Memoirs of a Serpent's Son

Memoirs of a Serpent’s Son

--Age 17—part 17

November 13 –continued

The cold of the night was oppressing all around us as we walked quickly through the woods towards the light that only I could see. I had forgotten what the cold air felt like before it hit me again….

I don’t appreciate the cold.

I was walking fast with something pulling at my centre, driving me towards this house that I can’t even identify. The rest followed as best they could, but only Harry and Lupin managed to keep my pace. Perhaps because they were the most intent on getting there… or perhaps they were the ones with the deepest hatred of Pettigrew.

Harry had briefly explained to me some things regarding his father, Sirius, Lupin and Pettigrew. And Snape…According to what he said the four of them didn’t get along well with Snape. Honestly, that wasn’t the surprising part.

What surprised me was that James Potter and Sirius were the ones doing the bullying and not the other way around.

Hm.

He also mentioned something about his father reminding him of me, though it was in an undertone and I couldn’t be sure I heard him correctly.

In either case, I can understand why the two of them were keeping up better than the rest.

We finally reached the edge of the town and I realized something. I don’t know how or why it hit me but it did.

It was an entirely muggle town.

Old muggle, too. I don’t know how to explain that but from spending my entire life constantly surrounded by wizards and all the varying facets of the wizarding world, it suddenly becomes glaringly obvious to me when there is little to no trace of the wizarding world around me.

Maybe that’s why the house seemed to be pulling me… because it was the only thing with magic?

I don’t know…I’m not learned enough on these kinds of subjects to be able to fathom the possibilities.

That’s a first.

As we moved closer, Snape’s house becoming steadily clearer in my view, the doubt that had flitted over me dissipated and was replaced with something entirely different.

I was uneasy.

Well, maybe not so different.

There was something distinctly WRONG with the way this house looked… with the way it felt and how it stood amidst all the other houses.

It wasn’t right… It was too obvious, too clear and too unprotected. I have no doubt in my mind that ANY wizard who might have walked by it would notice the difference between it and the surrounding structures though nothing about it’s physical appearance suggested it was magical.

I stopped behind it (because we came up from the back) and stared at the dark shingles that covered the roof. They were old… very old. And worn and peeling off in some places. The outside of the house was grey and dark and had all the charm of the Shrieking Shack with none of the history.

I tried to take it all in. I glanced from window to window and saw nothing but darkened rooms and grimy glass. The panels along the sides of the house were cracked and flaking and nothing about this place suggested that it was at all livable.

“Is this it?” Harry asked in a hushed voice from next to me. I nearly jumped out of my skin… I’d almost forgotten there were others with me.

“Yes,” I answered, still staring at the dilapidated house. “But there’s something wrong… I don’t feel right.”

“Well you shouldn’t, should you?” he answered in the same rushed whisper. “This is the place you were kept against your will with no food and no company. This is the place that houses two of the greatest forms of evil without a conscience I’ve ever met. Nothing about it should feel right.”

“That’s….not what I meant,” I muttered under my breath but Harry had already started to slink up to the house to try and glance into a window.

He wasn’t going to listen… he wasn’t going to hear me out because he’d gone into “Gryffindor-hero-mode” again and was about to walk in unprepared like he always did.

“There doesn’t seem to be any movement inside,” Lupin whispered as the rest of the group joined us. “Draco, you, Harry, Tonks and Hermione go around the front. Kingsley, Ron and I will take the back. Be as quiet as you can and try not to arouse any suspicion from the neighbours.”

I thought that was an interesting suggestion considering the look of the surrounding houses. I’d never have guessed that there might be neighbours. Many of those houses looked worse than this one, but maybe that’s just the Malfoy Manor talking through me.

I was also rather amused (if not absolutely bewildered) that he decided to send the four of us to the FRONT of the house to enter. As if Snape would simply leave the front door unlocked for us to get in.

We went around anyway, sneaking around the bushes and under the windowsills. I felt very much unlike a wizard and more like a raccoon… or a weasel. Not a ferret. Definitely not.

