Chapter Sixty-Five: The Lost Locket
Time with the Death Eaters inched by. Lottie wasn’t quite sure how much she was actually helping, since she did not really acquire any groundbreaking information. She kept her ears peeled for information on whoever had let Snape free, but found nothing. She discovered dates of planned Muggle massacres, and was able to report the deaths of a few former Alsemore students who had been killed, but that was all. The Dark Lord did a very good job at keeping everybody just as informed as they needed to be.
By employing Occlumency, Lottie was able to kill more easily. She didn’t focus on it, didn’t think about it”just said the words and she was done. But that hidden part of her ached more and more every time she did it.
Snape, also, stayed on her tail annoyingly often. She sometimes didn’t get a break from him until she locked herself in her room for the night. Because of her suspicions, though, she was not going to take any chances. Snape could get in even with the lock, she was sure, so she woke up every hour on the hour to take another sip of Polyjuice. If he walked in and saw her true face, it would all be over”though she had a sneaking suspicion that he was actually trying to help her. He had saved her life with several helpful warnings already.
In the early morning of a November day, Lottie woke to take a swig of Polyjuice, but before she could exhaustedly fall back into bed, hushed voices caught her attention. “What could be so important that we have to get it so soon?” asked a voice”Lottie faintly recognized it.
“Are you questioning the Dark Lord?” Lottie knew that voice”Snape’s.
“N-n-no.” Now that he stuttered, the owner of the voice seemed clear. It was Bran. “Of course not””
“Good. Then you should come to the meeting about it tonight.”
Lottie rose from her bed and moved like a shadow across the room. She pressed her ear to the door. Why did this have to be such a secret? It seemed strange to her”if Bran was invited, then why wasn’t she?
“But”” Bran paused. He continued in a lower tone. Lottie listened even more carefully. “But why there? Isn’t the Department of Mysteries in ruin? Didn’t the Dark Lord destroy the building when he took over? We learned about it in History””
“It is dilapidated and in disrepair, but it is by no means obliterated.” Lottie could hear Snape’s patience running low. Bran was foolish for perusing the matter. “The Dark Lord has something valuable there. We must retrieve it.”
“Why?”
Lottie was surprised that Snape hadn’t killed him yet”she certainly would have. There was a thump against her door. Lottie leapt back out of surprise. It sounded like Bran had been slammed against the frame”which wasn’t totally out of the question, considering the circumstance.
“Do not question the Dark Lord,” Snape hissed.
“I’m”I didn’t mean””
“What the Dark Lord says, you do. Do you understand?”
“Yes. I””
“Just because you have been given a Dark Mark does not make you an equal”certainly not to me.” Lottie’s door shuddered again. Since they were so close, she didn’t have to press her ear up to it to hear anything. She probably would have gotten a healthy-sized concussion by now if she did. “You are not here to question,” Snape went on. “That’s my job. All you have to do is come to the meeting tomorrow night.”
There was silence. Lottie sat down on her bed, her breath shallow. She didn’t understand why Snape had given Bran a job and not her. Had she proved to be not useful? Lottie blinked. What was she thinking? She couldn’t actually be jealous of Bran”she couldn’t actually want to go on Death Eater missions.
The way Snape had behaved”why didn’t he realize that she would hear them? They were talking right outside of her door after all. Unless he wanted her to hear, but why would he want that? To make her jealous?
Lottie laid back against her pillows and let her eyes droop, ready to fall asleep and forget all about it. She pulled the thin blanket back over herself. Snape had talked about something hidden in the Department of Mysteries”something they had to retrieve immediately. But what could that be? Lottie rolled onto her side and stared at the ground. Why would the Dark Lord have hidden something in the Ministry anyway? If the Ministry was in ruins, was it really that urgent to retrieve it?
Lottie’s eyes flew open as a realization dawned on her. It was a Horcrux”a Horcrux that was hidden. She pushed herself up out of bed and paced once around her room. She wanted to do a victory dance. A Horcrux was hidden in the old Ministry of Magic, and the reason they had to retrieve it was because they were afraid that they would take it. Them”Alsemore.
