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

A/N: Hi! So this is the first chapter of the fourth and final installment to my Ky Thornton series! If you're a new reader, it's advisable to read the first three stories before this one, hopefully you will like them enough to get back to this point! You can find the links to Phoenix Accession, Gemini Queen and Hallowed Life (to be read in that order) on my profile page.

To my old readers, I can't believe I've been writing Ky's story for this length of time, and it is with deep gratitude that I put out this chapter, for all of those who stuck with the story to this point.

You are amazing.

Not much else needs to be said apart from the fact that this story will be darker than Hallowed Life, it already had a different feel for me writing this chapter and I wonder whether you can feel the difference reading it. It's to be expected considering the climate that I left Ky in at the end of Hallowed Life but I hope it still pleases you.

Most importantly, I need your opinion on something considering it is your opinion that matters most in this regard. Since this story will have quite a bit of visions and memories, I have been warring with myself whether to continue writing in first person, or change over to third person because the visions and such are better described in that way. I can go either way, depending on what YOU want as you are the reader, so please let me know after reading this chapter which you prefer and I will proceed with the story in the chosen manner.

Enough of my gabbing, do read on and enjoy (…hopefully)

Kalina

Chapter One

Her rumbles of starvation was drowned out by a resounding clap of thunder, which painted the small town in a blink of electric blue and she hugged her arms closer about herself as the night's cold settled in.

The carriage that had delivered her rattled away, along with the last of her comfort and money.

She ducked out of the way of a pair of flustered men, lacking both the attire and decorum to present themselves as gentlemen and what reticence she had at entering the establishment left her when one of the two men whistled at her suggestively.

Castalia hurried through the door, the low hanging sign sporting the words 'Salem Inn' rattled above her head, a pungent aroma filling her nostrils as she walked into the tavern, which was bustling with people and hazy with smoke. She caught the smell again as a scantily clad waitress hastened passed with two large mugs of ale and she recognized the scent as beer, which she reminded herself is to be expected at a tavern after all.

Her stomach churned and she glanced nervously to her side, a few curls of her dark locks escaping her bun and falling before her apple green eyes, but nobody noticed her presence or heard her hunger in the lively venue and she made her way to the bar.

She was grateful that the grey haired barman was busy with another customer, it allowed her the opportunity to peruse the goods on display, but her expectations were quickly dashed as she observed the shelves before her.

She had never been to a tavern before, and all her knowledge of the place came from novels, but it seemed they did not in fact sell food, just lines and lines of liquor in all shapes and sizes.

Just as she was about to turn away and search elsewhere her eyes caught on a slice of pie, half eaten in a saucer on a counter below the shelves of alcohol… it must have been the barman's supper… she glanced behind her, it had been two days since she last ate…

And who knows if any place would be open at this time of night…

She'd just have a bite…

She glanced at the barmen who was busying himself with drinks and then back at the piece of pie…she concentrated on the golden crusted treat and felt a warmth in her limbs and watched as the raspberry filled dessert rose, she squinted her eyes as it floated towards her, it was an arms length away and she reached forward, but it slipped through her fingers as with a shriek her concentration broke.

The scantily clad waitress from before stared at her in frightened shock, but before the woman could say a word a tall figure cut between them, and with an indiscernible whisper the waitress' brown eyes glazed over.

"What is the matter Annie?" Boomed the barman, and the waitress turned to him, with a nonchalant shrug.

"Nothing." And with that she turned and trotted off.

The barman turned to the tall figure; a man with blue eyes that reminded Castalia of her brother, but lighter, like the sky on a bright Summers day, "What can I get you, Kaiser?"

The man named Kaiser never relented as he stared at her, yet answered the barman with a foreign accent that she knew she'd never be able to place, "Just a booth. And whatever the cook has made for supper, enough for two, Tim."

Her eyes widened and her hands found her elbows as she glanced at the floor, she had really gotten herself into it now… she'd read about men like this. Men who'd buy a girl supper and expect favors in return…

She glanced out the front window at the now pitch black night marred with blurry streaks of rain… perhaps she should find the closest church, rest the night there. She wasn't a Christian but surely they wouldn't turn her away.

"Your booth is ready Mr. Kaizer." The waitress had returned, and smiled at them both as if she never recalled witnessing anything out of the ordinary.

