Chapter 6
More Than a Dream
Harry was just finishing his homework when Severus dropped a pendant on his workbook. He picked it up and examined it. It looked like a rounded purple teardrop, a little bigger than the top half of his thumb. A hole was drilled at the top, with a metal loop strung through it.
"What's this?"
"Amethyst transfigured into a pendant, then spelled."
"It's pretty. Does it do anything?"
"It's more than ornamental," Severus said evasively, noticing the confusion on Harry's face. "What it does, it's doing it now."
"I like it." Harry held it up to the desk lamp. The light shined through it, casting a purple glow. Tiny veins and inclusions could be seen within.
"It's infused with various magics." The well wish stone was made some years ago. They were rare and expensive artifacts, being difficult and time consuming to make. Furthermore, how to make one was knowledge guarded within academic and pureblood circles. "Your task is to figure out who's magical signature is in the stone, how many spells are sealed within, and to decipher the purpose behind the magic therein, if not the precise spells."
"You made it, didn't you? You and someone else, a friend."
"Perhaps," Severus wasn't sure if the boy guessed or felt it in the magic. In any case, his magical signature wasn't the only one sealed within the stone. "Perhaps not."
"How do I figure that out?"
"You clear your mind and focus," Severus pulled a leather cord out of his pocket, one holding various charms of its own. He stung the pendant on it and gave it back to the boy. "Once you clear your mind and focus on the stone you'll be able to feel the magic."
"You keep telling me to clear my mind, but I don't know how."
"You asked me to teach you. It's the first step in several branches of defensive magic, including wandless casting. Put the charm on, and don't take it off, not even in the shower."
Harry put it on, then squeezed his eyes shut as he attempted to feel the magic. His face turned red as he scrunched it up.
"Don't give yourself a stroke."
"What does magic feel like?"
"You already know, whether you consciously perceive it or not. This whole house is infused with it. You simply don't notice it," Severus lectured. "The magic in the stone is different and concentrated. It should be easier for you to perceive."
"Will it fade? Like the magic you did at school?"
"No. It's preserved."
"How?"
"I doubt you'd understand the transmutational theory behind permanently fixing magic to objects."
Harry gripped his new pendant as he lay awake in bed. Beside him the other boy snored. He'd never met anyone who snored quite like that, not even Uncle Vernon. And Uncle Vernon was loud.
How was he to clear his mind? Every time he tried, a new thought or feeling popped into his mind. Sometimes, the thoughts popped in and out so fast that he forgot that he was trying to think of nothing at all.
Harry focused on the deep, rhythmic snorts. He matched his breathing to it, mimicking the other boy's. In. Out. In. Out. He focused on his feelings for the older boy while breathing.
He did this for several moments and was about to give up when he felt it. It was faint, but there was a feeling that was distinctly 'Stevie.' It was hard to describe, but if pressed to, Harry would say it felt warm and safe.
Harry smiled, and just as quickly, the feeling was gone. His concentration was broken as thoughts whirled in his mind once again.
"Stevie, wake up!" Harry shook the boy's shoulder. "Stevie!"
"What?" Quicker than Harry thought possible, he snorted awake. Sitting up, the boy grasped his stick from under his pillow and surveyed the room with wide eyes. "What's wrong?"
"I did it!"
"Did what?"
"I emptied my mind!"
With an irritated sigh, the other boy dropped back to his pillow. "You don't say."
"I felt it!" Harry said, holding up the pendant. "It feels like you! You made it!"
Severus returned his wand to its hiding place and shut his eyes. "Are you sure?"
"Yep. It feels like you."
"Someone else made it. I didn't transfigure the pendant."
"But it feels like you." Harry's excitement deflated. "I know it does."
"Yes, you felt my magic in the stone, but that's only part of it. Someone else's magic is preserved within. It's fainter, overshadowed by mine, but it's there if you look."
"Who's?"
"Figure it out," the older boy mumbled, already half asleep. "Just do it quietly and let me sleep."
