People!
First, I apologize for not having being able to upload the chapters last week. I was sick and then I thought, I also needed a little break from the constant busy schedule.
I am not abandoning it and so, here are the chapters...
IT'S CHANGED (SNILY)
CHAPTER 35 Three rooms
And so, the days passed to the one when they had to get to the Gaunt House. Lily and Severus had to also give a good excuse to Mr. and Mrs. Evans to dress like crazy. It wasn't even Halloween to make oneself look absolutely ridiculous. They sighed.
Lily entered Severus room and broke out in a fit of laughter. She almost rolled on the floor, clutching her stomach that hurt from laughing so much.
"You… look-look, so… awful, Sev…" she came near to him and placed her hands on his shoulder before collapsing on the bed in another fit of laughter.
Severus for all this time, kept standing with his arms fold on his chest and rolling his eyes.
"Come on, now, Lily, you don't either look like Cinderella…"
Lily straightened and stood over the bed, pulling Severus close to herself, so that her forehead remained over his. "Oh, but you do make a good Prince Charming"
He blushed. "You are losing your head, Lily. I think we need some breakfast"
"Are you blushing?" she teased.
"NO!" he yelled, blushing even further.
She fixed her knees around his torso and he took her by her waist like that. She kissed him.
"Do you want me to take you downstairs like this?" he raised an eyebrow, mockingly.
"Fine, take me" she sucked on his jaw.
"LILY! Lily… No! We are going out now, and you are giving me bruises?!"
"That's called a love bite, Sev" she winked seductively.
He flustered. "Still not now… last time I had to hold my collar up to hide it"
"I had to do so too, so, I can also blame it on you"
"Then not now"
She huffed. "Fine. Get me down"
"Good" he loosened his grip and she was soon on the floor.
"You know, sometimes you are a spoil sport" Lily slumped and began to walk out of the room, before Severus pulled her to himself with her waist and kissed her neck from the side. She moaned.
"Am I now?"
"No. No, you are not" she rotated in his arms, so that she was face to face with him now.
"I see the change"
She kissed him. "You do now"
"But still no hickeys" he said seriously.
Lily shook her head soberly. "Definitely not" she said before kissing his jaw. "Just an innocent kiss"
Severus chuckled. "Yes, innocent"
"LILY!" a voice came from the hall. Petunia. "SEVERUS! Get down for Breakfast!"
"We need to get down now" Lily gave him a last kiss before parting away.
Severus looked at his neck in the mirror and tutted. "You did this to me, after all!"
She stuck her tongue out, teasingly and before slamming the door shut, said. "Get the foundation from my room, I stole it from Petunia"
He sighed and shook his head, before going to her room to get the foundation cream.
*Page Break*
"Why are you both trying to be jokers today?" Mrs. Evans raised an amused eyebrow.
Lily and Severus flushed. "We are not"
Petunia suppressed a giggle. "Well… your costumes tell that you are not"
"Those aren't costumes" Lily huffed. "Those are clothes"
"Yes… clothes" she took a deep breath to keep from laughing.
Severus cleared his throat. "I know, we look like fools but that is for a good reason"
"Would you tell us where are you both going?" Mrs. Evans narrowed her eyes.
Severus and Lily straightened and spared a look to each other. "Shane and Selene are with us, so, you don't have to worry, Mum"
Mrs. Evans raised an eyebrow. "They are legally adults doesn't mean, they aren't careless, like you both are"
"Mrs. Evans, they are an entire year and a half, older to us" Severus argued.
Mrs. Evans' eyebrow didn't come down. "And still got pregnant?"
Severus and Lily, both turned red and narrowed their eyes on Petunia, who simply shrugged. "That's not our mistake, now, is it?" Lily didn't match her eyes to her mother.
"Then you both are not going anywhere, because you both don't know how to behave sometimes"
Both Severus and Lily jumped, on their seats, and their faces twisted, anxiously. "We have to go, Mrs. Evans, please"
"And what guarantee I have that you both wouldn't do something stupid?" Mrs. Evans inclined her head.
