"So he finally got tired of you?"
Amanda spun around, starring at her older brother while still with the rolling pin in her hand, the baby-bump, that had started to show, was carefully hidden by a smock.
"Shut up!"
"Brilliant Amanda!"
He clapped his hands as he walked closer
"Thankfully, your undercover existence has made people forget about you and therefor your shameful behaviour has had no impact on my life"
Glaring at him she walked closer
"I am so happy to hear that brother dear, I certainly would never want to complicate your life!"
Noticing the venom in her voice, Oliver narrowed his eyes at his babysister, she looked so much older, true several years had passed but there was something different about her.
"You could have destroyed my career, taken away my chance of greatness!"
Amanda gaped at him, her mouth slightly open as she starred at him in disbelief.
"You just have to be the most insensitive, selfish and stupid person I have ever met and trust me, I have met several"
Pointing the rolling pin at him she walked closer
"Merlin forbid that your chances of coaching the Harpies should be taken away from you because of your embarrassing babysister, whom, by the way, has spent 10 years in Hell!"
Oliver scoffed
"Your own choice!"
Amanda laughed
"Yeah, one would think that but no, not really! Marcus used the Ambrosia potion on me!"
Oliver gave her an empty look
"It was all his master plan, throw you off your game, it was all about Quidditch!"
Rolling his eyes at her Oliver shook his head.
"Come off it! Just admit that you did it to spite me!"
Amanda screamed
"Not everything in my life is about you!"
Seeing her mother bursting through the door, her hair falling out of her elaborate bun as she looked wildly at her two children just as Amanda threw the rolling pin at Oliver
"What's going on here?"
The kitchen utensil disintegrated mid-air and Oliver pointed his wand at his sister.
"Oliver, put that down!"
His mother screeched, moving over and grabbing his arm, a hold he quickly broke as he moved around the kitchen table, still pointing his wand at his sister.
"You need to leave!"
He hissed at her
"Not just this house and family, but everything, you need to go back to the hole you came from!"
"Oliver!"
Their mother grabbed hold of him again and yet again he pulled out her grip, circling the table.
"You're not wanted here, we were happy without you and all your trouble!"
Emilia Wood ran to the door, yelling for her husband
"Eli – get down here NOW!"
"Being your sister is no picnic in the park, you have no idea what I did to shield you, to keep trouble from coming your way so you could keep your head in the game!"
"You whore!"
Amanda shot a spell at him, scattering the shelf behind him
"Bastard!"
The selection of fine bone china behind her was blown to pieces
"Of all the people in the world Amanda – why him?"
A spell and a plate flew past his ear
"Why aren't you listening?!"
The roar of their father made them both jump, Amanda quickly putting the plate down she was holding and Oliver stood straight as a tin soldier
"In all my years… I've seen nothing like this, the two of you acting like wild animals, you should be ashamed – the both of you!"
Amanda looked at her hands, nervously picking at her cuticles while Oliver studied his shoes intensely.
"What on Earth is your problem?"
Elijah Wood looked at his children, both of them obviously ashamed of their actions and clearly still very respectful of their father.
Marcus sat in front of the fire as a tap was heard on the window, getting up he let the owl in, taking the letter from its leg and looking at it. It was for her… Why did the owl bring it here? Pocketing the letter he went outside the cottage and outside the wards before Disapperating, appearing at her front door. Unlocking it he ventured inside. She had never given him a key, he had copied hers in case he should once need it, such as now. The place was abandoned, all the furniture still there but no personal belongings. Where had she gone to? Taking the letter out of his pocket he opened it and read the few lines before crumbling it up and leaving the apartment, Disapperating as soon as he was outside.
The towers of Hogwarts reached for the sky, the dark spears piercing the dark stormclouds as he made his way up to the castle, not aiming for the front door but rather one of the side entrances. Pushing the old oak door open he found himself in the dungeons and aimed straight for the office of Severus Snape. Barging through the door he found the older man at his desk
"What's the meaning of this?"
The letter was thrown onto the stack of papers the Professor was grading.
"This was a private letter, a small note on some concern I had, you had no business reading it"
Marcus growled at him
"Well she's gone and the owl delivered it at my place"
Severus looked at him, brows furrowed
"What do you mean by 'gone'?"
Getting out of the chair he leaned over the desk, locking eyes with the young man
"I thought she would be at your place!"
