Author's Notes: See Chapter Fourteen ^_^.
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~...~ = Parseltongue
/.../ = Telepathy between Harry & Carya (in italics)
' ... ' = thoughts
~*~*~ ... ~*~*~ = Flashback or changing POV
Chapter 17 - Hogsmeade Again and Snake-Love or Tales and Nightmares
On April 2nd the students had their next Hogsmeade weekend. Harry, Hermione, Tom, Carya, Ginny and Draco met in the Great Hall around nine for breakfast. They were grinning and whispering with each other the whole time and they planned what to do that day.
"I think we should just take the day off and enjoy ourselves, you know? Skeeter isn't around currently so that gives us a bit of peace too. What do you think?" asked Ginny.
"Brilliant idea Ginny. We all could use a break and to think that the task is still over two month away. But time doesn't stand still. Better we get ready a month early than the other way," answered Harry.
"Oh come on. It wasn't that bad. We had loads of fun over the last week. I've never learnt more. Even our homework seems easier now. We've gotten really good at thorough research in a short period of time," Carya told the others.
"Yeah, that will only help once we have exams, especially with the owls next year. I don't know how we will manage the workload then. I really should start collecting notes soon," said Hermione absently and got a small shove from Ginny for her remark.
"Ow, what was that for?" Hermione exclaimed.
"That was for being a paranoid over-studious Ravenclaw my dear Hermione. We haven't even started learning for this years exams. So why bother with next year already?" said Ginny with raised eyebrows.
"You two know that every teacher is currently watching your little fight, don't you? It's rather amusing though," interrupted Draco the two girls.
"I too think that we should just enjoy ourselves today. We could do a bit of shopping, hang out in the 'Three Broomsticks' and the likes," said Tom quietly while feeding and being fed by his girlfriend.
The two of them looked rather silly doing that but they didn't care. It was fun and they enjoyed it immensely. All the time the professors had an eye on them. These kids were indecipherable. You never knew what they'd do next.
After breakfast the six friends got ready for their trip towards Hogsmeade. Neither wore the school uniform. They all had put on a casual robe and no cloak since it was quite warm outside. The kids met in the entrance hall and left the castle. Soon they'd reached the small town and looked around.
It was still early and not too many students were here yet. Their first stop was the 'Three Broomsticks' were they seated themselves in a quiet and partially hidden corner booth. No one bothered them there.
The only other person aside from Cat and Terence the six kids voluntarily talked to was the innkeeper - Madam Rosmerta. She once again told the twins about their parents like she had done sometimes in the last year.
"I can remember that your father and his friends and later your mother too used to sit in the same corner every time they were here. Yes, the Marauders - they were always up to something. You never knew who was their next target.
They seemed to like pranking one or two recipients of their schoolmates more than any other though, especially James and Sirius. Little Remus was their voice of reason sometimes though. He made sure the others didn't get out of hand too much," Rosmerta told them.
"Who was it Madam? Who did they prank more than anyone else?" asked Harry curious.
"If I remember correctly it was Severus Snape and his friend Lucius as well as Lily Evans. Yes those three were often on the receiving end of the Marauders. Although their retaliation was guaranteed," she continued.
"Lily Evans, as in our mum? They pranked our mother?" gasped the Potter boy in surprise while Carya looked confused.
"Yes, Lily and James had a very strange relationship. At one time it seemed that Lily would rather be with Severus than with James but those two were just good friends. Your mother once told me that Severus Snape had been her first friend in the wizarding world.
They were friends since the train ride in their first year. She was the most cunning and loyal girl I've ever seen, a true Slytherin. Her comebacks against Sirius and James pranks were brilliant. Severus always worked together with her at those times," the witch said.
"A true Slytherin? Wasn't our Mum in Gryffindor? Everyone told us she was ..." Harry started but was interrupted by a surprised Rosmerta.
"Lily a Gryffindor? Good Merlin, no! She never was a Gryffindor although she possessed plenty of courage. How could both your parents have been Headboy and Headgirl if they had been in the same house? They are always from two different houses.
