Viper
Chapter 9: Funeral
"So he hasn't shown any untoward attention in your time together?"
Both Viper and Snape were looking at the old man as if he had a bright red nose and called himself Rudolph. In other words – were trying to keep themselves from either storming out or attacking the man after he asked the question for the third time.
"I assure you that had he shown any untoward attention I am capable of taking care he couldn't repeat. Now if you don't mind Headmaster I have homework to finish…"
Viper said reasonably and smiled though his annoyance shined through.
Dumbledore looked at him over the rim of his glasses then at Snape and nodded.
"Very well you may go."
Just as he was turning though Viper stopped and turned to the Headmaster again.
"One thing more before I go Headmaster. I would like to be excused from classes tomorrow for the reason that I have to attend the funeral of a dear friend of my deceased guardian."
He didn't wait for an answer but walked out. He was going to the funeral either way but it would be nice not to have to deal with angry Professors at school for missing classes.
&&&
He leaned on the trunk of a tree not too far away from the cluster of people that created a large black blot on the emerald green damp grass and the sky that looked like melted crystal after the storm that had raged all night.
He didn't feel the need to be closer and it would be better not to anyway. Present were not only friends but some questionable alliances as well as enemies, it was just the way things were. On the most tragic and private moment Goff was still thinking about 'business' so he had called all those who should be invited and not only the closest friends and family. The whole thing was one big act to show everyone that despite all Goff wasn't going down and the ones who most needed to see it – his enemies- had to be there or the whole set-up would be useless. It was also a way of assuring those same people that he wasn't going after their skins despite the fact that he knew they were in one way or another involved with the one who had his precious daughter killed making them let their guard down a little.
Burrowing his hands deeper into the pockets of his dragon hide duster Viper pushed off the tree and started making his way towards the house being careful to be out of the gathered crowd's view.
He shivered as he slipped into a side door, glad to be out of the merciless winds that were trying to beat trough his clothes and chill his very bones. He could've used a charm but somehow it didn't feel right to, at least for the duration of the burial service.
Walking trough the dark corridors he exited the servant's wing and took a left to Goff's study.
Pushing the heavy oak door open he entered and looked around. It hadn't changed much since the last time he'd been there. A few more folders occupied the massive antique desk and a grotesque wooden mask that looked like tribal art was hung on the wall on the left of it. Besides those minor differences it was still the same large room that evoked associations with words such as "gentleman", "president" and "Lord of something". The room was designed to confirm its owner's status as someone with a lot of power and it was a success in that area.
He didn't notice anything strange in the room so he took out his wand and double-checked. A few charms to keep nosy people away and some very strong spells that prevented someone from using hostile magic against the owner but nothing that could be any danger.
Approving of the security but still cautious Viper put a few anti-eavesdropping spells and a minor obscuration charm on himself that would make the people who he would see soon, Goff's partners, find it hard to recall his face after they left the room. The spell wasn't easy but it worked on the same basics as Obliviate so it hadn't been too hard to learn.
Feeling satisfied with his work he put away his wand and took a seat on one of two chairs that sat around a coffee table that occupied the space opposite the desk. His chair had its back to the window and the other side of the table was a comfortable-looking sofa so anyone who sat there wouldn't see much of Viper's face as they were seated, blinded by the light of the window.
There was a ceramic ashtray on the table that had a motif of entwined feathers and a snake curling around it biting its tail.
He studied it for a while as he waited for his host and his host's associates to appear.
He heard their voices before he heard their steps. At seemed as though there were three people coming. He recognized Goff's heavy steps, they used to be light but since the murder of his daughter they seemed to become weighted down, he'd noticed it at their meeting on Saturday.
There was another set of heavy steps and he immediately decided that whoever had those they were too sure of themselves. The third set was very light, to the point where he had to concentrate to hear them. He looked forward to meeting the man who stepped like a cat-thief.
The heavy doors opened without a creak and Goff walked in first.
