Summary: Voldemort sends a quizzical package to Dane Snape, Professor Trelawney makes a discovery, Harry gets going, and Remus begins to unfold certain 'ties' to a past long forgotten to all but him and one other….
Disclaimer: We are living in the Nuclear Age, and my brains have been sizzled by atomic bombs dropped on the innocent CANADIAN citizens of this world, there for, I have lost my imagination, and can not, in fact, be J.K Rowling. Besides, I have no credit to my name or even a bank account, let alone a ten dollar pocket. So I own shit, except the plot, which my twisted imagination came up with before the atomic bombs dropped down on the innocent civilians. God bless our radiation filled souls.
A/N: Again, sorry for the VERY LONG delay in getting this uploaded. Yeah, I'm a slacker, I know. And yeah, I lost quite a few reviewers, which is not so nonchalant, but still, I got it up, didn't I? Now, I'm not making any promises that I'll get the next one up quicker, as I've been experiencing serious damage to imagination and writing skills. Anyone, I'll do my thank you's now, which there will not be many of, as many of you (you know who you are!) have appeared to have forgotten me. (sniff).
Hipa, I have one thing to say to you….what in the world is aikido?
Snuffle's Girl, Thank you, so much! (hugs) lol. Thanks, I hope you continue to read, regardless of the antagonizing long waits between updates.
MajinSakuko, lol, Not much to say, this time, as my supper is ready and I'm starving to death. Mmmmm….Low Fat Noodles….lol. One quick thing though: I always pictured Remus and Severus being about the same height, so, I dunno, improvise! lol. Oh yeah, I checked out that H/D fic. I haven't finished it yet, as the stupid chapter twelve would not load on my damn computer for the last three days, but I vow to do so! It's really good! (Wow, I'm so descriptive. 'Good'!)
Marauderlass, Thanks for the review. One thing though! I'll have you know that I DO know about 'your' and 'you're', just I make mistakes like that when I type, and when I do check it over, I sometimes miss that I made that mistake, because I see it as a word, without noticing that it's not in the proper use. Kind of like spellcheck…lol. However, the 'its' and 'it's' are a serious, old habit. Oopsie. Lol.
On with, Sherlock Snape!
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Chapter Thirteen: Little Kiddies Plan.
If there was one thing Voldemort didn't like to do, it was wait. Which is exactly what he was doing now. Even worse, was waiting for someone that annoyed you to no end to show up, when in all rights you should be avoiding them completely and doing something you enjoy. Which he was also doing now, as he tapped his foot.
You did not keep Lord Voldemort waiting.
His wand was being twirled idly between his fingers and his dark slits scanned every corner and crevice in the room, drinking in shadows, playing with them. Nagini stretched her body out and rubbed her flat topped head against the back of his wasted calf in an odd, feline gesture of affection. Or annoyance.
"Soon my pet, soon." He rasped, his eyes darkening as he rubbed one hand roughly down her head.
Just as he was about to return to his chambers, a soft, hesitant knock came to the door. He flicked his wrist, and the broad oak surfaces flew open, showing the visitor.
"What took you, Wormtail?"
Wormtail bent his head low and hobbled over to his Master, before sinking to his knees and kissing the elegant, forest green robes. "I am sorry, my lord. I was…delayed."
Voldemort was much to interested in the response that he knew his visitor carried at the tip of his tongue to degrade him. "Tell me, Wormtail, how was our dear friends reaction to the letter?"
The small, stout man laughed a sort of sick, maniacal rasping sound, like chalk being scraped on a board, with wind in the background. His round belly jiggled with it, and his pudge protruded over the waistline of his trousers. Voldemort felt a sick enlightenment at seeing this. "My Lord, he was not exactly happy. He appeared to be very shaken, and it's not easy to get one Severus Snape shaking in his boots. Or slippers, at the time."
Voldemort smiled cruelly. "Well, Wormtail, this is good news. But let us not waste time. You should be getting back. One thing though…who did he tell?"
"No one, My Lord, you had been right in your assumptions. He decided to keep it to himself."
"Good, good. Here, Wormtail, bring this to Dane, as thanks for his good work." The Master passed the Servant a small package, wrapped in plain brown paper.
The Servant excepted it, the small package surprisingly heavy and weighing down his arms. He turned and left, a smile on his face. He had pleased his Master. He had been a good slave.
