time bomb in motion

IN CHARACTER INFORMATION

CHARACTER NAME: Chiara Eleanor Lobosca AGE: 18 BIRTHDAY: November 15th, Scorpio GENDER: Cis female, She/her BLOOD STATUS: Halfblood, Werewolf PREVIOUS SCHOOL: Hogwarts, Hufflepuff OCCUPATION: Unemployed ALLEGIANCE: Greyback’s Wolf Pack FAMILY: Matteo (Father), Abigail (Mother), Mattias (Brother), Katherine (Sister) BOGGART: Biting someone that she cares for WAND: Cedar, Dragon Heartstring, Rigid, 11 1/2 inches long

It was impossible to miss the state she was in—deeply unhappy, if he had ever seen it. This wasn’t the first time that Fenrir had seen a cub despair among his ranks, and would not be the last. Life was hard and UNFORGIVING, and most of all, unfair. Not everyone could cope with it well. He would have to make sure to harden them for the battles ahead—Chiara included. She was forced to strengthen up after a lifetime in the soft hands of the enemy, used to CREEPING and hiding like a household rat… striking pity, not terror, into the hearts of those closest to her. No more.

“I won’t mention this to her,” he said, tucking his hands into his robes. “But you’ll have to do me a favor in return.” Greyback never did anything out of the GOODNESS of his heart, but the favor in question was relatively minor. Just honesty. “Tell me what you’re doing out here all on your lonesome.”

~

“Thank you,” Chiara murmured. She had been expecting him to want something in return, she had learned rather quickly that he didn’t do things to be kind and he did them for a reason. She supposed that it had been a good thing, getting thrown into things so quickly, there was no time to adjust when it came to the pack. “Anything,” she replied, looking up at him.

Tell me what you’re doing out here all on your lonesome. In terms of favors, it seemed like an easy one, and yet, she didn’t want to tell him. Or well, it wasn’t that she didn’t want to tell him, but that she was worried that she would say the wrong thing and he wouldn’t understand. How did she explain how she was feeling? Chiara hesitated for a moment before she sighed and nodded her head. “Okay.” She looked down at her lap. “I’m...I was thinking about-about them. And I’m just...I’m angry. And sad. Why didn’t they just...you said you tried to-to bring me here before we met.” Chiara looked up at him, realizing she was probably not making any sense. “I don’t know...” she trailed off. “I’m being dumb. Ignore me.”

Greyback knew every nook and cranny that the Forbidden Forest had to offer, particularly within the werewolf territories. Nobody, even those among his pack, could hide from him long—and that was exactly how he liked it. But as it so happened, he hadn’t been out looking for anyone today, simply PATROLLING the land he commanded, overlooking what he had accomplished thus far… and reminding himself of how much further there was to go. The forest was a good start, but he wouldn’t be SATISFIED until the entirety of the magical world bent to his will. In order to make headway with that, he needed his pack to be in prime condition.

“My mistake,” he said, brow arched in AMUSEMENT. Cubs could certainly have tempers on them, couldn’t they? “I’ll let Scarlett know that when I see her next. But last I saw, she was tending to some of our new cubs.”

~

Kia nearly jumped when she heard Fenrir’s voice behind her. He was the last person that she wanted to see her like this, especially not after her slip up before Christmas. Chiara didn’t want to disappoint him, didn’t want to make him regret allowing her into the pack, opening his home to her. She knew he could have turned her away when she showed up, and instead he had welcomed her in. Her loyalty was to him, so why did she feel like this? Why was she such a mess? She hated it, hated potentially disappointing him, hated that she couldn’t just be happy like the others. 

“N-no, it’s fine,” she said, shaking her head. “I didn’t know you were here, I’m sorry.” She paused. “Don’t tell Scarlett. Please. I just...” she trailed off, not sure what to say to him. “I’m being stupid. Did...is there something that you needed?” She asked. It wasn’t out of the usual for him to be patrolling, but she didn’t know if he had just...happened upon her or if someone had told him where she had gone. 

