Quest of the Seekers: Animals Within
Year Two at Hogwarts
...
Chapter 9: Fear during a Happy Time
.
Tyler charged into the second year dorms and was relieved that it was empty.
"Chaos," he hissed lowly. "Chaos, are you in here?"
His faithful snake appeared from under his bed and slithered to his side. "What's wrong Tyler? Your voice is very shaky today."
"I blew it! I did the most stupidest thing in my family's history!"
"What happened?"
"I revealed my ability to speak to snakes to my friends. I might as well jump off the Astronomy tower because I'm as good as dead."
"Why master?"
"When they'll tell everyone what they've learned about me and I could expect to be in Azkaban in a week. Also, stop calling me master!"
"You don't have to yell at me Tyler."
Tyler just had to breathe out the deepest, calming breath to stop himself from continuing yelling at Chaos. He was the only one who he could talk to about this.
"I'm sorry Chaos...I'm just very scared right now."
"Didn't your father give you instructions if you ran into this kind of trouble?"
"Well, he taught me the memory charm but I didn't have my wand so I couldn't put it on them and now it's too late for that. He also said to send Pandy if there was trouble."
"Great, then send Pandy to your dad and tell him what happened so he could help you."
Tyler put thought on this and thought that Chaos had a point. His father was a pretty clever and strong wizard and knew he wouldn't stop until he would have his son in the comfort of safety. But then that thought made Tyler realize that that could be a bad thing.
"No."
"What, by why not?"
"Don't you see Chaos? If I owl my dad then he'll risk everything to help me."
"Which is what a father is supposed to do."
"But if I'm found out then my father will face the same fate as I do. Or...what if this turns out just like my dad seeing great grandpa taken away. I don't want him to go through that again because of a stupid mistake I did. Also, imagine how disappointed he'll be when he finds out that, me, the heir to Salazar Slytherin's wand, the one who is to be the Slytherin family's last hope, messed up our cover. I can't live with myself if any of that happened."
Tyler started to break down to tears when he finished. He was so worried about what was going to happen now. What if the news had gotten to Dumbledore? There was no way his dad would be able to stop Dumbledore from dealing with him. Just then Tyler started to wipe his tears away with his sleeves. Now was not the time to be crying. He had to pack up! What if faculty or ministry members were on their way this second. Also he couldn't bear letting Chaos seeing him like this.
"I gotta pack."
"Wait Tyler. What if your friends don't tell anyone? Wouldn't you be safe?"
"You don't get it Chaos. Jacke and Reggie were brought up to learn that parseltongue is among the darkest arts that are in existence. Also they were raised to know that Parselmouths are evil wizards and future dark lords. Thanks to my cousin, Voldemort, they'll be especially scared of me now. Brad surely was told all about my kin by his house members and to be especially scared of us because he's muggleborn. They are sure to tell somebody about this."
It was amazing to see that Tyler was able pack and talk quickly to Chaos at the same time without spilling his possessions everywhere.
"Tyler, you're their friend. Surely they would know you better than that now."
"Chaos, they don't know me at all!" This struck Chaos speechless. "You don't see it yet. I lied to them about my name, my family and my identity! I immediately became a complete stranger to them and...and, oh I just gotta pack up. We'll talk about this later."
Tyler then finished packing all of his stuff and Chaos away to go at anytime. 'Hopefully, they are still spooked enough to keep it to themselves until I can leave tomorrow. Yeah, I mean...they do need proof because the teachers will think they are just raving. But just in case.'
After that trail of thought he closed his trunk shut, readied his wand in his robe pocket and left the dormitory. He went to the common room and listened in with Regulus and the other older slytherins if there were any rumors and such of a parselmouth discovered. 'One important thing about Hogwarts, you can always count on gossip and rumors to fly fast.' He let out a breathe of relief to know that the top item on everyone's conversation was about the quidditch match that was played earlier.
...
Jacke, Reggie and Brad went into an unused classroom on the first floor after the episode on the grounds. Reggie pointed his wand at the door.
"Silencio!" A blue light struck the door.
"What was that?"
"It's a Silence Charm that I looked up. We won't be overheard from out of the door."
They stood there in silence for a while. Jacke decided to be the one to have the courage to start the conversation.
"What do we do now?"
"I guess we should tell a teacher," said Reggie.
"I still don't know why? Why did you tell me to not say another word after we saw Tyler run away?"
