The Locket

Chapter 5

Harry stood apprehensively in front of Hogwarts beside Ron and Hermione.

"Home." He uttered underneath his breath so that it was just barely inaudible.

"Hmmmm... I hope they serve kidney pie tonight." Ron thought aloud.

"All you ever think about is food! Honestly Ron." Hermione chided him like Mrs. Weasley would. Hermione then added in a more serious tone,

"We've got to figure out what the trolley witch wanted."

"Yeah, I know. I mean, why would she want Harry to know about Petunia being an obscur-"

"Ron! Lower your voice!" Harry interrupted with an agitated hiss.

"Sorry. Well, you know, about the thing." Ron finished hastily, shooting both Harry and Hermione an annoyed look. The trio stepped into the entrance hall of the castle, each one of them wrapped up in their own possible theories about the trolley witch and the locket. As they shuffled into the grand dining room, the third years all moved off towards their respective house tables. In the commotion, and in his distracted state, Harry stumbled sideways, crashing into a familiar face.

"Luna! I'm so sorry! You okay?" Harry's rushed apology spilled out of him awkwardly. Luna gave Harry a good natured laugh and answered,

"No worries! I can see you're distracted. The nargles are swimming in and out of your ears rather quickly."

"Yeah, I've just got a lot on my mind at the moment." Harry responded carefully realizing how obvious his worry must've been.

"Well anyways, don't worry about it, the knowledge you're looking for will find a way to come back to you. Things we've lost always have a funny way of coming back to us in the end." With that, Luna skipped off to the Hufflepuff table. Harry shook his head, still slightly flabbergasted. Strange, her conviction was so strong and Harry pondered over what she could possibly mean by that. Sliding into a seat at the Gryffindor table, Harry sat wedged between Dean Thomas and Fred Weasley. He watched as the procession of first years entered the room. They glanced at each house table fervently as their excitement grew. The sorting this year went by rather quickly and, suddenly, the boisterous laughter of the students that occupied the elegant dining quarters was hushed. The silence had started as a certain headmaster had stepped up to the podium. There was a twinkle in Albus Dumbledore's eyes and it was truly amazing that just by standing up, quiet reverence instantly followed.

"First, I'd like to welcome all of you back to Hogwarts. It is so good to see all of you again back for another year." Dumbledore smiled warmly at all of them and applause erupted from the students.

"Mr. Filch would like me to remind you that all of the Weasley twin products are hereby banned and that punishments will be handed out to those who forget to comply with this rule." Fred and George snickered at this. It had undoubtedly been their goal to get their products banned, because this ironically made them in even higher demand. Poor Filch's plan had surely backfired.

"Also, no one is ever, under any circumstance, to enter the forbidden forest." Harry and Ron share a look at this, knowing that this rule was there for good reason. In their second year they had snuck into the forest to meet Aragog, Hagrid's old pet. It had ended with them being chased by hundreds of supersize spiders narrowly escaping in an exhausted, enchanted car.

"On that note, I say, let's eat." Dumbledore clapped his hands twice and piles upon piles of food magically appeared across the tables. The professors sat and the eating commenced. Starting with the entrees, everyone around Harry inhaled their dinner. The meal went by rather quickly and, before he knew it, Harry was stuffed to the brim and ready to pass out in the Gryffindor common room. Ron and Hermione both sat collapsed in comfy chairs opposite him.

"So, Harry, I am so sorry for keeping this from you but I wasn't quite sure what to make of it. And I didn't want to scare you." Hermione bit her lip hesitantly as Ron and Harry both turned towards her with raised eyebrows.

"I saw something. On the train, I mean. It was the trolley witch. There was a mark on her forearm." Hermione looked expectantly at the two of them but all they offered her were dazed expressions.

"The dark mark." Hermione explained through gritted teeth.

"So, she was a death eater. Does that mean Voldemort," Harry gulped, "does that mean he's alive?"

"Harry this is bad. Really bad. Do you think we should tell someone?" Ron added anxiously.

"Who would believe me if I told them that the sweet trolley witch is a death eater?" Harry asked, his uncertainty quite obvious.

"I know someone who would. Harry, Dumbledore would believe you." Hermione answered firmly.

Harry walked toward the Dumbledore's office entrance slowly. He was still unsure of what he should say. Harry wasn't positive he wanted to tell Dumbledore about the obscurus and the locket. Harry knew that it would relieve him of the great burden of shouldering this powerful knowledge but he wasn't sure if it was the right time. Harry reached into his pocket and rubbed the locket with his fingers as if searching for some consolation within the small metal surface. The gargoyle that was the key to the stairs seemed to pierce Harry's eye sockets, as if telling him that Dumbledore needed to know the whole truth.

"Lemon Drop." Upon the password the secret stairway revealed itself and Harry began walking up the steps.

The trolley witch stared across the room blankly. Her accommodations didn't really suit her tastes and the bed was creaky. It didn't matter though. All that mattered was the dark lord's wish being fulfilled. She had allowed an empty feeling to fill herself over time, creating a hollow shell of a woman. She had once been a girl. A girl known by the name of Maisie. Maisie Evans to be more precise. That was a long time ago and she hardly felt like that girl anymore. Every ounce of her being had gone rotten. Maisie Evans had long since expired. She walked over to the mirror in the corner of her bare room. She was the sister erased from existence. The one no one knew about. Not even whispers or rumors. Just simply gone. Many years ago she had disguised her outward appearance and posed the common candy cart witch. This spell was nothing like a polyjuice potion though. This spell was much darker and complicated. It was set to last twenty years, and then Maisie would return to her original form. It had always been funny to her that nobody had ever seemed to notice a difference in the candy lady on the Hogwarts express. Now, gazing upon herself in the mirror she can she see her real body. She was a combination of her two sisters. She shared Lily's eyes but had Petunia's bone structure. Scrutinizing her appearance she almost laughed. If only they knew of the wretchedness within her. Ah, well, she was about to be late for a call. Positioning her body in front of the rustic fireplace, she began the short incantation. A sudden burst of flames appeared and, in the fire, a face became visible.