Chiara was restless, and she couldn’t stop the anxiety brewing as she sat on a log a ways away from the clearing. It had officially been two years that she had been with the pack, and she didn’t regret a second of it. They were her family. Which was why it was so surprising that she felt like this. She missed her parents and her siblings, and she hated the feeling. It made her feel guilty. It made her feel like she was betraying Greyback and the pack and she couldn’t do that. It was all their fault that she was like this. Why hadn’t her parents just given her over to him when he bit her? It would have saved them all so much heartache and pain. If they had done the right thing instead of trying to make her normal than she wouldn’t have had to live with all of the pain and secrets and lying. Her life would have been simpler.

She nearly growled when she heard the snapping of a twig behind her. Of course someone had to come find her. It was probably Scarlett, who she adored, but she wanted to be alone. Was that so hard? She reached up angrily to wipe away at her face. Stop crying.

“What?” She snapped, refusing to move or look at the approaching figure. “I said to leave me alone, Scarlett.” 

Chiara had always loved going to Diagon Alley. As a child her mother would take her and her siblings shopping, and they would always end the day out getting ice cream. Those memories were from before she had been bitten, before everything had changed for her. They were memories that she still held close, but they didn’t have the same allure as they had all those years ago. Diagon Alley wasn’t the same as it had been when she was a child either. People were quieter after what had happened on Christmas. People were moving about their business and not lingering around like they used to. Some might blame the cold, but Chiara was certain that what had happened on New Years was the reason things seemed quieter.

The quiet wasn’t great for her, though. She was on a mission and going back to the pack as a failure was not an option. Before joining the pack she had never stolen anything, hell, she had never even dreamed of stealing. But under the pack? She did what had to be done. She was getting better at it too, and she had the benefit of being young and pretty so people didn’t suspect her, and when she did get caught, she was able to talk her way out of it. 

Chiara had been following her mark for some time, and just as she was about to grab the coin purse, the woman turned around and Chiara’s eyes widened, as she straightened up and tried to play it off like she wasn’t about to try to steal from Adeline Sanguini.

“...Lovely day we’re having, hm?”

Greyback grunted in response to her ANECDOTE. Unsurprising, given the state of the world today. She herself would know that such behavior wouldn’t have been accepted back among their kind. You were grateful for what you received, and any dissatisfaction meant wrestling it away from someone weaker—not yowling at a CARETAKER like a blind kitten. Things would be different when werewolves were at the top of the social order… but for now, he could sneer at those left wrangling offspring they had no ability to properly raise.

“Good to hear it. I think it’s time I set you on that officially.” Before now, he had only watched with interest as Chiara had busied herself with potion making, but she was EXPERIENCED enough to take charge of it. Any stumbles along the way were just the natural progress of learning the trade—so long as she kept her head, she would manage. “If we can’t get everything we need tonight, I’ll send foragers out for the rest. At your order, of course. You’ll have the proper lists.” The wolves he would set upon the task wouldn’t be pleased taking orders from someone that still, in many ways, qualified as a cub—but they would get over it for the sake of the pack. They would take to potion making themselves or take a knee at someone QUALIFIED to do so.

~

Chiara’s eyes widened at his words, surprised, but happy. “Really? You think that I’m ready?” She asked him. She hadn’t expected him to give her any responsibilities so soon. Even though she had been there for nearly two years, that was nothing compared to so many others. She could already think of a few wolves that would be displeased with this, and that wouldn’t like taking orders from her. But if Greyback thought that she was ready than she must be, right? Unless he was setting her up to fail...but he wouldn’t do that, right? Chiara felt guilty for the mere thought of that, really, and she was glad that he couldn’t read her mind. “I won’t let you down,” she promised him. “Thank you.” Chiara nodded her head at his promise. “I’ll get a list together for you,” she promised him. 

“We all need to find our clique, right?” Eustace had mixed feelings about Chiara’s situation. On one hand, he was happy she found a place she really belonged, turning into a werewolf was a terrible transition for most people, they were usually outcasts and their families turned their backs on them for the most part. He had seen his fair share of cases at the hospital and it as heartbreaking. He didn’t know if there was still some level of relationship between her and her parents, but he wouldn’t dare to ask. They had never contacted him back.

