The aftermath, <Kyleigh, open>

[Arron Troy]

Arron was walking through the streets with Kyleigh by her side. It had taken him some time to convince Kyleigh to come along. He knew of a lot that she had to bare besides probably a lot more that happened when he wasn't around. He was a guy so it hadn't been as bad for him. But he had thought it must be suffocating for her in Hogwarts so he had asked her to come to Hogsmeade. At least they could spend some time away from others.

Fortunately, it was going fine till now, just like he had assured her it would be.

[Kyleigh Grace]

Kyleigh was glad now that she had come with Arron to get out of the castle. She was about to go crazy from all of the snide remarks and crude humor she got from most of the rest of the boys in the school. All she could think was that it was a good thing that this was her last year, and she'd probably never see most of them again. She privately hoped Tatum would fall off a cliff somewhere, but that was just too unlikely.

The emptiness of Hogsmeade was comforting, and people didn't make rude comments as she went by, which was nice. It all seemed to be going peacefully, for now. What they didn't know was that up around the next corner was a group of reporters waiting to ambush them.

[Arron Troy]

Arron squeezed Kyleigh's hand gently and smiled as he asked, "So where do you want to go?" He hoped she would want to go somewhere private. He really wanted to stay out of the public eye. He hadn't made it obvious but he didn't like having so much attention on himself. He wasn't used to it neither wanted it. It was also clear his parents were pretty livid having received a separate howler from both his mom and dad recently.

[Kyleigh Grace]

Kyleigh looked around. She did want somewhere private, but most places were hot spots for the rest of the school, and just other wizards in general. The Hog's Head was the most private place she could think of, and she was sure the bartender wouldn't bother them. "Let's go to the Hog's Head." she suggested to Arron. It was dirty, but at least they wouldn't have people staring at them.

[Arron Troy]

Arron nodded and spoke, "Good idea. I won't mind that place today." But it seemed things had to go wrong today. Just as they turned the corner, within a few seconds they were surrounded by reporters and photographers. He was a bit surprised by the sudden onslaught. They started firing questions, some at Kyleigh, some at him, most of them hardly making sense as they crowded the couple on the corner.

[Kyleigh Grace]

Kyleigh had nearly fallen backwards as she'd stepped back from the rush of people and cameras. As she regained her composure, she tried to push forward through them, but they just wouldn't move. They wanted answers, and they weren't leaving till they got them. Well, Kyleigh had only one statement. She pulled out her wand, and used a spell to push the reporters out of the way, grabbed Arron's hand, and pulled him through the gap before the reporters could regroup.

[Arron Troy]

Arron was glad to see at least one of them acting faster. She had regained from the shock a lot faster. As they literally ran away from the group of reporters, he spoke, "I am sorry Ky, I guess this trip wasn't such a great idea after all... and thanks. Lets get out of sight."

[Kyleigh Grace]

Kyleigh and Arron ran to the Hog's Head, but Kyleigh skidded to a stop just inside the door. Her parents, sitting at a table in the center of the room, had just looked up, anger flashing across her father's face, disappointment on her mother's. "Kyleigh Grace, get over here now." her father ordered. They had planned to go up to the castle later to confront her about the article, but her showing up suddenly, when she should have been in class, just brought it on quicker, with more to be angry about.

Kyleigh walked slowly across the room, trying desperately to think of something to tell them that would convince them that the article wasn't true, but nothing she could say would dissuade her father while he was angry. And her skipping school with Arron didn't do much for the image her father had in his mind about her.

"Skipping school to go tramping around." her father said. "We should have kept you homeschooled. If your mother and I had known that this is what you were going to become, taking advantage of your fame to get around with anyone who suits your fancy. I didn't send you to school for that!" And just as Kyleigh thought, of course they'd take the article seriously, and they were planning to take her home, away from Arron.

[Arron Troy]

Arron was a bit overwhelmed by a couple who called Kyleigh to them. It took him a moment to realize that they were her parents. He just stood at the door for a while, finally summoning enough courage to walk closer to Kyleigh. He figured he was as much involved in this as she was and it wasn't right for her to face them alone.

Even though every instinct in his body was screaming at him to not interfere in what was obviously their family matter. But he had the sense to stay some distance away from Kyleigh. He guessed it wouldn't help if he stood by her and held her hand. He didn't see behind him as a few reporters sneaked into the bar after them and took a seat discreetly around them, listening in to the conversation.

