Disclaimer: view Chapter 01 for that one
Author's Notes: See Chapter Seven ˆ-ˆ.
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˜...˜ Parseltongue
/.../ Telepathy between Harry & Carya (in italics)
' ... ' thoughts
˜°˜°˜ ... ˜°˜°˜ Flashback or changing POV
Chapter 10 - Antidotes and Veridicuserum or Hogsmeade and Plans
(A/N: Veridicuserum is an invention of mine. Look it up in a Latin-dictionary if you wish.)
There were only fifteen minutes left now and it was time to test the antidotes. Snape told them what he expected them to do now.
"Clean up your tables but leave your potions. Brown, Zabini, Longbottom and Miss Potter will come up to the front with their antidotes after cleaning up their worktables," Snape said coldly.
When they had gathered in front of their teachers desk they handed over their potions. Snape handed each of them a vial and told them to take it when he said they should. The four students knew what was inside. It was the poison to their antidotes. Lavender paled.
"I will not drink this, never!" she shrieked and backed away.
She was almost running now and hid in the middle of the group of Gryffindors. Many Slytherin's snickered and murmurs about 'Stupid and coward Gryffindor's' could be heard.
"Ten points from Gryffindor for interrupting my lesson, Brown!" Snape bellowed and Lavender went quiet, "Zabini, your turn!" he ordered and Blaise nervously gulped down the poison.
She cringed slightly. Snape had given them the matching poison and her antidote was for a fairly weak poison. She would only feel incredibly sick in a few seconds. And she did just that after drinking from the vial Snape had given her.
The professor who unbeknownst to the students had already checked their brews gave her the antidote and awarded five points to Slytherin when it worked.
"Longbottom, you're next," Severus said coldly and watched the boy.
Neville seemed to struggle with himself. After about a minute he swallowed heavily and drank the poison with his hands shaking so much that he nearly lost the grip on the vial. The poison worked quickly and Snape administered the antidote.
Neville's choice of poison had been a weak one too and the antidote wasn't all that difficult to brew. But still, Neville had been known for not being able to even boil water. His antidote had been above acceptable this time.
Carya had chosen one of the more dangerous poisons though. She was pretty nervous now. Although she didn't think her antidote was botched up, the actual thought of having to drink poison made her feel faint.
Neville was cured and sent back with a strange look from Snape. The Gryffindors didn't mind though. They hadn't lost any more points.
/How dense are they? Didn't they notice it was shy, clumsy Neville 'until-recently-couldn't-even-boil-water-without-causing-an-explosion' Longbottom brewing that antidote?/ Carya asked her brother and he nodded in agreement while smirking into space.
"Potter, your turn!" Severus sneered slightly.
The girl looked him straight in the eye and he found only minimal nervousness or fear now, there was determination visible though. Carya eyed the vial warily for a second or two and then gulped down the contents grimacing at the taste.
It didn't take long before the vial slipped from her hand and clattered onto the floor. Thankfully there was an unbreakable charm on it because Carya fell right after the glass object. She was moaning and grimacing in obvious pain.
The assembled students gasped horrified. Snape looked at her for a brief moment before crouching beside her and pouring the antidote into her mouth. Two minutes later Carya sat up and was panting heavily clutching her stomach.
She didn't get up though and everyone watched their professor in suspicion. They were waiting for some kind of response from him which they actually got this time.
"It seems that at least someone in this class is capable of brewing more than a beginner's antidote. Well done Potter, twenty points to Slytherin!" he said and looked briefly at Harry.
The boy understood and together with Tom he rushed forward to help his sister. She stood on shaky legs and was led to her seat. Snape assigned the three who had taken the poison two rolls of parchment on their own antidotes and the poison itself.
He assigned five rolls on various poisons and antidotes for everyone else. The bell rang and the class was dismissed. Well, everyone but Carya.
"Miss Potter, stay behind!" Snape said.
