So I haven't gotten any reviews yet. Id like to throw out that i do know Voldie is a bit out of character here. There will be a background as to why he is acting this way also! just not yet! Keep in mind hes trying to win Harry to his side! Dumbles will start to get sneakier as time goes on also!
He sat gazing at his followers. His loyal Nagini perched half coiled with her head draped over his shoulder. A few weeks prior he had managed to complete a ritual to restore his looks to the way they should be. Unlike that snake humanoid he had been he sat looking every bit of a pure blood aristocrat. The only trace remaining of what had been was his snake slit pupils.
He spoke in hushed tones with Nagini as he waited for the last of his followers to arrive. A billowing of a robe caught his gaze and he stood with the arrival of his potions master.
"Severus. Thank you for joining us. Come, we've saved you a seat." He gestured to the seat at his left.
The man made his way to the offered seat at the table and bowed briefly to his lord. Across from him sat the Malfoy lord and Bellatrix. To his right sat the Carrows. He flinched his leg as he felt Naginis tail brush him.
"My loyal followers," the Dark Lord spoke in an even tone, "as you can see I have restored my looks from before my disappearance."
Several of those seated nodded quietly. Bella smiling madly as though she had caught the canary.
"My lord how did you do this?" A voice called from down the table.
"The ritual to return my spirit to my body was quite a tedious one. Rather easy to mess up if anything were to get in the ingredients. Of course the one performing the ritual could not control the dust and snake skin that found its way into the potion by mistake. Could you Wormtail?"
Cold eyes turned to gaze upon the cowering man in the corner. A silver hand where there should have been one of flesh was held up over his face in a covering manner. He stood shaking under the scarlet gaze of his master.
"No my lord. Please forgive me my lord."
"Crucio!" The Dark Lord cast at the man.
Strangles screams filled the air for the brief moment the curse lasted on the man. He shook and twitched in the floor where he had fallen when the curse hit. His insides were on fire as every muscle in his body felt as though hot needles were piercing into him. The curse was released and Wormtail twitched on the floor with the aftershocks of the curse. The Dark Lord turned his gaze back to those at the table.
"I do not forgive. And I do not forget. You will do well to remember this."
"Yes milord." Chorused from the gathered group.
"As you can see I was able to retain my youthful look. I performed another ritual to correct the mistakes made by Wormtail. The results of which you see before you. The only lingering affect is of course my eyes. They're rather unsettling however, so I believe I shall keep them. They're fitting of Lord Slytherin anyway isn't that right Lucius?"
"Yes milord."
"They're magnificent my lord!" Bella giggled gleefully.
"Ah thank you Bella. My most loyal warrior."
The only woman in the group grinned madly as she blushed under the gaze of their master. Beside her sat her husband who rolled his eyes at her antics. She was a bit too obvious in her desire of their lord. Rudolphus glanced up at their lord who merely cast him a knowing gaze before continuing his walk around the table.
He returned to his seat and sat in the regal looking chair. Nagini slithered her head back to rest along the back of the chair. He reached to stroke her head before turning his attention to his potions master. The man had undoubtedly been the spy he had been looking for. With his most recent revelations though he needed him alive. He was in the hopes that the man would be agreeable considering it concerned his mudblood's son.
"I have stumbled upon a rather interesting bit of information. It would seem that several of the old families that died out didn't actually die out."
The tension in the room became thicker as the looks on his followed faces turned into one of interest.
"It would appear that there are two lines that continued. One of which of course is the Most Ancient and Noble house of Slytherin. The other, would be the Most Ancient and Noble house of Gryffindor. Would there be any guesses as to who carries on that line?"
"The potter brat?" Lucius asked calmly
Several outraged remarks made there way through the room, a shouting match quickly developing between Bella and Dolohov, the Carrows argues amongst themselves, and Severus turned as white as a sheet.
"You know of this Severus?"
Curious eyes all turned to look at the man. He looked down at the table and did something nobody expected. He quickly pulled his wand and stood facing his lord. His wand settled just under the older man's chin. This of course led to everyone else pointing their own wands at the Potion Master.
"My, my, so Dumbledore does know. I wonder, Severus, does he tell you the truth? Or does he tell you only what he thinks you need to know?"
Black eyes glanced uncertainly into red. The Dark Lord took the slip of his otherwise careful follower and quickly forced his way passed the barriers in the mans mind. He tore mercilessly through the memories with a mention of the boy before retreating from the mind of the man.
He looked down to the man who had fallen into the floor after his assault. It was risky to perform Legilimency that way but the information was something he wanted to know and also Severus did have a wand at his throat.
"So he hasn't told you then? Well let me enlighten you. The boy does indeed have powers I know not. He has them only because I didn't know about his lineage. You see Lily Potter was not just Lily Potter, no she was far from the mudblood scum we thought she was, she was in fact the last living descendant of the Gryffindor line. Which makes the heir to the that line none other than the savior of the wizarding world. Their beloved Boy-Who-Lived. The bane of my existence, one Harry James Potter."
Several eyes stared at him with a calculating gaze. Many were wondering what this information meant. Severus still sat in the floor with his wand a few inches from him. Nagini posed ready to strike if needed to prevent an attack on her master. He smiled coldly before turning his gaze back to the group before him.