And on the other hand, he worried about her, werewolf packs weren’t the most conventional of “households” to grow up in and Fenrir’s pack wasn’t Eustace’s favorite bunch, even when he enjoyed a certain level of protection from them due to the nature of his business with their leader.

“There’s never a dull day at the hospital, I’m afraid, but we do what we can,” he responded with a grin. “if you’re not busy, you can join me for a butterbeer at the Hog’s Head,” it was one of the few places that were friendly with any kind of crowd, “And you can tell me about your adventures.”

Originally posted by semisweetshadow

~

“Something of the sort,” Chiara agreed, although she certainly wouldn’t call the pack a clique. They were more than that. They were her family, they supported her, and they had welcomed her in with open arms. Well, most of them had, anyways. It was probably hard for people that hadn’t been in her place to understand the draw of the pack. She was a different case, her parents had accepted what she was and hadn’t tossed her aside, but sometimes...she thought it would have been easier if they had. It would have hurt, but then she wouldn’t have had spent so many years trying to be normal. Fenrir had taught her that she wasn’t normal, she was a wolf, and that meant something. 

Before joining the pack she had never known another werewolf, and people couldn’t understand how...lonely that was. To hide a part of herself from the entire world, even from her parents. They loved her sure, but they didn’t understand her. They couldn’t possibly understand what it was like. And she knew that they had begun to resent her for what she was, it was just for the best that she was gone now.

“I believe it. Your patients are lucky to have you,” Chiara told him kindly. “You were always my favorite healer.” Chiara hesitated for a moment. It wouldn’t be so bad, right? She caught sight of one of the wolves and glanced at Eustace for a moment before he nodded his head. “I’d love that,” she said after a moment. “Lead the way.”

It didn’t come as any surprise that the shop—or shopa, rather—had been picked clean by earlier shoppers. People of all kinds had all but BRAWLED over the vast assortment of items, leaving few things in their wake. Nothing too dreadful, per se… but not the sorts of items that young wixen would enjoy getting stuffed into their stockings. It all mattered very little to him—and to the cubs he had back at their compound. The gift that they received was the chance to prove themselves in Greyback’s service, and to live another month uneaten by more worthy COMPETITORS. It was a harsh way of life that Chiara had escaped, for the most part… but that only meant she had to learn more quickly of the commitments she held to the pack.

“I figured as much,” he said, nodding along. “I’ve seen the little beasts in here all day. Had a few screamers that didn’t get their way.” It was pitiful, but fitting, that their kind were so incompetent with their young. Under Fenrir’s care, tantrums like that weren’t tolerated. INITIATIVE, on the other hand… “Good thinking,” he praised, the edge of his lip curling in half a smile. “We’ll stop by the Apothecary. What did you notice we’ve run out of?” Hopefully nothing expensive, although it mattered little. They’d take it all the same, with or without the support of the pests behind the counter.

~

Chiara tried not to think about her own childhood, how once upon a time, she was one of those children tearing through the stores, looking for candy and begging her parents to buy things for her. The holidays had always been some of the happiest times of her childhood, and a part of her missed that time. That was before Greyback and before everything changed for her. But there was no way of taking it back, the only thing that she could do was look forward, and to adjust to her new way of life. In a lot of ways she felt like she had adjusted well, she had been miserable the last few months before she ran away, which certainly helped. But then sometimes... sometimes she missed how things were before. Living with the wolves was different, it was harder, and she felt like she had so much more to prove to them all. She needed to prove that she wasn’t a spoiled human that couldn’t handle things. If she was thrown out...she knew that she would have nowhere else to go.

She scrunched up her nose and nodded her head. “I saw a nasty tantrum back there. The parents looked lost,” she agreed. In her two years with the pack, she didn’t think that she had ever seen one of the kids throw a tantrum. She supposed that they knew better. She wondered what things would have been like if she had grown up with the pack instead. Chiara smiled at his praise. It was hard to come by, but always made her feel better whenever she got it. “I’ve been trying to monitor the supplies. We need some lacewing flies, salamander blood, bat wings and spleens, and we’re starting to run out of eel eyes, but we can probably make it to next month with what we have if they don’t have any.”

