eden ➡ james f. potter

06: drugs.

Cecilia's next lesson came to her when she was nine years old. It wasn't the first time her parents and her brothers had gone out and left the girl home alone with the warning that she should stay inside. However, unlike the other times, this time, the girl had let her overwhelming curiosity get the better of her.

She was not to treat those inferior to her like they were her equals.

As she pulled back the dark drapes that prevented the sun's rays from entering the house, Cecilia squinted. Outside was bright, very bright, and it was something she was not used to.

Cecilia peeked outside her window and it seemed to her that there was nothing there. All she could see for miles was the forest that surrounded her house, separating her from the people that could possibly be living around her.

It was boredom and an unrelenting curiosity that made the girl slip on her shoes that day and tiptoe out of her house. She had become a master of sneaking around the manor as she often stayed up late at night, venturing to the library to read.

The girl stepped outside and closed the door behind her. She stood on the front steps of the house for a few moments, letting the sunlight warm her, before she took off with a great speed down the hill. Cecilia didn't know where she was going but she knew that wherever she ended up, it would be an adventure. One that she would definitely remember.

She wasn't wrong; she would never forget that day.

Not too long after, the girl had stumbled upon a small house. She wondered why she hadn't been able to see it from her room, but then she noticed that it was so short that it was hidden by the trees. In front of the house, there were three children (that she had deduced to be siblings) playing. There were two girls, twins, that seemed to be a bit younger than her while the other one, a boy, seemed around her age. However, that wasn't what caught her attention. What caught her attention was that they were smiling brightly as they ran around the yard, tossing dried up leaves at each other.

Though Cecilia had brothers of her own, she never had an experience like that. If she and her brothers were to interact, they would be stoic towards her; just like her father. She never knew caring brothers, but she had learnt to adapt to that.

"Are you okay?" one of the girls asked as they approached her. She nodded her head, outstretching her hand (as her parents taught her to do) as she introduced herself, "My name is Cecilia."

The girl smiled and her smile was big as she grasped Cecilia's hand and pulled her into a hug before releasing her, "My name is Ella and this is my twin sister, Elena."

The boy soon joined them, a boy who she would still call her best friend up to this day, "My name is Elliot. Would you like to play with us?"

Cecilia accepted and her face broke out in a grin. The quartet played until the day had started to turn into dusk and then the Lestrange girl bid them farewell.

"You'll come back tomorrow?" Elliot asked, his tone hopeful as the girl was hugged by them all. She was never one for physical contact (well, it was more that she never received any kind of physical contact that wasn't a punishment) but she welcomed their embraces as they gave her a warm feeling in her chest that she never felt at home.

The girl walked back up the hill, her heart pumping at the prospect of having made friends. However, when she saw what was waiting for her on her front doorstep, it was as if her heart froze, making her blood run cold.

"Rolling around in dirt with those disgusting creatures!" Hyperion shouted behind her as he shoved her inside the house. Cecilia slammed into the wall of the hallway, her head throbbing where he had yanked her hair. He loomed over her, his face as inscrutable as ever, but his hands were shaking in rage. The man took a deep breath and shook his head.