Second Glances, Second Chances

"If you're afraid for us to remove the scars because your dad would know, then we simply won't remove them for now," Brian said. "Not a problem. But--remember this. You are not in the same position Harry was in. Harry wasn't living with the Minister's daughter. And, its a different situation. The Dursleys were lousy tempered and they didn't treat Harry well, but they didn't actively hurt him. Your situation is very different. There are magical codes and laws that prohibit wizarding children from being abused. Have you ever asked yourself what the hell he would actually do if you just didn't go home at the end of the school year? Think a second.

"Its not like he can come here after you. That just isn't physically possible. He can't get even into the back room of the Leaky, let alone get past the magical portal. He can't apparate here or port here. And it just is not even possible that Khaat or Robert would order you to go back. Your own body provides more than sufficient evidence for them to justify your staying right here.

"Near as I can figure, and you're welcome to ask Khaat about this since she is the Chief Warlock and it would be her decision anyway, she would certainly sign the court order allowing you to be taken into emergency temporary custody on the basis of the evidence. The order would be delivered to him. The worst that I can see is that he would get pissed off. Big deal. I'm quite sure that isn't the first time for him. [OOC: This might be the way to get khaat to him. perhaps she chooses to deliver the custody order herself. thoughts?] And unless you have something back in the muggle world that is irreplaceable, it seems to me that you dont' have any reason why you need to go back whatsoever.

"As for your injuries, we're loaded with healers. I'll be happy to help you. I'm quite sure Khaat would as well, and so would Robert. But--just so you know--Khaat is a seer. She already knew last night that you had some injuries you weren't telling us about. Nobody's going to throw you out or think less of you because of it. We don't care about you because of anything on the outside. We care about you because of who you are on the inside. If we ever threw anybody out because of bruises,, we'd have all been thrown out at one point or another. A bruise is an injury. And we dont' ever think less of someone because they've been hurt. Nor do we use it as a point of leverage to control them.

"As I said, you really, really do need to talk to Khaat. You aren't the only one who has ever felt like damaged goods. She's been through more than you think--before I married her. I knew when I married her. It doesn't change, for a single moment, that I think she's the most beautiful woman in the world, that I want to grow old with her, and that I am so proud that she is the mother of my children. I care that she was hurt. That makes me angry because nobody has a right to lay a hand on her. But do I love her less? No. Do I see her as damaged goods? Not a chance. And no young man who is a man of character will see you as damaged goods either. If he does, get rid of him. You deserve to be treated well right from the outset...."

He looked up and saw Khaat coming out in her carnation pink one piece swimsuit. He was actually pleased to see Robert and Angus come out with her. They brought out the kids in their suits and put them in the inground baby pool to splash. Robert was in simple jeans and a plain blue denim shirt. He flicked his wand and floated out a cup of tea and the morning newspaper and was ready to sit out beside the pool to help her keep an eye on the kids.

"Let me show you something," Brian said. "Come this way." He turned his horse off the trail and headed it towards the house. Robert saw them coming across the yard towards them, and he got up and walked out and met them halfway.

"You look like a man on a mission," Robert said with a slight smile. Then he looked at Faith. "And you must be Faith. Welcome. I'm Robert."

"Do me a favor, would you?" Brian asked. "Do you mind casting that energy signature spell for me?"

"Oh, the reveal?" Robert asked. "Who am I casting it on?"

"Khaat, please." He looked at Faith with a comforting smile. "Before you ask, no, we have not cast this spell on you. Before you even let that go through your head, the answer is no."

"Very well," Robert said. He turned to her and cast the spell. It caused Khaat's form to take on a slight white light glow. Then within the glow formed bright green and bright pink and bright blue marks. And they appeared everywhere. There was hardly any place where there wasn't a mark.

"The green marks are places where there were bleeding wounds of some sort. The pink areas are places where she's been burned. And the blue spots are places where she's been bruised. This spell only shows injuries."

"It shows an irregularity in the energy signature of the person the spell is cast on," Robert said. "I preer not to use it. It generally feels too violating for the person the spell is cast on. I generally reserve it only for identification of someone post mortem when I do an autopsy. But Khaat is used to it, and she's not paying any attention, so, no, she is not traumatized by it. What are we looking for, Brian?"