—

Alecto hated how busy the alleys were at this time of year. Of course she really should be happy, considering Knockturn Alley being busy brought more people into her bar. But she actually had to be able to get through the crowds of people to actually get to her bar. That was proving difficult today, and when she gone to the Menagrie she nearly turned around. A bloody protest? That was all they needed when the alleys were busy. And she really did not like it. Were people just idiotic?

She was very nearly going to turn around when she heard a voice, and her head shot up. She was not used to people talking to her. She didn’t have a very good reputation, and a lot of people did not really want to talk to her.

“Yeah no. I’m not your mom.” Although that was quite obvious actually. But she figured it was good to clarify that. “You look a little old to be a lost little girl.”

~

Even though Chiara was certain that Alecto Carrow didn’t recognize her Chiara certainly recognized Alecto. They had only briefly overlapped at school, but how could she forget Alecto? She hung out with that group of terrifying Slytherins that Chiara and her other Hufflepuffs tried to avoid at all costs. She had been intimidating back then, and Chiara had a feeling that she had only grown more intimidating as she got older. 

So of course that was who Chiara had to bump into. Although...she supposed that it was better that it was Alecto and not Amycus. She had half a mind to just...walk away, she had never loved confrontation. But Chiara would never live it down if one of the other wolves happened to be hanging around and watching. 

“Of course I know that you’re not my mother,” Chiara finally snapped. “I just thought that I saw a ghost is all. I’m sorry for bumping into you. It will never happen again.”

I don’t need her. Stubbornness was far from unexpected, but it didn’t make her any more BELIEVED. She must have missed her old life at times, even without the benefits that the pack had given her. Life as a werewolf was harsh, with even the best of opportunities at the edges of magical society. They were corralled into the Forbidden Forest with little to show for it… and that little had been instated with his leadership, his INITIATIVE. Before, she had at least had the luxury of pretending she could be better than that… even if it was pure delusion. But reality was a good teacher—more unforgiving even than himself at times, but good nonetheless. She would recover.

While Chiara busied herself with his given task, he prowled near the front of the shop and watched the families go by. Few were NOTEWORTHY, but of those few he made notes to send scouts. The moon would reach its peak soon, and with so many more people home for the holidays… he could recruit at his leisure and leave a sprawling mess of carnage in his wake. Two birds, one stone.

“More or less,” he answered, attention SHIFTING back to the cub in his charge. “What did you find?”

~

Chiara knew why her parents had kept her from Greyback. They loved her and they didn’t want to give her over to the wolves. But they should have. Maybe her family wouldn’t have become so fractured if they had just done what they should have when she was eight. It would have been an adjustment for her, and she would have been scared and confused at the time. But she wouldn’t have grown up feeling like she didn’t belong and wishing for somewhere that she would. Even when she was pretending that she was normal, when she was ignoring what she was, Chiara still didn’t feel like she fit in with the other students at Hogwarts. At least now that she was with the pack they all understood her. She didn’t have to lie to them about who she was. 

Glancing up at him, she shrugged her shoulders. “This place is pretty picked over for the holidays. I think they just had a Hogsmeade weekend too. I just found some candies,” Chiara answered. Biting down on her lip for a moment, she glanced around for a moment to see if anybody was listening to them. “I noticed that we are growing low on potion supplies. If we have time maybe we could look and see if we could find some?” Chiara asked. She had always been good with plants, she tried to keep them stocked up on things. You never knew when you would need a potion.

Just after getting off work at St Mungo’s, Eustace found himself walking to Hogsmeade to hang out at the Hog’s Head, his favorite pub and a place that felt like home. Just as he was walking by The Magic Neep he saw a familiar face, one he hadn’t seen in ages. Chiara Lobosca, a former patient at St Mungos and one of the few werewolves he didn’t feel apprehensive of, probably because she wasn’t born as one, but had been turned by no other than Fenrir. He could still remember the day she got to the hospital, how scared her parents were of her condition, and aware of how her life was going to change forever. He worked tirelessly to help her recover, but being a werewolf would be a mark she would carry with her, for better or worse. Seeing her resilience and her attitude, made Eustace optimistic about her future, now that he was seeing her after so long, he confirmed it was true. Seeing she hadn’t noticed he was approaching, he decided to surprise her by sneaking to stand by her side, it wasn’t only until he was hovering over her that he let out a chuckle.

