbye while I was awake.”  Her legs gave out from under her, and she angrily swiped away tears after falling to the floor.

“Too much like Daddy, that’s the problem with you.  Headstrong, rushing into things, and getting killed because of it.”  She swallowed.  “I promised to keep going, and I will, but it’s going to take time, Gene.  You were my first love; you were my true love.  Nothing’s going to change that.  You may say differently, but I won’t believe you.  And I’ll never stop missing you.  Never.  Every day something will remind me of you, and I’ll miss you.  But I’ll move on.  I promised.”

There was a sob from the doorway, and Kate looked up to see Luella with a hand to her mouth.  The younger witch closed her eyes and leaned against the side of the bed, exhaustion sweeping over her.

“Don’t move me,” Kate managed to say.  “I want to stay with him.”  Then she fainted.

Kate woke again several hours later as a Healer poked and prodded at her.  “Sod off,” she muttered to the Healer upon realizing that she was not in Gene’s room.  “I’ll be fine.”

“Kate!” Luella gasped.  The girl had never been rude to anyone before.

The Healer looked at the elder witch and smiled.  “I’ve had worse,” he said, and turned back to Kate.  “Now young lady, you’ve lost a lot of magical energy, and need to take it easy for a while.  Definitely no strenuous activity and no magic.  That shouldn’t be a problem since you’re still underage.”

Kate grumbled something under her breath, but allowed the Healer to continue to inspect her.  When Luella left the room to show him out, Kate immediately got out of bed.  At least they’d only moved her across the hall.  She slipped into Gene’s room and shut the door.

There were no wounds on his body that Kate could see as she sat down in a chair that had appeared during the time she was asleep.  However, the rune on his chest continued to faintly glow beneath his shirt.  She reached out and touched it, before drawing back quickly.  It wasn’t right, touching him like this.  Not when he was—.  Her eyes closed.

“I was going to ask you about that when you woke up,” came Martin’s voice, and Kate’s eyes snapped open.  He gestured to Gene.  “The rune on his chest.  We tried to remove it, but it didn’t work.”

“Only I can remove it,” she said hollowly.  “It’s made with my blood.  Infused with my magic.  It’s probably draining it away still, just a tiny bit, so he’s still protected.”

“It’s draining your magic?”  Martin was frowning.

“An unforeseen side effect.  I’ll need to fix it.  That’s why I’m like this.”  She gestured to herself.  “Why I slept so long.  It was draining a lot during the battle.”  Talking theory helped take her mind off Gene.  If she could just throw herself into her studies, perhaps…  “I’m well enough to take it off,” she said after a moment.  “I’ll need my school bag and my wand.”

“Are you sure you’re all right doing it?”  He looked at her with concern.  She looked very small and frail in that wingback chair.

“I can’t bury him until I do.”  She seemed awfully calm, Martin thought.  He shrugged it off.

“I’ll be right back with your things.”

Kate moved onto the bed to sit beside Gene once Martin left.  He looked so peaceful.  She reached out to touch his cheek, barely brushing it with her fingertips before drawing back quickly.  Cold.  He was so cold.  It was unnatural to touch him now.  A tear fell onto his cheek, and she brushed it away with her sleeve.  Inhaling, she turned to his chest and began unbuttoning his shirt.  They hadn’t changed him out of his uniform for some reason.  Perhaps waiting for her to wake up?

“Here are your things, Kate.”  Martin set her bag next to her and handed over her wand.  “Are you sure?” he asked again.

She just nodded and began digging around in her bag for her penknife.  Retrieving it and the scroll of her notes, she turned back to Gene’s body.  There was a gasp as she sliced the tip of her finger with the knife, and Kate glanced up to see Luella in the doorway.

“Why don’t you just bring Oliver and Mai in and let them watch the spectacle too?” she grumbled, checking her notes as she massaged her finger to get blood going.

The rune to reverse the spell was drawn on Gene’s chest, and Kate murmured the incantation.  There was a blue glow, and then both it and the golden glow vanished, along with the runes.  The younger witch sat back against the headboard with a sigh.

Luella hurried forward and healed Kate’s finger before pulling her wand and the materials for the spell away from her.  “Martin,” she scolded, “how could you let her do this?  She’s only just woken up!”

“I can’t move on until we bury him, and we couldn’t do that until I removed the spell,” Kate said without opening her eyes.  “I’ll rest—I’ll rest when we’ve done it.”

Luella’s eyes filled with tears, and she gathered Kate in her arms.  “Oh Kate, darling, I’m sorry.  This must be so hard for you.”

“You’re his mother,” Kate replied flatly.  “I’m just his wife.”

“Don’t say that!  You two were bonded for life!”

“His life, apparently.”  Kate glanced over at his body, then closed her eyes again.  “I’d like to leave now.”

“Of course,” Martin said, and Luella released her to allow him to scoop Kate into his arms.  “Where to?  The room across the hall, or…?”

“Our room.”  Kate needed to be near his things—to be near her memories of him.  Martin simply nodded.

Once they had her tucked in, Luella hovered anxiously at Kate’s bedside after Martin left.  “Are you hungry?  The Healer made sure you got some nutrients and that you were hydrated, but surely you’re thirsty.”

“Water would be fine.”  Kate did not meet Luella’s eyes.  She was sure that if she ate anything at the moment, it would simply come back up.  When she heard Luella leave the room, she moved to the trunks by the wall and pulled out one of Gene’s shirts.  It still smelled of him.  With a sigh, she crawled back into bed and, cradling the shirt to her chest, she fell asleep.