Although it was kind of peculiar for her being in Slytherin with her Muggle parents. But she was definitely a Slytherin just like the two of you. I honestly don't know why everyone denies this and insists on that ridiculous lie, telling everyone that she was in Gryffindor.
Hasn't your godfather told you about them? Lily and James didn't get together before the middle of their fifth year. Before that they were kind of archrivals. Severus, Lily and Lucius against the Marauders.
Although Lucius always called her a mudblood but she didn't care. Just ignored him. Clever girl she was. I'll tell you a secret. Severus was tutored in Charms by your mum and he helped her with Potions. But don't tell anyone about his, okay?" the innkeeper explained with a small smirk,
"Being a Slytherin was difficult enough for Lily but when she fell in love with James it got harder. I believe you know about the house rivalries? Well, she managed that somehow. Being James Potter's girlfriend but staying Severus Snape's best friend.
She was very upset when Sirius played that dangerous prank on Severus in fifth year. Wouldn't talk to anyone outside Slytherin for a month. She was quite headstrong and stubborn. No one could figure her out, not even James.
She was a genius at Charms though. The best student at charms Hogwarts had in ages," she said and left the kids alone since her customers were waiting.
"I can't believe it, Mum was a Slytherin and they never told us. Ha, Skeeter was wrong! Do you remember her article? The one with thinking we'd be Gryffindor's like Mum and Dad? They don't know either," said Carya disbelieving.
"I know what you mean and I wonder why they kept it quiet. It nothing bad, is it? I mean, many great wizards and witches have come from Hogwarts and from all houses too. Being a Slytherin is nothing to be ashamed of. We really should write to Sirius and Remus about this," replied Harry deep in thought.
"I didn't know either. They way Lucius was always bragging about your parents one would've never guessed that he and Snape had been friends with Lily. Perhaps that's why Snape doesn't like you. He was angry with your dad that he took his friend away," mused Draco.
"My parents didn't say anything either. From what I heard they were friends with the Potter family. They should have known, shouldn't they?," remarked Ginny.
Hermione didn't know what to say. She hadn't known her friends and their families before she went to Hogwarts. Her own family was purely muggle. Tom was thinking about the nightmare Carya had told him of. The night the twins parents were killed.
He had once asked what exactly had happened and she had told him reluctantly what she remembered of that night. And he was thinking about what his alter ego had apparently said to Lily before she died. Tom decided to tell Carya what he was thinking.
"I wonder if Voldemort knew ... If he had known it would have made sense that he would have spared her. Perhaps he even knew about her heritage. That could have been the sole reason he was willing to spare her if she gave you two up," he whispered into the ear of his girlfriend.
The others didn't hear what he said and started to worry when Carya paled slightly. It had to be something important and they wished they knew.
"Carya, what's wrong?" asked Draco concerned.
"Nothing Draco. Tom just told me something that would make perfect sense. I'll tell you about it later when we are somewhere more private. Right now I need some fresh air. ... No, no, you four stay here. I'll go for a walk with Tom. We'll meet at the castle later, okay?" Carya told them and stood shakily.
Being reminded of her parents death combined with those secrets about her mum had thrown her a bit off balance. She excused herself and quickly left the inn.
"We'll go to the book shop and to Honeydukes. If you want, you can catch up with us. But wait at least a few minutes to let her calm down okay?" Tom told them before running after his girlfriend.
"Something important must've happened. Something we don't know about," Draco stated.
"It must have something to do with your mother though, Harry. That's the only topic we really talked about just now," remarked Hermione.
"What do you think? Should we go after them in a few minutes or meet them at the castle later? I really don't know. Tom and Carya are our best friends but sometimes I have this feeling that they are very different from us. There's something within them that I don't understand," Ginny said with worry in her voice.
"Let's meet them later. Give them some time alone. I know what you mean though. Don't worry about it. Carya was always like that. Tom's the perfect match for her if they can get over their problems. My sister rarely trusts anyone, you know? She's a very private person, especially with her emotions.
That what you see every day is much more than most people will ever see from her. If you watch close enough you can tell the difference. She's only that open with us and with our guardians including Dudley.
Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon didn't know her that much. They loved us and still do but they don't know us. That's why they let us move in with Sirius. They felt it would be the best for us. I wonder how they'll react when they find out that their little baby girls are magical," explained Harry.