“Chiara… Up to anything interesting?” he asked. If she was in the are, most probably she wasn’t alone, werewolves moved in packs and he could feel the others were not far. He had been keeping tabs on her well-being after he caught wind that she joined Fenrir. “I am doing good, coming around for a butterbeer or two. How about you?” He was curious to know about her whereabouts, and overall, how she was feeling about calling the pack her family now.

Originally posted by welton-lasso

~

Seeing Eustace again felt almost like the ghost of her past. Somehow, Chiara had managed to avoid running into people from her life before she had joined the pack. Partially because she had spent so much of her first year with the pack in the forest, trying to learn what it was truly like to be a wolf, and unlearning the things that society had ingrained in her. Chiara had seen some of her old classmates from Hogwarts in the distance, but she hadn’t been forced to talk to them so it didn’t really count in her mind.

She couldn’t help but wonder if he had talked to her parents recently. There had been a time when they saw him rather frequently, and she knew that her parents liked him too. But the whole reason that the relationship existed was because she had been bitten and had spent so much time in St. Mungo’s. Without her...there wasn’t really any reason to continue the relationship. Especially because it had been nearly two years since she had left her family. She couldn’t ask him about her parents, though, because it felt like a betrayal to Fenrir and to the pack. They were her family now. They took care of her and accepted her. They taught her how to embrace what she was instead of fearing it. She didn’t want to betray them. 

She shook her head. “Nothing exciting. I’m just wandering around is all,” she lied with a smile. Lying was another thing that hadn’t been second nature to her, but she had had to learn. Lying was necessary with their way of life. He didn’t need to know that they were up to something.  “I’m sure you’re busy this time of year at the hospital,” she commented. Chiara smiled. “I’m good. I’m happy,” she told him. “I finally found a place where I belong.”

Chiara and some of the other wolves had gone into Hogsmeade together for supplies. She had been put on lookout while they went into some of the shops to commander some supplies, and she was secretly grateful for being put on lookout duty. It was still hard for her to steal sometimes, not just mentally, but she just...wasn’t as good at it as the others. She had gotten caught a few times, but thankfully was able to talk herself out of it before they called someone in to arrest her. But she knew that she could only get away with it so many times before she got into real trouble.

Suddenly she sensed someone hovering, and Chiara’s defenses immediately went up. Glancing up from where she was standing, she spotted Eustace Burke standing nearby, watching her. Chiara’s defenses immediately went down, and a smile formed on her lips. It had been two and a half years since she had last seen him she suddenly realized. There had been a time when she had gone to the hospital regularly, for check ups, for uncomfortable tests, and while Chiara had hated it all, Eustace Burke had always shown her kindness, had treated her with dignity, and she was happy to see him.

“Mr. Burke!” Chiara exclaimed. “I can’t believe that it’s really you. How are you?”

Rosaura knows the power of protests, know how they have doted muggle history and driven change and advancement forward. She knows how vital protests can be, and yet, knows how some protests are truly and fully misguided. In part, she understands the protestors outside the Magical Menagerie. In part. Regardless, it rankles to know that they are willing to go so far for non-sentient beings but not lift a finger when sentient beings are attacked and oppressed.

It’s always easier to defend the voiceless than those who deserve it, and Wizardkind truly does like to take the easy way out.

She is walking away from protest after having stopped to stare, when she hears someone apologize. Turning, she sees a younger woman apologize to one of the protests, and she winces when she notices the other seems ready to start a fight merely because the younger woman was in the crowd.

Quickly, she steps between the two and sends the younger woman a smile.

“There you are,” she says softly. “I was looking for you, we are meeting at Fortescue and they sent me to look for you.”

Then, deliberately, she turns towards the protest and tilts her head in faux puzzlement.

