The Power of Suggestion
by Alexis Riddle

The air was heavy and thickly laden with the perfume of musk mixed with whiskey that never seemed to dissipate from the grimy walls, perpetuating the essence of the Hog's Head pub. Shrouded in a black hooded cloak, Selene Lupin approached the ancient oak door of the pub, drawing in a breath which betrayed her guise of confidence. Now that she was here, she was reluctant to go in. What if the author of the letters had been all this time misleading her?

The letters, written on richly decorated parchment in fine, loopy handwriting had begun to arrive late one night while Selene was frequenting the Astronomy Tower for time to think. A dark screech owl with vibrant yellow eyes had nearly scared her as it snuck up on her to deliver the first of what was to be four letters in total, each more explicit than the next. At first, it had just seemed a little odd that the writer seemed to know little obscure facts about her and was describing them in perfect detail. However, the details became more personal and by the fourth letter, Selene was preparing an agitated reply telling whoever it was to 'sod off and mind their own business'. Selene had hesitated, though, because at the end of the fourth letter had been an enticing offer.

I can tell you what
is to come as well.

Selene didn't hold much for fortune-telling and the anonymity of this supposed Seer troubled her, but curiosity had already been planted in her mind and was beginning to germinate.

And so it had come to be that she now stood in front of the Hog's Head, the place appointed for their rendezvous, pulling the hood father down over her face so her nose, mouth, and chin were visible. Slowly, rebuilding her resolve, she pulled the creaky door open and stepped inside.

It didn't take very long at all for Selene to find who she was looking for. In the far corner sat a young woman, barely older than she was, hidden behind the hood of a navy blue cloak. Dark brown hair fell from the depths of the hood, but this was the only distinguishable feature.

"Sit down, if you please." The voice that met her as she approached the Seer wasn't the typical mystical and airy tone most diviners used to entertain their customers. It was young, urgent, and had a good potential for sarcasm. Had it not been for the eerie accuracy of the letters, Selene would have thought this all a hoax.

Selene sat and the woman in front of her placed her hands, folded, on the table, leaning forward slightly. "I don't have much time," she said, keeping her voice down and Selene could tell she was casting glances this way and that, checking for eavesdroppers.

"Your name is Selene Lupin, you are a fifth year Gryffindor at Hogwarts School and you are currently wondering where Will Parry is and what he would think if he saw you here with me," said the woman smoothly and if there was any doubt in her mind, it was well hidden.

Selene stared at her. The only person who knew about her attraction to the Parry boy was—

"Tara!"

The woman raised her chin and Selene caught sight of a small grin.

"Tara Tucker, your best friend of five years, is in Madame Puddifoot's with a boy named Charlie Lowe. She wanted to follow you without being conspicuous.

Selene faltered, but maintained her composure. This Seer was good, but so far she had only said things that already happened or could be told on a good guess. She needed more.

"What's going to happen when I go back to the castle?" Selene asked, raising an eyebrow slightly.

"Don't patronize me," said the woman in a scandalized voice. "Do I look like a common palm-reader to you?"

She was right, Selene had to agree, but how did she know she could trust what the Seer had to say?

"Well, if you're a Seer, you should be able to See something…" said Selene smoothly.

The woman paused, concentrating, and it was a minute or so before she spoke again.

"There will be a commotion in the Gryffindor Common Room concerning someone close."

Just as Selene was etching the words into her mind, something happened that she would never forget. All of a sudden, the woman's shoulders went rigid and a voice came from the hood unlike any she had ever heard before. It was a mixture of the woman's voice and a deeper, gruff growl of a voice, if it could be called that at all. What chilled her more than the devilish sound and the gaunt, unmoving form was what she was actually saying.

"The love child of a hidden affair will rise as the thieves of Future bear the fruits of true love: the most powerful Dark with to terrorize our land. Though her powers lie immeasurable, she will fall to the Riddle Fifth Descending, born to the thieves of Future. The Chosen one need only take this child in as one of her own, and she will prove no threat."

A silence rang in their little corner as Selene took in this heady news. "You mean," she began, "That this…that I…that was about me?"

"I can say no more," said the Seer, as she checked her watch and stood to leave. Her voice had gone back to its almost childlike tone. Selene stood up as well.

