Overall, this may be a short chapter, but it's an important one, i think. The next one will be longer, and much more vital. Still, i'm pleased with myself. enjoy!
Sheeva was assisting Draco in managing the rowdy potions class. They were all hyped, as it was Friday, and a Hogsmeade visit was around the corner. Severus and Kathryn's minds were not on the class, rather, they were giddy, thinking about their upcoming "date". Nayeli was happy that the weekend was here, as she could go to town, grab a drink, and come back and hopefully pass out and get a decent night's rest.
The dungeon door swung open as a messenger walked in, frustrated and confused. He saw Sheeva, and walked straight up to her, handing her a letter.
"What is this?" She asked. The man shrugged.
"I don't know, but the guy that gave it to me kept repeating your name. He was talking in a funny language." He answered. She examined the letter carefully.
"What did he look like?" She interrogated. The messenger shrugged again.
"I didn't see his face. He had it covered up with a wolf-looking mask. Kinda cool, actually." He muttered, walking away. Sheeva's eyes widened and she turned around, back to the class. Her face paled, and she shakily opened the letter, scanning it over. Draco peeked at the writing. He didn't recognize it; it was written in some kind of code. He guessed that it was her language from the way she reacted.
"What's wrong?" Draco muttered. She looked up at him worriedly and then back at the letter.
"Outside. I do not want the twins to hear." She mouthed, pocketing the letter and forcing a smile as she left the dungeon. Draco followed her quickly. Nayeli noticed, and followed him with her eyes. Her father was worried, a rare occasion.
Something's up with Dad and Mom. She thought to Severus. Severus blinked. He hadn't been paying attention.
What? He asked. Nayeli groaned and rolled her eyes, walked over to him, and pulled him by the cloak towards the door. She held a finger to her mouth, and leaned her ear against the door. He did the same. They listened hard to the hushed voices of their parents.
"He wants to take you back to Kadessa? Why?" Draco asked.
"I do not know… I will need to ask him to find out exactly why. Draco… If they come here while I am gone, you and Blaise take the kids, and get the hell out of here. Understand? They will use you to get to me, as they used Kadie… I cannot bear to witness that again, not again…Never again."
Their chests tightened as they heard their mother weeping, and they backed away from the door, staring at each other.
Kadessa? Where the hell is that? Nayeli asked, looking back at the door, full of concern. Severus shook his head and shrugged.
What I want to know is who this "Kadie" is. Wait… Is there a sibling that we don't know about? He asked back, taking a few steps away from the door in case their parents walked back in.
Nayeli's eyes went wide at the mention of a possible older sibling, and her stomach sank.
She rushed back to her seat, and Severus followed as they heard the door handle rattle. They sat up as their father walked back in, scowling, obviously distressed about something.
"Class will be dismissed. You're all not paying attention anyway. Enjoy Hogsmeade. Don't do anything incredibly stupid…" He stated, his back to his students. They cheered and grabbed their belongings and rushed out of the door, chatting about the weekend. Nayeli and Severus stayed rooted to their seats. Kathryn waited for them, but then stood and left, figuring that they had something to talk about.
"I'll see you later, Nayeli. Bye, Severus." She smiled at him and waved. He cracked a smile, and then frowned when she left, still thinking about what they'd overheard.
Draco hadn't noticed that they'd stayed behind. He stared at him desk, and then slammed his hand down on the wood, cursing.
"Damn it!" He burst, fuming. He crossed his arms and began to pace madly, then looked up as he realized that he wasn't alone.
Severus and Nayeli had stood and were leaning against one of the tables, staring at him.
"What's going on, Dad?" Severus started. Draco stopped, staring at them. He opened his mouth, and then shut it again.
"It's nothing. Not your concern." He growled, grabbing his coat and making to leave. Nayeli cut him off.
"No, Dad, it's not 'nothing'. What was that letter about?" She asked. Draco took a few steps back. Severus went to stand by his sister, blocking the hallway to the door completely.
Draco stared at them, a saddened look in his eyes. He sighed, and ruffled his hair, staring at the floor.
"Come by the office later. There's something that we should have told you, a long time ago, but I don't want to do it without your mother and Blaise there." He scowled at the floor, mentally criticizing himself.
Nayeli and Severus blinked, and then slowly agreed.
"Alright, Dad. We'll be back." Nayeli muttered. Without another word, she left. Severus waited for a few minutes. His dad wouldn't look at him, and he almost looked like he were about ready to break down and cry.
He walked up to him and gave him a hug. Startled, Draco hugged his son back, tightly, as if he were going to vanish in the next second.
