'It's going brilliantly,' Hercules said through a stuffed mouth. 'Of course, the Dark Lord has been keeping low lest the Ministry gets alerted.'

Mother beamed as if he had received an Order of Merlin. Daphne gave a derisive snort and forked a tomato on her plate. Tori nudged her with a smile on her face.

'I am very proud of you son,' Father said to Hercules with a side glance at Daphne. Hercules stood up, wiping his mouth with a napkin.

'i should leave,' he said.

'It's only six,' Mother said.

'Yes, but I have some business to-'

Tori slammed her hand on the table and launched into a fit of coughs, the salad flew out of her mouth onto the table. Daphne patted her back. Hercules threw away the cloak he was putting on and fed her a glass of water. The coughing did not stop. Mother and father stood with pale faces, doing nothing. Tori was rubbing a hand on her chest, as she struggled against her breath. The coughing did not stop and blood was dripping out of her nose now.

'What is this-Did she choke up on something?' Daphne looked up to Hercules but he only continued rubbing Tori's back, not a hint of fear on his face unlike the crease on Daphne's forehead. Tori was clutching her sweater tightly in her fists. Tears were creeping out of her eyes and blood dripped drop by drop.

'Should we take her to St. Mungo's or something?' she asked again.

'No,' he shook his head. 'No, it will be fine.'

'What-'

But it was getting fine. Tori's breathing was returning to normal, coughs decreasing. When the coughs finally stopped, she dropped her head on the table and took deep breaths. A stray tear on her cheek slowly tipped to the table.

'Our daughter!' Mother said dramatically and started sobbing, father held her.

'What was this?' Daphne made to move towards them but Tori was still clutching her sweater. She caressed her face.

'Tori,' she called, 'Are you alright?'

Her eyes rotated and then fixated on Daphne. She tried to raise her head slowly, but it took her a lot of effort. She groaned and sat up straight, her cheek streaked with blood. The blood had formed a small puddle on the table.

'My chest,' she kept a hand on her chest. 'It hurts, and my no-nose, it b-burns.'

'We should take her to a healer,' Daphne said to Hercules. He looked up from Tori and nodded, 'I will call one.'

He went to the living room.

'The curse has resurfaced,' a new voice said. Daphne turned behind to see the large portrait of her grandparents from her mother's side on the wall. The old man, with a white beard in a royal uniform and a stick in his hand looked back at her.

'Curse?'

'That's how I died, dear,' Grandmother said, her hand on the necklace by her neck. 'It was indeed painful.'

'Died? What is this curse?'

Tori had clutched her sweater tighter and had her face buried in it. Daphne held her.

'It's an ancestral curse,' Hercules had returned, he was leaning against the dining table. 'It runs in our blood. This curse only affects women. Now, it has latched on to your sister.'

'What-I don't understand anything.'

Tori was sobbing into her sweater, hugging her tightly.

'This curse is a disease that arises from the lungs and then consumes the whole body, like cancer but just more deadly. It lasts for four years after the first symptom.'

'But why-why Tori?'

He just shook his head and dropped his head. Mother and father were crying silently by the side. Suddenly, mother's head shot up and she looked at them with bloodshot eyes, 'No one should find out about this. If this gets into the public, our whole image will go down. No one will marry Daphne and-and-'

'Marry me?' Daphne raised her finger at them, 'That is what you are worried about- not about the daughter you passed on this curse to?'

'How dare you!' Mother stood up from her chair, her wand out of her pocket faster than lightning.

'You are the reason she is about to die,' Daphne said. 'It's not like you would care anyway? Would you, mother?'

'Now, let us all calm down,' Hercules put down her wand. 'We are all stressed out.'

Daphne realised how different Hercules was acting. Just like the sensible and mature person he was before-before he became a Death Eater.

'What is it to you?' Daphne rounded up on him. 'It's not like you care about Tori at all.'

'Now, Daph let's not go there. Mother-'

But she had already shot a crucio at Daphne. Daphne lost her balance and fell to the floor, shrieking loudly as multiple curses hit her. More than the pain, the curse felt like a third-degree burn. And just like last time, everything was a blur. Tori was holding her, Hercules was shaking mother, her grandparents were chuckling and father stood by the side, watching everything silently. Daphne only caught the words 'vile bitch' out of Tori's mouth when her grip got loose. The pain receded and her head went floating again. Numbness took over, and she lay on the floor, gazing at the ceiling.

Her head was paining as if it was about to split open. A strong hand held her back and pulled her up. When her vision became clear again, like a sunny morning after a foggy night, she saw Hercules giving Tori some water. 'Mother!' he shouted, his face red. 'You used the cruciatus, that too on Tori. Are you out of your goddamn mind?'

'Not the first time,' Tori croaked out and Hercules' eyes widened, he was massaging Tori's head. 'Daph-'

Daphne kept shut. She was not about to confide in Hercules, a Death Eater.

'Mother-'

'They deserve it.'

'Deserve?' He slammed the dining table. He took a few gasps and took a sip of water from the glass he was holding.

'I will be leaving,' he said suddenly and stormed out of the dining room.

Daphne screamed in her room, picked up her night lamp, and threw it on the wall. It shattered into pieces that spread on the floor. Her pillow, her bedsheet, her books, and her bag were strewn all across the floor. The healer had given Tori some painkillers. She threw a punch at the wall, 'Ouch!' It hurt and her knuckle had gone red but she threw another punch. Another. Another. Anoth-

The door opened and Tori was standing there in her nightdress. Her eyes were red and her cheeks swollen. The healer had said there was nothing he could do about the curse. He had taken a sample of Daphne's blood to check if she had any gene of the curse.

'Can you sleep with me tonight?' Tori's smile was still there.

'Of course, sweetie. I was coming over to your room, anyway.'

Both of them cried the whole night.

Author's Note:

I am publishing after a long time. Those of you who have read my bio must be aware of it, this is how it is going to be. This is a short chapter but vital to the plot of this book. The next chapter will be from Hailey's point of view. Till then, have fun and don't forget to put on a smile.

- Potter Marauder, your friendly fanfiction-net neighborhood writer.