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Chapter 2

Declart steepled his fingers, how to go about this? His own father was never one to talk to him, and often berated him for his soft nature. It was his mother who doted on her darling youngest, and fought his battles for him. How would she have gone about this? He then shuddered, it was partially her fault things had gone so pear shaped. Sighing, he gazed at his only son with remorse, how did he tell his only son that his mother was now a monster?

Gabriel began to fidget in silence, glancing at the door, his father, Snippy and then his lap. The elf's bandaged ears, easier to focus on than the sight of his mother in the cellar, caused his heart to contract in guilt. "It wasn't Snippy's fault, he shouldn't have been punished" Gabriel blurted before staring at his lap again.

Declart ignored his outburst, staring at the young man his little baby boy was turning into. Blinking, he crossed the room and sat next to his son. "I forgot to ward the vents, silly mistake, that is how you were able hear her. At this moment, your mother is in a delicate situation . As you know, she left us saying she couldn't be a part of our family anymore. I'm not sure what happened, but she apparated back 6 months ago with terrible scars. I had one our family healers look at her in private - I could tell they were curse scars, made by dark magic, since the spells I tried couldn't heal her. " Declart paused a moment, trying to catch the eyes of his son, who was trying to avoid his gaze. "She, the healer concluded that Clarice had been attacked by a rouge werewolf at some point...filthy monsters".

Declart rubbed his face tiredly and sighed. "Do you understand what this means? Your mother is a werewolf now, a half-breed, you cannot tell anyone...or they will put her away for good"

Gabriel sniffled for a bit, before looking up, "am I a werewolf too?"

Declart shook his head, "only if you are bitten by a turned werewolf, you're fine, it was only a scratch; however, I won't be able to heal it and we can't risk taking you to a healer to have it checked. They are obligated by the ministry to report attacks, and the one I trusted to look at your mother has emigrated to America. We must be careful and show no one that scar. I will try experimenting with glamours tomorrow, though cuts by werewolves a generally difficult to hide"

Gabriel scrunched his face at the nickname before nodding dutifully. Declart patted his head before heading towards the door." I have a meeting today, study, stay away from the basement and we shall discuss the situation further tomorrow. Be sure to wear long sleeves Gabriel, we don't want anyone to know about Clarice's condition. "

Gabriel spent the rest of the day listlessly wandering the house, flying on his beginner broom stick when the fancy struck him. The following morning, his father came for him and took him to the study where the family's collective works were stored. His grandmother made sure to keep them all in pristine condition, as new as 200 year-old books could be, by regularly kicking Snippy as a reminder to dust them and renew their protective magic.

Stopping in front of a shelf, Declart murmured to himself, reading the titles, before stopping on Healing Dark Curses by Renne Lockhart. They then navigated to the couches across the room, and sat in silence as Declart flipped through the pages in silence. The momentary closeness they shared yesterday, seemed to have ended, and their time together became more strained. Standing up Gabriel began to wander the stacks. He hardly ever ventured here before, except to hide from Gardia, Morty's sister. The bookcases seem to stretch forever, his ancestors had been quite fond of books it seemed, and his father was also intent on updating the collection if the newer titles were any indication.

"Gabriel, I've written a few spells down and booked marked some possible salves and potions that have worked on related scars, but it appears there is no listed spell for werewolf inflicted injuries, I'm going to look around a bit more, but you can leave if you'd like".

Gabriel hurried towards his father, intending to interrogate him, but it appeared that he was already engrossed in another book that had somehow appeared at his side. Gabriel stood there for a little longer, staring before conceding defeat and leaving the room.