The light of the rising sun illuminates Aurora's room as she gets ready.
She is wearing her favourite black velvet dress, pearl earrings and the necklace her mother gave her when she was a child.
The cat is on the bed, playing with a small ball of wool and meowing.
The girl then picks up the iron mask lying on the table and sighs as she looks at her reflection in the mirror.
Aurora: Remember, you have to do this to honour your family. ....
She whispers, repeating the words of her brother and uncle.
Someone knocks at the door.
Aurora's POV
Me: Come in
I say, lowering my mask, my aunt entering cautiously, the door ajar as I straighten the folds of my dress and try to tie up my hair.
Narcissa: Sit down, let me do it for you, sweetheart.
I sit down and she starts to comb my hair; she and I don't talk much, there's no need, we often communicate with our gaze and that's all that's needed, in my opinion.
Narcissa is like a mother to me and I know that to her my brother and I are like her children.
Narcissa: You are very beautiful, Rory....
Me: Thank you.
She ties two strands of my hair with a green ribbon and then puts her hand on my shoulder and I do the same, squeezing it.
Me: It'll be all right, the Dark Lord will be reborn and...
Narcissa: The Dark Lord returning among us is not good, my dear, it only means there will be another war...
I see her look in the mirror, her eyes sparkling, then I stand up and hug her.
I know she hates hugs, but this time I feel her arms around me.
Me: We'll be fine, me, Draco and Mattheo will be fine, I promise.
Narcissa: Someone I cared about said the same thing before he went on a suicide mission for the Dark Lord and never came back...
She was talking about her cousin Regulus Black, who was a year older than Mattheo when he disappeared.
Narcissa: All I ask is that you be careful.
My brother's voice echoes from downstairs, calling me. Narcissa looks at her watch.
Narcissa: It's time for you to go.
We walk down the stairs, Mattheo waiting with his arms crossed.
My aunt slowly approaches him and gives him a tentative kiss on the forehead.
Narcissa: You already know you can't dematerialise inside the school. Someone will be waiting to let you in and give you a pass.
This will take you to the cemetery.
Me: I still don't understand why we can't dematerialise directly in the cemetery.
Mattheo: Don't ask questions, just follow orders, I look at him with a raised eyebrow, ever since he found out he was going to be a Death Eater, my brother has been questionable at best.
Narcissa hands me the cloak and looks at Mattheo.
Narcissa: Look after her
He nods his head and gives me his hand.
Mattheo: Ready
Me: Yes
I look at him one last time before I see his silhouette shrink and then disappear.
We land in front of a gate, I grab my brother's sleeve as I feel my head turn.
Me: I hate that...
Mattheo: Tell me about it
I look at him, surprised by his words, he notices and composes himself.
Mattheo: Don't look at me like that!
Me: Sorry, sorry
In the distance we see a rather stout, limping man coming towards the entrance.
Spontaneously I pull out my wand and recognise Alastor Moody, the Auror Draco described in his letters.
Mattheo: Put the wand down, Rory.
Me: But Theo...
Mattheo: He's one of us.
Me: Big brother, he's an Auror, he's not one of "us", he sends Death Eaters straight to Azkaban!
Mattheo: That's Barty Crouch Jr. stuffed with Polyjuice Potion, but it's him.
The man opens the gate and tells us to hurry
Barty: The guards won't be gone for long, so hurry.
He waves for us to follow him, we hear a lot of shouting and music.
We hide behind a low wall and Barty pulls out a box with a mask inside.
Barty: The Master wore this when he was a boy.
Mattheo starts to take it, but is stopped abruptly.
Barty: This is your idiot pass, it will be yours when you're a Death Eater! It will be yours when you are a Death Eater!
Then he grabs my sleeve and rips it with a knife, then lifts my arm and sniffs at it.
Mattheo and I look at each other in confusion.
I pull back in disgust and the man straightens up, the magic eye moving. The mask starts to shake.
Barty: It's time!
Both Mattheo and I grab it and suddenly we are dematerialised again, but this time I can see everything; even worse!
We roll to the ground, almost hitting my head on a ... cauldron. My brother helps me up and fixes my hair.
Me: Thank you.
He smiles.
Mattheo's POV
My sister looks at me and in her eyes I see the scared little me again.
I am about to reassure her when footsteps behind us make me turn around and as soon as I see a snake accompanied by a familiar person I put my hand in front of her to protect her.
Peter M: B... well, who do we have here...
She approaches us and looks at me very closely.
Peter: An o...now grown up Mattheo and .... my dear ... I haven't had the pleasure of meeting you.
Aurora doesn't answer and looks at me.
Me: She is my sister Aurora
Tom: Bring me the one who will give her blood, bring me my daughter!
The man beckons us into an illuminated crypt, approaches a chair and takes a bundle in his arms.
I feel my sister flinch slightly as the man shows us the hideous creature wrapped inside.
inside.
Me: Father?
Tom: My little boy
says a voice in my head, making me and Aurora shiver.
The snake slithers between Aurora's legs and says something I can barely make out, almost hissing.
A faint smile appears on my father's face.
Tom: The girl speaks snake language....
says the voice in my head. I turn to her with a questioning look; I had no idea she could speak it.
A noise outside the crypt attracts our attention.
Peter: Master, he is arrived...
Tom: Take me to him Wormtail, take the girl too... but make her wear the massssk...
He nods and takes my sister by the arm, who rebels.
Aurora: I can do it myself!
She says, putting on the mask and disappearing behind Wormtail. I follow them, staying hidden.
Aurora's Pov
Two boys, drenched in sweat and as dirty as I don't know what, look at us.
One of them then falls to the ground moaning, Harry Potter, I recognise him from the scar I can see under his thick brown hair.
The other boy I don't know, but he's very cute, maybe Cedric Diggory...
Cedric: Who are you?! What do you want?!
He says, pointing his wand at us.
Tom: Kill him!
Peter: Avada Kedavra!
The wand emits a green light that envelops the boy, I freeze as I see the helpless body lying on the ground; I have never seen a person killed before... this is horrible...
Harry: No! Cedric! No!
Wormtail runs over to Harry Potter and lifts him up into the Angel's clutches.
Tom: It's time! Do it now!
The man then approaches the red-hot cauldron and throws my father into it.
Peter: Father's bones, donated without consent....
He floats a piece of skeleton, which catches fire in the white substance.
Peter: Servant's flesh, sacrificed with consent....
Under my horrified gaze, he cuts his hand and I touch my stomach, looking behind me for my brother's gaze, which I do not find...
Peter: Daughter's blood donated with consent...
Before I could say anything, he came closer and cut my arm with the knife.
The blood flowed like a waterfall into the cauldron, which immediately turned red. A tear of pain runs down my face and I bite my lip to keep from making a sound.
Peter: And blood of the enemy, taken by force!
He approaches Potter and does the same to him as he did to me, only the amount of blood is less. With difficulty I remove my arm from the cauldron and make my way to the crypt.
I almost pass out just behind a pillar, but Theo grabs me and pulls me inside.
Mattheo: He really did a good job.... He made it.
He tears off a piece of my cloak and bandages my wound, then pulls two Mu sweets out of his pocket.
Mattheo: Here... these will help you, you can't show any weakness right now... ....
I nod and take off my mask while eating the two sweets....