HP: The Son of Tom

Hogsmeade Station was shrouded in a light mist that slowly dissipated under the June sun. Hogwarts students walked among the bustle of the platform, dragging trunks, accompanied by pets in cages or restless owls flapping their wings.

The Hogwarts Express waited with its doors open, emitting soft clouds of steam that whistled rhythmically. The train, bright red with gold details, looked almost like a living creature, ready to devour the students' last breath and take with it the stories that had taken place within its walls.

Aurelian walked calmly along the platform, observing the faces of his first-year classmates. Cedric said goodbye to some boys from his house with a smile. Fred and George Weasley, meanwhile, were already sitting on a bench next to Lee Jordan, laughing as they discussed a list of "great moments of the year." When Cedric saw Aurelian, he approached him with his usual serenity.

"Hey," he said, adjusting his trunk. "Looks like I'll be seeing you in London. I thought... well, maybe you'd prefer to be accompanied by your... friends," he said with a diplomatic smile, glancing quickly at the two girls standing next to Aurelian.

Hestia and Flora were standing next to him as always. Their Slytherin robes fluttered in the breeze, both wearing serene expressions. Hestia kept her hands folded in her lap, while Flora twirled her wand slightly between her fingers.

"Yes," Aurelian replied in a friendly tone, "We'll chat later on the train."

Cedric nodded. He said no more. The way the twins looked at him, making no effort to hide their displeasure at his interruption, was enough to make it clear that they didn't want him there.

As Aurelian and the Carrows boarded the train, Fred called out from the bench:

"Remember to bring us ideas for more mischief, Aurelian! This summer we have to plan the next great Hogwarts legend!"

Aurelian allowed himself a slight smile and raised his hand in farewell. As he boarded the train, he felt Hestia and Flora's eyes immediately fix on him. It was as if they were not only escorting him, but marking their territory with every step.

"First or last car?" he asked, breaking the silence.

"One far away," said Flora in a soft voice, "where no one will disturb us."

"Where we can be at peace..." added Hestia, "with you."

Aurelian nodded and let them guide him. They found an empty compartment near the back of the train, with the curtains drawn and a peaceful atmosphere created by the sun shining through the window. Aurelian placed his trunk on the overhead rack and sank into the seat by the window. The twins sat directly across from him.

The train's wheels creaked under the rails, marking the slow pace of the school year's farewell. Inside the compartment, the evening light tinged the curtains with gold and bathed the faces of the three occupants.

Aurelian gazed out the window in silence, lost in thought, while Hestia and Flora watched him with a devotion they barely tried to hide. Their eyes followed him, as if every word he uttered deserved to be memorized.

"When you saved us in the alley..." Flora broke the silence, her voice soft, "no one else would have done that for us. No one saw us the way you did."

"It was nothing," Aurelian replied, without taking his eyes off the landscape. "It was the right thing to do."

"For you, maybe," said Hestia, leaning slightly toward him. "For us, it was everything."

Aurelian slowly turned his head, his gray eyes meeting those of the twins. For a moment, he thought of saying something evasive, something neutral. But he understood that the Carrows were no ordinary girls. There was loneliness in them. Silent wounds they had learned to hide behind soft smiles and intense gazes.

"No one should feel lonely," he finally said, his tone warmer. "As long as I'm around, I won't let anyone hurt you."

As soon as he finished speaking, a spark seemed to ignite between the twins.

Hestia straightened up and her pupils shone with a deep intensity, as if an oath had been sealed at that moment.

Flora clasped her hands in her lap, but her fingers trembled slightly, as if she were holding something precious. Her smile, once discreet, became more possessive.

"Do you promise?" Hestia asked, her voice barely a whisper, but full of emotion.

"I promise," Aurelian assured them.

The two nodded at the same time. They were no longer just grateful girls. That moment had changed them. Something had taken root in their hearts in a profound way.

"Then... never leave us," Flora said innocently, though her eyes screamed otherwise. "Because we won't let you go."

Aurelian felt a slight chill. He had spoken those words sincerely, but now he understood that for them, it was much more than just a phrase.

It wasn't gratitude. It was something else.

He looked out the window again. The sky was darkening. Summer was coming. The next school year was still far away. But he knew that from now on, two presences would always walk beside him... or behind him.

The constant rattling of the Hogwarts Express filled the compartment with a murmur. Aurelian slept peacefully by the window, his serene face bathed in the golden light of the sunset filtering through the glass. One of his hands rested on his lap and the other hung slightly from the seat.

Hestia watched him with a calmness that hid a flood of emotions. Every detail of his face—his long eyelashes, the slight movement of his chest as he breathed, the corners of his relaxed lips—was a reminder to her of the promise he had made to them before.

"As long as I'm around, I won't let anyone hurt you," she thought.

