Adam didn't like Apparition. It was probably the most uncomfortable way to travel. Ever. The feeling of being squished and pulled along a narrow pipe made Adam want to be sick and it had taken him at least three goes before he'd managed to arrive at the other of end without immediately falling over.
Tonks had just Apparated him to Diagon Alley and Adam, much to his relief, had managed to land with only a slight stumble. It was a Saturday, so Diagon Alley was moderately crowded. It would have been very embarrassing for him to fall over in front of all of those people.
"So where are we heading today?" he asked Tonks. She had been very vague about where they were going. All she had told him was that they were taking a trip to Diagon Alley.
"Wait and see," Tonks replied cheekily. "We're meeting Remus."
As they walked together down Diagon Alley, Adam looked on with interest as Tonks steered him towards one of the few buildings in Diagon Alley that he'd not yet been in. They were approaching Gringotts Bank, a white building that towered over many of the others.
When they reached the building, Tonks held open the large front door and Adam entered.
Inside the bank there was a long line of goblin cashiers behind desks. Adam had seen plenty of pictures of goblins in books and he'd heard plenty about their rebellions in History of Magic.
Adam and Tonks joined a queue and eventually were seen by one of the goblins.
"This young man has an appointment with Ragnok," Tonks told the clerk.
"Name?" the goblin asked him.
"Adam Winters," Adam replied.
The clerk paused for a second and looked down at something that was out of Adam's sight before replying, "Very well, you may go through those doors and take the first door on the right." The goblin gestured towards a set of double doors on the far side of the room. They were engraved with a large golden G.
Adam walked purposefully over towards the doors, but, to his surprise, Tonks didn't follow him.
"See you later, Adam," Tonks said as she took a seat in a small waiting area in the main room of the bank.
"Aren't you coming?" Adam asked. Then he realised, she didn't know. So she couldn't come.
"Nope," she replied and then continued with an exaggerated sad face, "I'm not welcome!"
Adam laughed and was relieved to see that Tonks laughed back.
"Go on, Ad!" she called. "You'll be late."
Adam walked through the double doors and, approaching the first door on the right, he knocked on the door.
"Come in," called a voice from inside.
Adam entered the room. In the centre of the room, there was a goblin sitting behind a large desk. Also in the room were Remus and by his chair sat a large black dog. Sirius! Adam thought excitedly.
"Hello, Mr. Winters," said the goblin behind the desk. "I am Ragnok."
"Hi, Mr. Ragnok," Adam replied politely.
"Very good. Please take a seat," continued Ragnok.
"Hi, Adam," Remus said softly.
"Hi, Remus," Adam replied and, stroking Sirius' head, he sat down in the chair next to Remus.
"We are here to discuss the vault belonging to Mr Harry James Potter," Ragnok began.
"Vault?" Adam asked. I have a vault?
Ragnok coughed. "As I was saying, I am to understand that the name you were given at birth is Harry James Potter?"
"Yeah," Adam replied hesitantly.
"Then I must ask for a blood sample please, Mr. Winters," Ragnok continued. "Your hand please."
Adam stood and went forward to stand in front of Ragnok's desk. He held out his hand and Ragnok took a small blood sample, which he then placed into a slot on top of a metal box that sat on the desk.
"This will take a few seconds," Ragnok informed them.
Everyone waited in silence until, a few seconds later, the box opened with a click and Ragnok withdrew a golden key which he then passed to Adam.
"This key, Mr. Potter, will grant you access to your vault."
"I have a vault?" Adam asked, hoping he would get an answer this time.
"Yes, Mr. Potter, you do," replied Ragnok.
"It's all still intact?" interrupted Remus.
"Yes," replied Ragnok.
"We would like to see the vault, if possible," said Remus, "and see a list of transactions."
"Yes, that can be arranged," replied Ragnok.
"Stop!" Adam shouted in exasperation. "I want someone to explain what is going on!"
Sirius yelped enthusiastically at this.
"Sorry," Remus said, suddenly looking guilty.
