The sound of his footsteps was the only thing that accompanied him as he walked through the silent corridors of the castle. The walls of Hogwarts seemed to absorb every thought from his mind, every memory of that conversation that still burned inside him.
Aurelian had imagined many times what that encounter might be like. However, none of his projections resembled what had actually happened.
"He admitted it..." he thought, remembering the tone with which his father had accepted that he had loved Elaine, his mother. Even more so, that he had failed to protect her. That glimmer of humanity baffled him. He was not the Voldemort of the books he had read, nor the relentless monster he had known through rumors. He was something else... Someone more complex.
He sighed, stopping in front of one of the windows overlooking the lake. The moon reflected on the water, casting a glow that immersed him in his deepest thoughts.
"Empty words..." he muttered to himself, "But at least he had the honesty to admit it."
"Maybe..." he thought, closing his eyes for a moment, "maybe it's worth talking to him again. Not to please him, much less to follow him... but to better understand his movements."
When he opened his eyes again, his expression was firm. Voldemort was his father, yes. But Aurelian Gaunt was writing his own story, and he would only use his father to reach even greater heights.
With that thought, he resumed his walk down the hallway. The castle was calm, deserted for the holidays, and a storm was brewing in Aurelian's mind. The future was still in motion, now more than ever, and everyone had to be prepared.
The tall towers of Carrow Manor rose above the snowy fields, bathed in the pale light of the winter sun. Inside, the fire in the fireplace lit the rooms with a warm glow, but neither Hestia nor Flora seemed particularly interested in the luxury of their home. They were both in their room, sitting across from each other.
"I miss him..." Hestia murmured, playing with a strand of her hair as she held the snake-shaped necklace Aurelian had given them between her fingers. The tiny emeralds sparkled in the candlelight.
"Me too," Flora replied in an equally soft tone.
"I'm sure Father respects him," Flora said, lowering her voice. "Even if he doesn't say so openly, I know he considers him a potential ally."
Hestia clutched the necklace tightly, as if holding on to that object was the same as holding on to Aurelian.
"They don't understand," she whispered with a gleam in her eyes. "They don't know who he is to us."
Flora nodded. The two of them didn't need many words to understand each other. From the first day, from the first moment Aurelian had reached out his hand in that alley, they had known he was theirs. That no one else could take his place.
"Even so," Flora smiled, with a tenderness she only showed when they talked about him. "Don't you realize? We've changed too. Before, we thought of nothing else but being with him, but now... now we train, we study, we improve. Because we want to reach him."
Hestia was lost in thought. It was true. Aurelian was not only the object of their love and devotion, but also the spark that drove them to excel, to be something more. Every spell they practiced, every book they studied, was another step toward that goal. Not to fall behind, never to be a burden to him, and always to be by his side.
The main hall of Carrow Manor was elegant, with tall windows letting in the winter light and a huge portrait of their ancestors watching over them from the walls. The four of them were gathered around the long walnut table. Alaric Carrow, with his imposing bearing and deep voice, Selene Carrow, always elegant and sharp-eyed, and opposite them, Hestia and Flora, sitting with their hands clasped on the table as if they were one.
The silence did not last longer than necessary. Alaric set down his glass and looked at them seriously.
"Well," he said at last, his voice resonating with an authoritative tone, "I want you to tell me about Gaunt. What does he mean to you?"
Hestia and Flora just exchanged glances. It was a question they had been expecting.
"It's not just Gaunt for us, Father," Hestia replied calmly, her eyes shining with that possessive fire she made no attempt to hide. "It's Aurelian."
"Our Aurelian," added Flora, with a soft but dangerous smile, like a dagger wrapped in velvet. "We love him."
Alaric raised an eyebrow, but did not interrupt. He knew his daughters could be intense, and he had learned that it was not worth trying to change them; it was best just to accept them.
"So it's love?" he asked incredulously. "You just call him by his name?" he questioned.
"What else could we call him?" Hestia tilted her head. "We don't want anyone else."
"He chose us," Flora interjected, clutching the necklace that rested on her chest. "We chose him. Nothing can change that."
Selene, who had remained silent until now, spoke up. Her tone was softer than his husband's.
"Daughters..." she said, looking at them with a flash of maternal concern. "Is he really that important to you? Are you sure that what you feel isn't just a whim or a simple outburst?"
The twins looked at each other once more. In that shared glance there was tenderness, determination, and an intensity that often frightened those who didn't know them. Then they smiled in unison.
"Yes," they replied together, with absolute conviction.
Alaric interlaced his fingers on the table, his gaze lost in a spot in the room, as if observing a past that only he could see.
"That boy Gaunt..." he said in a grave voice, "For his age, he is someone strong. He reminds me of someone else..." He paused, the change in his tone becoming very evident. "He reminds me of my lord... Voldemort."
The name fell on the table like a thunderbolt.
"He was a true wizard," Alaric continued, his eyes shining with a mixture of respect and admiration. "Not like those who call themselves powerful today, who are nothing more than politicians hiding behind their laws and empty words. Voldemort walked wherever he wanted, and everyone feared him... I knew he was superior."
He leaned forward, his voice charged with passion as he spoke of his master.
