Adult-FanFiction.org : Harry Potter

Serpent of the World	By : TheLadyMiya Category: Harry Potter > General > General Views: 9486 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter and I make no money writing this story.

Chapter List
- 14
- 15
- 16
Wow, I had planned to update yesterday, but I guess I must have... forgot? Anyway, here it is, and as always, I want to thank Ozzy for betaing, and everyone else for reading, reviewing, fav:ing and subscribing! You are the best!
For those of you who have left review replies, you can find the responses here: tomioneconvention.forumotion.com/t1011-review-reply-serpent-of-the-world#49192
Enjoy!

Chapter 15
Hermione entered Gabriel's house, feeling slightly nervous. She hadn't got the chance to talk to him after their argument in the bedroom and she didn't know how she was supposed to talk to him now. She wasn't angry with him, but she felt like he was being immature. If she didn't want to have sex, he should accept that without sulking.
She found him in the living room, reading. He looked up when she entered and smiled at her.
"Hi. Hungry?"
"A bit, yes," she said. She had only brought fruit and crackers to the burial mound and for some reason, Riddle hadn't appeared to feel any hunger.
"I made some lasagne earlier, I can heat it up for you if you'd like," he offered.
"I can heat it up myself," she said. "Thanks."
"It's in the fridge." He turned back to his book.
Hermione continued to look at him for another few seconds before walking away with a sigh. Had this been his way of trying to apologise? Making her food? And had she offended him by wanting to do it herself? Or did he just want to pretend like nothing had happened and didn't care one way or another?
"Great grief, girl, don't think so much if it makes you so miserable."
She jumped. She hadn't realised that he had followed her to the kitchen.
He winked at her and then went past her to the fridge. "I was feeling peckish myself. You don't mind if I join you?"
"Oh, no, not at all. It's your kitchen."
The tension between them started to ease up as they set the table and started to heat the food. He took out a bottle of red wine and Hermione agreed to a glass.
"How was your day, then?" Gabriel asked.
"If you want the most important news first, then it is that Riddle and I went to Uppsala and unlocked the burial mound where Odin was said to be buried. Turned out he probably was, judging by what we found inside," she answered, and then started to eat the lasagne which smelled heavenly. It tasted just as good, the flavourful cheese mixing well with the seasoning of the meat.
"Did you really? Huh, I must have done a really bad job when I was there then," Gabriel remarked.
She looked at him, frowning. "You knew there was something there?"
"I had my guesses."
"How come you didn't open it yourself?"
"Who said I didn't?"
She put the fork down on the plate. "You did."
"No, what I did say was that I didn't find anything interesting there and that I doubted the real Odin was actually buried there."
She studied him closely. He was looking way too pleased with himself. "You knew Riddle would want to inspect it himself!"
"If you told him about it, yes."
She opened her mouth, but then quickly closed it again, her cheeks flushing. Right, so she hadn't told Gabriel that Riddle had ordered her to spy on him.
Gabriel chuckled. "I'm not angry, love. I would have been disappointed if Tom hadn't wanted you to spy on me. So what reason did he give you for joining him in Uppsala?"
"That he thought it would go faster if we translated the runes together," Hermione answered. Then she groaned. She was so stupid. "He thinks I will tell you about this. That's why he didn't want to inspect the casket at once. He is waiting for you to come and steal it, or something."
"Probably. Well, I reckoned this would happen once we fucked, it doesn't matter. He can't hide from you, so you'll still be as useful a spy to me as you will to him."
"He was mostly interested in what you knew about the Norse gods," Hermione muttered.
"As he should. It's an interesting subject, especially to him."
Hermione continued to eat, feeling foolish. Of course Riddle hadn't wanted her for her expertise. Not on something he could do himself. How could she have been staying with him for this long and not figured that out at once?
"And well, to you too, I suspect," Gabriel added as an afterthought.
She looked up at him. "What do you mean?"
Gabriel spun the glass in his hand which made the wine swirl around as he considered her. "You are Loki's heir too, even though you weren't born as it."
Hermione grimaced. "Yes, I guess. But it's only magic and blood. I'm still a Muggle-born."