"Mum, please, I have no way, right now, but please let us go, nothing wrong would happen"
"And then you haven't seen Selene dueling and Shane… performing strong charms, they are great"
"And now, Charm and Austin are seventeen too, so, we have more wands"
Mrs. Evans closed her eyes for a second before nodding reluctantly. "Fine. But I beg you both to stay alert over whatever you both are going to do"
They both grinned and almost hugged her.
"Thank you, Mum"
"Thank you, Mrs. Evans"
Severus and Lily scrambled to their feet and almost ran to the entrance door of the house before Mrs. Evans could change her mind.
"Come on, now, the broomsticks" Severus urged.
"It's with the car"
"In the garage?"
"Yes, Sev… come one, now"
They both went on until a broomstick came into view. Lily took it and ran a hand through it, smiling. "Broomsticks are cool, aren't they?"
Severus rolled his eyes. "Yes, unless you are not doing stupid stunts with it"
Lily swatted his arm lightly. "I wouldn't"
"Okay, now, the other one?" he asked looking all around the place.
Lily frowned for a second before gasping. "We have just one broom"
Severus' shoulder's sagged and he raised his eyebrows. "So, now, we have one broomstick and two people"
Lily shrugged innocently. "We can both be on the same, there is enough room"
"This is your plan, isn't it?"
"NO! I mean, no. Why would it be? I just forgot you" Lily reddened and looked away.
Severus very well knew she hadn't forgotten him. She had done everything keeping him in mind.
"You are such a hopeless romantic, Lils" Severus took the broomstick in his hand.
"Hey!" she reddened even further.
Severus smirked. Teasing her was so much fun. "Come on, now, we need to get there" he said, shoving a leg on the broomsticks' side.
Lily stood there; her arms crossed on her chest.
"What, now?"
"Get the damn thing down!"
"Oh" Severus bent his knees a little so that Lily can hop on too.
"Where? Back or front?"
"Come to the front, that'd be more comfortable" he shifted a little backwards.
Lily came and shoved a leg on a side of the broomstick. She rolled her eyes and twisted her body to face Severus. "Now, hold me. Do you want to fell on the ground?"
He blushed. It was his turn to tease. How was she coming to the lead again? He hesitantly brought his arms around her. He had touched her down there, even though from above the clothes, but he had. Then why was holding her like that, so weird?
Lily smirked. "You are a hopeless prude, Sev"
Severus took the offence. "I am not a prude- let us get back and I'll show you"
Lily shrugged in mock-innocence, though a smug grin played on her lips. "Okay"
"Take off, Miss Captain"
And they both kicked the ground to take off with the broom in the air.
Severus' hold tightened on her and he slipped closer, keeping his head on her shoulder. He could almost feel her skin through the costume, her breasts resting on his hand, her hair fluttering on his shoulder and his breath on his face. Wait! Was she looking at him?
He opened his eyes and as soon as his eyes met her, she turned her face away. "Don't look down, Sev"
And that is what he did. Why was this nature in humans, so strong of doing the thing that was asked not to? His breaths fastened and he tightened his hold on Lily even further.
"Lily… could you… could you, fly a little low, please"
"We'll be seen, Sev"
He crossed his ankles and gripped Lily's thighs by his knees. "You are flying too high"
"I am not. It's just a little high"
"There is a reason, I am not interested in Quidditch, Lils… please, a little low"
"Okay. But just a little bit, otherwise we'll get the letter from the Ministry"
"Thank you"
"There, is it fine, now" Lily asked after getting just half a foot downwards.
"I am not looking again"
She chuckled. "Don't then. We'll soon be there"
"Good"
"It's good that you are not in the front"
"Are you frightened?"
Lily rolled her eyes. She could have taken a few dives, if not for Severus. But then, what are a few dives if she got to have him as a company. "Honestly, Severus!"
"I was just making sure. We could still take the knight bus, if you'd like to" he suggested.
"That makes me sick"
"And this damn broomstick doesn't?" he lifted his head a little but connected it to Lily's shoulder, immediately. He couldn't bare the idea of falling from there. It was so scary.
"No. We can have a dive?" she teased. "But I wouldn't if you are scared"
"I am not scared" he practically yelled.
"Then loosen your hold on me. You are almost entirely wrapped around you"
He gulped and willed himself to take his arm off her but it felt like glued to her. "I can't"
"I knew"
"Shut up" he flushed.