"Your mother, father, and I love the three of you, very much. Please, don't ever forget that." He muttered. Severus smiled and nodded.
"Of course, Dad, I know that. I could never forget."
"Promise me something, Severus Allan Malfoy." Draco started. Severus was taken aback. He rarely used his full name, unless it was something that he'd done to get in trouble or something incredibly serious. He looked at him.
"What?"
Draco held him by his shoulders at arm's length, and looked him straight in the eye. His expression was dark, stern, and somewhat cold, almost angry. Severus swallowed.
"If anything happens to Sheeva, Blaise or me, protect your siblings. Take them, and run. Hide. Do you understand?" He growled. Severus gaped at him.
When Severus didn't respond, Draco shook him a little.
"Do you?" He asked. Severus shakily blurted out a "yes, sir", nodding viscously. Draco sighed, and dropped his head, wiping away the sweat from his forehead. He quickly turned and walked out of the room, leaving a very confused and terrified Severus.
Kathryn looked up as Nayeli walked in, and smiled at her.
"Hey, are you ready for the weekend?" She asked. Nayeli looked at her, dazed. She was playing out what she thought that their parents had to tell them the entire trip to her common room.
Kathryn frowned.
"What's with you? You're spacey today." She asked, putting away her Potions essay.
"I'm just… Tired of nightmares." She replied, lying. Kathryn seemed to buy it, and shook her head.
"I can probably brew you a Dreamless Sleep. Want me to try?" She asked. Nayeli chuckled a little bit.
"I have no doubt you could, but I'd feel a little more comfortable if Dad was the one to do that." She admitted. Kathryn smirked, and shrugged it off.
"Of course. You should ask him for some." She said. Nayeli nodded.
"There's something that my parents need to talk to me about. So, I'll be gone for a while." She announced. Kathryn frowned.
"What about?"
Nayeli shrugged, and sat down. She glanced at the clock. It was only 4:30. She scowled. They'd have quite a while to wait. She grabbed her portfolio, and continued to draw. She scowled even more and slammed it shut after a while, startling the other students in the room.
She stood, and announced that she was going to go train, something that she hadn't done in a while.
She changed into something a little more comfortable; a pair of sweats and a t-shirt, grabbed her bow-staff, and walked to the courtyard. She merely glanced at the statue of Dumbledore, and whipped the staff around, smacking an invisible enemy in the forehead. She spun it around above her head and jabbed the enemy in the stomach, thrusting the invisible person aside.
She pushed one edge of the staff against the ground, lifted herself in the air, kicking and as she landed, she cut the air with her weapon. She stood, and spun around, bringing the edge of the staff down.
She gave a startled cry when Severus blocked her attack, stopping the bow with his hand. He winced from the pain, his eyes widened and then squeezed shut.
"Ow." He hissed, shaking his hand and rubbing it.
"Sorry. What are you doing?" Nayeli asked. He sighed.
"Want to spar? I'm pretty irritated too. And, if there's people threatening our family, we need to train more to defend it." He muttered, eyes downcast and eerily dark. Nayeli nodded.
"Yeah. Let's go." She agreed, getting into a fighting stance. He put up his dukes as well. Nayeli threw the first punch, and Severus slapped it out of the way, aiming a punch for her face. Nayeli blocked it and stepped to the side, aiming for his ribcage.
He pushed it aside quickly, his palm slapping against her forearm. They attacked and blocked left and right, the stings from their blocks hardly registering. Nayeli's fist finally collided with Severus' lip, and he stumbled backwards. It'd split open, and began to bleed. He wiped it with the back of his hand, slightly surprised.
Sorry. Nayeli apologized. He shook his head, and threw a fake punch, stepping behind her and kicking her in the butt. She stumbled forward and did something of a handstand and flipped over, regaining her balance.
Smooth save. He complimented. She smirked.
They trained until the sun had set. The clock bell rang, and they stared at it as though it were counting their impending doom. It was just a little after 7.
Severus stuck his hands in his pockets, and looked down at the ground.
Let's go. He walked on. Nayeli picked up her staff and followed him in.
Severus found himself hesitating at their parent's door. Nayeli didn't blame him. She was the one to knock on the door, and even then, it was a light tap, barely audible. Jeffrey was the one to open the door. He grinned at them.
"Hi Sissy! Hi Sevy!" He called out, grabbing their wrists and pulling them in, then hugging them tightly. They almost began to cry as they hugged him back.
"Hi, Jeffrey." They muttered back.
"Alright, Jeffrey. Off to bed with you." Sheeva stated, opening the door to his bedroom for him.
