Chapter 2
December 23th, 1992
A nearly 4 year old Eliza sat in front of the small Christmas tree that her Uncle Bobby had set up in one corner of his living room, entranced by the lights glittering amongst the branches. Her cousins Dean and Sam, aged 13 and 9 respectively, had arrived that morning with their father, and Eliza's Uncle, John. The boys had taken to Eliza over the past year, playing with her every time they visited Bobby.
After the death of her mother, (Eliza's father was not spoken of in Bobby's house, not now, not ever), John and Severus had spent a full week trying to figure out who Eliza would live with, neither wanting her to grow up with the other. Eventually, Bobby had stepped in and insisted that Eliza didn't deserve to be fought over like an object. So, an agreement was struck. Eliza would live with Bobby, with John and Severus allowed to visit whenever they wanted, and they would have her stay with them for 2 weeks each over the summer. Thus, Christmas was celebrated at Bobby's.
Remus was a frequent visitor to the Singer household, and had been staying with Bobby since earlier that month to help with Eliza. Though still worn out from the full moon only a few days earlier, Remus was happy to spend as much time as he could with Eliza, trying to ignore the pang of pain that flared up when she looked at him with laughing grey eyes that were far too familiar. He leaned back on the sofa, watching his goddaughter and chatting softly with Sam, who was fascinated with the idea that for every creature his family had encountered, there was a magical equivalent. When Remus had promised to contact an old friend of his about getting a dragon tooth for Sam, he had damn near jumped out of his seat in excitement.
Dean was sitting next to Eliza, telling her stories, some made up, others true stories with certain, more gory, details omitted. Her giggles drifted over the room occasionally, her gaze shifting from her cousin to the lights and back again.
Severus, John, and Bobby sat at the kitchen table, talking in tones that almost sounded friendly, the year that had passed of looking after Eliza together having done wonders for their previously tense relationships.
A sudden quiet from the other room had the three men glancing over to the living room where Eliza had climbed up onto the sofa and was staring at Remus. Her head was tilted, like she had just asked a question, and the other three seemed almost frozen. Dean's eyes flickered up to him father as he came in, leaning casually on the back of the sofa, and reaching a hand over to ruffle Eliza's blonde curls. Her little hands came up to bat at his, and John laughed gently.
"What's going on munchkin?" he rumbled fondly, watching as her eye connected with his. She pouted slightly, and pointed a chubby finger at a forlorn looking Remus.
"Uncle 'emus won't tell me what happened to my da!" she said, stomping her foot slightly and nearly falling over for her troubles. John exchanged a glance with Remus, understanding crossing his features as the werewolf pushed himself off the sofa and swiftly walked out into the cold. Wincing slightly at the slam of the front door against its frame, John moved his gaze back over to his niece who had unknowingly touched on a very sensitive subject that they had managed to avoid for over a year. Scooping the young girl into his arms, John settled himself onto the sofa with Eliza on his lap. She stared up at him.
"Why's he upset?" she whispered, eyes shimmering with tears.
"Eliza," he started, clearing his throat. "your dad, he, well he- was Uncle Remus' friend, ok?" At her nod he sighed. "He, he did something, something that really hurt Uncle Remus and Uncle Severus, so it hurts to talk about your dad. Hurts to think about him."
Eliza's brow furrowed. "Oh, ok. But what happened to da? Can't you tell me?" she questioned, peering up at him.
Meeting Severus' sharp eyes over the sofa, John sighed heavily. "I promise, when you're older, I'll tell you, alright? But right now, let's enjoy Christmas, ok?"
His niece brighter instantly, and she nodded eagerly. "Ok!"
Later on, when Remus came back in, she had trapped him in a too tight hug and made him open the present that she had gotten him, with the help of her Uncle Bobby. Remus wore a grin and the warm brown sweater he had been gifted all evening.
