Armilla

Chapter 12

I spent the afternoon on the school work Snape left for me to do. Doing my written work took me longer than my patience would allow - my fingers weren't entirely healed and I couldn't hold my quill properly - many times I just wanted to throw my books at the wall.
It didn't help either that my mind kept wandering back to Emiliana McGonagall, Lucia and the man in the portrait. It really irked me that I should dream about people who I had previously never heard of, but who existed all the same.

I was really itching to go back down that corridor and find whatever Emiliana had dropped off. I now had most of my belongings in my room, including my wand. I hadn't asked Snape how Shar had been dealt with and I didn't really want to think about it. Thinking about Shar made me think about Merle and I couldn't handle thinking about Merle at the moment.

I was mainly concerned with finding the right times to sneak back to that corridor, knowing for certain that Snape would not be around. The problem was, there were not many times when Snape would be away for lengthy periods. Also, I was getting better now and I could be sent back to regular classes and the Ravenclaw dorms any day. So If I wanted information, I was going to have to act fast.

My prime opportunity came when Snape came back from his afternoon classes looking particularly disgruntled. He stormed into my room carrying my dinner and slammed it down on my bedside table.

"Eat your dinner," he said abruptly.

I picked up my fork and stabbed a piece of roast chicken. I looked up at him. He was just staring at me, or rather, glaring at me.

"Well? What are you waiting for?" he snapped.

"Are you going to watch me eat every meal?" I asked dryly.

His nostrils flared. "Ten points from Ravenclaw. Don't speak to me in that tone. You should at least be appreciative that I have brought you a meal. I am giving up a lot of my precious time for your sake."

I met his gaze. "I am appreciative," I said quietly. "I wouldn't have chosen to be in this situation if I could help it. If it wasn't for Professor Umbridge I would be in the hospital wing and you wouldn't have to bother with me."

Snape was silent for a moment. He watched me take a bite of my meal before speaking again.

"Yes, Dolores Umbridge is responsible for many current...inconveniences at Hogwarts, one of which is a staff meeting I must attend tonight to discuss another ridiculous educational decree. I trust that while I am away, you can keep yourself out of trouble?"

"Yes, sir," I said. Excellent. A night time stroll back to that corridor...

"And I particularly request that you stay away from all puddles and protruding tiles," he drawled, narrowing his eyes at me. "It seems that you need constant supervision when you are around either."

I glared at him. Stupid git.

"Goodnight then," he said, as he swept from the room, his black robes billowing out behind him.

o o o o o o o o o o

After hurrying through my meal I made my way back to the corridor, my wand casting a light in front of me. Before long I heard the voice of the man in the portrait sharing a limerick with the other portraits.

There once was a grumpy old witch,

Who dreamt that she had a bad itch.

She jumped out of bed,

And found out instead,

That she'd fallen into a ditch

"Oh really, Richard! That was really pathetic." I hadn't heard that voice before. "If the witch had fallen into a ditch, she would have more than an itch don't you think?"

"Well, I could not think of a better rhyming word. I highly doubt that you could do better, Ralph," said Richard, no trace of having taken offence in his voice at all.

I approached his portrait, careful not to make my wand's light shine in his eye.

"Hello again," I said. "We met earlier today."

Richard studied me as closely as I studied him. He was an elderly man, with straight white hair that hung loose to his shoulders. He wore a high white collar that forced him to hold his head very high.

"Ah!" he said merrily. "The young lass! Two visits in one day."

"Who is she, Richard?" I heard Ralph the Rejected say.

"I do not know. The young miss did not introduce herself."

"My name is Armilla," I said hurriedly. "But you cannot tell anyone that you have met me because I am not supposed to be down here."

"Ah! An adventurous, yet mischievous young lady! No, no, I will not tell and neither will Ralph."

"I'm in a hurry," I said. "I want to find what it is that Emiliana left here all those years ago. You said that no one has come down here since, so it must be here."

Richard looked a bit disinterested. "I suppose it is still there. There are no portraits in the room off this corridor, so I was never able to leave my portrait to peek. But by all means, go and explore."

I moved quickly down the corridor, holding my wand out in front of me. I came to a door and was highly surprised to find that it was not locked. I stepped inside the room. It was very small, and completely empty except for a round mahogany table in the centre of the room.