Harry huffed. He tried to clear his mind, but his thoughts were whirling too fast, fueled by disappointment and a little hurt that the other boy wasn't proud of him.
It wasn't long before his bedmate was snoring again. Harry used the breathing to still his thoughts again. It took several long moments, but the feeling of 'Stevie' appeared in the stone again. It was still faint, but clearer than before. He grasped onto the feeling, and let it sooth him to sleep.
He was almost asleep when his forehead began to ache. It was a burning sensation he was becoming familiar with.
Still half asleep, Harry stumbled out of bed and went to the window. Groggily, he looked out. At first he didn't see anything, but a shadow coalesced from the darkness, forming a cloaked figure. He couldn't see the person's face, but knew who it was. It was the strange man in the old-fashioned cloak.
Silently, they regarded each other for several minutes. Finally, the figure disappeared with a pop. At the sound the other boy snorted awake briefly, looked around the room, then rolled over and went back to sleep.
Harry, convinced he was dreaming crawled back into bed. It was impossible for people to disappear into thin air after all. The ache in his forehead slowly faded as he fell asleep.
"Wake up!"
The snake was speaking to him. It was asking him for a mouse, and then complained about being cold. It was almost time for the 'long cold sleep.' He promised it as many mice as it could eat, and promised that he'd make it warmer. He knew just the spell that would work.
"Harry!"
The snake wanted brown mice, none of those silly white ones with red eyes. Yuck. But the pink ones, the little ones without the fur, were the best. A warm egg would be nice too. Yum. A hot, sunny, rock would be heaven.
"Potter, wake up!"
He told the snake that it needed to watch the house, and the humans inside. He'd say some magic words that'd keep the snake warm. Even during the autumn rain, the snake would stay warm and won't have to take the long cold sleep. And if the snake managed to bite one of the boys, there'd be even more mice!
There was a pain on his cheek. Did someone slap him? Come to think of it, his forehead hurt too.
He reminded the snake to save his venom, to use it all on the boy, the short one with dark hair. He wouldn't need it to kill mice anyway. He'd make sure he wouldn't need it for anything else.
The snake then said it was scared of the kneazles. He couldn't stay out in the open, he had to hide or risk being eaten.
Harry's eyes snapped open, to see Severus hovering over him. His hand was up, apparently ready to slap him again.
"Dreaming?"
"Yeah, I was talking to a snake."
"You were talking to a snake," Severus repeated.
"Yes."
Severus studied Harry, his dark eyes bore into the other boy. His expression oddly serious. "What did you say to it?"
"I promised to feed it brown mice if it watched our house. I also told it to I'd keep it warm and protect it from the, um, sneazells?"
Severus blinked. "Kneazles?"
"Yeah, those," Harry said as he threw the pink bedsheets and floral comforter aside and sat up. "The snake was scared of being eaten by the kneazles."
Harry moved to get up.
"Wait. Tell me more about the dream."
"I have to go pee."
"Hold on," Severus seemed concerned. He put his hand on Harry's shoulder, to keep him in place. "Where were you in the dream?"
"Why does it matter? It's just a dumb dream, about a dumb snake."
"Just tell me, Potter!"
"I don't know," Harry scooted back a bit at Severus's tone and body language. He batted away Severus's arm. It was times like these that reminded Harry that the other boy wasn't really his brother, but more like a grown-up. "I think it was on Wisteria Walk, between to Mister Jones's and Missis Figg's house."
"Did you see anyone?"
"No. Now can I go?"
"In a moment. How long have you been able to talk to snakes?"
"Talk to snakes? I can't talk to snakes. No one can." Harry used his smaller size and agility to roll aside, duck, and dart towards the bathroom. Severus followed. "It was just a dream."
"Did your scar hurt?"
"A bit, now let me go pee!" Harry pushed past Severus, towards the bathroom. Severus tried to follow, but the door slammed in his face.
For several moments Severus stared at the closed door. He wasn't sure what was going on, but knew Harry's dream wasn't ordinary. He'd heard the Dark Lord speak to snakes on several occasions and knew parseltongue when he heard it. The boy was speaking it in his sleep.
