[h2][center]Kyle McCarthy[/center][/h2]

Kyle's cousin, Victor, sat across from Kyle at their late breakfast in complete silence. It wasn't an uncomfortable one as people might expect, but a relaxed silence that came from years of knowing each other. There was no need to fill that silence with banter, or talk of the weather. Besides Kyle was certain if Victor did ask questions it would be about Siobhan, a conversation Kyle did not want to have. 

Once the meal was finished Kyle stood up and started towards his room. “Kyle,” Victor said as Kyle reached for the door handle out of the dinning room. “I hope you have a good trip. I'll see you in a year.”

“Thank you Victor.” Kyle started to turn to leave again, but paused and turned to face Victor again. “I appreciate everything you've done for me.” Victor nodded, and Kyle left the room to finish packing.

He really did appreciate his cousin and everything he had done for him. Without Victor, Kyle would have been living on the streets, or worse would have ended up in Azkaban right along side his sister, Maggie. Kyle's brow furrowed at the thought of his sister, thankful though for the walls and distance between the two of them. Almost everyone at the school had known about Kyle's family, they had had a very public trial, which concluded in two lifetime sentences for Kyle's father for the murder of Kyle's mother, and three lifetime sentences for Maggie for use of the Killing curse and Crucio on several muggles and muggle-borns.

Kyle looked over to his nightstand where a picture of Siobhan sat, she was reading something in the picture, probably something about dragons, and the wind was blowing her hair. Kyle didn't remember anything about that day, but taking the picture. Even still it was his favorite possession. He tossed the rest of his clothes into a messy pile in his trunk, but carefully wrapped the picture with a shirt, before closing the trunk. He waved his wand and whispered an incantation, the trunk shrank down to be a bit smaller than his palm. Kyle shoved the now miniature trunk into his pocket and walked back out of his room, giving it one last glance. 

It was barely noticeable that someone had lived in the room for nearly ten years, only the wardrobe with too small clothes, or half broken supplies gave any indication that it had been a student's room. All of Kyle's books were either packed, or in his cousin's library, and the only picture that had ever sat in the room was packed as well. He didn't even have a picture of his mother, the only member of his immediate family he had ever gotten along with. 

Kyle left the property, and just on the edge of the spell that kept people from apparating or disapparating inside the grounds, he disapparated and appeared in Hogsmead. His stomach twisting even after all the practice he had put into learning the spell. Kyle braced himself for a moment against a wall and then stepped out into the all magical town, his eyes looking for Siobhan.