Disclaimer: I own nothing, just borrowing the world and characters thought up by J.K. Rowling and using some creative license to make some adjustments. Lorelei and Seraphina are mine.

Warnings: Language

Italics are character's internal thoughts and/or flashbacks.

Anything written "{Inside braced quotes}" is the character speaking in Parseltongue.

A/N: Dear real life, please stop getting in the way. XoXo, HallowsEve. Many apologies for the ridiculous delay in getting the next chapter up, but it's finally here. I'd like to also take the opportunity to make note that this is a darker fic. It's not going to be lollipops, sunshine and rainbows because life isn't always that way. Lorelei is a dark person because she has to be. Please keep that in mind.

Many thanks for reading, following and of course to the reviews. :-)

"Draco, can you please just sit down? Your pacing is making me dizzy." Harry groaned, running his hands over his face as he leaned back on the plush black velvet sofa provided by the Room of Requirements. Draco ceased his incessant pacing only long enough to shoot a scathing glare at his faux-nemesis.

"I'm sorry, Potter, if my concern is too much for you." Draco sneered in an all too familiar fashion, huffing loudly and resuming his pacing once more behind the black sofa across from Harry. He was stressed and entitled to pacing if he wanted to and dammit, he wanted to.

Harry dropped his arms and narrowed his eyes at the blonde Slytherin. He hated when Draco called him by his surname in private. In the halls, in classes, even in the Great Hall it was expected, but here, in their own little sanctuary, it was not okay.

"Draco don't."

Harry's soft tone drew Draco's gaze. This time much softer. Draco stopped pacing running his hands through his hair making the normally pristinely styled fair blonde hair stand up on end. It was a good look on Draco, something that didn't go unnoticed by Harry. In fact, Harry had been noticing more and more about the Slytherin boy and not just friendly observations. No, his thoughts had been at times of a more…intimate nature. Especially late at night when he was tucked away in his bed with the curtains drawn and silencing charms placed upon the drapes. He hadn't quite gotten to wanking to thoughts of Draco yet, but he was rapidly approaching it as his will to fight it began to weaken.

"I'm sorry, Harry. I just…I need to think of something. I have to get my mother out of there." Draco looked to Harry with pleading blue-gray eyes, willing the messy-haired boy to understand his plight.

Lucius had gone round the bend. That's all there was to it. Having fallen from Voldemort's most trust inner circle due to his failure at retrieving the now destroyed prophecy, the normally composed aristocrat had become mad in his own right. It also didn't help that he was tortured mercilessly by the other Death Eaters, none harsher than Bellatrix Lestrange. He was paranoid, skittish and had recently become violent. Narcissa did her best to hide the bruises from her son, but Draco was not nearly as naïve as his mother thought him to be. He could see the pain in her blue eyes. The slight grimace that hid in her forced smile. The quiver in her voice during firecalls. Severus had promised Draco he would look after Narcissa, but the man was missing and the Headmistress refused to inform Draco of the surly man's location. Where the hell was he? He didn't have a life outside Hogwarts.

"We'll come up with something. We'll talk to Snape when he gets back and the Order will come up with something. I promise, Draco. I will make sure you mother gets away from him!"

Draco smiled at the passion in Harry's voice. The Gryffindor savior had risen to his feet during his passionate words, his hands clenched firmly at his sides. Draco quickly diverted his eyes though when he realized the soft flush that had risen in Harry's normally pale cheeks was causing some not quite friendly stirrings in his stomach. He had finally accepted it. He was completely and hopelessly infatuated with the boy wonder.

Harry furrowed his brows and tilted his head gently to the right side when he noticed the pink tint on Draco's pale face. The blush color covering his beautifully chiseled cheekbones and disappearing down his long, slender neck under his uniform shirt. It did crazy things to Harry's stomach and he mentally cursed himself when he felt a slight twitch in his pants. Shaking his head, Harry cleared his throat and looked towards the fire willing his hardening bulge to soften quickly.

"We just have to wait for Snape to get back, Draco. Headmistress said he would be back by tomorrow's dinner at the latest." Harry thanked every higher power that his voice was its normal tone and did not betray the unease he was feeling.

"Thanks, Harry. You're right. I guess we should head back to our dorms then. It's passed curfew." Draco scratched the back of his neck awkwardly, his head still turned away from Harry.