"Enjoy the ride, Sev"
He kissed her neck, that made her giggle. "Is it joyous, now?"
"Sev! You are stupid" she laughed. "But you still haven't opened your eyes"
He didn't speak anything, just laid his head on her shoulder, silently.
Lily shook her head, smiling and flew until their destination arrived.
*Page Break*
She soon began to see a secluded area of land, a little far from a finely populated one. Nobody had seemed to ever walk on that land. And then the house came into view.
Her face twisted in disgust and her nose scrunched up. The house looked so much worse than the picture, Severus and Selene showed them. She could almost smell the wretch stink. The grass was grown till half of the walls and all kinds of insects resided in those. The grass wasn't even green, it had dried till any ends. The roof of the house looked close to collapsing from the outside and she couldn't not imagine the way it would be from the inside.
As they came even closer, Lily felt a shiver from Severus and the ends of his hair stand. He must have sensed the Dark Magic around the area. She sucked in breath at the large scape of land that Darkness was spread in.
She cleared her throat of anxiety. "Sev… Sev, hold tight. We are going to land down, now"
Severus didn't need to be told twice. His grip fastened and he clenched his eyes even tighter. "Go. I am fine"
"Okay" she said and pointed the broomstick downwards, making Severus feel like they lost control of the broom but then he knew that they hadn't.
The air kicked on their faces and limbs, making them wince at the force and before they knew it, they were on ground once more.
Lily sighed and smiled. That was her own broomstick with a person at the back. Her ride wasn't bad. "Sev, we are here"
Severus opened his eyes slowly and just after making sure that Lily wasn't tricking him into anything, he pulled his hands away from her. And as soon as he got up from the broomstick, his shaky legs gave out.
"Sev" Lily rolled her eyes. His dramatics would never cease.
"I am fine" he said in a pitifully low voice, trying to get a reason to not have to ride on that thing again.
Lily got off the broom and crouched beside Severus. "I know, you are not as bad as you are showing it, so stand up, Mister"
"Okay, Miss Captain" he said meekly.
"Sev!" she warned and he stood up by the support of her arm.
"I am never ever going on that again" he stuck his tongue out at the broomstick Lily was carrying.
Lily laughed. "You are sick, Sev"
"Am I?" he said, throwing the broomstick away from her hand, as if it was a piece of junk.
"What-Sev…?!" before she could complete, he locked his lips with hers. They moaned in pleasure.
"ARE WE INTERRUPTING SOMETHING?!" a shout came and they both instantly broke apart, turning their heads and flushing to see an old couple coming towards them.
It struck them soon and they took their wands out, pointing them on the old couple. They were wearing a matching set of peach sweaters and brown pants. The woman had messy mahogany hair, streaked with grey while the man had brown, streaked with grey and looked as if he hadn't shaved for a month.
They both didn't even budge at the wand's points, just kept smiling. Then Severus and Lily noticed that they seemingly were standing too upright for a person as old as they were.
They looked at each other. "Shane" Lily whispered.
"And Selene" Severus lowered his wand.
"We were waiting for you both to realize that it's us" Selene stretched her hands.
"You both almost gave us the scare. I would have jinxed you" Severus shook his head.
"Well, people snogging can't keep aware about the surroundings, could they?" she teased.
"Now, it feels like you both are together!" Shane seemed overly happy by catching them snogging.
Severus and Lily flushed red.
Selene gasped. "Severus… You wore the sweater I gave you! Pairing them with leather pants!?"
Severus spread his hands and stuck his tongue out at his neon pink sweater, black leather pants and the black triangular matrix sunglasses that were hanging on a belt loop of his pants.
"I hate them" he said in dismay.
Selene ignored him. "Where did you get those pants?"
Severus rolled his eyes. "What do you think? It's only you trying to annoy me? Lily gave them to me last year… and I am wearing all kinds of stupid things I possess"
Lily winked at her mention, as if what she did was pleasing him.
"And well, Lily, you believe that it's going to rain today" Shane asked innocently, gesturing at her precautious looking dress.