"They are? How do you know?" asked Hermione surprised.
"Eh, Carya found out that Squib's and Muggle's had a little mark next to their names on the family tree. Aunt Petunia and Dudley had a faint Squib marking while Uncle Vernon had a Muggle marking next to his name.
Freesia and Lilian didn't have that. They were marked like Carya and I - magical. Please don't tell anyone though. Carya will kill me if she finds out I told you," whispered Harry.
"That's their names? How come most girls in your Mum's family are named after flowers?" asked Draco.
"I honestly don't know. Even Carya's name is connected to nature as it describes a whole tree family. I should ask my aunt the next time I see her. Before you ask, yes I could send an owl but they are always worried about the neighbours.
Especially Vernon - he's afraid that people will talk if too many strange things happen around his family and they undoubtedly will happen in the near future. Why make him worry even more?" the Potter boy explained further.
The four sat there for a long time before they started their own shopping trip around the village.
~*~*~ Meanwhile with Tom and Carya ~*~*~
"Come on Carya, let's go to the book-shop, the apothecary and Honeydukes, okay?" asked Tom to take his girlfriend's mind off their previous conversation.
She smiled a grateful smile and nodded. Their first stop was Honeydukes where they stocked up their storage of sweets. Carya bought loads of them. Chocolate frogs, Sugar Quills, Liquorice Wands, Drooble's Best Blowing Gum, Toothflossing, Pepper, Ice Mice and Jelly Slugs were the different candies she got for herself and her friends.
After Honeydukes they went to the apothecary. Once inside Carya calmed down completely. The odd smell of potion ingredients always did that to her. That was why Tom had suggested going there in the first place.
They looked around for a bit but found nothing they didn't have in stock already at first. Carya then recognised a rare ingredient from her detention with Snape and she also knew that it was not a restricted one. This meant she could actually buy it.
"Tom, if I remember correctly then this little plant over there could help us to combine the two potions. I think I've read it in the book during my detention with Snape. I'll have to look it up though. Let's ask how much we'd have to pay!" Carya hissed into the boy's ear.
He nodded and wondered what she had in mind. They hadn't even talked about their project since March 24th. At first the man behind the counter wanted a price too high in Carya's opinion so she started bargaining with him in her own twisted way.
She knew that she could always get the ingredient somewhere else if she didn't mind a bit of delay. And she had become a really good actress. This combined with the fact that she had some pent up energy to get out the argument started.
"You want three galleons for one ounce of this? Thank you for your service mister but I'd rather purchase my supplies somewhere else," Carya stated calmly.
The clerk was flustered at that and really wanted to sell her some. He started rambling about prices and the value of that particular ingredient. Carya listened with an expressionless face until he was finished.
"I see, do you really think that'll change my mind?" she asked him and his eyes darted towards Tom asking for help but the boy only held up his hands indicating 'leave me out of this'.
"Okay Miss, I'll give you one ounce of this for one galleon and thirteen sickles. But I can't go below that. My boss will skin me alive. And please don't tell anyone!" he cried desperately.
Carya seemed to think about that for a moment and Tom almost thought she'd refuse the deal but she didn't.
"Well, we have a deal then. But this had better be a good quality or I'll be back soon, mister!" she said seriously and handed him the money.
The clerk measured the ingredient and handed her a little opaque jar. The plant was very sensitive to light and had to be stored in the dark. The girl took the jar and put it into her pocket. With a nod and a 'Good Day, mister' she left the apothecary.
Once outside Tom noticed the pleased smile on her face. She had made a very good deal. Carya knew that this was an expensive ingredient and she hadn't thought that the clerk would take the price down at all.
Tom shook his head. Carya was really weird sometimes but that was what he liked so much about her. Together they waked into the bookstore to look at the newest books on Potions and Defence Against the Dark Arts.
After looking around for ten minutes Carya spotted a book that had escaped her notice so far. It was about the storage and handling of potions ingredients and it was written by her own Potions Professor - by Severus Snape.
