"Mom!"

The blonde sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose and wondering why life seemed to like messing with her. The voices in the living room were easily heard from her third floor study due to their sheer volume.

"Mom!"

She got up and pushed the door open, only serving to make the arguing louder as she went down the hallway and stairs.

"Hey, shut up! Mom's busy remember? Leave her alone!"

"You shut up! You're not my father!"

"No, but I'm older than you!"

She sighed again, finally making it to the living room and leaning against the doorframe. "Sev, honey, I don't think I've ever heard you use such a childish argument."

Severus turned away from his siblings and looked at his mom, brushing his bangs out of his eyes. "But mom-"

She held up a hand, cutting him off. "What is going on?"

The other five people in the room suddenly became completely silent, all of them refusing to meet their mother's eyes. The problem was, the blonde didn't need to hear what had happened. She was used to her children fighting, had come to accept it as routine actually. She understood that siblings argued and had rivalries, but sometimes she felt like her children brought it to a whole other level. She raised an eyebrow at the five of them, her gaze locking each of them in place.

Finally, Christopher cracked a small smile. "We just couldn't decide on a movie, mom. That's all."

"I find that extremely hard to believe."

Abelia stood and made her way to the door, before pushing past her mother. Her arm was grabbed and she was dragged partially back into the living room. "Where do you think you're going, young lady?"

The brunette rolled her eyes before sending her mother an annoyed look. "To my room." she gestured to her older brother and the other three children. "Away from them."

Her mother's eyes narrowed at her. "Bell…"

Abelia tore her arm out of her mother's grasp and stalked to her room, slamming the door. Her mother sighed and looked at the four children who remained in the room. "Anyone else want to leave?"

Chris and Brittany got up, walked past their mother and went to their rooms, their doors closing less violently than Abelia's had. Severus and Selene settled back down on the couch, quietly discussing what movie they should watch. As they decided on a horror film, Maddy sighed for what felt like the millionth time and went back to her study, trying desperately not to cry or scream. Sometimes, it felt like she was barely holding what little was left of her family together.

This chapter was a bit shorter than I originally wanted it to be, but oh well.