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𝖘𝖑𝖚𝖌 𝖈𝖑𝖚𝖇
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5 September 1942
Elena was getting ready for the first Slug Club meeting of the year. Enduring Slughorn's endless stories and unbearable comments would eventually be worth it. The man had connections with powerful people in the wizarding world, and she needed to use all the help she could get in order to escape the muggle world. She put the gift she had bought for Slughorn in her bag and left the dormitory.
She would join Orion at Slughorn's office, since she was already there, working on a wilting potion with the professor. Ever since they met, Orion had always been the one to experiment with the rules, while Elena followed them rigorously. Orion's potion making was an art. It wasn't replicable and it certainly could not be contained within the school's curriculum. For this exact reason she was a favourite of the professor and the only fourth year allowed in the Slug Club.
Before she could get out of the dungeons however, a hand pulled her back into a corner. Elena got out of their grip and saw their face in dim light. "What the fuck Abraxas!"
"Why did you open my letter?" He sounded very angry.
"I didn't open it." She wasn't lying. "Why is it such a big deal Rax?"
The boy sighed and closed his eyes. "Do you not realise how dangerous this is?"
Elena was genuinely confused. "Obviously you know something I don't. Care to enlighten me?"
"He'll come after you Elena, he will come to Hogwarts."
"What do you want me to do? Leave the school?" Elena couldn't understand what the boy was thinking, though, she could let herself in on more information. Her power had gotten stronger over the years of lessons with Dumbledore. She not only could control whose mind she wanted to read, she could also pick and choose information and memories.
"I do not want either of you to go near that girl," said Mrs. Malfoy. "I heard whispers at the Ministry, something happened in that orphanage that summer. I do not want you nor Orion to get hurt or worse, be at odds with the Ministry. Understood?"
"Get out of my mind!" Abraxas' voice echoed through the dungeons.
"What is she talking about?"
"I don't know! They're worried about Orion! Your parents were seen again and my father thinks-"
"What does that have to do with me? Don't act like you don't know me Abraxas! I will never let Orion get hurt." Elena wanted to get out of there, fast. "I need to go, I'm late."
•❅────✧❅✦❅✧────❅•
"It is very remarkable what your classmate has achieved in her studies," Slughorn said, putting a cauldron on the table. The dinner portion of the evening was over, and Slughorn was praising Orion's potion. "If any of you would like to attempt it, I'm sure she'll be more than happy to give you the instructions."
"Thank you, professor," said Orion.
Everyone leaned over to take a look at the potion except Tom. He was still sitting, eyes locked on the cauldron. "What exactly does this potion do?"
Orion seemed surprised by his question, yet answered proudly. "It is called a Wilting Potion." She walked over to the stack of spiders and picked one up. "It won't kill any living thing, however it will decay its body." She dipped half of its body into the potion. "The part effected will still be functional, but will look dead." And it did. The spider's legs still moved, but the tissue was surely dead.
"It's outstanding," said Timothy Nott, looking into the potion intently. "Is this allowed?"
"No authority has said it's not," Slughorn laughed. He grabbed the cauldron and motioned for Orion to put away the spider. "Now, I think we could finish the evening off with dessert."
"Sir, I think I'm going to throw up," said Annabelle Black. "It's disgusting."
"You can leave any time you want," said Elena. "What Malfoy came up with is remarkable. If you're so disgusted by it why don't you work on a potion to reverse its effects?"
"I-"
"That's an amazing idea, Mortem!" Slughorn said excitedly. "I want you all to come up with ways to counter the effects of this potion." Anna scoffed and hurried out of the room. Slughorn laughed returning to the table. "I think we will continue without her."
"Not much of a loss," Elena said quietly. When everyone sat down once again, dessert appeared on the table. Elena figured this would be a good time to give Slughorn his gift. "Professor, I came across a rather rare ingredient in Knockturn Alley the other day. I thought you may like it." She handed the box to the man.
Slughorn raised an eyebrow, intrigued. He opened the box and exclaimed, "Occamy eggshell! Oh Mortem, you're a wonder." Once his excitement was contained he turned to the group of students, "Can any of you tell me what these are used for?"
"Felix Felicis, professor," said Nott. Elena saw for a brief moment Orion's eyes land on Nott and she smiled. "Also called Liquid Luck."
"Exactly." Slughorn continued to look at them with eyes glimmering. "I never knew you were interested in Potions, Nott."
Nott's eyes found Orion's. "My interest grew, sir. Over the summer."
