Age Shifting: the ability to accelerate or reverse the aging process.

Double-updated to celebrate Harry's song!!! I literally died and resurrected during the whole 5 mins of that damn song.

That's Cleo right there ^^^^^^ ain't she a cutie :')

Enjoy xx

t.m.

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S.E. // The 7th Supreme

   "Can you tell me about daddy?"

  My heart tightened lightly in my chest as I swallowed thickly at her words. Atticus' gaze met mine, his eyebrows rising a little with his shoulders rising and dropping. I frowned at him, completely unsure of what he was trying to say but I rolled my eyes at him and looked at Cleo. She was hard to resist, her pink lips lowered into a pout as her bright green eyes held hope and curiosity in them.

   "Of course, Cleo," I told her with a smile. A victory grin etched upon her lips as she curled up in my arms and looked up at me with excitement.

  On the outside I seemed calm and ready to tell her about Harry, but on the inside I was full of anxiety because she was just a kid and I didn't know how much I should tell her. I didn't even know what to tell her. She only knew a few things about covens, she didn't know about witch hunters because telling her that there are men out there who kill witches is obviously pretty upsetting for a kid. I just decided to just start slow and go with the flow.

   "Now, what do you wanna know about daddy?" I asked her slowly, making her suck her cheeks in and look up to the left, pondering.

   "What does daddy look like?" she asked with a grin. "Is he-is he pretty? And is he strong? Like, Ralph! In Wreck-It Ralph?" she began rambling in excitement.

   "Your father was the prettiest man I had ever seen," I told her, making her eyes go wide. "He has beautiful, green eyes, just like yours."

   "Really?" she said, cupping her cheeks and widening her eyes.

   "Yes! And long, brown curly hair. Like chocolate swirls," I told her with a grin, making her grin widen.

   "Chocolate swirls!" she repeated with a gasp, making Atticus chuckle behind her at how ecstatic she was.

   "He's very handsome and strong."

   "Did daddy make you happy, mama?" she asked quietly, her words causing something to stir deep inside of me as I reminisced to the happy memories I created with Harry.

  "He did, baby. Very much so," I whispered, feeling myself get a little emotional.

   "Did you love him?" she then asked, gazing at me curiously as I felt myself tear up a little.

   "I loved him so much."

   "Do you still love him?" she pressed on, making me bite my lip, now completely unsure of what to say. So, I said whatever came to mind.

   "I dunno Cleo," I told her honestly, making her frown a little before nodding thoughtfully. Atticus parted his lips to speak, trying to suggest that we go to sleep now but Cleo quickly asked another question. One that she had wanted to ask for quite a while now.

   "Mama, why did daddy leave?" she asked me in a small voice, pouting her lips as I swallowed thickly. "Is it-is it because of me?"

   "Oh baby no," I shook my head, tightening my arms around her and hugging her to me as her eyes filled up with sadness. "Your daddy told me that he loves you more than anything in the world before he left."

   "But then why did he leave if he loves me?" she asked, making me sigh a little under my breath before speaking again.

   "He had to leave because he had work to do baby. But he just didn't come back," I told her quietly, hoping that whatever I said would be okay for until she was older.

   "Hey, it's okay, pumpkin," Atticus spoke up all of a sudden in a cheery voice, noticing she had grown oddly quiet because she was sad. "You have your mommy, then you have me, and Rowey and Sephy and Frida! You have so many people who love you and who would never leave you, baby girl," he told her, pinching her cheek playfully. "So don't be sad."

  She nodded quietly in response, her lips still in a tiny pout while she kept her gaze averted, focusing on the rings on my fingers that she was fiddling with. I felt a familiar sadness creep into my heart, reminiscing to the many times she had asked about her father or did anything that indicated how much she wanted him to be here with her. I remembered the time I came to pick her up from school, and found her sitting on the steps that led to the entrance of the school. She was gazing sadly at a girl from her class run into her father's arms who lifted her into the air with the biggest grin on his face.

  That was the day Cleo had asked me about her father, and I was being weird and vague about it and quickly shut her down. She threw a temper tantrum and unleashed a few of her powers, burning the curtains down and breaking all of the windows. Ever since then, she learnt to keep a lid on her temper, even though it was hard sometimes, and she learnt to not ask me about Harry as much because she could tell it bothered me a lot.

