Chapter 2: Den of Serpents

I've taken to jogging now. I can't sleep, so I run a few blocks around the neighborhood in the wee hours of the morning and return home before anyone wakes up. It doesn't help much – but it's something I can do, something I can control. I need that.

"Try to run away again, Black, and I'll keep you under much longer."

Leo turned over with a groan.

"You and I both know what you are, boy. Now, open the door unless you want to experience the Cruciatus Curse the same way the Longbottoms did."

Another groan as he turned to the other side, panting heavily.

"You don't have it in you, boy!" Quirrell snarled.

"That's where you're wrong," Leo corrected him, tightening his grip on his wand. "Incendio Tria."

Blue flames shot forth from his wand, engulfing Quirrell as he screamed in agony.

Leo shot up in his bed, body dripping with sweat as he panted heavily. He ran a hand over his face before yanking the covers off of himself and swinging his legs off the bed. He grabbed his wand off his nightstand, muttering the Wand Lighting Charm before exiting his room and going down the stairs.

He made his way to the second floor, opening up a pair of double doors and tapping the wall with his wand as he strode into the room. The gas lamps ignited, revealing a room full of various equipment. There were a few practice dummies standing in the middle of the room for him to practice magic on. A punching bag hung in each of the room's four corners and a set of weights stood off to the side of the room. In one corner of the room sat several broken mirrors, some streaked with red and permanently stained.

Leo walked toward the training dummies and raised his wand before firing off a Knockback Jinx. He quickly followed it up with a Severing Charm and a few Incendios for good measure. He tried out a few second-year spells – the Tickling Charm, the Disarming Charm, etc. - and even tried out a more advanced spell called Depulso. That one turned out to be one of his favorites, owing to the fact that it sent people and objects flying away from him and left him some breathing room.

After about an hour of firing off spells, Leo was bent over, hands on his knees, sweating profusely and panting. He used the sleeve of his shirt to wipe his forehead before standing upright, turning around, and exiting the room. He headed back upstairs, collected some clothes from his room, and headed off to the bathroom to shower. Once he was cleaned and changed, he put his dirty clothes in the laundry bin located in the bathroom and headed down toward the kitchen.

There, Kreacher was busy setting out a plate of scrambled eggs and some toast before running over and grabbing the whistling tea kettle from the stove. As Leo sat down, Kreacher poured him a cup of tea before bustling around and cleaning up the kitchen.

"Kreacher has picked up Master Leo's dress robes from the shop. Kreacher has put them in the drawing room," the house-elf bowed.

"Thanks, Kreacher," Leo replied, sipping his tea.

Kreacher bowed again before finishing up with the kitchen and disappearing with a loud 'crack!' Leo looked up at the large clock in the kitchen, which informed him that it was six in the morning. Malfoy's party doesn't start until two, so I've still got plenty of time. Leo finished up his breakfast quickly before going upstairs and getting started on the summer assignments he had been putting off.

It was ten by the time he finished, and he had run out of things to do. He set about finding menial tasks to complete. He dusted his room/his father's old room since Castor Black had put up wards that prevented unauthorized people and creatures from entering. Kreacher, apparently, hadn't made the cut. He perused old letters written to his father again and flipped through old journal entries from before his second year.

When one rolled around, he proceeded to get dressed and ready to head out, making sure his holster and wand were securely fastened and mentally running over a list of spells he may need. He was a lion walking into a den of serpents, after all. At ten to two, he had Kreacher Apparate him and they landed in a country lane. A pair of wrought-iron gates lay at the foot of what looked like a long drive.

Leo shook the bars as Kreacher disappeared, whipping his hands away quickly as he felt movement. The iron was contorting, twisting itself out of the abstract furls and coils into a frightening face, which spoke in a clanging, echoing voice: "State your purpose!"

"Leo Black. Here for the party," Leo stated in a bored tone.

The gates swung open.

Leo made his way through the gates and up the drive, between high hedges that muffled his footsteps. He saw a ghostly white shape above him and realized it was an albino peacock. A handsome manor house grew out of the darkness at the end of the straight drive, lights glinting in the diamond-paned downstairs windows. Somewhere in the dark garden beyond the hedge, a fountain was playing. Gravel crackled beneath his feet as Leo languidly walked toward the front door, which swung inward at his approach, though nobody had visibly opened it.

The hallway was large, dimly lit, and sumptuously decorated, with a magnificent carpet covering most of the stone floor. There, standing in the middle of the hallway was a man with a pale, pointed face, pale blond hair, and cold grey eyes. He held a walking stick with a snake head that made Leo feel as though he should be wary of whatever this man was capable of.

"Ah, you must be the infamous Leo Black," the man drawled, striding towards him. "Draco has told me so much about you. He seems to hold a sort of... admiration for you, in fact."

"Yeah, I have that effect on people," Leo shrugged, growing tenser as the man grew closer. "I'm assuming you're his father? Lucius, right?"

"Indeed, I am," Lucius inclined his head, stopping mere feet from him. "What do you think of the manor? Rather more... elegant than you are used to, I imagine."