"You two better be getting ready for school!" Petunia's voice carried up the stairs from the kitchen. If you're not down for breakfast, you can do without!"
"Which one of you little pukes threw away my eggs and toilet paper?" Dudley growled. His face was red, from equal parts physical excursion of walking from school to the sidewalk and anger. "I was saving those!"
"Your ire is misplaced," Severus responded absently as he surveyed the area for potential threats. There were several people milling about, supposedly parents waiting for children, but no Quirrell. "We cleaned your room as requested."
"You know that you're not supposed to touch my things!"
"We were tasked with clearing the refuse from your room. We completed that task."
"My stuff isn't yours to take!" Dudley complained. "I'm gonna tell mum!"
Severus shrugged and turned away from the boy, continuing his scan. Dudley blinked in confusion. The bully wasn't used to his threats being casually dismissed. He wasn't sure how to proceeded.
"And after you get in trouble with mum, I'm gonna rearrange your face!"
"Leave Stevie alone!"
Dudley smirked, finally evoking a response from someone. "I'll get the both of you back!"
"Ignore him Harry. He poses no true threat to you," Severus said as he spotted Petunia's car. "He's not worth your time."
"But—"
"But nothing," Severus said as he pulled Harry away from Dudley and towards the car. "Ignore him."
"You'll think 'nothing' when I'm done with the two of you!"
"Well?" Petunia asked a Severus climbed into the car after school. "How did those tests with the specialist go, boy?"
Severus rolled his eyes. "It was muggle nonsense."
"I don't want any cheek from you! Now, how did those tests go?"
The tests he took were nothing like any he had taken before. They were various puzzles, most of which were timed by a proctor. Others tested his ability to memorize lists of numbers or words, or to find patterns in seemingly random sequences.
He would never admit this to anyone in the magical world, but he found the tests fascinating. Logic and analytics just wasn't something valued in the magical community. His orderly and logical mind worked in a way that put him at a disadvantage in a world that operated on creativity, intuition, and emotion. His discovery of muggle science was one of the few bright spots in his situation.
"The proctor said the specialist will call you after he analyzes the results."
"Humph!" Petunia said as she pulled out into traffic. "It's Friday. I want you two to amuse yourselves at the library. I'll drop you off and give you the bus passes and some money for supper. There's a McDonald's by the bus stop."
"When's our curfew?" Harry asked, excited at the prospect of a 'night out on the town,' even if it was just the public library.
"I don't care. Just don't come home too soon. We'll be gone late, probably past ten."
"Why do those two get to stay outside late with no curfew?" Dudley complained. "And those two have been mucking about in my room again!"
"We're taking you to the movies, remember sweetie? You wanted to see that movie, and you don't want to go to a boring old library," Petunia soothed her son before focusing her anger at the other two boys. "I've told you to stay out of my son's room!"
"You made us clean his room," Harry protested. "It's not my fault he had rotten eggs hidden under his bed!"
"What have I told you about fibbing?"
"Not to do it," Harry dejectedly crossed his arms. "Which bus do we catch? When's the last pickup?"
"I'm sure you can figure it out."
"Can we have the spare house key?"
"No. You two can just wait at the park," Petunia snapped irritably. "Maybe that'll keep you from mucking about in Dudders room."
"What if it's raining outside?"
"The toolshed is unlocked."
"Your care for you nephew's welfare is touching," Severus remarked sarcastically.
Petunia ignored Severus's quip as she pulled into the library parking lot. She parked, then handed Harry twenty pounds and two bus passes. "If I hear from the neighbors that you two have been running amuck through the neighborhood there'll be hell to pay. Now get out."
Without waiting to see if the two ten year old boys made it safely into the building, Petunia sped off.
Harry turned towards the building, but Severus grabbed his wrist and stopped him. "Is there a menagerie nearby?"
"Hunh? A what?"
Severus sighed. "A pet store or zoo."
"There's Petco. It's in the same retail park as the bookstore."
"How far away is it?"
"Maybe a fifteen minute walk," Harry pointed north. "That way."