Those words had not been lost in the noise of the carriage or the bustle of the corridors. No, those words had sunk like roots into her soul. Hestia could feel them engraved on her chest, like a burning mark. An oath. A bond.

"You heard him, didn't you?" she whispered, without taking her eyes off Aurelian.

Flora, sitting across from her, nodded very slowly, as if the slightest movement might break the moment.

"He said it... from the heart," she murmured. Her fingers fiddled with the edge of her tunic, her gaze also fixed on the sleeping boy. "No one had ever spoken to us like that. Never. At least not truly."

"Not parents, not teachers, not anyone," Hestia continued with a hint of tenderness she rarely showed. Her voice grew warmer. "He saw us. Not like others see us. Not as just another pair of Carrows. He looked at us as if we were important to him."

"And we are, aren't we?" Flora asked in a whisper, unsure for just a moment.

Hestia took her hand firmly.

"We are, and if we're not... we will be," she promised.

Both fell silent for a few seconds, simply gazing at the boy sleeping peacefully in front of them. Aurelian Gaunt, with a sharp mind and hidden power, but to them he was their hero.

"I want to protect him too," Flora said suddenly, lowering her voice even more. "I don't just want to be protected."

"Me too..." Hestia squeezed her sister's hand gently. "To be his allies, his refuge. The only ones... in his life."

The train continued on its way, unperturbed. But in that compartment, something had changed forever.

The twins no longer saw Aurelian as just their savior. Now they saw him as someone who had given them a reason to live in this world. A reason to feel. To love. 

In their minds, the love that was growing for him was not fleeting or weak. It was absolute. Silent for now... but as deep as the roots of the forbidden forest.

"We won't let anyone else have it," said Flora, almost without realizing she was saying it out loud.

"Never," said Hestia with a sinister sweetness that only her sister understood.

Then Aurelian stirred slightly. His eyes fluttered a little, still heavy with sleep.

The twins sat up straight again, smiling at him with their usual delicacy.

"Did you sleep well?" asked Flora in an angelic voice.

"Yes... I think so," he replied, stretching. Then, seeing their smiles, he raised an eyebrow, amused. "Is something wrong?"

"Nothing at all," they said in unison, as if they hadn't just had a conversation that sealed a silent pact between them.

Aurelian had slept peacefully. They had watched over him. At that moment, they knew: the destiny they had longed for had already begun to unfold.

________

The whistle of the Hogwarts Express sounded loudly as the train slowed down, approaching King's Cross station. The hustle and bustle returned with intensity: students unloading suitcases, voices mingling, and the creaking of metal against the rails.

Aurelian stepped off the train with a calm stride. The London air had that familiar smell of damp stone and smoke. In the distance, he saw Cedric getting off with a smile, the Weasley twins joking with Lee Jordan, carrying their suitcases chaotically, as was their style.

"See you, Aurelian!" Cedric shouted, raising a hand. "Write to me if you get bored of studying."

"And if not, too!" added one of the twins with a laugh.

"Happy holidays!" added the other.

Aurelian nodded, smiling at them. He had grown fond of them more than he had expected. They were a breath of fresh air among so many masks, even for someone like him.

When his friends disappeared into the crowd, he felt a presence on either side of him.

"Are you going to forget us?" Flora asked in a soft but meaningful voice.

"We don't plan on forgetting you," added Hestia, with a serene smile and an intensity in her gaze.

Aurelian turned his head, recognizing in them that something... beyond ordinary affection. But there was something comforting in their enthusiasm.

"I won't forget you," he replied honestly.

The twins exchanged a quick, almost imperceptible glance, as if they had won something important.

"Can we write to you?" asked Flora.

"Of course," said Aurelian as he took out a small piece of parchment and wrote with his pen without hesitation. "This is the address where you can send your owls."

He handed it to Hestia, who received it as if it were a valuable relic.

"So... you have a mansion," she murmured, her eyes sparkling with barely contained excitement.

"Please don't tell anyone," Aurelian added with a crooked smile. "I'd rather keep it a secret for now."

"Of course," they replied in unison.

Then, without asking permission, Hestia hugged him. It was quick, as if she didn't want to make him uncomfortable. Flora offered him a playful little bow, with a sweetness that hid the devotion that pulsed within her.

"We'll see you soon," she said.

"Don't take too long to reply to our letters," added Hestia with a wink.

Aurelian said goodbye with one last look before turning to head for the station exit, carrying his trunk. As he walked away, he couldn't help thinking that those two... were anything but ordinary.

The twins, for their part, stood watching as he disappeared into the crowd.

"The Gaunt Mansion...?" murmured Flora, clutching the parchment to her chest. "He has entrusted us with something precious."

"It's already part of us," said Hestia in a soft voice, but with a determination that needed no volume to be heard. "And we'll never let anyone take it away from us."

They both smiled. They had planted their place in Aurelian's heart, even if it was small... for now.