A/N: This basically carries on from book six and is my guess at some ofbook seven. In this chapter, you don't find out much and theres not much action but it does get better, honestly. Anyway, hope you like it!
Harry Potter and the Locket of Secrets
Hedwig's Last Suprise
It was a cool, calm night in July and Hedwig was soaring over the alleyway below, letting the soft breeze ruffle her feathers and sting her amber eyes. She was enjoying every minute of her flight, knowing that tomorrow she would have to return home to her master (a boy with jet black hair and vivid green eyes) for a few weeks at least. She almost wished she didn't have to go back to him. At this, a pang of guilt coursed through her body. She knew he just wanted her to be safe, that he had her best interests at heart but it felt like she had been shut up for months. No wonder he complained to her that he couldn't sleep; she flapped her wings impatiently against the bars of her cage as soon as night fell, trying to tell him that she needed to be let out, she needed to go hunting. And anyway, she had only been gone three days, what was three days compared to the amount of time she had been in her cage? The guilt eased a little.
Feeling much better she flew a little higher as she left the alleyway and entered a small field with a few trees fringing the edges. She would stay in one of those giant redwoods for tomorrow and head home tomorrow night.
In the darkness, something bright caught her eye. She swooped sharply to herleft to get a better view. She saw two people running, weaving their way between the trees. The first, a young looking man, stumbled; his platinum blond hair falling forwards jerkily. The second pulled him up hastily by his arm whispering threats as he did so, a hooked nose just visible in front of a curtain of black, greasy hair.
Hedwig hooted in excitement. She had seen these two before! The first was a student at Hogwarts; he came into the owlrey occasionally to send a letter to his father. The second was a professor there, she was sure of it. What were they doing out so late together? And why were they in such a hurry? She decided to follow them, to see where they went and what they were doing. She stealthily fell lower, low enough to hear what they were saying.
"Come along Draco" whispered the greasy-haired man harshly "the Dark Lord will not thank us if wer are late!"
"I'm trying but it's hard, we've been travelling on foot for three days now. Why can't we use magic?" the young man whined.
"I told you, we are probably being watched so we must try to travel in muggle style as much as possible, therefore not attractingattention. Try not to let it slip through your small mind again!" hissed the second.
"OK OK, no need talk to me like that" mumbled the blond, looking thoroughly annoyed with his travelling partner.
The two kept bickering through the alleyway, past one street then another until they came to stop outside a derelict looking house, curtains drawn and weeds growing through the cracks in the walls.
As they walked up the meandering makeshift path, they took a moment to compose themselves before knocking on the oak wood door three times each. After a few seconds, the door creaked open slowly to reveal a short, stout man with a long pointed nose and pale watery eyes. He stood swaying slightly on the spot,the moonlight picking outhis ruddy cheeks. He eyed them suspiciously. "Draco" he said, nodding to the blond. He nodded back, never taking his eyes off him. The man turned slowly and unsteadily before saying "Snape". He inclined his head slightly, a lookof great dislikeon his face. The hook-nosed man sneered and replied "Wormtail. You know thatwe would like noting better than to stand here andchatto you all night but I believe that someone rather more important than you has requested our presence". Draco smirked and the short man turned redder as he stood aside to let them in, his complexion growing redder as he tripped over the doormat in his haste shut the door.
By this time, Hedwig was intrigued. She had heard her master talk of these people and she had seen glimpses of them but she had never heard them speak. She was interested to see where they went, what they talked about next. When the door was slammed shut, she looked around for an opening; all pretence of hunting forgotten. She had almost given up hope when she spied a window in the front room. On first glance it appeared closed, but a second showed that it was open a crack, just enough to hear what was said in the dingy sitting room. She fluttered onto a low-growing branch of a nearby apple tree, and watched.
"So Wormtail" said Snape silkily "this is what you've done to my house". Broken bottles of fire whisky littered the hearth by the fire, some pushed crudely under the faded armchairand others simply left there. Crumbs flecked the fraying grey-green carpet and lined the cracks between the cushions on the chairs.Empty packets of different shapes and sizes were falling freely from the small waste paper basket by the sofa. To complete the picture, a fairly nasty smell was issuing from a lumpy tea towel in the corner.
