Chapter 29 – Seven Little Souls

November 30, 1997 - Journal Entry

Myrtle watched Tom often, always admired and swooned over him from a distance. He grew increasingly annoyed by her impulsive thoughts. One night he sat down unsolicited with her in the library to talk. She grew nauseatingly excited, and word vomited several things about her she thinks he will find fascinating. She revealed that she's a muggle born, that her mum died when giving birth to her little brother Martin, and that her dad had apprehension about magic and worried about her going to school there. He listened intently and made her blush. He watched them carry her body out of the bathroom. It is unclear how much time elapsed.

December 5, 1997 - Journal Entry

He appeared to be wandering a town in southeast Europe - Albania presumably. There was a small catholic church with the front cathedral doors open. Tom, in his twenties roughly, peered in while in passing at a girl on her knees praying in front of a large cross. She stood and walked toward the doors to close them. He apologized politely for the intrusion, his eyes locked on her face and eyes. She asked if he wanted to stay, but he admitted his ignorance to religion. 'He forgives all sins, if you accept him into your heart,' she said, leading him slowly into the cathedral. He looked around curiously, fascinated by the premises.

'But for that, my dear, you would need a heart,' he laughed coldly. Her face froze in fear and confusion. She then described for him the rituals and objects he inquired about as he examined the room.

'You live here, I take it?' He asked. She admitted she was left by her family at the church and lived at the convent, she planned to become a nun to avoid marriage. He asked why she didn't want to get married, but she didn't answer and looked flushed. 'ah, well men are evil creatures, I'm sorry,' he said pervasively, reading the abuse in her eyes. She invited him to mass the following day. He returned and waited patiently through the service, eyes fixed on the girl who was no older than thirteen. Then he watched with satisfaction as every congregation member dropped dead from the sacrament he poisoned. She gave him a fleeting look before she too collapsed, and he smirked back victoriously with stone cold eyes before strolling out of the church. He returned to the grave site another day to dig up her body, the name on the stone was Nora Zabel.

December 18, 1997 - Journal Entry

Tom was older, he looked less handsome and more sickly. He was overly fixated on and stalked a traveling gypsy circus he discovered in Ireland. The first night he observed the show, he noticed a girl who could transform into a large serpent. The concept fascinated him. He thought they must share much in common if her animagi form took that shape. She was young but beautiful with a mature composure, and she responded to his parseltounge introduction. She introduced herself to him as Adrianna, but the name the circus referred to her as was Nagini.

'I'm a meladictus not an animagi' she explained, 'One day I will transform and then never return to my body, it is a blood curse, and I cannot wait for that day,' she said grimly. She revealed to him that the ringmaster sold her to travelers for sex. Most did not notice, realize, nor care she was barely thirteen. She also admitted she ate them in her serpent form if they hurt her, she warned them but some refused to listen so she felt no remorse. Tom was impressed by this.

She was bought by a man for a handsome sum of money exchanged with the ringmaster. When Tom noticed she no longer traveled with the circus, he inquired with the ringmaster who informed him she was somebody else's property. He killed the ringmaster in a sudden surge of contempt and then tracked down the man who bought her, but she had already killed him. She was glad to see him, they shared a strong connection, she offered herself to him but he refused. Instead he told her to transform. Once she did, he killed the serpent and then animated it as an inferius. She became obedient in every way, bound to him forever through dark magic.

Lizzie had taken to journaling her dreams, stray thoughts that she could tell weren't her own, and charted out comparisons that made her mind spin like a cyclone with similarities.

Every single one of these girls had something in common with Lizzie. She couldn't ignore that, and they only shared similarities in events and circumstances that followed the curse she took the night her family died. It felt as though it was all a condemnation. The only one she wondered about was Myrtle. That one bothered her and she couldn't place exactly why. She resigned to think it was because she didn't know what happened to her body.

Lizzie had been spending a considerable amount of extra time with Hermione since Lavender seemed jealous by any female interaction Ron had. Lizzie thought she should spend more time with Seamus, but was noticeably keeping him at arms length in most respects and couldn't help it.

Hermione recommended a trip to Myrtle's toilet, but Lizzie really despised being around this particular ghost and was starting to understand where the animosity came from.

