Deja's First Birthday

[Valeria Trevi]

Valerie had run into Pamela Macey, her aunt and uncle's caretaker while she was in Obsidian Harbour with her daughter Deja. The two women had immediately recognized each other and once Valerie had explained her situation to Pamela, the older woman had suggested she live with the Chaos' in their New Zealand home. At first Valerie was hesitant because she was afraid her aunt and uncle would reveal her whereabouts to her parents but her Uncle Charlie had admitted to running away once and told her she was safe with them.
Valerie was immensely grateful for that because the Leaky Cauldron wasn't a suitable living environment for Deja who was growing up faster than Valerie could keep up with. She was so proud of her baby girl but seeing her grow up so fast was scary and sad for her. Now it was summer and Deja had just turned 1 on June first, however they were throwing her a sort of late birthday party, as well as a mixture of other celebrations for today. Pamela, their caretaker of about seven years was leaving them and was now a shopkeeper in Obsidian Harbour, and Valerie was thrilled that her best friend from school, Victoria, was now going to work as the Chaos' caretaker. Valerie had wanted to take the position for them so they wouldn't have to look for someone and so she wouldn't feel bad for leaving her daughter along with the two twins, however she could barely manage her bubbling toddler and a waitress job, she couldn't possibly take care of two more infants.
Today was also the day that her younger cousin Isabella would be returning from school and that was the thing everyone was most worried about. Valerie hadn't seen her younger cousin in a long while, since whenever Isabella had visited her home in Rome, she was never there. She barely even remembered anything about the younger girl except that she was a year younger than her little brother Zaire. Daphne had warned her that Pamela's departure would be a big deal for Isabella so Valerie was prepared for Deja's celebration to be short lived and Victoria's warm welcoming party to be not-so-warm.

 

[Victoria Chambers]

Victoria was so thrilled to be able to live in the same house as her best friend from school. Sure a babysitter wasn't the coolest job on the planet, but the family was paying a lot, especially since they had three young babies for her to handle. Tori didn't mind it, she had three younger siblings herself, her only brother Isaac was currently attending Hogwarts New Zealand and he was going to come to live with her in her small apartment in Brightstone. She had considered getting rid of the apartment and living full time at the Chaos' but she didn't want to have to tell them that Isaac would have to live with her sometimes over the holidays so as of now, the apartment was basically his. Right now that she was in Italy with the Chaos', Isaac was in France and thankfully Isaac wasn't coming to New Zealand to live with her until the Chaos' too moved back to New Zealand.

Tori had a few options with what she could do with her apartment. She only really needed it because of Isaac and even then that was only during the break. She had already spoken to Pamela about it and offered the older woman her apartment to live in, and she had accepted, though for now Tori had asked that she not move in yet, since she had a secret plan for it...

Right now she was holding Cappie in her arms to get better acquainted with the two infants she'd be taking care of for the next few years, while Daphne held Valentina, as they awaited Charlie to return with their oldest daughter Isabella. Her best friend Val gave her a nervous look as she bounced her one year old girl on her hip but Tori gave her a reassuring smile, thinking it couldn't be too bad.

 

[Isabella Chaos]

Something wasn't right. And Isabella could tell by how short her father was being with her when he picked her up from the train station. Isabella tried not to worry about it as she held on to her father's arm, preparing for the uncomfortable sensation of Side-Apparating. She closed her eyes and although she hated the feeling, a smile appeared on her face, so happy to be going back to Italy where Pammy would be there and she could hang out with her all she wanted, and she could see her new siblings too.

