In this garden of fear

Estrella Drage

Obliviator for MACUSA | HNZ 1st Graduating Class
 
Messages
9,177
OOC First Name
Amanda
Blood Status
Half Blood
Relationship Status
Widow
Age
45
The holidays were a very welcome concept to Estrella. She missed her family and being at home all the time, though on the same token, she enjoyed having a purpose and contributing financially. No more was she dependent on her husband. Even though it was a tiny freedom, it kept her content.

Exhausted from work, Estrella peeled off her spring cloak and threw it over an armchair. Her daughter's giggles from the kitchen triggered a smile. Olivia was growing with each passing moment. She could now crawl on both of her arms and legs. If the seven month old was feeling particularly brave, she would pull herself up on the furniture. It wouldn't be long before she was running all over the house. Then, even Jaken wouldn't be able to catch her.

It'd be a few hours before Jaken was home. Estrella rummaged through her robes, trying to find a few galleons so that she could pay Clarisse, the babysitter. Clarisse was a middle-aged woman who had kids going to the school. Olivia just loved her. Whatever Clarisse was doing, it sounded like it was incredibly entertaining to the little girl.
 
It did not take long to have Clarisse out of the house. Hades had sent Vritra away to her mother's family to be taught to read, write, and many other muggle skills for a while. She would be returning to visit for a weekend every month or so. Because of Vritra being the key item to keep Hades' darkness under control, and her absence from him was not very helpful at all. His demeanor has only changed slightly, but over time, he will be descending into a dark area. And Hades would welcome it with open arms.

He would not ever explain how he had found Jaken's house, or how he knew the babysitter's name, or even how he knew Estrella would be home today. Hades was in the kitchen, watching Olivia, who was in his arms, out of reach of his face. Hades carried her around in the kitchen, listening to her giggle. She was his only niece. He treated her like he would have expected to treat Vritra. Hades prepared a glass of water, as he smirked evilly. Hades slowly but surely entered in the same room Estrella was in, and he was looking at her back. Hades spoke, his voice low and chilling, "Welcome home, Professor Estrella Styx, but you aren't technically a professor now are you." His expression was simply creepy, and darkness seemed to radiate off his body.
 
Leaping from Estrella's palm, the galleons bounced from wood flooring in a series of clinks. A voice that she had hoped to never hear again filled the room with an inquiry. She spun to face a man who had crawled from the bowels of hell. He wielded fear, and Estrella had only a shield: anger. Anger that he had dared to enter her home, to lay a knuckle on her daughter. Estrella's shoes had grown roots. She itched to scrape out the man's eyes and make him consume them, but she was afraid that he would hurt Olivia.

"Where is Clarisse?" she demanded, ever watchful of her squirmy and babbling child.
 
Hades chuckled, which sounded like ice, "Oh I made her take a break. She seemed rather tired anyway." There was a little gleam in his eyes that made him look even more suspicious. Hades glanced down at Olivia, and he said, "You have a gorgeous daughter, though." Hades put the glass of water on a nearby stand, and he stroked her brunette hair gently, making the girl only laugh harder. Hades took a step toward Estrella, but did not proceed. "Oh, don't worry about your daughter's safety. I wouldn't harm a hair on her little head." Hades had truth around his words, but he doubted that Estrella would believe him. After everything else he had done, who was to blame him? Hades summoned a bouncing chair, and he set the little girl down in it. She started to babble on, about Merlin knew what. Hades slowly stood back up, and he glanced over her body. "How about we speak like adults now? I would hate to have to harm someone so late in the evening."
 
Estrella was leagues from calm. She wanted to scream, to blast the roof off, anything to signal for help. The Patronus Charm was not beyond her ability; concentration was. All would have been viable options had she been on her own. With her daughter in the equation, risks were cancelled out. She would never gamble Olivia. Estrella's wand remained where it had been all afternoon; her pocket.

Livvy clambered out of the bouncy seat. She hardly used the thing anymore, choosing to follow better pursuits. Like crawling. The tiny girl was soon all over the room, navigating a room she had inspected so many times before. Yanking an issue of the Daily Prophet off of the table, she stared at the moving pictures. A wild giggle exploded from her lips when she caught sight of the Quidditch players. The Woolongong Warriors were zipping in and out of the photograph. Squealing, she tore the paper with her little hands, delighting at the noise. In between these outbursts, she was talking. And talking. And talking.

