Adult-FanFiction.org : Harry Potter

Serpentine Series	By : HarmonyB Category: Harry Potter > Het - Male/Female > Hermione/Voldemort Views: 12060 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN ANYTHING IN REGARDS TO THE HARRY POTTER FANDOM NOR DO I MAKE MONEY OFF OF THIS STORY.

Chapter List
- 52
- 53
- 54
"That was my fault," Snape said as they walked side-by-side towards an inn resting on a cliff looking over the ocean. "I was foolish enough not to replenish the shielding charm around us before we slept. It must have worn out through the night."
"It's my fault, too," Harmony assured him. "I should've remembered something as important as that, but I got too relaxed. Being in the middle of the forest seemed like a safe enough place." She added quietly, "I guess I was wrong."
"Any ideas as to how they discovered us?"
"The trader perhaps," Harmony suggested, "Maybe he was suspicious of me and warned Aurors to go check us out." She paused, "And I may have been a little obvious." She thought about how angered she was when the trader told her he believed Zeth would be successful in capturing her.
"Remind me not to send you out on your own anymore."
"It won't happen again," Harmony said defensively. "Like I said, I just got a little too relaxed, that's all."
"You could have cost us our lives," Snape said angrily, "if your mutterings in your sleep hadn't woken me we would be in the hands of the Ministry at this moment."
"What mutterings?" Harmony asked, looking over at him as they walked.
"You were talking in your sleep. More dream-like visions?"
He looked down at her and she turned her gaze straight ahead.
"Yes," she replied. "Voldemort came to me again."
"Anything in particular I should know about?"
Harmony thought about her conversation with the Dark Lord, trying to remember anything out of the ordinary. "He kept asking me about my location."
Snape stopped in his tracks and looked at her attentively, "Your location?"
She nodded. "Several times—lightly at first, but the more I hesitated to tell him the more irritated he became."
"Anything else he mentioned?"
"Um," she thought a moment, "we chatted about some…personal stuff. He mentioned something about not being there with me in body but in mind." She crinkled her nose. "A bit of a strange thing to dream." She watched the expression on Snape's face for a minute. "You're concerned."
"Of course I am," he scoffed, "It is not every day one has visions of the Dark Lord."
"They're dreams," Harmony corrected him. "He only comes when I'm asleep or very tired."
"When you are most vulnerable," Snape said without looking at her.
Harmony frowned at him.
He began walking again and she followed, "Only once have I encountered one such as yourself that dreamt of the Dark Lord, and they were for dangerous reasons."
Harmony felt her body go cold and she whispered, "Harry Potter." She saw Snape nod out of the corner of her eye.
"Potter was being sent dreams by the Dark Lord himself to make him see what he wanted him to see—to lie to him."
Butterflies danced in her stomach, making her feel giddy. "You think Voldemort could be sending me dreams," she said breathlessly.
"No," Snape said, "That would be impossible; the Dark Lord does not remember anything."
"I know," she mumbled.
"But someone may be sending you dreams, someone working against you in order to get inside your head. You said so yourself: the Dark Lord has been asking you where your location is. Well, someone could be trying to find you that way, to stop you from running."
Harmony's heart drooped from bitter disappointment. At the same time, she felt angry at being taken advantage of. Some stranger out in the world was trying to get inside her mind. Still, she hated to let go of the thought that Voldemort had some doing in her vision-like dreams. He just seemed so real. It was very hard to believe he could be a recreation by someone other than himself.
They approached the inn not long after. It was a small building that looked centuries old with the paint chipped by the constant rush of the salty breeze. Their only source of light was by the yellow glow from a kerosene lamp hung above the entrance. Snape didn't knock but strode right in with Harmony at his heels. She was eager to leave the cool draft and go inside to a nice warm fire and bed. Small tables were set up throughout the first floor all with little candles handsomely lit giving the inn a dreamy feel. None of the tables were occupied, so she and Snape were supposedly the only customers.
