'I'll do what it takes. It hurts, It hurts and I can't think and I keep hearing it but I'll do what it takes I'll be useful I swear I'll be useful I promise I'll be usefu-'
Skylar Potter jolted down the steps of the Burrow, socks thumping and nearly sending him tripping down the steps. The snake around his shoulders tightened itself suddenly, hissing a warning at the jerky movement.
"Sorry sorry!" Skylar apologized hastily, rushing down the steps once more.
"Mum!" Skylar beamed, waving quickly when he spotted her red hair.
"Sky!" She smiled back, running one hand through her hair, wrinkles on the corner of her eyes as she smiled, "How are you?"
"Great! You get him alright?" Skylar asked, leaning over to exchange a quick hug as from the doorway, Albus Dumbledore stepped through.
"Skylar, how wonderful to see you." Dumbledore smiled, a bright light in his eye as he observed the other, "Skylar, I'd like to introduce you to an old friend and colleague of mine."
Lily nearly danced to the side, stepping out of the way to allow the newest man to step through the doorway, looking strangely paranoid and wary of his surroundings.
"Skylar Potter, this is Horace Slughorn."
Horace Slughorn was an old man, looking battered and spooked like an alley cat having brought inside. His clothing reminded Skylar of Remus' earthy tones, yet they looked more ramshackle.
His eyes widened in surprise, flickering to Skylar's face before his face shifted into a crooked smile. "Skylar Potter, why I never."
Lily smiled as Horace looked at her in awe, she proudly ruffled Skylar's hair.
"Slughorn here used to be my potions professor back when I was your age, Sky."
Horace looked at least a little startled, "Ah, but that was a long time ago! Funny rumors have reached me since Dolores Umbridge left!"
"Professor Umbridge ran afoul of our centaur herd. Insulted them outright, as well as a basilisk."
"That's what she did, did she?" said Slughorn. "Idiotic woman. Never liked her, a shame what happened."
Skylar gave a small dark chuckle, enough to remind the few there that Skylar had been there to witness such a scene. The atmosphere lilted slightly, a hesitation in the room as they very clearly realized their mistake. Skylar for some reason, wasn't as distressed over the memory as he used to be- darkly amused perhaps, but not as sorrowful. It was strange how quickly tragedy was forgotten, or repressed for more lively thoughts.
"I recruited Horace here in hopes he may break through to young Selwyn." Dumbledore looked apologetic, eyebrows furrowing slightly in very genuine concern. "I'm very worried for the boy."
"Yes, from what I've heard it seems some sort of strange concoction ails the child." Slughorn wheezed, looking sympathetic yet also intrigued. "Avery, you said his name was?"
"Adrian," Lily corrected him quickly, "Adrian Selwyn."
Skylar knew, that Adrian would hate this man.
Skylar had forgotten about the snake until it shifted, popping its head up in curiosity. Lily gasped in surprise, taking a step back in alarm.
Dumbledore moved, taking three steps approaching Skylar before pausing, eying the snake with a very calm appearance. It was impressive considering the violent and loud reactions both Ron and Hermione treated Skylar with before. Snakes were something to be terrified of- especially with the memory of the basilisk so fresh.
"Skylar," Dumbledore began, very calmly as if Skylar did not have a large serpent around his neck. He felt the snake coil slightly tighter, clearly afraid.
"Sir, I- it's okay." Skylar slowly lifted his arms, showing that he, and by default, the snake weren't a problem, "It ah, it gets lonely."
Slughorn peered around, eyes widening in dazed surprise as he spotted the snake. Once you got past Lutain's terrifying power, he was rather beautiful.
"Merlin's beard! I haven't seen- is that an African Coalspire?"
Lutain lowered himself, settling its head on a coil with a hollow thump of dull interest. Skylar resisted the urge to smile- Lutain almost radiated annoyance, Slughorn had likely been wrong in his assumption over the species. Sky was almost positive that Adrian had mentioned that Lutain wasn't a magical species.
"Ah, I don't know." Skylar apologized sheepishly, it wasn't as if he could correct him after all, "I've been carrying him around. He likes uh... he's smart and understands English."
Dumbledore had a small frown on his face, although Horace seemed absolutely mesmerized. Who wouldn't be?
"Why it's in perfect condition! What a beautiful specimen! My, even it's facial scales are intact!"