July 3rd 1995
"Give it back Dean!" Sam hollered, jumping over the couch in Bobby's living room to race after his brother. Dean had snatch the book he had been reading, called him a nerd for reading Lord of the Rings, and taken off into the kitchen and out the back door, Sam hot on his heels.
Eliza, 6 years old and barely awake despite the late hour, stumbled after them, rubbing at her eyes. It was her last day at with her cousins for a while, with her Uncle Sev due to pick her up that afternoon. She had spent the last two weeks 'hunting' with her Uncle John and cousins, though she was regaled to research duty, and, after several hushed arguments between Dean and Uncle John, gun cleaning duty. She had, of course, shot a gun before, but when Uncle Rem and Uncle Sev had found out that Uncle John had let Eliza shoot a gun at the tender age of 5 and a half, they had gone ballistic, and needless to say, Eliza had not been allowed to handle a gun since. The only compromise they would agree to was that she could be allowed to clean guns, and, once she was, at the very least , 10, learn how to shoot.
She followed the sounds of fighting out onto the porch, where her Uncle Bobby was watching in mild amusement as Sam and Dean wrestled for the book, a cup of coffee warming his hand. He glanced down at the tired girl as she leaned her head against his leg, watching her cousins with rapt attention. The older man grinned, running a hand over her bed mussed hair.
"Morning girly." He grumbled fondly, watching as her head swiveled up to meet his gaze. "You got up awful late, hm?" She only offered a soft grunt in reply, and, not for the first time, Bobby wondered if it had down more harm than good to fill Eliza's life with so many male figures. Maybe he should have taken Ellen up on her offer to let Eliza stay with her a few months every year, but, just looking down at the little girl who had occupied his head and heart since the first moment Amanda had brought her to visit, the thought of her so far away for so long caused an ache to start in his heart. God only knows what he'll do when Eliza has to go off to school in Scotland when she's 11…
The phone ringing inside broke his train of thought, and, pausing to swing Eliza over his shoulder, much to her amusement, he walked back into his house. Dumping the giggling girl onto the sofa, Bobby strode across the room to the wall of phones, picking up the ringing one. "Hello?" he grumbled into the phone, scoffing slightly when the person on the other end, a new hunter, started spouting off about a strange hunt he was on. After hearing the details, Bobby grumbled that he would call back with more information in a few hours and hung up abruptly.
Glancing over the to the couch where his niece remained sprawled out, Bobby finally noticed that she was still in her dinosaur pajamas that she had slipped on last night before collapsing. Huffing at her, Bobby started to shoo the young girl upstairs when a faint popping noise reached his ears. Checking the time, Bobby cursed at the late hour.
"What's wrong Uncle Bobby?" Eliza asked, happy to delay having to change into real clothing. Bobby, however, was clearly not of the same opinion, as he hurried her up the stairs, barely stopping to tell her to remember to pack her toothbrush before rushing back downstairs. Though, when the deep baritone of her Uncle Sev reached her ears, Eliza was quick to change into mismatching socks and a pair of jeans that had seen better days, almost forgetting to swing by the bathroom for her toothbrush. She slid down the stairs, and the tall and foreboding man that she called Uncle suddenly found his arms full with the excited form of his niece.
March 31st, 1999
Sioux Falls, 6 pm
10 year old Eliza shot out of her seat at the dinner table, racing out the back door, and ignoring the exclamations of her family behind her. They followed, only to find the youngest Winchester staring up at the night sky blankly. Dean approached her hesitantly, and rested his hand on her shoulder.
"Eliza? What's wrong?" He asked, glancing back at his family in confusion. John, Sam, and Bobby, the former there on a weekend visit, could only stare back in confusion.
"He's going." She whispered back, eyes still trained on the sky. Her bottom lip trembled a little. "He's going without me." She turned abruptly, and latched onto Dean in a trembling hug. He held her, unsure of what was happening, and helpless to stop the tears that dripped down his favorite cousin's face.
