Chapter 3: Little Secrets
Tora stood in awe of the new manor located in Muggle London. This new manor was easily three times grander and more sophisticated than the Old Raven's Manor in America. She walked over to the spiral staircase and felt the cold smoothness of the black marble underneath her fingers. The entire house bespoke of coldness and a sterility that sent shivers down her spine. The house seemed impersonal and barren. No lights or lamps sat in any of the rooms, nor pictures on the walls. The walls themselves were about thirteen or possibly fifteen feet high with vaulted ceilings, adding a cavernous feel to the rooms. The furnishings were sparse, and if they existed at all, they had a military style. All sleek, straight and cold harsh lines, no curves or cushions, nor any sign of elegance. There were barely any windows at all, only small little ones scattered throughout the house. Dumbledore had informed them there were four floors to the house and fifteen rooms to each floor. There were bedrooms located on the second and fourth floors, each with conjoined baths. A foreboding shadow lurked within the walls, making her wonder who had lived in the manor before. Tora didn't like this house. The familiarly of the old house was uncanny. A nagging sense in the back of her mind mad her uneasy.
Turning around, Tora noticed a small black table pushed against the wall in the foyer. On the top writing materials lay scattered, including a new quill, a full bottle of black ink, and a fresh roll of parchment. They seemed to be just waiting for someone to come and pick them up for use.
'Harry.' His named popped into her head as she stood before the table. She might as well write to him now before she went up to her room, before she became distracted again. She had so much to tell him. Lifting the quill, she began to quickly pen a letter to him. The scratching of quill on parchment filled the room. She reread it again before she sealed it and scrawled his name on the front.
Tora let Tempest out of the gilded cage and waited with parchment in hand, as the black owl stretched its great wings.
"Hey beautiful," Tora whispered to Tempest, stroking her owl fondly. "Are you up to delivering another letter to Harry?" A soft hoot come from the owl, an agreement that had Tora smiling broadly. "Fantastic! I think that Harry's gone to a place called the Burrow now. Do you think you can find it?" she asked as she tied the letter to Tempest's outstretched leg. The owl nibbled Tora's fingertip affectionately. "All right then." The door was opened and Tempest took off into the sky.
Closing the door behind her, Tora heard steady footfalls on the overhanging balcony above her. She strolled into the middle of the foyer and looked up to see Remus Lupin resting his forearms on the rail of the balcony. He was looking down at her curiously. She scowled and cocked her eyebrow, then waited in a heavy silence for him to say something.
"What are you doing?" he asked quietly. After seeing her with the owl, he knew that she wasn't completely devoid of emotions as she acted.
"Not that it's any of your business, but I was writing a letter to a friend," Tora replied. "I don't think it's a crime yet, is it?"
Lupin smiled at her cheekiness. "No, that's not a crime. Come up here. Your mother wants you to chose a room for your own."
"Fine. I'll be right up there, your 'majesty'," she mumbled, and levitated her things. She waited until Lupin disappeared from sight before she started up the stairs. She climbed the stairs slowly, taking as much time as possible to make her way up to the fourth floor where she already planned on staking out a room as her own.
She liked the highness of the room since it was on the top floor plus she could see all the property from her windows. There were two bay windows sitting adjacent to each other. It was the coziest room she had seen so far in the entire manor. The walls were painted a cool, light purple hue. The gauzy bed drapes complimented the wall color, as did the fabric of a large reading chair in the corner. A large four-poster bed sat in the middle of the room, pilled high with pillows. All the furniture in the room was made of expensive cherry wood; the bureau, the armoire, the chairs and tables, and the hard wood flooring and the other woodworking. Though there weren't any flowers visible in the room that Tora saw, the room smelled strangely of lilacs.
Walking over to one of the windows, she gazed out. Fiery oranges and reds painted the sky as the sun descended for the night. A forest stood off to the east, and a large, artistically designed garden lay off to the west. The forest held the most appeal, she wanted to go out for a run, just be free for a while. She decided that she would go explore the new grounds for a moment or two.
