Adult-FanFiction.org : Harry Potter

Viperidae	By : Magsie Category: Harry Potter > Slash - Male/Male > Harry/Voldemort Views: 37028 -:- Recommendations : 2 -:- Currently Reading : 23
Disclaimer: I do not own the Harry Potter series, the lovely JK Rowling does. I make no monies from this. Le Sigh.

Chapter List
- 5
- 6
Hermione knocked on the front door of Potter Manor, adjusting her skirt and the shoulder strap of her book bag while she waited.
Pip answered the door.
“Hows may Pip help you, Missy Hermione?”
“Good morning, Pip,” Hermione greeted the elf with a smile. “Harry left me some books for my summer research project.”
“Please, comes in Missy! I will be asking Master Sirius where those books are for Missy,” Pip gestured Hermione into the parlor and then disappearing with a snap before Hermione could reply.
Sirius was in the sunroom covered in sweat from manually chopping down a tree in the gardens that couldn’t be saved after being hit by lightning. Ever since smelling his mate in that book at Grimmauld Place, he had been fighting for control with his creature and he had found that hard labor kept it at bay the best.
This was new to him. His creature could only prod him to release his other side before now, since his creature got a whiff of that lovely mix of lavender, sage, and lemongrass it had started talking and nagging him almost nonstop! It was unable to do that just a few days ago, unless his ring was removed, which only he could remove, and he never did that unless he was in the rune covered study at his family home.
‘Go, clean yourself up, put on some nice clothes and buy her lots of pretty things!’ his creature was nearly bouncing with excitement at the idea of sweeping their mate off her feet. ‘We must shower her with our affection! She is ours!’
“She isn’t a girl that likes pretty things, she is a book lover and spends most of her time learning and reading!” Sirius spoke to the empty room, feeling like he was going mad.
‘Then let us go and find her a library of her own!’
“We... I mean, I already have several libraries; I won’t be buying a new one!” Sirius ran his hands through his hair and closed his eyes wishing for the chatter to stop.
“Master Sirius,” Pip interrupted him a concerned look in her eyes. “Is you feeling well?”
“I’m fine, Pip, did you need something?” Sirius sat up straight and fixed his hair, realizing he need to get his shit together if he was freaking out the elves.
“Master Harry’s friend is here for books the young Master left for her, but Pip does not know what books she needs,” Pip explained, staring up at in shock when he launched himself out of his chair.
“Who is here, Pip?” Sirius could barely breathe; a female friend of Harry’s was here wanting a book, he knew it could, logically, only be one person but he hoped it wasn’t, he wasn’t ready to face her.
“Missy Hermione it is, Master Sirius.”
Sirius nearly swallowed his tongue, his body going perfectly still.
‘Our mate is here!’ His creature’s voice went up an octave. ‘You’re a mess! Quick, go freshen up before your smell scares off our mate!’
“Is Master Sirius well?” Pip asked again, eying Sirius strangely.
“I’m fine, Pip, just a bit tired from my work in the garden,” Sirius answered, unconsciously straightening his t-shirt and muggle jeans he worked in.
“Master Sirius should have let us elves use our magic on the broke tree, so Master would not feel so tired.”
“I will remember that for the next time, Pip.” Sirius shook his head at the overprotectiveness of elves. “I will see to Miss Granger, where is she?”
“She be in the front parlor,” Pip nodded, seemingly happy that her master would leave rotting trees to the elves from now on.
Pip vanished as Sirius left the sunroom and started towards the parlor.
‘Wait! We can’t see our mate in this state!’ His creature was irate at the idea of their mate seeing them in dirty work clothes. ‘She could be turned off by our dress and disgusting hygiene!’
“That’s the point,” Sirius confirmed, setting his creature off.
Sirius had to stop and step into a side room on his way to the parlor due to the anger raging from his creature.
‘She is our soulmate! We cannot survive fully without her!’
“We, uh, I’ve survived just fine without her!” Sirius yelled into the empty room. “Our kind is hated and hunted; if we bond with her, she could be hunted too!”
‘If we are mated, we will be at full power! We can then protect her!’
“I have to lock and ward myself in a room to let you out! How in the name of Nimue’s tits could we protect her?”
Sirius felt like an idiot pacing and yelling at nothing in a broom cupboard.
‘You would not need that room or the ring if we fully merge, which can only happen if we mate.’

His creature spoke to him like he was a small child who did not understand anything.
“What do you mean, merge?” Sirius froze, not liking the implication.
