Closer To The Stars || Fred Weasley

23. It's All Up To You

Lorette ran downstairs, trying to be as quiet as possible seeing as the rest of the house was still asleep. She couldn't help but yelp when she ran straight into Fred's chest.

"Oh Fred! I'm sorry!" she said quickly. "Wait- what are you doing awake?" she asked, suddenly realizing how early it was. Fred was not a morning person, if he had it his way, he wouldn't get out of bed until much past noon. Usually though, he would be the last one up, around seven-thirty or eight in the morning.

"I wanted to see you off. Wanted to make sure you were okay." he said shyly.

Lorette smiled and blushed at his words. He had gotten up early...for her? "Thank you." she said. "That was very sweet of you."

"You look great. It'll definitely win over the ministry people." Fred said.

"I don't think its what I wear that will exactly win them over." Lorette joked.

"What time will your mum be here?" Fred asked.

"Uh-" she said, checking over his shoulder to see the clock. "Pretty soon, actually, she said she'd be here by seven."

"Mm. You want some toast? I made some." he asked, offering Lorette a plate.

"Yes, thank you. I'm starving." she said eagerly as she took a bite out of bread.

"Aria?" The dreadful woman's voice came from the living room.

"Hello mother." Lorette said, walking into the living room with Fred.

"Oh, Fred, hello." Amira said, noticing Fred was awake. "It's quite early for you to be awake, isn't it?"

"I'll be going back to bed soon." he said, smiling.

"Very well. Aria and I will be back in a couple of hours." Amira said, taking hold of Lorette's arm.

"See you soon." Lorette said as they apparated out of the living room.

They appeared in front of a door that read "Rhea Nickleworth" in big bold letters.

"Who's Rhea Nickleworth?" Lorette asked as she read door.

"The kind woman who will be helping you with your maturing phase." Amira said. "Let's go." she whispered, pushing the door open.

Inside, a beautiful tall and slender woman with shining silver hair, pale skin, like ceramic, and bright blue eyes sat in a chair. Her office was decorated in wonderful shades of yellow and she was dressed in a beautiful green dress and black pointed-toe heels. Her hair was loose with curls at the end, perfectly framing her face.

She looked up from her paperwork and smiled widely at the sight of Amira and Lorette. "MiMi!" the woman squealed and she shot up from her desk to hug Amira.

"ReRe!" Amira smiled and hugged the woman back. "How have you been?" Amira asked. Her smile was genuine, her voice was genuine. Amira wasn't being cold or bitter or dry the way she usually was, she was genuinely excited to see this Rhea Nickleworth.

"Oh I've been magnificent! And how have you been?" Rhea asked eagerly.

"Very well myself, thank you." Amira smiled. "Rhea, I want you to meet my second daughter, Lorette." it was strange to hear Amira say call Lorette by her first name not her middle name.

"Very nice to meet you Lorette!" Rhea said, offering her hand to Lorette.

Lorette shook Rhea's hand and smiled. "You too! But please, call me Lory."

Rhea nodded. "So, you're here for the beginning?" she asked.

"Yes, she is." Amira answered for Lorette. "Lorette just turned sixteen on Sunday."

"Well, happy belated birthday!" Rhea shouted.

Lorette managed to mouth a quick "thank you" before Rhea turned back to her desk and pulled out a file with Lorette's name on it.

"Please sit down." Rhea said politely. "Now, as you know, now that you've turned sixteen you have begun to mature as a veela. This means your powers will become stronger and your appearance will begin to change. Obviously, you won't be as strong as your mother and I, but considering you come from two very pure families, you are much stronger than the average veela half breed. Which means, you'll have more training and studying to do." she explained.

"Being a veela in today's wizarding society- even muggle society- is a struggle. There will be people who disapprove of you and others who wish to be you or to be with you. Now, you can choose to alter your appearance like your mother has done, or you can choose to keep it like I have. Along with your hair and skin tone, your eyes may change, most likely they'll turn green like your mothers, but they might be blue, even grey if there's a recessive trait in your blood." Rhea continued

"Over the course of the next year, you will be studying on veelas and our history. The ministry has provided you with a list of books and passages you will need to read in order to pass your test next year. If you are not financially stable enough to buy these books, the ministry can make a few arrangements. You will also be training as often as possible to learn how to use your powers. If you are to fail your exam next April, which I doubt you will, you will retake it the following April, if you fail again you will continue to retake the exam until you pass, if you never pass then you will be put on a special list that is for savage veelas who may be a danger to society. After you pass, you will take an oath swearing that you will not use your powers for evil and that you won't manipulate people et cetera. If you pass your exam, you will be granted full usage of your veela powers and it will go on your resume. Keep in mind that it is very important for your future employers to know that you have passed your veela exams and are 'certified' per say." Rhea said. "Any questions?"

Lorette shook her head as shock coursed through her body. She had never given it much thought to how important this was. How dangerous veelas could be, or how dangerous they were considered.

"Great! I'll see you next April for your VEELA exams!" Rhea said.

Lorette nodded, still in shock, and gave her a painful smile. Amira gave her friend a warm thanks and turned to the door.

Before Lorette had reached the door Rhea said, "Lory, how you choose to lead your life as veela can be beneficial or lethal. It's all up to you. Please don't undermine this test, it will quite literally set your future." Lorette nodded once again. "Have a nice day. Amira, it was good to see you." Rhea smiled.

Lorette walked out with her mother and once the door was closed, they apparated out of the ministry.

Once they were back at the Burrow, Amira gave Lorette a quick goodbye and left.

Lorette walked out to the garden and sat down on the bench. She stared at a particular flower, a purple lily. Lorette smiled at the flower, imagining that Lily was with her along the way of this...odd journey Lorette was about to take.

She kept replaying what Rhea had told her.

How you choose to lead your life as veela can be beneficial or lethal. It's all up to you.

It's all up to her.

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