The coming months were far too busy to investigate Naomi's accusations. In the five weeks between the return to Hogwarts and the February visit, Eric filed two project papers, had ten clairvoyance practices with Professor Trelawney, and the Ravenclaw Quidditch team had two games. The first was against Slytherin, after which Lenora was admittedly in a good mood since Flint's team had managed to pound and batter their way to a narrow victory. The second was an annoying loss to Gryffindor, which left her less than cheery when her house fell into disgrace. Several Slytherins tried to sabotage the Gryffindor team. Not only did they fail, but the house got a serious demerit from their actions.

In the meantime, there were the Twilight Circle meetings. Several of the instructors had been seen during the meetings, apparently monitoring the subjects of the myriad discussions. Although Eric could admit that the topics sometimes ranged off of the 'approved' list, they never turned to anything too dark. Mostly, the students all kept to the basics – how to use magic in different ways or how to gain more power. Eric kept on with his studies of alternative magic, taking periodic breaks to discuss the behavior of magical creatures or to work out some new problem for Fred and George. The curious thing was that lately he wasn't seeing any results from their conversations. He began to get worried that the two of them were working their way to something big.

When the Spring visit finally came around, Eric couldn't be more relieved. True, it meant having to hold to proper manners all day, but at least he had Dorian and Tylena for moral support. The fact was, Eric envied Dorian; between the two Slytherin girls they were walking with, he had gotten the best of the deal. True, she had a superiority streak that was kind of hard to cover over, and she was an annoying perfectionist. However, there was a genuine kindness she had, especially when dealing with Dorian. As much as she criticized him, she was never cruel or mean, engaging in one kind of smirk or another to blunt whatever she said.

Lenora, on the other hand, was impossible to figure out. Although she seemed insistent on going to Madam Puddifoots with him, once they got there she couldn't stay put. She was constantly moving from one table to another, talking with any number of her friends while Eric simply followed along. Finally, he saw Dorian and Tylena call him over. Picking a discrete moment, he quietly shuffled over to join with his friends.

Dorian pushed over a soda. "Having a rough day of it, partner?"

Eric looked across the table at his friend. His companion was leaning against his shoulder, looking at Eric with the most sympathetic of expressions. "You wouldn't happen to know why she insisted I bring her here, when she's just going to go about talking with everyone else?"

She suddenly straightened up, looking very nervous. "No! As far as I knew, you two were going to be spending the day together. Besides, I had heard that this was your idea."

Eric thought for a moment. "Well, sort of yes and sort of no. It's complicated." Eric sighed and stared into his soda. "I hate complicated."

Dorian patted his shoulder. "Head up, my friend. Things aren't as bad as they appear."

"You know, I could just vanish from here, and she'd never notice."

Dorian broke into a mischievous grin. "Go for it!"

"Huh?"

"Let's go, right now!" He turned to Tylena. "You up to it?"

Only a moment's uncertainty passed across her face. "All right."

Eric thought hard. It would have to be something worth getting yelled at. A smile creased across his face. "I know just the place."

Sneaking out through the door, Eric noted that Lenora still hadn't noticed that he was gone. Gaining purpose from this, he led his friends up and out of Hogsmeade. Dorian was the first to notice. "You know, all the good shops are back that way."

"I know. This is something else."

Dorian looked concerned. "What else?"

"A haunted house."

Eric continued up the road until he found the house that Avery told him about. It was old and dilapidated, clearly abandoned. Tylena looked to her companions nervously. "Are you sure this is a good idea?"

Eric turned to Dorian. "Wait here and make sure no one else comes up this way. I should just be a few minutes."

Entering the house, Eric could smell the musty remains of old curtains. He also felt a strange sensation. It was kind of like the clairvoyant episodes he had been having, but it was directed. Following the sensation, he found himself in an open, furnished room. The roof had been leaking, and everything was in a horrid state of disrepair except for a chandelier hanging in the middle of the room. It was an older style, with crystals hanging from several points. The oddest thing was, the lowest crystal in the middle was glowing.

Eric knew that, by rights, he should leave it alone. Such enchantments were rarely beneficial. However, there was something about the blue glow it gave off that was more than welcoming. He could just feel that it was right. He could take the crystal and nothing unfortunate would happen.

As he grasped the gem, he could feel the room spin. When it stopped, everything remained, but standing in front of him was a young woman with extremely sharp features. "Eric – is that you?"

Eric could barely breathe. "Mother?"

She smiled briefly. "Yes – and no. Please let me explain.

"I'm a prepared memory. At the time when I'm enchanting this crystal, I'm in a lot of trouble. Very powerful people are looking for me, and they may kill me and take you. You're just a baby, sweet and innocent. I can't let anything happen to you. While I can't imagine you growing up without me, I can't keep you with me, so I'm going to – or rather I expect I have turned you over to Hagrid the Hogwarts groundskeeper. He's a bit uncouth, but he's got a heart of gold. I'm sure he took great care of you."

