It was hard to believe that in a day or so, Talia would be returning home for the summer. It was even harder to believe that she had been away from Spinner's End for a year… but it didn't feel like that, not really. The presence of the few friends she had, her uncle, her father—they made it feel like home. Their constant presence helped her forget that she was living in a new place, and would be doing so for the next six years.
It was also hard to believe all that had happened to her while being at Hogwarts. From finding her father, to becoming the surrogate niece of an Azkaban escapee—it was like being in a work of fiction.
Talia regretted nothing of what had happened to her, though; looking back on all of what had happened, she found that she had many things to be thankful for. The recent events in her life gave her strength and helped her grow and see things in a new light.
Her motto was always, "things happen for a reason," and she would live by that until the day that she died.
There was nothing to be negative about, not anymore. All the missing pieces of her life-puzzle were slowly coming into place, giving her the sense of stability that she often craved.
Things were certainly looking brighter.
Talia found herself walking over the rickety old bridge that jutted out from the castle, her destination of the day being Hagrid's hut. During her exam with the Care of Magical Creature's professor, she'd inquired as to what would happen with Buckbeak; the news she received was rather unsettling.
Hagrid's hearing had not gone well, and Buckbeak was to be killed at sunset.
An apology would have been silly to offer, and Talia did not want to out-right give her condolences in the middle of class, so she'd asked him quietly if she could pay him a visit in the late afternoon (after the deed was done), and Hagrid had been more than happy to accept her company. She couldn't imagine what he must be going through—anyone could see how attached Hagrid had gotten to that particular hippogriff. Buckbeak was a magnificent and smart creature, and it was a shame that he would have to be put down.
Damn Draco and his theatrics…
A quiet chatter, and a squeak, caused Talia to pause in her walk. She looked down and gave a soft chuckle. She'd almost forgotten about Brutus. The white ferret was riding along inside the pocket of her hooded jumper, head peeking out from one end, and tail peeking out from the other.
"What?" she asked the ferret, arching an eyebrow, "Do you want to ride along on my shoulder?"
Brutus looked up at her with wide beady eyes, his whiskers twitching; Talia took it as an answer.
"Shoulder it is," she said softly, taking him out of her pocket to place him on her shoulder.
It took Brutus but a moment to settle down on his mistress' shoulder, curving around her neck like a scarf; Talia walked on.
The bridge, which was built over a large river that lead into the Black Lake, soon led passage into a wide stone corridor with archways on either side serving as glassless windows, with benches underneath them carved right into the stone. Just a few more steps and Talia would be on the top of a hill, her professor's home down at the bottom of it.
The sun was sinking further down the horizon, strong winds accompanying it. A flowery scent caught Talia's attention, followed by the smell of spearmint toothpaste, and… broom-handle polish. She almost faltered in her steps as she realized whom those scents belonged too, and she wasn't all that surprised when their voices were brought to her by another gust of wind.
Just then, Brutus began to squeak loudly, nearly hissing. He almost clawed at Talia's neck as he made his way down her arm and trousers hurriedly.
"What in the—hey! Come back here!" Talia exclaimed, watching as Brutus darted down the corridor. She had no other choice then to run after him.
At the end of the corridor, a ball of orange fur slinked around the corner and out of sight, Brutus following after it. Talia knew exactly what that ball of orange fur was, and she mentally cursed as she arrived at the end of the corridor, her ears meeting with the sound of shouting from three distinct voices.
"Crookshanks, no!"
"Leave Scabbers alone you bloody white—OW!"
"Hermione control your—it bit me!"
Hermione, Ron, and Harry stood in a circle, all facing each other and by the looks of it, trying to protect the affirmed Scabbers. Their efforts appeared to be in vain, however, because between them, on the ground, was Scabbers with Brutus nearly on top of him, clawing at any piece of brown rat that he could. Crookshanks was acting as a sort of bodyguard, hissing and pawing at any of the three who tried to pry the little ferret off the aging rat. A most curious thing indeed, but Talia couldn't dwell on such things. As much as she disliked Ron's rat, she couldn't allow Brutus to kill it.
"Oh good, you're here," Ron said exasperated once he saw Talia walking towards them. "Get him off!" he shouted, pointing at Brutus.
Talia quickly assessed the situation: Brutus was beginning to draw blood, his claws digging into Scabbers back; he was biting and nipping as well, hissing and growling all the while.
