The Serpent's Curse
July merged into August and the London heat settled in a heavy, humid cloud over the countryside. For once, Harry was glad to be able to stay inside, out of the oppressive heat. He had been studying Dumbledore's notes on Voldemort's Horcruxes. The Headmaster had been around less frequently and Harry was beginning to get worried. He was pacing the sitting room when Sirius walked in.
"You alright, Harry? You've been pacing around for an hour." Harry looked at his godfather and just shook his head. He wasn't sure if he was alright or not.
"I just have this feeling, Sirius. Something's not right. Dumbledore hasn't been here since my birthday. It's nearly the middle of August."
"I'm sure everything is fine. You've got his notes haven't you? I'm sure you've learned something."
"It's mostly ideas of what Voldemort used and where he could have possibly hidden them. But…what about my Occlumensy lessons? Aren't those important too?"
"We can go to the school and see if you'd like." Harry nodded his head vehemently, reaching for the pouch of Floo powder by the fireplace.
At Spinner's End, Irlynn was walking between the shelves of the library when she heard voices in the sitting room. She didn't recognize them at first. One was high pitched and nasally. She tried to concentrate but couldn't figure it out. She inched out of the library and down the hall, keeping out of sight. Irlynn peered around the corner to see Bellatrix LeStrange and Narcissa Malfoy sitting with Severus.
"May I get you something?" Severus offered. Both women nodded and he disappeared towards the kitchen. Irlynn gauged the distance from her current position to the kitchen and decided to risk it. She sprinted to the kitchen and pulled the door shut behind her.
"Why are they here?" she hissed. Snape spun around and looked at her.
"It doesn't concern you."
"Like hell it doesn't. They're Death Eaters, Dad. You don't want them finding me. Why bring them here?"
"I said it doesn't concern you. And do not take that tone with me."
"You've gone mental." With that she stormed out of the room, returning to her room. She couldn't believe what he'd done. He knew it was stupid to bring them to the house. If they went wandering, they'd no doubt find her. Back in the sitting room, Narcissa and Bella looked around.
"It's sort of drag," Bella whispered.
"Shush. He's coming back. We don't want to be rude." Severus returned with a teapot and some cups.
"It was very kind of you to invite us, Severus," Narcissa gushed. He just nodded.
"The Dark Lord believes I would benefit from some….company." Both women snickered behind their hands.
"He's initiated Draco, you know." Snape nodded again.
"Lucius was so proud of him."
"I'm sure."
The rest of the afternoon passed quickly and soon Narcissa and Bellatrix excused themselves. Snape heaved a huge sigh of relief once they were gone. He despised playing host to people, especially those women. He knew that they would betray their husbands in a heartbeat if they so desired. He set the cups and teapot back in the kitchen and went in search of Irlynn. He checked the library but found it empty. He moved to her room and knocked. He got no response but the door was unlocked. He found her sitting on her bed, flipping through an old school book.
"Whatever you think is going on, you're wrong." She looked up and shrugged.
"It's your house. You can have whoever you want in it. I just thought you might consider who you were letting in."
"I had to let them in to keep up pretenses with the Dark Lord."
"Oh…so he told you to bring them here?" He nodded and she couldn't stop from laughing.
"He's trying to tell you what to do…with women? Aren't they married?"
"I assure you, I have no interest in either of them."
"Well I don't think they saw me anyways."
"No, they did not. You did not come up in discussion at all."
"Nice to know I'm forgettable."
"Hardly." She let out a breath and tossed the book aside.
"I'm hungry…I'm going to make dinner." He just watched her go and smiled to himself. She'd done a lot of growing up over the last few months.
An hour or two later, Harry and Sirius found the school eerily empty. They made their way towards Dumbledore's office, stopping in front of the stone gargoyle.
"Uh I'm afraid we don't know the password. I don't suppose you could tell us whether the Headmaster is in his office or not," Harry rambled.
"Might as well go on up. No one else around anyhow." The gargoyle stepped aside, revealing the spiral staircase leading upwards. Harry stepped on and Sirius followed behind him, a nervous feeling coursing through his veins. The pair reached the top of the stairs to find the door ajar. Harry knocked on the doorframe before walking in.
"Professor Dumbledore?" The room appeared to be empty until they moved in further to find Fawkes hovering just above a low shelf. Sirius peered around it to find Dumbledore sitting on the floor examining something.
"Albus." The Headmaster jumped at the other man's voice. He looked up and caught his breath.
"Sirius…Harry. What can I do for you?"
"Well, Sir I thought we were supposed to keep searching…but you haven't been around for a few weeks. I was getting worried."
"Oh…yes. Of course. I apologize. I've been busy." He seemed to be shielding something from view.
"If you don't mind me asking what have you been doing?" Dumbledore cleared his throat and stood up, giving Harry a clearer view what he'd been examining. It was a small silver ring with an emerald stone in the center.
"I've been looking for this." Harry started to reach for it but Sirius stopped him.
"Be careful." Dumbledore nodded in agreement.
"Is it…one of the others?"
"I believe it is. It shares that same heavy quality as the locket did." Harry leaned closer to examine it. He was careful not to touch it, even though something deep inside him was urging him to. It looked as though it could have belonged to Slytherin.
"Where did you find it?"
"It took me several days to track it down. I was not certain of its location. I had to employ Severus'…hosting skills in order to discover the ring's location." Both Harry and Sirius chuckled at the mention of Snape being hospitable to anyone.
"So…what do we do with it now? I mean…what about the locket?"
"I have destroyed the locket, Harry."
"What? When?"
"On your birthday before I joined the celebration. I didn't want you to worry about it."
"How did you destroy it?" It was Sirius' turn to ask the questions. The Headmaster turned to the sword lying on the shelf above his head. He flicked his wrist and the weapon floated down into Dumbledore's outstretched hand.
"Here, Harry." Harry took the weapon by the hilt and stared at the blade. He tried to figure out how the sword could destroy a Horcrux.
"I don't think I understand, Sir. How did you know the sword would work?"
"You killed the basilisk in the Chamber with the sword, did you not?"
"Well…yes."
"And was it no the basilisk's fang you used to destroy the diary?" Harry nodded.
"Both came into contact with the basilisk venom."
"Oh." Dumbledore gave Harry a nod, encouraging him to make the move on thee ring. Harry took several deep breaths before lifting the sword in his hands and letting the blade crash down on the center of the ring. The stone split in half and a loud, pained hissing noise escaped it. Harry could feel that same tiny tug in his chest as he had on his birthday. He could feel the piece of Voldemort's soul as it withered and died away. He stumbled backwards, letting the sword slip from his hands. It landed with a clatter on the stone floor.
"Wow," was all he could say. The twinkle in Dumbledore's eyes lit up as the stone seemed to smolder as an afterthought. He reached a hand out and before either Harry or Sirius could stop him, he touched it. He pulled his hand back immediately, letting out a yelp of pain.
"Albus, are you alright?" Harry looked between his godfather and the Headmaster in concern. Clearly Dumbledore didn't sound alright. And he didn't look alright either. His hand was beginning to turn black and wither.
"I…I do not know. I need you to get Severus here, immediately." Sirius nodded and made his way over to the fireplace. In a matter of minutes Severus appeared in the Headmaster's office. He took one look at the ring and then the elderly wizard's hand.
"You didn't attempt to wear that when you destroyed it, did you?"
"No, Severus I did not." Snape slid his wand through the ring and examined it more closely before letting a noise of annoyance and disbelief. How could Dumbledore be so foolish?
"Whoever this belonged to was smart to curse it."
"Curse? What kind of curse?"
"One that appears to be fatal."