Please Note: This fic's rating has been upgraded to M/R. It's SLASH of course. ANs and Disclaimer are below.
""snaketalk"" Parseltongue
Important Note: Hi everyone. I just wanted to remind readers that Sirius is still in the Veil. He is with Harry in this chapter from another plane of existence. That's how he's able to do what he does in this chapter. Enjoy. LL
This segment is dedicated to Davey. I hope you're still bouncing around out there somewhere…
"Shut Up & Kiss Me"
by; imLittleLily
"Habeo in Animo" — "I am Resolved."
The dancing and flickering flames before him snapped in the hearth. Harry allowed the fire's warmth to spread over him, tickling his senses until it changed into a sudden foreboding, sending cold shivers down his spine. He pulled his brows together tightly. He didn't like divination—the notion that portents could come to you at any given moment gave him pause in what he was about to do. ""Don't go there, Potter,"" he hissed in his mind.
"Harry…"
He growled deep in his throat and pushed his left hand through his hair, still mesmerized by the spectrum of color in the flames and the dichotomy of hot and cold. He knew that Gryffindor bravery and a touch of cunning would sustain him. He speculated on the cunning aspect. He pulled in a breath of hot air and turned. "Okay. Let's do this."
Draco and Ghillie nodded. Remus cleared his throat and motioned to the hearthrug. Resolve spiked through him, chasing away the doubts. He sat cross-legged, facing Draco in the same position. Draco embraced his gaze and held his hands out—palms facing upwards.
Harry stared down at strong lithe fingers, placed his hands in Draco's, and then clasped his wrists. He squeezed. Draco smirked, quirked a brow at his qualm and inclined his head when Remus knelt between them and the fire.
"Harry," Remus spoke in his calm professor voice. "The binding and Draco will keep you grounded. That knowledge will help you focus on your goal. Don't forget, Sirius will be with you if you feel the need for assistance." He proceeded to wrap Harry's and Draco's joined hands with silk cord while Ghillie did the opposite pair.
He nodded, watching Remus closely without comment. They had already talked about this excursion. He planned it to the smallest detail possible—the only thing left to do—enter the world of a demon's mind with focused intention. Once the bindings were in place, Remus muttered an incantation. Silver and gold spun and snaked around their joined hands, sealing them magically. Harry swallowed and allowed his eyes to lock with Draco's. His heart skipped a beat—in perfect tandem with his mate's.
A nod at the recognition of their heartfelt joining was Draco's only outwardly physical response. Even as his Malfoy mask slid into place, his eyes expressed confidence in Harry and their bond.
"Habeo in Animo," Harry said, leaning in to brush Draco's lower lip with a ghost of a kiss. He pulled back with deliberate slowness delving into sterling silver eyes.
"Casus belli…" Draco answered, sending his tongue out to taste Harry upon his flesh.
An event, action of war…bloody hell…he's right. Harry pulled in a deep cleansing breath and released it aggressively. He closed his eyes and allowed his inner self to soar…
A depthless black surrounded him. Instinct kicked in and he spun in the darkness, looking for relief. His breath rasped in his ears giving the impression of February wind soughing in the pines. He shivered as his heel grated on the stony surface of a floor.
"It's okay, Harry." Sirius' voice tried to soothe him. "Let your breathing calm and close your eyes."
The vision behind his eyelids did nothing to relieve his duress. Another deep breath did. He centered his energy and focused on his heartbeat. There…Draco's presence was still with him. His spine stiffened with adamancy and he opened his eyes. "Bloody hell," he whispered when he realized what he saw now was a replica of the circular room at the Department of Mysteries. The eerie polished floor had the depth of deep water beneath his feet, illuminated by low flaming candles between doors in the circular black wall.
Sirius snorted.
He turned around again. "Does he know we're here?"
"No." Sirius began to walk toward one of the doors in the circular wall. "You did excellent, Harry. This is the deepest part of Voldemort's brain. He closes it so tight that even he doesn't venture here very often."
"Bit cocky of him, don't ya think?"
"Well…" Sirius' voice echoed as he studied the cobra head doorknob in front of him. "With Dumbledore gone, he believes there's no one left with the talent to penetrate another's mind the way the Headmaster could."
Harry shook his head. "You said you'd been here before."
"I have." Sirius' growling voice expressed impatient annoyance. "It isn't Legilimency for me. I just can't figure out how to get past these damn doors."
After releasing another sigh, Harry turned and studied the room once again. It's resemblance to the Department of Mysteries was truly uncanny. "Why do you suppose he'd do this? Make it like the chamber at the Department of Mysteries?"