Marcus scoffed
"We had a fight, she freaked out when I asked her to marry me and I haven't seen her since"
The potions masters eyes went wide at first, then narrow as the truth dawned on him
"That little bitch!"
"Hey that is my future wife you're talking about!"
Marcus glared at the older man as he started pacing to the fireplace and back to the desk, pulling some papers out from one of the drawers.
"Calm yourself, she'll come back, she always does"
Severus looked at him, an eyebrow cocked
"Are you sure about that? Last time she was here we solved the Ambrosia-problem"
Marcus went strangely pale
"You did what?"
Severus Snape nodded while studying his lists of former students.
"Yes, all it took was draining the majority of her blood"
Seeing the young man's eyes widen Severus held up his hand in a calming manner
"Relax now, she is neither dead nor a vampire… on the contrary really"
Marcus sat himself down in one of the chairs
"On the contrary?"
Severus eyed him for a few seconds
"If I was the last to see her you are missing a piece of rather important information?"
Marcus cocked an eyebrow at the older man
"What? What's going on?"
"Here!"
Severus pulled out a sheet of paper, holding it in the air victorious.
"What's that?"
"Her parent's address"
Sitting in the couch Amanda had her arms folded over her chest while starring out the window with a sour face, Oliver sat in an armchair and starred into the flames of the fireplace. Their father came over with a cup of tea, sitting himself down in his usual armchair.
"Start talking"
Eyeing her brother Amanda licked her lips and gave her mother a nervous look
"Marcus Flint found out that I was Oliver's sister"
"'am' "
"Ok, AM Oliver's sister"
She chewed her lip for a bit until her father cleared his throat, clearly indicating that she should continue
"Fine, he gave me the choice: willing or unwilling"
Catching Oliver's eyes shortly, she averted hers
"So in order for me to 'enjoy' it he gave me Ambrosia, unfortunately for the both of us, a whole batch which bound us together, rather me to him, I have not been able to be anyone else than him for a good 10 years"
She heard her mother sob into her handkerchief and taking a deep breath she willed herself to continue
"I returned to Hogwarts to try and break the potion's hold on me…"
Oliver looked at her
"Snape?"
She nodded, chewing her lip
"The potion can't be worn out, has no effect when others touch me and has only faded a bit in a decade"
"So will you be returning to him again?"
Amanda looked at her father
"No… the bond is broken"
"How?"
Oliver looked at her, eyes narrow. Closing her eyes she took a deep breath, bracing herself
"Well, Professor Snape has a temper, I'm too cheeky and one thing led to another and there was a bit of bloodshed, mine ..."
Her mother gasped
"and being in a very low state of mind I decided that enough was enough so I sat down and waited to die…"
Amanda was painfully aware that they were all looking at her
"and?"
Her father urged her on
"I was, I guess, lucky to be in the hands of a professional so with enough blood replenishing potions I got back on my feet and that was what broke the bond, my blood being replaced"
Looking up at them she felt her eyes tearing up as she saw her mother, dissolved in tears, her father looking pale and unnaturally calm, her brother expressionless
"All because you're my sister?"
She nodded
"And the night at the Quidditch Pitch?"
"I would rather lie to you than see you in Azkaban"
Jumping to his feet Oliver pulled his sister out of the couch and into a bone crushing hug.
"Manda, I am SO sorry!"
Gently padding his shoulder she nodded with tears streaming down her face
"I know, I just couldn't tell, now it's over – of sorts – and that's why I could come home"
Grabbing her by her shoulders and holding her in front of him he frowned
" 'of sorts' "?
"Well… "
Looking at her mother for reassurance she received a vague smile and a hand-movement urging her to continue
"I'm pregnant… with Marcus' child…"
Oliver released her as if he had been burned, his eyes dropping to her stomach
"How far?"
She felt like she could read his mind
"It's too late for that…"
A shadow of guilt crossed his face as their father stood up
"We'll go see a medic witch on Monday"
Both Oliver and Amanda starred at him in disbelieve
"But papa?"