"We shall then walk."
"Wait! Don't you want to go to the library?"
"Yes. I want to go to the menagerie even more."
"But Aunt Petunia won't let us get a pet."
"I've no wish for a pet."
Severus walked towards the crosswalk. He studied the signal for a moment. "How does this muggle contraption work?"
"Push the button. No, not that one, the one in the direction we want to go."
"Why isn't it working?" Severus felt a bit agitated, with all of the cars whizzing by at full speed. He pressed the button over and over to no effect.
"It takes a moment. Wait."
A stray muggle eyed them, watching the two boys. Severus gave him the finger and told him to 'mind his own fucking business.'
"Stevie!"
"Talk to them."
"What?" Harry asked. "It's impossible to talk to snakes. I told you that this morning."
Harry eyed the baby North American Corn Snakes in the glass aquarium. There were twelve of them, all pretty and multi colored. Most of them sunned themselves under a UV heat lamp.
"Just do it."
He looked at Severus. "What do I say to them?"
"I don't know. Try 'hello'."
"Um, hello?"
Twelve snake heads popped up and turned towards Harry. They then started complaining. They only ate crickets, which was bland. The heat lamp wasn't warm enough, or it was too hot. They wanted a dish of warm water to swim in, with yummy fish to eat. They wanted more hiding places. Most of all, they wanted out of the glass box. It was so BORING!
"Well, what are they saying?"
"They want out. They're bored." Harry said in wonderment. "Can all wizards talk to snakes?"
"I want out, and how am I supposed to know who you hairless monsters talk to?" one snake said. "Now let me out! I smell pink mice!"
"In English, Potter." Severus furrowed his brows as he studied the boy.
"They're bored."
The snakes agreed. "Yes we are!" one snake said. Another said, "get me a guppy!"
"I still can't understand you. You're not speaking English. Try looking at me when you speak."
"I said that they're bored."
"Bored?" Snakes were capable of getting bored? He pulled Harry away from the snakes and towards the doors.
"And they're sick of eating crickets every day," Harry explained as stopped to look at a display of budgies. "The grey snake wanted a guppy."
Severus thought a moment. "It sounds like English to you?"
"I didn't know wizards could talk to snakes." Harry said. "Can't you do it?"
"No, most can't." Severus answered, not sure how much he should tell the boy. Again he ushered him towards the door. "It's a misunderstood talent, associated with the dark arts. I wouldn't tell anybody about it if I were you."
"You mean it's evil?"
"No, but public perception perceives it as such." Severus steered Harry to the sidewalk outside.
"Does this have anything to do with the dream I had this morning?"
"Yes." Severus thought for a moment before coming to a decision. "You were talking in your sleep, speaking parseltongue aloud. I'm trying to determine if the parseltongue was external or innate."
"Hunh?"
"I wanted to know if you posed the ability to speak to snakes, or were mimicking it in your dream."
"So I was born with it?"
"I suspect not. However, you own the skill in your own right."
"How would anyone speak snake language in dreams if they didn't know how?"
"There's several means. Magical transference or soul possession," Severus evasively explained. "Legilimency, or through one of several kinds of magical bonds or mental links. Bonds are rare and the least likely explanation."
All of those ways sounded scary to Harry, even though he didn't know what they were. They began walking back to the library. "I still don't understand why you'd think I'd be speaking snake language in my sleep if I didn't know how to do it."
"It's complicated."
"Try me."
"No. You're a dunderhead."
A thought occurred to Harry. It didn't make sense, but it felt right. "My dream had something to do with the weird guy, didn't it?"
"That's enough."
"But—"
"I said stop!" Severus snapped. "Quit asking."
Harry felt tears forming in his eyes. He turned away so the other boy wouldn't see. "You always treat me like I'm stupid."
"I treat you like a ten year old child."
"But we're the same age."
"Are we?"
Harry almost sad yes, of course they were, but intuition stopped him. "You know something that you're not telling me. You're keeping secrets."
"Yes. Pray you never learn them all." Severus stopped walking and turned around. He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Do you remember what I told you my first night here?"
