Star Sisters

Chapter VI: Mine Is Your Mind

It was late by the time Charis and Morgana finally left the Room of Requirement. They were nearly an hour past curfew, and they both knew if they were caught they would have some serious explaining to do. But despite the risks, Charis decided to walk her friend as close to the dungeons as possible, before making a turn to the right and ascending towards Ravenclaw Tower.

Milky moonlight reflected on the old stone floors as they made their way back, giving the castle a sense of serenity. Apart from the occasional snore and wheeze of the sleeping paintings, there wasn’t a sound to be heard. Charis stifled a yawn as they rounded the corner for the corridor leading straight towards the dungeons.

‘Tired, are we, Miss Byrne?’

From absolutely nowhere, Severus Snape emerged from the shadows, bearing down on the girls like a Dementor. He was the last person either of the girls wanted to see today, and if they didn’t know better, they could have sworn he’d orchestrated the meeting on purpose, just to make them uncomfortable.

Both jumped with fright as their Potions master drew up to his full height and crossed his arms, and they cast each other a quick look: it was no good, they were busted, and they would have to take whatever consequences Snape felt like dishing out, no matter how unpleasant.

The dark professor turned his head and raised an eyebrow at Morgana.

‘I thought I told you to stay in your common room and not to talk to anyone,’ he began slowly, his black eyes glittering. ‘It is clear to me that you are incapable of obeying simple instructions. Five points from Slytherin.’

Morgana opened her mouth to object but then shut it just as quickly. Snape rarely took points from his own house, and trying to protest would only lead to more trouble. Instead, she looked squarely at an interesting flagstone by her feet and said nothing.

‘Five points will also be taken from Ravenclaw for breaking curfew.’

Snape glared down his nose at Charis, who glanced up timidly. This was the first time she had seen him since ... that incident, and at the sight of his onyx eyes a flush began to rise in her cheeks at the memory of what they had witnessed just a day before. She averted her gaze quickly, not letting herself be pulled into his eyes lest she never escape their fathomless depths.

Inwardly, Snape smirked. The equilibrium had returned. He had both girls where they should be: in his control, and now with the added certainty that both of them shared desirous feelings towards him. Even cocky Morgana now had the wind taken out of her sails from the inelegant way her true feelings were finally revealed. He took a deep triumphant breath through his nose as he watched the girls hesitating, unsure if they would receive further punishment.

No, he thought. Not tonight. Far better feed their jealousy by punishing any future misdemeanours separately and away from the prying eyes of Dolores Umbridge, he reasoned.

‘Well? What are you waiting for?’ he sneered. ‘Return to your dormitories immediately. Unless you want me to deduct a round ten points each for time wasting.’

Charis was about to spin around and fly off to Ravenclaw Tower when Morgana suddenly staggered and clutched the wall, her face pale.

‘Miss Belakane?’

The lights started to swim in front of her eyes, but the last thing Morgana needed was Snape making a snide comment about her not being able to hold her liquor. She just wanted to get away from him and lie down.

‘I’m alright,’ she slurred, and even managed to stagger a few paces before clutching the wall again.

‘Miss Belakane, you are not alright,’ Snape answered tartly. ‘You will see the nurse this instant.’

Morgana did not resist when Snape grabbed her arm and wheeled her down the corridor towards the hospital wing, Charis at her side looking on in anguish. She didn’t have the energy to resist and, to be honest, she did not care either.

But then a jolt of pain rushed through her head, and she stumbled against the opposite wall, panting. And again, the world was spinning around her. There was nothing to hold on to, and she sank helplessly to the ground, gasping for breath. Suddenly, the lights seemed too bright and her skull much too small for her brain. The pain in her head was unbearable. A flash of white, then all was black.

When Morgana next snapped her eyes open, she saw her best friend and her professor trying to coax her to stand. They were saying words, but she couldn’t hear them. She couldn’t stand even if she wanted to. She had no control over her body, and her head was throbbing as if her skull had been split open. And there was ... she wasn’t sure what it was. There were thoughts in her head that weren’t hers. It was almost as if she were hearing a voice. Yes, someone was talking to her. But it wasn’t Charis, and it wasn’t Snape. The voice was coming from inside her head.

Morgana screamed. Or at least, she thought she was screaming. She didn’t know. She couldn’t hear herself. All she could hear was the voice that was filling her head.

Then Charis came into her hazy vision and grabbed her firmly by the shoulders.

‘Hush, Morgana, honey. What is it? Talk to me.’

She had been screaming then.

It took Morgana all her willpower to make her brain and mouth execute the simple task of formulating a simple sentence.

‘M-my head,’ she stammered. ‘It’s hurting. I ... I cannot ... there are thoughts that aren’t mine.’

