The Underground

Chapter 18 - Malum

The O.W.Ls had come, and Elizabeth was ready. She had surprised herself, and Maria, by deciding to become a healer the day after she had seen the cause of her mother's death.  

She wasn't sure where the idea had come from, but she had woken up after that terrible night with a plan, and she felt called to follow through with it. It was as if an invisible path had been laid before her, and she was just taking her first steps. 

She decided to tell this to Nathan before breakfast had really begun and they were still in the entrance of the Great Hall. He looked sleepy, and there was a curious tremble in his steps as he walked. "Are you OK?" Elizabeth asked him, feeling the same tremble reaching her arms as she reached out to take his hand.

"Yeah... Just nervous, I guess." He looked in her eyes, and a strange unearthly warmth spread throughout her bones. "I studied all last night for my history OWL and nothing stuck. I feel like my brain is made of cotton balls."

Elizabeth laughed, "I actually think I'm ready. which is weird, since I was freaking out a few days ago. I guess setting myself a goal has helped." She was joking of course, deciding to be a healer had only made her more worried. It was the hours of missed sleep and stressful studies that had made her ready. 

"So, a healer." Nathan sounded inquisitive, "I would never have guessed. I mean, when I met you, you were terrified of blood, and even doing detention in the hospital wing would set you on edge! You were more afraid of healthcare then Francis is afraid of closets -Oof!" Nathan was suddenly bumped from behind by someone, but the crowd trying to get breakfast was too big to see who was to blame. Rubbing his back, Nathan looked at Elizabeth again, "Sorry, that was mean of me. I know Francis is your friend." 

"It's Ok, I don't think he heard you. He never comes for breakfast on time."

"Just like you never come for dinner on time?" Nathan grinned at her.

"Exactly." Elizabeth smiled back.

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Only one examination stood out to her after the morning. Charms. It had begun with a long, long wait, while others with last names in earlier alphabetical order took the exam. When Professor Flifftor had called out, "Safforn, Katelyn. Scamander, Elizabeth. Sebbit, Mitchell. Sela, Nathan. Skiller, Bonnie. Smith, Mary-Jane. Smollet, James." and a large number of others, Elizabeth had been assigned to a tall stern-looking witch with short brown hair and sharp green eyes named Professor Evlan. 

Professor Evlan asked her to preform very difficult spells and recorded the results on a clipboard. Elizabeth tried her best to do a knitting charm, and failed miserably at the pathfinding charm, but everything else went as well as she could have hoped for, and she finished three minutes before everyone else. That gave her time to watch Nathan struggle through a series of light charms, and eventually end up spraying Mitchell Sebbit with bright violet ink. 

She shared notes with Maria at lunch, and then they left together to tackle Defense Against the Dark Arts, Arthmancy, Runes, and Transfiguration. As she left the hall, she noticed Francis watching her out of the corner of her eye. She smiled at him, and he smiled back. 

During the Defense Against the Dark Arts exam, Elizabeth got to show off her patronus to Professor Evlan, who was delighted to see the silvery fox slinking around the room. Elizabeth decided to keep it with her for the rest of the exam, it was comforting to have it beside her. 

Nathan also got to show his patronus, it wasn't as clear as her's, but she could see that it was trying to be a snake... or something with a very long tail, she wasn't sure. Nathan grinned sheepishly at her as it vanished in a puff of silver. Elizabeth took a moment from her disarming charms to grin back. 

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At last that day was over. All the exams were done, and all that was left to do was eat dinner. But Elizabeth wasn't hungry. She had a curious feeling in her stomach, and felt the memory of her mother welling up inside of her. No, she told herself silently, bury it deep. Bury it so no one will ever find it. Hide it from yourself, face it when you are stronger. The memory faded away, but her appetite didn't return. She pushed the beans around her plate with her fork, lost in thought. She looked up toward the Gryffindor table, looking for Nathan, but he wasn't there. Probably not hungry either, she thought. Looking at the Ravenclaw table, she saw Maria and her cousin Jonathan, and at the Hufflepuff table she saw her cousin Isaac, who was in his second year. Her other cousin Nicholas, had left Hogwarts to study wandmaking the year before, and Elizabeth hadn't seen him since. Uncle Theseus had told her that he had begun to work full time at the wand shop. Elizabeth looked for Martin next, but he was either missing, or hidden behind someone else in the room. She was so intent on her search that she missed the tall wizard with the silvery beard and long flowing robes that was standing behind her, until he laid a hand on her shoulder and she started. 

"Miss Scamander. Come with me please."

"Of course, Professor."

Dumbledore led her into a small classroom outside the hall and Elizabeth noticed with a pang that this was the same chamber that she and Nathan had danced in the night of the Yule Ball. Dumbledore looked deadly serious, and then twinkle in his eyes was gone. He sat down on one of the chairs and motioned for Elizabeth to do the same, then he spoke, and his voice was calm, but also laced with something else, something she couldn't place. "Elizabeth. I must warn you. This is going to be a shock."

Elizabeth was suddenly frozen in her chair. The memory of her mother threatening to break through, the feeling of ice in her stomach intensified and she shivered slightly. 

"I received a paper from Canada today, and... I'm very sorry Elizabeth, but there was an attack, and your father is dead. As well as the family that was hiding him. They are all dead."

The words were kind and soft, but nothing was enough to stop the tears that flowed down her cheeks. Nothing.

End of Book 1