Carya was still a bit shaky and struggled to stand without aid. She managed barely and looked at her professor. When Snape looked back she was smirking a bit. Severus knew why. For he had finally acknowledged that she wasn't a moron when it came to potions.
And not only that, he had said so in front of the whole class. And secondly she had overcome her fear of being poisoned again. The sides of his mouth were suddenly curled upwards for a second before he returned to his custom sneer.
Wordlessly he handed her a special Pepper-Up Potion for the use after being poisoned. She took the vial without words and was led outside by Tom. Ginny helped her to a girls toilet and the Potter girl downed the potion after carefully sniffing and eyeing the brew.
She instantly felt better and was now able to walk on her own. They had to hurry though. Their next class was transfiguration and they were almost late. The two girls ran after the boys and used various shortcuts to get to McGonagall's class.
They managed although it was a close call. The Transfigurations Professor had just rounded the corner when the skidded into the room. At lunch there were already rumours about the strange potions lesson the Gryffindor and Slytherin fourth years did have that morning.
Minerva was horrified when she heard that Snape was rumoured to actually have poisoned some of his students. When she asked him about that being true he just smirked at her without saying a word. Dumbledore didn't have an answer either and the foreign students asked about the lesson as well.
The headmaster was watching the students closely. He would talk to his Potions Master about these rumours later. It wasn't that he didn't trust him not to harm the students but poison? That wasn't exactly what he had in mind when he had been told about that years curriculum.
For some unknown reason both Carya Potter and Neville Longbottom seemed exceptionally happy about something. Neville was beaming and Carya was grinning all the time and glancing at the head table ever so often.
Severus was watching too. He wondered about Carya's reaction to being poisoned. She had been terrified when she realised she would be one of the candidates but the initial nervousness had lessened as the time progressed and was replaced with some kind of careful determination.
When she had downed her poison her hands had been steady. That was strange. He had thought she'd refuse like Lavender Brown but she had been very confident about her own antidote it seemed.
'I'd never have thought that she'd be that courageous. Granted it was to expected with Potter as her father but still. The girl never ceases to surprise me. And her antidote has been perfect. I hate to admit that she could easily pursue a career in potions should she choose so.
She's much more like Lily than I'd have thought. Even with Black and Lupin as guardians the girl has kept her nature. But there's something else. She's more interested in the Dark Arts than even most of the former Death Eaters kids. That's strange,' Severus thought while watching his students.
Little did he know that he would change his attitude towards her and her friends completely. It would go slowly but he would learn to respect them a great deal in the future. Right now though he would have to explain his poisoning the students to a worried and curious headmaster.
Harry, Tom, Draco and the two girls were happy that Carya was alright. In fact she seemed much happier now that she had managed to get through that mornings Potions class and they liked her new cheerfulness.
The six friends waked towards the 'Founder's Chambers' while using the Marauders Map. They didn't notice the spot labelled Crouch in Dumbledore's office though. Ginny had dragged them upstairs quickly because she wanted to tell them something.
"Hey guys, do you think I could manage the Family Tree Charm? We know a bit about our family but not really much. Only thing that the Weasley's always had more than three but never more than ten kids.
I'd like to know who my ancestors were. Will you help me find my father's heirloom? My mother has given me the necklace that has been in her family for ages. I can use that," Ginny told them and her eyes were pleading.
"I'll help you Ginny," said Draco and wrapped his arms around her from behind.
Tom smiled at that and offered his help, "I'll help too if you don't mind."
Ginny looked surprised but nodded. The other three agreed with their friends and they set the date for the spell on the next Hogsmeade weekend which was actually the next two days. In fact the Saturday classes had been cancelled for those who'd want to go to the town.
Snape and Greenwood would hold their class if at least three students were present. They would get an assignment for extra credit during those hours. The 'Slytherin Six' did take this chance. Carya wanted to prove Snape that she was actually better than he thought and Latin was a good chance at training their language skills a bit.
