Tempted by Fate: A Serpent's Requiem

Hermione arose from her slumber bright and early. The rising sun had seeped through a crack in the blinds forcing her to wake. Not wanting to waste this perfectly good day, she quickly dressed and made her way down to breakfast. It was an early Saturday morning so as expected there were few dining so early in the morning. However, much to her surprise, she spotted Harry slumped over a pile of porridge, his head just inches away from the bowl.

“Harry?” Hermione hurried towards him, lightly shaking him awake. “Hey Harry? What are you doing up so early? If you are still sleepy, shouldn’t you be on your way back to bed?” Hermione asked curiously. She took a seat next to him and immediately her plate filled itself with French toast to compliment her pumpkin juice. Harry mumbled something under his breath, as he started to eat again. Hermione shook her head and watched as Harry quickly sucked down his breakfast.

“Harry, what’s the rush?”

“Oh…oh yeah. I’m sorry Hermione. Woods…the damn prick, he woke me up at 4 am this morning talking about quidditch practice.”

“Harry, it’s almost eight o’clock. If that’s the case then you are way late.”

“Yeah, well I told him he could forget about me coming to a 4 am practice. We just got back to Hogwarts. The Slytherin team can’t be that much better than they were last year. Anyway, after arguing about it for ten minutes he finally let me be. We are supposed to practice at eight.” Harry glanced at his watch as he stifled a yawn. “I’m heading to the field now so I’ll catch you later.”

When Harry left, Hermione quickly finished her food then hurried off towards the library. She grabbed a few books and began making her way to the astrology tower. When she got there, she was surprised to see that someone else was already there. Snape. He was standing up looking over Hogwarts grounds. The look he had on his face was one that she had never seen before. He looked as if he were lost. Of course she had only known Snape for a short period of three years but even so, during those three years she had seen nothing but a short tempered, arrogant old man who loved showing off his brilliance.

There had not been a student at Hogwarts that could match his quick wit. Harry had, unsuccessfully, tried to match wits with him on several occasions but it was always the same outcome--a smart ass comeback, detention, ten points from Gryffindor house. Hermione sighed as she contemplated whether or not to just leave in order to avoid the upcoming confrontation or stay. After minutes of debating she decided to stay. Besides it was not like she was doing anything wrong. She took a deep breath and walked out onto the tower, the hairs on her arms standing impeccably as the cool crisp air whipped over her. Snape whipped around quickly at the sound of her foot steps, his long flowing robe resisting the air pressure. However, the curious expression he might have worn had it been someone other than she, quickly became a look of utmost boredom and annoyance.

“Ms. Granger. Why am I not surprised?” he remarked, his voice monotone and dry.

“I see you haven’t changed a bit,” Hermione retorted as she sat on the floor of the stone tower, flipping through the first of her books.

“And I don’t plan on it either. Tell me Ms. Granger, why is it that an insufferable know-it-all such as your self find it-shall we say-amusing to rise bright and early on a Saturday morning in order to fill thy head with more useless knowledge, thus making you more of a nuisance to your fellow classmates?” Hermione slammed her book shut and stared up at Snape. Taking a deep breath she smiled sweetly.

“I don’t see myself as a nuisance. In fact, had it not been for my-shall we say-useless knowledge, the faculty of Hogwarts never would have found out about that Basilisk last term.”

“If you say so. However, I do feel that you are becoming more and more like the fools you associate with as time passes. That being said, at the rate you’re going, you won’t be able to fill that overly large head of yours fast enough to make up for the damage that you do to your brain hanging around them.”

“My friends are not fools. You should be more concerned about the members of your own house. I see more fools in there…then again look at their oh-so-righteous head of house,” she snapped. It did not take long for Hermione to realize what she had done. She cursed silently as it dawned on her.

“10 points Ms. Granger, will be taken from Gryffindor,” he replied softly, yet menacingly. She turned away from him and stared at the ground. He walked towards her and leaned over, speaking in barely a whisper.

“You will do better next time to watch how you speak to me and of my house Ms. Granger. Have a nice time catching up on your reading. As you know, you have a lot of ground to make up for.”