"Apologies, Mr. Potter, let me explain," interrupted Ragnok. "You see, when your parents were killed, their will stated that all their worldly possessions and monetary savings would become yours."
Adam nodded his understanding.
"However, you were also believed dead. Normally, this would mean that the vault and its contents would pass to the nearest family member. However, as you had no living wizarding family and neither yourself nor your parents had made any further provision, the vault would pass to the Ministry of Magic."
"So with all us believed dead, the vault would go to the Ministry?" Adam clarified.
"Yes," the goblin continued, "but in cases where the assets of an entire family pass into the control of the Ministry, we exercise somewhat stricter rules. In cases such as yours where there were, naturally, no identifiable remains, we must wait until the person can be declared dead in absentia, a process which takes fifteen years."
"Okay," Adam replied, trying to keep his face expressionless. His parents had left him money!He'd never had any money before!
"So the Ministry will be expecting to take control of the Potter vault next year?" Remus asked.
"Yes, they are."
"Are they aware yet that Harry is alive?" Remus questioned.
"Not yet," replied Ragnok. "We will not tell them. However, when they come to take control of the Potter vault, they will obviously realise that one of the Potters is indeed alive."
Remus nodded but Adam felt uneasy — that would mean that, in a little over a year, the ministry would know who he was.
"Well, would you like to see your vault, Adam?" Remus asked.
Adam nodded, wondering exactly what his parents had left him.
Ragnok took Adam, Remus and Sirius on an incredible journey in a small cart. It was probably one of the best things Adam had done for a while and, by the time the ride was over, Adam thought they must be miles underground.
Once they reached their destination, Adam climbed out of the cart and saw a massive metal door in front of him.
"This is vault 687. Your vault, Mr. Potter," Ragnok informed him. "Use your key to open the door."
Adam inserted his key into the slot in the door, turned it and, with a slight scream of moving metal, the door slowly creaked open.
Once the door had opened, Adam stared blankly into the vault. It was piled high with gold coins.
"W-W-What?" Adam asked. He was dumbfounded. He had never seen so much money before in his entire life.
"This is what your parents left you," Remus said gently.
"In addition to this, you are also the owner of the house in Godric's Hollow," said Ragnok.
"House?" Adam asked.
Remus hesitated. "Your parents' house, where it happened."
"Oh," Adam replied, still feeling somewhat numb.
Adam stood there, staring at the money. What on earth would he need that much money for?
Adam turned to Remus and Sirius. "I want to give some money to the Weasleys. They've looked after me for years."
Remus hesitated. "Adam," he began softly, "that would not be a good idea. Firstly, I don't think they would accept it, and we couldn't explain where all the money had come from."
Adam growled in frustration.
"Don't worry, Professor Dumbledore has ensured that they are not placed in hardship because they are looking after you."
"Can I take some with me?" Adam asked Ragnok.
Ragnok nodded and passed Adam a bag.
"I'm not sure that's wise, Adam. You would have to be very careful," Remus interrupted.
"I don't care what you say. I'm going to take some with me!" Adam said angrily. "All my life, I've had nothing! I've not even been able to get any of my friends presents and now I have all this and you say I can't use it!"
"Okay," Remus replied, lowering his head slightly. "I'm sorry."
Adam strode inside and, gathering a hand-full of Galleons, shoved them into the bag. When he emerged from the vault, he noticed Remus had already gone back to the cart and Adam now felt guilty for shouting at him earlier.
"I'm sorry," Adam said as he sat down next to Remus.
Remus smiled at him. "Don't worry," he replied. "You're coping with all this fantastically. I think you're entitled to a little outburst every now and again."
Adam grinned back. "Erm, can we stop off in Diagon Alley on the way back? I would like to get a present for someone."
"Who would that be for?" Remus asked in a teasing tone.
"Ginny," Adam said, blushing slightly.
Sirius started yelping happily at this news, so Adam swatted him across the head.
"Did you tell her?" Remus asked.
"Yes," Adam replied. "She'll keep my secret."