Instead, they dug up the report of Myrtle's death and her records in the archive.

"Myrtle...Warren? No... that's too... wait..." Lizzie said, and shook her head whilst flipping through the reports and racking her brain with a considerable amount of effort. Hermione looked back at her confused.

"My god... According to this, Myrtle was muggle born, we knew that, but her mother died in childbirth when her brother Martin was born. Myrtle died here in 1943, in the bathroom she haunts, her brother was six years younger, 1937... That would have made Martin 55 years old in 1992…" she rambled while scribbling notes. "No, actually that does sound right..." she whispered.

"What is important about 1992?" Hermione asked.

"It's the year Melody died. Melody Warren," Lizzie said, her mouth feeling dry at the thought.

"Your friend... the one who..." Hermione said in understanding. Lizzie nodded.

The library was nearly empty but she was whispering as low as she could. "Melody's mum grew up in the church, so she was married to an older man. She had Melody at sixteen and drank herself to death with household chemicals when she was twenty four. Mel was motherless, we bonded over that. Her dad was named Martin, I vaguely remember him because he was active in the congregation. He remarried a girl we went to school with who was a few years older than us named Ellis... she was only fifteen. I'm willing to bet Martin turned to join such a psychotic congregation because his sister died from magic. It must have really distorted his opinion... just like it did with my aunt," Lizzie explained.

"If they were related, and she died the same way that first girl did, then that can't possibly be a coincidence. Melody was the common variable, but he couldn't have killed her in 1992," Hermione said, trying to wrap her mind around the onslaught of information.

"No... he did kill her, and I think because he couldn't get Myrtle's body..." Lizzie said, and Hermione looked confused.

"But she hung -" Hermione started to say.

"I killed Melody, Hermione, the same way Tom killed Leah. I didn't do it consciously or willingly, I think he saw his next victim and acted it out through me… I got the ropes ready and convinced her to jump… but didn't follow, or cut her down, no matter how hard I begged myself to," Lizzie explained quietly, her cheeks went flushed and pink, and she fought the urge to cry shamefully. Hermione looked both horrified and sympathetic. "I don't know what would have happened to her body, I think she was cremated, but I wasn't allowed at the funeral," she admitted.

Lizzie looked down at her notes and drew out a graph. "Leah is at the center, she watched her mum die and her father died in the war. Next is Myrtle, coupled with Melody later on, I also think this pattern is why he chose Ginny to open the chamber," Lizzie jotted down. Hermione pulled the parchment toward her and added to it based on the articles in front of her. "When did he kill his family?" She asked.

"Same year he killed Myrtle I think, 1943, the summer after that term ended based on the gravestone in Little Hangleton, July 31... my birthday...according to the article," Lizzie said.

"Ok, so next was Renee, her family was murdered in their home by him, same as yours. Then... you said he was young in the Albania memory?" Hermione asked. Lizzie nodded. "Twenties, mid-maybe," she judged.

"Makes sense to travel while young, he was probably recruiting followers too," Hermione reasoned. "So next was, Nora, the girl at the church where he poisoned the wine..." Hermione wrote down as she spoke.

"Followed by Emily, at the orphanage, abused by the same woman he was abused by... who then died the same way the chaplain did, he looked a little older," Lizzie explained.

"Then he killed Amelia, looks like the year after from the prophet article about their house elf being blamed for it..." Hermione added, reading through the article.

"Hepzibah called her Millie, she was her niece and considered a squib, treated her awful... akin to a household servant," Lizzie clarified.

"Then later on it was Adrianna who transformed into the snake, the ringmaster called her Nagini as a stage name and sold her off. She killed the man who bought her... Riddle killed the man who sold her..." Hermione continued. "Lizzie…you mentioned that doctor died... how did you find that out?" She asked curiously, looking suspicious.

Lizzie squirmed and didn't say anything. "Liz?" Hermione asked, eyes widening.

"Hermione... you need to keep this one to yourself alright? Please do not go to anybody with this," Lizzie begged in a whisper.

"You killed him," she said shortly with wide eyes.

"No. Yes... I don't understand what happened... it felt like the intersection of a dream and reality. Ultimately though, he ran his car off the road and wrapped it around a tree," Lizzie explained evasively.

