Chapter XI: Crying is pointless.
Don't use love filters too often,
Children end up broken.
Codex of Slytherin footnote.
It had been almost two months, and Salazar had hardly spoken to her, as had Bellatrix and Eddy. Medusa wished she could erase that day spent at the beach from her memory forever. How stupid and insipid she had been! She had lost so much that day that she no longer knew whom to accuse to unload her gall. At the time, Medusa had chosen Eddy because he was the most vulnerable target, but somehow she regretted it.
However, every time Lee looked at her with cocker spaniel eyes, she felt something hot and dangerous rising inside her. Maybe destroying him was the best solution, she thought. But Salazar would never forgive her, just as he hadn't forgiven her that day.
Ever since Father had given her Salazar's locket, he had been distant with her. And somewhere the girl was jealous. Why had her brother been entitled to this present when she was the better of the two? It was unfair and senseless. Salazar didn't deserve this present and didn't care. They now lived in parallel, a bit like with Bella.
Going to his Quidditch training with the young girl, this one did not say a word to him as usual. Cygnus Black had done something to her daughter and she didn't know what. She had tried to interrogate Narcissa without the little girl agreeing to answer her; she had fled following Lucius who was her best friend. Bella had warned Cissy not to approach her so as not to suffer her gift. But Medusa had not said her last word.
"Come on, Riddle, let's wake up," Percival Rosier called in her ear.
She held back a shiver as the young man moved away, laughing, proud of himself without a doubt. With Rabastan and Rodolphus, he took his broom and slung it over his shoulder. Tony Nott who had been accepted as a catcher after the departure of Marcus Zabini waited for training to begin, looking phlegmatic. Without a word, Medusa and Bellatrix straddled their broomsticks and took off.
The exercise of the day under the supervision of Rosier was simple; they were face to face in teams of two and had to anticipate the attacks and defences of their opponents. When you were legilimens like Medusa, this exercise was easy. It was enough like in matches to look at the player in front of her, and she could guess all the tactics and much more. They changed exercises, and the girl didn't realize it until a moment too late.
"Oh! Medusa! You are really in the moon today!" Rosier shouted from the goal.
Holding back an angry hiss, she followed her classmates as Rosier dropped the snitch for Nott. On his Comet 60s, the boy was quick, taking him just a few minutes to catch the snitch. To their cheers, Nott came back to them. Medusa thought that maybe they had a chance to win the cup this year but didn't get the same joy out of it as last year. Even Quidditch had lost its flavour.
The training was over. Rosier lands near her as the other players enter the locker room.
"You'll have to pull yourself together, Medusa," he growled. "Do you need flying lessons?"
"Brush your teeth with an Eruptive instead. You ruin my air."
She headed for the showers where Bellatrix was, who hadn't loosened her teeth from practice. She heard the boys in the adjacent showers start to come out. Their showers were really short, barely a few seconds and the girl found that disgusting. Bellatrix was washing her long hair looking down at her feet. She finishes before her. Medusa dried off and got dressed quickly to go after her. The other players had already slipped away and she blessed that fact. So there was only one person left to complete the picture. And she was just coming.
With a slightly tense smile, Rita lifted the curtain between the changing rooms and the outside. At the sight of him, Bella froze and gave them a fierce look. Medusa immediately blocked the other exit. Thus, their friend looked like an animal about to be slaughtered.
"Bella, are you avoiding us, dear?" said Rita in a small falsetto voice.
"No, but if you get in my way again, I'll bury you in the locker room. Move, by Rowena's binocular."
"And I", whispered Medusa, "I would like to know what is bothering you. Should we talk, or should I force you?"
"Use your gift on me and it will be the last thing you do in your goddamn life, Medusa," Bellatrix spat, drawing her wand.
"So please… talk to us," Rita said, more conciliatory at the sight of the wand.
Bellatrix looked like she was weighing the pros and cons, then she sighed and sat ungracefully on the bench in the locker room. Her two friends followed her. Medusa noticed that Rita smelled of cigarettes and saw Bellatrix's dark circles. The latter patted her thigh, trying to figure out how to start.
"Andromeda fled the house."
"Oh shit," Rita couldn't help but huff.
"You said it. After what happened on the beach… I told our father about what I saw. I figured if he went after Andromeda, he'd leave Cissy and me. But it didn't go as planned," she hissed. "Andromeda managed to find her wand that our father had hidden and fled with her mudblood, Tonks. Since then, they both hide."