Remus nodded in agreement. "Okay, then I guess we can take a little shopping trip on our way home."
"Tonks might be able to help me pick something out," Adam said brightly.
Adam was amused to notice that Remus blushed at the mention of Tonks.
Ginny August 12th 1995
Ginny had finished her chores by mid-afternoon and, as much as she loved her mother, after spending the entire morning and half of the afternoon being sent from room to room with cleaning materials in hand, she needed to get away. So Ginny grabbed one of her magazines and escaped into the garden.
Once she was away from the house, Ginny sat down next to the tree by the pond and began reading.
"Ginny!" her mum called, disturbing her from her reading. "It's nearly dinner time!" Wow, time had flown by.
Ginny picked up her things and wandered back into the house. She went upstairs to her room to put her things back and tidy herself up before dinner. Hopefully, Adam would be back by then.
When she reached the first floor landing, Ginny noticed that the door to Adam's room was already open. He must be back already, she thought excitedly, so Ginny poked her head in the room. Adam was lying on his back on the bed staring at the ceiling.
"Hello!" Ginny said brightly.
"Hi," he said with a smile as he turned towards her.
"Good day?" Ginny asked.
"Yeah… erm… lots to tell you."
Ginny closed the door and sat down on the bed. She noticed Adam was rummaging for something in his pockets. He withdrew a small wrapped parcel, which he presented to her.
"Happy late Birthday," he said, blushing slightly.
"Oh, Adam!" Ginny replied. How had he managed to get her a present? "How… Thank you!"
Ginny eagerly ripped open the wrapping. Inside was a small box, which she also opened. Oh my! Inside the box was an absolutely beautiful silver locket on a chain.
Ginny looked up. She was amazed that Adam had given her something so amazingly beautiful. He was looking at her intently, still blushing furiously.
"D-D-Do you like it?" he asked hesitantly.
"Oh, Adam! I love it!" Ginny exclaimed.
"You can put a photo in it — erm — if you want," Adam blurted, pointing to the small circular body of the locket.
"Thank you!" Ginny exclaimed, leaping forward and hugging him. "But… but how?" Ginny asked. "You didn't get Sirius to buy this, did you?"
"No!" Adam said defensively. "It has a lot to do with what happened today."
"Go on," Ginny said, still gazing at the beautiful present that Adam had given her.
"Well, Remus and Sirius took me to Gringotts. Apparently, my parents left me some money," Adam said.
"Oh, wow!" Ginny exclaimed. "That's amazing! You shouldn't have spent so much money on me though. This must have cost a lot."
"You're worth it," Adam replied. "Besides," he hesitated, "they left me rather a lot of money."
"Oh," Ginny replied, surprised that he seemed almost ashamed that his parents had left him money.
"I can't really use it though," he said. "If I suddenly get loads of money, people will be suspicious."
"That does make sense," Ginny mused.
"I know, but… well, I wanted to give some to your mum and dad for letting me live here and I wanted to get you all presents to repay you for all the presents you've given me and… well, I couldn't."
"Adam!" Ginny exclaimed. "We didn't take you in or get you presents because we expected them back! I really don't think my dad would take charity anyway!"
"But…"
"No buts!" Ginny scolded him. "Save the money. You'll need it for the future."
Adam grinned. "Yes, boss."
"That's one thing you've got right," Ginny replied with a smirk. "Now come on, it's nearly dinner time and Mum will go mental if we're in a room together with a closed door."
Adam August 19th 1995
Adam was waiting patiently for Ginny. They had finally managed to arrange for Ginny to come along on a visit to go and see Sirius. Sirius and Tonks had readily agreed. Persuading Mrs Weasley had been a much harder task than they thought but she had eventually agreed.
"Wotcher, Adam," Tonks' voice surprised him from the doorway to the kitchen.
"Hi, Tonks," Adam greeted her cheerily. "Ginny's still getting ready."
