Memoirs of a Serpent's Son

Memoirs of a Serpent’s Son

--Age 17—part 26

January 9

The world has gone mad.

There is no better way to explain it than to say that sanity as a whole has abandoned camp and left the world for good, leaving havoc and madness to take over and throw us all into a whirlpool of chaos.

I don’t understand half of the things I’m going to be mentioning, but I heard it all from Mr. Weasley. He came in to give us the news of what was going on and Remus and Granger quickly piped in along the story to correct his terms or explain the importance of what he was saying.

There was a G-8 summit in London yesterday. I had no idea what this was and I’m honestly still foggy on the subject, but apparently the ‘G-8’ is the coalition of the top eight most powerful or influential (or perhaps wealthiest) countries in the world. England is among them. Every year, or so, the leaders of these countries get together to discuss important issues in the muggle world… like poverty… and war… and something they like to refer to as terrorism. Global Warming…. Strange things like that that are absolute gibberish to me.

Almost a pity they don’t have magic.

Almost.

Anyway, these reunions are always a rather big deal in the muggle world, I imagine. They are ‘filmed’ and ‘broadcast’ (words that apparently mean to take pictures in rapid succession and then play them back on this interesting box-like device that muggles call ‘the telly’, which in my opinion doesn’t make a lot of sense, because why would you need to play the pictures in rapid succession when they already move on their own? Muggles baffle me. That’s not the point.)….

….. Where was I?

Oh yes.

They are ‘broadcast’ all over the muggle world, especially in the subject countries, and the summits involve a lot of important muggle people. This is where the problem lies.

And this is the point at which the world went mental.

Both worlds.

There was a Death-Eater attack yesterday.

Voldemort infiltrated the summit, somehow (we still can’t figure out how or where he did this) and murdered all of the muggle world leaders on the spot. His Death-Eaters filtered in after him and stood, faces masked and shrouded in their black cloaks, barring all other muggles from leaving the area.

Then Voldemort spoke directly to the crowd and consequently, directly to the entire world that was listening.

He presented himself as the Dark Lord and ultimately threatened them into submission. He claimed that a new regime was in order and that Wizards would no longer suffer in the oppression, hiding their powers from muggles for fear of being attacked or abused. The Magical World would rise up above that of non-magic and he would take power in place of all other rulers –Muggle and Wizard alike.

He was making a stand.

He destroyed the foundation of control and lawfulness that kept these muggle societies together in hopes that the rest of the people would scatter in fear or simply give in to the greater power. I suppose he imagined that the effect should be something like that of a wolf pack.

When one Alpha is beaten and killed, the killer takes his place.

But Voldemort was in for a rude awakening.

The muggles did NOT appreciate the blatant attack on their world and their leaders. They were, indeed, scared, but they reacted in the way that muggles usually do.

They fought back.

The progression from unhinged to totally psychopathic happens here.

Voldemort and the Death-Eaters Disapparated to whereabouts unknown and left London (along with much of the rest of the world) in mass panic and havoc.

Newscasts (like newspaper but broadcast on those box things… the telly) spread quickly and roared of the new “terrorist group”. There were revolts and rebel militias created, those who pooled their powers together in order to fight back against these “black cloaked people”.

The Death-Eaters have been called many things. Some groups have been referring to them as the “Horsemen of the Apocalypse” or even “Agents of Evil”. Demons and Devils. Creatures from beyond the world that muggles comprehend and Voldemort was dubbed with name after name to try and explain away his powers.

“Satan” some called him. “Sammael”, “Kira”, “Beelzebub” and other fantastically varying titles that ultimately all suggest the same thing: Evil.

I don’t know where those names came from, but there is something that I do admire in all of this…

Voldemort took a stand for the Wizarding World. Whether or not everyone here supports him or not, they have to see that this was meaningful. Who are we to live in hiding? Why should we shroud our powers from muggles and have to obey their laws and their rules when we are so much more powerful than that?