"My lord?" Called the Crow brother.
"Yes Amycus?"
"Why is this important? What does the boy's relation to the Gryffindors have to do with anything? What changes?"
"Oh of course you don't realize what this means. This is marvelous news. You see, many generations ago there were legends of how Salazar Slytherin could control all serpents because he could speak with them. This was true, but it goes further than that. Gryffindor didn't get their name from the creature they were mantled with as a figurehead for their house. No the creature they were closest associated with is much darker. The monster behind the Gryffindor line was not a lion but instead a Chimera."
"What does that mean Milord?"
"It means, Yaxley, that the potter spawn is very useful to us. He will be when the time comes. Gryffindors are known for their bravery, but what isn't known was their uncanny ability to detect deception as they are natural legilimens and Occlumens, are able to shift into part or all of their creature form. Some of their abilities also at active in their human forms."
"How did you come by this information master?"
"Ah Bella, I read the notes from my ancestor. Salazar Slytherin was very certain of his research. Sadly some of the work was badly destroyed over the years and is beyond repair."
The Dark Lord reaches down to pull Severus' face up to look at him. The man was barely conscious. Chuckling darkly the elder of the two silently pulled a potion from his robe pockets and held it to the mans lips. Recognizing the smell of a healing potion the dark eyed man swallowed the offered potion.
"You see Severus? Do you have any real idea what it is Dumbledore plans for the boy? He thinks that the boy is a mere vessel for a piece of my soul. He thinks that when the time comes the big must die to defeat me. He is wrong. Can any of you tell me why the Potter boy is able to speak the language of serpents?"
Several heads shook around the table. All but three. They shared glances before the eldest blonde spoke.
"Milord, according to the Greek mythology, was the first Chimera not descended from two snake human hybrids?"
"Very good Lucius. Yes, the very first Chimera was born from two serpent-human monsters. The mother of the Chimera was Echidna, a half-serpent woman from Greece. The father was Typhon, a child of Gaia and Tartarus who had the form of a man with a snakes body and wings. When the legendary Bellerophon defeated the Chimera that was supposed to be the end of them. The children of the monsters were the Lynean Hydra, the Nemean Lion, the Sphinx, Cerberus, and of course the Chimera. Like all legends, there is some truth to them. The original chimera was defeated. But I believe there was a part of the story left out. She had given birth to the very original human-Chimera hybrids before Bellerophon came. Her rage that she brought upon the world came after the birth of her offspring when the human stole them away from her. Much like how the line of the hydra continues and there are several Sphinx in the world, the line of the Chimera continued. The offspring held a human form that contained the beastly form of a Chimera inside. That is why Potter speaks parseltongue. He is descended from serpents."
"Is all of the Greek lore true then?"
"No Alecto. Not all of it could be true, there is doubt in my mind that the "gods" in the tales were really gods so much so as Magical folk. I believe the tales muggles passed down was their way of understanding magic."
"What does this mean for the boy master?" Bella asked as she leaned over the table towards her master.
"It means, my lovely Bella, that he will be persuaded to our side. Dumbledore will reveal his cards and the boy will come. For now we will stay away from him and observe. He will come to no harm from our side or else the consequences will be dire."
Voldemort looked at his followers and sat down in his chair at the head of the table. Severus stirred enough to pull himself onto his knees. His wand lay forgotten a few feet away.
"Please my lord. Spare me. Let me go and protect the boy."
"Protect him Severus? Where do your true loyalties lie? You held a wand to my throat. You could have tried to kill me. What happens when you think I'm out to hurt the boy? Will you kill me then?"
"No my lord. Please my lord. Spare me. I'm loyal to you. Only you."
"Severus. Even now, you lie. You know what I saw in your mind. Your loyalty has always been to someone other than me. It's a pity. You can't serve somebody who is dead. Lucky for you, that works in my favor. The boy will join my side. Your true loyalty lies with Lily's son. I am a mere second to her son. Everything you tell Dumbledore or tell me, you always calculate how best to keep the boy safe. When the time came in Dumbledore's mind, you would die to protect the boy. You would clean the slate of the old mans mistakes. The time will come Severus when the boy will be forced to choose between myself and the old man. There will be a time when you will choice who's side of the battle you are truly on. You cannot wait until the boy learns of his choice to decide. Tonight will you bend your will and serve me, or will you run to Dumbledore begging for him to save your precious Lily's son?"
"You said you wouldn't hurt her. You promised me to spare her milord. Please spare her son. Leave me her son."
"I have no desire to kill the boy. You should have no reason to fear his death unless it comes at the hands of Dumbledore."
"I see now that the light is truly lost. I will follow you alone milord. I will not make this mistake again."
"See that you do not Severus. All of you, leave me!"
Pops of apparation sounded softly in the dim room. The once snake man sat and looked at his familiar. This was starting to look in his favor if Dumbledore was anything as predictable as he had calculated.
"Nagini, am I doing the right thing here?"
"Don't think so much Tom. If it wasn't the right thing, you wouldn't have done it. If the boy is smart he would be a fool to turn you down."
"I hope for his sake, you're right."