Almost every morning, early, before the sun emerged, Tom would make his way into Hera's room. In the beginning, he would sneak in and shake her shoulder for as long as it took to wake her up. As time went on, and they became more comfortable around each other, he would run in and bounce on the bed. Hera would immediately wake up.

Once in a blue moon, Hera would wake before Tom and sneak into his room. Not understanding the implications, she would crawl into bed with him and burrow into his chest. She would make herself comfortable and go to sleep. Tom would usually wake up a few moments later and sigh in defeat before waking Hera up.

Hera would run back to her room, or push Tom out of it, and get dressed in the grey wool dress that the orphanage provided. She would make her way downstairs and meet up with Tom in the foyer.

She would link her arm through his and drag Tom off into the kitchen. Once there, she would sit Tom down at the bar with a knife and some potatoes, and force him to help with breakfast. The older girls loved it. They had to do less work, and they got to coo over the adorable girl who would twirl around the kitchen. Like magic, they would have breakfast ready in mere minutes after she arrived.

Hera would grab Tom's arm and pull him over to the row of tables. He, like a true gentleman, would pull out one of the many wooden old chairs. Today, the chair was slightly wobbly with a few red stains, he didn't know where they came from, but he was sure Hera wouldn't mind. They would sit down, and one of the older girls would bring over a large plate of food.

There were always at least two older girls who sat with Hera, and by extension, Tom. They loved how chipper and bright the small girl was. She would walk into a room, and anyone with any stress would relax. It was calming for Hera to take away stress. She would relax her Power a little bit and let it wash over the room, a soft layer of joy.

It was endlessly amusing to Hera when Tom would do the opposite. He would go into rooms and let the darkness envelop the room. Unlike the warm, springlike feeling of Hera's Power, Tom would let the harsh bitterness of winter flow through the room.

As the four kids sat down at the table, Hera would chatter, often deciding what she wanted to do with her day. Tom would occasionally cut in, correcting Hera if she made any speaking mistakes, or if he did not want to do something.

The older girls often spoke of how Tom would be a 'heartbreaker' in hushed voices. Hera would find them in the corner and, quite loudly pronounce that,

"Tom would never be a heartbreaker. There are much more efficient," pausing here, she would sound out the large word, "ways of hurting someone," The girls always laughed it off, thinking that the sweet little child who laughed at everything was playing around.


Hera went on with her day. When she tried to play dolls with one of the other girls her age, she was pushed away,

"Just 'cause you hang with that Riddle boy, dosen' mean that' you can hang with us," The girls glared at Hera, trying to get her away, "go away, freak," one of them said. Hera felt a frown make its way onto her face. The Power came rushing out, doing exactly as it's mistress commanded. It washed over the girls, and they felt the usual sunny, happy feeling disappear, changing from spring, to summer, a summer that would kill any and all life. The heat worked its way into their very bones, making every inch of skin flush with fever.

She frowned, pulling her Power back inside her body, the immense heat dissipating from the room. It took so much concentration for Hera to pull the Power back into herself.

There was a bang, and seven-year-old Hera startled, her Power rushing back into the room in a tidal wave of hate and darkness. There were gasps of pain, and when Hera began to collapse, exhausted from the amount of Power she had used, there were arms there to catch her.

Tom, who had begun to grow quite rapidly, and was only three years away from reaching the maximum age for being in the child section of the orphanage, wrapped his arms around her waist. He looked down at her with awe,

"What was that," he gasped, helping her stand, "It was incredible, it was kind of like a wash of fire." He led her over to the overstuffed chair in the corner, "When I promised to corrupt your magic, I did not think it would happen that quickly," He let out a shallow sigh, "That was gorgeous."

Hera was confused with a dash of concern. She liked her springtime power, it complemented Tom's so well. She was the spring that gently tugged the harshness of the winter into the bright joy that was spring. If she had summer as well, they would not be able to take over the world. It would be unfair to everyone to live in eternal misery. Having their world going from freezing to boiling every time one of them got mad would be awful.

Tom began to gently knead her hands, rubbing them together between his own. It centered her, letting her Power pool back inside of her body. Hera wanted to make sure that it was all out of the room before she tried to make it feel like spring again. Concerned about her power, she spoke,

"Tom, I think I am going to retire," she nodded at him, indicating that it would be fine if he came over, "I want to make sure that I am feeling better," she paused looking deep into his eyes, telling him that no matter how much he enjoyed when darkness took over, she would always prefer the spring, "I will see you soon," she finished, standing on wobbly legs.

As Hera made her way back to her room, the matron stopped her, and began to speak, "Hera, darling, could you get the laundry?" The woman looked down at the girl who had quickly become the favorite, "Oh my, you don't look so good," the woman proceeded to shoo Hera away, "Go lay down for a bit, I can get the wash," Hera wandered up to her room, dreading what she would find when she released the Power again.

Tom was already lounging on Hera's bed when she made her way through the door of room D2. He glanced up from the book he was reading, the Hobbit, and smirked at her before placing a sheet of paper into the book and tossing it onto the bedside table. He walked over to Hera, who was still in the process of taking off her shoes, and wrapped his arms around her.

She was tugged over to the bed, where Tom sat her down on the hard mattress and gave her a long stare before starting,

"Hera, I love your Power. You know that," he paused, waiting for her to nod, "You also know that I do not care what form it is in," He waited, again for a nod, "When I promised you, two years ago, that I would corrupt the Power, I was not joking," A flash of surprise shot across Hera's face, "I want to make the sweetness inside you into a darkness that only I can control. I would never hurt you, and you know that," He kneeled down so they would be face to face, and when Hera barley nodded, he pulled her into his arms. Hera let out a sob, and Tom hugged her a little tighter.

"The sweetness that you have is delightful, and I love every part of it," He had turned the whispering into barley a murmur, "Unfortunately, other people, the bastards in this world, will try and take advantage of the sweetness, " he pressed his nose into her hair, letting one hand trace patterns on her back as she cried, " And you know that if that ever happens, I would kill somebody, right," She nodded into his shoulder, and content that she was done crying, Tom let Hera disentangle from him.

Hera grabbed one of the books off of the shelves in her room and sat next to Tom, cuddling in close. Every once in a while, one of the two would stand and either switch out a book, or do some stretching. It was relaxing, and helped Hera get her mind and Power back together.

It was close to six o'clock when Hera turned to Tom, she asked, "Tom, would you stay here whilst I test my Power?" It was such a simple request, and yet, it meant so much. To both of them. They had been experimenting for years with their power, and every time there was any sort of issue, they separated, scared of what having double the Power in one room might do.

Hera relaxed, letting the tight hold on her magic disappear. A flood of Power rushed into the room, and to Hera's delight, it was like fresh flowers and sunshine. The amount of relief that was communicated through that surge of power was tangible.

~~The Heirlings~~

Hi Guys! This chapter was really difficult to write for some reason. I do not like the beginning part. If anyone has any suggestions on how to make it better, that would be wonderful. The next chapter was super fun to write and I hope it will be fun to read. Right now it is sitting at, like, 1,075 words, and I generally like to write a little more than that, but it came to a clean ending so i might do two shorter chapters three days or so apart. Please give me your opinion on what you want.

No one has asked, but i have decided that you all must know. While I write, I need noise, but music is distracting. Below is a like that will lead you to the sound I use. I am a slytherin, and writing a slytherin whilst listening to this is easier.

/slytherin-common-room

If you guys have any questions, feel free to PM me, I should answer within the day. I hope you enjoyed it, please comment any suggestions or thoughts you had about this chapter.

I love you guys, gals, (g)others, and grass

Bookfairy