Title: Ties That Bind
Author: Chiyo Javaid
Warnings: Slash (guy on guy ... eventually), coarse language and Character Death.
Summary: What happens, when you live in a world where nothing is as it seems. When everythingyou once believed was a lie? You get Serpens Malfoy's life, of course. SLASH.
Note: Once again, I resolved not to post, BUT, Bernard (my USB) has seemingly been having some probles and just before I had a bit of a scare. This is my longest chapter so far, and I could even open it! I ad to open it in notepad, then copoy nd paste it into a new doc and save it again! I have now worked out it's becase I added in a fullsto where there wasn't one when I opened it on a Vista using computer. Stupid in compatibility ... so here it is! before anything ELSE goes wrong ... That, and I came homefrom a friend's to find my fish is dyibng. And I wsas quite attached to this one (D'Macy). -sniffs- She's just lying there on her side ... and the tank is in my room so I'm pretty much forced to watch until I eave the room ...
Disclaimer: I'm working off a USB. I don't even have a working cown Harry Potter?omputer, for Snape's sake! Why would I even
Beta: I am looking for a beta. Someone who will read over my work, correct any mistakes in spelling and such, and give me constructive criticism. They need to be good at spelling and grammar, be open-minded (this is a Slash, after all) and be patient. Also, a sense of humour would be nice, lol. If anyone's interested, either PM me, or drop a line by review. Thanks. (Update: The way this is going, I shouldn't even bother ...)
chapter five
my poor sanity
"Please tell me this isn't happening," Pansy moaned helplessly into Serpens shoulder. The three Malfoy's stopped their senseless arguing at once, confused.
"What?" said Artemis, staring at the back of Pansy's head. "What are you talking about?" she continued. All three of them looked genuinely confused.
"You guys! The arguing, the banter! Make it stop! You're all going to drive me insane! Don't you dare comment on that."
Artemis giggled. "Well, we do have years to make up for, don't we?"
"Oh, yes," said Draco, nodding in agreement. Serpens only grinned.
"Ugh …" muttered Pansy. "My sanity's a goner …"
The four of them had been in Serpens' room for almost the whole day. It was nearing dinnertime now, and they hadn't stopped talking the entire time. Artemis and Draco had taken over explaining things, like pureblood customs, and their lives and whatnot, giving Pansy a break. They had covered almost everything that Serpens had wanted or needed to know, and had been reduced to useless bantering.
"Hey," said Serpens, as if struck by a sudden, important thought. "What about Voldemort?"
Artemis, Draco and Pansy all winced at the name, and Serpens rolled his eyes.
"What about him?" said Pansy slowly. "You mean …?"
"I mean, and I'm certain you already figured this out, Pan, but … I was a Gryffindor. I was brought up as a part of the Light. What happens now? My views haven't exactly changed, just because I have," he said grimly.
"Zee," Pansy corrected.
"Ah," said Artemis. "So … a Gryffindor, right? Light? This could be a problem …" she trailed off, unsure how to continue.
"Well, you only know of … the Dark Lord, don't you, Serp?" Draco asked. Serpens nodded.
"What else is there to know?" he said bitterly. "Especially now that Harry Potter is dead …"
Pansy shared a look with Artemis. They both seemed to sense that there was more to it than that, and Serpens knew what it was, but they didn't know what.
"There's a lot more to know," Pansy said gently. "Serpens … V-Voldemort, he isn't real. He's only a guise."
Serpens glared at her. "What the hell do you mean?" he snapped. "Of course he's real! How else do you explain all the things that have started to happen?"
"I'm not saying the attacks, and deaths aren't real. Just … there's a lot more to the Dark Lord that anyone from the Light … even some from the Dark, know," said Pansy cautiously.
"What are you saying?" Serpens said suspiciously, looking from Artemis, to Draco, to Pansy. He wasn't sure where this was going, and neither was he sure if he even wanted to find out.
"I think it's time we went home …" Artemis said. "All of us," she added, and Draco and Pansy eyes widened, before they nodded, catching on. Serpens was still clueless.
