The next day passes in a blur. The homework load is immense and I try to work on it during the down time while my Felix brews. Dumbledore is an amazing teacher. I struggle with Transfiguration but he explains so well it was downright easy. Charms is fun, but the essay assigned will not be. History of Magic is rather dull, but we have to write a summary on the points causing the Salem Witch Trials in America.
By the time two hours have passed, my Felix is a clear color. This is a good indicator. It will need to stew for two more days before I add the next ingredient. Slughorn appraises my work and I can tell he is impressed because he says, 'I'm not sure teaching would be best for you. Do you want to work with brewing Hogwarts store potions for me and in return, you can use the rest of the time to pursue your own projects. I'm sure a potioneer like yourself has her own ideas to implement.' I flush at his compliment and accept his offer. His words of the day before are forgotten.
I meet Riddle in the hall. It feels only natural. We head for the library. I try to list out the points I will include in my essay. I'm just commenting on the brutality of it all when I hear a scream somewhere to the left of us. I feel the adrenaline spiking in my veins before we turn the corner. Before we get any further, a sharp looking woman comes running down the hall. 'Go back to your common rooms.' And I know the scared look in her eyes only too well. It's the same look I get when I think of my father.
Already my heart is beating a staccato against my ribs. I turn and head straight back to the common room. I try to count the stones beneath my feet. Does my father know I am here? Is this him operating through another? Or is it something else entirely. I only realize Riddle is not behind me when I fall through the stone curtain guarding the entrance to the common room.
I know something must be very wrong because some people are looking scared. I pull my cloak tighter around myself. In my room, I press my cold fingers to my temples. He can't get me. He can't get me. I repeat like a mantra to myself. I slip back into the common room when I hear the students stop talking. There must be news.
'Miss Marr has been petrified,' Slughorn tells us. A clamor of questions meets this announcement. How? Why? He is evasive. I realize the staff doesn't know why. If this happens again, I know Hogwarts will be in danger. People will assume Grindelwald has infiltrated Hogwarts. Slughorn retreats back out the door after giving us a new set of rules and curfews. Astronomy tonight has been cancelled.
'Are you okay?' A smooth voice asks me. I don't have to turn to know it's Riddle. I look at him, 'I just hope this was a one time thing.' I don't explain further. I came here to escape my tyrannical father, not deal with more of his antics. But if there is one thing I will do, it is stop his minion. I will find the person responsible for this. I feel something cold in the bottom of my stomach. I realize it is anger. I am sick of people preying on the weak. I'm done.
I came to Hogwarts to ally myself with the person my father fears and hates most. Dumbledore will not let this school close. I will do anything to assist him. I reach into the inner pocket of my robes. I touch the two vials there. One deadly poison, one antidote. I find an empty table in the dark corner. Riddle follows. I set to work on my assignments. I finish them as quickly as possible but it still takes a couple hours. I enjoy the work. It drowns out the thoughts of murder.
When I finish, I notice people leaving the common room, heading for dinner. I get up and wave my wand. My things vanish to my room. Riddle does the same. He hasn't spoken since asking me if I was okay. He seems off, distant. His mind is certainly on something else. Of this, I am certain. He does not seem scared, though.
Dinner passes in a rush of conversation about what happened. Apparently a Muggle-born Hufflepuff was petrified. Already, I feel the disgust well up in my. Blood prejudice has been taken much too far. I know this better than most. For a second, my father's face flashes in front of my eyes. I blink and he's gone.
I leave dinner before the others. I need to calm down and formulate a plan. I walk through the Hogwarts corridors alone. I feel ghost-like. Maybe I should leave. I might be able to do better work outside the castle. But the thought of leaving the safety this place gives me is terrifying. Instead, I try to think.
I can't think of any of Grindelwald's supporters with ties to Hogwarts. It's possible it's someone else. I close my eyes. Whoever is doing this is either unaware of the implications of attacks on muggle-borns or is disregarding them. Durmstrang was closed over student attacks for a few months after my father was expelled. Here, I am sure they would close the school. Especially to shut down an inside agent.
Then, a terrible thought occurs to me. Something that should have occurred to me much sooner. What if they think it's me? Here I am, a blood relative of Grindelwald. The week I arrive, there's an attack on a muggle-born student. My chest feels tight. I need air. I reverse course away from the dungeons. I don't know how to get around, but I know the building has towers. Towers with tall roofs.
I head upwards. I climb all the staircases I find. Eventually I reach a room that I can only guess is the Astronomy classroom. It's empty, but there is a long balcony that looks straight into the sky. I glide to the edge of the railing. I hate heights almost as much as I hate the dark. Instead of looking down, I turn my eyes skyward. It's freezing up here, but at least I can breathe.
I sit down on the cold stone and stare up at the stars. I label the constellations in my head and let myself enjoy the silence. I hear an owl hoot in the night. I close my eyes and lean up against the rails. I feel so empty, like a gust of wind could push me off this tower. I wonder if I should let it. Is this the life I want to be living? Broken and on the run. Before I can contemplate this further, a voice startles me out of my reverie.
'Students aren't allowed up here outside of class time.' The smooth voice scares me so much that I'm on my feet with my wand in my hand within a blink of an eye. It's Tom, of course.
'Why are you here?' I ask.