   "I wanna sleep now," she mumbled quietly, bringing me out of my thoughts. "Can we sleep now?"

   "Yes, let's," I said in response, switching the lamp off that was on beside me before getting comfortable under the covers again.

   "I love you, Atti. Goodnight," she told Atticus, pecking his cheek adorably before shuffling over to me.

   "Love you, pumpkin," he said with a yawn. "Love you more than myself Sage!" I chuckled at his words, telling him that I loved him before I felt Cleo's tiny hands cupping my jaw. She reached up and kissed my cheek adorably before whispering into the darkness.

   "I love you, mon ours," she said with a giggle, the nickname she had give me a few months ago, caused me to grin. My bear.

  We were having a conversation about animals a few months ago when I began teaching Cleo some French. So, while I was teaching her animals in French she suggested we have animal nicknames for each other, but in French. She called me her bear because she said I was big and strong, and cuddly and overall fierce and protective. I called her my teddy bear because she was practically a smaller version of me, but much cuter.

   "I love you so much mon nounours," I returned with a soft smile, pressing a kiss to her hairline. My teddy bear.

~-~

2 years later

   "Did they tell you what happened?"

   "Not really, they just said come quickly," I responded to Rowena's question.

  I had just gotten a worrying call from Cleo's homeroom teacher telling me to come to the school as soon as possible, as it was an emergency. She didn't say why because she was in a hurry and had quickly hung up, much to my displeasure.

   "Do you think she used her powers on someone else?" Rowena asked as I drove quickly, but carefully to Cleo's preschool.

   "Maybe, but she has the bracelet on. She can't use her powers consciously nor unconsciously," I responded, brushing my hair away from my face in irritation.

   "Yeah but she can take it off," Rowena retorted, making me swallow thickly and nod in agreement. "I'm sure she's just fine, Sage."

   "I hope so," I said, pulling up into the parking lot of the preschool.

  Without thinking I teleported out of the car and into one of the school hallways, with Rowena following me. No one was around to have seen me do that as the kids were all in the playground since it was recess time. My feet moved quickly as I looked for Cleo's classroom, sighing with relief when I quickly found it. Stepping into the classroom, I found her teacher crouching down next to her where she was sitting on a tiny stool with her knees drawn up against her chest. My heart dropped in my chest when she looked up with wide, luminous eyes and tear-stained cheeks.

   "Mama!" she cried loudly, jumping off the stool and rushing towards me.

  I dropped to my knees with my arms held out, wrapping them around her immediately as soon as she ran into them, her tiny limbs curling around my neck. She hugged me tight and let out a tiny sob, making my heart ache as I looked up at her teacher. She was an old friend of Frida's: a voodooist, which was very relieving when I found out about that. At least if Cleo had any random power outbursts, her teacher wouldn't freak the shit out and would somehow be able to handle it. Rowena went along and talked to the teacher while I comforted Cleo, rubbing her back gently.

   "It's okay, baby girl, I'm here now," I whispered into her ear as I stroked her hair before pulling back to gaze at her.

   "Mama," she whimpered, clutching my t-shirt. "I wanna go home."

  I looked up at the teacher, Marion, who nodded immediately when I sent her a questioning gaze about what Cleo said. I mouthed a 'thank you' over Cleo's head at Marion, whom simply shot me a smile before I lifted Cleo onto my hip and stood up. Cleo nestled into the curve of my body as I held her close to me, while I walked back to the parking lot with Rowena. Rowena drove us back while I sat in the backseat with Cleo.

  At some point, we halted at a traffic signal, waiting for the light to go green. Cleo had stopped crying and was now quiet, meddling with her golden bracelet. She then turned to look out of the window, widening her eyes when she saw her favorite ice cream shop, Creole Creamery. She then turned back to look at me, tugging on my t-shirt. I looked at her with eyebrows raised, as she pointed at the ice cream shop with newfound excitement and hope in her eyes.

   "Can we get ice cream, Mama? Please?" she begged, continuously tugging on my t-shirt.

   "Sure, Cleo," I told her with a light smile, thinking that she needed some cheering up with ice cream after whatever happened. I was planning on asking her about it later since she seemed too emotional as of now.

