Chapter 6 - Return

Late that afternoon, Eileen excitedly receives an owl delivered letter and anxiously begins to read the handwritten note. With shaking fingers, she glances up at the tiny clock in her room as her face blanches at the hour. Eileen hurriedly reaches for the small savings hidden in the back of her nightstand and carefully puts the money in the inner pocket of her beige coat. With pale fingers, she grabs the already packed carpet bag from the floor, before hastily rushing over to the twin's room.

Eileen comes to an abrupt halt as her face unhappily pales at finding the twin's bedroom empty. Suddenly she recalls, Severus shouting out that they were going to play in the fields. She hastily grabs a single day change of clothes for the twins, before closing the carpetbag shut and hurrying out the door. She grimaces in exasperation as she steps onto the gloomy street and looks both ways as the shadows lengthen with sunset upon them.

"Where could they be?" Eileen crossly thought to herself and frowned. From the corner of her eyes, she suddenly sees two small figures holding hands as they walk down the street. She instantly runs over to the surprised figures of Severus and Rowan.

With the streets getting dark it was naturally unsafe for Severus and Rowan to stay out. And though it was unsafe to be at home, it was worse to be caught outside in the dark unawares. However, what truly shocked them was to see their mother, Eileen dressed up in her best clothes including her beige coat as they couldn't recall the last time, she looked quite so nice. Nor for that matter, the last time she had come out to greet them or made sure they safely got home and were tucked into bed.

Eileen with relief smiles at the twins and says, "We haven't got much time. Come along." Rowan and Severus stare at each other with unspoken words as Eileen notices the twins aren't following her. "Quickly!" Eileen harshly cried out. With no other choice nor explanation, Rowan and Severus grip each other's hands firmly as they struggle to keep up with Eileen's brisk pace. Soon enough, they arrive at a small train platform with two small two building serving as the train station.

"Stay here and don't talk to strangers!" Eileen sternly instructed Severus and Rowan as she sat them both firmly onto a bench. Giving them once last commanding look, Eileen quickly marches over to the ticket office to buy three one-way tickets.

The platform is rather empty at this later hour except for two other passengers seated at a shared bench. After a moment, Severus quietly says, "Are we leaving?"

"Probably," Rowan bluntly responded.

"I didn't even get to say goodbye to Lily!" Severus said in a panicked voice.

"It'll be alright," Rowan soothingly said. "Once we get there you can always send her a letter apologizing and letting her know our new address."

Severus sighs in understanding and gloomily murmurs, "Okay."

With a loud cry, the metal train approaches, and lets out a screeching whistle as slides to shrieking halts next to the platform. Eileen's brisk footsteps are quickly heard as she returns with three tickets clutched in her hand. "Hurry up now, we must quickly board!" Eileen snapped as she led the twins away.

Eileen quickly shows her three tickets to the ticket counter on board and takes a seat near the front of the train. And with her heart in her mouth, Eileen irritably scans the platform for a familiar drunken figure. Her eyes never stopped searching always fixed to the passenger window.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the final call for passengers is cried out, before the train slowly sets off and away. The three of them didn't even turn to glance back as the industrial town faded away into the distance. The train rumbled away in the dark of the night and all too soon, Severus had dozed off onto Rowan's shoulder. Rowan, herself tried to fight off the heavy sleep, but her child body would not have it as she nodded on and off. The only one who did not get any sleep the entire train ride was Eileen, who was lost in her own turbulent thoughts.

Just after six in the morning, the train arrives at the Norton platform. Eileen anxiously leads her children off the train and takes a cab to the edge of the sleepy town of Norton. At the edge of town, Eileen uses the last of their money to pay off the cabby driver, before leading them into the woods onto a gravel path called, 7th Meadow Lane. To the twin's utter astonishment, the wood vanishes around a bend to reveal a rather large manor. Despite the green lawns and the grandiose style of the manor, the Prince Family's castle-like manor seems quite stark and cold.

Eileen painfully tightens her grip on Rowan and Severus hands as she makes her way up the gravel path and up the white granite steps as the grand front doors swing open before them. Eileen warily steps inside to reveal an elegant, wealthy interior filled with lavish silver and gold items. Waiting in the open front hall are three figures dressed in dark clothing, an older man and two older women.

Eileen nods to the three figures and addresses them accordingly. "Hello father, mother, and Auntie Georgine, I'm back," Eileen stiffly said.

"So, you are," Aunt Georgine sarcastically murmured as she puffed out a cloud of smoke from her long, thin red cigarette. A tall, slender woman with chin-length raven hair with a touch of a few silver hairs here and there. Her hair is swept to the side of her head like raven's wings.

Reginald Prince, a very tall, thin man with a stern face, stiffly says, "Dawn, take the children upstairs." A female house-elf in a neat dress with matching apron and large droopy ears hastily appears and takes the two children upstairs. But all the while, Severus eyes are glued to the moving figures on the portraits on the wall, while Rowan snorts at the creepy watching portraits. If there was one detail, she disliked of the wizarding world was the bloody enchanted portraits.

Sirsa Prince, a sturdy woman with cold eyes, crisply calls out after Dawn. "And make sure they properly wash and dress accordingly. Those rags are not even fit for a dog." Eileen tightly clenches her sleeves as Sirsa turns towards Eileen. "We told you that muggle man was no good for you and look how you've come back running to us," Sirsa said with disdain.

"Yes, mother," Eileen stiffly replied as she kept her head down. It was though she was once more merely an unruly, sullen teenage girl being ordered around again!

"Hurry up and clean yourself, you look simply atrocious," Sirsa scoffed. Eileen's eyes glitter with anger as she rigidly marches past them and up the stairs. Reginald sighs privately to himself and merely mutters that he is headed back to his study, before darting away.

Aunt Georgine shakes her head as she makes tsk-tsk sounds. "Really, Reginald spoiled Eileen far too much for her own good and just look where that got her," Aunt Georgine grumbled.

"Yes, she was," Sirsa flatly responded, before stalking off with the smoking figure of Aunt Georgine in tow.