A/N: As always everything belongs to JK Rowlings. I have not got anything to say today. So, Just read the ENDNOTE after you are done with the chapter. And dance on snake charmer's tone.

The Peverell's Vow

Chapter-7: The Dancing Serpents

Harry was sitting with Astoria in the Library. After a long day of classes, dueling practice with Daphne and assignments, he was able to catch breath but Daphne had some other plans. And that included spending some time with Astoria. And it was not bad to say the least. Astoria was a lot better company than her sister. And she laughed as well which was a bonus point.

Right now, Daphne was looking for a book. And Harry was keeping Astoria company. The real reason behind spending time with her was to keep an eye on her schoolwork. And if she completed her work in due time. That much he had gathered in those last few visits with Daphne. But Astoria was a good kid, what Daphne was worried about he didn't know and it was not any of his business.

He looked at his watch and it was not even half an hour since they came here. Also from the watch he remembered that Uncle Reg had not sent a response to his letter that he sent him a few days ago. It might be a few days before there would be a letter from him.

Astoria was looking at him as if trying to say something but at the end moment she shook her head to herself. Harry kept quiet. He knew he didn't have to insist her to say something. If she wanted to say something to him, she would.

Harry returned to his Book of Advanced Runes. Studying runes was some sort of hobby for him. Because once you engraved them on any surface, you could use them whenever you want if you kept that surface with yourself. And it came handy in a fight if you knew how to use them.

" Potter?"

Harry turned his head." Yes? "

Astoria seemed uncomfortable as she tried to come up with something to say to him." Can I ask you something?"

"Please, go ahead." Harry encouraged her with a smile as he gave her his undivided attention.

" Why are you always so nice and kind to me? Don't get offended, alright? But is that your way of getting my sister's affections? By being nice to me?" Astoria fidgeted with her quill as she looked at him as if trying to gauge the meaning behind his expressions.

Harry remained silent for some moments." No. I don't think so. I am here because it was mandatory for me to know your sister. And she thought that knowing you will be helpful too. It gives me a broader perspective of her being. I have no ulterior motive behind being nice to you."

"You are her sister and to some extent… . I admire her. And she cares about you. And… . So do I." Harry felt himself being embarrassed about the whole situation but he couldn't lie to her even if he wanted to." I have no siblings, you see. And I feel that sort of connection with you because of her. So I am always happy to spend some time with you. It's really… . a new experience. And it helps that you are a well mannered kid."

"Kid? I am not a kid. I am a thirteen year old young woman. I am only a year or two younger than you!" Astoria exclaimed with her eyes narrowed at him.

Harry raised his hands to placate her." I am sorry! But that is just how I feel. Can't help myself."

Astoria crossed her arms against her chest with a pout on her face." Alright. I will let that slide this time because you have been very nice to me. But you will owe me a favor. Honor is on the line, Potter."

Harry closed his book and laughed." Oh my dear Astoria, there is no honor among Slytherins. There are deals among them and consequences if the deal is not completed by either of the both sides."

" But you said you like me!" Astoria said in a low tone with a disappointed look.

" And I do. Yes, I do. But I can't honor a promise to a Slytherin. But…..I will honor a promise to a friend." Harry said with a charming smile.

" I can be your friend." Astoria nodded with a determined glint in her eyes.

" Before that we have to seal our friendship." Harry said in a solemn tone as an idea came into his mind." We have to seal our friendship with a secret handshake."

" A secret handshake?" Astoria whispered in a low voice as she leaned forward against the table between them.

" Yes!" Harry said conspiratorially in a whisper." Put your hand forward. And copy my actions."

Harry put his hand forward then looked at Astoria. Then he spat in his hand.

Astoria flinched back, appalled." What was that? "

" The ingredient for the secret handshake between friends. Now do that, please. Or your sister is going to come and ask us at least a thousand questions about what's what." Harry said in a panicked tone.

Astoria made a puking face as she spat on her palm." Oh Potter, look what you are making me do. I am going to be sick! What should I do now? "

Harry took her wrist in his other hand and clasped her hand with his." We shake hands, that's what we do." Astoria made a miserable face as they shook their hands.