Jacke and Reggie looked at Brad with a mixture of shock, anger, and fear. Jacke then started.
"Brad, do you know what a parselmouth is?"
"Yeah, some of the other Hufflepuffs told me about them. They said to watch out for them. It's a person that can talk to snakes right?"
"Yes, which is why we let someone know about Tyler," repeated Reggie.
"I'm confused, why tell about Tyler being able to talk to snakes. That's not really our business."
"Brad, I'm going to try to explain why this is serious which is normal since you weren't raised to know this about them. Parseltongue, the language of the snakes, is considered to be one of the darkest arts in wizarding history. Everyone recorded of this talent turned out to become dark lords and wizards."
"Really?...So Tyler's a dark wizard?"
"Come to think of it, it does make sense."
"I don't get it. What do you mean by that Reggie?" asked Jacke.
"Well, didn't you find it odd that Tyler always, got these books on transformations. Remember what he said to us? Don't ask where I got it. There is also the fact that Tyler wasn't at all scared to say Voldemort's name when we met him. Also, how he is a master in the dark arts classes. And remember the animal he chose to be: a snake. It all adds up which is why we need to tell one of the teachers."
"You mean tattle on Tyler?"
"Brad, do you know that Voldemort is a parselmouth? Now do you see how serious this is?"
There was an eerie silence following these last words Reggie spoke. The three of the seekers in the room went into drowning thought on the latest fact: Their fellow seeker and best friend, Tyler, was a parselmouth, which he had hid from them.
Reggie was feeling...lost. Tyler had helped to loosen Reggie up and make him learn how to have more fun in his life and take risks, though he still valued work over fun. Tyler wasn't like the other slytherins but now Tyler just became a total stranger.
Jacke was hit harder at this than either of them. Tyler was the first friend he had made going into Hogwarts. He was his bestest friend and felt close to him. He was just like him when it came to fun and adventure. Through his eyes, Tyler and his slytherin friends, mainly Regulus weren't really the typical slytherins, more like half-slytherins. After all that Jacke went through from the other Gryffindors to keep Tyler's friendship this happens. Jacke felt so...betrayed.
Brad lowered his head in thought on this. He couldn't believe that Tyler was a parselmouth. He always thought of him as a good friend, one that was truly special especially coming from Slytherin. He didn't care when he found out that he was a muggleborn and didn't, after the sorting, break things off with him or call him a "mudblood" like a few did. This train of thought set off a set of doubts that cancelled his earlier ones.
"Guys wait a minute. Aren't we judging Tyler too strongly on this?" Jacke and Reggie were both unable to respond to this. "You see, my parents taught me not to judge a person by their skin, religion or language. And like you said earlier Reggie, that's what parseltongue is, just another language."
"But Brad, I explained about parselmouths, look at Voldemort."
"Has Tyler done anything? I mean if he was a dark wizard then why doesn't he call me a mudblood if he supposed to be the worst of slytherins. And why did he share the transformations with us. I think it's a little unfair thinking about him this way because he knows a language we can't speak. He has been a best friend to us this whole time. Jacke, that snake was going to poison you and from the pointing that Tyler did, it looked like he stopped the snake from hurting you. He risked his secret to help you."
Jacke immediately felt the size of a goblet. Tyler had been a terrific friend like after their quidditch match and those times they played games together. Together, they had always had fun and laughed together like any best friend would. And it looked like Tyler did save him and did risk his secret to save him. This snapped Jacke out of the denial that Tyler wasn't who he thought he was. Tyler was the same caring friend from slytherin he had come to know. Before he could think more on the subject, Reggie spoke.
"Yeah, I guess we forgot who he is and started judging him from what he is ignoring everything else. Did you see the look on his face when he ran away? He looked so scared at us. I've never seen him look that scared. He probably knew we might act like this which is probably why he never told us."
"So what do we do now?"
"We should talk to him together." Reggie said this simply answering Jacke's question like it was the most easiest one to answer in the world.
...
Tyler didn't go to the feast that night. He just finished getting his packed trunk down near the fire. He had asked Nott the prefect if it was connected by floo and he assured him that it was. He had borrowed a satchel of floo powder from Matt and had it in hand, ready to floo home at the sign of trouble.
...
The three other seekers had hoped to meet with Tyler at the feast but he wasn't there. Reggie went to Regulus and asked where he was and learned that Tyler was in the common room all by himself and refused to come down.