Sirius growled again and stood back away from the door. "Regulus…told me once that Voldemort had the most ironic personality he ever encountered. Even more so than Phineas." He joined Harry in the center. "He—Regulus, I mean, was spouting on about the 'Dark Lord's greatness.' I guess he thought even then he could recruit me—or rub in my familial failings as a Black."
Harry hissed through his teeth and stared at a door from the center of the room. "What if it's something really simple? You know, to get in. Typical stuff like a password or key of some sort."
A hand came up and pushed through Sirius' hair. "That could be it… Just remember, don't touch the doorknobs. He'll know we're here if you do."
"Yeah. You know, Dumbledore told me once that Voldemort's pride and belief in his own superiority marked his determination to carve himself a startling place in magical history. That's why he would choose 'objects worthy of honor' for his Horcruxes."
"What does that have to do with doors in a circular room?"
Harry shook his head and began pacing. Recollections swirling in his mind filled the vacancies of removed memories and coalesced into bright pictures. Sixteen-year-old Tom Riddle in the Chamber of Secrets…a cold shrill voice from an unseen person in a chair…Avada Kedavra…back to the Chamber of Secrets…Tom writing I am Lord Voldemort…the roar of a dying basilisk…the black lake filled with Inferi…Voldemort using dead people like some sort of deranged god. He stopped abruptly. "Salazar Slytherin."
Nothing happened.
Harry snorted, shaking his head.
"What?" Sirius looked at him with both brows arched high.
"He's Slytherin's heir—"
"So?"
"So—it has to have something to do with Slytherin."
Sirius' laugh barked back at him.
Harry rolled his eyes. "I mean, the password or key to open the doors. In the Department of Mysteries, there were no doorknobs; we only had to push them open. But, when they closed behind us, the wall would spin. Hermione marked the ones we'd been through so we'd know which ones not to reopen."
"Smart witch."
"Yeah." Harry spun around, taking in the sight of twelve doors that showed clearly now in the flickering green candlelight. "They were blue at the ministry…"
"Huh?"
"The flames."
"Well, that's Slytherin—having green instead."
"Yeah, but it's not enough." Harry sighed. This was insane. He didn't think they were getting anywhere in their speculation. ""Fuck,"" he muttered.
The green-flames in the candles around them illuminated black brows as they came down into a piercing frown. "Harry?"
He dropped his eyes to the polished stones beneath their feet, chewing his lower lip. A shiver journeyed through him as he remembered the floor in the Department of Mysteries looking like standing water. The movement brought thoughts to the surface of his mind of the black lake in an underground cave with a luminous green glow enhancing its eeriness. "It has to have something to do with Salazar Slytherin," he reiterated as if trying to convince himself.
"Alright. Maybe you're right. What do we know about him?"
Harry began pacing again. "He was a founder. He disagreed with Gryffindor. He was a Parseltongue." He made a derisive noise in his throat, feeling the sensation with growing distain—this wasn't helping.
Sirius joined him in his pacing. "He was well educated. An excellent potions master—actually the best in the land during his lifetime. He was from the Fens—most likely Norfolk…" Sirius pushed his hair from his face and shook his head. "I hated History of Magic—especially anything that had to do with Slytherin. That's all I remember."
Tightly crinkled eyes behind his palms didn't solve Harry's dilemma. "I hated it, too. Slept most of the time and copied 'Mione's notes." He opened his eyes to see Sirius shaking with silent laughter. "What?" he growled.
Footfalls of two perplexed wizards were the only sound in the chamber.
""Fuck.""
"Harry, what's that?"
A sudden heat of blush spiked though him. Sirius was his friend and godfather—the only parental figure he really ever had. "Er…"
Strong arms crossed in front of a stubborn Gryffindor wizard.
He sighed and lifted his shoulder. "I'm just swearing in Parseltongue, Padfoot." The use of Sirius' nickname as an attempt to appease probably wasn't necessary; however, whatever worked.
"Since when do you do that? I know that because of this other plane existence, I haven't been around much lately…"
Harry winced. "I told Moony it's because no one can understand me. You know, the whole Golden Boy persona thing that I'm supposed to have…"
Sirius shook his head. "And speaking in Parseltongue won't tarnish the gold?"
A growl erupted, roiling up from his gut with intensity. "Can we just focus on this problem?" He waved toward the doors around them.
