Right! Here's the next chapter of "Awakening of the Serpents' Avatar"! Sorry for the long absence, my other story has my reasons listed at the beginning of its last chapter...no use saying it twice. Now then, many have asked me questions about the story that I will not answer at the end of the chapter for one very simple reason: it would ruin the plot for everyone. Even still, if you really want to just ruin some plot for yourself, simply state in your review that if its sensitive information that I message the answer to you, which I will if indeed the info would ruin the plot. Not to much else to say, and I'd rather not rant aimlessly, so without further ado let the chapter begin!
"Blah blah blah" – Normal speaking.
'Blah blah blah' – Thoughts.
'Blah blah blah' – Thought-speak.
~Blah blah blah~ – Parseltongue (or layman's terms, snake-speak)
"blah blah blah" - Spells.
-(location)- : this tells the reader where the scene changed to.
~~~~~~~~~Scene Change~~~~~~~~~
^Obviously denotes a scene change^
Disclaimer: I do not own anything belonging to the Harry Potter book series. However, I DO own this fanfiction story.
Birth of the Avatar
Nagini gave the snake version of a smile at his answer...really, she should have expected it, but his willingness to help her species out was truly a gift. She squeezed Harry gently with her coils, imitating a hug for a few moments before she let up and uncoiled herself from Harry and slithered onto the floor in front of him.
Meanwhile with Harry, while he was glad to feel the happiness coming from the bond at his decision, he was confused as to why Nagini was now on the floor. 'Odd...hey wait! There's got to be something more to this that me simple saying I accept!' Snapping out of his thoughts, Harry decided to ask the only one who knew what they were doing; Nagini.
~Err...Nagini? What exactly are we supposed to do? I figure something this big would require a bit more than a simple "I accept".~
Nagini bobbed her head in acknowledgment before she gave her answer. ~You're correct Harry, there is indeed more, though it is quite simple. It requires a Basilisk to be present...or a half-basilisk in this case, and the one who accepted the position to place absolute faith in said basilisk. As for what we must do? It is quite simple; I must bite and inject my venom into you.~
Her answer made Harry's face pale a few shades lighter. 'Come again? I could have sworn she just said she had to not only BITE me, but pump me full of BASILISK VENOM! I remember quite clearly how well that sat with my body last time a basilisk thought I made a good chew toy.' Harry quickly decided that he really needed Nagini to explain that one to him.
~Ah. Erm...pardon me if I seem a little dubious, but just to make sure I heard you right; you want to inject me with your venom?~ At her nod Harry sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose in frustration; nothing could be simple with him, could it? Regardless, he continued on. ~Right...see, now I have a little problem. I recall quite clearly the last time I was injected with Basilisk venom, and just how close to dying I came. If it wasn't for Fawkes, I WOULD have died. How exactly am I supposed to be The Serpents' Avatar if I'm dead? I know that some positions of high power have short terms, but that's a little ridiculous.~
His response was almost dripping with incredulity and it caused Nagini to laugh at not only the nervousness in his voice, but the pallor his skin had taken at her declaration. However she had been expecting as much and wanted to quickly put Harry's fears at ease.
~If a Basilisk were to inject you with their venom at any other time, you would be correct in worrying. However what you are unaware of is the fact that we Basilisks have two different types of venom stored in separate glands. The venom we use to kill our prey it held within one sac, which is far larger than the other due to its frequent use. The second venom is used for the sole purpose of marking an avatar; sounds a little wasteful I know, but it is something we basilisks must have if our Avatar is to survive. Simply put, once I inject you with this second venom your body will be altered by a very small margin. There will be no outward physical changes; the only change will be that your body will produce a very unique pheromone that will immediately inform other snakes within range of what you are.~ When Nagini saw that her answer was relieving Harry, she decided to fully ease him of any worries. ~Besides Harry, I could inject you full of my poisonous venom and you would be just fine. It is one of the perks of our familiar bond; you can never be harmed by my venom. Now then, do you have any other worries you need me to alleviate you of?~ At the end her voice was carrying a good deal of amusement and a slight bit of exasperation; did he honestly think she would harm him?
Harry was quick to catch onto the undertones in her voice and had the modesty to look down in embarrassment for a moment, but looked up and spoke to Nagini soon after. ~I'm sorry for my seemingly lack of faith in you Nagini, it just that what you said before brought back memories I rather would have left alone. I do not doubt your words, nor do I fear your bite; I trust you will not harm me. If all you need to do is bite me then so be it, I will gladly trust you with my life...right now you're the only one I fully trust.~ With his proclamation finished, Harry took off his robe and shirt to give Nagini full access to wherever she wanted to bite him, momentarily forgetting what lied beneath.
For Nagini, she was greatly touched by Harry's honest declaration. She could feel his sincerity through the link, and although she knew that he already trusted her due to him accepting their bond, it was a very nice feeling for someone to tell you they trusted you with their very lives. However her pleasure at his comments was soon cast aside when Harry took off his robe and shirt, exposing his torso to Nagini under the lighting of the vault. If fact, her pleasure was completely snuffed out and replaced with a rage that would have made Voldemort falter; for now she saw what the years of abuse and neglect had done to her bonded! If she was completely honest with herself she was quite disturbed at the visage in front of her; it looked like a skeleton had some skin wrapped around it, and then tightened to the point that every detail of every bone was visible. However her rage far outweighed any measure of discomfort she felt, especially when she saw the scars that riddled his torso; scars she knew he did not receive from his years in Hogwarts. It was one thing to see memories of the abuse...it was an entirely different matter seeing the results of said abuse. With an enraged hiss Nagini resumed her true size of 30+ feet and lifted a good seven feet of it off the ground in her rage...if she had a hood it would have been flared.