Who are we to be living in the shadows of talent-less people?

…I haven’t said any of this to Harry, or voiced my opinions at all… not now. Not just now.

You see, I agree with the concept but perhaps not the way it was fleshed out. He should have forseen the rebellion. He should have forseen the riots and the killings. He should have known that it wouldn’t be so easy…

Or maybe he did.

Maybe he did know that this was the way they would inevitably react. Perhaps it was all part of his plans. Perhaps all along this was just a red herring, just a distraction for the Ministry and the Aurors to deal with while he busied himself with more important movements.

I don’t know, I don’t know! I CAN’T know, CAN I?

All I can know is what I read and what I hear.

London is a mess. There have been mass attacks on anything remotely ‘magical’. Witchcraft and Wizardry books or organizations have been banned and assaulted. Anyone wearing a black cloak is killed on the spot, forget arrested. Muggles cannot contain Wizards and so they don’t bother trying. With no real government in control any longer, and the police at their wit’s end and crumbling beneath the pressure, the people have taken matters into their own hands.

No muggle walks around without some kind of weapon. Guns, they call them. These metal wand-like things that they ‘shoot’. I don’t know how it works precisely but apparently a metal thing pops out the end and pierces right through you. It can kill you one the spot, Harry said… or sometimes just cause terrible damage.

I told him I know a lot of things that can cause terrible damage too, but they don’t involve any kind of metal.

He didn’t appreciate that.

There have been riots and demonstrations in all the countries involved. The Americas are rallying together and the wizarding communities there are fleeing as quickly as possible. Each country is shattering under the weight of its own incapacities… Large and powerful cities are turning to dust in the wake of the wreckage that the war between muggle and magic rages everywhere. But London is the worst… England is the worst…

Mr. Weasley showed us images from the Daily Prophet.

The wreckage is inexplicable. Diagon Alley has even been hit, though muggles can’t actually see it. They’ve been throwing powerfully explosive things called ‘grenades’ anywhere and everywhere. The armies have forsaken all usual tactics in favour of a fast and hard hit, because none of them know who their real enemy is.

The Death-Eaters aren’t taking this badly either. Their numbers have grown exponentially. We don’t know this for sure, but there have been massive groups of “black cloaked people” roaming the streets of London and murdering and ransacking. They’ve been torturing muggles on the street and the Ministry doesn’t even know where to begin.

The carnage is terrible. Many of the surrounding areas of London have been attacked as well. Surrey, Sussex, Kent, Essex… it’s even spread as far as Wiltshire… As far as the Manor. I wonder if the muggles in the surrounding area know of all the wards and protections that surround the house…

If not… well the death count will likely be highest there.

The fighting has gotten so bad that the Ministry has called out for the help of “Das Dominanz”. They are a highly trained magical task force that is based mainly out of the Netherlands, somewhere near Amsterdamn, but recruits wizards from all over Eastern Europe and Russia and they deal specifically in countering muggle weaponry.

Holland is the only country that I know of in which the magical world and the muggle world live in harmony, well-aware of one another. The treaty came about roughly two and a half years after Voldemort’s first fall from power… according to Mr. Weasley.

Because of that, many witches and wizards are fleeing the country to take refuge there.

Those that make it, anyway. The borders between England and France, and France and Belgium are heavily guarded to stop any infiltration. Apparition is out of the question : what if you Apparate directly in front of a curse? Or one of those guns? That would be the most obvious giveaway that you are magical.

Portkeys are also being banned for the time being. They are dangerous and unstable.

There is little way to travel anymore. The Floo Network still works but should only be used in extreme emergencies… and all that’s left is flying.

But there are many witches and wizards that don’t fly… plus it’s easy enough to be seen.

Fred and George have come up with these handy little products called “Invisihats”. They look like normal wizard’s hats but will work much in the same manner as an Invisibility cloak though for a predetermined period of time.

They have already sold out and need to make more.