Harry tried to control his laughter while looking at her expressions." Eughh!! I have never heard of such a nasty handshake. Are we going to do that every time we meet? Because this… . this is making me sick already." Astoria looked at her hand with a disturbed look on her face.

Harry lost his control and laughed a belly laugh. He took her hand as tried to steady his laugh and cleaned it with a Scourgify. Looking at him laughing, Astoria began to laugh at the absurdity of the situation at hand. They stopped laughing as they heard the footsteps of Daphne coming their way.

Even after Daphne joined them, both of them shared secret smiles during their stay in the library. Harry knew already that there was a reason he liked Astoria. And he knew why.

The Great Hall

Dinner

Looking at the bacon in Theodore's plate, Harry began to feel agitated, restless. He clenched his jaw to keep himself from doing anything reckless. He put his hand on his mouth as if he was thinking something through in a sage kind of manner but his eyes remained on the bacon. He could have it if he wanted but that felt too easy to do so. He just had his fill of bacon and his belly was full but his eyes were hungry and you could say the same for his teeth as well.

He heard someone calling for him from a distance in an odd kind of voice. Like loud but low pitched. Then he felt someone shake his arm which caused his whole body to give a sudden jerk and when he looked around he saw everyone in the close circle of Greengrass was looking at him weirdly.

He shook his head like a dog when it dries its fur off the water." Everything alright there?"

He heard Theodore beside him." Yeah. It's alright. Just lost in thoughts, that's all."He nodded towards him while ignoring the stares of others.

Theodore nodded in a convincing manner, like he was used to him having an episode like that, for appearances but his eyes gave him the impression that they would have a talk about it later. He cursed himself for letting his thoughts leak. Letting his desires get the better of himself.

He pushed his plate away from him and just as it reached the center of the table, it vanished with a small pop." I need to… .use the loo. Yeah. Meet you all in the common room then." He didn't wait for a response and left.

On his way to the common room, he thought about the first time he experienced such an incident. That time, Uncle Reg was there with him. It was the time of summer and like every summer both of them learnt something different every year. And that summer was no different. And neither was it easy.

Flashback

" I have been feeling very hungry lately." Harry said with a disgruntled expression on his face, his hand holding a chicken leg as he chewed a bone in his mouth.

Regulus nodded in understanding." It is expected. You go through the normal urges that the animal goes through." He scratched the area below his ear as he tried to remember something."Now if I think about it, Sirius had his share of episodes like that. And at that time, I didn't pay much attention. It didn't seem important to me."

Harry gave a small burp with a resigned expression on his face." But how long I am going to face this… . this period. I am tired of eating. I am tired of running around like a stray dog."

Regulus gave Harry an encouraging smile." Don't think about that. Think about how much muscle you are putting on yourself. Your baby cheeks are almost gone now. Look." He tried to pull Harry's cheek but only a layer of skin came into contact with his cheek bones just above the maxillary region." You are almost a man now. And you are not dog."

Harry gave him a deadpan look." Still, I am always gritting my teeth for something to eat nowadays. It's not normal." He shook his head in misery.

" It's going to be alright. This time will pass by before you know it. And you will thank yourself for enduring through it." Regulus put his hand on Harry's shoulder to emphasize his point.

Harry swallowed a bite of his chicken then he nodded in an unconvincing manner." If you say so."

Regulus gave him a beaming smile." I know so, my dear Nephew. Now eat your chicken before Kreacher puts it down your throat. And believe me, you don't want that to happen." Harry gave a belly laugh at that and Regulus chuckled after him.

"Did I tell you about the time when my mother asked Kreacher to feed me the soup of… … . "

Present

Harry began to feel homesick as he thought of those old, reminiscent memories. Time had really passed by without him noticing and everything was changing before his eyes.

His uncle had been very busy these past few months. But still, he spent some time with Harry before him leaving for Hogwarts this year. He had some idea about why that was so. But he kept himself from divulging himself into that. It was best for him to leave that matter be.

