Come Together Chapter 3 - Friends

AN:

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Tom: If the entire sentence is in italics, it's parseltongue.

Steve: Oni does not own Marvel or Harry Potter.

Oni: Aaaaand ONWARDS!

There was no doubt that Barnes' condition was only getting worse. The healing runes that Tom reapplied when no one else was looking could only do so much, and now that Barnes' wounds had healed, there wasn't any blood left for him to work with. He even managed to steal away a pen to help, but ink had a much weaker impact than blood did, and did next to nothing in helping treat Barnes' walking pneumonia. To heal a disease rather than a simple wound required a much more complex array, as it dealt with something spread in a microscopic manner rather than a large wound, which he couldn't get away with even if he did have enough ink to write one with.

Barnes himself had seemingly caught on to what Tom was doing, as he weakly lifted his head to the young British wizard while he was carefully drawing a slightly more complex rune before any of the HYDRA guards looked his way.

"What've you been doing to me?" he had questioned groggily.

"Trying to heal you." Tom answered vaguely, eyes darting around to see if anyone had heard Barnes, and seeing that a couple of his cellmates were glancing his way, but none of the guards.

"You don't heal people by writing on them," Barnes groaned, feeling his chest where Tom had first applied the rune to heal his injuries, "but when you wrote that stuff here...I felt my bones fixing themselves. How did you do that?"

"I learned how." Tom told him, finding himself unwilling to lie but equally unwilling to spill out the truth, continuing to carefully draw out the new rune.

"I've never heard of any kind of healing that only needed writing," Jones cut in, and by the look of the others' faces, they shared the same sentiment, "that's, like, magic and shit."

Tom did not answer them, instead choosing to pull down the shirt to hide what he had been drawing and stuffed the pen under his shirt. He waited for the guards to pass before lifting the shirt again to continue his work, starting on the next part of the array.

"Remember when Stubbs kindly pointed out that I was a freak? Let's just say it's something like that." he answered with his head lowered, not liking the way Barnes' eyes seemed to flash in something akin to pity.

Since Tom was the least physically adept out of the healthy members of the cell, he was usually the one left to tend to the man. That and because while they didn't understand what he was doing, his cellmates did see the effects it had, and let Tom do what he needed to do in hopes of him curing Barnes' ailment. While in a disease-filled haze, Barnes began to ramble. He would groggily relive part of the battles he had fought before he was captured, twitching away whenever he heard a loud bang go off somewhere in the facility. Sometimes both Dugan and Jones would explain to Tom what the man was rambling about, probably to give themselves something to focus on other than the fact that they were still captives here.

Barnes would also talk about a childhood friend of his, one that couldn't stop running away from a fight. Apparently Steve Rogers tended to take quite a beating from the neighborhood kids, and it was Barnes that had to patch him up. It made Tom's chest clench a little, and he wondered what it would have been like to have someone at his back when he was beaten by the other children at the orphanage. Barnes had answered him, as Tom had accidentally muttered the sentiment out loud, that if he didn't have anyone, Barnes himself would fill the role. Tom knew this was probably delirium talking, but it still made his chest lighten.

Soon, however, despite Tom's best efforts, Barnes' pneumonia still stubbornly stayed. The soldier could barely lift his head off the ground anymore, and his breathing had grown ragged. When the guards came by, they did not pass their cell like usual, and instead opened the cage and dragging out an unconscious Barnes. Tom and the others were held back, pushed down, and the cage door locked in front of them. They could only watch as their comrade was dragged away to who knows where. The mood in the cell dropped after that, and the anger and helpless feeling lasted for a good few days.

On the last day of this half-grieving (as none of them were sure if Barnes was dead or not, but none of the soldiers that had been dragged away ever came back), two odd things happened.

