Prophesy of the Serpent
Author: Gryphnwng
Rating: ~Pg-13 for now
A Severitus Challenge fiction
Disclaimer:
I do not own Harry
Potter Here,
I do not own Harry Potter there,
I do not own Harry Potter in a box,
I do not own Harry Potter with a fox,
I do not own Harry Potter in a house,
I do not own Harry Potter with a mouse,
I do not own Harry Potter Here or there,
I do not own him anywhere.
A/N: Ack, last chapter was supposed to be labeled 5. argh. Anywho, I'm back, sooner then I thought, with the next installment! I'm not sure, but I may head into some slight Ron/Hermione bashing. Just a warning in case you truly love those characters ^_^ All depends on how they react, I suppose.
*Mice tassste good!* is parseltongue
~I wonder if I'm wearing clean underwear?~ is private thought
You are insane, you know. is that annoying inner voice
~Do my feathers look all right?~ is mind-speech
Hmmm… lots of voices to remember!
Chapter 6
Luckily for Harry he encountered no one on his way back to the tower. Peeves was busy in the trophy room trashing it by the sound of it, and Filch with Mrs. Norris would be soon after him. Which left the way clear to the tower. He paused by the sleeping portrait, waking her and whispering the password. The Fat Lady swung open with a sleepy mutter and Harry ducked in quickly. He scanned the common room quickly, hoping to see no one. Satisfied the way was clear he headed to the 5th year dorms, only to be stopped by the soft clearing of a throat. He mentally growled and slowly turned around. Hermione had been sitting in a chair facing the fire, so he had not seen her when he had entered. She had heard him though, and was curious as to why he had been up so late.
"Harry? Where have you been? It's way past curfew; you should have been back hours ago from Professor Lupin's office. What did he want?" She carefully marked the place in the book she had been reading and stood, approaching Harry with a puzzled expression.
Harry was far too tired for interrogations from his far to curious friend, and answered sharply, though his voice was quiet. "Not now, 'Mione. Let it rest. I'll tell you later."
"Harry, what's wrong? Are you ok?" She reached out as if to touch his shoulder but he jerked back sharply, his face marred by a slight cold snarl before smoothing itself back into its normal mask.
"I said leave it, Hermione. I need to sleep. So should you." He gave a pointed glance to where she had been up reading late by the fire. He ignored her hurt expression and turned his back on her, heading up the steps to the boys dorms. She watched him go up, her expression troubled. What could have happened that night to make him act like that? It was highly irregular. Book forgotten she slowly wandered to her own dorm; sleep was long in coming that night.
~*~
Harry was woken up from a very strange dream the next morning when his shoulder was roughly shaken. He had been dueling Snape in some old castle and for some reason Snape was wearing a mask. Not to mention their wands were glowing different colors. He had just come to the part where Snape said, "Harry, I am your father" when he felt the dream slipping away. He only knew it was a dream because the next thing to come out of Snape's mouth was Ron's voice telling him that he had to get up or they'd be late to breakfast.
Dark green eyes opened and blearily glared at the redhead who was leaning over him. He half-heartedly took a swipe at the way too awake boy as he swung his legs over the edge of the four-poster. Blinking and yawning he got up and headed to the bathroom, Ron following with his own clothes for the day.
"Man, I had the weirdest dream last night." Harry stared at himself in the mirror, still half asleep. Ron nodded from the next sink, brushing his teeth. "Yah, me too." He spit out the paste, wiping his mouth. "What did you dream about? In mine the entire school was dressed as ballerina's." He shuddered.
Harry snorted, running a brush through his long hair before tying it back. "Ouch. I'd say that would be more of a nightmare. Especially considering some of the people who are here." He shuddered, imagining Filch in a tutu. "Mine was just weird… I had a dream I was dueling Snape and he said…" Harry trailed off, the color immediately leaving his cheeks, leaving him pale as a ghost. ~Oh Merlin, it wasn't a dream…~ He stared blankly into the mirror, remembering all that had happened the night before. The letter. Dumbledore's duplicity. SNAPE. He really was his father…
Ron waited for Harry to finish his sentence, not noticing his expression until he looked at him. Harry was as white as a sheet and looked as if he'd seen a ghost. Some emotion that Ron couldn't identify transfixed the dark haired boys face as he stood frozen in place. Frowning in concern over his friend, he waved his hand in front of his face, snapping his fingers, and calling his name. Harry shook himself with a start, coming back to himself almost immediately.