Medusa better understood the displayed disarray of the two Black sisters.
"I'm warning you, Rita, if I see any mention of what we're talking about in the school newspaper, I won't be the only one torturing you. All Blacks will get into it. It's such a disgrace to the family. I had never seen my mother that furious. She set the whole garden on fire after Andy left. The engagement with Zabini was called off but Father engaged me. With Rodolphus."
Rita and Medusa made shocked faces. Rodolphus, a gawky, ungraceful boy in sixth grade and worse still, he was dumb and cruel. The two young girls placed a sympathetic hand on the shoulder of their friend who suddenly freed herself.
"I don't want your pity! Either way, it was going to happen eventually. Crying is pointless, like feeling sorry for yourself. I hate Andy, you don't know how much. If I see her again, I'll finish her with my hands."
Medusa thought that the sadness and anger made Bella talk but didn't blame her. She somehow understood. Andromeda on leaving had destroyed their family and left her two younger sisters to their tormentor father. Bellatrix had every right to be angry. Medusa thought for a moment that Bella wished Andy had taken her and Cissy away. She felt abandoned and trapped.
"Here, you know. I have to hold on to the stick. My dad doesn't want me to talk to you Skeeter anymore because you're half-blood and you're a bad influence on me and he even wants me to quit Quidditch!"
Rita grimaced. Without stopping Medusa probed the spirit of the young girl and read there a great sorrow to be rejected by Bellatrix because of her origins. The blonde turned her back on her comrades for a moment, looking thoughtful. Medusa wondered what she was thinking this time.
"Your father is an idiot, Bellatrix," Rita finally blurted out.
"Thank you, I know, I've been practicing him for fifteen years. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to join Rodolphus."
She got up suddenly and left with a dry step.
.
.
The rest of the week Bella barely spoke to them, but at least one mystery was cleared. Medusa was playing with Echo in the study hall. She had finished her homework a long time ago and Mrs. Prince wasn't really watching them. She was engrossed in a copious potions magazine and was taking notes as she turned each page. They were a mixed class group from several promotions and houses. Sitting next to her, Rita worked on the layout for the next issue of Hogwarts Illustrated while Bellatrix, seated next to Prince, had her head buried in her Transfiguration book.
"Miss Skeeter, you'll finish your sketch later," Prince whispered, not looking up from her book. "Considering your last note in my control, I would ask you to kindly immerse yourself more ardently in your studies."
A few students chuckled. Medusa advised Evora Zabini who sneered as she took Cecil Hornby to task. Medusa had read the girl's mind from day one.
Evora had been engaged at two years to her cousin Kheiron Shafiq. Like Bella, she had no choice over her fate. Shafiq, a homosexual, had little interest in his cousin and intended to be as free as possible after his marriage. Similar to Evora. What Medusa had read two years before had intrigued her. The young girl intended to keep her independence. Once married and with a child in her womb, she intended to get rid of her cousin and reclaim her maiden name. She had an affinity with poisons and knew how to use them. Medusa thought that she was probably Bloodpoison and that her father, eager to discover new talents, had surely already noticed her.
Evora Zabini had told herself that crying and lamenting her fate was not useful, so she had decided to act. Somehow, Medusa hoped that Bellatrix would make the same choice no matter what. Evora turned to her and gave her a beautiful innocent smile.
Yes, little Evora was an interesting person.
At the end of the hour, Salazar quickly left with the others while Medusa was called by Mrs. Prince. The young girl planted herself in front of the substitute who gave her a dry smile. Mrs. Prince was not a very beautiful woman, she had a hooked nose, small cold eyes and sunken cheeks. Her long black robes sometimes made her look like a huge bat.
Mrs. Prince presented her with an assignment. Her assignment. A wretched Acceptable loomed in red on the parchment, but it wasn't Prince's handwriting.
"Your father expressly corrected your paper. He enjoins you to work much more. He's coming home tonight and wants to see you.
These words made him feel like a cold shower yet Medusa forced herself to smile:
"He's right, just like you. I will be better. Thank you Professor Prince."
The woman gave her a smile that seemed sincere and let her go.
In the hall, she passed Lee who was still thinner and looked pale as a ghost. When she met his eyes, she read a lot of sadness and above all, a panic fear. What was he afraid of? It wasn't her because when she approached the fear was for a moment chased away by anger. There was something deeply satisfying about Lee's angry eyes, but she couldn't help but think back to the tender look he had given her after she had kissed him. She mentally slapped herself.