"There's still the ride home to talk to him," reassured Brad after hearing the news.
But Tyler's actions that following morning stomped that idea away. Tyler came at the earliest time that he could to the station and then he went into a compartment with Matt who he forced to come with him early to Hogsmeade Station.
"Why did you want to come early anyways?" Matt asked after they sat in an annoyed, cranky voice.
"I wanted to get a good seat for the train ride." Tyler just wanted to get to the safety of his home fast and avoid the other seekers at the school.
"Oh but don't you usually ride with your other friends?"
"Yeah...but I decided to ride with you and Regulus this time and they understand."
This seemed to stop him asking questions, which Tyler didn't want asked because he was a nervous wreck. He also didn't want to be confronted by them and get into a fight over him being a parselmouth.
'If they hadn't told anyone then they must want to keep a lid on it or are waiting for something.'
Regulus came in to their compartment several minutes later after saying goodbye to the other slytherins in his year. Tyler made to shut the compartment door so his friends wouldn't find him with his house comrades. They sat in the cozy compartment as the train pulled out of the station and headed toward London.
"Oh Tyler," Regulus said suddenly surprising Tyler. "Sorry, but I wanted to know if Severus wrote you recently?"
"No...not recently. That worries me," he added in a low voice.
"Worries you?" "How could it worry you?" responded his friends.
"Well, I think he could..." he started to whisper but Regulus interrupted with his hand.
"Hold on Tyler." He then pulled out his wand and pointed it at the door. "Silencio." The spell hit the door with a blue light. "Okay, Silence Charm, You could talk without whispering because I was barely hearing you. Don't worry, we have complete privacy now."
"Thanks" he said in normal tone. "I just feel that he might've joined the Death Eaters like his father wanted."
"Oh" "I see." It was clear that his friends knew how he felt about Death Eaters. They should've since Tyler spoke up against Severus joining up last year.
"There are more things in the paper about this like that wizard who disappeared, er, Caradoc Dearborn and I can't bear to think if Severus is involved or took part in it. You know what. I'll write him now and ask him."
"What?" Matt blurted.
"You can't just ask that out of the potion mist."
"Please, I'm not going to do that. I'll build up to it. I am a slytherin too you know. I'll slowly conjure my way up to the question.
Severus,
Hello, I hope you are doing well. Here at Hogwarts is going as steady as it could
be. Our new defense teacher has been good at teaching us but seems to hate my guts now.
Why, I have no idea. Regulus and Matt are right here with me and they're getting by just
fine. My other three friends are coming along quite nicely and we are all hoping to face
each other in more quidditch soon. You really haven't written a lot lately. Is it because
you accepted being in you dad's...association? Matt, Regulus and I just want to hear it
from you rather than by another source like the paper or if we eavesdrop. Just be honest
with me. What you write is strictly going to be between us. After all, we promised you that
we would keep it quiet if you joined or not. Anyway, we miss you and Slytherin house
isn't the same without your order. Have a happy, merry Christmas.
Tyler
Tyler called for Pandy and rolled the parchment to his leg. "Pandy take this to Severus okay. And wait until you get his reply." Pandy hooted in a yes tone and then took off.
"I hope you know what you're doing. Severus might not say if he joined at all whether he did or didn't. His pride is very strong."
"Exactly what a slytherin's is but as is mine and I just don't want Severus to...do something he'll regret."
"You really care for him don't you?" asked Matt.
"Well he looked for what's best for me so I'm trying to return the favor."
"That's good Tyler but Severus is a big boy now and can do what he wants and if he wants to serve the Dark Lord then he'll do that. Listen to me Tyler," Regulus started in a very serious tone like a big brother. "Many people want different things. Severus did tell you that he doesn't like muggleborns remember? Here's a term that my dorm mates taught me to know: "It's better to be riding the snake then be in its way." They just want to be able to be safe so they join You-Know-Who to not be on his hit list and feel safe."
Regulus' words brought an end to the subject. Now Tyler only felt worse. Severus might be a Death Eater/servant to his murderous cousin. He just hoped that he could show how bad it is to eliminate a group like muggleborns because of their blood. He had, no has good first hand experience on being treated by your origin and not by who you are is like.
...
Later the train pulled into Platform 9 ¾ and Tyler wished his friends a Merry Christmas and took his trunk and ran as fast as he could on the platform looking for his dad. He could only think of getting to his dad before Jacke, Reggie or Brad spotted him. He made it to the other end of the platform and found a familiar figure holding a candlestick- his dad.
