Mind Over Matter

The Thank You 'Howler'

CHAPTER FOUR

Hera felt that her day had been quite well spent after that, having absorbed the current library books and spent some time... enchanting and charming some things for the death eaters, and upon noticing that Snape was leaving the map, she excused herself from the common room to go up to bed. Changing fairly quickly and slipping into slumber.

Waking up on the other side being spooned did make her giggle just a little. It really seemed that the mindscape Tom either couldn't keep to himself or he had purposefully left his body like that when he left it earlier, as she had not felt him fall asleep at any point. Either option had her cackling slightly, the sap that he really was.

Flaring her magic slightly, she was quickly sucked into his body but chose to stay quiet for now, observing the meeting and wondering how long it would take either her to break her silence or him to notice her presence. Snape had been the last to arrive just as she was sliding in. Hedwig had a charm set on her that would let her know when to leave to deliver her packages based on when she fell 'asleep' and she was eagerly anticipating it. Nothing too extravagant really, but she had to admit to having been slightly bored.

It was a few minutes into the incredibly boring meeting and a report on Fudge's various debts when she felt Voldemort register a shift in the wards allowing an owl through, and the raised eyebrows across the room when Hedwig swooped down to perch on his knee like the fearless thing she was, causing sharp intakes across the hall. Many of them had obviously lost birds this way, but she likewise knew that many of them probably knew who Hedwig was as snowy owls were not particularly common and knew damn well that they could see the bright red envelope in her beak, most either not noticing or not caring about the package that Voldemort removed and resized.

"She wouldn't..." the unrestrained disbelief came straight from Snape. Voldemort merely hummed in audible amusement and she could feel his lips attempting to abort a smirk, merely twitching instead.

"Really Severus you should know Potter better than that by now, Of course she would" She could feel the quirked eyebrow as he opened the parcel only to register a couple of smaller packages with other peoples names on. Severus, Walden and Lucius. There was of course one for him as well but she had written Voldemort on it because as much as he hadn't complained about the use of Tom in the mindscape, she knew there was no way that she would get away with it in death eater company. It was pushing it enough to refer to him as Thomas in polite (nosy Hogwarts dwellers) company.

Before Snape could respond, the bright red envelope burst into life, Hedwig who was enjoying a little bit of a fussing from those long white fingers ruffled herself in a slightly disdainful manner. Her owl did not approve of this kind-of thing apparently. The envelope formed a rough paper approximation of her mouth in a sort of smug looking smirk.

"Good evening everyone, death eaters, Voldemort" she did take a little bit of vindictive pleasure when they all flinched. "I hope you're all doing well. As I'm sure you've heard through either the Hogwarts rumour mill or even just Severus there, I had originally planned on sending flowers as a thank you for taking great care of my lovely family, but I figured that you didn't get all that much time to play with them as you would have liked so I've done something else. Now as I am sure that Voldemort wouldn't have distributed my gifts yet, and has probably already screened them for pranks" A slight twitch was all the confirmation she needed that she had been correct and that is what he had used his wand for earlier "If you would, dear prophesied nemesis, hand out Lucius's first as his is a little bit different to the others"

With a slightly indignant rumble in his chest that only she probably noticed, due to currently inhabiting the body herself, he floated the little package over to Malfoy with barely a pause, and the blond looked quite stupefied by the idea that Voldemort would listen to Hera Potter in ANY situation. Boy was he going to be in for a shock. It made her wonder if anyone had noticed that at the same time she had become engaged, that a similar silver band had found its way around his wrist. Probably not, nobody looked at him even slightly sideways let alone took the time to inspect any aspect of his person. Well except her anyway, but she'd always been an oddball.