What He Knew

Chapter 2

The air was velvety thick, I couldn't see much but I knew I was in the apartment in Paris. The only light came flittering in from under a door. I tried to walk quietly but the apartment was old and every floorboard creaked. I heard rushing footsteps. I held my breath. The door flung open to reveal a tall woman with a mane of dark curly hair and beetle-like eyes. Behind her I caught a view of another woman, floating in the air on her back, lifeless. A hunchback man spun her around lazily with his wand. The dark haired women leered at me, opening her mouth to revel rotten teeth, just as the floating woman rotated to reveal her face. My mother hung limp and pale before me. She was dead. I tried to rush to her but the dark haired woman grabbed me, shrieking with laughter. I opened my mouth to scream but I couldn't, I could only watch.

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I woke, dripping in sweat. I never thought I would have to see my mother's dead body again after identifying her in the morgue. My stomach was sick, stumbling from my bed to the window overlooking the street, I heaved it open, allowing the cool night air to calm me down. The streets were still dark and still, nothing disturbed the peace except a dog's howl in the far distance

I thought the kitchen was empty as I grabbed a glass of water but when I turned to sit at the table, I jumped in shock at my aunt sitting there, a mug of cold tea in her hands.

"Jesus, Vivianne, you scared me! What are you doing up?"

"I can never sleep the night before Val goes off to school, it's scary this is her last year of being my little girl," Vivianne's eyes were strained and I could see she had been crying.

I sat down beside her and put my hand on hers.

"How did you turn out so well?" Vivianne's question shocked me. She was my mother's sister after all, she was surely not speaking ill of the dead.

"Your father... and your mother well... she had her demons. I know it must be hard to be without her..."

"Not really, she didn't really care about me." My nonchalance must've thrown Vivianne off as she struggled to find words.

"Your mother loved you, very dearly. She just didn't know how to raise a daughter...and on her own as well..." I could tell my aunt was in a world of her own, regret was washing over her face.

"Well, if she loved me she never showed me. My father too, both of them never cared," I was being spiteful, I knew I'd shocked her.

"Your father wasn't around long enough to make an impact and for that Fiadh, I'm sorry. He died a brave battle. He didn't want to leave your fatherless...it's just the way it turned out."

I knew very little about my father, all knew was he was Irish and he had given me the last name Love. He had left my mother enough money to put me through school but my mother became frivolous and had had to take a lend from Vivianne for the last 3 years of Beauxbatons.

"Did you know my father well?" my question was timid, I didn't want to upset her but I wanted even a little insight into my father.

"Well, I only met him a few times before... but he introduced me to Ruan, they were the only two Irish students in Hogwarts back in the day and both were Hufflepuffs." My aunt smiled weakly up at me, her eyes glistening. 

"See, you can't really blame your mother for how she acted after his death. She was heartbroken even in her final moments and you... you look so much like your father I imagine it was hard to look at you. You've got her grit though, you're strong. I know right now everything is scary but you're even stronger than your mother, you'll be able to get through this." Vivianne pulled me into a long hug and I let out a breath I didn't even know I was holding.