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Chapter 21—They Came Snapping At Your Heels

So you lost your trust
That you never should have
No, you never should have
But don't break your back
If you ever see this
But don't answer that
In a bullet proof vest
With the windows all closed
I'll be doing my best
I'll see you soon
In a telescope lens
And when all you want is friends
I'll see you soon

So they came for you
They came snapping at your heels
They come snapping at your heels
But don't break your back
If you ever say this
But don't answer that

--Coldplay "See You Soon"

A throat clearing sounded through the dreary kitchen of Number 12 Grimmauld Place.

'Sni—" the throat cleared again.

"Sna—" once more the sound of a throat clearing vibrated off of the walls in the kitchen of Number 12 Grimmauld Place.

"Severus," Sirius said in a sickly sweet voice. "If you know any information concerning the whereabouts of Jessica, I would greatly appreciate it if you told me." Sirius said with a fake smile, which actually looked closer to a grimace, stretched onto his lips.

"Good job, Padfoot. I'm proud of you," Remus said, slapping his best friend on the back for finally acting his age. "Now just remember to call him Severus, not Snape, and certainly not Snivellus. Now, Severus will be here in another twenty minutes. Do you want to practice once more?"

"Yeah, I better," Sirius said sighing and running a hand through his hair.

"Okay, well pretend that I am Severus," Remus said, crossing his arms, and placing a scowl over his facial features.

"You're missing the black billowing robe, the fat hooked nose, and the greasy hair," Sirius said.

"Sirius—"

"Alright, let's just get this over with."

Sirius closed his eyes, and tried to focus on being civil to his sworn enemy, Severus Snape.

"Sni—"

Remus cleared his throat.

"Right, Severus. Severus if there is any information you know concerning the whereabouts of Jessica, I would appreciate it if you told me—"

"Say please," Remus whispered.

"Come on Remus, don't make me say please. It's bad enough I'm actually going to have to talk to Old Snivels in the first place, don't make me be extra polite. And if he even thinks about keeping anything from me about Jessica, I'll—"

"You'll what Black?"

"I'll rip your throat out," Sirius growled matter-of-factly.

"Sirius, be polite. I know that is a hard concept for you to comprehend sometimes, but if you want Jessica back, you have to play nice," Remus, whose back was to Snape, mouthed.

Sirius rolled his eyes with as much subtlety as he could, while heaving a large sigh.

Sirius closed his eyes, searching for the strength to degrade himself in this way. And the only way he found that he could was by imagining the end result, Jessica back safely in his arms.

"Severus," Sirius said through clenched teeth. "Do you have any information concerning Jessica's whereabouts," Sirius said, just as practiced.

Snape smiled silkily at Sirius, finally finding the proper way to seek a little revenge on his childhood, and adulthood, nemesis.

"Maybe I do Black. Why is it important to you?"

Sirius clenched his fist tightly, and gritted his teeth, in order to stop the smart retort from falling from his mouth.

"It is important to me," he growled, "because Jessica is important to me, and she was left in my care—"

"And we all know how well you succeeded at protecting her Black," Severus said with a cruel smirk on his lips.

Remus kicked Sirius's foot softly, and shook his head telling him nonverbally not to take the bait that Snape was laying in front of him.

"Do you know where she is at? Or do you know someone who does know where she is at?" Sirius barked out, his voice rising from its previous throaty tone.

"Well, Black, knowledge is a slippery adversary. It often comes and goes, sometimes it allows itself to be shared, and sometimes it doesn't. And I feel that now is one of those times when it doesn't allow itself to be shared." Severus said his smirk increasing in malice.

"Look here Snivellus," Sirius said dropping the 'play nice' act, and grabbing Snape by his black robes and thrusting him into the kitchen wall.

"Sirius don't do this. Let Severus go, and we can—"

"Shut it Remus," Sirius growled towards his best friend. Sirius turned back to the Potions Master, and snarled, "You'll tell me where Jessica is, or else I'll—"

"That will be quite enough Sirius," Dumbledore, who was standing in the entrance of the kitchen, said calmly. "I think it is time that you release Severus, and then he can tell us where Miss. Huxtable is."

By this time Dumbledore had walked across the threshold and placed a pacifying hand on Sirius's shoulder.

"I know you're worried about her safety, but this isn't the way Sirius." Dumbledore said, speaking softly to Sirius.

Sirius threw one more contemptuous glare at Snape, before letting his robes go, and watching in satisfaction as he fell to the floor with a soft thud.

Once all of the men were seated, Dumbledore called the impromptu meeting to order.

"Okay Severus, do you have any information concerning the whereabouts of Miss. Huxtable?" Dumbledore asked.

"Yes I do Headmaster. He is holding her in one of the mansions owned by his family on his father's side. I am not exactly certain of its location, but I do know that it is in Northern Ireland," Severus said glaring at Sirius.

"Could you be a bit more specific," Sirius asked haughtily, "something besides Northern Ireland. Maybe a city, town, or a county. What part of Northern Ireland? The middle, top, bottom, closer to the ocean? What part of Northern Ireland?" Sirius asked whose patience had already been on the decline.

"It's at the top of Ireland, close to the ocean," Snape said sourly.

"Next time share that bit of information with us at the very beginning," Sirius snapped moodily.

"Thank you Severus for this bit of information. Sirius, I will research my knowledge of the Riddle real estate. I hope to have this information back to you in a few days."

Sirius nodded his head dully, he wanted the information earlier, but he knew that it was impossible. Dumbledore would get everything ready as fast he could. Sirius suddenly felt tired, so instead of giving out pleasantries and well wishes, he left the kitchen without a word to anyone and climbed the stairs to his room.