Mr. Kaizer nodded at the blonde woman briskly, she had a tray of warm broth in her hands and all thoughts of leaving retreated as Castalia's mouth salivated at the smell, and she followed them both to the back of the tavern, to a private booth.

Castalia stilled at the entrance, even as the waitress placed the only prospect of food she had down on the small wooden, white clothed, table and left them, contemplating her next move.

She could hear a voice errant with chastisement that sounded just like her mother echo in her mind that she was making a grave error.

That she was cutting her nose off to spite her face just to prove a point.

This very image had her stiffen her back straight and take a seat opposite the man, after all did she not leave home so she need never listen to her mother's nonsense ever again?

Plus, she was more than adequately capable of defending herself against anything this man could do.

She grasped her hands about her knees under the table to prevent herself from attacking the broth, even though her stomach burned with ache as she waited for the man to begin eating, table manners hammered into her from a young age and whilst she could ignore the imagined chidings of her mother, some things could not be unlearned.

Yet the thought of eating seemed the last thing on his mind as he stared at her with his cold summer sky eyes.

"What were you thinking?" He spoke again, in a deep voice that dripped with that foreign accent.

Castalia had assumed that he had not seen her try and steal the piece of pie and her face would have flushed if it had the energy to do so. "I don't know what you mean, Sir."

His dark brows furrowed slightly, his chestnut hair bright in the nearby lamp, "Now is not the time to feign ignorance, I saw what you did earlier. What were you thinking?"

Castalia swallowed thickly and glanced at the door, perhaps it was best to seek refuge elsewhere, but the smell of the broth itself seemed to chain her to her seat and she glanced helplessly at his untouched spoon, "I meant no harm. It had been a while since I've eaten." His spoon trembled slightly at her stare and she snapped her eyes away as he snapped his eyes to it and she looked guiltily at the floor, "I just wanted a bite or so, just to gather enough energy to walk to a church."

His stern features softened slightly and he lifted the spoon to his lips, Castalia's fingers trembled eagerly as she followed his suit and scooped an indecent amount of broth into her mouth. For a moment that stretched on indefinitely she felt complete satisfaction that warmed her from within.

"I was talking about… the means you used to accomplish the deed, not the deed itself."

Her lips stilled and she glanced at the man, so he did see… she glanced to the door again as he leaned forward, "Surely you know not to do such things in front of muggles. Especially here. The Trials may have been centuries ago but the muggles of this city are always on high alert. You should know to be careful, especially being an American yourself."

Castalia let her last sip wash down her throat, barely paying attention to the foreigner, she believed perhaps that he had begun speaking his own language, "Pardon me sir, but I don't speak…" She blushed, she couldn't identify the language. It had never been her strong suit, even if her mother had schooled her in Latin and French.

He leaned back, his broth still untouched and it took every bit of ingrained decorum to prevent Castalia from reaching forward and helping herself to his food, "Where are you from?"

"Victory State Forest, Vermont." She answered automatically, "And you?"

He narrowed his blue eyes down at her and pushed the bowl of broth towards her, she began protesting but her rumbling stomach dispelled all attempt of politeness and she dipped her spoon into it, "Germany. Which school do you attend?"

She stilled momentarily, his question bringing back an array of emotions within her and glared at the broth, "I've never been to school." She couldn't exactly explain to this man why and then she raised her head.

Now that she was somewhat satiated, she had the energy to realize that this man had seen her unnaturalness… and he was sitting here…. feeding her…

"Do you… are you sick as well?"

"Pardon?"

She flinched, her mother may not have been right to lock her away in their cabin for the past seventeen years, but it was hardly good common sense to disclose such information to a stranger. She laid down her spoon and tore her eyes away from the half full bowl and made to rise.

"Wait." He reached across the table and candidly stopped her with a hand to her elbow and she stilled at the warm touch.

Oh… he did expect something…

"You've never attended Salem Academy, which makes me think… perhaps… are you aware of what you are? Of what you can do?"

She stared at his long fingers which still remained on her elbow and he slowly removed them and she asked softly, "So you can do the same things as well?"

"Of course." He glanced at the door, removing a long stick from his pocket and pointed it at the exit, muttering in what she recognized was Latin, "This is as I am a wizard, and what I do is called magic."