It was a given fact that Harry was quite startled after he took off his upper garments. The explosion of rage he could feel rolling off of Nagini, combined with the sudden return to her true size and her now towering form sent Harry onto the floor, reeling from the sheer rage Nagini was emanating. However the reasons for such rage were unknown to him...until he followed her gaze to his torso. 'Ah...well shit, I did have plans to get back at the Dursleys for their 'kind' treatment of me over the years..." Here he glanced one more into her eyes and had to hold back a shudder at the rage he could see within those amber orbs '...however I don't think I have that option anymore. I'll be lucky if there's even any trace of them left after Nagini's through with them.' As his gaze once more trailed over Nagini's massive form, his startled visage slowly morphed into a smile as he beheld her in her true size. He had absolutely no problem admitting that she was very intimidating, but he could also safely say that he had never felt so safe in his life. 'I have a bloody queen of snakes as my familiar...damn that's brilliant!'
As Harry was admiring her form, Nagini herself noticed that her sudden rage had literally sent Harry reeling onto the floor. She quickly lowered herself down to the floor once more, slowly slithered to Harry, and began winding her massive coils around his prone form. However she did not let up on her rage, letting him know just how furious she was at what his...relatives had done to him. When she spoke, the rage in her voice was palpable, yet what made it even worse was the fact that her voice was completely stoic when she spoke.
~Harry...I will tell you thisss now. When the time comesss, your relativesss will pay dearly for their transssgresssionss againssst you. I will fully allow you to have your revenge againssst Dumbledore and whomever elssse manipulated you; but I will be the one to avenge you concerning your dear relativesss. Do you undersstand thisss, Harry? When all she received was a meek nod in reply, her demeanor shifted back to her pleased state it had been before and she rubbed her massive head against his cheek as she finished coiling around his form.
~Good. Now that we have that matter settled, I want to say thank you for putting such trust in me; it won't be abused. Even though it should be obvious I will warn you regardless; this will hurt. The venom itself will not, but the fangs most certainly will, however you don't need to worry about injury; the nature of the bite and the venom itself will make sure that the wound is almost instantaneously healed after I am done. I will ask you once more before I bite you Harry; are you sure you want this? If you accept, you will forevermore be our avatar until death takes you.~
Harry didn't even need to think about the answer; the benefits far outweighed the negatives as far as he was concerned. Besides, becoming the avatar would undoubtedly get him on even better terms with Nagini, whom was quite possibly his first true best friend. So instead of answering verbally he just gave a resolute nod, and Nagini in turn did the same before shrinking back down to her 'small' form of 8 feet. Harry mentally sighed in relief at this; he really didn't want her to skewer him, and considering that her head was larger than his own when she was at her true size, he had a feeling her fangs would have been massive. However he still was still a bit nervous when Nagini opened her mouth and revealed her fangs...they might have been smaller than they would have been if she was full size, but they were still a good two inches. As she slowly approached him, Harry prepared himself for when he thought she was going to strike but was caught off guard when she unexpectedly shot out and sank her fangs into the junction where his shoulder met his neck, eliciting a sharp hiss of pain from Harry at the sudden action. Thankfully she was very quick about it and pulled out mere moments after striking, and true to her word the wound itself quickly sealed up. Her work done, Nagini retreated a little to watch and wait for Harry to acclimate.
As for Harry, he was still slightly stunned by just how quick the process was. Although Nagini had deceived him with her slow movements he was quite glad she did; he knew it would have been worse if she didn't strike him unawares. However now that it was over, he observed that Nagini had simply retreated back to her coils and returned to her full size, basically surrounding Harry with a wall of snake while she gazed at him in expectation. It was at this point he decided to sit down, resting his back against Nagini's coils as he waited for...whatever was supposed to happen. At first he didn't feel anything other than an odd tingling where he was bitten, but soon noticed that the feeling began to quickly spread; obviously using his circulatory system as a means of transportation. Soon the sensation covered his entire body, and Harry admittedly felt weird and a bit uncomfortable. Thankfully such a sensation did not last long, and soon the feeling faded until it was as if nothing happened. Harry sighed in relief and looked at Nagini before he spoke.
~Erm...well the weird sensation I was feeling is no longer there, does that mean its done?~
Nagini's head once more approached him and her forked tongue shot out, tasting the air around him. Almost as quickly as she tasted the air, she stopped and seemed to be quite pleased, if the feeling of contentment he was getting from her was any indication.
~There is no doubt, you have the scent of our Avatar practically oozing from you; with the amount of pheromones you're putting out, any snake within a mile of you will be able to pick up your location by scent alone. You have done me and my species a great service today Harry; I was already extremely pleased to be your familiar, but knowing that you are now our Avatar gives me hope for serpents that I have not felt in a while. Perhaps with you as our representative we will once more rise to become an esteemed species again.~ To emphasize her gratefulness she once more rubbed her head against his cheek, earning a chuckle from Harry in reply; it wasn't every day that a half-basilisk showed such affection...well at least for most people.
Unfortunately, not matter how much Harry honestly enjoyed spending some time with Nagini just talking, he knew he had a great amount of work to do and a depressingly short amount of time...he would need to find some more time, but he didn't know how...at least not yet. Reluctantly Harry stood up from his comfortable position of resting against Nagini's coils and spoke up while putting his clothing back on, knowing they needed to get a move on.
~Well, I will most certainly try my very best to make sure serpents are respected once more, however I'm afraid we've stayed here long enough. I think for now I'll leave the gems in the vault; if I need any I can just get Dobby to bring me in here now that he's permitted. For now, lets leave Gringotts and do a little shopping; I want to be well prepared when the time comes. Return to your smaller size and climb on Nagini, we have much to do and little time in which to do it.~
Nagini needed no further prompting, very pleased by how assertive Harry was becoming and the amount of planning he was doing; he would have made a good Slytherin indeed. She immediately shrunk down and slithered up his legs and under his cloak before wrapping her body around his torso once more with her head resting on his left shoulder. She inwardly gave a sigh of relief as his body heat warmed her; that floor was cold!
Harry smiled as he picked up on the pleased emotions emanating through their bond and began the walk back to the cart, being extra sure to walk a little faster as he passed the...guard. As he walked through the dark passage back towards the cart and Griphook, he couldn't help but wonder how long it would be until Dumbledore's little group finally figured out he was gone.