"Yeah."

"My mother's father, my grandfather, is none other than Morfin Gaunt."

Time stood still. For impossibly long seconds, time stopped moving. No one breathed. No one moved. All eyes were focused on Severus, who in turn was staring at Lorelei in complete horror. It was impossible. Morfin Gaunt died in Azkaban. Or so Dumbeldore had said…

"Pardon?" Severus finally choked out.

"Morfin Gaunt is my mother's father." Lorelei slowly spoke in a tone that was reminiscent of an adult speaking to a confused child.

"That's not possible. Morfin Gaunt died in Azkaban."

"Says who?" Lorelei raised an auburn brow.

"Albus." Severus finally sat back in his chair, eyes flicking back and forth across his lap as if processing her very words.

"He also said I was dead. Perhaps your beloved light leader was not the wise all-knowing master you thought." Lorelei made no attempt at keeping the sneer from her voice. Severus narrowed his eyes on the young woman, his jaw clenching firmly.

"Albus made mistakes, Lorelei, there is no denying that. What he did to you and your mother was reprehensible, but there is no question in my mind that he was a light wizard."

Lorelei's entire demeanor shifted. Her legs no longer remained crossed at the ankle, instead her left leg crossed over her right, her slender arms crossing stiffly in front of her. In the blink of an eye the clone of Seraphina disappeared and there sat a woman with her image, but a very James Potter-esque fire in her eyes.

"Light you say? Would a light wizard allow a young boy whom he would put the weight of the wizarding world upon his shoulders to suffer in an abusive home? Because that's exactly what he did with Harry."

"Harry was not abused." Severus sneered, dark eyes narrowing on the woman before him.

"How do you know? Did you visit him?"

"No, I did not and I did not need to. The foolish boy has been as arrogant since the moment he showed up at Hogwarts. He rides the most expensive broom on the market and has wanted for nothing. It's plain as day the precious savior is well taken care of." By the end of Severus' rant his voice had raised to a near yell, the deep baritone echoing off the walls. His eyes shifted to Ivan Krum when the burly man clenched his fist firmly, a non-verbal warning to mind his tongue.

Lorelei stared at Severus with an amused expression before finally opening her mouth and shocking Severus with a loud laugh.

"Oh dear Merlin. You hate Harry because he reminds you of James Potter? Are you 12?"

Severus' head snapped back to Lorelei. His dark brow raised while his hands clenched into tight fists.

"You know nothing about my distaste for your brother -"

"Don't call him my brother!" Lorelei interrupted harshly. "He's not my brother. In case it went over your head James Potter disowned me in 1981. My brother is Viktor. Not Harry."

Severus watched in a flat expression as Viktor calmly reached over and squeezed Lorelei's arm gently, leaning towards her to whisper softly in her ear. Lorelei's furious eyes never left Severus though she did nod her head in response to whatever the Bulgarian seeker had whispered in her ear. Severus' eyes slowly lowered to the woman's neck where Titan was hissing in his direction, the serpent's slender tail stroking the woman's clavicle in a soothing fashion. It was obvious, he had struck a sensitive nerve.

Severus let out a soft sigh, softening his posture slightly. "Lorelei –"

"No." Lorelei shook her head, closing her eyes and lowering her head as she took several calming breaths. Moments later when her eyes opened the coldness that was evident in them felt like a punch to his gut. She was occluding, heavily. "I'm sorry. I should not have snapped."

"No apology necessary." Severus shook his head with an exhausted exhale, leaning forward so his elbows rested on his knees. Clasping his hands before him, Severus looked at Lorelei with a small half smile. "Lorelei, as I said, I did not come here to upset you. I came here as your mother's best friend. I…I wanted to meet you and to let you know that I am here for you."

"You didn't come to bring me to Harry?" Lorelei raised a skeptical brow.

"No. I could not care less if you ever meet Potter."

Lorelei's head shifted towards Ivan, her expression clearly a non-verbal inquiry. Ivan nodded his head with a reached for Yuliya's hand, gripping it firmly in his.

"{Tell him miss.}" Titan hissed on Lorelei's neck, nudging her gently.

"I need you to take me to Harry."

Severus sat back in shock, staring at Lorelei with furrowed brows. Given Lorelei's passionate negative reaction towards her younger half-brother, meeting him was the furthest thing from Severus' mind.