Voldemort watched coldly as the door closed, before getting up and running a long finger up the raised body of Nagini. The snake circled it's neck around it's Master's wrist and slithered slightly along before releasing it's grip. The Master pulled open a drawer from a bureau standing against the wall to the left, and retrieved five things. A grey candle, an imprinted piece of metal with a small handle, parchment, a self-inking quill, and an envelope. He headed to the door at the back of the room, and opened it up to a large, spacious bedroom. He turned and cast a manipulative, scheming grin at the large reptile waiting patiently behind him.
"Come, love, we have work to do."
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A tall, thin woman, with bottle bottom glasses stepped down from the ladder that led to her attic room. The Astronomy tower would be quite a walk away, as it was on the other side of the castle, but nothing she couldn't handle.
It was drafty in these corridors, being so close to the sky. The cold wind seeped in through the cracks between the stone blocks and reached the skin of it's occupants. She tucked her green shall tighter around her thin frame, and brushed her scratchy, mouse brown hair out of her eyes. Pushing her glasses farther up her nose, and making her green eyes seem more bulgy then the really were, she looked around, making sure there were no little children around to spot her leaving her haven.
Hogwart's Divination Professor, Sybil Trelawney, did not like commotion. Of any sort.
She quickened her pace and scurried (as one with such a stance and posture couldn't possibly be referred to as 'walking') down the corridor, around a bend and up a staircase. Fifteen minutes later, she had made it. By now, the quaint, unexercised little woman was exhausted, especially since for most of the last sixteen years, she had been inhaling smoke nonstop. She ascended the flight of stairs to the top and stepped out into the deserted (thankfully) Astronomy Tower. Automatically, she walked briskly over to the center telescope, and measured it at an upward, 55° angle.
She took off her glasses, and rested them carefully into the left breast pocket on her robes. She patted them, as though saying goodbye to an old friend, before pressing her smaller, and much prettier, eyes to the two eye-pieced telescope. She tapped the side of it with her wand and spoke, "Saturn!"
A large sized image of the ringed planet rotated in front of her eyes, just small enough so that she could see the surrounding moons and bits of space junk. She studied it for ten minutes, before sucking in a sharp breath and letting out a dramatic cry of fright. She clutched the front of her robes and gasped hungrily for air, nearly crushing her beloved spectacles in the process. She cast a wary eye towards the small, but slightly visible planet above her before heading for the Astronomy Tower door. Before she left, she took one more glance and muttered,
"The time for change is at hand. Saturn rests aligned with it's brothers, and the circle of moons is at its peak. Great danger will befall those close to us, or close to those we care for." She paused, glancing at the cracks in the floor. "I do believe dear Professor Lupin might know more then he is letting us know. His fate is in the stars. Let's hope for the best." She was unsure of whom she was talking to, but it did not matter, no one would believe her, The Fraud.
The lonely, underpaid, depressed, Fraud.
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"So, now that we know we have to do something, what is it we're going to do?"
"Now, that's the hard part."
"Hard? Did I just hear Hermione say something was hard? Dear Lord, save us!"
"Ronald Weasly!"
"Ow!" Ron growled and good-naturedly rubbed his arm were Hermione had poked him in a huff. She giggled with him too now, and Harry rolled his eyes.
"Come one guys, let's brainstorm here. What should, or could, for that matter, we do to get two thirty-nine year old men, one of which is a werewolf, is kind, sweet, loving, but often sad, the other of which is tall, dark, cranky, basically ugly, cruel, nasty and uncaring, together?"
Silence.
"Well, that narrows it down a bit doesn't it?" Ginny joked.
Hermione let out a long, exaggerated sigh. She rummaged through her school bag until she found a few extra pieces of parchment, an ink well, and a quill. She laid them out in order in front of her on the back table they were sitting at in the commonroom, and looked up expectantly.
"Okay guys, start brainstorming."
They sat in silence, each with their brow furrowed and Ron chewing absently on the end of a sugar quill he had been carrying around. Hermione sat patiently and tried her own shot at an idea, although for once in her life, nothing came.
Then, suddenly, Harry shot up and grinned. The others all looked at him inquisitively, casting each other looks as if to ask, 'What's he on about?'. Harry gave an exaggerated sweep of his arms and grinned wider. "This is it kids, get ready to rumble."
