Disclaimer: I, sadly, do not own Harry Potter or any of its characters :(.
"Are you sure about this, Tom?"
"For the millionth time, Vanessa. Yes, I'm sure."
Vanessa looked down, slightly hurt by the tone Tom Riddle used in his voice, her brown-black hair falling in front of her face.
Tom saw this, so he walked over to her and put his arms around her, the only person he had ever brought himself to love. Vanessa Rivers. Vanessa hugged him, holding his warm wholeness in her meek arms. She was nervous, terribly scared. About Tom's new plan and all it involved. Of course, no matter what happened, Vanessa would be there for Tom. After all, who else would volunteer to do so? She was all he had left, but Vanessa still had her family who loved her. Tom needed her and, despite her loving family, she needed Tom.
"I'm sorry... It's just that-"
But before Tom had time to finish his sentence, Vanessa had asked, "So there's /absolutely/ no other way? I can't just become a Death Eater or something? What if I just hide away at my mother's house? I could even fight alongside with you!" Tom Riddle's face remained stern. That's all the answer Vanessa needed.
"Vanessa, I've searched and searched trying to find a different way, a simpler way... But there isn't one. You're just going to have to trust me."
Tom backed away from the hug to look Vanessa in the eyes. She had begun crying.
"Vanessa Inigan Rivers. I love you. Do you love me?"
She nodded her blotchy, teary face.
"With all your heart?"
She nodded.
"Then you need to trust me." Tom took a few steps back and smiled, revealing his pearly teeth.
Seeing him smile made Vanessa smile and her confidence in him had been renewed.
"Are you ready?" he asked her.
"Yes." This time, Vanessa was sure.
"Okay... Let's get started." Tom went over to a cauldron filled with a deep purple potion which was, at the time, gurgling and bubbling with the consistency of tar. He filled up a cup with this unappealing liquid. Next, he turned to a cauldron containing a clear liquid that could be easily mistaken to be water. He filled another cup with this. The persuasive Tom Riddle obtained the recipes for these potions through the Imperius Curse on a Ministry worker. That was the only way to obtain them, for they were very rare. They also came with instructions on how to correctly consume them so they work to their full potential. Tom turned back to Vanessa and gave her the two cups. She looked down at them. She looked up at Tom. They stood there for a moment, just looking at each other, before Tom leaned down and kissed her softly on her lips. It was a nice, lasting kiss and when it finished, they both wanted it back.
Tom then returned to his position across the classroom. "I'm going to walk you through this procedure, so bear with me, honey."
Vanessa nodded, her heart racing.
"Alrighty then. First, we need to make sure you don't eat or drink anything for 'ten hours prior to consuming the potion'. We already did that. Erm... Ahh. Now, you need to drink one cup of the purple-ish potion. I'm going to be with you during this step, to help you through it. It will be very painful." Tom paused, clearing his throat. "Let's get started."
Vanessa nodded in consent. She place the cup with clear liquid down next to her and when she stood upright again, Tom was already by her.
She looked down at the potion and braced herself for the pain guaranteed to come. Vanessa put her arm around Tom's waist and drank the whole cup in one fearless (yet fearful) gulp.
The first thing she felt was the goo sliding down her throat in a way that almost made her gag. Next, she heard the glass shatter as she dropped it and nearly fell over. Last, but CERTAINLY not least, was the pain. In her arms. In her chest. In her stomach. In her legs. In her head. Oh, her head! That hurt the most. Vanessa imagined that this must be what a star feels like in a supernova. Burning, ripping, stretching, fire, utter and complete pain.
Vanessa let out a shriek.
Was he really worth it? Was Tom worth all this pain and the huge risk she was taking? This could very well cost her life in the end. If this procedure didn't work, then she could be change severely and permanently. And what of her family if something went wrong? Would she ever see them again? Her mother with her sharp grey eyes and brown hair. Her father with his soft hazel eyes and jet black hair, now with sprinkles of grey. Oh, and her brother who had always gone the extra mile to protect her from the world of hate and sin. Will she ever see them again? Would they even miss her?
Then, the pain went away in one swift moment and she opened her eyes, finding that she had fallen into Tom's arms. He looked down at her, a slight smirk on his face.
"Hey 'Nessa?" He asked, revealing his full smile.
"Hm?" She replied, somewhat tiredly. Ouch! That hurt. Her hand went her throat in attempt to soothe it, but pain shot up her arm through her fingertips. It was the kind of pain you get when you're sore from working yourself too hard. Oh, but it hurt nonetheless.
Tom put his hand on her wrist, bringing her attention back to him. "The worst part is over." He had leaned over and whispered this in her ear.
Vanessa couldn't help but smile (even though it hurt to do so).
He's worth it.
Tom placed Vanessa on the ground and pulled out his wand. He pointed it at her and muttered a spell. Vanessa felt slightly relieved of her soreness. It was just enough do that she could stand on her own. She raised her hand to her face and wiped away the pain-filled tears. Tom walked over to her side and gave her the cup with the water-mimicking potion.