~~~~~~~~~Scene Change~~~~~~~~~
-(Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Approximately 30 minutes before)-
In the highest tower of the massive castle which acted as a school, an elder man sat in a very...uniquely decorated room, and was dressed just as uniquely. Apparently he was either colorblind or was trying very hard to make anyone with a fashion sense die from horror with the apparel he wore...but that is neither here nor there. Ignoring the painful surroundings, the man himself looked like the cat that caught the canary, and in his mind he had every right to be smug.
Sitting back in his plush chair, Albus Dumbledore, self-proclaimed leader of the light and all around good guy, popped a lemon drop into his mouth as he let a pleased grin etch itself onto his wrinkled face as he thought about past events. For him, the events that occurred during the last school year could not have gone better if he tried. For one, the 'Occlumency training' that he had Severus 'teach' young Harry exceeded his expectations. Oh, he very well knew that Occlumency had absolutely nothing to do with clearing your mind; after all, the point is to build defenses in your mind against invaders. By making sure Severus instructed Harry to 'clear his mind', he was ensuring that any mental defenses the boy may have had were torn down, for that is what clearing your mind does. At first Severus had been quite reluctant to teach the boy anything, but quickly acquiesced once he understood what Albus wanted.
As this thought crossed his mind, Albus couldn't help but chuckle. Really, Severus was just far too easy to manipulate; anything that would cause Harry harm, Severus was all to happy to carry out. His obsessive hatred that was aimed towards anything related to James Potter ensured that his ire would be solely focused upon Harry. And while Albus knew this and was well aware that Severus would greatly weaken the boy's mental defenses, even he was surprised by the ferocity in which Severus attacked the boy's mind, if the events at the Department of Mysteries were anything to go by. Honestly, old Tom nearly possessed the boy's body due to Harry's mental state! It was only due to some unknown miracle or the boys stubbornness that he managed to evict Tom, but it mattered little; the soul bond between both Harry and Tom was very, very close to being complete, it just needed a little more and it would be finished. Tom was a fool to think that he did not have a plan that could counter his Horcruxes; when the bond was fully formed between Harry and Tom, it would fully connect their souls...any and all Horcrux pieces included. After that, all Albus had to do was get rid of Harry, killing Tom in the process for good. Then, as he would be the only one to know what really happened, Albus could turn the death of Harry Potter into a noble sacrifice, which enabled him to finally finish the evil Dark Lord Voldemort. After all, who would question him? The Death Eaters? They would be too afraid of being found out to step into the limelight, leaving Albus to be not only the defeater of Grindelwald, but Voldemort as well. With the defeat of the two most powerful Dark Lords in his repertoire, Albus would be ensured that his word was always listened to and obeyed, ensuring his leadership of the wizarding world.
And to make it even better an unexpected, but certainly not unwelcome surprise occurred during the Department of Mysteries incident; Sirius Black died! Ever since the mut had made his way back to Harry, Sirius' mischievous yet wary ways had been slowly eroding Harry's dependence and trust in Albus. He had been feverishly wracking his mind to find a method by which he could get rid of Sirius' influence, and it had been handed to him on a silver platter; he didn't even have to do anything! The death of his Godfather had undoubtedly weakened the boy's mental state even further, and to clinch it Albus made sure that Harry had no contact with the wizarding world this summer. He had no doubt in his mind that the boy's repulsive relatives would do everything in their power to make Harry's life a living hell, and that was exactly what Albus was hoping for. If everything went according to plan, he may just be rid of Tom and the Boy-who-lived by the end of the year, perhaps even sooner!
However, before Albus could delve any further into the ingenuity of his plans and manipulations, his fireplace flared before a very disheveled looking Mundungus Fletcher stumbled through, looking like Voldemort was on his heels. Albus shot up out of his seat at once and placed a worried expression on his face, even though he was feeling quite annoyed at this point. If he wasn't mistaken, it was Fletcher's turn to guard Harry. His fears were confirmed when after a moment of composing himself, Fletcher finally spoke up.
"Albus! I just did the routine hourly "point-me" spell used to make sure Harry was inside the house, and instead of pointing towards the house it pointed towards London! Harry isn't there! I don't know what happened, but they boy is missing!" Fletcher made sure to not look Albus in the eyes, after all, he didn't need to know that he was sleeping when it probably happened.
As for Albus himself, he whipped around and peered at a shelf that held an odd assortment of gizmos that whirled, changed colors and even let out little puffs of smoke. Each of these were monitors, and most were for Harry. Sure enough, his eyes finally fell on one that was glowing red when it should have been green...the one that monitored whether or not Harry was within the house. Silently berating himself for not noticing it sooner, Albus began thinking furiously on what could have happened. Could Death Eaters have taken Harry? No, Severus would have informed him of this well beforehand. It most certainly couldn't have been any of his friends; Albus himself made sure that Ron and Hermoine were firmly in his pocket, so they wouldn't have taken Harry anywhere...and for that matter, just what did the boy want in London? Then it hit him; Diagon Alley, that had to be the reason. The boy probably wanted to get away from his relatives; that combined with the rebellious attitude he had shown when Albus told him of the 'prophecy', and it all made sense, Harry was simply rebelling. Well, that wouldn't do at all; he needed the boy to follow his plan, and this wasn't part of it. Quickly forming a few plans, Albus apparated to Grimald Place and activated the phoenix pendant in one of his pockets. It only took a few minutes for the rest of the Order to arrive, and once it did Albus resumed what he called the "kindly old man" persona.
"There is no time to waste with pleasantries I'm afraid; Harry is missing." Ignoring the shocked gasps around him and the despairing semi-howl from Remus, Dumbledore continued on.