"Wait—" she began, grabbing the woman's slender wrist. Her hood slid back and for a split second, their eyes met. Selene recoiled, startled. But for a nose with a small bump on the bridge dotted with freckles, it was almost like looking into a mirror.

Before Selene could stop her again, the Seer replaced her hood and backed away form the table. A disturbance at the door made Selene look around, and when she turned back, the woman was gone.

"Selene, there you are! I've been looking all over for you. You'll never guess who I met on the High Street!"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

It was nine o'clock that night and Selene had just finished telling Tara about everything that had happened, including the letters.

"Well it's pretty obvious, isn't it?" began Selene, "It was a prophecy."

"But you don't think it's true, do you? I mean…you wouldn't do all that--" Tara broke off in the middle of her sentence; for reason she couldn't explain, she was terrified by the look on Selene's face. It was almost eager, and a little too cynical for Tara's liking.

"Selene?"

But Selene suddenly longed to be alone. Ignoring Tara's please, she stood and made her way out of the Astronomy Tower, where the two had gone for privacy. Now, Selene wanted privacy from herself.

Several minutes later, Selene stepped past the foremost trees of the Forbidden Forest, treading an unmarked path she knew better than the creatures of the forest themselves. Over the years, the trees had become hers. Her monthly—and sometimes oftener—presence had been unwelcome at first—particularly by the centaurs. They had sought to drive her out the first few months, and she had been more than willing to let them. However, as the necessity for solitary confinement pressed with every transformation she endured, the centaurs had begun to relent. After the first year, they had become accustomed to her presence and even offered to help protect her when intruders entered their beloved woods.

The deeper into the forest she went, the more she began to feel at home. No one would bother her here; all the students were afraid, Hagrid was getting older, and the creatures had come to ignore her. Finally, she found the small clearing that was her favorite part of the forest. She had yet to venture past it in the five years she had attended the school. Something in the back of her mind had always warned her against going further, even in her werewolf state.

Slowly, the night wore on as Selene lay in the middle of the clearing, watching a patch of sky unobscured by trees. At first, her mind had been reeling, thrilling with the dark possibilities that had been set before her. With time, her thoughts quieted to where she could sort them out.

"I'm not meant for that, am I?" she asked the wind, a hidden truth buried in her voice. It was true, ever since she was a child, she had been fascinated by the Dark Arts. When her father had lied—for she had found out the truth a few years later—and said her mother had been killed by the Death Eaters, Selene could not quell her burning curiosity. Who were the Death Eaters? Voldemort's followers. Why did they follow Voldemort? Because he was a powerful wizard who offered protection to those who did his bidding. Why didn't he protect Mommy? Because she wasn't a Death Eater.

But, despite her father's attempts at shrouding what had really happened, Selene had always known her mother was a part of the thing that so deeply caught her attention.

Years later, when that woman had come to visit her father, she had seen the mingled look of amazement, relief, and betrayal on his face, Selene knew it had all been a lie. The woman was her mother; she saw it in the way her father had kissed her. Selene, merely three years old at the time, had begged Remus to bring her back, but there was nothing he could do.

The worst feeling in the world is retrieving someone who was lost, but having them ripped from your heart a second time. Nothing heals this wound, and for Remus and Selene, it had left a scar rivaled only by one legendary brand in the form of a lightning bolt.

And this pain, miraculous in its intensity, drove Selene almost to a state of madness as she grew older. She honed it in her love for potion-making and that had seemed to be enough for a while. But now, at the tender age of fifteen, she felt the passion flare inside her, this time accompanied by a sudden loathing for the O'Reilly children. Those ignorant third years had taken from Selene everything she had ever wanted: the love and affection only a mother could give, the very same thing Alexis herself had longed for as a child. Of course, Selene did not recognize this striking similarity that bound herself to her mother in magical bonds so deep that if ever Alexis and Selene were to come face-to-face in a battle to the death, the victor would become empty, unsatisfied, and the rest of her miserable life would be cursed, doomed to failure. So deep was Selene's loathing for her mother that this went entirely unnoticed.

