SHADOWS OF SORROW [S.S]

35 - In the Shadow of the Lineage

[not proofread]

"Dad I'm really sorry, I-"
"I don't want to hear it." Mister Winchester shut Jasper down rather quickly, not even sparing him a glance as Riva stood there uncomfortably, backed up by Sebastian who tagged along just for the sake of having something to do. He couldn't be alone at Hogwarts, letting his thoughts and fears take over his brain... "it's me who has to apologize. I wasn't aware that this situation would cause such chaos... I thought you were aware of Amaya's magic..." Riva explained, wringing her hands uncomfortably as she looked around the Winchesters living room in London, contemplating what to do next.

"Don't be sorry honey, we were aware. The thing we didn't know, is the existence of more people like her. A whole school even... The fake report cards and all. It's disappointing to say the least, that neither Jasper nor Amaya entrusted us with this but that's not really important right now, is it?" Misses Winchester consoled her husband with a steady hand upon his back as she smiled at Riva.
"It's strongly adviced not to tell people from the muggle-... human world about our existence except for parents, because it would endanger you but also wizardkind as a whole. I think we are all aware of the witch hunts." Sebastian explained, hoping to take some of the blame off Jasper's and Amaya's shoulders.

"That's... true." Misses Winchester sighed, thinking for a second before looking at Jasper apologetically. "So what can we do to help? Is Amaya alright? Your letter was rather cryptic, little witch." Mister Winchester crossed his arms as he sat down in one of the chairs at the table, offering Sebastian and Riva to do the same if they wished.
"As of right now, Amaya is safe. But we don't know if she is alright. We don't know anything because they refuse to tell us anything ever since we gave them into our teachers care." Riva settled into a chair while Sebastian chose to just lean against a wall and silently observe everything. He wasn't so fond of having to explain everything over again. It was hard enough as it was.

"She has been through a lot. Mentally and physically... We just think that she would be better off, if she left the wizarding world for a while. Gain some distance from the things that happened to her because of all this magical nonsense she has been forced to keep up with." Riva explained, still able to see the question marks on the family's faces.
"But what exactly happened?"
"If we knew, we would tell you." Sebastian spoke up, frustrated even if it has been some time since Amaya stumbled onto that clearing. Would he ever be able to resolve this topic...?

"We found her, drained off life, hurt and crying. She was kidnapped by a dark and evil wizard. That's all we know. We haven't heard of Amaya since I carried her back to Hogwarts and the professors took her off my hands, quite literally." He explained further, the face of Misses Winchester suddenly dripping with horror as all the different possibilities flooded her brain.

"So please, help her escape that place for a while... If you talk to our headmaster, he is quite literally forced to let her go, because he isn't officially permitted to keep her anyway. We don't know what has gotten into him. Normally he doesn't give a shit." Riva sighed, thanking Jasper with a soft smile, who brought their guests some water. Sebastian just nodded in thanks, holding the cup like an added accessory to a Christmas tree. He wished for the water to be Fire Whiskey just to drown himself in it and forget the Horror for a while...

"Whatever it is we have to do, if Amaya is hurt and seriously unwell, we want her here. Not at some school in Scotland where we can't reach her. Thank you for coming to see us and thinking of us in the first place. It was the right choice to make." Mister Winchester assured them, his fingertips drumming a beat onto the wooden table in thought. Riva just nodded at that, finally feeling like she was doing something right when it came to Amaya. Hogwarts didn't derserve Amaya, but Amaya deserved this loving family after everything she went through.