Little Snake - A Black Legacy

Chapter Two - denying

Pls Feel free to correct or suggest changes if something feels floppy! And of cause feel free so comment! <3

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Confused, Hazel saw her adoptive parents whispering to a strange man in a corner of the room. She realized, she must be in the hospital after what happened, but seemed only a little hurt judging by her headache and the bandage that was tight around her head. Again, she looked confused at the stranger. He couldn't be a doctor, he wore almost eccentric clothes, nothing a doctor would wear. So who was he?After a few minutes, the three noticed her awakening and came to the bed.

"How are you, honey?" her adoptive mother asked. "Everything's ok. A little headache, that's all." She murmured, in her always distant way. The stranger handed her a cup of water, which she gratefully accepted. "Do you remember what happened, Miss Black?" the stranger then asked. "Blurred but yes" she answered and put the cup on the bedside table. Then the stranger went to get a doctor. "Who is he?" Hazel immediately asked her adoptive parents. "He should tell you that himself, but he's not a bad person. Don't be afraid," her adoptive father said. She nodded. Her adoptive parents knew that strangers were always uncomfortable for Hazel, even the closeness of the people who gave her a home, she could hardly stand.

After the doctor looked at her again, Hazel was allowed to go home. The stranger made it very clear, that he would still try to talk to Hazel today and that he would come with them, which Hazel didn't like. She already felt guilty for causing so much inconvenience to the only people who were kind to her. But she had to accept it because her adoptive parents had already given her approval. Hazel had a bad feeling about this, as if she didn't like what this elderly gentleman had to say.

At home, Hazel saw the owl sitting on the roof of the house and softly "hooking" to itself, as the four people entered. The feeling in her stomach was getting more and more intense, something wasn't quite right here. Her adoptive mother set to work brewing tea and wearily prevented Hazel from preparing dinner. She made her sit down, which was not to Hazel's liking at all. Hazel loved to have something to do. But she obeyed. "Well Miss Black..." the stranger began. "I should introduce myself to you first. My name's Eleazar Fig and I am a professor at a prestigious boarding school. I'm glad I found you in time," he finished his sentence. But what did a teacher at a boarding school want from her so badly? "You already know my name, Professor Fig," she said coolly, trying to keep her coldness to the world. Professor Fig smiled and nodded. Then he blurted out straight away with one of the worst questions he could have asked her. She thought she'd never have to hear about it again after they threw that nonsense out of her at the orphanage. "Do you believe in magic, Miss Black?" he asked, looking at her with interest. Hazel stubbornly looked down at her teacup. "No. Magic doesn't exist" said Hazel, shaking her head slightly. She was well aware that today, and also yesterday, she had already seen the impossible, but magic? Never! "Didn't you ever notice anything strange when you were angry or scared? Like today?" Professor Fig continued to poke. Hazel refused that thought, too painfully for what she had locked away forever. "I-I... don't K-know what you're t-talking about," she stuttered, hands clenched into fists in her lap, eyes still downcast. Professor Fig could tell she was in denial on purpose. Even if he didn't understand why. "So you didn't notice the broken vases that caused the boy to stumble? Didn't feel anything scary, maybe?" he persisted. Hazel's mind was racing, pure chaos. Tears filled her eyes. "I-I... Of course I was scared! That boy was after me like a wolf after a rabbit!" she exclaimed. Her hands began to tremble just as a small earthquake seemed to shake the house. At least she heard the clink of dishes. "Please calm down. It's all good." Fig tried to relax the situation, noticing that he seemed to have been too bold. "H-how could I? You're trying to tell me that my life was a lie and I didn't imagine my childhood! She exclaimed, tears running down her cheeks as she realized what Professor Fig wanted from her. He wanted her to accept for herself that magic existed. A plate slipped out of the cupboard with the tremor and shattered on the floor with a clatter, which made Hazel startle in a panic. She put her hands to her face and tried to calm herself. Her adoptive mother put a hand on her shoulder. Slowly the shaking subsided and Hazel took a deep breath as something jumped onto her lap and stretched down her chest to her face. Hazel took her hands down and carefully clawed the soft fur of her only friend, Star. Reassured by him, she allowed the thought. It didn't mean that her imaginary past really existed, did it? It could still only have been a nightmare. "As he tried to choke me, some...power...made him let go of me and we were both thrown in opposite directions. And when I ran away, all I heard was all these vases clinking and shattering," she murmured, and her adoptive mother clapped her hands over her mouth. "Exactly. You are a witch Miss Black. Whether you want to accept that or not. Even if your magical talents awoke very late," Professor Fig said calmly. Hazel shook her head again. "My birth parents kicked me out of their family because... I didn't have magic" Hazel decided not to reveal the whole truth, which she had thought was a dream anyway. "A lot of things go wrong in the Black family. Normally, children of magical families show magic by the time they are seven years old. In your family at the latest at the age of 5. The Blacks are so fixated on the 'Honor of the Pure Blood' as they call it, and couldn't bear to have produced a maybe magic-less child. You have an uncle to thank for being alive. Otherwise you probably wouldn't be sitting here," Fig explained. This came as a shock to Hazel. So her nightmare was also a horrible reality. Adding to the emptiness she'd felt since she'd been in the orphanage was the not-even-wanted-feeling. The feeling of not being good enough, not even worth enough to be allowed to be alive. She felt Star lick her right cheek and stroked his head. "So magic really exists?" she asked more of the rabbit in her arms than Professor Fig. The rabbit looked her in the eye in a kindred way and she felt that if he could talk, he would say >Yes, after all the two of us are connected to each other. I'm here' and Professor Fig answered her as well. "Yes. It does exist. We can't explain why it's just waking up now. Magical training usually begins at age 11, but you're 14 now, so I've been sent to tutor you for the next year and prepare you for her fifth year. We have a lot of catching up to do"

Hazel, not wanting to cause trouble as usual, came up with a scalding thought. "But... what about school fees, all the expenses, I can't ask my parents to pay for all this," she said, on the verge of tears again. But Professor Fig smiled. "No worries. Her aforementioned uncle took charge of the dungeon in the bank that was created for each child in the family. If a child dies or is expelled from the family before they can accept it themselves, they usually dissolve it. However, your uncle insisted on keeping it and deposited a small sum monthly. It may not be much, but it should be quite enough." Fig explained. Relief flowed through Hazel. "S-so I'm going to go to your boarding school next year?" she asked quietly. Was it a relief for her adoptive parents to finally know what was wrong with Hazel? that she went away? "Yes. I have already informed your parents about this and they gave me their consent. So we're going to exempt you from school for this year, officially you're home schooled now after what happened. Nobody will find anything strange about it. This year I'm going to teach you everything you need to know to get into fifth grade more easily, to settle in more easily. I'm confident you'll make it. In a few days we'll get you your school supplies and start your lessons."