"Also, my animagi form is not just a doe... it's also a snake," she admitted.

"How?!" She asked, horrified.

"Good fucking question. How do all these girls fit perfectly? I mean the things that happened to their bodies are all what I used to see happening to me on Privet Drive... I thought it was because of the hallucinogens' and my uncle being a sadist... but..." Lizzie shook her head in disbelief. "I can't transform into at will though, at least I don't think I can, maybe I can... I haven't really had an opportunity to try," Lizzie rambled. Hermione stared back in horror.

"You know... Viktor did said that Vedmak's manifest differently than Vedmas... can you write him? I'm not supposed to send or receive anything," Lizzie asked. Hermione nodded. "I'm wondering if he was stalked by her instead of himself... it seems odd to me that he would target these girls. The only ones who seemed to have value or purpose to him would have been his sister, and Nagini. He wasn't attracted to them in other ways… I mean he hates muggles, sqibs, and muggle borns, but still, it just seems like there's more to it," Lizzie rationalized. Based on Hermione's calculating expression, she appeared to agree.

"When are you going to start speaking to Ron again?" Lizzie asked after a stretch of silence. "This Lavender ordeal isn't going to last. I can already sense that he's completely annoyed by her clinging."

"He's perfectly allowed to be with whoever he wants, that's not my place. It's just awkward. She doesn't like me," Hermione said.

"That's because she's threatened by you," Lizzie smirked.

"Oh don't flatter, Liz..." Hermione scoffed.

"I don't have to, I'm a legilimens, and that girl is a load of crazy... Ron is just too chicken shit to break it off and hurt her feelings," Lizzie said harshly. "Give it a little longer. Who are you taking to the Christmas Party for Slughorn?" She asked. "I've got to order a dress, you want me to get you a new one? I'm ordering one for Ginny for doing Dueling Club with me, and putting your name on the order form anyway… but buying of course," Lizzie asked.

"I don't know yet on who... but no, absolutely not," Hermione said.

"Ok, I am ordering you one anyway and if you like it better than the one you have in mind, wear it. If not, wear it to Bill's wedding, yeah?" Lizzie insisted, and Hermione rolled her eyes.

"You going with Seamus?" She asked.

"Yep, sure am. Ginny and I have a bet on how much more time him and Dean will spend together than with us... I seem to have more faith in them than she does," Lizzie laughed.

"You like him then? Is that going well?" Hermione asked.

"Yeah, I do. We have a good amount in common, I like his company, we've fooled around... I don't know... I'm trying not to compare everything to Mr. Cedric Perfection Diggory, but it's been nice to have that more than friendship thing going again..." Lizzie explained. Hermione nodded warily, as though not completely unconvinced.

"Dueling Club seems to be going alright. Is Snape avoiding you? He seems almost entirely detached," Hermione reflected.

"He's laid off my back entirely. Detention was just detention... he keeps his distance. He caught me in that electric storm and knows about the doe. Last bloody person I wanted to find out about that, but can't change it now..." Lizzie explained.

"That's good isn't it? Finally backing off," She asked.

"Yeah, I'm not complaining," Lizzie assured.

"I noticed you won't Duel Slytherins," Hermione laughed.

"I'm not about to train my enemies. At least not the ones I know will join their folks... I appointed house heads and told them not to either, want the snakes to practice amongst themselves," Lizzie explained.

"Is that unethical? Who did you pick for Slytherin?" Hermione asked.

"No, it's practical. I mean it's not like I'm barring them from participating. I just don't want them to stake out their opponents. I mean think about quidditch, I wouldn't train with any of the other teams, that's absurd...I mean obviously I won't hold back the ones I know don't have psycho death eater families," Lizzie laughed lightly.

"Oh - Higgs, I picked Higgs," Lizzie added.

"Seriously? He's not very good," Hermione said.

"I know that's the point, but his dad works for Gringotts not Voldemort. Least as far as I know," Lizzie laughed. Pince finally gave them a reproachful stare to shut up when their voices crept up over a whisper. Hermione pulled out the Alchemy book and wrote out a letter to Krum, Lizzie flipped through the Prince's book absently.