Hermione sat there and continued to stare at the ground as Snape hurried off. She had played right into his hand. She knew from being around Harry all the time that Snape loved to toy with anyone from Gryffindor, especially people who associated themselves with ‘That Potter Boy’. For some strange reason, Snape had always given Harry a hard time. No longer in the mood to read, Hermione gathered her books and made her way back down the spiral staircase. Classes had not started yet and already she was off to a shaky start.

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Molly woke up bright and early, the sun being held back by the thick, puce-colored curtains in her bedroom. She rolled over and much to her dismay, Arthur was already up and gone. She closed her eyes and prayed silently for her husband. Ever since Sirius Black escaped from Azkaban her husband had been forced to work overtime. It seemed as if Arthur was at the mercy of the Ministry…and indeed he probably was. They were not the most well off of families. In fact, they had never been ‘well off’. When she married Arthur, things were ok financially, but began to diminish quickly with each child born. Before Ginny was born, they had both decided that they were not going to have anymore kids. So quickly how things change. Molly quickly climbed out of bed and hurried to their small, cramped restroom to shower and change. She had some shopping to do. She wasn’t quite sure what she would be able to buy though. They were in deed, lacking in a lot of areas around the house. The roof had sprung a leak and Molly had learned throughout the years that there are some things that magic can’t fix properly.

When Molly was done getting dressed, she made her way down the stairs and into their cramped kitchen. It was clean for a change; the new cleaning techniques she had read about had worked quite well. As an added bonus, the house was void of life which also helped in the matter. She waved her wand and a piece of parchment was conjured, hovering in the air a few feet in front of her.

“Let’s see now…I need the following…” As Molly named things aloud, the items appeared in writing on the parchment. A minute later, the parchment was full, giving her an estimate of the cost. She grabbed the parchment and groaned.

“There’s just no way I’ll be able to pay for all of this,” she mumbled. She sighed as she tucked the list under her robe, apparating to Diagon Alley. She reappeared having landed in front of Madam Malkin's. She stared into the window sadly, eyeing the brand new robes in the window.

“Maybe next time.”

“How about you get them now?” She had not realized that she spoke aloud. The voice interrupting her thoughts was one she was in no mood to encounter. Not looking at him, she continued staring in the window, her expression now full of content.

“Come now Molly, you should know by now that it’s futile to try and hide your emotions from me. Just a second ago, I watched you eye those robes with a certain sadness.”

“Yeah, well I was just…it doesn’t matter,” she replied hotly. Shrugging her shoulders, she turned to face him, her eyes full of annoyance. “Just what are you doing here anyway? Shouldn’t you be vacationing in Transylvania with your princess?”

“If you mean Cissy then you are sadly mistaken. At the moment, I do not think Cissy would like to vacation anywhere with me right now. In fact, I have no idea where she might be, which is why I decided to get out and maybe do some shopping of my own accord. Very fortuitous of me to have run into you mio dolce. I think I’ll give you some company.” Molly pursed her lips and rolled her eyes.

“What makes you think I want to be seen with the likes of you?”

“Oh come now Molly. All I’m trying to do is be a good friend. You may hate me but you know that I can never hate you. I still…”

“Don’t say it.”

“Say what?” he asked, raising an eyebrow curiously. Molly suddenly felt sick to her stomach.

“Maybe I should go home. I don’t really feel up to shopping anymore.”

“If it makes you feel any better mio dolce, I promise to be on my best behavior.” She stared at him aimlessly as though not convinced. Lucius grabbed her hand and kissed it lightly, cupping it into his own. “Ariana please…”

“Don’t call me that…”

“Alright just…I needed to get away from home. With all the so-called friends that I have, you know that you’re the only one I can rely on. Si prega?”

“Why do I get the feeling that I am going to regret this?”

“I knew you’d come around. You always do, luckily for a very few.” He hooked his arm onto hers and began to usher her into Madam Malkin’s robe shop.

“Lucy…” she hissed.

“Don’t call me that.”