Now, in the silent meadow, she felt a being awake in her, bloodthirsty and hungry for the sweet taste of revenge. Abhorrence coursed through her veins at the mere thought of Will, who had been snatched up before Selene had gotten a chance. She would make them pay. The only question was—how?

The answer came, as if on cue, in the form of the soft pop! of apparition. Selene sat up slowly, casting around for the source of the sound.

"I didn't know you could apparate into the forest…" she said softly, her voice lost to the continuing apparition and the low muttering that ensued. As Selene followed the voices, she came upon a larger clearing just beyond her own, separated by a few feet of thick foliage. Ducking behind a bush, she watched as one after another, figures in dark cloaks with hoods and masks appeared. Though more arrived by the second, their speech never grew louder than a whisper and had she not seen them before her, Selene may have doubted their existence. As they arrived, each took up their spot in a circle that encompassed the clearing; the ones near her were barely a foot away and Selene was sure they would hear her breathing above their whispers, but if they could, they ignored it. Suddenly, the apparation ceased and a thick silence stole the air, and with it, Selene's breath. For there, in the middle of the ring of his followers, stood Lord Voldemort himself.

The mere appearance of the most widely feared of all wizards was enough to shock Selene into a silence so complete that she neither stirred nor drew breath until he spoke.

"Death Eaters, you have come tonight on account of a great attack on our forces. Ten among you have recently been caught and sent to Azkaban…"

Selene looked around and was surprised to find that she hadn't noticed the ten empty spaces between Death Eaters. Indeed, a place for two people, unoccupied yet not closed in by the others, was the reason she was witnessing this at all.

"Foolish of me, for entrusting in you the simple task of finding the girl," continued the smooth voice that never ventured above mezzo piano. Perhaps it was his ability to instill such coldness in words so soft that made the Death Eaters quake, for each one of them were moving uneasily. A mutter came from the opposite end of the clearing that Selene had been unable to discern. Voldemort had evidently understood it, as he wheeled around, his dark robes flowing like wraiths, as if they were an entity on their own, lazily covering their master only because they could think of nothing better to do.

"In disguise?" the Dark Lord asked, and despite the urgency of his actions, his voice was as calm and composed as ever, however laced with ridicule.

Selene's insides froze. Surely this was a coincidence. It couldn't be the same prophecy she had received that day. What were the chances? Regardless of the curiosity begging her to inquire further, Selene kept still, straining her ears to listen.

The Death Eater muttered something that could have been an apology, but Voldemort paid him no heed. Instead, he raised his wand and pointed it directly at the man's chest. Before he could do anything to stop it, he was on the ground, writhing and howling with pain. Selene instantly recognized the curse as the Cruciatus and she winced involuntarily.

A moment later, Voldemort lifted his wand and surveyed the rest of them in silence. The only noise that accompanied the gentle breeze as it sifted through leaves and tree branches was the panting of the tortured Death Eater. Selene had gone pale; her breathing stilled as the Dark Lord's eyes passed swiftly over her hiding spot, then paused. Every muscle in her body tensed up, yet she was paralyzed with fear. He had seen her, she was done for, it would take days--months perhaps, before they found her body, contorted with fear and pain. And yet, he continued on.

"Are there to be any more excuses as to why the child was not caught?" he asked, daring someone to reply to this otherwise rhetorical question. Panic thrilled in the back of Selene's mind. Was she the child he was speaking of? But she hadn't been the one to give the prophecy--or had she? The Seer had looked remarkable like herself. Perhaps...but no, that was absurd.

"We will try again, my Lord," came a woman's humble voice from Selene's left. Voldemort turned slowly this time and Selene inwardly wished the woman had said nothing, for she knew what was about to happen.

"Next time? Dear Nabakov, you should have worked it out by now that there shall be no next time..." With this, he raised his wand and the woman gasped, and put her hands up in front of her, begging for mercy.

"Please, I did not mean--we should not have failed the first time! Please, I beg of you!"

"Now, now...don't take it so personally. You are not the only imbecile present." Afterwards, he gave her a round of the Cruciatus curse which sent her sprawling into the bushes beside Selene, who froze. Again, however, Voldemort's gaze lingered upon her, but swiftly moved away. If she was who they'd been after, surely he would have done something.

