SERPENTINE
By Yih
Beta'd by Blackumbrage
"The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches
Born to those that have thrice defied him
Born as the seventh moon dies
And the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal,
But he will have power the Dark Lord knows not
And either must die at the hand of the other
For neither can live while the other survives
The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord
Will be born as the seventh month dies…"
From J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Prologue
The Lost Prophecy
THE LIGHTENING BOLT scar slashed across the infant's forehead as the Avada Kedavra curse rebounded off and spun dizzyingly into the one that had cast the Killing Curse. Voldemort knew that death was inescapable and when he unexpectedly found himself still there moments after the curse should have killed him, because there was no way that he could have survived a Killing Curse he had cast himself…, he knew that something was very wrong.
Harry Potter stared at him with his wide innocent green eyes, eyes that were his shade of vivid green. Voldemort scowled. There was only one explanation why his Unforgivable had failed. He had recalled reading in the tome, Of the Inheritance of Salazar Slytherin, that Salazar had placed a powerful curse or was it a blessing on his future heirs? No heir could harm another heir without severe repercussions. No wonder the Killing Curse hadn't killed him, he mused thoughtfully. The protection must work both ways. And yet what about the repercussions he was supposed to face?
There was something off about Harry Potter's gaze. The baby wasn't staring at him, he was staring through him. Voldemort glanced behind him and saw, dispassionately, the dead body of what had been the baby's mother. As he gazed at her shock of red hair, he vaguely remembered raping a witch by that color hair many months earlier. He had thought it had been a Weasley bitch, but perhaps he was mistaken. So was this then his son, he turned back to the marked baby, and moved to take the child into his hands for he was not about to leave a possible heir here when his hand passed through the child.
Were he the type to be prone to stupid, foolish Gryffindor temper tantrums he would have screamed the roof off Godric's Hollow. Instead, he glared intensively at the child who had caused all this unwittingly and was slightly taken back when the baby looked up at him. There was something burning in those green eyes. "Ma," the baby whimpered. "Maaaaa."
The child was crying. Voldemort hated the sound of children crying. He remembered long ago, back in the terrible days of his youth of how he would cry for someone to pay attention to him. He knew what crying brought. It brought hard hands. It brought pain and intolerance. It brought the wicked ways of man. Something wicked this way comes, he thought bitterly, if the tears kept coming.
Silencio, he hissed, putting the power of his thought behind the words that had no sound and he felt the baby recoil slightly and quieted. So he still had magic, did he? A push of force he had if nothing else? Wingardium Leviosa. The child was raised, gradually. By his willpower, he moved the child to him and then he apparated.
-
NO ONE KNEW what had become of You Know Who. There were rumors that he had been vanquished, but who possibly could have been strong enough to defeat the strongest wizard of all time? Some would contest that he was not the strongest, merely one of the strongest, as Albus Dumbledore was truly the strongest. One would never know, would one? The last time Albus Dumbledore had dueled with the Dark Lord, well that had been dozens of years before when he was known by another name, Tom Marvolo Riddle.
Speculation abounded in the wizarding world, but the only thing anyone really knew was that for some reason You Know Who was gone and many of his loyal followers had renounced him in various ways or another. Many had believed that Lucius Malfoy had been the Dark Lord's right hand man, but here was the proud and pureblood Malfoy standing in front of the council to proclaim his innocence in all matters with Veritaserum.
"What is your name?"
"Lucius Maximus Malfoy"
"Who is your wife?"
"Narcissa Black Malfoy."
"Were you," began a hag of a witch, "a Death Eater?"
"Yes."
"Were you under any influences at all as a Death Eater?"
"Imperius."
A few gasps from those of the jury. "Did You Know Who force you to do anything under Imperius?"
"Rape," crowd flinches, "torture," crowd recoils, "and kill those that were against him as well as those of muggle blood."
