𝙢𝙚𝙚𝙩 𝙢𝙚 𝙖𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙖𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙤𝙣𝙤𝙢𝙮 𝙩𝙤𝙬𝙚𝙧

chapter 20

"we shouldn't have told her yet, albus."

"maybe not. but she was going to find out eventually. it was inevitable."

"what if she goes and tells someone? you know how teenagers can get."

"this was a very strong piece of information we have given over. if she chooses to reveal this to someone she loves, that will be her decision. but, something tells me she will be too embarrassed and wise to say anything at all."

"very well. i trust your judgement."

talia reached her hand up to touch her head, where a damp cloth laid. she looked around at the room she was in, seeing other beds around her.

she was in the infirmary. and there, in front of her stood dumbledore and mcgonacall talking, madam poppy pomfrey coming in and interrupting their conversation.

"oh, you're awake, dear. i'm glad to see that. how does your head feel?" pomfrey asked, taking off the cloth. talia sat up.

"um..i feel fine." she said, remembering what happened.

she was sitting in dumbledore's office, and he had just revealed talia was voldemorts daughter.

please, let that have been a bad dream.

but it wasn't. otherwise, she wouldn't have heard dumbledore and mcgonagall talking before pomfrey walked in.

"you must not have dranken enough water today. take it easy for this week. make sure to eat a good dinner and get yourself to bed early. alright? rest up. do you think you'll be okay to leave?" pomfrey questioned.

talia knew madame pomfrey was a nice woman, but she knew she was also very strict.

"yes, i'm good. thank you, madame pomfrey." she said.

pomfrey nodded and grabbed the cloth that was on talia's head, taking it to the other side of the room. professor mcgonagall gave tal a quick smile before turning away and leaving the infermery. dumbledore, on the other hand, stayed back for a second.

"do you remember what we discussed?" he asked. talia nodded slowly.

"yes, sir."

she did remember, but that didn't mean she didn't want to.

"listen carefully..." he started. he looked over to make sure madame pomfrey wasn't listening, which she wasn't. then, he bent down closer to talia.

"whether you use your magic for good or evil is your decision. either way, you have stronger powers than i have seen in a very long time from both of your parents. please, ms. halliwell-riddle, use them wisely." dumbledore whispered.

talia nodded, and he turned and sauntered out of the room. she watched him leave, and continued to absorb the information she was given tonight. again, like the malfoy death eater situation, she didn't know how to go about it. but she knew she had to keep it to herself.

she thought about her adoptive parents, the people she had known all of her life. she felt guilty for not having her feelings towards them change. maybe she should be upset with them, but she wasn't. they did her a favor and hid her from voldemort as best as they could, and it all worked until now.

tal's feelings for her birth mother changed more than anything. before, she thought she was just a mistake no one wanted anything to do with. that her birth mom, jane, only wanted to get rid of talia. now she knew that was further from the truth, and that jane only tried to protect talia. talia had a mom that cared about her, which is all tal ever wanted; to be loved and cared about.

and as much as talia wished she could go back and be able to tell jane she would end up okay, she knew she couldn't. and none of her feelings toward her mattered. because she was dead. and now, all talia had was nightmares and draco problems.

malfoy. in that moment, talia wanted nothing more than to run to draco and have him tell her everything was going to be okay. but now, everything changed.

"you can go to dinner, dear. i'm sure everyone started eating." madame pomfrey said, looking over and seeing talia was still there. she nodded and got up out of the cot, heading towards the infirmary exit.

one thing was for sure; there was no way talia was going to the great hall to eat dinner after the news dumbledore had given her. instead, she was going to go to the astronomy tower.

the storm was brewing that night for a reason. and when lightning hits the sky, she will raise her wand to her heart and say the animagus spell.

and, whatever animal talia was going to turn into, she was going to use it. she wasn't going to let voldemort keep trying to get into her head and ruin her and draco's life.

she was going to do something about it.