Taking to pacing slowly, the Dark Lord addressed them all, his voice taking on a thoughtful quality as if he were working out the specifics of a fairly difficult algebra equation. "The child has no doubt returned to her time in hopes that her delicately constructed plan will work. I must not let this be so."

In his pause, the Death Eaters fidgeted uncomfortably. They knew that what was coming next was not going to be good.

"In any other case, I would have entrusted this matter to you, but as you have proven yourselves exceedingly incompetent, I have decided to take matters into my own hands." Voldemort turned, and this time, his eyes met with Selene's and did not turn away. What she heard next startled her, though she had been waiting for it all along.

"Selene, you may come out now." Apparently, this came as a shock to the Death Eaters as well as they all turned their heads to watch while she slowly stood, glancing about at them all.

Eagerly, though under the pretense of reluctance, she climbed out of the foliage and joined in the circle. At this, Voldemort let out a light laugh that would have made any normal person cringe, but that made Selene feel encouraged and wanted, almost needed.

"Closer...I want to see my granddaughter." A whisper ran through the crowd, but they didn't matter to Selene anymore. Her mind was swimming. Granddaughter? Of course, it all made sense. Alexis, who she, through intuition and eavesdropping, had found out was her mother had an uncommon surname. One that couldn't possibly have been coincidental. Alexis Riddle. Selene was one of the descendents of Lord Voldemort.

Now, the rest of the Death Eaters didn't exist to her. All she cared about was finding the moonlight so she could be revered by the man in front of her. For the first time in her life, she was proud of what she was, her looks, the way she carried herself. If he was satisfied, so was she.

"Ahh…" he said softly as her slender form stepped into a beam of moonlight. Her pale face cradled in long locks of silken ebony hair matched the moon in the velvet, starless sky. She was truly beautiful in an awkward way, but she would come into her own with time. And the eyes, so innocent with their emerald sheen, mirrored those of the young woman whom his lover had borne so many years ago.

For reasons unknown to her, Selene felt compelled to bow, so, delicately, and with more poise than she had ever though herself capable of, she inclined her head slightly and lowered her eyes modestly.

"My Lord..." she murmured, not raising her eyes again until she felt his presence nearby. He had approached her and gently laid a hand on the side of her cheek. Selene looked into the cold, yet searing, eyes of the Dark Lord Voldemort and an agreement was decided upon at that moment. Not another sign of affection was he to bestow upon her, and she would eternally do his bidding, always with the memory of this night.

Complete and utter darkness had fallen upon the castle of Hogwarts before Selene reached the grounds again. Taking a deep breath, she emerged from the forest feeling rejuvenated and more alive than ever before. Though her right arm twinged with the sacrifice of her will, she felt as if she had gained all the freedom she could ever want. No one would ever underestimate Selene Lupin again.

What had happened after grandfather and granddaughter parted did so in such a manner that Selene had already forgotten most of the details. So quickly had she been sent into the whirlwind of a Death Eater meeting that she had had no time to second-guess herself. She was now officially a Death Eater, and there was to be no turning back.

The return journey to Gryffindor Tower was short, but perhaps it only seemed to be so because Selene was so buried in her thoughts, she didn't care much for getting distracted. Instead, just as the thought of what he father would say struck her, she came upon the portrait of the fat lady.

"Lacewi--" Selene paused. She could hear voices from inside the common room, one of which was unfamiliar.

"I love her, Dad. I do. And I swear, if you take me away from her, I'll hate you with all of my soul forever, and I'll never speak to you again." This, she recognized, was Will's voice and the next was deeper, more refined, though there was no mistaking it; the man was related to Will.

"You don't know what love is--"

"OF COURSE I DO! And it's more than what you show for Mom! If that's what you call love, then you're sadly mistaken."

Selene sank against the wall opposite the portrait, her stomach churning.

"There will be a commotion in the Gryffindor common room concerning someone close."

The Seer had been right. Thunder rolled in the distance, seemingly paying homage to the solemnity of the night's occurrences, as Selene turned away from the portrait in a daze. If the Seer had been right about such a trivial thing, then surely her reports on such substantial matter as the fate of a future murderer were bound to be valid, at least to some degree.

But now that Selene knew of her destiny, could she change it? Or better yet, thought Selene, would she want to?