"I want you Minerva to go to Privet Drive and question the Dursleys, see if they know what happened. Severus, Arthur, Tonks, Remus, Shacklebolt, Alastor, you're with me, we'll be scouring Diagon Alley. The rest of you, search London under notice-me-not charms for Harry. Make haste, we don't want anything to happen to Harry!" Severus' sneer said differently, but Albus ignored it. Soon, the sound of apparition filled the air once more as everyone went off to their separate assignments. None of them could have began to comprehend the sheer impact that Harry's actions that day would eventually cause.
~~~~~~~~~Scene Change~~~~~~~~~
-(Gringotts: Vault Section)-
Harry comforted Nagini as they exited the cart, a little distressed that he made her go through such a thing again. Fortunately she seemed to handle it better than the first time, but it didn't ease the guilt he felt. As if reading his thoughts, he felt Nagini's presence in his mind strengthen before her voice resounded throughout his head.
'Now Harry, we've already discussed this; you didn't know before, and we had to get back up here didn't we? Stop blaming yourself for what you cannot control. Now then, what exactly do you plan on shopping for?'
Harry could feel the curiosity coming from Nagini and let a small smirk grace his face under the hood he now wore, but decided to indulge her...it wasn't smart to upset a half-basilisk, familiar or not.
'Well, for one we won't actually be shopping in Diagon Alley. We'll be heading to Knockturn Alley instead. What we want will not be found in the prejudiced society under the scrutiny of the Ministry. As for what I plan on shopping for? Honestly not too much, I plan on buying a far better trunk than the one I currently have, and I plan to thoroughly raid the apothecary for any and all potion ingredients, some of which I have no doubt will be highly illegal under ministry law. Then, I plan on getting the trace from my wand removed somehow; the last thing I need is the ministry breathing down my neck. And last but certainly not least, I plan on getting some supplies for you. I have no doubt of your hunting prowess, but I imagine that even you would enjoy a 'pre-prepared' meal every now and then, no? Good thing I asked Griphook if there was any way to carry a large amount of money, the bag directly linked to my vaults will most certainly come in handy with how much spending I plan on doing'
Throughout Harry's explanation, Nagini listened and agreed with the plans he made; he was quickly learning how to protect himself while planning ahead. However when he mentioned the last tidbit about getting something for her, she was momentarily stunned at his generosity, but quickly remembered just who she was with; so far Harry had shown nothing but kindness to her. With a pleased hiss, Nagini agreed with his plans and rested her head on his shoulder once more, watching through the shadows of his cloak as he walked through Gringotts.
Harry was just about to enter the main lobby of Gringotts when he spotted a few very familiar faces meandering about the lobby, and he only needed one guess at just why they were there. 'Shit! Seems like I was right, the Order was quick to react to my disappearance, no doubt Dumbledore is desperate to get his puppet back. Well fat bloody chance of that you old coot!' Harry swiftly turned around and headed back deeper into Gringott's, looking for a goblin. When he finally found one, he calmly approached the Goblin.
Upon noticing Harry, the Goblin seemed to tense in preparation for attack, no doubt wonder just why a human of all things was back here. Not wanting to start a conflict, Harry lowered his hood and showed his face as he spoke up.
"Sorry to startle you good Goblin, but I must ask you a question. Is there another way out of Gringotts other than the main entrance, and if so may I take it? I ask such because there is an...unsavory group looking out for me in the main lobby."
The Goblin relaxed as he recognized Harry; Ragnok was very quick to spread the message about Harry Potter and just how important said client was to Gringotts. He couldn't care less if the boy was in trouble; the fact of the matter was that an important client needed help, therefore Gringotts would in turn help him. Nodding, he motioned for Harry to follow him as he spoke.
"Of course Mr. Potter, there is an entrance in the back that we goblins use to come to and from Gringotts. There is an additional entrance where we send and receive shipments of wealth, but even a client as influential as you is not allowed there due to security reasons."
Harry simply nodded in reply, the Goblin's reasons were sound, and Harry knew just how protective Goblins were of their wealth. Soon they both arrived at an inconspicuous set of double doors that led out into a medium alleyway. Harry quickly thanked the Goblin for his assistance and headed out with his face well-concealed within the hood he now wore. Looking around, Harry noticed that the alley was very close to the entrance to Knockturn Alley and mentally sighed in relief; if the Order found him right now, all would be lost. Harry quickly and quietly weaved his way through the crowded streets and made sure to keep far away from the occasional Order group he saw. Thankfully he did not have any trouble and soon found himself in the gloomy corridors of Knockturn Alley. His first visit here had been very brief, but the differences between this alley and Diagon were like comparing night and day. Where Diagon was open, lively and cheerful, Knockturn was secretive, dark and foreboding. However this did nothing to stop Harry from walking determinedly through the alley as he looked for any shops that might contain the things he needed.
After many turns and many suspicious and wary looks from the few pedestrians within the alley, Harry finally came across a shop he remembered all to well; Borgin and Burkes. While the first time he was in there was certainly unpleasant, he also remembered very clearly just how much variety the shop had. He also had no doubt that a good deal of the wares were not open to the public, but he would remedy that; after all, Borgin was quite the greedy man if he recalled correctly. His mind made up, Harry swiftly veered of the main road and into the gloomy shop itself as a small bell announced his entrance. Soon enough, the sleazy man himself came out of somewhere in the back of the shop to see who had entered. When his eyes fell upon the relatively short frame of Harry in his cloak, the man sneered before he spoke.
"And just what is a brat doing in my shop? Beat it kid, I don't sell toys or candy."
Harry had been expecting such a pleasant introduction from the man, but nevertheless refused to put up with Borgin's attitude. With this in mind, when Harry spoke his words were emotionless, cold and indifferent, sounding nothing like the Harry his 'friends' knew.
"Nor do I come here to seek such, Mr. Borgin. If I had wanted such trivial things I would have taken my shopping to Diagon. No, I seek things that certain...groups would frown upon. Tell me Mr. Borgin, do you have potion ingredients?"
Harry's cold and emotionless answer somewhat unnerved Borgin, sounding far to familiar to a similar boy that had worked for him long ago. However, when the boy mentioned he was interested in looking for clearly illegal items, he gave him a shrewd look before he responded.