As if burnt, Charis let go of her friend and looked up at Snape, alarmed. Snape, however, did not seem disturbed by Morgana’s revelation. Or at least, he didn’t let it show. With the grace of a panther, he knelt in front of her, his hands cupping her face to look into his eyes.

At first, Morgana didn’t seem to notice, but when their eyes met, she screamed in panic and started crawling backwards.

‘No, not you!’ she screeched. ‘Stay away from me.’

She started panting as her back hit the wall, and her eyes dilated in fear. She looked like a trapped animal. Her whole body was tense, her eyes darting around the dark corridor as if to find an escape route.

When Snape reached out for her, she raised her arms as if to shield herself from him. ‘Don’t touch me.’

Outwardly, Snape remained calm. But his mind was racing. He had seen this before. The pale face, the clammy hands, the claim that there was a voice inside her head: the classical signs of a possession. Yes, he had seen it many times before. The Dark Lord and his followers had considered it a hilarious pastime to invade defenceless people’s minds and fill them with their thoughts until the minds went on overload and the victims cracked.

But who in blazing Hades had taken over this girl’s mind? And how?

Ignoring her attempts to fight him off, Snape moved closer towards her and grabbed her face once more. He needed to be able to look into her eyes. ‘Miss Belakane, listen to me,’ he started, carefully expanding his own mind towards hers.

She howled as in pain, slammed her fists alternately against his chest and then against her forehead.

‘Morgana!’

Snape grabbed her wrists to keep her from hurting herself and tilted her upper body slightly backwards. He had to have eye contact.

‘Close your mind,’ he said in a powerful yet calm voice.

Morgana kicked at him and screamed. ‘Go away!’

‘I said, close your mind.’

For a moment, a look of comprehension flickered over Morgana’s face, but was quickly replaced by a panicky expression again.

‘I can’t.’

She was shaking, and there were tears running down her face. And Snape could tell that uttering those few words had cost her too much strength for her to fight on her own.

He pulled her closer towards him. At least, he was getting through to her now, she was responding. Now he could help her.

‘If you are unable to close your mind, I will have to close it for you,’ he whispered. ‘Legilimens.’

Morgana screamed as he entered her mind, and Snape stiffened. She was fighting him. Quite naturally. It was human nature to fight against the invasion of one’s mind. But still, the girl shaking in his arms, screaming and crying, wasn’t anything he enjoyed. Neither was the use of Legilimency, which he only used if absolutely necessary.

‘I am doing this to help you, Morgana,’ he whispered, as much to calm the girl as himself.

He pushed in further, meeting horrible, thick, black murk. He slashed through it, forced it to dissolve, to vanish. It was easier than he had thought it would be, and as soon as the light had returned, as soon as he could feel the girl’s mind, he withdrew.

Morgana slumped forward against his chest. She wasn’t struggling against his grip anymore, wasn’t screaming. In fact, she had lost consciousness. He scooped her up in his arms and turned to face a very pale Charis. The Ravenclaw looked terrified, but Snape didn’t have the time to console her.

‘I need to get Miss Belakane to the Hospital Wing straight away,’ he said sternly. ‘Meanwhile, I need you to collect the Headmaster.’

* * *
Snape burst into the Hospital Wing, carrying Morgana in his arms. The girl was coming around, but her body still felt limp in his arms, and her head was resting against his shoulder. She moaned softly, and Snape cradled her against his chest, murmuring soothingly. ‘It is alright, Morgana. You are safe now.’

Startled by the sound of the entrance door, Poppy had come running out of her office and was now staring at the pair in utter shock. ‘For goodness’ sake, Severus…’

Snape gingerly placed the girl on the nearest bed and turned towards the mediwitch. ‘Miss Belakane here has just had her mind invaded by an unknown person. She was too weak to fight them off, and I had to take a very big risk and enter her mind myself and force them out.’

Poppy paled. ‘You? But, Severus, that means … You know what happens when you enter a person’s mind. They will never... you will never…’

‘I am aware of that, Poppy,’ he snapped. The last thing he needed at the moment was Poppy lecturing him about the consequences of touching another person’s mind. He was bloody well aware of the fact that there would always be a trace in the girl’s mind, and his. But luckily, the person who assaulted her had left a trace as well.

Then the door opened and Dumbledore appeared with Charis at his heels. The Headmaster was wearing a purple dressing gown and his long white hair was dishevelled. Charis had obviously got him out of bed.

‘Severus, can you explain what is going on?’ Dumbledore started. ‘Do you know who has entered the girl’s mind?’

Snape frowned. He wasn’t sure. He had seen the trace in Morgana’s mind. He had seen it before, but he couldn’t put his finger on it.

Morgana’s sobs made him spin around. She was sitting bolt-upright, gripping the bed sheets with both her hands. Her eyes were once more widened in fear, and she was shaking.

Poppy was with her in a blink of an eye and cradled the girl against her chest.