'Prefect rounds.' I almost laugh. Imagine a world in which your biggest fears were getting caught by prefects for being out of bounds.
'Sorry, I didn't know.' And it's true.
He knows this and says, 'It's fine. How about I walk you back to the common room.' I nod, words have abandoned me. We head down the stairs in silence. He takes a different way than I did coming up. I'm about to step down when his fingers circle my wrist. I stop.
My wrist burns where his skin meets mine. 'You're freezing,' he comments. I shrug, I always feel cold. 'Trick step,' he says nodded at the step I was about to reach. He lets go of my wrist and I jump over the step. My skin feels scorched. I can't remember the last time someone actually tried to touch me like that, unassuming and innocent. I shiver.
We reach the dungeons a little bit later. I stop, not ready to re-enter the common room. At that exact moment, a first year turns the corner. 'Miss Rosalie?' He asks. I nod. 'This is for you,' and he shoves a rolled up parchment towards me. I grab it. Uncurling it slowly, I read the contents.
Please meet me in my office at once.
AD
There is absolutely no doubt about who sent it. I can feel my heart beating quicker. He can't send me away, he can't. I know it's desperate even as I think it. 'Where's Dumbledore's office?' I ask. Tom looks puzzled but I don't have it in me to explain.
'I can walk you there,' he offers. I nod.
We ghost through the halls. I'm already preparing a defense of my case. I will do anything to stay here. Albus is my protection. I tug on a blond curl pensively... I hate that I look like him. It's awful. I can't look into the mirror without seeing my father's eyes. We arrive sooner than I would like. Tom offers to wait outside. I don't answer. I can't.
Inside, I turn to Albus. I point my wand at the door, waving it non-verbally. It's the strongest silencing spell I know. Tom hasn't won my trust. No one here has. 'Marie,' Albus greets.
'I know why you called me here. I had nothing to do with the attack. I swear it on pain of death. I'll take Veritaserum. Mind you, I have a bit of a resistance, so you need to give me double the dose. I swear, I would never do that. I have done everything to distance myself from my father's legacy.' He holds up a hand and I shut up instantly.
It's the most I've spoken since the night I arrived. I touch the two bottles through the robe. One poison, one antidote. Take a life, save a life. 'I believe you.' I gape. 'We found a message near the body. It said, "The heir of Slytherin has returned."'
My eyebrows shoot up, 'What does that mean?'
'Supposedly that the Chamber of Secrets is open.' This does nothing to clear up my confusion. Albus explains about the history of Hogwarts and I start to understand. 'This allows me to conclude that it could not have been you, Marie. No one in your family has attended Hogwarts and I knew Gellert well enough to know that he did not believe himself to be the heir to any of the founders.' I nod.
'I wanted to ask you to keep an eye out, though. Since your house is implicated, would you just keep your eyes open?'
'Yes. I'll do anything,' I exhale.
'Are you settling in okay?' He asks. And here is the difference between him and Gellert. He cares.
I gulp, 'I still have panic attacks. Moments where someone says something and it reminds me of something. Someone mentioned my mother's name. He killed her,' my voice cracks. It's the first time I've admitted it. She's gone. It makes it real.
'I'm sorry,' the professor says. I can tell he means it.
'I should go,' I say. I feel exhausted and battered. It's hard to believe that I was sitting in his class earlier today.
'Goodnight, Marie. Please don't hesitate to ask if you need something.' I bow slightly and thank him. I wave my wand, letting my silencing spell break and return to the corridor. Tom has surprised me. He's still waiting.
My emotions are running high and I press my hands onto my eyes till I see stars. 'My mother's dead,' I say in a hollow voice.
'Did you just find out?' I shake my head. I take a step and stumble. And its crashing down. My carefully boxed up mind is failing me. The barriers are dissolving and I can feel the crisp autumn day when my mother bought me my wand. I can taste the sea air where we would summer. I can feel her skin beneath my fingers and I can smell her shampoo. I can see our potions lab and hear her laugh. And then the tears come. I feel so, so alone without her.
I'm gasping for air. Riddle looks shocked, like he has no idea how to deal with this. I sob. I take a shaky step forward and crash to the floor. I register the pain in some far corner of my mind. I'm so tired. But I fight sleep, because I don't want the nightmares. It's been days since I slept. I can't imagine how I must seem, sobbing in the 4th floor corridor, curled up into a ball on the cold stone floor.
I can't find the energy to get back up. I can't find the energy to want to be alive anymore. I suddenly wish I was made of dust so I could be blown away with a gust of wind. I feel the two vials digging into my side. One poison, one antidote. I sob and think about why I have them. The poison is easy, in case someone finds me. I swallow it before they can hurt me or make them swallow it. The antidote a little more complicated. It's mercy and love and forgiveness.
But then, I feel a slight pressure. An arm below my knees and one supporting my head. I can hear a heartbeat that isn't mine. I focus on it, let it ground me. I'm being lowered into something soft. I reach out to the person carrying me, grabbing their wrist. I let my fingers cover their pulse. That calming heartbeat. I'm covered with warmth. Something is being forced down my throat. I don't care what it is. I feel the sleepiness. The hand in mine tries to pull away. 'No,' I croak, 'Please don't leave me. I can't take another person leaving me.' So the hand stays.