Amortentia

Chapter Thirteen

Black Manor
Tinsbury, England
Date: Tuesday, 7th of December, 2021

"Amortentia doesn't create love, of course. It is impossible to manufacture or imitate love. No, this will simply cause a powerful infatuation or obsession."

 
  Jenna read the script and sighed. If it was impossible to imitate love, how did Lucius not know what was going on? The fire crackled quietly beside her as she turned the page.

  Black Manor was eerily quiet tonight. Teddy and Elliot slept quietly in the room next to the library as she could hear her young nephew talking in his sleep. The library was lit fully from the bright moon outside. Jenna hadn't bothered turning on any of the lights. Druella and Narcissa discovering what she was doing was the last thing that needed to happen.

"Amortentia is the most powerful love potion in existence. The difficulty level is advanced, as is the process for breaking the spell."

  Jenna slammed the book shut and quietly groaned. Of course, Sabrina had chosen the most powerful and advanced love potion. Nothing else would have worked. Everyone knew how deeply Lucius cared for Narcissa.

"Finding anything?"

  She gasped and turned around. Cygnus approached her slowly, his arms crossed out of frustration. Jenna stood up from the chair and threw a pillow over the book.

"I don't know what you're talking about,"

"Cosette, give me the book. I'm not a daft teenager. I know you weren't in here with a boy," he held out his large hand for the book. His family ring gleaming brightly in the firelight.

"I can't help that I want answers," Jenna said, moving the decoration pillow off of the book. "How can you not?"

"It's not that I don't. There is nothing we can do without hurting someone." Her grandfather sighed and sat on the unoccupied side of the sofa. He patted the side she had vacated and waited for her to sit. "I believe there is foul play. However, proving what we know will be difficult. What if your father wasn't spelled?"

"He has to be." her voice shook slightly. "He wouldn't leave mom like that, or Draco and Elliot,"

"You believe he would leave you?" asked Cygnus.

"I'm used to people leaving me,"

He sighed, "Lucius wouldn't leave any of his children, love,"

"I wouldn't be too sure about that," Jenna argued. Cygnus saw her lips form a frown. He had never seen her so distressed. His heart saddened when she started twirling her hair nervously— the same way Bella used to. "Anything she does is dismissed by him. It doesn't make any sense, papa,"

  Her body began to shake as she sobbed violently. Cygnus could no longer handle the situation alone. He stood from the sofa and disappeared. Moments later, he returned with a frazzled Druella on his tail.

"Cygnus, what are we doing in he— Ara?" Her grandmother sat down beside her and pulled her into a tight embrace. "Breathe, my love. Breathe,"

Druella whispered calming things into her ear until her breathing became regular. Cygnus joined them on the sofa and allowed his wife to recline against him. His granddaughter wiped her face free of tears and cleared her throat.