Memoirs of a Serpent's Son

Memoirs of a Serpent’s Son

--Age 17—part 15

October 30 –continued

It felt like forever that we sat there together, holding each other and trying to even out our breathing. Forever and yet it wasn’t long enough. He slowly began to shift back a bit so that he could see me properly and not have his lips dangerously close to mine.

He didn’t get off my lap though…

“Do you think Ron and Hermione are done now?” he asked quietly, his voice musky and his eyes half-lidded. I nearly dropped him.

“Do I care?” I retorted before I could stop myself. He was intoxicating and that did NOTHING to help my self-control. He rolled his eyes and tried to frown but it looked as though he was having quite a hard time.

“We should go see,” Po…Harry said… Harry. Yes I can call him that now. It was such a glorious release of tension the first time, I think I’ll make a habit out of it.

“Why do you need to run after them?” I whispered, pulling him back up against me. “Let them run after you instead.”

I could feel it as my words stirred something inside of him. He looked deep into my eyes for a few moments as though he was thoroughly considering it, before shaking the idea off and pushing away from me. He actually got up this time.

I groaned inwardly and rolled my eyes. Pity I was too ecstatic to actually show him that I was annoyed.

“This is important,” he stated quite simply. He retrieved his shirt and pulled it over his head. His hair was a terrible mess and I’ve never loved it more… “You know it is. It’s important for all of us… Come on. Why do you hate to see the truth?”

I made a tutting noise and got gingerly to my feet, adjusting my trousers and looking around for my own shirt. I finally realized that he was holding it out for me.

“It’s not the truth I hate,” I corrected, snatching my clothing from his hands. “It’s facts I’m not a fan of. Besides… it’s all relevant.”

He snorted and turned towards the door as I finished clothing myself.

“I’m not going to even try to understand that comment,” he admitted. “You make no bloody sense.”

What? I make no sense? ME? This coming from the king of enigmatic explanations. Not even the king. The GOD I’m sure.

I stopped to try and fix my hair. I hate going out with it looking like a mess. Though I could never beat Harry at that…

That still feels weird… I don’t know. I suppose I’m just not used to calling him that.

Anyway, he turned around to stare at me. His mouth was slightly open and drawn up in a disbelieving smirk. He shook his head.

“There is no one hear to impress,” he shot with a hint of annoyance. I raised my eyebrows.

“I beg to differ,” I told him and continued to primp, though it was hard work with no mirror.

“Oh bloody hell, just come on,” he whined. As if to show me he meant it, he left the room. I groaned and followed him out, feeling much brighter than I have in ages.

I suppose I should have taken that as a sign right there… but I didn’t.

We finally found Weasel and Granger, sitting quite conspicuously in the library that they had previously been using as a love nest, looking much the way they always did. Granger had her nose in a book and Weasel looked positively bored out of his wits.

If he had wits.

Harry walked in first and sat across from them. I followed him and sat next to him on the sofa, trying to look nonchalant and uninterested. It wasn’t hard, considering that I WASN’T particularly interested in talking with the two rabbits in heat.

“I talked to Lupin,” he said immediately. Granger closed her book without a second thought and Weasel perked up. I noted their reactions rather bemusedly. It was almost as though they had been pretending to do whatever it was they were doing as they waited patiently for Harry to return with news.

“What did he say? Did he give you the location?” Granger asked eagerly. I leaned back against the sofa, trying to get comfortable. My stomach was still slightly sticky.

I should have used a cleaning charm or something… some kind of … thing… to get rid of that stuff… like a shower. With Harry. That would have been nice. Why didn’t I do that?

Oh right. Important things.

Bloody arse.

“No, he couldn’t,” he explained again. “The house is still under the Fidelius Charm… we need the secret keeper to get in.”

Granger and Weasel both looked appropriately shocked and appalled at the news of who they would need to find for help.

“But Harry…” Granger began quietly.