"If you come and hit me again, I'm not in the mood," Lee blurted, passing her.
Medusa suppressed a sneer.
"Hitting you is satisfying, yes," she hissed. "There are so many things I would like to do."
But I can't, she thought fiercely. Lee who had started to climb the stairs turned to her:
"Stop doing that, Riddle".
"What?"
"Be cruel to please him. It's pathetic."
He turned and left quickly, and Medusa refrained from cursing him as McGonagall passed by. The young girl briefly considered following him to address her concerns, but he looked so thin and tired that she decided against it. Rita had told her a muggle expression one day; there was no point in shooting the ambulance. If the young girl had to explain to her what an ambulance was, she understood that Edward Lee was now a pitiful ambulance waiting to be run over by her father.
In the evening, she went to the office of her father. He had been away for more than a week but seemed to be looking very good. He hadn't invited her to his office for a long time.
"Yes, my trip went well, no need to go into details," her father blurted without looking at her before she could even ask her redundant question. "Sit down."
The girl complied after levitating a chair in front of the desk. He looked at her with unfathomable eyes without using his gifts of legilimens.
"I ran into the Obscurial earlier," Medusa whispered. "He really has an unearthed head."
"Yes. His Obscurus has grown a lot in a very short time. If I don't act things can go wrong."
Go wrong for whom? Medusa wondered, holding back a worried grimace. Was Lee that bad? If he died, part of the girl's torment would cease. She knew it, but couldn't enjoy the thought.
"I take care of him. As for you, it's time to resume your education. Prince gave you your last assignment, I believe."
Holding back a shudder Medusa nodded. What did he intend to do?
"This is all very disappointing," he hissed. "You're somewhere else and your magic isn't instinctive enough. How can you even expect to work for me like this? That's why I didn't invite you at the Derby after your mission at Borgin & Burke. Caractarus also warned me that you had stolen a certain necklace. When you've passed your little tests on it, show them to me."
It was a pure and simple order. Medusa nodded again, happy to get off so lightly despite her father's recriminations.
"I know you were trying to produce a Patronus last year, did you succeed?"
"No," she breathed, holding back her annoyance.
He already knew that, so why ask that question if not to humiliate her further? Realizing that she was incapable of casting a patronus, her morale and pride had taken a hit. She didn't have a memory that was happy enough and powerful enough in her to create one. Her father raised his wand, she thought for a moment that he was going to throw a cruciatus at her:
"Expecto Patronum."
From his yew wand sprang a light whitish filament that became increasingly powerful. Soon a gigantic snake with many heads was hissing in front of them. No, it wasn't a snake, it was a hydra. The animated, silvery serpent heads hissed in a bell sound. The silver hydra spat out whitish smoke and disappeared.
"Contrary to belief, it is not necessary for the memory to be pure in order to cast a patronus. He must be happy and powerful. This happiness can easily be found in darkness. When I show my power, it is divine nectar of power and happiness, I must admit. What I am trying to make you understand is that it is this power that you must master is instinctive. In darkness lies your true strength. So, you will be unbeatable."
.
.
Eddy ran to the bathroom at top speed and bent over to vomit. Since they had doubled his potion rations he had trouble keeping his meals. Inside his body the growing Obscurus stirred against this remedy to which he had become accustomed.
"It's the girls' toilet !" rumbled Moaning Myrtle's voice above his cabin. "What are you doing?"
"Don't you see?" he growled acerbically, wiping his mouth. "I'm taking inventory of your wailing."
The ghost girl pouted and fluttered inches from her face as he stood up. He had run as quickly as possible to the toilets and that of the boys being on the fourth floor, the girls' had been a more pragmatic and urgent choice.
"Are you the Obscurial?" So you're gonna die soon? I heard Skeeter talk about it the other time."
Without answering, he went to rinse his mouth in the sink. After spitting out the water, he found that Myrtle was watching him thoughtfully.
"If you become a ghost you will want to share the toilet with me? It's very cosy when you get used to."
"Go drown in the toilet."
And the young ghost actually went there, bursting into tears. Eddy didn't find much joy in making Myrtle cry like a lot of things now. Everything had the rancid taste of his vomit; each day worried him more.
Once, after taking a shower, he had banged his little toe against the stone basin and his magic had reacted so violently that the bathroom had simply exploded. Salazar had walked in and fixed everything without a word before a prefect went to get Slughorn. He had stammered a clumsy excuse to his head of house that had left without caring. Eddy had told no one of his increasingly catastrophic condition. He had not dared to tell Newt and Tina that since the dose of Illuminial had been increased, he was in worse shape.