‘You and I are already one being, but we are separated, unable to fully work together and wield our tremendous magic. There will always be this wall up between us, stopping us from our full potential, until we mate, and she completes us.’
“So, what, we mate Hermione and then... do I stop existing and it’s just you or am I allowed to come out and play every once and while?” Sirius inquired, sarcasm dripping from his voice.
‘No, you idiot!’ His creature paused; Sirius could almost see him pacing in the back of his mind. ‘When Remus fully merged with his wolf, when we were newly out of Hogwarts, was he no longer Remus?’
“He was still Remus, but a little different.” Sirius slowly said, thinking back to the night when Remus stopped taking the Wolfsbane poison he was forced by Dumbledore to take while in Hogwarts and merged completely with his wolf side.
‘Remus only accepted a part of himself and became more powerful for it.’ The creature stated, pulling Sirius’ attention back to it, away from the long-ago memories. ‘That is what will happen with us. You will be able to tap into all my power and knowledge. But I will not overtake you. I am you.’
“I understand, however, we are still a feared creature. She may not be safe with us if we are ever hunted like in the old times. I won’t have her thrown into a dangerous situation. But I will think on it,” Sirius agreed with a sigh. “For now, let’s go help Hermione.”
His creature was finally silent as he walked to the parlor. Sirius stopped short of the doorway when he caught sight of his mate. She wore short-sleeved blouse and a summery floral skirt that ended just above her knee. Her impossibly thick and curly hair was in a long braid, with small curls escaping from the braid to frame her face.
The blues, purples and ivory colors in her skirt and top made her caramel skin stand out and he was unable to stamp out a naughty question from filtering through his mind, ‘did her skin taste like the sweet treat it looked like?’
Sirius entered the front parlor, but was too quiet, so Hermione continued studying a painting on the wall, her head tilted to the side, revealing the side of her smooth neck, making his creature groan. She was nibbling on her bottom lip and had her flowy, knee length skirt swaying back and forth as her hands played with the ruffles on it.
“Miss Granger.” Sirius had to swallow a few times before he was able to get his voice to work and inhaled sharply when she turned to him, her beautiful amber eyes focused on him.
“Miss Granger? Are we back to such unfamiliar terms, Lord Black?” Hermione teased, stepping away from the wall and up to him.
“My apologizes, Hermione, I would hate to be called Lord Black all day,” he grimaced, causing her to chuckle.
“Muggle clothes?” she asked, looking him up and down, taking in the fitted jeans and t-shirt.
“I was doing some yard work; muggle clothes are better for it.” Sirius was about to elaborate when his creature was distracted.
‘Look at how her eyes have changed looking at us... smell her.’
Taking a deep breath, an earthy scent hit his nose and he nearly growled.
His beautiful mate was aroused. She was aroused by him.
‘She likes us looking dirty and unkempt! We must always look this way!’
Sirius inwardly rolled his eyes at his overly excited creature who seemed to have the personality of a puppy dog.
Oddly fitting.
“Pip said you were here for some books.” Sirius caught Hermione’s attention, her gaze shooting back up to his eyes while a deep blush settled on her cheeks.
“Yes, I am working on a project for the Department of Magical Laws summer internship program. Harry said he would have some books for me to borrow.” Tucking up some loose hair behind her ear, a sheepish look crossed her face. “Of course, that was after his Inheritance but before his illness and sudden trip. He may have forgotten, and I’ve been busy, so I didn’t write him to remind him to leave them before he left.”
“That’s fine, Miss Granger, I can guide you to what you need. I know the library as well as Hadrian.” Sirius turned and motioned Hermione to follow him as he started to walk down to the large library at the back of the house.
“Hermione,” she said while quickening her step to walk beside Sirius. “Please, call me Hermione.”
“Sorry, Hermione.” Sirius smiled down at the witch. “I guess Harry leaving to find his mate has me feeling old and inadvertently treating you kids different.”
“I’m sure it is odd to have Hadrian off on a mystical island getting married when you raised him. But I am not a kid. I am almost twenty years old.”
Sirius stopped short and turned to look at Hermione. “I know your birthday is later in the year, but you definitely weren’t held back. How are you almost twenty?”
“Time Turner use.” She answered simply with a shrug. “I was allowed one in third year so I could take every elective. I relived the entire year almost and was also allowed use of one last summer to work on my potions research project, so I could have time to properly brew, record my findings and redo parts of the potion that didn’t work the first time around.”
Sirius chuckled and turned to the library door, opening it and gesturing Hermione inside.
“So, Miss Over Achiever, what books did you need?” Sirius inquired with a smirk.
