Night was quiet and peaceful at the end of the Rattingston road. Everyone was asleep, peacefully by the sounds of it. But it's wasn't peaceful for everyone. Small girl sleeping in the room at the end of the corridor was having an awful dream. A weird dream about snakes, these dreams happened to her a lot. She wouldn't wake up from them but soon she didn't want to sleep, afraid of seeing snake filled dreams. She was about 3 or 4 years old and as far as her memory goes she never saw snakes except from books and engravings of them in the household. She couldn't exactly remember when the dreams started but she felt like they were always there. The dreams unsettled the little girl.
Next night she refuse to sleep, she told her mother to keep to lights on. Dark made her feel scared now, she feared that if the snakes came for her she couldn't see them in the dark. So to calm her anxious daughter her mother slide in near the girl.
"Close your eyes" the mother said.
"No, I don't want to sleep" the girl said keeping her eyes open.
" You have to sleep Tulip, If you want to have good dreams listen and do as I say. This will make your bad dreams go away. Now close your eyes"
The girl reluctantly closed her eyes and waited for her mother's instruction.
" Relax yourself and don't think of anything, let everything go, good and bad. Push all the bad things away, make them go far far away. Don't dwell on anything." Her mother waited a few seconds and continued.
" Now repeat after me: As I lay down to sleep, I reach for the magic I keep, for it will protect me and banish the dreams while I sleep. Repeat this 7 times"
She repeated her mother's word 3 times before she asked" Am I saying a spell, mommy? I don't have a wand, it won't work."
"This is a different spell, the magic is in you. You don't need a wand to make this spell. Say it seven times every night and don't think of anything" her mother informed.
The girl's eyebrows furrowed. " I keep thinking about stuff."
"That's alright, it's your first try, Keep trying. Imagine a running stream. Nothing stays still in it, everything will just flow away. Your mind should be like that. Keep doing this until you fall asleep and I'll get some runes to put on your bed side." Mother said while sitting up.
Tulip immediately opened her eyes hold onto her mother's sleeve. " Don't go, mommy. Stay a bit longer." She pleaded to her mother.
Her mothers strick eyebrows relaxed a bit, she lied back down. " Empty your mind, be blank like a stream of water. Let everything flow away."
Tulip kept doing this while holding her mother's sleeve. Eventually she fell asleep and she didn't have those snakey dreams. It seems like her mother's spell worked. Tulip repeated the incarnation everynight and emptied her mind everynight. She became excellent at being like a stream of water. A lot of thoughts came to her but she never let them stay and let everything flow. She even practiced it in the day but when she emptied her mind near other people, her mind would start to fill with all sorts of strange thoughts and images. So she did it near her sleep. Later on she would realise making emptying her mind would make her see into others. She would also realise this spell was just to trick her child mind into thinking she was banishing the dreams. Of course she still saw snakes in her dream but it didn't happen as often. Even if it did she didn't remember them.
Tulip's mother had another idea about her daughter's dreams. She thought maybe this was a gift upon her daughter. Maybe her daughter was parselmouth. Although she couldn't remember anyone in her or husband's linage who was parselmouth. Still she thought these dreams must mean something. So she took her girl to Knockturn alley with her. How could she have known what would happen.
When little girl entered the dark store, she didn't have any idea either. She was looking at the all types of weird looking creatures. When her gaze fell on the black mamba in the aquarium she was glued to her spot. He mothers nudges and warnings were useless. Tulip no longer was aware of her mother. She wasn't aware of anything except the snake. Her mouth was trembling and blood was out of her face. Her mother quickly grabbed her and exited the store. Little girl was trembling and mumbling. She didn't calm until she was at home in her bed with her mom. Her mother rocked her until she fell asleep. After that day her unsettling snake dreams turned into lifelong fear of snakes. Even the pictures would make her body clench.
Her mother was rather disappointed about all of this. Sure she didn't adore snake, she found them a bit unsettling as well but she respected them. In the end they were the symbol of house Slytherin. Her house, her family's house. She was concerned that her daughter's fear might put her away from the house Slytherin. So to ensure that would never happen she taught her everything she can about their family's ways, the right ways.
The little girl was Tulip Ulster. She lived in Rattingston road with her mother Eva, her father Maverick and her big brother Ulbrecht. Ulsters were a big and old pureblood family. They followed the old traditions and pass them along to the younger generations. They weren't very rich like Black or Malfoy family.
There weren't many high achievers in the Ulster family. They like to be in close tides with the ministry and most of them worked in the ministry but they didn't like to be associated with what they found to be dangerous. Although they shared the same views of the Lord Voldemort, they didn't associated with him in the first war. They found him threatening and unstable. So they kept to themselves and their head low. They liked when things were quiet and stable.
They valued their traditions and kept to them. That's how Tulip was raised. She was taught to not associate with muggleborns. She was taught to always show respect and she was shown the ways of their tradition. Did she follow them? Not fully. She didn't like the restrictions and she definitely didn't like that she had more rules just because she was a girl. She often faught with her mother saying that she should be allowed because her brother was allowed. Her mother would just say it was because she was younger that she wasn't allowed out or wear pants...or ride a broom but she knew the real reason.
She found her lessons boring and with time she would realise most of her mother's teachings were wrong.
I thought I give it a try in fanfic because I read like a insane amount. I hope you like it.