'Geez, he published quite some books on potions. Well, he is a true Potions Master after all. I think I'll buy this. Perhaps there are some of those ingredients in there that I had to handle during detention. Might be useful in the OWL's next year too,' Carya thought and nudged Tom's arm to show him what she'd found.
Tom spotted the book and started grinning when he read the title and author. 'An Extensive Guide on the Handling and Storage of Potions Ingredients' by Severus Snape was it's name and Carya immediately took a copy to the counter.
After exiting the shop the kids were quite hungry and it was past lunch already. They walked back to the castle hand in hand before sneaking down to the kitchen for a light snack. Dobby was more than pleased to provide them with the necessary food.
Around three that afternoon the two met their friends in the Founder's Chambers. Harry, Hermione, Draco and Ginny were already sitting in the library when Carya and Tom arrived.
"Hey, you two! Had a nice day?" Draco asked teasingly and the other two blushed a bit at his question although nothing had happened.
"Yeah, as always Draco, you know that!" Carya shot back after a moment.
The others grinned and the six settled down around the table. Their friends were dying to hear what had happened in the 'Three Broomsticks'.
"So what was that about in the pub this morning?" Ginny asked and the good mood deflated slightly.
Eh, I ... well, did Harry ever tell any of you about out regular nightmare? The one about Halloween 1981?" the female Potter asked carefully.
"He told me a bit though I don't know about Ginny or Draco," said Hermione.
"Draco knows, I told him before we went back to school last year. But Ginny does hardly know about the real facts so I think we should tell them. That way we're all on equal terms," Harry explained and Carya nodded grimacing.
/Do you want to tell them or shall I?/ asked Harry his twin.
/You do it, I don't like talking about that night as you well know. It was difficult enough for me to tell Tom but I had to do that myself,/ she sent back.
"Well, you know what happened that time. Our parents were killed that day. Since we were very little Carya and I had a nightmare. At first we didn't know what it meant but after talking to Aunt Petunia we knew that it was our parents dying.
Then in second year when we were near those Dementors we could hear what had happened. It has always been there in our memories but before that we just couldn't remember fully. That's natural though since we were only one year old at that time.
It always happens this way, we are downstairs in the sitting room with mum and dad when they suddenly go very quiet. Dad then tells mum that it's Him and that she has to run and hide with us. Dad stays to fight but he doesn't have a chance.
Mum's crying then and silently telling dad goodbye. She hides us in the nursery but Voldemort finds us anyway. He orders her to stand aside and let him kill us since it's not necessary that she dies too. At least that's what he said.
But Mum refuses to leave us and he kills her. We only hear a scream and a flash of green light though. After that he turns towards us. Carya is still trying to get Mum to 'wake up' while I can't do anything but stare.
The bastard points his wand at me, Carya crawls over because she seems to sense the danger I'm in. Just the second Voldemort has said the curse she grabs my hand. There's a second of searing and incredible pain in my head and probably Carya's too before we can hear a blood curling scream.
A second later there's only smoke and a burnt robe left of Voldemort. That's when we usually wake up though," Harry told the others and they were all very pale.
Carya was embraced by Tom and breathing heavily. Ginny held onto Draco who was shaking slightly but composed since he already knew. Hermione was on the edge of tears just as Ginny. She'd only known little bits of it and to hear the whole story was horrifying.
They sat in silence for a few minutes until the girls and boys had calmed down enough. It was Carya who finally broke the strained silence.
"That's what Tom meant this morning. Voldemort apparently wanted to spare Mum if she had let him kill us. Tom thought it might be possible that he knew of her being in Slytherin or even about her heritage. It doesn't really make sense otherwise.
Why would 'Mister I'm-all-evil-and-the-world-will-be-mine' want to spare a supposedly Muggle-born witch? She was really powerful and most likely a threat to his power herself, so why?" Carya said quietly.
"I think you could be right but we'll never know the truth. I certainly have no desire to go and ask the bastard about it. And I don't think anyone else knows about this at all. We have never told anyone the whole contents of our nightmare. Not even to Moony and Padfoot," Harry stated.
Tom suddenly had a good idea to change the topic. "Hey, imagine what we found in the bookstore! You remember that Carya has two books about potions that are written by our beloved greasy git of a Potions Master, right?" the boy asked and the others nodded.