“I know, I know,” he cut her off, waving his hands. “Wormtail is a Death-Eater and with Voldemort, but that doesn’t stop us from needing to find him.”

Then something hit me. That name…. Wormtail… it rang some sort of bell in my mind and I tilted my head trying to place where I’d heard it before…

“Who?” I asked, hoping he’d repeat the name and it might make the image or memory clearer. Harry turned to me briefly before remembering that I wasn’t completely informed.

“Wormtail is Pettigrew’s nickname,” he explained quickly. “He’s an unregistered Animagus… turns into a rat. Rat…Wormtail…get it?”

I rolled my eyes. I’m not a bloody moron.

The name, however, I needed a moment to think about. I could remember some angry voice screaming it… from beyond a wall….

“AH!” I exclaimed suddenly in triumph. OF COURSE! “THAT’S IT!”

They stared at me. I need to stop myself from doing things like that.

“What the hell are you on about?” Weasel demanded, mildly disgusted. What was HE disgusted for? He didn’t have to witness himself sucking off Granger’s face.

“I’ve heard that name!” I told them, rather excited (I will admit) that I had something active to contribute to the plotting. Something none of them could actually know. “At Snape’s!”

They all gave each other quick looks and turned back to me.

“Snape was talking about Wormtail??” Harry asked carefully. I shook my head.

“No no, there was a man who kept trying to break into my room,” I explained quickly. “I think it was a kind of Room of Requirement deal… well basically, to him it just looked like there was a wall where the door actually was. He would bang against it and scrape at it when Snape wasn’t around, trying to get in. I would hear Snape come back and start screaming at him about how he should have more faith in the Dark Lord’s judgment or something… anyway, he called him Wormtail several times. I’m quite sure he lives with him… Or is staying there anyway.”

They stared at me, dumbfounded. Then Harry’s face turned ashen and angry.

“Why didn’t you mention this when I told you earlier??” he snapped at me. I frowned and glared.

“You didn’t say anything about his nickname being Wormtail, earlier, did you??” I shot back. The other two seemed dumbstruck.

“You told HIM before US??” Weasel demanded angrily.

“You were otherwise engaged,” I drawled silkily. Granger immediately turned a deep shade of red to match the colour of Weasel’s ears.

“Well what were you two doing??” Weasel snapped in retort. I opened my mouth but was cut off.

“Nothing,” Harry answered quickly. “We weren’t doing anything. Why would we spend time together, anyway?”

I tensed and let my gaze fall from Weasel’s face down to the floor. I couldn’t look up or at anything else. Every movement felt jerky and unnatural after that.

I should have seen that coming… I should have known… what reason does he have to look at any of it as being more than what it was? Just a simple hand-fuck to release the tension, right?

Right… maybe I should stop calling him Harry.

“Great, the two people who betrayed my parents are holed up together,” he spat with venom. “Like the slimy cockroaches they are. They deserve each other.”

“Harry, wait,” Granger tempted. “This makes our job much easier, doesn’t it? If Wormtail is with Snape then we only have one stop to make in finding them both. And since Malfoy has been there, it shouldn’t be hard to locate the place, no?”

I opened my mouth to respond but couldn’t bring myself to. I wasn’t about to let them know that I hardly remembered what any of the area looked like. The only thing I could make out in my mind at the moment was the wood where I caught the Knight Bus.

Everything was a dull ache in my chest and there was a muted buzzing in my ears.

“Alright well we can’t do anything right now anyway…” Potter sighed to his friends. He ran his fingers through is hair and shot me a sidelong glance. My lip was curled in a snarl and my eyes were harsh. He cast his eyes away. “We should try to relax a bit… before things get worse…because they will. We’ll leave you two alone…”

And he got to his feet and waited a moment, clearly suggesting that I should follow him.

I just don’t understand it… I don’t understand any of it and I don’t even know if I have the energy anymore to play his games and try to understand him… try to wrap my mind around his organized madness…

I followed him anyway. I wasn’t about to sit in a room while the other two got off on one another again.

