Never Cursed

ℌ𝔶𝔡𝔢 𝔞𝔫𝔡 𝔖𝔢𝔢𝔨

Morticia Frump

Ophelia Hall

Morticia, who usually felt perfectly comfortable in the dark, couldn't close her eyes. Her mind was alert to every sound, searching for an excuse not to fall asleep. It was one of those moments when the day had been too busy to allow the sleep wave to take over her. The vision of the hyde, its grotesque figure with glowing eyes, remained in her memory every time her eyes closed. She had never seen one before except in Nathaniel Faulkner's diary, shut away in the Nightshades. Now, the darkness wasn't restful but suffocating. It imprisoned her thoughts with no escape.

Suddenly, she heard a distant siren, a shrill sound, rising and falling, piercing through the heavy emptiness of the night. It was a sound that seemed to echo from the depths of a nightmare, sending shivers down her spine. Was it just her imagination? She approached the spider's web-like window, tiptoeing to not awake Larissa, who was fast asleep in the bed next to her. Deep down, she recognised that sound; she could have picked it out from a hundred others. It was an alert signal. Sure enough, before she could push the window open, an alternating blue and red glow crossed the glass, travelling across the dark walls of the room.

It was the police.

She stepped out into the hallway without further thought. Barely had she opened the door that she met Lily's panicked gaze. James stood behind her, an arm around her waist as if to envelop her in his warmth. The young girl's eyes were wide, her gaze fixed.

"Listen to me," Morticia ordered. "You must stay calm. Look at me!" Lily's gaze met Morticia's dark eyes again.

"I was sleeping in my room tonight, and the sirens woke me up. I didn't hear or see anything unusual during the night. Repeat after me, Lily!" Morticia instructed, holding her shoulders. "I was sleeping in my room tonight, and the sirens woke me up. Your turn, Lily."

"I—" James gently caressed her waist. "I was sleeping in my room tonight, and—"

"Without hesitation, Lily. You must convince me," Morticia looked at James, who returned her stare with a sorry expression.

"If my parents find out that I broke into a museum and that we stole one of the main pieces, it's back to square one. I can say goodbye to Nevermore, to Hogwarts, to magic, to James, and—"

"Lily, look at me," James interrupted, gently grasping her head to turn it towards him. "We'll get through this. You, me, and the Marauders. We always do."

"You know what's the secret of a good lie?" Morticia asked, her tone flat. There was no time for compassion. "It's to lie with a hint of truth and never tell more than one lie at a time. Let's take an example. I didn't cheat on the botany exam. That's false," she continued. "The last topic on medicinal plants of Eastern Europe was a disaster. But listen to me, I didn't cheat on all my exams. Most of them, I passed fair and square. So no, I didn't cheat on the botany exam because I passed the one a year ago without cheating. And I passed the one a year and a half ago without cheating either. You see," she said, holding her gaze, "you just have to think in your head about all the times you didn't cheat." Lily nodded slowly. "There's always some truth in a lie. Even the biggest ones," Morticia asserted before darting down the corridor.

§

The atmosphere in the office of Director Rendell was much heavier at night than during the day.

"I'm afraid I don't have much time to spare, Miss Frump," said the director as he slipped in his shoes and grabbed his jacket and scarf, which were hanging on a statue of Edgar Allan Poe.