“Books about the history of creature laws, mainly, but also any books that about why certain creatures have such strict laws around them.”
“Your law project is on creature laws?” Sirius was surprised; most people ignored creatures unless they were one.
“I was disgusted by Hogwarts curriculum. Creatures are thrown into DADA, but they are not Dark or evil. Knowing what to do when faced with certain creatures is important, but the prejudice shown against them is atrocious. The rates of Muggleborn births are rising, so we come into Hogwarts not knowing much of anything of the magical world and get told utter nonsense about creatures and believe it, since it is taught in school.” Hermione was practically vibrating with anger. “I attempted to speak to the headmaster about it, but he just rattled something off about ‘the greater good. I get treated like utter filth by some people due to something I cannot possibly control, who I was born to. But at least there are no laws making my life impossibly hard or making it legal to kill me, like so many creatures, whose only crime was being born different.”
‘I’m in love.’ His creature sighed.
“Well, you are first non-creature I’ve ever meet who gives a damn about how creatures are treated. I also think if anyone could actually help creatures, it would be you.”
A blush spread across Hermione’s cheeks, and she looked away from Sirius for a moment.
“Um, thank you. So, do you have any books on creature law?”
“Yes, lots. My family and the Potter family have several creatures in their bloodlines, though until Harry the Potters hadn’t had a creature pop up in several generations.” Sirius walked through the impossibly tall bookshelves to the center of the massive room.
The room was two-story’s and had bookcases that went all the way up to the ceiling on every wall and eighteen freestanding bookcases that also reached up to the ceiling. In center of the room was a cluster of comfortable chairs and large desk with a huge tome in the middle of it.
“Let’s get you Mycroft’s works on creature types and where they originated. Mitchell’s history of Veela’s throughout Europe. Hanson’s work on creatures is prejudice nonsense, but it is helpful to see just how people could be tricked in believing such things, as he made people fear even the sweetest creatures.” As Sirius spoke, the tome on the table glowed with his suggestions and books began flying off the shelves and onto the table. “Here are two different books on the Great Ancient Creature war, one is anti-creature, and one is not, it gives a wonderful contrast.”
“There are several creature lines in the Black Family isn’t there?” Hermione asked, picking up the books and adding them to her book bag, which was charmed to expand and be ever light no matter the amount of stuff put in it.
“Ah, yes, the Blacks have almost every creature at some point in our line. Most common are Veela and Gargoyle. All of my cousins are Veela, my father was Veela, my mother was Gargoyle, and my younger brother was Gargoyle.”
“What are you?” Hermione turned towards Sirius and gulped when his eyes met hers, she could feel the atmosphere in the room change with her question.
“There are many creatures who are feared, mainly due to their ability to infect others or accidently harm others when their sense leaves them. Vampires are mainly feared due to their ‘Red Haze’ that happens when they become too hungry and can kill humans without meaning to. Werewolves if not properly merged with their wolves are mindless when in wolf form and can go crazy when they are alone too long or lose their mates.” Hermione held her breath at the change in Sirius’ tone; she had trodden somewhere she shouldn’t have. “Other creatures are on a different level all together. They are not just restricted and can be killed if they become violent. There are some that are instantly put to death if found. Thought to be hunted to extinction and some most likely are gone completely. Those that have fallen through the cracks and have managed to live have to be incredibly careful if they want to continue living. Do you understand, Hermione?”
Taking a deep breath, Hermione nodded, the action causing the tears in her eyes to fall. Sirius reached up and cupped her face with his hands, wiping her tears away with his fingertips.
“I’m sorry, Sirius,” she whispered.
“No, it was an innocent question, nothing to be sorry for.”
The two stared at each other for a long moment, Hermione’s tears dried up, but Sirius couldn’t pull himself away. The feel of her skin against his was intoxicating. Her beautiful eyes kept dropping down to his mouth and then back up to his grey eyes. He would later blame his creature, even though it was all him.
Sirius leaned forward and kissed her.
Hermione leaned into him and kissed him back, her hands going up his chest to his shoulders and gripping onto the back of his neck. She let a deep moan when Sirius tilted his head and deepened the kiss, his tongue ran across her bottom lip and she opened her mouth to him, this time they both let out a moan.
All too soon they had to part for much needed oxygen and Hermione opened her eyes to look at Sirius while taking deep breaths. A shocked gasp came from her when Sirius normal grey eyes didn’t meet her amber ones, but instead she found eyes of swirling silver.
