Learn to live with the consequences
Cleo was born in a pureblood family. That meant fancy behaviour, fancy writing, strict parents, curses.
That last one did not necessarily belong to a pureblood family, but it did belong to hers. Unfortunately.
Her great great great great great great grandmother had made a deal with the devil in exchange for power. She and her descendants got all the power they wanted during the day, but during the night, when the moon kissed their skin, they would transform into God awful beasts, longing for human flesh.
It was not a commonly known fact that the Zombies were, in fact, real zombies. Not even the closest pureblood families to the Zombies knew about this, as it was their closest guarded secret. It was not a surprise what the other families would think about them when the secret got out.
Therefore, the first lesson Cleo taught was the lesson of secrecy.
Her grandmother Ismelica was the one to teach her. She was not particularly Cleo’s favourite family member, as she always carried a cane with her and hit someone with it when they were not doing a good enough job. Even five year old Cleo was not an exception from this.
“Cleopatra! How many a times do I hath to tell thou, that fiddling with thou feather is not chique, ma petite!” Ismelica yelled at the five year old.
“Je suis désolé, grand-mère. It shall not happen again.” Little Cleo rhythmically repeated to her grandmother. But the apology was not enough, as she grabbed her cane and hit Cleo on her hand. Tears sprung in the bright green eyes of the redhead but she never let them fall. Letting tears run freely was a crime within the family and would no doubt be followed with another hit from the cane.
“I know it shall not happen once more, because if I were to catch sight of such awfulness…” Ismelica did not finish her threat because it was more than clear for little Cleo.
The first time Cleo was really exposed to the curse was at the bare age of eight. It was tradition to the Zombies that once a child turned eight, they would be put in a cell where the moonlight would be able to touch them.
This time, it was Cleo’s turn.
“Do thou promise, Cleopatra Helena Demeter Daphne Zombie, to protect this and thou family with fire and flames and to guard this and thou family with iron and steel?” Grandmother Ismelica spoke as she began draping fine magenta silk over Cleo.
“Do thou promis, Cleopatra Helena Demeter Daphne Zombie, to accept all consequences of thine ancestors actions as a gift and embrace it and its power?” Spoke grand-mère Helena, as she draped turquoise silk over her beloved granddaughter.
Grand-mère Helena was the polar opposite of grandmother Ismelica; she believed that the way to keep the family strong was by showing love and kindness towards each other, whereas grandmother Ismelica thought that the only way someone behaved and acted in line was by beating it into them.
“Do thou promise, Cleopatra Helena Demeter Daphne Zombie, to love and care for this and thou family with iron and heat but unwilling to bend?” Grandfather Heraldus spoke as he draped purple silk over Cleo.
“Do thou promis, Cleopatra Helena Demeter Daphne Zombie, to aid in need of aid, to guard in need of guarding and to be quiet when need of silence?” Grand-père Antoine spoke as he draped the last silk over her small body, this time orange in colour.
“I will protect, guard, accept, embrace, love, care, aid and silence. I will promise to bring honour to our family as a proud family member and to guard our secret until my petals wilt of old age, sickness or battle.”
What followed was a pain too excruciating to write down in mortal tongue, but Cleo’s life was never the same after that. She now lived in constant fear of the moon, however pretty she might be.
She did not miss the moon very much though, because she had her own moon; Joseph Hills, more commonly known as Joe.
The Hills were one of the families with tight bonds to the Zombies and it just so happened that the two of them were about the same age, Cleo being a year older but none of that mattered to the two.
Joe was her moon in a sky she was no longer able to see, her little big light. He did not ask about her phobia of the night sky and instead taught her all he knew about the constellations she missed out on in astronomy classes (which she was legally allowed to skip thanks to her family pulling a few strings).
So when he presented her with a muggle invention he had discovered in one of his many trips to the muggle world, she was the first one to say yes and be with him all the way. Even if she did not understand a thing about muggles, as she had never met one before. But she could point out things that seemed logical to her as magicfolk.
She would choose his happiness over hers every time if possible, even as that meant dealing with some jealousy about his ability to explore and walk in the light of the moon.
Some families just sucked, but that all did not matter because soon she would find her own.