The innkeeper, a quiet middle-aged man, stood at the bar with head in hands, asleep. Snape stood before him at the bar, but the innkeeper didn't stir. Harmony tugged on his robes and Snape looked over at her. She pointed at a silver service bell off to the side. Snape slapped his palm, harder than necessary, on the bell making the ring reverberate through the inn as loud at a gunshot. The innkeeper jumped a foot in the air, tripping backward.
"One room," Snape said, glancing down at the man impatiently. Harmony tugged on his robes again and he looked back at her seeing her hold up two fingers. He shook his head, "Not two, I'm short on money." He ignored Harmony's grumbling, and sighed at the innkeeper who stumbled to his feet.
The man looked at Snape reproachfully. His eyes moved over Harmony—looking her up and down—and he looked back at Snape with tripled distaste. "It's ten sickles a night," he said snidely. "A galleon plus meals and," he took in Harmony's disheveled hair and rosy cheeks, "it's an extra sickle to ensure you aren't disturbed."
Harmony now understood the man's instant dislike of Snape and she quickly intervened, "Excuse me! I'm not a—"
"We are not staying long," Snape interrupted giving her a fierce glare. He slapped two galleons on the bar counter in front of the innkeeper. "We will accept that offer price in assurance we will not be bothered."
Harmony's face grew beet red. The look the innkeeper gave her could have made her sink between the wooden floorboards in embarrassment.
"This way," the man said, walking out from behind the bar counter towards the stairs.
Harmony followed behind Snape, glowering the whole way. They were given the first room, directly to the left at the top of the stairs. The innkeeper dropped the keys in Snape's outstretched hand and said as he turned to leave, "Enjoy your night."
Harmony bit her lip to keep from exasperating in humiliation. Snape opened the door and they stepped inside. The first thing Harmony noticed was a wide window looking out over the ocean, and just below the window was a cozy bed with quilt. Just one cozy bed. Harmony nearly laughed at the ridiculousness of the situation, and she turned to Snape when he closed the door behind them.
"I hope you like sleeping on the floor," she said, grinning, which slipped when Snape didn't return the smile. She sighed. "Kidding…I guess."
"I hope you do not mind."
Harmony waved a hand at him, "It's fine, I suppose. I'm used to sharing."
"No, I mean sleeping on the floor."
"W-what?" Harmony frowned at him.
"I hope you do not mind sleeping on the floor."
Harmony's mouth hung open. Was he serious? She hesitated, not knowing how to respond.
After a moment of unpleasant and awkward silence Snape replied with a smile, or was it a sneer? "I am being humorous."
"Oh," Harmony said, choking out a couple curt laughs, "You were trying to be funny, that's…that's weird."
Snape's face fell, and he dropped his few belongings on the floor. As they unpacked their things, Snape spoke to Harmony, "Back to our conversation about your visions."
"Dreams."
"Yes. I—so to speak—helped Potter deal with his dreams in order to close his mind from being invaded, called Occlumancy. I can teach you to control your mind when it is at its weakest. You will be able to get rid of the Dark Lord that way—"
"No!" Harmony shouted, spinning around to face him, her eyes wide. She surprised even herself from the sudden outburst.
Snape froze from her reaction; his eyes narrowed as he stared at her in confusion.
Harmony quickly thought of an excuse. "These dreams could be quite informative. They might help us. He told me about how his Death Eaters are gathering. He might reveal more."
"But if someone is forcing these dreams into your mind, like a Death Eater, you accepting it would only be giving them what they want: to control you. You must be on your guard."
Fine," Harmony said, "I will, but I don't want to get rid of the dreams just yet."
Snape pointed a long finger at her, "Next time you receive more dreams, you better be sure to keep your mouth shut on any information about our location, you hear me?"
Harmony restrained giving him a dirty look. What gave him the right to boss her around? If she were with Voldemort right now Snape would be the mud on the bottom of her boot. Voldemort didn't make her to take orders, but to give them. She was pupil to Lord Voldemort himself; wouldn't that make her one of the most powerful witches in the world?