She still could not say why Snape had been so loud outside of her door, but that hardly seemed significant. Without another thought, she spun around and Disapparated.
Alsemore was empty when she appeared in the entrance hall. Again, she realized that it was too early”maybe four or five in the morning”and nobody was awake. She looked down and sheepishly realized that she was still in her pajamas. Shaula’s extra-long legs poked awkwardly out of her cotton trousers.
She brushed it off, though, and padded her way (still barefoot) to Palmyitor’s office. When she reached it, she pounded on the door. There was no answer, but she assumed that it was just because the professor was sleeping. Lottie pounded again. Still there was no answer, no grumpy old professor opening the door, wearing a scowl and a nightgown.
There was no way Palmyitor didn’t hear her. Frowning, Lottie took a step back. She wondered if she was maybe in another of the head’s offices. Lottie didn’t know where Clynalmoy’s office was, but she had been to Maelioric’s. It was on the top floor, so taking two steps at a time, Lottie ran upstairs. She was winded by the time she got to the fourth floor and rounded the corner to the office.
She knocked. There was no answer. Impatient, Lottie knocked again. Maybe he was a heavy sleeper. She formed her hand into a fist and pounded against the door for a minute straight. There was no way he could be in there and not hear her. Lottie took a step back.
This seemed too weird. Where was everybody? Maybe, the thought occurred to her, the other students would know. She spun around and ran down the four flights of stairs to the entrance hall, and the extra flight down to the Palmyitor common room.
It wasn’t until she stood in front of the old, grandfather clock that she realized she didn’t know the password. She blinked helplessly in front of the clock. It seemed like something from another life now. She hadn’t seen anybody from Alsemore in months, it felt like. When was the last time she had seen Andrea? Was Andrea there in the common room”or had she been sent off on another mission? Was she even alive? Lottie’s stomach plummeted at the thought, but, no”Palmyitor surely would have told her if Andrea had died”right?
“What do you think you’re doing out after hours?” called a stern voice. Again, it was familiar, but so distant that it seemed to be a character from a long-forgotten dream.
Lottie turned around in surprise and saw Professor Dyer, the Potions Master, climbing up the stairs. He had a hassled look about him. His icy eyes scanned her suspiciously. “Who are you anyway?”
Lottie furrowed her brow. She used to be one of his favorite students”how did he not recognize her? “Are you joking?” she asked, but as the words fell from her lips, she realized that she was wearing Shaula’s form.
Dyer gave her a strange look, but pushed past her. “You are lucky this time,” he said. “I have more urgent things to attend to than rude students””
“Where is Palmyitor?” Lottie called after him.
He didn’t stop to look at her. “She has more important things to worry about than you at the moment,” he said. “A student’s life is at stake, and you think we’re going to answer all of your questions?”
Lottie blinked at his retreating back. A student’s life was at stake? What did he mean by that? She padded after him silently, her bare feet making no sound against the chilly, stone floor. Dyer climbed the steps to the entrance hall and continued up one more story. He seemed to have no idea”or just not care”that she was following him.
Dyer led her to a set of large doors and wrenched them open. A familiar smell of potions and sickness wafted out”the hospital wing. Lottie slipped through the doors before they swung shut.
Inside the hospital wing, the three heads and Professor Waterman stood crowded around a single bed. Dyer crossed the hall and pulled a small vial out of his pocket. They were conversing in such low tones that from across the otherwise silent room, Lottie could not hear them.
Thoughts of the information she had just discovered slipped from her mind as she watched the professors’ frightful glances towards the bed. The occupant was blocked from sight, but Lottie had a horrible, dreading feeling that it was somebody she knew.
Professor Waterman bent over the bed. The professors all watched expectantly but nothing seemed to be happening. Lottie saw the hope flicker out of Palmyitor’s eyes first, and she looked away from the bed before glancing towards Lottie. Her brow furrowed as recognized dawned on her, and she whispered something to Dyer and Waterman. Both of them left the room promptly”Waterman to her corner office and Dyer past Lottie through the open door.