His face was grave and his eyes just a bit distant but it was to be expected and it wouldn't affect the meeting. The actual purpose was to meet the partners, the men who would fund the massacre and the following hunt and take care of authorities they had power over.
His expectations were none since he didn't know if he would be meeting muggles or wizards or both. His focus was on the fact that if he did the job right then he would be definitely in and he could look forward to receiving work from other men.
While the Families weren't going to contact him there were many men, like Goff, who worked apart from them and since payment wasn't really a matter of importance for him – he had more than enough money stashed away in banks around the world, his services would be very convenient for that group.
A short but thick man in an expensive black Armani suit came after Goff and with hair combed to one side in a far outdated fashion. He had a rounded face with a long nose that distantly reminded Viper of a beak because of the way it seemed to dominate the face and stick out. Two beady plain brown eyes had immediately focused on him and he hoped his spell would hold.
The last man trough the door made his brows lift in vague surprise. He was tall and was wearing elegant black dress robes. He had a cane in one hand that ended in a snakehead that was opened as if posed for attack. It was obviously silver and finely crafted and the black wood that made the actual cane was so finely polished Viper could bet it could be used as a mirror had it not been in that form.
Platinum blonde hair was styled back and fell to the man's shoulders. Cold pale gray eyes took in the room with one sweep in what seemed like boredom then fastened on Viper. The boy knew his spell would be near useless against that man – it worked best when the one you talked to didn't know who you were.
His head dipped a little and he used his bangs to shield his eyes. They had gotten long enough during his stay at Hogwarts and he had to brush them away from time to time. It was annoying but now he could see a use of them. Perhaps he wouldn't cut them after all but he never had liked having too much hair- too much a trouble when you had to wash blood out of it.
"Viper let me introduce Lord Malfoy and Mr. Benson"
Viper stood and extended a gloved hand to shake hands. He loved the feel of the comfortable leather gloves against his skin again.
Their handshakes were the exact opposite of their steps. Benson's was brief and he barely toughed Viper's hand while Malfoy's was firm but not too hard.
A sparkle in Malfoy Sr.'s eyes as they shook hands told Viper the blonde man knew who he was and he smiled.
Goff showed his guests to their seats and Viper took his again. He sat back comfortably but a string of tenseness had locked his back muscles.
"I think we all know why we are here gentlemen so I suggest we get to the point before we are missed downstairs." he said coolly.
Benson cut in quickly looking at Viper and frowning.
"Goff, I thought you had the best man for the job. This here is a child…"
"If you have reservations about my competence you should be addressing me, Mr. Benson." Viper said in a voice that was as cold as the Arctic Ocean.
The man looked at him, though he must have been little more than a figure outlined in the light of the window for the man.
"Don't interrupt me boy if you know what's good for you." Benson growled before dismissing him from his attention and turning back to Goff.
Arching a brow Viper turned to Malfoy before Benson could open his mouth.
"And you Lord Malfoy? Do you have any reservations concerning my qualifications?"
Malfoy looked hard at him, meeting his eyes. Feeling the prickle associated with a Legilimancy invasion of one's mind he smirked inwardly then blinked and made it a millisecond too long in which he concentrated on shielding his mind, ridding himself of any residual emotions that could break it and blanked his mind to anything but the immediate that was brought to his attention.
He saw a tiny smirk on Malfoy's lips as the man answered.
"No, I believe Goff has chosen well." his tone was cool and he didn't remove his eyes from Viper.
With detachment the boy thought that he was being studied like one studies a specimen in the zoo but cared little about it.
Benson looked from Malfoy to Viper then to Goff.
"What is his expertise?" he said after a second of silence
"Everything." Viper answered.
The man scowled in his direction since the question had not been directed at him.
"You could say that." agreed Goff "He and his ex-partner did a number of jobs for me but I only need to mention 'Shrine Ltd'"
Malfoy nodded and said one word.
"Vance."