Maybe it was just an acclimatization time as his body got used to the new dosage? He hoped so but knew that was unlikely to be the case.
If it were before the end of the year, his Obscurus or death would carry him away. And that thought paralyzed him with fear. He did not want to die.
He left the restroom shaking as he slung his bag over his shoulder. He had a History of Magic class and was already late. He started to run towards his lesson but after a few meters he had to stop because his head was spinning. Holding back his nausea, he climbed the last stairway to his class. When he opened the door, he found that the lesson had already begun. Binns ignored him, waved his hand and asked him to go and sit down in the only empty place on the desks. Next to Salazar.
His comrade did not give him a look, he was trying to put together runes and other drawings on his notebook which he turned the pages feverishly. Eddy didn't care and started trying to take notes.
After a few minutes, however, he felt another violent nausea seize him by the throat. He forced himself to swallow, shaking as Salazar looked up, looking vaguely puzzled. His icy blue eyes were dull and his dark circles were even bigger. They must both have dug up heads. Eddy had a headache, he felt the fever rise in him and a furious buzzing had invaded his skull. He could not hold on any longer.
He raised his hand and had to wait almost a minute of agony for the ghost professor to notice him.
"Yes, Mr. Lee?"
"I-I have to go to the infirmary."
With an annoyed nod, the professor allowed him to leave class. Behind his back, he felt Salazar's gaze and as he picked up his bag, he saw Medusa pursing her mouth watching him with a strange expression. He went down the hall. He didn't even know if he should go to the infirmary, what he wanted was to be alone and at peace. As he descended the crazy staircase, another nausea took hold of him. He fell backwards on the steps, his vision blurred. He vaguely saw Professor Riddle climbing the stairs below, in a few seconds he would see him in this state. He tried to get up by gripping the banister but he felt his heart contract and let out a gurgling pain. And then he felt himself go.
.
.
When Eddy woke up he started feeling a little better. He could feel the soft pillows behind him and the most soothing scent of lavender laundry detergent. However, he was thirsty, so he forced his eyes open.
"Oh Eddy! You scared us so much!"
Eddy held back a grimace, if he hadn't had time to see who was strangling him like that, he would have recognized Tina's voice and the smell of Mirabelle plum fragrance. Behind her, Newt sat by the bed. His tutor smiled at him as the woman pulled away, watching his face from every angle. She had dark circles under her eyes and looked terribly worried.
"It's okay," he whispered. "I am thirsty."
With a wave of her wand she conjured up a glass of water the size of a measuring cup, which he drank gratefully. The water ran down his throat like a flood of a river, he put half of it aside but it felt so good. After wiping his mouth, he asked:
"I don't remember anything… What happened?"
"You passed out, boy," Newt said quietly. "You've been in the infirmary for a week. We arrived yesterday from Romania."
One week? he thought in bewilderment. If he was feeling faint, he didn't think he could have been unconscious for so long. He fell back on the cushions, annoyed.
"Why didn't you tell us you were so bad?" Tina pointed accusingly. "Merlin, when Albus sent us a letter, I thought we were going to lose you again."
She turned her head to hide her misty eyes and a sob. Her husband laid a gentle hand on his wife's shoulder and on Eddy's hand.
"What Tin' is trying to say is we've been really scared. But you were taken care of quickly. Professor Riddle found you and took you to the infirmary, which limited the damage."
"The...damage?" he asked, already fearing the answer.
"When you passed out, Eddy, part of the stairs collapsed under your magic. Together with Professor Riddle we managed to hold them down and fix them before they collapsed on the students in the Hall," Dumbledore replied as he arrived.
He walked briskly towards them, his purple robes rippling with every movement of his feet. If he seemed serene, Eddy now knew his expression well enough to recognize a certain concern. And he was right to be worried; Eddy himself was devastated. He had almost, despite himself, attempted the lives of his comrades. Shame flushed his cheeks, and he sank back into his cushions.
"It's not your fault, Eddy," Newt whispered softly. "You've already had the reflex to leave your course. But now you have to let us know. Your Obscurus is growing very fast, and we have to make sure everything will be fine."
But all would not be well, thought the young man while a new wave of panic seized him. Nothing would be fine until he was dead. Dumbledore seemed to guess his thoughts and sat down on the edge of his bed next to Newt.