Lutain flicked its tongue and tightened itself without care. Skylar reached up to pet him, running fingers over the smooth scales. They were small and rounded, much smaller than what Skylar had always assumed they would be. They felt strange under his fingertips, smooth and soft. He stroked the snake's body with his hand absentmindedly, almost drugged by the relaxing movement.
"I thought you didn't like snakes, Sky." Lily asked cautious, looking afraid as if the creature would bite her. That was a justified fear, although Skylar never thought Lutain had ever bitten anyone. At least, he hadn't ever heard of Lutain biting someone.
"Yeah but Lutain's different." Skylar struggled to explain, words were lacking. "He was Adrian's familiar after all."
Horace gasped in surprise, "A familiar? My! I haven't seen a serpent familiar since-"
all at once his face clouded and he looked almost ashamed, "Well, since Nagini…"
Lutain's head snapped up, staring at Horace attentively. Something thrummed in Skylar's skin, buzzing and loud like bees. Skylar turned his neck, feeling the cool scales press against his cheek. It was a very calming sensation.
"Skylar, perhaps you should untangle yourself." Dumbledore suggested slowly, although took care to not walk closer, "only for a second."
No! Something in Sky snapped, the idea of removing Lutain was...was… painful to comprehend. Why would he take off Lutain? Why would- why?
"Yes, yes perhaps that would be for the best." Lily advised, reaching out with her hands as if to lift the massive black snake from Skylar's shoulders. The buzzing was sharp, thrumming and pulsing and it almost hurt.
Skylar took a step backwards, using one hand to hold Lutain's head to his shoulder, keeping him secured. The cool scales were so soothing against his skin, he felt almost feverish.
Lutain gave a low hiss, and tightened further. Skylar couldn't tell where Lutain ended and he began anymore.
"Skylar my boy, perhaps that would be wise." Horace tried, eying the snake with something hidden, "Ah, hello...serpent. It is a pleasure to meet you."
Lutain hissed, his mouth opening as he tucked his head further back, retreating under the cavern of Skylar's palm. Lutain's eyes almost glowed a dark maroon, staring out from the darkness with full concentration.
Dumbledore frowned, then with his left hand he reached out slowly to the snake. His left hand was black, withered in a way which for some reason was revolting. A beautiful black ring was on his hand, sparkling in the light.
Skylar believed fully that Lutain was going to strike, that he was going to sink fangs into flesh and leave venom crawling through blood like the sluggish drip of molasses.
The ring sparkled, catching the light- the pressure gently released and Skylar felt cold.
Lutain moved toward the ring entranced. He was flickering his tongue rapidly as he stretched further and further out until he was barely able to support himself.
Plop. Lutain fell to the floor, looking just as undignified and offended as he should. Had the snake not realized what it was doing? Had it not realized how hypnotized it was by Dumbledore's outstretched hand?
Skylar felt as if someone had opened a door, a sudden waft of air caressing his skin. Something fresh, although he couldn't describe it properly.
"How unusual." Horace blinked, watching as the snake hurriedly scaled itself up a coat stand, trying to climb its way up to the peak to get to somewhere safe, "How...what a unique personality. It's rather interesting."
Lutain hissed in offense, flaring with something that left an impressionable sensation of anger. Male! Lutain!
Skylar's mouth twitched, finding the indignation almost amusing. The impression was a bit different, a bit more distorted and weakened without the touch. Lutain must have sent it out to the local environment instead of through Skylar as a conduit. The emotion and thought was out loud, spoken by the snake for others to hear.
Evidently, the others were alarmed by the projected emotion.
Dumbledore paled, taking a step backwards and aging many years in a moment. Horace inhaled sharply, looking horrified as if he had witnessed something unspeakable. Lily didn't understand, but she grabbed Skylar and yanked him away from the snake with the instinct only a mother possessed. Something in Skylar yearned to be closer to the snake, to assist him back to safety. It made Skylar's fingertips twitch.
"Merlin's beard." Horace wheezed, looking very much like he didn't want to be in that spot.
"Skylar," Dumbledore spoke almost sadly, "how long have you been in contact with this...with Lutain."
Lutain's tail twisted, and suddenly the black creature seemed very sinister.
"I- I don't know. Just...just since Adrian was taken away." Skylar felt shaken, hollow in a way only deep shame could accomplish, "I- what's wrong, Sir?"
"Horace." Dumbledore stated instead, and with careful movements Horace approached the snake, his arms in the air to show he was no threat.