"Why don't you join Malfoy and I next time then?" He turned to Orion. "If it's alright for you too, Malfoy."
"Yes, sir. I'd be very thankful for the help." Orion said. Elena could see the slightest bit of rose wash over her face. She shot her a look of surprise, mouthing "we will talk about this".
"Tom, my boy, you've been awfully silent tonight. Is there something on your mind?"
"In fact there is, sir." Tom looked at Elena for a second and then back at the professor. "Lately I've been interested in memory."
"Memory?" Slughorn knit his brows.
"Yes, sir. Is it possible to erase or create memories with magic?"
"That is absurd," said Elena. Of course it was possible, she had done it multiple times. She was sure that Tom knew such magic existed, so why was he bringing it up? It was not possible that he remembered, was it?
"No, no, Mortem, it is very possible." Slughorn said. "However you can fight it if the circumstances are right."
"Do you mean this kind of magic can be broken?" Elena was panicking. Tom was enjoying this sight, it was written on his face.
"Seeing things that remind someone of the altered memory can help break it. Or using Legilimens to access the memory through another's mind-" Slughorn was now aware of the tension between Tom and Elena. "Oh, look at the hour. You should get back to your dormitories. Thank you all for this evening."
While everyone was leaving Elena made sure not to lose Tom. He had told Dumbledore about what had happened in the orphanage, she was sure of it. And now, if he came to remember even a fragment of what had happened on that day, there would be no saving Elena. He was aware of her following him, and led her to an empty corridor. "Why are you following me, Mortem?" he asked with his back turned to her.
"Why did you tell Dumbledore?"
"Told Dumbledore what exactly?" He turned to face her. "That you killed that man? No."
"Why are you lying?" Elena was getting impatient. "It could only have been you!"
"Oh Elena, I fear you're losing your mind-"
"Shut up."
"Read my mind," Tom said nonchalantly. "You'll see I'm not lying."
He wasn't lying, it wasn't him. Elena searched his mind for a memory of him telling Dumbledore, but there was none. "How do I know you're not guarding it? You just asked Slughorn about memory magic!"
"You know better than me why I asked that."
Elena held her breath, he couldn't remember, could he? "I don't know what you mean."
"You fascinate me Elena. Acting so innocent, and yet... Well, I guess this is a conversation for another day." With that he started walking, leaving Elena to wonder how much Tom knew about her, and how much of it he would use against her if he were given the chance.
•❅────✧❅✦❅✧────❅•
Water dropped from the ceiling and echoed through the walls of the cave. Elena's feet were wet from the small puddles on the floor. She followed the others as the light from the opening of the cave slowly faded. When they stopped, Elena could only see three silhouettes ahead of her.
"Dennis come here. I want to show you something," he said. The boy lit up a fire in the middle of the cave, without using anything.
"What are you some kind of freak? How- How did you do that?" Dennis screamed.
"There is no need to fuss about it Dennis. I was just providing us with some light."
"Why would we need light? The sun hasn't set yet," said Elena. She was scared of what the boy could do.
"When we're done here it won't be daytime anymore."
"NO!" Elena woke up screaming. Her body was covered in sweat and she could barely breathe. She tried to calm herself. She had worked so hard to move on from that day. She wouldn't let Tom's mind games take her back.
The other girls shifted in their beds, but none woke up. Elena looked for Orion, but her bed was empty. She closed her eyes and took deep breaths. When she was ready, she got out of bed and went down to the common room to find Orion. Sound of laughter preceded the sight of Orion and Timothy Nott, sitting on the couch in the common room. Elena decided not to ruin their night. Her nightmares could wait.
•❅────✧❅✦❅✧────❅•
6 September 1942
"After Slug Club, he stayed with me the whole night and helped me research ingredients," Orion said happily. "I think he really might like me." Orion took some food onto her plate and continued, "It was so amazing- wait Elena! Are you even listening?"
Elena jumped in her seat. "Yes, yes. Nott, amazing guy." She said closing her eyes once again.
"You can at least be happy for me." Orion sounded hurt.
"I'm sorry," Elena said tiredly. "I didn't sleep, I had a nightmare."
"Why didn't you come to me?"
"I saw you with Nott, I didn't want to interfere-"
"Oh Elena..." Orion sighed. "Was it the same one? I thought you hadn't had it for years now."
"Almost two years. I woke up before the scary part started." Elena sighed. "I hate to talk about it."
"What happened that may have started it again? You're more powerful than two years ago."
"I wish I knew."
"Can't you at least tell Dumbledore?"
"I can't."
"Why?"
Elena didn't answer.