  Rowena pulled up by the shop after a few minutes and we all went in, picking our ice cream flavors and waffle cones before taking a seat outside. I tied Cleo's thick curls back as she ate her ice cream happily, smearing it all over her face while doing so.

   "So, Cleo, do you wanna tell us what happened today?" Rowena asked gently, making a sour expression appear on her face.

   "Nick the butthead was being very mean to me," she started to say with an angry frown, licking her lips before speaking again. "And trés stupide," she continued in French, making Rowena chuckle at how she always spoke partially in English and French.

   "What did he say?" I asked with a frown.

   "I was playing with my trucks and he said I can't play with them because I am a girl!" she exclaimed, waving her ice cream around in exaggeration as Rowena let out a scoff.

   "Baby girl, you play with your damn toy trucks if you wanna. Don't let any boy tell you not to. They're all idiots," Rowena said bluntly and firmly, making Cleo and I laugh in agreement.

   "So then what did you do?" I asked her, making her frown.

   "I dunno! I was very angry and I shouted at him, and he fell," she explained very vaguely, making Rowena and I frown in confusion.

   "He just...fell?" Rowena said with a frown, picking at her ice cream in her cup with the spoon.

   "Uhhhh yeah! I was in the sandy pit and I shouted at him and he fell and hit his head," she said again, making me chuckle as I somewhat finally understood what happen.

   "Cleo, do you mean when you shouted, something pushed him and he fell? But it wasn't you pushing him? Quelques chose d'invisble?" I questioned, knowing that sometimes she knew certain words she wanted to say but in French and not English. Something invisible?

   "Ouais! C'etait invisible!" she exclaimed and nodded in agreement. But even then I frowned. "Something invisible pushed him!"

   "Was your bracelet on?" I questioned, making her look down at her wrist where her bracelet was tied to, and then turning her head to face me and nod.

   "I don't get it, what happened?" Rowena asked with her eyebrows raised.

   "I think when she got mad her telekinesis powers broke through unintentionally and shoved that Nick kid," I explained to Rowena, whose formed an 'O', nodding in understanding.

   "But, Cleo, why were you crying?" Rowena questioned gently, making Cleo pout a little.

   "He called me a freak," she said in a small voice, making my heart break a little as I pulled her into my side and rubbed her arm soothingly. "But I'm not one," she said confidently, making me smile.

   "Yes baby, you're not a freak," I said, using a wet wipe to clean her face. "You're unbelievably special and talented, mon nounours."

  Cleo grinned at the use of her nickname, smiling brightly at me before finishing off her ice cream. We then headed home right after. Rowena and I discussed the fact that Cleo was still able to use her powers unconsciously with the bracelet on, which was supposed to prevent her from doing that. This meant that her powers were that strong, it can break through charmed objects. We decided that we'll go see Esmeralda about it before going home. After stopping by the Buckner Mansion we discussed with Esmeralda what had happened. We told her about the powers being strong enough to break through charms but she offered up the idea of Cleo having Harry's immunity, therefore being able to consciously and unconsciously use her powers.

  She told us that she'll start working on creating a charmed object that works on witches with immunity. We decided that we'll meet up again after a day of two, where Esmeralda will phone up a few witches from abroad before our meeting.

Cleo and I walked back to our mansion, as Rowena decided to stay in the academy to help teach a class for an hour or so. The dogs greeted us, barking loudly and happily. Cleo let out a giggle, running after them and around the house towards the backyard.

  I called out to her telling her I'll come soon after getting a few things out of the car. I walked back to my car, unlocking it and grabbing Cleo's red, blue and gold Wonder Woman backpack. As soon as I shut the door, my keys fell out of my hand causing me to curse and shuffle forwards to pick it up. But I accidentally kicked it with my boot, making me grunt in annoyance.

  But before I could pick it up, I spotted a hand with fingers full of rings pick the keys up while I was still bent down. My heart dropped in my chest suddenly when I noticed the cross tattoo that was situated near the person's thumb on that hand. As I straightened my back and stood up slowly, I lifted my gaze, my entire body freezing in place when I came face to face with the man who left me five years ago.

   "Harry?"

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➰ so sorry about the hella short chapter!! I just needed to do a cliffhanger lmao it's my thing yo!!!

BUT HARRY'S BACK !!

It's lit.

Until we meet again...

t.m.