AN: Things mentioned in this chapter go hand in hand with Chapter 4: Bewitched, of the Sirius Black spin-off, Isle of Corvus.

"Do you have your wand?"

"Yes mum."

"Is your trunk on the train?"

"Yes mum."

"Did you let Brutus do his business before putting him in his carrier?"

"Yes mum."

"Did you do your business before—"

"YES MUM! Can I go now? Draco's already on the train!"

With a heavy heart, Isabella nodded. She leaned down and brought her daughter into her arms, hugging her tightly and kissing the top of her head before letting her go.

Today was September 1st, and Talia was going back to Hogwarts. It broke Isabella's heart to have to see her daughter go, but Draco had promised her that he'd watch over her, and it lessened the worry on Isabella's shoulders. The riot at the Quidditch World Cup had left her paranoid, and she couldn't help but to be overprotective.

Death Eaters were getting stronger. There were constant reports about riots and attacks, and it left a bad taste in Isabella's mouth. Severus had assured her that it was just a bunch of fools crying out for attention, that none of the attacks were connected to the Dark Lord himself, but it didn't make Isabella feel any better.

With a sigh, Isabella watched her daughter board the train. Another year without Talia being home… Isabella would never get used to it, and to make matters worse, Isabella did not plan to make her monthly visits up to the castle anymore. Talia was growing up, and she needed to learn to handle the full moons on her own. It broke Isabella's heart to "wean" her daughter of her presence, but it was what needed to be done. However, if anything odd were to happen, Isabella would be at Hogwarts within the span of a heartbeat.

Waving goodbye with the rest of the parents, Isabella watched as the last students boarded the train. Moments later, the Hogwarts Express was gone, leaving behind nothing but a trail of white smoke in its wake.

"Letting go is never easy," said Narcissa, who'd been standing at Isabella's side the entire time. "It gets better with time, I assure you."

Isabella nodded, toying with a lock of hair that had falling out of her braid.

"So, what are you doing this afternoon?" asked Narcissa curiously.

"I have to head home," Isabella lied, "My mother is stopping by to check up on me—to see how I'm doing after that horrible ordeal at the World Cup. I'm assuming she'll keep me busy until late."

"Oh, I was hoping we'd go get lunch together," Narcissa said with a small frown.

"How about next week?"

"I'll send you an owl then," Narcissa smiled.

Cautiously, Isabella walked into the muggle bookstore that was just a stone's throw away from the train station, making sure that the hood of her cloak didn't fall back and reveal her identity; she had lied to Narcissa, after all.

She did a sweep of the interior with her eyes, taking in all the little details. There were rows and rows of books, clusters of tables for those who would rather read their books in-store, and off in a corner there was some kind of machine that was making coffee for those willing to pay the fee.

On top of the machine was a woven basket, filled with a select number of snacks, and a small sign was placed beside the basket, showing off the price of each individual treat.

Isabella had agreed to meet with Remus after seeing Talia off. She had quite a few things to tell him. She just hoped he wouldn't freak out when it came to "the big one", as she called it.

Wandering the store, Isabella found Remus in the back, hunched over a book at one of the tables. An empty coffee cup was on the tabletop, along with a napkin that showed remnants of a biscuit.

"Hey handsome, this seat taken?" Isabella asked softly as she stepped up behind him, placing her hands on his shoulders and motioning towards the empty seat beside him.

"Isabella," Remus said as a greeting, tilting his head back to look up at her, a small smile on his lips.

"Remus," Isabella mocked with a smirk, before bending down and placing a quick kiss on his forehead. Quickly she took the empty seat beside him. They were seated far enough away from the display windows to ensure that they wouldn't be seen, so Isabella pushed back the hood of her cloak, deeming it safe to show her face.

"So," Remus asked, setting down the book he'd been reading, "how was seeing Talia off?"

"Firstly," Isabella said, reaching over to snatch the book away from Remus, "what the hell are you reading?"

The book was thick, paperback, with a black and yellow cover. The title read, "Magic for Dummies," in white letters, and there was a figure of a little wand shooting out stars, along with a pointed hat, and the image of a black cat.

"I found it in the fiction aisle," Remus said with a laugh. "Muggles sure know how to have a laugh."