"A pleasure to meet you Lutain. I- I was curious, you seem rather intelligent for a species such as yourself."
Lutain flicked his tongue, as if to point out that Horace Slughorn hadn't even identified him properly.
"He talks." Skylar spoke quietly, "N-not in...not in words but he...he whispers. I thinks. Impressions, feelings."
Skylar felt stupid the moment he talked. Of course they knew that already, they had felt it just moments prior.
Somehow, saying it out loud was comforting in a strange way. Reassuring to Skylar, that this...madness was not something he had to feel alone.
The four were quiet, before Horace plastered a large, obviously fake smile on his face. "Well! How fascinating! My name is Horace Slughorn, why, I remember an old student of mine had a snake rather similar to you! Why, he was practically inseparable from the thing!"
Lutain didn't seem interested, and didn't bother looking at him. The eyes were locked on Skylar, seeing into his heart.
"He...I think we made a deal." Skylar struggled, blinking in surprise before giving a bland bark of laughter, "Wow, how ironic."
It was ironic, it was painfully ironic. He had made a deal with Adrian's snake- something which had been the source and cause of Adrian's great collapse in Hogwarts.
What sort of person was Skylar to shove Adrian's failures back into his face?
"A deal?" Lily asked, sounding constantly worried, "I- Skylar. Skylar what kind of deal?"
Dumbledore looked at Skylar with guarded caution. He knew something, something that made him fear for Skylar. What threat could Lutain really be? "I can't have you interact with Mr. Selwyn, Skylar."
Skylar shook his head, not looking up from where he stared at the floor. He couldn't back out, he didn't know the ramifications of breaking a deal with snake. Not only that, but he had promised Lutain. He owed it to Adrian, he had to somehow make up for all the pain and suffering of the other. "No. I said I'd help kill the basilisk."
Dumbledore's face looked grave, stoney and cold. He didn't look happy, but he didn't look surprised either. "Adalonda."
The name triggered something. Lutain snapped towards Dumbledore, hissing loudly with an impression of rage. Lily's breath hitched and she made the smallest sound of retching. The anger was rolling in waves, rushing through them like reflected heat off pavement.
"It- the basilisk…" Skylar struggled to explain, feeling almost desperate to convey things properly. He had to explain, he had to. "It...it messed with him. It did something, and Lutain wants revenge-."
"What did the basilisk do?" Dumbledore's voice was no longer kind. It was cold, careful. He spoke like someone in war, no longer was he treating Skylar as a child. Somehow, they had reached the point where pleasantries did not exist anymore.
Lutain hissed something low, coiling himself together. Skylar felt cold.
(Would things ever recover? Would they ever return to what they once had?)
"It...I don't know." Skylar shook his head, "I- I couldn't understand it, Sir. It...It sounded like he was..like he was being tortured."
"It sounded like?" Horace looked baffled, "Skylar my boy, how on Earth did you hear such a thing?"
"The snake," Dumbledore grimaced tiredly, having clued in to Lutain's capabilities a while back. "It appears, that Lutain is enhanced by magical means. I fear for what has been done to him."
Skylar felt cold, frozen in a numb painful way, "He said his heart. He said that Adrian broke his heart and gave it to Lutain."
"No." Horace whispered, sounding pained as if witnessing a murder in front of him. The older man looked well on his way to fainting, he was pale and clammy and eyes wet. "No, oh no you poor child."
Dumbledore looked ashen, exhausted and tired and Skylar doubted that things would return to normal. This was what life was now, disappointment and pain and would Skylar ever have a moment to breathe? "Lily, remove Skylar from here."
"What? No!" Skylar protested in alarm, "I- Lutain will only talk to me! You can't- you can't just ask me to leave!"
"You need to stay far away from that creature!" Horace argued, pointing at Lutain with a dark expression. His hand was shaking.
Lutain was hissing, aggressive yet defensive. The bees were back, buzzing and causing Skylar's breathing to increase exponentially.
"He hasn't hurt anyone!" Skylar protested, "He- he said he'll help me!"
"Skylar I apologize, Lutain has become something very dangerous to us all." Dumbledore cautioned with a bland monotone. "I must ask you to remove yourself from his care."
Protect. Lutain seemed to urge, focusing on Skylar, he sounded alarmed. He was ignoring Dumbledore, staring at Skylar desperate to listen. Lutain needed to be heard. Help. Secrets.