"Dad. It's so great to see you." He hugged him as hard as he could. He needed to have his family comfort him during this time. "That's the portkey to go home right?" he said pointing to the candlestick.
"Yes it is. Er...where's Pandy?"
"Oh, he's off on delivery."
"And Chaos?"
"In my trunk, out of sight."
"Alright, here's the portkey," he said whipping forward the candlestick for Tyler to grab it. "Now 3,2,1."
Right before Tyler felt the rush of traveling by portkey, he caught glimpse of a blonde haired, brown haired and red haired trio of figures catch sight of him. But before they could move toward his direction, they blurred and soon Tyler found himself back in the familiar front hall of the Slytherin Mansion.
...
All Tyler could think about was what would happen when he got back on the train to Hogwarts throughout the whole holiday. He tried to be happy on Christmas morning but was again reminded of what was worrying him. He got cards from his fellow seekers telling him to meet at the back of the train or else. All three said that same thing so he guessed that they planned that together. Regulus sent him a richly made green vest made of dragon hide which he decided to put on and Matt sent him a wood tenderizing kit for his broomstick and wand. His parents gave him a practice snitch to use in training and grandparents gave him a new trunk that would have the inside magically expand to allow more room for his stuff claiming that he was starting to get messy in organizing.
The last present he got was the return letter from Severus. Pandy showed up in the middle of dinner and stuck out his leg.
"Whose letter is that son?"
"Oh it's a return letter from my friend Severus," he said taking the letter and letting Pandy get a drink of eggnog from his glass.
He didn't open the letter until he got into his room.
Tyler,
I am happy to see that you are concerned for me but I can't tell you what I'm
doing in case this letter is intercepted. But don't tell anyone that I decided to be accepted
in my dad's club. He told me that I have to carry out his legacy and I decided that I must
because of the feelings of which I told you last June. Anyhow I'm fine and I'm glad that
you are having a great time playing quidditch against your friends. Just try to win for
slytherin along the way. Also, I would watch my back on that dark arts professor of
yours. Merry Christmas.
Severus
That letter made it clear that Severus had joined the Death Eaters. Like Regulus said, it was Severus' decision and he can't tell him otherwise. Severus had to make his own decision and won't change it because Tyler had a bad feeling about it. He just had to accept the fact that Severus chose to be part of the Death Eaters. But he couldn't because he felt that Severus really did it because his father made him, which didn't weaken his resolve to show Severus that he didn't make the right choice.
Tyler was so depressed that he actually refused to have a no wand parselduel with his dad or grandpa (because he couldn't use any magic from school now). When his father and grandpa asked he just shrugged and said that he wasn't in the mood now. So he just tried to watch as they had a parselduel against each other with wands trying to cheer him up but it had little effect. When his mother asked him what was wrong, it took a lot of will to not burst out crying in front of her. He just said that he was tired and went into the study on the other side of the mansion to cry on the floor where no one could see him.
As soon as it seemed that he just got home, it became the night before he was to return to school and was already told to go to bed to be ready. He had Chaos around him for comfort and moved Pandy's perching stand close to his bed. He was nervous and didn't know what to do. Should he ignore the cards his friends sent and not meet them tomorrow or meet them like they asked. He was so overwhelmed by what was happening that he started to silently cry himself to sleep. The tears slid down his cheek and barely missed Chaos. Before he drifted off he finally decided that he couldn't risk the "Or Else" warning and chose to meet them at the last compartment on the train tomorrow.
...
End of Chapter 9
Nightlit: Glad to have you back and I do hope you feel a lot better. I can't wait to see what surprises you have next in your story, which I hope gets updated.
Author Notes:
Wow, that was the longest chapter that I've ever written. Sorry to all if it was depressing, but Tyler is facing a big dilemma here. He might've lost his friends and Severus joined his cousin's ranks. How would you feel? To me, I think I made Tyler take it too well. The next chapter is in the making. It will have Tyler confronted by his fellow seekers and a lot gets discussed here. I haven't made a title for it yet but I'm working on a good one.
On a personal note, it could be some time. I just graduated from high school and I'm in the celebrating mode. So I might not have the concentration that I normally do which could make the update time longer than I expected. Well hopefully you will feel it was worth the wait. REVIEW and it might make me work faster.
