Of The Serpent House

Chapter 2 - Stranger in the Night

He was in a misty haze of silver moonlight and stardust. It felt like he was walking in a dream, with no conscious recognition of his surrounding. Severus knew he was travelling on a road, at least he think so, for he was still aware of the movement of his feet. Although he was not sure where he was and his senses were too dull to help, Severus felt a lightness of step and excitement of heart he had never thought himself capable of till then. It was strange for he knew again with the knowing of a dreamer in a dream, that the way he traveled was less than safe. At his side, to his right Severus thought he heard dark laughter and the calls of wild beasts. In front of him, vague shapes seem to emerge and rejoin the surrounding shadows. He could feel warm breath from behind, breathing steadily down his neck.

Ordinary, he would fear for his safety, normally he would dove into the undergrowth on his left in an attempt to lose whatever it was. However, this was not an everyday situation. Severus knew without knowing how he did, that he must not stray from the silver path, it was not logical but he couldn't care less. All he wanted now was to get back to Hogwarts, to home, to safety, to his Slytherins. And the way that stretched outwards before him, reeked of hidden magic, strong and ancient; All traits of the House of Salazar Slytherin. So he continued to keep to this path of silver. The strange air carried whispers of encouragement in his wake. 'There, almost there, just a little longer.'

***

Remus softens his footsteps as he drew nearer the Headmaster's Office along the route of his night patrol. Light was visible under the door and the werewolf knew for whom Dumbledore was waiting for. 'So, Severus has been summoned.'

The thought made Lupin gave an involuntary shudder. It's been brewing for sometime now. The Order had been waiting and dreading the call. Voldemort was no fool - mad, yes. But no fool. Severus's cover among the ranks of the Death Eaters was blown during the trials that followed the last fall of the Dark Lord. Voldemort is as cruel as he is powerful, Severus would be lucky to merely end up dead. With a bitter sigh, Lupin realised that proud as he knew Severus was, death was to the other man preferable to sharing the fate of the Longbottoms. But this was a chance that Severus refused to give up. And Dumbledore knowing the odds had agreed. The werewolf pondered as he continued on past the office, aimlessly wandering the halls and corridors of Hogwarts. To Remus it seems so pointless and he had tried to discourage Snape. Not that it was easy, mind you. The other had been avoiding him since Remus's return to the DADA position. It was with some careful planning, that Remus had finally caught the Potions Master alone after the Friday class

With a blink, Remus realised he had arrived at the belly of the castle. A set of stairs sprawling downwards led to the dungeons and the Slytherin dorms. Remus frowned at this and was about to return the way he came when a silver flare temporarily lit the end of the passage leading to the Slytherin dormitory.

Hurriedly, Remus drew his wand and dashed down the corridor. Only to catch himself up short at the sight that greeted him.

The touches at the end of the corridor had gone out, the barest of moonlight from the small dungeon window being the only source of illumination. It was Remus's werewolf sight that enabled him to pick out the figure, back facing him, standing in front of the blank wall that was the entrance to the Slytherin dorms. He-or at least, Remus guessed it was a man- was tall, and lean. About Severus's height and Remus caught sight of long raven black hair, and a flash of pale skin from a hand. For a moment, he thought it was the Potions Master. A minute delay told Remus that he was mistaken.

The hair flowed smoothly in a non-existent wind without the greasiness that was associated with Severus's and was too long, reaching down to the waist. The skin of the hand was not so much pale as it was naturally white. Not the white of corpses but the white glow of pearls - birthstones of the moon.

The stranger wore a heavy moss green surcoat with matching long sleeve jacket under an open front tunic. The surcoat was decorated with an intricate silver pattern along the edges. A caramel-coloured undershirt could be seen when a slight breeze disturbed the tunic. From a brown leather belt at the hips, hang a sheathed dagger and long sword. Grayish white pants, a brown stripped scarf and a pair of dark coloured low boots completed the assembly.

Remus stepped forward carefully only a slight swishing of his robes betrayed his movements. It was not even a whisper but it was sufficient to alert the other. The one in front tilted his head backwards slightly not enough to allow a full view of the face. However, Remus was taken back from what little he could see. From the side profile, a golden orb of an eye regarded him with nothing more than a lazy sweep, Below that, was an ebony tattoo of a serpent, it's head starting just below the eye. The long slim body snaked upwards to a narrow cheekbone then descending downwards along the jaw. There was an exotic but unearthly beauty to the scene, reminding Remus of the moon, which only made him more wary. The stranger on his part, chose to ignore Lupin and returned full attention to the blank wall. One palm came to rest on the stone.

In the bat of an eye, the stranger vanished soundlessly, leaving Remus alone again. Letting out a breath he hasn't realised he been holding, Remus rushed to the wall and whispered the password. The wall opened up and he darted in, almost colliding with the tall figure of Severus Snape.

"Severus!"

"Hush, Lupin. You'll wake the children," hissed the Slytherin Head of House.

"Oh, err sorry." A quick glance around the common room only revealed a slightly open door where he could see some of the Slytherins fast asleep. There didn't seem to be anything out of the ordinary here.

Severus sighed and closed the door. "I told Crabbe not to leave it open, they would let in the chill."

For the next half an hour, Remus mutely followed Severus who went to check on all the Slytherins, finally leaving the dorms close to midnight.

Once they were outside, Remus whispered to Snape. "Severus, thank Merlin you are alive. Dumbledore have been worried for you, please go see him in his office now. I must admit I'm surprise you managed to convince Voldemort."

Snape halted in mid-step, "no, Lupin. I didn't manage to fool him. Voldemort was waiting for me, he planned to execute me and feed my corpse to Nagini after he was finished tormenting me."

"What?! Then…then, how did you escape?!" Remus exclaimed in shock.

"I…" The end of the sentence trailed off as the Snape's eyes suddenly rolled upwards, showing the whites.

Remus barely managed to grab the Potions Master just before the latter collapsed in a dead faint.