Skylar couldn't let Lutain die, he- he had promised him.
"He- what are you going to do with him?"
Dumbledore shook his head carefully, "I do not know."
Nagini. Lutain urged, Prophecy.
A prophecy?
"What?" Skylar blurted in surprise, "What...what prophecy?"
Dumbledore inhaled sharply, as well as Lily.
"Mum?" Skylar asked in worry, "Sir? What...what prophecy? What's going on?"
"Albus, we need to destroy this...this plague."
Lutain hissed in offense, body flattening as he flared and Merlin had Lutain always been that big?
"Perhaps we should discuss this in a more private location." Horace murmured carefully.
"Indeed. The situation has changed; Lily, would it be possible to chat with Skylar?"
Lily looked pained, weak and old and far too accepting of the situation. Had she known? About this...this mysterious prophecy? "I...alright."
Dumbledore nodded, walking around the coat rack and towards one of the living rooms in the house. Slughorn hastily followed, eying the snake unsure. Lily released Skylar, who took a few steps towards the big black snake.
"You're not going to hurt me, are you?" Skylar asked under his breath, "I...I know you don't like me. I want to help Adrian, but I can't do that if you hurt me."
Lutain slowly uncoiled before moving his way carefully over Skylar's arms. Won't. Safe.
Something like relief spilled through Skylar, removing anxiety that gnawed on him since Lutain had stopped touching him. It soothed an itch inside Skylar's skull, under his skin. The scales remedied his trembling, calmed him in a lulling drone that was addictive and relaxing.
(Was this what Adrian felt? Was this what drove him to scream and cry and burn everything?)
"Thank you," Skylar murmured, making sure the creature was secure before he made his way into the room where Dumbledore and Slughorn were waiting for him. Lily didn't follow, she watched him walk away helpless to stop her son.
Once Skylar passed the entry way into the room, Dumbledore waved his wand and a black shimmering barrier set itself over the door, effectively silencing the enclosed space. Dumbledore's eyes widened in alarm when he spotted the snake, coiled tightly around Skylar again. He didn't say anything, but his displeasure was obvious.
"Have a seat, Skylar."
Skylar sat, Lutain uncoiled to lay on his lap.
"I have a question for you, Lutain." Dumbledore asked the snake, calmly setting his wand on the table between them to show he was not a threat, "Do you perhaps know of who I am?"
The snake paused, something uncertain twisting through Skylar. Skylar's breathing hilted, picking up slightly in pace as Lutain tilted his head, observing Dumbledore in silent interest. Slowly, Lutain lifted his upper torso, seated in Skylar's lap like a reared cobra.
Very clearly, Lutain nodded.
Horace wheezed and whispered something under his breath.
"He said that...he said that Adrian was sick. He wants to fix him." Skylar spoke, blurting his words although they felt dry, wrong. Impulsiveness he couldn't describe, as if he just needed to talk, to try to explain, "He...Professor, Adrian was screaming."
Dumbledore's blue eyes were piercing, "Lutain showed you this?"
"I heard it." Skylar almost whispered, he could hear it now. The screaming, the piercing agony, "It was...it was one of the worst things I've ever heard."
Horace closed his eyes and set his head in his hands, "A spell. Did he cast a spell?"
"No, I...he stabbed something. He...he stabbed something I think? Or he cut something in half, and he gave it to Lutain?"
Heart. Lutain supplied with a haunting whisper. Life.
"His heart," Skylar repeated without thinking, feeling very tired all the way to his bones, "his life."
"His soul," Horace moaned in pain, "Oh Merlin, that snake is a horcrux."
"A...a what?" Skylar scrambled to think. He had never heard the word before. Lutain hadn't either from the small rise of curiosity.
"A horcrux is the word used for an object in which a person has concealed part of their soul."
That would make sense, but it didn't make sense for how to achieve it. It didn't...things weren't lining up.
(Yet in some ways, Skylar accepted it as truth instantly, as if he knew it was true. Somehow, Lutain knew it was true.)
Skylar blinked, "I..I don't understand how that works, Sir."
"By splitting your soul, you ensure that if your body is attacked or destroyed, one cannot die. For part of the soul remains earthbound and undamaged." Dumbledore explained blandly, eyes not leaving the snake, as if he was addressing the reptile instead of Skylar himself.
Lutain tilted his head as if confused by the information. He (They?) didn't understand.