Once we got to the front door however, my suspicions had been proven correct. Snape had NOT, in fact, left the door unlocked.

He’d left it WIDE OPEN.

The four of us shot glances at one another, clearly thinking the same thing. This had to be some kind of trap… this was just not right. Harry cast me another glance, maybe to show that he understood what I meant now, but I can’t be sure.

We all held our wands firmly out in front of us and Tonks (being the Auror) had insisted on going in first. None of us thought that it was a particularly great idea, but she went in anyway.

We followed here carefully, treading on the ground as though it might be made of paper, and casting shifting glances wildly around ourselves as we moved.

There was DEFINITELY something wrong with this house… inside AND out.

The rooms were unlit and the wind blew eerily through them from the open door, swaying the curtains and causing the papers that were pinned or somehow attached to the wall to crinkle and flap, making uncomfortable noises.

A shiver ran down my spine and caused the little hairs near the nape of my neck to stand up on end. Harry, who was standing in front of me, was in a similar condition.

We suddenly heard a noise and all whipped around in unison, somehow managing to each be pointing our wands in a different direction with our backs to one another.

It was rather well orchestrated for something that was completely accidental.

When we finally realized that it was only Ron who had stumbled over an upturned piece of wood, we relaxed a bit and kept going.

After having determined that there was no one was going to jump out and hex us all to death, we spread out a bit to investigate the house and try to gather information as we could.

I must admit, what with the state of things and the door having been wide open, I was beginning to worry again that I had failed and somehow led them to the wrong house…

But all doubts faded as soon as Harry cast Lumos and the study we were in was adequately lit.

The walls were covered with papers, as I said before, but it’s WHAT the papers were that was unnerving.

They were diagrams of human anatomy and how to adequately warp it. There were gruesome depictions of what different curses or hexes could do when applied in what circumstances and there were images of the effects of the kind of blood magic and soul magic that my father had used on me.

I felt sick to my stomach as my eyes fell on a particularly distorted image of a man. He looked absolutely normal in every way… unless you count the fact that he was inside-out.

There were blueprints and instructions on how to create torture devices and what spells could aptly imitate the effects of these torture devices.

There were potion ingredients lining the walls where there was no paper, but this was not your every day potion’s cupboard. There were pickled things in jars that should never be detached from the person they once belonged to. There were animals frozen in mid-movement floating inside different cases and they were missing key parts of their bodies. There was a cat without a belly, its legs still poised in mid-pounce. There was a dog that was missing half of its head and yet its tongue was still lolling out. There was what must have once been a Runespore impaled in pieces on a row of thin metal spikes.

There was a jar of Acromantula venom, a case filled with unicorn horns and a bottle that shone with thick silver liquid that reminded me uncomfortably of unicorn blood. There was also some kind of device that looked like a harp but gave me the distinct impression that those strings were not nylon or steel or string… but dragon heartstrings.

“This is sick,” Harry aptly verbalized. There was a foe’s glass off in a corner… but none of the images were clear. Only blurred and shapeless. He stared into the mirror with a sour expression on his face for a long time before turning away from it.

“There are a lot of books here that might help us,” Granger suddenly surmised. I turned around and realized that there was actually a rather imposing bookshelf stocked with many books that I had seen before at Malfoy Manor, though some I had not.

“We should take them with us,” I whispered, still worried that someone might overhear. “Though you won’t be excited to see what those books have to offer.” She gave me a questioning look before there was a soft thud from somewhere near Harry.

We all spun and stared at the foe’s glass directly behind him for a while, but the images kept shifting and only blurred more and more. He gave it a distrustful glare. Something wasn’t quite right about that either.

I walked up to it and edged my fingers along the frame, sliding them just behind it to where it met the wall. But there was something strange about that… there was a soft hiss of air coming from behind the mirror, though there shouldn’t be if it was just a solid wall there.

“There’s a door behind this,” I whispered, pulling at the mirror. It only shifted slightly. Harry came up to try and help me pull at it. Finally, as both of us couldn’t seem to manage. Lupin pulled us back and smiled.

