Seraphina's mansion was gorgeous.
Immaculate marble coated the floor in spiral, ghosty waves, and the matching pillars gave it the aura of an old greek building. The walls were a smooth navy blue, covered in all types of paintings and other works of art.
There wasn't time for me to marvel at all of it. I followed her through hallways, and up many staircases… our shoes, mainly hers, were clicking soundly against the floor… until we made it to a study.
Shelves of books were set up similar to rows in a library, and at the center of all of it was a long table that dad stood at with his back toward us.
As we walked down one of the aisles, beige carpets muffling our footsteps, I had to notice as I studied him that he was poring over a piece of parchment nearly as wide as the table itself. The parchment was old, too. If the visibly yellowing tint wasn't an indication, then the various cracks along the edges and the slight fading of the words certainly were.
It was when we got closer that he did the barest of glances over his shoulder at us before returning his eyes to the parchment before him. "Good. You're here."
"And you're welcome, might I say," Seraphina said, walking up next to him and smiling innocently when he glared at her.
I came over on his other side, my attention going straight to the parchment.
It seemed to be a map, but it wasn't like any ordinary map. It was titled 'Department of Mysteries: The Hall of Prophecies', and depicted multiple shelves full of orb-like objects. The map itself, as I touched it, seemed to move with my hand — as if by dragging it one way, I could walk through it without actually being there.
I may never get used to how amazing magic can be, I thought as I moved it back to where he originally had it. "So this is…"
"Yes," dad replied, placing both his pointer finger and thumb against the map before pushing them away from each other. The act caused the map to zoom in on a few sets of shelving labelled between rows 90 and 99. He gestured unceremoniously along the the line of drawn orbs, "The prophecy must be around this area — if the information Lucius received through Bode has any merit."
"I've already told you it does," Seraphina asserted, her tone irritable. "One of my followers just recently acquired a position as an Unspeakable, hence why you'll be able to get in undetected tonight."
'Unspeakable' was the name of those who worked in the Department of Mysteries. This was because their work was so top secret that they couldn't discuss it outside of the confines of their department. Not even to their own families. That was just how classified their experiments and studies were.
I'd heard about Mr. Malfoy's attempt to get someone else to retrieve the prophecy for dad. The last thing Seraphina told me was how much of a struggle he went through to lock down his control over the Unspeakable named Broderick Bode.
"If that's the case, then whatever happened to Bode?" I asked curiously.
Seraphina answered, "The problem remains that — as a highly trained Unspeakable — Bode was rather resistant to Malfoy's Imperius Curse. He almost couldn't get him to find the prophecy off the shelf but, then, considering what happened when he did pick it up… it suddenly made sense why he fought so hard against the curse."
"Oh? What happened?"
"It seems — as was explained by my follower after the incident — that no one can pick up a prophecy unless it is related to them specifically. When Bode picked it up, the defensive spells protecting it went off and caused some damage to his brain.
"He was admitted into St. Mungo's under the guise of a work incident, but the fact remains that we have to keep a close eye on him. Malfoy wasn't able to sense from his mind exactly where the prophecy was held when he went to go retrieve it, and he likely never will. The defensive spell broke the Imperius Curse's hold on him but, for the meantime, his mind seems to be preoccupied with being a teapot."
I involuntarily released a snort, failing to eradicate the humor in the idea of someone walking around thinking they were a fragile, household object.
With a wave of dad's wand, the large map rolled up, and he turned around with an impatient gleam in his eyes. "Where is that follower of yours now, Seraphina? I am eager to get going."
"Any minute now," she replied, briskly making her way out the study. "I'll go wait for her outside."
"Good."
While I have time, I thought nervously as I clasped my hands together. "Erm — dad? Are you… are you angry with Lucius over what's happened with Bode?"
His red eyes gazed curiously over me a moment before a sharp grin graced his thin lips. "I had a feeling you must've seen that private conversation of ours."
I stood my ground, refusing to back up in dismay that he had caught on so easily. Instead, I nodded, "I guess you could say that I'd hoped I had more merit in such decisions, despite being as young as I am."
An arm wrapped around my shoulder, the palm of his pale hand pressed up against my chest… any higher, I thought, and he could easily decide to choke me.
Dad's grin as he looked down on me was utterly malevolent as he spoke, "Yes, however… be that as it may, age is but a number. Not only you, yourself, but Harry Potter has also proven that to be the case…. No, your age is not keeping you back. The truth is… that it is because you are my daughter that your decisions are made irrelevant."
The way he said it sent chills down my spine, leaving me to gulp as I stared back at him.
He continued, "No matter how old you get, that fact will never change. As my daughter, anything that pertains to you is my choice now that your mother is gone."