Eric smiled to her. "He did. I missed you, but he's been wonderful."

"I'm glad. Now, as for this crystal; I enchanted it, imprinting all my memories into it. It's a powerful spell and it most likely left me drained, but if I can't escape the people following me, magic won't save me. I'm happier knowing that I left a part of myself for you, to be there for you. We can talk, I can respond just as your mother would, and maybe I can show you how much I love you."

Eric looked to the crystal. The release was actually quite easy to figure out. "Can anyone else see you?"

"No, so you have to be careful when talking to me. Otherwise, your friends and teachers will all think you're off your noggin'." She smiled broadly. "Now, I haven't been through Hogsmeade in decades. Shall we take a walk?"

Eric left the house with a crystal around his neck and a song in his heart. Assuring his friends that he was fine, he led them from one shop to another, the image of his mother dutifully tagging along, apparently seeing everything he did. The shops and sights were a delight for her, and he really didn't mind showing her about, seeing as he finally had his mother back, even if it was only after a fashion.

As the evening started to draw to a close, the group of them made their way to the carriages. While they approached, Eric saw Lenora looking about, seeming rather upset. Although he quickly turned away to get to another coach, Evelyn picked up on the fact that something was amiss. "Oh! Who was that? Who was it Eric? Someone you don't want me to see? Turn about – I want to see her." Her questioning became more intense and irritating, worse because he was surrounded by his friends and couldn't tell her to shut up.

Dorian began to realize that something was amiss, but Eric waived him off. "It's just something I ate. I'll probably get some bread or something from the kitchen to settle things down before I go to bed."

Tylena wasn't as easily convinced. "Are you sure it isn't something more personal? Perhaps a certain girl who's bound to be trouble for you when we get back?"

Eric was about to respond sharply when he caught himself. There really wasn't any need to be unpleasant, and she was just teasing. "Look, I'm really not in the mood. Can we just let it go?" In the middle of all this Evelyn was looking totally dejected, as if betrayed by a most trusted friend.

When they got back to the school, Eric headed downstairs rather than to the Ravenclaw common room. Turning through some of the more darkened corridors, he made his way to his old studio. Upon entering, Evelyn was less than impressed. "Why are you bringing us here? What kind of dingy hole is this?"

Eric turned to the image. "To answer in reverse order: this dingy hole is my shop, where I made my first broom and my first wand. It's also where I lived for the six years prior to starting at Hogwarts. I brought you here so that we can finally talk."

Evelyn seemed to sigh for a moment. "Eric, I'm sorry. I shouldn't make things difficult for you. You have to understand, I've been in that crystal asleep for over ten years. I can't begin to tell you how good it is to interact with someone – anyone. I'm afraid I got too excited."

It was Eric's turn to sigh; his mother's confession took all the force out of his anger. "Yeah, well, it's just that she and I, well, things aren't working out. She's Slytherin..."

Evelyn suddenly became indignant. "I was Slytherin!"

Eric looked straight at her. "Well, so was I, but that didn't work out either!"

"No? What happened?"

So it was that for the next two hours Eric sat with the memory of his mother and filled her in on the highlights within the last three years of his life. Evelyn was, for the most part, very pleased, though disappointed that he couldn't work things out when he entered Slytherin house. "You know, not all Slytherin students are bad people. It would be impossible to justify continuing the house if that were the case."

"I know, mum. It's just that we didn't get along. They were too into being better than everyone else by knocking them down rather than building themselves up."

"That's because beating others down is the easier method. I'm sure Slytherin house still has many good students, too. That's the way it was in my day."

"I'm sure they do, I just don't know them. Look – I have to go. It's late." He paused for a moment. "I'm thinking of leaving the gem here, so that I can talk with you without being accidentally gawked at."

Evelyn looked disappointed, but nodded. "As long as you don't forget about me."

"I just found my mother again. I don't think you'll be apart from me for long." Eric held out his hand to her. She was just a memory, but it was as if they could almost touch. He took off the crystal and she was gone. As he made his way back to the Ravenclaw dorms, he almost felt like everything was just as it should be; but before he could enter the common room, a voice came out from a dark corridor.

"How dare you walk out on me?" Lenora came out of the shadows. The dark look on her face prompted Eric to quickly check to see if her wand was out. "I turned about to look for you, but you were gone. I felt like such an idiot."

Eric tried to hold his ground, but found himself backing away from her. "You were talking with everyone else. There was nothing for me to do but stand there."

"So where did you go, and why didn't you ask me along?"

Eric almost panicked. He didn't want to tell her about Evelyn, but he couldn't come up with a plausible story. "I just went about. I felt like being alone for a while."

"Well, you can be alone all you want now!" With that, she turned about and stormed down the corridor. Watching her go, Eric actually felt more relieved than sad. It was unpleasant, but at least it was over.