The Serpent's Teeth:
His Desires

Shadows of the past

Haylee

She quietly opened the door and entered the room.

For a moment, Haylee looked at the sleeping boy on the bed and smiled.

Yes, it was right.

Haylee had nothing to regret.

The young man moved, and muttered something that sounded like her name.
He had wanted to tell her something yesterday evening, but she had pushed him into bed.

"Haylee?"
Haylee walked closer and sat down on the bed.

"How are you feeling?"
"Still tired. But a little better than yesterday." Alexander sat up.
"Could you please open the curtains?"
"Sure." She got up, crossed the room, and pulled the heavy velvet curtain aside.

"They almost didn't want to let me go, right?" Alexander asked quietly.
"Yes, because he has escaped."
"He was here, right?"

Haylee looked away.
"Yes, on the evening of the day that Bellatrix was sent to Azkaban."
"You've made yourself a lot of enemies."
"I know."
"They'll want to take revenge on you."
"Probably."
"Why did you do that? "
"Sometimes, Alexander," Haylee began, sat down on his bed and put her hand on his. "Sometimes you get to a point where others matter more than yourself."

Alexander gave her a sad smile.

"I'll leave you alone again, I have to check on Cathy and Tim. Should I tell the house elves to bring you some food?"

Alexander nodded.
"Thank you, Haylee."

She wanted to go, when he called her back.
"What is it?"
"I almost forgot it." He seemed to be very excited at once.

"As I was waiting to be released yesterday, I heard a conversation between two Aurors. Nick hasn't simply disappeared, because he was caught by Aurors. He betrayed The Dark Lord."
"Yes, so? That doesn't mean that..."
"He's alive. Nick is alive. By his statements partially the charges were supported by some Death Eaters. "
"That was years ago, Alexander."
"No, three weeks ago."

Haylee stared at her brother.
Any color had drained from her face.
Nick, her childhood friend from Hogwarts, was alive...

Alexander leaned forward slightly.

"And I know that he wants to come here."
"What the hell are you talking about? How do you know that Nick wants to come here?"
"He has nothing to fear. Why wouldn't he come?"
"If he had really wanted to, he would be here already!" Haylee disagreed violently.

"Or he would have appeared several years ago."
"Can it be that you're mad?" Asked Alexander amused.

Haylee remained silent.
Nick could not be alive.

"Trust me, I know that he will show up here. And who knows? Perhaps today?" Alexander smiled conspiratorially.
"I think you've lost your mind in Azkaban little brother."

That was the purest nonsense.
Nick could not be alive.

That would ruin everything... wait, what was she thinking?
Everything was already ruined.
She would die.
Or had she forgotten about that?

****

The clock strikes three.

Kathy and Tim sat upstairs with Alexander.

The three had not eaten yet.
Haylee would ask one of the house elves to bring them something.

She got up, went into the hall and wanted to go to the kitchen when her gaze remained hanging on a mirror.

Her pale face looked back at her.
She looked terrible.
Far too pale, a little under the eyes, dark shadows, the hair dull than usual and thin she had become.
She had not eaten much lately.
But maybe that was just the cancer ... "I've never looked this bad," she said aloud.

"Oh nonsense. You look just as beautiful as I remember," replied a melodic voice near the entrance.

Haylee whirled around, but stumbled at the same time back on to the mirror.
"Nick!" She gasped.
"Why so surprised?" Smiling, the brown-haired young man came up to her.

"Didn't you get my letter?"
"Letter?" Haylees eyes widened when it became clear to her.

Alexander, I'll kill you!

"Apparently not. Well the owl was already quite old. Maybe it had a heart attack." Nick stood in front of her.

By Merlin, Nick is really alive!

"What do you want here?"
"What kind of welcome is that?"
"I thought you were dead."
"Without you I was."

He still knows exactly what to say.

"Why didn't you come back?"
"Are you forgetting you-know-who?"

How could anyone ever forget him?
Haylee wanted to say something, but just then someone knocked at the front door and house elf came to open the door.

Snape

Sooner or later, his name had to be brought up, and unfortunately that had been happening more often lately.

But Dumbledore had stood up for him and he had been lucky.
More than once in fact.
Perhaps happiness would smile upon him once again.
Now there were probably no obstacles...

Snape knocked on the door and a old house elf opened it immediately. "Who may I announce, sir?" Came the squeaky question.

He opened his mouth to answer, but closed immediately after.

Through the open door he could see Haylee along with a man who looked strangely familiar to him.

"Severus?" Haylee looked surprised to see him.
The tall man turned around.
Snape was shocked to say the least.
There stood Nick Cartinton and looked like a Greek god, even in his somewhat tattered cloak.

"Ah, Severus! Long time no see!" Nick grinned.
"Cartinton?" He looked over at Haylee incredulously, who nodded slightly.
"What a surprise to see you alive," Snape continued.
"Why did everyone think that I was dead?" Laughed Nick.
"If you walk into the Auror's arms and then nobody hears of you again, people tend to think that."

"Where were you this whole time, Nick?"
"In South America. Can't you tell? One can hideout quite well over there. Even you-know-who has no influence tgere."
"Hideout?" Snape now entered the hall.
"Why did you have to do that?"

The wizzard gave him a beaming smile, but Severus could tell that Nick was unsure.

"That's my little secret. If you'll excuse us now. I have to discuss some things with Haylee. I'm sure that she will have time for you later. "
Haylee gave him a quick smile that probably should mean that he should accept the invitation.
"Sure." And with a little 'plop' Snape disappeared.

Haylee

"So Nick, what do you want?"
"What's going on?"
"You were away four years that's what's going on. What were you thinking? That you could just come back, and everything would be forgiven?"
"Actually... yes." He grinned at her, which made him even more attractive.

"You're wrong"
"I had no choice."
"Everyone has a choice!" She snapped.
"And you're a miserable traitor!"
"Oh, am I?"
"You betrayed The Dark Lord, to save yourself."

Nicks dark eyes narrowed.

"And what have you done? You betrayed your friends. If I am a traitor, then so are you!"
"I did it for my family."
"And that should make a difference?"
"Yes."
"I don't recognize you Haylee. You've changed completely."
"I've always been like this. It's just that you have never seen it. Never."
"Ah, now we have arrived at an interesting point."
"Yes, at the end. Get out Nick. "
"You are still shaken up, don't know what you're saying."
"Oh, I know exactly what I'm saying."
"What's wrong with you?"
"What's wrong with you, Nick? Alexander told me a part of your story. You're a miserable coward, you know that?"
"Oh yes? You are worse than Lucas and Lara together."
"We're done Nick."
"Indeed." Nick left Rosier Hall through the entrance door, which he did not close.

Silently Haylee wondered where he would go now.
But that didn't really matter.
That man was not the Nick she knew.

Haylee thought of Snape.

Forget it Haylee.
It can't work.
But why not?
For a moment she had forgotten her illness.

She would have to accept it
But she couldn't.
No anymore.
Life just wasn't fair, thought Haylee when suddenly a tawny owl flew through the open door and landed on a chair...