I told you… the world has gone mad.

Gringotts remains the only stronghold for witches and wizards. Families of half-bloods and mudbloods are being snuck into the bank as well. The Hogwarts wards and protections are being increased and there is talk of allowing entrance to the families of students attending.

The Ministry is also seeking another location to house broken families or orphaned children.

“There aren’t any other locations large enough in the wizarding world of England, I’m afraid,” Mr. Weasley admitted sadly. He had mentioned the use of the Shrieking Shack or possibly St. Mungo’s, but the hospital is already overflowing with patients that they can’t seem to cure… and the Shrieking Shack is much too small…

So… I gave up one thing more.

“You could use the Manor,” I suggested quietly through the chaos of people’s suggestions. “It’s in both my and Harry’s names now. It’s quite large enough to house several hundred and it’s probably more protected than Hogwarts is right now.”

They stared at me, much like I expected them to.

“The Manor?” Mr. Weasley asked in disbelief. “You mean –”

“Yes, Malfoy Manor,” I finished for him, nodding my head.

“Well… I suppose you are right, it is large enough,” he muttered, thinking to himself. “But… the wards use ancient and dark arts, do they not? And the artifacts inside are unsafe for most uninformed wizards, let alone those who might be muggle.”

I fought the urge to flinch at the insinuation. He was right, mind you.

“The wards are set as protections and have been serving a right load better than the ‘legal’ magic that has been protecting Hogwarts,” I answered, possibly with more of a sneer than I intended. “But yes… there are dark artifacts in there that shouldn’t be touched… at all.”

“Can’t they be moved?” Harry asked, seeming rather hopeful. I shook my head.

“No, those artifacts are actually part of the house and almost impossible to detect,” I admitted, bored. “Why do you think it took so long for my father to be arrested? The Ministry can’t detect the dark magic they contain. You can only assume and even then, the magic has been outlawed for so long there is no actual record of it anymore. They can’t press charges for something they can’t prove… but that doesn’t mean they aren’t still there and very dangerous.”

I shrugged and shook my head.

“We can’t house inexperienced witches and wizards amongst magic that none of us can even understand,” Granger admitted, looking almost as disappointed as Harry. “Is there nothing else?”

“We have properties throughout England, Scotland and France,” I admitted. “Also one in Ireland. Harry has all the deeds at Gringotts… the wards there are not nearly as powerful as the ones at the Manor, but they might serve as temporary shelters for the wounded or orphaned. And they do not contain the dark artifacts that the Manor does. Father never trusted them anywhere but home.”

“That would work well for now,” Remus added approvingly. “Provided the wards accept the newcomers.”

“The deeds can be easily changed at Gringotts. Or even here,” I explained vaguely. “Harry has primary ownership of those properties now. He can alter the wards to allow whomever he chooses.”

“You’ve given him everything?” Mr. Weasley asked me, rather surprised. I nodded to him. He smiled gently at me. “I think we’ve all misjudged you, Draco.”

I didn’t know what to say, but it didn’t matter. He left right after that.

I felt… lost.

I’m still lost.

Everything that has happened… everything more that is happening.

I mean… Voldemort unleashed Dementors, Inferi and Werewolves onto the muggle world! MUGGLE WEREWOLVES!

They can’t even SEE Dementors, how do you fight something you can’t see?

But I suppose that’s the theme for this war isn’t it? Fighting things that have no distinct shape or form… fighting evil, right?

That’s what it comes down to… good versus evil…

But honestly, with the way I think… where do I really stand on that spectrum?

********

January 10

Harry woke me up briskly in the middle of the night. He shook me so hard I thought there was an earthquake and I nearly fell out of bed.

“What?!” I snapped at him, snagging the covers to stop myself from rolling clear onto the floor.

“I just realized something!” he answered with a panicked tone. I turned to him and lit my wand to see his face. His glasses were on and his bright green eyes were wide in worry. He was biting his lip.