I walked calmly behind Potter as he led us back to my room. I closed the door behind me as I walked in and he turned around with a smile on his face. A smile, as though somehow we could pretend everything that had just happened, had simply not.

I sighed in disbelief and shook my head.

“What’s wrong?” he asked. The bloody git.

“Oh nothing nothing,” I responded sarcastically. “But tell me, why is it we’re spending time together? I mean, we have no reason to, right?”

He let out an exasperated sigh and shook his head.

“What did you want me to do?” he demanded rather frustrated. “Tell them that you and I wanked each other shirtless??”

I was struck but the unadulterated bluntness.

“No, but ‘nothing’ on its own would have sufficed,” I sneered. “Or you could have made up a better lie than that. Like we were talking, or playing chess or something else that was entirely possible but lying in such an abrupt manner was just stupid. Not to mention insulting.”

“Look, do you really think that Ron and Hermione would believe that?” he inquired with a whine. “That you and I, rivals since the first day of school, were playing a friendly game of chess?? No, of course not.”

“Fine,” I told him, folding my arms to my chest. “Then just tell them the truth. They clearly aren’t innocent anymore.” He snorted.

“And you think they would just accept you and smile about it??” He was getting more riled up by the moment and it was having a negative effect on me. “They would likely just hate you more and think you’ve done something to me! They wouldn’t trust you at all and right now that is not what we need.”

“Why wouldn’t they trust me? All because I snogged you??” I spat, frustrated.

“No, because they can’t easily forget all the torment you’ve caused them throughout school,” he explained. “And I broke up with Ginny remember? I don’t think Ron would be overjoyed that I dumped his sister to start snogging ‘Malfoy’.”

I bit back a comment and forced down the hurt and the pain that came with a comment like that. I looked away and said nothing. He was silent as well for a few moments.

The awkward silence made my skin crawl. I couldn’t stand it.

And maybe he was right… maybe, in his warped way, he was trying to soften the blow on them and me… maybe it WAS the smarter thing to do but I wasn’t going to admit that. I wasn’t going to say it because of how much it hurt and how terribly shredded my insides were…

“Maybe I should go,” he whispered, about to head towards the door. Before I could stop myself I reached out and grabbed his wrist again. He turned to me with sad but questioning eyes. I couldn’t hold his gaze for very long.

“Ple-…don’t go…” I forced myself to say.

What was I to do? Even if this was just pretend… even if it wasn’t real and it never would be, I would rather live one night in an illusion than face the harsh reality of the day and have to be miserable in my own loneliness for the rest of my life without ever having known what it was like to be happy… and in love.

“Draco…” he whispered as he moved towards me. I shook my head and pressed a finger to his lips. I didn’t want to hear it. I didn’t want to hear his reasons or his flawed logic. I didn’t want to hear an apology, even, if that was what he was about to give. I lifted my finger and pressed a soft kiss to his lips.

“Just stay,” I told him. And I kissed him again. He kissed back gently and then nodded.

I led him over to the bed and lay down with him next to me. He was lying on his side to look at me and I was lying on my back with my head turned to him.

And we talked… about things…

Lots of things…

He told me about little things and bigger things. He told me he grew up with his aunt and uncle and cousin and that they were muggle… and hated magic. He told me about some of the adventures he’s had at Hogwarts that the rest of the school never really knew the details of.

And then I told him about little things too. I even… I even told him about how I had played with Weasel once when I was much younger, but my father had reprimanded me for it. I told him about the things my father had made me do… practice the cruciatus curse on myself and everything.

Everything he asked, I told him. Everything I asked he told me.

It was good… I needed to talk. No one talks to me anymore. No one ever did.

I just write to myself.