[Kyleigh Grace]

"How dare you take advantage of your fame this way. It's a disgrace to what we've always taught you, and you're a disgrace to our family." Her father said, looking away from Kyleigh's face and down at the table to emphasize how he intended to disown her for her actions. Kyleigh started to cry, and attempted to explain herself. "Daddy, its not what you think." she started, but her father cut her off. "Not what I think? You're up there screwing around with anything that walks, but its not what I think! You're a whore, so how is it not what I think?! he yelled.

Kyleigh gave up on the idea of trying to convince him, knowing it was a lost cause. But they couldn't make her go home. There was nothing he could do to her now, nothing at all. "Fine, father. If you want to listen to what some stupid kid told a reporter instead of listening to the truth from your own daughter, then you can have the story. Don't expect me home this summer. I haven't been sleeping around. I don't have sex with anything that moves. I love only one man." she said quietly, while her dad raged and kept trying to cut in. She wasn't going to allow him to yell at her anymore for things that weren't true. She gave her mother an apologetic look, then turned on her heel and walked back to Arron. "Let's get out of here." she said, her tears slow and warm down her cheeks.

[Arron Troy]

Arron's eyes narrowed as her dad kept on and ended by calling her a whore. He was going to interject when Kyleigh started speaking. Arron closed his mouth and stood there as he heard what Kyleigh had to say. He had retained some respect for her parents till her dad had gone as dirty as the magazine. Kyleigh took his hand and started moving away but Arron stopped her. He glared at her dad and said finally with a venomous tone, "You are a disgrace..."

He then turned around and put a hand around Kyleigh's waist as they walked out. He looked at her, seeing her tears. "He deserved it after how he behaved with you Kyleigh. There was no excuse for him to say those things. After we finish school, you come stay with me ok. We will get away from these people, somewhere where we won't be bothered."

[Kyleigh Grace]

Kyleigh just nodded. She didn't care where they went, as long as she didn't lose him. She just wished her dad would understand. She could see her mother did, at least to an extent. Kyleigh would write to her, explaining what had happened, then maybe her mom could convince her dad.

Once outside, Kyleigh felt like she'd been released from prison, suddenly feeling as though she could fly. She felt free. The fresh air helped her to clear her head, and she realized that she was now in complete control of her life. "Let's move to America." she said to Arron. She had plenty of money, she could afford to buy them a house, and neither one of them would have to work.

[Arron Troy]

He squeezed her hand as she nodded, assuring her he would not leave her side. She had given up on her family to be with him. He smiled as she suggested they moved to America. He thought for just a moment before speaking, "Ok, that seems like a good idea to me too."

They could get away from the place where they were now infamous to a place which held a lot of opportunities for both of them. The triwizard tournament was coming up and he had wanted to go to it with Kyleigh. Now they just won't come back. He was confident that with a result like his, he could just as easily get a job there as here, now maybe it was tougher here. If she wanted she could go into acting.

He turned to her and stroked the side of her face gently, "After the exams, we will leave for the tournament together and we will settle there. How about that?"

[Seamus Finnigan]

Seamus hung back from the rest of the reporters, appalled at their actions. He snapped one quick, silent photo of Kyleigh and Arron, then entered the Hog's Head just in time to hear the majority of the exchange between Kyleigh and her father. He nodded in admiration as Kyleigh told him what was what, and didn't follow her and Arron out.

Instead, he marched right up to her parents and snapped at her father, "You're a sodding idiot. Is this the first time you've ever heard of Hogwarts, or are you really that bloody stupid? You don't actually believe anything that comes out of that shithole. It's all a load of crap."

(OOC: I couldn't resist stirring the pot a bit. If you don't want to respond as Kyleigh's dad, you don't have to post anything.)

[Kyleigh Grace]

Kyleigh gave Arron a small smile and a quick kiss. "I love you." she said quietly. "We should probably go back up to the school before my parents decide to go up there though, just so we can pretend we've really been within school grounds all day." She wouldn't put it past her father now to go up to the school and try to have her expelled for being out of bounds, and she couldn't afford that with finals just around the corner.

*back at the Hog's Head*

Kyleigh's father stared up at the boy who'd come over and started yelling at him. But that was all he could do, was stare. He was still dumbfounded by Kyleigh's words and walking out, then to have a complete stranger, who looked to be Kyleigh's age no less, come up and chew him out, it was just one blow too many. Kyleigh's mother was sitting in silence, knowing it was worthless to try to calm the man down at the moment. Just give him some space for a few minutes, and he usually calmed down on his own.