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The Rat scurried up and down the corridor, checking in all the crevices, every nook and cranny, and around the bends, to make sure that no one was within the vicinity. When all was clear, he hunched his shoulders and closed his eyes. A few gruesome seconds later of twisting bones and tendons, a small, watery eyed man stood in the corridor, and withdrew a surprisingly heavy package wrapped in brown paper from the inside of his tattered coat.
He looked around once more then walked a few paces over, until he stopped in front of a portrait. The only portrait in this stretch of the castle, to be precise. He lifted the package to it, as well as his eyes. Two, cold black eyes looked back.
"Peter." Dane gave a strained nod of recognition.
Peter whimpered slightly and averted his eyes. "Th-this is for you, um, Mister Snape….Sir…."
Dane cocked an eyebrow. "From the Dark Lord?" Peter nodded. "Very well, give it to me."
Peter looked at the package in his hand, then at the flat, solid canvas on which Dane was plastered. "Um…..How?"
Dane growled and rolled his eyes. He made and exaggerated sweep pf his arms, as if to say 'Here, like this, even though you should know it.' He grinned, but not nicely. "All you do, is hold it up against my canvas and repeat this incantation- 'Ashes to ashes, dust to dust, canvas is useful, a lot like us' and it shall turn into a part of my painting. Got it? Good. Now hold it up--yes, yes like that--and say the words. Nice and clear, now, thank you."
Peter repeated the words, and cringed as he was suddenly holding nothing, and the item he had bared was now much smaller, and made of oil paint. Dane bent and picked it up. He examined it carefully, before slowly pulling off the wrapper and holding up the object inside. He seemed completely unperturbed by it's unusual weight.
It was a book. A simple, black, leather bound book. Silver writing was on the front cover, printed in long, spindly, roman letters. Thank god the English language was the same. He ran is pale fingers along the inscription and grinned. It simply read Journal--The Accounts of my Life and Ruling. Down in the lower left-hand corner, Dane noticed a small, and very faded, name and symbol. With what leftover letters he could make out, he could see it read 'R--u-us Lu-is'. Whoever it was, they had the initials R.L.The symbol seemed almost like a tiger head, or some kind of predator, it's eyes held a strange, amber cast on the black leather. Despite himself, he shivered. He decided he would just have to read it to find out who it was that this journal belonged to.
He set the book aside, and as he did, a page fell out of it. He picked it up, and noticed that it was not a yellowed page belonging to an old volume, but a fresh piece of parchment, with crimson ink lettering. He recognized the printing and smiled.
Dane,
I congratulate you on your excellent spy work. It bore a much higher efficiency level then Wormtail's own 'capabilities'. As your reward, I have set you with another task, possibly the most important of all. I would not even trust Lucius with this job, so do it well. I have also reset thecharm that allows you to leave this portrait, so that your work will be made easier. Try to keep low.
All I am asking, is that you read this book. Once you do, I am certain you will understand what it is that I want done, and to whom. Keep this in mind, however: The New Year is approaching, and with it comes new blood.
It ended there, but Dane didn't need a signature to know who it was from. He smiled cruelly, and looked down at the book. "Aye, aye, My Lord." He turned to see Peter change into a rat and run away again, before he reached down and picked up the book. He turned the first page and began to read.
Entry One.
It is the fourth day after the beginning of summer, and it is morning, as the sun is starting to rise, and the chill is starting to leave. The dew shall leave, and, like always, a mist shall arise and set the plain in fog. I am currently writing in my study in my Hall, but I should first tell of how I came to have a Hall at all. I shallwrite down in here, The Beginning, so that my origin shall never be forgotten, even if my curse is carried.
First, is my name. I am…
Dane dropped the book.
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Remus was sitting in his living room, head in his hands.
Why did he have to do that? He wasn't some fucking randy teenage boy.
No, you're a randy middle-aged man, whispered Remus' shoulder devil.
"Fuck off." He growled into his palms. God, he wanted the stupid, fucking, son of a bitch Potions Master. NO! No, take control, Remus, take control. Calm down. He took several deep breaths and released slowly, before getting up and heading to the kitchen to make a cup of tea. He opened one of the cupboards and took out his favourite Herbal Remedy. Peach Tea. He tapped his wand to the kettle and the water instantly boiled, as Remus was too anxious and irritated to wait for the thing to boil on it's on.
