Talia and Draco were sleeping, both unsuspectingly cuddling with the other underneath the sheets. They had known each other for years because of their mothers being such close friends—they had taken baths together as toddlers for heaven's sakes! They were like brother and sister, and it was not odd to see them snuggling up against one another when they were in the safety of Malfoy Manor or Spinner's End.
However, Draco's bad-boy image could not be broken at Hogwarts, and therefore he loved the freedom of being with Talia. He could be himself around her; he didn't have to lie, he didn't have to act and pretend to be someone else. He was his own person around her, but that was all going to change. Talia was entering her 1st year at Hogwarts now—he'd have to act differently around her when they'd be out in public.
The sound of a door opening harshly startled the two, making them wake up with a jolt as the door rebounded off the wall. Talia's long dark hair resembled a bird's nest, and Draco's short silvery hair appeared to be windswept. They were a sight to see, with their nightclothes askew on their bodies and their legs tangled together by the bed sheets.
Severus stood at the entrance of Talia's room, dressed in his signature black frock coat and slacks, his black hair framing his face, and one eyebrow raised—it was nothing new.
"Get dressed," he said slowly, "breakfast shall be served in 20 minutes."
With that being said, Severus turned on his heels and walked out of the bedroom, his hair bouncing around his neck as he went. He was no further than down the hall when he heard a loud thump and Draco groaning in pain (probably having been pushed off the bed), followed by Talia's laughter and then the pitter patter of feet as she surly raced to the bathroom to get first dibs on the sink and toilet.
Severus couldn't help but to let a small and sad sigh leave his lips. As much as he hated to admit it, Talia and Draco's friendship remind him of the friendship he and Isabella had when they were children… before Hogwarts, before Lily, before the Marauders, and before Voldemort and his Death Eaters.
His youth at Spinner's End had been horrible, and the only thing he looked forward to was heading over to Prince Manor, where Isabella and her parents lived. There he could do magic without hiding it from his mother and father; there he could be himself, the wizard he wanted to be, and not pretend to be a simple muggle for the sake of his father.
His childhood had been nothing like the childhood of Draco, but riches set aside, Severus knew that Draco was a very talented actor. Severus knew that Draco was only ever truly himself in the presence of Talia. She could easily bring out the child in him and push back the man that Narcissa and Lucius wanted him to be.
Draco could be himself around Talia, just as Severus could be himself around Isabella.
With her he didn't have to act.
By the time Severus reached the kitchen, he could smell sausages and eggs, Earl Gray tea, rolls, honey, a hint of sugar, and lemonade. Isabella was cooking (the muggle way) to clear her mind off last night's argument, he was sure.
He was proven right when he saw their house elf, Widget, sitting down at the kitchen table looking bored. The elf had her tiny hands folded neatly on her lap, and was swinging her legs back and forth.
"Widget, can you hand me some butter?" Isabella asked without turning away from the stove.
Widget jumped up and smiled widely, finally happy that she was doing something productive.
"You're overworking yourself," Severus said softly as he sat himself down at the kitchen table, taking the seat that Widget had once occupied.
Isabella shrugged, still not turning away from the stove; it made Severus roll his eyes.
"My Mistress, can Widget go see if Miss Natalia needs assistance in getting ready?" Widget asked with a tiny smile after she handed Isabella a bar of butter—Severus rolled his eyes yet again.
The little elf had a pink ribbon wrapped around her large head, wore a light green tea-towel with roses embroidered on the hems, and on her feet were brown trainers that had once belonged to Talia when she had been an infant. It was obvious to anyone that Widget was a free elf, but she was loyal to Isabella and Talia, Severus too, and therefore remained at Spinner's End. She could literally disappear whenever she wanted too, but the little creature insisted that she stay and help around the house.
Severus could remember the day of her liberation easily. It happened on Christmas, when Talia had been five years old. Talia had seen that everyone was exchanging gifts, but that no one was giving anything to Widget, the elf that looked after her. She took it upon herself to give Widget her scarf, unknowingly setting her free.
"Can you braid Talia's hair while you're there?" Isabella asked Widget, who nodded, snapping her fingers and disappearing with a 'POP'.
A minute passed after that, and then Isabella turned around, placing her hands on her apron-clad hips and giving Severus a knowing look.
"We need to discuss the events of last night," Severus said calmly, waving a hand in front of him over the tabletop to produce magically a copy of the Daily Prophet.
"I'm sending her to France," Isabella said with conviction.
Severus sighed. "France? So she can become an ice queen like the rest of those presumptuous Beauxba—"
"You rather I send her to Norway?" Isabella hissed. "You do remember Igor, yes? Igor Karkaroff?"
That made Severus' blood boil. He knew well of Igor Karkaroff—the Russian was a bloody Death Eater who had somehow managed to become headmaster of Durmstrang Institute.
"Honestly, woman," Severus growled, looking away from his newspaper and up at his cousin, "I'd rather you send her to Beauxbatons than there."
Isabella could only roll her eyes. She knew that would get to him; it had been a low blow, considering he too had been a Death Eater at one point in his life, but she'd snapped, and said the first thing that had came running through her thoughts.