Professor Greenwood would only give the first lesson and Snape would offer a double period of Potions class. They had to sign themselves in for the next day after dinner and at breakfast on Saturday the friends discovered that the were the only ones for Potions and that only a few Ravenclaws would be there too during Latin.
Professor Greenwood was a bit disappointed that only so very few of her course had come that morning but she promised the ones present that they would get extra credit for their translations and some additional points depending on the difficulty of the texts they choose to translate.
Soon the children had finished their Latin assignment and were going towards the dungeons. Snape was already waiting there. He was not surprised to find that no one but the Slytherins and a lone Ravenclaw had come to this lesson.
What did surprise him was the fact that the 'Slytherin Six' were those students. They were the last pupils he had expected to attend this class on a voluntary basis. Snape's surprise must have shown on his face too because suddenly the six kids started smiling or smirking depending on who it was.
As they were fourth years he decided to let them do a bit of a challenge. A lighter version of the truth Potion. It was actually a derivative of 'Veritaserum' and was called 'Veridicuserum'. It was a truth-telling potion which meant you simply wouldn't be able to lie.
You could still decide whether or not you wanted to answer the questions. Although the desire to answer would increase with the potions potency. This would take at least the double period and required skill as well as pure concentration since it was already advanced OWL-Level.
Severus wondered if these students could manage that. He would of course test the potion if they actually succeeded. Perhaps he should let the class make it the next Friday for his own amusement. The twins and their friends were slightly surprised when their Professor handed them the recipe.
It was quite advanced for them and they had to admit that it would be a challenge. The six paired up into the couples. They knew that they would work best this way. Draco was working with Ginny, Hermione got help from Harry, Tom and Carya made up the third and most promising team.
Snape knew that the Dark Lord had been quite good at Potions during his reign and he only needed someone's service for the more complicated brews that required a Master's skill. He suddenly remembered that these students most likely had an idea what he had been in the past.
˜°˜°˜ Severus Snape POV ˜°˜°˜
Friday, November 11th, Potions class with Gryffindors and Slytherins. I have always wondered why Albus insists on pairing these two houses together in classes. He knows just like Minerva and myself that nothing good can come from this.
The lions and snakes have been at each other's throats since long before I was a student here. It just doesn't work with these two groups. With Ravenclaw it would be okay but heaven forbid to pair my snakes with the Hufflepuffs. That would be worse than Gryffindor I believe.
I have been avoiding Igor for quite some time now. He seems adamant to talk to me about something but I don't want to. He'll probably bring up the past and I'd rather not remember that particular time of my life with Moody snooping around in Hogwarts.
It was quite satisfactory to see that the Potter girl doesn't like that dratted Auror at all. I wonder why that is. I know only two other teachers she had looked at like that ever before. Myself and Quirrell. But I am always putting them down and Quirrell was carrying Voldemort's soul around.
But why despise Moody? He's a friend of Albus'. Surely they know that, don't they? Has he done something to them in class? Not that I know. The girl threw off the Imperius and deflected all his curses.
I was in the middle of a lecture when suddenly there was a knock at the door and Karkaroff walked right inside. Damnit, not now! I thought desperately but to no avail. The stupid idiot came walking over.
Most of the students couldn't see what was happening but Potter and Riddle did. Igor told me what I already knew. The marks on our arms had become clearer throughout the summer. They hadn't been like that in over thirteen years.
This could only mean one thing. The Dark Lord was gaining power once again and most likely would return soon. I did hope though it would be rather later than sooner.
˜°˜°˜ End Severus Snape POV ˜°˜°˜
When he turned his attention back to the six students they had already begun to brew the truth-telling potion. Everything seemed fine until now. The colour was correct and the smell was okay too. He would have to wait another hour to see if they were skilled enough for something like this.
The children worked surprisingly quiet and no sounds but the chopping, grinding and cutting of ingredients was heard apart from the occasional bubbling sound from one of the three cauldrons. The students didn't even look up when Snape looked at them closely to determine their progress.
