Eva, Tom, William, and Elaine sat together during dinner, each of them anxiously quiet as they waited for Eleonora and Isidore's return from the trial. Each of them had gone about their day as usual, but were struggled focusing from the stressful and lengthy waiting period. None of them had an appetite, and poked quietly at their food after only eating a small portion of it.
"It's getting late, I wonder when they'll get back—" Eva said, grabbing William's wrist to look at his watch.
"To answer your question, there they are," Tom said, nodding in the direction behind her. She whirled around, seeing Eleonora and Isidore walking into the great hall. Both of them wore their usual serious expressions, but walked quickly and stood tall. Eva knew they came bearing good news.
William jumped up, scurrying behind them to push them by the shoulders to the table. The two of them stumbled forward, laughing as they were guided to the dinner table.
"How'd it go?!" Eva asked as the two of them slid into the bench next to Elaine.
"For once, it went well," Isidore said with a wry grin. He and Eleonora exchanged a smile, and he announced, "she was absolved of any crimes. It was proven that she was under the influence of the Imperius curse. She's been released from Azkaban."
They erupted into joyous chatter, with Eva throwing her arms around Isidore, and William ruffling his hair.
"How did it get proven?" Tom asked Isidore, and William chimed, "yeah, we need details!"
"Where do I even begin," Isidore murmured thoughtfully. He inhaled deeply, then said, "Well, mom said she was pleading as not guilty and claimed that she was under the effects of the Imperius curse. She went for the angle that the Imperius curse makes you act irrationally, and that she was in an obsessive rage when she cast the curse. Nobody could really argue with that."
"He's right. Cornelius had hired a good attorney, so we had a hard time cornering him. He made Isidore prove his eidetic memory was short and long term by having him memorize and read aloud a riddle from a book, then he recited it verbatim a while later. He also had to memorize a random combination of numbers by ear, which he did. Then, once his memory was proven, he told everyone what had happened exactly that day," Eleonora told them. William grimaced, shaking his head as he said, "That's ridiculous, but I guess it worked out."
"Cornelius's attorney was setting him up to say that his mother had attacked physically first. Which was true, so that definitely made me and Professor Lestrange panic a little," Eleonora said, and Isidore shrugged.
"She had to drink Veritaserum."
"What is that?" Elaine asked, and Isidore answered, "the most powerful truth serum there is."
"It's not always used in trials, because it accounts for what the consumer believes is true. But we had nothing to lose," Eleonora added.
"It was also consumed by Cornelius, who confessed to everything."
"He took it?! Eva exclaimed at Eleonora's comment. She nodded in return, and said, "Yes. He tried resisting for a bit, but the truth came out."
"And for good measure, my dad lifted the Imperius curse from my mom," Isidore told them, which seemed to shock everyone. He nodded, having expected that reaction, then told them, "he handed her things that only they'd understand. I remember there being a notebook from when they were in school… I think they wrote notes to each other in class when they shared a desk so they could talk without speaking out loud, using that notebook. Then he handed her a viscaria, a folded drawing on a paper, and the horcrux locket was last."
"Did the locket jog her memory? Was that the nail in the coffin?" Tom asked, trying to contain his curiosity. Isidore shrugged, saying, "no, it was whatever was drawn on that piece of paper. But she remembered everything once the curse was lifted. It fought for her with each item, but the light switch flipped when she got that drawing.
"So now, everyone knows that Cornelius Lestrange is not my father, and that he not only cast an unforgivable curse, but he had a woman wrongly imprisoned and neglected his children, while setting up his wife and brother to seem adulterous. And I have Eleonora to thank for that," Isidore said, giving Eleonora a warm smirk next to him. She grinned, blushing a little, saying, "oh, I didn't do that much."
"Well, Eleonora told the court what she saw when she met us. Under the influence of Veritaserum. She highlighted the fact that Cornelius neglected his children-legally, his children- by telling what she saw of us. And the use of the unforgivable spell that Cornelius used on my parents to get her pregnant by that forbidden spell."
"So what happened with him?" Elaine asked.
"He's locked up now," Isidore stated, a smirk crossing his features.
"Thank God, Isidore!" Eva cried, hugging Isidore and Eleonora's shoulders as she stood behind them. The two of them smacked their faces into her cheeks thanks to her strong pull, which made everyone laugh.
"Eva, mah face—" Eleonora said as she got squished, with Isidore adding, "it hurfs."
"Stop being such Slytherins and let me love you," she answered, squeezing them tighter.
"Eva, they need to breathe!" Elaine laughed, trying to pull them away from Eva.
"You're next," Eva said with a smile, then Elaine sat back in her seat.
"Isidore, where will your mother be living now?" Tom asked, and Isidore was loosened from Eva's arm.