Harmony lifted her chin to Snape knowing he was oblivious to her dark thoughts. A small voice in her head said she could take him in dueling, but using violence to solve problems was never a part of who she was.
She nodded, "I hear you."
Snape wanted to get a couple more hours of sleep, and Harmony wanted a couple more moments with Voldemort, so they positioned themselves in the snug little bed. Snape wasn't generous with space and Harmony was forced as far to her side as possible. One arm and one leg might as well have been the only parts of her body in the bed, the rest sprawled over the side. She didn't mind really; she could have been resting on a bed of dragon teeth and she could have cared less, just as long as sleep came and he appeared.
Snape snored. That was a whole new experience for her altogether. His abnormally large nose didn't make just his voice nasally; his snore came out in high-pitched squeaks giving Harmony the impression of a fly constantly buzzing about her head. The first time Snape exhaled in his sleep, Harmony swatted at the air. Then she found out the noise came from Snape and she groaned knowing she was going to have to put up with it until morning.
Eventually her mind drifted, fleeting from thought to thought, and she sank into dream world. Images flashed behind her eyelids beginning with the distrustful look on Harry's face, to Snape telling her his Polyjuice potion ingredients were gone, to seeing Voldemort extending a hand to touch her face, to the innkeeper's disgusted look towards her and Snape. They appeared like rapid fire until everything stopped and she was once again lying in bed at the inn. She stared up at the ceiling above her, observing each groove of the wood slats in the darkness. Then it occurred to her the room was too quiet. Snape's snores were gone. She turned her head on her pillow to look over at her professor. She was met with a pair of striking blue eyes, making her gasp. She scooted away from Voldemort in bed. His eyebrows knitted together and she looked away.
"What is wrong?" he asked, and she felt his hand grasp her chin, turning her face toward him again. His touch burned like dry ice.
"Don't ask it," she said.
"Ask what?" he said without releasing her chin.
"Where I am right now," she replied, "because I won't tell you."
He chuckled, "Why not?"
She tugged her chin away and they sat up in bed. "Snape warned me you are just a recreation from an imposter who is trying to get into my head to control me. I'll admit I don't want to believe it, but I'm willing to take any precaution."
Voldemort inched closer with his blue eyes intensely set on her. "No," he said, his deep voice earnest. "Snape is being a fool. He does not know me like you do. No living person is as familiar with my mind and my body as you are." He curled his long fingers under her chin, "So you tell me, Harmony, am I real or not because only you would know."
Harmony bit the inside of her cheek while forced to stare Voldemort in his unflinching eyes. She thought a moment. "I will ask you a question only the real Lord Voldemort would know the answer to."
His jaw flexed and a small smile cracked on his lips. He was up for the challenge.
Harmony thought of a moment she and Voldemort were guaranteed to be alone. Shell cottage. She recalled some of their conversations before she forced herself to erase his memory. "When we were at Shell cottage you told me about seeing your future in that room at Riddle mansion. What did you tell me you saw?"
His smile stretched and his eyes went far away at the memory. "I had only thought that room to be a family legend until you found it. After that, I was desperate to get inside. I had half expected to see myself ruler of the world; I was sorely disappointed when it turned out I was far from right. I was walking in a graveyard, fog was everywhere, and I found Lucius Malfoy's grave. I will never forget what was engraved upon it: 'Here lies a man wives dream to have and sons dream to be.'" His eyes came back to the present and he looked at Harmony. His hand moved tenderly down her neck and was placed on her chest over her heart. Harmony swore he could feel it pounding against his fingertips. His eyes were fierce with longing. "I wanted that, Harmony. I wanted those words. I felt a desperate need to absorb their meaning, transform them, and somehow make them mine."
Harmony swallowed back a swell of emotions and she said, "I-I don't remember you describing it exactly that way, but…I'll accept that."
He returned a smile. "I do apologize."
"What for?"
"I'm a little more sentimental while dreaming; less control over my actions and all."