********

November 10

We had sent another urgent message to Lupin. It asked him to return as soon as possible as we need his help to kidnap Wormtail. He sent letters out to Tonks and Kingsley as well to have extra wands for what we were about to do. Weasel suggested they call his brothers as well, but Lupin didn’t agree. He had said that we needed support but too many people would draw attention to us… and was more likely to go wrong.

He’s actually much smarter than I ever gave him credit for.

In the time that we waited for him and the two Aurors to arrive, there were more attacks in the wizarding world. There was even an attack on Hogwarts.

Voldemort sent Dementors and Werewolves to the school to try and bring it down brick by brick. We wondered if Lupin was amidst those Werewolves (as he is supposed to be infiltrating their pack to find out whatever information he can) but we haven’t heard from him yet… And it’s worrisome. It was horrifying to see that headline in the Daily Prophet.

Seventeen students were killed. Four had their souls sucked out of them. Pansy was one of the students that was killed. She was mauled by Greyback.

Cho Chang had her soul sucked out.

I… I didn’t know what to say then and I don’t know any better what to say now… Pansy had always been quite a good friend to me… even if she was after me for other reasons. She didn’t deserve that…and she was a Slytherin.

But that just goes to show you that no one in safe. Voldemort doesn’t care what house you are or were in at Hogwarts. He doesn’t care about who or what you are. At this point, he is just after headlines. He is just after the glory and the reverence that comes with having such things on one’s resume.

He wants to prove to the wizarding world that nowhere, NOWHERE is beyond his reach and NOONE is untouchable. He wants to send all wizards into a panic and a frenzy, hoping they’ll scatter like pigeons and he can knock them off one by one. He’s hoping that people will forget the speech that Dumbledore once gave…

He’s hoping that people will forget that it is only united that we can stand and survive it.

And he’s getting what he wants… for the most part.

Hundreds of students were removed from Hogwarts in the past week. At least hundreds out of the short list of students that actually did show up. McGonagall has tightened security even more. There are no Quidditch Games. Care of Magical Creatures is cancelled because it takes place outside. Herbology is under strict surveillance and no student is to leave the castle at any point in time without an escort of no less then three professors.

Extreme, perhaps, but it might help.

Only registered owls are being allowed into the school with mail. Everything is checked by both the Ministry and several stations of different professors inside the castle. The Vanishing Cabinet was destroyed. Completely destroyed and the remnants were scattered throughout the Forbidden Forest.

Magical wards were put up at the edge of the Forest, halting anything (animal, wizard or inanimate object alike) from entering the grounds from there. The wards around the castle grounds have been increased and strengthened. There are Aurors and Ministry officials that check in every few hours. Most of the classes are held together in the Great Hall and they are even considering having all students sleep in one single dormitory: the Slytherin Dungeons…because they have no windows.

Hogsmeade has been turned to ruins. Madam Rosmerta has been murdered, along with many of the other shopowners. In fact, the only things still standing in that town are the Shrieking Shack (surprisingly) and half of the Hog’s Head (again, surprisingly).

They still haven’t found Ollivander or Florean Fortescue… and more shopowners from Diagon Alley have disappeared as well… however Diagon Alley remains one of the safest places in the wizarding world, the Prophet reports. There are Ministry officials stations at every alleyway and most of them are from the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. They’ve cut off the entrance to Knockturn Alley from there. It’s completely blocked and warded.

Gringotts remains a stronghold. Stranded witches and wizards, or those who have lost their houses or families are actually being sent to the bank and temporary housing is being set up inside.

That one seemed rather striking to me…

The worst part of this is that the news of these terrible things is spreading. Wizarding communities all over the world are setting up more strict protections and regulations to protect their populations from possible attacks. The French, American, Canadian, Italian and German Ministers have sent over their own Officers to aid the Ministry in its defenses.

Even the muggles are beginning to notice things.

Mr. Weasel –I mean Weasley –has been keeping up with muggle news and says that there are reports of a “war on terror” strewn throughout their news.