Ginny joined them eventually. She was wearing a blue skirt, a blouse and a cardigan. Adam grinned when he saw her. He had kept out of the argument between Ginny and Mrs Weasley about what she would wear today. Mrs Weasley was insistent that Ginny needed to wear a dress, while Ginny had been completely against one. By the look of what Ginny was wearing they had come to some sort of compromise. Seeing Ginny in a skirt outside of her school uniform was rare, not that Adam minded, of course.
"You look very nice, Ginny," Tonks complimented. "I'm surprised the young man here hasn't complimented you yet."
Adam felt himself blushing. "I erm… Ahh. You see…"
Ginny burst out in a fit of giggles. "Tonks is only teasing you, Adam!"
"Oh," Adam paused. "You do look nice, Ginny!"
Ginny grinned back at him. "Thanks!"
"Well, are you off, then?" said Mrs Weasley as she entered from the kitchen.
"Yes, Mum," replied Ginny, giving her mum a hug.
"Well, try to be back by dinner time," said Mrs Weasley. "Remember, we're helping Percy move tomorrow, so we all need to get an early night."
"Come on, guys. We need to get going," Tonks said with a wink.
Tonks took Ginny on the first trip to Sirius' house and then returned for Adam. When he entered Number 12, Ginny was waiting for him. She looked rather apprehensive about being in the dark hallway.
"Nice place," Ginny commented.
"Sirius knows how to live in style," Tonks replied flippantly.
Adam merely shrugged as Tonks led them down into the kitchen. Waiting in the kitchen were Sirius and Remus.
"Professor Lupin!" Ginny exclaimed happily when she saw him.
"Hi, Ginny," Remus replied. "But I'm not your teacher anymore, so call me Remus."
"Sit down, guys. Let's have some tea," said Sirius.
"I'll get on with some cleaning then, I guess," said Tonks.
"No, please stay, Tonks," Remus blurted.
Tonks nodded and sat down.
"So what do you guys normally do?" Ginny asked.
"Talk, generally," Sirius said.
Adam noticed that Ginny was looking slightly uncomfortable as no one spoke for several seconds.
"Brilliant conversation," Tonks interjected.
Ginny giggled.
"Adam, do you remember what Professor Dumbledore had me doing the year before I taught at Hogwarts?" Remus asked, finally breaking the silence.
"Yeah, investigating me," Adam replied in a dull voice.
"Well, during the course of my investigation, I visited a few places where you lived over the years."
"What?" Adam snapped. Even after all these years, he still felt very embarrassed and ashamed of his past.
"No," Remus replied quietly. "This is something good, I think. Several people asked if you could get back in touch. I was wondering if you wanted to explore that."
"Really? Who?" Adam asked hesitantly. He struggling to remember who from his past would want to see him. He hadn't had many friends.
"Well, two people especially," replied Remus. "There was a woman named Alice, who worked at a home in Cardiff…"
Adam shuddered. "I'm not going back there," he stated flatly, he remembered when he had been left there.
"Out you get, Adam," he said.
Adam got out of the car with his backpack. He turned and looked hesitantly at the place where he had just been dropped off.It was a large building, nothing like the house he had lived in before.He turned to watch his family's car pull off.
Adam felt Ginny squeeze his hand comfortingly.
"Well," Remus continued, "there were two children at a place in Bristol: Luke and Laura."
Adam stared blankly at Remus. He slowly felt himself beginning to smile as he recalled his time there.
"I-I-I don't want to go," Adam said, in tears.
"Adam! You have to go," Laura replied. "You can have a family now!"
"I-I-I want to stay with you guys," Adam cried.
"You have to go, Adam!" said Luke. "Please! We'll probably never get this chance! No-one wants two."
"Can I go and see them?" Adam asked, shaking his head slightly.
"Of course you can," Remus replied.
"Well, you can go after we've had some lunch, if that's not too soon," said Sirius. "Unfortunately, I can't go with you. They put my picture all over the Muggle papers." He grimaced. "We can't risk one of them recognising me."
"Oh," Adam replied, suddenly feeling a surge of sympathy for Sirius.