April 1st, 1999
The Burrow, 12 am
George Weasley squinted against the harsh moonlight that had woken him up. His twin, Fred, stood at the window, his shoulders tense.
"What are you doing you git?" George mumbled, throwing an arm across his eyes. He missed Fred's frown.
"Dunno, got a weird feeling." He muttered back, eyes still glued to the sky. George heaved a sigh.
"Well, can you have your 'weird feeling' when the sun is up? Merlin's sake Forge, its midnight!" He hissed grumpily, turning over and falling back into a deep sleep. His twin sighed quietly, and, after taking one more long look at the star filled sky, Fred shut the curtains once more.
January 30th, 2000
Eliza Winchester-Black watched the clock tick from her place between her two cousins on the couch. Sam and Dean had promised to stay up with her until it was "officially" her birthday, but they had both passed out before that could happen. She scoffed lightly to herself at the sight of the 16 and 21 year old's on either side of her, unsurprised that they were asleep before her. Her eyes shifted slowly over the darkened room, eventually resting on the clock in the corner to the left of her.
The ancient grandfather clock that had been af gift from Eliza's Uncle Sev to Uncle Bobby ticked ominously as each second passed by.
Tick, tick, tick. 11:48.
She knew something was coming. Eliza got feelings sometimes, always at random times, about things that had yet to come. When she had been 5 years old, she had woken in the dead of night to tell her Uncle Bobby that he needed to change his tires and sure enough, the next day he blew a tire on a back road going into town. He spent 3 hours walking back to the house.
Tick, tick, tick. 11:52.
Another time, when Eliza had been a few weeks away from turning 8, she had turned to her Uncle Remus and told him he needed to check on her Uncle Sev. Uncle Rem had run off, and when he came back, he told her that her Uncle Sev had burned himself quite horribly making dinner, and had to be forced to go to the hospital, stubborn git that he was.
Tick, tick, tick. 11:57.
Eliza knew things sometimes. And it sucked, because the anxiety of knowing that something was coming was bolstered by the knowledge that she had no clue what was actually coming.
Dong, dong, dong. 12:00.
Midnight stuck, and the clock let out three soft dongs, rousing Eliza from her thoughts. The now 11 year old smiled, reaching up to grasp the necklace that remained the only thing she possessed of her mother, barring a few wispy memories.
A sharp pop come from the porch, and hushed voices reached her ears. Wide eyed, Eliza slunk off the couch, and crept over to the front door.
"-Severus we agreed, and-" Uncle Remus' voice cut through the silence.
"And now I've changed my mind! It's far too dangerous for her to-" Uncle Sev hissed back, his voice unusually tense.
"She needs to be taught! It's her heritage, her parent's world, she needs to know-"
Tired of not hearing anything specific, Eliza swung the door open, revealing her two Uncles standing under the moonlight and Uncle Bobby's low hanging porch light.
"What do I need to know?" She asked, squinting up at the two men she called family, switching her gaze between them. Uncle Sev's eyes grew sad as he looked down at her, and he gestured for her to come out onto the porch, and she did, plopping herself down into one of the chairs that looked out onto the junk yard, and letting her bare feet swing lightly. Uncle Remus kneeled down in front of Eliza.
"Eliza, you know that the, erm, the supernatural exists, right?" He asked gently, gazing down at the young girl.
Eliza scoffed at his question. "Course I do, Uncle John told me years ago when I wouldn't stop asking why I needed to know how to shoot a gun." She answered, more confused now than ever. Her Uncle Sev laughed softly at her answer.
"I still haven't forgiven him for that." He mused before looking down at Eliza with a serious look. "What Remus is trying to say darling is that, well you…" he stammered, looking nothing like the usually put together Uncle that Eliza knew.
Uncle Remus cleared his throat. "You're magical Eliza. Just like your mum and your- Well, like us."
She blinked, utterly lost. "What?"
Uncle Sev stepped forwards. "You're a witch Eliza."