"Well, we found another today. A book about ingredients to be truthful. Carya being herself bought it immediately but I have to admit that I'm curious about it too. And she also managed to get a rare ingredient for a ridiculously low price too.
She bargained with the clerk at the apothecary. He seems to be new there since he didn't know the two of us. He was so flustered in the end that we only paid one galleon and thirteen sickles for an ounce of the plant instead of paying three!" he continued.
"Well, that sounds like my dear little sister," Draco stated mockingly.
"Hey, I'm not little! I'm just as tall as you are. You're not that much older either," she replied pouting like a little child.
Tom thought that she looked quite adorable like that and kissed her. The others just grinned. It was really good to see that they were as close as before the second task - perhaps even closer now that they shared a wound in their hearts.
The rest of time until dinner was spent as usual. Reading, playing chess or doing research. Shortly before they went down towards the Great Hall Carya told her friends what she'd been thinking about for quite some time now.
"You know, I'm currently trying to find a way to teach us telepathy without being twins like Harry and I. It would be quite useful and not only during exams ... Hey cheer up Hermione, I'm only joking! Not that we'd need to cheat anyway. We are good enough without that," Carya told her friends.
She had taken her new book with her since she wasn't that hungry. And she thought it might be amusing to see Snape's reaction to her having one of his books. The students and teachers alike were looking strangely at them since they rarely came to dinner in the Great Hall these days.
The six friends didn't notice though. They were still chuckling over Hermione's horror stricken face when Carya mentioned cheating in the exams. It was just too funny and even Hermione admitted that she'd overreacted slightly.
Because they were a bit late their usual seats near the doors were taken and the only ones left were the ones near the professors. The children shrugged and sat down there. They resumed previous conversations about Quidditch in Harry and Draco's case.
Ginny and Hermione talked about Charms and homework while Tom and Carya discussed the last Potions class from Saturday. They either didn't notice or they ignored the stares from most people around them because they knew that their presence was something unusual.
It took a while until Snape and the headmaster noticed the book that Carya was reading in while discussing something with her boyfriend. Before that the two teachers had watched the Weasley twins talking to Neville Longbottom and Blaise Zabini.
The two Weasley's had apparently tried to get the other two to help them with a prank on the Gryffindors but both had refused. When they'd turned towards Carya and Tom for help the teachers naturally began watching them as well.
Severus face was unreadable as always when he read the books title while Albus seemed genuinely surprised. He had known that Carya was a good student in Potions but this kind of book? It was a bit dry to read even for adults.
~*~*~ Severus Snape POV ~*~*~
I can't believe it. That girl, this is the second time I see her with one of my books. The last time was during her second year I believe. How is it possible that a fourteen year old girl - a Potter at that is reading something like that? Most people would say it is pretty dry stuff to read.
So why does she read it? Did she tell the truth in the headmasters office? That she liked doing all that during her detention? Neither their parents had been talented in Potions. I wonder if they know that I had to tutor Lily to prevent her from failing that class in third year.
Perhaps I should tell them? I really hope they aren't up to something. Those six are nearly as bad as the Marauders were during my time at Hogwarts. Fortunately for me these are mostly Slytherin's. Well, Miss Granger is more Slytherin than Ravenclaw by now anyway so it doesn't really matter.
They really go by the infamous 'Slytherin Code of Conduct' most of the times. They live one of the rules though. I believe it's rule number twenty. They really never get caught. But how they manage that - I don't know. Even the Marauders occasionally were caught by someone.
I should play closer attention to what they're doing the next few days. I don't like the way the Weasley twins were hanging on Miss Potters every word. They're up to something, I can sense that. Hm, it seems Minerva has noticed that too.
(A/N: 'Slytherin Code of Conduct' and it's content are borrowed from Vmorticia and her series 'And the Hat said Slytherin' book 1-7. ^_^; Rule No. 20: Never get caught - it doesn't matter if you break the rules, just don't get caught. All of her work can be found at !)
~*~*~ End Severus Snape POV ~*~*~
The six friends had already decided that they'd sleep in the Founder's Chambers again that night. They excused themselves early from dinner and quickly disappeared towards their destination. Once there they were greeted by a funny picture.