“There is no need to strain yourselves,” he whispered with a small hint of amusement. He flicked his wand and the mirror simply slid away from the wall revealing a black opening.

Feeling absolutely foolish and turning what I imagine was a deep shade of magenta, I glanced at Harry. Again, he was in a similar state as we followed Lupin with our wands raised into the hidden room.

It smelled rank and there was a thick musk on the air that made my lip curl as I flared my nostrils at it.

We followed the short passageway until it came to a small grey room with nothing but a bed and a bucket on the ground. Whatever the bucket was filled with, I was not going to be the one to venture a guess.

On the bed, however, was the tiny form of a lump of a man with only patches of sandy hair left. He looked to be fast asleep and his arms and legs were chained to the edges of the bed. Engraved into the chains and painted all over the skin that we could see, were runes and symbols.

“So he’s figured out how to stop him from transforming,” Lupin whispered, staring down at the man who was once his friend with an expression of loathing and disgust, mixed with pity and hurt.

If there was something that I’d realized about Lupin over the time that I’ve been at Grimmauld Place, it’s that he’s been through hell and back and yet somehow he’s still standing…

I suppose I found a new kind of respect for him… after all is said and done.

I turned to Harry and realized that his expression was very similar to Lupin’s, though there was much less pity involved and much more hatred. The others in the room did not look pleased either but none of them shared the strong emotions that these two did.

“Should we wake him up?” Granger asked carefully, treading around the bucket of unknown contents as though it might explode on her at any moment.

Lupin tapped the tip of his wand to Pettigrew’s forehead and the man did not even stir.

“He can’t be woken,” he said simply. “He’s a terribly light sleeper so he must have been sedated with some very powerful potions. Possibly even a spell or two. We should simply take him as is… but keep the chains. We’ll need them.”

All of us gathered round the bed to undo the chains as carefully as possible. Lupin cast another binding spell on the pitiful form of the rodent-like man and then Mobilicorpus to allow him to carry him out without trouble.

“Shouldn’t we cover him or something? Won’t someone notice a man floating like this?” Weasel inquired looking rather ill.

“I don’t think we’ll have to worry about that,” Shacklebolt admitted rather sheepishly. “It looks as though most of this town has been deserted for quite a while…”

We walked out through the back door, taking with us all the books and pertinent potion ingredients that we could, along with the Secret Keeper to house in Godric’s Hollow.

And once we were back in the woods, we Apparated back to Grimmauld Place… Lupin took Pettigrew with him.

I felt uneasy about that. I would not have had the self-control to carry a man that had betrayed me in such a serious manner without purposely splinching him in the very least.

Harry seemed to feel the same way. At least that’s what I got from the odd surprise on his face when Pettigrew appeared at Grimmauld Place in one piece.

Lupin laid him down in a small room and retied the chains to the wall, binding them with extra spells and wards. Then he locked the door and warded that as well.

So many precautions for such a small and unimpressive man.

Perhaps it was symbolic. Perhaps he was trying to tell his late friends that he would not lose their betrayer again… he would not let it happen this time.

“I think we shall just have to wait until the sedatives wear off before we can talk to him,” Lupin told us. “But for now, I think we should all get some sleep.”

He smiled at me before he sauntered off to his room.

We all watched him go. No one was much in the mood for talking after that so we each went to our separate rooms as well. Harry followed me to mine for a moment before thinking better of it and wandering off to his own bedroom, which consequently was the room right next to mine.

I didn’t know that.

I got into bed and tried to sleep but questions kept plaguing my mind… why had the house been so unprotected, so open and danger-free? Why had Snape made all those books and potions and even Wormtail himself so readily available to us?

Where was he? Was he with the Dark Lord? Would the Dark Lord not be angry with him for having let Pettigrew be kidnapped so easily? Was Snape even still alive?

I can’t stop thinking about it but there was something terribly wrong with that whole scenario… something horrible that I cannot put my finger on but I know cannot be good…

I just don’t know how to figure out what it is.