One was the addition of two new people, whom seemed to be a much higher rank than that of the normal agents, and treated both the prisoners and the guards with a level of disdain, like they were cockroaches to them. However, this was not the strangest part. These two men wore what were obviously Wizarding robes out in the open, as well as wand holsters at their belt, in full sight of muggles. Luckily, they did not wear any pointed hats, but nonetheless Tom was sure this was a clear breach of the Statute of Secrecy (Tom's cellmates did comment on the the men's strange choice of clothing but Tom himself stayed silent). The men also did not sport the HYDRA insignia, instead wearing a golden rune symbol stitched to their cloaks.

It was the same symbol that his ring sported.

Tom mind whirled, then began to tick, trying to pick out and match up what he had previously learned to these men. What kind of wizards would work with HYDRA? They were previously a branch of the Naz-

Oh.

Dark cloaked wizards. The blatant breach of the Statute of Secrecy. The way they, like many purebloods (and Tom himself, during his stay at Hogwarts) treated muggles like filth. Working with Nazi branches. These must be the followers of Grindelwald.

Which meant the insignia was...

Tom glanced at the signet ring on his finger. It had been passed down the Gaunt line for generations. When he had traced his family tree back, he found he was the last remaining heir (of the male line) of Slytherin, as well as a descendant of the Peverell line, which is where a supposed prized heirloom was passed down from each. Since the other prized heirloom was Slytherin's locket (which was still missing), the Peverell heirloom was most likely the ring he wore now.

Professor Dumbledore himself had a fascination with the Peverells, and since they were his ancestors Tom took it upon himself to eavesdrop on what was so special about them. Eventually he had managed to find out that they were rumored to have been the inspiration for a popular Wizarding fairytale, the Tale of Three Brothers from Beedle the Bard. Tom had only read the book for its social value, as purebloods tended to quote things from their childhoods deliberately to outcast those who have not experienced similar. Thus making Tom spend an entire night reading a wizard child's fairytale book. According to the little tale, each brother was given a powerful artifact by Death himself, a wand to the eldest, a ring to the middle child, and an invisibility cloak to the youngest. These artifacts, together, were later fabled to be the "Deathly Hallows", which united would make their wielder the "Master of Death".

It was a story that both Dumbledore, and apparently Grindelwald, believed in. So much so that Grindelwald had turned the runic symbol of the fabled Deathly Hallows into his own insignia, and soon his followers displayed their pride by showing off this symbol, not that Tom had ever seen it until today. He had overheard Dumbledore worrying about Grindelwald being in possession of the Elder Wand of Antioch, the eldest Peverell brother, and surmised that Grindelwald would try to take the mantle of the "Master of Death" himself were he to find the other two Deathly Hallows.

One of which was now on his finger.

Perhaps it was not the ring itself that was the Hallow, but the stone inset within. Which meant that Tom himself was in possession of the Resurrection Stone of Cadmus. This alone meant that he could barter his way out of imprisonment, and leave the cell in favor of being in the company of other wizards, and possibly climb high in the ranks, and maybe even gain favor in Grindelwald's eyes, and...

And he sure as hell wasn't going to do something like that. Not if they were working with HYDRA.

Not after Barnes.

Tom closed his thin fingers over the ring resolutely, turning it around so that only the gold band was visible from the top. It may have some sort of charm that makes sure it couldn't be seen by others, which explained why it was never taken off him, but he didn't know to what extent the ring hid itself from others. He had seen it just fine on Morfin's gunky hand, and while it might only be visible to the heirs, it was equally likely to be charmed against muggles exclusively, which meant if the wizards passed by here, they would be able to see it. Tom wasn't going to take that chance.

Fortunately, Grindelwald's followers didn't seem to notice anything different about Tom (something he would have been greatly insulted at in the past) and simply sneered at him and his cellmates, muttering obscenities about "lowly muggles" under their breath. Soon, however, they moved on to a different part of the facility, and that was the last that Tom saw of them for a while.

The second odd thing wasn't too odd at all, comparatively. Well, it was to his fellow captives, or at least, what had come of the incident.