When they were both gone, Lottie approached slowly. She could feel the Polyjuice Potion wearing off as she walked. Her legs shrunk, and her pajamas suddenly fit her again. “What are you doing here, Rowe?” Palmyitor asked.
Lottie wasn’t paying attention. She looked at the bed; it turned out to be nobody she recognized, but the scene was no less tragic. It was a young girl who lay in the bed. Lottie presumed it was a first year, though she looked much younger. Her eyes were shut”maybe she was sleeping”but the flinching look of agony in her face made Lottie think otherwise. Her skin was so pale that it was nearly translucent. Her hair was brown, but it was wispy, and in the light, almost looked white. It was like looking at an elderly woman in a child’s body.
“What happened to her?” Lottie asked, tearing her eyes away from the sight.
“We’re not quite sure.” Palmyitor glanced at the child. There were dark bags under her eyes. It didn’t look like she had slept in days. “Clearly there is some sort of powerful Dark Magic involved. We have to figure out the source of this problem. We cannot have it spread to the other students, even if it means we have to sacrifice one.”
Lottie fell into silence and frowned at the girl. Was this the mark of a traitor again? Were they introducing a mysterious illness to kill all of the students?
“Rowe.” Lottie looked up. Palmyitor glared at her. “Why are you here?”
“What?”
“Why have you come? You cannot waste our time right now””
“No”I”I do. I have a reason.” Lottie looked at Clynalmoy and Maelioric, who stood silent in the corner. The reason for coming had almost slipped her mind, but it came back to her in full force. The Horcrux. Lottie froze for a moment. The Horcrux. She turned to the dying girl. Her mouth sagged open slightly. Lottie’s mouth fell open in realization.
“Rowe.”
“Hang on.” Lottie strode to the bed and leaned over the girl. The covers were pulled up all the way to her chin. Lottie tugged at the blanket so that it was at the girl’s waist. Just as she had expected, a large bulge protruded on her chest under her sweater. Lottie put a finger to the bulge and again, just as she had expected, it was icy cold.
“Rowe””
“Wait.” Lottie realized that she sounded extra snappish, but she was on the brink of a major realization. She knelt to be on the same level as the unconscious girl and pushed her up. The girl was still in her Alsemore uniform”Lottie wondered how long she had been there. Carefully, she propped the child to a seated position against her pillows and peered at her neck. The collar of her shirt was buttoned all the way up, which Lottie thought was odd. In all of her years as a student, she had never buttoned the shirt all the way up. Not even Andrea had. Carefully, she reached out and unbuttoned the top two buttons.
“Rowe, what on earth are you doing?”
But Lottie wasn’t listening. She felt a sudden rush of adrenaline as she gazed at the fine, metal chain that hung around the girl’s neck. Lottie touched it and felt that it too was as cold as ice. Carefully, she wrapped her fingers around the chain and pulled it over the girl’s head. It was heavier than she imagined. As she pulled, a thick locket emerged from under the girl’s shirt. It was inscribed with a large, glimmering S.
Palmyitor gasped audibly and rushed over to the Horcrux. At the same time the girl gasped and opened her eyes wide. Clynalmoy immediately rushed to the girl’s side, and Maelioiric ran to the corner office, undoubtedly to fetch Professor Waterman.
“How did you”” Palmyitor cut her own words short as Lottie held the Horcrux out to her. She took it delicately with both hands. The change hung limply between her fingers.
Professor Waterman rushed from her office with Maelioric on her tail. She did not even give Lottie a second look but immediately went to the girl who was opening and closing her mouth like a fish. Lottie stepped away from the bed to give some space, and watched Palmyitor, who was still gaping at the locket.
“When I found the diadem,” Lottie said, “I put it on, and felt absolutely miserable. It made me want to die”really”or kill everyone or something.”
Palmyitor looked up from the locket, frowning. “That’s why I thought of it,” Lottie added for an explanation. “This looked like a much more severe version of that.” Lottie glanced at the frail girl in the bed and whispered, “She must have been wearing it for a long time.”