*********

November 14

Well. There was a very interesting article in the Daily Prophet today. Fascinating, really and quite surprising.

APPARENTLY, there has been another attack though the Ministry cannot identify who has been attacked or what has come of it.

The photo in the centre of the article was of a very familiar house.

Someone had cast the Dark Mark above Snape’s house late last night. Hm.

No bodies were found and little seemed to have been disturbed though some books were missing from the library and they found an empty cell hidden behind a foe’s glass. Hm.

Now, I know I was thinking of other things, but I do not recall killing anyone or acting on the wishes of the Dark Lord and I most CERTAINLY do not recall casting the Dark Mark above the house before we left.

That might be because we DIDN’T.

THERE IS SOMETHING WRONG HERE. WHAT WAS THE PURPOSE IN THAT?

They haven’t found Snape, we’re sure of that. If they had, the Daily Prophet would have published it immediately as some kind of advancement in the fight against Voldemort. After all, what kind of poetic justice is as strong as the capture of the murderer of Albus Dumbledore???

Surely they’d have a field day with news like that…

So WHAT could have come from that? WHAT could that Dark Mark mean?? And what purpose did it serve except to draw attention to something that isn’t even of particular interest. There was nothing at the house that would indicate where the Death-Eaters were hiding. There was nothing to indicate that the people who resided there were Severus Snape or ANY of the other Death-Eaters… just a very disturbed soul with some rather uncommon interests.

So what was that for?

No one else seemed to know either.

Harry’s expression looked as though it couldn’t decide what to be. Granger and Weasel were both rather shocked and worried. Lupin…. Lupin looked grim and more wolfish than I had ever seen him.

I don’t know what I looked like, but apparently it was rather disconcerting because Granger and Weasel kept giving me rather uncomfortable looks.

“What do we do now??” Harry asked suddenly, staring at the floating green skull above the house in the picture.

“We wait for Peter to rouse and then we get him to give us the address of Lily and James’ home…” he whispered.

“Will he simply comply?” I asked Lupin. He looked at me seriously.

“I will give him no other recourse.” His voice was strong and determined and bit through the air with the same spite and hatred that was in his eyes last night. “He is a coward, Draco. He will give in to the easiest route that offers the most beneficial outcome. Either way, he’s dead. He knows that by now. Or he will, anyway, once he wakes up.”

I just nodded. I didn’t know what else to say.

I felt like an outsider watching everything that happened with this group for the past few days. I helped as I could and offered what I knew but I still felt so alienated from them and their world of valiant battles against evil.

For the most part, something inside of me continued to tug at my actions, trying to get me to scoff and it and shrug it off as “Gryffindor delusions”…but I didn’t want to.

Somehow, through everything, I found that I wanted desperately to be a part of their number… I want to… feel like I belong.

Lupin left us there and Harry immediately turned to me. His face was indecipherable.

“Will you come with me for a second?” he asked, glancing over at his friends. I nodded and followed him, expecting them to tag along as well. I was surprised (to say the least) when I realized that it was only he and I standing in the sitting room and no one else was coming.

“Are you alright, Draco?” he asked suddenly. I could tell what his expression was now. It was concern.

“I’m fine,” I told him. Was I?

“You look very…” he gave me a hesitant look as though his choice of words might offend me. “like Death.”

He was right. It did.

“Well, there’s something to be said for getting to the point,” I murmured blinking and rolling my eyes. I was in disbelief.

“I didn’t mean it the way it sounds,” he defended. “I mean, you look as great as ever –” And then his face flushed red and his eyes widened slightly as though he’d only realized what he had said after it was too late. But being Harry Potter and all, he ploughed through his sentence anyway as though nothing were. “It’s just you look… tired and… well the last time I saw you this way was during sixth year just before you fixed the Vanishing Cabinet… I just… I messed up last time and I won’t make that mistake again.”

I stared at him. Really? He was worried about me? More importantly, he noticed what I looked like last year?.... WORSE: HE NOTICED WHAT I LOOKED LIKE LAST YEAR??

