The Winter Holiday - Millicent Bulstrode (3)
At the end of the conversation with both of them, I didn't really know what to do. I had so many things to ask them, especially about how it all started and such, but I knew they had too much to think about at the moment.
I don't know if I completely ruined their moment, it was their end of the year celebration, but I needed to have that conversation.
With the promise that they would do everything they could to verify my information and help me with my goal, I left the two alone and returned to my room.
Meditating I could feel that the balancing moment was getting closer and closer, in the next few days I would achieve my goal, but that didn't take away the fact that it was a boring task, but it was something necessary for what I wanted.
The night of the 28th must have been troubled for my mother and aunt Selene, they didn't even participate in dinner, my father was in a bad mood as expected, even a little more so due to their absence at the table.
I could only imagine what was going through his head.
He could probably be thinking that they were so wrapped up in each other that they forgot about dinner, or that they don't respect him enough to not participate in the 'event'.
All I felt from him was hostility, something I could somewhat understand. He was in a sham marriage that no longer existed even on paper, but by his choice together with my mother they decided that he would continue to live here. They live in separate rooms, but I still remember when I was little and my father tried every now and then to get into my mother's room, which ended up in huge fights to the point where they almost pulled out their wands.
My mother more than once used force against him, once even leaving him bedridden for a day even after a matron from St. Mungo's visited him.
I knew my father had a short fuse, but unfortunately he couldn't compare to a Bulstrode when it came to physicality.
My mother is taller than me and I feel like she must have more strength than me too, she was raised around other branches of the family, at least when she wasn't at Hogwarts. Putting together a Bulstrode group is the same as arranging a tournament, after the first few words they start to fight, one of the reasons my mother always made a point of not participating in family gatherings.
Even though we are the main branch of the family, my mother has cousins who share the same blood as her and do not accept the fact that she is the Matriarch. She needed to put them in their place to guarantee her supremacy once and for all.
How could I not see all of this and only now was I able to reflect on everything that happened?
Me opening my eyes to my mother and Aunt Selene's relationship seems to have opened the doors for me to identify new things about my past.
Only now, I finally understood why my father never gave me any gifts. Not for a birthday, not for Christmas, never. My father is not a good person. This is a reality that I didn't even consider for a long time even when I understood the real meaning of being a Deatheater, I didn't want to believe that my father was someone bad, that he... never loved me.
This realization was a big blow.
All these thoughts made my father look at me strangely at the table.
"What's the matter with you girl?" – he asked rudely.
I swallowed hard, how many years since he really said my name? At least 10?
"Nothing dad. Just thinking about the homework I need to do for school." – I said, trying to sound sincere.
He snorted.
"In my day we went to Hogwarts at age 11 and now you are worried about what homework a child should do. This world is becoming more and more decadent." – he grumbled dissatisfiedly.
I couldn't help but cringe listening to his words.
As far as I know, the curriculum has not been reformed much, but the standards we need to achieve are much higher than those of the previous era.
I finished eating and retired to the room.
I was having too many thoughts to be able to meditate, I knew I needed it, but I wasn't in condition to.
I continued reviewing my memories and each time I became more certain that everything that had happened and was about to happen were within Kai's deductions.
Even the fact that Pansy was still after Draco. He paid just enough attention to her that she didn't give up, but in reality he wasn't kind or thought of her as a love interest. He treated her more like a helper who could be useful.
It pained me to remember the day she broke our friendship because I reminded her that Aunt Selene didn't like him.
With all this I decided to sleep, my head needed rest.
Aunt Selene left the next day and with that I thought for the first time if I should really call her aunt...
My mother didn't come to me to talk that day, she locked herself in the office and started sending several letters by owl.
I concentrated to meditate from then on.
On the 31st we had a simple dinner with my mother and father not saying anything during dinner. I could see her looking at him with different eyes than before.
On New Year's morning I woke up and started meditating.
Right before breakfast something clicked inside me.
I had done it.
I opened my eyes taking a deep breath.
I was one step closer.
I couldn't hide the smile on my face when I went to have breakfast.
My mother, seeing how I was doing, raised a curious eyebrow.
"Did something happen Mil?" – she asked.
I smiled at her without being able to contain myself.
"I have finished the preparations." – I said being careful.
I didn't want to say more than I should.
It took a while for my mother to understand, but she was soon surprised.
"How long will it take?" – she asked.
"Three days, one a day." – I replied.
She nodded.
"Tomorrow." – she declared in a firm tone.
This was a decision that I couldn't change her mind, at that moment she had made a decision and would put it into practice.
I nodded.
When my father arrived for breakfast my mother looked at him with eyes of determination.
I swallowed hard, she discovered something.
When we finished eating, my mother looked up at my father.
"Goboldo, put your wand on the table and follow me to the office." – she demanded in an imperative tone.
My father looked up at her almost fuming.
When he went to pull out his wand, my mother already had hers in her hand.
He knew she could handle him.
"Mil, go to your room and only come out when I tell you to." – added my mother.
I took a deep breath and got up from the table.
Looking at the two of them, I walked away, walking backwards. My hand on my wand in case anything happens.
When I was almost out of the dining room my father finally placed his wand on the table and stood up, I could see that he wanted to attack, I could feel the air around him. Even though he didn't think highly of me, he knew that if he attacked my mother I would interfere and if he attacked me it would be an opening for her to attack him.
When I got to my room, I could hear the office door closing.
I released all the air from my lungs.
I was so happy, but in the end the day ended up becoming stressful at the beginning.
I spent most of the morning in my room waiting for my mother to show up.
Lunch was near when she finally knocked on my door.
I got out of bed to open the door and found my mother with a stressed expression.
"Your father is not coming back to this house." – she said, clearly tired.
"Did you discover something?" – I asked a little nervously.
"He has been missing work, your uncle Felicius too, as well as others. Everyone missed work at the same time." – she said.
I swallowed hard, knowing and confirming are two different things.
I nodded understanding what she said.
My mother smiled and stroked my hair, showing affection.
"I'm going to go get Selene now, I sent an owl to get her things ready." – she said, channeling all the energy that was left in her body.
I hugged her on impulse and I could see her freeze for a moment, until she hugged me back.
My mother had made a difficult decision, without definitive proof, all because she believed in me.
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