Seven Devils ★ T.M.R ★

Chapter Thirteen

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A FAMILIAR FACE
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IT WAS PAST nine in the morning when Marina awoke, roused from sleep by the low voices talking beside her.

"But I thought that you only need a happy memory to cast a Patronus," Riddle was saying. "If I had one, why wouldn't I be able to summon one?"

"Well, first of all, I think it might be best if we try to keep you as far from a dementor as possible... there's no telling what would happen to you, all things considered. But to answer your question, although a Patronus requires a happy memory to summon, the Patronus itself is the resilience of one's soul," Remus said gently.

Marina could hear the frown in Riddle's reply. "I thought that dementors feed on the soul, how could the Patronus shield off a dementor if they're made of –"

"You misunderstand," said Remus, "I mean to say that the strength, the true power of the Patronus comes from the strength and power of one's soul. A weakened soul, or in this case a fractured soul cannot support the magnitude of energy required to produce Patronus, even with a truly happy memory."

"Then..." Riddle said slowly, "what is a Patronus made of, if not the happy memory or the soul?"

Marina opened her eyes just in time to see Remus' warm smile. "A Patronus is a physical expression of one's hope, resilience, happiness, determination... it is, in essence, a manifestation of one's spirit."

"Spirits, souls," Marina yawned, sitting up. "You guys couldn't talk about something light and breezy this early in the morning? What's your favourite hot beverage? Let's start there." She stretched her back and dragged the wool blanket up over her shoulders.

"Black coffee," Remus said, standing up from where he and Riddle were sat in dusty armchairs in the far corner of the room. "Good that you're awake, we have to get going soon."

"How long have you been up?" Marina asked, reaching for her bag to pull out her yellow jumper.

"Only about an hour," Remus said, rubbing a hand down his face. "There's some breakfast for you there." He gestured towards the low table next to the chairs where an apple, a buttered slice of bread, and two cold sausages sat on a plate. Remus' empty plate sat next to it. A third plate was conspicuously absent.

"Still not hungry?" Marina asked Riddle as she made her way over.

He shook his head wordlessly. Marina wondered if he was annoyed for her interrupting his conversation with Remus.

Marina ate as quickly as she could and threw on her shoes. They left their things in the room as they left to find the Horcrux. Marina knew it was in a cupboard on display somewhere in the house, but it had been too long since she had read either the Order of the Phoenix or the Deathly Hallows and she couldn't remember where the cupboard had been.

"If we find Kreacher, we can just ask," she suggested as they crept through the house.

"We would do well to avoid it if we can," Remus replied darkly. "If he knows that we took the locket, he will most likely find a way to inform the Death Eaters. His loyalties have always been... questionable."

There was a tense silence.

"Well, can that all wait? First priority is finding a bathroom," Marina said uncomfortably.

"Oh, my apologies," Remus said, looking around at the hall. "It's at the end of this corridor, around the corner on the left. We can wait for you here."