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Vera )1952( Rolling onto clean sheets, freshly showered and decently dressed in laundered boxers, the feeling of dirt clung to Tom like a malicious second skin. It was a nightmare, this separateness that was at once so new and so familiar. Dimly, he recalled his days in the orphanage, so long gone and repressed that they had a faded quality like pictures left to long in the sun. But he remembered this clearly, the emptiness and the distance. How cold he had always felt, no matter how high the sun was and how desperately and constantly alone. The thing he missed the most, more then the warm embracing arms, more then the comfort of knowing somewhere come whatever may that someone somewhere loved him unconditionally, more even then the all to brief memory of naked skin...the thing he missed the most was talking to someone else in Parseltongue. He hadn't realized how much he'd come to depend on that soothing whisper in his ear. The echo of his own hissing slide. It was so seductive and familiar that it was almost a physical ache to know that he would never hear it again. At that moment, he had no doubt that his exile was permanent. His crime was unforgivable and even if Harry managed to forgive, he certainly would never ever be able to forget. It would lie between them, festering and stinking until just to look at each other would bring horror and revulsion. No, this was better, this cool silence. The bed was too large for one person. He rolled to the middle, dragging sheets with him to bunch up like armor. Something tapped at the window. Instantly tense and wary, he whipped out his wand and approached the noise in shuffling silence. Yellow eyes blinked at him once, slowly and then a long piteous meow followed. "Puck! Get in here you ridiculous animal!" He unlatched the window and watched the slinking tom jump smoothly to the floor and then onto the bed. So caught up was he in his relief that the owl that entered after the cat nearly gave him a heart attack. "Bugger!" Nonplussed, the owl dropped the small package it held in its beak. It didn't wait for him to fumblingly find treats, but flew off in a huff. Cautiously approaching the box, he untied it with a spell. A scrap of parchment lay on top. "Happy Birthday." He read. There was no signature. His birthday was tomorrow, but none of his friends were in the habit of sending him gifts. Especially since he would be seeing most of them on the weekend for a small celebration. ~Let me out.~ His eyes widened and he pulled off the cover. Rising up like a cobra about to strike was a small silver beauty of serpent. ~Hello~ He was surprised how nervous he was. How long had it been since he'd spoken to an actual snake? There hadn't been much opportunity lately. ~You are the one called Tom?~ ~Yes...and you are?~ ~Essmani. A man found me in the grass and told me that he would send me to Tom. And that you would keep me well fed and well cared for. In exchange, I am to look out for your safety since he is currently unable to.~ "My safety..." That bastard, that awful bloody honest bastard. How could he have known? Stupid, so stupid to believe that he knew Harry so well, when it was Harry who had raised *him*, Harry who knew his every breath, every thought and premeditated him so well that he had sent him the one thing that he could not provide. Harry with secrets within secrets. ~This is well with you, our deal?~ Essmani was surprisingly close, flickering her tongue into his ear. ~Yes, this deal is very well with me.~ It was quite impossible to hug a snake, he had discovered, but Essmani didn't seem to mind being cradled in his hands. Puck regarded the new member of their household with amused disinterest before going back to sleep. "Yes, this is very well with me." Harry was thinking of him, wished him safe and that was a better birthday present then a thousand promotions and gadgets. )*( "And then he had the gall to imply that Albus was manipulating me!" She fumed. The bored young man across the table from her let out a soft channel of air. Avarus Zabini had grown well, a languid pure breed with all the motivation and drive of a lap cat. He spent most of his days in bookshops, reading and collecting rare works, then going out for delightful dinners with his companions. This was not one of those dinners. He'd never liked Minerva and he didn't intend on starting now. She was too sharp for his tastes with her severe bun and matronly manner. Tom raved about her brains, but Avarus found her slow in social matters. "And he isn't?" He drawled, mourning that he'd already finished his meal and so couldn't busy himself with food. "No! Well, not much. Look. I just want to talk to Tom." "Then talk to him." "He won't let me!" "Then you should leave him alone. We're not children any more. He is a grown man and he doesn't need to run to his mother with every scraped knee." "I do not act like his mother." "If you say so." He lit up a fag, taking a deep drag and blowing a perfect O of smoke. "My point is, some things need to work themselves out without nosy interference." "Oh my." A grin lit up the edges of her face. "That's why you won't tell me anything. You don't know! He's blocked you out as well." Another long careful drag. "And what if he has? In Slytherin house we respect the wishes of our companions. Tom is a generally sociable person, prone to fits of hermitage. If he wants to sequester himself away, then