Capítulo 269: It's complicated...
At lunchtime, Oleandra and her parents returned to the Great Hall to eat. While Iris went to say hello to her old upperclassman Severus Snape, Maxwell went to greet his former head of House, Professor McGonagall, before returning to Oleandra's side in front of the teachers' table.
"I can't see Astoria anywhere," he said, scanning the Gryffindor table for his daughter. "Do you see her, Oleandra?"
"She's right there," Oleandra said, pointing her out. "You might not recognize her with the red hair."
Her father's eyes widened in surprise when he saw her. Apparently, Astoria didn't mention everything that happened to her in her letters to home.
"This had better not be your work," Maxwell said warningly. "Your mother keeps moaning about how your sister will never find a husband if she stays twelve for the rest of her life, and that she'll never get to see her grandchildren."
"Why do I always get blamed? Daphne did most of the work, anyway!" said Oleandra indignantly. "And I'm one hundred percent— well, I'm fairly certain that Astoria will keep ageing normally, and have a long and healthy life. We cured her of her blood malediction, I'll have you know!"
"Cured!? She does look lively enough…" exclaimed Maxwell. "Of course, we'll have to check with Healing professionals, but if this is true…"
And upon saying these words, he rushed to the Gryffindor table to check on his youngest daughter. Meanwhile, Iris had finished talking with Professor Snape, and had already returned to the Slytherin table. She was in the middle of a conversation with her favourite daughter.
"Ah, there you are," said Iris upon seeing Oleandra approaching the Slytherin table. "Severus was just telling me about how you keep dragging your sister into trouble."
Pansy and Millicent, who were sitting not far away, sniggered. Oleandra shot them both a withering glare, but it was difficult to be intimidating when your mother was in the middle of berating you.
"Are you listening to what I'm saying, Oleandra?" said Iris disapprovingly. "Look at me when I'm talking to you, young lady. When will you learn responsibility? You should learn from your sister's example, honestly."
"Yes, Mother," Oleandra said stiffly.
"She reminds me of my own human mother," Viviane remarked. "I suppose some things never change."
Oleandra was suddenly filled with cold rage. Why couldn't her mother be proud of what she had achieved, for once? She clearly wasn't a Squib, so why the difference in treatment? Astoria and Daphne had never had to deal with this!
"Mother, you can't blame everything on Oleandra," said Daphne uneasily. "I'm not a child any more, I can take responsibility for my own actions…"
"Hm…" said Iris, unconvinced. "If you say so, dear…"
What ensued was the most awkward lunch Oleandra ever had in her life. She didn't have much of an appetite anyway, so she excused herself early, with the pretext of wanting to get some last-minute training in. But as she made her way through the castle, her bottled up emotions began to erupt.
"What is wrong with that woman!" Oleandra shouted into the empty Quad Courtyard. "Even Father's come around, so why does she keep singling me out? I saved her life! I'm favourite to win the Triwizard Tournament! What more does she want out of me?"
Oleandra angrily kicked a blooming dandelion, scattering its seeds everywhere, before sneezing loudly. She remembered the happy faces of her parents when they had read her Hogwarts acceptance letter, so many years ago. If only she'd fully awakened her Mystic Eyes back then… Had her mother been happy for her, or had she been happy that she didn't have an embarrassment of a Squib daughter?
"Listen, Oleandra," said Viviane soothingly. "I can't pretend to completely understand the affairs of humans, but I think you've done the best anyone could ask of you. That being said, you should never forget that blood is thicker than water—"
"You're one to talk," Oleandra snapped. "Didn't you get murdered by your own sister? Spare me the lesson, Viviane. Between my parents and the friends I've made here, guess which ones have always treated me better?"
"Yes, Anna did kill me," admitted Viviane. "But that's not what I meant. Magic is passed through the blood; you share an unbreakable bond with your parents, no matter your relationship with them. This is a lesson I learned the hard way with my sister, and the humans she shared blood with."
"Of course, it's always got to be about you," said Oleandra viciously. "Only you could make this into a teaching moment."
Oleandra could tell that she had hurt Viviane's feelings, but at that moment, she really couldn't care less.
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In the end, Oleandra never returned to the Great Hall for the evening feast that preceded the final task, electing instead to sit on the gravel beach next to the Black Lake. She didn't care that as a champion, she'd be expected to attend; the last thing she wanted to see was her mother's face.
Ironically, after Daphne's and Astoria's transformations, Oleandra was the only one left among Iris's daughters who still truly resembled her. Oleandra was the very image of her mother when she'd been younger, and from old pictures of her grandmother and great-grandmother on her mother's side, it seemed that this had been the case for all female members of the Greengrass lineage. No wonder their family had the structure of a matriarchy— the blood of their primogenitor ran thick in the veins of the female members of the family.
Upon spotting her reflection in the lake, Oleandra extended her foot and angrily kicked the water, breaking the reflection and sending water splashing everywhere.
"You okay, Oleandra?" a voice behind her said. "I thought you might be hungry, so I brought you a little something to eat…"
"Oh, it's you, Trace," said Oleandra, leaning back to look behind her. "How'd you know to find me here?"
Tracey sat down next to Oleandra and removed the cloth napkin from the bread basket she had nicked from her table, revealing a few chicken legs, carrot sticks and slices of white bread.
"You always like to sneak glances at the Black Lake when you think nobody's looking," said Tracey, handing her a roast chicken leg. "You always have, so I thought you might be here. Do you want me to leave you alone?"
Oleandra shook her head, feeling thankful for Tracey's thoughtfulness, and together they sat there in silence, listening to the waves gently wash over the cobbles as they ate. Once Oleandra finished the last of her food, she leaned against Tracey and rested her head against her shoulder. Surprised, Tracey tensed up momentarily, before relaxing and tilting her own head to meet Oleandra's.
The sun was setting, and the shadows cast from the castle were slowly extending over the lake. Oleandra closed her eyes and allowed herself a brief moment of blissful respite from her thoughts. Darkness was falling over the world, the sun's glow replaced by gently twinkling stars in the firmament.
"Do you hear that?" said Tracey suddenly. "From the castle…"
A clamour had arisen from the castle's direction; people were streaming out of the Entrance Hall and onto the castle grounds.
"The third task is going to start soon," said Oleandra grimly, as she rose to her feet. "We'd better get going."
Status de energia semanal
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