"I think we're already seeing it," Brian said gently, looking at Faith. "Does that help?"

Faith realized that he made a really good point. If she never showed up again.. he couldn't do anything about it, because he was a muggle, and she was a witch. She could hide forever from him if she wanted to. Something in the back of her mind nagged her that he would find her again, and he would hurt her worse then before. Her mind told her over and over again that that would happen, but she knew it couldn't.. because now that she had been found.. well she was safe.

Faith stared at Brian when he mentioned telling Khaat. Saying she could get her out, like, as of right now. Take her out and keep her out.. something like that.. it startled her, and she couldn't help it, she stared at Brian with a mixture of awe and pure desire for that to happen. She wanted it so badly, she wanted to stop being hurt, forever. Faith nodded when Brian told her of Khaat and she couldn't help it, it shocked her to hear that Khaat had been in a situation like Faith. Especially because Khaat was so beautiful, and well off, and had a wonderful family, with so much love.

Faith's eyes followed Brian's gaze when he looked over at Khaat and Faith couldn't help but smile. The family was coming out to swim, and they all looked so beautiful. Faith tried to pay close attention, but they were to far away to see any scars, or see if they were even visible at all anymore. Faith's eyes landed on a new man she hadn't met before, and she was shocked to see it was the Minister of Magic. Robert Lupin. Her eyes went wide, and she hesitated a moment before tugging on her reins and following after Brian, heading towards the pool.

Faith looked shy as Robert neared her, and she slowed her horse to a standstill, smiling at Robert, she glanced over at Khaat when they mentioned her, and then back at them, watched the spell being formed, and then looked at Khaat. The lights that showed up on her were shocking, and she glanced at the others, before looking back. It looked as though she had been stabbed, slashed, burned, and bruised just about everywhere. Faith glanced down at herself, and wondered just what she would look like with those lights.

"Can the person that the spell is cast on see the lights too?" She asked softly, curiosity overwhelming her shyness towards Robert. "I kind of want to see my own energy signature.. can you?" She asked, blushing bright red. She knew it would be bad.. but she wanted to see, just exactly how bad. "Does it show infections too?" She asked, looking slightly nervous. She knew the one on her leg was getting bad, and the salve she had made herself wasn't working.. if it showed the infection, maybe it would show how badly infected it was, and they would be able to do something about it.

" Yes, Khaat can see the light. She's just not paying any attention to it. She doesn't much care. None of its a news flash to her. And we have to practice somehow, don't we? As for whether I can cast it on you, I can, and it does show infection," Robert said. "They show up with an oddly pleasant lemon yellow color. Don't ask me why. Its not my spell. But you're not going to see much up there on Chelsea." He walked over to her and offered her his hand. "If you want to see, then let me help you down. Then we can cast the reveal spell if you like." He looked at Brian. "Shall I cast it on you? You're quite the psychedelic light show."

"I dont know. Maybe," Brian laughed. "Its not like we haven't seen it before."

"No, we certainly have," Robert laughed. Then he redirected himself to Faith.

Faith looked at the hand offered to her, and she slowly took it, sliding down from the back of the horse like she had done it all of her life. She looked slightly surprised at herself, and glanced back at the horse, as though expecting to see herself still up there, trying to get down. Instead she landed lightly, and looked at Brian, her surprise showing on her face. She turned a light pink color, and looked at Robert, her face heated up, she wanted to see what she looked like under the lights. Well, she wanted to see just how badly the lights shone, she couldn't even remember all of the places she had been hurt, so it would be something new to her as well.

"Alright..." she said, her face still pink. "Can I see?" She looked at Robert, and then back down at herself, as though expecting the colors to appear in a moments notice. When the spell was cast, Faith felt tears spring to her eyes. Her entire body was bathed in light. There was not a spot on her that wasn't colored. Greens crossed over pinks, which crossed over blues. Her entire right leg was bathed in that lemon color he had described, but it was almost hard to see from the multitude of other colors that crossed over it. She even had light on her face, her hands, her arms, her hair, her neck. Her wrists were covered in slits of green, and her lower abdomen, and in between her thighs were pink and green and blue. Faith covered her face with her hands, ashamed and overwhelmed. She hadn't realized it would be this bad, because she did not see a single spot on her that hadn't been touched, and she couldn't even see her face. Which was covered in every color that the spell could produce.