Sirius made a noise in his throat—something between anger and a 'we'll talk about this later' thing. Harry gave his own growl in response and began muttering again as the speed of his feet picked up. "Lingering protection from mum—blood…Voldemort has never had a friend…prefers to work alone…well educated…no true friends…honor…purity of blood…"
"GAGH! Harry, what is all that?"
"Well educated…Parseltongue… That's IT!"
"Harry!"
He smirked at Sirius, and then spun on his heel, taking in the sight of the twelve doors. With a soft laugh, he said, ""Salazar Slytherin; Savant of the Fen…""
Door number one opened.
Their heads swiveled and they stared at each other, jiggered that something so simple could… Sudden fast footfalls moved to the door before it closed. Harry rushed through and skidded to a stop. Sirius' voice close behind him cut through his personal shock.
"Bloody hell. Who knew the old snake would be such a Muggle?"
Harry knew his eyes were wide, they felt stretched to the max as he took in the scene before them. Even at first look, he could tell the room was pie shaped. Images, no bigger than three inches square, covered the walls, running together, and placed concurrent gave the appearance of old-style silent filmstrip. Thus Sirius's comment—each even had a black frame around it almost as though a frame of protection.
Within each individual frame, there appeared a mini movie of the memory played out in the first few seconds. It repeated itself only to return to the beginning. The surrounding walls moving continuously gave Harry an odd sense of eeriness as it revolved seemingly into infinity. He shivered and approached the wall to their right, scrutinizing a line of images. Tom Riddle was nowhere. Harry realized that was because each memory was through Tom's eyes. He frowned. "We'll never get through all of these. We don't know these people."
Sirius, looking at the opposite wall, leaned in closer. "These look to be from his youth. The way the people are dressed is a give away. Clothing changes in both the Muggle and wizarding world. This," he said, pointing at a line of pictures, "is strictly Muggle in nature. See?"
He approached and studied the images Sirius pointed out. Lower lip between his teeth, he frowned. "It's strange…"
A barking laugh was Sirius' only response.
Harry shook his head. "See," he insisted, pointing to one image. "The way they are presented, it's incomplete. Then it reruns."
"Thursday evening, TV dinner night."
Harry snorted.
"What? You don't think your mum and dad had a TV?"
He punched Sirius playfully on the shoulder, enjoying their interaction even if the situation could be considered odd in the wizarding world. "Same old Padfoot," he said, grinning.
Sirius smirked.
In a room full of moving images, one caught his attention just to the right of Sirius. He inhaled sharply. ""Fuck.""
"Harry—"
He shook his head rapidly and pointed. A strange sensation of dé·jà vu crept up his spine as he moved closer. "I know this place…" He shivered when the scene moved from an ocean's seaside cliff to the frightened face of a little girl wearing black ringlets. The image progressed forward, returning to view the ocean, the cliffside and the small face. Harry raised his hand, yet didn't touch the moving picture as he silently wished he could help her. "This is at the sea when he went there with the other orphans." He spoke low, sympathy squeezing his heart. "Tom Riddle went into a cave and tortured a little girl and boy. That's were Dumbledore took me to retrieve the false Horcrux the night he died."
A strong hand gripped his shoulder. "Harry…"
He swallowed the lump in his throat. "Yeah. I know. Can't change the past. Sirius, do you suppose these are complete memories and you have to go into them to view the rest? You know, like a Pensive?" He watched as Sirius studied some of the images next to the one he had recognized.
A deep frown of concentration marred Sirius' face while he chewed his upper lip, focused intently on the purpose of their journey into Voldemort's mind. Find the correct memory and snag it for purposes of defeating his Horcrux fantasies of eternal life. "I think you're right. See, in this one, it actually stops in mid-word of the person he is looking at."
Harry quirked a brow and leaned closer.
"Your mum could read lips. She tried to teach me, but well… I guess I just teased her about it and made a joke. Even James said it would come in handy for pranks, but I liked seeing her get all red faced and angry so I never took her idea seriously."
"Pfft…"
Sirius snickered, shaking with amusement.
The memory before them presented an old man pointing a finger and shaking it in expressive anger at Tom. He yelled silently, and stopped mid-word when the action went into rerun. "You're right," he commented as it went through the third time. "Sirius, how do you think we get in?"
"I don't know, Harry. Another password?"
He sighed and returned his gaze to the frightened little girl. Anger surged within and projected outward as a growl. He pushed his fringe away from his face and began pacing, his own thought provoking action. Muttering under his breath, he added hand movements watching them as the floor passed beneath his ever-quickening feet.
Sirius stood to the side silently observing him.
""Fuck.""