Sirius realized what had happened and quickly turned away from her and took several steps away, keeping his back to Hermione.
“I think you need to leave now Hermione. If you need anything else for your project, don’t hesitate to contact me for help.”
“Sirius...”
“No, you really need to leave, Hermione.” Sirius ran his hands through his hair in confusion and frustration. “I’m sorry.”
He heard her take a shaky breath and leave the room.
Quickly turning, Sirius conjured a mirror and stared at his reflection. His swirling silver eyes, and elongated pupils stared back at him while the rest of his features stayed the same.
“Fuck!”
He was in deep trouble if his creature attributes were going to start coming out when not in his haven.

Fighting back tears, Hadrian stood from the sofa and moved behind it, so the sofa and the table separated him and his mate.
“Why?” was all he could manage to gasp out as he lost his battle and Harry began to cry.
“Why what, Hadrian?” Tom was at a loss. He needed to comfort his mate but couldn’t.
“Why did you kill my parents?” Harry was barely able to ask as sobs overtook him.
“I did not kill your parents! And I did not try to kill you, Hadrian!” Tom looked him straight in the eyes while firmly stating what he knew his mate needed to know.
“Then who killed them?” Harry returned, hope blossoming in his heart, maybe he could still have his love.
“I don’t know for certain, but I have my suspicions.” Tom began to pace along the window wall, needing to expel the stressed-out energy he was feeling. “There was a kill-on-sight order put out on me after that night in case I wasn’t as dead as Albus Dumbledore said I was.
“Dumbledore. I know he was involved somehow; I can’t say for certain he killed them, but I know he had a hand in it.”
Hadrian was at war with himself. He always knew something was off with Dumbledore and his anti-creature agenda always rubbed Harry the wrong way, but to kill two innocent people and try to kill a baby?
“What is your proof?” Harry countered to Tom who had paused his pacing to stare at Harry while he thought. “What really happened that night?”
“I don’t know what happened. I was meant to meet with James to go over a project he was working on for me, but a potion I was working on took longer than I expected. I arrived at a ruined house, still burning. Aurors and Ministry workers were everywhere. I stepped out of the tree line in a panic.”
Smoke billowed from the side of the once quaint cottage. The former cheery blue paint was charred and blackened with smoke.
“Harry, James, Lily,” I whispered to myself, my mind racing with so many terrible things as I stepped out from where I had Apparated.
“Tom!”
I turned towards my oddly yelled name; it sounded like the person trying to get my attention was also trying to keep quiet.
“Kingsley, what’s happened? Are the Potters alright?”
Kingsley grabbed my arm and pulled me back into the foliage.
“Why are you here and where have you been?” he demanded in a harsh whisper.
“I’ve been brewing. I’m here to meet with James. He’s been investigating those Death Eater people for me.” I yanked my arm away and turned to fully glare at the man. “What has happened?”
“James and Lily are dead.”
I felt my breath leave me in a rush causing me to have to lean against the tree next to me in support.
“And little Harry?”
“He has minor injuries and is with his godfather.” Kingsley looked carefully at me while speaking. “You truly have no knowledge of this.”
“What are you talking about? Knowledge of what?” My mind was too preoccupied with grief to question his odd behavior. “What happened? They were young, healthy, and obsessed with safety since Harry was born, so this had to be foul play. I also doubt the Ministry would be out full force for something natural.”
“According to the official report, it is death by the Killing Curse.” Kingsley’s replied in a clinical tone, but the look of disgust on his face gave away his true feelings.
“Do they have any leads on who did this?”
“Yes, and there is already an order to kill on sight for him. Though, Albus Dumbledore says he was destroyed by a rebounded curse. Everyone is on the lookout for him and his crazed followers who have already attacked another family tonight.”
Dread filled me as Kingsley danced around the question, giving me important information, but not answering the question.
I looked him square in the eyes and asked, “Who did this?”
“The Ministry ordered death warrant is for Lord Voldemort.”
“We agreed to meet the next day at a secure location after he could get some more information for me. None of it made any sense. He hadn’t believed it; he knew how close I was with your parents and thought something smelled off with how quickly the Ministry closes the case.
“The UK was on lockdown and those Death Eaters were doing insane things, it was complete pandemonium.”
Tom let out a deep sigh, his blues eyes far away while he ran his through his hair several times in agitation.
“By the next day, the Death Eaters were rounded up or killed and the Ministry wanted a quick close to everything. So, they announced me as dead as the pretty bow on top of a case they wanted to be seen as handled well. But people were upset and confused. Either pointing out my close relationship with the Potters and how it didn’t make sense for me to kill them, others were fine with demonizing me, but wanted to know why the Ministry let me run around while those Death Eaters were doing terrible things in my name. They believed all the bloodshed to be the fault of the Ministry.
