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Harry Potter and all of its characters belong to J.K. Rowling.
I own nothing but the original characters I create.
"Dialogue"
'Thoughts'
-Author notes-
Chapter 279: The Parkinsons' Fate
One week after the end of the school term.
"Ahh, I can't take it anymore!"
"Calm down, Pansy. I know how you feel, but we must be patient…" Lady Parkinson sighed again.
It had been two weeks since her husband had pulled her daughter from school in a rush, even though there was only one week left to finish, and asked them to stay at the main family manor.
Pansy had to tell her friends that she was going on an early vacation, even when she had no idea what was going on.
"But Mom! How long is this going to take? I can't even contact my friends! What about my plans for the summer?" Pansy had been patient enough during the first days, but after her father had continued to deny her any explanation about why she had to stay locked at home, she was beginning to lose her mind. "Martha!" Pansy called, but no one answered. "Where is the maid?"
"Oh… I'm not sure. She hasn't answered my calls all morning." Aurora Parkinson made a worried expression. "I'm sure your father had her occupied with something." Lord Parkinson only allowed a few selected servants to work at their main manor. But recently, he had sent them all away, except for the Head Maid, Martha, who was left to take care of the meals and some basic cleaning.
"And when is he coming back?" Pansy asked. He didn't return last night as usual.
Lady Parkinson glanced down at the table. "I'm sure… he will be here soon."
Pansy threw her mother a look of suspicion. "Do you know what is going on? Is there some sort of crisis at the Ministry?"
"I'm not sure, Pansy… your father will give us some explanation, have some patience, please." What she just told her daughter wasn't exactly a lie. She did not know what could have happened now that her husband was so paranoid about it.
Of course, she wasn't oblivious to her husband's darker side or his past as a follower of the Dark Lord. She even agreed with many of their points, even if she didn't like their violent methods.
After the disappearance of Lord Voldemort, she had hoped that her husband would take it as a chance to make things right, to leave behind that dark side of his.
Everything seemed to be going great, until a few years back, when her husband became more secretive and quiet… like he was back then…
Everything became worse when he was declared Minister of Magic. She saw him become surrounded by questionable individuals like Walden McNair, Antonin Dolohov, and even Yaxley after this one came out of prison.
Aurora was sure that her husband did not become Minister without doing something illegal or immoral, but he would not tell her about it. Instead, he would be constantly having secret meetings with those who followed him closely… it almost reminded her of what the Dark Lord used to do.
Wanting to shake away those thoughts, Aurora looked around the dining hall. Her eyes moved to the large grandfather clock on the side. "It's getting a bit late, maybe I should begin to prepare something for dinner."
Pansy almost jumped at hearing this. "You want to cook?!"
Lady Parkinson began to laugh when she saw her daughter's reaction. "You know, I used to bake when you were little."
"I don't remember that… Martha is the one who prepares all our meals. Father says that the kitchen is no place for people of our status." Pansy recalled hearing that many times before.
"Yes, he does say that." And that is why she didn't cook often. "But back in my house, I was taught that a noble lady should know their way around the kitchen… and the bedroom." She gave Pansy a playful wink.
"Mom!" Pansy became clearly embarrassed.
"Come on, you can keep me company." She stood up from her chair. "And maybe you'll learn something."
"I don't want to learn to cook. That's what servants are for." Pansy huffed.
"It won't hurt you to learn a few basic things. Maybe one day, you will use those skills to make someone happy." Aurora gave her daughter a side glance and saw her mood change. "Speaking of… how are things going with that boy?… Potter, was it?"
"Well…" Pansy looked at the ground. "We haven't spoken in a while."
"Is this because of what happened that day?" Aurora knew about how those Slytherin seniors tried to use her daughter to lure Potter into Hogsmeade and attack him. She had a good talk with their parents after that, but she wished her husband had done something more, for once. "That was not your fault."
"Harry said that too… but I should never have gone along with those boys! I should have warned Harry earlier…"
"See? He understands. I have only met Mister Potter very briefly, but he seemed like a very mature boy for his age." Lady Parkinson smiled.
"It's not just that. I'm sure that Daphne also likes him…" Pansy said with a depressed tone.
"Greengrass?" Aurora lifted an eyebrow. She was fairly familiar with Lady Greengrass; she was one of the most beautiful women she knew, and for the few occasions where she spotted her eldest daughter, it appeared that she had inherited much from her mother. "Well… a bit of competition won't hurt you."
"Competition?" Pansy looked confused. She never had to compete for anything before.
"You are all still very young. You will have plenty of time to conquer Mister Potter next year. I'll give you some tips!" She suggested.
Pansy's mood seemed to improve after that. "Really? Like what?"
"Mmm… let me think…"
At that moment, they heard the fireplace become ablaze with green flames.
"Dad is here!" Pansy exclaimed.
"How odd… he normally uses the floo from his studio." Aurora stared at the green flames and saw the figure of her husband emerge from it.
But she immediately realized that something was wrong when she saw his face.
"Get your things, we have to leave!" Lord Parkinson screamed, his expression contorted with fear.
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