“What is it?” I asked, trying to quell my frustration in the face of his concern. I wiggled my way back over to him.

“The Dementors are attacking Surrey… Dementors and Death-Eaters and Inferi…” he listed in a whisper that betrayed none of his previous concern. Indeed, he became quite calm suddenly. There was little tone at all to his voice. “Werewolves… They’re attacking Surrey…”

“Yes,” I answered, cocking my eyebrow. This is what he woke me up for? “So?”

His face lost all expression and his eyes went flat. There was nothing in his voice as he stated what he did.

“The Dursleys live in Surrey,” he explained.

I see…. Who?

“What?” I asked, confused. He turned to me before leaning against me and angling his head into my neck.

“The Dursleys…my aunt and uncle and cousin,” he continued with that same distant tone. “The people I grew up with.”

Ohhh them.

I felt some kind of angry animal rouse in my stomach. Harry had told me about them… and what they had done to him.

Which, I have to say, wasn’t something I would have greatly disapproved of had you asked me two years ago… but now things are different and the task of torturing Harry is mine and mine alone.

“Alright… so?” I reiterated, this time with more understanding and a little more spite.

“So… they could be dead,” he admitted, shifting uncomfortably against me. His hand found its way down my leg and he began to run his fingertips gently over my skin. I shivered and wished he could pick better times to do that.

This was most CERTAINLY not the time to get me aroused.

“Does it matter?” I asked, trying to soften my voice. It was a difficult task. My tone was hardened and cold from years of compartmentalizing my emotions so as not to feel any kind of compassion for those that I disliked or wanted to torment. I suppose it never really worked as well as I would have liked where Harry was concerned.

He looked up at me with his brows furrowed but a torn look in his eyes. He didn’t know either. He didn’t know whether he should be happy at the idea of his tormentors being dead and gone forever, or saddened by the concept that his only biological family might be gone forever… his only living tie to his mother.

I understand that feeling. I felt much the same way when I found out my father was dead and everything has passed into my possession. Should I be glad that the man who had forced my life down such a painful and ultimately doomed road was dead and gone? Or should I mourn the fact that my father is dead and that I’m an orphan because of it?

I did know one thing, mind you. If I ever heard that Bellatrix was dead I would not feel any pity or any sadness at all.

In fact, the only regret I would have would be that I didn’t get the chance to kill her myself.

“It does matter,” Harry finally seemed to decide, his voice more forceful this time. “It does. They never treated me properly, in fact they made me hate them, but if that has taught me anything it’s that I do not want to be anything like them. I know the value of family and human life, even if they don’t.”

I was shaken out of my thoughts by his words and gave in to the sudden temptation to wrap my arms around him. He eased comfortably into my embrace and I took the opportunity to nibble at his earlobe (which was conveniently placed right in front of my mouth).

“So what does this all mean?” I whispered, feeling his hand tighten slightly on my leg. I licked my lips.

“This means,” he sighed, clearly trying to get control of himself again. “That I have to go find them… I can’t just leave them out there for dead… At the very least I need to know… Besides, I’ve never found out why Dumbledore left me with them to begin with… he said there was protection there that I couldn’t have anywhere else, but I don’t know what that means.”

“Mmhmm,” I hummed, letting my tongue lightly trace the grooves of his ear as my hands traveled down on his chest.

“Draco, are you even listening to me?” His voice was cross now. I stopped my ministrations and sighed.

“Of course I am,” I answered with mild sarcasm. “What better options do I have at two o’clock in the morning?”

“Draco,” Harry said, his voice hard and unimpressed. I sighed again and kissed his neck.

“I’m listening,” I replied again. “And I understand… well no, I don’t understand. I don’t think I ever will understand your Gryffindor motivations, but I can accept that. I hope you know you aren’t going in there alone, though.”

“I figured as much,” he admitted with a coy smirk. “You are more of a Gryffindor than you think.”

I frowned.