"The albino peacocks are a bit much," Leo replied in a dry tone, prepared to whip out his wand at any second.

Lucius seemed amused by this.

"If you continue down the hall and take the first set of double doors on your right, you will find the rest of your schoolmates, Black. We shall talk later."

Lucius then gave another incline of his head before turning around and walking away, his long hair flowing behind him. That is, without a doubt, the most effeminate man I have ever met. Leo decided before making his way down the hall, stopping at the first set of doors on his right. He took a deep breath before opening them. There stood all the Slytherins from his year, as well as some from the upper years that he hadn't really talked to. Draco was the first to approach him.

"I didn't think you'd come, Black," Draco commented in a soft voice.

"Wanted to make sure you were alright, Draco," Leo shrugged, his lips twitching upward slightly at Draco's confused look.

"Why wouldn't I be?" the pale blonde inquired.

"You're not exactly the same person you were when you left home after Christmas holidays. Your father doesn't seem like the type of person who would tolerate and support that."

Draco inclined his head in agreement as Blaise Zabini strode up.

"Didn't realize they were allowing riffraff like you in now, Black," Zabini sneered, looking Leo over.

"Well, hey, if they'll let you in, they'll let anyone in...er..." Leo frowned and pretended to think. "Well, now this is awkward. I have no idea who you are. Guess you're just that forgettable."

Zabini's face turned dark as the Slytherins around him snickered. Zabini's hand reached for the pocket of his robes, and Leo instinctively flicked his wrist, pointing his wand at Zabini's throat. The room went quiet. Zabini's throat bobbed as he stared down at Leo's wand, his hand still hovering near his robes.

"You don't have it in you, Black," Zabini tried to bluff.

"You don't have it in you, boy!"

Leo's grip tightened as his eyes narrowed, the color reminiscent of ice.

"Trust me. I have it in me," Leo replied, swinging his left fist into Zabini's face and knocking him to the ground. "You're just not worth it."

Leo then turned and walked away with a dramatic flourish of his robes, feeling as though he might not be welcome at the Malfoy house after punching out one of their guests. Draco grabbed his arm before he left, meeting his gaze silently before releasing him and allowing him to continue on his way.

He made his way out the hall, down the driveway, and out the gates, where he briefly debated calling for Kreacher to take him home. Deciding that he didn't quite want to return to the doom and gloom of Grimmauld quite yet, Leo threw out his right arm, which was still clutching his wand.

There was a deafening BANG and, a second later, a gigantic pair of wheels and headlights screeched to a halt right in front of Leo. They belonged to a triple-decker, violently purple bus, which had appeared out of thin air. Gold lettering over the windshield spelled The Knight Bus.

A conductor in a purple uniform leaped out of the bus and began to speak loudly, "Welcome to the Knight Bus, emergency transport for the stranded witch or wizard just stick out your wand hand, step on board, and we can take you anywhere you want to go. My name is Stan Shunpike, and I will be your conductor this afternoon -"

"How much to get to London?" Leo cut him off.

Stan was startled by his abruptness but responded anyway with, "Eleven Sickles, but for firteen you get 'ot chocolate, and for fifteen -"

Leo reached into his pocket and handed him a single Galleon.

"Keep the change," Leo told him, jumping onto the bus.

The inside was crammed with an assortment of mismatched chairs grouped haphazardly around windows. Some of these appeared to have fallen over when the bus stopped abruptly in front of Malfoy Manor; a few witches and wizards were still getting to their feet, grumbling.

Leo took his seat as Stan boarded the bus. With another loud BANG it took off, and Leo had to grab onto a candle bracket to keep from falling over.

"Right then, Mr...?" Stan trailed off, waiting for Leo to fill in his name.

"Evans."

Leo had decided not too long ago to use a different last name when out in the Wizarding World. 'Black' drew too much attention, prompting him to use his mother's maiden name instead.

"Right, Mr. Evans," Stan clapped his hands. "Whereabouts in London?"

"Leaky Cauldron."

"Righto," said Stan. "'Old tight, then."

BANG. They were thundering along Charing Cross Road. Leo sat up and watched buildings and benches squeezing themselves out of the Knight Bus's way. The driver suddenly slammed on the brakes and the Knight Bus skidded to a halt in front of a small and shabby-looking pub, the Leaky Cauldron.

"Thanks," Leo said before he jumped down the steps.

He walked away from the bus toward the building, returning his wand to his holster and loosening the tie around his neck in one fluid motion. He entered the pub and strode toward the bar, where Tom, a wizened, toothless wizard worked.

"Mr. Evans," Tom bowed his head. "The usual I presume?"

"Yeah, and keep 'em coming, Tom. Its been one of those days," Leo sighed, slapping a few Galleons on the bar and walking over to an empty table off in the corner.

Not long after he sat down, Tom brought over what would be the first of many butterbeers - a popular wizarding beverage that tasted a little bit like less-sickly butterscotch. Leo wasn't overly fond of the flavor, but it was the only drink with any sort of alcoholic content that he could get away with drinking.

