• Flashback: Catherine Ariendra 13 Years Old •
THERE was no longer any excitement on the train ride home for Christmas. Catherine simply stared out the window in dread. She didn't even have the appetite to eat any snacks, much to Mrs. Merry's horror when she refused to buy anything from the trolley. She was all alone in the compartment, wrapping herself in a blanket. Gabby had left to use the loo and she was taking quite some time. Catherine was willing to bet 10 galleons she was now stalking over at the Gryffindor compartments.
It's not that she didn't want to go home, she misses her mother terribly. She detested the gloomy atmosphere. It was like someone covered the house with a black cloak of depression and she was stuck underneath with her mother. At least at Hogwarts she felt safe, like it was her job to become a good student and a diligent child. At home, she needed to be an adult most of the time. It pierced her endlessly every time her mother found something that reminded them of her father and she would cry. His part of the bed remained untouched, his clothes still in the cabinets, his paperwork still in the first floor study room. Nothing changed, yet everything did.
Her mother was barely at home during the night, since she has to work. She won't tell Catherine where she was working, only telling her that she was now working very hard to get some money and that she was taking the night shifts. She would always come home looking worn out, with her dress in disarray. Catherine appealed for a scholarship that semester, hoping to ease some of her mother's burden which Professor Sprout happily accepted if she maintained top marks in all of her classes. So Catherine worked hard. There was no time for quidditch, or extra clubs. The only thing she spared time for was Buckbeak and she was devastated when she heard about his pending execution thanks to Draco Malfoy. She would choose to spend time with Buckbeak and his herd, or sometimes take a flight if Hagrid allows, rather than being back in the common room surrounded by people.
"We're arriving soon." Gabby opened the compartment, sitting down to her right and handing her a chocolate frog. "Get ready."
"How's Flick?" She asked her.
"I don't know what you're talking about." She slouched, avoiding her gaze opening her own chocolate frog.
Catherine gave her a small grin and looked back out the window. She rested her head on Gabby's shoulders and Gabby rested her head on Catherine's. Both enjoying their chocolate frogs in peace.
"Do you need a ride home? Or is Maria picking you up?"
Frankly Catherine didn't know. Half of her wishes was that her mother would be there at the station, ready to give her a massive hug. But the other half knows that possibility was so slim.
"Let's see." She simply replied. Gabby knew that she didn't want to talk about it, so she kept quiet.
The train skidded to a stop and students began flooding the train hallway. Catherine and Gabby waited in line to exit the train. Suddenly Catherine heard an obnoxious voice that can only belong to one annoying Slytherin.
"Be careful Draco!" Pansy Parkinson shouted, stepping over taking Malfoy's bag in his hand. "You need to rest your arm."
Draco simply kept quiet letting Parkinson practically carry all his belongings. Catherine and Gabby shared a look, knowing they were both thinking the same thing. Catherine didn't pay him any more attention until she heard him speak.
"Does it still hurt terribly Draco?" Parkinson asked him in a sultry voice.
"Totally." Draco scoffed. "I really hope that stupid chicken get what it deserves."
Catherine felt her blood boil. She knew it was his fault in the first place, insulting a Hippogriff what was he thinking? He wasn't that's for sure, blinded by pure ego. But she did try to talk to Buckbeak about it, as crazy as that sounds. She was brushing his gleaming coat of feathers one afternoon after the incident.
"You messed with the wrong person Buckbeak." She said to him, plucking some stray dried feathers of his wing. "His father knows important people."
Buckbeak croaked and bowed his head, begging for a pat on the head. Catherine softly brushes her fingers over the hairs on his head. He slowly purrs and makes a low moaning voice as if saying he's sorry. His brilliant orange eyes softening as he looked at Catherine. Despite Hippogriff being famous for their cruel and deadly-looking looks, they can be a sweetheart once you get to know them.
"What happens if you really get executed?" She took a napkin in her pocket and slowly polish his steel-coloured beaks. To her surprise, Buckbeak croaked and a tear slid down his left eye, wetting the hairs on the side of his face.
"Oh Buckbeak..." She now used both of her hands to stroke his face. "I know you're sorry. Let's hope for the best okay? I'm sure Hagrid is doing his hardest to save you."
Catherine knew she would do anything to save him. His herd would be completely shattered to lose one of their own. She looked at Malfoy with his hand of a sling. She studied them, Hippogriff scratches hurt and they could be fatal. But that does not give him any authority to kill a creature for his mistakes.
"I hope my father has already submitted the form for his death." Malfoy sneered towards his friends. His arrogant demeanour irritated Catherine even more. "The wretched bird deserves to die-"
"No he doesn't" Catherine was surprised with her bravery of interrupting him. Malfoy was shocked as well, his face blank. She was way ahead of him in the line so he probably didn't have a clear view of her.