"I remember seeing him raise his wand and, with a single movement, subdue three Invokers. How his presence filled the room, as if magic itself recognized him. He didn't need to shout. It was the air itself that obeyed him. What impressed me most," he paused, his face hardening, "was his vision. He would have purged this world of its weakness. He would have led us into an era where only the worthy would rule. That... if he was a true wizard."
Hestia and Flora remained silent, their hands tense on their robes. Their eyes met. Aurelian... the Aurelian they loved, whom they clung to with all their being, was the son of the same man their father revered as a god.
Alaric turned his head toward them, raising an eyebrow at their sudden change.
"What's that?" he asked suspiciously. "Why the sudden seriousness? A moment ago you were talking enthusiastically about Gaunt... now you're silent."
Selene watched them silently, her eyes narrowed. She had also noticed the change.
Hestia was the first to respond, though in a softer tone than usual.
"It's nothing, Father..."
Flora followed, her voice firm.
"We prefer to think about the future."
Alaric rested his elbows on the table and stared at them, as if trying to pierce through their words to find what they were hiding.
Selene, in a soft voice, tried to break the tension.
"Alaric... the girls don't want to discuss politics at the table."
He stared at his daughters with a barely perceptible smile, but a dangerous sparkle glinted in his eyes.
"You know what?" he said quietly, almost as if talking to himself. "Now that I think about it... there's something curious about all this."
Hestia and Flora tensed, but remained silent.
"Gaunt... descendant of Salazar Slytherin, like Lord Voldemort himself. Both gifted with Parseltongue..." His fingers tapped rapidly on the table.
Suddenly, Alaric's smile widened. A laugh burst from his throat, low at first, but growing louder with an echo that reverberated through the dining room.
"Ha, ha, ha, ha! By Merlin! How did I not see it before!" He slapped the table with his open palm, laughing like someone who had just unearthed a hidden secret. "Gaunt is strong...! He is strong because the blood of my lord... Lord Voldemort runs through his veins!"
Selene jumped up, alarmed.
"Alaric, calm down! You're going to scare the girls."
But Alaric wasn't listening to her. He kept laughing, a glint of madness visible in his eyes.
"Now I understand everything!" He leaned closer to Hestia and Flora. "You love him, don't you? Of course... he's the son of the most powerful wizard who ever lived!"
Hestia and Flora were bewildered by their father's sudden attitude, their hearts pounding. That he, who had worshipped Voldemort for years, now recognized in Aurelian... was a validation they themselves had never imagined.
Then Alaric, still smiling with a mixture of pride and obsession, uttered words that moved them even more.
"It's decided, they will marry him!"
The air grew heavier. Selene, her face contorted, tried to intervene.
"Alaric, stop! They're still children..."
"You don't understand, Selene!" Alaric roared, his gaze fixed on his daughters. "This is the work of fate. Lord Voldemort's son united with my daughters. A union that no force can break!"
Hestia and Flora looked at each other, incredulous at the turn of events. Their initial confusion soon turned into an almost unreal happiness. Their lips trembled, then they smiled with that possessive sweetness that characterized them.
"Marry... Aurelian?" whispered Flora, her face flushed.
"That means... we can be with him forever," added Hestia, her voice trembling with emotion.
Selene looked at them in bewilderment, unable to understand her daughters' radiant smiles.
"Father..." said Flora, barely holding back tears of happiness, "Of course we accept."
"Yes," confirmed Hestia firmly, squeezing her sister's hand. "Nothing could make us happier!"
Alaric's laughter gradually subsided until it became a murmur. He ran a hand over his face, regaining his composure.
"Of course... it won't be now," he said, his voice hoarse. "Listen to me carefully, my daughters. We will sign a contract of commitment. When you turn eighteen, They will marry Aurelian Gaunt."
The determination in his voice was ironclad, as if decreed by a higher power.
"It will be an unbreakable pact, the seal of the union between the Carrows and Lord Voldemort's heir," he whispered, his gaze lost for a moment, as if he were speaking to someone invisible. "My lord... you will see, your legacy will live on, and it will be stronger than ever..."
He turned suddenly, muttering incoherent words to himself about his "Lord" and the future that awaited him. He walked toward the dining room exit, still laughing softly, disappearing down the hallway.
Silence fell over the room. Selene followed him with her gaze, her tense lips betraying her frustration and resignation. She turned to Hestia and Flora, who still seemed to glow with barely contained joy.
She approached them slowly, with a gentleness unusual for her, and took their hands.
"Are you okay with that, girls?" she asked with a mixture of tenderness and concern.
The twins looked at each other and then smiled.
"Yes, Mother," said Flora, squeezing Selene's hand. "We've never been better."
"It's what we've always wanted," added Hestia, her eyes shining. "To be with him... forever."
Selene sighed deeply, unable to suppress the pang of incomprehension that pierced her heart. Even so, she gently caressed her daughters' cheeks.
"Sometimes I don't understand you..." she murmured sincerely, "but you are my daughters. And if this truly makes you happy... I will have to accept it."
Hestia and Flora hugged their mother with unusual tenderness. Selene closed her eyes, accepting it silently, while in the back of her mind echoed the shadow of Voldemort and his husband's dangerous obsession.
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