"Maybe I do, but if I did they would be quite expensive if the ingredients are of a questionable nature. I doubt that a child such as yourself could afford such things."
While his insult seemed to not bother the boy at all, Borgin was quite surprised and more than a little frightened when angry hisses began to emanate from the boy's cloak. When the head of a large and angry looking snake came out of the cloak, Borgin almost fell to the floor in fright, though he did manage to crash against his counter. Even more unnerving was the fact that the boy was obviously not bothered by the snake in the least, and to even further his shock the boy seemed to soothe the bloody thing before it returned to its hidden resting place. It was slowly dawning on Borgin that perhaps he should start treating the boy with a little more respect...especially with that damn snake around.
While as Borgin was having a fit, Harry was greatly amused and a little touched at the scene. Amused because Borgin looked as if he was on the verge of having a seizure, and touched due to Nagini's actions. While he was admittedly angered by the man's blatant disrespect, the anger he felt through the bond let him know that Nagini was far more angry than he, and her actions proved it. Before Nagini decided that the man would make a nice meal, Harry spoke up to her mentally to calm her down, all the while stroking the scales on the lower back of her head to help calm her.
'Now Nagini, just because the man disrespected me does not mean he is fit to become a meal. I can understand you anger and I do appreciate you standing up for me, but let us see if he can be reasonable. If he continues with his baseless disrespect, then and only then can you retaliate, but for now calm yourself, alright?'
It took a few moments more, but Nagini reluctantly receded back into the confined of Harry's cloak, but not before she shot the foul man one last venomous glare. Huffing a little at not being able to put this man in his place, she responded to Harry; the pout was clearly envisioned when she spoke.
'Very well Harry, I'll let the man be...for now. But mark my words, if he continues to show such open disrespect I will be showing him just deadly my bite can be.'
Harry had to try very hard not to laugh at Nagini's attitude; he really enjoyed having her around. After composing himself for a moment, he refocused his attention on the form of Borgin once more, who seemed to be a little meeker than he had been before...good. Adopting his emotionless voice once more, Harry spoke up again.
"...As you can see Mr. Borgin, any further insults on my person would be most unwise, lest you rouse my snake's ire again. As for your concerns about my ability to pay, rest assured I am well funded...surely you recognize this pouch, no?"
At this, Harry drew Borgin's attention to his side where a brown pouch with gold stitches resided, making Borgin's eyes grow wide. He immediately recognized the pouch; it was goblin made, and was only issued to Gringotts clients that held a great deal of monetary wealth. And just as quickly as his eyes widened, they soon filled with greed and ways in which he could swindle the boy before him. However he was interrupted from his musings when Harry spoke up once more, his voice having taken on a colder tone.
"I see you recognize it. Do not think for one second that I am some spoiled rich child just waiting to be cheated. Don't look so surprised, you really need to work on hiding your expressions; the look of greed that just came over your face was absolutely revolting...but I digress. To make matters simple, I offer you a simple warning; you cheat me, my snake takes the difference out of your hide, understood?"
And with impeccable timing, Nagini once more peeked out from under Harry's cloak and leered at Borgin, making the warning all too clear. Borgin paled slightly at the treat and decided that perhaps he would be somewhat reasonable on his prices with this boy, lest he end up missing a few pounds of flesh or more. He nodded his head and responded, now just wanting the boy to get what he needed and then leave.
"Y-Yes, I understand sir. You wanted potion ingredients of the more...questionable type, correct? Well you've certainly found the right place, I consider myself a hoarder of all manners of questionable items, but you won't find the majority of them out here. Follow me sir, and you'll have your ingredients."
And with that, Borgin proceeded to slink back into the area that he originally came from, with Harry cautiously walking behind him. Both he and Nagini were weary of a trap, and so were keeping a constant vigil around them. Borgin stopped in front of what appeared to be simply a sparsely decorated wall, but with a few whispered words the wall seemed to split and fold inward, revealing the true shop of Borgin and Burkes. While the front shop had items strewn about in random, this one seemed to have the wares in at least some semblance of order. Harry quickly spotted the shelves that contained potion ingredients and walked towards the shelves, but on his way there he passed a section that caught his interest; trunks.
'Now how in the hell are these trunks illegal?' Not really all that interested in the reasons, Harry strode up to them and appraised them. While most looked like your typical, if slightly high class trunks, there were a few that were decidedly different, and one in particular that drew his attention...mainly due to the fact that it was massive. Even more interesting was the fact that this trunk in particular had something that none of the others had; gems. However they did not appear to be for decoration 'Though they certainly add to the appeal'; for one they were situated on the edges of the trunk with the exception of one located in the center of the trunk itself. And secondly, the sapphire situated in the middle had what appeared to be an extremely intricate rune carved onto its surface. Last, and perhaps the oddest trait about this trunk was that it had no apparent openings; it simply looked like a box. Turning to Borgin who had been observing him from a distance, Harry decided to voice his curiosity.
"Mr. Borgin, this trunk; how does it open? And while we're on the matter, is there a history behind this trunk? It is by far the most unique of them all."
The man seemed to go into thought for a moment as he rubbed his chin, staring at the beautiful trunk. After a minute he seemed to recall something, for he suddenly straightened up and snapped his fingers with a small exclamation of "Aha!".
"Ah yes, now I remember; to be completely honest I don't know too much about it. I received it when a woman came into my shop with the trunk floating in behind her; she looked like she had seen better days. I had a good idea what she wanted and I was right; she wanted to essentially pawn the trunk...according to the women it was allotted to her in her father's will, and now she needed money and thought that it would fetch a good price. To make a long story short, I paid her for the trunk and now here it is...to be honest I had forgotten about it until you pointed it out. As for how its opened...your guess is as good as mine, I just bought it due to the physical value."
Harry simply nodded in reply as he barely held back a snort of contempt. He had no doubts that he swindled the woman, but for now he was very curious about the trunk and how it opened. As he peered at the intricate seal on the trunk, Nagini decided to speak up about an idea of her own.