"I'm sure you'll be cleared soon enough," Ginny added, with a supportive smile.
"Thanks, guys," Sirius replied. "Though I'm not holding out any hope for it anytime soon."
After lunch, Adam and Ginny were Side-Along Apparated by Tonks and Remus to a side street in Bristol. Adam was amazed at how quickly Remus had organised things, but, he guessed, they didn't have long until it would be time to go back to school, so they either had to go now or leave it until next summer.
"Thanks for letting me come," Ginny said quietly as they walked down the street.
"Thanks for coming," Adam paused. "I'm glad you're here."
They walked in silence down the street. When they turned a corner, Adam immediately recognised the house. It was still painted in bright colours similar to how it had been all those years ago. The group began making their way down the street towards it.
"Remember, guys, you can't tell them we're wizards," Remus reminded them.
"Or witches," Ginny added with a smirk.
When they reached the house, Remus walked up the path, approached the door and knocked. Adam hesitated at the gateway to the property, suddenly feeling very nervous.
"Come on, I'm sure they'll be thrilled to see you," Ginny said from his side as she took his hand.
Adam and Ginny walked hand-in-hand towards the house. Just as they were approaching the door, it opened and a woman stood for a moment, looking at them. Finally, she exchanged a few words with Remus before she ushered them into the hallway. Adam looked around, searching for anything familiar in the surroundings. After a brief conversation with Remus, the woman led them into a living room; it had a small television and there were two sofas and several chairs scattered around the room. Adam could also spot books and board games piled up on various shelves around the room.
"Mr. Lupin, as you requested, I didn't tell Luke and Laura that you were coming, as you weren't certain when, or even if, you were coming," the woman began, once they had sat down. "So I can go and fetch them now, if you would like?"
"Yes, please," said Adam.
"Do you want some privacy, Adam?" Remus asked.
Adam nodded hesitantly.
Tonks, Remus and Ginny started to make their way out of the room. Ginny shot him a smile as she moved towards the doorway.
"Ginny — erm — will you stay?" Adam asked.
Ginny beamed at him. "Sure."
Remus, Tonks and the woman left the room. Adam smiled as he sat down on the sofa, and watched Ginny explore the room.
"So, how long did you live here?" Ginny asked quietly.
"Only about a year… I think, but I knew Luke and Laura before I came here… since we were really little. But then I left…"
"Ahh, so was it alright here?" Ginny asked.
"Yeah," Adam said. It had been alright here; it was after he left here that everything went downhill.
"Adam," Ginny began hesitantly, "what's that over there?" she asked, pointing to the television.
"Oh, that's a T.V."
"What does it do?"
"You watch it," Adam replied. Noticing that Ginny still looked confused, he continued, "It shows moving pictures, with sound."
"Adam!?" a voice exclaimed.
Adam turned to look in the direction of the voice. He saw two people he had never thought he would see again. Adam hesitantly stood up from the sofa and stared at the two in front of him.
"Adam!" the voice said again. This time it was an excited squeal.
Laura charged at him and wrapped him in a hug.
"I never thought I'd see you again!" she gushed happily. "Oh, it's so good to see you!"
"It's great to see you, mate!" Luke said, as he clapped Adam on the back.
Adam grinned. "Hi — er — wow."
"Who's your friend?" Laura asked, glancing over to where Ginny was still standing near the T.V.
"Oh, this is Ginny!" Adam replied. "Ginny, this is Luke and Laura."
The four of them sat down in the living room, Adam and Ginny on the sofa while Laura and Luke took two other seats in the room.
"So, how have you been, Adam?" Luke asked. "I mean it's been like… forever."
"It's been alright. I'm with some friends of my parents now and I go to a school in Scotland."
"Wow. But didn't you get adopted?" Luke asked.
"No," Adam replied coldly. "It didn't work out."
"Oh," Luke replied. "What happened?"
Adam hesitated. "Sorry, I… I-I don't want to talk about it."
Adam noticed that Ginny was looking at him with a concerned expression on her face.