so be it." "Do you know about.." "If you say one more word..." He stabbed the cigarette out in the ashtray. "Listen to me you silly little girl because I will only tell you this one more time: It is his private business and if you know anything about it, you'll keep your mouth shut. There is more going on here then what you and your wrinkled paramour have to say about it." "That's nearly what Harry said." Her eyes filled with tears. Bugger. He lit another fag and willed her not to start sobbing. Women's tears always made him uncomfortable. "Maybe we're both right then." "All right, I'll leave off..." The tears went unshed, but her eyes stayed bright as she rose and moved to pay the bill. "Just...tell him that I miss him." It fell neatly together for him, all of a sudden. Her obsession with the older powerful man, the constant meddling. How very Gryffindor of her, to make sure Tom's happiness was ensured over her own longing heart. Letting loose a litany of internal cursing against Tom for putting him in this position, Avarus laid a hand over one of hers when she tried to set down the Galleons. "Lunch is on me. And a word of advice: loving snakes is all well and good, but keep the adder away from your breast. " With that cryptic message, he threw down the money and swept out the door. )*( It was time, he realized. He'd been too terrified before. Of what he knew he had to do. It was a muggle time bomb lying there waiting for someone, somewhere to find it. Before, he had had something to lose. A career, friends and an endless painful hopeless dream, but the dream was shattered now. Friends...career...they were nice enough. After the Biggest Mistake Ever, he thought that what he had done was unforgivable. He knew it was Unforgivable, but he worried that it was also unredeemable. Then Harry had extended an olive branch. An acknowledgement that he still cared for him, even if he never wanted to set eyes on him again. So now he could be redeemed. He would do this or die trying. Essmani thought it was a bad idea and Tom considered leaving her home, but couldn't part from the one thing that remained to connect him to Harry. There wasn't much preparation that could be done. He showered and dressed in clean black robes, strapped on a belt with a heavy leather wand holster and a sheath. Closing his eyes, he held out his hand. ~Accio Salazar Slytherin's Sword.~ He kept his eyes closed for a full minute until a thick strong hilt filled into his waiting hand. It was a marvelous piece of work, all sharp, deadly iron with only delicate etchings in the hilt. He slid home into the sheath. Made to the specifications in the text that had fallen into his hands at the tender age of thirteen. Time to do the job those centuries of marriages and events had bred him to do. )*( On the one hand, Harry was glad that Hagrid was here. It was wonderful to see him, alive and happy. Young the half-giant hunched protectively over his middle and fiddled with his belt constantly. As far as Harry could tell, Tom had never even noticed that Hagrid existed, let alone set him up for the fall that would ruin his life. So now, here he was, still passionate about animals and with the Hogwarts degree that would allow him to follow that passion into becoming a magical vet. It was wonderful. On the other hand, Hagrid's lecturing mode hadn't gotten any more interesting and the backroom chairs weren't going to withstand his weight much longer. "And I said to him, 'Sure grendals are rare, but they can be really loving if raised properly' and he said..." "I am not helping you get a grendal." "I wasn't goin' to ask." But the young half-giant shifted and looked guilty. "Do yah hear that?" "Hear what?" "LikeÉ.a kinda high pitched noise." Concerned, they headed back into the shop proper, looking through the shelves for the offending item. "Found it!" Hagrid cried triumphantly. "That's odd. It's a monitor mirror." Perplexed, Harry took the small mirror and watched it flash warning orange. "That's not right. I only sell these new. They can't be recharmed." "Maybe a parent left it here or sold it to you?" "No..." The memory came to him quickly. One morning, before Tom had gone to Hogwarts, Harry reached in his pocket to look for the monitor mirror to find it gone. Taking it as a sign that Tom was too old for such things, he'd never thought much beyond that. "He stole it and hid it at the bottom of the others. It's a miracle it lasted this long." "What about it flashing like that?" "It means that he needs me and whether he knows it or not, he's calling me." The mirror started to flash a more urgent red and Harry's fingers tightened to white-knuckled pain around the tiny indicator. "Are you going to go?" Anguished eyes cast around the store floor and up to his trusted friend's face. "I don't have a choice. I promised." The mirror flashed the location. In a flurry of motion, the mirror smashed onto the floor and Harry's loyal broom whizzed through the air to his empty hand. "Wouldn't it be faster to apparate?" Hagrid shouted as the shopkeeper mounted and made for the air. "Hogwarts!" )*( "Minerva! Get up, girl!" She slit her eyes open to find Albus, hair wild and eyes flashing over her. "What is it?" "The Chamber of Secrets has been opened!" Up like a shot, she hurried into her robes while Albus fire talked the other Heads of House, organizing the evacuation. "What happened?" "You're young Tom." Hissed the older man. "Sent me a post