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ℌolidays were supposed to be fun. Especially Christmas break, a time of joy and family reunions, not sorrow and certainly not a family crisis. And then there was 12-year old Lyanna, a girl who had just arrived home from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry to spend a couple weeks with her family before returning back to a life of constant homework and essays. Only a few hours previously she had received a letter, and a very confusing one at that, saying that she would have to take the taxi because due to unexpected circumstances, her father wouldn't be able to pick her up at King's Cross. No mention at all of her mother.
Something was not right.
The situation in itself was already very odd; Oliver Oak was usually a very open person, but his letter had seemed hasty and cut short, or else very well thought-out as to not disclose any further information. The sunchild would find out what he was hiding in due time, it was only a matter of patience and strategy to crack his secrecy. Of course, she might've been overthinking it. But the letter made no sense, and all mortals seek an explanation for phenomenons classified as anything other than ordinary.
And then there was the driver.
Who was he? That alone, puzzled Lyanna. Jack Morison, as he had called himself, was obviously more than just a work colleague, if that. He knew more than he was letting on, that was certain. But other than that... the sunchild hadn't been able to get a good grasp of who he really was, only that he was as slippery as an eel, and obviously not to be trusted. That was certain — their entire interaction was infuriating, to say the least. Whatever Morison knew, and he certainly knew something, he wouldn't tell her. And something told her that any bribing and strategic ambiguity that she could've put into play wouldn't have changed that. But whatever the reason, that was not right. Morison was not part of the Oak family. Lyanna, however, was. And somehow, when it came to crucial information, the roles had swapped.
Lyanna deserved more than that.
After all, what had she done wrong? During her first term at Hogwarts, Lyanna had transformed into a mindful individual — She was not dependent on her parents to take care of her anymore, had made friends and kept her grades up by staying up to finish that last reread of an essay on a Thursday night, a day away from the weekend. Her house, Hufflepuff, had become her home, and she had managed to push through the homesickness that always seemed to hit her at unexpected moments. And then there was her mother. Although the first year wasn't sure whether her mother had anything to do with it, her assumptions had built a fortress in her mind that would not back down until proven either wrong or right. After all, her father should've known that sending two cryptic men to escort her home would leave Lyanna worried.
Was any further explanation even necessary?
As the cab reached Cambridge at last, the heaviness in her heart slightly lifted. Home at last, the streets a blur of heartwarming memories and the echoes of laughter from what seemed like so long ago. Tears of fear of what would come but the relief of being in her hometown at last formed, but the sunchild merely blinked them away, forming what turned out to be a frightened smile, the mirror of her emotions.
The cab stopped.
"Wha-" Lyanna Oak's eyes widened. Her house was standing right in front of her, brick by brick, exactly as she had remembered it — the large windows that allowed light to filter into each room, the brass door knocker on the beautiful wooden door... After three entire seconds of gazing out of the window in the black cab, "Welcome home, kid. Are you going to keep staring at it or are you planning on going inside?" Morison's voice broke the spell, an imposing sound that interrupted the chattering of the birds and the enlightening rays of the moon. No matter, he was right. Merely staring at the house did nothing, and so the sunchild threw the car door open, hauled her trunk out of the cab and ran to the house that was home without looking back.
Home. Home at last.
A swift knock on the door, after which Lyanna waited for what seemed like a thousand years before her father's footsteps could finally be heard. The man then looked through the peephole before swinging the barrier between them open, the sunchild immediately pulling her father into an embrace that not even Hercules, known for his strength, could break apart. Three seconds. Emotions hit.
One breath at a time.
A smile plastered on her lips, the color slowly returning to her cheeks, Lyanna Oak forced herself to look happy even as a tear threatened to roll down her cheek. But no, the sunchild would not allow it. She must've been speculating... right? Of course she was, she reassured herself, as she let go of her father and stepped back. "I love you, dad", she whispered loud enough for only him to hear. "I missed you. Is- is everything okay? Your letter... it made me worried sick," she admitted.
"Yes, everything is fine."
Everything is fine. That was what he had said, and for a split second, Lyanna allowed herself to believe her father's reassuring words. Maybe, everything was okay after all. Possibly just his overprotectiveness... but even in her head, those words didn't sound right. And as much as the sunchild wanted to believe these words of bliss, she could not let it slide. Everything would be alright, her father just needed to tell her what had happened. In the end, everything would be okay.
Or so she thought.
There was only one way to find out, though. Her father had been so cryptic in his letter that it was impossible not to assume the worst. Maybe it wasn't as bad as the sunchild thought it was. But whatever the case, Oliver Oak was certainly keeping things from her, whether purposefully or not, and it made Lyanna worried- ever so worried, for if a sunchild's loved ones are not safe, that affects her oh so much more than it would any other. "What happened? Tell me. And-" her eyes widened.
"Where's mom??"
On normal circumstances, Jade Oak would've heard the knock on the door before any other, and would've run to open it, pulling her into a hug. This time, however, her recipient was her father, an unusually circumstance. Had it been mere circumstance, though, or was it something much greater than that? "It's okay. Everything is okay. And your mom... yes, I'm sure she's doing perfectly fine as well. You don't need to worry."
Well that was reassuring.