"Why?" Severus' voice was a harsh whisper.

Lorelei smiled sadly and shook her head gently. "Because I've been commanded."

Every hair in Severus' body stood up, his blood running cold at her flat admission. "By whom?"

Severus' eyes widened dramatically, his jaw falling agape as Lorelei uncrossed her arms and carefully lifted the sleeve of her sweater on her left arm. There upon her pale forearm was an all too familiar tattoo…the dark mark.

"You're a Death Eater." Severus choked out, brows furrowing in confusion. How had he never known? He was Voldemort's right hand. He had sat at his dark master's side as a "loyal" follower since his initiation.

"No." Lorelei shook her head, pursing her lips. "I'm a not a Death Eater. That would imply I am a follower of Tom. I'm what you could call…an advisor."

"Why the hell would you commit yourself to him?" Severus dropped all pretense of appearing loyal to Voldemort, shocked and completely horrified by Lorelei's revelation.

"I had no choice. I never did. When he rose again Bellatrix informed him that Morfin lived inside Azkaban. Tom immediately went to him and despite the fact that Morfin is completely mad, he somehow remembered and confessed to Tom that he had bed my grandmother. He was taunting him. Tom is a half-blood and Morfin and Marvolo were devout pure-blood supremacists. What better way to piss Tom off than to inform him that a stronger Gaunt lived. So of course Tom immediately sought out my mother only to lean that she was dead. He performed exceptionally dark magic to locate me and he found me." Lorelei's voice slowly trailed off, her eyes dropping down to her lap. Titan magically grew his size to a larger 4 feet, shifting down to curl up in Lorelei's lap and nudging at her hand to drop her sweater sleeve.

"What happened?" Severus was almost afraid to ask, but he had to. He had to know.

"He knew that Dumbledore thought me dead and if I was to appear then Dumbledore would kill me, so he has kept me away from his normal followers. My job has been to provide information, venoms and to prepare for my mission." Lorelei's eyes raised to Severus', a dark fury burning bright in them. "To prepare to get close to Harry. With Dumbledore gone, there is nothing stopping it."

Severus shook his head rapidly hoping to clear the uneasy fog that was settling. It was too much shocking information and too fast. Adjusting in his chair, Severus crossed his arms across his broad chest and stared at Lorelei with a flat, cold expression. He wanted answers and he was going to get them.

"When did you take the mark?"

"After he rose again. It was a week following Triwizard tournament and please stop making it sound as if I willingly threw myself at his feet." Severus winced internally at the accusation that laced Lorelei's tone.

"You said you provide him with information, what kind?"

"Mostly translating Parseltongue tomes. Salazar Slytherin had a personal library inside the Chamber of Secrets at Hogwarts that housed his own collection."

Severus narrowed his eyes on the young woman. "How did you gain access?"

"Salazar Slytherin told me where it was and I went." Lorelei answered plainly.

"How did you get inside the school?"

"I have contacts and no, I will not tell you whom."

Severus dropped his arms roughly to the arms of the chairs, clenching his hands into tight fists.

"The only way you could have gained access is through a Professor or student, does the Dark Lord have other followers inside the school?" Severus' tone was icy cold, the baritone vibrating against the walls.

"Yes, a few students, but it was not a Death Eater whom has been helping me. Next."

"You said you provide venoms. What, why and how?"

Lorelei went to speak, but Viktor quickly cut her off, leaning forward in his chair and glowering at the surly Professor. "No, no more. This is not an interrogation. I did not bring you here to question her!"

"It's fine, Vik." Lorelei smiled serenely at her adopted brother. "I promise."

Viktor looked to his parents and found Yuliya and Ivan both nodding with solemn expressions. They knew the reality that with Dumbledore gone, it was only a matter of time until Voldemort called Lorelei to his side and she would have no excuse to leave it. They needed to have at least one ally there to protect her and feed them information.

With a heavy sigh Viktor sat back in his chair and waved his hand agitatedly. Lorelei turned her focus back to Severus.

"I'm a parselmouth and obviously have an affinity to snakes," Lorelei gestured to Titan, who was resting comfortably on her lap with his yellow eyes focused on Severus, "so he assigned me the task of gaining potent venoms for him."

"What for?" Severus lowered his head and began rubbing his temples with his index and middle fingers, elbows still perched on the arms of the chair. He could feel a massive headache coming on.

