The Past

"— then it was just me and your friend Ginny Weasley," said Jason.

"Uh-huh," Chris replied absently.

They were beside the lake on Sunday sunny morning. Almost all students were out in the sunny grounds, enjoying the end of their exams and the prospect of a last few days of term unhampered by studying or homework. Chris, who had finally convinced Madam Pomfrey to let her go, was lying on the grass, eyes closed and Jason was sitting beside her while telling her what had happened after she had passed out.

"— Ginny was very injured if you ask me," continued Jason. "Not like you or that Granger but more than —"

"Uh-huh!"

"Chris, are you even listening?"

"Uh-huh!"

"Are you awake or not?"

"Uh-huh!"

"There is a Veela in the campus grounds."

"Uh-huh!"

"She is about to fight a Troll."

"Uh-huh!"

"Chris!" Jason shouted.

"Uh — wha —" Chris' eyes flew open. "What — yes — yes, I was listening."

"You were not," said Jason with a sigh.

"No, really," protested Chris, sitting up.

People were messing around in the air over the Quidditch pitch and a couple of students were swimming in the lake, accompanied by the giant squid. A few seconds year girls were sitting near the lake and were giggling, while keep glancing at Chris and Jason.

"Mind your own business," Chris snapped at them and they suddenly scurried away looking scandalised.

"Chris, will you be kind enough to tell me, what's going on with you?" said Jason looking frustrated. "This is the fifth time I am asking you this, what happened before you and Potter came to the hospital wing?"

"Jason, I —"

"Chris, after that night, I know what are they capable of," said Jason looking scared. "I want you to be safe, out of trouble. I want you to be alive and well. I —" Jason stopped then looked around then he held Chris' hands. "I love you, Chris. I really do."

Chris froze for a moment, she hadn't told anyone about the 'Protector' thing, not even her friends. No matter what Dumbledore insisted, she and Harry had decided to take their time before talking to their friends about it. Chris desperately wanted to talk about her situation with someone, someone who will just listen, without interrupting, without giving any positive or negative advice or anything that sort. Just listen to what she was feeling.

But after hearing Jason's words, Chris was sure, he wasn't that person. She loved him too, she knew it but she couldn't help but felt uneasy when Jason said he just wanted her to be safe and alive. What about being happy or being emotionally okay? No one is perfect. Chris made peace with it, that Jason wasn't like others but his words, which should have made her feel good, made her feel worse than before. 

"Chris?"

"Yeah?" Chris realized she was still staring at Jason looking lost and surprised.

"You okay? I didn't mean to —"

"No, it's fine," Chris forced a smile and hugged Jason.

Jason hugged her back and was about to say something else when Chris noticed a man coming down from the castle.

"Mr Nelson?" Chris jumped back from the hug.

"What? Who?" Jason looked around and spotted Mr Nelson coming towards them.

"My mother's husband," said Chris getting up. "I need to talk to him. Sorry, I will see you later, Jason."

Before Jason could reply, Chris was sprinting towards Mr Nelson and met him halfway through the lawn.

"Christina," he smiled broadly. "I hope I didn't interrupt you."

"No," Chris said remaining serious. "I need to talk to you."

"That I have heard," said Mr Nelson. "Dumbledore called me. How are you doing, Christina? The fight at the Ministry wasn't easy, I heard. I wish I could help."

"You can help now," said Chris then looked at the students near them. "I wanted to know something about my mother, but not here."

"Alright," said Mr Nelson and they started to walk towards the forbidden forest and stopped in the shade of the trees.

"So what is it you want to know about your mother?" asked Mr Nelson still smiling.

"Mr Nelson —"

"Richard."

"Oh yes, Richard, was my mother really a Muggle?" asked Chris crossing her arms.

The smile on Mr Nelson's face faltered.

"I — what do mean by 'really', Christina?" he asked in return.

"I mean what I said Mr — Richard, was my mother a Muggle or not?" Chris asked seriously. "Or was she a squib?"

"What? Who told you? No one knows —" He looked shocked for a moment then realisation dawned upon his face. "Dumbledore!"

"Yes, he knows and he had to tell me," said Chris fiercely. "What I want to know is why did you lie to me?"

"Christina —"

"She was my mother," said Chris loudly. "You lied to me about her, after her death. How could you?"

"Please, Christina," sighed Mr Nelson. "Please, calm down for a moment. I did what I thought was good —"

"It wasn't your place to decide. She was my mother and I was her daughter," said Chris harshly.

"But she also was my wife, Christina," said Mr Nelson looking angry. "You already had a bad image of your mother in your mind, I didn't want to make it any worse, especially after she died."

"And how did lying to me helped with her image anyway?"

"She had realised your Magic signs a long time ago," said Mr Nelson after a few moments. "In fact just after you were born you had pushed all of your toys out of the window without touching them. Michelle had understood that you have magical abilities, the only thing she always wanted but didn't have. She had to grow up with magical parents while watching all the things without doing it. She was frustrated over herself. Finally, when she met your father, she decided to move on and start a new life without any trace of magic in it. Her family will be finally normal. But then —" Mr Nelson sighed. "You were born. Absolutely unbelievable. No squib had given birth to a magical child before, not even if they married to wizard or witch. But your mother wasn't pouring over that. Her concern wasn't how unique you were, her concern was again her dream of the normal family had been shattered. She believed you will be everything she wanted to be, you will do magic, go to wizarding school, marry a wizard and will live the life she dreamed of once. Slowly, she started to feel suffocated in your family. She started to visit the few wizarding places she remembered from her childhood and there I met her. After three meetings she told me everything. She hated you but also hated herself for hating her own daughter. But she couldn't take it anymore when I started to like her, she thought at least one of her dreams were coming true. I loved her and she loved me but I knew more or less I was her escape. I —"

Mr Nelson's voice cracked and Chris saw tears brimming his eyes. He took a deep breath and composed himself.

"With me, she was surprisingly happy," he continued. "Very happy indeed. We had house-elves at our home, she was very nice to them too. She loved every magical with me, but the guilt of not loving you like this, increased and then — then she fell ill. It was a disease only the squibs are cursed with. I took her to St. Mungos. She was treated there for two years. When I told her you were attending Hogwarts, she was very happy and wanted to meet you but the guilt of abandoning you was too much in her. She couldn't face you anymore, that's why she wrote you that letter and asked me to give it to you after her death. When I — I read that letter, I realized she hasn't told you about her past, so decided to keep it from you. I know I lied, Christina, but I thought the truth will hurt you more and again, you will hate your mother."

Everything was silent. Chris felt as though even the birds on the near trees had stopped making noises. When she spoke her voice was more than a whisper.

"But she was my mother, I would never ha—"

Chris choked. Hadn't she hated her mother for all those years? Only after her mother's death, Chris had realized she had loved her all along and had hated herself for hating her own mother. She knew the feeling what her mother had felt for her. For a few minutes, she didn't speak. Mr Nelson didn't interrupt her thoughts either. Then —

"Did you know my mother was descendant from a famous wizarding family?" said Chris staring at the garden behind Hagrid's hut.

"Wizarding family trees are messy," said Mr Nelson, sounding surprised. "I won't be very surprised if her family is connected to some famous family tree but I don't know about that."

"Thanks, Richard," said Chris still without looking at him. "I have to go, I —"

"Sure. It's nice talking to you, Christina, take care and be safe," said Richard and with a small smile walked away.

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To be continued. . .