August | Hermione Granger x OFC

Prologue

CW: some abuse ♡━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━♡

"The one with the power to See,

Born to those who served him,

Born as the first month dies,

The Dark Lord will wish to mark her,

The Chosen One will need her in order to succeed,

Her choice will determine our fate..."

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1986

"You mean to say that—"

"I'm telling you; she saw it! She's a bloody Seer, Eloise!"

"She knew there would be raids today?"

"Yes!"

They stared at their five-year-old who was too busy batting away her personal house elf to notice one parent's dismay and the other's excitement. Being a Seer could be dangerous. They were exceedingly rare and would be hunted down. Sure, the Dark Lord was gone for now, but they knew it was only a matter of time. Zenith was one of His most trusted, after all. He would be back. It wasn't a question of if, but rather, when. Zenith was excited, Eloise was not.

"Come on, Winnie! Be a good house elf! Five more minutes!" the girl demanded.

"Winnie is a good house elf, she is! This is why Miss Robby must haves her bath, she must!"

The girl gasped dramatically. "But-but- I'm almost finished this chapter on centaurs! Did you know they can look up to the sky and see the future? I wonder what I'm doing there!" she smirked suddenly, "what do you think, Winnie?"

"Ah, Winnie thinks Miss Robby will be..." the elf trailed off. "No, no! Winnie thinks Miss Robby shoulds be getting in the bath at once! And then, bedtimes!"

"But Lloyd and Dylan—"

"—Are older than you," a deep voice interrupted the back-and-forth. "Which means they can stay up later. Do as Winnie says," Zenith spoke plainly, allowing no room for argument. And, as usual, none came. The girl would never dream of defying him.

"Yes, Father."

The girl and her elf hurried upstairs as Zenith and Eloise stared after them.

"How cunning of her, trying to distract Winnie like that. She's a shoo-in for Slytherin, no?" he looked to his wife.

She laughed. They had had this discussion before. "Perhaps," she agreed reluctantly. "But think about it; she was distracting Winnie so she could stay up to learn more. Sounds rather... Ravenclaw-esque, if you ask me," she raised her eyebrows at him.

"No," he deadpanned. "Rosiers have been in Slytherin for centuries. Not to mention the Selwyns." He flicked her blonde hair with his finger, then grinned. "She's a Seer..." the conversation suddenly turned serious.

"Well, it has been a long while since the last one in your family, hasn't it?"

"If a hundred years is a long time, then yes," he said slowly. "She will prove most useful to the Dark Lord—"

"No. This is our daughter we're talking about, not some random Muggle off the street."

"Before I am a father, I am a Death Eater," he said blankly.

Eloise scoffed loudly. She was hurt and gobsmacked at the same time. She knew her husband could be rather... extreme in his beliefs, but this was crossing a line.

"How can you say that? Family should come first!" she exclaimed. "No, this is too much... you can't—"

He shot out his hand faster than she could finish her sentence and grabbed her wrist, squeezing painfully. With a rough tug, he pulled her into his front and looked down at her. He had a good eight inches on her and used it to his advantage.

"You dare question me in my own house?" he spat. "I am in charge here. I decide what happens to our children; and I decide that Robyn will serve the Dark Lord—"

"But He's—"

"—When He returns," he finished angrily.

"A-And what if she refuses?" Eloise asked quietly. "She's nice. She plays with the elves and makes daisy chains for them. She likes learning about animals, wants her own kneazle..."

"Enough," his voice was dangerous. "She will not refuse; I will make sure of it." He paused, then, "We have been too soft on her. But that will change, and she will learn. No one denies the Dark Lord and lives. If He finds out about her, and He will, she will have no choice. We might as well make it something to look forward to, don't you agree?" he brought her wrist up and forced her to caress his face.

She swallowed heavily with tears in her eyes before saying: "You make it sound like a holiday of some sort."

He ignored her. "Don't you agree?" with every word he squeezed tighter. She looked down and offered no reply, to which he laughed humourlessly. "I think you've had too much wine tonight, darling. Why don't you head to bed?" it was stated as a question, but he was not asking nor suggesting, he was commanding. And she knew her place, so she acquiesced. He leaned heavily against the wall and proceeded to watch his older two who were colouring quietly at the table across the room. The two of them quickly looked away as he caught their eye. Good. It would do them well to be afraid of him. That silly Muggle philosopher was right; it is much safer to be feared than loved.

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