An annoyed eye roll passed across his vision. He shrugged in response without pausing in his agitated journey. "Argh! This is getting us no where!" The sound of his foot stomping rang out, echoing back at them. Harry stood in the center of the annoying perpetual cinematography and growled in agitation.
"Are you a dog Animagus?"
He sent Sirius his fiercest glare and returned to his pacing. "Secrets. It's all about secrets. Why does that thought keep passing through my mind?"
A cough stopped his progress. "What?" He studied Sirius closely, irritation at their situation welling inside.
"Maybe it's your connection with Voldemort speaking to you." He pointed up to Harry's scar as he spoke. "If you calm down and center yourself, perhaps the password and even method of entrance will just come naturally to you."
His shoulders tightened as his breath quickened. Having Sirius here with him was definitely a good idea. "Yeah," he replied with a releasing sigh. He closed his eyes and watched the changing lights behind his lids as the reflective memory of the image's presence flashed in his mind. After taking a deep cleansing breath and releasing it, he focused on the concept of secrets. After several moments, a cold shrill laugh penetrated his brain, sending shivers of dread down his spine and reaching to his toes.
The sound of a voice added to the shiver. No picture only intensified its effect. "Really, Wormtail? My, my, what an inspiration. I will definitely have to remember that one."
""Fuck."" He came out of his semi-trance shaking with rage and a renewed urge to kill the rat.
"Well?"
His heart twisted at the sight of Sirius' quirked black brow. He tried to take a calming breath—it got stuck in his throat. "Siri—"
"What? What's wrong, Harry?"
He shook his head violently in an effort to rid himself of the malevolent emotions jerking through his body. "That Rat! I'm gonna kill him!"
"Harry!"
A sharp gasp escaped. "He told Voldemort about the map. The password is…"
Sirius' body jerked in shock, his eyes wide.
Harry hissed angrily, grabbed Sirius' arm and pointed his hand at the image of a frightened little girl. "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good!" A vicious spiral of air pulled them abruptly into Voldemort's memory…
A terrified, pain riddled scream pierced through Harry as they landed. The memory was silent no more. He lunged forward, but merely passed through Tom Riddle's body, feeling the chill of it. Sirius bent to help him from the rocky ground where he landed, swearing. "He isn't really there, Harry."
""Fuck—Fuck—Fuckity—Fuck!""
Tom Riddle paused in his torture, narrowed his eyes and glanced around furtively.
Sirius, eyes locked on Riddle, whispered, "Did you see that, Harry?"
"Uh huh," he replied, watching Riddle's attentions swing back to the little boy.
"Biting pain!" Riddle yelled pointing at the red headed youth.
Screams and sobs filled the cave, interlaced with Riddle's joyful laugh.
"Harry, go to the others. Make them come."
"They won't know I'm here," he hissed, frustrated at his inability to take action.
Sirius shook his head and pointed at Riddle. "Do whatever you have to. Make them notice you. GO. NOW!"
He stood and spun, following the wind, he arrived closer than he expected. The search party was on the trail to the cave. Just a short distance in front of them, Harry glanced around, unsure of what he should do. Inspiration took hold. He inhaled a deep breath, clenched his fists and bellowed while throwing his hands toward the cliff edge.
Rocks broke loose and tumbled down onto the path. Somebody yelled, "This way!"
Harry grinned and moved closer to the cave, repeating the process until they arrived at the opening in the rocks. "Thank Merlin for low tide," he muttered and spun back around, arriving back at his point of origin. "They're coming."
A surge of humanity burst upon the scene of crying children. Tom Riddle first looked angry, but then a look of complete angelic innocence passed over his face. He waved his hand over both children who suddenly looked baffled.
Harry growled and then laughed at their success. In a quick movement, he reached for Sirius' shoulder. "Mischief managed."
They arrived back in the pie shaped room amidst the center of silent cinematography. Harry jumped up and pulled Sirius to his feet. The only thing Sirius had time for was a muffled, "Omph."
"I saw something earlier…" Ten words spoken quickly as Harry pulled him through another image resulted in them landing in the center of the Head Table, Great Hall, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
"Will you stop that!" Sirius growled, trying to catch his breath and miss a bowl of mashed potatoes at the same time.
Harry sidestepped a tray of treacle tarts, wondering why food was on the table before sorting, and then jumped down, his dragonhide boots landing firmly on the stones. "Look."
The sound of Sirius hitting the floor next to him pulled Harry's attention from the students lined up in front of the hall. "It's first night…" He pointed at a pale faced boy standing in front of the other new arrivals. "There he is."
