ꜱᴇʀᴘᴇɴᴛɪɴᴇ ꜱᴇʀɪᴇꜱ | ᴛᴏᴍɪᴏɴᴇ

Whispers from the Past, ch. 12

CHAPTER TWELVE

The moment Snape's fingers wrapped around her wrist, her world instantly went topsy-turvy. Their bodies turned to rubber and stretched while being forced through the black hole. Their surroundings melted away and Shell cottage distorted and disappeared. Snape's black cloak enveloped her like a living shadow swallowing her whole. When she side-Apparated, her feet landed on unstable ground and she toppled over. Her bottom landed on something rough and solid and Snape's cloak whipped away from her face.

Unlike the warm sunny weather at Shell cottage, they had Apparated to a place under a shroud of dark clouds threatening to unleash a torrent of rain. The weather matched her mood perfectly. She looked around glumly at the tall brick walls on either side of them. They were hidden in the shadows at the mouth of an alleyway leading to a street of some neighborhood. Harmony's back rested against one of the brick walls which was slick with grime. Snape slinked against the adjacent wall and peeked out, looking left and right down the street.

He was mumbling under his breath, "They should have listened to me in the first place. But since when did that lot ever listen? Now the entire Ministry will be after their skins." He looked over at Harmony out of the corner of his dark eyes. "It's a good thing Lupin contacted me when he did or you would be suffering the Dementor's Kiss by now. Last moment, as always."

Harmony's head fell forward, a mane of hair hiding her face. She said nothing and he was about to ask her what her problem was when he noticed her shoulders were trembling.

She couldn't hold back the sudden wave of tears. She would've liked to have waited until she was alone to cry, but the pain was too much.

"What?" Snape asked her sharply.

She gasped a sob, bringing up a sleeve to wipe her face. Her other hand came over her mouth to keep from screaming. She didn't struggle when Snape strode over to her and grasped her elbow, roughly bringing her to her feet.

"There will be time for that later," he growled and when Harmony turned her face away from him in shame, he added, "That's enough—"

"It's Harry," she choked, wiping her eyes. "When I touched him it was like Voldemort took over me." She took in a shaky breath. "You should've seen the way they looked at me. They feared me."

Snape froze at the mention of the Dark Lord. "What do you mean?"

"I mean," she said sharply, looking him straight in the eyes, "when I touched Harry I wanted to kill him!" The way Snape stared back made her crumble with shame and she looked away.

"You think it has something to do with your Serpentine charm?" he asked.

She shook her head. "I don't know. But I have a feeling it's important."

A curtain of black hair shielded his face when he nodded once. "You are the first to have the Serpentine charm. The unexpected is to be anticipated." He beckoned to the street ahead of them. "But for now, you must handle them as they come. We need to keep moving."

Harmony fastened her pack over her shoulder and followed Snape out onto the street. The neighborhood was rugged and worn, like a ghost town. The place reminded her of Knockturn Alley, someplace she was not keen on remembering. Tall, tilting houses loomed over them like overgrown trees.

"Where are we?" Harmony asked quietly. She wasn't sure why she was whispering, maybe because she felt like they were being watched, even though all sidewalks were vacant.

Snape replied without looking back at her, "Spinner's End." His voice was flat and emotionless, and she sensed he had some sort of history with this gloomy neighborhood.