The Flight Of The Vulture

Chapter 10: Run Away

December 24th, 1996

"I don't see Sammy yet." Belle admitted as she noticed Jack getting off the train. He was near his good friend Warrington. Belle waved him down and his face turned downward from his smile. 

"That may be better, you and Jack go and talk in the car." Ed suggested. "I'll find Sammy."

Jack rolled his trunk over to them and greeted them coldly, with no embraces.

"Hello mummy and dad." He nodded.

"Why don't you walk with me to the car?" Belle suggested, "Dad's going to find your sister."

Jack nodded and shrugged slightly. "I saw her sleeping in a compartment with Looney. She looked kind of sick."

"That's not good." Ed exclaimed and began looking through the crowd, "I'll find her."  

"Let's get to the car." Belle suggested walking with her son. She could swear he'd grown another three inches since she dropped him off in September. She couldn't believe he was an adult now, when she saw him she could still see the little boy with chubby cheeks. They were silent until they made it to the parking lot.

"I assume you wanted to talk to me without dad and Sammy's prying ears." Jack mentioned as they reached the car.

"Is it obvious?" Belle asked.

Jack nodded before getting into the back seat of the car. "Of course it is mother."

"Now before I ask the question, I want you to know that I am not here to vilify you, I just want to understand. You are an adult and you can do as you please."

Jack didn't respond or even nod.

"Jack, why would you sneak out of Hogwarts?" Belle finally blurted.

"You won't understand mum." He leaned back into his seat.

"As someone who has actually run away from Hogwarts, I suspect I might." Belle clapped back.

Jack groaned, "You had help when you ran away mum. Instead, the same woman who helped you do it, punished me for the same actions."

"Well, if you had proper motivations it would have been understood." Belle explained, "Just explain it to me, what could be so important for you to sneak out? Was it just for the day or did you just decide you were just done with school?"

"I'm done with school, they can't teach me anymore." Jack snapped back quickly. "I'm more intelligent than almost everyone else there."

"That's presumptuous." Belle responded, very confused by his statement, "Who told you that?"

"No one, I just know I am." He explained hotly.

"So that's why you snuck out?" Belle asked looking back at him. His brown eyes bored into her's. "Where were you planning to go? Your father and I would have been understanding if you decided your life was beyond academics."

"Dad wouldn't have understood." Jack lifted his chin.

"He would have understood if he knew the alternative was you running away."

"No one in this family understands me, especially not my damn muggle father who doesn't know anything! Our lives are in danger because of him and especially you! You could have married anyone in the whole world, but you chose to ruin our lives before they even had a chance to get started." Jack began waving his arms around.

"I married your father because I loved him Jack." Belle insisted looking back at him.

Jack shook his head, "Love, I don't think you know what love is."