Carya and Tom were the first to finish. There were still fifteen minutes left before the lesson was over. The two of them carefully put away their ingredients and cleaned their worktable. The potion was set aside for cooling.
They could have used a charm but with potions like this natural cooling made them more effective. The next group to finish was Harry and Hermione. Draco and Ginny followed only five minutes later and they had only three minutes left. All kids looked questioningly at Snape who stared right back.
"Be back here right after lunch. I expect you to be here at one p.m. sharp!" he growled and the kids swept out towards the Great Hall.
Severus took one last glance at the cauldrons and locked the room firmly against any intruder. Even Alastor Moody would have a hard time breaking these wards down. Snape saw the six kids sitting at the far end of the Slytherin table and wondered what they were discussing so vividly.
When he caught a couple of words he knew that they were talking about the 'Veridicuserum'. The headmaster looked at him, the question clearly visible in his blue eyes.
"Who would have thought that they would turn down a day in Hogsmeade to brew Potions," Severus said sneering slightly.
Albus was shocked a bit but didn't show it. It was indeed unusual for these children. They weren't as bad as the Weasley twins but they were quite some troublemakers too. To stay in the castle voluntarily and brewing Potions wasn't what anyone had expected of them.
Minerva was staring in disbelief too. She had a hard time imagining the whole thing and wordlessly left the teachers table to get ready for her chaperoning in Hogsmeade. The other teacher who was staring was Moody. He was still trying to figure these kids out.
They didn't trust him but they obviously hadn't told anyone else of that. The Potter girl was the worst. He had the distinct feeling that she had more powers than she realised. For all he knew she could possibly be an Empath. Not that he'd tell anyone about this ever.
At five to one the six children rushed out of the Hall and ran to the Potions classroom. They arrived there with one minute to spare and Snape arrived not a second late himself. Once inside he told them to sit down. He then walked around and inspected their cauldrons.
The brews had cooled by now and he checked colour, smell and consistency. Draco and Ginny's potion was a bit too thin and wouldn't have the full effect but it would still work well. The brew of Hermione and Harry was okay too although they had probably forgotten to grind the dried bugs properly before adding them.
The potions colour was a bit off but it smelled alright. Tom and Carya's Potion was a surprise because he couldn't find a single flaw in it. As hard as he tried to find some flaws, the potion was perfect. Snape nodded absently and grudgingly admitted to himself that they had won this round.
He told them to bottle a half of their potions and place them on his desk, labelled properly and sealed. After that he asked if they would be brave enough to test it. The children looked at each other and came to the conclusion that it would be better to get over with it.
Snape wouldn't stop bugging them if they didn't show him that they weren't the cowards he thought they were. And they had a distinct feeling that he'd do this to them in class if they refused now. The friends nodded carefully and eyed their Professor. Carya, Hermione and Ginny volunteered.
Their boyfriends gave them a spoonful of the potion as instructed and they waited for five minutes. The serum had to take effect first. Once they were sure the girls were influenced by the potion the boys separately took turns in asking them questions.
Always one at a time because anything else could cause severe problems. After another ten minutes Snape interfered and asked each girl a question. Hermione was asked why she associated with Slytherins. Her answer was short but effective.
"I don't participate in house rivalries. I only like or dislike people for who they truly are, not what house or family they belong to and Harry is my boyfriend!" she said calmly while blushing furiously.
The two big differences to 'Veritaserum' were that the one influenced by it was in control of his or her emotions as well as thoughts. They just weren't able to lie if they decided to answer at all.
Ginny was next. He asked her about her family's opinion of her and was shocked that she seemed indifferent about Ron and Percy now.
"After some adjustment albeit it was slightly forced Mum, Dad, Fred and George came around. Bill didn't really think about it and Charlie never minded a Weasley in Slytherin. Ronald and Percival are idiotic prats who are stuck in a child's prejudiced mind. Other than that Ron's just jealous," the girl answered truthfully.