Year Two at Hogwarts
...
Chapter 9: Fear during a Happy Time
.
Tyler charged into the second year dorms and was relieved that it was empty.
"Chaos," he hissed lowly. "Chaos, are you in here?"
His faithful snake appeared from under his bed and slithered to his side. "What's wrong Tyler? Your voice is very shaky today."
"I blew it! I did the most stupidest thing in my family's history!"
"What happened?"
"I revealed my ability to speak to snakes to my friends. I might as well jump off the Astronomy tower because I'm as good as dead."
"Why master?"
"When they'll tell everyone what they've learned about me and I could expect to be in Azkaban in a week. Also, stop calling me master!"
"You don't have to yell at me Tyler."
Tyler just had to breathe out the deepest, calming breath to stop himself from continuing yelling at Chaos. He was the only one who he could talk to about this.
"I'm sorry Chaos...I'm just very scared right now."
"Didn't your father give you instructions if you ran into this kind of trouble?"
"Well, he taught me the memory charm but I didn't have my wand so I couldn't put it on them and now it's too late for that. He also said to send Pandy if there was trouble."
"Great, then send Pandy to your dad and tell him what happened so he could help you."
Tyler put thought on this and thought that Chaos had a point. His father was a pretty clever and strong wizard and knew he wouldn't stop until he would have his son in the comfort of safety. But then that thought made Tyler realize that that could be a bad thing.
"No."
"What, by why not?"
"Don't you see Chaos? If I owl my dad then he'll risk everything to help me."
"Which is what a father is supposed to do."
"But if I'm found out then my father will face the same fate as I do. Or...what if this turns out just like my dad seeing great grandpa taken away. I don't want him to go through that again because of a stupid mistake I did. Also, imagine how disappointed he'll be when he finds out that, me, the heir to Salazar Slytherin's wand, the one who is to be the Slytherin family's last hope, messed up our cover. I can't live with myself if any of that happened."
Tyler started to break down to tears when he finished. He was so worried about what was going to happen now. What if the news had gotten to Dumbledore? There was no way his dad would be able to stop Dumbledore from dealing with him. Just then Tyler started to wipe his tears away with his sleeves. Now was not the time to be crying. He had to pack up! What if faculty or ministry members were on their way this second. Also he couldn't bear letting Chaos seeing him like this.
"I gotta pack."
"Wait Tyler. What if your friends don't tell anyone? Wouldn't you be safe?"
"You don't get it Chaos. Jacke and Reggie were brought up to learn that parseltongue is among the darkest arts that are in existence. Also they were raised to know that Parselmouths are evil wizards and future dark lords. Thanks to my cousin, Voldemort, they'll be especially scared of me now. Brad surely was told all about my kin by his house members and to be especially scared of us because he's muggleborn. They are sure to tell somebody about this."
It was amazing to see that Tyler was able pack and talk quickly to Chaos at the same time without spilling his possessions everywhere.
"Tyler, you're their friend. Surely they would know you better than that now."
"Chaos, they don't know me at all!" This struck Chaos speechless. "You don't see it yet. I lied to them about my name, my family and my identity! I immediately became a complete stranger to them and...and, oh I just gotta pack up. We'll talk about this later."
Tyler then finished packing all of his stuff and Chaos away to go at anytime. 'Hopefully, they are still spooked enough to keep it to themselves until I can leave tomorrow. Yeah, I mean...they do need proof because the teachers will think they are just raving. But just in case.'
After that trail of thought he closed his trunk shut, readied his wand in his robe pocket and left the dormitory. He went to the common room and listened in with Regulus and the other older slytherins if there were any rumors and such of a parselmouth discovered. 'One important thing about Hogwarts, you can always count on gossip and rumors to fly fast.' He let out a breathe of relief to know that the top item on everyone's conversation was about the quidditch match that was played earlier.
...
Jacke, Reggie and Brad went into an unused classroom on the first floor after the episode on the grounds. Reggie pointed his wand at the door.
"Silencio!" A blue light struck the door.
"What was that?"
"It's a Silence Charm that I looked up. We won't be overheard from out of the door."
They stood there in silence for a while. Jacke decided to be the one to have the courage to start the conversation.
"What do we do now?"
"I guess we should tell a teacher," said Reggie.
"I still don't know why? Why did you tell me to not say another word after we saw Tyler run away?"