She's only gone because you killed her, I thought furiously, pushing an extra wall in front of the ones I already put up. "Can I get some sort of reprieve — or even a way to prove that Draco works best under my rule?"
Dad eyed me almost suspiciously for one, heart-stopping moment before giving a brief nod. "You have more time. For now. Between you and I…. since you are still mortal, I feel the need for you to have someone by your side that is capable of keeping you.. safe."
Even though I had my strongest barriers up, I couldn't stop my eyes from widening in shock. To… to keep me safe?
He continued, "If Draco can prove himself worthy, and Lucius doesn't make any costly mistakes, then you will have nothing to worry about…. It is rather interesting how much you seem to care about him. To the point that you would be so quick to comfort him in what seemed to be his father's most dire hour."
I flinched, "I —"
"I'm not looking for wild excuses. The boy's mind was an open book when Severus brought you with him to Crabbe's Chateau in his attempt to help make Lucius' mistake less grave. You were at the forefront of his mind when he and his father were leaving.
"I chose to ignore it in favor of trusting your judgment, because you have assisted me more enthusiastically than others, and I wish not to regret it. For now, I am merely observing until something happens. Whatever your issues may be with Marcus will be deemed minor should anything happen that I don't like.
"Am I clear?"
I swallowed the knot that had formed in my throat as he talked, my body suddenly numb. I knew my dad wasn't going to be easy to dissuade, but I hadn't expected him to know so much. I should have figured… should have known, with Lucius visiting dad on the regular, that Draco was already around him on a regular basis before learning Occlumency.
The only bright side that kept me hopeful was that he hadn't mentioned anything about Draco's knowledge of my true feeling on the matter of pureblood supremacy. It seemed if it wasn't something that was at the forefront of his mind, then dad didn't pursue the subject. And if he had seen it, he definitely would've confronted me about it.
Thank God Seraphina and I taught him Occlumency.
I eyed the ground before mutely nodding that I understood. Not much else I could do.
It was unnerving as, a second later, the hand on my chest shifted.. moving upwards, and brushing up against my neck. When it scraped past, I fought hard holding back my shiver until he ran his long fingers through my hair, pulling stray strands out of my face.
My curiosity got the better of me. I glanced up, the look on his face indiscernible as he watched his own actions with mild interest until his eyes met mine.
"Your eyes are red," he remarked.
"Side effect of using Dark Magic, especially this aging spell," I said, completely incapable of holding back the next shiver that coursed through me when he rubbed his pointer finger over my right eye. "According to Seraphina, it might be like this because you and mom were using Dark Magic constantly, both before and during her pregnancy with me."
His grin was spine-crawling as he slowly released me. "I understand now."
"She's here! Are you ready?" I heard Seraphina call out, appearing a moment later with a silvery, cloaked figure following closely behind her. When she reached us, her smile was wide, "Did you explain to Melody what your plan was?"
"Not yet, but it is rather self explanatory. Your follower sneaks us in, and —" dad glanced pointedly at me "— you follow my every command."
I nodded in response. There was nothing else I could really say at that point.
Dad glanced over his shoulder at one of the bookshelves with a smug smile before speaking in Parseltongue. "Nagini… it is time…"
A low hiss sounded as the hooded, green skinned snake slid slowly off a shadowed shelf to the ground and obediently made her way to my dad's side.
Seraphina's follower stiffened considerably at the sight of her.
Dad bent down, offering Nagini his arm so she easily slid up to rest around his shoulders, before walking over to a chair and sitting down. He looked up at Seraphina's follower, "Have you prepared what I asked?"
His question jumpstarted her into action, "Oh! Yes, m'Lord!" She lifted a black briefcase off the ground that I hadn't noticed before, and set it down on the table. When she opened it, she explained, "There is a lot of room in here. It's mainly just extra space to store all my magical creature food so, I apologize, but please don't mind the mess. My fiancé tends to forget to close the bags up properly."
Dad waved a dismissive hand, "It matters not, so long as it gets us in there undetected."
"It will, I promise," she nodded vigorously. "I've tested its effectiveness for some weeks now."
I scrutinized the briefcase as they spoke, eyeing the fact that — even if it had a spell cast on it for more space — the opening was still too small for a human body to squeeze through. Even one as small as mine.
Though he couldn't have, dad seemed to have read my thoughts. "The briefcase is the right size because it's so small, Melody. You'll be transforming into a cobra for the trip. I will be possessing Nagini, so I need you to be my legs while we search."
"Understood," I replied as I steeled myself for the extra effort I had to take. Damn, should've known. So then, not only do I have to continue holding this aging spell, but I also have to perform the complicated magic of an Animagus at the same time.