"We are going to try to thin the preparation a little so that it is more easily ingestible. Your Obscurus seems to have become accustomed to this treatment, he fights against it."
"So we'll find a new formula," Tina burst fiercely, grabbing his hand. "We're going to help you my boy. We will devote all our time to this. There is no longer any question of waiting!"
For a bit, Eddy would have smiled at the virulence of the old woman. She, who had such a gentle pace, could turn out to be more pugnacious when an obstacle stood in her way. Thereupon he identified with her enormously. He sat up a little on the cushion, then tried to get out of bed. Only his legs barely responded to his demands. He felt weak and pasty.
"Can we examine you?" Dumbledore asked. When you were unconscious, it was very difficult to approach you, your magic repelled us."
He nodded vaguely and began to unbutton his shirt out of habit. Dumbledore, Tina and Newt circled around him, wands raised. One took his blood pressure, another checked his heart rate, and yet another analyzed his magic within his body. Since he knew them, his guardians and Dumbledore had always examined his condition like this. In the middle of the three wizards, he felt a bit like a lab rat.
Mrs. Pomfrey re-entered the infirmary and frowned at this multi-handed examination. She was a luscious witch in her thirties who knew very well how to enforce her authority.
"Mr. Lee needs a lot of rest! Let this boy breathe!"
"We're done, Poppy," Dumbledore nodded, stepping aside.
Mrs. Pomfrey came to his side and handed him a spoonful of syrup which she shoved into his mouth without even asking for his agreement. The syrup had a gooseberry taste, he swallowed it, coughing in spite of himself.
"So?" he asked worriedly.
"We will analyze the information gathered, but it seems that this crisis has passed. A lot of your magic discharged the week before. Accordingly, your Obscurus seems calm for now," Dumbledore told him.
"You can go back to school soon," Tina smiled at him. "Don't worry, kitty."
These words and the affectionate nickname made him frown. He buttoned up his shirt as Mrs Pomfrey patted the cushions and opened the sheets to let him lie back down. Going back to class was one of the last things he wanted because it meant risking hurting others. However, he didn't want to go back to Tina and Newt because he risked hurting them too. So what? Go back to the bottom of Newt's old leather suitcase so he can only get out once a day while waiting for the end? The thought nearly triggered a scream of mixed anguish and rage.
"We're going to work on this recipe," Newt assured him. "I have some leads from fellow researchers in California. We will go there immediately and we will let you know."
"Everything will be fine," confirmed Tina moved.
This emotion and concern touched him, but he could not manage to be grateful. All he wanted was to disappear forever from the face of the earth so as not to cause so much trouble to those around him.
"Mr. Lee needs to rest now," Mrs. Pomfrey ordered. "His sedative is taking effect, Mr. Lee must sleep."
His two guardians nodded and kissed him warmly before leaving him. On the way, Newt turned and gave him a confident smile before being escorted by Dumbledore out.
He let the sedatives work and ended up falling asleep as soon as he closed his eyes.
.
.
After a few days, Mrs. Pomfrey had confirmed to him that he would soon be able to leave the infirmary, since his health parameters having returned to more or less normal. Newt and Tina had sent him a letter telling him that they were in California with a magic particle researcher and that they would let him know soon.
His outburst had obviously gone around the school. At the same time destroying a whole stone staircase, how could it be otherwise?
"You would have seen," Gwendal told him. "It was amazing."
He took a chocolate frog from a basket sent by Tina under the gaze of Eddy and Kheiron. They had come to check on him and give him homework to catch up on. Kheiron rolled his eyes as his comrade finished chewing his candy. As soon as he swallowed the candy, the boy continued.
"There, we come out of the History of Magic class, we hear a huge boom and we see you levitating with Professor Riddle who holds you with one hand and the other the stairs! Dumbledore arrived at this time to cushion the stones and take over while he takes you to the infirmary."
"I've never seen them work together," Kheiron mused aloud. "Together they were so powerful, it was crazy. McGo then arrived to escort us to the Great Hall until everything was fixed. She levitated pieces of stairs and we jumped on them, it was quite funny."
Eddy thought it was incredibly lucky that no one was hurt. He then noticed the mountain of homework that awaited him and thought that perhaps waking up the Obscurus was almost more pleasant than tackling his work.
"Well, at least you're feeling better," Gwendal finally said, opening a Bertie Bott's Flavour Beans box.
"Yeah, I'm going out Monday."