‘Make them go away!’ Snape heard Morgana whisper. ‘Please, make those thoughts go away. They aren’t mine.’

And then something clicked into place. The invitation to lunch. The look of hunger in the man’s eyes. Lucius!

Snape grabbed Dumbledore by the sleeve and beckoned the Headmaster to retreat behind the examination curtain with him.

‘Headmaster,’ he started after having cast Muffliato around them. ‘It is Lucius Malfoy. He is the one assaulting Miss Belakane’s mind.’

The Headmaster frowned. ‘Lucius Malfoy? Why in Merlin’s name would Lucius Malfoy attack Miss Belakane’s mind? He is her patron. And from what I hear, he thinks her a perfect match for his son.’

Snape shook his head. ‘I am afraid you are mistaken, Headmaster. Lucius does not want her for Draco. He wants to claim her himself.’

Dumbledore looked horrified. ‘She is a child!’ he exclaimed.

Snape suppressed a sneer. After what he had seen at Malfoy Manor, he would not use the word child to describe Miss Belakane. And it was also pretty obvious what Lucius was after. He had seen the look in the blond wizard’s eyes. But he couldn’t tell the Headmaster .

‘The Belakanes are a very old, pureblood family,’ he started instead. ‘Maybe Lucius wants an heir aside from Draco? With the Malfoys, it is all about blood.’

Once he had uttered the words, they sounded truly horrific. Dumbledore was right, Morgana was indeed still a child. And the idea of Lucius Malfoy wanting her as breeding material was outright disgusting. But then again, it was just the thing Lucius’ power-hungry mind would come up with.

‘We cannot let this happen. We have to protect her, Severus.’ Dumbledore had taken some steps to the side and was now gravely looking down at Morgana. She had stopped crying, and Poppy had loosened the girl’s robes and taken off her jewellery and was now dabbing her feverish forehead with a damp cloth. And Charis was sitting by her friend’s side, holding her hand.

‘What can we do, Severus?’ the old man asked, his eyes still on the girl.

‘Our first priority should be to make sure that Lucius is not doing any more damage to the girl’s mind,’ Snape stated. ‘We will have to make him leave and teach her how to keep him shut out.’

Dumbledore nodded. ‘Occlumency.’ Then he turned to face Snape. ‘Can you do it, Severus? Can you teach her?’

Snape just nodded. He would do his best.

He released the Muffliato charm and approached the girl’s bed, ushering away Poppy and Charis. Morgana’s eyes were closed, her breathing still laboured, and there was a thin sheen of sweat on her forehead. And she was pale, so dreadfully pale.

As Snape sat down on the edge of her bed and took her shaking hands into his, Morgana’s eyes snapped open, and once more, he could see the terror in her eyes.

‘Morgana, listen to me,’ he said in a low tone, trying to make his voice sound as soothing as possible. The last thing they needed at the moment was her freaking out because he was close to her.

‘You must discipline your mind, Morgana,’ he went on, still keeping his hands tightly clasped around hers. He noticed that they had stopped shaking. ‘You must control your emotions. This is the only way to drive him out.’

‘I can’t,’ Morgana sobbed.

‘Yes, you can do it, Morgana,’ Snape whispered. ‘Imagine a shutter coming down, lock him out …’

A shudder went through Morgana’s body, and her blue eyes filled with tears once more. Snape looked over his shoulder at Dumbledore.

‘Headmaster, I am at a loss. We need to make Malfoy leave, but I have already entered the girl’s mind once to boot him out. I am not sure if she will be able to take two people probing around in her mind for a second time. It might break her.’

The Headmaster looked warily at his Potions master. ‘Do we have a choice, Severus?’

No, they hadn’t. They could not let Lucius dabble around in the girl’s mind any longer. Merlin knows what kind of twisted ideas he was planting in her mind. He had to be driven out, whatever the risks.

Snape cupped Morgana’s chin and made her look at him. To his relief, she did not turn away. For the time being, she seemed to trust him.

He entered her mind carefully, ready to retreat in a heartbeat if she struggled. But nothing happened. And her mind was peaceful. Lucius had gone.

* * *
Poppy had an elf bring some tea, and she, Dumbledore, Snape and Charis were now sitting in her office, each clutching a cup. The mood was subdued, and they were all absorbed in their own thoughts. Morgana had been given a Dreamless Sleep potion and was now resting peacefully. Or at least, that was what everyone was hoping.

‘Will Morgana be alright?’ Charis suddenly asked. It was the first time she had spoken since she had arrived at the hospital wing with Dumbledore, and her voice was feeble due to the lump in her throat. She was terrified.

Poppy motherly patted Charis’ arm. ‘She should be fine after plenty of rest, child. Don’t you fret.’

‘I have never seen her like that,’ Charis went on. ‘Morgana is never afraid of anything, especially not of ...’ She broke off as her eyes met Snape’s. Whatever had he done to Morgana ?

