- Eternal Curse -

0.1 Chapter One

One

Annie Silvia Dean's bloodline was as pure as the wealth that dripped from every wall and every floor in the lifeless house where she had lived. Although she would argue lived was a rather strong word and her years at Dean Manor could be more attributed to surviving. The foundation of her kin was not made on love but necessity and order.

Cassian Dean was more a brute than a father. Hypocrite, narcissistic and a drunk. Annie never knew why he truly hated her, perhaps she was unwanted, maybe he blamed her for her mothers illness or it was just all his love was spent on her eldest brothers who seemed to despise her just as much. Eric, Henry and lastly Charles who was only three years her senior were not just brothers but competitors for affection in a game in which she always lost.

Silvia Dean-Evangelatos, Annie's mother, was her beacon who was the only one in the world who showed her unconditional love. Love that was cut short after Silvia grew gravely ill a few years after having Annie, the home growing cold and empty without her every time she had to be moved to St Mungo's for observation. Being in and out of the hospital constantly meant she had to resign from her job at the ministry working for the Magical Law Enforcement Department.

Tomorrow was the day Annie would be leaving for Hogwarts for the first time in her life. She was not nervous in the slightest but was rather anticipating her second year where she could sign up for the Ravenclaw quidditch team and start divination classes in her third. This would disappoint her family greatly. Her father would be disgraced, and her brothers would taunt and tease her, but she tried very hard to convince herself she didn't care.

She knew whatever she did her mother would be proud, whether she admitted that to her husband or not, she had great hopes for her daughter to master whatever career she chose in life.

Annie and Charles did not have to go out to Diagon Alley as their house-elf, Gilmosh would collect their books and clothing for them. But her father had taken Annie a few months ago to get her wand. It was willow wood with unicorn hair core, thirteen and a half inches and quite bendy flexibility. All of which Annie took in with great interest, as if when she arrived at the castle she would be asked for this information at a moment's notice.

The evening before they had to go to Kings Cross, they sat at the dinner table together as a so-called 'happy family'. Annie would not call a 'happy family' sitting in silence in a dark room stirring around a mushroom paste but she really didn't know what a happy family looked like. Looking up from her bowl, Annie took in all her family's faces in detail. Her father sat around a pile of papers, shovelling mush down while putting ink to parchment. Her two eldest brothers did the same. Charles was reading a rather thick book while tapping his legs like a nervous twitch.

Finally, Annie looked over to her mother. Silvia's face was gaunt and emotionless, staring down at her bowl as if in a trance-like state. She barely ate anymore. The stress of Annie's father and the illness eating away at her had become unbearable and she looked as if she would shatter like china if you held her hand. This was all getting rather tedious for Annie and her so called 'soup' seemed to twist into a more and more grotesque image the more she prodded it with her spoon. She stood up, barely startling her family who were all deep in their own thoughts. She turned to the house-elf.

"Thank you for the meal, Gilmosh. It was delightful. If I were hungry, I'd eat more but I'm afraid I had too much to eat for afternoon tea." She lied as she gave the house elf a soft smile while turning to leave. The house elf had always been the most decent to her and brought the only happiness she had when her mother was away and she felt there was no need to be cruel by revealing to him how truly awful the dinner was. Although she knew she couldn't do better herself.

"Goodnight everyone." She spoke softly. They all grunted in response, apart from her mother who still looked down at her bowl in a haze.

"Goodnight mother." She added. This grabbed Silvia's attention as she lifted her gaze towards her, nothing but cold and empty darkness in them.

"Goodnight dear," Silvia muttered, with no expression or power behind her dull voice. Annie could not leave her here alone with the rest of the family who did not seem to acknowledge her presence in the slightest.

"Come with me to bed, mother. You're tired and need to sleep, at this rate, you won't be able to see me off at the station tomorrow." She walked over to her mother's seat, helping her out of the chair and leading her into the main hall, up the stairs to bed. Annie had never seen her mother in this state before. The doctors at St. Mungo's could not describe it or diagnose it. It was if she were wilting away like a phoenix before it would rise from the ashes. But Annie had a gut feeling that once her mother was wilted away completely, she would not be rising from the dead. She worried this may be the last time she would see her mother.

It was hardest for Silvia when the kids were at school and the two eldest went back to work after their short break. She was left at home with Gilmosh as well as her drunken, uncontrollable husband. This time she would not take it as long as she had in the past and Annie knew it. Annie led her mother to the end of the corridor to her room. She slipped her mother's dressing gown off and slid her under the linen sheets. Annie kissed her mother on the forehead, leaving her side when she felt Silvia clutch her hand. Annie spun around as her mother began to utter something to Annie.

"I love you, Dear. I really do. Never, ever let your father and your brothers influence your decisions on who you are or who you want to be. I know I'm barely here anymore and I never get the chance to tell you but please, just be happy." Tears welled up in Annie's eyes as she stared into her mothers. Where there once was a void, there was now a slight sparkle of hope still lingering there that reminded Annie of the mother she used to know all those years ago. Those words coming from her mother were more than she could ever ask, and a spark of joy settled in her stomach from knowing that she and her mother truly were as bonded as they once were, and there was something human remaining in her hollow shell. This is how she wanted to remember her mother in what she guessed to be her last days. She was no doctor, only being eleven yet she was well acquainted with the burden of watching someone in their last life.

"I love you too, more than you know. I'll see you in the morning, sleep well." And with that Annie returned to her room and slept the best she had in years, holding onto that spark with all her might.

(A/N: Edited as of 9/10/22)