Glaring at her brother-in-law, Estrella uprooted herself, stepping forward. The mother eagle hadn't retired upon graduation. It was a display of courage, though she had none. She didn't believe that her chick wasn't in harm's way. If Hades intended to hurt her baby, he would get the talons.

"I believe we are already having an adult conversation," she retorted, her voice akin to a screech. "I don't give a Blast Ended Skrewt why you are here, just leave. Immediately. Stay off of my property."
 
"Oh, I couldn't stay off your property for too long. You have no idea how many times I have already come and gone." Hades watched her steps, and had an eye on Olivia in the floor. She was quite the rascal. Nothing like Vritra. Hades used hand gestures to assist in what he was saying. "How else did I know you would be home, and Clarisse would be baby-sitting? Think, dear sister-in-law, think." Hades had a smirk on his face, as if he were mocking the ex-Ravenclaw in her footsteps.

"Bravery doesn't suit you, especially if you were in a dangerous situation. Right now, consider yourself lucky. I'm here for a pleasant chat. I highly advise you sit down." Hades glanced back over at her daughter. "I don't think Olivia Namina should be hearing her mother stressed out, now do you." Hades had no intentions of harming Olivia, not this time. He walked over to her, and bent down. If Estrella came near him, he would send a curse flying in her direction.

"She'll grow up strong, and wise. You know why I won't hurt her? I too am a father, and would be crushed if something happened to the little one." Hades turned his head toward Estrella. He stood up straight once more, towering over the woman. However, in his onyx eyes, patience was waring thin. "I don't want to have to do anything drastic, Estrella. Now, as stated, you better sit down." Hades had a lack of an emotion on his face. Not even a hint of mockery.
 
The protective charms husband and wife had placed around their house were supposed to ward off intruders. Yet here was an intruder, the alpha of the pack. The possibility that Hades was lying put aside, something raked over Estrella's skin with the very thought of this man lurking her home. Watching them. Secrets were in danger and privacy was in jeopardy.

"I think we're past that point," she spat. Olivia was off in her own world. Small distress from her mother would not register. The lively child had moved from the newspaper to one of her stuffed bears. Slobbering and gnawing on its arm seemed to be her newest delight. She still had a long road to travel as far as teething was concerned. Her mother was more worried about her daughter's well-being than her current emotions. She didn't care that Hades was a father, or if he was one. Truth was anathema to a demon like him.

Estrella straightened, her refusal evident. "Why are you here?" she hissed. "What gives you the right to be in my home when you are clearly unwelcome?"
 
Hades rolled his eyes, "When I say sit; I mean sit." Hades approached Estrella, and with a hand, used his strength to shove her on the chair. Hades smirked a bit at this, but it faltered. "Honestly, did you think protective charms can keep me away? I know you and Jaken far too well. Jaken works long shifts as an Auror, and you work at the school as a Charms professor for the younger years." Hades flourished his wand, and he waved it about.

Then, he conjured a black wooden chair. He took a seat and he folded his arms across his chest. "Like it or not, I am just here for a little chat. Heart to heart, if you will. You don't exactly have older brothers to talk to, now do you. Sumner is close enough to your age I suppose." Hades used his wand to tap his chin, before he continued, "And your best friend...Lily Drage isn't it? She is your sister-in-law who hangs around that Katalina girl, who is still in school. Correct me if I am wrong." Hades of course knew he was right. He had been following them for the longest time, before Estrella even gave birth.

"Now, wouldn't it be just pleasant if we chatted and got to know each other? Perhaps even watch our daughters grow up in similar, safe environments." Hades smirked deviously. His odd behavior was one thing, but his darkness and real motives were frightening if one knew.
 
Estrella was at even more of a disadvantage when gravity came into play. Although she had been on the Quidditch team, she was not physically strong nor aggressive. Shoved into the chair, there was little room for struggle. Hades had her husband beat in both height and girth. At least she still had her wand. Wandless magic was her last defense, and a cruddy thing to depend on at that.