"I don't know what he's doing with the venom. He did not relay that information to me. I can only assume he's attempting to use it to make himself stronger. Or attempt to give himself a stronger version of the Serpent's Kiss."

Severus looked up at Lorelei from under his lashes. Every hair on the back of his neck was standing. "The Serpent's Kiss, you can get that from regular snake venom?"

"No, but I'm not about to tell him that. Perhaps he could poison himself before he figures it out." Lorelei smirked, winking playfully at Severus. Severus merely continued to stare unimpressed. "I don't know what he's doing with it, but I do know he is rather obsessed by the concept behind the Serpent's Kiss. Unfortunately, he is a parselmouth so I could not exactly refrain from sharing all knowledge about it."

"What exactly is it? How do you get it? And what makes it so appealing?"

Lorelei leaned back against the chair, resting her head against the back as she relayed everything she knew about the "curse." The Serpent's Kiss started with Salazar Slytherin himself when he came across a Titanoboa. Many assumed his beloved basilisk was his favored serpent, but it wasn't, it was Enki. Enki was the strongest and most powerful Titanoboa at the time when Salazar had come across him in the jungles of South America. The snake had magicked himself to a smaller size of 20 feet, but was still large enough to kill a man. The snake was sunning itself upon a large rock when a young Salazar found the serpent and became immediately entranced by its shimmering dark green scales and alluring yellow eyes. He was a mere boy at the time, but Enki could sense the boy's strong magical abilities and could sense he was unlike the Muggles they encountered. Enki and Salazar formed a strong bond and sitting upon the rock Enki bit the young boy on his left shoulder, his rare magical venom entering Salazar's bloodstream.

The curse was painful, excruciatingly so. It made the recipient feel as though fire coursed through their veins and as if every muscle and tendon was being sliced meticulously. The pain lasted until the venom bonded with every cell inside their body, wrapping tightly within their magical core and becoming one with the human. Salazar had screamed himself hoarse as he shook violently on the rock, feeling his body move without his command and watching in horror as his skin began shifting from pale flesh to dark scales and back to pale flesh again.

Enki could only stand guard over the boy and watch. Waiting to see if the boy he had come to care about could withstand the venom and bond with the snake. He was pleased when hours later Salazar sat up and began speaking to him with an understandable tongue. To others the boy sounded only as if he was hissing. To Enki and other snakes he was speaking their tongue.

Enki left Columbia and became Salazar's loyal companion and had remained as such until his death that was within hours of Salazar's own death. The Serpent's Kiss, as the gift had become known, was passed down through Salazar's bloodline, but only to those strong enough to accept it. Those who were not either died upon birth or became mad. Slowly over the years the potency of the curse and its rare gifts began to diminish until only two remained.

Tom Riddle Jr., being born to a strong pure-blood mother, but muggle father, only inherited the ability to speak Parseltongue.

Seraphina Serpens had inherited the ability to speak Parseltongue, as all Serpens did, but being a descendent to Salazar Slytherin twice over she was the only human in modern times that inherited all the gifts that accompanied the Kiss. Including the unknown rare gifts that Salazar Slytherin himself never documented: venomous snake animagus, venom in human form, the ability to command snakes and the ability to heal themselves with the venom from their bonded Titanoboa.

"Do you have the full Kiss?" Severus asked in interest.

"Yes. As I was born to two strong pure-blood lines I inherited the Serpent's Kiss in its full form. My animagus is a blue krait and I am still venomous in human form. My fangs rest at the roof of my mouth under a bone plate."

"Does he know?" Severus suddenly felt like all the oxygen had been sucked from the room.

"He knows I inherited the parseltongue and he knows I have Titan. I have not informed him of my other abilities and don't intend to. He would use me as a weapon." Lorelei's voice trailed off softly, her eyes falling downcast once more. Sensing his bonded human's feelings, Titan uncurled himself from her lap and slithered up her torso and wrapped himself around her shoulders, his heavy weight comforting her.

"Lorelei, I need to know, whose side are you on?"

A heavy silence befell the room and all eyes focused on the expressionless woman sitting in the chair with her eyes focused on her folded hands in her lap. After an unknown amount of tense silence later, Lorelei finally raised her head and looked Severus directly in the eye. "I'm on my side."

Severus couldn't help the small smirk that formed on his lips.