"Miss (y/n)!!! I am so, so, so very proud of you!!!" Mildred exclaimed as she dried the tears from her eyes. "Oh, Merlin! I still cannot believe you have graduated!"
"Mildred please, you're being too loud," Claude cleared his throat, side-eyeing the maid as he pushed your trolley down platform 9 ¾.
"Don't be so cold, Claude." She frowned at the tall man. "It feels like only yesterday that we were sending miss (y/n) off to her first year at Hogwarts, I can't help but feel nostalgic. We've watched her grow up, after all."
You quietly listened as the maid and the butler bickered between themselves, and a smile tugged at your lips. Both of them had raised you in your parents' steed. Claude and Mildred were your biggest parental figures, and hearing them reminiscence about the past with you made you happy.
"Miss (y/n)?" Claude took you out of your thoughts as he opened the door of a carriage disguised as a Muggle car.
"Sorry, were you saying something?" You looked up at him before boarding the backseat behind Mildred and him.
"It's nothing, miss. I was just informing you about the situation at the Estate so you can be ready when we arrive," he said as the car took off and turned back to its original form before becoming invisible and soaring into the sky.
"Ready?" you repeated with a small gulp. "Is there something I should be ready for?"
"Nothing grand. It's just that you've always had a habit of asking to know the occurrences of the Estate beforehand." Claude looked over his seat with a small reassuring smile. "Mr. and Mrs. are both at the Estate awaiting your arrival."
"Oh, they're there..."
Mildred placed her hand on your shoulder and squeezed it slightly. "You have nothing to worry about, miss. They've requested your presence in the tea room upon your arrival."
Some of the stress was relieved as you heard the location. You had grown accustomed to the patterns that your parents had whenever they wished to discuss with you. Meeting in the tea room meant the chances of it being a leisure talk were high.
The carriage went silent, and it prevailed for the duration of the flight back to the Estate. You stared out the window, looking at the large and dark manor surrounded by acres of forested land.
The (l/n) Estate, the bitter home you dreaded to return to every end of the year had a different feel to it now. Maybe it was because you had graduated and you wouldn't be under the authority of your parents for much longer, but it didn't feel as horrible to see.
Claude held the large black doors of the manor open as you entered the large welcoming hall with Mildred following behind with your luggage. "Miss (y/n), please follow me," another butler called out to you with a slight bow. "Mr. and Mrs. are expecting you."
You followed behind the butler in silence, mindlessly walking through the halls in a direction you knew by heart. He stood at the door of the tea room and pushed it open for you, bowing once again as you walked in.
Light shining through the large window illuminated the tea room. It was as you'd remembered it. With barely any furniture safe for the three dark green couches facing the table in the center. In those couches, your parents sat in their usual space: your father on the arm seat and your mother on one of the two cabriole couches.
Without a word, you sat on the couch opposite of her and took your designated tea cup, waiting for one of them to speak up. You didn't like how the silence built-up tension, but it seemed to be something your parents were exceptionally good at.
"(Y/n)." Your father finally spoke.
"Yes, father?"
"Your mother and I, we're proud of you." He said before taking a sip from his cup. "Congratulations on graduating Hogwarts."
You raised your gaze with a slight gasp. Those were words you had never heard from them before, and you never expected to hear them at all. You knew you accomplished great things at your age, everyone else praised you for them, except your parents. It made you feel as though they saw it as the bare minimum you could do, so them saying that was out of the ordinary.
"Ah- thank you," you cleared your throat, noticing you had been gawking.
"We've heard your plans about joining the Ministry's Department of Magical Law Enforcement," your mother added as she stirred her cup. "I can put in a word for you with Bartemius Crouch Sr."
"That would be appreciated." You nodded, raising your head to look at both of them in the eye rather than your feet. "Though I'd like getting in through my own efforts."
"Recommending you to the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement is not foul play, (y/n). You are naive if you think you can get everything by trying hard," she sighed. "In life, when an opportunity such as this presents itself, you take it if you want to reap results."
"Listen to your mother." Your father nodded in agreement. "We have connections to the Ministry. Connections you can use. During this time of war, it is difficult enough to join the Ministry of Magic, so think about how it must be for the wizarding high court of law; almost impossible. You'd be capable enough on your own, but your objectives could be reached much faster if you use your influence as an (l/n)."
They had a point. For a long time, you had disliked a lot of the methods your family used to grow their influence, wealth, and power in the wizarding world. But now that you would have to navigate in the reality that wasn't shielded by Hogwarts, it started to make sense.
"...Alright." You gave in with a slight sigh. "The recruitment process begins in August."