Palmyitor frowned and watched Waterman give the girl potion after potion. She winced. There was still something about her that seemed dead. Her wide eyes were dull and she took the potions obediently, robotically without any sense of gratitude.
Finally, when Waterman seemed satisfied that she had enough, she stepped away. “This girl needs rest,” she told Palmyitor firmly.
“That can wait””
“No.” Waterman looked scandalized. “It cannot””
“This won’t take long.” Palmyitor pushed past the Healer to the foot of the girl’s bed with Lottie trailing behind.
Without a word, Palmyitor held the locket up. It dangled off the tip of one finger. The girl’s eyes widened”Lottie could feel her sense of horror. The girl raised a shaking hand to her chest and confirmed the locket’s absence. Her hand started to shake”each finger twitched precisely as she stretched it in front of her and held it there with the palm up. “Please,” she said. Her voice was surprisingly raspy for someone her age. “Please give it back.”
Palmyitor turned her gaze to the locket, which swung rhythmically between her fingers, before glancing back at the girl. “Where did you get this?”
The child’s eyes became slightly hazy. Tears welled before spilling from her eyelids. “P-p-please,” she said again, “give it back.”
“Do you realize that this is an extremely valuable, Dark object?” Palmyitor demanded. Even Lottie thought her tone was a bit harsh.
“N-n-no.” The girl was outright crying at this point. Her frail shoulders shook and she buried her face in her hands. “I need it. I promised I wouldn’t give it away.”
Palmyitor opened her mouth to speak again, but Clynalmoy laid a hand on her shoulder to silence her. “Let me try, Naesa,” he said softly. “She’s frightened.”
Grudgingly, Palmyitor handed over the Horcrux. Clynalmoy handled it carefully as though he were trying to touch it as little as possible, as though the metal burned his skin. “Nora,” he said kindly, “do you remember who gave this to you?”
The girl”Nora”sucked her lips between her teeth as though determined not to speak. Clynalmoy inched forward and knelt by her bed. She flinched at his proximity. “How long have you had this?” he asked again.
Nora shook her head, her wide eyes traveling from his face to Palmyitor’s.
“We’re not angry, Nora,” Clynalmoy went on. “Believe it or not, this is what is making you sick. It seems like you’ve had it for a very long time, because you got very ill. Is that true?”
The girl nodded mutely.
“Where did you get it?”
“A-Aberforth,” Nora finally said.
“Aberforth?” Clynalmoy straightened, frowning so that his wrinkles deepened. “Aberforth Dumbledore?” He turned to Maelioric for explanation.
Maelioric frowned too, until a realization dawned on him and he widened his eyes. “You’re Rosmerta’s granddaughter,” he said.
The girl nodded without taking her eyes off the locket.
“Rosmerta?” Palmyitor asked.
“Rosmerta Allan,” Maelioric said, “from the Three Broomsticks.”
“Baines,” said the girl softly. It was so quiet that Lottie wasn’t sure whether she had actually spoken.
“What?” Palmyitor snapped.
“R-Rosmerta Baines”that was Nana’s name,” Nora said. “Allan was her maiden name.”
“And then Aberforth took you in, didn’t he?” Maelioric said.
Again the girl nodded, but the tears had once again formed in her eyes. “B-but he died,” she said. “You-Know-Who killed him when you lured him into the Hog’s Head last summer.”
Lottie could see the pity in Maelioric and Clynalmoy’s eyes, but Palmyitor pursed her lips tightly. “So Aberforth had the locket?”
“He”he gave it to me to me”after Nana died. He said I needed to keep it safe. He said it would help kill You-Know-Who.” Nora’s tears had turned into full on sobs at this point. “Please give it back to me,” she said. “I promised. Nana died because of it.”
“Rosmerta had it first?” Lottie said suddenly. The girl nodded tearfully and Lottie turned to Palmyitor, smiling wryly. “Don’t you see?”
“No”what difference does it””
“Rosmerta”Allan”Baines,” Lottie said, emphasizing each name. “R.A.B.”