telling me to get the children out of the school." "What does that have to do with the Chamber?" "Are you daft? Or are you playing at stupid?" She stared, paused in buttoning up her blouse. Albus had never spoken to her like that before. "I don't..." "He's Salazar's heir or had you not noticed between the Parseltongue and being one of the most powerful wizards ever encountered at Hogwarts." "I never thought...what does it matter? Tom would never..." "He has. And soon we will have to pit ourselves against a basilisk. Finish getting dressed." "We can slay it. Can't we?" "That would depend. Godric's heir hasn't been located in several generations." He growled. "I had him...I could have sworn, but it isn't possible." "What isn't?" She swept her hair up into a tight bun and made for the stair. "Just get the children out. I will find you when it's over." "No! I can't let you go by yourself." "You cannot help me with this." His expression softened. "Dear girl, don't make me worry about your safety too." Reluctantly she turned to leave. "Be safe." "I will do my best." )*( "Oh this isn't over done or melodramatic at all." Tom shook his head at the giant, nearly Eygptian-esque chamber. "Very subtle Salazar." ~Who dares to enter the chamber?~ Tensing, Tom gripped the hilt of the sword that grew warm in his hand. ~It is your master.~ ~Master?~ Essmani curled tighter around his wrist, the closest a snake came to expressing fear. Two yellow eyes gleamed in the torchlight. The head was huge and the body curled out of sight. Tom stared back, unblinkingly. ~I am Salazar's heir and I have returned to finish his work.~ ~The sword...you need the sword.~ In one swift motion, he drew it from his belt. It caught the torchlight and the intricate etchings gleamed white-hot thought metal remained cool. Behind him, he could hear a commotion. They were coming for him. It had to be now. )*( "Now!" Harry shouted as his feet hit the tile of the legendary bathroom. "Come to me now, my birthright!" The sword arrived without aid of Fawkes this time, landing with a solid smack in his hand. "You!" Harry whirled, snarling. "This is not a place for bystanders Professor Dumbledore!" "Bystander...I...you! Your ward is going to release a basilisk on this school!" "I am aware of that and now I'm going to stop it." "You can't be Godric's heir...how can this be?" "You'd have to ask my parents, but they haven't been born yet." Without another word, he plunged into the Chamber. The scene that greeted him was sickening. Tom stood before the great serpent, Salazar's blade raised triumphantly above his head. Anger, fear, betrayal raced through him and Harry hefted his sword and rose to it to strike. And the younger man sunk boneless to the ground. "Tom!" The sword clattered to the ground and Harry rushed to his side, heedless of the great serpent. ~He was bitten!~ Essmani crept out from under one voluminous sleeve. ~But I have neutralized the poison.~ ~What? How...~ Bemused, Harry took a good look at the basilisk. It was lying, motionless on the floor, its head quite clearly separated from its neck. ~That is my nature. Did you not know it when you found me?~ Essmani hissed, crawling up to flick a worried tongue in Tom's ear. ~Wizards have long looked for our kind. Our venom is a powerful healing draught to them. I thought that is why you chose me.~ ~I didn't know. I didn't...~ "You speak Parseltongue and yet carry Godric's sword." "It's a long story, Professor." Harry gathered up the young man in his arms. A double flash of memory. Carrying a child to bed, having him naked in his arms as a man. He was relatively light and Harry was sure he saw ribs poking through the finely tailored robes. "Oh, Tom! Is he all right!" There was a blur of black and high-heeled boots that came to rest at Harry's side. Soft hands caressed the sleeping face. "Minerva! I told you to wait with the children." "Shut up, Albus. I'm not happy with you right now. Is he all right?" "I'm taking him to St. Mungo's." "We can treat him fine right here." Albus cut in. "I know what type of treatment you would give him." Acid dripped from that normally kind voice. "Do you think I don't know how he found out about this place?" "I had nothing to..." "Tell it to someone younger and more naive, Professor." Carefully, Harry shifted the weight in his arms and walked towards the exit, prepared to levitate them both if that's what it took to get out without the school's assistance. "He was supposed to be neutralized as a threat. We would have caught him when he made for the Chamber and gotten rid of him." "Trust me. It was a terrible plan. You were severely underestimating his intelligence and ability." He assured him, before leaving the Chamber behind. The dead weight was making his arms hurt, but he didn't dare spell the man in this condition. The bathroom looked entirely too normal and he left it quickly behind. It took some maneuvering to get them both seated safely on the broom. At least it was a relatively short flight to the apparation line. Intent only on getting them both their in one piece, he didn't notice Minerva flying along side them. Reaching the emergency room doors, he was grateful for her appearance and asked to questions as she aided him on getting Tom inside and to a medi-wizard. It was only when they asked him to have a seat in the waiting room that he realized he was covered in Tom's blood. For the second time in his life. )*( next part last part << |