I suddenly wished Seraphina and I had thought to practice for such a scenario.
"Oh, dear Lord," Seraphina snapped, reaching for her follower's hood to shove it back from over her head. "Come now, Jessamyn, how are they supposed to know who they're working with if you continue to hide your face? You can't just wait until you let them out of the briefcase in the Department of Mysteries. How are they supposed to know if your face is friend or foe?"
The woman — Jessamyn — glowered silently at Seraphina.
Her blonde hair was tied back into a messy ponytail, and her eyes were a lively greenish blue behind square, black-rimmed spectacles. It was almost comical how openly rebellious she seemed to be with Seraphina — something that definitely irked the blue-eyed witch to no end as she gave Jessamyn a look.
Dad ignored their amusing display of visible tension.
"Seraphina," he said, bringing her eyes back to him. "You will watch my body until we return."
The look she returned to him was somehow more sour than it had been when directed at Jessamyn, and I really had to hold back my need to laugh at her clipped response. "No."
"No?" the look on his face was rather livid.
"I didn't become your ally so I could babysit an empty body! That is not in the job description I agreed with!"
"Life has many unforeseen occurrences," he replied with a careless wave of his hand, his red eyes eyeing her challengingly. "Just watch over me, and don't make me repeat myself."
She glanced shortly over at me before rolling her eyes at him with a childish groan, "Fine, I'll watch it. But don't expect me to be happy about it."
Dad's grin spoke volumes as he muttered, "I'm fine with that."
We stood in the Department of Mysteries about twenty minutes later — or, well, I was.
Jessamyn had ushered us out of her briefcase once she made it to a door leading to the Hall of Prophecies on her work floor.
I had been right about the strain on me between transforming into a cobra, and then turning back to myself. My energy felt like it was being drained, slowly but surely, and all I wanted to do was lay down and take a nap. The only thought keeping me awake was knowing that if I did fall asleep, the aging spell would be lifted and I'd be found out pretty quickly.
Certainly didn't stop my eyes from drooping with exhaustion, though.
I took a moment after returning to my human form to adjust my magic and senses accordingly before kneeling down, reaching a disturbingly heavy arm out to my dad/Nagini as he had done.
They — as I can only properly refer to the combined snake — wrapped comfortably around my shoulders, looping their tail and neck around my arms for some stability as I followed Jessamyn through the first door. Dad paid extra close attention to his surroundings as we went, and it was to such a degree that I found myself doing the same just to understand what it was he was looking at.
We walked through a sparkly lit room full of bookshelves and — strangely enough —clocks. So many clocks, I thought as I stared around me. All varying from the smallest of pocket watches to the biggest grandfather clock. The constant ticking was enough to make me feel like any longer in there, and I would've gone crazy.
The main source of the sparkling light was a tall glass jar sitting at the far end of the room. Dad focused on that a little longer than anything else.
Jessamyn led us through the narrow walkway in between a long line of desks to the door at the very end. When she pushed it open, the sight of the largest room I had ever seen took my breath away.
The ceiling was almost too high up to see with the low level of light emanating from from the orbs resting in candle brackets on the multitude of almost skyscraper-like shelves. The glow from the orbs was like blue flames, and varied in luminescence — no orb was the same, and that was also proven by the different labels underneath each one stating the year the prophecy was made and who it was about. The floor was covered with dark stone.
Not to mention the room was very, very cold. I felt dad/Nagini shiver, but whether it was from being cold or just anticipation I couldn't know. In any case, just to be on the safe side, I pulled out my wand for a brief moment just to cast the warming spell on them.
They seemed appreciative when they slightly tightened their grip on me.
"All right," Jessamyn said as she stopped in her tracks to turn to us. "This is where I leave you. I'll be in a room across the hall working on my own project so no one suspects my involvement in your entry. Just be careful, because sometimes there are other Ministry officials patrolling this room for any sign of intruders."
Order of the Phoenix members, I thought with a nod before replying, "Thank you."
She gave me a nod of her own before leaving the way we entered.
I continued forward, reading the row numbers as I went while dad/Nagini shifted their body from one side to the other on my shoulder in active search for the right aisle. It was when I finally reached aisle ninety that they slid off my shoulders to the ground and looked up at me.
"I am going to search between ninety and ninety four. You do the rest."
I barely answered with a nod before they turned around and slithered away.
The search lasted a while, the time at least cut short by the lack of either dad's or Harry's names being artistically written under the orbs I passed. That was, at least, until aisle ninety seven. Some distance in, I finally came across the right orb, dusty from sixteen years of age and with the blue flame duller than expected.
The label read:
S.P.T to A.P.W.B.D.