“Fine but why are we going in here? I have no reason to…”

“We’re going to get Ginny a new robe…and the boys if they need them.” Molly tried to turn and leave but Lucius continued to usher her into the store.

“I don’t want you pitying us Lucius,” she hissed through gritted teeth. He wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her close from behind.

“Mio dolce Ariana, who says I’m pitying you?” he whispered in her ear. “I’m bored and I am filthy rich. Why not sit back and enjoy being pampered? After all, you deserve it and judging by our last confrontation, it would seem that it’s been a while since you’ve been pampered.”

“This is not me being pampered. The robes are for my children and…”

“I’ll get to you later. In the meantime, think of this as me doing mio dovere civico.” He slowly released Molly, his hands lingering slightly on her sides as Madam Malkin herself made her way towards them.

“Lucius! How nice it is to see you! Molly, a pleasure,” she said smiling giddily at them both. “So what can help you with today?”

“She’ll tell you what she needs. Everything goes on my tab, understood?” Ms. Malkin nodded as she steered Molly to the back. Lucius watched them as they strolled off, now feeling a whole lot better than he had been feeling earlier. He removed his wand from his cane and conjured up a chair that landed silently in a corner to his right. As he sat down and watched Molly, who was now full of an energy that was clearly lacking earlier, old memories started to resurface…

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“Alright class. Settle down now. Today we will begin to brew an even more complicated potion. If most of you read like you were supposed to then the steps should be no problem. Now begin!”

“You know Lucy, I am not in the mood to brew today. I’d much rather be doing something…you know…”

“Bella please. I am not helping you out today if you don’t do your work.”

Bellatrix sulked as she opened her book and began to sort through her potion ingredients. Meanwhile Lucius, having already mixed his up, was now surveying the classroom being that he didn’t have to add anything else to his potion for another thirty minutes. He was staring at a blank spot on he dungeon wall when he heard a loud crash. Startled he looked up and a few work stations ahead of him he spotted a busted caldron. A familiar red-head was now staring at the caldron, a horrified look on her face as the rest of the class erupted into laughter. Her mangled-looking robes were now ruined from the contents of the caldron. As for the caldron, it was easily repairable with a flick of the wrist.

“Pro…professor…I’m…I’m sorry,” she whispered before running out of the dungeons.

“That chick is so lame! Oh but it was so worth it,” Bellatrix squealed. Lucius shot her a look of utmost disgust causing her to flinch. “Oh Lucius give me a break here! I was just having a little fun. Lighten up.”

“That’s your idea of fun is it?”

“As if you don’t do it,” she replied lazily, returning her attention to her caldron.

“Yes, but that’s the same girl from the last time. What is it with you and this girl?”

“Nothing. She’s just…poor, the poorest of the poor, which makes her an easy target,” she replied nonchalantly. Lucius quickly finished brewing his potion and rushed out of the dungeons. It did not take him long to find Molly, who was sitting on the stairs near the dungeon crying her heart out. Normally these things wouldn’t concern me but for some reason…

“Molly?” She looked up but only for a moment.

“No need to come to rescue Lucius. I can manage on my own.”

“And a fair job you’re doing of that.”

“Go away,” she muttered, standing to her feet. She started to walk off but fell backwards, her right foot caught in a tear of her robe. Lucius rushed forward and broke her fall by catching her in his arms.

“Aren’t you glad I came to your rescue?” She pulled away from him and started marching off. “You know Molly it would help if you got rid of that ghastly robe of yours. I fear the next fall may be fatal.”

“Yeah well not everyone has your kind of money Mr. Malfoy.”

Lucius smirked as he watched her walk away. Molly Prewett. He could not help but to admire her tenacity. Then again, he could tell that it was all a show. Unlike others, he could tell that she was nothing more than a scared little girl. Luckily for her she could count on him to be her rescuer. The thought amused him as he marched off towards the headmaster’s office. I’ll be seeing you soon Molly.

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AN:Translations:

1. Mio Dolce-------My Sweet

2. Mio Dovere Civico------My Civic Duty