Silvia and the Rising Moon [EDITING]

7. Happy Birthday, Silvia

     The day had finally come that Silvia would turn seven. It had rained all morning, so Silvia played dolls with Blaire as Aunt Lita baked a cake in the kitchen. She had grown fond of Sally the doll, and Blaire told her that she could keep it. Uncle Gustav left earlier that morning for Romania to hunt vampire bats with his comrades. He left without even wishing Silvia a happy birthday. It didn't seem to affect her mood, however. She felt the happiest that she had ever felt in a long time. It felt good to have a friend like Blaire, who she didn't have to fear or worry about. It was also good to have an aunt and uncle who had real and personal hobbies. Aunt Lita wanted to be a reporter and writer in the Daily Prophet. Neither of them had to worry about any harmful afflictions Blaire may have possessed.
Blaire's only affliction had long since vanished. All that remained was a thin, white scar where the cleft in her lip once existed. Silvia liked to look at it. Blaire told her that it was her warrior scar and it was genetic. Her father earned a warrior scar on his cheek from a werewolf.
He won that battle. It was obvious, considering that the werewolf's skin remained hanging on the parlor wall, despite Aunt Lita's pleas to remove it.
"Silvia, is your brother coming over for your birthday? I'd love to meet him," Blaire asked as she brushed another doll's hair.
Silvia shrugged. "He's very sick."
The two sat quietly for some time, staring at the floor. Suddenly, Blaire's playroom became filled with light. She turned excitedly to the window to see if the rain had cleared.
"Look, Silvia!" She cried, getting up and running to the window. "The rain's gone! We can play quidditch now!"
Silvia smiled and stood up. The girls linked arms and hurried outside. Blaire picked up her Quickspeed 750 and tossed her old, worn out training broom to Silvia.
"I've been training all my life," Blaire explained as they stepped outside into the muddy grass. "I'm going to be a keeper when I go to Hogwarts."
"Wow," Silvia said. "Can I be a keeper too?"
Blaire furrowed her eyebrows. "Probably not, you just started learning how to play yesterday. You're not any good yet."
Silvia stared at her mud-caked shoes sadly. Blaire dragged a trunk through the mud and opened it. She pulled out a small, golden ball and held it before Silvia's eyes.
"What are you doing with the... quaffle?" Silvia asked apprehensively.
Blaire laughed. "This isn't a quaffle, silly. Here," she held it in the air and it opened its tissue thin wings, flapping them slowly, "is the golden snitch. We're both going to chase it. It's really fast. Whoever catches it first can be a keeper at Hogwarts."
Silvia watched as Blaire released the snitch. It's wings flapped with extreme intensity before flitting away. Blaire kicked off her room and rose into the air, quickly moving to catch it. After a few attempts, Silvia kicked off on the Trainer 4000.
The tips of Blaire's fingers were just inches away from the snitch when it quickly zoomed away. Silvia spotted it floating carelessly above the roof of the house. She hurried after it and reached out. Then, the snitch flitted to the right and Silvia sharply turned to follow, never losing sight of it. It spun her in circles across the yard, Blaire following directly behind her.
Suddenly, Silvia had it. It grazed the tips of her fingers. She opened her hand and closed it quickly just as Blaire slammed into her body. Silvia crashed down into the mud and Blaire wrapped her hand around the golden snitch. She landed safely to the ground.
"I win! I win!" She cried.
"Not fair!" Silvia whined, quickly standing up. "I had it and you pushed me off my broom! You cheated!"
"No way! I got it first. I'm going to tell my mum that I won! Maybe I should be a seeker and a keeper!" Blaire hurried inside, calling for Aunt Lita.
Silvia stood in the yard, caked in mud. She burst into fat tears that cleaned the mud off of her round cheeks. Then, the sky darkened, and a voice nearby suddenly spoke over the sound of her sniffles.
"Oh, my. What's wrong?"
Silvia jumped and spun around. Leaning against a tree stood a mangy looking man. His hair was matted and his clothes were muddied and torn. His face looked more like an animal than that of a human.
"Who are you?" Silvia asked him carefully
The dirty man scratched his head. "My names Fenrir. I presume you're Silvia."