Lily grinned at her green boots and raincoat. "Mum bought them when I was young and at that time, they were really big on me, now, they fit though"
"You know, you look as crazy as anything, Lily?" Severus rolled his eyes, running a finger on the raincoat.
"You just can't take all the hotness I am radiating and that is why you are jealous" Lily flipped her head dramatically.
Severus blinked and blushed. He had to admit she looked hot. "I still say you look stupid"
"Whatever, Sev…" Lily dismissed him before turning to the other two. "I almost forgot you both can change your looks with magic… and you both look really old"
"We intended to… there is no chance anyone would know it's us" Shane said.
"You look creepy, though!" Severus said loudly, in Selene's ear.
She jumped and rolled her eyes. "Whatever, Sev…" she teased him, imitating Lily.
He was about to say something before which they heard some raged breaths and a groan. They poised their wands again and looked all around.
They all lowered it with a sigh as soon as Austin's face came into view. And… he wasn't looking so well. Of course, the Knight Bus.
"Hey, guys" he came to them.
"Cross-dressing looks nice on you, Austin" Severus winked at him and he flushed looking at his teal knee-length woolen dress with black knee-length boots.
Austin shrugged then. "We weren't to be recognized… And then you all look like fools too"
Severus snorted. "Who doesn't… I bet Charm's worse"
"Actually, no" a voice came and they all turned to see Charm standing behind them.
"Ah… where did you get this from?" Shane asked in amusement.
She smirked at her huge panda costume and came nearer. "Just got it… and Severus, you look the worst"
He narrowed his eyes. "I asked us all to wear something that wouldn't give us out, but still all of you were busy making yourselves look like cartoons"
They all pointedly ignored him. "So, now, we must get inside that house" Selene pointed towards the Gaunt house.
"Wait!" Shane exclaimed before either of them could take any step.
"Now, what?" Lily asked in exasperation.
He lifted his wand and waved it above them all, that made a huge mass of green hue flow over their heads, before turning white and disappearing.
"What was that?" Charm asked.
Shane smiled. "The Horcruxes are mainly made to trick us… so, as soon as the danger arrives, we'll change to our original selves, giving out the cartoon dresses, as Severus said, so, that no chance is left to get confused"
"That will also tell us when we are in contact with the Horcrux" Severus pointed out, ignoring the cartoon comment.
"Yes"
"Then your wands at the ready" Charm instructed and they began walking.
The mud was damp and gooey, while the smell of the place would have killed them any moment.
They crossed the fences and stepped in the crunchy dried grass, that also crunched with the left away skeletons of dead mice, some bodies of grasshoppers and their… feces, perhaps.
They all were going green with the smell and the interesting noises that made the walk worse.
"Fine!" Austin voiced aloud. "Selene, would you please place us under the charm"
The others began blabbering with "Ah… yes" "Please, Selene" "Thank Merlin, you said that" and sighed in relief.
"Shut up" Selene stomped her feet and then waved her wand. "There, no one will die of smell, now… stupid kids" she glared at them.
"Thank you, Selene" they all breathed in clean air.
They walked until they got till the door and stopped immediately. They all looked at each other and backed out together.
"I am not going first" Severus and Charm announced together and backed even further.
"Wow… that's a dirty door and I am allergic to dirt… someone else have to open it" Austin backed too, making a pitiful excuse.
Selene grabbed Shane's hand and backed down. "I obviously, can't go in first and… Shane couldn't either"
Severus narrowed his eyes. "And then someone said that pregnancy isn't a disease"
"You still need to keep a limit to your tongue, Severus, because unlike you I can use my wand, kid" Selene taunted.
He raised his eyebrow and was about to say something but a huge huff from Lily stopped him.
"You all are cowards… I'll open the door" she rolled her eyes.
Severus turned his head sharply. "Has that raincoat from when you were young, made your brain work less efficiently… Oh, but then who am I kidding. You are a brash Gryffindor"
Lily narrowed her eyes on him and didn't fall for the bait instead, she stepped on the small stairs and pushed the door open before Severus could say another word. This let out many spiders and cockroaches run out that made Austin and Charm squeak.
"As I said- Kids" Selene smirked.