‘Miss Belakane was fine when she left my office this evening,’ Snape snapped. Charis had averted her eyes quickly, but not quickly enough. He had seen the accusatory look in her eyes, and he did not feel that he deserved it.

‘Miss Byrne ... Charis,’ the Headmaster started in a kind tone. ‘As I understand, you have spent the evening with Morgana. What did you do?’

Charis swallowed. Now, she couldn’t tell Dumbledore what she and Morgana had been talking about. ‘We, um, we had some ice cream and crisps and, um, ... Well, Morgana was in a really bad mood, and we had a drink. But surely ...’

‘If Miss Belakane was intoxicated, it would indeed have made it easier for Mr Malfoy to enter her mind,’ Dumbledore stated calmly. ‘It does not, however, explain how he got access to her. Are you sure that nothing unusual happened, Charis?’

Charis’ eyes widened. ‘The ring!’ How could she have forgotten about that?

‘What ring, Miss Byrne?’ Snape was already standing up.

‘S-silvy,’ Charis stammered. ‘Malfoy’s elf. She brought Morgana a ring. As a present.’

‘Where is that ring now?’ Snape bellowed.

‘By the bed. Poppy took it off.’

Snape was out of Poppy’s office in a blink of an eye, Dumbledore, Poppy and Charis following.

‘Six years of studying Defence Against the Dark Arts and you silly girls don’t know any better than to put on a ring from Lucius Malfoy?’ Snape muttered as he started examining the ring. ‘How daft can one get?’

‘But we did examine it!’ Chairs piped up. How dare he call her stupid? She was a Ravenclaw, for crying out loud. ‘We checked it for curses, hexes, ...’

She stopped talking as she noticed that no one was listening to her anymore. Snape and Dumbledore were both busy examining the ring, and Poppy was checking on Morgana.

What if they had missed something, Charis wondered. What if the ring had indeed given Malfoy access to Morgana’s mind? What if ...

He musings were interrupted by Snape vehemently putting the ring back onto the nightstand.

‘Just a trinket,’ Dumbledore explained. ‘A simple token of admiration. Now, Charis, I think it is time for you to go to bed.’

‘Headmaster, if it’s possible ... I would rather stay with Morgana.’

Dumbledore turned towards Poppy, and the mediwitch nodded. ‘I think this would be a good idea, Headmaster. The girl will need comforting when she wakes up.’

Dumbledore smiled in a fatherly way and put his hand onto Charis’ shoulder. ‘Stay with your friend, then,’ he said. ‘You will both be free from classes tomorrow morning. I think you might need time to ... chat. And Poppy will make sure that you get chocolate croissants for breakfast.’

Charis watched the headmaster retreat with Snape at his heels, then looked at her exhausted friend once more. She couldn’t shake off the feeling that the meeting at Malfoy Manor had irrevocably changed everything. And she was also disturbed that Morgana had chosen to hide the true nature of her relationship with Malfoy from her for so long.

How could Morgana have let herself be taken in by him? Sure, he was rich, charming, handsome, generous ... Charis shook her head. Of course she’d be taken in by him. She would bet her last Knut that Morgana wasn’t the first female to be snared by Malfoy’s web, and probably wouldn’t be the last either. But still, the thought of her best friend in the arms of a former Death Eater made her skin crawl.

She sat on the edge of Morgana’s bed with a small sigh. It seemed as though Malfoy wanted to control Morgana, but he had got it very, very wrong. Why didn’t he use the Imperius Curse if he wanted her under his control? Charis scowled. The only plausible answer to that was, if Malfoy was discovered using an Unforgivable Curse he would be thrown into Azkaban quicker than you could say ‘Alohamora’. And still, he had managed to take over her mind somehow.

Charis thought back to the ring Malfoy had given Morgana – was it really only a trinket? They had tested it, even Snape and Dumbledore had looked at it, and found nothing. But it still seemed fishy to her.

How else could Malfoy have possessed Morgana without direct contact? Did he realise what damage he was doing to her? And why would Malfoy suddenly want to cause her harm, when they had been all but lovers in the summer? The whole thing made no sense whatsoever.

Charis rubbed her tired eyes. She had so many question and no answers. With another sigh, she rose from her friend’s bed. The best she could hope for was that the possession had left Morgana unscathed, and yet she knew this wouldn’t be the end of it. More anxious thoughts whirled around her brain as she got changed and slipped between the crisp hospital sheets in the bed near her friend. Suddenly, her little embarrassment with Snape seemed like small fry compared to this viper’s nest.

She closed her eyes, willing her brain to be still so she could get some much-needed rest. But she could not shake the cruel smirk of Lucius Malfoy, and the sight of her terrified friend, and instead fell into a shallow and fitful sleep.