Squib - In the Noble House of Black

17- Manipulate the People You love

(A/N) I recently replaced this chapter and the last, so if you just came to read this chapter, makes sure you have read chapter 16, as I did change a lot of things.

April 18th, 1976

Iola was just over for lunch, her and Maia were making sandwiches when the owl swooped in through the open window, dropping a letter off on the counter top and then sat, waiting patiently for Maia to write a letter back. The plate Iola was holding suddenly dropped out of her hands and shattered on the floor. These things happened simultaneously and Maia made no immediate movement.

It was bound to happen eventually. For Iola to be there around some sort of magic, Maia had just never prepared for it. And it wasn't normal for an owl to fly through a window to deliver a letter. So Maia simply found some treats to feed the owl.

"Why is there an owl in your flat?" Iola asked carefully, "And why are you feeding it?"

"His name is Otis." Maia said simply. The owl had been in James' family for years, and he was getting old now. "He was delivering a message from Sirius." At least she thought it was Sirius, as he always used the Potter's owl.

"That doesn't explain anything Maia!" Iola said exasperated.

Maia sighed. Iola wasn't supposed to find out about the magical world like this, she wasn't supposed to find out at all. But now there was no other explanation. "You should sit down, then." She directed Iola to her couch, seeming to have to snap her out of a trance, "I'm sorry Otis, this might take a while." She said over her shoulder and the owl shook his feathers.

"You talk to it-him also? And he understands you?" Iola is wide-eyed now looking at Maia from the couch.

"Yes, he has been trained to understand humans, specifically wizards to transport messages."

"Wizards?" Iola asked. "Maia I think you need help, are you ill?"

"I'm perfectly fine, thank you."

"It's not normal to talk to animals, and not for them to understand you, I'm just imagining all this right? I need to wake up."

Maia shakes her head. "No it's not normal to talk to animals, but then again, my family is far from normal. I would really like it if you would hear me out. It's a lot, but I trust you, and you deserve the truth."

Maia then explains how her family is magical, but she wasn't. How it was the reason she was kicked out, how both her brothers are magical and the wizarding world communicate by letter via owl. Iola, Maia thinks is taking the information great. She remembers when Violet had found out about magic only for there to be wizards around to wipe her memory. She remembers her begging her not to have her memory wiped, she remembers the days after her memory, the strangeness and detachment. She could let that happen with Iola. Iola had to understand. But this time, she could for herself, not having been caught in the middle of a battle.

"I'm sorry for keeping this from you, i didn't know how, or when or if." Maia explains.

"Magic, Maia!? That's not something you keep from your best friend."

"There were just some things I couldn't explain."

"I understand you're secretive. You always have been. About your parents, your siblings, I never asked." Iola said calmly, but Maia could hear the hurt in her voice.

"Yeah, and I never asked about your family either. We both ended up in that orphanage. I just ended up there because of magic."

"That's not fair. No one asks about family, but I thought we were close enough, I thought you would have shared such an important thing."