Those were not my best days…

“I’m fine…” I repeated with less heart. I looked away. Somehow, my eyes went straight to the Tapestry. “I just… these past few months have been… horrible. I’ve lost everything… and now I’m just lost… I don’t know where I belong or what I’m supposed to be doing. Nothing is set in stone anymore and there is nothing sure about my future. I don’t know the truth about anything and… and I didn’t even get to bury my own parents. It’s been…”

“Overwhelming,” he finished with a nod. He ran his fingers through his hair and then found himself a seat. “I know what you mean… though my situation is the opposite. I’ve never been sure of where my life is leading but now I have no choice. Now this is the only option. Funny how that happens, isn’t it?”

By his tone it was clear that there was nothing remotely funny about it, but I understood nonetheless. Then, suddenly, he got to his feet and walked over to me. His eyes roamed over the doorway and as far down the hall as he could manage before he reached up and pulled me gently into a soft kiss.

It was smooth and comfortable and relaxing. He pulled away gently and looked me in the eyes briefly before looking down at his feet with a mildly embarrassed smile that didn’t quite show his teeth.

“But I will tell you one thing if it helps,” he whispered before looking back up into my eyes. I stood frozen there in front of him, mesmerized by his gaze. “You belong here.”

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

A/N: Is Snape evil? Is he good? What do you all think? Should we, in fact, trust Snape?

What’s with all the easy access to Wormtail? What’s with the Dark Mark over the house? What’s going onnnnnn?

Hehehehe you’ll find out soon enough.

I feel a bit better about this chapter than the other one, so hopefully it came through as well. Describing Snape’s place there was insanely fun, though if you are wondering that is NOT Spinner’s End. You’ll find out later what it really is.

Also, as it was suggested, I will be including the Netherlands (in some way, shape or form) in the story! I’m actually rather excited about the idea I’ve got for it, so I hope to get to that very soon though it might take longer than I want it to hehehe

I guess I’m a little morbid, having so much fun describing the disturbing house after all. Ah well. I also have fun with Lupin. He’s adorable. Can you tell that I love him? Lol

Some responses:

NejiBaby: Draco couldn’t get himself down there because the spell Harry used was Levicorpus (though I didn’t write it), it’s the one that Snape created in the Half-Blood Prince’s book so Draco would never have seen it (Harry uses it on Ron in the book and accidentally wakes him up in the middle of the night, so I figured he would think to himself that if it woke Ron up adequately, it should work on Draco too lol) Though I DID consider having Draco summon his wand to turn Harry into something foul in return, but then he would never have gotten down and now where would we be? Lol <3

WeasleyWench: yep that’ll change. NO Malfoy is a scratching post, at least not permanently hehehehe ^_~

Lana: there will be more romance but it has to be gradual… I am, after all, a hopeless romantic at heart so I promise you there will be. Little things at first and then more :)

ehcie-utada: YES that’s the perfect explanation for Harry’s reactions! He is on PMS! Hahahahahaha I love it. He’ll get better, he’s just dealing with a hell of a lot more than he anticipated and the whole thing with Cho is hitting him harder than he shows. He feels a lot like Draco, actually… as though he failed everyone somehow, even though it’s not his fault at all

Night the Storyteller: I agree, they should not have to rely on a 17 year old boy to save the world, but as far as the prophecy goes and what he knows, Harry thinks he has to do it all on his own. He’s trying to protect everyone else but he’s just alienating them and putting himself and the whole thing in more danger. He’ll wake up though, no one else plans to let him fight alone :)

Everyone: Thanks so much for the support! ^^ I apologize for my bouts of self-doubt, but no matter what I promise you there is little that could stop me from finishing this thing, even if my last motivation is simply to actually get it done. But I really do enjoy writing it. So noooooo worries on that front!

Love you all and thank you so much again! OH! And for those of you that saw the picture, could you tell me what you think? I’m really interested to know *blush* I sent out emails for it so I hope they all went through!

*cookies and love and more craziness to come!*