Now Carya was the only one left. She was feeling uneasy as Snape sat down on a chair in front of her.
"Miss Potter, were you telling the truth when you described the effects of the potions accident in the infirmary?" he asked.
Carya blushed a bit and swallowed grimacing at the memory, "Yes, I did tell the truth. No one needs Cruciatus if they can get their hands onto that brew!"
"I see. Why are you always glaring at Alastor Moody?" Snape wanted to know next.
Carya turned her face away and Severus knew she was trying to hide something. The desire to answer every question was increased with this potion and the girl knew it. That effect would be enhanced the more perfect the brew actually was. She tried but partly failed and sighed heavily.
"I don't like him at all. Something's off with that man. He was almost disappointed when I broke his Imperius Curse during Defence. No one but us noticed though. And he got really angry when I deflected his curses the other day. He just feels wrong," she said determined.
"He feels wrong? Explain!" Severus demanded knowing that she would most likely refuse to answer this time.
She did indeed refuse and Snape gave them the antidote. It wouldn't do them any good to run around the school for the next two hours with that potion still in their systems. One thing was sure though.
Severus Snape would keep a close eye on Moody and on the Potter girl if possible since she and her friends were disappearing very often. He had of course been tempted to ask where they disappeared to but knew they would refuse to answer straight away.
So he had settled on less prying questions. The kids would indeed get extra credit for this. He just didn't know how yet. Their classmates would be brewing that potion the next Thursday for Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff and next Friday for Gryffindor and Slytherin.
Those who failed to complete it would be fed some of these potions. They would keep up to six month if stored properly. Yes the next week definitely would be fun if the students managed not to blow up his dungeon.
Severus was actually looking forward to that. Something he hadn't done since Moody was in the castle. The six friends decided to stay in the castle for the rest of the day and work on Harry's egg now rather than on the next day.
The Sunday would be spent in Hogsmeade completely with the exception of a short detour to find an heirloom of the Weasley family. The twins, Draco, Ginny, Tom and Hermione walked into the library and put up silencing charms in case on of the other champions strolled in.
Harry carefully opened the golden egg and a very loud screeching noise could be heard. Instead of slamming it shut the boy place a low-level muting spell on the object which made it less noisy. They could hear the screeches a bit better now.
Hermione, Ginny and Carya listened intently while Tom, Draco and Harry were trying to figure out what this meant.
"It's something played in a loop. The patterns repeat every other minute or so," Hermione said thoughtfully.
"Yeah, and this noise actually has a rhythm not unlike a poem too," Ginny added.
The boys looked at them as if they were crazy. Carya on the other hand was still deep in thought. She could swear she had heard something like that before. She just couldn't remember where that had been.
After two more hours of thinking without a useful result they retreated from the library and walked around the lake. Suddenly it began to snow - the first snow of the year. When they came back to the castle and into the Great Hall everyone was looking at them oddly.
The friends sat down without sparing them a glance but Terence and Cat came over and began talking.
"Hey Hermione, didn't you read the 'Evening Prophet' today?" Cat asked.
"No Cat, I cancelled my subscription. Too much rubbish in there," Hermione replied.
"Ah, that's why you don't know. Look, here!" the other Ravenclaw said and handed Hermione the paper.
It was an article about the Tournament. This was what Ginny had waited for since the first day of the Tournament when Harry had refuse an interview with Rita Skeeter. The woman had taken revenge on him.
The Twins-Who-Lived going Dark!?
Inside sources have told our reporter that the famous Boy-Who-Lived and his twin have been sorted into Slytherin house at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
Everyone expected them to be Gryffindor's like their parents -the famous Aurors Lily and James Potter. Our contact has revealed to us that the twins indeed are more unusual than we assumed.
It is said that Miss Potter has attacked a fellow student without being provoked during a Herbology class,
'She just jumped at Lavender Brown and hurt her seriously. I think that the curse she was hit with left more than a mark on her body,' a Hogwarts student told our reporter.
