Blood of the Serpent
Chapter Ten
The days passed, a sense of routine falling over Hogwarts once more.
Harry woke early in the mornings, roused from his slumber by an internal clock. He would sit up, magic humming over his skin. He would stretch, long hair mused and tangled. He had it trimmed only a few days ago, the ends curling just past his chin. It was that same hair he was running his fingers through as he shook away the desire to crawl back into bed, emerald eyes looking over the massive room. The Dark Lord was missing.
As Harry crawled out of bed, he couldn't help the frown that spread as he thought about how the silver serpent had, once again, grown over the past week. The Boy-Who-Lived wondered how large a lacrimosa could get. The few books he had managed to find said little about the species, only that they were classified as Dark and were so rare that it was near impossible to find one. Those that did – well, few lived to tell the tale. All Harry knew was that it was best to just forget about keeping tabs on the size and weight.
That morning, he washed and dried before he made his way into the Common Room. For once, Hermione wasn't awake. Harry's gaze shifted to the fireplace. It was there he found the Dark Lord's massive form curled up in front of the smoldering logs, gaze intent on the flames as the red light danced over the glimmering scales. Plopping down on the couch next to him, Harry eyed the fire with equal interest.
'Is there something you need, Potter?'
'No, not really.'
'Then make yourself useful and go bother someone else,' Harry blinked, his gaze shifting to the serpent curled up in front of the fire. There was no pain within his scar, no searing headaches. It was enough of an oddity that Harry opted to ignore the sharp comment, his voice light as he finally said, 'What's the plan, Voldemort? You still haven't told me what happened or what can be done, in a situation like this.'
The Dark Lord's diamond-shaped head turned, ruby eyes focusing on him. 'That I haven't.'
Harry waited patiently, one dark eyebrow arching when the serpent did not continue. Harry, sitting lotus-style on the sofa, laid his elbows across his knees and leaned in. Emerald, Killing Curse gaze swept over the monstrous form lounging across the warm stones beneath the fire before he said, 'I can't help if you don't tell me anything, Voldy.'
'Voldy?' Red eyes snapped onto green, the veins covering the sides of the serpent flashing an intense, murderous emerald. Harry grinned, teeth showing, as he said, 'That's what I said. Voldy. I'll start coming up with a lot more stupid names other than Monty and Voldy if you don't start talking, my dear Dark Lord. So let's talk.'
If the Dark Lord could have struck at that moment, Harry was certain he would have. Instead, the massive serpent rose from the ground and coiled a large percentage of his scaled, cool body across the Boy-Who-Lived. Harry ran a hand across the back of the angular head, a slow smile spreading across his face as the Dark Lord finally relented, 'You have a point, Potter. Astonishing as that is. If I am to return to my former glory, then I must confide in you regardless of how such a thought disgusts me.'
'So many insults,' Harry didn't protest as the large form scaled his arm and thick, pulsing coils of snake wound around his neck. It didn't take long for the entirety of the serpent to find itself on the couch, several hundreds of pounds of reptile weighing the Boy-Who-Lived down. Harry met the Dark Lord's gaze as he continued, 'What will it be? Will you finally tell me what happened?'
If the Dark Lord could sigh, Harry was certain that was what the Dark Lord would do. Instead, the red stare bored into him with a sense of reproach. Harry grinned in response, letting silence settle over them as the Dark Lord's coils squeezed him tightly. The white, diamond-shaped head scarped the back of his neck, forked tongue grazing the shell of his left ear moments after.
'I cannot say, with certainty, what occurred,' Harry placed his complete attention on the serpent, then. He tilted his head to the side, his cheek brushing the top of the angular, scaled head of the serpent as the Dark Lord continued, 'After my resurrection, I was weak. My magic was nowhere near what it had once been and what little I had dwindled after our meeting in the graveyard.'
Harry reclined in his seat, the serpent on top of him. He could almost see an image of the Dark Lord staggering through old, cobweb-infested hallways. Harry could almost see the tremor of unused muscles, hear the gasps of discomfort, as the Dark Lord continued, 'It was an unwelcome but unsurprising side effect of the ritual. I spent months in a state of recovery, moving from one safehouse to the next. When I learned a follower of mine had been found, after many years of having been assumed dead, I went to investigate with a few select followers.'