"Ooh, speaking of isles and laughs," Isabella said secretively, sliding the book back towards Remus, "you'll never guess what news our favorite animagus sends us."

"You're my favorite animagus, Isabella," Remus said with a cheeky grin.

Isabella blushed, but rolled her eyes. "I'm being serious, Remus."

"So am I."

"Remus," Isabella hissed, amusement dancing in her eyes as she swatted his arm playfully, "I'm trying to tell you something."

"Alright, alright, what has Padfoot done now?"

"It's not what he's done," Isabella pointed out, remembering Sirius' letter well, "It's what he's about to do."

"How do you mean?" asked Remus, genuinely confused.

"He… claims to be in love with Sera," Isabella said with a little smirk, making Remus look at her with a surprised expression on his face, "and he told me that he's going to ask her out on a date, but since he can't leave the island, he's just going to fix her a dinner out on the beach and make his intentions known."

"Well, I'll be damned," Remus said, sounding astonished. "He never mentioned anything like that when he wrote to me."

"I guess he wants to keep it a secret for now," Isabella shrugged. "It's kind of sweet, all things considered."

"It's interesting, that's what it is," said Remus with a soft chuckle. "They've been living together since late June, right?"

"Yes," said Isabella. "But what does that even matter? It's Padfoot we're talking about—remember when he went out with that Ravenclaw after two days of talking to her?"

"I see your point," said Remus with a nod.

"They'd make a cute couple though… if it lasts more than a couple of days, that is," Isabella said smartly.

"True," Remus shrugged. "So, you mentioned in your letter you had something important to tell me—is something wrong?"

Isabella sighed. She was cursing herself for not just letting it all out in a letter, but Remus deserved better than that. She just didn't know how he'd react to knowing that his daughter was one of Rowena Ravenclaw's descendants (along with she). She'd made the decision to tell him the night before. The notion had been random, but she was done with keeping things from him.

It didn't mean that she couldn't lag, though…

"Talia got her period last night," Isabella blurted out, "for the first time. She panicked—thought something had broken inside of her. I've given her the talk various times now, but I guess the shock of seeing all that blood just got to her. I uh, thought you should know."

Remus just stared at Isabella blankly, before his cheeks reddened. Awkwardly he said, "Um, oh. I guess Talia's a… a woman now."

"She's all grown up," Isabella agreed, playing with the hem of her sleeves.

An awkward silence ensued after that, Remus looking down at the tabletop blankly, while Isabella kept playing with the sleeves of her robes. Maybe telling Remus about Talia's other monthly problem wasn't such a good idea, Isabella thought idly, but it had been the first thing to pop into her head, and thus she had blurted it out.

"I have a feeling that's not what you intended to tell me," Remus said quietly after a moment, looking at Isabella with a knowing look. He knew her well enough to know when she was keeping something from him, or when she was stalling. Sure, he was… happy to know that his daughter was becoming a woman, but it wasn't a topic he necessarily wanted to talk about, nor the topic Isabella initially wanted to talk about. That much he was certain of.

"Right, well, you see…" Isabella trailed off, searching her mind for the right words to tell Remus, but she kept drawing a blank. With a frustrated sigh, she gave up, and mumbled, "how about if I just show you?"

"Isabella—"

"I don't how to explain… it, and I just… showing you would be better, I think," Isabella confessed, giving Remus an apologetic smile.

Remus stared at Isabella curiously, wondering what it was that she couldn't bring herself to say. Sadly, he couldn't find his answer in her eyes, nor on the expression of her face. It left him no other choice but to nod his head and go along with whatever she had in store for him.

"We can get there via apparition… I asked for the wards to be brought down for the day, so we shouldn't have any problems, I think."

Remus quirked an eyebrow. What exactly was he getting himself into?

AN: It bothers me when some stories do not mention the simple problems of being a human. I understand that sometimes mentioning when a character goes to the bathroom just... Well, it's something that doesn't really need to be said because it's assumed that it's happening behind the scenes, but I like to point things out. Being descriptive is in my nature.

Talia getting her "other" monthly problem is just one of those things that I thought was needed in this story to point out that she's growing up.

I hope no one was put off by this. It'll be mentioned again in Chapter 10, just so you know.