"True. But I think he would have been amused to have you as an heir."
"What makes you say that?" she asked, curious. She had pictured Loki as kind of like Riddle, but maybe a bit madder. He hadn't seemed to care about his children at all, only as a means to experiment.
"You are just so wonderfully unexpected and intriguing. You are born from Muggles and that's all you have known, but then you realise you have magic and your life changes. You enter into a world stuck in its ways, and you don't just adapt, you see things from a different light and you make others change too. You prove every one of those stuck-up pureblooded thwarts that you are a force to be reckoned with and they fear you for it." Gabriel took a sip of wine, looking thoughtful.
"Then you get a blood-bond and inherit even more bizarre gifts. And only time will tell what you choose to do with them. But there is no telling, because you don't follow the common patterns. Oh, yes, Loki would love you. Everything that can create chaos, he would definitely approve of."
Hermione felt slightly uncomfortable. "I don't create chaos."
"Of course you do. But you do it for the right reasons. You fight for your right to exist. For your right to magic. But that disturbs the order of things, which technically means chaos. You are just hoping that something better will come out of it. However, if you were looking at the state of wizarding UK right now, wouldn't you call it chaos?"
"The Order will get it under control. There are good people left that will take care of it."
Gabriel shrugged and put down his glass again. "Yes, of course. There are always good people there to create order out of chaos. But you aren't one of them. You just start the chaos."
"I wouldn't look at it like that," Hermione objected. "Things needed to be changed."
"I'm not judging you, love. But from what I've read of Loki, that's what he would see. I'm in agreement with you, the UK needed to change, and you are one of the few brave enough to do it. And I don't doubt that you'll go on in life changing even more things."
"But I didn't start the chaos," she insisted. "Voldemort did, when he declared war on the UK."
"Ah, yes, but he was in control of that. He took control over the situation and tried to make order out of what he saw was chaos. He wanted a world where purebloods ruled and everyone knew their place. That's order in its most sickening state.
"So that's where you and he differ. You took away his power and the order he had established, but you didn't stay and try to create a new order with your worldviews. You left that to others."
Hermione opened her mouth to disagree. She hadn't just left on a whim, she was here to save the world from Loki's creation! But something made her stop. She didn't want to trust Gabriel with everything.
"I don't think I'd like Loki," she muttered instead
"No, probably not. You have better taste in men." He winked at her.
xxx
"She is quite the lousy spy, isn't she?"
Tom cursed himself for not noticing him until he spoke, but didn't turn around to show his surprise. He had been expecting him after all. That was why he had left the entrance to Odin's burial mound standing open. Now he was facing the casket, his back against the entrance.
"Indeed," he answered, and then turned around to face Gabriel. "Though, I have found that if you give her a reasonable cover story, it can work."
Gabriel smiled. "I take it she isn't known for her sexual escapades?"
"Not even a little," Tom replied.
"That's strange, because she really is something in bed," Gabriel said, walking over to him. "So you haven't managed to open the casket."
"Not yet. It seems to be more complicated than breaking through the ward," he said. "Are you going to tell me why you didn't manage to do that?"
"It flatters me that you think I'm all knowing, Tom. Alas, there are limits to even my knowledge," Gabriel responded softly.
Tom didn't for a second believe that Gabriel had been unaware of how to break through the ward. He had managed it easily once he had got the extra power, and Gabriel had taught him how to do that. Also, the timing was too perfect. Just a few days after Gabriel had told Granger about these burial mounds, Gabriel had given him the method to open it.
Tom would have thought it was all a set-up … if Gabriel hadn't shown up tonight. No, Gabriel needed his help to open this. That gave Tom the upper hand.
"Any ideas on how to open this?" Tom asked.
Gabriel already had his wand out and was scanning the casket just as Tom had done earlier.
"It doesn't appear to be sealed by ordinary magic."
"No, but it's impossible to open by magic."
Gabriel nodded and started to inspect the runes instead. Tom crossed his arms over his chest, waiting. Whatever was in that casket, Gabriel must want it terribly much. Tom looked forward to taking it first.