"So, what's your school like?" Laura asked, obviously wanting to change the subject. "Are you doing your GCSEs this year?"
"Erm," Adam hesitated. "Yeah, we have our exams at the end of the year."
"Cool," she replied.
"Where do you go to school?" Ginny asked.
"Ashton Park," Luke replied.
"What do you do there?" Ginny asked curiously.
"Oh the usual: Maths, Science, English, French," Luke replied. He gave Ginny a strange look. "It's the same as yours, I guess."
Adam nodded.
"So how are things here?" Adam asked.
"Good. Things are going well." Laura smiled. "Oh!" she suddenly exclaimed, rummaging in her pocket. "I brought this."
Laura pulled a photograph out of her pocket and passed it to Adam. It showed a young Adam sitting with Luke and Laura together on a sofa. Grinning, Adam passed it to Ginny.
"Oh, Adam!" she said, squealing in delight. "You look so cute!"
Adam blushed furiously and Ginny and Laura both giggled at his discomfort.
"So how long has it been?" Ginny asked suddenly.
"Well…" Adam mused. "I left when I was six or seven?"
"Yeah," Luke added. "I remember… it was just after our sixth birthday, I think — that was when the photo was taken."
"So…" Adam did the sum in his head. "Nine years…"
"Wow…" Laura mused. "We had some good times though, didn't we?"
Adam laughed. "Yeah, I hate that some of it is hard to remember now."
Luke and Laura nodded in agreement.
"Do you remember the funny things that seemed to happen around us?" Laura added, laughing at the memory. "Like when you were able to get the biscuits down from the shelf for us…"
"Oh!" Luke exclaimed. "And when you were able to get the Laura's teddy back!"
"Yeah…" Adam replied with a hesitant laugh, looking over to see Ginny trying to fight the smile that was threatening to appear on her face. "I remember…"
"Adam's always been a bit odd," Ginny added teasingly, causing Luke and Laura to laugh.
Adam was very thankful for her interruption; the last thing he needed was to get in trouble with the Ministry for breaking the Statute of Secrecy.
"Well, shall we get another photo taken? With the four of us?" Luke asked, after a short silence. "I have a camera upstairs."
Once the photo was taken, the four of them talked for rest of the afternoon. Adam had to do most of the talking, as he could tell that Ginny was reluctant to say too much, in case she said something silly about the Muggle world.
"Adam, Ginny, we need to get you back home," Remus called from the doorway when it was time to go.
"Oh," Adam said, slightly sadly.
"Will you come by again?" Laura asked. "Can we phone you?"
Adam hesitated. He had no idea if there was anyway that they could phone him. The Weasleys didn't have a phone.
"The phone lines are very bad where Adam lives," Remus added.
"Oh," Luke replied. "Can we write to you? I'll need some way to get you the photo to you."
Adam looked at Remus.
"Uh," Remus hesitated. "I can give you the address of my flat and you can post it there."
With that, it was time for them to leave. Adam hugged Laura and shook Luke's hand. As they left the house, Adam could see them waving from the doorway until they turned the corner and they lost sight of the brightly painted house.
"That was brilliant," Ginny said as they walked back down the street. "I've never spent any time with Muggles our age before!"
"It was really awkward," Adam said. "I couldn't tell them much about my life."
"It's often that way when Muggle-borns enter the wizarding world. It's very easy to feel that you are no longer part of the Muggle world," Remus said sadly.
"Yeah, it felt very weird," Adam replied with a smile. "But it was brilliant to see them again. I wish we could have stayed longer."
"Well, Molly wanted you back in time for dinner," Remus replied. "But we can always see about coming to visit next holiday."
"Yeah," Ginny groaned. "We have to help Percy move to his flat tomorrow, so mum will have us all bed early tonight."
August 20th 1995 He was in a room. The room was filled with flickering golden light from the fire that had been lit in the grate. He was on the floor staring at the fire.
"There is a little more in the bottle, My Lord, if you are still hungry," a man's voice spoke.