Setting her stuff down, she walked back down to the second floor with the intent of telling her mother she was going out. She heard the muffled murmur of voices as she came closer to the room she knew her mother had taken. The door was open ajar, giving away just hints of who occupied the room. Remus Lupin stood in her 'mother's' room behind a closed door. The thought didn't bode well in her mind. She crept closer, trying to hear bits of the conversation. It was a hard job though; they were using such low voices.
A white envelope caught her eye. It stood out boldly against the black marble. Scrawled on the front of the envelope was her name. She picked it up and was about to open it when she heard her name spoken from inside, her mother's voice sounded distraught. She leaned in closer, straining to hear what the soft angry voices were saying.
"Remus! Tora has a right to know! He was—"
"No, Brenda. No. I'm sorry but Albus doesn't want her to know yet. I think he wants to tell her more about it than you could. Trust him, Brenda, please. He knows what he's doing. I know you are her mother but I think Albus knows your husband's reasons for leaving so abruptly."
"Does he? Remus, she's my baby girl. How can I keep this from her? I want to protect her, but she still has a right to know the truth! She deserves at least that much doesn't she?"
"I know she does. You know that too. She's an amazing girl. He would have been so proud of her. He was proud of her, Brenda. I know he was. Please just give it a little time. Why don't you take Tora shopping tomorrow in Diagon Alley for her school supplies? Here's the list of what she'll need. And for god's sake woman, get some rest. I don't want you to see you destroy yourself when Tora needs you the most, when *I* need you the most."
"Remus, I—" There was a deafening silence that ensued. Tora leaned forward gingerly, peeking through the crack in the door. Her breath caught in her throat as she saw what was transpiring. A blood-red rage filled her as she backed away from the room. Her limbs trembled with suppressed fury. She remembered a time once long ago when she had felt like this. Images flashed in her mind like pictures in a slideshow. She ran down the stairs with the purest rage clouding her mind. The front door was torn open, slammed against the wall and Tora ran as fast as she could to leave the manor as far in the distance as possible.
'How could she do this to me?' The litany was repeated over in her mind. Once she reached the forest edge, she lost all conscious thought and let her whirling emotions take control.
~Back in the manor~
"Tora!" Brenda called after emerging from her room with Remus at her side. Their clothing was slightly rumpled and their hair was messy and in a wild disarray. Only a blind man wouldn't recognize the signs of what they had been doing together. What they had together was wrong, it has always been wrong. They felt no guilt in what they were doing, even though sense and logic dictated that they should. Nothing could ever make it right.
"Tora? Tora, honey, please come here." Her mother called again and was greeted by an eerie silence. Brenda looked at Remus nervously. He shrugged his shoulders.
"I don't know. She took the room up on the fourth floor. We could go check. But I have to go see Harry soon." Brenda nodded and they walked up to her daughter's room hand in hand.
"Tora?" her mother called softly as they approached her door. They walk it to find her trunk in the middle of the floor. Her cloak was draped across the reading chair in the corner. Each walked over to one of the windows and looked out. They saw no sign of Tora. "Remus? Where is she?" Brenda's voice was laden with concern.
"I don't know. She would have heard you call from the second floor if she was in the house. Maybe she went outside for some fresh air." He assured her, trying to offer the woman some sort of comfort.
"She would have told me. She always has. Oh, Remus I don't know what to do with her. She's been acting so differently since he died. I think I've lost all control with her. She isn't the same anymore. She seems so aloof and cold. She has never acted like this ever. I just don't know what happened to her. She's not my little girl anymore." Brenda dissolved into tears and broken sobs. Remus put his arms around her and held her close. He whispered soft words of reassurance and comfort.
"Let's go look outside for her. If we still can't find her then we'll contact Albus." To this Brenda nodded her head and went to search the grounds with Remus. Twenty minutes later, they met back inside and searched the entire house from top to bottom.
"She's not here!" Brenda wailed.
"Brenda, I'm going to the Burrow. That's where Albus is." He pressed a kiss on her forehead and then apparated to the Burrow with a loud pop.
"Oh, Tora. Where are you?" Brenda whispered as she gazed out the window with unseeing eyes.