"Calm yourself," Robert said softly. "It is a record only of what has been. Not of what others see now or what the future will hold. FIrst, we must see to this." He reached down and laid his hand on the infected leg and easily detected the wound. His hand lightly to the wound and he held his hand there a long moment as he drew off the infection. "Look," he told her. The lemon yellow color faded under his commanding touch, as he drew the infection out of her leg. It had taken longer than most infections he worked with. It told him this one had been there a long time. There was still a bit of a stale yellow color. "That is merely the infection that has drained onto your dressing," he told her. "When you remove it, all of the yellow will disappear. I can heal the fresh burns if you want tooo, but that choice is yours."

"Robert," Brian said, "Is there the slightest chance our laws would force her to return to her father for more of this?"

"Certainly not," Robert said firmly. "Ridiculous. Our laws are clear on that point. And a child that demonstrates magical ability falls under the jurisdiction of magical law first. In short, magical law trumps muggle law." He looked at Faith. "If your father did this, it is against not only muggle law but magical law. The law protects you from further harm. If you choose to see him again, you do it in the presence of a Ministry official. Surely not alone. I am not saying you cannot ever see him again, but I am saying he will not have the opportunity to harm you again."

"And if he becomes angry?" Brian asked, deliberately baiting him.

"Do I look like I care?" Robert asked very calmly. He looked back at Faith. "You may consider this ugly nightmare over for yourself if you like. We will be more than happy to take care of notifying him."

Brian slid off of Midas and went over to her. "You can start a new life if you want. And we'll be happy to help you do that. How's the leg? Better?"

Faith could feel herself shaking as Robert spoke calmly, telling her to calm down. It was horrible, all of the colors that crossed her body, showed exactly where she had been hurt, ever.. she hadn't expected so much.. she had expected less than Khaat, but she very much obviously had more. In fact, it almost looked strategic, like her father had intentionally hurt every spot on her body.. the way it crossed and criss-crossed, like he had been working his way over her. Hitting every, single, spot. Though obviously the spot he hit the hardest was her mind, for the wounds healed, but Faith was mentally hurt as well.

Faith looked down when he gently touched her leg, and she couldn't help it, she stifled a gasp. His hand was warm, and it hurt, she had ignored it for so long, but it hurt, BAD. Faith felt tears poke at her eyes and she turned her head away, gripping her shirt with her hands, leaning back slightly away from his touch. When he spoke, she looked down and watched. The color started to fade, and as it did.. so did the pain. Faith let out a small gasp of relief as the pain ebbed, peaked, and then dropped away completely.

"Thank you.." She whispered, her whole body relaxing so quickly she nearly fell over, and ended up putting her hand on his arm, just to steady herself, she flushed red and quickly removed her hand, she knew he wouldn't hurt her, but she flinched back, as though she expected a blow.

If her father had done it.. who else would have done it? Faith was shaking slightly, as she looked at the colors that still showed on her body. Her eyes darted to Khaat, to see if she had noticed what was going on, see if she had noticed the colors, before she looked back down at herself. Her hand went down and traced a small green line on her stomach, then another one on her arm, she traced her wrists, completely oblivious to the others for a moment, looking at the places she knew she held scars, she knew held memories of pain, and fear.

Faith slowly looked up at Robert and shook her head. "I don't wanna see him again.." she whispered, tears brimming. "I don't want to go back."

"You may consider this ugly nightmare over for yourself if you like. We will be more than happy to take care of notifying him."

Faith looked at him, for a long silent moment. Over? It was.. over? Faith stared at him, her eyes flicking first from the Minister of Magic, and then to Brian. Then, without thinking, she flung her arms around Robert's neck, tears steaming down her face. "Thank you.." She whispered, hugging him hard around the neck, her body trembling, her face washed with fresh tears again. "Thank you.."

"You are very welcome," Robert said, holding her warmly. "Now, it seems you are getting on rather well here with Brian and Khaat. If you have no objections, we will grant them legal custody so that he has no claim to you whatsoever. That will sever the last tie that exists between you. Brian, you and Khaat have no objections?"

