The Locket

Chapter 3

 The three of them made their way down the aisle of the train, searching for an empty cabin. Harry practically collapsed into his seat as they finally settled down. The agonizing burning through his scar was getting worse and worse. The train lurched forward in a sudden rush and an eerie silence began slowly engulfing the room. Harry pressed his hand to his forehead in a desperate attempt to calm the searing pain still splintering his skin. Hermione and Ron exchanged worried expressions.

"Look mate, what's wrong? You haven't said anything since we got on. I'm starting to get worried." Ron gave Harry a nervous laugh and clenched his hands together restlessly. Harry averted their stares and ducked his head.

"Everything is fine. Okay? Okay." He spoke too quickly and it was extremely obvious that he was lying. Hermione gave him a pointed look and added,

"Harry, come off it. I know that you're lying. What's happening?" Harry flashed back to the shifting black dust in his mother's memory. A shiver danced along his spine and a jolt of pain shot through his lightning scar again. Harry briefly went over the pros and cons of letting his friends know the truth. The pros pretty much seemed to outweigh the cons in almost every aspect. Sighing, Harry contemplated how to explain the locket and what it contained. His thoughts were interrupted however, as someone rapped lightly on the window of their room.

"Anything off the trolley, dears? Fresh candies and sweet delights. I have pumpkin pasties, chocolate frogs, cauldron cakes, Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, and much more." The woman running the cart wore her hair in a crown braid atop her head which had been gracefully woven with care. She had soft blue eyes that seemed to always be smiling and a rather plump figure. Distracted, Harry momentarily forgot about the pensieve. Ron's eyes were quickly widening with delight at the sight of food, while Hermione still seemed focused intently on the conversation they had been about to have.

"We'll take a little bit of everything." Ron gestured to the entire cart, his eyes indefinitely bigger than his stomach.

"Sure thing." The trolley witch began carefully selecting a little bit of each delicacy and treat. Abruptly, Harry brought his hand up to scar again. Hermione saw Harry grimace and murmured,

"Harry, are you alright?" Harry shook his head and scrunched up his face.

"It's called an obscurus." The trolley woman interjected suddenly with a sly grin on her face. Her sweet complexion was gone, now replaced with something new. Something vicious.

"What's an obscurus?" Harry asked tentatively.

"The thing in Lily's memory. That's right. The thing you can't stop dwelling over." She smiled at the dumbfounded look on Harry's face. Ron and Hermione's heads swiveled back and forth, rather confused by the exchange happening in front of them.

"How do you.. why...what... who are you?" Harry struggled for words as he let her absurd statement sink in. Grinning wickedly, the trolley witch reached forward and pulled the locket from Harry's robe pocket. Harry fought to regain control of the locket but the trolley witch's grip was iron. She swiftly opened it and dipped her hand into the memories. She then pressed her finger to his scar. The room began to spin wildly, until Harry blacked out.

Blinking hesitantly, Harry took in his new surroundings. He was in a classroom. Yellow light filtered in through the tower window and he immediately recognized his mother. Her long red hair cascaded down over her shoulders and her vivid emerald eyes sparkled. She appeared to be about in her fourth year. She was sitting at a desk towards the middle left section of the room and looked quite anxious to leave for some reason. He waved his arms in front of the other students but received no reaction, so he concluded it was probably safe to presume that it was the same as the last time. Harry watched the rest of the class period curiously. It was a lesson drawn out on aconite and it's effects on werewolf. Harry felt that the lesson had been a bit extensive and wondered how long it would last until, finally, the class was dismissed and Lily exited the room. A voice called over all the bustle and Lily spun around.

"Hey! Wait up!" A boy with greasy black hair and a thin frame called after her. Harry realized that he knew this boy. It was none other than Severus Snape. Harry shook his head. His mother and Snape were friends? He shuddered briefly at the thought and then proceeded to follow them down the corridor.

"Magical Herbs was so boring today." Lily sighed and then turned to grin at Snape.

"Anyway, did you find the book?" She hushed her voice slightly when asking this. Although the question itself was pretty inconspicuous, it didn't hurt to be careful. Snape nodded and they continued moving towards the library. Pushing the thick oak doors open, they entered the colossal library. Twisting their way through the many shelves, Lily and Snape settled at a small, slightly hidden table back near the restricted section. Snape pulled out his wand and whispered so that he was nearly inaudible,

"Accio Ancient Magical Entities." A book came whizzing through the air its pages fluttering as it land on the table. Snape and Lily shared an apprehensive look for a moment and then began searching through the book for something. Eventually, Lily appeared to find what she was looking for and Harry bent down to see what her finger had landed on. Obscurial. Harry listened as his mother whisper-read the page aloud.

"An obscurial is a young witch or wizard who has developed a dark magical force within them. The last case of an obscurus was in 1926. It can be uncontrollable and violent, as it is the result of suppressed abilities..." Harry thought back to the memory of the obscurus he had seen. It didn't seem violent at all. Tuning back in to the scene unfolding before him Harry watched Snape grip Lily's hand as her face went pale.

"I don't understand. How can this be? Petunia isn't a witch." Harry head hurt. Petunia was the obscurus. Harry watched the memory begin to spin again and allowed himself to be sucked out of the locket.

Harry rubbed his skull and looked up. He was lying on the seat lengthwise. Ron and Hermione jumped up seeing Harry back. The relief on their faces was overwhelming. Sniffing, Harry reached for a piece of chocolate and sat up.

"What happened to the trolley witch?" Harry asked. Biting her lip, Hermione answered.

"She's gone Harry."