"As I said- Brash Gryffindor" Severus took his wand out and walked closer to Lily, investigating the entire doorframe. "Okay… nothing at all… though, charms could be there that I don't detect"
Shane came nearer too and waved his wand, that threw a blue wave of air around the frame and vanished. "Nothing at all… now, if you'll all do the honors" he held a hand gesturing them to enter.
They reluctantly came inside the house, taking every step after a great deal of inspection of the floor and the ceiling.
"Well, beware of the ceiling… that might fall down" Lily said.
"Now, where to find the ring…?" Charm looked around.
"I expect it to be in a secured box or something… with curses" Shane gave.
"The air is quite thick with Dark Magic… can also be with the dirt" Severus joked, earning a smack on the head by Selene.
"So, I can go with Selene… come on, make the teams" Austin pronounced.
They all rolled their eyes. Austin sure wasn't liking the place.
"No, you are going with Charm because you both can use wands… I and Shane will go with the kids" Selene pointe smugly at Lily and Severus.
"Just four more days and I'll be able to use my wand too" Severus retorted.
"That comes with a great deal of responsibilities…" Austin sighed and then made his best puppy eyes. "May I go with one of you?"
"Austin! You are going with Charm… who seems oddly nauseous" Shane raised an amused eyebrow.
"What?" Charm flushed. "I am not scared"
Nobody had asked her. It was just proving that none of them could become an Auror.
"So, I'll go with Lily-" Selene said, then immediately paused when Severus screamed.
"NO!" he flushed after yelling like that. "I mean- why not you come with me… Lily and Shane, both good in charms can go together"
Selene laughed. "That makes no sense, but if it proves the point that you are scared, then fine"
"I am not scared of a stupid house that just smells bad and looks a little creepy" Severus shrugged, that seemed more like a shiver.
"Isn't Selene's demand too much here" Shane crossed his arms on his chest.
Lily was purely frustrated by the procrastination by all of them. She huffed and cleared her throat. "Come on now, Shane, let them fight… we can go and check the living room"
"Come on, Lily" he nodded and walked away with her.
Selene and Severus flushed. "We are going upstairs" they announced loudly before leaving Austin and Charm to go check the kitchen.
*Page Break*
"Keep your wand out, Severus"
"It is out… you'll be able to see, if only you used Lumos"
Severus didn't need any light to see that Selene was feeling rather stupid of herself. "Lumos Maxima" she spoke and a glowing white ball emerged from her wand and flew up in the air.
The room they entered, obviously, looked a wreck. The ceiling was fine here though but the floor was creaky. The blanket of dust was so thick that a person could lie underneath it and wouldn't feel any cold.
It was a bedroom with a single bed that had collapsed almost on the floor. The pillow on it was as hard as stone and the sheets were again layered with dust.
"You go check those drawers…" Selene instructed before opening the closet and that is when Severus noticed the drawers in the corner.
He went there and opened the first one that was empty. And the next one had some broken little things that Severus couldn't make what they were. The next one he opened had a strange smell and ay the back of it was a small box.
"Selene. Come here"
She came there, had a look in the drawer and gestured him to back off. She pulled the box into their reach with the help of her wand and then looked at Severus. He nodded.
"Alohomora" she pronounced and the box opened, making the strange smell spread in the entire room. They peeked inside and found an almost empty bottle of purple liquid.
Severus bent down and sniffed closely. "Love Potion" he turned to Selene. "This is most probably, Merope's room"
"I believe so" Selene agreed. "Open the next drawer"
He did and flushed deep red. It was filled with lingerie. She laughed and walked to the closet again. "Close it, Severus… this one doesn't belong to you"
He slammed it shut. "Right"
He was about to turn away from the drawers but just then something with a weird texture came under his feet. He paused instantly.
"Selene" he called out. "What's under my feet?"
Selene rolled her eyes and approached him again before sobering and holding one of his arms.
"Take a step towards me… Gently"
He did and turned. It was something long and scaley. Selene and Severus gasped together and then looked at each other.
"That's a snakeskin"
"Nagini"
"She's been here… with You-Know-How"
Selene grabbed her hair in anger on herself. "Perhaps, we are here for nothing… this could be a trap… how did I allow this to happen… we need to get out of here… now, Severus" she grabbed him by his shoulders and shook them. "We need to get out of here!"
