Kaia Black

15

The holidays were passing faster than I wanted, we were having too much fun. It was quite surprising how good George and Viktor were starting to get along, Viktor even invited him to come watch one of his home games which he only does when he really likes someone.

I was about to go to bed when an opened door caught my attention. I had never entered the room before and decided to take a look. I poked my head inside and was somewhat surprised when I saw the Black family tree on a tapestry. The entire wall was covered with family members. I stepped inside the room and brushed my fingers along unfamiliar family members. I stopped when I saw my father's name and his burned off picture.

"Our family's way of disowning someone." I nearly jumped at the sound of dad's voice and let out a breathy laugh when he got inside.

"Why would they disown you?"

"Several reasons actually," Dad began and stood besides me, placing a hand on my shoulder. "I ran away from home when I was still very young. Secondly because I wasn't sorted into Slytherin but Gryffindor instead. Also, I was against their beliefs of the notion of blood purity. I was the odd one out."

"All of them were sorted into Slytherin?" I asked and dad nodded.

"I purposely put permanent-sticking charms of banners and pictures of me and my Gryffindor friends on the walls of my bedroom to emphasize my pride for being in Gryffindor."

"Sounds like something you would do."

"Actually it sounds more like something you would do." Dad chuckled and wrapped his arm around my shoulder.

"Like father like daughter." I grinned.

"Yes, apparently, even Animagi seems to be something we have in common. Why did you decide to learn it?"

I looked down at the ground and fiddled with my fingers. I sighed before explaining why "I'm not always the easiest person to hang out with, I don't get along with many people. I guess not having many friends gives you a lot of free time."

"You're a very talented witch, Kaia."

"Thanks, dad. But why did you?"

Dad grinned to himself obviously reliving the memories and I was more than curious to hear about it.

"I've always been very close friends with Remus. When my friends and I found out about him being a werewolf we wanted to support him in the best way possible."

"We secretively taught ourselves how to become Animagi, my form being a huge black dog. This allowed us to safely accompany Remus during his transformations and keep him under control. We called ourselves the Marauders and used nicknames for each other, mine being Padfoot."

"You guys must have been really close friends,"

"We were, losing James was one of the hardest things I've ever had to go through."

"That explains why Harry is so important to you, he reminds you of James."

"Yes, they have a lot in common. I'm glad you two get along so well."

I grinned to myself thinking about it. Harry really was growing on me. He understood me better than most people did. He felt like a brother to me and I was grateful for it.

Suddenly I felt the heaviness of my tired eyes. I yawned which made dad chuckle.

"Enough stories for today, you should go to bed." Dad said and before I could say anything he pulled me closer. He wrapped his arms around me and hugged me very tightly. I let go of a breath, a breath that felt like I had been holding for all my life. I pressed my face into his chest and inhaled his welcoming scent.

"I love you, Kaia."

For a moment it felt like I was imagining what was happening. Those words were almost foreign to me. I squeezed dad even tighter and whispered "I love you too, dad."

I savored the moment and knew I'd never forget it. It was like a dream come true and as I spoke the words it felt more real than ever.