Tora stood in awe of the new manor located in Muggle London. This new manor was easily three times grander and more sophisticated than the Old Raven's Manor in America. She walked over to the spiral staircase and felt the cold smoothness of the black marble underneath her fingers. The entire house bespoke of coldness and a sterility that sent shivers down her spine. The house seemed impersonal and barren. No lights or lamps sat in any of the rooms, nor pictures on the walls. The walls themselves were about thirteen or possibly fifteen feet high with vaulted ceilings, adding a cavernous feel to the rooms. The furnishings were sparse, and if they existed at all, they had a military style. All sleek, straight and cold harsh lines, no curves or cushions, nor any sign of elegance. There were barely any windows at all, only small little ones scattered throughout the house. Dumbledore had informed them there were four floors to the house and fifteen rooms to each floor. There were bedrooms located on the second and fourth floors, each with conjoined baths. A foreboding shadow lurked within the walls, making her wonder who had lived in the manor before. Tora didn't like this house. The familiarly of the old house was uncanny. A nagging sense in the back of her mind mad her uneasy.
Turning around, Tora noticed a small black table pushed against the wall in the foyer. On the top writing materials lay scattered, including a new quill, a full bottle of black ink, and a fresh roll of parchment. They seemed to be just waiting for someone to come and pick them up for use.
'Harry.' His named popped into her head as she stood before the table. She might as well write to him now before she went up to her room, before she became distracted again. She had so much to tell him. Lifting the quill, she began to quickly pen a letter to him. The scratching of quill on parchment filled the room. She reread it again before she sealed it and scrawled his name on the front.
Tora let Tempest out of the gilded cage and waited with parchment in hand, as the black owl stretched its great wings.
"Hey beautiful," Tora whispered to Tempest, stroking her owl fondly. "Are you up to delivering another letter to Harry?" A soft hoot come from the owl, an agreement that had Tora smiling broadly. "Fantastic! I think that Harry's gone to a place called the Burrow now. Do you think you can find it?" she asked as she tied the letter to Tempest's outstretched leg. The owl nibbled Tora's fingertip affectionately. "All right then." The door was opened and Tempest took off into the sky.
Closing the door behind her, Tora heard steady footfalls on the overhanging balcony above her. She strolled into the middle of the foyer and looked up to see Remus Lupin resting his forearms on the rail of the balcony. He was looking down at her curiously. She scowled and cocked her eyebrow, then waited in a heavy silence for him to say something.
"What are you doing?" he asked quietly. After seeing her with the owl, he knew that she wasn't completely devoid of emotions as she acted.
"Not that it's any of your business, but I was writing a letter to a friend," Tora replied. "I don't think it's a crime yet, is it?"
Lupin smiled at her cheekiness. "No, that's not a crime. Come up here. Your mother wants you to chose a room for your own."
"Fine. I'll be right up there, your 'majesty'," she mumbled, and levitated her things. She waited until Lupin disappeared from sight before she started up the stairs. She climbed the stairs slowly, taking as much time as possible to make her way up to the fourth floor where she already planned on staking out a room as her own.
She liked the highness of the room since it was on the top floor plus she could see all the property from her windows. There were two bay windows sitting adjacent to each other. It was the coziest room she had seen so far in the entire manor. The walls were painted a cool, light purple hue. The gauzy bed drapes complimented the wall color, as did the fabric of a large reading chair in the corner. A large four-poster bed sat in the middle of the room, pilled high with pillows. All the furniture in the room was made of expensive cherry wood; the bureau, the armoire, the chairs and tables, and the hard wood flooring and the other woodworking. Though there weren't any flowers visible in the room that Tora saw, the room smelled strangely of lilacs.
Walking over to one of the windows, she gazed out. Fiery oranges and reds painted the sky as the sun descended for the night. A forest stood off to the east, and a large, artistically designed garden lay off to the west. The forest held the most appeal, she wanted to go out for a run, just be free for a while. She decided that she would go explore the new grounds for a moment or two.
