𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐄𝐓𝐄𝐄𝐍:
The burden of the Hawthorne name
(1972)

FAME doesn't come by on its own; it's always followed by its mistress envy. And so does power. It comes with enemies.

Viviane didn't know what to make up for it. Really, everything is confusing her lately, and she doesn't want to feel confused. She likes being informed of what's happening around her and wants to know everything without being left out.

Luckily, she and her Father share the same trait after almost half a day of deep and profound conversation with her Father.

Viviane had learned that as well as she always had known, many wizards or witches had grown a bit of hatred and envy towards their perfect family. Some wanted to ruin them, and some wanted to take over the power and perfection that the Hawthornes possessed.

After the day of Christmas, the gifts that Viviane had unwrapped and the remaining left untouched were inspected by the Curse Breakers. Aurors have been tracking where the gift has been sent from.

Also, with her Father hiring Viviane and her Mother's private security, three Aurors remained at the Hawthorne Manor with them exchanging their time posts for the remaining days of the Holiday—because, after the Holiday, the security will be much tighter than before.

Ward Specialist strengthened the wards around the Hawthorne property. Every visitor was rigorously interviewed, screened for Imperius and other curses, and held long enough for a Polyjuice potion to wear off.

To Viviane's delight, the only tutors allowed to visit her are her Ballet Mistress and private tutor—she didn't like her etiquette instructor and language tutor. And she remained in the Hawthorne Manor for the remaining days of the Holiday with her Mother, Christine, Weeny, Hermes, and Hades keeping her company.

Unfortunately, she isn't allowed to send letters to anyone or receive any letters unless it was inspected by Curse breakers for any remnants of poison or any other contact curses.
Viviane greeted the New Year in a sombre mood.

Viviane is sure that her friends are getting quite worried, especially Sirius since he is expecting Viviane's letter about the Christmas dinner and the Christmas Ball that the Sacred 28 Society hosted that they attended before the Christmas dinner with the Blacks.

Viviane doesn't know what excuse she needs to come up with, but she knows that only Sirius will be the bearer of the truth of what happened.

Now that the Holiday break is over, Viviane will not be boarding the train with James and Peter to Hogwarts as it is now safe for Viviane. Instead, they'll be travelling through the Floo network.

Every Auror, Curse Breaker, Ward Specialist, and everyone that kept contact with the Hawthornes during the Holidays signed a contract with Daniel that they would not utter a single word of the event to the media or anyone, or else he would be alerted. He will be dealing with them and face his wrath.

Daniel has a duty, and that is keeping his family safe.

They arrived in Dumbledore's office with two Aurors stationed outside the Headmaster's office. Headmaster Dumbledore stood in the middle of his office, and to his sides were Professor McGonagall and Professor Slughorn.

Her Father scheduled a meeting with the three as Headmaster Dumbledore is in charge of the overall concerns of Hogwarts, Professor McGonagall with the student welfare, and Professor Slughorn is Viviane's Slytherin house head.

"Mr. Hawthorne, delighted to be acquainted with you again. I hope it will be under different circumstances." Headmaster Dumbledore greeted Daniel with a polite smile.

"Dumbledore," Daniel greeted with a stoic expression.

"Mrs. Hawthorne," He acknowledged, with Christine giving him a curt nod and a well-practised smile, hiding her anxiety about bringing back her daughter or Hogwarts.

"Ms. Viviane." He then said as his eyes settled on Viviane's small form that stood in between her parents.

"Headmaster," Viviane curtsied, "Professor McGonagall, Professor Slughorn."

They gave her their own greetings. Dumbledore led them towards the grand mahogany table he transfigured his desk as. They took their own seats as Viviane's Father went straight to the concern.

"I assume you had read my letter," Daniel starts with Headmaster Dumbledore humming in response, "I did. And it pertains to Ms. Viviane's safety here at Hogwarts and a brief explanation of what happened during your Holiday."