'Harry, what if it is like your vault and needs blood? I don't know any more than you about runes, but its worth a try.'
Harry blinked for a moment before he smiled and stroked Nagini once more, thanking her for the suggestion. Without even needing to ask, Harry held his finger under his cloak and felt a prick as Nagini punctured it with a fang. Holding it out over the gem, Harry let one drop of his blood fall onto it and jumped back; you could never be too prepared, after all.
For a moment everything remained as it was, until Harry noticed the blood seemingly absorbing into the large sapphire. After it was completely absorbed, the sapphire itself began to glow a soft blue, which soon caused the corner gems to glow their own respective colors of yellow for Topaz, red for ruby, white for diamond, green for emerald, black for onyx, purple for amethyst, turquoise for...turquoise, and finally a light green for jade. After every gem was bathing the room in a soft rainbow light, a small trench seemed to carve itself all the way across the trunk, after which a soft 'click' was heard and the top opened slightly, showing that the trunk was now open.
Harry and Nagini marveled at the beauty of such a sight, but quickly composed themselves as Harry approached the now open trunk, completely ignoring a gaping Borgin behind them. Just as Harry was about to fully open the trunk, his eyes fell upon his very name now etched onto the edge of the trunk in gold, reading "Harry James Potter". He was surprised to see it there, but figured the trunk recognized him from his blood and put the matter aside; he had a trunk to explore! With only the slightest of grins to give away his excitement, Harry swung open the trunk and was greeted by what appeared to be a ladder descending into darkness. This only served to excite him even more...that mean that this trunk had rooms inside it! He had only heard of such trunks but had never seen them, apparently they were only custom built and quite expensive. Thankfully he was quite wealthy, so such barriers were no longer a problem for him.
He shared Nagini's senses again and both of them tried to see if there was anything alive in the trunk...doubtful, but one can never be too sure. When all they could 'smell' was stale air and dust, they both deemed it devoid of life and Harry went down the latter into the darkness. As he descended, he was beginning to think that he would need to go back up and get some form of light, as so far everything was pitch black. As if to answer his thoughts, baseball size orbs of pale-blue light seemed to phase into existence on a now visible ceiling, which was a good ten feet above him now. Looking down, he noticed that he was only two feet from the bottom and quickly found himself on the floor, marveling at the sight that greeted him, having no doubt that Nagini was doing the same due to the wonder he felt coming from her.
The room that he landed in had a tall 12' ceiling which was peppered with the small glowing blue balls that Harry assumed was some variation of the lumos spell, casting the room in a light-blue glow. From the sofas, coffee table and bookshelves that lined the walls, it was obvious the room was a study, and a comfortable one at that. It was about 15' in diameter and was in a circular shape, with the bookshelves against the wall all the way around, with the two exceptions for the space where the ladder came down and the area directly opposite the ladder, where a door resided. Of course there were no books, but Harry certainly had enough from his vaults to fill the place up.
Deciding there was nothing else to do in this room, Harry opened the door and walked into a well furnished bedroom. Once more it was a circular shape, seeming of the same size as the last, with a large king size bed situated in the middle of the room adorned with black blankets with gold trim. The walls in here were draped with decorative tapestry, each once more adopting the black and gold theme. An oak dresser rested behind the head of the bed, and just to his left a mahogany work-desk resided up against the wall and tapestry. On his right a large mirror stood, somewhat resembling the Mirror of Erised he had encountered before in Hogwarts. Just beyond the mirror and work-desk, two more doors resided along the wall, equidistant from each-other and the door he just came from.
Going to the one on the left first, Harry opened the door and was greeted with the sight of tiles. He didn't even need to look around to know it was the restroom. Unlike the bedroom, here the tiles were a calming combination of sapphire blue and opal, swirled together in each tile, giving the room the appearance of being underwater. The half of the room the door occupied had a simple toilet to one side and a sink on the other. However, the entire other side of the room was taken up by a bath that rivaled the one the prefects used in Hogwarts, but obviously was not full of water at the moment. Quite impressed with what he had seen so far, Harry once more entered the bedroom before he made his way over to the last room and opened it.
What waited for him inside was a kitchen/dining room combination, with the kitchen on the far side and the dining room on the side the door was located. The dining table and chairs were nothing too extravagant, simply a plain mahogany table with four mahogany chairs tucked under it. The kitchen had what appeared to be an oven, a large cooler of some type, a sink, and a decent sized pantry. Thoroughly satisfied, Harry proceeded to exit the trunk, all the while marveling at the feats one could accomplish with magic.
As he climbed out, he was greeted to the sight of Borgin peering down into the trunk, who quickly backed away once Harry's hooded face emerged from the darkness. Once Harry had made his way out, he turned to Borgin and addressed him.
"An excellent trunk Mr. Borgin, I will be purchasing it. However before we move onto the potion ingredients, I'm wondering if there is a way to take the trace off of my wand. I do not like the idea of someone spying on me."
Borgin nodded his head at this; he had customers ask of such a thing before and was prepared to do such, however it did not come free. Upon voicing this, the boy merely sighed in exasperation before waving it on, apparently accepting the cost. After Borgin took out his own wand, he began pointed it at Harry and with a flourish made a thrusting motion to finish while whispering a quiet, "Lanus Effrego". A small white ball shot out of his wand at towards Harry, where it smashed into a seemingly invisible wall around the boy which proceeded to promptly shatter. As the boy looked at the shimmering remnants of the tracking spells, Borgin subtly regained his breath; that spell was a powerful one, and always took a bit out of him.
Even though the man was very quiet, Nagini had been able to hear his whispered words and both had watched the wand movements, fully planning on practicing such later. When the spell struck, Harry was somewhat surprised when an invisible barrier around him shattered like glass and slowly dissipated, wondering just how many tracking spells were on him and his wand to garner such a visible reaction. However he already suspected that Dumbledore had placed several tracking spells of his own on Harry, and this just seemed to solidify it. Before he or Nagini could fume in anger at the thought of the old manipulator, Harry nodded to Borgin before he strode over to the potion ingredients. When he arrived, he noticed that there was a great deal of ingredients that he did not recognize, and a few that he did which brought back memories that he quickly banished.