Once in his room he collapsed head first onto his bed. He turned his head towards the picture of his deceased best friend and sighed.

"Keep her safe for me Prongs," he said softly before dozing off into a much needed slumber.

Jessica sat stoically in a chair facing Voldemort. She appeared nonchalant, but inside she was fuming and frightened.

"Come my dear, show me those magnificent powers of yours," Voldemort whispered.

"What powers?" she asked glaring at the snake-like creature before her.

Voldemort smiled simply, "Don't play coy with me Jessica, but since you don't seem to enjoy this topic of conversation, how about we move onto something more interesting? Say for instance your blood traitor, Black."

Jessica's eyes immediately flickered towards Voldemort's forehead, skipping over his eyes because each time she met his eyes a strange grip held onto her brain, filing through her memories.

"Sirius is a good person," she told him softly.

"So it would seem, dear. But I've brought a special guest for you to speak with. He was once best friends with Black. And he knows all of the dirty details about your beloved. WORMTAIL!"

Jessica watched as a short and round man shuffled into the room, nearly tripping over his feet in his haste to enter.

"Have a seat Wormtail," Voldemort said, motioning to a seat beside him, which was also seated across from Jessica.

Jessica flinched back involuntarily when she saw Wormtail's face. It resembled a rat's face so much, it almost fascinated her. She also noticed that he seemed to have a tick about him, whether it was nervousness or if it was natural, she wasn't sure. Then her eyes fell onto his right hand, which seemed to be made of silver. That fascinated her. It was so unnatural.

"Now, you were once friends with the traitor Black were you not?" Voldemort questioned.

"Y-yes my Lord."

"You were in the same year as him?"

"Yes my L-Lord."

"And what can you tell Miss. Huxtable about him?"

"Well he was, uh, a g-good enough student, got a lot of NEWTs. And, uh, he was a-always p-pranking people along with James. Remus and I helped a l-little, but it was mostly James and Sirius. And, uh, he was also…uh…"

"What of his love life Wormtail?"

"Well P-Padfoot was always with different girl each week, some girls lasted t-two, but they had to be very s-special," Wormtail said in a high squeaky voice.

"When was all of this?" Jessica asked suspiciously.

"W-when we were in school."

"So you guys were what, 16 to, what, 18 years old?"

"Y-yes."

Jessica turned to Voldemort, making sure to keep her eyes from his. "I'm supposed to care that Sirius had a lot of girlfriends when he was a teenager? Well, let me tell you, I don't. He was a kid; a lot of people have lots of girlfriends and boyfriends when they are in school. It doesn't matter, at least not to me." She finished heatedly.

Voldemort looked livid, his red eyes traveled over Jessica's face slowly, before he smirked softly. He leaned in closely to her, and whispered softly into her ear. "I am going to enjoy breaking you. And rest assure, I look forward to it. And it will happen soon. Before that blood traitor and old fool can come to rescue you. And after I'm done with you, no one else will have you, except me. I will enjoy it very much indeed."

Jessica tried to move as far from him as possible as he spoke these horrid words to her, but it seemed as if she was glued to the spot.

"So the sooner you accept me, the better." Voldemort returned to his original position before calling on more information from his servant.

"Now Wormtail, would you be kind enough to tell Jessica how old you are?"

"I-I'm almost 48."

Jessica looked up sharply at this. It wasn't the fact that he said he was in his late forties that startled her because, in truth, he actually looked much older. But what did grab her attention was that he and Sirius went to school together, but if that were true then it meant that Sirius was—.

"And you are a few months older than Black, am I right?"

"Y-yes my Lord."

"And when will you be 48 Wormtail?"

"December 30th my Lord."

"And when will Black be 48?"

"March 30th," Jessica said softly.

"That's right, dear, March 30th. It seems that your new friends deemed it unnecessary for you to know the true age of your beau."

"No, it's not like that. I never asked how old Sirius would be. I just assumed he was still—"

"In his twenties or early thirties?"

"Yes."

"So how do you feel about your precious blood traitor now, dear sweet Jessica? Is he everything you hoped he would be?" Voldemort asked with a malicious smirk on his face.

Jessica stayed silent.

"I asked you a question. And I want an answer. Is Black all you hoped he would be?"

"Yes, he is," Jessica said with a fire in her eyes. "I don't care how old he is because he loves me, and I love him. And age should never come between love. And it's not like he looks it. And stranger things have happened than a woman in her twenties loving a man who was nearing fifty."

Voldemort, who was so enraged from hearing this, eyes darkened to a black red.

"Wormtail take Jessica back to her quarters. And then come back here to me," Voldemort whispered acidly while standing and turning his back to Jessica and Wormtail.

Wormtail stood immediately from his chair, grabbed Jessica from her chair roughly, and he pulled her towards her chambers.

Jessica ripped her arm from his clutches, "I can walk," she said viciously.

Wormtail placed Jessica back in her cage, and he immediately tried to scurry away back to his Master.

"Wormtail?" Jessica questioned.

"Y-yes?"

"How'd you end up here if you were friends with Sirius?" Jessica asked him softly. "I don't see him letting a friend succumb to this type of life."

Wormtail looked at Jessica through the small window-like opening of the door.

"I-I-I"

"What's your real name?" Jessica asked overriding his stuttering.

Wormtail looked at Jessica for a small moment before speaking again, "P-Peter."

And then Peter slammed the iron door to the window shut, before scurrying away to his Master.

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