---

The funeral was held two days later.  Kate had avoided seeing Oliver, though Mai had brought the twins, now a year old, to visit her.  She’d cried at the sight of them, remembering her conversation with Gene, and Mai had left soon after.

There were whispers all around as she sat stoically near his casket.  Kate had determined that she would not cry in front of anyone.  Not today.  She did not utter a word, merely inclined her head in acceptance as people offered their condolences—not that they knew anything about their relationship.  The only people who’d known were their immediate family and Professors Sprout, McGonagall, and Dumbledore.

A hand landed on her shoulder.  She glanced upward, and her eyes widened as she found Holly standing there with Doug beside her.

“I’m so sorry for your loss,” Holly said.  Kate nodded mutely.  There was a reason they were here.  They wouldn’t just show up.  Her answer was received when the grip on her shoulder tightened.  “We’ve come to take you home, Katelyn.”

Kate opened her mouth, but no words came out.  She was yanked unceremoniously upward by Doug, who then twisted her arm behind her back.  A gasp escaped her at the painful position.  “Shut up and let’s go,” he said, beginning to drag her toward the door.

“You must be Holly and Doug,” said Luella from behind them.  “I’ve heard quite a lot about you.”  They turned to look at the witch, who had her hands in the pockets of her mourning robes.  “I’m honored that you would come to my son’s funeral.

“We’re only here to take Kate home,” Holly replied, a false smile on her face.

“Home?  Her home’s right here.”  Martin had joined Luella, along with a tall man that Kate knew to be an Auror.

“We have custody again.”  Doug’s voice was gruff, and his grip tightened on Kate’s wrist, making her wince.

“That’s not actually the case,” cut in a woman with strawberry blonde hair.  “I’m the Davises’ lawyer, Madoka Mori,” she said, holding out her hand for Holly to shake before dropping it when Holly glared at her.  “Anyway,” she continued, “the Davises retain legal custody of her, as they are the parents of her husband.  It’s old Wizarding Law, I’m afraid.  You can certainly try and fight it, if you’d like.”  Then she smiled dangerously, as if she would like nothing more.

Holly and Doug glared at them all, their plans foiled.

“Now, if you’d care to release my daughter-in-law and leave, it would be much appreciated.”  It was clear to Kate that Luella was holding her wand within her pocket, ready to duel if necessary.

Doug let Kate go with a growl and shoved her harshly towards the others.  “We’ll see,” was all he said before he stalked off with Holly.

Kate sank into a chair, and Luella sat beside her.  “It’ll be all right, dear.  We’ll always protect you.”

She simply nodded.  If only they could just get this day over with, then she could move on.  A soft breeze rustled her hair, and it was almost as if ghostly fingers were running through it.  She closed her eyes, inhaled, and stood before walking resolutely back to her place beside her husband’s casket. If you’re there, Gene…I can make it through this.  I will make it through this.  I will keep my promise.

The funeral went off without any more problems.  Luella had asked Kate to speak, but the girl found herself unable to, and so Oliver took her place.  He’d known Gene for longer, anyway.  Kate kept her eyes glued to the floor the entire time he spoke.  She couldn’t bear to look at him—he looked too much like Gene.

As they stood beside the grave, Kate felt the ghostly fingers in her hair again.  Her eyes closed, and solitary tear slipped down her cheek.

“Goodbye,” she whispered just before they lowered the casket into the ground.  “I will always, always love you.”

Then she turned away and began the journey back to the house, only to collapse a few steps away from the fatigue of the day.  It wasn’t surprising, of course.  She was supposed to be on bed rest, and she’d been walking around for quite a while this morning.  The poor girl was both emotionally and physically exhausted.

Martin and Luella just gave each other knowing looks before Martin gathered Kate into his arms and carried her back to her room.

---

Kate threw herself into studying.  Hogwarts would be repaired by September, and she needed to take her O.W.L.s so that she could keep her promise.

Mai, Oliver, and the twins returned to Japan.  They’d made a home there, and felt more comfortable, but promised to visit often.  Kate could not help but feel that it was partially her fault that they moved back.  She still couldn’t bear to look at Oliver.  Even though she knew he was a completely different person, he was still too similar to Gene.

At the end of the summer, she received the results of her examinations.  She’d received Outstandings in eight of her classes, and Exceeds Expectations in the other two.  Gene would be so proud.

The next two years of school were dull and somber without him.  Kate continued to receive top grades.  Someone had asked her out once, during her seventh year, but the way she’d reacted—by bursting into tears—had thrown any boy off of her.

She graduated from Hogwarts at the top of her class—just as she’d promised Gene.

But she needed a new start.  There was an academy in California, in the United States that taught magic beyond the Hogwarts level.  If she was truly destined for great things, then she needed more training, didn’t she?

Luella and Martin greeted the news of her decision to leave with protest.  She had a home with them, and was safe.  Kate just continued packing.  She had to leave.  To make a new beginning.

“I’m sorry,” she said to them, her trunk floating beside her as she stood in the entranceway.  “I need to do this.”

Luella embraced her tightly.  “Promise to write.”

“Yes,” Kate said.  “I will.”

With a final nod, she pushed her trunk through the door and summoned the Knight Bus, leaving her old life behind.  Perhaps California would bring happier times.

Little did she know how wrong she was.

---------------------