The Serpent that Devours Us

Chapter 9

Now that Harry knew Tom’s remaining time was limited, he wasted not a second in getting back to Britain so he could seriously start on getting Tom back to his authentic self. Thankfully Harry now knew exactly which portkeys to book to make the journey as quickly as possible.

Once back in his cottage in Hogsmeade, Harry copied his notes about the ritual Tom had used onto a few sheets of paper and rolled them up. Since his beloved owl Hedwig had passed away a few years ago from old age, Harry hadn’t felt the need to replace her, since honestly, there was no replacing her. And since Severus took care of most of their business correspondence anyway, Harry simply used a post office owl if he had a letter to send. Which is exactly what he did that afternoon, even though his mind was slowly succumbing to some kind of jetlag from having travelled halfway across the globe more than once in the span of a week or so.

While Harry strolled through Hogsmeade on his way to the post office he considered if he should perhaps let Hermione in on the research for a reverse ritual as well. On the plus side, Hermione was easily as smart as Barty, and just as capable a researcher. On the down side, Hermione was not well read in anything dark magic, in fact she despised just the thought of it.

Harry used to be the same, unsurprisingly, having grown up in a proud Gryffindor family who openly and gladly supported Dumbledore and his agenda to see all dark magic eradicated.

And then Harry had started hanging out with Slytherins, had gone into business with them, had started dating them, and he’d come to his senses enough to realize dark magic wasn’t necessarily evil, it was just a different side of the same magical coin.

Hermione, though, hadn’t undergone such a personal shift in her viewpoints on magic, and therefore Harry ruled her out as a potential source of help, at least for now. If Barty was unable to come up with anything, then Harry would consider the rest of his options, but for now Harry put his faith in his honorary uncle, because he knew Barty had no problems delving as deep into dark magic as he needed to solve a magical mystery.

After sending off his letter to Barty, Harry strolled through the village towards Severus’ home.

Severus answered Harry’s knock after just a few moments and he immediately narrowed his eyes when he saw who was at the door. “Is the beast with you?”

Harry held up his hands in surrender. “Yeah, but he’s secured, I promise. I just came to drop of 30 acromantulas worth of venom and silk. My new best friend and I went hunting in the Sundarbans yesterday.”

Severus blinked, face carefully blank, before he gestured to the side of the house. “Just put it in the backyard for now, I’ll take it inside momentarily.”

Harry understood all too well why Severus refused Harry entry with Tom the basilisk tucked away in his trunk, because he could hear Severus’ twin girls shrieking with joy from within the house. So Harry didn’t object and simply pushed the gate to the side of the cottage open and unloaded the venom and silk, placing them carefully against the side of the cottage.

Once home again, Harry climbed into his suitcase where Tom was waiting for him in the main holding area.

“I’ve sent the ritual to Barty,” Harry told him while he started breaking down the acromantula carcasses that were still piled up under a preservation charm. “He’s one of the smartest guys I know, so I have good hopes he’ll come up with something.”