Palmyitor’s face seemed to go numb. She stared at Lottie, eyes blank and mouth sagging. “She”she stole it””
“But didn’t know how to destroy it,” Lottie finished, a grin spread across her face. “She’d been holding it for ears.” Lottie turned to Nora. “How long did your Nana have the locket?”
Nora shrugged and looked suspiciously at them all. “I don’t think she wanted to destroy it,” she said. “Aberforth told me to keep it safe and not to show it to anyone.”
“He didn’t understand,” Palmyitor said fiercely. “He didn’t understand what it is. We have to destroy it””
“No””
“If we don’t, the Dark Lord will never be killed.” Palmyitor advanced towards the bed. “Is that what you want? To kill the Dark Lord, we must destroy it.”
Nora was crying again. “N-no”I don’t want”I”I”I want him to be killed””
“Then it’s settled.” Palmyitor snatched the locket directly out of Clynalmoy’s hand and slipped it into her pocket. “Try to get some sleep. Professor Waterman will wake you up in the morning.”
Lottie thought it was a bit cruel, but still turned and left with Palmyitor. She left to the sound of Nora’s ever increasing sobs and Clynalmoy’s soft, comforting words. “That child has been holding onto that for years,” Palmyitor said as she descended the steps to her office. “Years.” Lottie wasn’t sure whether she was talking to her or thinking aloud.
Palmyitor pushed open the door to her office with her shoulder and placed the locket gingerly on her desk. “We have had a Horcrux in the castle for months.” Palmyitor’s tone was dull”matter of fact.
“Er”I guess so.” Lottie wasn’t quite sure what she was supposed to say. “But at least you have it now, right?”
“Mmm.” Palmyitor pressed her lips together and moved about the office. She reached up to the highest shelf and wrenched it open. Lottie could see the glimmer of goblin-made metal inside. Carefully, Palmyitor pulled out the sword of Gryffindor. She turned to the locket and sighed as though this were some kind of tiresome chore. “Would you like to do the honors?” she asked dully, holding out the sword.
“Er”” Lottie glanced at the locket. After seeing what it had done to Nora, she wasn’t entirely enthusiastic to take it on. “That’s okay”erm”you can do it.”
Palmyitor looked at her flatly before turning her gaze to the locket, which still lay on the desk. It quivered as though it anticipated its imminent doom. Lottie watched as though everything were moving in slow motion. Palmyitor reached down and unlatched the locket before returning her grip to the hilt.
Palmyitor froze. Lottie frowned”it was as if she could see something that Lottie couldn’t. Palmyitor’s eyes were wide and her grip on the sword slackened.
“What is”” But the words stopped in Lottie’s mouth. Mist rose out of the locket and swirled in the air. It seemed to be taking shape, and sure enough, it soon formed into the shape of a man. It was Clynalmoy”or that’s what Lottie thought”but he looked wrong. His face was not painted with his usual, kind smile, but a scowl.
“Naesa, you are a murderer,” he spat in a tone so unlike him that Lottie nearly jumped. Palmyitor just stood slack-jawed, the sword hanging limply out of her left hand. “You are a terrible human being”look at yourself.” Clynalmoy’s eyes glared red. He was faintly see-through. “You left your brother to die””
“No””
Lottie jumped at the sound of Palmyitor’s voice. Her eyes were wide and Lottie thought she could almost see tears.
“You let your students die”you let your best friend die””
“No””
“Murderer.”
“Kill it!” Lottie shouted, unsure of whether Palmyitor could even hear her. “The sword, Professor””
Clank. The sword fell out of Palmyitor’s hand and landed heavily on the stone ground. More mist came out of the locket and this time took the shape of Snape. “Traitor,” he hissed. “Do you think you are fooling anybody?”
Palmyitor was shaking, swaying on the spot. She lost her balance and began to fall just as Lottie started to move. She just managed to get behind the professor so that her torso supported her weight. Panting, Lottie reached out a foot, dragged a chair over and set Palmyitor into it before turning back to the locket.
