Remus stared back at her without a thought behind his eyes. It was as though her words simply went over his head.
Tears still streamed, but the frenzied pleadings halted. Head tilted and mouth agape, everything else, besides his twitching eyebrows, froze in place.
"Do you understand me, Rem? Say you do," she held his hands in hers.
In response, the boy said he understood as it was asked of him, but his head offered a different answer as it shook from left to right ever so slowly.
"Do you see what I mean, now?" Silas' voice came from the side, "He will obey every order you give him, but that is all,"
"I'll be good, I promise! Can we go now, mother?"
At those words, Arabella sighed sharply, allowing her forehead to fall on their connected hands, "Oh dear…," she muttered, "Remus," the young woman spoke again after inhaling deeply and raising her gaze towards the kid, "I am not your mother,"
"Father doesn't lie!" he cried, his voice echoing throughout the dungeon.
