AN
I would have liked to give Myrtle's death more gravity, but Naenia does not view death the same way the rest of us do, so it didn't feel quite right…
June 1943, 5th year
On Monday, the day after Myrtle Warren's body had been found, her death was declared 'a freak accident' and that exams would start on Tuesday.
There was some chaos amongst the students, especially those who had been looking forward to the exams being cancelled and, on the other side, those who were still quite shocked by the events.
Behind the scenes, in the Slytherin Common Room, Tom Riddle told his peers that he had found the culprit – one Rubeus Hagrid, who had apparently smuggled an Acromantula into the castle. There was no way that Hagrid, a third-year Gryffindor, had somehow found and opened the Chamber of Secrets, nor that an Acromantula had been behind all those incidents, because the wounds didn't match up.
But Headmaster Dippet readily took the presented scapegoat without any question whatsoever (not that Tom told anyone that Hagrid was being framed) and, ashamed that such a terrible thing had happened at Hogwarts – a girl had died, after all, even if it had been 'just a mudblood' – he had hushed the whole thing up. Tom had been given a 'Special Award for Services to the School' to keep quiet about the matter.
The Slytherins all admired him for his accomplishment. Only Nott and Black, who had opted to join Naenia in her more private corner rather than Tom's group by the fireplace, questioned the legitimacy of his story.
"That big oaf can't have been behind the attacks," Nott said. "Riddle himself said that the culprit must have at least one ounce of intelligence in themselves and Hagrid certainly doesn't."
Naenia tilted her head. "Who was Hagrid again?"
Both Black and Nott looked at her incredulously.
"Big guy?" Black said. "Gets into trouble every week? He tried to raise werewolf cubs last year, wrestled trolls in the Forbidden forest – honestly, Naenia, that guy got into so much trouble, you must have run into him a few times during prefect duties."
It all sounded vaguely familiar, but Naenia honestly couldn't remember. She had never paid much attention to any of the Gryffindors anyway. And how one went about raising werewolf cubs, when werewolves were human for most of the month, Naenia couldn't even begin to fathom.
"I might have encountered him," Naenia said, "but in that case I have forgotten all about him."
"Doesn't matter," Nott said. "He wasn't behind this."
"No, he wasn't," Naenia agreed quietly.
Nott fixed his stare on her. "Riddle?"
Naenia just looked at him, not saying anything.
"This can't be good," Black said, his gaze flitting over to where Tom sat, surrounded by the other Slytherins.
"Only if you end up on the wrong side of his wand," Nott said, watching Tom. "For the rest of us, this just shows how powerful and cunning he truly is." He turned to Naenia. "Which brings me to another topic – what's going on between the two of you? Has it something to do with what happened yesterday? After the two of you disappeared into the dungeons, you haven't spoken a word to each other."
Naenia sighed. "If I tell you we might never talk to each other again, what will you do?"
Nott raised his eyebrows. "Are you asking us to choose a side?"
"Stay with you, of course," Black said.
Naenia shook her head. "No, I'm not asking you to choose a side. Tom might, I don't know. Just – what would you do?"
"Well," Black said and shrugged. "I'm about to graduate, so it's not like I have much to worry about."
"For now," Nott interjected.
Black ignored him. "I'll write to you, maybe keep up correspondence with Riddle, too, if he wishes to - and that's it for me."
"I don't think Riddle will mind if either of us stays friends with you," Nott said. "But we'll have to see about that. If he does decide to make us choose, then I'll go with the one that brings me more benefits."
Naenia nodded. "I can understand that."
"Uhm, Lémure?" a female voice said.
The three of them turned to see Farley standing behind them, shifting uncomfortably from one food to another.
"There's a girl wating for you outside. Says she wants to talk to you. Brown hair, warm skin – sounds familiar?"
Naenia rose at once. She thanked Farley and then left the common room, not waiting to give Nott and Black an explanation.
"I'm sorry," Amelia burst out, the moment Naenia had stepped outside.
"For what?" Naenia asked confused.
She couldn't remember Amelia doing anything wrong. It was her who should apologize.
"Well, I –" Amelia bit her lip. "I always knew you were different and I decided to be your friend regardless. Because I know you're not a bad person, even if your view of the world might be a bit different than mine – you're certainly approaching death and dying a whole lot differently than anyone else I know. And yet I still expected you to react differently, to act against your nature. You tried your best and I should have appreciated that instead of being hurt by your words. And that is just unfair. And I shouldn't have –"
"Amelia," Naenia interrupted her rambling. "You have nothing to apologize for."
"I don't?" Amelia asked, visibly thrown off.
Naenia shook her head. "I should be the one to apologize. Not for what I said, because that was my honest opinion on the matter and I won't pretend to care when I clearly don't. But I didn't mean to hurt you. I could have worded it differently, or not said anything in the first place."
She struggled to find the right words. Naenia hadn't had enough time to properly think about what had happened and decipher what exactly had hurt her friend. She still didn't know what it was. Empathy was clearly not her forte.
