It looked like something out of a Jane Austen novel. The mansion had an antique look that had garnered the neighbors' admiration over the decades. They were always saying things like, "Snape manor always looks so gorgeous. I really don't know how they do it. I can barely keep my own living room from getting dirty."
Inside of it, eleven year old Natalie Wilds, Severus Snape's niece, pulled her charcoal black hair back into a neat ponytail and examined herself in a full-length mirror. She was in the front room, which was completely plum colored except for the hardwood floor. She had on a pair of magenta converse sneakers, black wide-leg jeans, and a light pink short sleeved peasant shirt. Her light blue eyes stood out on her oval-shaped face.
She was trying out different smiles, but nothing was right. She shook her head at her reflection and walked out into the hall. A long deep red and plum bordered carpet was stretched out onto the hardwood floor. She stood on it, under the giant chandelier. Her eyes swept over each door and across the bannister above the chandelier.
It was like she could hear the silence. Her breathing got loud and her heart was beating rapidly.
"Uncle Isaac?" she screamed in a panicked voice.
A youngish man, with ear length black hair, slid into sight on the top floor. He grabbed on to the bannister to stop himself. He had deep scars on the back of his right hand. One look at him was enough to tell anyone he was Severus Snape's older brother. He even wore all black, like his brother, and had on those same shoes that clicked against the floor when he walked. However, he wasn't wearing robes, just like Natalie. He had on a button down shirt and corduroy pants.
"Natalie, what's wrong?" he immediately asked.
She didn't reply. She was too busy clutching her chest and breathing hard, while she stared up at him with an alarmed expression.
Isaac let go of the bannister and charged down the stairs. He jumped over the last four steps and leapt in front of his niece. He held her right shoulder and lightly pressed one of his palms against the side of her head.
"Natalie, look at me. Concentrate." He begged her, "Think about things that you like: the color pink, the 1995 adaption of A Little Princess, the 1993 adaption of The Secret Garden, just anything that makes you happy."
Her breathing was still harsh and, by the way she clutched her chest, it was obvious her heart was still beating too fast. Natalie could feel Isaac start trembling. His expression made her think of an abandoned child. With so much black in his wardrobe and hair, she had missed the dark circles under his black eyes.
She got herself to stop breathing so hard and asked him, "Didn't you get any sleep last night?"
Isaac closed his eyes briefly and nodded, "I did. I just…" He closed his eyes again, took his hand off the side of her head and used it to cover his face. "I'll get more sleep tonight." He looked at her and saw that she looked unconvinced. "I promise." he added.
Natalie didn't say anything. She just made a violent grab at his right arm and tried to pull down his sleeve. Isaac let go of her shoulder and tried to pry her hands off his arm.
"Natalie, stop it!" he cried.
"No! Just show me your arm, Uncle Isaac!"
"No!" Isaac ripped his arm out of her grasp and immediately realized that he had hurt her emotionally as well as physically. "Natalie, I'm sorry." He took a step closer to her, "Are you alright?"
"Are you?" she asked him.
He nodded, "Yes." but even he knew how faulty his voice sounded. He forced a small smile on his face, "I just need more sleep."
Natalie took an exasperated breath and told him, "You need to stop cutting yourself, Uncle Isaac."
A crease formed between Isaac's eyebrows and he looked ashamed of himself. He held both her shoulders and said, while repeatedly flicking his eyes away from hers, "Natalie, you don't need to worry about that. I don't cut that deep and I wouldn't cut near a vein. I-"
"You shouldn't cut yourself at all." she insisted in a tiny, high pitched voice.
Isaac watched as her lip twitched two times before she started crying. She had tried to swallow back in her first sob, but just couldn't stop her tears and more sobs from rolling out.
Isaac embraced her, just as she had started to move forward to hug him. Natalie cried into his chest and he laid his head on the top of hers.
"I just want you stop!" Natalie lamented. "You…" she swallowed and sobbed. "I don't want you to kill yourself. Please."
He started crying too, but tried to keep himself quiet. He failed and trembled, when he released his first sob.
"I'm not…" Isaac swallowed and took a deep breath. He confessed, "I don't want to kill myself, Natalie."
Natalie got herself to stop sobbing, like Isaac had. She stepped back a little and looked her uncle dead in the eyes, "Then, why do you just keep cutting yourself?"
"I can't handle certain things in my life. Things from my past." he explained. He struggled to come up with more of an explanation. So, he kissed her forehead and said, "Natalie, it has nothing to do with you and you don't need to worry about it, alright?"
She shook her head, apologetically, "I'm not going to stop worrying about it, Uncle Isaac. I want you to—we all want you to stop cutting yourself and just talk to us, please." She insisted, "You could talk to me right now."
"Natalie, you're a little girl-"
"I'm eleven." she stated, firmly. "Think about Harry Potter. He had to face Voldemort again, when he was eleven."
Silence fell between them and Natalie looked away from her uncle. He kissed the top of her.
Then, he lightly tapped the bottom of her chin, so she would look up at him. He smiled, sadly, "I don't think you have to worry about going to Hogwarts."
"I won't be so worried, with you and Uncle Severus with me there." she told him. Natalie added, hesitantly, "I didn't have a panic attack because I'm scared about going to Hogwarts." She looked away and tried to focus on the wall.
Isaac closed his eyes and looked anguished, "You got scared because you didn't know where I was, didn't you?"
They locked eyes again and she nodded.