Dark Lord
and (?) Harry Potter
Curious, I thought as I brushed my thumb over the inscription. It's as if they weren't quite sure yet that the prophecy was even about Harry at the time. Strange.
Taking note of how far in it was, I quietly walked away to find dad. If I tried to pick up the prophecy, then I would end up in St. Mungo's next to Bode pretending we were being used for a women's tea party.
At the same time the thought was funny, it was also very disheartening. If I had more time to search, perhaps there's a prophecy made about my future… I thought, wincing as the aging spell felt like it was squeezing the living hell out of my heart. The darkness of this spell is really wearing me down… but it would be great to see if, maybe, there is one. Then I can know what my path should be.
I nearly kept up searching just to see if my thought was correct.
But then there were screams of pain. A man's voice… familiar, scarily enough.
I bolted in the direction of the screams, throwing glances down each aisle as I went despite my certainty that dad was the reason behind the man's screams. It was down aisle ninety three that I saw it, up against the far wall.
Dad/Nagini were highly positioned on their hindquarters above a man's body on the ground, his silvery cloak coated in his own blood… as red as the highly familiar hair on top of his head.
Mr. Weasley… I can't let him see me… I transformed into a cobra, wincing again as my energy drained a little further before sliding across the freezing floor to them.
They glanced at me before returning their gaze to Arthur, "We must dispose of him and find that prophecy quickly before anyone comes looking."
"Wait, it's not necessary," I said, rushing forward until I was just next to him. "I found the prophecy in aisle ninety seven. We can just take it and get out of here. He'll die from those wounds soon enough, anyway."
Dad/Nagini gave no response for a minute, eyeing Arthur — the poor man shaking and wincing in pain against the wall before us — as if in deep thought. Then they shook their head before turning to me, "That is quite all right. Let us leave now, then, and you can give me the location through Legilimency when you return to Seraphina's mansion for your vacation. I have a better plan in mind for how to get that prophecy… Return to yourself so we can get out of here quickly."
I nearly sighed. All this only to retreat without the prophecy and, on top of that, reveal to Arthur — at the least — that the other cobra he saw is a person… oh well, then.
I grew back to original form, giving Arthur one last glance over my shoulder as dad/Nagini settled themselves back across my shoulders, before walking away. Leaving the Weasley's father to wallow in his own blood.
I'm sorry Arthur… Ron, Ginny, Fred and George….
The sight that greeted us at Seraphina's mansion — after Jessamyn opened up the briefcase for us — was, to say the least, something that cheered me up. If only slightly, and hard since I had to hold it in.
Dad's empty body… dancing. Dancing with Seraphina.
Her hands glowed slightly, one hand in one of his and the other on his shoulder as his body's eyes glowed a clear ice blue just as much as hers did. I realized that this was something her necromancy could do — though, the question remained whether or not she had to keep a hand on the corpse in order for it to work.
Probably not. That'd be too much of a drawback.
Dad/Nagini moved quickly in a fast attempt at biting her as I turned back into myself once again, taking deep breaths as the struggle to keep the aging spell up and running took a heavy toll on me. I wanted to laugh at the same exact time I wanted to sleep… so tired.
On a normal occasion, it would've been hilarious to watch as Seraphina artfully dodged their strikes, turning it into a fast paced dance that infuriated the large snake.
It continued until Seraphina's eyes landed on me.
Within moments, she silently disappeared — dad's body dropping unceremoniously to the floor — and reappeared next to me with her eyes an electric blue once more.
The hiss of dad/Nagini was prolonged as they glared pointedly at her.
"Well, Voldy, it's been fun — really! But, I must get your daughter back to Hogwarts — see you again in a few days! Ta ta!"
With that, we were outside the grounds of Hogwarts again. Seraphina supported my weight with some difficulty as we entered the gate, and she closed it behind us. I was extremely lucky that she was swift in returning me, because I couldn't hold on for much longer in the state I was in.
"Th-thank you…" I gasped, as I finally released the aging spell. "S-Sera.. phina…"
Everything went black.
Hello, hello, hello, this is LJ again changing her freaking mind.
Before, I wanted to post chapters both for this and my Labyrinth fanfic at the same time every other week… now I'm finding that utterly impossible (tears).
I was able to get a full chapter out for my other fanfic with no problem, but when I tried to set all my attention on this, LIFE — as it is wont to do — got in my way.
That AND I can barely hold myself back from wanting to work on a fanfiction for My Hero Academia… sooo.. yeah.
Long story short, whenever I finish a chapter of anything I'll just post it rather than waiting to finish chapter of the other. It'll be a lot simpler on me, and I can allow my inspiration to roam freely.
Thank you everyone for your support and understanding!