"Yes. I know that Hogwarts is well-protected and safe but as a Father. I can never be too sure." Daniel tells him, as Professor McGonagall responds, "Mr. Hawthorne after we have read the letter. Our professors have checked our wards. I and the other House Heads will cross-check every item from the mail. Viviane is in our care, and no harm or danger shall ever come to her."

Christine visibly felt relieved at Professor McGonagall's assurance as she placed an arm around Viviane's shoulder.

"And I second that, Mr. and Mrs. Hawthorne," Professor Slughorn spoke with certainty, "If Ms. Viviane ever felt something out of the ordinary. She should always feel confident to alert me and the other Professors about it. As long as she remains on Hogwarts grounds, she is safe."

Professor Slughorn's eyes slid to Viviane; she could feel their worry, assurance, and determination. And Viviane couldn't help but feel grateful.

"I suppose the other Professors have signed the nondisclosure contract?" Daniel asks as Dumbledore nods, taking out his wand from his robes with a small wave of his hand. The wand releases small magical particles that become parchment and land before her Father.

"I hope you understand why I'm taking such preventive measures. No one can know that threats have been made towards my daughter. If it reaches the media, they will blow this out of proportion, and those tempted to do the same will be encouraged further, thus endangering my daughter more." Daniel informed them as he looked toward Dumbledore after securing the parchment.

"We duly understand, Mr. Hawthorne," Dumbledore responded, with Professor McGonagall and Professor Slughorn nodding in response.

"Would you like to stay for dinner at the Great Hall?" Professor McGonagall asks, looking at Christine with fondness in her eyes.

"A delightful offer, Professor. But I recall that my husband and I have matters to attend to at the Ministry." Christine declines politely while Professor McGonagall only gives her a smile.

Christine looks at Daniel, with the latter responding. "Thank you for the offer, Minerva. But we do have some things to discuss with the Head Auror."

They stood up from their seats as the two Aurors outside the office entered. Tailored suits and shiny shoes, looking professional and well-trained.

They walked towards the fireplace, with Christine kissing Viviane's cheek softly and hugging her tightly. While Daniel placed a peck on her forehead and wished her the best of luck for her classes tomorrow. And then Viviane is left in Dumbledore's office with three adults waiting for her to move.

Viviane looked at them and curtsied. "Thank you so much for all you have done for my safety."

"Don't worry about that, dear. Now come, I know you're hungry." Professor McGonagall dismissed her and placed a hand on her shoulder, and guided her out of the office with one last glance towards the Headmaster, who gave her a smile, and Professor Slughorn, who waved her goodbye as the two men started to delve into deep matters—pertaining to her she assumed.

"I don't know what to tell them," Viviane mutters as she and Professor McGonagall walk to the corridor side by side.

"They are your friends. I'm sure they'll understand." Professor McGonagall softly tells her. "I know I am not your house head, but you can stop by my office anytime. I adopted a Siamese cat during the Holidays."

Viviane's brow furrowed for a second that she understood. Siamese Cat is the password to McGonagall's office. How adorable. They stopped by the entrance, and Viviane bid her goodbye as she walked towards the Slytherin table.

She hoped that whatever excuse she came up with was believable.

•| ⊱✿⊰ |•

"I NEED TO TALK TO YOU," Viviane says in French as she greets her cousin, Sirius, who is about to exit the Great Hall with James, Remus, and Peter.

"Hey, Viv!" James greets them with a relieved smile as he tackles her into a hug. Viviane responds with a giggle and a soft pat on his back; James pulls away from her as he questions, "I didn't see you on the train or at the carriages. How did you get here?"

"I used the floo network," Viviane explained briefly in English as she looked at Remus, who was looking at her; she could see the worry in his eyes—especially when Viviane hadn't replied to his letters during the Holiday. Viviane mouthed, "I'll explain later." Remus accepted with a nod.

James furrows his eyebrows in confusion. He was about to ask a question until Viviane spoke to Sirius urgently.

