Erika left her room. She walked down the hall to Tom's room. Without knocking, she opened the door. A cloud of smoke met her at the door.
"God damnit Tom!" she screamed, "Don't you ever listen to me? People who smoke die!"
"But Mother, I could be immortal!" Tom shouted back rather defensively.
"You could be, but we don't know that now do we?" she said while grabbing a cigarette from her son's desk. "You could at least open a window so you don't kill your father."
"Why the hell do you get to smoke?" Tom asked as he lit his mother's cigarette.
"Because I'm immortal and the whole god damn planet knows it."
"How did you find out that you were immortal?"
"When I was your age, I tried to kill myself, and your grandfather brutally stabbed me."
"I wish I were immortal."
"No you don't."
"How would you know what I want and what I don't want. You don't know the first thing about me."
"Are you sure you really know anything about yourself? If there's one thing I know about you, it's that you have been questioning who your real father is. You have every right to. Draco isn't your father."
"Than who is?"
"If you can figure that out on your own, I'll grant you your immortality."
"Can I at least have a hint?"
"All right. I slept with Draco, Barty, Peter, Professor Snape, Lucius, and my father in the time you were conceived."
"So, ruling out Draco, that leaves half the bloody world!"
"If there's one thing I don't need right now, it's for you to comment on my sex life."
"Fine, I won't. Just leave my bloody room!"
"All right, I'll leave. Oh, and we're going to Harry's house in a few weeks. Try to lose your smoking habit by than."
Erika walked back into her room and hit Draco's shoulder.
"What do you want?" he muttered with a yawn.
"I told him."
"You told who what?"
"I told my son that you are not his father."
"You what? Does he know that it's..."
"No, and I don't intend to tell him."
"So you expect him to find out who it is on his own?"
"I had to figure out much more than that by the time I was his age. I'm sure he's smart enough to do it, but I hope he doesn't try."
"Why not?"
"Because I promised him immortality if he did find out."
"What's so bad about that. Any mortal would want the key to happiness."
"You can't even begin to imagine how terrible immortality is. I have to watch all of my friends and family die and have no hopes of joining them in the after life."
"Why the hell did you tell him anyway? He could have lived a normal, healthy life without knowing."
"Some day our luck would have run out and he would have found out."
"What do you mean luck? It was all fucking fate that he looked like me."
"Fate is bullshit. Our lives are marked out by combinations of bad and good luck. It's drawn one card at a time, and we make the decisions on how to play. You look for the easy way out, and play the hand you're dealt, even if it's a pair of twos. I cheat and deal my own cards until I get what I want."
"Whatever you want to believe baby."
"Well, here's your fate." she tossed the parchment sent by Harry Potter into Draco's hands. She let him read it carefully before saying, "And we're going."
"Why?" "Because he's possibly Tom's father, and I have some unfinished business I need to attend to."
"Whatever you want baby."
"Yeah, I'm going to be in the backyard. Don't bother me. I need to think of how to take care of my unfinished business."
"God damnit Tom!" she screamed, "Don't you ever listen to me? People who smoke die!"
"But Mother, I could be immortal!" Tom shouted back rather defensively.
"You could be, but we don't know that now do we?" she said while grabbing a cigarette from her son's desk. "You could at least open a window so you don't kill your father."
"Why the hell do you get to smoke?" Tom asked as he lit his mother's cigarette.
"Because I'm immortal and the whole god damn planet knows it."
"How did you find out that you were immortal?"
"When I was your age, I tried to kill myself, and your grandfather brutally stabbed me."
"I wish I were immortal."
"No you don't."
"How would you know what I want and what I don't want. You don't know the first thing about me."
"Are you sure you really know anything about yourself? If there's one thing I know about you, it's that you have been questioning who your real father is. You have every right to. Draco isn't your father."
"Than who is?"
"If you can figure that out on your own, I'll grant you your immortality."
"Can I at least have a hint?"
"All right. I slept with Draco, Barty, Peter, Professor Snape, Lucius, and my father in the time you were conceived."
"So, ruling out Draco, that leaves half the bloody world!"
"If there's one thing I don't need right now, it's for you to comment on my sex life."
"Fine, I won't. Just leave my bloody room!"
"All right, I'll leave. Oh, and we're going to Harry's house in a few weeks. Try to lose your smoking habit by than."
Erika walked back into her room and hit Draco's shoulder.
"What do you want?" he muttered with a yawn.
"I told him."
"You told who what?"
"I told my son that you are not his father."
"You what? Does he know that it's..."
"No, and I don't intend to tell him."
"So you expect him to find out who it is on his own?"
"I had to figure out much more than that by the time I was his age. I'm sure he's smart enough to do it, but I hope he doesn't try."
"Why not?"
"Because I promised him immortality if he did find out."
"What's so bad about that. Any mortal would want the key to happiness."
"You can't even begin to imagine how terrible immortality is. I have to watch all of my friends and family die and have no hopes of joining them in the after life."
"Why the hell did you tell him anyway? He could have lived a normal, healthy life without knowing."
"Some day our luck would have run out and he would have found out."
"What do you mean luck? It was all fucking fate that he looked like me."
"Fate is bullshit. Our lives are marked out by combinations of bad and good luck. It's drawn one card at a time, and we make the decisions on how to play. You look for the easy way out, and play the hand you're dealt, even if it's a pair of twos. I cheat and deal my own cards until I get what I want."
"Whatever you want to believe baby."
"Well, here's your fate." she tossed the parchment sent by Harry Potter into Draco's hands. She let him read it carefully before saying, "And we're going."
"Why?" "Because he's possibly Tom's father, and I have some unfinished business I need to attend to."
"Whatever you want baby."
"Yeah, I'm going to be in the backyard. Don't bother me. I need to think of how to take care of my unfinished business."