"Sir, is it possible to...to make one without knowing you're making one?" Skylar asked with dread pooling in his gut.
Slughorn gave a bark of a laugh, "Unlikely! To create a horcrux, why, a soul is supposed to remain intact and whole. Splitting it is an act of violation, it is against nature."
Skylar flinched, something twisting in humming intrigue. "Would...would it make a dementor scared of you?"
The room chilled, Dumbledore looking alarmed while Slughorn looked confused. They hadn't thought of that, they hadn't taken that concept into consideration.
(Something sat wrong with it, like the bitter taste of soap under Skylar's tongue.)
"...It may be."
No. Lutain spoke, a strong sense of wrongness as the snake thrashed. Soon.
"How soon?" Skylar asked, suddenly aware of the silence in the room, "When...when was the vision you showed me?"
Forest. Adalonda. Luna.
(Yes yes that made sense, that was certainty as clear to Skylar as the sky was blue and the sun hung in the sky.)
"The day Luna died. He did it that night." Skylar felt like vomiting, a strange sense of calm and acceptance keeping his nausea at bay. "He made you into a horcrux that night."
"The spring holidays," Dumbledore exhaled shakily, "This only provides more questions than answers."
"To split your soul...to go against nature… you can only accomplish that by an act of evil- the supreme act of evil. By committing murder. Killing rips the soul apart, Skylar."
What were they-
They were implying that it was...it was Luna?
No, something was so inexplicably wrong. Adrian- he would never hurt Luna. It was a offense, a statement against nature that Adrian would even consider murdering Luna!
(Skylar had seen Luna's body with his own eyes, Adrian had been nowhere near it.)
Skylar shook his head, "He- no. No. No he...he loved Luna. It...they they d-died after!"
"Which is why this is a concerning thought." Dumbledore admitted sagely, "It means, that somehow within the castle, Adrian Selwyn committed cold blooded murder."
Lutain hissed something that sounded almost like a felt amused. Skylar felt so, so very sick.
"Merlin's Beard," Slughorn breathed, "How many students has he killed, Albus? How many people have died?"
"Umbridge," Skylar blurted, "...Luna, or she died somehow. I don't know. Suzie Forestar. Cedric Diggory- but that wasn't... and Ginny Weasley."
Dumbledore looked pained, and didn't object to a single name.
"Albus, one of your students has killed." Horace could barely whisper, "He...who died?"
"Lutain?" Skylar whispered, drawing the attention of the black snake, "Please. Who did he kill?"
Lutain's jaw opened and he hissed like the breaking of someone's lungs-
He exhaled and exhaled and it filled the air and Skylar's ears and nose and his eyes. It was choking and suffocating and his ears rang with the low buzzing whispery exhale of Lutain's voice.
"No- no… I- Adalonda no…"
"So stubborn. So useless, and because of you, Lutain will die. To kill Lutain...You're useless."
"No I'm not...I...please don't leave me….Adalonda!"
Skylar keeled over, collapsing onto the floor with gasping wheezes. Barely aware, he noticed the table and Lutain go soaring to the other side of the room, far away from where Skylar was choking on his spit. Lutain thrashed against his magical barrier, twisting in rage.
(Skylar could feel it, distantly. Twisting and curling in his gut, how he wanted Dumbledore and Slughorn to hurt-)
"Skylar!" Dumbledore urged, propping the smaller male up in his arms, "Skylar! Are you okay!"
(Skylar felt the desire to reach up and claw the old man's eyes from his skull like ripened cherry tomatoes, to pluck them out, out of spite.)
Skylar felt like he had been hit, the screaming and crying and devastation burning deep to his center.
"He didn't- he didn't make- he didn't know." Skylar wheezed, still dizzy and trying to get the screaming and sobs out of his head. Skylar wanted to cry, he couldn't forget it. He couldn't forget the cruel noise of that basilisk.
(He was going to kill her.)
"What are you on about?" Horace asked, bordering on hysteria as he pointed his wand in a shaky grip towards Lutain.
"Skylar, Skylar what did you see?" Dumbledore urged in alarm, helping the boy remain upright.
"Adrian, he didn't know about horcrux. He wasn't...he wasn't trying to live forever." Skylar croaked out, "He was trying to keep Lutain alive."
The room stilled and Horace looked strangely conflicted, "That...that is a truly strange twisted idea."
