Bon – Uh, have no idea.
Kate Potter – happen and happen. Of course things will happen to Harry, but not that happen. I think.
Shinigami – Harry will find out who he is eventually, I promise. But Geir's reaction will not be revealed until next chapter I think.
Roxy – Harry doesn't know, but Severus do know.
Prophetess of hearts – Sev has his own reasons for keeping his mouth shut. You won't know why for quite a while though.
Katrina – He was named Henri by the Krums, and one of the nicknames to Henrik is Harry. Therefore, he is called Harry even though he doesn't know he's Harry Potter.
Thank you for all the nice reviews!
Chapter Eight
Falling helplessly, he twisted in the dive, managing to twist into a vertical position, using some obscure knowledge in doing that. Taking precautions, he cast a temporary invulnerable charm on himself to prevent injuries in the fall. Then, after what seemed like an eternity, Harry hit the ground with a dull thud in a crouch, immediately prepared for whatever would come at him from the darkness surrounding him.
It was pitch-dark where he had landed, and the fact that he felt stone as he touched the floor suggested that he had fallen to the lower parts of the mazelike dungeons.
"Lumos!" he whispered softly in the direction of his hand, even as wandless magic didn't need words really. But he had fallen into habit of speaking the incantations anyway, as he didn't want any extra attention because his ability. And if someone spoke an incantation, one automatically assumed there had been a wand involved, even if there wasn't one.
A shimmering blue green light appeared in his palm, and as he softly asked it to increase, he began to see his surroundings.
He was in a room made of stone, crouching in the middle of it, next to a stone spring. It seemed to be an underground tower without any other floor than the ground floor. Niches with benches and tables were in the walls, and between each niche were a bookcase, filled with books. To his left he could see a staircase leading upwards, and Harry felt very relieved.
"Well, at least I don't have to climb my way out," he commented to himself, shifting slightly.
The movements made him bump into something, nearly making him loose his balance, also causing him to start cursing loudly.
"Bloody hell!" he exclaimed. "Where is the darn thing?"
He felt around with his free hand behind him, and found himself looking at an elegantly leather book sporting a golden rowan leaf and a reed straw on the front. Frowning slightly, Harry carefully opened the book, wanting to find out what it was about.
Opening the book carefully, he read the line in blue ink on the first page. 'Salazar Slytherin's memoirs'. Startled by the revelation, he almost dropped the book, but he caught himself in time. Continuing to read the neatly printed text underneath, Harry shook his head. For a moment, the text seemed to shimmer, change from some language he couldn't read with strange symbols to something he easily recognized.
"When Rowan gave this to me as a birthday present, I didn't think much of it. But since then, she and I have separated, making me treasure it for what it is. A gift from the woman I love and more. I treasure it as a way to write down my thoughts and feelings.
I have already written much in this book, and just a few minutes ago, I decided to leave this text to the wizards after me to learn from, discover from. It is enchanted to stay in good condition forever, like the books in my private library, and I can only wish that my memoirs some time in the future will do good for the one who reads it.
Salazar Slytherin"
The words pulled him in, echoed in his mind, and he felt like he belonged reading that book, left by the founder of his school. It felt like the book meant him to read it. Like it called for him, reached for him. In addition, as he placed the book in his bag and rose, intending to find a way out of the place –supposedly using the staircase – he never even considered giving the book to a professor or the head mistress.
***
Severus unquestionably didn't like the new DADA teacher. In fact, professor Quirrel appalled him. It was something disturbing about the man, something that made cold shivers run up his spine. He forthrightly couldn't stand him. Moreover, as if that wasn't enough, the stuttering bastard stared at him all the time. Quirrel seemed to be looking at him no matter where he was, showing up in the most unforeseen places, making Severus extremely jumpy. Having worked as an Auror while he still believed in Voldemort, he additionally had exceptional reflexes, and he had nearly hexed quite a few students because of it.
For the moment, Severus was cleaning up his classroom after a rather interesting class with the Weasley twins. They had decided to test one of their new potions and had managed to grow scales and a beak – far from the original potion, which was supposed to give you a coughing fit. He still wasn't quite sure how they had managed to botch the potion like that.
Suddenly, the door to the classroom slammed shut, making Severus jump several feet into the air, turning at the spot.
"What…?" he angrily started but stopped as he saw whom it was.
It was that disaster-prone fool Quirrel, the bane of his existence. He seemed to have gotten courage to finally speak to him instead of just staring. However, Severus didn't like this new development at all. Because it meant that Quirrel wanted him something, and Severus wanted nothing that had to do with the garlic stinking, stammering idiot named Quirrel.
"G-good d-day," Quirrel nervously stammered. "H-he th-thought I'd m-might f-find you h-here."
Severus glared at him, not faking the hatred in his face.
"And whom, if I may ask," he icily said, "Are 'he'?"
Then he had to admit to being surprised once again as a voice spoke up, seemingly originating from the back of Quirrel's head. A voice he knew very well in the depths of his heart and mind. A voice he both hated and loved. Heaven help his soul now.
"Stupefy yourself and let me speak to Severus," the voice commanded, no pity evident in his voice.
Shaking, Quirrel fell to his knees, turning his back to Severus, wrapped his ugly turban from his head and stupefied himself. Finally, Severus understood why Quirrel behaved like he did.
"Tom!" he chokingly gasped. "Voldemort!"
The hideous face that had once been handsome and laughing smiled at him. It looked like a toothless grimace, and it shook him to his core.
"What has happened to you?" he whispered.
He never thought Voldemort would have managed to inhabit a body yet. He had thought they had some time still to find a way to rid themselves of Tom Marvolo Riddle Slytherin as he called himself yet. Nevertheless, it didn't appear so, and it honestly scared him. Not for himself, but for the world, and then in particularly Harry. Because if Harry died, there would be chaos.
"Have you not heard about my rendezvous with Harry Potter, Severus?" Voldemort quipped in a soft hiss. "Even though I see you followed my order to stay out of harms way until my second rising."
Severus fell to his knees, not looking at the creature that once had been a man. For he was afraid that his eyes would show his disgust and hatred. But most of all, he was afraid to show the faint love that remained for the dark lord, buried under his fierce hatred.
"I have," he admitted. "But I did not expect you to return so quickly. Living without a body is very straining."
When Voldemort answered, he sounded tired.
"Yes," he sighed. "Yes, it is."
Looking at the man in front of him, Voldemort's face took on a strange expression before it became smooth again.
"I wanted to see my most faithful man once again," he once again hissed softly. "Because we will not see each other again until my rise. Enervate my host, Severus, and keep obeying my last order to you. We will meet again."
Severus didn't trust his body as Voldemort finished his sentence; he felt sick to his stomach and was rather lightheaded. Yet he lifted his wavering hand and gestured in Quirrel's direction.
"Enervate," he mumbled.
Quirrel came out of his statue like position and clumsily wrapped the turban around his head once again to conceal Voldemort. The dark lord didn't let go of him with his eyes for a minute while he did so, and Severus looked right back.
When Quirrel finally made his way out of the room, Severus was near collapse. And before he finally fell into the calming darkness, he could hear Voldemort's last words echo through his head. The words he had spoken even as Quirrel shut the door behind him. Words he thought he would never hear again after Harry had defeated Voldemort in 1981.
"I love you, Severus."
***
There you are, a new nice chapter. *grins* This chapter was so much fun to write, even if it is short. Anyway, before I leave you to review, I'm going to remind you that this is no slash story. Have a nice day, and don't forget to review!
Licca