Chapter Fifty-four

Harry was awoken the next morning by somebody grasping onto his shoulder and shaking him rather gently, whispering his name a bit forcefully.

Harry sleepily turned to look at the visitor, and all he saw was a blur of black without his glasses on, immediately assuming that it was Snape.

"Harry," Snape said, passing Harry his glasses. "Wake up."

"Wha' time is it?" Harry asked sleepily, shoving his glasses onto his face and yawning.

"I let you sleep in a bit late since it's Saturday," Snape replied, not answering the way Harry had expected, but in a way.

"Mmm… Thanks, Severus," Harry muttered, waving his right arm around foolishly, and then turning around back on the other side.

"Alexander Jackson's at the door," Snape said, his voice reflecting slight annoyance."Something about a picnic."

Harry sat up in the bed abruptly, looking confused, yet surprised at the same time.

"A picnic? What?"

"I'm assuming he's downstairs waiting for you to go down so he could invite you to a picnic. I suggest that you hurry and get dressed."

Harry tore out of bed as soon as Snape went out of the room. He went to the closet and pulled out some decent clothes, yelling out Nathaniel's name. But Nathaniel—who was in the form of Slyther—didn't budge. He gave no indication of waking up yet.

"Nathaniel," Harry tried again as he slipped into a shirt. Still, the snake made incoherent protests of something, none of them directed at Harry.

"Slyther," Harry said in his best tempting voice, since he was becoming desperate, "Amaryllis's here."

Still, nothing.

Harry let out a frustrated sigh and left the room, going down the hallway before he approached the steps, then descended down them.

"I see you've failed in attempting to get Jacobs to accompany you," Snape said once Harry came down the last step.

"He was saying something about carrots trying to teach him ballet," Harry replied with a small shrug. "He seemed to be happy about it, so I let him be."

He turned to Alexander, who stood in the doorway, and grinned.

"Hi."

"Hi," Alexander responded. "Do you wanna come to the park and have a picnic with me?"

"Sure," Harry said, glancing at Snape, who gave a curt nod of approval. "I'll be back after, Severus."

Harry went out the door and stood on the threshold, closing the door.

"My sister's going to come with us," Alexander grumbled, obviously disliking the thought. "Mum said I couldn't go out alone, but Amaryllis goes out alone all the time."

"I'm right behind you," Amaryllis, who had come up behind them holding a basket in her right hand, pointed out. "Don't think I can't hear you."

"I think they just like her best," Alexander continued loudly. "You're adopted, right Harry? I'm adopted, too."

That surprised Harry. Alexander Jackson was adopted? It just didn't seem likely.

Amaryllis seemed just as surprised.

"What? You're not adopted, Alexander! Stop being so thick."

"No, it's true," Alexander insisted. "I was looking through baby photos in the attic. All were of Amaryllis, none of me."

Well, if that had been Harry, Harry had a feeling that the thought would've crossed his mind, too.

"That's not true! I saw you after you were born," Amaryllis argued. "You were most definitely not adopted."

"We're going to Maythers Park," Alexander said, ignoring Amaryllis. "It's pretty nice. Large, grassy area. Lots of trees. Even a small river at one part, too. There's other parts to it, that's just one. Have you ever been there before?"

"Yeah," Harry replied, remembering the park that he and Nathaniel had gone to. "A part of it. From the part me and Nathaniel saw, it was pretty nice."

Amaryllis perked up at the name. "Nathaniel? Speaking of… Nathaniel… why isn't he here with you, Harry?"

Harry bit back a grin. "He's uh, unavailable."

Amaryllis frowned, now walking beside Alexander and carrying the basket. "Oh, really? Unavailable? Er—how?"

"Oh," Harry bit his lip, stalling. Should he tell Amaryllis that Nathaniel was currently a snake refusing to get up, and dreaming about carrots urging him to do ballet?