"Harry, what's wrong? You looked like you'd seen the Grim. You just fazed out on me." He paused, glancing briefly up at the scar on the others boys head briefly. "Was it You-Know-Who with another vision?"
Harry shook his head, blinking. He told Ron the first thing that came to mind other then the truth, trying to placate his worried friend. "Nah, nothing to worry about. Just remembered something about my dream, that's all. Snape just said 20 points to Gryffindor for my excellent dueling skills. I was just remembering that he was in a pink tutu. That just weirded me out for a moment because of what you dreamed about." He lied quickly, not wanting to say what had really transpired, not yet anyways. He had to come to terms first with his own feelings about the situation first.
Ron grinned, then chortled as they left the bathrooms and headed to the Great Hall for breakfast. Snape awarding points to Gryffindor would never happen, much less him wearing a tutu.
Hermione met them in the common room and they left to breakfast together, discussing their plans for the day. One had a secret he couldn't tell, one desperate to find the answers, and the third just clueless.
~*~(Draco's Summer Synopsis)~*~
In the Den of the Snakes civil unrest was the rule of norm. Tensions that year were high as the students of the Snake House were divided amongst themselves. On one side were those who followed their parent's mandates and had allied themselves with the Wizarding world's greatest menace. On the other side of the fence was a smaller faction that chose to ally themselves with those opposing his cause. A few kept to the middle yet, deciding to see what way the winds of fortune decided to blow.
Probably the most notable person on the supposedly "light" side was one Draco Malfoy. One would suspect, that with his upbringing and family history, that he would have happily followed along in his fathers footsteps and taken up with the Snake Lord, Voldemort. Yet here he was, outcast in his own house, and deemed a traitor by his own father. Over the course of that summer he had been given a first hand view of just what exactly Death Eaters do at their meetings. His father Lucius had decided that the perfect birthday present for his son would be to get him initiated. Draco, on the other hand, had other ideas.
He had been hoping to put off the initiation for as long as possible. He had his pride, after all. He was a Malfoy! And what Malfoy bows down to another? Certainly not him. It was more then that sense of pride that kept him from the dark mark though. Before, when he was younger and had idolized his father, he had believed every word and lie the man had told him. He had never considered that Muggles were people like him, with their own lives and feelings, because his father had said they weren't. Now, after the atrocities he had seen, he could never think that way again. Lucius had brought him to a dark revel where the main entertainment had been the torture of innocent muggles. The things he had seen that night still gave him nightmares. It was at that so-called party that he was to have received the dark mark and enter into service. He had point blank refused to do so in front of the entire crowd. He had felt momentary triumph as he had defied one of the worlds evilest Dark Lords, until he had seen the look of rage on both Voldemort's and his fathers faces. He ran.
He would never have gotten out of their unmarked if his mother hadn't earlier given him a portkey, with only the cryptic words "I love you my son. I know you'll do what's right for you." Narcissa Malfoy had never wanted this life she had. It had been an arranged marriage that brought her to Lucius, and since he was a Death Eater, she had been marked as well. All spouses were. The only joy in her life was her son Draco, whom she doted on. The feelings of love were mutual between mother and son, and he'd have walked the world over on her request.
The portkey had activated before anyone could restrain him and took him to the only place that was possibly safe for him. His Godfather Severus Snape. He spent the rest of the summer holiday holed up in Snape Manor, talking with his Godfather and trying to sort out his life. Only a few days after his climatic departure from the revel, he had received an owl from his father stating that he had been disowned and from now on was not safe from any death eater. It was a good thing that he had had his own Gringotts account for some time, or he would have been completely penniless. He would have left Snape Manor to live on his own except Severus would have none of that. He was too fond of the boy to leave him on the streets to the not so tender mercies of his fellow Death Eaters. Once he told Draco of his position as a spy for Dumbledore, Draco had calmed quite a bit, knowing that he wouldn't be betrayed.
Of the students in the Snake House who shared his side with him, some where in the same position as him, disgraced by their families for not doing as told and being good little minions. Others were from neutral families, or families that had always supported the light. They however were the minority in the house. The divide was becoming clearer day-by-day as Slytherins segregated themselves into two clear groups in all things: in classes, at meals, and even within the dorms themselves. Their head of house had to do some rearranging of the rooms so that there would be no homicide committed in the night.
It was this tension and segregation that had been noted by the two Gryffindor's previously. Most others stuck to their beliefs that all Slytherins were evil, so looked no further.
