To be a Slytherin

Part 22

"Mother, Father, I'm home!" Hecate's voice rang through the house. Moments later, footsteps echoed down the hallway to her left. She looked over to see her adoptive mother approaching.

"Hecate, darling. How was your first term?" The woman engulfed the girl in a hug, and the ten-year-old reluctantly hugged her back.

"It was...an experience. And an interesting one. Shall I tell you about it over dinner?" At her mother's acknowledgment, she pulled out of the hug. "In that case, I will go freshen up. Alice!" Hecate called.

A house-elf popped into existence in front of her. "Yeses ma'am?"

"Draw me a bath. I will be up soon," the ravenette commanded. The house elf bowed and disappeared. "If you'll excuse me, mother." At her mother's nod, she began up the stairs in the direction of her room.

When the heiress opened the door to her room, she frowned at what she saw. There, on her bed, sat the egg. How it had gotten there, she did not know. She had left it at Durmstrang. So what was it doing on her bed?

She summoned a pair of gloves and slipped them on before approaching the egg once more. She picked it up. It was still warm enough that she could feel the heat through the gloves. She turned it in her hands. It seemed different somehow.

She glanced down and saw a note on the bed. She set the egg down on a different area of her bed and picked up the note.

Lady Potter-Volkov-Slytherin,
It has come to our attention that you disregarded our previous note, so we will say it again. This egg needs care and protection. You are the best person to take care of it, so we have left this to you. Consider it an act of goodwill between yourself and our people. If you ignore this again, we will be most displeased.
Sincerely,
Huxley, Head of the Department for the Well-being of all Magical Creatures.

Hecate sighed. She wasn't quite sure how to handle this. Clearly, she couldn't just ignore it again, but was she just supposed to take it to Viktor's house with her? Let an unknown magical creature of some sort hatch and possibly run rampant in her friend's living space? That would go over well.

She frowned. "Alice. Would you attempt to find out what type of creature this egg might belong to? I need to know if it is safe to take with me on our trip for Yule." At the house elf's appearance and nod, Hecate's face returned to its neutral state, and she went to go get her bath.

***

"I do believes it is a basilisk egg." Hecate paused at Alice's words.

"I thought that basilisk eggs were supposed to be cool to the touch. Is that incorrect? If so, I will need to reassess the accuracy of my books on magical creatures."

The small creature tilted her head. "That is the interesting part. The egg is a far warmers temperature than any eggs for any creatures I could finds, other than a dragon, and it is too smalls to be a dragon egg."

The Heiress raised her eyebrows. "I see. So, is it safe to take with me to Viktor's house?" The house elf nodded. "Thank you, Alice. That will be all for now. Go get some rest." Within the next blink of an eye, the elf was gone. Hecate finished getting ready for dinner and descended the stairs to meet her adoptive parents.

"Hecate!" Her adoptive father boomed. "I have missed you, daughter!"

Hecate chuckled at his enthusiasm. Though they hadn't known each other for very long, the man had clearly come to truly see her as his daughter. "I missed you too, Father. I hope you have been well?"

The man beamed at her. "I have! Are you enjoying yourself at Durmstrang? I do so miss my alma mater..."

As Hecate moved to her seat, she responded. "I am. The school year is going much as I expected. They're weaker than I anticipated, though. It is honestly a bit disappointing to witness. None of them have decent fighting skills," she sighed.

Lady Volkov frowned at her words. "They provide you no challenge? That is indeed disappointing to hear. Back in our day, all of us were well trained in every kind of magic and every fighting style they could find for us."

"I think it may just be that my magic is that much stronger than theirs. As you know, I have no need for my wand. Honestly, it makes it more difficult to manipulate my magic. Do most wizards and witches have troubles with that?" Both of her parents simply stared at her. "What?" she inquired, just before the realization hit her. Her eyes widened slightly. "They don't, do they?"

Her mother shook her head slightly. "Wands were developed to provide an easier way to cast magic. The fact that it makes it harder for you...that's unheard of. It makes me wonder..." At that moment, a house elf popped into the room with a panicked look in its eyes.

"Lulu, what is it?" Lord Volkov asked, immediately going on guard.

The elf, Lulu, swallowed hard. "Dumbledydoor is here. He bes out by the gate." The Volkov family tensed.

"Does he know that Hecate is here?" Lady volkov demanded.

"I's not sure, Mistress."

"Hecate, have you unpacked yet?" At the nod, Lord Volkov frowned. "Have Alice pack your things back up and send them to Krum Manor. Floo there immediately."

"Yes, Father." The Heiress stood and hurried out of the room and back to her quarters. As soon as she heard the door close behind her, she called for the House Elf. "Alice." The elf popped into the room. "Repack my bags and send them to Krum Manor. I'm taking the egg and going there now. Follow as soon as you can."

Alice nodded, and Hecate grabbed the egg off of her bed, using her magic to protect herself from its heat. She used a sheet to tie it to her front, then pinched out a bit of floo powder and tossed it into her fire. "Krum Manor!" she called out. The flames turned green, and she stepped through to her friend's house.