CHOCOLATE HEARTS || remus lupin

ii. couldn't be true

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"JACI? BREAKFAST time!"

I jerked upwards as the sound of my mother's voice sliced through the terror and pain. It was all imaginary, my now-conscious brain reassured itself. Now that I was awake, I could no longer remember what I'd been dreaming of but I could still feel the lingering fear, something I couldn't shake as I called back. "I'm up, coming!"

I reached up to caress my face, having to again reassure myself that it hadn't been real. My fingers came away clean, no sign of mud or dirt on them. I breathed a sigh of relief and dropped back onto my pillows, waiting for my heartbeat to return to its normal, steady pace.

Once I was calm, I sat back up and pushed off my comforter. I brushed sleep from my eyes as I left my room, pulling my door closed behind me with a soft click. I yawned as I descended the stairs, already hearing Elora crying over whatever had been done wrong this time.

I entered the small kitchen and dining space and, sure enough, Dad was wrestling Elora into a chair while she flailed and screamed her head off. Mum stood off to the side at the counter, stacking slices of toast onto a plate.

Our family owl, Astrid, hopped from the back of a chair onto the counter and shuffled over to the plate of toast, clicking her beak at Mum. She blinked up at Mum with wide, sad eyes until Mum sighed and relented, placing a slice of toast into her beak.

She hooted happily around the toast before spreading her wings and fluttering over to her perch by the window with it, nibbling at the corners while she watched the rest of us.

I slid into my chair and Dad greeted me with a smile. "Morning, Jaci."

"Good morning," I reached for the glass he'd set out for me and took a long sip, watching Elora over the rim.

She had puffed out her cheeks, which were a bright, furious red, and was kicking Dad's knee with as much force as she could muster which, admittedly, was not much. She had tears rolling down her face, which increased as Dad continued to ignore her.

She threw fits often, believing she was the most important, but my parents didn't allow most of her behavior. She eventually gave up and, swiping the tears away from her face with the back of her hand, she pointed to the carton of milk with a serious stare on her face directed at me.

I poured her a glass and slid it over to her while Mum brought the last few dishes over to the table and took her seat next to Dad. They served Elora and I before themselves and we all started to eat.

Mum looked more fidgety than usual and I caught onto it, frowning. I glanced over at Dad then back to Mum before pressing. "Mum? What's wrong?"

"Darling," she sighed, setting her fork down.

She hesitated and, growing impatient, I whined. "What? Tell me!"

She sighed again, something she did far too often, then reached into her pocket and pulled out a crip, slightly yellowed envelope. Her eyes scanned the front of it before she handed it off to me, looking away as she did.

I took it eagerly and read the front of it, pausing as the words started to register. It couldn't be true, clearly, I argued with myself. I didn't dare to look up at my parents, in the fear that, behind their eyes, I would see the joke.

I read the words inked in sapphire once, twice, then a third time, though they didn't seem any more real the more I read them. I never thought I'd see them scrawled with my name and I found myself clutching the envelope in my hands as if it were the only thing keeping me alive.