Benson's eyes had already gone wider with Goff's words but had become impossibly large at hearing Malfoy's one-word contribution to Viper's 'qualifications'.
"But that was…"
"Sow, yes. He used to be my…mentor."
"And I am sure you have heard of the killing of the Evan's men a few months back? That was Viper's work." added Goff
Understanding started to creep into Benson's eyes.
"So you're Viper?" he looked at him thoughtfully though Viper knew he wasn't really seeing him "I've thought you were older despite what the papers wrote."
Viper's expression didn't change as he answered once again.
"It is understandable."
"Good then." Goff put one hand on the table in a gesture of closure. "If we are finished with the introductions?" he glanced at the two men on the sofa but didn't wait for any verbal response before continuing. "I suggest we discuss the specifics of the job."
Viper inclined his head in agreement as did Malfoy. Benson hesitated before leaning back. The present decided to interpret the gesture as acceptance and quickly engaged in a very to-the-point conversation to which Benson contributed no more than three sentences.
&&&
He entered the school about half an hour before dinnertime and immediately set off to the snakes' nest.
The halls had a few wandering students, mainly lower years, but once he reached the dungeons silence ruled. Since he'd first made his way to the lower part of the castle during his summer wanderings he'd appreciated them. The unique atmosphere in those dark, damp corridors, the chill still air and the type of deafening silence that made people look at shadows and imagine monsters there felt welcoming to him. He could feel the darkness hiding in the corners, could sense it pulsing with life unlike anything people believed. It was constantly moving, always watching, ever knowing.
Viper smirked as his eyes slid over the shadows that were barely chased away by the flickering light of the torches on the walls. You only had to know how to listen, to be patient and it readily whispered to you, giving out secrets that could be centuries old. Like the Slytherin Chamber he'd found. He had simply followed the path the shadows had shown him.
To anyone else the shadows were two-dimensional, still outside the circle of light that they thought gave them birth. For him shadows of darkness never found rest, curling and stirring, taunting for someone to listen and uncover their secrets. So he listened and the more he listened the more he understood felt closer to the darkness that welcomed him so readily.
He paused before the empty wall that was the entrance to the slytherin common room and said the password. The wall slid open with a low sound of rock grinding against rock.
As soon as he stepped over he felt and saw gazes directed at him. Marie was in her usual seat near the fireplace with a couple of other girl. They had books and parchment thrown around them which lay forgotten, as they laughed in high but cold voices at something, a smirking Marie had said.
She lifted her head and the smirk on her face became a bit harder as she inclined her head in acknowledgement.
The corner of Viper's mouth lifted a fraction as he returned the gesture.
He was aware that the Hierarchy was being somewhat careful about him since that card game but he was also sure that they would not talk – Draco and Nefas had assured that beyond doubt with a few carefully placed words. And even if they hadn't Viper knew whose offspring the ones in the group were and their anti-Dumbledore position was stone-hard assured by their birth only.
His little 'surprise' had been well timed for he was sure that there were more than one of the hierarchy's members who were more than annoyed with his eleven-year-old self for his boldness and had been ready to take action to establish their 'right' over the place of power in Slytherin.
He greeted a few others as he crossed the half-full room and descended the stairs to his room.
Inside Draco was sitting on his bed, robe discarded and in a shirt and his slacks reading…
"What are you reading Draco?" Viper said as he threw his coat over his bed and un-strapped the holster that held the gun on his left side, then lifting his boot to a chair next to his bed - the one on his shin. He removed the dagger and its spring-mechanism from his right arm and threw it next to the other weapons already on the cover.
Draco had been silent over that time but as Viper turned to give him a look before he pulled off his sweater he answered the question. The blonde still wasn't quite used to Viper's weapons.
"It is a book that Father requests me to read by Christmas." Viper threw the sweater to his bed to join the coat and moved to Draco's bed to take a look at the book.
It had a nice brown casing and the title on the outside said 'Genealogy of the Pure-blood'. He then looked at the page Draco was reading and chuckled.