Harry opened the door to his dormitory and entered the corridor as he thought about taking some rest before going back to the common room when everybody came back after having their fill of dinner. With that thought in mind, he closed the door of his room behind him.

That Night

" ...friends…...union…...trinity..."

Glitch

"... the undead….living…… the unknown… "

Glitch

"... gifts…..… pain…... sacrifice… . "

Glitch

"...more…...friends…..."

Glitch

"... stories… ."

Screaming into his dormitory room, Harry awoke from his slumber. He was breathing heavily as he tried to find his wand which he found below his pillow.

With a Lumos, he illuminated the whole room. He looked all around him in panic, even checked the corners of his room with the help of his wand's light but there was no sign of anyone in the room. And honestly, deep down he already knew that there was no one other than him in the room.

When his breathing steadied, he lightened up the torches on the walls which flooded the room with light. He sat on the edge of his bed then fell back as he stared at the ceiling with his legs hanging from the bed.

He closed his eyes and began to breathe slowly and calmly.The dreams had been very frequent lately. He could hear the words clearly from the void this time. He didn't know what to make of them. And why he heard them in the first place because they made no sense to him.

And above all, he felt something coming. Like he was very close to something but he could not put his finger on what it was. He didn't know if it was a person, a situation or something else. But he knew it was something unknown. Something terrifying, something that raised his hackles, something inevitable and believe it or not, that scared him. The feeling of being alone against the unknown.

Next Day

While wearing his dueling gloves, Harry tried to clear his mind as he went through every basic occlumency exercise to keep a clear head. He stretched his legs before he moved towards the room Snape had been using for knockout dueling matches.

He found Daphne standing beside the entrance of the room and others along with her to support them, he guessed. Malfoy and the gang were standing opposite to them as usual.

They seemed too sure of themselves if smirks on their faces were anything to go by and Harry knew that something was going to either work in his favor or turn out really badly for him. That was not acceptable because today was the deciding day of who was going to represent Slytherin from their year.

He came to stop by Daphne who had an ice cold look on her face. She exchanged a nod with him and remained as still as a stone. If he was on the other side, well that look would have unsettled him the most. She meant business today and that was not good for Malfoy and Yaxley, not at all.

Minutes passed by then Snape made his way over to them in his usual style. Cloak flowing behind him, he walked at a brisk pace towards the entrance. He opened the room with the flick of his wand and all of them followed after him.

They took their positions without any questions and readied themselves.

" Just like we practiced Potter." Daphne mentioned beside him then moved to take her position. Harry nodded not that she took any notice of it.

Snape stood behind the lecturn." Today's duel will decide the representative of Slytherin House from Fourth year. You know the rules unless you are a complete fool. On my word." Snape declared in his usual boring monotone.

Harry gripped his wand hard and took a deep breath. His eyes locked on the wands of his opponents." Begin."

Different colors of light beams dominated the dueling pitch as the participants fought with vigor. Loud gongs could be heard by those who were present in the room as spells struck the shields and the barrier that separated duelers from others in the room.

Harry went offensive on both Malfoy and Yaxley with Bombarda, Incendio, Stupify, Confringo and the likes. He struck them with indifference but his canines which were on their way to touch his lower lip said otherwise, not that they were on display.

Daphne began to change the surroundings around them and transfigure stuff in their way which worked as obstacles if any offensive spells came their way.

Harry took full advantage of that and some Stingers caught both Malfoy and his companion. They yelped in pain but just as Harry thought they had the upper hand as he moved forward to cover the distance, the ground beneath his right foot gave away and his foot got stuck.

He couldn't believe what had just happened. And he didn't have the time to because a bone breaker came his way. He ducked because he knew his defenses won't be any good against it right now which left Daphne vulnerable to both of them.

Bone Breakers were red flags in ordinary duels but since Snape was here Malfoy didn't have to worry about that.