Leo stayed at the table for quite some time, quietly sipping butterbeer after butterbeer until he started amassing an impressive collection of bottles. He was gunning for at least seven this time 'round, hoping to surpass his previous record of six and a half - he had gotten a stomachache and had to quit.

"Bit early in life to start drinking, isn't it?" questioned an amused voice behind him.

"Mate, when you've had the month I've had, you discover that it's never too early to start drinking," Leo replied in a dry tone, gulping down his fifth bottle and grabbing a sixth.

"I'd wager I've had a worse month than you," the stranger continued.

"Really now?" Leo raised an eyebrow, turning in his seat to look at the stranger.

The stranger was wearing an extremely shabby set of wizard's robes that had been darned in several places. He looked ill and exhausted. Though quite young, his light brown hair was flecked with grey. His face was pale and lined, with scars cutting across his face and soft green eyes.

Leo found himself curious as to where the scars had come from and would bet that – had it been any other month – the stranger would most likely have won his wager. Unfortunately for him, Leo was confident he had everyone beat.

"Have you also humiliated an evil dark wizard and now have to worry about possible revenge schemes and/or assassination attempts?" Leo inquired.

The stranger gave a small snort of amusement.

"Not this month, no," he responded before gesturing to the chair across from Leo. "May I?"

Leo gave a small shrug and stared at the man as he sat down. He observed the man carefully for a moment, a sense of familiarity nagging at him the longer he stared at the man. I know I've seen him before... but where? After a second of thought, he shrugged, deciding that he must have just seen him during one of his many forays to the Leaky Cauldron.

"You can ask, you know," the man said, misconstruing Leo's look and gesturing at the scars on his face. "I don't bite."

Leo thought he detected a faint trace of amusement in the man's voice at the last line, though he couldn't fathom why.

"Alright - what happened to your face?" Leo asked as bluntly as possible.

"Dragon."

"If you're going to lie, at least make it believable. Say it was a rabbit or a dog or something."

"I figured a dragon would pique your interest more," the man replied with a small smile. "Rabbits and dogs don't make for quite as fascinating a tale as a dragon."

"Dunno about that. I've got a few interesting stories about dogs, if you've got the time, Mr...?" Leo trailed off, taking a sip of his drink.

"Lupin. Remus Lupin -"

Leo choked on his drink, coughing loudly and prompting Remus to pat him vigorously on the back.

"Remy?" Leo said when he could breathe.

Remus froze, his hand hovering above Leo's back in shock.

"How do you know that name?" Remus asked in a low voice, his face appearing stricken.

"My dad – he mentioned you in a letter he left me," Leo shifted in his seat as Remus slowly sunk back in his seat. "He said I could trust you."

Remus closed his eyes, turning his face upward and mumbling a single word that Leo couldn't quite make out. He stayed like this for a few moments before opening his eyes and turning back toward Leo, a much warmer smile on his face this time.

"It's been quite some time since I've seen you, Leo," Remus finally said. "Even so, I should have recognized you – you have your father's eyes."

"Not sure how I feel about some bloke I essentially just met staring at my eyes."

"And his sense of humor," Remus chuckled.

"I wasn't aware he had one of those," Leo remarked, sipping his butterbeer. "Most people make him out to be a quiet, serious person. Sounded a bit depressed too, to be perfectly honest."

Remus was quiet for a moment.

"Cas is – was – a very complicated person. He had many burdens thrust upon him from a young age and experienced hardships no person should have to experience." Leo stared down at his butterbeer, missing Remus's thoughtful expression. "Despite this, he tried his hardest to stay positive and find the good in everything – in people. He used to say that, even if he couldn't laugh or smile, at least he could get people to do it for him."

"He sounds more like a philosopher every time I hear about him," Leo stated in a dry tone.

Remus chuckled.

"James made a similar comment once," he smiled. "Your mother found it to be an endearing quality – one of many."

"Can you tell me about her?" Leo asked, a feeling of excitement bubbling up in his chest. "Much as enjoy hearing about my dad from – literally – everyone, I never hear anything about my mum."

"Not surprising. Rose was a very shy and private person – often keeping to herself and any close friends she made. She wasn't one to make waves and preferred to stay away from conflict. Most importantly, she was a very loving and kind person who brought smiles to those around her," Remus informed him with a gentle smile.

Leo rolled the butterbeer between his hands thoughtfully before pushing it away and asking Remus for more stories of his parents – which he happily obliged. The two talked for hours, the remaining butterbeers left untouched as they conversed heavily – Leo even manage to smile once or twice. By the time the two parted – with the promise to keep in contact with one another – Leo's spirits were higher than they had been in weeks.

Uncle Siri,

I ran into Remus today. He was just as my father had described – kind, warm, wise – and I felt better than I have in weeks after talking to him... I didn't talk to him about what happened – about the trap door that Fluffy was guarding or Quirrell or anything. You're right, I'm not ready yet.

But I'm trying to be.

Love,

Leo

P.S.: You know what might help immensely? Telling me how to track down Pettigrew.