Gabriel crouched next to the casket. "Ah. There is another set of wards over the casket. One that makes all magic around the object disappear. Don't you recognise it?"
Tom scowled at him. "Clearly I haven't had as much time to study it as you have."
Gabriel looked at him innocently. "Maybe I'm just very good with runes and know what to expect around ancient graves?"
"I'm going to assume that you have already opened the casket and pillaged it, so I'm going to go home and go to bed." Tom said, starting to walk towards the exit.
"If you are going to be all dramatic, then fine," Gabriel said, impatience in his voice. "I'll tell you."
Tom looked at him, once again crossing his arms.
Gabriel sighed. "I did get into this grave before, yes. However, when I tried to open the casket, I triggered something and…" He trailed off, placing a hand on the casket.
A red light erupted from the casket, sending Gabriel flying backwards, crashing against the wall. Wincing, he got up again.
"You see? I never opened it."
"But you think I will be able to open it without triggering the same defence?" Tom said, doubtfully.
"Aw, don't sell yourself short, Tom. I have faith in you. That's why I set Hermione up to tell you about this grave in her first place."
Tom rolled his eyes, but couldn't help but feel pleased. Clearly, he had been wise when he hadn't tried anything more forceful on the casket.
"I hope you realise, when I do manage to open it, I will take whatever is in it."
"I'm curious, not greedy. I merely wish to know what the casket contains," Gabriel quickly assured him.
Tom had his doubts about that, but decided to risk it. Gabriel couldn't torture him as he had before. He would stand his ground in a duel.
"How do you suggest we try this, then?" he asked.
"After I triggered the defence, I studied the runes more carefully. I think the only way to do it is manually," Gabriel said.
Tom looked down at the casket. It was huge; the lid must weigh at least a thousand kilos. Then he understood the ingenuity of the defence. "Of course. You have to be a wizard to enter the mound. Anyone but the creator would try to open it with magic, thus triggering the defence mechanism. But you can use magic to make yourself stronger."
"And I happen to carry around a Strengthening Solution," Gabriel said, with a smile. "Once I figured it out, I tried it on myself, but the defence seems to remember who has been near it, because it triggers whenever I touch it, no matter if it's by hand or by magic."
Tom opened the lid and sniffed it. It smelled like the Strengthening Solution. He magically checked it for poison, but couldn't detect any. Then again, it seemed unlikely that Gabriel would go through all this trouble only to poison Tom now.
He drank it and immediately felt the strength come to him. It only lasted for a few minutes (it was toxic in bigger doses), so Tom took a hold of the lid of the casket and started to slide it to the side. Despite the potion, it was heavy, but he still managed to push it off. It landed on the flood with a great thump.
Breathing hard from the exercise, Tom looked into the casket. Gabriel approached from the other side.
The least surprising find was the skeleton. A silver fastener showed that the skeleton had once been dressed, but the clothes had decomposed. The skeleton's left hand was on the ribcage, and underneath it was a wand. Despite it being made out of wood, it hadn't decayed. Tom could still make out runes on the handle, looking similar to the ones on his own. It struck him how powerful the magic inside the wand was. Ordinary wands lost their magic after at least a couple of centuries, but just as the magic in his own seemed to be eternal, so was this.
On the right side of the skeleton lay a spear, also covered with runes. By the skeletons feet lay stones covered with runes, which Tom recognised as divination runes.
"If this is not Odin, then at least he got his stuff," Gabriel said. "That's Gungnir, the spear. Even Muggles have heard of that."
Tom nodded. "And his wand, Friham. And his runes."
"Yes, those which are said to bring the dead back to life," Gabriel said softly. Then he straightened. "I guess I'll let you clean this out in peace then. Good night!"
"Not so fast," Tom said. "After all these traps, do you really think it will be that easy to just take the objects?"
"I'm sure it won't, but you already stated that you would take whatever was in the casket. I just wanted to have a peek inside. You are on your own now." With a wink, Gabriel disappeared.
Tom stared after him. What was Gabriel planning? If he was interested in Tom's wand, then surely he would be interested in these. Or did Gabriel expect Tom to die trying to take the things, so he could swoop in later and gather them?