"Aww… Do I have to?" He asked, slouching dramatically. Severus and Nayeli cracked a smile.
"We'll hang out first thing tomorrow morning, ok?" Severus reassured him. Jeffrey smiled and brightened.
"Promise?" He asked. Severus nodded and smiled. Jeffrey skipped off to his bedroom to change into his pajamas and then back out to give everyone hugs and kisses.
As soon as the light went out and the door was shut, Sheeva took a deep breath. She turned around and stared at them. They stared back.
Their mother was nervous. It was a nervousness beyond the normal 'worrying mother mode' nervous that they'd tease her about every so often.
Draco cast a Muffliato spell on the room, making sure that Jeffrey wouldn't be able to overhear their conversation. Sheeva looked from her children to her husbands, unsure of where to even start. She made up her mind, and took off her shawl, and formed a sign with her hands. She winced in pain as her wings slowly slid out from beneath her shoulders, and her shield fell, showing her many scars.
Severus and Nayeli stared at their mother, amazed and frightened at the same time.
"What… Where the hell did you get those wings?" Severus barked.
"How did you get those scars? Who did this to you, mother?" Nayeli shrieked.
Both of them were beyond furious now, shaking with rage.
Sheeva smiled sadly.
"This was not done to me, Nayeli. This is me." She muttered. Severus blinked slowly, stepping forward and taking her hand. Nayeli was still too stunned to move.
This is her? What the hell is she talking about, Severus?
I don't know…
"I don't understand…" He muttered, heavily confused. She nodded, and set her hand on his cheek. Only then did he notice the numbers tattooed on her wrist. He grabbed it, and stared at it, and then looked back at her, his eyes asking his question.
Nayeli finally moved forward at Severus' sharp action, and stared at the tattoo. She recognized it, too, and nearly lost her lunch.
"Why do you have this?" She asked. Sheeva slowly nodded.
"I was in Auschwitz. In 1940, I attempted to assassinate Adolf Hitler. I was betrayed by one of my own, and turned in. Originally, I was sent to the gas chambers. When they learned I was immortal, they sent me to be experimented on." She explained. Severus backed away, and turned to his fathers, a questioning look on his face. They nodded. Draco looked away, glancing at the family photo on the dresser.
"You're immortal?" Nayeli asked, trying to ensure she'd heard right. Sheeva nodded.
"Yes, Nayeli. I am. I have been living here for the last twelve-thousand years." She admitted. Severus looked up, glaring at her.
"That's impossible! There's no such thing!" He spat angrily, pacing the floor.
"Severus… it is. It really is. Time stopped for me when I was banished here from Kadessa. The gods did so so that I would protect this world." She muttered, reaching out her hand for Severus to take. He backed away from her, staring at her like she was trying to hand him poison.
"Why didn't you tell us about this?" Nayeli asked, sitting down on the couch, staring, glossy-eyed, at Sheeva.
"I could not. I did not want to take the risk that they, the people I came from, would use you. As your mother, I was only wanting to protect you." She explained, her heart heavy.
"No." Severus blurted, glaring at her, tears spilling from his eyes.
Sheeva looked at him.
"No. You're not our mother! There's no way! A mother wouldn't keep these kinds of secrets! You're not our mother!" He yelled, his throat tight and constricted with pain. If her heart could literally break, Sheeva would have felt it do so at that moment. He grabbed the door handle and threw the door open, running out of the door and as far away from the room as he could.
"Severus! Wait! Please, Severus!" She called out. She fell to her knees, sobbing into her hands. Nayeli went to comfort her, while Draco and Blaise took off after him.
"Severus!" They called out. Severus didn't stop running, even when he was out of breath. He'd made it to a secret room he'd discovered by accident, which, by a series of experiments, he learned only appeared when he really needed it.
He stood facing the wall, panting.
I need a place to hide, so that my fathers can't find me… if they really are my fathers… I need a place to think. I need proof. He thought, still furious. A silver door appeared in front of him, with an ensign of his mother, a little blonde, curly haired girl, and another man that he didn't recognize. He was a little surprised, as the door never looked like this before.
"Severus, where are you?" Draco called out, a little bit down the hallway. Severus snapped his head back at the door and opened it, and barged in. He let out a startled cry as he fell into darkness. He looked behind him, and saw the light from the still open door drifting farther and farther away. He screamed as it shut itself with a loud bang.
He hit the ground, hard, and he saw white in the back of his head. His eyes closed and he fought to keep them open, but found that he couldn't. Helplessly alone, he fainted, senses going cold to the world around him.
Off to writing the next chapter!
Hope you enjoyed it! Review, please?