Trickie Woo, Grey_Eminence, and wytchkat for the astounding reviews!

Short, brief, and condensed version of Kes' history.
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~7~ History of the Altheas ~

Altair led Severus to a room down the other hall: it was circular with about twenty portraits of people that all had Kestrel's nose. They were all set in the same background: a white, four-poster, larger-than-king-sized bed, with white curtains falling around them and a bay window behind it. Severus examined them all minutely, noting that they were done in oil and made with exquisite detail.

"This is the Althea family, Kestrel's mother's family."

"They all have her nose," he noted.

"This is her mother."

The last painting was the freshest one, bright and radiant. The woman sat properly upon white silk sheets, the sun pouring through the bay window and shifting through the translucent white curtain of the canopy, illuminating the intricate detail of it. Her skin was smooth, pale, without blemish, and lighter in the back. Black hair fell from the crown of her head to caress the top of her bosom and a tiara of gold leaves lay at a seductive angle, two of the leaves brushing her forehead. She wore a white tunic that curved around a slim body and a gold rope was barely visible at the bottom of the painting. It was her eyes though, that caused Severus to step back. They were an exact imitation of Kestrel's... except that they were full of fire, anger, and hatred, the glint in them not at all demure, but brash and harsh.

There was a gold plaque underneath it.

Alisha Althea, b. 1953 - d. 1994

"What about the families the women married into?" Severus asked, looking over at the gardener.

"The portraits are in their own houses but Alisha insisted on having a portrait of her husband. Besides, none of the women took their husband's name." He motioned to the painting of the man next to Alisha's portrait. "That's him."

The man was definitely Spanish. He had Kestrel's dark red hair and it fell across his face, a tanned face with a haughty expression. Dark brown eyes glared out of the portrait, a slightly hooked nose denoted Spanish decent, high cheekbones and thin lips did the same. The white shirt he wore seemed to flap in the wind that should have been there, since the bay window was open. There was a red silk blanket thrown on the bed next to him – a matador's sheet.

"Kestrel didn't lead a happy life with him," Altair deemed fit to point out. He read the gold plaque under it.

Roberto Rivera, b. 1945 - d. 1994

"He was proud. He was domineering. He was fit. Unfortunately, so was Alisha. They fought all the time, Alisha was constantly beaten but she never gave up, he caused her to almost miscarry Kestrel... and then he turned his vengeance on Kestrel. And Alisha too. It was strange... they seemed to love her very much until she got the letter to Hogwarts. That was when everything started, really. Agatha treated those burns and cuts... she carries the scars still."

Severus was painfully reminded of her own childhood.

"And then the Death Eaters raided because Roberto, even though he was an amoral man, did not want to join the Death Eaters. He did have some sense, as did Alisha. They were beaten, raped, put under Imperius, forced to do things that Kestrel should never had seen... and then murdered."

"Their daughter watched? They forced her... to watch?" Severus said, horror creeping into his voice.

Altair seemed reluctant to go on, as if realizing that he was gossiping. Snape however, was not one to be crossed. "She was chained to a tree in a cemetery and forced to watch every move, every jerk, forced to hear every scream, every plea of mercy. Once her parents were dead, they turned on her... and that's when the Aurors came in. She begged to be Obliviated but they didn't let her. They squeezed every last drop of knowledge of what she had seen from her and then sent her back without so much as a glance or a hug or a word of care." Severus found a renewed hatred for Aurors. "It's been three years. She managed to erase the memory. Don't ask her about it. We're all afraid she'll go mad."

Altair told him they'd continue the tour later, with Kestrel. Snape heard a yell from downstairs: Rivera. He followed Altair downstairs and saw Kestrel whirl around while clasping a black cloak around her neck, now wearing trousers, boots, and a comfortable shirt. She smiled.

"Nice tour?"

"We'll finish it some other time," Altair said grandly. "Now go! Rawnie will be fit to be tied if you don't show up soon!"

"Please come with me, Professor Snape."

He followed her, curious to learn more about the strange land that was Greece and Kestrel's history.

*****
Presto! You know the drill now! *smile*
-Mel