Disclaimer: I wish I could get paid for this, but I am not so leave me alone.
Rating: Whooshie
Chapter 15
Draco was getting bored. He didn't know where he was and he couldn't tell how long he had been there. 'I can't even look at myself to alleviate my boredom.'
"Greetings young soul." A voice brought a beam of light through the fog. "Please situate yourself into the light and we can see about getting you into some sort of form." Draco floated into the light. He started feeling heavy and very dizzy.
"What are you doing to me?"
"Getting you close enough to Her so you can leave. She is so very wonderful to us." It was pitch black when he landed. Draco quickly realized it was because he had his eyes closed. He choked for a bit since he had gotten so used to not having to blink or breathe that it was no longer second nature. He stood up and critiqued his body. It looked the same except for a strange marking on the palm of his right hand. It was what looked like a capital V with an S behind it in a slightly fainter color. 'What the hell is that supposed to mean?' A rectangle of light appeared and beckoned him closer.
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"We need to talk to Dumbledore." Harry stated although a bit muffled by Viper's shoulder.
"No we don't. He knows already."
"Oh," Harry looked up at the clock it was a little past eleven. "Would you stay?" Viper nodded and waited for Harry to get ready for bed. As she waited she healed and cleaned herself in a puff of smoke. Harry walked back into his room and got himself under the covers.
"It has been kind of strange sleeping with no one else in the room." Viper settled down beside him and stroked his hair away from his face.
"Viper?" Harry said groggily.
"Hmmm?"
"Where you the one who fixed my vision?"
"Yes Harry."
"I thought vision spells weren't permanent."
"I didn't just coat your eyes with perfect vision. I molded the connecters from your eyes to your brain and they healed themselves so you never have to worry about needing glasses again." She looked down at him only to find that he had fallen into a deep slumber. Quickly and quietly she slid out of the bed and out into the hallway. Her mark was burning and she could only take this for a sign that Voldemort was calling his forces to him.
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"Ahh, Sssnape finally you have arrived."
"I always come as soon as I can when you call My Lord."
"I want you to bring the woman with you next time."
"What woman Sir?"
"That ssscarred woman. Ssshe came to me in a dream and asssked to join usss."
"She is the one who killed Malfoy's son.
"I know. I wanted to sssee a sssample of her power and ssshe decided to kill the one boy that had ssspecial wardsss all over him. Losssing him really wasssn't much of a lossss to usss he never did ssseem cut out for our kind of work. Luciusss wasss actually quite glad that he no longer had to deal with hisss ssson. I want you to bring her here ssso ssshe can receive the Dark Mark." Snape bowed and walked quickly from the room unknowing that there were two sets of eyes watching him, one reptilian and one black as night.
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"Hermoine." The light tenor teased her ears and she looked up from her book.
"Uasi. Is something wrong?"
"No. I was just walking around when I noticed you in here." Uasi walked to the table and rested his arms on the back of Hermoine's chair.
"Faeries tend to make their houses out of nut husks and willow bark." He started reading aloud from her book. "Not really they will make it out of anything that stands a chance of blending in with the surrounding area. I have actually seen one made of a broken horse skeleton and palm leaves."
"You have seen faerie houses?"
"I have helped build some."
Hermoine's eyes widened. "How did they let you near them?"
"Simple." Uasi jumped onto the table shrinking as he went. Beautiful gauzy wings spread from his back. He stood confidently on Hermoine's book no more than 6 inches tall. He smiled up at Hermoine who promptly snapped out of her shock and began asking a million questions.
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Snape could not believe what he is hearing. Dumbledore was excusing Viper's actions. 'Doesn't he realize that she is trying to work for Voldemort? That she was proving her worth to the slimy bastard by killing Draco?' Dumbledore was watching Snape obviously waiting for an answer of some sort.
"Sorry Headmaster I was lost in thought."
"I asked if you would mind teaching Viper some potions. It seems that she is going to need some so that her own magic is left unnoticed and therefore Voldemort would not be able to categorize it."
"I do not believe that I can do anything to help her."
"Severus," Dumbledore started in a warning tone before being rudely interrupted by Fawkes who began to cry shrilly while hopping around on his perch. Both Dumbledore and Snape looked at the bird strangely before Snape felt his arm begin it's plead for attention. "Headmaster I must go."
"We will finish this conversation later."
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"Welcome my faithful Death Eatersss. Tonight we have a very ssspecial guessst. A guessst, whom if ssshe passssesss the tessst, ssshall be one of usss!" There was scattered applause from those assembled.
"Viper, come here." At this comment there were several gasps from the audience since most had children in Hogwarts so had heard of this mysterious Viper. Slowly Viper climbed the four stairs that brought her onto the stage. In the middle of the platform there was a table painfully reminiscent of the Alter back in her own home.
'Strange how these worlds hold similar things.' Her face was impassive, her eyes showing nothing. Voldemort gestured for her to sit on the edge of the table. She followed his directions betraying nothing of her desire to just make them all burst into flame. Two hooded figures approached her, one carrying a brand very much like the one she used to mark herself. She concentrated hard on remembering the spell that Dumbledore gave her which would reveal her mark to the eyes of the onlookers. She stared into Voldemort's eyes as his minions pressed the brand into her flesh. 'She did not even flinch. That is a good sign of her strength. Perhaps she will be more useful than I thought.' Voldemort was pleased with the way she could hold his gaze. Up until then only Lucius had been able to do that. Now that he had a suitable replacement Lucius had served his purpose well, but Voldemort would use him as Viper's last test.
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Draco could smell salty air. There was a slightly rotted odor underneath it, but nothing that could not be overlooked. He stared out over the gray beach with its black water. He watched as the waves turned momentarily white with foam before sinking back into the darkness of the ocean. He noticed the strange forms that covered the beach. He leaned forward on the edge of the cliff only to stumble away in horror. The beach was covered in corpses, many of which were slowly being dragged into the inky water. His eyes full of disgust he realized that each one of these people died horribly. Draco started down the little trail onto the beach itself. On his way he passed a man with his throat torn out, a woman whose body looked as if someone tore a child out of her, and a few steps beyond that a tiny child covered in bite marks. 'Even my father couldn't kill like this.' He stopped to examine a small girl whose hands had been cut off at the wrists.
"All who get killed by Her end up here. In case she decides to call them back. For some reason you only made it halfway." Draco whirled around and came face to face with a decidedly odd creature. It stood about three feet tall and looked almost like a standing otter.
"My name is Dundanby. I watch over these souls until She wants them back." They walked along the beach going around a large clump of burned out human husks. "She is fond of fire."
Draco couldn't control his horror anymore. "Who is this she?"
"Viper Sadi, the poisonous sadist. Everyone has heard of her and her reign of terror." The furry creature looked at him oddly.
"I don't come from your world. The only Viper I know wouldn't..." He trailed off as he remembered what he had been told about the Dementor and what Viper had done to his father.
"One thousand and five hundred years ago Viper left the Desert of the Dead and traveled across the land. She was so disappointed of the superior races that she decided to teach them fear." The creature looked over the ocean unseeingly.
"After she had bled the world almost dry she went to her sanctuary and slept for five hundred years. The people again grew soft and stopped believing in the gods that protected them for that horrible century. Elrosi, the goddess of love, was loosing strength so she did the unimaginable. She woke Viper and asked her to make the people believe in her again. Her logic was simple. There can be no light unless there is also shadow."
"So you have been waiting for Viper to come back?"
"Yes. She will come back and be pleased with me for keeping her army in such good repair. She will make a beautiful army and be happy with me."
Draco looked at Dundanby a confused look on his face. "Why would she need an army?"