No, Talia could not intervene.
"I can't," she said, and upon receiving pointed looks from all three, she exclaimed, pointing, "Look at him! He'll attack me too if I try and get him off Scabbers!"
"Talia," Hermione said in frustration, finally managing to swoop down and pick Crookshanks up into her arms without him pawing at her, "just get Brutus off Scabbers so we can all leave!"
Talia resisted the urge to scoff. The first words Hermione says to her after their falling out and it was over Ron's stupid rat. Merlin's pants…
Sighing, she pulled out her wand and pointed it at Brutus. Her lips barely moved as she mumbled a spell that caused the tip of her wand to spurt out a beam of water, drenching Brutus and causing him to jump up and roll off Scabbers. Ron quickly chose that moment to step in and take Scabbers in his hands, clutching onto the rat as if his life depended on it.
"Happy now?" Talia spat, suddenly feeling very tired. By the Gods, she did not have the energy to put up with this shit. The full moon was but a few hours away, and she could feel it pulling at her, almost as if it were calling her.
"Talia, you don't look so good," Harry said suddenly, his eyes watching her curiously.
"Oh, now you decided to talk to me?" she nearly growled, bending down to pick up Brutus.
"Well, it's just…" he trailed off, not knowing what to say. He looked at Hermione for a moment as if she was an answer, before drawing his eyes back to Talia. Her eyes were a curious shade of amber, the skin underneath purple and bruising, but her eyes… weren't they blue? Other than that, she looked tired, her skin sallow, her hair limp and dull.
"Are we done here now?" Talia asked with a quirk of her eyebrows, her lips in a firm line. "I've got people to see, places to be—all that crap."
Hermione studied Talia curiously. She looked unhealthy, and her eyes… blue eyes did not naturally change to amber. What was going on? "Are you alright?" she couldn't help but to ask.
Talia quickly looked at Hermione, a scowl on her face as she snapped. "Since when do you fucking care if I'm alright or not?"
Ron and Harry looked at each other in confusion. They'd never known Talia to have such a temper. They didn't hang around her as much as Hermione did to know things, but she was acting oddly, that much they were sure of.
Feeling insulted, Hermione dropped Crookshanks, her eyes wide as she sputtered, "Why—I've… I've always cared—"
"Shut up," Talia hissed, dropping Brutus. She was getting a headache.
"Talia," Hermione sighed, something flashing in her eyes as she said quietly, "I know that things have been rough between us but—"
What Hermione was going to say, no one ever did find out, because in that moment Ron howled in pain, dropping Scabbers to the ground. The garden rat had bit him judging by the blood that was forming on the pad of his index finger. With the wind blowing, the scent of blood quickly reached Talia, and she found herself going stiff as her mouth began to water.
I should have drunk the potion before leaving the dormitory, she thought, referring to the Wolfsbane her uncle had made her.
Things were getting out of hand, and Talia was running out of time. She should be with Hagrid right now, keeping him company and offering him a shoulder to cry on. Afterwards she would head back into the castle, down to the dungeons, and into the Slytherin common room, where she'd go up to her dormitory and retrieve the small phial of Wolfsbane she was due to take that night to take off the edge of the full moon. If she didn't get that small amount of Wolfsbane into her, with how her mood was already getting sour and worse, she'd be sure to rip someone's head off.
And to think she'd nearly forgone the potion because she'd thought that today would be an easy day.
Just hold still and think of something else, it'll pass, it'll pass, it'll pass…
"Scabbers— Scabbers no!" Ron shouted, and then he was off, running after the garden rat, Crookshanks and Brutus bolting after them in hot pursuit. "Scabbers, come back here!"
"Talia!" Harry's voice snapped Talia out of her trance-like state, causing her to blink blindly at him, "Come on!"
"What?" she asked dumbly, confused. She'd spaced out, and she had no idea what had just transpired, but now Ron was nowhere in sight, Brutus, Crookshanks, and Scabbers gone too.
Harry rolled his eyes and ran past her, and Talia, following his retreating form, took notice of the redheaded boy a few paces in front of Harry… along with the Whomping Willow a few yards before them.
"We'll set our differences aside for tonight?" asked Hermione, who was now standing beside Talia.
Talia nodded, extending a hand for Hermione to take, before the two of them began running.