They watched as three students came forward, took their seats nervously on the three-legged stool and waited as the hat made its decision. Harry chewed his lip trying to figure out what he was going to do. He paused in his thoughts to study Professor Dumbledore.
Blue eyes focused intently, studying the place where they stood. Harry smirked and nudged Sirius.
"Yeah," Sirius whispered, close to him. "Even weird in the wizarding world. Do you suppose he knows?"
"Wouldn't surprise me—"
"Tom Riddle."
He approached the stool confidently with slowness, as though savoring his moment of full attention and the anticipation of everyone in the hall. Professor Dumbledore leaned forward, waiting.
"Excuse me—" Harry stepped forward and slipped into Tom Riddle as he settled on the stool. A tall red headed witch placed the hat on black hair.
"Ah, who do we have here? My, my…hummm…"
Harry wiggled inside Riddle.
Tom stiffened, almost as a reaction to his movement. "Well? What the hell are you going to do?" Tom's mind asked the question with an impatient tone.
Harry snorted.
"Plenty of talent—ah…what's that? A double personality? Parseltongue? Yet I see…curious. Very curious…"
Tom made a gaffing noise inside his head.
"Ambition to learn all you can…a most particular bloodline…humm…"
"Harry," Sirius stood next to Tom Riddle. "Come outta there!"
He shook his head. "Shush."
Riddle gritted his teeth. In his mind, he hissed, ""Ah, come on, you mangy old hat—""
"Where to put you—plenty of intelligence. Maybe Ravenclaw? No, too much cunning and the blood…yes, the blood…so…it must be—Slytherin!"
Harry jumped up and shook his head at Sirius even as he heard the last words in Tom Riddle's mind.
""Mangy old hat—""
He touched Sirius' sleeve. "Mischief managed."
They landed in the pie shaped room with a gasp. Harry reclined back on his elbows and studied Sirius who was frowning at him.
"Why did you do that?"
He shrugged. "I wanted to see if I could for one thing. Must be the mind link," he quipped, motioning to his forehead. "I figured if I was in his head already…well. You wanna know what's funny?"
Fathomless blue eyes glared back at him.
Harry laughed and leaned forward, pulling his knees up to rest his elbows on. "The hat thinks Riddle has a 'double personality.'"
Sirius snorted and shook his head. "You definitely have James in you—that's for sure. Rushing about in everything you do…" His eyes narrowed, as he looked Harry over carefully.
A laugh burst up and he quirked a brow. "The cauldron calling the kettle black."
A bark laugh erupted; it came accompanied with a wink at Harry.
Feeling comfortable with the conversation, he asked, "Are you going to tell me how you're corporal? I figured earlier when I punched you, my hand would just go through."
"Later, Harry." Sirius stood and made his way to the closest wall where he began to study the images.
He shrugged and closed his eyes, took a deep breath and centered on his heartbeat.
Draco's voice caressed his mind. "Harry, are you there?"
"Yeah. We're okay. How about you?"
A snort came through. Harry was sure he could see Draco smirking. "We're fine. Discover anything yet?"
"We got in. Tell Remus I have something to tell him—he isn't going to like it. Gotta go. I think Sirius wants one more go."
As though on the wings of a kiss, Harry heard, "Later then, mate."
"Yeah…"
"Did Malfoy happen to mention how much time you have left?"
"What do you mean?" he asked, even as he wondered how Sirius knew what he was doing.
"Time is different when we're doing this." A strange look passed over Sirius' face and then he returned his focus to the images.
"Oh. Well he didn't say anything about that. How'd you know I was talking to him?
A shrug was the only response he received. Harry narrowed his eyes at Sirius' back, studying him. "What do you think we should do next?"
"Well…" Sirius turned from the wall and glanced down at Harry. "Maybe, if you focused on one topic, we would have better luck at finding what we seek."
He stood, glancing around. "Okay. What about…" He frowned as an image caught his attention. He approached it, head tilted, brows puckered.
"What is it?" Sirius approached from his left and leaned in to see what had drawn Harry's attention. A single white rose and a fist full of dirt graced a black coffin in a freshly dug grave. Tom's gaze rose in the memory and scanned the people around the gravesite. Harry could feel the sneer on Tom's face. He shivered. "Come on," he whispered. This time, he allowed the Marauder's password to journey through his mind.
"You really need to work on your landings, Harry."
He snorted and pulled himself up out of the hole with a smirk. He turned and held his hand out to Sirius. "Need help?"