Blunt nails scraped white scales, Harry's gaze focused on the ruby eyes staring, once more, into the roaring flames of the fireplace. Harry's attention shifted to the same place as the Dark Lord said, 'We arrived within a week. The air was saturated with magic. It was difficult to breathe. In that moment, I should have turned back. I had not, despite knowing nothing about what was ahead. I went in unprepared and I paid the consequences.'
Harry didn't say anything once they both settled into the early morning quiet, both lost in their own thoughts. He didn't know how much time had passed, but when he stood, massive serpent wound around his body, Harry knew he had to get out of the Common Room. Rules be damned.
The Dark Lord said nothing as they slipped through the Fat Lady's portrait, both intent on ignoring the disapproving scowl following them down the hallway. Harry easily found the stairs, taking them three-at-a-time. As he reached the next level, Harry asked, 'So what was Hogwarts like when you went here, Voldemort? Is it all that different?'
Ruby eyes assessed him. 'It is, yes. The classes are softer, the material far more censored than I would like it to be. The rivalry between Slytherin and Gryffindor is greater than it had been when I was a student. Hufflepuff, however, is much the same. Largely ignored.'
Harry wasn't sure to laugh or to admonish the Dark Lord for such a comment. Hufflepuff might not be on the top of the social ladder but they were hard workers. They were good people, loyal to a 'T,' and always ready to help anyone who asked. Though they did seem to fade into the background, overshadowed by the other three Houses.
"I'll have to do something about that," Harry mused to himself as he reached the lower levels of the castle. The Dark Lord's gaze cut into him, silently inquiring. When Harry said nothing, the serpent continued, 'The teaching here is atrocious. Every decade that passes, the education sinks. In a world where our minds are our greatest weapon, little is being done to hone it.'
"You think?" Harry made his way outside, shuddering as a cool wind passed over him. A storm was coming. Harry remained still as the Dark Lord unwound himself, large form spreading out to weave through the grass. He really was too large to carry around. "I honestly think there needs to be a magical orphanage, you know? A great number of the muggles don't know how to treat a magical child, let alone how to raise them. Then the children who have no parents, who are forced to live in places that hate them –"
Harry let out a bitter laugh, smiling as he thrust his hand into his pockets. "They grow up in a state of fear, always questioning themselves. There comes a time when they simply think they're not good enough to be around, that they're monsters and freaks."
Inhaling, Harry let his eyes slide shut. He felt the first rays of early morning brushing over his cheeks, the backs of his eyelids glowing a gentle red-pink. Across from him, the Dark Lord watched him. Harry felt his gaze before he heard him say, 'That's a personal account. Tell me, Potter, are you abused in your muggle home? Was that the name you knew for some years?'
Harry's eyes slowly opened, a serene smile spreading across his face as he met the Dark Lord's gaze. A sense of peace filled him as a lie rose in his throat, burning his insides and mind as he whispered, "Abused, Monty Demor? No. I'm simply speaking for those who have no one to speak for them. My family loves me in their own way. They're compensated for raising a child such as myself, given who I am. What of you? Were you abused, in your childhood?"
The Dark Lord turned away, silent. The conversation died.
Harry hadn't expected anything less.
Author's Note
At this moment, Chapter Ten is done!
This chapter is a little longer than the last one, something forged from the confines of my own mind. I didn't have to recreate a scene from an old draft, so that helped greatly. The plot thickens. Voldy isn't all that in-character, at that moment. I don't think he will be in-character, for this story. Not in the same sense. It's been a while since I've written on this story. However, I am pleased with how this is going. The next chapter, however, is an Interlude! So who's POV will that be from?
Draco? Hermione? Someone else?
Hard to say, at this moment. All I know is that some rather personal information has been touched upon, by both Harry and our favorite Dark Lord. And the Dark Lord is finally talking! Well, talking in a helpful manner. A few questions have been answered. There are, however, more to be had. The two are comfortable with one another, but what's to be expected. However, talking isn't all that easy for them.
Anyway, there was more Harry/Voldemort interactions in this chapter. So we all should be pleased.
I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter! I'll see about getting the Interlude done for tomorrow or Tuesday.
So, until then! Do leave a review. I'd love to hear what each of are thinking. And thank you for the encouragement!