"Later," said a second voice. This too belonged to a man, but it was strangely high-pitched, and cold as a sudden blast of icy wind. "Move me closer to the fire, Wormtail."
There came the clink of a bottle being put down upon some hard surface, and then the dull scraping noise of a heavy chair being dragged across the floor.
"You will milk Nagini before we retire, Wormtail," said the second voice. "I will need feeding in the night."
"My Lord, may I ask how long we are going to stay here?" Wormtail asked. "We've already had to kill the Muggle caretaker, we may have been noticed."
"We will be safe here a while yet," said the cold voice. "If you followed my orders and disposed of his body correctly, we will not be found. Besides, this place is moderately comfortable, and the plan cannot proceed yet."
"Your Lordship is still determined, then?" Wormtail said quietly.
"Certainly I am determined, Wormtail." There was a note of menace in the cold voice now.
A slight pause followed and then Wormtail spoke, the words tumbling from him in a rush, as though he was forcing himself to say this before he lost his nerve. "It could be done without Harry Potter, My Lord."
"Without Harry Potter?" breathed the second voice softly. "I see."
"My Lord, I do not say this out of concern for the boy!" said Wormtail, his voice rising squeakily. "The boy is nothing to me, nothing at all! It is merely that if we were to use another witch or wizard, any wizard, the thing could be done so much more quickly! If you allowed me to leave you for a short while — you know that I can disguise myself most effectively — I could be back here in as little as two days with a suitable person."
"I could use another wizard," said the cold voice softly, "that is true…"
"My Lord, it makes sense," said Wormtail, sounding thoroughly relieved now. "Laying hands on Harry Potter would be so difficult."
"And so you volunteer to go and fetch me a substitute? I wonder; perhaps the task of nursing me has become wearisome for you, Wormtail? Could this suggestion of abandoning the plan be nothing more than an attempt to desert me?"
"My Lord! I-I have no wish to leave you, none at all."
"Do not lie to me!" hissed the second voice. "I can always tell, Wormtail! You are regretting that you ever returned to me. I revolt you. I see you flinch when you look at me, feel you shudder when you touch me…"
"No! My devotion to Your Lordship is complete."
"Your devotion is nothing more than cowardice. You would not be here if you had anywhere else to go. How am I to survive without you, when I need feeding every few hours? Who is to milk Nagini?"
"But you seem so much stronger, My Lord."
"Liar," breathed the second voice. "I am no stronger, and a few days alone would be enough to rob me of the little health I have regained under your clumsy care. I have my reasons for using the boy, as I have already explained to you, and I will use no other. I have waited fourteen years. A few more months will make no difference. As for the protection surrounding the boy, I believe my plan will be effective. All that is needed is a little courage from you, Wormtail, courage you will find, unless you wish to feel the full extent of Lord Voldemort's wrath."
"My Lord, I must speak!" said Wormtail, panic in his voice now. "All through our journey I have gone over the plan in my head. My Lord, Bertha Jorkins's disappearance will not go unnoticed for long, and if we proceed…"
"If?" whispered the second voice. "If? If you follow the plan, Wormtail, the Ministry need never know that anyone else has disappeared. You will do it quietly and without fuss; I only wish that I could do it myself, but in my present condition … Come, Wormtail, one more obstacle removed and our path to Harry Potter is clear. I am not asking you to do it alone. By that time, my faithful servant will have rejoined us."
"I am a faithful servant," said Wormtail, the merest trace of sullenness in his voice.
"Wormtail, I need somebody with brains, somebody whose loyalty has never wavered, and you, unfortunately, fulfill neither requirement."
"I found you," said Wormtail, and there was definitely a sulky edge to his voice now. "I was the one who found you. I brought you Bertha Jorkins."
"That is true," said the second man, sounding amused. "A stroke of brilliance I would not have thought possible from you, Wormtail, though, if truth be told, you were not aware how useful she would be when you caught her, were you?"
"I-I thought she might be useful, My Lord."