And while Mister Potter hasn't acted on violent impulses yet he does surround himself with violent creatures such as werewolves and half-giants. We can only hope that the boy won't follow their aggressive urges and turn dark as some people suspect.
'It's worse than you think! They are Parselmouths. I'd bet my underwear that they have connections to the Dark side for their own safety. My dad said they must be powerful dark wizards if You-Know-Who thinks they are a threat,' stated a former student.
Two years ago there were obviously rumours flying around that the twins had been attacking various fellow students but it seemed this was never proven. Our special reporter thinks that employing a half-giant and a werewolf weren't the best decisions in Hogwarts current headmasters life.
A student stated, 'I was so terrified when I found out he was a werewolf. I was afraid to get bitten. I can't understand how such a person can be allowed to teach children.'
We can only hope that Dumbledore didn't make a mistake to allow Potter into the Tournament. And we are hoping that his future decisions on teachers are better choices than dangerous beings.
Your special Correspondent,
Rita Skeeter
Harry and the other's had read the article over Hermione's shoulder. Carya briefly looked up at the head table and saw that Hagrid was missing. He taught Care of Magical Creatures since summer but was nowhere to be seen.
That article was a load of rubbish and Hermione tossed the paper onto the table shaking her head in disbelief. Draco, Harry and Tom showed similar reactions. Of course they hadn't planned on coming out of the closet with their language skills like that but it was nothing bad in their opinion.
And attacking students out of violent urges was just a downright lie. Those who knew them would know the truth. Although they all were particularly angry about the parts against Remus and Hagrid. Although Skeeter didn't write any names everyone knew who it was.
Ginny scowled. She had warned the twins about Skeeter but they hadn't listened. The redhead glanced at Carya and saw the fire in the other girls eyes. Tom saw it too and was worried that she'd explode.
It really seemed that Carya's mind was doing extra hours of work. She put her hand under her chin like Snape always used to do and unconsciously made her friends smile at that. She then started smirking and a plan formed in her mind.
She would tell the others later though. The girl looked over the faces turned towards them and had enough for now. She stood up, looked around, glared at them every so often and then shrugged.
"Well, at least they are cowards enough not to tell any names. Afraid I'd kill them outright, are they, huh? Laughable! Wonder how much Skeeter paid them to tell those lies about my friends.
But then again, judging by the trash-stories she usually writes she doesn't have enough brains for either bribery or blackmail ..." Carya stated calmly and ended with a smirk before leaving the Great Hall towards the library.
Some students scattered around all houses laughed at the fitting description of sensation reporter Skeeter and others were confused. The girl had been calm if not a bit angry but she hadn't exploded in fury like most of them expected. They were pleased though that she didn't attack anyone.
Harry, Tom, Draco, Ginny and Hermione followed soon after but not before Harry had elegantly waved his wand and the offending paper burst into blue flames. Dumbledore looked at his colleagues and wondered how Rita had been able to get those interviews during term time.
She had been banned from the grounds since her offences after the initial interview and article about the Tournament. The only chance would have been Hogsmeade the very same day but no one had seen her there.
He was also pleased about the mature reaction of one Carya Potter. He too had expected a display of temper but it had not happened. The other teachers were equally relieved about that and the tension in the Great Hall lessened too after the six friends left.
Meanwhile Carya and her friends were sitting in the library trying to figure out their next steps. They decided to investigate whether or not Skeeter would have used an invisibility cloak but Dumbledore would know that if she got inside the castle.
She could on the other hand have taken those interviews outside or not at all. Rumours tend to get back to the public after some time after all. They thought about that for the whole evening without finding a solution.
Tired the six kids went to bed and slept soundly until five in the morning. Carya was woken up by Salazar who had some disturbing news.
˜Missstresss Carya, your human isss having bad dreamsss! You mussst help him. Massster Harry isss unable to aid the human!˜ the snake shouted audibly.
