Summer 1905


Rain beat on the windows of the Greengrass mansion. The moon had gone and not a star was in sight. Calixte Greengrass stood alone in her room, all by herself in the darkness with only her mind to keep her company. For weeks, she had been on edge. Someone knows, she said to herself. Someone knows our secret. For years, her family had managed to keep her existence secret from the rest of the world. She was the only Squib in the family for years. Her father wanted her to be cast away or killed, he did not want a female child let alone a Squib! Her mother insisted on her staying, though. They decided to keep her their daughter a secret. The only ones who knew she existed until this point was them, and her eldest brother Quinn.

"There's no moon," she said in an airy voice. "There is no stars. Oh, this must be the omen of ill-fate I saw in my sleep. Oh, pity!"

She felt so helpless and hopeless. For sixteen years, she had managed to stay merely a secret in the world, while her brother and parents were the pride of their land. While they went to dinner parties and lived a life of amusement, Calixte stayed locked in the walls of their house, doomed to never live to her true potential. While she was dressed in extravagant clothing and given the best of living conditions, she couldn't look outside during the day, and was made to not to be heard by anyone. She lived in a magically hidden room and never went outside. She was tutored indoors by a live-in teacher, Mrs. Curr.

As she sat there, tears ran down her cheek. Violent winds whistled as she spotted what she hoped would never come. At least fifty men on the backs of flying broomsticks were approaching quickly through the storm towards their house.

"Oh, they've come!" Calixte shouted.

She stood up immediately and grabbed a sheet from her bed, which was black. She through it over her head, wrapped it around her like a cloak and slipped on her shoes. A loud knock was heard at her door as she shouted and turned around. Frightened, she placed a hand on her chest as she breathed heavily.

"Calixte," breathed the voice of her brother. "Come quickly! We must go now!"

Calixte relaxed as the door opened and in walked her rather large brother, Quinn. He was a tall and big man, but he was by no means overweight. He had a thin amount of black hair on his head with a small mustache and dressed in a black suit. He ran to his sister with much speed for a man his size and grasped her thin arms.

"I'm so sorry, Calixte," he expressed. "I should have gotten you out sooner."

"It's okay," she replied. "Let us go!"

He nodded as he nearly pulled her along by her arm towards the door, they sped down the stairs and then out their backdoor. Lightning struck as the wind picked up and the broom-riders began to touch down on the ground, drawing their wands. Calixte shouted as the wind began to ruin her appearance. The rain caused her makeup to run and her hair to fly about. She was a thin, small-framed woman with an utterly beautiful face. She had deep brown eyes that were the dominant feature on her face, and her hair was a straw blonde. It fluttered in the wind like a cape as it fell brown its up-do.

"C'mon, hurry!" Quinn yelled.

"Hold it right there," said one of the rioters.

Quinn yanked her along as they ran away from the sight of their pursuers until Calixte took a hard hit in her back. She grunted and hit the ground, slipping from Quinn's hand. He stopped from his running and returned to her side as the attackers began to gather, their wands withdrawn. Some of them were dressed in regular townspeople's clothing and their faces were shown as plain as day. He recognized them and sneered as he hoisted Calixte up. He held his wobbly sister against him and with a loud crack, they disappeared.

-- -- --


"Calixte. . .Cal. . .here, here is where you shall stay," Quinn announced as he let Calixte lean against a wall.

Calixte had just woken up from a long sleep on a hard wooden floor. Around her stood high walls and several rugged looking people. The sun shined in through the large windows and showed the dust that filled the air. There were no rooms around her. The only thing besides walls and windows were two large, tall doors across the room.

"Wh-where?" Calixte mumbled, still gaining her conciousness.

Quinn placed a hand on her shoulder to steady her.

"You are safe," he said. "This is Verrin, an Unplottable little piece of land that neither Muggle nor witch or wizard will ever find. There is a river just a bit south from here and several other buildings. You are also surrounded by a protective wall. These will be your neighbors. I brought them here also nights before you. These are the Calling's, Joseph and Elspeth. They are brother and sister."

A tall, rather good-looking man with muddy brown hair stepped forward. He was Joseph, and stood next to a woman who looked almost exactly alike, but was inches shorter with very long hair. She was his younger sister, Elspeth.

"From Italy, this is the Salvatore family," Quinn announced. "Belladonna, and her husband Anthony, pureblood Squibs just like you, Calixte."

They both had black hair and very pale complexions. Each of them offered nods to Calixte as her focus became better and she nodded in return. Both Belladonna and Anthony were very plump.

Quinn proceeded to introduce the rest of the Squib refugees he had brought to Verrin for safety. One of them was a sickly-looking, yet attractive woman called Ouida Quisont, and her companion, a pale looking blonde woman who seemed like she was withering away, Amarante Lewens. Other families included the Portaubel's, which consisted of Pierre Portaubel, his half-cousin Marie, and sister Lilithe. The White family also lived there, Helen and her husband Orlandus. Then there was one lone man, Jamison Ballard. Every single one of them were Squibs.

Quinn walked Calixte through the town, showing her where everything was and instructing her how to use the canoe he left there for her. As the sun began to set, Calixte was starting to enjoy the thought of living with her fellow Squibs in this settlement.

"I will always be here," Quinn promised. "I plan to live here forever and perhaps one day, you'll be able to return to the outside world -- independent."