"But you're supposed to be explaining-" he started angrily, but Pansy interrupted him.
"Come on, Serp," she said, pushing him forcefully off the bed and dragging him down the stairs after Artemis and Draco, who were sniggering madly at their antics.
"What are you guys doing?" Serpens complained, as he was dragged down the halls of the Manor and into what looked like a bedroom. The walls were painted a dark purple, and were lined with moving posters of the Quidditch teams – the Holyhead Harpies, and the Montrose Magpies. There was a small square of wall above a large, round bed, covered in cream coloured blankets, that was made up entirely of pictures. At a closer inspection, Serpens noticed them to all be of the same person. He was a large, good-looking man with wavy brown hair, and brilliant, dark green eyes that seemed to glitter.
"Is that …?" Serpens whispered.
"Jakob Jugson, yeah," Pansy whispered back. Artemis blushed as Draco sniggered quietly behind his hand.
"Should we go to your room, then?" she said testily.
That shut him up.
"That's what I thought," she muttered. "Now," she said, clapping her hands together. "I wanted to discuss this in a more private place," she continued, giving Serpens a look. He nodded, understanding. "Anyway … Serp, do you know what the Dark Lord is supposed to want most in the world?" she asked. Serpens paused to think about it.
"I think I remember being told he wanted immortality?" he asked, more than said. Artemis nodded.
"Yes, that's what he wanted. And he's already achieved it, in a way," she said.
"What do you mean …?" Serpens asked, half curious, half suspicious. He still didn't see where this was going.
Artemis sighed. "He's not going to believe me unless he sees it for himself, won't he?" she said to Pansy, who also sighed, before nodding. "Damnit," Artemis muttered. "Okay, look, Serp, do you promise to listen and keep your mind open?" she asked. Serpens paused, before nodding. "Okay then. Well … after he finished school, the Dark Lord went to work at Borgin and Burkes-"
Serpens hissed, and the other sent him a questioning look, but he did not elaborate.
"- and about a year after that, when he was I think it was nineteen …?" said Artemis. Draco and Pansy nodded, so she continued. "When he was nineteen he left and started to travel. I don't know where he was when he found it, but at some point, he met a group of old wizards and I mean old wizards. They were like, hundreds of years old. He wanted to know why they still looked so young. It took them a while, but eventually, they showed him a potion that slowed down your aging – a lot. It used to be very well known in their part of the country, and this was before the time of the Founders of Hogwart's. But they were three brothers, and the knowledge had been passed down to them.
"The Dark Lord was hesitant to believe them, but they held numerous amounts of proof to show how old they truly were, and eventually, they told him how to make the potion himself. It took almost half a year to make, but eventually, he did it. And right now, he's only about … what was it?" Artemis asked Pansy.
"Twenty-eight."
"Right, twenty-eight. He does age, just very, very slowly."
Serpens nodded. "Okay … it's a little hard to believe (Draco snorted) but I'll give you the benefit of the doubt for now, seeing as you said you'd show me."
"I never said –" Artemis started to say, but a look from Pansy hushed her.
"After that, the Dark Lord realized that he would be targeted by Dumbledore even more if he came back looking exactly the same as he had, five years earlier when he had left," said Pansy, who had seemingly taken over. "So, he created Voldemort, a guise of himself, to keep Dumbledore at bay. He also set about to create a horcrux, to fit the name he had given himself – Voldemort means 'Flight of Death'," she said.
"What's a horcrux?" Serpens asked, confused.
"It's an object chosen by the user that contains a piece of the creator's soul. If the creator were to be killed, part of his soul would be intact, and that person could come back somehow. He only made two, which he plans to destroy at the right time. The others he stole from other wizards. He stole four in all, and now Dumbledore thinks that he ripped his soul into seven pieces – one still being inside his body."
"But the Dark Lord isn't stupid; he knows he's already destroyed his soul. Making seven would have practically been suicide. He would have lost a grip on who he is and how it is to be human. That's why he has to do so many horrible things, to keep up with the guise he created. He later realized he could have taken less extreme measures, but it was too late by then."