~*~(End Synopsis)~*~
Blaise was sitting slumped in her seat, head cupped in one hand when Draco sat down next to her Saturday morning. She didn't acknowledge her friend when he sat down; she continued staring off into space. A few of the other students with them had already tried to get some response but as of yet nothing had worked. Draco gave his own try, waving his fingers in her face and poking her in the sides where she was ticklish before giving up as well. He was confused as to what could make her space out like that. Scratching his neck, he looked at one of the others, a 6th year named Spencer.
"What's up with Blaise? Acting like a love-sick Hufflepuff isn't her thing normally."
Spencer shrugged, nodding towards where the Gryffindors sat. "I have no idea about love-sick, but she has been watching the gryffs a lot lately." Shrugging again, he went back to his breakfast.
Draco frowned, turning to where the favored house sat. He scanned the group of chattering students trying to pick out just who had Blaise in the clouds. He couldn't think of who would catch her attention like that, most of those students were arrogant prats. He hoped she had better taste then that. Next to him Blaise finally showed some signs of life, sitting up with a small gasp, turned to the entrance of the Hall. Draco turned as well, and felt his jaw drop to the floor in surprised disbelief. POTTER??? THAT was whom she was pining over? Dear Merlin, that was the last person who he would have expected!
Blaise ignored her companion, instead focusing her attention of the dark haired youth who had entered with his two friends. She pushed her heavy dark fringe out of her blue eyes as she studied the youth. Everything about him screamed that something was different. He was taller, had longer hair, even his face was different. She narrowed her eyes as he walked by. He even walked different! As Harry sat down she finally registered that someone was poking her to get her attention.
"What??" She snapped, glaring at the poker.
Draco arched a pale brow holding out his hands in defense. "Whoa! Easy there Blaise. We were merely wondering what could hold the attention of the Ice Queen Blaise Zabini." She looked around at the other outcast Slytherins, whom were all smiling to some degree at her.
"Hey! I resent that Draco. I'm not some love-sick Hufflepuff!" Spencer snorted in his pumpkin juice at her choice of words. She glared at him, before continuing. "I was merely observing Golden Boy. Haven't you all noticed something was up with him? He doesn't look the same. Not to mention he doesn't act the same at all either. He's…different, somehow. Reminds me of someone almost, you know?" She looked at each in turn, who all turned to make their observations.
Desiree Sperling turned back with a small shrug and picked up her potions book. "So he's a bit different. People change. Especially at his age. Why should that be noteworthy?"
Draco on the other hand saw the same thing that Blaise had seen and continued watching Harry. "I think you're right, Blaise. Potter has changed. Something about him reminds me of something." He turned back to Blaise, smirking. "What I would like to know is how you noticed this to begin with, hmmm? Something you've neglected to tell us about you and Potter, perhaps?"
She growled, swiping at his hair in annoyance, two spots of color in her cheeks. "Hardly! Get your mind out of the gutter, Draco, it's filthy enough already!"
"Heads up, mail's in guys." Spencer warned, ducking a low flying barn owl. That owl in particular headed to the Gryffindor table and dropped a note on Harry's plate. Draco and Blaise watched as he read the note, and wondered about the brief flash of anger that sufficed his face before vanishing again into a neutral look. Apparently his friends hadn't noticed. Draco looked questioningly to Blaise.
"Detention?"
"I don't know, seems a little early for that, doesn't it?"
"Yeah. Only person I can think of who'd he look like that about getting a detention note with would be Professor Snape, and he's free tonight."
"Huh. Whatever. I'm heading back, want to come with? I need to get started on that load of homework we got."
"Sure. Meet you in a second, I want to finish."
"All right then. See you in a few."
Blaise rose from her seat and headed to the common room, Draco following shortly after. Meanwhile, Harry Potter sat with his friends, their conversation flowing around him. He was contemplating his upcoming meeting with Dumbledore at 2pm that afternoon. ~I wonder what he could want? He doesn't know yet, does he?~
~*~
At 2pm Harry was facing the stone gargoyles guarding the
Headmasters office. He gave the
password that had been provided (nerds) to the stone beast, and it leapt
aside. Taking a deep breath, Harry
climbed the steps and knocked on the door.
It opened soundlessly, letting him into Dumbledore's office. Dumbledore rose from his chair with a smile
and waved Harry to a chair.
"Ah, my dear boy, so good of you to make it. Lemon drop?"