"With her parents. They too had been threatened to stay away from me and my sisters by my uncle, so they now will be much more involved with my family. They're in London, so she'll probably find work there in the no-maj world or something just so she can get used to being out of prison. Plus, that record won't follow her. The judge said it shouldn't hinder her chances of working in this world, but just to be safe, she'll start somewhere else."
Tom smiled, standing as he checked his watch. He rolled his eyes, then said, "I'm sorry, but I have my interview for the prefect position. I'm so relieved to hear everything went well, and fairly. For once, you can let this all become a thing of the past and move on. I will add, though— if your mom needs anything in London when I'm there, let me know. I know the city well and would like to help her however I can."
"Thanks Tom. I appreciate it, and know she would too," Isidore replied. Out of nowhere, William smacked the table and leaned closer to Eleonora.
"Wait a minute! She's still under the truth serum!" He cried, and everyone began to give her malicious grins.
"Oh no," she whispered, then William said, "what's the most embarrassing thing you've ever done?"
"No—" she grunted, gritting her teeth together. She visibly reddened, making a face like she had swallowed a large pill the wrong way. Her eyes squeezed shut, then said, "I once—" before slamming her hands over her mouth.
"Wow, this stuff's strong!" William quipped, leaning a little closer with an eager smile as he faced her glare.
"Say it," Elaine crowed, resulting in Eleonora vigorously shaking her head. Eva promptly jabbed her in the ribs, which resulted in her releasing her hands to guard them as she cried out before blurting out the story.
"I had forgotten a washcloth, so I started to step out of the shower to grab it on the counter. The bathroom window didn't have the curtain drawn. Once I made eye contact with my neighbors— I slipped and tried to grab the water like it'd save me from the fall, then I fell down and took down the shower curtain with me. We had to pay to have the wall repaired too."
"Oh shit," William said, grimacing. Despite everyone cringing, they were all trying their best to suppress laughter.
"When was this?" Eva asked, then Eleonora put her face in her hands, squeaking "last August."
"Yikes," Elaine murmured, then she added, "there's gotta be more we can ask, maybe not as traumatizing."
"Yeah, you jackasses!" Eleonora cried, pulling the hood of her robes over her head.
"Who's your least favorite prof—" William began, then Elenora flew across the table to slam her hand over his mouth.
"I will not let you finish that question!" She barked, and he began to laugh.
"Who's your favorite, then?" Elaine asked, pulling Eleonora's hood down. Eleonora looked around, then murmured, "Professor Lestrange."
"That's not a surprise, I think he's everyone's favorite," Elaine muttered.
"Who do you like?" Elaine then asked, and Eleonora froze. She saw Tom raise an eyebrow, Isidore turn a little toward her, and Eva tense up. She quickly tore off a necklace, then heaved a sigh of relief as she put her head on the table.
"Woah, did she resist the potion?" William asked. She lifted her head, then he jumped back as he stared into dragon's eyes.
"Not without help. You crazies made me take off a limiter!" She argued, dangling the necklace in front of her.
"No fair!" Elaine whined, which prompted Eleonora to give her a cheesy smile.
"Gah, fangs!" Elaine cried from the surprise, and Eleonora stood up from the seat.
"I'm a little tired and am not in the mood for another interrogation. So if you'll excuse me, I'm going to take retire for the night," she told them with a curt nod and strained smile. There was a collected, "goodnight," from the group, then she and Tom walked out together in opposite directions. She was truly exhausted, emotionally, and just wanted quiet. The Slytherin dorms were comforting for her, and at times she enjoyed hearing the distant singing of the merpeople through the window.
"Eleonora!" she heard, then turned to see Isidore catching up to her.
"Isidore, hey," she said as he stopped. He looked around for a second, then began walking in the direction of the Slytherin dorms.
"I uh— well, I just wanted to say thanks. You really made a difference in the trial and I can't thank you enough," he told her, staring straight ahead of them as he felt her staring at him.
"Isidore, I was happy to help—"
"Eleonora, seriously— you don't know how much you've done for me."
They stopped walking, and looked at each other. Eleonora knew he didn't care for being honest with his feelings, and usually covered them up with a dark joke or sarcastic comment about himself. But now, he was making at attempt to be honest— he felt very strongly about what he was going to say.
"You were able to get the man who ruined our lives locked up—"
"He was well on his way though—" she interjected, then he put his hands on her shoulders and retorted, "I have my mom back."
Eleonora shut her mouth, pursing her lips together with a nod. His eyes were unusually sincere, glistening with emotion which tugged at her heart. She couldn't imagine what he had been through— finding out what happened to him was enough to make her cry, so living through it must've been hell.
"I didn't talk about it much this week, but I was terrified for today. I was so nervous, I felt like I couldn't breathe in that courtroom. And when I saw my mom, I just felt frozen. I thought I would be happier to see her, but instead, I went numb. It was her, but it wasn't her. I haven't seen her in 12 years, and she looked a lot different. I couldn't process any of it. And I had this underlying fear the trail would've gone terribly, since Cornelius always wins against us. But seeing you there gave me what I needed to testify. Now, I think my sisters and I can finally have a normal life."