On it was a vivid drawing of the effects of a curse that was used to quicken decomposition of organic materials on, if he wasn't mistaken for it was hard to tell, a woman.
He looked to Draco's silver eyes to see a dark kind of amusement lurking there.
"Interesting." he said and took the book, putting a finger between the pages and opening it to the front.
There was an aged, faded out lone line in bottom right corner that said 'Fernando Namora'.
"Ah, and how do you find it?" he said giving the book back and stepping away to finish undressing and then to put away his weapons.
"As you said – interesting, but the concepts are sometimes hard to grasp."
Viper nodded as he pulled on his slacks and threw a robe over his naked chest not wanting to bother since he was only going to dinner.
"Understandable but perhaps I can help you with something?" he said with a meaningful look at the blonde as he held up his wand before putting on its holster on his right hand, talking while he clasped it on. "Practical use of the knowledge makes it easier to understand the theory behind it."
"True." said Draco, marking his page and closing the book and putting it in his trunk under one of his textbooks. "We can try working on it together when we have the time."
He threw over a robe and headed for the door with Viper behind him making sure his robe's front was properly closed.
They walked to dinner together talking about idle matters and laughing when another first-year Hufflepuff gave an 'eep' and turned ways in a corridor so as not to meet them where they were alone.
Taking their usual seats they started serving themselves. Hogwarts might have had a lot of faults but the food was not one of them.
Viper ignored the looks he was receiving from every table and began his dinner unaffected.
Somewhere in the middle of dinner Nefas joined them explaining that Professor Flitwick had wanted to talk to him.
Nefas was a very good student and Charms were his expertise, they simply came easily to him. The Charms Professor had noticed that and had taken it on himself to supply his student with appropriate literature so he could cultivate that talent.
It wasn't a hearty relationship where student and teacher became best friends and other such absurdity but it was beneficial for Nefas so he'd agreed.
Despite all the eyes on him Viper could still tell that were three particular sets of eyes on him through the evening – one black, one baby-blue and one muddy-brown that hid a more sinister pair of blood-red irises.
By the end of dinner Draco had adopted a pout and Nefas was looking smug as he finished off his pie.
Viper looked at the blonde and blinked, suddenly reminded of the boy's age but the resulting thought of his own age somehow didn't carry the same weight.
He was far older then Draco and Nefas put together when it came to experience but he'd somehow put that out of his mind.
As they walked back to the dungeons he stole glances at the two boys on his sides. They were still children in so many ways.
He felt his brows narrow and hurried to smooth his expression.
He'd never before realized that difference so sharply. It was the sudden feel that he didn't belong, wasn't really a part that had been lingering ever since he'd entered this new world.
He was a trained professional whose work was to kill and they were aristocrats that studied the theory of killing in their spare time. He was even at that moment planning a hit against one of the biggest and most influential Families in England with one of their fathers while they argued over Quidditch.
If it wasn't for the knowledge that he couldn't receive anywhere else he wouldn't even be in Hogwarts. And even that knowledge was being continuously being assessed by its practical application in his line of work.
He strangled a chuckle at the thought 'A wolf amongst sheep' came to mind. The perverted pleasure of knowing he could easily kill each and everyone person in those stone walls never left him. Would his classmates run screaming in they knew that when he got bored in class he imagined ways of killing them? They should.
"Hey Caesar? Have you heard of the Harpies? It would be easier if you explain to Nefas what I've been trying to for the past hour!"
Viper gave a small smirk and shook his head.
"I've heard of them but you know I don't know as much as you when it comes to Quidditch."
&&&
It was a long time after curfew when Draco and Viper left the common room and returned to their room.
Neither was feeling the need to sleep so they sat on Viper's bed and Draco took out his 'Genealogy of the Pure-blood' and opened it between them.
"Have you read this?" he asked Viper who was pulling off his robe.
"Not all of it. I looked up some curses in it."
Draco was looking at him, speculating.
