The Child of the Seventh Month

4. Snakes and Intruders

One early morning, sometime during the summer before his eleventh birthday, three house elves arrived in the child's bedroom, starting him awake with the loud cracks of apparition.

The room he called his was on the third floor, away from the Lord's quarters, and consisted of a double bed, many pieces of old furniture that seemed so fragile they would break with a touch, and things the child had found in the Manor; like bird feathers, dried flowers, shed snake skin, and a collection of shiny stones. The house elves would often come and try to clean it up but the child would insist they leave it be.

He blinked the remnants of sleep away, welcomed by a ray of sunlight that pierced through the chink in the curtains. He sat up as the elves, named respectively Crinkly, Walder, and Joly, stared at him with big, watery eyes. Noteworthy was that they looked even more watery than usual, although the child couldn't tell the cause.

"Master is summoning you, sir," Crinkly said urgently, pushing him out of the bed.

Conflicting emotions arose in the child's chest at the news. He felt equally elated and terrified. His thoughts wandered to the possible reasons for the Lord's sudden interest in him but he couldn't remember doing anything worthy of his attention lately.

"Young master needs to get dressed!" Joly, the smallest elf, piped up throwing herself at the large warderobe and fighting to open the shelves with her bony arms.

"Did he look angry?" the child asked quietly, slipping out of his duvet.

The elves hesitated. A brief, wordless conversation took place amongst them.

"No, sir, Master is happy," Walder answered.

Joly threw some clothes at the child who had no choice but to dress with the elves staring and bouncing impatiently. As soon as he was presentable, one of them grabbed his hand and apparated them into the main hall.

The first thing the child noticed, led by his survival instinct, was the fact of being surrounded. Around him, making a perfect cirlce, were the people in the masks and dark robes, standing there in silence like statues of doom. The child felt a spike of fear for he had never been in the presence of so many of them at the same time.

Another crack, and he whirled around to see Walder had appeared next to him, holding the other boy's arm. The children moved closer to one another, both equally unsettled. The child felt the other's hand grasp his, and he squeezed it back.

The hall was dark despite the early hour. Figures clad in black stood in front of the windows, blocking most of the sunlight from entering, their skull-shaped, silver masks nearly glowing. The child looked around, standing as still as possible, as though he would become invisible if he managed to remain unmoved.

"Finally," the Lord's familiar voice spoke from behind the children, and they swung around to face him, "The guests of honour have joined us."

The circle parted to make a way for the Lord like the red sea had parted for Moses once upon a time. The child tried to read the Lord's face, understand why he had been called, but he couldn't see anything, couldn't understand anything, apart from - the Lord was amused.

"Do you know what these children are?" the Lord asked their audience.

Of course, most of the people in masks, Death Eaters, had seen the children many times roaming around the mansion but they had never paid much attention to them. The child hadn't either and now deeply regretted that. He tried to survey and recognize anything special about any of them, wondering why the Lord would now, of all times, bring the children to their attention.

"No, My Lord," a few voices admitted, while a few others murmured something unintelligible.

"Not even you, Severus?" the Lord asked softly. "Come closer, take a good look."