"Perfect, that gives you time to accommodate for different matters." Your father stood up alongside your mother. "Follow us, (y/n)."
You did as he said with little hesitation, keeping up with their quick walking pace as they headed to the highest floor of the house. There was only one place that the large hallway of the last floor led to: the family treasury chamber.
Why here..? You pondered as you stood near the door of the room, looking all around at the countless amount of artifacts.
Your mother rummaged through the cabinets of the lavish desk in the center of the treasury chamber before taking out a small box that was heavily decorated in gemstones with the family crest in the middle. She opened it and took the content inside, which dangled from her fingers.
"Mother... that is-"
"-The (l/n)'s family heirloom." She finished your sentence. "The pendant belonging to the head of the house that has been passed down the generations of our family since the times of the Baron; the ghost of Slytherin. Now, it's time to follow its tradition and pass it onto you, the heir of our family."
"Pass it onto me?" you repeated as you advanced towards her. "But I- I'm not the head of the house."
"Your mother and I are retiring overseas to create a new enterprise." your father said. "We are entrusting you to uphold our household here in England, where our family was born. Hence, the pendant rightfully belongs to you now."
The parents that had neglected you all your life had now praised your accomplishments and deemed you worthy enough to step down and allow you to be head of the (l/n) household in the span of an hour. It was quite a bittersweet and overwhelming feeling.
You slowly bowed your head forward, allowing your mother to slip the pendant around your neck. Even though it was heavily decorated with small precious stones and a golden snake that surrounded it, the heirloom didn't weigh as much as you thought. Though at the same time, what it represented caused an excessive amount of strain on your shoulders.
"Hold your head high, (y/n)," your mother instructed as the three of you left the treasury. "Having that heirloom is a reminder that you must not cower in front of anyone. Remember that."
"I shall," you replied in a way that you had never used with your parents. It was a tone of authority.
The doors of the Estate were open, revealing a carriage waiting for your parents in the front courtyard. You followed them to the end of the welcome hall, observing as they boarded the horse-less coach.
"Oh (y/n), have you thought about marriage? Strengthening the bonds with another powerful family is a good start as the new head," your mother asked, peeking out of her carriage's window.
"That'll not be considered in my plans as head of the house... I'm dating Sirius Black, after all," you announced before closing the large doors of the Estate, barely giving any time to see the look of shock and surprise on your parents' faces.
You leaned against the closed door as you could contain a smirk no longer. Effortlessly saying that to your parents had felt good. It had felt powerful. They couldn't say anything against the decisions you took, because hierarchically, you were now above them.
Walking down the large and empty welcome hall, you looked at the details around you with more attention than you ever had before. This manor was yours. You would be in control, you would sit at the far end of the dining table.
Reaching the grand staircase, you stopped to stare at the large painting of your parents and a younger you with a small frown. Yeah, I'm definitely changing this for one of myself only, you hummed as you continued your way up the stairs.
Now that the thoughts of being the head of the house sunk in, you realized the feeling of loneliness that came with it. The Estate was huge, definitely too big for one person and the staff; that was decreased with the departure of your parents. The dark demeanor and large empty land around it made it seem even quieter and emptier.
You grazed the handrail of the staircase, staring back at the large doors of the Estate. Had it always been this desolated? When was the last time a friend had walked through those doors? For you, that had been years ago, when you were but a child that followed Lucius Malfoy around.
"I'll be fine." You shook your head, grabbing onto the family heirloom as you held your head high as your mother had said. "Claude, gather the personnel. Say the new head of the household demands for the Estate to undergo numerous changes, starting with the horrendous painting behind me!"
☆☆☆AUTHOR NOTE☆☆☆
This is it, the chapter that concludes the Hogwarts storyline.
I didn't really imagine how this phase of the story would be. I guess part of me never thought I'd ever reach this point in The Project either. I'm really glad I did, though. This story has allowed me to explore writing and my creativity, and it's been great all along (safe for the writer's block. Those are terrible)
I'm excited to continue onto the next steps of this story, as I've adopted a more mature writing style and interest over the long journey that this story took me on. I've been looking forward to starting a new, clean page for The Project, and now is finally the time to do so.
Thank you to everyone who's reading this. It might feel superficial, but it means a lot to me to see that people read and enjoy my work. I really love seeing everyone's comments and thoughts. (You guys have a superior sense of humor fr)
I've decided to keep this as short as possible enough to express my gratitude to everyone for following this story as it goes along. Tysm <3
-Camille
(P.s, go check out the surprise I have for you in the next update)