The Eighth Horcrux

Chapter 7: The Cat

Alex lay awake long into the night as Matt slept beside her. What was she doing? What were they thinking? She couldn't put him through this; she had never meant for him to get involved with this mess anyway. She couldn't let him fall in love with her, because what would he do when she...

She swallowed hard, refusing to think about the possibility. She couldn't let him go; she was in too deep now. She was gazing fondly down at his peaceful face and reaching a hand out to stroke the hair on his forehead when she heard her daughter's voice from the shadows.

"Mummy? Mummy are you awake?"

She sat up. "Yes, sweetie. Are you alright?"

Salome came over to her. "I can't sleep. I keep hearing this noise outside. It sounds like someone screaming."

They were silent for a moment and Alex heard it. It was a high-pitched wailing sound that sounded like it was coming from far away.

"Darling, you stay here. I'm going to go see what it is, okay?"

Salome nodded. "Okay."

Alex slipped out of bed carefully to make sure Matt wouldn't wake up, pulled on a pair of jeans and a sweater, grabbed her wand, and hurried outside.

The forest was dark and misty, and there was a chill in the wind that wrapped its cold fingers around her. She shivered and pulled her sweater more tightly around her, walking towards the sound. As she came closer, she realized that it didn't really sound like a human scream, but more like a sound that would come from an animal. She wasn't sure if she was comforted or more frightened by this, but she kept going anyway. When she finally came to the source of the sound, she breathed out a sigh of relief. It was just a small gray cat that appeared to have one of its paws caught on a vine. It was yelping and wailing in pain.

As she knelt down next to it, she had the strange feeling of being watched. Her eyes scanned the area around her, but she saw no one. Convinced she was just imagining it, she reached out and gently pet the cat to calm it.

"Hey," she said softly, "it's okay. I'm going to get you out of here."

The cat's cries ceased, and Alex carefully unwound the branch from around its foot. It rubbed its head against her leg and she smiled, petting the cat as it began to wander off.

"Twinkle!" came a voice from behind her. "Twinkle, is that you?"

An old woman in black robes emerged from the trees, and crouched down to welcome the cat into her arms. She had long matted gray hair and a small wrinkled face with piercing dark eyes.

"You freed her! Thank you so much," the woman looked up at Alex. "I could hear her crying, and I didn't know where she had gone. Is there anything I can do for you, dearie?"

"No, no thank you but I should probably be getting back to, um..." she hesitated, not wanting to give away the location of the auror camp, "where I was staying."

"Nonsense," she waved her hand. "Can I at least get you a cup of tea?"

Alex hesitated. Something didn't feel right. She couldn't describe it exactly, but something definitely felt off.

"I..." she trailed off.

The woman looked up at her with sad eyes. "It would be so nice to have some company. I hardly see anyone out in these woods."

Alex bit her lip. "Okay," she said finally, "but just for a little while. I really should be getting back."

"Of course, of course, just follow me."

The air seemed to only get colder as Alex followed the woman down to a small stone cottage nestled between two tall trees.

"You just sit down, dearie, and I'll bring the tea in."

Alex perched on the edge of a well-worn armchair in the adjoining room to the kitchen, wrapping her arms around herself and shivering, the warmth from the fireplace doing little to heat up the room. The feeling of something not being right only grew. There was something in the woman's mannerisms that was familiar, but she couldn't put her finger on it.

She was about to get up and tell the old woman that she really couldn't stay when she came back into the room carrying two cups of steaming liquid.

"Here you are, dearie," the woman smiled, handing her one of the cups.

"Thank you," she said, the beverage immediately warming her hands.

Alex sat back down and the woman stayed standing, watching her as she raised the cup to her lips and drank.

The tea tasted like spices and something else she couldn't place. The heat of the liquid going down her throat was soothing to her frozen body, and she found herself leaning back into the chair, surrounded by a newfound warmth. Why had she felt like something was wrong? Nothing could be wrong, not when everything was so comfortable and warm...

"How's the tea, dearie?"

The old woman's voice made Alex's head snap back up. No, something was most definitely not right.

"Your hair..." Alex was aware of the words sounding slurred as they came out of her mouth, "wasn't it gray?"

The woman's eyes followed hers down to her long, ratty locks of hair that were now jet-black.

"Yes," a slow grin spread over her face. Alex had seen that grin before. She had to get out of here.

"I...I really...thank you for your kindness, but I really have to..." Alex tried to stand up, but her body felt like lead and the room was tilting at dangerous angles around her.

The woman cackled, and Alex looked up through a blurry haze to see the face of Bellatrix Lestrange smiling wickedly down at her.

"You really thought you were safe, Alexandra?" Bellatrix taunted. "That I wouldn't find you?"

"No," she whispered, feeling herself beginning to lose consciousness. She tried desperately to stand all the way up, bracing one hand on the arm of the chair. Bellatrix only cackled louder.

"Don't try to fight it, Alexandra. You'll only make it worse," Bellatrix crooned. "I'll see you when you wake up."

She finally succumbed to the feeling of lead pulling her down, and everything went black.