After looking at the impressive supply of potion ingredients, Harry noticed a cauldron set that he had seen Snape brew his personal concoctions in while Harry was having detention with him, thus he could safely assume that these cauldrons were very high quality. Grabbing the cauldron set, Harry turned around and addressed Borgin for what would hopefully be the last time.
"Before we wrap things up, do you happen to have any items for a pet, a snake in particular? For that matter, any mice to feed one?"
Borgin only barely kept himself from scoffing, but his tone made it all too clear that he did not appreciate the question.
"Of course not. I specialize dark artifacts and illegal wares, not pet toys! If you're looking for that, there's a decently sized shop just around the corner named "Things That Go Bump in the Night"...odd name certainly, but the shop has plenty of such items."
Harry nodded as he walked up to the trunk and took out his wand, muttering "Reducio" and picked it up once it had shrank to the size of a wallet. After he picked the minimized trunk up, Harry placed both the trunk and the cauldron set on the counter before addressing Borgin for the last time.
"I want these items and your potion ingredients; all of them."
Borgin nearly fell to the floor at what Harry said but quickly regained his footing as a greedy grin came across his face; he didn't even need to cheat the boy on this, his normal markup alone would land him a very large profit due to so many items being purchased. Not wanting to chance this opportunity, Borgin simply nodded and tallied up the good while Harry watched. The ending amount was...quite substantial, but Harry merely looked at it for a moment and nodded before he said the amount out-loud and upturned his gold bag, which proceeded to dump a small mount of galleons on Borgin's desk, much to the man's delight. Harry called Dobby and within seconds, the elf was emptying the shelves of any and all potion ingredients, which would be taken back to Potter Manor and put in the potion ingredient closet that was located there. His business done with the slimy business man, Harry said nothing more and simply left the shop with his newly acquired items in tow, following the short but hopefully accurate instructions.
Sure enough, as Harry rounded the corner he was greeted with the sight of a worn out sign that bore the name Borgin had told him. Honestly it wasn't much to look at; the sign looked like it was about to fall off, and the few windows the place had were so dirty that he couldn't see inside, but he knew that things were not always as they seemed. As Harry entered the shop, the first sound to greet him was that of some feline hissing from a cage to his left. Taking a look around, it really didn't look all that different from the Magical Menagerie. The only real differences were that the lighting was dimmer in here, and that the animals sold were obviously not the normal household pets. For instance, that feline hissing he heard had apparently come from a very pissed-off looking panther that was eyeing him with obvious hunger from behind its bars. Most did not look too dangerous to him (besides the panther), but he had a feeling that the shops in Knockturn all operated the same; a semi-legal looking facade that hid the true shop from prying eyes. As he looked around, Nagini alerted him to the approaching footsteps of someone coming.
As Harry turned in the direction that Nagini heard the noise from, he was greeted by the sight of a man who would have stood a good chance of going head to head with Hagrid. However, where Hagrid was kind, cheerful and a bit rotund, this man was severe, irritated and quite muscular. Harry was feeling very tempted to take a step or ten away from this behemoth, but Nagini's earlier advice made him hold his ground, if just barely.
The man spotted Harry and proceeded to walk up to him and stand no further than two feet away, making Harry crane his neck quite a ways to look at the man's face. The man said nothing as he scrutinized the diminutive child before him, but after taking a glance at the pouch underneath the boy's cloak, he assumed he was here to shop.
"Well? What are you standing around here gaping at me for? You're here to shop for something aren't you? Then get on with it, tell me what you're looking for so we can both get on with our lives!"
'Well, he's quite the patient man, isn't he Nagini?' All he got in reply was the slight shaking of her coils that gave away her mirth, but it had its intended effect of boosting Harry's courage a little. Straightening up himself as much as he could, Harry stared the man straight in his eyes from under the hood and resumed his emotionless voice once more.
"Straight to the point are we? Alright I'll bite; what I'm here for is supplies to care for a snake."
His response garnered a raised eyebrow from the giant before he spoke with some skepticism lacing his voice.
"For a snake you say? That's quite the uncommon 'pet', especially for a kid such as you. Just what would you be doing with a snake, and how do I know you're not just playing around?"
Harry didn't even deign to answer the first question, and to answer the second Nagini simply rose her head out of Harry's cloak once more, which earned them wide eyes from the man at not only seeing the snake, but the size of it. Taking a moment to work his features back into a semi-severe look, the man spoke up.
"Well then, you've certainly got a snake alright, a big one at that...alright, follow me but be warned; the room I'm leading you into has secrecy ward erected for what should be obvious reasons. Once you cross it, anything and everything you see in there will be kept secret; you won't be able to speak of it to others, nor write about it."
While Harry followed the man, he absently wondered if he could design a similar ward...they sounded extremely useful. Unlike Borgin who hid his door, this man simply opened an oak door in the back and walked in with Harry in tow. As Harry passed the door-frame he felt the wards slide over his body as they came into effect, leaving him with a slight tingle down his spine. Turning around, Harry did his best not to gape at the sight that greeted him; while there were not many species in here, those that the man did have were exceedingly rare. In the corner wrapped in warm cloth were the unmistakable shapes of ten dragon eggs, while next to them in a cage was a blue phoenix...a Venislew if Harry remembered correctly. Across the room from those, a small griffon peeked out at him from the bars of its very large cage. However while all these creatures where very rare, what peaked Harry's and Nagini's interests were the sounds of hissing coming from the furthest corner.
As Harry walked over there, both of them started to pick up snippets of conversation from what was now undoubtedly parseltongue.
~I'm hungry! When will that-~
~-if that damnable bird squawks one more time I'll-~
~-ust you all be so loud? I'm trying to sleep here!~
Both Harry and Nagini were quite amused at the bickering, but as they moved closer and the snakes began to sense their presence, the conversations abruptly shifted.
