The Tree of Blacks (English version)

The House Beyond the Gravestones

August, 1975. Arcturus Black Estate, Cornwall.

Thanks to the tedious stillness that hovered over the vast territories surrounding Alya's family's imperious summer home, the bitter relations between Sirius and Walburga had also softened. Immersed in the quiet, peaceful countryside, mother and son had found an alternative way to express their mutual contempt. Their angry, insult-filled shouts had given way to a more icy and austere, but at least silent, indifference.

But the complicated relationship between her mother and her twin brother took a back seat during their stay at Arcturus Black's estate, for it was on one of those tedious summer afternoons that Alya met Merope again. It had been a long time since the last time.

Alya was curled up under the large oak tree in the inner courtyard. She was alone, immersed in a boring History of Magic book; a long essay awaited her at the end of the reading. Regulus, more meticulous and organised, had already finished most of his homework and was enjoying an afternoon of leisure, practising Quidditch with his father outside the estate. His intent to beat Potter didn't abandon him even during the summer break.

The sun radiated hotly on everything its rays touched. The extensive foliage, green and lush, sheltered Alya from the sultry heat. It wasn't easy to concentrate on studying on days like those: the song of the insects, the buzzing of the tireless bees that rested from flower to flower around the young Black seemed to intensify with each passing minute, becoming almost deafening. Alya reread the same line on the same page at least five times before grasping the essential concept. Her mind seemed clouded, slowed down. She moved on to the next sentence: the words began to blend together, forming indistinct, meaningless writings. His vision blurred, slowly, gradually. Alya did not even notice. Just as she did not notice that her eyelids had become as heavy as boulders. Without realising it, Alya slipped into a deep sleep. A remote darkness engulfed her like a black velvet glove and her mind was already travelling to distant places, both in time and space. The girl's body lay asleep under the large oak tree in her small garden; her soul, however, lay elsewhere.

As always, a gloomy night hung over her. Alya immediately recognised the unkempt courtyard in which she walked. The uncultivated weeds, never weeded, seemed to have grown since she had last seen them. The battered outline of Merope's old house revealed itself under the light of a pale moon. The corpse of a small snake hung limply, nailed to the wooden door. But it was not the same reptile; the colour of the scales was different. Evidently Morfin, Merope's grotesque brother, must have replaced the poor animal's carcass. It did not take Alya long to spot another figure mingling with the gloomy darkness. Sitting on the ground, wrapped in her usual ragged dressing gown, Merope seemed to be awaiting her arrival.

"You have arrived at last! You don't know how long I've been waiting for you!" exclaimed Merope joyfully in Serpentese, seeing Alya advancing into the night.

"What are you doing outside? If your father finds out --" said Alya worriedly. The memory of the last dream, the cries of pain and despair that spread across the courtyard, came vividly back to her, as if she had experienced them until a moment before.

"No problem, my father and brother are sleeping like babies. With a little help, they won't wake up until tomorrow," Merope reassured her with a simple shrug. Alya gave her a quizzical look.

"I added a special ingredient to their soup tonight: two drops of venom, extracted from the mouth of the snake my brother captured this afternoon. It has powerful soporific properties in the right doses. Deadly if you get the quantity wrong." she explained smugly, nodding to the corpse hanging by the door.

"And you're not afraid they might find out?" asked Alya not a little worried, but without hiding her pride at noticing that streak of audacity in her dream friend.