Harry politely declined the proffered sweet, looking around the room instead. It looked the same as always with its various knick-knacks in glass-covered cases and cluttering the floor. Fawkes sat on his perch in a near corner, one golden eye fixed on him closely. He trilled when Harry smiled at him. Harry felt more at ease when the bird had greeted him and he relaxed slightly into the chair. The Headmaster cleared his throat lightly and Harry jerked his head from the bird to look at him. Dumbledore's eyes twinkled as he sat back in his chair and addressed Harry.
"How are you Harry? After last term, I thought I would invite you up for a chat. I know how hard this summer must have been for you. Did you have a good time at the Weasley's?"
Harry started, then relaxed, relieved. He had only wanted to ask about his summer. ~Probably wants to make sure I've not gone all depressed on him. Can't have an unhappy hero, after all.~ He nodded, schooling his features into a smile. "Yes, I did, thank you for asking, Professor. And thanks for letting me stay there. I don't think I would've managed another day with my Aunt and Uncle." ~There, show him the innocent naïve young boy, desperately happy to live with his friends. Like nothing has changed at all.~
~Perfect. Looks like sending him to his friends did the trick.~ Dumbledore sat back in his chair, his eyes twinkling all the more. As they carried on with idle chitchat, he fingered his wand, trying to decide on the perfect time to set the glamour charm on the boy.
Harry idling scratched his arm, desperately wanting to roll his eyes or snort at the conversation they were having. He couldn't though, or Dumbledore would know something was up. He was trying to think of a way to get out of that office when something occurred that startled both Harry and Dumbledore. With a chirp Fawkes lifted up from his perch and flew to Harry's shoulder. As the warm weight of the bird settled there he was startled. Doubly so when a light tenor voice spoke in his mind.
~Hello Harry.~
Emerald eyes widened as the startled boy turned his head to face the amused golden ones facing him. ~W-what? Fawkes?~
~Indeed. A warning I must give you, fledgling. You mustn't let Dumbledore know that you and Severus now know what he did 15 years ago.~
~Wait, how did you know that?~
An amused chuckle seemed to tickle the inside of Harry's head. ~I was there, of course. Don't worry, He will not find out from me. I can't really explain more now, but have a talk sometime with your familiar about her species.~
The bird ran his beak through Harry's hair and with a chirp, flew back to his perch again. He gave one more comment before falling silent. ~Oh, and I do believe that Dumbledore took this distraction to place that glamour charm on you that he had invited you up here to do in the first place. Fare well, young one.~
Indeed he had. Dumbledore sat bemused for only a moment when his familiar flew to the boys shoulder. He took his wand, and with a few subtle movements and softly muttered words he placed the glamour on Harry, keeping his appearance to how he looked now. With luck, it would hold for quite some time. The boy had been so enraptured with the phoenix on his shoulder he had never even noticed the signs of magic being cast over him. The old man mused to himself that he really must thank Fawkes later for providing the perfect distraction to the boy. He chuckled softly, gaining Harry's attention back.
"Ah, I do believe that Fawkes has taken quite a liking to you, Harry. Only those with great moral integrity and courage can get the regard of such a creature. They are creatures of pure light, you know." He winked at Harry, eyes a twinkle. "Now, is there anything else you'd like to talk about? Remember, you can come to me for anything Harry, my door is always open to you."
Harry nodded, inwardly yakking over Dumbledore's promises. "No, not really Headmaster. Thank you though, I really appreciate it. Bye!" Harry practically felt like doing cartwheels as he escaped the office, though one thing puzzled him. Fawkes. Why did Fawkes warn him, and how had he known about Silestra?
Authors Notes: Wow, I updated earlier then even I thought I would! I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. I've done some outlines of the next two as well, so they might be up a bit quicker as well. I'm going on vacation until Saturday though, so probably nothing until then. I've read in some reviews some people expressed their wishes for a Harry/Draco pairing. While this story isn't going to be, I've decided to expand my one-shot Gryphon Baiting into a full story. It will be a romantic comedy. I'm sorry to say, though, that in this story the emphasis will NOT be on romance and the pairings. They are just to help the story along, so nothing major in the romance department will be written. I should have the next chapter for GB up soon as well. It won't be a very long story, but should be interesting. As always, thank you very much to my wonderful readers and reviewers! I doubt I would have kept writing with out you! Kisses to yall!
Please read/respond, reviews make my day, and encourage my writing to new heights!
~*~Gryphnwng~*~