"None at all. We'd be honored."

"Then I will have Khaat draw up the papers today. We'll notify him and Amelia Lyons as well.."

"Good," Brian said. "Do it."

"Well," Robert said to Faith with a smile, "How would you like to have the burns and the scars removed, and the healing time on the bruises dramatically reduced? If you choose to keep any of the scars, thats your right. But it is also your right to have them removed. There is no right or wrong to that. Its simply a choice--and its one you can make at any time."

Faith felt him hold onto her after she hugged him, and that nearly made her start crying all over again. She had never been touched in a way that wasn't either meant to harm her.. or to help him get some physical satisfaction from it. She had never been hugged for as long as she could remember, never actually had someone who wanted to hug her, not a father figure, or a grandfather figure, who would have held her gently in the way that Robert was then. "I have no objections..." she whispered, leaning back and wiping her eyes, trying hard to regain her composure the tiniest of bits.

Faith looked up Brian, and then back to Robert, her face shining with tears, her body still trembling, but she couldn't have felt happier, not in her entire life. Faith looked at Robert when he asked if she wanted the scars and burns removed, and the bruises healing time reduced. She took a long moment, staring at him, her thoughts in a whirl. In a way... the scars were her, she had grown so used to seeing them in the mirror, to seeing them every night before bed.. to see them gone would be something totally different. And she wasn't sure if she was ready for that much of a change so quickly.

"Can.. can you just.." Faith stumbled over her words, and she took a deep breath. "I'd like it if you did the bruise thing.. reduced the healing time.. and the.. the most recent burns.. cause.. cause they still hurt.. but erm.. for now anyway.. I wanna keep the scars.. I don't know if.. I don't know if I can do that much change so quickly.." She said, her faced red as she tried to wipe her eyes off on her sleeve, as well as hide the fact that her nose was running.

"I think," Robert smiled, brushing away her tears with the back of his index finger, "you are very wise." He reached up and put his hand on her forehead gently. He cast the healing spells for the burns and set in motion the spell for escalated healing time for the burns and made sure she was otherwise healthy. "All things considered, you are amazingly well. Some good food and decent sleep, perhaps some fresh air and sunshine and some fun. You will be surprised how much better you feel. I think you should finish your ride with Brian while I get the paperwork in motion. Shall I help you back onto your mount, or can you manage?"

"She's going to be a natural rider," Brian smiled. "Kate is going to like her a great deal."

"Oh, I already know Kate will like her. She'll be over later to see the kids, so Faith can meet her for herself.," Robert said. "Where was Angus going this morning, by the way? He left right after helping Khaat take the kids outside."

"Hunting with Edward."

"During the day?" Robert frowned. "How odd. Must have been important if Edward needed help. Keep me posted. I'll go if I'm needed."

"He took my pistol and Remus's flask," Brian said. Robert didn't reply. He was merely making mental notes.

"Welcome to the family, my dear," he said to Faith. "I'll see you at the house later." He went back towards the house.

Faith smiled slightly at his kind words. Faith was only fifteen, and this was a lot to take in. She suddenly had a new family, a very rich, beautiful family. She closed her eyes when he wiped away her tears with his finger, and she couldn't help it, she liked him a lot. He made her feel so comfortable and was so very kind, it was no wonder he was Minister of Magic, it was so easy to like him. "Hogwarts is good to me when it comes to food.." she said with a small smile at Robert, her relaxation made it obvious that one reason she WAS so tense, was because she had been in pain.

"I think I should be okay.." she said carefully, and turned around, throwing one more smile at Robert, she hooked her foot up into the stirrup and hauled herself up and over the side of the horse, landing in the saddle. She grinned, it had been a bit sloppy, but having been her second time ever, she felt extremely proud of herself.

Faith looked at Robert when he spoke about Angus. She smiled and steadied her horse, it took a few steps and she lifted the reins, patting it on the neck, and she grinned at Brian, excited at how easily she was learning to handle the horse. "Thank you sir.." She said softly when he welcomed her to the family. Faith was very much still in shock, but she felt very comforted at the same time.