“The, then, Head the Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes, Cornelius Fudge used it to propel his political career. He denounced the leadership of the Minister and said that more should have been done when the Death Eaters were first running around and causing harm, a full two years before your parent’s death. He rallied people around him and was quickly named the new Minister of Magic with the promise to properly investigate what happened.”
Tom leaned back against the window and looked up at Harry, his eyes pleading for Harry to believe him.
“He repeated the same thing as the last Minister: I was dead, I was an evil man who created the Death Eaters and that I was the one to kill James and Lily. He put a new law in place for people in suspicion of aiding and abetting terrorists, like the Death Eaters, and case closed.
“There was nothing I could do. If I tried to plead my case and prove that I was innocent, I would be killed on the spot. Kingsley tried to get an actual investigation done, but the Ministry wanting nothing of it. They wanted the case closed and threatened to terminate Kingsley if he brought it up again.”
Glancing behind himself to look out the window Tom let out another deep sigh and slid down the glass to sit on the floor in front of the window.
“I moved permanently to Lemuria. Thankfully, they had a Goddess Trial about me and my supposed homicidal tendencies, and I was cleared as innocent of the crimes I’ve been accused of by the Goddess herself.”
Tom’s head popped up and he quickly jumped to his feet.
“If you would like, we could go to the Council Hall and show you the records of the Goddess Trial.”
Harry had his arms wrapped around himself as he stared at Tom, a war going on in his head. He wanted so badly for Tom to be telling the truth and so many people over the years had mentioned how his parent’s death had made no sense and that Voldemort had been such a good a friend. Maybe there was more going on. But what if Harry just desperately wanted his mate to not be a murderer and was missing something, it seemed like Tom was telling the truth or did Harry just need it to be true?
“Hadrian? Will you allow me to bring you to the Council Hall and look at the records of my Goddess Trial?” Tom tried again, seeing the confused and pained expression on his mate’s face.
“What’s a Goddess Trial?” Harry mumbled, his throat not quite working due to his crying.
“It is how court is done in Lemuria, only the judge and jury are the Goddess Manasā herself. She can see through lies and reveal truth.” Tom spoke in a low tone and tried not to move, Harry seemed like he would scare at any sudden movement and just vanish from his life.
“Okay, is the Council Hall open today?” Harry asked meekly, still very confused, and wary.
“I will have to touch you, to get us to the Council Hall.”
Harry jolted out of his thoughts and moved further away from Tom for a moment, not wanting to touch him and their mating bond start messing with his reason.
“How about you hold my wand?” Tom gestured to the wand still sitting on the table between them. “I will only touch you for as long as needed to get us to the Halls and then I will let go. You may punch me if I hold on too long.”
Tom realized his attempt at a joke didn’t hit when Harry just looked at him startled.
“I don’t want to hurt you,” Harry responded in a small voice.
Tom felt his heart seize in his chest at the quiet words.
“I don’t want to hurt you either, Little Viper.” Tom thought back to first meeting Harry as a baby. “I’ve never wanted to hurt you. I think my Viper knew, somehow, that you were my mate back when I first met you. Your Mum put you in my arms and I was scared I would drop you, because you were only a few weeks old, and I had no idea what I was doing with a baby.
“You had been fussy, but calmed down in my arms, Lily said you must like me, you didn’t take to strangers well. You fell asleep in my arms and when Lily came to take you to bed, I had this irrational urge never you give you up. I guess that was our mate bond in its early stage.”
“Okay, you can touch me to get us to the Council Hall,” Harry relented. “I get to hold the wands.”

Lord Asla was waiting at the entrance of the Council Hall when Tom and Hadrian appeared.
“Lord Asla, how are you this evening? Was there a council meeting called?” Tom asked the elderly Viper who turned to smile at the younger Vipers.
“No, Tom, there is no meeting. I wanted to meet your mate, and I thought it may be easier to go over some painful history with a third-party.” Lord Asla looked from Tom to Harry.
“That would help, Lord Asla, thank you for your wisdom on this matter,” Tom respectfully answered and then he turned to Harry. “Hadrian, this is Lord Asla, he is the eldest member of the Council and is the High Priest of the Goddess. He will show you the records of the Goddess Trial and answer your questions without the mating bond messing with your emotions.”