"Just forget about it, Mary," Alexander spoke up after a roll of his eyes and a grin at Harry. "Nathaniel isn't here, who by the way is Harry's, erm… brother?"

"Friend," Harry corrected with a smile. "Just a friend."

"Here we are," Amaryllis said. "Maythers park. We're at the entrance, but the inside of the park is amazing."

"Yeah," Alexander agreed. "But some of the people here are nutters."

Amaryllis frowned at her brother. "Shut it, Alexander. They are not. Now, let's go."

Amaryllis pushed open a gate, letting Alexander and Harry through before herself. There was a rocky path that led forward, sometimes curving at times, and the sides held lots of trees and bright, green grass. There were few people there, which seemed to make the park a bit better.

"We'll empty the basket near the river," Amaryllis said.

"What about in front of the waterfall?" Alexander suggested. "You know, walk down the path, make a few turns and you're at the waterfall? It's nice there."

"Do you want to go to the waterfall, Harry?" Amaryllis asked, wondering if the quiet boy had a suggestion of where they could empty their basket at.

Harry nodded brightly. "Yeah, the waterfall sounds great."

Alexander, though, had already started his way down the path, seeming very eager to get to the waterfall.

"Blimey—look at that bloke!" Alexander yelled, pointing to a man who was juggling something on fire for entertainment.

Amaryllis swatted Alexander's hand down. "It's rude to point. But yes, that is something, hm?"

"You squish the fun out of everything," Alexander complained to his sister. "I should tell Dad never to let you look after me again." Then, after he screwed his face up at Amaryllis, he turned to Harry.

"So what's it like to have Mr. Snape adopt you? Is he nice?"

Harry smiled and nodded. "Severus is… just misunderstood by some people. A lot of people are just misunderstood," he explained, thinking of Sirius and his innocence. "But Sev'rus is very nice."

"He seems it. Sometimes. Sometimes he seems so quiet, not like anybody else in this town," Alexander said. "I'm glad he's different, though. I think he's the only person who sometimes wears black. But that's good, since really, I'm a bit sick of all the orange and yellow and bright green colored clothes that other people wear. They're so bright."

"Our town may wear odd colours at times," Amaryllis spoke up, "but the people are very nice. Look there, you can see the falls."

Through some trees, Harry spotted a place in front of a miniature waterfall, a few trees were looking down on the grassy ground.

"It looks good," Alexander said. "Let's lay the blanket down and eat."

Amaryllis set the basket down on the ground in front of the waterfall and opened it, pulling out a blanket and laying it down on a nice, grassy looking spot. Then the three sat down as Amaryllis starting pulling the food out of the basket and setting it down on the blanket.

"What would you like to eat, Harry?" Alexander asked as he helped Amaryllis unload the basket. "Wha' 'bout some apple juice to start? We have tons of food after we get it outta this basket."

"Would you two like a piece of vanilla gateau?" Amaryllis asked the two boys.

"Yes," Harry said, immediately adding a 'please' after. The Dursleys had never taught him to mind his manners, but on several occasions Dudley had been reminded to mind his manners, so Harry had always done the same.

"No," Alexander replied, taking the cover off a bowl. "I don't like vanilla gateau. I'm more of a chocolate person. Besides, if I eat that cake, I'll probably be poisoned since you made it."

Amaryllis scowled at the younger boy. "Well, I didn't make it. Mother did."

Alexander hesitated before giving a shrug. "I still don't like vanilla."

"Oh, well, here you go Harry," Amaryllis said, handing Harry a plate with a piece of vanilla gateau on it.

"Thanks."

Harry took the plate, his eyes skimming the picnic that Alexander and Amaryllis had set up. He had never attended a picnic before, and it all seemed… fascinating. Especially the food.

"We have potato salad if you want some," Alexander offered. "That and a whole bunch of other stuff. Take anything you want."

Harry did just that. Anything that caught his eye and looked good, he put it on his plate. Of course, he didn't want to look like a pig, so he set the food to a minimum.