Dumbledore looked exhausted beyond words, "If so, we have greatly underestimated Mr. Selwyn."
"I don't think at any point in my life have I been considered 'normal', Black." Adrian dryly stated, picking at the dull grey clothing that looked similar to prisoner garb, "If you've found something I'm overlooking, I'd be delighted for you to tell me."
Sirius frowned, leaning back on his chair, "Well...you and that Luna girl had a good-"
Adrian flinched, and Sirius cut himself off sharply.
Adrian inhaled slowly through his nose, hands clenching and then relaxing, twitching uncontrollably.
"She was a good friend." Adrian spoke quietly in the room, "I never called her my friend. I hadn't thought she was."
The room was quiet as Adrian regulated his breathing carefully.
"I think, that in the end she was. A friend." Adrian watched his fingers bend into a fist, "She was. I think I loved her. I don't know. Everything is so muddled."
Sirius felt Adrian's oppressive gaze, heavy and nearly suffocating as it landing on him, "Do you know what this is?"
"What?" Sirius asked, his throat scratchy for some unknown reason.
Adrian blinked slowly, like a cat. He tilted his head innocently like a child, eyes a hypnotic diseased color; green with a starburst ring around his pupils. "I don't know. I think I loved her, but now I can't remember what it was like. What anything is like. Are you afraid of me?"
Sirius shook his head, "No, I mean...you've had bad decisions, but it wasn't your fault…"
"You've read my book," Adrian's eyes widened suddenly before constricting unnaturally, "You're looking at the end. You're reading it backwards. It isn't finished, Black."
Sirius felt like something cold pressed against his spine. He- how the blazes with Selwyn know-
"Crouch is dead. Apparently he was diseased, or something like that. Or perhaps he was just too mad." Adrian blinked in thought, "Am I mad? I don't feel mad, but I must be."
Sirius shook his head, opening his mouth to argue.
Adrian lolled his head to the side, looking at him through the greasy layer of his fringe, "I'm not insane like Bella. I must be different."
Sirius had a very strange feeling that he was staring at something not human any longer. The idea was ridiculous, hell, he was best friends with Remus!
But...something about Adrian was...wrong. Different, strange in an unsettling wrong way.
"I didn't mean to set the train on fire," Adrian blinked slowly, the vibrant yellow sunburst ring around his pupil was sick against his pale clammy skin, "I didn't. I wanted to hurt Draco, but I didn't mean to set the train on fire. Isn't that strange?"
"Accidental magic is common," Sirius sagely added, "You have a good level of control over it,"
Adrian blinked slowly. Sirius got the impression that the other boy was somehow lost in thought, or going through a crisis without consciously realizing it.
"I could set this entire room on fire." Adrian mused quietly, "I could burn this entire house down and kill you. Burning people smell a lot like burning meat."
Sirius realized, that he was afraid. He was quite afraid actually.
Adrian blinked slowly almost in realization himself, "I could burn this house down."
"You could," Sirius agreed, his voice a hoarse croak. His palms were sweating. "You could burn this house down, but you'd be stuck here."
"I could apparate." Adrian pondered.
"We have wards along the property. Put up by a curse breaker and Dumbledore."
Adrian pouted slightly, eyes glazing as he hummed to himself in thought.
Sirius needed to talk to Dumbledore immediately, he had a very bad feeling that this boy was going to eventually result in something horrible.
"What if I only set you on fire, and took your wand and walked out?"
Sirius licked his lips anxiously, very mindful of where his wand was tucked against his forearm, "You wouldn't have enough control to do that without a wand."
Adrian hummed to himself, "Remus would be sad. If I cooked you like a brisket."
Sirius monitored his breathing carefully, like how the auror's had trained him, "Remus would be very sad."
Adrian hummed to himself, a flat monotone sound that didn't seem more than a reminder that he could in fact, make noise. It as a blank humming, like dozens of bees stirring in his throat. Adrian seemed distant, uncaring of the noise he was making.
(Or how it was driving through Sirius' ears and making his blood rush like he was underwater.)
"You're very chatty." Sirius choked out, feeling more embarrassed by how strangled he sounded.
Adrian blinked slowly before shrugging one shoulder, his humming fading off. "I don't see a point anymore in playing coy."
"Were you always playing coy with us?"
"Of course I was. It doesn't matter anymore, or at least it doesn't matter to me. Few things do anymore."