When she felt her feet hit the ground, she opened her eyes and her smile grew wider at the sight of her home in Italy, Better than the house in New Zealand, she thought bitterly. She let go of her father's arm and made her way to the front door, whispering the password to get in, and eagerly entered. "I'm home!" she announced her arrival at the entrance. She set her suitcase down beside her, and walked into the kitchen where she expected Pammy and her mother to be there. Instead she saw her mother, and two people she didn't recognize. She blinked her eyes a few times when she finally realized that the brunette was her older cousin, Valerie. She hadn't seen her in so long, in fact she hadn't even heard of her in so long. Every time Isabella would go visit her aunt and uncle they would never speak of her but when they did it was always negative and they used the word 'free spirit' as an insult for her. What was she doing here? Was Zaire here too? Isabella would've actually been happy if he were, they always quite got along.

Then her eyes fell upon a birthday cake with a wax candle number 1 on top of it. Finally she allowed her eyes to take in not only the older people standing in the room but the babies they were holding. They each seemed to be carrying one. But wait, there were three? Her mother had only had twins. Her eyes rested upon the baby that was hugging her cousin Valerie in a rather affectionate way, as if she were suddenly scared of what was going to happen. Was that--it couldn't be, could it? "What's going on here?" Isabella asked in a fake cheery voice, already shaking with uncertainty and nervousness.

 

[Daphne Chaos]

"Isabella! So good to see you back sweetie," her mother said in an overdone voice, reaching over and giving her daughter an unfamiliar hug, one handed of course, since she held Valentina in her arms. "You remember your cousin Valeria don't you?" she said, referring to the brunette standing nearest to the cake. When Pamela had first brought her over to the house Daphne had been shocked with how much she seemed to look like Isabella, or the opposite actually. Now that the two were standing in front of her where she could make a good comparison, there was no denying that they looked extremely similar. In a way it made Daphne proud to know that Isabella would grow up to look as beautiful as Valeria, but it also saddened her, seeing Valeria was like seeing her daughter grown up, and with a baby in the picture just scared her. "She's living with us due to a few family problems," Daphne said offhandedly, not wanting to go into detail about that. Personally Daphne agreed with her sister and brother-in-law's description of Valeria as 'free spirited' but the girl was rather nice so she didn't have anything against her. Plus she had helped her a lot with the twins and when Pamela had given her two week notice, Valeria found someone suitable to take over the position.

She was just scared of Isabella's reaction to Pamela's departure. The poor girl seemed to have to deal with something new and life changing every year. First it was Wendy's appearance out of nowhere, then it was the fact that she was having twins, and now Pamela's departure. Daphne naively hoped that the celebration of Deja's birthday would soften the blow for her but seriously doubted it. With that in mind she decided to introduce everyone else, including the babies.

"This is Valentina, your new sister," Daphne said softly looking down at the precious baby laying in her arms. "That is Capulet, Cappie for short, your new baby brother," Daphne continued with excitement. She decided not to introduce Victoria just yet. "And that in Valeria's arms is Deja, a cousin of yours. She's Valeria's daughter," Daphne said, her smile forced but unnoticable. "She's also the birthday girl!" Daphne added cheerily. She noticed Isabella open her mouth and was about to ask about Victoria so she interrupted and said, "And this is Victoria, she's Valeria's school friend who will be staying with us too."

 

[Isabella Chaos]

Isabella raised her eyebrows at her mother's fake cheeriness. When it came to Isabella, she was the only one she couldn't fool. She smiled when she looked at her new siblings, they had grown a lot since the newborn picture her mother had sent her when they were first born. When her mother had told her that Valerie had a family issue which is why she was living here, and then introduced Deja as Valerie's daughter, Isabella knew that was the reason why she had been kicked out of her home.

Isabella rolled her eyes at the blonde girl who had smiled at her warmly and looked at her mother with a look that said, 'Are you serious?' "Since when did our home become a shelter for charity cases?" Isabella said rudely, her hands on her hips while looking over the blonde girl, Victoria, and her cousin and her daughter. She thought first Wendy, then Valerie and her baby, now her friend? She didn't mean to be so rude to her cousin, but seriously, how rude was it that her friend come live with them? "And where's Pammy?" Isabella questioned aloud, looking around for her as if expecting her to pop out of one of the rooms.

