Okay, here's the next chapter. I'm actually really enjoying writing this story and brainstorming ideas for it.
I don't own anything related to Harry Potter, wish I did, but I don't. I only own my own characters and that's barely.
"How could this have happened Vittoria? We should have been there. We should have had aurors watching the house. This could have been prevented." A tall bearded man with crystal blue eyes paced around the homely bedroom.
"Lazzaro we both know that mother and father would never allow anyone but themselves to protect their home. They knew what was coming, they knew the danger they were in." A woman with the same crystal blue eyes as the man sat next to the sleeping form of Cosima.
"Yes, but they also put Cos in danger. They left her vulnerable." He stopped and glared out the window.
Vittoria's eyes hardened. "You know damn well that they would never put her in danger. The less people knew about her and her visions the better. No one could know what was coming."
"This is going to destroy her, sister. Mother and father were her world. The only parents she ever knew." Lazzaro looked at the sleeping form of his only niece, she didn't deserve this pain.
"I know. The only thing we can do is be there for her." Vittoria pushed Cosima's dark hair out of her face and behind her ears. "We have to tell Val. She deserves to know."
Lazzaro scoffed. "She deserves nothing. She left the family, her newborn daughter with no remorse."
"They were still her parents Lazzaro. And Cos is her daughter, she needs her mother now more than ever." Vittoria tried to keep her voice down.
He sat next to his sister, his hand enveloping Cosima's small hand. "Fine, but she stays with us. I won't let that woman take her away."
Vittoria wrapped her hands around Lazzaro's and Cosima's hands. "I won't let her take Cos away either. But she needs to know."
"I'll send a patronus then." They stayed like that until Cos stirred. "What news of Amélie?"
"She'll be arriving by portkey soon." Vittoria blinked back tears. "I can't believe they're gone Lazzaro. They can't be."
Lazzaro embraced his sister, both of them finally letting their grief take over.
…
Cosima felt a hand caress her face, the smell of sweet flowers surrounded her. She was home. Violet eyes opened to meet her grandmother's love-filled blue eyes.
"Il mio dolce bambino, mi dispiace che abbiamo dovuto lasciare così." My sweet child, I am so sorry we had to leave you like that.
"No, ho pensato che era solo per avere un brutto sogno. Ti prego, dimmi che era solo un sogno." No, I thought I was just having a bad dream. Please, tell me it was only a dream.
Cosima flung herself into her grandmother's arms. "Oh dolce ragazza, la morte non è la fine." Oh sweet girl, death is not the end.
"Ma io non posso andare avanti senza di te o il nonno. Non lo farò." But I can't go on without you or grandfather. I won't.
"Tuo nonno e ho bisogno di rimanere forte. Si otterrà solo più difficile da qui. Ma saremo sempre con voi." Your grandfather and I need you to stay strong. It will only get harder from here. But we will always be with you.
"Ti prego, non mi lasciare." Please, don't leave me.
"Riposa ora." Rest now.
Her grandmother smiled tenderly and with a blink of an eye she was gone. Cosima drifted off into slumber once more.
…
"Bring me the girl, that was the only thing I asked. Yet, it seems like it was an impossible task for you." The Dark Lord circled around the four burly men. "I need the girl."
"My lord, the old traitors knew we were coming. Someone warned them." One of the Death Eaters answered in a shaky voice.
"She warned them, you fool. That is why I need her. She would be a valuable asset to our cause." His snakelike eyes widened in anger as he raised his wand, a wordless crucio hitting the man.
The Death Eater writhed in pain as the others watched in fear. He smirked cruelly as the man screamed in agony. He put down his wand and motioned his snake forward. "Nagini, kill."
The other Death Eaters watched in a dazed horror as the large snake ferociously attacked the fallen man.
"I want that girl. You will bring her to me or each of you will suffer the same fate." The Dark Lord turned and left the room with a fluidity that could only resemble a snake.
…
Vittoria and Lazzaro had waited and waited for Cosima to wake but the girl had only thrashed and cried in her sleep. They had whispered old tales of magic to her, sang her lullabies that their mother had sang to them as children then sang to her as a baby. She didn't stir.
They each kissed her forehead and ordered Bruno to watch over her. The wolf jumped on the bed making it creak with his big size and curled next to her.
The siblings walked down the stairs and into the living area. A woman in her thirties stood from her spot on the couch, her blue eyes widening. "Lazzaro. Vittoria."
Lazzaro's posture stiffened. "Valentina." He guided Vittoria to another couch and stood over her. "You actually showed. I would have thought you would just send a card expressing your deepest sympathies."
Valentina mournfully shook her head. "Please, don't do that. They were my parents before you and Vittoria were born."
"And yet, you didn't seem one bit affected with leaving them behind. Leaving your child behind." Lazzaro's hands clenched in tight fists. "Tell me sister, how easy was it to leave behind your newborn? To choose one child over the other?" His hard blue eyes landed on the young boy next to his sister.
"Lazzaro, please." Vittoria tried to reach for him but he only glared at the woman across from him.
"Mother always believed you would come back. That she would see her family united before her death. Father knew better, he saw the hate in your heart that day. He said you wouldn't even look at her, didn't even give her a name." Every word he said was like a slap to her face. "The only reason you're here is thanks to Vittoria. She said they were still your parents. I disagree, you gave them up the moment you gave up that sweet little baby."