Calixte nodded as she and Quinn shared a mutual embrace.

"I hope so," she replied. "Thank you so much for giving me hope, brother. I am sure you gave them hope, too."

"Verrin is Unplottable and Disillusioned, some Ministry officials know of it and plan to keep it secret. Sister, rioters have been killing unprotected and unguarded Squibs left and right," Quinn assured her. "You and your kind shall be protected here, however and you can live your lives here until one day. A day, I pray, will come peacefully and without any deaths, dear sister."

Quinn smiled at her and kissed her forehead. He began to walk away to his dwelling, a small shack only paces away. Calixte took a deep breath as she stood, with her arms crossed. She turned back as she stood on the bank of the river. She exhaled as she gazed over the waters running before her.

-- -- --

71 years later
Summer 1976

Crows picked at the corpse of an unidentifiable man, and cawed into the dreary day as screams were heard from the House of Calling. The House of Calling was a large, two storied house of nothing but plain wooden walls and floors, and large, shattered windows. It had no rooms whatsoever, and was so untidy. It was a breeding ground for sickness, but the residents of Verrin didn't seem to notice nor care. They were under-educated, and knew nothing of bacteria. The screaming continued to fill the air as the people of the small, Squib town walked carelessly through the dirt streets. The crows flew away in shock of the screams, as a man pushing a cart stopped by the body, threw a piece of cloth over the person's face and heaved the corpse into the cart. He pushed it to the alleyway between the House of Calling and a nearby collection of 'homes.' He then began going through the person's pockets and taking the man's shoes. He slid his own bare feet into them, then took his pitiful amount of money and then pushed the cart down the alley with the corpse to a pile of garbage. The man smirked as the body fell into the pile, face first. The man then walked off as the screaming became even louder. It was a woman.

"Oh! Oh! The pain," moaned the woman as she laid on the hard, wooden floor, screaming at the ceiling.

"Ebony! I am here," answered another voice, finally. "What's the matter?"

The woman clutched her large belly.

"It's time," she said. "The baby, our baby, is coming."

"Oh, my! I am here for you, Eb," he assured her. "Don't you worry."

The woman was covered in sweat and though she was in pain, the tons of people around her on the upper floor of the House of Calling never paid any mind to her. She was Ebony Ballard, formerly Ebony Calling before she married her love, Randle Ballard

Elspeth Calling, an original citizen of Verrin years ago, married the only wizard in the settlement and founder, Quinn Greengrass. They had a daughter named Flower Angellinia Greengrass, and she married Polistate Calling, the grandson of Quinn's sister Calixte and her husband Joseph Calling. Flower and Polistate had a son named Randolphus Calling, who married the daughter of the first Salvatores, Josephina Salvatore. The age difference was great. Randolphus and Josephina then had Ebony, the woman who laid on the floor at that moment, about to bare her husband the next Ballard in Verrin. Ebony's family tree was twisted and tainted by inbreeding, but that was yet another weakness of Verrin. They didn't know any better because they were so uneducated. To them, every person was fair game to marry and have children with, and to them, it wasn't wrong at all. But the effects of the inbreeding were evident, many of her ancestors suffered from mental issues, but they were never properly diagnosed. The lifespans of those who lived in Verrin were so unnaturally short.

Ebony's husband, Randle Ballard also had a family history that was twisted and tainted. The other daughter of Belladonna and Anthony Salvatore, Moora married Thomas Calling, the grandson of Calixte Greengrass and Joseph Calling. They had a daughter called Roxanna Calling, who married Jamison Ballard. Again, the age difference was so very great. Those two waited for a long time until they had Randle himself.

For hours, Randle stayed at Ebony's side. Through the tears and pain, Ebony finally gave birth to their child, a girl. She already had a full head of dark brown hair, resembling both Randle and Ebony's hair color. Randle was a lean looking man, with brown hair and brown eyes, and so was Ebony, but she was much shorter. It seemed the family resemblance was passed on to their daughter, which Ebony cradled against her chest. She was so exhausted.

"She looks so very like us," Randle remarked as he touched his daughter's nose with the tip of his finger. "What shall we call her?"

Ebony sighed, she had thought of it, but now she was more sure than ever of what to call her daughter.

"Cache shall be her first name," she said. "My mother once told me of a woman my grandma Belladonna Salvatore knew before they came here. They were the best of friends, and knew they were Squibs, but hid them during the attacks even though she was a Muggle. It means desirous."

"It's a beautiful name," Randle complimented. "Her second name shall be Elspeth, then. A descendant of both of us."

Ebony looked up at her husband and they shared a quick, soft kiss. They both looked down at their child and Ebony sighed, adjusting the small blanket that was wrapped around their baby.

"Cache Elspeth Ballard," Ebony uttered.

"Yes," Randle said.

Right then and there, Ebony made a wish.

"May Cache someday see the world outside of these walls," she wished. "May it be safe for her, one day."

-- -- --

A/N: The issue of inbreeding between the families will be mentioned very, very little. It will not be a central conflict in the story, but merely an idea to keep in mind as Cache grows and shows her true colors, it is also an element to show how desperate and backwards the families of Verrin are. I am sorry if anyone is offended, but it will be just a small issue and never will there be a graphic, incest scene. It will only be mentioned as the inbreeding of pureblood families are mentioned in the books. I must thank my BETA again for taking on the challenge and helping me out.