"It was stupid," Amelia said. "I'm just really sensitive and emotional."
"That's not stupid," Naenia said softly. "We're just very different in that aspect. So, all good?"
Amelia smiled softly and then held her arms wide open. "Hug?"
Naenia laughed and stepped into her friend's arms.
They stood there for a while. Naenia enjoyed the quietness, the warmth emanating from Amelia's body, the feeling of a living, breathing being in her arms.
Just as they parted again, the entrance to the common room opened behind them and Black stepped outside. "There you are. I was just about to go looking for you. It's already time for dinner."
"A bit early, isn't it?" Amelia gave him a shy smile.
Black grinned. "Therefore, it won't be as crowded and you can join us on the Slytherin table."
They started walking away from the common room.
"A badger amongst the snakes? I don't know."
Black shrugged, still grinning. "Or we could join you? Hm?"
Amelia laughed. It was nice to see her cheer up a bit, even though the sadness that had permeated the castle's walls still clung to her.
"No, I don't think that would be a particularly good idea. Even though my housemates are all very kind and open-minded, they're still… let's say biased."
Black raised his eyebrows. "Against our house?"
"More like your families."
"Ah, yes." Black ruffled his hair. "Being surrounded by pureblood Slytherins all day makes you forget what the rest of the population thinks of you."
"Though I dare say it is not as bad as it used to be," Naenia said. "My brothers and all the Lémures before me were feared by everyone, but most have gotten over that, I think."
"You're really not that scary," Black said.
Amelia nodded enthusiastically. "I agree. You're a very kind and nice person."
Naenia frowned. "When did you ever get that impression?" She sighed. "But I'm not going out of my way to be scary and intimidating. I actually kind of like having friends, you know."
"See?" Amelia said with a bright smile. "Kind and nice."
Naenia rolled her eyes and started climbing up the stairs. Behind her, Black laughed.
It was a tiny bit of normalcy, that Naenia appreciated immensely.
Even Amelia piling food onto her plate didn't bother her that much, though she had to force herself to take each bite. It still tasted like nothing, hadn't tasted like anything since she had found out about Tom's Horcrux. She couldn't say whether that was better than the nausea.
During their meal they started chatting about the upcoming exams – Amelia was a bit worried about not having studied enough, but Black reassured her that she would be fine. After all, they had both been tutored by the best of the best (meaning Tom and Naenia) and therefore had more in-depth knowledge than possibly anyone else in the school. Naenia somehow doubted that, but Black wouldn't listen.
At the teachers' table Professor Dumbledore rose from his seat and slowly started approaching them. Naenia watched him out of the corner of her eyes, while she listened to Black and Amelia discuss the importance of understanding a subject compared to pure memorizing.
"Good evening," Professor Dumbledore greeted them pleasantly. "Mister Black, Miss Blythe." He nodded at each of them, before turning to Naenia. "Miss Lémure, care to join me for a walk?"
Naenia glanced at Amelia and Black, who were both giving her curious glances, then back at Dumbledore. "Of course, Professor."
It might have been the first time he had not invited her to tea for some mild interrogation and she wondered what the old man was up to this time.
To her great surprise, he took her to a little chamber where Myrtle Warren's body lay, preserved by some amateur magic. Naenia itched to perform the proper spells, but had to hold herself back.
"Professor?" she asked tentatively.
He was looking at the body with what Naenia could only interpret as grief and regret.
"Miss Lémure, I hope I am not overstepping my boundaries, but I was hoping you could determine the cause of death for me."
For a moment Naenia was stunned speechless. Then she took a step forward, then another.
"May I touch her?"
The Professor nodded.
Show no emotion, she sternly reminded herself. He would not take kindly to her being happy in the face of what he perceived as a great tragedy. She had wanted to do this since the moment she had heard of the girl's death. She had wanted to see it for herself so much.
Naenia took Myrtle's hand in her own and closed her eyes.
"This was powerful magic," she said slowly. "Very powerful magic."
Naenia opened her eyes and slightly turned her head, so she could observe Dumbledore's reaction.
"Death Magic."
There was only a hint of a change in his demeanour. He stiffened slightly. His eyes looked maybe a bit sadder than before. When he spoke, his voice was grave.
"The Killing Curse?"
Naenia shook her head. "There is no trace of any curse. This was not done by a wizard, but a being that possesses a great, if terrible, gift. A gift from Death Himself."
Naenia could only think of very few creatures so closely linked to Death. Necromancers, for one. Thestrals, though they could not bestow death upon another living being. Mandrakes, plants whose cries would kill anyone hearing them. And Basilisks, giant serpents that could kill with their eyes alone.
She did not count Dementors, who were terrible, terrible beings that shouldn't exist in the first place.
She knew that Tom was behind it. She had heard the rumours about Slytherin's Monster. A Basilisk would fit perfectly, but she didn't say that out loud.
"I cannot say what kind of being did this."
And this was true – she could not say it aloud. She also wouldn't have been able to tell from Myrtle's body alone. She had come to her own conclusion based on what she knew about the circumstances of her death, not what the magic surrounding her body had told her.