"So you own a copy?"
Viper smirked at Draco knowing exactly where he was going and he'd been expecting it since those rumors had spread over the school. He hadn't given Draco and Nefas an opportunity to ask their questions when he'd told them what they should do when asked certain questions.
"No, I 'borrowed' Snape's copy." he said calmly with a devilish gleam in his eyes
"You…borrowed it?" Draco was looking at him incredulously
"Yes"
"As in borrowed it without his knowing?"
Viper gave him a meaningful look.
Draco's eyebrows raised and he leaned back on his hands to look at his dorm mate better.
"For some unknown reason," he said 'unknown' in such a way that his disbelief was obvious, "I don't believe you."
To this Viper laughed and leaned against the headboard.
"Oh you better believe it!" he chuckled, his eyes shining with mischief. "I don't for one second fool myself that he hasn't noticed at least some of the books I've taken but has surprisingly not mentioned it so I help myself to some of the texts in that little, hidden library of his."
A slow smirk spread on the blonde's face and he looked at Viper slyly.
"What did you give him? What did you offer for something such as this? I don't believe he would willingly let you as you said 'borrow' his books if he isn't getting something out it."
Drawing closer to Draco the other boy leaned in to whisper, his face close enough for his breath to warm the blonde's skin.
"My friendship comes with many advantages Draco." His cheek touched in a shallow rub the blonde's whose eyes grew a tad wider "like that little 'party' we had with Nefas? Wasn't that fun, hm?"
Draco moved his upper body away from his roommate to look at him.
Viper was looking at him with blazing emerald eyes and a smirk that bordered on a leer. The dark-haired boy cocked his head to the side so his bangs fell to hide his eyes partially.
"Wasn't it Draco?" the tone was smooth, alluring.
Draco only nodded, the memories of that night coming back to him and making his silver eyes look glazed.
Viper grinned and moved back to lean on the headboard.
"Then you understand why he would like to have my little old self in a good disposition if he ever needed my, ah, help with anything"
Draco shook his head and slowly went back to his previous position. His eyes narrowed a little.
"But do those advantages include use of your body?" he said coolly.
Viper looked at him for a second then chuckled smiling.
"Don't worry Draco. My body is not something I use as a trading coin."
Draco's eyes were still narrowed though, he wasn't too certain.
Slowly Viper's face drew into a scowl as he stared directly into silver eye.
"Don't you believe me Draco?" he said in a cold voice that had a hissing quality.
It made the other shiver and in a second look away to the book.
"I believe you Caesar."
Viper reached over and put a hand on the blonde's shoulder making him look up and meet his gaze again.
"You should. I have not lied to you Draco."
To this Draco only snorted and turned to the book again.
"And that coming from the mouth of a Slytherin." he said in an amused voice lightening the atmosphere as he turned the page of the book.
Viper laughed along but his eyes were hard on the side of Draco's head. Then he turned to look at the book.
"The 'Defluo' curse?" he read" A nice one."
"Yes," Draco said "I was thinking of having some fun at home with the house elves…"
The two continued to discuss curses and jinxes for a while yet but the topic from earlier wasn't broached again. When finally Viper closed his eyes for the final time that day the emerald orbs were hard and a hunger shone behind them. That night he dreamt of blood and red eyes watching him.
&&&
The next morning he woke up as early as always and throwing a robe carelessly over his naked chest he silently slipped out of the dormitory and through the deathly silent halls. The Castle was distinctly different than it was in the day when the students chatter and lively laughter filled it. In the almost non-existent light of the morning being born the halls were filled with elongate shadows that seemed to hold the long-silent screams of lives past in their dark embrace.
A small sinister smile lifted Viper's lips as he thought of the burning red eyes that had once again invaded his dreams. He was fairly certain his Occlumency was at least acceptable as far as his ability to shield against Legilimency attacks went and considering the fact that the Dark Lord couldn't have been in the room with him while he slept it should be impossible. If his tentative guesses were true then very soon Viper would have a great deal of power over the serpentine Lord, as he would over him. It could be interesting, a game worthy of his time and strength.
