The landscape of the Scottish Highlands blurred by in shades of green and gray through the window of the Hogwarts Express compartment.
Aurelian Gaunt gazed silently at the hills, resting his cheek on his hand as the train's rattling marked his final hours as a student. Across from him, Hestia and Flora sat side by side, devoting their full attention to playing with the lazy Nythoros. The imposing King of Serpents was coiled across the seat, his yellow eyes half-closed, hissing rhythmically as he fully enjoyed the gentle caresses lavished on him by his human companion's adorable "ladies."
Watching them pamper the magical beast, Aurelian smiled slightly as he recalled exactly how his eventful arrival at Hogsmeade Station had gone that very morning.
Headmaster Dumbledore, with his inexhaustible and exasperating penchant for never missing an opportunity for ceremony, had announced first thing that morning that it was a tradition for seventh-year students to leave the castle in the same way they had entered seven years earlier: by crossing the dark waters of the Black Lake in small wooden boats.
At the dock, Professor Newt Scamander had been in charge of welcoming them. The magizoologist was waiting for them with his usual smile to say goodbye, and he had taken the time to approach each student and sincerely apologize for not having been present at their graduation ceremony, since he'd had to deal with an emergency involving a Graphorn that had gotten out of control in his suitcase.
But the real reason for his current physical condition wasn't the journey itself, but his own pride. At the dock, Aurelian had made the mistake of accepting a challenge from Cedric Diggory. His friend had challenged him to a boat race to see who would reach the shore of Hogsmeade first, on the condition that neither of them could use any magic. They could only use their physical strength. All under an oath that neither of them would cheat.
The result had been a disaster for the Slytherin's muscles. Aurelian had to row the entire way by sheer muscle power. And although he was in excellent physical shape thanks to the training he did a few days a week, propelling a heavy wooden boat carrying three people all by himself was pure torture. While he rowed until his shoulders burned, Hestia and Flora, true to form, hadn't lifted a single finger to help him. They had simply sat across from him, watching and admiring him with two adorable smiles, cheering him on and encouraging him to keep going while he sweated buckets.
In the end, he lost the bet. Cedric, as Quidditch captain and having to row his own weight in his boat, had reached the shore much faster, laughing heartily at his friend's exhausted expression.
Returning to the present, Aurelian let out a small, discreet groan, rubbing his forearms and biceps, which were clearly sore from that morning's exertion.
Hestia noticed it immediately. Leaving Flora in charge of continuing to pamper Nythoros's scales, she rose from her seat and sank down beside him. She snuggled up against his side, rested her chin on his shoulder, and looked at him with those big eyes full of concern.
"Do your arms hurt a lot, my love?" Hestia asked in a whisper.
Aurelian lowered his hand, tenderly stroking his fiancée's dark hair.
"Just a little, but I'm fine. I'll survive the humiliation of losing to Diggory," he replied with an amused smile.
Hestia snuggled closer to him, wrapping an arm around his waist.
"Can we go with you to Gaunt Manor as soon as we get to King's Cross?" she asked suddenly, looking up at him.
From the seat across from them, Flora stopped stroking the basilisk and nodded vigorously, backing up her sister's request with an expectant look.
"We're definitely going," Flora declared. "Besides, remember that you still owe us a long and detailed explanation for your three-day disappearance during the invasion, Aurelian. We haven't forgotten."
Aurelian let out a long sigh, slumping a little further back into the seat. He knew he couldn't avoid that conversation about Fatebreakers, Relics, and cosmic deities with them for much longer.
"Why are you even asking me if you can come?" Aurelian replied, looking at them both in disbelief. "You know perfectly well that you can freely enter the mansion whenever you want and stay as long as you like. At this point, and after so many years, that's your home, too."
Upon hearing that statement, the twins' faces lit up. The smiles they flashed were so radiant, joyful, and full of excitement.
They looked at each other with pure emotion before fixing their dark eyes on him once more, like two predators who had just cornered their favorite prey.
"So… now that we've officially graduated from school and are living together…" Hestia began, fiddling with the hem of Aurelian's robe.
"When will we start planning the wedding?" Flora finished, leaning forward, not blinking once.
Aurelian froze. He felt the air drain from the compartment. He swallowed loudly, suddenly overwhelmed by the intensity with which the two witches were staring at him, expecting an exact date. They loved control; they loved planning years in advance and being in charge of everything. But marriage… that was completely new and terrifying territory, even for the owner of the Deathly Hallows.
"Soon," Aurelian managed to say, clearing his throat and forcing a reassuring smile. "Very soon, my darlings. Just… don't get desperate; there are a few matters to sort out first—the company, many things, many things—but I assure you it will be soon."
Hestia and Flora frowned in unison, their lips forming adorable pouts. Despite their obvious disappointment at not getting an immediate date to drag him down the aisle, they decided to take pity on him. They nodded resignedly and said nothing more, letting the sound of the train accompany them on their journey home.
That night, the imposing Gaunt Manor was filled with an unusual atmosphere of celebration.
In the main dining room, under the warm glow of the crystal chandeliers, Aurelian shared dinner with his father, Nagini, Hestia, and Flora. The long table was laden with a spectacular feast—a meal fit for kings, prepared with care and devotion by Stinky, the family's loyal house elf, who had outdone himself to celebrate his master's graduation.