"But it was not the Killing Curse. Professor –" Naenia hesitated. "May I redo the spells cast upon her? They are not done very well and I fear her body will start to decay soon."
Dumbledore nodded and stepped outside. She thought it was rather polite of him. But maybe he just couldn't bear to be near the corpse any longer. Or he did not want to witness her work. It was, after all, still Forbidden Magic.
Naenia took out her little tea box and went to work. When she joined him outside, he extinguished the candles and closed the door, securing it with several protection spells. Then he took her for a walk around the castle.
"You said it was done by a being," he said after a few minutes of silence. "But could it not have been done by a witch or wizard familiar with your ways as well?"
"Yes," Naenia said truthfully, "and no."
She waited for him to look at her, so he could see how much his words had offended her.
"I can assure you, Professor, that no true Necromancer would have done such an atrocious thing. Death is sacred to us. We would never dare to offend Him like this. There are rules that should not be broken under any circumstances and this one, I am sure, you and I can agree on, on all terms."
"Certainly," he said and they fell silent again.
The castle was empty, most students were eating dinner in the Great Hall right now. Naenia wondered what Black and Amelia had done after she had left. She remembered the way Black looked at her friend sometimes and could only hope that they had split off afterwards. She did not need an imaginary picture of the two off them sneaking off together to do God knows what. Then she remembered Amelia was still in mourning over the dead girl.
Naenia stopped at one of the windows overlooking the Forbidden Forest, where she could see a few Thestrals circling over the trees.
"Fascinating creatures," Dumbledore remarked. "Only visible to those who have witnessed death. They are such intelligent and loyal creatures and yet believed to be omens of misfortune."
"One should not judge a book by its cover," Naenia said, thinking about the way he had always judged her for her last name.
"Wise words," he said, the hypocrite. "I believe the same to be true for other beings as well."
Naenia tore her gaze away from the forest. "Such as?"
Dumbledore hummed. "What is your opinion on Giants, Miss Lémure?"
"They are said to possess a limited amount of wit and intelligence, to be able to write and read and learn other languages. But they are also said to be impulsive, deadly if provoked, strong but vicious. I have never encountered one myself, though, so I can't presume to form a personal opinion about them."
She paused.
"Sir, is this perhaps about Rubeus Hagrid?"
A 'big oaf' Nott had called him. 'The culprit' Tom had branded him.
"Mister Riddle has told you about it, then? How he found the one behind all these attacks."
"He has told us to stay quiet about it," Naenia said carefully, "because Headmaster Dippet wishes the truth to remain a secret."
Dumbledore gave her a scrutinizing look. "Do you believe that it is the truth?"
"What do you mean, sir?"
"Do you believe that Hagrid was truly behind the incidents all this time, that he is responsible for Miss Warren's death?"
"I do not know him, Professor. How would I be able to judge his innocence?"
"Of course," Dumbledore said, slightly disappointed. "Perfectly understandable."
He resumed walking and Naenia followed, curious where he would lead the conversation this time.
"I think that he is innocent," he said eventually. "That he did not open the Chamber of Secrets. I am trying to persuade the judges to lighten his sentence and I believe they may listen to me."
Naenia inclined her head. "If he is truly innocent, sir, then I hope that you succeed."
She couldn't care less. But there was no need to let Dumbledore know that. Unlike Amelia, kind and gentle Amelia, and unlike her friends, who were just like her in that regard, the old man would not understand. He was already assuming the worst of her, no need to confirm his suspicions. Although she couldn't help but wonder why he chose to talk to her every time.
"Do you think that Mister Riddle is aware of the truth?" he asked and there it was.
It was always about Tom, wasn't it?
Naenia knew she would never tell him the truth.
Naenia knew he had already made up his mind.
So, how would she play the game this time?
"I honestly do not know what he thinks, Professor," she began quietly. "We had a disagreement, just after the poor girl's death. It was terrible."
She took a deep breath and tried to look sad. It wasn't very hard. Thinking back on that day still made her chest constrict painfully.
"I am sure you are aware, Professor, that the Lémures have a very special relationship with Death."
She looked at him from under her lashes. He wasn't the only one who could play with the sympathy of others.
"Tom and I did not see eye to eye on the matter and it ended in a horrible fight. It was terrible and I –" Another deep breath, shakier this time. "I fear that I might have lost my best friend forever and it is entirely my –" His. "– fault."
Dumbledore was silent for a while.
Then, very quietly, he said, "I am sorry to hear that, Miss Lémure. But I am sure you can overcome this obstacle in time. If you are both truthful about your feelings and willing to really listen to each other, then not all has to be lost."
For once, Naenia wanted to believe him. But she knew it wasn't that easy. Not with this.
AN
Maybe Dumbledore truly does care about Naenia, maybe he is just using her for his own gain, we might never know. Naenia doesn't like him either way.
Which is not the reason she decides to cover for Tom here – I mean, she could have decided to step in and stop him at any given point, but she never even considered that.