He poured the hot water into his chipped, checkerboard patterned mug and added a teabag, milk, and an overly large quantity of sugar. He carried it out with him into the living room, letting the hot liquid warm up his hands as he held it. He set it down and resumed thinking, waiting for it to steep and cool down a bit so as not to scald himself when trying to take a sip.
There had been something, he was sure of it. Something from Severus' side. That incident in the Library didn't just mean, well, nothing. He knew he'd have to confront Sev--er--Snape, about it soon. In more ways then one. Why couldn't things just be easy, like in those muggle movies, where all you had to do was smash your 'crush' into a wall, snog them senseless, remove at least one article of clothing, and WHAMO!, they realize how wrong the were and that they're perfect together, admit their undying love, and everybody's happy?
As soon as he thought this, he burst out into hysterical laughter and accidentally kicked the table, spilling his tea in the process. He didn't even notice. That's also how he failed to notice that a tawny owl had swooped through his open window, stuck it's tongue out past it's beak, took a sip of tea from the puddle on the table, cringed, then turned to him and held out it's leg, angry at being burned.
In fact, he didn't notice until the owl shrieked in annoyance and bit him hard on the knee. Remus yelped in pain, before he looked down and glared at the defiant Tawny. "Sorry about that." He said, before untying the leather throng. The bird flew away, without even waiting for the carrier to be given back. Remus shook his head and looked at the envelope. Ithad a strange, grey wax seal, that he didn't bother much with, as he never did. He opened it up and unfolded the single piece of parchment. He frowned.
The writing was long, and spindly, written in red ink. However, he recognized what was written. It was a copy of the paragraph on the blood bond between Romulus' heir and Salazar Slytherin's. An exact copy. The only thing different was a small note at the bottom.
RL & FS--RL & LV
He looked down at it and felt overwhelmed with confusion. He knew that one of those 'RL's must stand for 'Remus Lupin' but who was the other? And who were FS and LV?
…..Wait a second……LV? As in….
He picked the envelope up and took a good look at the seal. The first thing that he saw was a large letter 'V' with a crown, and a snake.
Voldemort. He dropped the letter and envelope in disgust and pointed his wand at it, yelling, "Incendio!" and watching the parchment burn into ash. As the ash turned to nothing, all the lights in his room exploded into sparks, and he was thrown back by a powerful gust of wind that came in through his window. He ran over to it, and banged the pane shut, just as an image came unbidden into his mind. He froze, breathing heavy, as his brain seemed to leave his body and become someone else's, but still sending obscure messages to whatever was left in the empty shell that was Remus.
He saw an elegant, but deathly white, long-fingered hand writing something in crimson ink. He knew that there was more to the message, but it seemed blurry, and far away, the only clear thing was the hand, quill, and sentence, and that was bathed in a sort of strange glow, like that of an incandescent light. When the hand was finished, Remus looked down to see what was written.
The New Year is approaching, and with it comes new blood.
He shivered. He managed to blink his eyes, but when he reopened them, he was looking out through someone else's eyes. He tried to blink again, but his body would not relent. He tried to gulp, but that wouldn't work either. He had no control, whatsoever. So, instead, he looked out and took in his surroundings.
He appeared to be in a sort of old city, except it didn't look old then, but new, and proud. Tall pillars lined buildings, and a man in a soft white dressing gown walked by…Dressing gown? He checked again, but the man was gone. The buildings were amazing, and everything seemed to scream of glory. But, still, Remus could sense something odd about the place, and his mind, rather then his nose, caught the scent of underlying blood and deceit.
The eyes looked up and the closest building, and Remus could see engraved lettering on a wide expanse of overlying roof, like an entrance sign to some kind of middle-ages café. He studied them until he could make them out. IIX VII XVI. And in a split second, he knew where he was looking out to, what sort of twisted past it really held.
Rome.
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A/N: Dun dun dunnnnn......lol. Cliffhanger! Hopefully the next chapter will be up shortly, as my mind is already brewing up insane possibilities. lol. REVIEW and NO FLAMES! Thanks! Plus, i'd rather like to know if any of you have figured it out yet? (winks).