Disclaimer: I do not own any characters or ideas that have been previously mentioned in the Harry Potter series. Anything else that is new is something I only have invented.

Harry Potter and the Secret of Riddle

The Splintered Barrel

The luminescence of moonlight has nearly befallen the creaky cobblestone road. Old and unkept for many years, it was the passageway to a house that had long been forgotten. Hidden in the darkness of the moss covered forest it laid. The brick of the road had not felt human feet for a long time.

In the dimness of the brush were four cloaked characters, hooded, and seeming to adsorb the darkness, they trudged down the trail.

"Bell-"

"Silence Narcissa. We cannot allow discussion until we can be sure no one can hear us," demanded one of the cloaked figures.

In the great silence of the night they walked on for several minutes until a grubby leftovers of a shack appeared between two large trees and some broken and barely intact barrels that most likely were the containers of wine or mead. It was an old house and it shared similar properties as the road did, old, ruddy and the absence of human contact. But today was a day unlike past ones. It was not the remnants of this home was not what was of importance to the cloaked figures. It was the splintered wooden barrel that did. Without words, the four figures converged upon the barrel, making contact separately with it and suddenly disappearing.

They arrived at a room full that resembled a dungeon. Assorted sizes of bottles with different ingredients and smells filled the room. The room was relatively dark and dank but there were several torches lighting illuminating the room. To one side was a bubbling cauldron with a thick green potion brewing that bubbled and many times splattered on the ground. An exhausted hooded man was stirring it as though he would collapse any moment. A smaller boy whom too was hooded was sitting on the ground nearby cuddled up against a crumbling wall nearly invisible in the darkness.

"Severus-" called Narcissa.

Snape looked up but quickly turned back to stewing his concoction. The exhaustion had worn him away from the past weeks toiling in the shelter the room provided. He looked as though had he let go of the cauldron that acted as support, he would surely fall over.

"Snape!" yelled the other cloaked female, throwing her hands up and revealing the dark mark on her right arm. Still Snape ignored her calls even after several rash attempts to get his attention.

"Leave him be Bella, you know he's drained bec-" a deep voiced Death Eater added.

"I know perfectly well why!" Lestrange retorted sharply.

"What does. . . . it do?" one of the smaller Death Eaters asked.

"My instructions are not inform others about our master's plan. Only the dark lord himself may inform you," Lestrange said in a slightly more calm voice.

Snape coughed violently and a few specks of blood hit the floor. He fell to one knee, hooded face down and gasped for breath yet still he was determined to make it on his own.

"Is there a way I could assist you?" Narcissa asked slowly bending down to Snape eye level.

"No," he answered in a forced murmur. "I can-" Snape coughed again, "make it on my own!"

Narcissa stepped back a bit, pointed her face in another direction and began to talk amongst the others. The lantern's light was beginning to lose its flame and the tint of the moon began to leave the windows of the room.

Then suddenly the small hooded boy fell on his side and a loud thud was heard. None seemed to pay attention but quickly Narcissa realized who it was and ran to his side and hastily knelt beside him.

"My son . . . ," Narcissa murmured as she lightly touched the forehead of the cloaked boy sitting against the wall. He was nearly alive, in complete exhaustion, tired, worn out and nearly dried by whatever had been brewing in that room. " My son . . . my son . . . ."

Author's Note: I appreciate all kinds of reviews. I am open to any suggestions or predictions, but I know where I want the story to go.