Bellatrix looked horrible. She had always appeared sick, eyes too wide and nostrils flared in a permanent expression of anger. Sometimes she would grin, lips curling back so far her teeth could be spotted sprouting from her gums, discolored slightly.
Now...now she was so pale that she seemed to shine in the darkness. Her long brown hair was snarled into a large birds nest, frizzy and hanging over her shoulders like a used mop.
"I don't think this is necessary!" Bellatrix hissed out, darting after her sister. Narcissa threw back her hood, her long blonde hair gave her the look of a drowned person.
She knocked on the door, using her shoulder to gracelessly shove it open the moment the latch was moved.
"Narcissa!" said the man, stepping aside as light fell upon her and her sister too, "What a pleasant surprise."
"Severus," Narcissa said in a heavily strained whisper.
"May I speak to you? It's urgent."
"But of course."
They passed into the house, Bellatrix pausing to twist her face into a grimace. Snape kept himself composed.
They stepped into a tiny sitting room, which was dark and smelled of old parchment. Every wall was covered in books, most of them bound in old black or brown leather; a threadbare sofa was pressed in one available space with a rickety table nearest the arm. The place had an air of neglect, as though it was not usually inhabited.
They settled, Narcissa with a sense of urgency and Bellatrix with a much slower sense of paranoia.
"Severus, I know I ought not to be here, I have been told to say nothing to anyone, but-"
"Then you ought to hold your tongue!" snarled Bellatrix, her eyes widening so far that all edges of her iris were visible, "Particularly in present company!"
"Present company?" repeated Snape sardonically. "And what am I to understand by that, Bellatrix?"
"That I don't trust you, Snape, as you very well know!"
Narcissa made a noise that might have been a dry sob and covered her face with her hands. Snape lowered himself backwards into his chair, arms on the velvet armrests on either side. Bellatrix looked pained.
"Narcissa, I think we ought to hear what Bellatrix is bursting to say; it will save tedious interruptions."
Bellatrix rumbled with a snarl.
"I think that this is meaningless!" She hissed, nearly leaping to her feet with the aggression of a panther, "Where to start! Where were you when the Dark Lord fell? Why did you never make any attempt to find him when he vanished? What have you been doing all these years that you've lived in Dumbledore's pocket? Why did you never return? Why did you not bring him back!"
She paused, her chest rising and falling rapidly. Her cheeks were flushed, behind her, Narcissa sat motionless.
Snape smiled thinly.
"Do you really think that the Dark Lord has not asked me each and every one of those questions? And do you really think that, had I not been able to give satisfactory answers, I would be sitting here talking to you?"
Bellatrix hesitated.
"I know he believes you, but…"
"You think he is mistaken? Or that I have somehow tricked him? Fooled the Dark Lord, the greatest wizard, the most accomplished Legilimens the world has ever seen?"
Bellatrix said nothing, but there was something in her eyes that glowed darkly with a sense of hate.
"I believed him finished. I am not proud of it, I was wrong, but there it is...If he had not forgiven we who lost faith at the time, he would have very few followers left."
"He'd have me!" Bellatrix protested passionately, "I have followed his work in his absence!"
"Yes, indeed, most admirable." Snake said in a bored voice, "How honorable, running with rumors of you adopting a truly lackluster child to stave your boredom."
Bellatrix froze with widened eyes.
"Severus." Narcissa whispered, interrupting quietly, "Perhaps I should speak."
"Lackluster?" Bellatrix hissed with the viciousness of the Dark Lord's familiar.
"Severus, I- I think you are the only one who can help me, I have nowhere else to turn. Lucius cannot offer assistance and…" Narcissa closed her eyes in exhaustion, two tears seeping from the corners of her eyes. "The Dark Lord has forbidden me to speak of it. He wishes none to know of the plan. It is...very secret. But-"
"If he has forbidden it, you ought not to speak." Snape suggested calmly, "His word is law."
Narcissa gaped in horror and Bellatrix still grimaced with a sense of seething.
"Lackluster." Bellatrix clipped out, positively frosty, "You dare call…"
"I must ask for silence, Bellatrix, as it appears such conversation is between Narcissa and I only."
Narcissa sighed into her hands and Bellatrix shifted her weight, looking decidedly unimpressed.
"I was the one who chose Draco for this plan." Bellatrix divulged indifferently, causing Narcissa to look at her in growing horror. "I was the one granted the final say over our preparations."