Maybe they ARE more perceptive than we thought…

The hardest part of this is living in this house. Harry’s tension is so strong that I’m sure it could cut right through me if I gave him the chance. He’s been aching to break out and just forsake the whole search for Horcruxes and just try and decapitate Voldemort right now.

I don’t blame him. That would save us a lot of time and trouble if it worked, but it won’t and that’s even more frustrating…

We have been receiving mail every single day (often three times a day) from Weasel’s mother and sister. We have messages sent from the Ministry (the ones that are in the Order) along with McGonagall at specific intervals giving us whatever information they can and always checking in to make sure everything is still alright.

But we can’t tell them that it is. We can’t even pretend to say that everything is alright, can we? It’s not. It’s clearly not and sometimes I sit there and blame myself for everything and the way it’s escalating… if I hadn’t been the one to disarm Dumbledore… and if I hadn’t been the one that Voldemort had chosen… my mother would never have had to make an Unbreakable Vow with Snape and Dumbledore might still be alive… and there might still be hope.

And I might never have become close (in any way shape or form) to Harry…

And now I feel even worse. I am a terrible person. I must be the son of a Death-Eater because only the spawn of someone that heartless can say something like “If I could go back and change things, I wouldn’t” and be completely honest.

Because I wouldn’t…

Maybe I’m more like my father than I thought…

-------IIIIIII-------

A/N: Ohhh yes I left you off with a not so pleasant chapter in honour of Draco’s birthday! Aren’t you all happy? *runs away from stones and rotten fruit being thrown* lol Sorry but it needed to happen and we get to see the vulnerable and needy Draco again… he’s all of these things, remember, and I think it’s a good transition for him to be snarky when there isn’t anything terrible happening but remember what pain he himself went through and how he really feels about the war when he sees the terrible things that are happening. That and I needed to have an update on what’s going on in the world because Voldemort cannot be THAT quiet for THAT long without having some kind of retribution.

And I realize that all of this would technically be happening in 1998 (or 97?) and so the “war on terror” hasn’t ENTIRELY begun yet, but that’s alright. It doesn’t have to be OUR war on terror that they’re talking about, but I thought it would be interesting to add in there.

And I think that, logically, whether the Ministry is taking positive or negative action towards the Voldemort issue, it would make sense for the news to filter out into the rest of the world and for other countries to offer up some help. Because that’s what we do when a country is facing something so horrible, we send our own people over. Right? Well, I didn’t pick those countries for any particular reason, if you feel that another country should be included then I can include them later in different parts because this war is DEFINITELY NOT going to be isolated in Britain.

I hope you enjoyed it anyway!!

Also, if you would like to see the special thing I did for Draco for the day, you can visit this link:
http://yaoi.y-gallery.net/view/298319/

It makes up for the helping of angst that I handed you all here….ehehehehhh

ALSO: Claire2007: You will find out how Harry feels about Ginny in a short while, but I can’t give anything away just yet.

ehcie-utada: I can see your point in the whole “only way to kill Voldemort is for Harry to die too”, and though I can’t tell you yet if he is going to die, I promise you I won’t make Harry a horcrux. I don’t think he would be because Voldemort went there to kill Harry and has tried to do so several times throughout the books, so to me that doesn’t make sense. But I can also understand how it might. X_X I just hope that J.K.Rowling doesn’t kill Harry or anything like that because that would just make me BAWL. I hope she doesn’t kill Draco either but anyway eheheh
Maizeysugah: HAHAH that was a brilliant suggestion! Sadly I couldn’t do that, but I’m very tempted to write a crack!oneshot with random Tom Riddle insertion hahahah I love it XD

Mystiedaze : well, you’ll find out about how they find and get peter to tell them everything very soon :) I promise hehe

LOVE YOU ALL for ALL of your reviews and everything! So wonderful! I hope you enjoyed this! *cookies and hopefully some more smut eheheh*