"Then you'll miss the Slytherin-Hufflepuff encounter," Shafiq said. "I had Omniculars at Christmas, if you want I'll record the game for you. However, does your potion still work? Or did you not take it?"
"We have to change the recipe," finally admits Eddy.
At the worried look that his two comrades exchanged, the teenager scolded himself for having been too honest. Gwendal seemed less enthusiastic as he popped the candy into his mouth. The Pettigrew then made a disgusted grimace.
"Uh, dirty sock taste!"
"That's why I eat more of that crap," Kheiron sneered.
"Who had the idea of making such tastes? As much as vomited everyone has already vomited, same for the boogers, everyone has already tasted so as not to die stupid… but sock taste… that means old Bertie thought that licking an old sock was a good idea?"
"Are you eating your boogers?" Eddy scoffed.
Gwendal marbled a beautiful red colour and his two companions snickered.
"You do weird thing with your nose," Kheiron whispered.
"Oh, take care of yours nose," retorted Gwendal as curtly.
Mrs. Pomfrey arrived just then and Gwendal blushed. Like many teenagers in the school he had his first crush on the young and beautiful nurse. Some boys often tried to make themselves sick in order to be able to spend a few days in these places just to be pampered. But Eddy had spent enough time with Mrs. Pomfrey these last days, to know that if she was very beautiful, she was also formidable with recalcitrant patients like him.
"The visiting hour is over, gentlemen. You'll have to leave Mr. Lee in my care now.'
"Lucky you, " whispered Gwendal, getting up. Alright, see you on Monday then.
He and Kheiron gave him a final salute and left the infirmary. Mrs Pomfrey shoved a spoonful of syrup down his throat again.
"You know," Eddy coughed, "you can just ask me to open my mouth. No need to break my teeth on the way."
"If you're witty, you're a little better, Mr. Lee."
Eddy and Mrs. Pomfrey turned their heads to Professor Riddle walking towards them. He was smiling and charming.
"Professor Riddle, this boy needs healing. Visiting time is over!" immediately attacked the nurse.
"I'm sorry, my class just ended. I couldn't go ahead. Please, Poppy," he replied in a languorous voice.
So languorous that the dragon that was the pretty nurse seemed to imitate a poppy. Blushing and sputtering, she moved aside to leave them and went back to her office. Eddy watched her go, unsure of what to do. The professor sat calmly on the bed facing his. He looked tranquil in his black wizarding robes with neatly combed back dark hair and black eyes fixed on him.
"I suppose I should say thank you," Eddy finally said after almost a minute of religious silence.
"Effectively. But thanks are of little interest to me. You nearly injured or killed many of your comrades."
"I know," Eddy hissed.
His tone didn't seem to surprise the professor who continued to keep his little smirk. Nothing Riddle could say was new, but the guilt assaulted him even more violently than his magic.
"You are weak." Riddle finally blurted.
"Try to live with that, hey," Eddy snapped back. "We'll see who's weak!"
Perhaps with another professor, his response would have resulted in a detention, but Riddle remained unfazed.
"I can't do anything, the Obscurus has grown…"
"And if you don't do anything, you'll probably be swept away before you reach the tender age of fifteen. A particularly young age, you have not experienced anything."
Eddy knew it, he had the urge to turn around to escape his teacher's sight but couldn't move. He was as if frozen in front of the black eyes that stared at him.
"I don't want to die," Eddy said lip service, looking down.
"You still have your little gypsy family to find. Yes, I know," his teacher replied calmly. "For that, you need your memory. Crying and wailing like a baby bird is useless, you have to act now."
"So with you. "
"I am one of the only ones capable of mastering your power. You obviously don't remember it, but the staircase scene was particularly violent. I am able to tame the power within you to help you."
"Why are you doing this? It's not out of kindness. I know who you are, I know what I saw before the holidays."
He noticed a faint reddish sparkle in his teacher's eyes. The teenager shuddered. He wished his Obscurus would wake up to ward off the mage, but he was calm and serene within him. The professor formed an amused pout.
"Your power intrigues me. I want to understand its origin, just like you. I suggest that you resume our sessions where they left off. This and of course other courses to allow you to effectively fight the evil that is eating away at you."
Eddy didn't know what to answer. He knew that this man in front of him, his hands casually crossed between his knees, was not a good person. Still, he seemed to offer him a less passive alternative than her guardians and Dumbledore. For once, he could really act.
"I'll think about it," Eddy muttered.