"You've certainly notbeen kept here for your housekeeping skills" sneered Snape as he looked pointedly around the room.
Wormtail scowled down at the carpet as he muttered "I didn't know you were coming, I had no time to clean.Andthis time last year I was an assistant, not your personal slave".
"Since this time last year, certain things have changed Wormtail" said Snape, his voiceicy but amused"things which even you cannot escape to acknowledge. For one, I am now a wanted man. You on the other hand, are not, as people are unaware of your present existence". He began to stride across the room to the sofa (running his fingers over the tops of his books as he passed the bookcase and wiping the dust on the inside hem of his robe). "Although people aren't looking for you I daresay it might give the world a nasty shock to find a dead man walking the streets. Therefore, you are of no immediate use to the Dark Lord and so what better way to assist than to make my house look lived in, and so not arousing suspicion from the neighbouring muggles".
He sat down heavily between a moulding sandwich and an empty bottle. He motioned for Draco to do the same who sat somewhat gingerly beside him.
"The Dark Lord will be joining us soon Wormtail so why not make yourself useful and fetch us some drinks" said Snape, gesturing towards the door. Wormtail shuffled out, muttering curses and hexes under his breath as he went. Draco smirked up at Snape, whose lip curled in what some would call a smile.
For a few minutes, the room was quiet except for the occasional agitated slop and slam coming from the kitchen and the steady sound of Snape drumming his fingers on the arm of the threadbare sofa.
Outside, a snowy white owl fidgeted on her branch. She was getting bored of watching two men sitting on a sofa. She could be doing so much more right now, like hunting small, unsuspecting prey for her dinner. Like mice. Like those mice on the ground. Her eyes tracked the small, light brown mice as they tried to drag a large nut into a crevice between the tree-roots unsuccessfully. She watched them for several more moments before pushing against the branch, ready to swoop down and grab one when…CRACK! She spun back towards the window, almost falling off her perch. What was going on? She leaned in close to the window once more, the mice pushed out of her mind as she continued to watch.
A tall, white, skeletal man had appeared in the old armchair, back straight, his red eyes surveying the room coldly. He oozed authority. As though burnt, the two on the sofa fell to the floor withtheir heads bowed.
"My Lord, welcome to my humble abode" said Snape in a voice almost as greasy as his hair. He subtly elbowed Draco who had turned a pale green, and he let out a strangled whimper in greeting. The pale man in the armchair moved his hand up slightly and the two on the floor moved back to the sofa.
"Master" started Snape "you ordered that we came here immediately after we left Hogwarts to report the situation. I am pleased to say that the Dark Mark flies high above the school. It lit the rooftop where Dumbledore and Potter landed upon returning to the school from a flight, most probably to the Ministry. Dumbledore was killed within minutes of landing. Unfortunately, we could only find Potter's broom but we know he was there, we know he escaped and we know he's at his aunt and uncle's now. To make sure we always know where he is and what he's doing, it has been arranged for Wormtail – being an animagus - to follow him and to keep you informed". A muffled squeak was heard from behind the door, followed by a loud crash.
"That will be Wormtail, sir" said Snape apologetically. "He still retains his old habit of listening in to private conversations". He turned his head to the door and said loudly"throw out the broken glass Wormtail and then make another round of drinks or I will shut you in the attic again". Sounds of sweeping were heard along with vicious muttering, the slam of the front door and then, quiet.
Snape looked back at his master, who ordered him to continue in a voice that made the hairs stand on the back of his neck.