Setting her stuff down, she walked back down to the second floor with the intent of telling her mother she was going out. She heard the muffled murmur of voices as she came closer to the room she knew her mother had taken. The door was open ajar, giving away just hints of who occupied the room. Remus Lupin stood in her 'mother's' room behind a closed door. The thought didn't bode well in her mind. She crept closer, trying to hear bits of the conversation. It was a hard job though; they were using such low voices.
A white envelope caught her eye. It stood out boldly against the black marble. Scrawled on the front of the envelope was her name. She picked it up and was about to open it when she heard her name spoken from inside, her mother's voice sounded distraught. She leaned in closer, straining to hear what the soft angry voices were saying.
"Remus! Tora has a right to know! He was—"
"No, Brenda. No. I'm sorry but Albus doesn't want her to know yet. I think he wants to tell her more about it than you could. Trust him, Brenda, please. He knows what he's doing. I know you are her mother but I think Albus knows your husband's reasons for leaving so abruptly."
"Does he? Remus, she's my baby girl. How can I keep this from her? I want to protect her, but she still has a right to know the truth! She deserves at least that much doesn't she?"
"I know she does. You know that too. She's an amazing girl. He would have been so proud of her. He was proud of her, Brenda. I know he was. Please just give it a little time. Why don't you take Tora shopping tomorrow in Diagon Alley for her school supplies? Here's the list of what she'll need. And for god's sake woman, get some rest. I don't want you to see you destroy yourself when Tora needs you the most, when *I* need you the most."
"Remus, I—" There was a deafening silence that ensued. Tora leaned forward gingerly, peeking through the crack in the door. Her breath caught in her throat as she saw what was transpiring. A blood-red rage filled her as she backed away from the room. Her limbs trembled with suppressed fury. She remembered a time once long ago when she had felt like this. Images flashed in her mind like pictures in a slideshow. She ran down the stairs with the purest rage clouding her mind. The front door was torn open, slammed against the wall and Tora ran as fast as she could to leave the manor as far in the distance as possible.
'How could she do this to me?' The litany was repeated over in her mind. Once she reached the forest edge, she lost all conscious thought and let her whirling emotions take control.
~Back in the manor~
"Tora!" Brenda called after emerging from her room with Remus at her side. Their clothing was slightly rumpled and their hair was messy and in a wild disarray. Only a blind man wouldn't recognize the signs of what they had been doing together. What they had together was wrong, it has always been wrong. They felt no guilt in what they were doing, even though sense and logic dictated that they should. Nothing could ever make it right.
"Tora? Tora, honey, please come here." Her mother called again and was greeted by an eerie silence. Brenda looked at Remus nervously. He shrugged his shoulders.
"I don't know. She took the room up on the fourth floor. We could go check. But I have to go see Harry soon." Brenda nodded and they walked up to her daughter's room hand in hand.
"Tora?" her mother called softly as they approached her door. They walk it to find her trunk in the middle of the floor. Her cloak was draped across the reading chair in the corner. Each walked over to one of the windows and looked out. They saw no sign of Tora. "Remus? Where is she?" Brenda's voice was laden with concern.
"I don't know. She would have heard you call from the second floor if she was in the house. Maybe she went outside for some fresh air." He assured her, trying to offer the woman some sort of comfort.
"She would have told me. She always has. Oh, Remus I don't know what to do with her. She's been acting so differently since he died. I think I've lost all control with her. She isn't the same anymore. She seems so aloof and cold. She has never acted like this ever. I just don't know what happened to her. She's not my little girl anymore." Brenda dissolved into tears and broken sobs. Remus put his arms around her and held her close. He whispered soft words of reassurance and comfort.
"Let's go look outside for her. If we still can't find her then we'll contact Albus." To this Brenda nodded her head and went to search the grounds with Remus. Twenty minutes later, they met back inside and searched the entire house from top to bottom.
"She's not here!" Brenda wailed.
"Brenda, I'm going to the Burrow. That's where Albus is." He pressed a kiss on her forehead and then apparated to the Burrow with a loud pop.
"Oh, Tora. Where are you?" Brenda whispered as she gazed out the window with unseeing eyes.