Riddle gave him a smug smile and stood up. Eddy had to repress in spite of himself a movement of recoil on his mattress.
"For a young man of such mediocre grades, you are a very thoughtful man, Mr. Lee. But be it, I'll be back soon to hear your answer."
He went away, whispering the sound of the hands of a clock as he walked away: tick tock, tick tock.
And that noise, Eddy considered with terror that it had been the red thread of his existence for too many years.
.
.
The weather had cooled considerably in recent days. The Hufflepuff-Slytherin match took place that day under a light mist and torrential rain. Warm in the infirmary, Eddy didn't think that missing a Quidditch match could give him so much satisfaction. No doubt his comrades and the players were soaked to the skin.
Through the window, he could see the pitch, and the little silhouettes of the players on their brooms seemed to be engulfed by the torrential rain. From a distance, he could see them struggling to catch the balls. He wondered how the outcome of the game would end.
Returning to his bed, he took out his transfiguration manual to revise. McGonagall had scheduled a written test the next day when he was just due out of the infirmary. If the teacher was nice, she was no less strict and missing almost two weeks of class was no excuse.
Only, after barely ten minutes of concentration, the doors of the infirmary opened. Mrs. Pomfrey was supporting Medusa with Professor Slughorn. She looked out of sorts in her Quidditch uniform. Eddy noticed in amazement that one of his arms was limp and hanging down like rubber snake.
As he opened his mouth in shock, the nurse and Slughorn settled the drenched girl onto a bed not far from his.
"I'm going to kill him," Medusa whispered loud enough for him to hear.
Slughorn chuckled soothingly, but Mrs. Pomfrey hissed.
"And I'm tempted to help you, Miss Riddle. Your comrade has completely wiped out the bones in your arm. We're going to have to make them regrow." Medusa bleached, her arm limply on the eiderdown like a plastic snake. Slughorn left after wishing her well and giving Eddy a slightly worried look.
Pomfrey then went to fetch something from her office stash, prompting Eddy to sneak a glance at Medusa. She returned an icy, soaked face.
"What? You want my photo?"
"Yeah, to scare the boggarts in the back of my closet," he snapped, then pulled himself together. "What's wrong with your arm?"
"A bludger from Hugo Barney hit me in the arm, I fell off my broom," she finally sighed, crossing her only good arm over her chest. "Then that idiot Rosier thought it best to try to fix me on his own. Only when you don't know how to cast a spell, you don't cast one. You took the time to learn, except when you blow up staircases, of course."
Faced with her harsh tone, Eddy refrained from commenting and returned to hiding behind his transfiguration book. When he risked a look behind the pages, he saw that Medusa looked pained to have spoken to him so badly. He, however, was tired of her constant shifting between being wicked and good. Mrs. Pomfrey returned shortly after having a potion in a large white bottle.
"Good, Miss Riddle. I can fix arms quite easily, but regrowing bones is more complex. You'll have to drink this all night, which I warn you won't be easy."
The young nurse handed Medusa a bottle of Skele-Gro potion. Slowly, the Riddle began to drink it. She had to mobilize all the resources of her education not to spit the liquid but her face was very comical. Eddy suppressed a chuckle. Pomfrey then returned to look for something in the back of her pantry.
After barely a minute, the Slytherin players, still in their uniforms and equally soaked, entered the infirmary. Bellatrix and Rosier leading the pack. None passing in front of him shot a glance at Eddy.
"Med! We won. Nott caught the snitch before Gloria Madrigal," Bellatrix said as she fell beside her bed. "Oh by all the pigs of Circe, you look like an inferus!"
The two brunettes cast a furious glance at Rosier, who had the politeness to appear embarrassed.
"I'm sorry, Medusa," Rosier whispered. "I thought I was doing well."
As he approached the girl to grab her hand, Bellatrix grabbed his shoulder violently. With her free hand Medusa seemed ready for revenge. Eddy held back a shiver of apprehension, —he knew what was coming.
"You break, you pay now. What's your worst secret, Percy?"
"I…I'm an illegitimate child between my father and a muggle. He recognized me at one year."
Rosier's face turned an unusual shade of green. Medusa released him with a satisfied smile. Rabastan and Rodolphus Lestrange stared at their friend in surprise while Bellatrix, Flint and Mulligan couldn't suppress a chuckle. Rosier looked in turn at the players then at Medusa. His face transitioned from a greenish hue to scarlet:
"You're going to pay for it, you little sl-
"Mr. Rosier, language! How dare you say such things? Oh but why are all these students here? Out ! OUT ! My patients need rest and care!" yelled the nurse constantly the number of people present in the infirmary.