“It is an honor to meet you, Heir Potter!” Lord Asla smiled; his face was etched with so many wrinkles Harry was surprised you could still make out his facial features. “I was quite glad to hear your family line had a new Viper inherit! I had been friends with your Great Uncle Paul, I was deeply grieved by his passing. Though, that was many, many years before your birth.”
Hadrian couldn’t explain it, but he just felt he could trust the elderly Lord, his eyes were a dark brown that were alighted with welcome but turned sad at the mention of his Great Uncle, who had died young almost 70 years ago in a terrible Potions accident.
“It’s lovely to meet you, Lord Asla.” Harry returned. “So, how does this all work? Is there a file or something?”
“There is a records room, if you care to follow me, I can show you where to find the records.”
Nodding at Tom, Lord Asla turned and entered the Council Hall with Hadrian following. Lord Asla explained what the different rooms they were passing contained and showed Hadrian the entrance to the main Council Hall meeting area, which was empty of people, making the subterranean stone room seem eerie before continuing down the long hallway that connected the main Hall with the offices and storage rooms. Not that Harry was paying that much attention.
The long stone hallway ended at a set of ancient looking wooden doors, held together by metal which long ago had lost its original luster and color. In the center of both doors was a symbol of the Goddess, noting that this place was protected by her and from the feel of the magic coming off the symbols, there would be hell to pay for the person who tried to do anything to the contents of the room beyond.
Lord Asla opened one of the doors, it opened smoothly, much to Hadrian’s surprise and the two stepped through.
“This is the records hall, Hadrian.” Elder Asla gestured to the multitude of bookcases that went floor to ceiling, shelves filled with glowing crystal cylinders about the length and width of Hadrian’s forearm.
Harry stared at the immense room, dread pooling in his stomach. The contents of this hall could ruin his mateship. What would he do if the records didn’t clear Tom? How would he go on? He couldn’t mate with his parent’s killer. He also couldn’t live without Tom.
“Harry.” Blinking away tears, Harry looked over at the Elder. “I know your heart, mind and soul are in chaos. However, before you let yourself fall too deep into the pain and fear, let’s see if these records can clear your mate.”
Elder Asla walked Harry down a row of shelves and then turned down another, Harry noted that the shelves were dated. They stopped in front of a bookcase dated June 1981 through December 1981. The third shelf up, forth cylinder over had the label: Lord Voldemort. Goddess Trial. 5^th of November 1981.
Harry froze in that moment. Not sure what to do, or if he wanted to do anything.
“Do you have a lot of Goddess Trials?” he asked in lieu of taking the action which could possibly lead to heartbreak.
The wise Elder smiled at Hadrian, not missing the attempted distraction.
“We, thankfully, do not. However, these cylinders hold all official decrees. From trial notes and conclusions to Elder meeting notes. Once something has been added to a cylinder, it cannot be removed, only new additions may be made. If you see a cylinder with two colors glowing, that is because there was additional information added at a later date.”
Harry nodded and continued to stare at his mate’s trial cylinder.
“Why don’t pick up Tom’s cylinder and follow me, Hadrian?” Elder Asla gestured at the cylinder glowing with a sparkling happy blue tone and then he turned and began to walk to the corner of the large room, while Harry gently lifted the crystal off its stand. Elder Asla motioned at the wall and a seam appeared. With another wave of his hand the seam expanded, and two more lines appeared, Harry realized that it wasn’t a wall but a door. Stepping up to the door, it swung inward, revealing a small room with a desk, chair and a cart containing a gramophone.
“Would you like me to join you, Hadrian?” Asla asked, looking slightly down at Harry being only a little taller than the Potter heir.
“Yes, please, I’m not sure how this works.” Harry nodded and then entered the little room, Elder Asla followed him, and the room changed, expanding, and adding a chair for their comfort.
After both taking their seats, the gramophone cart moved in front of Harry.
It looked like a regular gramophone, except for what looked like a cup holder sticking out from one side and the record wasn’t vinyl, it almost looked like stone, being an odd tone of gray.
“Before placing the crystal in the cradle, remove the cap from the bottom of the cylinder,” Elder Asla instructed, making a twisting motion with a hand.
Harry looked at the top of the cylinder, it was enclosed with a metal cap, the crystal cylinder ended with another cap, but it was different. The bottom was flat, where the top was domed and the top seemed to be melted into the crystal, where as the bottom was not.
Gripping hold of the bottom cap, Harry twisted and pulled. Light began to flow brightly from the bottom of the crystal, shooting varying tones of blue around the room in a brilliant display. Hadrian would have been delighted had he been in a better frame of mind.