"Liar," said the second voice again, the cruel amusement more pronounced than ever. "However, I do not deny that her information was invaluable. Without it, I could never have formed our plan, and for that, you will have your reward, Wormtail. I will allow you to perform an essential task for me, one that many of my followers would give their right hands to perform…"
"R-really, My Lord? What—?" Wormtail sounded terrified again.
"Ah, Wormtail, you don't want me to spoil the surprise? Your part will come at the very end … but I promise you, you will have the honour of being just as useful as Bertha Jorkins."
"You … you …" Wormtail's voice suddenly sounded hoarse, as though his mouth had gone very dry. "You … are going … to kill me too?"
"Wormtail, Wormtail," said the cold voice silkily, "why would I kill you? I killed Bertha because I had to. She was fit for nothing after my questioning, quite useless. In any case, awkward questions would have been asked if she had gone back to the Ministry with the news that she had met you on her holidays. Wizards who are supposed to be dead would do well not to run into Ministry of Magic witches at wayside inns. We could have modified her memory? But Memory Charms can be broken by a powerful wizard, as I proved when I questioned her. It would be an insult to her memory not to use the information I extracted from her, Wormtail."
"One more curse… a trap to be set… the bait is already in place…" he made a soft cackling noise,"… bait for our trap … and my faithful servant at Hogwarts … Harry Potter is as good as mine, Wormtail. It is decided. There will be no more argument."
The second man's voice changed. He started hissing and spitting without drawing breath. It was almost as if he was having some sort of fit or seizure.
"Nagini," the cold voice called.
He moved from his position by the fire and moved towards the source of the voice. There was a chair facing him. He looked up and saw what was sitting in it and he felt his very being become filled with a terror unlike anything he had ever felt before.
Adam sat up sharply in bed. The right side of his forehead was burning as if someone had placed a white hot wire to his skin. He put his hand over the source of the pain. It came away sticky. Blood. Adam leapt out of the bed and quietly stepped out onto the landing. As he passed Ginny's bedroom, he heard a soft whimpering noise from inside. She must be having a bad dream! A trickle of blood down his forehead reminded Adam of the reason he had got out of bed and he dashed upstairs into the bathroom. He would check on Ginny once he had cleaned up the blood.
Adam looked at himself in the mirror. His face was pale and there was blood streaked over his forehead where he had smudged it with his hand. Grabbing a flannel with his trembling hand, Adam cleaned the blood off himself and watched as it swirled away down the sink. Adam frantically wiped the sink, attempting to clean up after himself. He didn't want to worry Mrs Weasley.
With the blood finally gone, Adam looked at himself again the mirror. There was a jagged red line on the right side of his forehead and it seemed to be roughly where the pain had been coming from. Adam squinted at the line; it looked almost like a lightning bolt. As he watched, the line slowly began to fade and then it almost seemed to dissolve behind his skin.
Shrugging, Adam left the bathroom and quietly made his way back down the stairs and across the landing. As he passed Ginny's room it was now silent, so, not wanting to wake her, Adam made his way back to his room and climbed back into bed.
As he lay in bed, Adam tried to remember the dream that had woken him. He remembered two people, one seemed vaguely familiar. He remembered being in a dark room. He was sitting by a fire place. They had been talking about someone. Who had they been talking about? Adam tossed in his bed. Him! They had been talking about him!But what had they been talking about? Adam couldn't remember. The knowledge seemed tantalisingly close, but still impossibly out of reach.
After many frustrating minutes, Adam was no closer to deciphering his dream. Giving up as a bad job, he settled back down. He hoped he could catch another few hours of sleep before Mrs Weasley woke them all. He would probably be involved in helping move all of Percy's furniture and belongings to his new flat. Percy had wanted to be closer to his work at the Ministry of Magic. Adam couldn't understand why you needed to be closer to anywhere when you could Apparate.
Author Note: Big thanks to my beta, Arnel, and big thanks to all those who reviewed.
This chapter contains a section that is a slightly modified direct extract from Goblet of Fire Chapter 1.