paid a t t e n tion (family)

[choices]

"Okay mother!" Vivienne called downstairs to her mother as she closed her door tightly. Normally, Vivienne would lock it, but with her mom being in the particular state she was in, she believed she was too distraught to even check up on her youngest daughter. Vivienne carried the parchment and quill her mother had lent her to "write to her father." Vivienne learned a long time ago that letters were never delivered in Azkaban, so Vivienne had taken up drawing. She was getting quite good.

Today, she was drawing a large tree. It was the tree next to the Black Lake on the Hogwarts grounds. She had been there once or twice with her mother when she was little, and that little tree was her favorite place within the grounds. She was halfway through when the unthinkable happened. Her mother, one who almost never came out from her large parlour, swooped in and scooped up the sketch and quill. Her eyes were fiery, and Vivienne knew she was in trouble.

"Vivienne Elizabeth! How dare you deceive your father like this! He looks forward to these letters from you!" Pansy screeched in blind fury. "Father will never see these letters..." Vivienne began, but her mother wouldn't hear it. In one swift movement Pansy ran her hand harshly across her youngest daughters cheek, her large engagement ring bearing a dazzling emerald catching on her skin. Vivienne fell to her bed with the impact, holding her stinging cheek.

A steady flow of blood began trickling from the welt and Vivienne could only hold her face, astonished. Her parent's had never paid much attention to her, preferring the company of Isaac or Bellatrix. Pansy wagged a threatening finger in her daughter's face. "If I ever catch you disobeying me, your hold world will come crumbling down." she hissed. In an act of finality, she tore the drawing of the tree in half, breaking the peacock feather quill that Vivienne loved so much over her knee. Vivienne turned as soon as her mother left and began sobbing on the bed. The door creaked open and Vivienne wiped the tears from her eyes.

[malfoy]

Isaac had come, intent on telling Pansy that she was a grandmother, but the second he reached the door he could hear his mother shrilly shouting with his keen senses. That plan went out the window and he sprinted toward the source of the noise. Vivienne's room. He threw open the door, and instantly the smell of blood met his nose. Without a word, Isaac sank to his knees in front of Vivienne, wand out, in one fluid motion. He wasn't the best with healing, but a minor cut wasn't a problem. Isaac healed it, and then used his thumb to wipe away what remained of his younger sister's tears. "Mum did that, didn't she?" Isaac asked quietly.

[choices]

Vivienne felt the blood drain away and the cut disappear. The large welt was still present on her cheekbone, but she wasn't worried about that. She looked up at Isaac helplessly. She nodded slowly, as if the fact her mother hit her was just now registering. Vivienne was in shock. Neither of her cold, cruel parents had touched her before. Never a loving kiss or hug, never a harsh slap. Her whole world revolved around her siblings. Vivienne couldn't believe her mother rose a hand to her, let alone cared enough about Draco to even do so.

[malfoy]

Isaac, although not knowing terribly much about children, gave Vivienne a quick hug, and then quited the room. He found Pansy within a minute, in one of the eight parlours, sobbing with a picture of Draco in a pale hand. There was no room for sympathy in his heart at her pain, not after what Pansy had done to his younger sister. "How dare you strike her!" Isaac said loudly, causing his mother to drop the picture, the glass of the frame shattering as it hit the floor.

"You're being incredulously selfish, and don't even pause for one second to recall that inmates at Azkaban aren't allowed letters!" Isaac continued, raising his voice. Pansy stood, red in the face and fists trembling. "How dare you accuse me of such things! My care is only for my family," Isaac felt rage fill him up at that. "If you had a damn care about this family you wouldn't be so willingly oblivious to the horrible things Draco was doing! You would be spending time with Vivienne if you cared, I see it every time I come here. She's lonely."

"Do not tell me how to raise my children!" Pansy yelled very loudly, and then tried to slap Isaac. Her hand collided with the side of his face, but he didn't flinch or recoil in the slightest. It hadn't hurt, but the fact that his own mother would do such a thing... "You don't know anything about her, mum. Viv is creative, have you seen her drawings? And mother, she's smart, and she just wants to be loved. Love her, mum, before she turns on you too." Isaac said in a much calmer tone. Pansy sank to the couch, tears running down her face, looking to be in shock.

"But one thing's for sure, I'm not going to mess up with Xavier like you and dad did with us." Isaac said, turning to leave. Pansy began to sob, but once he had placed his hand on the doorknob to leave, his mother finally spoke. "W-Who's Xavier?" she said quietly, voice trembling. He paused a moment. "Xavier is my son." said Isaac over his shoulder, and then left the room without another word to his mother. Isaac then made his way back to Vivienne's room, no doubt she needed him.