An exasperated sigh escaped her lips, followed by a worried frown. You don't need to worry. Well that was the most pathetic thing Lyanna had heard in a long while. What the hell? If there was any valid instance to swear at your father, this would be it. However, the sunchild had not fallen into the depths of Tartarus quite yet. There was still a flicker of hope left in her heart, propelling her forward and fueling her determination to find out exactly what her father was keeping hidden from her.
That was the result of his secretiveness.
However, that same secretiveness was going to lead her to a nervous breakdown soon enough, and her father seemed to have noticed that. "Your mother is probably still doing Ministry work, she will be back soon, I'm sure." It took the girl two seconds to process that information, her eyes slowly widening with fear once more, her stomach clenching into a tight knot as it had during the train ride to London. It was as if she was on that train all over again, trying to put the puzzle pieces together to decipher what had happened.
It made no sense.
Jade Oak was never late from work, and if she was, they would be notified of it before or during the day itself with an owl. Never did she leave them waiting, not after the one time that she did when Lyanna was but a little girl. For her mother, that had merely been a difficult case to work on, but the child had been crying, and wailing, waiting for her mother to come back. She did, late in the night, and never did that repeat itself. But now, it was exactly the same story, a repetition of what had happened then, 10 years later.
Déjà vu.
"That's impossible. Don't you remember last time? She wouldn't leave us waiting." A sigh escaped her father's lips. "Sometimes being home punctually is not as easy as it seems. Her work can be quite intense, as you know. I'm sure she will be alright." It was already late in the evening, and there was no way that this situation could be classified as 'normal', or anything along those lines. There hadn't been any owl, that was certain. But then, why didn't they try to figure out what her coordinates were?
The solution was that simple.
Taking her father's hands in his, she realized they were clammy from sweat. He was nervous as well, the sunchild realized. Looking up into his eyes, she spoke once more. "Dad, we need to send an owl to the ministry, to make sure she's alright. Can you go do that?" Without meeting her eyes, Oliver didn't answer. He seemed to be pondering the idea, when footsteps could be heard from behind him.
It was Isa, the starchild, younger sibling of the sunchild.
Her tired expression turned into excitement and surprise as she saw her older sister standing in the doorway, and ran into Lyanna's arms. "Lyanna, Lyanna, you're back!!" With a smile, the sunchild ruffled Isa's hair and replied, "Isa! I missed you! It's late though, why don't you head to sleep?" With a fake pout and a kiss on her sister's cheek, the starchild departed the scene and fell asleep as soon as she slipped back under the covers of her warm bed.
And what of Morison?
The man had been waiting in his cab for all this time, and as Lyanna looked over at him, she met his gaze. What was he expecting from them, payment of some sort? Oliver saw her looking and quickly rushed her upstairs to her bedroom. "Lyanna, go upstairs and get ready for bed, I'll be upstairs soon. Just give me a moment to talk to Mr. Morison." So that really was his name. Obliging to her father's orders as there was no way that protesting would help her in this situation, the sunchild ascended to the 1st floor of the house. Like a fox watching its prey, she quickly adapted to the situation.
Damage control.
What does one do when their plan completely falls apart, or anything in that direction? One must react and think of a plan B, seeing the situation unfold and strategizing on how to adapt to it. Lyanna would not allow that eel of a man to talk to her father without trying to hear every word. However, without the Extendable Ears that she had seen once while passing through Diagon Alley, it wasn't easy to remain unnoticed. The second year did manage to catch a few words of their conversation, however.
"... ministry ... reported ... Jade Oak ... missing ..." "... good point." "Do you think ... owl ..." "... search party ..." "... relief. Thank you." "... Goodnight, Mr. Morison."
This was not happening.
This could not be happening.
But it was.
Jade Oak, mother of Lyanna and Isa Oak and wife of Oliver Oak had gone missing.
The sunchild stopped radiating light and the world turned dark. However, the light inside her could not be kept hidden for too long, and so it spilled from her heart, through her eyes; tears. Unstoppable tears had taken hold of her, shoulders shaking, fists clenched, knuckles white. The sobbing could not stop. Lyanna had heard enough to prove her speculations to be correct, and much worse than she had anticipated. Running into her parents' bedroom, it looked as neat and tidy as ever, maybe slightly too much so, unease adding to her sorrow.
It was almost like a crime scene.
Untouched, dust slowly accumulating on the empty side of the bed, her mother's scent still lingering, a smell Lyanna would give so, so much to hold on to. It would fade soon enough as well, though, and the mere thought managed to make her even more upset than she already was. The sunchild's green eyes had turned blue from sadness. Fear engulfed her like a drowning surfer trying to come up for air and breathe, as panic clawed at Lyanna's ribcage, locking away the happiness in her heart and throwing away the key into the void. The girl's visage contorted with aguish, her expression showing fear and anxiety of it being too late to find her dear mother.
Where was she?
Slowly, questions like "what happened" became a blur, and as Lyanna wrapped herself around her mother's pillow, now wet from the tears she had shed, tiredness swept over her. The exhaustion of that never-ending anxiety had already taken it's toll on her, and soon, her eyes fluttered shut. Dreams pulled her into oblivion, the blissful state of having no worries and knowing that "everything will be alright". Whether it would be, she would know in due time.
The sunchild fell asleep in her mother's mourning bed. | ———— |