"For all its worth, he regrets hurting you." Catherine raised her voice and didn't spare him another glance. When the line in front of her began to move, she left the train with trembling hands thinking how stupid she was to stand up to him. But she would do it again in a heartbeat if a magical creature was on the line. She searched the platform for her mother and as expected, she wasn't there to pick her up.
------
Catherine glanced at the clock. It was now almost midnight and her mother still wasn't home. She knew her mother wasn't going to throw her a welcome home party, but she did hoped she would at least be there when she got home. She cooked a packaged mushroom cream soup she found at the top shelf. She debated if she needed to call some help or maybe alert the neighbour, but she was too scared to leave the house.
Suddenly she heard the front door open and sprang to her feet, but she stopped as soon she heard a male voice. Catherine immediately grabbed her wand and watched the scene unfold.
"I told you not to use this dress Maria, you look hideous." He grunted and slammed the front door.
"I'm sorry Harold, I tried -" her mothers voice was shaking.
"No!" He shouted and banged the table. "All you do is mess things up!"
Her mother flinched and tried to grab onto Harold's arm but he swatted it away. "Harold, please I promise not to mess up-"
"Promises promises... you always make them yet you always fail. I brought you with me tonight for one reason only and that is to distract them! And you failed!" He shook his head. "Do you not need the money anymore Maria? Are you forgetting what's at stake!"
"No Harold, please...." Her mother stepped in closer trying to touch him. Harold was losing his patience and Catherine saw him raised his hand. His palm wide open ready to make contact with her mother's cheek.
Catherine saw red and she raised her wand.
"Immobulus!" Her wand emitting a bright blue light hitting Harold's body, his hand freezing in mid air. She walked over and stood in front of her mother, desperately trying to shield her from this evil man. Harold had a crew cut hair and he was very tall. His nose pointed with a slight crooked edge. He had a piercing on his bottom lip and left nose. What on earth was her mother doing with this horrid human being she didn't know and she didn't feel like finding out why.
"Catherine!" Her mother shouted in surprise. She pulled out her wand in the pocket of her dress, releasing the charm on Harold. "Catherine go upstairs now!"
"No!" Catherine shouted back, her mother's hands were on her shoulder trying to push her away. But Catherine stayed put. "I'm not letting you get hurt by this man."
She dared to glance at Harold and he was giving her an evil smirk. "Ah so this is the infamous Catherine."
"Don't, Harold..." Maria begged. "Catherine, go upstairs, please go to your room."
"Not so fast." Harold grabbed Catherine's right wrist pulling her forward to face him as he kneeled down to meet her eyes. Catherine was terrified, but she was able to maintain the scowl on her face.
He tried to hurt my mother.
"Introduce us Maria, she needs to know who I am."
It was like someone poured ice cold water onto her head. Catherine shook her head in denial. There was no way her Mama would replace the love of her life with this lowlife scum. There was no way her Mama would replace her father with anyone. She refused to believe this man was going to be part of his life, ever. The grip on her wrist intensified as she tried her best to break free.
"I am not scared of you," Catherine announced.
A sinister laugh escaped his lips. "Wanna bet little girl?"
She turned around to look at her mother trying to hold back tears. "Harold let her go."
Harold roughly shoved Catherine's arm and her mother wrapped her arms around her from behind.
"Catherine, this is Harold Ollerton." Maria gulped and closed her eyes. "Your stepfather."
------
When Harold was fast asleep at Henry's side of the bed, Maria collected her courage to tiptoe out of their bedroom. She was not surprised to find Catherine's bed empty and the window opened. Grabbing a blanket, she climbed out, finding her daughter sitting on the roof with their spotted wool owl, Lori. Her heart broke a little when she didn't even acknowledge her presence.
Granted, she had every right to be mad at her. Today didn't go as planned. She owled Joana, Gabby's mother, the day before saying that she would not be able to pick Catherine up at the station today, asking for her help to drive her home. She didn't want to introduce Harold to Catherine this way. She had hoped that Catherine had fallen asleep and the discussion would happen over breakfast.
Catherine was teaching Lori a few tricks. She trained him to fly around in circles, to come and go on command. She even taught him how to hunt the rats that once invaded the roof. She was now throwing some pebbles into the air and Lori would try to catch it with his beak and bring it back to Catherine, earning a few pieces of peanuts.
"Aren't you cold, cherry?" She walked over and draped the blanket over the both of them. Catherine didn't answer her. Her daughter physically looked like Maria, but her heart and soul was her fathers. Despite sorting into Hufflepuff, she was always much more courageous than Maria ever was. She always admired her for that.