At first, they ate in comfortable silence, but as the evening wore on, the dynamic shifted. Hestia and Flora, seated at one end of the table, began chatting animatedly with Nagini. The twins leaned toward her, whispering in low voices with knowing giggles and mischievous glances. Whatever they were asking her or telling her in such detail managed to make the cheeks of the usually serene Nagini flush a deep, enchanting crimson, embarrassing her deeply, while Tom watched them with a mixture of confusion and resignation.
At the end of dinner, Tom raised his glass of wine and looked intently at his son.
"Congratulations on your graduation, Aurelian," his father said; the pride he felt for him was evident in his voice. "I am absolutely certain that Elaine would be immensely proud of the man you've become."
Aurelian smiled at him and nodded, raising his own glass.
He already knew that. Hours earlier, shortly after arriving at the mansion and finding himself alone in his study, Aurelian had twirled the Resurrection Stone between his fingers. His mother, Elaine, had appeared before him. When he told her the news of his graduation, she had wept tears of joy, congratulating him and assuring him that she was always by his side, watching over him, no matter what.
However, the emotional mother-son reunion had taken a very awkward turn when Elaine, with a mocking smile, stroked his cheek and added, "Don't worry, my love. I'm always with you… but I assure you that I politely look away every time you're getting intimate with Hestia and Flora. A mother has her limits."
Aurelian had blushed fiercely all the way to his ears at his mother's comment, immediately tucking the stone away out of embarrassment.
Back in the present, dinner was over, and Aurelian was in the privacy of his room.
Sitting on the edge of the bed, he had Hestia and Flora standing right in front of him. Both had their arms crossed, staring intently at him, demanding answers. The time had come to speak; they were waiting for him to begin his account of how he had disappeared for those three days at Hogwarts.
Aurelian let out a sigh to reassure them, held out his hands, and asked them to sit down beside him.
Once the twins had settled in, Aurelian reached into the folds of his robes. He pulled out the Elder Wand and the Resurrection Stone, and from under the bed he retrieved the Invisibility Cloak, placing them one by one on the sheets.
Hestia and Flora's eyes widened, gasping in amazement at seeing the three Deathly Hallows together right before them. Fascinated, they both reached out at the same time to touch the wand, but Aurelian was faster.
He caught both witches' hands in midair, stopping them before they made contact.
The twins immediately frowned, looking at him with obvious annoyance at the restriction.
"You can't touch them," Aurelian explained seriously. "If you do, the pain will make you faint. They're bound to me and reject anyone else who tries to touch them."
They withdrew their hands and urged him to continue.
Aurelian began his story. He told them about the battle in the stadium, the rift in space, and how he came face to face with Death in limbo. He explained how the cosmic entity congratulated him for being the first to obtain and gather all three relics at once, and proceeded to explain the complex concept of being a "Fatebreaker"—someone untethered from the world's prophecies.
Of course, during his monologue, Aurelian skillfully glossed over the exact reason why he was a FateBreaker. He omitted the fact that his soul came from another world. That was the first, only, and unbreakable law of a reincarnated being: never, under any circumstances, tell anyone that you are reincarnated. It was a secret he would take to his grave.
Hestia and Flora listened intently. In their minds, as Aurelian spoke of his encounter, they both imagined Death as a terrifying, three-meter-tall skeleton wielding a scythe.
At least… until Aurelian, in his account, accidentally referred to the entity as "Lady Death."
Silence fell over the room.
The Carrow sisters' minds came to a screeching halt. The chilling image of the skeleton with the scythe vanished from their minds, replaced by the image of a seductive, voluptuous, and dangerous woman who had tried to trap and enchant their fiancé in another dimension to take him away from them.
Hestia and Flora's eyes darkened.
Both of them pounced on him. They grabbed the lapels of Aurelian's shirt, pulling him forward until their faces were just centimeters apart.
"Aurelian, my love," Hestia purred, her voice so sweet it made his blood run cold.
"We kindly ask you to explain to us in great detail… what the hell do you mean by 'Lady' Death?" Flora hissed, gripping the fabric of his shirt tightly.
Seeing the murderous instinct gleaming in his fiancées' eyes, Aurelian raised both hands in a clear gesture of surrender.
"Hey, stop imagining things that aren't there!" he quickly defended himself. "Absolutely nothing happened! We just talked at a table and she sent me back—I swear to you."
The twins scrutinized him for a few long, intense seconds, searching for any trace of a lie. Finding nothing, they abruptly let go of his shirt.
But before Aurelian could lower his hands and breathe a sigh of relief, Hestia and Flora pounced on him again. Pinning him against the mattress, they both buried their faces in his neck. They opened their mouths and bit him hard, marking their territory, leaving the painful imprint of their teeth on his neck so that any other entity—deity or witch—would know to whom he belonged.
"You're ours," they both whispered against his skin, licking the bite mark and kissing him.
Aurelian felt the sharp sting on his neck. He closed his eyes, let out a sigh of resignation at the twins' overwhelming intensity, and simply stroked their backs.
"Yes… whatever you say, my loves," he said softly, accepting his fate.
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