``in her m e m o r i e s |Tristan/open|

[girlingreen]

It had taken Cora quite a while to track down a Penseive, even in a castle as massive as Hogwarts. But at last she had found a really old one located in the empty classroom on the first floor. Saturday afternoon found Cora using every bit of strength she had to tug it out of the little closet where it was kept. She used her wand to clean it a bit, then reached into the pocket of her robes.

Cora had kept the memory there since she and Tristan had found it over the summer. Truthfully, Cora was nervous to see her mother's memory. She supposed it could be of anything, something trivial like a party or something that might help Cora discover who she had been and how she had died. Cora took a deep breath and then uncorked the little bottle holding the thin, silver memory.

Cora turned over the bottle, dumping the memory into the clear liquid before her. It swirled around in the liquid a bit and Cora prepared to put her face in the water. Just then she heard footsteps out in the corridor. Cora held her breath, hoping whoever it was would just go away, leaving her in peace, but the person clearly did not pick up on the thought, as the footsteps came closer. When the door to the classroom squeaked open, Cora found herself staring at...

[untouchable]

It was Tristan. He had been looking for Cora when he had seen her vanish it to the room. Granted, it had taken him too long to get there, since he was constantly being stopped by people with homework questions or Qudditch questions, or just stupid questions. He opened his mouth to greet Cora, but recognized the object in front of her, and the vial in her hand. Without another word, Tristan dropped to his knees beside Cora. "Are you alright?" he asked, looking over at her kindly. The memory was no doubt crucial to what she needed and wanted to know about the person that had been her mother.

[girlingreen]

Cora leaned into Tristan, glad for the warmth of his body. "I haven't seen it yet," she admitted. Cora was nervous about the memory, she didn't quite know what to think about it. Cora took Tristan's hand and squeezed it slightly with her much colder one. "I'm scared," she murmured quietly.

[untouchable]

Tristan gave her hand a squeeze. "I'm right here for you. You don't have to be scared, you've got me," he whispered back, his tone serious and kind. He managed a small smile, hoping to comfort her. "Take as long as you need to do this," he murmured, keeping his eyes locked on Cora's. He wasn't going to release her hand for anything. Tristan planned on being next to her the whole time during the process.

[girlingreen]

Cora nodded, but stayed close to Tristan for another couple of moments, before finally stepping toward the penseive. She took a deep breath and allowed her face touch the clear liquid inside the bowl.

She fell for a long while, screaming until at last she hit the floor in the hospital room with a thud. Cora looked around wildly before noticing a sleeping woman in the bed next to her. With her white-blonde hair and Cora's facial features, it had to be Carlotta. "Mom?" Cora whispered, reaching out to touch the woman. But before she was able to, the door to the room burst open. Cora jumped, but Carlotta's eyes merely flickered open, as if she had been expecting this.

In strode Cora's father. Marcus's eyes were blazing and Cora instinctively shrunk back against the wall, though it was clear that he couldn't see her. Marcus stomped up to the side of Carlotta's bed. "I see you named them," he said, his voice hinting at annoyance mostly masked by anger. "Eliza-Coraline Maggie and Dean Edmond, yes," Carlotta said in a clear voice. Cora was suddenly aware of how weak her mother was. She seemed almost too tired to move, yet she was very calm in Marcus's anger.

"You've been hiding things from me," Marcus said, ignoring what Carlotta had said. Cora's mother sighed, but opened her mouth as if to explain. "I don't want to hear your excuses, Carlotta!" Marcus yelled before she could say anything. He drew his wand from his robes. Carlotta blinked in surprise. "You're going to kill me," she said simply. Marcus seemed to reconsider. He put his wand away and it seemed he was about to leave when a better thought came to him. He pulled a syringe out of his robes.

Carlotta's eyes clouded in confusion, but Marcus didn't give her time to think. With his free hand, he grabbed her left arm and stuck in the needle. Carlotta fought him, Cora found herself trying to get at her father as well, but the efforts were futile. After she fought him off, Carlotta took out the needle, gasping. Marcus smirked at her. "Goodnight dear," he said wickedly. Cora screamed at him, but the scene was already over. Carlotta pulled the memory from her head as Marcus left the room. She deposited it in a vial and her eyelids started to flutter. Alarms were going off.

Then Cora was back in Hogwarts. She dropped to the floor, panting. She had always known her father was evil, but somehow she had never quite believed that he would have the guts to kill his own wife. He seemed more like the type to have someone else do his dirty work. Cora looked up at Tristan. "He killed her," she said quietly.