“Sorry, were you about to say something?” That was enough to discourage the woman, and soon it was just the two of them and Rosaura sends the other a kind smile.

“Sorry for interrupting, it just looked like you might need a hand.”

~

Chiara hadn’t expected things to go so out of control so quickly. She hadn’t planned on approaching the protest, she had been content to just watch it and judge them all for their dumb protest. But then she thought that she saw her mum and she approached it. She was wrong, and a part of her was relieved that she was wrong. She wasn’t sure what she would say to her mother if she had saw her. But she also wasn’t expecting the other woman to get so angry with her for the mistake.

It had been a mistake not waiting for Scarlett to be free to go out with her. She wasn’t used to being on her own, and she was quickly feeling overwhelmed as the other woman started to yell about what she had said. Her eyes widened as she stumbled over another apology, glancing around, wanting to run away.

She was moments form running when someone stepped up beside her and smiled at her. Chiara didn’t recognize her, and yet she was relieved to see her. 

“I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to get so distracted. You know me, I always get lost,” Chiara laughed lightly, glad that the tension was broken, and the other woman went back to her protest, allowing them to walk away.

When they got a little bit further from the protest, Chiara allowed herself to breathe. “Thank you. I don’t know how things went so wrong. You really saved me there.”

Her apology was noted, albeit discarded. Greyback prized action above all else—words meant little. Chiara’s real apology would be seen when she had cut herself away from the very same world that would rather have seen her dead in the streets than given a shred of respect. But she was young and IDEALISTIC, full of hope’s toxins. It would take time to correct a lifetime on the wrong side of the fence, and while normally he gutted those that were slow to accept his message, he had made two exceptions. She was one of them. “You miss her,” he said, stiffly shrugging a shoulder. “Cubs need their mothers. I’m not surprised.” DISAPPOINTED, perhaps, but never surprised.

“Here,” he pulled open the door to a nearby shop, ushering her inside; “some warmth will help.” It would serve as a welcome distraction, if nothing else. And somewhere that Fenrir could prowl. Two birds, one stone. “Go off and find something that CATCHES your fancy. We’ll see if we can’t sneak it out the door.”

~

Disappointing Fenrir was worse then making him mad. She hated it when he was mad, but it was worse when he was like this. Chiara had never handled her parents disappointment in her either. It just...was unsettling knowing that someone was disappointed in her. You miss her. Cubs need their mothers. Chiara bristled at the suggestion that she missed her mother. Because she didn’t. She kept telling herself that she didn’t miss her family. She had a new family. One that fully accepted her for who she was. A family that didn’t chain her up on the nights of the full moon. Before joining the pack she had been afraid of her other side, had never spent a full moon free. But under Greyback...she could spend the full moon running through the woods, free. She hadn’t even realized how freeing that would be. “I don’t miss her,” Chiara told him stubbornly. “I don’t need her either.”

She wasn’t entirely sure what they were doing, but she didn’t tend to ask many questions either. Following him into the shop, she nodded her head. “Okay.” In her old life, Chiara would have never dreamed of stealing. But with the pack...things were different. She hadn’t quite broken the hesitation but it had admittedly gotten a lot easier. Wandering the shop, she took her time, figuring that he was up to something and she didn’t want to rush him. She grabbed a few pieces of candy and slipped it into her pocket when nobody was watching, before she returned to him. “Find what you’re looking for?”

where: hogsmeade who: open

Tee wasn’t a huge fan of crowds, but they did enjoy the look on children’s faces when they got the candy and sweets they wanted. Of course that just made them louder and more hyper, but it was the holidays! It was fine. They liked being the cause of people’s joy, and honestly he loved the holidays as well. The lights, the snow, the coming together of family and friends, and of course the giving of gifts. He already knew what he wanted to get his best friend, but he was also contemplating getting gifts for others in their friend group and that was proving to be a little more difficult. He wanted to get them something they would all really enjoy, something that was perfect, but how did one get the perfect gift?

This was something they were contemplating as they stood in front of the window of a shop, staring at the display and chewing on their lip. They didn’t realize they were blocking someone else’s view until they felt them hovering behind him.

