News
Sirius Black is dead. The news reached Talia long after it had actually happened. She never saw it coming.
It was an average day for Talia, taking care of her little one-year-old girl and trying to keep the house somewhat tidy. While she was dusting the mantle over the fireplace, the little girl, Guendolen, looked up at her mother through blueish green eyes, a combination of her mom's and dad's.
"Da-da?" she asked. Talia smiled down at the little blonde.
"He'll be home soon, sweetums," she cooed. Guendolen smiled, almost in a pleased way, and continued hitting the carpet with a toy hammer. Talia resumed dusting, still smiling, but only on the outside. Where is my husband? she thought. He has been gone for a long time... Worry-filled thoughts continued to scurry across her mind. Suddenly the doorbell rang, snapping her out of her dark pit.
"Coming!" Talia called, setting down the featherduster and scooping Guendolen into her arms. She went into the hallway and opened the front door. There stood Albus Dumbledore, his silver hair and beard swaying in the gentle breeze. A genuine smile spread across Talia's face.
"Hello, sir," she said cheerfully. "Won't you come in?" Dumbledore stepped inside, following Talia into her spacious living room. She gestured towards the couch, and he sat down.
"My, little Guendolen is growing quickly," he said, smiling. Talia noticed that the smile didn't quite reach his sparkling eyes.
"Yeah, she's into everything," Talia said, bouncing the infant up and down. Guendolen giggled. Dumbledore chuckled, but then stopped and pulled something out of his pocket. "You need to read this," he said, handing a slip of paper to the young woman.
"Oh," Talia said, taking the paper and handing Guendolen to the headmaster of Hogwarts. He tickled her under the chin, and she laughed. Talia smiled at the two, then read through the paper. Her smile quickly faded. Everything disappeared except the letter. When she finished, her hands were shaking so bad the paper looked as if it were caught in horrible wind.
"No," she whispered. The living room faded away in a pool of tears.