Being a secret facility in the wilderness meant that the inhabitants still had to deal with the odd wildlife managing to sneak into the building. Mostly is was the odd bird or rodent, reminding the prisoners that yes, there was still life outside this bloody place. However, this time, a different animal crept its way inside.

"Cold...sso cold..." Tom heard in the dark, causing him to turn his head in alarm, his eyes darting to where he thought he heard the voice.

It was Falsworth who first spotted it in the darkness, making him jump up in alarm as it came his way. Soon Dugan managed to follow the British soldier's line of sight, and promptly began to swear, standing up quickly and backing away. Dernier and Jones followed suit, and soon the guards had run to the cage to see what was going on.

An asp viper managed to slither its way into the cage, its tongue flicking out periodically. This made the guards blanch a little, taking a large step back from the cage, before laughing at the predicament of those inside the cage and exclaimed aloud how they would be back to see if any of them had died. They left soon after, still laughing, and Falsworth sucked in a shuddering breath.

"Right, lads, that's an asp. If you couldn't tell from what the guards said, it's venomous. Now, how to make sure it doesn't bite us, is the question..." the British soldier whispered, trying not to spook the serpent lest it bite his ankle.

"Well, we better think of something, I don't want to be downed by a snake here, out of all things." Tom blankly watched Dugan slowly step away from where the asp was slithering, trying his best to be invisible to it.

Tom held out his arm close to the snake, causing Dernier, who was closest at the time, to send him a look that clearly stated "are you crazy?". He paid his silently protesting cellmates no heed, instead focusing on the asp that was getting closer to his hand, which was backing up slightly and getting ready to strike.

"Come," he hissed, and Tom heard most of the men groan, but the asp froze in its tracks, "I am a Speaker. I will keep you warm."

"Kid, hissing at a snake isn't going to make it listen to you." Jones groaned out silently, "It can't talk-"

But the snake had already begun moving, wrapping itself around Tom's arm before winding its way loosely around his neck and shoulders. Its scales were freezing, and he suppressed a shiver as the snake warmed itself gladly in his body heat. Tom smiled widely, and stroked the asp's head as if it were a harmless thing. He stared at his fellow prisoner's looks of shock, and cooed at the snake for good measure.

"Nothing to worry about here," he told them nonchalantly, unable to wipe the wide grin from his face, "he was just cold."

"So...you can speak to snakes." Dernier stated, breaking the silence that had spread through the cell, cautiously sitting back down again.

"Yes, it's a trait that got me into trouble as a child." Tom answered, still stroking the snake, who hissed in contentment.

"It's... fascinating..." Falsworth eventually admitted, "what is it saying now?"

Tom snorted.

"This one doesn't seem to be very talkative at the moment. Snakes are like people, they all have their own personalities." he explained, at ease with this particular subject.

The rest of his cellmates slowly sat down, staring at the snake wrapped around him, and then back at Tom.

"Well then," Dugan muttered after a few seconds, "that makes things easier."

"What, no comment on how I'm the Devil's Spawn?" Tom drawled, his blue eyes fixed on the asp.

"We're prisoners in a base with HYDRA, who I didn't know existed until we were attacked by them." Jones answered pointedly, "they came at us with blue lasers that turned everything it touched into dust. All you did was hiss at a snake. That and the weird writing stuff you did was to help Barnes, not kill us all. Pretty sure the Devil's Spawn name still goes to these guys." he jerked his head in the direction where the HYDRA guards were slowly approaching.

"Hide, if you want to live." Tom hissed at the asp.

The snake did as he was told, slithering down underneath Dernier's coat, which was lying on the ground next to Tom. Just in time, too, for the guards soon stopped at their cell to check for injuries, only to find everyone unharmed and the snake nowhere to be found. They expressed their disgruntlement at this, but moved on their way, jumpy at the fact that the asp could be anywhere in the facility by now.

Another hiss from Tom brought the asp out again, slithering into his lap and settling there. When inside, the snake lifted his head up to Tom.