Reaching forward, Harry placed the cylinder bottom down into the cradle, halting the light show.
“Ready?”
Harry looked up at Elder Asla and after steadying himself with a deep breath, he nodded. The Elder reached towards the gramophone and put the needle on the record and a man whose voice Harry had never heard began to speak…
“Today is the 5^th of November, year 1981, we are here to ask the Goddess to judge this Viperidae, Tom Marvolo Riddle, also known by his Viper title, Lord Voldemort. The Goddess will see all, speak only the truth, for if you lie, she will know, and she shall inflict her own justice before humans get theirs.
“Lord Voldemort, in your home country of Great Britain, you are charged with the murders of Lord James Potter and Lady Lily Potter as well as the attempted murder of their son, Heir Hadrian Potter. And, of creating the terrorist group known as the Death Eaters, who have inflicted untold harm to the world. How do you plead?”
Toms deep voice answered, “I am not guilty of the crimes for which I am accused. James and Lily were dear friends, I wouldn’t harm them. And baby Harry… I can’t imagine the level of evil one would have to possess to attempt to kill such a beautiful child. As for the Death Eaters, I had a group of friends in Hogwarts I called my ‘knights’ we joked about changing the name to something cool, like the Death Eaters, however that the closest I come to the group. I have no idea who is truly leading them or what they want. But they have been undermining my work for the last two years, and more recently have been actively hurting people, something I have always stood firm against.”
“So, there is no overlap while summoning the Goddess, have you ever murdered someone before this incident?”
“Yes.” Tom answered with a sad sigh, stealing Harry’s breath. “I awakened Salazar Slytherins pet basilisk while at Hogwarts, it killed a student when I wasn’t careful enough with her.
“I… also killed my father.”
Hadrian froze, staring in a daze at the gramophone.
“What age were you when these events occurred?”
“I was 15 when I let the basilisk out and 16 when I killed my father.”
The mediator hummed and Harry could barely make out the scratching of a quill, most likely the man writing down the information of Toms past murders.
“The death of the student sounds like it may have been an accident however, that is for the Goddess to decide. What happened with your father?”
“We were arguing, I went to leave, he said something to me and in anger I pulled out my wand. I didn’t say a spell or move wand for a spell, but the bright green of the Killing Curse left my wand and hit him.”
More quill scratching could be heard before the man continued, “accidental magic is one thing, but an accidental Unforgivable? Did you two fight often and what did he say to anger you so?”
“That was my first time meeting my father. He said that he wished my disgusting whore mother had the decency to die while she was still pregnant with me, not right after giving birth to an abomination.”
“Your statements are noted. The Goddess shall decide your truthfulness and your fate.”
The recording went silent for almost an entire minute, Harry’s stomach was in knots and his mind was racing. Thoughts of Tom killing his own father flashing around his mind.
Incantations in Parseltongue began, invoking the Goddess and inquiring about Toms guilt in the murders of the Hogwarts student, his father, the Potters, the attempted murder of Harry and organization known as the Death Eaters.
The record went quiet again, but a different quiet. Even though it was a recording, you could still feel the power of the Goddess Manasā fill the space as she allowed herself to be invoked.
Parseltongue began again, but this time it wasn’t the man running the trial speaking, but Manasā. Her voice was light and airy, while somehow deep and guttural. It was as if the churning water of the deep oceans and a whisp of air through the clouds were singing together. It made Harry want to weep and laugh at the same time.
“My baby Viper, you were once so angry, so ready to strike at anyone. You have grown into a Viper with honor and integrity, you have not squandered my blessings. Your truth has echoed through these halls on this day, you are no liar, my Child.
“You and I have already made peace with the death of the girl; my poor basilisk knows the feeling of a soul leaving through her eyes. You are at no fault.
“As for the man called Tom Riddle the First, his death should not be grieved. He had a chance at a gift, and he spit on it. My Child reacted harshly, but his young emotions caused something he could not control yet. You are at no fault.
“The Death Eaters are a plague. Put out, for now, but my heart fears the future and whoever created the rancid groups goals. You are at no fault.
“The Potter’s were dear friends; their deaths stain my Childs heart with tears of sorrow and mourning. As all our hearts should be stained, a line of Viper ran through their veins. The one responsible shall suffer. You are at no fault.”
The gasp Harry let out was choked due to the tears that had started flowing when Manasā began to speak. It felt as if her words were piecing his soul back together.