Salazar and Nyara lay curled around each other on the sofa while Niamh was hissing furiously at them. It seemed the former two had gone hunting without Niamh and she was now angry with them. The snake couple didn't seem to mind though. They didn't even bother to look up.
~My, my Ssssalazar, upssssetting your little ssssissster like that? And I ssssee you've found a girlfriend, eh?~ Carya teased her pet.
~I beg to differ, Missstresss Carya! Sssshe might be my little ssssisssster but I'm not her keeper. Sssshe can go hunting for herssself and doesss not need sssupervisssion from me or dear Nyara!~ Salazar hissed back.
Carya started giggling like a little girl upon hearing that. Her pet-snake was 'in love' with her boyfriends pet. A look at Tom showed her that the boy had similar thoughts. Harry was meanwhile trying to calm down his own snake.
~Come on Niamh, we both knew thissss would happen sssooner or later, didn't we? You'll find someone for yourself ssssoon enough. If not we could alwayssss go and buy ssssomeone you like,~ Harry hissed soothingly.
~Ah, Nyara, found yoursssself a boyfriend, have you? How ssssweet that issss. He issss a good choice though. He issss as beautiful assss hissss Missstressss. You have good tassste, my dear friend,~ Tom hissed at his own pet and Carya blushed.
Salazar had a remark for that too. ~That wassss nice of you Masssster Tom. I did not like you at firssst but that hassss changed. You have been a good friend for my Missstresss and you'll be a good mate for her too,~ the male snake told them teasingly and both Carya and Tom now blushed to the roots.
Harry was laughing his head of and told the other three what this was about. Once he was finished they too were laughing. Salazar had a very twisted sense of humour sometimes and knew exactly how he could embarrass his bonded human the most.
Niamh had noticed the two children's embarrassment with some kind of satisfaction. She was happy with her own masters choice of mate too. She really liked Hermione and sometimes wished she could talk to the other girl. The human girl smelled nice but Niamh felt lonely since Nyara was with them.
Harry realised that his snake was feeling left out. He decided to find a partner for her too. But that'd have to wait until the easter holidays. Sirius and Remus still hadn't answered them if they were allowed to bring all their friends for the holidays.
Harry wanted to invite Hermione, Draco wanted to ask Ginny and Carya wished she could bring Tom too. The rest of the evening was quiet. Hermione played chess with Harry while Niamh was curled up on her lap.
Hermione had slowly accepted the obvious affection of Harry's pet towards her and often petted the serpent when she slept in the girls lap. Ginny, Tom and Draco were talking about the prank that Fred and George wanted to play on the Gryffindors.
It was funny and Carya's advice had assumedly helped Ginny's brothers a great deal. The Potter girls price for the information had been that they didn't do anything to Ron and his girlfriend since those two had behaved themselves towards everyone since Ron was back at school.
The twins had agreed and now had the best idea for a prank in years. Carya was sitting surrounded by books near the door where the painting of Rowena Ravenclaw had it's place. The woman was currently being visited by none other than Salazar Slytherin.
He was helping Carya in finding the right books she'd need on telepathy. There were plenty of them but most didn't tell how and if you could learn it. After two hours of reading Carya found a reference in one of the books.
Fortunately for her the mentioned book was available in the Founder's Library. Around eleven thirty the girl found out that telepathy could indeed be learned but you had to have a very strong mind in order to succeed. She believed though that her friends were strong enough for that.
Since it was really late the children changed and got ready for bed. As usual only three beds were used. The didn't do anything 'forbidden' though. The couples just lay there, sleeping in each others arms. It had helped the twins and Tom a great deal. The hadn't had any nightmare when sleeping like that.
And for that they were very grateful. Before starting to sleep in the Founder's Rooms the twins did have nightmares quite often. Especially the one about their parents deaths. Every night they didn't sleep up there they'd had a vision about Voldemort too.
That was one of the reasons they hardly slept in their dorms. It could be a coincidence but the kids didn't want to take a chance and try it out. They were happy this way and as long as no one caught them everything was alright.
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R&R,
Carya
2009-07-24