"I just don't want her at Hogwarts," Isabella said as she busied herself with finishing breakfast.
"You know, it would be best that Talia attend Hogwarts—"
"I don't want her to get hurt," Isabella cut him off, grinding her teeth. She looked down at her pan, on which an egg was frying, holding the spatula tightly as she said, "I've been living lie after lie for the past 11 years, and for everything that I—for everything that you have built to just suddenly come crashing down because of Remus… I can't allow that.
"He's smarter than you think he is—he's like an animal and animals always know how to single out their kin. He'll figure out that Talia is his sooner or later and I'm just not ready for that.
"He'll notice the changes in her once the full moon comes around. He'll be able to smell the similarities between himself and her—wolves can identify their pack members by scent alone."
She has a point, Severus admitted to himself, but how long was Isabella planning on hiding? Severus knew it wasn't good for Talia. As much as he loathed Remus, Severus knew that hiding a daughter from him wasn't right.
Talia deserved to know the truth and not the lie that she had been fed: that her biological father had run off because he wasn't ready to handle a child.
At least Isabella had the decency to tell Talia that I'm her uncle and not her father, Severus thought scornfully.
Severus had done everything in his power to keep Isabella and Talia safe and away from the scrutiny of the public eye. He had forged a marriage certificate so that they would think that he and Isabella were married, and so that everyone would think Talia was his and not the bastard child of some riffraff that Isabella was seeing; so that they wouldn't bother her with questions on the whereabouts of her child's father. He had also done it so that Talia would not play the victim to bullies who would have been sure to tease her if they were to find out that her mother was a single mother.
He had done everything for them, but time was catching up on them and it wasn't fair to Remus—it wasn't fair to Talia either.
"Remus just can't know—not yet, and to prevent that, Talia will not be there." As an afterthought, Isabella added, "it's enough that Draco is the only other person besides you and I that knows that you are not her biological father. Thankfully he values Talia's friendship enough to keep his mouth shut and go along with the story."
"Talia tells that boy too much," Severus said thoughtfully.
Isabella nodded.
"Talia should go to Hogwarts, though," Severus pushed on, "what will you tell Narcissa and Lucius once they question you about your change in schools?"
"I hadn't thought of that," Isabella sighed, turning around and taking her apron off, "I can just say that I don't agree with Dumbledore's method of educating our children."
Severus smirked. He had her where he wanted her now. "Yes, but then wouldn't that be suspicious? Everyone knows how much you adore him, and then there is me—some would find it odd that our daughter is not going to the school that we went to… that school that I teach at."
"Damn you, Severus," Isabella hissed.
Severus was victorious.
"So it's settled, then?" he asked rhetorically. "Talia will be attending Hogwarts."
"Yes," Isabella said begrudgingly, hating the fact that she was easily persuaded.
Sensing that his cousin was still reluctant, Severus added, "Do you honestly want to be questioned by your daughter? What would you tell her: that her father is the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor and that you want to keep her existence a secret because he'll reject her? Not to mention the fact that he is a werewolf and that that is the reason for us treating her differently near and on the full moon?
"Talia already suspects something about her health. She's a smart girl, Isabella; she'll figure it out on her own if you don't tell her."
"It would have been easier if she'd just been born a full werewolf," Isabella voiced out her thoughts. "I could have just told her that she'd been bitten as a child, or that I was infected during the pregnancy and that certain werewolf traits passed on to her—damn it, what will I tell her when she connects the dots? I mean, she already noticed that her eyes gain an amber hue when she' "sick", and just the other day she asked for raw stake! I'm digging myself a hole!"
"You worry too much. Talia will be fine for now. That is why we give her Wolfsbane to keep her from turning into a complete savage," Severus put in. "The occasional heavy sleeping potion to subdue her also helps. Not to mention that your animagus is a wolf; that gave you something to wrap your lie around."
If it were up to Severus, he would have told Talia that she was a half-breed a long time ago, but being the loving cousin that he was (as hard to believe as that was, considering his cold demeanor), he had gone with the lie that Isabella had created. That because her animagus was a wolf, certain wolf traits had passed down to Talia during birth. Like how her eyes turn the slightest bit topaz, why she gets sick around the full moon, why her temper shifted from happy to livid in seconds, why she sometimes craves raw stake…
It would have been easier to just tell Talia the truth, but Isabella was scared. She wanted Talia to live as normally as possible; to not be singled out for what she was.
"However, she'll figure out that what we give her is Wolfsbane and not vitamins," Severus said, scoffing as he muttered, "How long do you expect her to be ignorant of the special treatment we give her once a month?"
Severus has a point, Isabella thought, and was about to speak but stopped herself when the voices of Draco and Talia began to grow louder as they approached the kitchen.
For now, she would keep quite. She would stay with the lies she had planted in Talia's head—she would not tell Talia about Remus, or the fact that being an animagus has nothing to do with her "illness."
"Talia, you better pray to Merlin that you're sorted into Slytherin."
Talia's happy screech was enough to turn Isabella's sour mood into a good one.
