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Pain throbbed through his left forearm.
"Sebastian Cesario Granger," a voice called out through the haze created by the pain throbbing in his left forearm. "You're such a silly child."
"I'm a silly child who is thirty-three, almost thirty-four years old." Sebastian swallowed. His eyes clenched shut from the pain as he gripped his forearm, and his teeth ground together. He'd collapsed to the ground, his back sliding down the kitchen counter when the pain in his left forearm suddenly hit. "Sorry."
"You've not had an episode like this for, well, quite a few years now." He heard the person kneel beside him. His head leaned back, leaning against the kitchen counter. Their hand reached out, gently brushing aside the curly black locks which cascaded over his forehead. "Anything I can do for you, sweetheart? You're a little bit on the warm side."
Sebastian swallowed again while keeping his eyes closed and continuing to clutch his left forearm. "I'm fine, maman."
"At least let me help you up, sweetheart." He heard the woman stand up, and then her hand reached out, soft from age, reached out and grasped his hand.
Sebastian let her pull him up. His free hand reached back to steady himself against the counter despite the pain running through his arm. He opened his silver-grey eyes and looked down at the food he'd been preparing that was now on the kitchen floor. He swallowed back his frustration, but the woman glanced over at the food before pushing a lock of brown hair away from her face while smiling.
"How about I also finish preparing the after-school snack for the girls?"
"I guess."
"Cheer up. Our Hermione will be returning home soon from that boarding school of hers. It's a bummer that Elizabeth decided she didn't want to go as well, but on the other hand, you certainly enjoy your girls being around and doing things for them, right?"
"Yeah."
"Go and lie down, but let Juliet know you're alright. She's in the front room, but she finished the school work you gave her. I'll bring you some tea as well, or Olivia might if she gets home."
"Uh-huh." Sebastian headed out of the kitchen and into the front room so he might head back into the room he shared with Olivia. A smile flickered across his face even though pain stilled ebbed through his left forearm. His youngest glanced up, her black hair still in the hairstyle he'd placed it in the morning, although a few strands of curly locks escaped from her rambunctious pursuits. "Hi, Juliet."
He almost toppled over as the girl hurtled at him, her small hands wrapping around his waist. He patted her on the top of his head, the one head of hair that was like his own. She muttered something about worrying about him.
"I'm fine. You behaved well for Mamie, didn't you?" He smiled, his girls somehow always brightening his day. "I'm going to go and lie down, though, so you continue to behave for her, alright?"
"Okay."
Lying down on the bed, Sebastian lifted his left forearm back, pulling back the sleeve. His silver-grey eyes widened upon seeing what he saw. He bit down on his lip.
That morning, he awoke to the usual sight of the scars covering his body. His skin color paled in those places, but they ran up his left arm and around his shoulder. There were scars on his back that he preferred not to see in a mirror and scars on his thighs that he couldn't avoid seeing. Sebastian also saw the faded traces of a tattoo he couldn't make out, in part because of the fading and also because of the scars.
What he saw now made bile rise in his throat.
The fades marks were dark, but the worst part was how the tattoo moved under the scars marring his left forearm. Sebastian flexed his fingers, wishing the hideous tattoo to disappear from his arm. "Please. Please don't be real." He swallowed again. "I'm a Muggle, not a Wizard."
His eyes closed, a memory flickering through his head of the day he capitulated to Hermione's request that he and Olivia go with her between her first and second years when she purchased her school supplies. He remembered agreeing to go so he and Olivia might pick up school supplies for Elizabeth, only-
Elizabeth made quite clear she didn't want to go. "I don't believe in magic. It's not real. Not real at all."
He also didn't remember the trip.
"Well, that's not true. In truth, I remember only parts of the trip." He remembered, for example, waking up a few days later with practically no recollection. There were dreams of a bookstore and seeing a man with long blonde hair speaking with Hermione. Dreaming that dream always sent shivers down his spine, but the man paid him no attention, for he was a Muggle. Or not. "Mr. Weasley was nice to me, though." Sebastian's mouth pressed together. "I'm not a Wizard, though. And I'm not. And..."
There was a strange thought in the back of his head that the mark on his arm, let alone that man with long, blonde hair, was a threat of some kind to his family. Sebastian pulled the sleeve down and let his arm flop to his side, letting out a sigh. His silver-grey eyes looked up at the ceiling, his mouth pushing together.
He didn't remember how he came by the tattoo, let alone the scars.
"Rabbit."
"Oh. Olivia," Sebastian muttered, not glancing towards the door.
"Normally, you're excited to see me." Her words made him reach for his left sleeve. He tugged at the sleeve while she carried a tray containing tea over to the dressing room table.
"Sorry."
"That means you're either lost in thought, or something has you majorly depressed again."
Sebastian pushed his lips together, wondering how he should broach the subject. He felt her sit on the edge of the bed.
"So, what was it this time?"
"This time?" He let out a sigh. "Do you, do you know about this?"
He reached out, tugging his sleeve down. His eyes clenched shut.
"That?"
"This." Sebastian swallowed, not wanting to mention the fact the tattoo was still moving. His hand clenched into a fist. "Please tell me my suspicions aren't correct."
"What suspicions? You should be more specific, you know."
"More specific?" He swallowed again. "How about my name? I've read Shakespeare, you know." His silver-grey eyes flickered open. "Regarding my name..."
"I told you before, didn't I?" Her voice remained soft and calm.
"Told me what?"
"That I'm very much aware of your past, that past of yours you can't remember."
Sebastian narrowed his eyes. "I remember. It's not something we've talked about recently, though." His fingers tugged at his left sleeve. "Who I was before..."
"It never changed. You never changed Rabbit, but that is one thing I am certain of."