“I never loved you,” nightmare-Clynalmoy hissed.
“Nobody has,” Snape added. “Look at you”everybody you have ever cared about is dead.”
“Professor,” Lottie groaned as Palmyitor buried her face in her hands. This was not working out. Lottie hastily bent down and wrapped her fingers around the sword. It took her two tries to get it up to waist level”it was heavier than she imagined.
Nightmare Clynalmoy and Snape turned to her and by the time she had raised the sword above her head, they had shifted. Now her mother and father stood in the mist, but before they could even open their mouths and utter their condemnations, Lottie brought the sword down. She struck the center of the glass. Magic flowed out of the locket in a flood. It traveled up the sword and made Lottie’s hand shake. She pushed the sword in harder”the Horcrux gave one more quiver, and was still.
There was silence. Lottie released the sword but it remained upright, pushed all the way into the desk through the broken locket. The Horcrux lay, shriveled and dead on the table.
“Professor?” Lottie said shakily. Palmyitor’s face was still in her hands. “It’s gone, Professor.”
Slowly, Palmyitor picked her head up. Tears stained her cheeks. Lottie quickly looked down at her feet. Neither of them knew what to say”Lottie felt like she had seen too much”knew too much.
“Thank you for that, Rowe,” Palmyitor said. Despite her best efforts, her voice still shook.
“No”er”no problem.”
Palmyitor took a breath and shut her eyes. Slowly she opened them again and surveyed Lottie. “Now what did you come here for?”
Lottie blinked. It felt like she had been here for days already. “Oh,” she said. “Er”oh”right. I heard”er”I heard Snape talking.” She said the name gently, as though if she spoke more quietly, it wouldn’t remind her of what had just happened.
“And?”
“He”er”he”oh yeah. He was talking about something that’s hidden in the Department of Mysteries”in the old Ministry. He said they have to retrieve it to keep it safe.” Lottie spoke quickly, eager to escape the awkward moment. “I think it’s another Horcrux”the last one, I guess.”
Palmyitor surveyed her carefully. “Are you absolutely sure?” she said. “The Ministry is in ruins. It could be a very dangerous mission to retrieve it.”
“I’m nearly positive,” Lottie said. “What else could it be? I don’t know when the Death Eaters are trying to get it back but I think it’s soon. We have to go as soon as possible.”
Palmyitor rubbed her temples and shut her eyes. “Right,” she said finally. “We need to assemble an entire team, which may take up to a week””
“I don’t know if we even have that much time,” Lottie said.
“It is the best we can do, Rowe,” Palmyitor said sternly. “You have to let us know if they go sooner, but I don’t think they will.” Palmyitor glanced at the Horcrux on the desk and at the sword of Gryffindor, sticking vertically out of the wood. “I think we may need you for this one, Rowe,” she said. “We might need a Legilimens. Can you be here in a week?”
“Yeah,” Lottie said numbly. “Yeah I think so.”
“Good.”
There was a strange finality about that. Palmyitor looked at Lottie as though she expected her to Disapparate on the spot.
“Professor?”
“Yes?”
“Is”er”I mean”is Andrea still here? I mean”is she on a mission or here?”
Palmyitor looked up at her darkly. “She is currently training for a mission. She will be leaving soon.”
Lottie chewed on her lip for a moment. “Can I see her? I haven’t”” She faltered under Palmyitor’s glare, but continued. “I haven’t seen her for months.”
Palmyitor’s eyes narrowed. She placed both hands on the desk and stood up. “No, Rowe. I don’t think we have time. Your absence will be noticed soon.”
Lottie stood up as well, her face dark. “Fine,” she said bitterly. In that moment, she could have hexed Palmyitor, but she managed to control herself. “I’ll be here in a week.” Lottie took a breath, spun around, and Disapparated into the darkness.
Halfway to Infinity by Eponine
Chapter Notes: As always, thanks to coolh5000 for being awesome and looking over this chapter!
This one's dedicated to Michael Ende, for The Neverending Story which I still love today.