Oh, oh that was a sudden change.
"And because of that, Snape. Because of what you said, I have decided that you're included as well." Bellatrix hissed, "Dare you fail I will murder you myself."
"Bella," Narcissa whispered, tears sliding down her pale cheeks. "My son...my only son…"
"What about mine!" She screeched like a harpy, "He- He has taken him and placed him in such a position! If not for his treachery your child would not be involved!"
Snape's mind leapt to conclusions rather quickly, "Ah, I see then this pertains to the child Adrian Selwyn."
Bellatrix's eyes narrowed, "Lackluster."
Snape withheld a flinch.
"You are now entrusted to enable Draco with his mission," Bellatrix grinned, baring her teeth savagely, "You have until the end of Summer."
"Bella!" Narcissa cried in pain, "You- It was until Christmas."
"I changed my mind." She snapped back, "I had never understood the pain of a lost child, Cissy. It would be a shame for both of us to experience it."
Narcissa flinched and whimpered quietly.
"What are your intentions then, granted that they are from the Dark Lord."
Bellatrix smirked once in victory, "Return my child to me. Assist Draco in infiltrating where you've hidden him, and return Cerestes to us."
Snape froze. His face was unreadable, on the interior he had frozen as if in the face of an arctic fleury.
"I struggle to see how young Draco is relevant in this task."
"I want you to struggle."
Snape averted his eyes to the floor and with a terse nod Bellatrix laughed.
"If you tell your precious Order." She seethed, stepping forward until her wand was pressed under his jaw, "Then I will gut Lily Potter and make you eat her entrails."
"I don't fail." Snape coldly responded, aware of the threat.
"Good." Bellatrix whispered, her breath was sour. "Cerestes will kill you himself."
"Months. Summer end."
Adrian hummed contently, arms crossed behind his head with his eyes closed. The room was dark, but he knew he wasn't alone.
"My birthday then?" Adrian hissed back in inquiry, dull interest. What an excellent present.
"Yes." Nagini hissed in broken words, sliding under his clothes like a caress. "Draco. Severus."
Adrian felt a curl on his lips, "Really? That will be interesting. I'm sure Lutain misses me. Let me know what day they are coming for me, I'd hate to miss it."
Nagini didn't comprehend, but the tattoo didn't need to.
Adrian would be leaving. He would be returned to his father.
As a weapon, as a tool to be used but truly, did it really matter anymore?
Did he actually even have a life anymore?
Sooner or later, everyone would be dead. Why should he remain in captivity if it would prolong the inevitable. Why would he entertrain his captors when he could maybe (maybe) find some sort of purpose intended for him?
(It wasn't as if he had anything left in his life now, if not for his destiny.)
Adrian smiled in the dark.
The smile faltered, twisting into a small frown as Adrian felt the vibration of feet on wood- stomps up the steps. Sirius, the quick gait that Adrian recognized as him.
Sirius opened the door, slipping in and closing the door behind him quickly.
Sirius paused one moment before flipping on the light switch, no mercy for how Adrian recoiled from the sudden brightness.
"Merlin, are you done brooding yet?" Sirius muttered to himself, likely not aware that Adrian could hear it at all. "You going to talk about that damn book yet?"
Of course Adrian wasn't going to talk about that.
'Although…' Adrian thought to himself, righting himself slowly to stare at Sirius with wide eyes. He didn't dare sink into the man's skull again, he didn't know if Dumbledore or Snape would investigate or had somehow created defenses for the case.
"You went through my things," Adrian spoke, not a question with how he knew the dog had. "You saw the ledger?"
Sirius looked surprised and startled, clearly the conversation had been derailed, "meticulous work you put into that. I was surprised."
Adrian wasn't fishing for complements, "how many Galleons were in the net gain in the back."
Sirius looked startled by the whiplash "I- a bit. Quite a sum actually, why? Planning on hiring a lawyer?"
Adrian breathed slowly to calm the hitch in his breath. His hands twitched, curling into shaking fists. Sirius noticed and his eyes widened slightly, already beginning to inquire if Adrian was okay.
"I need you to access the vault." Adrian snapped out, voice harsher than he intended. "All the galleons in that vault. Send them to Xenophilius Lovegood." Adrian stopped talking and breathed slowly to make sure the warbling wouldn't be heard.
Sirius swallowed thickly and when he responded his voice cracked in turn. "A-alright."