 

[Charles Chaos]

Charlie knew as soon as they stepped foot into the house, things would not go over so well, and he knew Daphne's attempt to 'soften the blow' with a birthday party for Deja wasn't going to work. He picked up Isabella's fallen suitcase and magicked it up the stairs and into her room. He heard Daphne introducing everyone and as soon as Isabella responded something nasty with a snobby attitude, he quickly entered the kitchen and said, "Isabella Chaos that is extremely disrespectful of you, apologize right now." His voice was calm yet authoritative and even though they all pretended that his teenage daughter had them wrapped around her finger, he knew his word was still final.

He waited for her to apologize before answering her question on Pamela's whereabouts. "Pamela is back at our home in New Zealand," he answered simply, before giving Daphne a nod as if to tell her he would give her the bad news. "Victoria isn't just staying with us for the heck of it Izzie, she is our new caretaker," he explained, giving Victoria a reassuring and apologetic smile for his daughter's rudeness.

 

[Isabella Chaos]

Isabella rolled her eyes when her father came in and told her to apologize. Was it her fault that she was telling the truth? He remained quiet, as if waiting for her to apologize so she sighed as if this were a big favor she were doing for him and said sarcastically, "Sorry."

Her father seemed to accept that as an apology because he then told her that Pammy was at their New Zealand home. "Well did no one tell her I was coming home today?" Isabella said with a look that said 'Hellooo? Duh!' Then when her father told her that the blonde girl, Victoria was their new caretaker, Isabella let a laugh escape her. "Don't you think that's kind of pointless, seeing as we already have Pammy?" What was going on that her parents were not thinking clearly?

 

[Victoria Chambers]

It didn't take long for Tori to see why the Chaos' were walking on eggshells for Isabella's arrival, she was a downright brat! Tori did her best to ignore the comment she made about 'charity cases', Victoria was far from one. Her family was very well off, she had chosen to come to New Zealand once her best friend had written her saying she was here running away from her parents and Tori thought it would be a fun adventure. Getting a high paying job in the process didn't hurt either.

Tori smiled at the young teenage girl, who reminded her a lot of Valerie when they had met in school. She had heard that Isabella was in Slytherin, the same house Valerie had been. This thought reassured Tori. If Isabella was a mini-version of Valerie, she knew that this brattiness was just a phase that every teenage girl went through and would eventually become a respectable woman. The only thing she hoped was that she wouldn't meet someone like Vince who would impregnate her an then leave her two months after the baby was born. God how Tori hated Vince for doing that to her friend.

Her attention was quickly brought back to the scene in front of her as the girl seemed to think that Pamela still worked for them. Tori almost felt sorry for her, having to lose someone she'd grown close with to being replaced with a stranger like her, though to be honest Tori doubted they'd see each other much aside from holidays. Tori kept her composure so as not to give anything away as Charles continued to talk to the younger teenage girl.

 

[Daphne Chaos]

Daphne was never one for beating around the bush when it came to Isabella so she looked at Charles, indicating that she was going to take over the conversation and inhaled quickly before she said, "Pamela's no longer working for us Isabella. And before you go shooting off your mouth thinking that we fired her, we didn't," she added sternly. Valentina stirred and gave a whimper as Daphne had used a rather affirmative voice so the mother began to rock back and forth, hoping not to wake the baby up.

"Pamela is in New Zealand because she got a job there, a shopkeeper of a Quidditch store or something," Daphne said with distaste. Personally she didn't enjoy the sport. "She says you are quite grown up and capable of taking care of yourself now, but she'll always be around to talk to you if you need it," she added in a softer tone of voice.

"Thankfully Valeria brought her friend over to be considered for the new caretaker position, seeing as there are now two Chaos infants to take care of instead of one, as well as Deja," she added with a small chuckle, though she quickly stopped as soon as she saw the look on her oldest daughter's face. "And she is very capable for the job, so she's here to stay no ifs, ands, or buts about it," her mother finalized. "Now why don't you make yourself at home so we can sing 'Happy Birthday' to Deja now?"