"That child is a Wood, my grandchild and a member of this family whoever his or her father is"
Looking over at Oliver she saw the dismay on his face, the struggle of emotions flashing over him which resulted in him turning his heel and storming out the house. Looking at her parents hugging Amanda followed Oliver, she didn't know what he had planned, maybe he needed to think, forgive and forget but the thing she feared he would go for was: revenge
Seeing him disappear into the forest at the bottom of the hill she quickly followed. She found him by the creek, on the big rock where they used to sit when they were children, pretending to fish, throwing rocks in the water or jumping from during hot summer days.
Hearing her coming he looked over his shoulder at her
"I don't know what to do!"
She heard his frustration and understood better than she could tell him, climbing onto the rock she sat down next to him.
"Nothing, forget about it, it's over and done with"
"But the things he did to you?"
"Let me worry about those, believe me, our parents got the edited version"
Oliver grew pale
"I'm going to kill him!"
"If you do that, brother dear, the last 10 years have been for naught"
Seeing a desperate look in his eyes she took his hand, gently running her thumb over the back of it.
"I'm your big brother, I'm supposed to protect you but I let my own pride get in the way, my stupidity"
Looking at her he scowled
"You're allowed to stop me any time now!"
Giving him a wicked smile she tried to hide a giggle
"Why? You're saying all the things I have wanted to tell you for years"
Giving her a friendly push he underestimated his strength and a second later his babysister was in the water, yelling out he tumbled into the creek himself and as he surfaced the both cracked up.
"Oh gods Amanda, I'm so sorry – are you ok?"
Splashing water in his face she laughed
"Yes, I am the best I have been in years… though a bit wet…"
The two dark clad figures made their way to the small cottage in the Scottish countryside, pushing the gate to the garden open, they knew that alarms would go off and the surprise element would be gone. Maybe for the better. Knocking on the door Severus gave the man next to him a warning look.
"Let me do the talking"
Marcus nodded, he was still confused, there were so many pieces missing and the professor wouldn't tell him anything. As a small woman opened the door Severus smiled kindly
"Good afternoon madam, we're looking for an Amanda Wood and believe that she used to live here"
The woman nodded
"Yes, she's my daughter, can I help you?"
"Is she here?"
The woman grew a bit pale before she started shaking her head
"No, I have not seen her in years!"
Severus looked at her for a few moments before giving half a smile
"Very well, sorry for the intrusion, have a good evening"
As they turned and made it half way down the hill Severus muttered
"She was lying"
Marcus stopped and turned but the older man grabbed his arm and pulled him along.
"Honestly lad, think would you, an attack on a wizard's home is never wise especially if you do not know who you're up against. What do you know of her father?"
Marcus shook his head
"Nothing, she never spoke of him"
"My point exactly, we have to be prepared or in other ways try and lure the girl out"
Emilia Wood closed the door and spun around, screaming for her son
"Oliver!"
Running into the hallway she yelled up the stairs
"OLIVER!"
"Yes mother"
Poking his head out of his old bedroom he looked at the despair in his mother's eyes
"Where's your sister?"
"Out for a walk - what's wrong?"
"Find her, now – go!"
Hesitating he rushed down the stairs
"What's wrong?"
"Two wizards was just here looking for her – I beg you, find her before they do!"
She did not have to say that more than once, Oliver bolted out the front door and slid to a halt as he saw the two dark figures at the gardengate, he knew exactly who they were and this was bad news. Turning he ran around the house and down the back side of the hill, Amanda always went to the local fruit plantation on Wednesday afternoons. Jumping over the low stone ferment he landed on the gravel road with a fleeting look over his shoulder. He was spotted! Sprinting down the road he prayed he would get to his sister first. Looking over his shoulder he noticed that only one person was following him. Where was Marcus? Colliding with what seemed to be a brick wall he found himself on the ground, struggling to breathe. Damn Apperation!
"Oliver, how nice bumping into you here, have you seen your sister?"
Rubbing some dirt out of his eyes he glared at the larger man in front of him and instead of taking the hand offered, he got up himself.
"You stay away from her!"
Marcus laughed darkly as Severus joined them
"I have no intention to do so"
Someone suddenly caught both Oliver and Severus' eye, Marcus had his back to her fortunately.
Amanda stopped, the three men standing further up the road, all three she knew, some all too well. Seeing her brother punching Marcus and making a run for her, she only got to turn around as Severus Snape appeared right in front of her
"Good afternoon Miss Wood"
Before she could react he wrapped his arm around her and Disapperated.
((A/N Damn the upload-program for not adding my chapter-dividers))