Her husband had not been home for days, which at first made her wonder if he wished for a divorce, but he had not taken anything with him. No clothes, no money, no anything. However, this did not make her worried then; it made her petrified, truly petrified.
The weeks had dragged on and she was trying her best to keep her fears from her daughters, who were highly suspicious – especially the eldest. It was hard not to be when you were home schooled and your father was nowhere to be found. It was a good thing that the youngest got into the American academy so she only had to worry about one child.
“Where is he?” the eldest daughter finally asked one day.
The mother looked up at her. For so long she had kept it quiet, but for some reason, her instincts were telling her to reveal her thoughts to her daughter at this moment. Perhaps her instincts were right.
“I don’t know, Demetra.” She began to cry. “I don’t know.”
Demetra’s expression slowly turned to one of sorrow as she watched her mother sobbing into her hands. It couldn’t be true. He wasn’t missing. If it was true, it only meant one thing
“Mother, did he leave an envelope?”
Her mother looked up. “What’s the importance of that?”
“Everything. Mother, Dad left something behind, in an envelope, with the intention of passing it on. Not to me.”
Her mother’s eyes widened. Was this the secret that was hidden for far too long? If so, why would he want to give it to his youngest daughter? Perhaps with Demetra’s condition he did not want to make life any harder for her. Then why not leave it to his wife? For so long she was loyal to him, so why would he not trust her?
“Demetra, what was in the envelope?”
“I don’t know. Nevertheless, maybe that is why he has gone – Mum, do not cry anymore. Listen to me. We have to hide it. Hide it from her. Or at least cover up what’s inside it.”
“We don’t know where it is,” her mother protested, standing up. “And even if we did, this thing must be so scandalous that your father has been taken away. I don’t know about you, but that isn’t exactly an appealing reason to read it.”
“True. However, we can still hide it. If nobody can find the envelope, it would be impossible to pass on.”
Demetra’s mother nodded, grateful for Demetra’s strength and wise decisions. Suddenly she was flooded with guilt for leaving her daughter in exile from the outside world. She was not pure human, but there was still some inside her. Moreover, she was not the monster that her mother thought she might turn out to be.
“Mum?” asked Demetra’s younger sister, sitting on the stairs.
“Darling, go back to sleep.”
“What is this all about? Is this about where Dad is?”
Both Demetra and her mother looked forward, refusing to look in the inquisitive eyes of the young girl. The strength in them was too powerful to face.
“Actually, we were having a discussion about us moving back to England.”
“What?” the girl demanded. “Why?”
“Well,” began Demetra, not sure what to say. Suddenly, an idea popped into her head. “The school has decided that perhaps you aren’t the right pupil. Your behaviour is not to the standards they wish it to be.”
“Stuck-up gits,” her sister sniffed.
“Yes, indeed. Now go back to bed darling.”
“Why can’t I be part of the discussion? What is it that you’re not telling me?”
“If we told you, it would lose the whole purpose of not telling you.”
“What Mum meant to say,” interrupted Demetra, not sure about what her mother was saying, “is that it’s a surprise. Now go upstairs or you’ll never get it.”
“I’m not five, Demmi. I know very well that’s a load of –”
“Don’t swear!”
“Well don’t keep secrets, Mother, and maybe we can cooperate.”
The house was silent for the rest of the night. After Demetra and her mother discussed the plans, they finally understood what it was they had to do.
“It’s for her, Mum.”
Demetra’s mother gave a nod, not sure whether she believed that statement and went up to bed. When her mother was out of sight, Demetra really started to panic.
I shouldn’t have read it. Dad’s been taken away, and they’ll take me next – if they know that I have read it. What if they come for her anyway, even if they hadn’t known that she was unable to inherit the letter? But what can I –
Demetra’s thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the gravel crunching outside. Demetra first tried to convince herself that she was hearing things, that her nerves were making her paranoid. But soon she heard a knock on the door and then a bang.
“Sorry about this,” the witch said with a smirk plastered on her face. “I know I’m a little late but I thought I’d come to pay a visit.”
Demetra was about to run, but she was too late.
“Stupefy!”
For that moment, Demetra’s whole body was paralysed. Eventually, she could move her mouth and she muttered, almost inaudibly, “Help.”
“Oh, darling, I put a Sleeping Charm on them all upstairs. Even if you brought in an entire symphony orchestra they wouldn’t be able to wake up.”
“Don’t hurt her.”
“I won’t if she is nice and tells me what I want to know.”
“She doesn’t know anything.”
“But he passed it on to her. I know that envelope; it should have gone to me. But my grandfather wasn’t too keen on my intentions.”
“It’s hidden.”
“Where?”
“I don’t know.”
“Crucio!”
Demetra’s body flung back against the wall and she gave an agonising scream to reflect her pain. The witch came closer to her and pulled her up, so that her midnight blue eyes burned into Demetra’s. “I think you do. Tell me or you, and eventually this entire household, will be dead.”
“You can’t find it without us. We’re the only ones who know where it is.”
“You make a valid point,” the witch started to ponder, sitting on the armchair. “I do need you to find it.”
“The information in it is too dear to just search for it.”
“How would you know? Unless…”
Demetra now realised the huge flaw in her persuasion.
“Unless you know,” finished the witch.
“I don’t.”
“You’re lying.”
“You can’t use the information in it anyway. It has nothing to do with plans, but people.”
“Which people?”
“I won’t say.”
“Crucio! Which people?”
“You’ll … never … get … it … out of –”
“Crucio! One more time and you will be dead. Tell me now! Which people?”
“Go on then. I will never utter the name.”
“Avada Kedavara!”
And the room fell silent but it was soon interrupted by the witch’s cackle.
“Doesn’t she know that she didn’t die for a cause? She died putting everyone else in danger,” the witch said in a singsong voice.
However, the shock came about when the witch went upstairs to find that the two remaining family members in the house had disappeared. It meant that either they both or just one of them managed to wake from the charm. Either that or it did not affect them at all. Then, to her own surprise, she smiled. “Hide while you can, little girl. I’m coming for you.”