Her face was so red that even the tough players of the team didn't need a second warning. Rosier glared at Medusa one last time and Bellatrix left after Rodolphus and Rabastan. Medusa fell back onto her mattress with a smile of pure contentment that turned to a grimace when she spurned her potion. Eddy thought that the look Rosier had left was so menacing that she should be careful, but that seemed to be the least of the Riddle's worries.
"Good job done," Medusa sighed in relief, giving him a wicked wink from her bed.
"I wouldn't say it was good," Eddy retorted. "Stop doing that."
"Never," she retorted stubbornly. "Now shut up, this potion will take effect faster if I sleep."
She pointedly turned her back to him, her long, wet black hair flowing like a river of ink on the mattress.
Later, when the night was here, and everyone had been asleep for a long time, Eddy was not. He couldn't stop pondering what he should do next. He was stretched out on his mattress with one arm behind his head. Medusa nearby wasn't sleeping either, no doubt the potion was hurting her. Under a ray of moonlight, her frowning face still remained beautiful and delicate. He remembered with a strange emotion their kiss. Her lips wrinkled in a grimace remained as attractive as ever. She turned her head and glared at him, prompting him to look away quickly.
After a few moments he heard the door to the infirmary creak slightly and Professor Riddle appeared. Under the rays of the lunar star he looked like a ghostly and dangerous creature advancing mournfully towards them. Eddy thought he was coming to check on Medusa, but stopped at his own bed.
The professor's daughter had risen from her cushions and anxiously awaited her father's next words. Eddy looked up at him, he knew very well why he was here tonight.
He risked a glance at the door to Pomfrey's office.
"Mrs. Pomfrey won't wake up tonight, Mr Lee," Riddle warned. "She will sleep soundly until morning."
Eddy stifled a sigh. Determined not to appear weak in front of the man any longer, he stood up..
"It's okay," replied the teenager. "I want to learn to control myself but I don't want Dumbledore involved in it in any way. I don't want to serve your purposes to harm him. I don't trust you."
"Of course," hissed Riddle. "And we will make sure of that. Medusa, get up."
Taken aback, the young girl complied. The bones in her left arm were slowly regenerating, half of her arm remaining limp while the other was oddly swollen. She went to stand beside her father.
"Do you know the Unbreakable Oath, Mr. Lee?"
Medusa turned livid and Eddy had to suppress a tremor.
"I know the theory," he breathed.
"Perfect. Let's work out the terms of our contract. Neither Dumbledore nor anyone else will be involved. It's a matter between, your Obscurus, you and me."
"I know who you are, I want to be sure you won't hurt me."
"It is, alas, something that I cannot promise you. Your body harbours evil, it's the only solution and you know it. It just requires you to be brave, for once. Stop running away. Are we in agreement?"
Eddy nodded valiantly. Mr. Riddle shot a cold look at his daughter who pulled her wand out of her right hand. Mr. Riddle held out his slender, white hand to him, he grabbed it immediately. His fingers were as cold as ice, like a dead man's. Medusa began in a thin voice:
"Tom Elvis Riddle, do you pledge to help Edward Daniel Lee in his fight against the Obscurus and to heal him?"
"I agree," Riddle Sr. replied as a golden strand escaped from his daughter's wand to join their two hands.
"Do you agree not to use Edward Daniel Lee or any knowledge you learn against the Headmaster of Hogwarts?"
"I agree to it."
A new filament joined their two hands.
"And you, Edward Daniel Lee, will you pledge not to disclose your sessions with Tom Marvolo Riddle in any way or violate your pact?"
"I'll do it," Eddy muttered in a raspy voice.
A last filament encircled their two joined hands. They glowed for a moment like a blaze of angel hair and then disappeared. Tom Riddle let go of his hand and smiled at his daughter. It seemed to Eddy now that everything had changed. He couldn't go back.
"Excellent. So we see each other Friday evening for our first session. Take good care of yourself Medusa."
With these words the professor turned away from them and walked quietly towards the door. When it closed, Medusa put her wand away and turned to him. She was very close again, her smell of wild strawberries had mingled with that of lavender from the sheets in the infirmary. Unfathomably, she said:
"I hope you live long enough for us to know if that choice you made tonight was a good thing or not. I really hope so, Eddy."
She turned away and went to bed. Panting, he did the same.