"Hey," Alexander said with a slight laugh. "Look at the dog. Big, innit?"

Harry looked to where Alexander was looking. There was a stray on the path in front of them. Big, shaggy black dog. It looked almost lost… searching for something… or maybe someone—SIRIUS!

Harry jumped up, only to then realize that the dog wasn't Sirius. That dog belonged to a girl who was now rushing up it and exclaiming her name: Snowflake, though it didn't suit the dog, since it was black. In his opinion, it would've suited the dog if the dog was white.

"Harry?" Amaryllis said with a frown, looking up at Harry in concern. "Are you all right?"

"Y - yeah," Harry replied, slowly sitting back down. He gave a small blush. "I, uh, thought I saw um… a… bug?"

Alexander nodded his head, seeming to understand perfectly. "Bugs are creepy."

Amaryllis laughed, lifting a bit of potato salad into her mouth. "I thought all boys thought bugs were cool."

"I'm not all boys," Alexander said, sticking out his tongue. "I'm a special boy."

Harry gave a smile, tuning out the rest of their conversation. His eyes roamed through the park, landing on a couple that passed. The woman had her eyes on Harry, and when she noticed him staring back, she gave Harry a friendly smile.

"Harry—are you OK? You're not eating," Alexander said, breaking Harry out of his thoughts.

"Yeah," Harry replied, turning back. "I'm fine."

-

"My Lord," a woman said, bowing her head low as she and a man stood in a dark, shaded alley. "I would be honored, but would this be... permanent?"

"Temporary of course," came the reply. "Until I find a body worthy to stay in permanently."

The woman hesitated before nodding her head. "Yes my Lord. Again, I shall be honored."

She watched as the man thrust a sharp knife into his chest, blood dripping down the sides of the knife. Evangeline Fraus took a step backwards as a black mist rose out of the dead mans body. Her own body convulsed as she sucked the mist in through her eyes, nose, ears and mouth...

-

"Where are you going?" Amaryllis demanded as Alexander stood up and slowly made his way to the waterfall, where he started to pull his shoes and socks off.

"I'm going to step into the water," Alexander pointed out. "C'mon Harry. It'll be fun."

Harry stayed in the same spot, watching as the younger boy started to dip his toes into the water, shiver, then actually step into the water.

"It's cold at first," Alexander called to the other two. "But kinda warm if you step in it for a long time."

"Get out of there!" Amaryllis yelled. "How do you know that you're allowed in there? And, for all you know, the water could be dirty."

Alexander sighed, stepping out of the water. He picked up his shoes that held his socks and went back to Harry and Amaryllis, wiping his feet down on the blanket.

"I really don't think that the water is dirty. It… it's um… natural. It's natural water."

Amaryllis rolled her eyes. "Would you two mind helping me put the dishes back into the basket?"

"We finished the picnic?" Alexander said in surprise, his eyes wide. "That went by fast!"

"It did," Amaryllis agreed, setting two dishes into the bottom of the basket. "Perhaps we can have another picnic at another time?"

"Yeah. What do you think?" Alexander asked Harry, his eyes shining excitedly. "I think it'd be fun to have a picnic again sometime."

"Sure," Harry concurred, nodding as he helped put some of the bowls away. "I had fun, too. Thanks for inviting me."

"It was no problem, Harry," Amaryllis answered. "None at all."

The three put the last of the dishes into the basket, then folded the blanket and placed it in the basket as well before they went down the path that led back to their homes.

-

Nathaniel, once Harry had returned to the manor, wasn't exactly thrilled that Harry had went out on a picnic with Alexander and Amaryllis without him, especially since Amaryllis was there.

"You could've tried harder," Nathaniel argued with Harry once Harry had found Nathaniel in his room. "I would've woken up eventually."

"Eventually!" Harry cried. "Exactly! I didn't have enough time for you to wake up eventually."

