ꜱᴇʀᴘᴇɴᴛɪɴᴇ ꜱᴇʀɪᴇꜱ | ᴛᴏᴍɪᴏɴᴇ

Serpentine, ch. 22

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

"Now, like every other spell or charm you have learned, Apparition requires a severe amount of concentration, and a whole lot of determination," Master explained as he circled Harmony where she stood in the very middle of the lesson hall. With her back straight and taut, she stared intently at a golden X he had cast on the ground two meters from her.

"It's a good thing you're starting to learn Apparition," he added as he watched her face closely. "It makes for an excellent transition into the next ability I will teach you. Apparition, as well as the other ability, requires a magic from inside the wizard, and nothing else—no wand or any other tools." When he circled her again, he stopped about an arm's length away from the golden X.

"Okay, now, concentrate hard on the place you wish to travel, but keep every muscle of your body relaxed. Fill every bit of you with the desire to go to this place. Now, imagine breaking down into millions of tiny pieces, so tiny that you become invisible. Imagine this deterioration starting at the very top of your head, and then slowly going down to the soles of your feet."

Everything became incredibly still while Harmony concentrated, and her rushing pulse reverberated in her ears. With each slow, methodical breath, she imagined herself dissolving into the air one cell at a time. She stared, unblinking, at the golden X until it seemed to disappear.

"When you feel ready, flex every one of your core muscles and turn your body a bit, as if you are about to twirl into the air," Voldemort instructed. "During that moment, nothing else should fill your mind except the destination where you wish to be."

His voice had lulled her into a sort of hypnotized state, and now she felt a sort of black hole that wished to pull her in and spew her out onto the golden X. She waited until she felt nothing could keep her from going to that spot, then took a deep breath, flexed every muscle in her torso, and turned on the spot.

A quick, numbing sensation came and went several times and then stopped entirely. She had closed her eyes hard instinctively, and had to relax before she forced herself to open them, one lid at a time. And there, still two meters away, she saw the golden X.

She let out an exasperated sigh. "I didn't do it."

"How observant of you," Master teased in a tone between amusement and slight disappointment. "Most witches and wizards don't usually manage to achieve it on their first try." He clapped his hands and said loudly, "Again!" It echoed throughout the hall, shouting at her over and over: "Again, again, again!"

Harmony pulled herself taut again and stared at the X.

It wasn't until Harmony's third attempt that anything significant happened. The very first time she managed to Apparate to the X Harmony exclaimed in surprise and threw a triumphant fist into the air, and then realized all of her fingers were missing. Her exhilaration turned to shocked horror immediately.

They paused a moment to deal with her little dismemberment. She cringed when she was met with another chorus of "Again, again, again!" The two didn't stop working until the sun had set and nothing lit the lesson hall but the hearth at the far end of the room.

"You did well for your first day," Master told her. "You finally managed to Apparate with all ten fingers and all ten toes in place, and right to the spot you intended. Tomorrow I'll be having you work on invisible destinations."

Harmony withheld a shudder, wondering if it was possible to become physically stuck in a wall. She decided it would be best to leave that worry for the morning.

They reached the top of the stairs, and Harmony glanced over at the door to her room uncertainly, then down the hall to Master's door. She wasn't sure which room he would want her to go to. He had let her sleep in bed with him last night while she was recovering, but she didn't know if he would want her to sleep there again.

She turned awkwardly toward her room, but Voldemort gave a little cough. When she looked back at him, he was staring at her out of the corner of his eye. He inclined his head a bit toward his room, then turned and walked inside, leaving his door open for her.

This can't be a good idea, Harmony told herself as her heart began to thud in her chest. Part of her wanted to flee to the relative safety of her own bed, but she already knew she couldn't refuse his wishes. She took a deep, steadying breath as she followed him into his bedroom.

Voldemort had gone into the bathroom when she came in. She sat on the edge of her side and took off her boots. When he came out, she was already beneath the covers. Looking over, she saw him wearing a dark green robe as he headed for his side of the bed. He undid the robe and she quickly cast her eyes away. All she saw was a flash of pale skin—his chest, his arms and shoulders, his stomach—completely bare. She hadn't looked long enough to notice whether or not he was completely naked. He could have been wearing underwear, but it didn't matter.

Harmony lay with her back to him, eyes closed, body clenched. She felt his weight sink into the bed beside her. The blankets ruffled as he adjusted himself, and for a moment she thought he was scooting closer to her in the bed. She bit her lips, hoping he wouldn't think of touching her—hurting her.

She waited, expecting to feel his cold hands pierce the warmth. But once he settled down beneath the covers, that was it. Within minutes, she heard him snoring softly.

Even though she was completely exhausted, Harmony found it difficult to drift off. Her bed mate muttered a lot in his sleep. She listened to his heavy breathing and the mumblings that sometimes formed a coherent word.

"Avada...," he muttered, and she wondered if he was replaying her rescue in his dreams. But when she heard him say "betray" she decided it was some other battle that was troubling him. A blurred image of someone suddenly entered her mind, but she couldn't make out who it was. I need to get some sleep, she thought numbly as she tried to drift off, and wondered with amusement if she was starting to catch his nightmares like a cold.