The woman glanced to her daughter. Olivia continued to play, oblivious and not bothered. It was better to be a child sometimes. Complications at that age were few and far between.

Biting her cheek, Estrella glared at her brother-in-law. There was something he didn't know. She had an older brother. He wasn't her biological sibling, but he still counted. That aside, Estrella cringed at the details Hades bared. She wondered if there were restraining orders in the magical world. Sign me up. Unfortunately, she did not have faith in any legal order whatsoever.

Her intention was to sit out of this game. Bullies found boredom in throwing stones if their target didn't move. "This conversation is everything but pleasant," she growled, "I don't want to know a damn thing about you."
 
"Ah, you are just being stubborn. You know, this would be a lot easier for you and your mind if you just have an open mind toward people," smirked Hades. Then again, he wasn't necessarily a normal person either. Hades kept his cold, black eyes on Estrella. There was not a doubt in mind why Jaken had chose her to be his wife. She was rather feisty. It reminded him of Hollace.

However, Hollace had a dark appeal to her, which Estrella did not. "You may not want to know me at all that well anyhow. It could make your skin crawl if you knew all the things I have done, could have done, and will do in the future. You don't know how many times I could have killed you over the past few months; how many times you were alone, or with Olivia and Clarisse. A simple spell could wipe them all out."

Hades chuckled, finding all this quite humorous. Hades spoke, his voice low and almost seductive, "You may not know a damn thing about me, but I know all about you. I've done my research on you, Ravenclaw. All your troubles with Jaken, how you were raised by your uncle and how your mother died... Perhaps I know too much, so getting to know each other would be rather pointless when one knows everything there is about the other." Hades leaned back in his chair, not putting his wand away however.

"What do you think I have planned for you and your family, Estrella Styx?"
 
Estrella fumed at Hades. Her in-laws should have trapped their infant son in a bag and tossed him in a river instead of adopting him out. The woman bit back on the thought, sinking into her chair. She wanted to strike out at Hades and tear the smirk from his mouth. Her hands remained in her lap, motionless in their submission. Estrella's eyes darted to the clock above the fireplace, horrified by time's lack of progress. She would have been better off investing in the magical kind, one that would tell her Jaken's whereabouts. Why couldn't he come home early for once?

She was a puppy confronted by a feral cat. Estrella's fright crouched behind bared canines, the loser in a game of hide-and-seek. Coarse gums and a sandpaper tongue cried for moisture. Brown eyes left Olivia and wandered back to Hades. Staring down the feline wouldn't do this puppy much good.

"I don't know what your plans are," she snarled, leaning in, "And I don't really know what the hell is wrong with you, either. Care to enlighten me?" Once more, bite had ditched bark.
 
"What is wrong with me? Here I am, visiting family, and you act like I killed your husband. It isn't like I am going to yet." Hades smirked a bit, but his expression fell cold. "It appears you have more of a bark than a bite. That is better though, in your situation." Hades would not tolerate violence, not against him. He tend to strike and often not control his own actions. He could kill someone and not realize that he had meant to. Sometimes he was impulsive, but others, he thinks things through, perhaps too much maybe.

Hades murmured, "Oh, the plans will have to wait until later. I can't reveal such a big surprise so early." Hades reached inside his robes and pulled out a little bundle of letters tied in a black ribbon. Hades stated, "This is just a little bit of what I am capable of. Obviously, most people underestimate me. You thought protective charms would work against me, and I can assure you, Jaken doesn't stand a chance in Hell if he fought against me. You might even get to witness that soon enough." Hades' eyes went to the letters, and he held them out for her to take. "I will leave you alone, if you simply look through these. I can't be all that bad if I fixed a marriage, now can I."
 
"You're a real saint." Estrella's voice was clipped, her teeth gritting together. "They should canonize you," she added, staring at the stack of letters. She didn't touch the supposed evidence of good buried within. Who was he kidding? His words still lingered in her ears, threats that did not lack in substance. Humor was a terrible method of retaliation, but what was she supposed to do? Beg for her husband's life, when he wasn't in any danger? Hades could just be making promises that he would never keep. He was a deluded creep who was mislead as to the definition of a family visit.