"Are the humanss who passsed bad humans?" the snake hissed out, causing Falsworth to jerk his head toward Tom.

"Yes," he replied smoothly, holding up a finger towards the British soldier, "they're the ones who are keeping me cage here. If they find you, they will kill you."

Turning to Falsworth, Tom explained in English.

"He asked if the men who passed were bad men. I told him that they were."

"They can't kill me if I bite them firsst!" the snake hissed out, raising his head higher in pride.

"Patience, my friend, patience. There is a time and a place for everything." Tom answered, then to Falsworth, "He says he wants to bite them. I told him to be patient."

"Truly fascinating..." Falsworth breathed out.

Behind him, Tom heard Stubbs grumble about him being a freak, but said no more after Stubbs' own cellmates gave him a fearful look that made him shut up. Deciding to ignore him in favor of introducing his new friend to his cellmates, Tom coaxed the snake into his arm once more, the asp's body coiling around his forearm, and extended it towards Dernier.

"These humans are my friends. This is Dernier." At this, Denier stared in confusion, "I'm introducing you, to make sure he doesn't attack you."

"Ssmellss like fire, he iss a Fire-Man." the snake commented to Tom, making him laugh.

"He can still smell the gunpowder on you from last time." Tom explained, making Dernier's eyes widen.

Tom only chuckled, and moved on, placing the snake in front of the remaining cellmates, introducing them in order.

"This is Jones... and this is Dugan... and this is Falsworth. All friends."

"Man, I know you're just trying to introduce us, but is there a way to do it without shoving the snake in my face?" Jones commented with a pained look on his face, shuffling backwards on the floor.

"He needs to be able to discern your smells from one another so no, I've afraid I will have to shove this snake in your faces until he gets it." Tom intoned flatly.

"...That was a joke, right?"

There was no answer.

"Right?"

"What about Jack?"

"No."

"Snakey."

"Definitely not."

"Jimmy."

"I'm not naming a snake after Barnes."

"That would be calling him Bucky, but I guess that's out."

"Adolf?"

"Really?"

Tom didn't understand why trying to find a name for the asp was such a big deal. Really, snakes tended not to have names until a Speaker came along and gave them one. However, the men around him seemed to find it rather important.

"Why would you want to name a snake after the leader of the Nazi party?" Tom asked in exasperation, stroking the snake that was sleeping in his lap.

"Would be funny." was all Dugan answered with, a grin on his face.

"I still think Snakey's pretty good." Jones defended, making Tom roll his eyes.

"That would be like naming your dog 'Doggy', and I refuse to do that to any intelligent animal."

"Well, what would you name it then?" Dernier asked, huffing.

"Hmm... probably something from Mythology. Ah... that's it, I'll call him Jormungand." Tom stated proudly.

"...what? What kind of name is that?" asked Dugan, his forehead crinkling.

"In Norse Mythology, Jormungand is the World Snake. Son of the Trickster God, Loki."

"Pretty hard to pronounce. Your-mun-whatsit." Jones half-argued.

"George, then." Falsworth eventually said, "I'm quite sure that's a shortened version of that name, right?"

"Fine. You can call him George, short for Jormungand." Tom huffed, explaining their decision to the asp in question, who hissed in agreement.

The days passed in a bit of a blur, melting into one another in their monotony. "George" managed to be of some help, as Tom would use him to spy on other parts of the facility and report back. It wasn't entirely useful, as Jormungand could not understand any form of human speech, nor was his eyesight the best, but he was able to tell them the routine that the guards used. They also ended up finding out where HYDRA stored some of their weapons, information they filed away for later.

In the meantime, they still worked as slaves to help build the giant bomber, something that made Tom very uneasy with every new part they had to make. The tingle of magic became stronger ever since Grindelwald's followers had arrived at the facility, though Tom was unsure where they were now. He assumed they were working on whatever magic artifact that HYDRA had found, and possibly try to steal it.