Jacke and Reggie looked at Brad with a mixture of shock, anger, and fear. Jacke then started.
"Brad, do you know what a parselmouth is?"
"Yeah, some of the other Hufflepuffs told me about them. They said to watch out for them. It's a person that can talk to snakes right?"
"Yes, which is why we let someone know about Tyler," repeated Reggie.
"I'm confused, why tell about Tyler being able to talk to snakes. That's not really our business."
"Brad, I'm going to try to explain why this is serious which is normal since you weren't raised to know this about them. Parseltongue, the language of the snakes, is considered to be one of the darkest arts in wizarding history. Everyone recorded of this talent turned out to become dark lords and wizards."
"Really?...So Tyler's a dark wizard?"
"Come to think of it, it does make sense."
"I don't get it. What do you mean by that Reggie?" asked Jacke.
"Well, didn't you find it odd that Tyler always, got these books on transformations. Remember what he said to us? Don't ask where I got it. There is also the fact that Tyler wasn't at all scared to say Voldemort's name when we met him. Also, how he is a master in the dark arts classes. And remember the animal he chose to be: a snake. It all adds up which is why we need to tell one of the teachers."
"You mean tattle on Tyler?"
"Brad, do you know that Voldemort is a parselmouth? Now do you see how serious this is?"
There was an eerie silence following these last words Reggie spoke. The three of the seekers in the room went into drowning thought on the latest fact: Their fellow seeker and best friend, Tyler, was a parselmouth, which he had hid from them.
Reggie was feeling...lost. Tyler had helped to loosen Reggie up and make him learn how to have more fun in his life and take risks, though he still valued work over fun. Tyler wasn't like the other slytherins but now Tyler just became a total stranger.
Jacke was hit harder at this than either of them. Tyler was the first friend he had made going into Hogwarts. He was his bestest friend and felt close to him. He was just like him when it came to fun and adventure. Through his eyes, Tyler and his slytherin friends, mainly Regulus weren't really the typical slytherins, more like half-slytherins. After all that Jacke went through from the other Gryffindors to keep Tyler's friendship this happens. Jacke felt so...betrayed.
Brad lowered his head in thought on this. He couldn't believe that Tyler was a parselmouth. He always thought of him as a good friend, one that was truly special especially coming from Slytherin. He didn't care when he found out that he was a muggleborn and didn't, after the sorting, break things off with him or call him a "mudblood" like a few did. This train of thought set off a set of doubts that cancelled his earlier ones.
"Guys wait a minute. Aren't we judging Tyler too strongly on this?" Jacke and Reggie were both unable to respond to this. "You see, my parents taught me not to judge a person by their skin, religion or language. And like you said earlier Reggie, that's what parseltongue is, just another language."
"But Brad, I explained about parselmouths, look at Voldemort."
"Has Tyler done anything? I mean if he was a dark wizard then why doesn't he call me a mudblood if he supposed to be the worst of slytherins. And why did he share the transformations with us. I think it's a little unfair thinking about him this way because he knows a language we can't speak. He has been a best friend to us this whole time. Jacke, that snake was going to poison you and from the pointing that Tyler did, it looked like he stopped the snake from hurting you. He risked his secret to help you."
Jacke immediately felt the size of a goblet. Tyler had been a terrific friend like after their quidditch match and those times they played games together. Together, they had always had fun and laughed together like any best friend would. And it looked like Tyler did save him and did risk his secret to save him. This snapped Jacke out of the denial that Tyler wasn't who he thought he was. Tyler was the same caring friend from slytherin he had come to know. Before he could think more on the subject, Reggie spoke.
"Yeah, I guess we forgot who he is and started judging him from what he is ignoring everything else. Did you see the look on his face when he ran away? He looked so scared at us. I've never seen him look that scared. He probably knew we might act like this which is probably why he never told us."
"So what do we do now?"
"We should talk to him together." Reggie said this simply answering Jacke's question like it was the most easiest one to answer in the world.
...
Tyler didn't go to the feast that night. He just finished getting his packed trunk down near the fire. He had asked Nott the prefect if it was connected by floo and he assured him that it was. He had borrowed a satchel of floo powder from Matt and had it in hand, ready to floo home at the sign of trouble.
...
The three other seekers had hoped to meet with Tyler at the feast but he wasn't there. Reggie went to Regulus and asked where he was and learned that Tyler was in the common room all by himself and refused to come down.