Tom scanned the casket, but couldn't find any spells. Nevertheless, he didn't dare to touch anything first. It seemed he would have one last use for Granger after all.
Before he punished her for spying on him.
xxx
Hermione woke up by the sound of someone walking outside her room. Or rather, Gabriel's guest room.
"Hello?" she called out, softly.
A moment of silence, then the door opened. Gabriel was standing there.
"What are you doing awake?" Hermione asked, feeling a bit groggy from sleeping. It was still dark outside, so it couldn't be morning already.
"I went out to see Tom," he said, stepping into the room. "I had to confirm something. You are in danger."
"Tom" and "danger" were two words that immediately had her on high alert. She sat up in bed.
"What happened?"
"He knows I asked you to spy on him. He didn't say anything about it now, but we both know he will be furious," he said softly.
Hermione swallowed, fear turning her mouth dry. "What should I do?"
"I'll have to teach you how to protect yourself," he said, sitting down on the edge of the bed. "I can't teach you all I would like to, but I can teach you something that will take the edge off it tomorrow."
She nodded, but then a thought made her pause. "But if he knows I'm spying for you, he won't let me know anything important. I can't uphold my end of the oath."
"Spying wasn't part the oath," he said, with a smile. "I asked you to help me with my plans. You can still do that. Spying was just one small part with which you could help me. If that doesn't work, I'll find some other use for you. Therefore, I'll uphold my end of the oath."
She sat up. "But how will I learn it in just one night?"
"Same way as before. I'll enter your mind and drop the knowledge there. You can practice for the rest of the night."
"About that, how did you even manage to do that? Legilimency doesn't work like that, I read about it."
Gabriel sighed. "Things get forgotten. Especially knowledge. This practice was outdated some eight hundred years ago when Wizarding schools became frequent."
"I've read about that. Before Wizarding schools, great magicians had apprentices, but that was basically the same as teaching. Schools just provided a safer environment," Hermione said, remembering her History of Magic-lessons.
"It's easy to see history as a progressive line. It isn't. When schools were built, this method of learning was banned because it was seen as an intrusion of the mind. Everyone has secrets, even children."
Her eyes narrowed in suspicion. "If it were forgotten, then how come you know about it?"
He sighed. "I'm a bit older than I may have led you to believe."
"That's impo—" He silenced her by pressing a finger against her mouth.
"I don't like that word. I already told you that I don't age. And as you have seen, I have yet to encounter anything that can kill me. I was there when Hogwarts was built, Hermione. I met your ancestor."
Hermione stared at him, trying to comprehend what he was saying. It went against every law of nature and magic she knew. The only possible explanation was that he was lying.
Gabriel must have seen her doubt, because his hand fell down in his lap. "I can show you. I have a Pensieve. But we must hurry, we don't have that many hours until Tom gets here."
She nodded, slowly. It wasn't like anything short of that would convince her that he was telling the truth. However, she knew that memories could be messed with. He had probably seen Slytherin in her mind, he could create a memory from that. But how good would it be? He had only been inside her mind last night.
Deciding that she would check it out, she followed him upstairs to his bedroom. He pulled out a Pensieve from his closet. It was made of brass, decorated with metallic roses. It seemed strangely feminine, but then, so did he sometimes.
He put his wand against his temple and slowly withdrew a memory, dropping it into the Pensieve.
"I'll join you. Salazar and I both speak an old form of Scandinavian in the memory. You won't understand it without me there," he explained.
She nodded, a part of her wary of what would happen inside the memory, but another part of her curious.
Taking his hand, she followed him into the spinning abyss inside the Pensieve. Once the fog cleared, she found herself standing inside a pub. People were drinking, talking and laughing. It could have been any time in history if it weren't for the clothes. She didn't know a lot about wizarding fashion through history, but everything she saw looked … old. The men wore robes of different colours, and they were of a different cut than she was used to. The women wore dresses that looked medieval.
"Over there," Gabriel said, nudging her.
