Tʜᴇ Dᴀʀᴋ Lᴏʀᴅ's Aɴɢᴇʟ | Tom Riddle √

127: A Family Reunion

Cassiopeia's eyes fluttered open, and she squinted at the bright light. She quickly shielded her eyes from it, finding it uncomfortable. Slowly, she got up and looked around, trying to determine her location.

Is it heaven?

Her gaze fell on the bed she was lying on, covered in emerald green. She furrowed her brows and looked around, recognizing that she was in her father's room.

But how?

She rested her palm on her forehead, trying to make sense of the situation. Cassiopeia approached the door and opened it to go downstairs. Her grandmother's portrait was there, but it remained still, merely a picture.

What's happening?

As she went downstairs, she realized that no one was there. How had she ended up here? A multitude of questions raced through her mind, each one creating new tangles, until she heard a familiar voice.

"Darling," her mother's voice echoed in the empty house. Cassiopeia turned around to see her mother. She looked just as beautiful as she had in the Pensieve, her smile widening as she opened her arms to Cassiopeia.

Without a second thought, Cassiopeia ran to her, hugging her tightly. They were the same height, and her mother was young, just like her. Her mother rubbed her back soothingly as tears of joy streamed down Cassiopeia's cheeks.

"I never thought I could hold you like this, my love," her mother kissed her forehead, and Cassiopeia couldn't stop smiling. "You are extremely beautiful."

Her mother cupped her face, wiping away her tears with her thumbs. Cassiopeia never thought she would meet them. It felt like paradise with her mother.

"Are you not going to show my daughter, Vivi?" Cassiopeia's father's voice made her eyes widen. She looked beyond her mother's shoulder to see her handsome father standing there.

He's really handsome, she thought, even more so than Tom.

He approached her, patting her on the head with a smile. Cassiopeia was afraid of what he would say, thinking he might be disappointed in her for not living up to his expectations.

"I'm proud of you, Cassiopeia," her father grinned, taking her into a tight embrace. "You proved that every human's life is worth the same and worth saving."

"I thought you were ashamed of me because of what I did to the Dark Lord," she paused, pulling away from her father. "I made him mortal, but not in the way you expected."

"Sometimes, we cannot change what fate has written for us, Cassie," her father said, bending down to her eye level and tapping her nose while smiling. "But your actions saved many lives. Do you think fighting against the Dark Lord is easy? You cannot even imagine how many lives would have been destroyed, even those of your schoolmates and professors."

"I know, right," Cassiopeia sighed, looking down. "But where am I?"

"You're in my ancestral home," her father chuckled. "I think there's someone here to meet you."

Brows furrowed, Cassiopeia focused on what was behind her when her father stepped aside to reveal a man. He looked strangely familiar, with a slight beard and raven hair just like hers. He smiled at her as she gave him a quizzical look.

"Brax," Cassiopeia gulped, watching him beam as she uttered his name. "No, it can't be."

She shook her head, but he chuckled. "Finally, I could meet you after my death. Never thought it would take this long."

"I'm sorry," Cassiopeia walked up to him. "I never thought you had—"

"Shhh, that's alright," he reassured her, holding her upper arm. "I see you're happy with your person."

"Do you see it like that?" Cassiopeia frowned. "He's just fu—"

Braxton Lestrange quickly placed his palm on her mouth. She scowled, trying to remove his hand.

"That's not good to use bad words in front of your parents, my dear sister," he shook his head, and Cassiopeia rolled her eyes. "Never thought you had an important place in your heart for me."

"Why?" Cassiopeia asked when he took his hand away.

"Because, you see here whom you love the most," he patted her cheek. "And I wanted to tell you that, though I told you I was waiting to get rid of you, it isn't true. I really felt bad when you left us because I couldn't even express how much I love my one and only sister."

"That's alright," Cassiopeia grinned, trying to lighten the mood. "Everyone loves me. I can understand."

"Still the same," he playfully slapped the side of her head, and she squirmed in pain. "Never learned a lesson, did you?"

"Nonsense," Cassiopeia rolled her eyes before turning to her parents who were looking at them amusingly. "Actually, am I in a paradise or something?"

"How could you even think of a paradise when you lied to almost everyone in Hogwarts?" Lestrange remarked breathlessly. "You can come to hell with me."

"You're going to get on your sister's nerves," Vivien shook her head, smiling. "You are in between life and death, darling. You can still return to life or enter the afterlife."

"You guys will stay with me in the afterlife?" Cassiopeia asked as they nodded. "Oh wow."

"But there are people who wait for you, Cassie," Regulus stated. "There are people who love you and care for you."

"Don't give a heartbreak to Malfoy like what you gave to me, Cass," Braxton rested his hands on her shoulders from behind. "There's nothing worse than the fact of thinking you lost your sister because of your own faults."

"But, you are not the reason for my death, Brax," she turned to him. "It was Abraxas's fault, not yours."

"But I could have done something before he did such a thing," his face clouded with complete sorrow. "I couldn't protect my sister as a brother."

"Did I say that?" Cassiopeia frowned, hitting his upper arm. "I never said such a thing. I was lucky to have a brother like you."

"Were you two always like this? Quarreling?" Regulus chuckled as both of them nodded in unison. "So what are you going to do, Cassie?"

"I'm thinking," Cassiopeia sighed. "I have fulfilled my word to uncle and auntie that I will never make Draco a killer. And if I come with you, he would not be able to bear that he was the one who sent a killing curse on me. But why didn't I die still?"

"Because your boyfriend's dark charms were in your soul, silly," Braxton Lestrange explained. "Draco could kill the dark piece of your soul, not your complete soul. But you can still decide what you want to choose."

"Your ultimate love is waiting for you too," Vivien chuckled as Cassiopeia looked down. He doesn't love her anymore; she thought. "He will kill everyone if you don't return. Even though he's a powerful wizard, he won't be able to go through the same loss once again, knowing that he was partly involved with what happened to you."

Then it clicked in her mind, what he had said before she closed her eyes.

" Do something, Dumbledore, or I will unleash destruction upon the world."

"Complicated," Cassiopeia rubbed her face with both her hands. "I think I've decided what I want to do."

A/N

Hey, don't hate me for leaving you guys with a cliffhangers :)

Anyway, we are in the end of the story and there are four more chapters and Epilogue.

This will be the last Author Note after chapters, because after Epilogue I have a story tell you... and for that also I'm leaving cliffhanger here :)

Hope you will enjoy the next five chapters as you enjoyed upto now.

Love y'all n stay safe <3

~ monoceros_x 🦄