"There's still the ride home to talk to him," reassured Brad after hearing the news.
But Tyler's actions that following morning stomped that idea away. Tyler came at the earliest time that he could to the station and then he went into a compartment with Matt who he forced to come with him early to Hogsmeade Station.
"Why did you want to come early anyways?" Matt asked after they sat in an annoyed, cranky voice.
"I wanted to get a good seat for the train ride." Tyler just wanted to get to the safety of his home fast and avoid the other seekers at the school.
"Oh but don't you usually ride with your other friends?"
"Yeah...but I decided to ride with you and Regulus this time and they understand."
This seemed to stop him asking questions, which Tyler didn't want asked because he was a nervous wreck. He also didn't want to be confronted by them and get into a fight over him being a parselmouth.
'If they hadn't told anyone then they must want to keep a lid on it or are waiting for something.'
Regulus came in to their compartment several minutes later after saying goodbye to the other slytherins in his year. Tyler made to shut the compartment door so his friends wouldn't find him with his house comrades. They sat in the cozy compartment as the train pulled out of the station and headed toward London.
"Oh Tyler," Regulus said suddenly surprising Tyler. "Sorry, but I wanted to know if Severus wrote you recently?"
"No...not recently. That worries me," he added in a low voice.
"Worries you?" "How could it worry you?" responded his friends.
"Well, I think he could..." he started to whisper but Regulus interrupted with his hand.
"Hold on Tyler." He then pulled out his wand and pointed it at the door. "Silencio." The spell hit the door with a blue light. "Okay, Silence Charm, You could talk without whispering because I was barely hearing you. Don't worry, we have complete privacy now."
"Thanks" he said in normal tone. "I just feel that he might've joined the Death Eaters like his father wanted."
"Oh" "I see." It was clear that his friends knew how he felt about Death Eaters. They should've since Tyler spoke up against Severus joining up last year.
"There are more things in the paper about this like that wizard who disappeared, er, Caradoc Dearborn and I can't bear to think if Severus is involved or took part in it. You know what. I'll write him now and ask him."
"What?" Matt blurted.
"You can't just ask that out of the potion mist."
"Please, I'm not going to do that. I'll build up to it. I am a slytherin too you know. I'll slowly conjure my way up to the question.
Severus,
Hello, I hope you are doing well. Here at Hogwarts is going as steady as it could
be. Our new defense teacher has been good at teaching us but seems to hate my guts now.
Why, I have no idea. Regulus and Matt are right here with me and they're getting by just
fine. My other three friends are coming along quite nicely and we are all hoping to face
each other in more quidditch soon. You really haven't written a lot lately. Is it because
you accepted being in you dad's...association? Matt, Regulus and I just want to hear it
from you rather than by another source like the paper or if we eavesdrop. Just be honest
with me. What you write is strictly going to be between us. After all, we promised you that
we would keep it quiet if you joined or not. Anyway, we miss you and Slytherin house
isn't the same without your order. Have a happy, merry Christmas.
Tyler
Tyler called for Pandy and rolled the parchment to his leg. "Pandy take this to Severus okay. And wait until you get his reply." Pandy hooted in a yes tone and then took off.
"I hope you know what you're doing. Severus might not say if he joined at all whether he did or didn't. His pride is very strong."
"Exactly what a slytherin's is but as is mine and I just don't want Severus to...do something he'll regret."
"You really care for him don't you?" asked Matt.
"Well he looked for what's best for me so I'm trying to return the favor."
"That's good Tyler but Severus is a big boy now and can do what he wants and if he wants to serve the Dark Lord then he'll do that. Listen to me Tyler," Regulus started in a very serious tone like a big brother. "Many people want different things. Severus did tell you that he doesn't like muggleborns remember? Here's a term that my dorm mates taught me to know: "It's better to be riding the snake then be in its way." They just want to be able to be safe so they join You-Know-Who to not be on his hit list and feel safe."
Regulus' words brought an end to the subject. Now Tyler only felt worse. Severus might be a Death Eater/servant to his murderous cousin. He just hoped that he could show how bad it is to eliminate a group like muggleborns because of their blood. He had, no has good first hand experience on being treated by your origin and not by who you are is like.
...
Later the train pulled into Platform 9 ¾ and Tyler wished his friends a Merry Christmas and took his trunk and ran as fast as he could on the platform looking for his dad. He could only think of getting to his dad before Jacke, Reggie or Brad spotted him. He made it to the other end of the platform and found a familiar figure holding a candlestick- his dad.