She nodded carefully. Tears slipped down her face in fear.
"Silvia, what are you doing at your Auntie's house?" Fenrir said, crouching down to talk to her.
"I have to be here because my brother, Remus, is very sick." Silvia said quickly. It was what her parents prepared her to say in case anyone asked her such a question.
Fenrir smiled. "Oh, Silvia. I know he's not really sick. I know he's really a werewolf."
Silvia's heart fell to her stomach. She started to cry. "You won't tell anyone, will you?" She asked through her tears.
"Of course not. It'll be our little secret," Fenrir said. "Now, Silvia, do you ever get jealous of your big brother, Remus?"
Silvia sniffed. She thought of the awful transformations Remus went through during each full moon. She imagined the agony he felt on a daily basis due to his affliction. She did not envy that pain, so she shook her head. "No, Mr. Fenrir, I don't get jealous."
He tilted his head and grinned menacingly. His teeth were sharp and dirty. "Never?" He asked.
Silvia shook her head again.
"Tell me, Silvia. Who do your parents worry about more, look after more, care for more?" Fenrir asked.
Silvia thought for a moment before speaking once more. "I suppose Remus, because he is sick."
"That's right, it is Remus," he agreed. "Did you ever believe that since they give your brother more attention, that means they love him more than they love you?"
"Well," Silvia said slowly, "now that you say that, I guess it does mean that," a tear slid down her cheek, "but mummy and daddy still love me very much. They never want to lose me."
"They never want to lose you?" Fenrir repeated. "Tell me, Silvia. Where is your brother?"
"He must be at home."
"Home with your mummy and daddy?"
"Yes, Mr. Fenrir."
Fenrir threw his head back and chuckled. "And you're here, at your Auntie's. If they love you as much as they love that creature you call a brother, then why did they send you away?"
Silvia thought for a moment before sobbing once more. Fenrir reached out and held her face in one hand.
"Imagine what it would be like if you were like your brother. Imagine all the attention you could receive if you were a beast like him," Fenrir said in a convincing tone.
Silvia sniffed and smiled a little.
"Then, it's decided." Fenrir laughed before moving her closer to her.
Suddenly, Aunt Lita appeared from the house. "Alarte ascendare!" She screamed. Fenrir flew far into the air. "Obscuro!" She yelled as Fenrir hit the ground. A blindfold appeared over his eyes. He rose and began to charge at Lita, fangs bared. "Petrificus totalus!"
Fenrir froze where he stood. Aunt Lita hurried toward Silvia and threw her over her shoulder before sprinting back toward the house. When they were safely inside she pushed the door closed and bound the house with a spell to keep intruders out. She was gasping for breath as she turned to Silvia.
"Don't ever talk to that man. He's a werewolf. Have you ever seen a real, living werewolf before? Do you know what those things can do to a little girl like you?" she asked in desperation.
Silvia lied and shook her head, tears dripped off of her chin.
"That man could kill you or turn you into a monster, like him." She signed and took another shaky breath before pulling Silvia in for a hug. "When you were very little," she began, "your father said something that insulted that man, and he's been trying to take out his revenge ever since. Both you and your brother are in so much danger every day. I don't know what I would do if I found out that Fenrir Greyback had hurt either of you."
Silvia looked up at her. Things were beginning to fall into place. Aunt Lita had made it more than obvious that she had no knowledge of what had happened to Remus when he was young. She sincerely believed that Silvia was here to avoid Remus's unknown illness.
Aunt Lita looked back at Silvia. "Wipe your face and cheer up, darling. Today's your birthday. We have a special surprise just for you."
Silvia wiped her face and smiled at her aunt. The two walked into the dining room where her gift stood. It walked over to her and smiled.
The gift bowed before her. "Mistress Silvia, I am called Visty. It will be a pleasure to serve you."
Silvia looked at the house elf in shock. It was young and very small. It looked up at her with large green eyes.
"I like you, Visty." Silvia giggled. "Thank you, Aunt Lita. It's perfect."
Silvia had always wanted a friend that would always be good to her, and that's exactly what she got for her seventh birthday. In that brief moment, she had forgotten about her encounter with Fenrir Greyback as she ran off to play with her new friend, a house elf named Visty.