“Take that back,” I demanded, pushing him over so that I could pin him to the bed.

“No,” he sneered with a tone reminiscent of my own. It was a challenge. “You’re just a little Gryffindor at heart, aren’t you? Not such a big bad Slytherin, after all.”

“Take it back!” I cried, trying not to wake the rest of the house. His lips parted in an even more smug grin. It was irresistible.

He licked his lips and angled his head up in an attempt to give me a condescending look. I snarled and kissed him roughly, biting his lower lip and then breaking away to scrape my teeth across his neck.

“Ahh, still not Slytherin enough,” he moaned. I smirked into his neck and sucked hard on his tender skin, letting my hand travel down his chest to trace the line of soft ebony hair that lead the way to what it was I was after.

I let my tongue run flat over the large red mark I had created on his neck as my fingers wrapped themselves around his hard shaft. I massaged it carefully while my teeth found their way down to his nipple. I pulled the bud into my mouth with my tongue and nibbled on it.

“Mm, Draco…” Harry exhaled, arching his hips into my hand. I pulled my hand up his shaft and twisted it around the head, resulting in another fantastically erotic gasp on his part. “Yes, Draco..”

And that was my cue.

I let go and placed a chaste kiss on his lips before turning over in the bed, leaving my back to him, a broad and victorious smirk on my face.

“Goodnight, Potter,” I told him happily. He sat there panting and gasping for a few moments before he realized that I wasn’t going to change my mind.

“Bloody Slytherin.”

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

A/N: Ok that last bit was random but I needed to put it in… because…. I WANTED TO bahahahahaha and I’m evil.

Yes.

Anyway, so here is my bone to pick with fanfictions that deal with the war: many of them say that it was contained to the magical world and the muggle world went on completely unaware. I can understand this, but personally I disagree. I don’t think, that after thirteen years of biding his time, Voldemort would just come back at half his power and decide that he was only after the wizarding world. In my opinion, what seems more logical (or just more fun) is an assault on the muggle world too. Why SHOULD wizards have to hide and take extra measures so as not to be found out by muggles when wizards actually have all the power? What is it they are afraid of? I don’t think Voldemort would settle for getting rid of muggle-borns and all, but rather I think he would be after pure-blood-wizarding supremacy… turn muggles into slaves or basically just having power over them.

And using something like the G-8 summit I think was a good idea because what better way to get a message across to the muggle world but to kill the leaders of some of the most powerful and wealthy countries in the world? Naturally, I also think that the reaction was understandable because our reaction to being attacked in any way is always to attack right back. No human on this earth willingly gives up their free-will and rights to any form of terrorist, neh?

So yeah. That’s my two cents. I hope you liked the way it came out, I’ve been planning that for a while, and it all ties in to other things too…

And I wouldn’t let Draco give up Malfoy Manor. Not entirely. I love it too much. It’s my favourite place in the books even though we’ve never actually been there. Strange, neh? Ah well. His other properties aren’t important.

I also found out that Lucius Malfoy was number 12 on the Forbes’ Top 15 Richest Fictional Characters… his net worth is something like 1.93 BILLION. Which is insane. Draco is one rich kid. Well, now Harry is. Funny. Ah well.

Pardon my german, by the way, in case it’s wrong. Das Dominanz I think should mean “The Control” but I could be wrong, in which case I’m terribly sorry. Ah wells. I also realize that they speak Dutch in Amsterdam, but German is one of the languages in the country as well (from what I remember when I visited there) and I couldn’t find an adequate translator for Dutch ehehehe *hangs head in shame* sorryyyyy X_X

Thank you for ALL the WONDERFUL reviews! I love you allllll!

I’m thinking of putting my dreams up on my LJ or making a new LJ “Dream Journal”… been thinking about that for a while. I get a lot of my inspiration from dreams actually… that and songs, of course. If you have any thoughts, love to hear them!

Cookies and reviews to all I hope you like it!