Harry tried to pull his foot from where it got stuck but it didn't move much and he knew that by now it was all pre planned. A stick fast hex was in the depression of the ground and an illusion charm above it afterwards. He shook his head as he sent a wave of powerful gust of wind with the wave of his wand towards them then he applied the counter to the stick fast hex.

He turned around to see how Daphne was holding against them and he was not surprised to find her completely calm in their situation. She was in her element as the vines from the ground intercepted the curses both the boys sent her way and his. They were getting frustrated if the grimace on Malfoy's face was anything to go by.

Harry stood up from his position and went heavy on Malfoy with Blasting Curses and Shield Breakers. He knew they were enough to break Malfoy's defenses because he knew the potential of his spells.

They were the spells of a dueler. Harry was born to be a great dueler, a fighter. His wand was a dueler's wand. Malfoy had no chance against him no matter how good he was. He had lost his only chance at winning the contest, his treachery.

And since the element of surprise was lost, Malfoy was having a hard time standing his ground against him. Blood was oozing from the cuts he had on him from minor injuries.

Harry set a jet of water towards him then turned the water into ice orbs in mid air and then banished them towards him with greater force. While Malfoy managed to blast some of the orbs to smithereens, some passed his defenses and struck him without mercy. A particular one struck his mouth which caused him to cry out in pain as he lost his balance.

Harry didn't waste a second as he moved with the grace of a viper and fired away his chain of spells, holding nothing back. After the dust settled, Malfoy was laid unconscious on the ground with his wand a few paces away from him. Harry summoned the wand to him and turned around to watch in surprise as Yaxley handed his wand to Daphne.

Well, it seemed so because the vines had wrapped themselves all around the poor boy with his wand arm outstretched towards Daphne as if handing something to her which of course was his wand.

But you could see the pressure of the tightened vines around his arm by the look of his almost red blue hand which in response caused his hand to go numb.

Daphne closed the distance between them and ever so gently with the grace of a lady, she took the wand from Yaxley's outstretched hand while he watched helplessly. She waited for a few moments as she looked into his eyes then she granted him the mercy of a Stupify.

It was a sight to behold as she came over to him, looking beautiful as ever and dangerous all together as she took her position by his side.

There was silence in the room as the barrier fell down with a humming sound which sounded too loud if he was being honest.

Snape looked over both of them with scrutiny then he came to a decision as he marked something on his board." As you can see, the winners of this ultimate round are Potter and Ms.Greengrass. They will be representing the Slytherin House from fourth year and we will wholeheartedly support them." He looked over at their housemates to emphasize his point. House unity was supreme.

Snape added on."We hope that they will not try to tarnish the image of Slytherin House among the other houses… … especially guests. We wish them triumph in the name of House Slytherin. Mr Crabbe and Mr Goyle, take Mr Malfoy and Mr Yaxley to infirmary." Then he left without looking back as he always did.

Harry sighed in relief as he wiped the sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand.

" Congratulations Potter. You held your ground even in your situation, I am grateful for that. And the speed with which you overcame it, is commendable." Daphne grudgingly praised his instincts as she looked at him.

Harry nodded with a small smile." It will take more than their treacherous traps for me to go down. You don't have to worry about that. What you did to Yaxley, is commendable and terrifying." Harry chuckled as he shook his head in disbelief.

Daphne narrowed her eyes at him with a blank expression." And you better remember that Potter." Harry didn't know if she was being serious or not.

They made their way over to her group where he exchanged handshakes with them and Theodore.

As they were leaving for the common, he saw some of the Malfoy's gang were giving them the stink eye. And he began to remember his earlier thoughts before the duel.

They had come true with results that were in his favor despite their planning or should he say cheating. And he was grateful for that because now he could prove himself on the greater stage against capable duelers. The game had just begun.

Endnote: Remember what he said. A 'Dueler's Wand'. Any guesses? Write them down in the review section. I like them as they make me to write as fast as I can. They motivate me to write the best story I can give you. I really appreciate your responses. You really have no idea what they mean to me. So, just leave your thoughts in the review section so I can understand what you make of story I have written.

Until next time.