Life was becoming too mundane for Viper's tastes. He missed the thrill of a true hunt, the hours of reconnaissance, of stalking the unsuspecting pray. It instilled a cold raging fire in him that turned his being into something more than human, felt right to him like nothing ever did. In the short time since he'd come to Hogwarts he'd felt uncomfortably, the fire dying, as if someone had put a lid on it and was trying to kill it. Feelings of urgency and need were easy to surface and he was concerned he was becoming more reckless than his usual self.
He blinked slowly when he felt something trying to surface. A thought, feelings and a name…Sow…
Shaking his head he buried them hoping they would wither, leave him free from their torturous grasp. He had managed to keep them at bay for long months; fed them thoughts of revenge and the blood he spilt to appease them when they refused to stay buried and ripped trough his conscience with their wicked claws. But with the stress he was under since his acceptance of the Hogwarts letter his hold on them had slipped and they had pounced sensing his weakness.
Moving in a brisk pace he reached the lakeshore and easily slipped his robe off, remaining in only his exercise pants and barefoot in the more than chilly morning. His feet slid over the damp grass as he took a stance and closed his eyes, banishing any thought and feeling as he started his slow, precise movements, letting every distraction slide off him like rain water over glass; ignoring the prickling in his senses that told him that he was being watched.
&&&
Still heavy with sleep silver eyes opened as the sound of the dormitory door closing with a faint click that stabbed the peaceful quiet of the room. With a silent yawn he threw the warm covers away and shuddered as the cold air of the dungeons hit his skin. Running a hand through his hair he reached over the side of the bed and threw a robe over his head before silently following his housemate.
He was just in time to see the stone wall slide in place and hurried across the common room, reaching it just it time to slide trough the gap before it closed.
He's been curious as to why Caesar slipped out every morning in hours too early to be humane. In his own humble opinion he'd held out long enough in following his curiosity, of course the hour at which he'd had to get up to stalk its object had something to do with that.
But there he was, following Caesar in the hours of pre-dawn with enough space between then that he just barely caught the swish of a robe's end around a corner before it disappeared.
Muttering in his thoughts about his own idiocy and stiffing yawn he followed on cat's feet behind. He wasn't sure if the other boy wanted to keep whatever he was doing secret or not but it never harmed anyone to be careful. He very much valued every part of himself and wouldn't like to be exposed to Caesar should he be in a mood to harm any of them.
So when he saw him leave through the grand doors he simply took a place in their shadow so he could follow his progress over the lawn and down to the lake.
He then spent the next forty minutes completely entranced in the lethal dance of the distant figure, barely managing to break out of his trance in time to get back to the dormitory before Caesar.
&&&
Unknown to Draco he was not alone in his study of the figure. Far above him, behind the aged glass of a third-story window a pair of crimson eyes looked over the serene view that held a pocket of violence in the place where the young man was doing his morning routine with natural grace and power that drew the red orbs like a magnet.
Intrigued the eyes watched on while a cunning mind behind them contemplated uses of the boy. He was still too young, despite the fact that he was decades older than his peers when life experience was concerned. There were forces that shaped ones character in the teenage years that were both internal and external that men had little control of, and until the boy was complete, he was of little use. The question was could he be influenced while he went trough that stage of his life, or was he too jaded and his mind too sharp as to make such a task not worth the trouble?
The answer to that question would have been easy for the Dark Lord twelve years prior but at present it was the base for some consideration. He was still stranded in another's body, still had his power lacking in strength and his control over it was not as easy as it had been when he'd inhabited his own body. A priority was his return to real power and that task was hard enough to be completed as it was.
His eyes roved the figure of the boy. At least he wasn't making trouble, even if he hadn't offered his help.
He had to think.
Turning away from the window the red bled out from his eyes and Quirrel entered the bathroom for his morning shower.