All of the family took Robby’s death hard, but they weren’t necessarily surprised. Christopher, the analytical one, practically saw it coming. He had tried to get Robby help, but to no avail. Robby wouldn’t accept any.  Chris thought he might have been recovering. Robby had joined the local football team; he’d been goalie.  He even had a girlfriend. It seemed as though he had been making strides in every aspect of his life except at home… And then, it was all over. Robby was gone.

  Taylor and Susan both bawled for weeks, and grew very quiet. But they, like all children, eventually managed to become happy again. When a person is young, it is hard for them to hold onto something so fickle as an emotion for a prolonged period of time.  This is especially true in young witches and wizards. With so much potential and so many possibilities at their fingertips, it is nearly impossible to be constant.  This was no different for Taylor and Susan.

  Taylor, who had done everything he could to help his brother, responded to his death in a negative way. The sweet little Taylor disappeared for sporadic moments, replaced by a raging adolescent on the verge of losing his control.  The only one who was capable of calming Taylor down was his mother, Sarah.

  She saw so much of herself in the boy. His hair was darkening from blonde to light brown, and would darken further with age just like hers had. His eyes, which had been so soft at one time, pierced through her very soul now. He had a fire inside of him, sparked by the loss of his brother. There was a darkness growing in him—that Slytherin spirit that she had once possessed before she had met Christopher. There was only so much she could do to console Taylor…

  Sarah herself needed to be consoled. She was suffering from so much grief at the loss of her son, her eldest son, the one that she had neglected for so long. She was bedridden and heartbroken. Christopher couldn’t help her. No one could… She passed the time by regaling about her youth and Hogwarts adventures with ten-year-old Taylor and six-year-old Susan.

  She told them all about the Triwizard Tournament, and the Second Wizarding War, and the great Harry Potter. She told them about the Tinsleys and Slytherin house. She didn’t disclose everything, however. Some things were too heavy for children so young…

  That winter was harsh. Snows came and came harder. Sarah grew sicker and sicker. She went to bed one night in January, and she never came out again. On January 7^th, 2019, she died...

  This death struck a mighty blow to the Paxton family. Christopher grieved, but once again, being the practical one, he pushed through…

  Susan became very quiet and reserved at the loss of her mother. She clung to her father and elder brother tighter than ever before. She was too young to fully understand still, being six.

  Taylor did understand, though. He understood, and he became embittered by the loss of his mother. He grew to loathe his brother’s memory, his worthless squib of a brother… Robby Paxton… He was the reason Sarah Paxton had died… How could he have pursued his elder brother’s interest for so long just to be snubbed and robbed of a mother? Rob the Robber.

  The darkness in Taylor’s soul smoldered. He could not stand living with his Muggle father. His father was a good man, but he was just a man. Taylor’s eleventh birthday came on March 17^th, 2019, and he received a letter from the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry informing him that he had a place there… It was the first time that he had smiled in months.