"Well I'm sorry that you have no patience whatsoever," Nathaniel replied. "But let's forget about it, all right? I think I remember who my parents are. Now all I need to do is find out where they are."

Harry raised his eyebrows in surprise. "You do? That's good! When did you remember?"

"While you were gone," Nathaniel answered. "I was just thinking about them, and I… just remembered their names. Not what they looked like, but only their names."

"Which are?"

Nathaniel was quiet for a minute before he replied, "Well… to be honest, I'm not exactly sure of my fathers name, but now, when I think of my mother, the name Helen came to mind. But I'm not sure if my mother's even alive, or my father for that matter!"

Harry realized that millions of thoughts were going through Nathaniel's mind at that moment, and that he had to be optimistic for his friend.

"I'm sure at least one of your parents are alive," Harry said as comfortingly as he could manage. "We just have to do some research on a Helen Jacobs."

Nathaniel nodded, swallowing. "Right. Do you suppose that Snape might know something of a supposed Helen Jacobs?"

Harry shrugged and walked to the door, motioning for Nathaniel to follow. "Maybe, we'd just have to ask. C'mon, I think that Severus is in the dining room drinking tea."

-

"Sev'rus," Harry called as he went into the dining room. "Severus, do you know anything of a Helen Jacobs?"

Snape tipped a teacup up to his lips and took a sip before answering. "Helen Jacobs? The name sounds a bit familiar."

"Do you think that she could be my mother?" Nathaniel spoke up.

"I wouldn't know."

"Yes, you would!" Nathaniel said, surprising Harry at the outburst. "You've always had a good memory! You must remember me speaking of a Helen Jacobs if she was my mother… or a sister at least! Maybe an Aunt?" The last part came out sounding rather desperate.

Snape narrowed his eyes at Nathaniel coldly, not liking the loud voice that he was being spoken to in.

"I recall nothing of a Helen Jacobs. Though that answer may not be the one you are looking for, it is the one you will have to be satisfied with."

Nathaniel scowled at the Potions master, keeping eye contact before he said briefly, "Very well. Fair enough."

Harry watched as Nathaniel turned around abruptly and left the room, his feet stomping up the stairs could be heard loudly throughout the manor.

"You're positive that you don't know if Helen Jacobs exists, or if she does, where she lives?" Harry said after a moments silence.

Snape looked up at Harry. "Are you suggesting that I am lying?"

Harry eyes widened and he quickly shook his head. "No, I'm not. I was just making sure that maybe you didn't… forget to mention something."

"Well, you can be certain that I am making no attempts at lying. The name does sound a tad familiar, but I cannot place where I've heard it before."

Harry nodded, then looked behind him at where the staircase was. Then, after telling Snape where he was going, he left the dining room and went up the staircase.

-

When Harry entered his room, he found Nathaniel staring out the window, an impassive look on his face. Without turning around, Nathaniel said, "How am I going to find my parents? I'm guessing that my mother's name is Helen. I don't know that for a fact. Even if it was her name, how am I to find where she lives?"

Harry stayed in the doorway and looked down at the floor, saying nothing.

"Sorry I left like that. I was just hoping that Snape knew something of a Helen Jacobs, and then when he said he didn't…" Nathaniel trailed off, still not making eye contact with Harry. "Can you believe that Snape and I were once friends in Hogwarts? I find that so hard to believe…"

"I'll help you keep looking for your parents, but why don't you try to get your mind off it for a while?" Harry suggested.

Nathaniel nodded, finally looking at Harry, but saying nothing. When Nathaniel turned to look out the window again, Harry knew that the conversation had met its end. So, with another glance at Nathaniel, Harry turned and left the room, hoping to strike up a conversation with the Potions Professor.

-

A/N: Well well well… there's only five chapters left of Bond, what do you know? So readers, I'm in an awfully cheerful, good mood today… what do you say that I post them today? Hm…