"This one will help you ease into your first transformation. Just think the word: snake. Absolutely nothing else. Just 'snake'."
Vanessa nodded.
Tom took hold of Vanessa's shoulders, leaning in and locking eyes with her. "Vanessa. I'm being serious. The most serious I've ever been. If you think /anything/ else other than 'snake', something very bad can happen. /Very/ bad. And the last thing I want is for anything bad to happen to you. Do you understand?"
Vanessa was slightly shaken by his intensity, but she nodded, adding, "Just 'snake'."
Tom backed away a few steps. "I need to leave now. It says I can't be in the same room with you when you take this one."
Vanessa put down the glass and walked over to him, putting her arms around him and putting her face close to his. "I love you, Tom Riddle." She leaned in and kissed him. This kiss was intense and passionate.
When she pulled away, Tom walked out of her embrace and left without another word.
So Vanessa found herself alone with the potion sitting on the ground where she had placed it. She walked cautiously towards it and bent down to pick it up. She stood upright and just stared at the cup in her hands. Trying to waste time, she smelled it. It had no scent. OK, that's enough procrastinating. She closed her eyes, wiping her mind. No more worrying, no more grief, no more guilt. A blank mind...
Now, she thought of nothing but the word "snake".
Before she had a chance to be distracted, she drank the whole thing in one swig. She immediately wanted to spit it all out. But she kept a little self control and swallowed it, still thinking of only the designated word.
Just like last time, she dropped her glass, but this time she went down with it.
Snake.
She felt her muscles turn to slime.
Snake.
The hairs on her head became hard and stuck to her scalp, turning into what she knew was snake skin.
Snake.
Her arms went to her sides and her legs hit each other.
Snake.
Her arms and legs molded and smoothed out so she now had no limbs.
SNAKE.
Her skin bubbled and reformed, hardening into the skin of a snake.
SNAKE!
She felt her slime-muscles contract, making her shrink and stretch out, making her thin and long like a snake.
SNAKE!
It stopped. There was nothing else. She was scared to open her eyes for fear she would see something like a huge puddle of blood or something. She opened her eyes after a second. There was not puddle of blood or anything, but when she opened her eyes, she heard the door open and she turned her head to see Tom practically sprinting towards her. He squatted down next to her as he examined her form. It was then when Vanessa realized how cold she was. It was almost creepy how strange and alien it felt to have cold blood running through her veins. It made her feel... evil...
"I heard your screams. I was worried something had gone wrong, but it seems not!" It seemed like he was talking in parseltongue, but Vanessa heard it as English. He placed two fingers on her back, stroking her skin. He was so warm... "You are brilliant. Absolutely brilliant!" He finished.
Vanessa tried to thank him, but found herself speaking parseltongue as well, not being capable of human speech whole in this form.
"Remember, when you are a snake your name won't be Vanessa anymore. So when people learn your name (and they will learn your name), they won't be able to track you or your family down or anything. They won't know who you are. Your name will be 'Nagini'. By the way, that's your middle name backwards. It took me a while to make that up, so give me some credit." He smiled, quite proud of Vanessa's new name. Nagini. It just sounded... right.
"OK, now try to change back. All you do is imagine your human form. Just think about your body as Vanessa." Tom said.
Nagini nodded her snake head and closed her eyes.
She imagined herself, her true self. And it happened within a mere second. She changed back.
Vanessa ran towards Tom and embraced him. /It was all over/, she thought to herself. /I get to keep him!/
"I love you, Vanessa."
"I love you, too, Tom."
"Vanessa?"
"Yes?"
"Why are you speaking parseltongue? Can you even speak English?" Tom asked with a worried look on his face.
"I don't know..."
"Try, Vanessa. Really try."
Vanessa nodded. She tried to make her mouth form the words "I love you", but she could not speak it, despite her being able to mouth it. She formed the words, but no noise came out. Worried, she looked to Tom for help.
He shook his head and walked across the classroom, slamming a potions book down on the table, opening it and frantically searching for a cure. He ran out the room and sprinted to the Library, leaving Vanessa behind. He went to the Restricted Section and pulled volumes and volumes off the shelf, levitating them back to the classroom, not bothering to check them out. It was a Hogsmeade evening and /everyone/ was out having fun.
He brought them to the classroom and dropped them to the floor, collapsing with them in order to search faster. Vanessa did the same, opening the first book she touched.
The two of them searched for a way to fix this for hours into the night to no avail. The closest thing they found to a cure was the counter curse to a jinx that caused the victim to sputter out gibberish. They even tried it, but it didn't work.
Vanessa tried to remember her first transformation, if anything had gone wrong, but she thought of nothing.
Eventually, the two of them, mentally and physically exhausted, returned to the Slytherin Common Room (at separate times, for no one was to know that they were together), leaving the classroom in disarray, too tired to even say the spells to clean it. One thing they left behind, however, could have cured Vanessa's speech.
Because there, on the ground, lay the cup that once held the second potion. In it lay the final drop of liquid to make Vanessa's first transformation successful, abandoned for eternity.
AN: Please review! Hope you liked it!