Eleonora gulped down the lump forming in her throat, then pulled him into a hug. He felt her body quivering ever so slightly, and asked, "are you crying?"
"Yes—"
"It's okay, you don't have to cry," he laughed, squeezing her. She only held him tighter, responding with, "I'll never forget the day you told us everything. I felt what was in your heart that night. The relief you feel right now— I'm sharing it with you. So let me cry a little, okay?"
He was silent, but she felt him nod as he moved his arms to wrap around her much tighter. They were both characters of few words— their embrace said everything they already knew. Before anything else, they were friends. And Eleonora's ability to not only read his mind that night but experience the emotions in his heart gave them a bond the others could never have. Aside from their similar humors, interests, and skills, they had experienced the same heartbreak that night in a way nobody else did.
Eleonora and Isidore let go of each other, and he asked, "you didn't sleep last night, did you?"
"Just two hours," she mumbled as she shook her head no. He gave her a half smile, and said, "get some sleep. I can't have my favorite insomniac falling asleep during Quidditch practice tomorrow."
She snickered, crossing her arms as she turned to go.
"Don't flatter me, I'm the worst sleeper of all of you. Aren't you going to bed soon? I'm sure you slept less than me."
"Did you read my mind?" he snarked, and she scoffed, "Educated guess."
"I'll be down soon. I'm helping Eva with her potions homework."
Eleonora held up a hand with a lazy wave, saying, "goodnight, Lestrange."
"As you were, Miss Morrigan."
Eleonora turned a corner, descending a few sets of staircases. She was so tired, she felt like she couldn't walk in a straight line, and tried her best to hurry to the dorms before someone found her. The events of the day kept replaying in her head, almost feeling that it was all a horrible nightmare rather than real. She couldn't believe it had all ended well, especially after how horribly things usually go for Isidore and his mother. She just hoped it would stay that way.
Soon after, she finally stood before her bed, breaking into a smile when she saw it.
Oh, how I've missed you, she thought before lunging herself onto it. She burrowed herself into the covers, sinking down on the perfectly cushioned top with the silk sheets and warm blankets wrapped up to her neck. The usual draft in the room breezed past her wet hair from the shower she just took, making the set-up under the covers all the more comfortable.
Her heavy eyelids flew open with the memory of being asked, "who do you like?"
Ugh, I can't even answer that question. I don't know.
She looked into the pitch blackness of the lake from the nearby window, hearing the distant soprano voice of a merperson swimming through the icy waters. The familiar tune cleared her mind, and she began to quietly hum along with it as a duet.
Now this is it. I love living here, she thought as she stopped, letting the woman's voice lull her to sleep.
Also, I'm frickin' 14. Who cares if I like someone or not? I don't care about boys right now. I care about sleep.
A girl has her needs. And those include becoming a prefect, staying on the Quidditch team, auditioning for the choir for next year, getting better scores than Tom and Isidore on my exams because they'll be pissed and it'll be hilarious, and for now, beauty rest. I too tired to even think.
Eleonora took a look at the window, seeing the terrifying face of the mermaid staring straight into the room. Normally, she would've been startled enough to roll off the bed, but not this time. She stared at it, realizing it must've somehow heard her singing and followed the sound.
Whatever, she thought, too tired to even be afraid of its unsightly face nearby.
She reached to hold a curtain on the bed post nearest to her head, flinging her arm to draw the curtain. Within ten seconds, she was fast asleep.
A/N: No, Eleonora's embarrassing story is not from personal experience. Although I think I have tried grabbing the shower water like it would save me when slipping. I just looked up embarrassing stories and pieced one together.
I wrote out the trial, and it just didn't feel like what I wanted. There was too much to cover, the dialogue would've been confusing and felt awkwardly written, so I went with a summary of it. I feel like this was sufficient to explain how she was freed. Trials are long and have tons of witnesses, and I felt it would be too much to write in a chapter or two. Plus, I want to move on to the main things I have planned. I spent quite some time on their fourth year, to kind of focus on getting Theodora out of Azkaban. These chapters have been mostly exposition, because in my original draft, I dropped the news of everything that happened so quickly, it was hard to follow. Taking the time to have my characters go through the motions definitely made everything more clear.
I want Theodora and Evander to serve as parental figures for Tom. In future chapters, you will hopefully start to feel like you know the characters better and see more interaction between them in everyday life.
And because my characters are 14 (as of right now), I didn't feel that right now was the best time for romantic relationships for them. Theodora's stuff took priority too. However, that'll change as they get older, but I'm not rushing it right now. They need more "on-screen" interaction first.
Thanks for reading again! :D