Still ignoring her, Catherine whistles for Lori to go back to his owl house that she made for him in the backyard. Maria sighed and put her arms around Catherine's shoulders.
"You can be mad at me, I deserve it." She whispered.
"No..." Catherine finally spoke. "You don't deserve my anger Mama."
Her sweet cherry, always thinking about others despite her own feelings. "And why is that?"
Catherine shrugged. "You're with him for the money. You're with him because dad didn't update his will, and all his money was taken by the bank. You need Harold to pay for the bills. You're with him now because of me."
"No, this is not because of you. Don't you think that for a second." Maria has always known Catherine was observant. "Oh cherry... I am so sorry."
"We don't need him Mama." Catherine held both of her hands, her deep brown eyes identical to Henry's. "Break up with him. I can appeal for a full scholarship and we can sell the house. We can move to the shelters near Knockturn Alley please just... I don't want you to get hurt."
She didn't have the heart to tell her that she was too far in this mess. The day Henry died, a piece of her soul never returned. Months after the funeral was the lowest point of her life. She remembers Joana taking her to St. Mungo's but nothing much after that. When she was released, she found out that Henry's assets in Gringotts were frozen because he did not pay off the final months of protection money. Henry did not update his will, so all his treasure was taken by the bank. Only having a few galleons to her name, Maria panicked.
She met Harold at the wizards nightclub she was working in. Harold needed someone to help him charm his offenders, for him to lure them into making all his dangerous investments. He never disclosed to Maria what he was dealing with, but he offered her sums of money per transaction. Desperate, she signed the deal, but she never agreed to the marriage. Apparently having a wife met his investments would run smoother. Harold had forced her hand, threatening her with Catherine's life. He promised to pay all for Catherine's expenses after they got married. If she picked up and left him, there is always the possibility of Harold's men tracking them down and killing them both without mercy.
At first Harold was impassive. He never really spoke much. The more difficult the investments were, he began to hit Maria, blaming her for every failure. Maria had tried to fight back, but it never ended well. He once confiscated her wand, only for her to find he had broken it. She was lucky to find one of Henry's spare wand at the back closet. She tried her best to keep it a secret, but no one knows what Harold was going to do now that he found out about it.
Maria moved to hug Catherine tight, holding her whole world in her hands. She would give anything to let her have the life she deserved. She was so brave, so strong. The way she tried to protect her from Harold made her heart squeeze in both guilt and pride. This was all her fault. All of this was her mistake. She dug them both into the rabbit whole they can't escape.
"We can't, Catherine." She tried to explain. "I made him a promise, a promise I can't break. I am so sorry."
Catherine hugged her back. "I just don't want you getting hurt."
"I won't. Don't you worry about me."
"It's my job to worry about you now, Mama." Catherine pulled back to look at her. "I promised Papa I'll take care of you."
Maria tucked a strand of Catherine's hair behind her ear. "Why don't we take care of each other."
"I like that."
They stayed there for a while, looking at the stars.
"I missed you, how was school?" Maria asked. Catherine started to tell her about her classes, about Malfoy and Buckbeak, about Gabby and Flick. She told her about the herd of Thestrals and Hippogriffs on the school grounds. Her eyes would flicker in awe whenever she talked about the creatures she learned and how she interacted with them. She told her about healing Gabby when she fell down her broom.
"I love animals, but I think I want to be a Healer Mama. I was thinking about spending more time with Madame Pomfrey so she could teach me."
"That would be amazing. Healer Catherine Ariendra, has a very nice ring to it." She smiled. "I would be proud of you no matter what you become. Your father actually dreamt of becoming a Healer once, but his grades were horrid."
"I miss Papa," Catherine softly told her. Her head now resting on her shoulder.
"Me too Catherine, every second of every day." Maria looked up and pointed. "But you know, he once told me. That if I were to miss him during one of his journeys, I could look up at the night stars, because he would be looking at them too."
"And when I miss you, Mama? What do I do?"
"Well you could always owl me cherry." She chuckled. "But if you somehow can't, look at the sunrise, that's me giving you a hug. If you still miss me, look at the sunset, that's me giving you a kiss right here." Giving Catherine a kiss on the forehead.
In that moment they were in their little bubble of comfort, the worries of the world fading away. At this very moment, Maria would never forget how much Catherine meant to her and how she would do anything in the world to keep her safe. For her to grow up into the person she wants to be and for her to be happy.
Now I'm in love with Buckbeak too and I just want to give Catherine a massive hug. Let me know what you think about this chapter! Hugs and Kisses 🌻