She halted and let the word sink into her skin.

Magic.

The door slid open and the waitress returned with two plates of chicken and Castalia watched as he flicked the stick up into his sleeve as he waited for her to leave.

Suddenly her hunger was satisfied yet she could not say the same for her curiosity and she leaned forward, "What is that?"

He glanced at the closed door once more and then slowly removed the stick, it was long and dark with knobbly indentations along the length that looked like the berries she and her brother often picked from the bush in their back yard, "It's a wand. It's what magical people, like ourselves, use to perform magic. Does nobody in your family have a wand?" He leaned back as a flitter of unease crossed his face, "Are you a muggleborn?"

"I don't know what that word means." She replied softly, as she recalled the horrible fight she had with her mother three days ago that had her running away from home, "I don't know… I don't know." She shook her head, glancing at the floor and her lips trembled, "I feel as if everything is a lie."

He frowned, "Well, muggles are those people who cannot perform magic. Can your parents perform magic?"

She frowned in return, "My mother can't. Well not to my knowledge." She whispered, her strict yet lovable mother was now marred with the words that Castalia discovered had all been a lie and now she found it hard to trust anything the woman had told her, "I don't know about my… father." Her head snapped up, "Perhaps you know him? Perhaps he is what I am!"

His brow's rose at the eager expression on her face and he straightened in his chair, "There's thousands of wizards in the world…do you not…know your father?"

She picked at the table cloth, too heartbroken to speak just yet. A few beats of silence ticked by and she spoke to the white material, "It was always just me, my brother and my mother. I was odd, unnatural, so my mother thought it best to keep me home, prevent anybody from finding out… I was fine with that before I found out that my father is alive. If she lied to me of that, what else could she have lied to me about?" She shook her head again, the last three days of running and carriage rides catching up with her, "I can't live like that anymore… the loneliness… "

"You've run away from home." It was more a statement than a question and she nodded her head.

"After I found out that my father is still alive, my mother insisted that I don't disclose the information to my brother. That he didn't want us, that being here, away from him, is for the best, and that I was being foolish trying to find him. But how can I not? She's not like me, so he must be? Mustn't he? Maybe he can teach me how to not be so… unnatural."

"You're not unnatural." He stated softly, and Castalia glanced up as he stared at her, his blue summer sky eyes finally warming up, "Perhaps I could be of assistance. I have a few friends in the Magical Congress over here, they could help relocate your father."

"My father's not here. He's an Englishman."

He smiled tightly in response, "All the better, I have many more friends in the Ministry across the pond."

Castalia beamed but her smile faltered, "Why are you helping me?"

His lips relaxed slightly out of the smile and he glanced down at the stick he called a wand, "Repentance. I've recently had to do certain things that I didn't think were… in my nature." He lifted the wand up, a contrast of emotions flittering across his eyes. He snapped them to her, and they immediately softened, "Plus, it might be a slight on nature to not come to the aid of such a beautiful creature."

Castalia couldn't help the blush, she'd never ever spoken to a man before, except her twin brother, Castor, and he barely counted, all she knew was what was in books yet the literature never warned her of the tingles and the shivers that a man could entice into you.

"I have a portkey to Germany tomorrow morning, you can accompany me, and we can begin our search for your father. What is his name by the way?" He laughed, and the sound was unique, and soft and warm, "More importantly, my name is Alexander Kaiser. What is your name?"

She couldn't help giggling at their impropriety, in all this excitement they'd forgotten to make introductions, "I'm Castalia Thornton." She nodded her head in greeting, "And my father's name is Albus Dumbledore."

The rattling sound of a door knob cut through her senses and she jolted awake and the familiar pain slithered over her scalp as she swiped at her nose with the back of her left hand, looking at the smears of blood that stained it and sighed.

It was cumbersome to have the same vision again… a waste of time and energy.

Ky stood, grumbling slightly as the blood rushed to her limbs and she wondered just how long she had been asleep.

"I knew it would pay off to stay back." She glanced up, meeting fathomless black eyes that glinted in the darkness and straightened her back, watching as his gaze slithered over her bare legs, her waist, stopping at her chest, "My son did have quite exceptional taste."

Images of a severed head flashed in her mind but she easily pushed it away, straightening her shoulders and the small action seemed to shake Rabastan Lestrange out of his leering and in an agile show of speed he was on her.