“The baby Potter. He will be your downfall or your empowerment, Child. He shall bring you home and heal the cracks in your soul that not even I can mend. If you only let him. Let nothing stand between you, together you will be unmatchable in your power, grace and in my blessing. You are at no fault.
“My Child is without guilt in these matters. As I have spoken, so shall it be known.”
The tranquil yet overwhelming presence of the Goddess subsided, and the mediator spoke again.
“Our Goddess has spoken. Leave this place a free and innocent Viperidae, Lord Voldemort.”
The record came to a stop, the cylinder still alight with blue, but not as brightly active as it had been while the record was playing.
“Tom didn’t kill my parents or try to kill me.” Hadrian wiped the tears from his face, not questioning the trial as he could feel the Goddess’s power and her truth even through a recording. “But he still killed his father. Even though the Goddess said not to mourn the man, how could Tom do that? And, why frame him for my parent’s murders? Why any of this?!”
“Tom was such a confused and angry young man when he first came to Lemuria. He grew up steeped in fear and in turn hated much of the world around him. It was wonderful to watch him change the longer he spent in Lemuria. His Goddess introduction and blessing healed something in him and then, he found a place he truly belonged amongst his Viper family.
“I suspect there are some in Great Britain who only remember the angry 17-year-old, ignoring the man he grew into. As for his past before coming here, I think you need to speak with Tom about that. He would know his history the best. But try to remember, no one is without fault in all things. We all have parts of ourselves we aren’t proud of, decisions we’ve made that we regret and pasts we can do nothing about now, no matter how much we wish we could.
“In your mind Tom is the perfect Mate from your dreams, but in reality, he is a man. He has flaws. You will need to work together, compromise and learn the real people beneath those mating urges. Judging from what the Goddess said in that trial, you two will be legendary. Why don’t you start by giving him a chance to share his past with you and then decide where you wish to go from there? You don’t need to mate today. You can talk and then stay at the dorms in the city center while you figure out where your mind and heart are.”
Hadrian sat quietly for several minutes mulling over what Elder Asla had said, it made sense. Tom was more than the sexy visions he had, or the imaginations of a teenager wondering what his mate would be like.
“What about the Heart Break?” Harry asked, his voice rough from all the crying.
“You will need to spend time with Tom every day, to fight off the Heartbreak. However, I would suggest limiting touching each other if you want to keep the mating urges down.” Asla answered, a knowing glint in his eye.

“I will leave you two to talk,” Elder Asla said as he and Harry stopped in front of Tom who had been pacing in front of the Council Hall. “If either of you need anything, I am here to help.”
“Thank you so much for your help and wisdom, Elder.” Hadrian respectfully bowed to the older Viper.
Asla nodded back at Harry, reaching out he gave Harry’s arm a pat before turning to leave and giving Tom a comforting pat on the shoulder as he walked by leaving the mates alone.
The two men stood in an awkward silence for a long moment.
“Do you believe that I didn’t kill your parents or attempt to kill you, now, Hadrian?” Tom asked in a quiet voice.
“I know you didn’t kill them.” Harry gave a sharp nod. “But you have killed before.”
Tom looked away from his mate, he had hoped his mate would never have to learn of his past, but it was inevitable if he wanted his name cleared of other crimes.
“Before my inheritance and coming to Lemuria, my life wasn’t…” Tom trailed off, not knowing how to put his childhood into words.
“Why don’t you explain it to me?”
“I never wanted you to know certain things about me,” Tom sighed. “My worst parts.”
“I’m your mate.” Harry stated, looking Tom in the eye. “I’m supposed to know all of the parts of you, and you should know all of mine.”
Tom couldn’t help the soft smile that appeared on his face. “You are correct, Little Viper.”

After stopping off at the dining hall for a light lunch, with their emotions high neither felt like eating much, they went to an area close to Toms home where they could speak in private.
The ancient and partially crumbling rock had a niche carved into it, creating a seating area that was covered by rock and tree canopy. The space wasn’t large, but they could sit far enough away from each other, so their bond didn’t interfere while they spoke.
Harry looked around the ruins, taking in the topography of the area. It was rocky and rough, the old alcove they were seated at had been etched into the stones already there. There was very little soil for a plant to root into, so Hadrian was shocked by the array of foliage and trees that surrounded and entwined the stones.
They could overcome anything. This was the proof, nothing could keep them at bay, they would learn, grow, and thrive no matter the conditions.
He sent a prayer up to the Goddess asking that his relationship with his mate be the same.

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A/N: I am alive. I will do my best to have the next chapter up in the next few weeks, instead of years. cough
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Viperidae