"No need to thank me at all," Mammon said. It licked its front paw in that slow, picky way cats do when they want to act like nothing matters much, but its eyes looked down at Estelle like it was above every living thing in the world. "Little Stelle, it has been a long time since we had a proper talk, just you and me."
The way it spoke made it sound like something big was coming, so Estelle tilted her head a little to one side. She looked at the big cat with wide, clear eyes that showed nothing but simple interest and focus on its face.
Maybe Mammon felt it was being too serious all of a sudden, because it cleared its throat with a small sound and made its voice a bit softer before it went on. "Stelle, let me ask you something. For someone from the Bellin family, what do you think is the most important thing of all?"
Estelle felt a bit lost for a second because the question came out of nowhere and sounded so deep. She sat there thinking hard while she looked into Mammon's serious eyes. After a moment she gave an answer that felt right to her. "Magic?" she said, not quite sure if that was what the cat wanted to hear.
Mammon did not look surprised at all by what she said. After all, out of every wizard and witch in the world, only the Bellins had such strong and special magic, so it made sense that she would think of that first.
But then the cat shook its head just a little. "Oneself," it answered quietly.
Estelle sat there stunned for a moment, her mouth open a tiny bit as she tried to take in what Mammon had just told her. The cat gave a soft little chuckle and kept talking in the same slow, careful way. "A true Bellin will never let themselves be treated badly or pushed around. Stelle, you should always put your own feelings and your own body first. The whole Belling family stands behind you and gives you that kind of strength. You only have to remember one simple rule."
Its voice dropped lower, and the next words came out cold and clear. "An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. When you face danger, do not waste time trying to talk sense into those useless people. A Bellin is not someone who gets bullied easily."
The clever little girl understood right away that Mammon was talking about what had happened with Pansy down by the lake. She thought about it quietly for a few seconds and then nodded to herself. She accepted the idea the cat was teaching her, the way a true Bellin should think, but one thing still puzzled her. "But I have not had my magic outburst yet," she said in a small voice. "I do not know any spells at all. So what am I supposed to do right now?"
Mammon looked very pleased that the good, studious little girl wanted to learn more about the Bellin way. It sat up a bit straighter and puffed out its chest proudly. "Well, things will be very different once your magic comes out fully," it said. "But for now, Stelle, you can use any power that is close to you to make sure the bad ones get exactly what they deserve."
It went on explaining in the same patient voice. "Just like when Draco gives you an apple and you give him back a pear, if Pansy gave you scars then you make sure she pays an equal price. Fair trade like that is one of the reasons the Bellin family has stayed strong for a thousand years."
Estelle took the words deep into her heart. She repeated them softly to herself. "Power that I can use…"
"Yes, exactly," Mammon said, still guiding her gently. "The Malfoy house that wants to stay close to the Bellins, me, Pegasus… all of them are part of that power you can use."
Estelle lowered her head and stayed quiet while she thought everything over. Mammon did not rush her at all. It just sat there beside her on the bed and started cleaning its fluffy fur with slow licks, waiting calmly.
Deep down the cat felt sure that even if Estelle did not go to Durmstrang like most Bellins in the past, the Slytherin students at Hogwarts would be very happy to welcome her. Bellins were born with all the qualities that fit Slytherin house perfectly. Stelle was still so young, like a clean sheet of paper waiting for the right hand to guide the brush and turn her into something bright and strong. That way the Bellin family, which had stayed quiet for so many generations, could finally step back into the light and shine like they did in Merlin's time.
Hmph, Pegasus had even said that if Mammon tried to tell little Stelle all this now, she might not understand it yet. But its Stelle was so smart. She had understood everything in one go!
If something like the Pansy trouble happened again, Stelle would be able to handle it all by herself next time, and Mammon would not even need to step in. The little sprout had to learn and grow on her own. That was what growing up really meant.
"Here, this is the gift that Pegasus and I got ready for you," Mammon said after a while. "Happy birthday, Stelle."
The cat reached out one paw and gently pushed the two black fruits that had been sitting by the pillow. They rolled smoothly until they stopped right in front of Estelle's eyes while she finished thinking.
The little girl's eyebrows moved without her meaning to. She remembered all the other strange things Mammon and Pegasus had fed her before this. There had been the roots from those man-eating flowers, the deep purple Yoyo Grass, the Devil Fruit that made loud popping noises when you bit it, and so many other weird plants she could not even name.
Estelle picked up the dark fruit in front of her with shaky fingers and looked at Mammon with big, worried eyes. Do I really have to eat this one too?
"Eat it, eat it, it will not hurt you at all," Mammon said with a wide grin. The cute, soft-looking cat suddenly reminded her of the big bad wolf from the old stories trying to trick Little Red Riding Hood.
Feeding little Stelle had always been something Mammon and Pegasus enjoyed doing together, even though they could never quite understand why her face sometimes looked so funny after she took a bite.
"By the way, one of these two fruits is meant for him," Mammon added, turning its head to look at the sleeping Draco. Its voice sounded a little grumpy, like it did not really want to share.
"Thank you, and please say thank you to Pegasus for me too," Estelle said politely, even though she still felt scared of the fruit. She took a small bite anyway. As soon as she did, a strange sour taste filled her whole mouth and made her wrinkle her nose tight.
"Well, you will have to wait until after Christmas to see Pegasus again," Mammon told her. "From what I know, Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy are planning to send you and Draco to stay with a potions master for a little while so he can make the medicine work better for you."
Estelle was not very interested in hearing about that potions master right now. She finished eating the fruit as fast as she could, trying not to think about the taste. Then she sat there quietly and looked at Draco's sleeping face for a long minute. His platinum hair fell softly over his forehead, and he looked so peaceful.
A naughty little idea came into her head. She reached out with one hand and carefully pushed the second black fruit toward his mouth.
The sour taste hit Draco's tongue right away and woke him up with a start. His eyes flew open wide, and he sat straight up in the chair like someone had poured cold water on him. He stared in shock at the little girl who was busy trying to push what looked like a poison apple between his lips.
"Aow—" he yelped, jumping up so fast that the chair scraped across the floor. He took a couple of quick steps back and asked in a shaky voice, "Stelle, Stelle… what are you holding?!"
Estelle tilted her head to one side with a sweet smile. "It is a birthday gift that Mammon gave me! It brought one for you too!"
Mammon would never do anything to hurt them, but her brother would never eat something that tasted so bad if he was awake to choose for himself. So what harm could there be in sharing? Share the good things and share the hard things too, that was only fair.
Draco looked over at Mammon, who was sitting with its chin held high and looking very sure that its gift was something special. The little boy suddenly felt tears prick his eyes. "How about… how about I just say no thank you very politely…" he tried.
Mammon turned its back on him right away, showing only its fluffy tail and looking very offended. Stinky boy who does not know a good thing when he sees it! If Pegasus had not wanted to give a present back to the Malfoy family, Mammon would never have shared something so special with him.
In the end Draco could not say no to Little Rose's big blinking eyes. She looked at him with so much hope and encouragement that he could not disappoint her. With a sad face he took the fruit and ate every bit of it, even though it made his whole mouth feel funny.
Luckily nothing bad happened like he had been afraid it would. After he gave Estelle a big, messy apology for jumping away like that, Draco spent the next few days feeling a little worried every time he thought about the strange fruit. But after a while the memory started to fade, and soon he forgot all about it completely.