Growling in response, Sirius pulled himself up easily, ignoring Harry's offer of help. "Smart ass. Why are we here?"
Harry pointed at Tom's sneering face. "He is obsessed with death and immortality. I just thought we'd see this one. I already know it isn't the right one."
"Harry, I told you, time is different here. Malfoy may need you to go back soon."
"Shush."
"Grrrrrrr…"
The people around the grave began to move away, leaving only Riddle behind. Harry watched him closely, eyes narrowed as he tried to catch every little nuance of behavior.
"Wish it was me that killed you." Dark eyes stared down at the coffin. "I come back to this hell just in time to be present for your burial. I won't be staying the full summer, you know." He kicked some dirt into the hole and sneered down. "You were a weak Muggle bitch. The only regard I have for you is this clump of earth. Enjoy." With that, he turned and walked toward the orphanage's dilapidated bus.
"Come on," Harry murmured. Back in the memory room, he shook his head.
"What was the point of that?"
"That must have been the woman who ran the orphanage. She was afraid of Riddle and drank on the sly." He shrugged and studied the image next on the wall.
"We can't do them all, Harry."
"I know. I think what I'm going to do is focus on the concept of death and its effect on Riddle. I want to narrow the focus. He closed his eyes and pulled his mind tightly. When was the first actual time he wondered about living…maybe… The feel of a wind to carry him sent his hand out to grab Sirius.
A freckle faced, rough looking boy sneered and gazed at another more slightly built boy. "We dare you."
Harry looked around at the group, five in all. The slender boy with spectacles shook his head. Harry noticed something strange about him and moved closer. The boy stepped back, his legs jerking strangely. Polio, Harry thought as a surge of pity wove through him.
"Chicken, Davey?"
Pity changed quickly to anger. He knew that voice. Harry looked up from Davey's shorter stature, straight into Tom Riddle's dark eyes. They were only inches apart, even if Riddle couldn't see him. He snarled.
Davey shook his head fearfully. "You're crazy. I can't even get up there."
"We'll help you." One of the other boys sniggered, patting Davey on the back as if he were his best friend.
"But—"
"Come on."
Not mincing any more words, two of the boys grabbed Davey's arms and pulled him up a broken stairwell and then up a wide broken ladder toward an empty sky. Several times, Davey stumbled. His companions stopped him from falling.
Harry gasped, staring up.
Sirius moved closer and nudged him. "They're going to make him walk the ridgepole."
"Yeah," he breathed. "Sirius, he can't balance. His braces…he's going to fall."
By now, Davey arrived at the broken part of an old roof where the ridgepole running the length of the building showed, exposed against the brilliant clear blue sky for the entire world to see. He tensed as the boys on either side of Davey stumbled and caught themselves before they tumbled to the ground far below. They laughed at their clumsiness and returned attention to Davey.
"Go on, do it now, chicky."
"Davey's a chicken...bawk—bawk—bawk…"
Harry tensed, and then dropped his gaze to Riddle. Anger bludgeoned him when he realized the anticipation thrumming through the future villain. He stepped forward and shoved his hand through Riddle's shoulder to distract him. If it worked under the hat…
Riddle came out of his trance of expectation and shivered, glancing around quickly.
Harry smirked.
The other boys were taunting, "Davey, Davey…" Singsong voices filled the air.
Sirius' tension palpitated as he growled deep in his throat. Harry looked over to see a large black dog on the verge of attacking something. "No! It won't work!" he yelled.
"AAAHHH!"
He turned his gaze upward and thrust his hand forward. "Arresto Momentum!"
Davey still fell, landing with a dull thud. Everyone rushed forward and surged as one down stairs to the lower floor of the building where Davey laid moaning and writhing on the dirty stones.
"Bloody hell, he's alive!"
Another boy turned and ran up the stairs to get help.
Harry stepped in front of Tom Riddle, nose-to-nose and sneered. "Failed yet again." He watched as Riddle tried to figure out just how someone could fall three floors, land on stone and live to talk about it.
""Bloody hell,"" Riddle murmured under his breath when the man from the orphanage arrived with help. Excited voices sprang up—Davey's included.
Harry drove his pointed finger into Riddle. "It's called magic. You're going down."
"Come on, Harry." Sirius pulled his sleeve.
"Yeah," he growled in response. Giving new meaning to the words, he said clearly, "Mischief managed."
"You can't change history, Harry."
He shoved his plate aside and looked at Remus with stubbornness. "I didn't say that I did. In fact, now that I'm back and have told you everything that happened—I don't think that's what it was."