Serpens frowned. "But, if he only ages slowly, doesn't that mean he'll die one day?" he said, still confused. "I thought you said he wanted immortality?"
"He did. But then, after he killed his father, and his grandparents, to create his first horcrux, he sort of realized that it would be a very miserable existence. But he hadn't quite given up the dream yet. So he chose the best option at the time – to make himself live longer, until the time came to make a proper decision. He's supposed to nearing seventy, yet he has the body and, technically, the mind of a twenty-eight year old."
"How long does it take him to age one year?"
"We don't know. At first, it was very slow going, but the process slowly starts to speed up, little by little, until, his growth process is back to normal. We could very well catch up to him by that time, essentially making us his age. Technically," said Draco.
"You're a lot nicer now than you are in school," Serpens said mildly, as the observation struck him. Draco shrugged,
"Act," he said simply. "All Slytherin's put on one. Essentially, it's designed to help Dumbledore, and lull him into a false sense of security. This has all been to fool him, but it's very difficult. He knows too damn much to be fooled. For now, he pretty much leaves us alone and lets Snape favour us, to keep us to go along with what is supposed to be the 'truth' these days."
"So that's what she meant …" Serpens murmured.
"What?" said Draco.
"Nothing." Serpens shook his head, thinking back on the letter.
"Serp?" said Pansy, who had seen the letter herself. "You say you were a Gryffindor. Who were you?"
"Why?"
"I just … I want to make sure I didn't do anything horrible to you or your friends …" she said sadly. "Because …"
"It's okay, you pretty much ignored me," he assured her. "Though you did say the odd remark. And you were a slight bit nasty to my friend, but … nothing you need to apologize for," he added. "Never anything horrible. Besides, you probably wouldn't remember me."
"But –"
"It doesn't matter, Pan, drop it," Serpens said firmly.
"Zee," she corrected. "And, okay, but I will bring it up again," she warned.
"I know you will …" Serpens said with a sigh.
"Do you get the feeling we're missing something?" Draco asked Artemis, who grinned.
"Only you, dearest brother. I, however, am female. I miss nothing!"
"Except that pimple on your chin," he said, pointing. Artemis glared at him.
"I happen to know you're lying," she said with a sniff. "I can't be fooled that easily."
"Yeah, not when you look in the mirror every five minutes just to check," Draco said, sniggering. Artemis huffed.
"How long has it been since we started talking in here?" she asked Pansy.
"Uhm … almost an hour, Miska, why?" Pansy said hesitantly. Artemis ignored her and sent Draco a triumphant look, which he rolled his eyes at. He was just about to say something when the door opened to reveal a weepy looking Narcissa.
"Can I come in?" she asked softly, eyes trained on Serpens. He nodded tightly, mouth set, frame rigid, but his eyes were warm, and she stepped into the room fully. "Hello," she said, as she took a place tentatively on the bed.
"Hi," said Serpens.
"Are you … I mean … i-is it really …. You?" Narcissa whispered, tripping over her words in her sad, but eager voice. Serpens paused, unsure how to handle the situation. If he said no, Narcissa would cry. If he said yes, Narcissa would cry. Why did women have to cry? Why? Finally, he nodded.
"Yes," he whispered.
As expected, Narcissa began to cry, but quietly, the tears rolling down her cheeks as she gave him a wobbly smile before throwing her arms around him and hugging him tightly, as if she would never let go. He looked up to see Lucius Malfoy standing in the doorway, watching. He would have thought nothing of it, if he hadn't noticed the single tear rolling down the man's cheek.
Lucius wiped it away hastily, before stepping into the room properly.
"The Dark Lord is here," he said, alerting everyone to the fact that he was there. "He's come to see Serpens," he added, and everyone froze.
Note: Hopefully, your confusion is slowly becoming less and less. Even more explained next chapter!!
- Chiyo, xx.