"That was months ago," Harry shook his head. The other boy was always saying things that didn't make much sense.
"Seven weeks and five days," Severus corrected. "I told you not to trust your perceptions. Things, people, aren't always what they seem. Myself included."
Harry wasn't sure what to make of that.
"Do you trust me?" Severus continued.
"Yes." Harry answered without hesitation. "Of course I do."
"But I'm keeping secrets. You've seen me lie about our kinship and my name to others."
"So? You told me Stevie Prince isn't your real name."
"So think about it. According to your perceptions you shouldn't trust me. I'm a liar. In fact, if it weren't counterproductive to my circumstances I'd encourage you not to trust me."
"But I do," Harry insisted. He still couldn't shake the feeling there was something important he needed to know, something about snakes and the strange man.
"I know, and I'm asking you to trust me in this," Severus said as he began walking again. "When I know something more than vague suspicions, I may tell you, or I may not. Until then, let me worry about it. Concentrate on your education."
"You're just as bad as a grown up, just as bad as a teacher."
"Imagine that."
Severus decided he hated the bus. It was dirty and crowded. It was filled with muggles who appeared to be of ill repute or questionable hygiene. But most of all, it lacked safety restraints incase the muggle driver, who was of questionable mental competence, decided to crash the big, rolling, muggle deathtrap.
Warily Severus studied the passing scenery through the bus window. It was dark, so he didn't see much more than headlights and streetlamps.
He felt it was reasonably safe for Harry to move about downtown Surry. However, this safety diminished as they approached Privet Drive and its surrounding neighborhood. The boy's home remained safest, but that safety ended at the property line. Outside, deatheaters and Quirrell lurked.
"There's our stop," Harry commented at the approaching lone bench under a streetlamp. It was next to the playground, occupied by a single vagabond under the slide.
"Does the bus not stop closer to your house?"
"It's three blocks away," Harry shrugged as the bus slowed to a stop. "It's a five minute walk. How much closer do you want it?"
"I don't like this. I'd assumed the bus would stop at the house." The night bus stopped at one's front door and he assumed the muggle bus was the same.
"At the house?" Harry laughed. "Busses only stop at bus stops, silly!"
Severus glared at Harry, but followed as the boy made his way to the door. Moments later, the two were standing outside alone, in the dark, under a lone streetlamp. Severus gripped his wand handle.
"Let's go to the park and play!"
"No."
"Why not? Aunt Petunia told us not to come home too soon."
"It's not safe," Severus eyed the muggle vagabond under the slide. He was watching them with an intensity Severus didn't like. He ushered the boy towards the darker jogging path that cut between the houses on Wisteria Walk and then Privet Drive. "Quickly."
"Isn't it better to stay on the sidewalk, where there's more light?" Harry asked.
"Not necessarily. When in a lit area surrounded by darkness, it's impossible to see into the shadows. In the shadows it's easier to see once your eyes adjust," Severus quietly explained. "Furthermore, most people stay in the light. We'll be able to see them, but they won't see us. It'll put us at an advantage."
"Why would we need an advantage?"
"Hush!" the older boy hissed. "That advantage only works if you shut up."
Harry sensed that Severus was agitated, probably over the weird guy. His dream about the snake had something to do with it too.
At a brisk pace, both boys made their way towards privet drive. They were almost there when Harry spotted something lumpy near the path. He stopped, and nudged it with his toe. "It's a dead cat. It looks like Mister Tibbles, one of Misses Figgs."
He'd seen it in the Dursley's back garden, been hissed and swatted at by it on several occasions. Severus inspected the tail. It was tufted, and the ears were unusually large. "It's a kneazle hybrid."
"Kneazles are real?"
Silently, Severus threw Harry a look that said volumes of insulting things before pulling him along the path.
Number four was dark and quiet, the Dursleys still out. Again, Severus had to use wandless magic to unlock the front door.
"Aunt Petunia said we're supposed to wait outside."
"Life's full of disappointments. She should be used to it by now. Get inside."