Just as she turned her head, she saw Gabriel walk through the door. Or rather, memory-Gabriel. He looked almost the same, except for the black beard on his face. His robe was black and seemed to be of an excellent quality, with silver buttons. His green eyes wandered over the crowd until they came to rest on a dark corner. Following his gaze, Hermione saw a younger Salazar Slytherin sitting there.
Her adoptive ancestor's face was less lined than she remembered, and his robe was much more humble, just a dark green fabric. When he saw Gabriel, he rose, waving him over.
The real Gabriel and Hermione followed memory-Gabriel over to the table.
"You found your way?" Slytherin asked, making a gesture for Gabriel to sit down.
"Yes, I've been here before," Gabriel said, sitting down.
Even though she could understand them perfectly, there was something weird about listening to them. She could hear that they weren't speaking English, but the words seemed to make sense.
"You saw our school?" Slytherin asked.
"I saw. Who are you trying to impress? The students?" Gabriel sneered.
"We want to show that we can house both students and teachers, safely. You felt the wards, yes?"
"Yes. Rowena is a talented witch."
"I'll let her know you said that." There was something strange about the way Slytherin was acting. All the times she had met him, he had been less … humble, she guessed the word was. In fact, the Slytherin she knew was not humble at all. But there was something about this younger version that made him appear humble. Or maybe he was only intimidated by Gabriel?
"She knows what I think. I did teach her, even if it was only for a little while," memory-Gabriel said, somewhat bitter.
"Which is why she wanted me to talk to you. She holds no grudges against you, and she hopes that you will consider joining us."
"And bring my students with me, no doubt?" Gabriel huffed.
"It's true that we could benefit from your reputation as a teacher, but we don't need it. Godric and Helga are well-known already," Slytherin said. "But together, the five of us could create something that will last for centuries, Ingram."
"I have no interest in that," memory-Gabriel said coldly.
Right then, the real Gabriel turned to her. "I think that will be enough."
He pulled her out and in the next moment, they were standing inside his bedroom again. She opened her mouth, but before she had a chance to speak, Gabriel had stumbled over to the bed, falling upon it.
She rushed to him. "Are you okay?"
He waved away her worry. "The only downside of being old; remembering the past makes a lot of things resurface. Forgetting is bliss."
He pressed his hand against his forehead for a second and took a deep breath. Then he sat up again, the colour returning to his face.
Hermione studied him closely. The memory had appeared very real. She didn't know how anyone could come up with something so detailed in such a short time. Slytherin hadn't been like she remembered him, and yet, he had seemed real. Thus, it didn't feel like a fabricated memory.
"How old are you?" she finally asked.
"I can't know for sure. We didn't count time the same way when I was young. And there are gaps in my memory; I'm not sure for how long."
She just stared at him.
He smiled at her. "It doesn't matter. I haven't changed much. I wanted to become immortal because I felt that there were so many things to learn and see. One life wouldn't be enough. It still hasn't been enough. Even now, people like you and Tom come along and surprise me."
He took her hands and pulled her towards him. "Which is why I'd rather you survive your next encounter with Tom unharmed. Will you agree to let me teach you?"
She still hadn't managed to wrap her head around how old he was, but she realised she wanted to know more. And that meant having to trust him.
"You'll be able to see more of my secrets if you enter my mind," she stated.
"Yes, there is no way around it. I'll try not to peek, but if you think about it, I'll see it too."
She grimaced. "Give me a moment. I need to start thinking about something else."
"We don't have long," he warned her, glancing towards the clock on the nightstand. It was beginning to get brighter outside. However, since it was summer in Sweden, that meant it was still not even four in the morning.
But she knew she would need to practice as well.
Desperate times called for desperate measures. She leaned in and kissed him, knowing that it would take her mind off the things she didn't want to think about (her mission to stop the Serpent of Midgard), and unto thoughts about him.
Gabriel wasn't late to respond, kissing her back with a passion that did indeed take her mind to more pleasant things.
After a couple of minutes of snogging, she pulled back. "Okay, I'm ready."
Gabriel took a deep breath. "Good. Er… just a second."
She smiled. It seemed their kisses weren't only good for distracting her.
- 14
- 15
- 16
You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.
Report Story

Serpent of the World