Tom wasn't a fool, he knew that wizards like Grindelwald and his followers wouldn't be caught dead working alongside or for muggles unless they had something both powerful and magical in their grasp. HYDRA's weapons all had the same blue glow (one that his cellmates had jokingly claimed was the same shade as Tom's eyes), and they definitely came from something magical in nature. On top of that, Jones' explanation of what those weapons did showed just how powerful the artifact was.

All the more reason to make sure the ring doesn't fall into their hands. While Tom wasn't sure what being the Master of Death entailed, he was sure it wasn't good for the Allies if Grindelwald gained that power. Even without an added bonus, being in possession of the most powerful wand in existence, a ring that could call back shades of the dead (and who knows what else, given the time and research), and an invisibility cloak that hides one even from Death, would make an individual unstoppable.

A part of Tom wanted to see what would happen if he managed to procure the Wand and the Cloak, but another, saner half born out of his time here in captivity screamed that the idea was complete madness. No sane person would try to go after Grindelwald with only six years of schooling (even if he was a genius). The man was a bloody Dark Lord (which is what Tom still aspires to be, he thinks to himself) who was so powerful and so influential his follower count amounted to that of an army, and they were winning the war.

Where was Professor Dumbledore in all this? Was he not the one man Grindelwald feared above all others? He was hiding, still, behind Hogwarts' walls. For a man who preached Gryffindor bravery to every Slytherin he could, Dumbledore certainly did not have the courage to face the Dark Lord who was committing atrocities on both Magical and Muggle alike. Or was there something far more sinister at work, where Dumbledore stayed out of the way on purpose, "For the Greater Good"? Was that not the slogan of Grindelwald, as well as the mantra Dumbledore repeats to students when he denies them sanctuary within Hogwarts' halls during the summer, even with the War going on out there? This was a worrying theory, and he didn't want to be so quick at accusing his Professor with fraternizing with a Dark Lord. But surely Dumbledore couldn't be that cowardly, leaving many to die while he hid inside Hogwarts?

Tom stroked Jormungand absentmindedly, this thoughts clouding his sight. Not that there was much going on, they were still stuck in their cage, the day's work done. The asp was not very talkative, usually only speaking when spoken to, but he was very loyal. Jormungand never ran off unless Tom told him to do some spying, and he always tried to come back with some sort of news. He warmed up to the others quickly, and had attempted to locate Barnes many a time, to no avail. It made Tom and his cellmates worry about what had become of their comrade. They were starting to wonder if Barnes had perished under the hands of HYDRA.

His somber mood was interrupted by a clatter from somewhere outside the cell. It sounded somewhat like a body hitting the ground, and Tom hoped that HYDRA hadn't decided they were of no use and had started offing their prisoners. There was silence after that, with only the usual noise of the facility reaching his ears. Jormungand peeked up, his tongue tasting the air.

"Ssomething new comess thiss way." the asp said, his pupils widening in surprise, and Tom's eyes begin to dart, taking in his comrades who had not sensed the change, to the guard that was walking toward them on the roof of their cage.

Seconds later there was a smacking sound, and the guard spun and collapsed right on top of their cage, which definitely caught the attention of his cellmates. They all looked up in alarm and confusion, before another man came into view. He wore an army helmet and jacket, and held a wooden shield painted in the design of the American flag. Tom and his comrades stood up quickly as the mystery man began to pilfer the guard where he lay. A jingle of metal told Tom he had found the keys to their cells.

"Who are you supposed to be?" Jones asked, eyes squinting to get a better look at him.

The American soldier with the gaudy shield had placed the last item plucked from the guard into his pocket, and Tom could see the faint blue glow of the HYDRA weaponry inside. He looked around, either unsure of himself or to check for other guards.

"I'm..." he gasped out, before catching his breath, "Captain America."

"I beg your pardon?" asked Falsworth, conveying what everyone else in the cell was thinking.

AN:

Oni: That's all for now, folks!

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