Her back hit the cold wall harshly and his fingers bit into her waist, hot as fiendfyre and just as dark and she raised a brow at his cackled laughter that washed over her sweaty face, "They said you were a fighter, don't tell me little Alya managed to break your spirit."

The memory of the electric blue gaze had her lips quirk into a smirk, "And they said you were frightening, how disappointing for us both."

He cackled again and his fingers groped through the thin shirt at her chest, "Playing strong sweetheart, I can feel your heart stuttering in fear."

"Your predatory senses fail you Rabastan, it isn't my fear you're feeling. But anticipation."

He smirked, his yellow teeth glinting in the dark as his left hand pulled at the waistband of her shorts, "Ohhh…. Anticipating what exactly?"

His fingers stilled and she sighed as his black eyes bulged and with a stifled gasp he crumbled to the floor, "The arrival of her dashing hero of course."

She looked to the voice and lifted her lips into a smile, "I thought punctuality was meant to be your strong suit."

"I think you're confusing me with my breathtaking better half." Theodore Nott smirked and walked forward, "My strong suit has always been my buns of steel."

Ky shook her head and glanced at the figure on the floor, "I suppose the stunner would hold up for long enough. I thought they proofed this room preventing magic."

Teddy exposed his left forearm, "Perks of the job."

Her dark grey eyes scowled at the black ink, even though he had little other choice it made her blood boil nevertheless at the dark mark. Teddy glanced to the door, "They'll be back soon."

She nodded as he tossed her the fondina with her wand and they both glanced at the opened door as a blonde head lit up the dark room, dragging a heavy object behind him.

She observed with detached interest the empty black eyes of Jack Corner as he was dragged into the room by Silvestre Sabre, "Took you long enough."

"Hush." His golden eyes swept the room as he moved swiftly to the unconscious Lestrange, Teddy smirked as he watched his mentor drag Rabastan out of the room and followed him.

Ky glanced at Corner's corpse one last time as she walked out into the passage.

Vez was kneeling on the ground and gazing into Rabastan Lestrange, muttering for a few moments. He then let the man's head fall back to the ground, "I've altered them."

He stood and turned to Teddy, "Everything else taken care of?"

Teddy nodded and then flinched, grabbing his left arm as the mark of his slavery glowed green, "You should go, if he's calling it must mean that it's over."

Vez nodded as he pulled Rabastan back into the room that Ky had been made prisoner in for the past few hours. She turned to the brunette boy, "It'll all be over soon."

He stared down at the glowing green mark, "Sometimes I worry too over and too soon."

"Teddy, she'll understand-"

"Ky." Her head snapped to Vez as he pulled her to the glowing sheaf of parchment in his hand and with a moment of whiplash and nausea her feet left the floor as they rode the nothingness that was a portkey.

"Ugh." Ky groaned as she toppled into the marsh, "Really? Your aim is that atrocious?"

"Forgive me for not being able to design the perfect portkey whilst also breaking through the most intricate warding that has ever been laid out save for your school."

"Ky." She turned to the soft voice and the reason that she let herself be taken as a prisoner to Malfoy Manor and waddled over to the figure that let the matching sheaf of parchment portkey float down onto the water surface.

Slowed down by the weight of her soaked pajamas, Ky just about reached her when the thunderous sound of footsteps descended upon them and she glanced up.

For a moment the light brown hue was all she could see, the surprise, the wonder, the impossibility of it all and then a gasp dragged her gaze to the figure behind Fred Weasley and she fell into it.

Emerald waves bathed her skin as she turned to face him, all of him as Fred pushed into the water and the voices and footsteps surged past him as his jet black hair whipped in the wind, as Harry jolted out of his shock and dashed towards her as Fred's voice echoed through the empty night.

"Selina! Selina! Godric Selina!"

And for the first time in twenty seven days her heart slowed down.

The anticipation was over.

She was home.

Well here you have it. I know it's a puzzle of a first chapter but most of everything will be explained in the next chapter.

Most importantly, what do you think of this writing style? Or do you prefer first person? Please let me know in a review or a PM, whichever you're more comfortable with, and of course your feedback is absolutely appreciated.

Thanks for reading,

Kalina