"Who are the…"
"Council," Lucius's counsel spoke up, "I believe that my client has answered the questions agreed to before taking the Veritaserum and an additional question that had not been agreed to. I request the questioning be terminated."
The hag scowled, but she could not protest what the defendant's counsel was saying. It was true, the only reason Lucius had agreed to go under the Veritaserum was if the questions would be drawn up beforehand for his approval. He had already answered one more question than had been agreed to. The fact he had done it underneath the most powerful truth potion known in existence only further strengthened him against any consequences with his dalliance in the Death Eater ranks if his Malfoy name couldn't get him off scot free.
"Counsel's request is upheld. The jury will adjoin for their verdict," cackled Umbridge.
Fudge rested his wand down and proclaimed it so.
-
HE WAS DECLARED innocent of all wrong doing and was set free. Voldemort knew that would be the case, which was why he had planned for Lucius to be able to answer all the questions as a thread of truth. The interesting thing about Veritaserum that he had discovered was that the truth must be told, but truth could be twisted to being something that was true but wasn't the full truth.
"My Lord," Lucius spoke submissively, "what you have asked has been done."
Out of smoke and air, words formed: I expected no less.
"The child is being cared for. The Longbottoms were disposed of, as you requested, though the boy and his grandmother were not there."
I said extermination.
"We will find them."
No.
"No? My Lord?"
I will deal with them. You must be above reproach. The boy is important.
Lucius bowed his head low. "I understand, My Lord."
The book I have left.
"He will be a true Slytherin, I swear."
-
SOMEONE HAD HIDDEN the Longbottoms underneath the Fidelius Charm, much like the Potters before them. Someone knew that he wanted Neville Longbottom dead. Someone had figured out that Neville and not Harry may be the child of prophecy. That someone was Albus Dumbledore. If only the wards of Hogwarts were not so strong, he might have tried to step onto the grounds. But Hogwarts was warded against him and in his bodiless state he was not as powerful as he had been.
The boy, his heir, was safely sheltered in the magnificence that was Malfoy Manor. Harry was marked, and marked as equal, would that then suffice the prophecy of the crazed bint? What had occurred was strangely fitting, but he did not find it satisfactory. Precaution never hurt, and his rat of a servant had finally tracked down the missing Longbottoms to the Shrieking Shack.
The old woman knew when he entered. He may not have a physical body, but he appreciated that she could feel the dark power that was gathering around him as he was about to release an Unforgivable upon her. Avada Kedavra, unfortunately, he did not have the power to muster in his spiritual being. Imperiuswas possible. Imperio, he shoved into her gut. Kill the boy.
The grandmother turned to the grandson, a whimpering thing that was keening for her to pick him up and hold him again. She pointed her wand at the boy and the beginning of the deadly Unforgivable was at the tip of her tongue. Voldemort frowned. She was fighting it. Kill him now.
"Avada Kedavra…"
A true back turning Killing Curse hit the old woman where she stood and skewered her body into the corner where she collapsed, dead. A perfect opportunity wasted, and he could hear someone coming. So this boy was the boy. Was he? An identical lightening bolt scar had appeared on the boy's cheek that had been on Harry's forehead. This time what protection had saved him? Slytherin's blood had saved Harry, but what then of Neville's?
Or, his being burned, was he wrong and it was Harry that was the true cause?
He will have power the Dark Lord knows not
And either must die at the hand of the other
For neither can live while the other survives
He must think on things. It was foolish to act thusly as he had. He had been stupid. It was time for him to be Tom Riddle Marvolo again. He had forgotten research and patience in his stint as Lord Voldemort. He would not do so again.
-
Author's Note: Chapters after this one will be regular length (about 3,000 words). If you enjoy this please review as I will only continue this story if I get sufficient interest. Otherwise it won't be continued. As you can tell, my initial plotting of the story is different than the way it turned out. Stories do that sometimes. I hope you've enjoyed it anyway. Thank you. Please review.