The Tree of Blacks (English version)

The Slytherin Locket

Alya admired the jewel with wide eyes.

"My mother left it to me before she died. Together with the doll, it is all I have left of her," Merope explained in a wistful voice. "Fortunately, my father didn't requisition it, allowing me to keep it and, even, wear it."

Little Black could hardly believe her ears. Yet, that golden pendant was clear proof of the blood link between Merope and the illustrious Slytherin lineage.

"But this is incredible! That means you are heir to Salazar Slytherin, as was your mother! That's why you speak Parseltongue so well!" exclaimed Alya amazed, looking at her dream friend with new admiration.

In the veins of that sickly-looking girl ran the same blood as one of the greatest wizards in history. It was unbelievable. To hear the older schoolmates of his House at Hogwarts talk, Salazar Slytherin was considered a figure of prestige and an example of nobility and power.

Alya's praise was too impetuous for poor Merope, who had never been used to so much enthusiasm: she made herself small, almost curling in on herself, unable to sustain so much praise all at once.

"You can speak Parseltongue very well too," she muttered, as if to say that her skill was nothing so special.

But Alya reprimanded her instantly:

"Of course, it's because I had you as a teacher!"

"Believe me, Alya, I had nothing to do with it. Not all the wizards and witches, even the most powerful ones, have that ability. It is a rare gift." Merope explained, in a solemn voice.

Speaking of snakes and Parseltongue, Alya recalled Koboro, the big black cobra she had rescued in Cornwall. She told the whole episode to her friend, omitting no detail.

Merope listened in amazement.

"And you managed to communicate with him without any problems -- very impressive!" she finally commented with a hint of pride. "You know, Alya, I believe you'll become a truly powerful witch," Merope added, sincerely.

Alya looked impulsively at her feet to show a semblance of modesty, but did not hide a smug expression.

"Do you really think so? I don't know -- there's so much I don't know yet" she mumbled, embarrassed.

"I'm sure of it!" declared Merope, with conviction.

Alya didn't have time to lift her gaze to her friend to thank her, that the environment around her had changed again, catapulting her into the usual black and insubstantial slime of nothingness.

As always, the meeting with her dream friend had been interrupted without warning.

However, Alya could not yet consider herself awake. Her consciousness was lucid, but her body was still trapped in the vagueness of the dream world.

She felt herself extremely light. Alya walked with graceful fluidity through what seemed to be an intricate forest, dark and mysterious. A faint blanket of mist hovered above the ground; Alya herself was part of that cloud of moisture. It was not a place familiar to her; Alya was definitely sure she had never seen the place. Nevertheless, there was something familiar about it. Alya had a strange feeling, like a remote awareness: sooner or later, the child was certain she would set foot inside that currently unknown forest.

Alya observed her surroundings meticulously. A gloomy darkness permeated around the gigantic trees with mighty trunks and dense, tangled branches, whose tangles didn't allow light to filter through. The stillness of that place seemed surreal.

The little girl's silver gaze wandered for a few seconds, bouncing from plant to plant, until Alya felt inexplicably drawn to a huge yew tree, a few metres from her. She observed its brown bark and mighty branches, reaching out like arms as if to grasp something unreachable. The green and needle-like leaves looked like long tapering fingers, which were studded with scarlet arils.

Alya stared for a long time at the figure of the yew tree, silhouetted gloriously in the unknown forest.

Then, all of a sudden, the darkness became denser and wrapped itself around Alya like tentacles of an octopus.

Little Black's grey eyes opened and she woke up instantly. The images of Merope and her precious locket, as one of the mysterious forest with its mammoth yew tree had disappeared.

Alya was in her bed again, at Hogwarts. And, the only thing her eyes could see now was the evocative landscape of the depths of the Black Lake.

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A/N:

This chapter is pretty short, I know, but I preferred to stop here, in order to create suspense.

What do you think about the mysterious forest that Alya saw in her dream?

Let me know your opinions in the comments 😉.

Thank you for reading ❤!
Vale♡