Remus frowned. "What do you mean?"
Harry pressed his knee against Draco's under the table and took a sip of butterbeer as he put his thoughts in order. "Well, when we were at Hogwarts, Dumbledore saw us. I'm sure of it. That means that all these years, he had the memory of two wizards appearing in the Great Hall the night Tom Riddle was sorted into Slytherin."
"That's preposterous."
"You didn't see him," he replied, snickering. "Anyway, that made me think that going into Voldemort's mind is just something I'm supposed to be doing. Sirius and I plan on several more forays. It was actually easy once we figured it out."
"How—" Remus' face took on a sad glow.
"He's fine, Moony. He was shocked that Wormtail told Voldemort about the map, but there again, we should have expected that. It's safe here. Voldemort can't get to it. Ron wanted to borrow it, but I told him I might need it. You know." He arched his brow at this last statement.
Remus nodded and then buried his face in his teacup. "You're still planning on going to Hogsmeade this weekend?"
"Yeah. I think I'm going to bed now, Moony. Sirius said time was different there. I guess I didn't realize how much. Who knew I'd come back and it'd be night." He pushed his chair back and smiled. "Goodnight."
"Goodnight, Harry." Remus merely nodded at Draco when he stood to join Harry.
Harry passed his hand languidly over Draco, relishing the feel of his warmth against his palm. Strong fingers stopped him, pulling his attention away from bliss.
Draco squeezed his hand and breathed, "What'd it feel like?"
His lower lip came in between his teeth. "Let's not—"
"No, Harry. Let's."
He growled and pulled away. With rough abruptness, he stood and pulled his tee over his head, tossing it aside. "What difference does it make? I already told everyone what happened!" Something roiled up inside him like a sn—he moaned and sat on the side of the bed. Like a snake… Fists clinched before his eyes as he stared at them, not really seeing. He sensed Draco moving behind him and reaching for his shoulders. Massaging hands pushed and grinded at the stress in his body. He leaned back, longing to meld into Draco. "In fifth year…"
Draco's thumb pressed hard on a knot in his right shoulder eliciting a feral groan. He leaned into the sensation, wanting it to consume him.
Warm breath across his ear carried desire and insistence. "Potter."
He swallowed. "In fifth year, Voldemort possessed me—at the Ministry. It hurt like hell and I wanted to die. Sirius had just fallen through the Veil and I'd just attempted Crucio on your aunt." Stomach and heart clenching at the memory propelled him to stand. Inevitably, his feet carried him on a fast journey across the room only to turn and pace back. "Before that, I saw him try to kill Mr. Weasley when he possessed Nagini. Do you remember me telling you about the prophecy?"
Draco looked at him with concern. "Yes."
He pulled away from the empathy of sterling eyes and pushed his hand through his hair. Fingers getting caught in a tangle didn't stop his agitation—it fed it. He growled and pushed harder, ignoring the pain of his hair pulling at his scalp. "This fucking scar is only part of it. This," he insisted, pointing. "Is my mark. 'The Dark Lord will mark him as his equal.' Voldemort already considered me his equal when he sought my family out and killed mum and dad." He paused, trying to get his racing heart and breathing under control. After taking several deep breaths, he began pacing again. "The thing is… Dumbledore said that when he tried to kill me, Voldemort transferred some of his powers to me—not intentionally, of course. That was how Dumbledore explained to me that I'm a Parseltongue."
"That's possible," Draco replied thoughtfully with a frown.
Harry shook his head in anger. "I don't happen to think it is anymore."
"Why?"
His gaze dropped to his hands. They looked like ordinary hands to him—he clenched them tightly, studying his knuckles as they became white.
"Harry…"
"Because I was already his equal, Draco." He brought his eyes up and locked with his. "I was already… We have so many parallels. I know that Parseltongue is rare—but Slytherin wasn't the only one ever." A lightening bolt went through him as though telling him this moment was important. His chin came up and the same sensation of resolution filled him that had come over him before he journeyed into Voldemort's mind. "It's a part of who I am—from birth. I am his equal in power—that's how I was able to penetrate his mind today—with something I was born with—Parseltongue. It will serve to help vanquish him—I know this now. That's what I learned today when I was possessing him. Habeo in Animo—I am resolved. I will do this. Seeing that monster in action, both through my visions of his actions and the memories of today, make me understand what Dumbledore meant when he said, I've got to…not because of the prophecy. Instead, it's because I won't rest until I've tried. I've seen what he can do. Even though I'm only seventeen—I've got to try."