My heart thumping, I approached the table. On it, there was a thick silver ring the size of a dinner plate. That was all. I knew I shouldn't touch any object I didn't recognise for the risk being exposed to dark magic, but I couldn't resist...maybe I should have been a Gryffindor...

I put a finger on the ring. Straight away, it glowed from my touch and some weird substance that resembled the puddle material from my dream started swirling within the ring.

I knew that this was the same ring that I had seen in my dream. Sure enough, after a moment, the lady appeared again, looking dreadfully nervous.

"Emiliana? Are you there?" she said in a soft voice.

I bent over the ring so she could see my face.

"No, Emiliana is not here. I don't know where she is."

The woman looked startled. "Not here?' she said. "But she promised me she would be right back. Who are you? Did she send you instead?"

"I have never met her," I said. "My name is Armilla Kemp. Emiliana hasn't been down here for over a decade, and she didn't send me."

"Oh." The woman looked terribly disappointed. "I hoped she would bring me news of Lucia so I could leave this wretched ring. Have you seen Lucia?"

"Er...no, I haven't met Lucia either. What do you mean, leave this ring?"

The woman looked at me closely. "I am dead, child. My spirit inhabits this ring. This ring is a piece of dark magic that has been in my family for generations. It allows my spirit to inhabit it until I am satisfied with what I am leaving behind."

"And you must speak to Emiliana before you can leave the ring?" I asked.

"Emiliana is my Secret Keeper. She is the only person who can give me information about Lucia. I thought there was a chance that I might be killed so Emiliana and I organised that upon my death, my body would vanish and my spirit would move into this ring until I could be sure that Lucia was safe."

"Killed?" I whispered.

The woman looked thoughtful. "Well it was more of a massacre. I was murdered amongst dozens of muggles by Death Eaters."

My heart must have skipped a beat. Murdered amongst muggles?

"Why were you near muggles anyway?" I asked.

"I was living in a muggle area that Emiliana thought was safe when I went into hiding. Little did she know that The Dark Lord had planned many attacks on muggle areas."

"But why were you in hiding?" I pressed.

"I don't know why you're so interested. We've never even met," said the woman, looking a little bemused. "Your name doesn't ring a bell...but your face does look familiar...anyway... I haven't even told you my name. Hazel Merrigan. Pleased to meet you, Armilla Kemp."

"Yes, you too," I said quickly. I didn't want to lose time. Snape would be back soon. "Can you tell me why you were in hiding? Was it from He Who Must Not Be Named?"

"Not just him," she answered, shaking her head. "Before he attacked I had been hiding for a while from my husband. My husband was a very violent and vicious man. He was also a faithful Death Eater. He was convinced that he wanted a new heir to carry on his name and so it was that I became pregnant. He was so excited about the pregnancy. He had all sorts of plans for our unborn child. An education at Durmstrang and as much dark arts training as possible. I didn't want it to happen. I didn't want this child to become a Death Eater and succumb to the power of The Dark Lord. So I fled when I was only a few months pregnant. Emiliana McGonagall, one of my best friends, agreed to be my Secret Keeper. I lived alone in the muggle house and had my baby there with Emiliana's help. My baby, little Lucia, is the most precious thing in my life. Emiliana promised to look out for her and make sure she was safe if I was killed. That is why it is so important that I speak to Emiliana."

Oh god. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. It was all too coincidental. Hazel had been killed in a muggle populated area. If she had been married to a Death Eater, chances were that she was a pureblood. She had given birth to a baby girl...

I knew there was one important thing I had to ask.

"All this happened years ago,' I said slowly. "Lucia would have to be fifteen years old by now. Is there anyway you would be able to identify Lucia?"

The woman's face brightened. "Oh yes," she said confidently. "When I died, something I had that was very precious was passed to my daughter. Lucia would have a silver bracelet on her left wrist, with a silver pendent with an emerald on it. That bracelet could have prolonged my life, but my daughter was dying. I made the decision to die myself so my daughter could wear the bracelet and have the chance to live. If only I could be sure that she is alright..."

I held up my left wrist with the bracelet for the woman to see. Her face paled.

"I'm alright," I whispered, my eyes watering. "I'm so glad I've found you, Mother."