ꜱᴇʀᴘᴇɴᴛɪɴᴇ ꜱᴇʀɪᴇꜱ | ᴛᴏᴍɪᴏɴᴇ

Serpentine, ch. 9

PART THREE:

Disarmed

CHAPTER NINE

When Harmony stirred awake the next time, her eyes opened effortlessly, and she was able to easily move her arms. The first thing she did was bring a hand up to check and see if the face scarf was in place.

Her stomach grumbled and she ate as much of the food on the bedside table as she could before swinging her feet out of bed and trying to stand. The sudden movement made her dizzy and she had to clutch one of the bedposts until her head cleared. When she could walk straight without falling over, she peered out the open door curiously.

A few dirty windows let in a dreary, overcast morning light. She was in a room near the end of a long hallway. She noticed a flight of descending stairs at one end of the hall, and a room at the other end with the door cracked open partway.

Harmony crept out of her room and quietly walked toward the room at the end of the hallway. When she approached it, she noticed a portrait of a beautiful brunette woman and a handsome, brown-haired man. They were both dressed in wealthy clothes and held themselves with importance. Harmony did not study it in any great detail as she passed and placed a gloved hand on the door to open it further. She recognized the room immediately.

Though she had never entered the room, she had watched as Snape and Master conversed here the first night she came to Riddle Mansion. She found it hard to believe only a few days had passed since then. The fire still blazed, and she spotted the top of Master's head of dark hair poking above the back of his armchair.

When she crossed over into the room, it felt as if she had passed some forbidden threshold, and her heart raced wildly. The flickering of the flames brought everything in the room to life as they danced in the fireplace.

She glanced over at the huge bed and repressed her desire to run her fingers over the velvet coverlet that looked so inviting. Of course, her own bed had been covered in velvet as well, but a velvet so filthy she could only guess at the color. She could at least see the sumptuous green color of this one clearly.

Master had left a book open on the little table again, but when she tried to read the spine, she could not make out the title. A little green orb of light floated over it, but it had become dim.

Harmony walked around the chair and saw that Master's eyes were closed. She glanced at the bed. It looked like it had not been slept in for quite some time, maybe even years.

Looking at the man again, she saw that Master's face, usually stiff and grim, had now smoothed with the calmness of sleep. A slight smile played about his mouth, and Harmony wondered what he was dreaming about.

Harmony watched him for a while, not wanting to see the smile fade and the grim affectation return. But she knew she could not stand there forever, so she eventually stepped up and bent her head close to his ear.

She was close enough to catch the scent of his skin and found it somewhat pleasing. She whispered in his ear, "Master?"

Two sapphire orbs popped open the same moment he reached for his wand. The tip was suddenly only centimeters from Harmony's nose, and she jumped back in alarm.

"Wait!" she gasped, her hands flying up in defense. "It's me."

Voldemort's features shifted from surprise to recognition, and then became stern as he dropped his wand and rubbed the sleep from his eyes with the palms of his hands.

"Sorry, my Lord," she said, dropping her hands. "I didn't mean to frighten you."

"You didn't frighten me," he said tersely. "I'm astonished that you're awake so soon. I didn't expect the potion I gave you to wear off for at least another day."