"Selene! Calm down!"
"No, no, no… we are wasting our time and putting ourselves into jeopardy…"
"Selene! There is nothing to be freaked out about! Wait!"
And she paused. Severus left her side and bent down to see under the collapsing bed. There was nothing. He sighed and stood back up.
"There's nothing in this room… we must get down now"
Selene nodded vigorously, took Severus' hand and dragged him out, only to stop with a gasp near the staircase.
"How did we not notice it earlier?" she mused whisperingly.
Severus bent his knees a little to get a better look of the stairs and his eyes widened at the remains. There were long strides of slithers. A snake had been here was evident. Nagini.
"This is because you didn't use Lumos in the first place" his feet were about to land on the mark of Nagini, before which Selene brought her feet on first instinct.
He slipped and tried to hold on the railing but he couldn't and fell on the staircase.
"SEVERUS!"
He couldn't stop, with the thumping noises and screams of his own he ended at the end of the stairs.
*Page Break*
"So, we can just watch in things together"
He nodded. "Kitchen is the worst"
"So, true"
A pot was kept on the stove… till date. Austin went and swished his wand over it, producing white smoke and when it disappeared, he opened it. He retched and instantly shut it.
"Rotten food!"
Charm was busy kicking a dustbin. "Rat skeletons"
"Whoa… things are really, really bad here" Austin reached a decaying kitchen cupboard. He opened it and gagged instantly finding some pieces of rotten flesh kept there. His eyes teared up by the smell.
"What is it?" Charm came closer.
He just looked at her and motioned towards the rotting pieces, but didn't say anything. Making out the look on Austin's face, she closed her mouth and nose with one of her hands and peeked inside. She scrunched her nose in disgust of the blackened flesh.
She took her wand out and waved it. A golden string emerged from its tip and wrapped around the pieces.
"Human's" she voiced in horror, looking at Austin, whose eyes had gone wide.
They backed off from the cupboard, took their hands off their mouths and then took a deep breath of stale air but at least not that bad.
"They are seven" Austin whispered.
"Seven? Does that mean anything or are they just random pieces?"
"Nobody keeps meat in cupboard. And not at least, that of human"
"We don't have fridges like muggles do… they were obviously protected by magic… but still nobody keeps them like this" she waved a hand in the direction of the cupboard.
"A human was murdered"
She nodded slowly, afraid that her hasty movements would disturb the quietness of the room. "Yes"
"They are cut and there is no magic there" Austin pointed out.
"They are seven. A magical number… What could this mean?"
"SEVERUS!" they heard a yell and their heads turned to the door with a jerk, followed by thumping noises and screams.
Selene or Severus was in danger and they had to get to them. They raced till the staircase before gasping in surprise.
*Page Break*
"The couch chair is old…"
She rolled her eyes. "Obviously"
"No… it is really, really old"
"The Gaunts didn't work, they used everything that got down by their ancestors… hence, the old couch"
He sent an impressed look in the direction of the couch, while Lily was busy brushing some dust from above the fireplace.
Shane was about to head to some other place to search for the Horcrux, when a carving on the couch caught his attention. He knelt down and ran a finger on the symbol that was carved on the little wooden part.
A triangle, containing a circle that was bisected by a line.
"Lily"
"Shane"
They both called out together and then turned to each other. "Say it" they impatiently asked the other.
"Come here, Lily" Shane asked first.
She did and knelt beside him, peering on the symbol carved on the couch.
Lily gasped. "What? What is this symbol?"
"I don't know… But it seems familiar"
"I-I saw the very same on the top of the fireplace… that is why I called you" she informed, pointing towards where she was standing earlier.
Shane got up and looked at where Lily was pointing. "The same"
She hummed and stood up. "I think I have seen this somewhere too"
He pointed his wand at the symbol and waved it, producing a small paper with the same copy of the weird symbol.
"I don't believe there is anything in here"
"Perhaps, not"
Their heads turned towards the door sharply when they heard a yell. "SEVERUS!" followed by more screams.
Their eyes widened and they heart began beating faster. Selene or Severus. They hoped both of them were fine and raced out of the door.