 

[Isabella Chaos]

Isabella opened her mouth, ready to fire away at her mother before she had cut her off. Pammy gone? No longer living with them? Why?! How could she do this to her?! Didn't she know that she needed her!! Isabella was so sick and tired of school and holding back her emotions, she needed someone to vent to! Now how else was she going to calm down and not let her anger get the better of her? Pammy was her best friend, how could she abandon her like this?! "What?!" she half yelled, before her mother hushed her. "No! This isn't fair! How can you guys do this to me?!" she yelled, her baby brothers now stirring. Deja began to cry, frightened of Isabella's unexpected yelling and everyone began hushing Isabella as they all tried to comfort the babies. Her brown eyes were narrowed to slits as she stared at the blonde girl, Victoria. Vicky, no, Icky Vicky, she'd refer to her as. "Who do you think you are, telling me what to do?!" Isabella said icily to her. By this time all three babies were crying and Isabella was so frustrated she could pull her hair out. They all 'ssshed' at her again and Isabella gritted her teeth, muffling her squeal.

She stood there rooted to the spot as nothing but anger overtook her. She had to get out of here, this wasn't her home. This place would never be her home without Pammy. She'd grown up with her, and why wasn't she here? If she was leaving why couldn't she at least say goodbye properly? What a cowardly thing to do, Isabella thought bitterly of her best friend. "I hate you!!!" Isabella yelled at the top of her lungs towards all of them. With that final word, she turned around and ran full speed up to her bedroom and slammed the door, tears streaming down her face as she let out a very loud, angsty scream.

 

[Victoria Chambers]

Tori felt really bad watching Isabella find out the news about Pamela and winced as the teenager began yelling. She comforted the baby in her arms, rocking back and forth as she tried shielding its ears from his screaming sister, but it was no use. Cappie had began crying once he heard Deja crying which then triggered Valentina's crying. Tori looked at Isabella wish sad apologetic green eyes but the girl only stared back with hatred, thinking she had been one of the ones to shush her.

As expected, Isabella wasn't exactly thrilled that she was taking over Pamela's position and ran up to her room in anger. It seemed Tori knew exactly how she'd react because before Isabella had arrived, the blonde girl had placed a note underneath her pillow with the words 'If you ever need to escape...' and the address of her vacant apartment. She thought Isabella could use a place to escape to when her family would be trying to console her or cheer her up, the last thing an angsty teenage girl wanted. So she offered her apartment, which was still in a familiar city to the brunette girl as a getaway.

 

[Isabella Chaos]

Isabella ran over to her bed and collapsed on it, sobbing hysterically into her pillow. This isn't fair, this isn't fair, she kept repeating to herself over and over again. She placed her hands underneath the pillow and felt a small slip of paper. When she pulled it out she couldn't recognize the handwriting, who could it be. 'If you ever need to escape...'

Isabella could hear the babies' cries get softer until they were sobs she could no longer hear and she simply sat on her bed, her pale face tear-stricken and her hair a mess. She looked around at her elegant room where her closet full of posh clothing was open to her. This was no longer her home. Pamela had shaped her into the decent human being she was, full of mannerisms and respect for others. Well, if Pamela had chosen to abandon her then why bother being a respectable girl like she wanted? The only reason she behaved was because she didn't want to let Pammy down. And now Pammy had let her down. It definitely wasn't fair in the teenage girl's mind.

Isabella soon began to hear 'Happy birthday to you...' coming from downstairs. She looked down at the slip of paper with the address on it and bit her lip. She got up off her bed quickly and went over to her desk, ripping two pieces of paper out. She dipped a quill in ink as she wrote on one of them, "Wendy, I've given you my entire wardrobe, I won't need it anymore. Have fun, go crazy, makeover, yadda yadda. -Isabella" She quietly opened the door and tiptoed over to Wendy's room, slipping the note underneath the door of the room in which her half-sister stayed in when she visited. Isabella knew the Gryffindor girl was due to come visit during the summer, she just wouldn't be around to see her anymore.

