In Servitude to the Dark || Tom Riddle

𝙃𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙤𝙬𝙚𝙚𝙣 𝘼𝙩𝙩𝙖𝙘𝙠!

October 26, 1993

"You were the one who put the curse on the Defense position?" Aster asked, shocked. "But why?"

"Simple, Old Man turned down my application for the position," Marvolo replied with a smug smirk. "So I told him if he could refuse a more than competent candidate then I cursed him to never find a competent teacher to take the class again. I think since I tied the curse to the Old Man, once he steps down then the curse will be broken." He laughed. "Unless of course, he dies before stepping down...I'm not sure how that will affect the conditions of the curse. You may have to deal with new teachers each year, pet."

Aster shook her head in amusement, trying to ignore the warm feeling of Marvolo calling her 'pet', and asked the room for a refill on her hot cocoa. Aster, and by association Marvolo, had fled the Gryffindor common room after Ron and the quidditch team found out she had missed quidditch try-outs. It almost became a pitchfork mob when they found out that Aster had classes on the weekends and wasn't going to play for them this year. Her only days off were going to be on the days Gryffindor played, and Marvolo insisted she uses them for rest given her workload. Being persona-non-grata among the Gryffindors for a while, Aster decided to escape to the Room of Requirement.

"I wish he had hired you," she complained. "You've been an amazing teacher, and the things you could have taught us!"

"That was precisely why the old fool didn't hire me," Marvolo pointed out. "Now, since you are here and not with those fools..."

"Gryffindors aren't fools," she automatically protested.

"You can continue working on your Patronus," Marvolo spoke as if she hadn't interrupted. "And then back to your occlumancy shields."

Aster's shoulders slumped. It was a hard bit of magic that she still hadn't gotten down yet. "Why must I learn the Patronus?" she wondered and lifted her Knot. "This should protect me well enough. I haven't had one dementor induced nightmare or moodiness."

Unfortunately, for Snape and Madam Pomfrey, the same couldn't be said for the rest of the school. Students were still coming in waves for Dreamless Sleep and Calming Draughts. Even the few 7th years, who could perform the Patronus, suffered random bouts of depression and nightmares. After all, you couldn't keep a Patronus hanging around all the time, not like a Knot.

"Because the Knot is only for defense, while the Patronus can actually fight offensively against a dementor," Marvolo answered. "Also, when I am fully resurrected, I will seek an alliance with them once more. So if you want to stay with me, you'll have mastered this spell."

Marvolo had said the magic words. Aster would put up with a whole lot more than mastering a Patronus to stay by her friend's side. So she obediently pulled out her unicorn wand and closed her eyes in search of a sufficiently powerful memory.

"Mastery in this spell and in the dark arts requires mastery of your own mind and emotions," Marvolo began lecturing softly in a smooth, soft voice. "As you already know, it is our emotions that power a spell, and the dark practitioner who can invoke such emotions faster and stronger will be the victor..."

Aster allowed the soothing tones of her teacher's voice to wash over her. She had tried many memories, like her first broom ride or when she caught the snitch for the team, but these were all quick surges of happiness. The fleeting, superficial emotion did not last long enough to sustain a corporeal Patronus. After a little searching, Aster finally settled on the memory of when she first cradled the unicorn horn in her hands. This moment signified a turning point in her life. It was freedom to practice any magic of her choice, and it was independence from everyone who sought to control her - Dumbledore, the Dursleys, and the Ministry. That, in addition to the feel of Marvolo's ghostly arms surrounding her, created Aster's strongest, happiest long-lasting memory yet.