˜I'm coming, Salazar. Go find Nyara and take her to Tom. He might need her company!˜ Carya hissed back and leapt out of the room and ran into the boys dormitory.
She was still amused that Salazar refused to call Tom anything other than her 'human'. They'd have to talk about it soon. It wouldn't do any good if Salazar kept being overly jealous.
(A/N: Tom has named his snake Nyara because Nagini was out of question for him! ˆ-ˆ)
The other boys were shouting at her for barging into a boys dormitory and she just threw them out with help of a banishing charm. Soon Tom, Harry, Draco and Carya were the only ones left. The Riddle boy lay in his bed sweating, tossing and turning.
He kept mumbling about him being innocent and having done nothing wrong before he howled in pain. Carya crept towards him and tried to gather him into her arms. He accidentally hit her in the face and stomach but she didn't care. Tom needed her help now and he would get it.
After ten minutes of a fight she had him in her arms and he started to calm down under the soft whispers in a language that very few could understand - Parseltongue. This seemed to work better since no one who had hurt him knew how to speak it.
Another ten minutes later around ten to six Tom woke up. He found himself crying in the arms of his girlfriend. She smiled gently at him and he spotted the light bruise on her cheek and his eyes widened.
"Did I ...? You ... have I ... are you hurt?" he asked shocked and confused.
"You didn't hurt me Tom! You had a nightmare!" she said soothingly and smiled but Tom's disbelieving look remained.
"I'm sorry," he whispered softly while leaning against the girl besides him.
"You have nothing to be sorry about but sometimes it's better to talk about fears instead off bottling them up inside, Tom. I'm here for you if you need someone to talk to, you know that, don't you?" she carefully asked him and he just nodded.
Shortly past six Tom was up and in the shower. The friends waited for him in the Common Room and after he appeared they left for breakfast. They only shoved a few bites of toast into their mouths before leaving. Carya spared a brief look towards the head table.
Dumbledore, McGonagall, Snape and Moody were siting there. The first two next to each other, Moody next to McGonagall but Snape was sitting a bit aside the other three. Carya scowled and frowned in Moody's general direction but gave a small evil looking grin towards Snape.
It looked quite mischievous and Severus didn't know what to make of it. With Carya Potter it could mean anything. Just like the one time when she had detention with him for a whole day. Normally students were pissed off after that but she seemed to have enjoyed the time immensely.
He was still watching the spot where she had been standing when she was long gone. Something about this girl was strange and he couldn't find out what. Ever since they had tested the antidotes she had gradually become more mysterious.
Suddenly he remembered something. An incident that he had almost completely forgotten. The two weird children from 'Knockturn Alley'. Devius and Gemini. But hadn't Lucius reported that two other kids looking like those first twins had turned up?
Devius' and Gemini's skin had been a pale peach colour but the teens named Daemon and Gaia did have ivory skin if you believed the accuracy of Lucius' descriptions. He remembered that the wands of the children he himself had seen belonged to Draco Malfoy and Carya Potter.
Yes, here was one of his puzzle pieces. The 'Dark Princess of Slytherin' did deserve the title given to her after all. Not everyone could pull such a stunt and convince a bunch of dark wizards of it being the truth. Everyone around the alley had believed her act.
The rumours were still flying high in there. Even more so since the second pair of twins had been spotted. The kids were currently walking down the road that led to Hogsmeade. They would go to the cave for the spell first and then have a great time in the tiny wizarding village.
Near the forest protected from prying eyes and sure that no one was watching thanks to the Marauder's Map the six friends turned into their animagus forms and travelled towards 'their' cave.
Since Tom wasn't the fastest Carya carried him onto her back.
One of the boys coils was slung around the left shoulder and another about the right one. Tom's head rested on Carya's back though. It was a tough ride for the snake-animagus but they were quicker that way.
Being carried like this by a female wolf was better than the alternative - being carried in Hermione's talons!
°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°
R&R,
Carya
2008-02-02