~All you do is sleep! Why don't you help think of a way ou-wait! Everyone quiet! I smell the scent of a Queen in here!~
~A queen? You've finally lost it haven't you? You know as well as I that there are no more on this...hold on...Slytherin's beard, you're right! And...now that can't be right, I'm smelling an Avatar's scent now!~
~...No, you're not imagining things, I can smell it too! What's going on here, a Queen and an Avatar here of all places?~
~Quiet! They're approaching, we'll be able to see them any-there! There's the Avatar! The scent is unmistakable! Avatar! Avatar over here!~
Harry quickly approached the now very loud snakes, all to aware that the shop-owner's attention was now on him and the snakes as he stood by the door. Lowering his voice so that the owner would not hear them, Harry spoke up.
~Yes, yes, I am the Avatar, now please quiet down! If you did not notice already, your excited exclamations have drawn the attention of the shop-owner. The last thing we need is for him to find out what I am!~
The snakes in the large aquarium he now stood over all had the decency too look away sheepishly for a moment as the quieted down, while Harry observed them. Two appeared to be of the same species, possibly from the same clutch. Both were a little over five feet long, and both were a mixture of red, yellow and black stripes. Harry didn't even need to ask to know that they were both King Snakes, one of the most poisonous snakes known. While the King Snakes were certainly impressive, the last two did not disappoint. The next one was yellow, black and brown, which was patterned in splotches all across its body. Harry recognized this one from the zoo when he was dragged along with the Dursleys so long ago; a Ball Python. This one was about seven feet long, and was now appraising him as well. The last was the most beautiful in Harry's opinion, mainly due to the fact that it was a solid deep sapphire blue. It was the smallest of the bunch, maybe just barely past five feet, but it was definitely the most noticeable. He glanced at the side of the aquarium and was glad to see a picture of each respective species, and saw that the blue one was aptly named an Indigo snake. Done with his observations, Harry spoke up once more.
~Thank you for quieting down. Now you can ask your questions. But before you do, what are your names?~
The Ball Python seemed to be the apparent leader of the bunch, as it slithered right up to the edge of the enclosure and responded to Harry with respect and reverence in his voice; a new thing for Harry.
~My name is Aritus, esteemed Avatar. The twins behind me are named Iocus and Callidus, and the blue one is named Saffir. Might we know your name, esteemed Avatar?~ At this point all four snakes were giving him their undivided attention. Harry was somewhat unnerved by the almost worshipful tones they were speaking to him with, but composed himself as he replied.
~My name is Harry, and this,~ Here Nagini's large head came out from under his cloak, ushering shocked hisses from the others. ~Is my familiar and friend, Nagini. Now then, I know you have many questions to ask but this is not the time nor the place, so I will ask you all instead one thing; would you like to come with me and be free from this place?~
Although shocked at Harry's generosity, all four wasted no time in expressing that they indeed wanted just that. Nodding his head, Harry turned around and addressed the shop-owner who was looking at the whole thing with curious eyes.
"Do you have any mice which I could purchase?"
The man merely raised one eyebrow and pointed to the left, where a few large cages were literally teeming with dozens of the rodents. Nodding, Harry grabbed a cage and walked back over to the snakes as he spoke once more.
"Alright, charge me for this cage of mice and these four snakes, and that will be all." Not even bothering to look at the man, Harry simply extended his arms out into the cage while the owner shouted for him to stop. He studiously ignored the man as he shrank each snake a few feet before they all slithered up his arms and under his cloak, where they rested curled up along both of his arms. Turning to the now gaping giant, Harry simply looked at the number on the register and dumped out the correct amount before the man before he bid him a good day and exited the shop. Once he was sure the coast was clear, Harry slipped into a small side alley and spoke up in a quiet voice.
"Dobby, please come here."
Only a few seconds after, a small 'pop' was heard and the familiar form of Dobby was now hopping in front of Harry. After calming the diminutive elf, Harry spoke up to Dobby once more, looking forward to the next part of his adventure.
"Dobby, please take me to Potter Manor...its time I started this little revolution."
Ending Notes: And there's chapter 4! The next few chapters will most likely consist of his training and preparing for what will eventually become another faction in the war. It will most likely be a few weeks until next update, mainly because I alternate between my two stories as I update. If you like it, review, and if you don't review and give a valid reason...well if you want, though I don't see the point in just saying you don't like something with no reason, it just makes me chuckle. Regardless, reviews make this author very happy and will help him crank this stuff out faster, but for now; onto review answers!
Popdude125: Nope, the Basilisk from the chamber had no relation to Nagini.
Sage Lightning: Don't worry, Dumbledore will be getting his soon enough. :D
Chishio Ame: Unless I have a drastic change in my plot, I fully plan on the twins being on Harry's side, so don't worry.
Vandenbz: Hello again, and thanks for your continued support! As to the question about the Merlin vault...funny enough, I really don't have anything planned for it. To be honest, I just mentioned it to set the mood on just how ancient the Peverell vault really is. As to Harry's love interest, all will be revealed in time, the same with his animagus form.
Slytherin66: No, Nagini isn't mad that Harry killed the Basilisk, as she had seen his memories and knew the reasons why. As for making one, I really find that to be taking the easy way out...there will be Basilisks, but they will be a bit later.
Dreamweaver: Well, I gave some insight on Dumbledore in this chapter, I plan on giving ol' Voldy a bit of the limelight next chapter.
Ladysavay: Sorry if I almost scared you off there, but as I stated before I don't write anything like smut. My stories that have romance in them will have just that; romance. The most you will ever see is "heavy petting", and that is really only in my other story; this one will not even have that. Romance will merely be one aspect of the whole on this story, it won't be its primary focus.
Jnottle: Yes, the Hallows will indeed play a role in this story; after all, it would be very odd to have Harry be the heir of Peverell and not bring in the Hallows.
