The week passed by in a flash for Lorette. In the blink of an eye, it was Thursday morning and tomorrow, she would be going to the ministry with her mother to begin her...veela life.
"So...mother told me you'll be going to the ministry tomorrow." Lucia said while she prepared for bed.
"Mhm." Lorette responded as she put toothpaste on her toothbrush.
"What time will you be leaving?" Lucia asked, brushing her hair while counting under her breath.
"Early." Lorette said between brushes. "Around seven."
"Are you nervous?" Lucia asked. "582...583..." she continued.
"Are you seriously brushing your hair one thousand times?" Lorette laughed, avoiding the question.
"Yes. Now answer my question." Lucia replied.
"Terrified." Lorette responded, rinsing her toothbrush.
An awkward silence fell between the two sisters, Lorette could hear Lucia's counting.
"My hair has begun to turn white." Lucia said quietly. "Have I told you?"
"N-No. No you didn't tell me." Lorette responded. "When?"
"About a month after I turned sixteen. But mother taught me the spell to keep my hair brown." Lucia said. "My skin is turning paler too. I decided no to use the tanner, but mother says I have to."
"Why?"
"She said it's a disgrace. For a wizard and veela to mate like they did and have...disgraceful half-breeds like us."
"She said that?!"
"It doesn't really matter. It was mother who bewitched father and lead to this 'disgrace'"
"Why does she hate us so much?"
"I don't think she hates us, I think she hates herself." Lucia said calmly, setting her brush down on the sink counter and admiring her reflection. "For falling in love and making 'impure' babies... And for not hating her impure babies for being impure. I think she loves us and she hates herself for it."
The two girls stared at themselves in the mirror for a few seconds before Lucia turned to Lorette.
"It's getting late, you should go to bed. You have an early morning tomorrow."
"Will you-"
"I'll tell the others, I'll make up some excuse. Don't worry."
"Thank you." Lorette sighed, walking out of the bathroom and to Ginny's room.
Lucia seemed so unfazed by her new changes and maturing. But Lorette swore she could've heard Lucia silently sob as she walked out of the bathroom.
...
The next morning, Lorette was awoken by Lucia, who told her it was already six-twenty and there wouldn't be much time to get ready.
Lorette rushed into the bathroom, quickly taking off her pajamas and jumping into the shower. Her mother had always made it important for her children to look their best, no matter where they were going. And so dressing up for an occasion was one of Lorette's bad habits.
She jumped out of the shower and rushed to put her clothes on; a short white dress with a flowy skirt. Her hair was still wet and so she barged into Lucas's room.
"Luke! Luke! Wake up! I need you to dry my hair!" she pleaded, shaking her brother awake.
Lucas, who was still half asleep, quickly grabbed his wand and muttered a spell to dry Lorette's hair before falling back to sleep. Lorette whispered "thank you" and rushed out of the room, careful not to wake up anyone. She put her hair up with a big pink clip that contrasted beautifully against her dark hair.
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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