"What do you have against my husband? He hasn't done a thing to you." None of us have. Estrella wrung her wrists and waited upon the answer.
 
Hades was a little surprised that she did not take the letters and read. Was she not curious? Hades rolled his eyes and he muttered, “I try to make conversation, and yet I am astounded at such rude behavior.” Hades put the letters back in his pocket inside of his trenchcoat. “I will do anything to get my father and my step-mother back together. That is what family is for. I was not alone either. Patricia assisted.” The Hufflepuff prefect and his half-sister. Hades was quite fond of her already, even if her mother was a disgusting muggle.

As long as she did not bring her mother around him. Hades’ expression hardened, and instead of simply creepy, Hades took on a frightening appearance for just a moment. Hades hid it with a low chuckle, as he leaned back in the chair. He put his hand to his chin and he purred, “What do I have against Jaken? Hmmm, despite the fact that we are enemies, as in a normal sense of light and dark… I don’t think I have anything against him.” But the hatred was slightly readable in his eyes.

“I could always ask what you have against me. Have I ever harmed you?” Hades had only seen Estrella twice – well, to her it would be twice, before now. One time was by accident, and the next was an interesting encounter. “Perhaps scare the living hell out of you a few times, but when have I truly…harmed you?” That baby-sitter was still alive, no doubt in mind.
 
Estrella shifted in her seat. Nervous habit kept her glancing to her daughter every few seconds. If Hades became a true threat, she would resort to her wand. The bully could only take so much of her lunch money before she got him back. Olivia kept her from blasting this jerk into the next millennium.

The best the brunette could do was stare. "I'm curious as to what your definition of rude is," she remarked dryly, "Is parading into someone's home without an invitation and pushing around the inhabitants kosher to you?" Estrella didn't care about the good he claimed to do. This didn't change the fact that he was a source of discomfort and intimidation. People like Hades were the reason doors needed to be locked at night.

Glaring at her brother-in-law, Estrella ignored his last inquiry. She wanted him out of her house, and she wanted him out now.
 
It had been utter hell at work, and Jaken needed his day off. In fact, he did not know that he was about to receive a rather confused night when he got home. Jaken put his traveling robes on, checked out of the Auror's office, ready to get home and just shower.

Jaken took the long way home, and when he entered the door, Jaken saw someone that he didn't think he would ever see. A taller, much creepier version of himself, heading in the other direction. Jaken's silver eyes met hungry, much darker of stormy that reminded him of a night before a tornado. It was downright creepy. Whoever the man was, Jaken did not like him... The man shut the door, and Jaken entered the living room with a shocked look on his face.

Maybe he just looked into a mirror. Jaken went and picked up his daughter, who proceeded on tugging on his ear. Jaken smiled and he gave his daughter a kiss on the cheek, before setting her down and he went to take a shower. After his shower, and his mind cleared up a bit, he would question Estrella. He was sure that she didn't like to be loved on when he still smelt like the Ministry.
 
"Actually, someone testing out charms to keep intruders away is an open invitation to me. I love challenges," Hades chuckled darkly. Hades glanced over out the window, to see Jaken walking on his way. This would be the perfect time to leave. He took note that she did not answer his question, whether or not he had harmed her. "Give me time, and I will bring harm. Emotionally, physically, whatever. It usually lightens my day. I will say this though..." Hades wondered if he should tell her, then again, she wouldn't believe him so why not?

"I'm not the only one that wants Jaken maimed or even killed. There are many of those that hate his lifestyle. Some might be worse than me and hurt your little one." Hades' black eyes landed on Olivia for just a moment. "I'll be watching. That is a promise I will make though. You won't know when I will be, but I have an eye on your friends as well. Just in case..." Hades stood up and the chair vanished with a pop. Hades bowed, almost in mock respect. "Do take care. This is my time to leave." Hades turned on his heel, and went toward the front door when Jaken emerged from the outside.

All amusement was gone from his face. As he passed, all time seemed to slow, as Hades kept his eyes on silver. It was eerie, to have Hades stare at someone like that, and Jaken was not too bright to know what was going on, what would happen eventually. If Hades wanted to, he could have killed Jaken right then, but he did not. Hades passed through the door, closed it, and vanished into the night.
 

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