"Dad. It's so great to see you." He hugged him as hard as he could. He needed to have his family comfort him during this time. "That's the portkey to go home right?" he said pointing to the candlestick.
"Yes it is. Er...where's Pandy?"
"Oh, he's off on delivery."
"And Chaos?"
"In my trunk, out of sight."
"Alright, here's the portkey," he said whipping forward the candlestick for Tyler to grab it. "Now 3,2,1."
Right before Tyler felt the rush of traveling by portkey, he caught glimpse of a blonde haired, brown haired and red haired trio of figures catch sight of him. But before they could move toward his direction, they blurred and soon Tyler found himself back in the familiar front hall of the Slytherin Mansion.
...
All Tyler could think about was what would happen when he got back on the train to Hogwarts throughout the whole holiday. He tried to be happy on Christmas morning but was again reminded of what was worrying him. He got cards from his fellow seekers telling him to meet at the back of the train or else. All three said that same thing so he guessed that they planned that together. Regulus sent him a richly made green vest made of dragon hide which he decided to put on and Matt sent him a wood tenderizing kit for his broomstick and wand. His parents gave him a practice snitch to use in training and grandparents gave him a new trunk that would have the inside magically expand to allow more room for his stuff claiming that he was starting to get messy in organizing.
The last present he got was the return letter from Severus. Pandy showed up in the middle of dinner and stuck out his leg.
"Whose letter is that son?"
"Oh it's a return letter from my friend Severus," he said taking the letter and letting Pandy get a drink of eggnog from his glass.
He didn't open the letter until he got into his room.
Tyler,
I am happy to see that you are concerned for me but I can't tell you what I'm
doing in case this letter is intercepted. But don't tell anyone that I decided to be accepted
in my dad's club. He told me that I have to carry out his legacy and I decided that I must
because of the feelings of which I told you last June. Anyhow I'm fine and I'm glad that
you are having a great time playing quidditch against your friends. Just try to win for
slytherin along the way. Also, I would watch my back on that dark arts professor of
yours. Merry Christmas.
Severus
That letter made it clear that Severus had joined the Death Eaters. Like Regulus said, it was Severus' decision and he can't tell him otherwise. Severus had to make his own decision and won't change it because Tyler had a bad feeling about it. He just had to accept the fact that Severus chose to be part of the Death Eaters. But he couldn't because he felt that Severus really did it because his father made him, which didn't weaken his resolve to show Severus that he didn't make the right choice.
Tyler was so depressed that he actually refused to have a no wand parselduel with his dad or grandpa (because he couldn't use any magic from school now). When his father and grandpa asked he just shrugged and said that he wasn't in the mood now. So he just tried to watch as they had a parselduel against each other with wands trying to cheer him up but it had little effect. When his mother asked him what was wrong, it took a lot of will to not burst out crying in front of her. He just said that he was tired and went into the study on the other side of the mansion to cry on the floor where no one could see him.
As soon as it seemed that he just got home, it became the night before he was to return to school and was already told to go to bed to be ready. He had Chaos around him for comfort and moved Pandy's perching stand close to his bed. He was nervous and didn't know what to do. Should he ignore the cards his friends sent and not meet them tomorrow or meet them like they asked. He was so overwhelmed by what was happening that he started to silently cry himself to sleep. The tears slid down his cheek and barely missed Chaos. Before he drifted off he finally decided that he couldn't risk the "Or Else" warning and chose to meet them at the last compartment on the train tomorrow.
...
End of Chapter 9
Nightlit: Glad to have you back and I do hope you feel a lot better. I can't wait to see what surprises you have next in your story, which I hope gets updated.
Author Notes:
Wow, that was the longest chapter that I've ever written. Sorry to all if it was depressing, but Tyler is facing a big dilemma here. He might've lost his friends and Severus joined his cousin's ranks. How would you feel? To me, I think I made Tyler take it too well. The next chapter is in the making. It will have Tyler confronted by his fellow seekers and a lot gets discussed here. I haven't made a title for it yet but I'm working on a good one.
On a personal note, it could be some time. I just graduated from high school and I'm in the celebrating mode. So I might not have the concentration that I normally do which could make the update time longer than I expected. Well hopefully you will feel it was worth the wait. REVIEW and it might make me work faster.