"Lazzaro, enough!" Vittoria finally raised her hand and fixed him with a hard look. "Please, our mother and father just died."
He bowed his head in shame. "I'm sorry Vittoria. I'll go and check if Amélie has arrived." Lazzaro hurried out of the living room.
"I'm sorry for what Lazzaro said, he doesn't realize that not everything is black and white. He doesn't understand that you had your reasons to leave." The two sisters shared a knowing look. "I wanted you here because we have to make decisions about her. She needs a mother."
Valentina shook her head. "I gave her up Vittoria, I can't take care of her."
"I thought that sixteen years away from her and your family would change you, soften your heart but I guess Lazzaro was right."
"That's enough, my mother deserves respect." The teen boy puffed his chest. "My sister has you and your brother. Leave my mother and I out of this. Your parents turned your back on her when she chose me and my safety over my sister's."
Vittoria waved a dismissive hand at him. "My parents, your grandparents, never turned their back on her. She had every chance to come back and make amends but she chose to continue to run from her own family."
"Vittoria, I won't drag Matteo into this mess that our father created by teaching her the old ways. He's innocent."
"And Cosima isn't?!" Valentina flinched. "She's a child, a scared and vulnerable child Valentina."
"Cosima? That's her name?" Valentina sniffled. Matteo took her hand.
"Cosima Lorenza. Father wanted her to carry on the family name." Vittoria smiled lightly at the memory of her father showing off his newborn granddaughter to her and Lazzaro while he announced her name.
"How is she?"
"We don't know. She arrived here by portkey by the time Molly and Arthur found her she was unconscious. We don't know if she witnessed anything or if she was hit by a curse." Vittoria could see emotion flickering in her sister's eyes. "Please, Valentina. She needs her family."
"I can't. Matteo needs me." She squeezed his hand. "I can't take her but maybe her father will."
Vittoria scoffed. "You said he rejected you after finding out you were pregnant."
"I lied, I never told him. I was scared and I thought he would reject me. I ran."
"Who is he?"
"The last thing I heard about him was that he was working as a professor at Hogwarts. His name is Snape, Severus Snape."
Vittoria sighed. "I'll send an owl as soon as possible and have him meet us here." She got up to leave but was stopped by her sister.
"Can I see her?" Tears were pooling in her blue eyes. "Please."
"Yes. She's upstairs."
"Thank you, Vittoria." Valentina pulled Matteo from the couch and headed to the stairs.
….
She could feel hands running through her hair but she couldn't move. All she could do was watch as images played through her head.
A young woman with long black hair and piercing blue eyes dancing with a young man. His onyx eyes staring deep into hers. They both looked familiar. The woman looked like her aunt Vittoria and the man looked like someone that always showed up in her dreams as a girl.
They danced and danced until the images would shift and they were fighting and screaming at each other. Then the images would shift to the man letting a masked figure dig their wand into his forearm and a mark of a skull with a serpent coming out of its mouth appeared on his skin.
The images would shift again to the same woman cradling her growing belly as she walked along the shores of a beach. Then they changed once more to the same woman struggling to push her baby into this world. She was screaming and an older woman swaddled a small redfaced crying baby boy and handed the bundle to the younger one. A smile appeared on her face but then a loud scream erupted from deep in her throat.
The younger woman started pushing once more and a second baby was out, a girl. The baby's eyes wide open as it took in her surroundings. The older woman swaddled the infant and handed her over. The younger woman stared into the girl's eyes and a look of horror filled her face. The child's violet eyes calm, little gold flecks visible in her eyes. The woman screamed and screamed until the older lady took the little girl out of her arms and left the room.
Her mother. She knew the younger woman was her mother. Her grandmother had told her growing up that her mother had been afraid of knowing that Cosima carried the family gift and that was why she had left. That her mother loved her deeply but she was just scared.
The images shifted again and she finally saw something that gave her happiness. Memories of a younger version of herself and Amélie playing together. More images of Amélie flooded her mind until she felt a pull in her head. Like a whisper.
"Cos.." More Amélie. "Cos…. wake up…."
Cosima fought the deep sleep and opened her eyes with a gasp. Violet eyes meeting warm amber eyes.
"Amélie." Her voice sounded hoarse as if she had screamed until leaving her throat raw.
A little smile appeared on Amélie's face, her eyes watering. "Bonjour, chiot." Hello, puppy. Her French accent melting the remnants of sleep from Cosima's body.
"They're dead, Amélie. They left me." Cosima threw herself into Amélie's arms and cried.
"Shhh. I am right here, chiot. I will not leave you." Cosima peered over the young French woman's shoulder and saw an older woman standing in the corner of the room. A boy around her age fidgeting with his sleeve.
Cosima let her go and really looked at the older woman. A sudden look of recognition shining in her eyes. "You. You're the woman from my visions."
"Cosima." The woman took a step near her but was stopped by Bruno's growl. He sensed his owner's uneasiness.
"You're my mother." Valentina's breath hitched. Cosima looked over at the boy. "That means you're my brother."
Okay so that's all I have so far but I'll update soon. I'm just trying to get the pace going so I can move this story forward a bit. I'm still trying to figure out my footing on this one. Anyways, I'll update after I update my other stories. Thanks to anyone who is actually taking the time to read this.