Wormtail slammed the front door behind him, his metal leather clad hand crushing the glass into tiny pieces. "Thinks he can order me around does he? Thinks he's better than me does he? I'm the loyal one. I'm the one who returned to the Dark Lord first! I'll show him, I'll show that greasy prat who's better than who…" He continued to mutter savagely to himself as he reached the large, black dustbin at the top of the path,forcefully threwin the glass and made his way unsteadily back towards the house. He was almost there when he saw something white in the corner of his eye. He turned, and stared. There was an owl, sitting on the low apple branch and staring into the front room, apparently transfixed. 'That's strange' he thought to himself 'owls don't normally do that.' But there was something about the owl that wasn't normal. He crept nearer, his eyes narrowed in concentration. That owl looked familiar, he was sure he'd seen it somewhere before. He remembered the snowy white feathers and the large, amber eyes from his days at the Weasley's. It couldn't be….surely it wasn't …. His eyes widened in drunken comprehension and excitement. "Potter's owl". He rushed back towards the door, half sprinting half stumbling until he crossed the threshold and was in the front room.
"I think I have told all there is to tell, my Lord" said Snape satisfactorily.
The snake-like man nodded and rose, ready to apparate when he turned suddenly towards the other two and said, in a high, cold voice: "there is one matter which you have yet to discuss with me. That is the matter of Albus Dumbledore". He sat back down in the armchair, his red eyes boring into theirs.
"My, my Lord, I have discussed everything with you. Forgive me, but there is nothing left to say" said Snape, apprehension and fear clear on his face and in his voice. "Dumbledore is dead. He was killed on the rooftop of the school and-"
"This you have told me" said the pale man, "what you failed to mention, however, was the fact thatyou killed him instead of Draco". Snape's eyes grew wide and Draco turned paler than normal. Their master surveyed them for a few seconds more, grim satisfaction showing in his eyes. His face stayed cold. "I know you made an Unbreakable Vow with Narcissa Malfoy about this time last year. You vowed to finish Draco's task if it was looking likely that he would fail. Needles to say, he did so". Draco's mouth hung open and Snape swallowed loudly before saying, "My Lord, how, how did you know"?
"Narcissa confessed easily under torture" he said, smiling slightly as Draco turned even paler and started shaking. His smile disappeared as he said "did you thinkI would not find out? That you could keep this from me?" Snape mopped his brow hastily with the inside of the inside of his sleeve as he replied "I didn't…I wouldn't….please don't…"
"I will spare you punishment as it turned out you did me a favour; Draco would never have been able to do it. You are free to go." Snape fell hastily to his knees as he threw himself at his master's feet muttering shakily "thank you my Lord, thank you"
"Get up" ordered the man harshly. Snape got up carefully, brushing his sleeves as the other turned to Draco. Addressing him for the first time that evening, he said softly"you, on the other hand, may not". If possible, Draco turned even whiter as he gripped the side of the sofa tightly.
"I gave you a specific task which you failed to complete. This will not go unpunished". He flicked his wand as he said "Crucio" Draco fell off the sofa, screaming as he writhed about on the floor. Suddenly, the door flew open to reveal Wormtail,a triumphant look in his eyes. The man looked at him and lazily flicked his wand. The screaming stopped and was replaced by a heavy panting. "What is it Wormtail"?
"Potter's owl is outside" he said, grinning. The man's cold, harsh eyes filled with glee but he kept his voice controlled as he said "something's been spying".
Hedwig tore her eyes away from the scene and tried to block out the screaming, screaming like she had never heard before. That boy, he was screaming like he was on fire!It stopped as abruptly as it started. Hedwig was shaken, thinking hard about what to do next, whether she should fly home to her master or straight to the ministry.It wasthese men who had planned to and succeded to killAlbusDumbledore.She knew where they were hiding, what they were doing next and she knew that they were going to track her master, possibly kill him.Oh, what should she do?In fact, she was thinking so hard that she failed to notice a small man pointing excitedly her way, four heads turning in her direction. She failed to notice the tall, white, skeletal man walk slowly towards her, taking out his wand as he went. She failed to notice the window opening wide until it was too late. She turned and started to fly away, frantically pumping her wings but the words "Avada Kedavra" were too close to ignore. The last thing she heard was a cold, high pitched laugh.
A/N: There, got the first chapter out of the way. If there are bits that don't make sense pleaselet me know.(I'm editing this quick because the final of BB is about to start. Eugene to win!)I'm starting work on the next one tomorrow.If you didn't like it or liked it or whatever, please let me know andr&r!