Harmony leaned forward until her forehead was resting against his chin. She heard him take a deep inhale of breath as he smelled her hair. "This changes so much," Harmony said, "You're not something I just dreamed up, and you're not some imposter's recreation."
"Yes," he breathed in her hair making it quiver, "that is correct."
Harmony sat back so they looked eye-to-eye. "Which only leaves one option: these dreams are being sent to me and they're being sent by none other than you."
The smile that spread a mile wide on Voldemort's lips confirmed her suspicions. Harmony released a lungful of air covering her face with her hands. "God, that would have terrified me days ago." She looked at him through her fingers. "But it's like every time I'm with you all those terrible thoughts and feelings disappear. I'm a completely different person with you."
"As it is supposed to be," Voldemort said, taking her hands away from her face, "I am empty without my heir. You make me stronger than I ever was before; it is for these reasons you need to return to me and my family." His eyes turned cold, "Whether you like it or not. With time you would understand."
Harmony smiled sadly at him and placed a delicate hand on the side of his face. "I care about you," she said softly, "very much." Then she grabbed the front of his robes in her fist and brought him nose-to-nose. "But I will neverbe like you." Harmony felt a weight lift from her chest when she said it, and she realized that was the first time she ever admitted it to his face. She felt a sense of freedom now he knew how she felt.
She had half expected him to grow angry at her confession, but he only smiled. When Harmony released his robes he ironed out the wrinkles with his hands. "With time you would understand," he repeated, the smirk never leaving his face.
Harmony sighed at his lack of leniency. "I'd fight through a whole crowd of Aurors to get to you…but maybe you need to realize that you chose the wrong person to be your heir."
Voldemort watched her silently, his smile slipping some until his expression almost turned sad. For a moment Harmony wondered if he really was considering it, but then his smile returned and he said in a strong voice, "I did not choose wrong." He scrutinized her for a moment. Then he shook his head, "I think you will surprise yourself, Harmony."
"How're you so sure?" Harmony asked raising her eyebrows. How could he know more about her than herself?
"Because," he began with a face that screamed I know more than you do, "you are not just my heir; you are not just my pupil, or my follower. You are so much more." He placed two long pale hands on her shoulders, implying more pressure than necessary. "You are me."
Harmony frowned, "I don't understand."
"Well, a part of me anyway," he mumbled staring at the air next to her ear. When his eyes focused on her again he said, "Now, Harmony, I want you to do me a favor. I want you to wake up right now and when you do, I want you to get out of bed and leave the bedroom."
"But why?"
He placed a finger over her lips. "And when you do that I want you to walk straight across to the room adjacent, alright? Open the door and go inside."
"You're not making sense."
"I am making myself very plain, Harmony. Just do it."
And with that Harmony opened her eyes: She was on her back looking up at the wood ceiling. She turned her head on the pillow seeing Snape out cold on the pillow next to her. His high-pitched snores once again filled the room. Harmony slowly sat up in bed, pushing back the covers. No thought entered her mind at that moment except Voldemort's instructions, and like a zombie she stood out of bed and left the bedroom. Before stepping into the hallway, she stared at the door across from her. No light peeked out between the cracks; it looked as empty as before. But as Voldemort ordered, she stepped into the hallway and walked up to the door. She heard nothing but dead silence behind it. She wound her fingers around the handle and turned. When it clicked, she pushed and the door opened. The room was similar to her own only instead of having one bed there was two.
Harmony immediately noticed one man occupied each bed. The bed closest to her contained a rugged looking Mag Crochet, whom was seated with his feet hanging over the side. The bed farthest from Harmony rested the cloaked Marek. He had been lying down in bed, but was just sitting up when Harmony entered. It took a moment for the Death Eaters to notice her standing in their doorway. Mag was the first to see her, and he blinked, his eyes going wide with surprise. Marek stared at her, his eerie brown eyes unflinching. Harmony gasped, feeling herself snap back into reality, and she took a faltering step back.
The very moment she spun around to flee, Marek jumped from his bed and sprinted toward her.
- 52
- 53
- 54
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Serpentine Series