Viviane grabbed Sirius's wrist and said in French, "It's important."

Sirius furrowed his eyebrows, concern flashing in his expression; he responded in French, "You never responded to my letters. What happened?"

Remus and Peter gave them confused looks while James raised an eyebrow at them and led the two away from the cousins.

Sirius and Viviane often communicated in French when they didn't want their conversations to be understood.

As far as the two cousins know, only some people at Hogwarts are taught to speak French fluently and understand the language. Lucius Malfoy, their cousins, Bellatrix, Andromeda, Narcissa, and Tiberius Nott, are the ones who can speak and understand French. The other purebloods in Hogwarts are either starting to learn or have yet to bother to learn it.

She could feel Bellatrix's burning gaze on her back; Viviane couldn't care less. She already told her Father about this conversation with Sirius since he wasn't with them during the Holidays. The Black family knows what happened and signed a contract to keep their mouths shut. Her Father surprisingly agreed with her telling Sirius.

Sirius and Viviane walked side-by-side as they walked towards the old bridge to the owlery. Viviane cast a silencing charm around them for extra measures and a warming charm for the both of them since it was still snowing; she didn't want to freeze her arse off.

Viviane sighed heavily as she leaned on the wood railings while Sirius looked at her concernedly. Still, Viviane took the time to observe their surroundings. Even with the heavy snow, with white covering nature's greens.

It was so peaceful, with the wind blowing and gently combing through her hair. The lake under the bridge turned to hard ice that Viviane wanted to skate into, just be and forget what happened.

Sirius looks at her cousin, who is deep in thought; he can see how much she is composing herself. It didn't help to lessen his worry. If he had gone with her during the Holidays, he could have helped her with whatever it was that happened and wanted to discuss with him.

"A gift was sent to the Manor." Viviane broke the silence, staring mindlessly at the view before them, "A gift for me to open. And when I did, I saw this strange-looking artefact inside. It turns out it was a Dark Artefact filled with poison and cursed. If I had touched it, it would have killed me instantly—that's what the curse breakers said to Father anyway."

Sirius's eyes widened in shock, "What?!" He exclaimed, "Merlin, Viv. Who sent the bloody gift?"

"There's no name on the tag. Guessing that they wouldn't want to be thrown into Azkaban for almost a successful murder of the Hawthorne Heiress," Viviane sarcastically answered with a roll of her eyes as her hands began to fiddle together.

The Aurors are still tracing where the Dark Artefact had come from. Her Father told her he would inform her when the Aurors had any leads toward the Dark Artefact.

"Why would they send it to you?"

"Among many reasons that I'm sure you are aware of."

"Why not send it to Daniel?" Sirius asks with a raised eyebrow as he folds his arms to his chest.

Viviane sighs as she looks past her shoulder, seeing Sirius awaiting her answer; she then looks back to her front. "The gift was meant to be opened by any of us. But mostly the gifts under the Christmas tree are for me. I was the one opening the gifts."

"But you? Surely they must have known that you were the one opening the gifts. Why would they target you?"

Viviane shrugged, not knowing the answer, "Maybe they thought I am my Father's weakness—they don't even know that he didn't even want me in the first place." Viviane sniffed as she wiped the straying tear from her eyes with her handkerchief.

Sirius moved forward as he placed his arm around her shoulder and embraced Viviane, "Hey, none of that now." He scolded softly.

"It's true. They never fail to remind me. By them, I mean Walburga and my sodding grandmother." Viviane scoffs, rolling her eyes.

"If it eases you. I don't like my Mother either. As for Cassiopeia never liked that wench anyway—her voice is as irritating as my Mother." Sirius scrunches his nose as he recalls their family dinners.

Sirius diverted the topic from their horrendous family and asked, "What's going to happen now?" As his hand rubbed her shoulder in comfort. Viviane purses her lips with a tired expression.

"To be honest? I don't really know either."