“Oh, so sorry, am I in your way?” Tee asked, stepping to the side apologetically.

~

Christmas was everywhere that Chiara looked, and if not for the reminders in every window, the cheery people everywhere, and the bitter cold weather, Chiara probably wouldn’t have noticed. Not celebrating the holidays had been a shock last year, but it shouldn’t have been. She shouldn’t be surprised that the pack didn’t celebrate the way that society did. And last year it had been refreshing, the pain of the last Christmas with her family was easier to ignore without the reminders that it was Christmas. But this year...felt somehow different. She was trying her best to ignore those feelings. They felt like a betrayal to Fenrir and her new family and all she wanted was their approval. 

Hogsmeade at Christmas brought back memories of her family, memories that she was trying so hard to forget. Sometimes it was easy to forget that there had been a time that they had been happy before she had been bitten, and before things fell apart. She had barely noticed the person standing there when she nearly bumped into them.

“Oh, um, you’re fine,” Chiara replied, pushing the thoughts of her family away. “I’m sorry. I should have been paying attention.”

✧

“CERTAINLY NOT,” Lucius   s n a p p e d,   glaring down at the young thing. He sneered and practically jumped away from her, as far as his cane would let him go at once. 

It was, of course, an understandable mistake – Lucius likely took better care of his mane than most of the women here – but detestable and embarrassing nonetheless. "And I can see your mother CLEARLY didn’t instill better manners into you. Do you always go about accosting strangers like this?”

~

Eyes widening at her mistake, Chiara realized her mistake a moment too late. Her cheeks turned bright red as Lucius Malfoy snapped at her. What had she gotten herself into?

“I-I’m so sorry,” Chiara nearly stumbled over her words. “Of course you’re not, I just from the back, your hair...” she trailed off, realizing that she was probably just going to make it worse if she continued talking. “Your hair is much better,” she finally finished. It was still hard for her, juggling the things that she had been taught by her parents with the things that Fenrir and the pack taught her. The two ways of life didn’t mesh. “I didn’t accost you!” Chiara finally exclaimed. “You’re just being dramatic.”  

Greyback hadn’t missed her moment of—what appeared to be—HOMESICKNESS. It didn’t entirely surprise him, although it wasn’t pleasing to the eye, either. After two years, he had expected Chiara to leave behind any ties to her old life. Misguided? Perhaps. He had never had the same troubles that came with a more… accepting… household. Even so, he could deal with such a misstep at a later time. Integration took time, after all… even for cubs. She had lived a lifetime away from the pack and it was easy to see that she SUFFERED for it.

“Thankfully not,” he said, placing an uncharacteristically gentle hand on her shoulder, voice low and careful. “You’ll do better off without that kind of interference.” Wizardkind had poisoned her deeply, but Fenrir was CONFIDENT that he could undo the worst of it. Patience was, and never had been, his strong suit… but thus far he had made it work. “Come along,” he continued, nodding in the DIRECTION of a different section of Hogsmeade; “let’s get you out of the cold. You’ll catch a chill, at this rate.” And more from just the snow.

~

Chiara’s cheeks flushed when she realized that Fenrir had been watching everything. Embarrassment and shame flooded through her as she avoided his gaze. What had she been thinking? Why was her mother on her mind? She had put her family behind her, she was certain that they were better off without her there. Now she had a new family. Fenrir and the other wolves were her family now and she hated disappointing them. She hated giving them any reason to doubt her loyalties. But even more than that she hated disappointing Fenrir. He had welcomed her with open arms and she didn’t want to make him regret it.

When Fenrir placed his hand on her shoulder, she relaxed slightly, looking up at him. “I know,” she murmured. What would her life had been like if her parents had just give her over to him when he had asked? Had they been wrong trying to push her to fit into wizarding society? Making her tell lie after lie to hide what she really was? Or had they just been doing what they thought was right? Regardless, it had left Chiara damaged, confused, and vulnerable. Kia nodded her head when he spoke, falling into step with him. She was quiet for a few moments. “I’m sorry,” she finally spoke up.