[choices]

Vivienne listened to the commotion downstairs. No doubt Pansy was furious. Viv's tears began rolling back down her cheeks, unknown to her. Isaac stepped into the room after what seemed like an eternity and Viv smiled weakly towards him. She jumped up and ran to him, wrapping her skinny arms around her brother's body. She sat there in his embrace for what seemed like an eternity.

[malfoy]

Isaac hugged his little sister back, feeling his eyes stinging. But he mentally told himself that he was not going to cry, not in front of her. He blinked forcefully. "I think we ought to let mum alone for a while," said Isaac. "We all need to... Cool down a bit." Perhaps they would go to the park or something, the weather was unusually nice that day. His emerald ring glinted on his finger, it would protect him from the harsh sunlight.

[choices]

Vivienne nodded slowly. She looked up at Isaac and noticed the tears glinting in his eyes. She was rather confused, but she didn't say anything. She slipped on a pair of shoes and grabbed a simple jean jacket. She took Isaac's hand and followed him out the door. At this point, she could care less about where they would go. As the passed one of the parlour, Pansy was standing in the doorway, staring daggers at her children. Vivienne cowered behind Isaac, hiding behind his legs.

[malfoy]

"We're going to the park." said Isaac coolly to his mother. "Vivienne will be back here by supper time." When Pansy didn't make a noise of protest, he took this as her way of saying "go ahead, have fun," when she was pissed off. Isaac placed a hand on Vivienne's shoulder and kept her close to him as they passed Pansy, but then allowed her to have her space once they were outdoors.

[choices]

As soon as the two were far enough away from the house, Vivienne stepped away from Isaac. She was still in shock, and was silent for the duration of their short walk. The got to the park and Vivienne settled herself into one of the multiple swingsets. She looked up at Isaac, meeting his gaze for the first time. "Why were you upset earlier?" She asked quietly. She was, of course, referring to the tears glinting in her older brother's eyes as they left her bedroom.

[malfoy]

Isaac sighed, he knew that would come up sooner or later, Vivienne was a smart kid, she made observations one didn't normally expect from an almost eleven year-old. "Mum's not well," said Isaac. "Not physically, she isn't ill, but if everything were all right with her she wouldn't be behaving this way. I can see it, she hurts you. She hasn't hit you before, has she?" Isaac explained.

[choices]

Vivienne shook her head. "You seen how she and Pa acted around me. They normally ignore my existance." She replied. "She's never even touched me, hit or hug." She replied, voice wavering. She was amazed that Pansy had even bothered to acknowledge her existance. Tears welled up in her eyes once more, and she quickly wiped them away with the back of her hand.

[malfoy]

"Well, that I can understand," said Isaac,although he wasn't sure if his sister were telling the truth or not. If he decided that he wasn't going to trust her word, then perhaps he might slip some Veritiserum into his mother's afternoon tea and find out. Isaac didn't want Vivienne to be in an abusive home, even if she was raised mostly by a nanny. He mentally decided that he was going to buy his own house, he didn't want Xavier in the same building as his mother while she was like this.

[choices]

Isaac's question had been just about Pansy. Draco was another manner. She felt bad about lying to Isaac about her father's behavior. The topic didn't ever come up, now that she was free of him. That time she had "fallen" into the corner of an end table and cut her head, the time she "tripped" and cracked her head open on the hard tile, and the time she hand busted a couple of ribs by "not paying attention" and had "Walked into a door." Those were all "Draco Excuswes" as Vivienne called them.

[malfoy]

Isaac took the swing beside his sister, it felt like forever since he had been to this park. The last time must have been when he was what? Twelve or so? The seats were wide, so Isaac could still fit, but he felt out of place there. Perhaps it was because he was eighteen now, or maybe the sudden mental maturity from learning that he had a son. Vivienne, not even at Hogwarts was an aunt. Isaac wasn't going to tell her, not then anyways, that was something for a later discussion topic.

[choices]

Vivienne still felt bad about lying to Isaac. Coming clean would be hard. "Um, Isaac?" She started, voice small, terrified. "I, um... I didn't tell you about Dad." She replied slowly. "He... I..." She stammered, trying to find the right words to say it. She was terrified about what she was about to say. The mere idea frightened her. Her breath caught in her throat. Vivienne hung her head, ashamed.