The Farland Files

How to Raise A Monster

"Mom?" The little boy with messy black hair and brown eyes tugged on the woman's sleeve, his other hand held by a man with scars marring his face. "Mom- why don't I have siblings?"

The woman froze mid-step, the eyes that had been bright and excited in the light of the summer day now dimmed, sinking to a knee in front of her son. "Charlie... you did have a sibling. A sister. But..." Glancing up at Remus, Lily swallowed thickly. "But Helena went away, just like daddy, and mommy doesn't want to ever have that happen again."

The boy frowned slightly as if he had to process this.

"Why don't you go surprise Uncle Sirius, Charlie?"

Perking up once more, the boy nodded and bounded towards the Auror's main area, most likely to attack his 'Uncle' with hugs and questions about the man's day, the boy loved by the whole department.

Remus settled a hand on Lily's shoulder, eyes sad. "It's been three years, Lils...he deserved to know Helena existed." The man drew her into a hug, closing his eyes against his grief. "I would give anything to not have you go through this, I hope you understand that."

"Lils your child is a menace!" Their silence was broken by Sirius bounding over with Charlie giggling, sitting on the man's shoulders and gripping the Auror's long black hair tightly. "He just flirted with my boss!"

Remus released the woman, snorting softly. "Amelia?"

Charlie grinned. "She's pretty! I like her hair!"

"See?! He's going to be a heartbreaker, I know it!"

Hitting Sirius' shoulder, Lily Potter scowled. "Don't you dare go rubbing off on my kid, Black." When the man faked a wince and rubbed his shoulder, she rolled her eyes. "Come on then, let's go see what Amelia's doing to control our favorite mangy mutt."

The offended noise left her with a smile, casting the thoughts of the daughter that would have been four from her mind.

St. Judes was, in Lena's opinion, what someone lived though when they went to hell.

The younger children were okay, but the whole environment corrupted them with every growing year. There was limited food and clothes and other things like soap, leading to an intensely competitive and cruel environment that they were forced to adapt to.

Lena was quiet, preferring the quiet of the indoors to the loud games the others played, and could always be found with a book in hand. But that was all she got. Usually, she wasn't fast enough to get much food or clothes that fit right, so she instead went for the books, which weren't as sought after.

She was short and small, with smooth skin that seemed to never have any flaws.

'Like a porcelain doll' the Matron would say with a smile that didn't fit her face when the strange people asked about her, but her vivid green eyes that stared at the strangers blankly always seemed to drive people off.

"More people came to see me today." Flipping the page of her book, she didn't look up at where a man holding a paint can was painting in front of where she was sitting on the rickety steps, but she knew he was listening.

Jack Farland, the groundskeeper and ex-soldier (that had been here for way past anyone who knew how old he was) gave a noise to show he'd heard her. "And?"

Lena stopped pretending the children's book interested her. "The man said I was pretty. The woman said that I 'creeped her out'... Matron said that I was probably cursed and Greg tried to push me down the stairs." She shifted her eyes to where the very boy was watching his other friends wrestle on the ground.