Then Isabella went back to her room, ignoring the cheers and claps for Deja downstairs and wrote, "Please don't reveal my whereabouts." and placed it under her pillow where she had first found the note with the address on it. She grabbed her suitcase that had yet to be unpacked, and threw out all her clothes. From now on she was going to change her image. She'd go buy completely new clothes if she had to, which she did, seeing as all her old clothes were not suitable for her rebelliousness. Once her suitcase was just full of her school supplies and essentials, she grabbed it and went over to Pammy's old room, which was connected to hers, and stood right in front of the fireplace. She started a fire and looked at the address once more, making sure she had it memorized, before she threw the paper in the fire. Getting rid of all the evidence. She then spoke the address clearly into the fire as she threw a pinch of Floo powder in there and once the flames turned emerald, she stepped in, ready for a new adventure where she didn't know where she was going or what she was going to do, just that she was going to be running the show from now on.

 

[Victoria Chambers]

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~~A few weeks later~~​

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Things had gotten crazy when the Chaos' first found Isabella's room to be empty. Daphne went absolutely crazy, but it wasn't until Charles found the note underneath Isabella's pillow that they all relaxed, sort of. Tori had managed to convince them that someone knew where she was, and they hoped that she was at least being careful. She and Valerie had also explained to them that Isabella just needed some space. Since she didn't want them to get suspicious of her and think she convinced their daughter to run away permanently and thus fire her, Tori managed to get them to believe that Pammy had anticipated Isabella's outburst and told her to meet them at their home in New Zealand. Once Daphne heard that she was going to Apparate over to their New Zealand home but Tori yet again, convinced her to give Isabella the space that she needed and that she and Valerie would go check on her later. Daphne seemed to believe it and thanked Tori for being so calm and was glad she hired her.

Tori had let Valerie in on her little secret and even though she as a bit upset and shocked at her, she realized it was a good plan. From then on Valerie would sporadically Apparate into the apartment to check on Isabella. Once Tori had gotten the letter from her younger brother Isaac that he would be going to her apartment to live with her now, Tori had to accompany Val on her trip to the apartment. Isabella had been furious that Tori had been the one to offer her a place to stay but the fact that she now owed her one bothered the thirteen year even more, which amused Tori but she didn't rub it in her face. She had explained to both Isabella and Isaac their situations and surprisingly the two had gotten on well immediately, even though Tori couldn't see why anyone would get along with Isaac, he was so arrogant. After that the two basically had each other to look after so Valerie's visits became less frequent. The two best friends had to constantly keep her mother updated with information on the Slytherin girl and at one point began to think that they had kidnapped her, or worse killed her! Because of that, Tori and Valerie both had to take pictures with the teenage girl, who had begun to dress and act differently, much to her parents horror. Thankfully, Pamela was so busy with her new job that she hadn't had time to respond to any of the owls the Chaos' would send her and while she was working, both she and Valerie would sneak in and intercept Daphne's letters so Pamela wouldn't talk to Daphne and thus end up blowing their cover.

Now it was the day before their first day of school, both Isaac and Isabella's last nights in her apartment and Tori couldn't be happier. She was exhausted doing all this secretive stuff for Isabella, as well as taking care of three babies. Valerie tried to help out as much as she could but she had a waitress job at the Leaky Cauldron so some nights she was missing. Tori had explained to Isabella and Isaac that after that night it wasn't their home anymore and that Pamela would soon start living in it. Isabella, still upset with Pammy for 'abandoning her' refused to speak to her and said as long as Pammy was there she wouldn't step foot in the apartment any longer but Tori had already made an arrangement with Pamela so that she could watch over Isaac during the summer break while Tori was staying at the Chaos' home. As for Isabella, well Tori had done as much as she could and what she did and where she stayed during her break was the decision of the teenage girl.

-END OF THREAD-