"I'll be there with you." Draco rose and moved toward him.
He raised his hand and stopped Draco's progression. In slow motion, he placed his hand over Draco's heart, absorbing the steady rhythm he found there. "I know. You were with me today. If you really want to know what it felt like, just look to your heart." With that, he leaned closer and finally tasted the nectar of the gods—Draco's unique flavor carried him to blissful nirvana.
Behind closed doors today, folks. (wicked grin)
AN: Well, this is the first time Lexicon has really let me down. Dumbledore isn't listed as being the Deputy Headmaster of Hogwarts during Dippet's tenure. I made the assumption that since he went to Tom Riddle and spoke to the head of the orphanage and Tom, that means he was the Deputy. (Professor McGonagall did this during her time served as Deputy.) However, I also decided to change the situation of the opening feast during Riddle's time, so I added food on the table (to make for a better landing :-) ...) and another person placing the hat upon first years. That was so Dumbledore could 'notice' something strange in the appearance of two invisible individuals. As Remus said, "That's preposterous." :-) LL
Reviews are like Chocolate Frogs . . .
there is a surprise card in each package.
Let me know what you think. Thank You . . . Blessings. LL
Hi Everyone. Thanks for taking the time to review. I hope I don't get into trouble with FF, but I find I don't like not responding here to my wonderful reviewers. So here goes...
As always, review responses are in the order received. LL
Katsu Kitsune: Hi. Sorry about the delay. RL is frustrating sometimes. (sigh) Anyway, here's the update, hope you like it. I've never written anything this way before. Thanks much for reviewing. Blessings. LL
Natasha AKA Tash: I know what you mean about free time. GAGH! When I write each chapter, I try to force myself to look at it from someone else's pov. That's how I try to stay on topic. I expect each one to introduce something new while having threads of what has already happened. I also worry that I'll forget something. (That's because RL is stepping in more often. (sigh) No passion this time—you should know me well enough to realize that just means twice next chapter. (Gotta make up for lost time. Grinning wickedly.) Thanks for reviewing. Blessings. LL
Tyleet27: Mary Sue? EUGH! Just kidding. Don't worry, I don't do Mary Sues. Besides, shudders, Sev would get me with some noxious potion when I wasn't looking. :-) Anyway, this next chapter is different than anything I've ever written. Always wanted to do something between Harry and Sirius—couldn't bring myself to write Sirius because I was in mourning so long. Don't worry about the slash—it comes back full force next chapter. Thanks for reviewing. Blessings. LL
DemonRogue: (grin) I had fun writing Narcissa. I wish I could've captured Draco's shock better. Maybe I'll still work something in about it. Hope you like this next chapter. I've always wanted to do a Harry & Sirius scene. Couldn't because of mourning after he fell through the Veil. Who knew I'd come up with something so wonki to pull it off? Thanks for reviewing. Blessings. LL
MikaPotter: Thanks for the happy giggles. Hope you're not disappointed in this chapter—no sex—watch out though—because that usually means a double whammy next chapter. :-) About Wormtail—he has a charm on him and can't transform. I admit up front that I do have a wicked streak. We suffer from allergies in my family. For some reason, I see Wormtail sneezing his little rock head off in the talc box—red eyes and runny nose—the whole miserable experience. Punishment for all his nefarious deeds. As you will see from this chapter, his evil is still being put into use. Depends on what you mean about school—everyday I have to learn something new. (Hint: My kids are outta school. That's just another indication of my wonkiness—they think I'm crazy for writing HP fanfiction. HAH! This is too much fun to pass up!) Thanks for reviewing. Blessings. LL
Mis-HD: Smacks self on the head. I can't believe I forgot you're on the sunny side ahead of me. (Meaning east.) I'm so sorry. It must be the FL sun here—fries the brains. I always call this place the Cauldron of Craziness. Anyway, please forgive me. Don't worry about Narcissa (grin) I, of course, knew all along and she holds no grudges because she enjoyed the way I wrote her. GAGH! How dare I to be so presumptuous. :-) She did savor the idea of the talc box. I can hardly wait to see what else she does. Hehehehe … Don't worry about the slashy goodness—double whammy next chapter. Thanks so much for reviewing. Blessings. LL
Chadd: Thanks much. (grin) I like Draco as a snake, too. Hope you like the next chapter. Blessings. LL
Blanket Disclaimer: Harry Potter and Co. and all other characters within Potter World do not belong to me. No infringement is intended. I am making no money here; just having fun. Kudos and blessings to the literary genius JKR.