spells
:parseltongue:
:Why is it –: Tom adjusted his scarf : –that even with you shrunken down, you still manage to be an insufferable pain in the ass?:
An elegant triangular head poked out from between the folds of his scarf. :I don't know what you mean.:
Tom scoffed. :Sure you don't. Now would you mind not constricting my neck so much! I'm not one of your bloody rabbits.:
An odd look from a passer-by caused Tom to shift the woollen material again, drawing the scarf up to cover his mouth and jolting Nagini.
:Stop moving me so much.:
:Well then stop tightening around my neck all the time. There's only so much abuse my airway can take.:
Nagini hissed, neither agreeing or disagreeing.
:I can't see from here.: She curled up around Tom's ear, his dark locks barely hiding her gleaming scales.
:Stupid snake.: He reprimanded, but made no move to hide her back under the scarf. He had shrunk Nagini down not so much as to hide her – they certainly didn't care for the image they presented – but rather for ease of mobility. No matter how many times Nagini denied it, she was irrefutably too heavy and too long for Tom to carry without the assistance of a shrinking charm.
He'd only just mastered how to cast one recently, as well. Turns out it was difficult wielding magic that he didn't know the words for or lacked the malicious desire to see executed. He was, of course, referring to the magic he could perform; the rabbit-summoning charm and the curses he had previously perfected. Luckily for them both, Tom had just added shrinking charms to his slowly increasing arsenal.
Tom was getting a few odd looks from other pedestrians for wearing a scarf in the middle of summer, but they were few and far between. Even in the early days of June, English weather didn't move beyond it's default wet and windy. A gust of wind picked up at that moment and proved his point, and Tom clutched his coat closer to his chest.
:Speaker, I demand that you tell me where we are.:
:I'd be happy to oblige, my dear, but I haven't the faintest.:
Nagini bristled under the endearment and the mocking tone she'd heard alongside it. She peeked out under the boy's fringe and studied the surroundings with a closer eye. There were lots of grey buildings. She told the boy that.
:That's not exactly helpful, Nagini.:
:It's not my fault. I was hoping that you would be able to glean something from that observation seeing as you've lived in this city your whole life.:
Tom scowled under that reminder.
:It's not like I had a choice in the matter.: He muttered.:Anyway. The whole point of this expedition is that we visit somewhere we haven't been before. And we're not doing that if I recognise the area, Nagini.:
Nagini hummed. :I'm just saying...:
Tom sighed. :Shut up. You did say you'd help me with this. Do you remember what you're supposed to be looking for?:
Nagini tightened her hold around the speaker's neck in warning, satisfied when he gave a small choke. :I'm the one who told you what to look for in the first place, boy. Remember that.:
Tom's fingers prised Nagini's tail off his neck and he unwound her body from where it was uncomfortably pressing into his throat.
:I swear that you're more trouble than you're worth. Was that show of intimidation meant to scare me?: Tom teased.
:I take it that it didn't work?:
:Not in the slightest.: Tom grinned, affectionately knocking his head into hers. Nagini hissed back out of principle.
:But you've probably left a few curious bruises around my throat. I'd love to see Martha try to explain those.:
:I don't know why you humans don't have scales. Your skin is just too...fleshy.: Nagini grazed her fangs against his neck to prove the point.
:Careful there, Nagini. I still haven't forgiven you for biting me the first time.:
Nagini's bite from that first meeting in the orphanage's excuse for a garden had healed over time into two little scars, only a few millimetres across. Of course, the speaker was apparently not over it yet.
:You deserved it. What sane person would stuff a deadly snake up their shirt anyway?:
Tom chuckled. :You're not that lethal, Nagini.:
:I am.: She said boldly.
:Rabbits don't count.:
:I've killed men before, too.: She added, remembering her days from when she'd kill on the command of her master.
:I'll believe it when I see it, snake.:
:Would you care for a demonstration?: She replied, leaning in front of his face and bearing her fangs.
:Put those away. Now let's get back to the work at hand. Remember: funny hats, dresses, sticks –:
: – long beards and randomly appearing. I know.:
:Good.: Tom replied, unfazed by Nagini's snappy tone. They continued down the high street, Tom scrutinising every odd-looking person for signs of magic and Nagini bobbing in and out of Tom's hair to do the same, making Tom look like a bastardised Medusa. Eventually Tom decided that it would be easier for him (and his feet) to sit down on one of the benches and observe people from there.
From that spot on the cast-iron bench, Tom and Nagini evaluated every abnormal detail that passed them by, occasionally getting up to follow particular people before returning to the bench when their hunch didn't pan out. They were very certain that they had found some witches when a group of women with odd hair accessories stumbled past, but after overhearing some of their sickening conversation it became apparent that they were on their way to a wedding.
All in all, it was a very tiring affair for all parties involved, with Nagini grumbling about Tom's incompetence at spotting anything wizardesque and Tom sending back scathing remarks in rebuttal.
:Let's go back now, speaker. I am very tired.: Nagini finally hissed out, her muscles cramping from holding her position so long and from being shrunken down so drastically.
:No.: Tom replied irritably.:You haven't been doing anything other than using me as a pillow. We'll go when I say we're done.:
Nagini hissed and burrowed her head back into Tom's scarf. :If you don't think I'm doing anything then I will go to sleep.:
:Fine.: snapped Tom, the constant need to be alert making him cranky. As Nagini dozed off he continued to inspect and mentally dissect every person that passed, even when the crowds of shoppers began to thin and dwindle down in number. It was only when the sun started to set and the sky burned pink and purple that Tom conceded that it was time to head back. He grudgingly got up and headed in the direction of the orphanage, angry at himself for the unsuccessful expedition.
He walked back slowly, not at all eager to return back to that excuse for a home and secretly hoping that he could spot something magical on the way back. Unfortunately for Tom's deteriorating control on his temper, he didn't see anything and so it was a very snarky and crabby Tom that knocked on the locked doors of Wool's Orphanage. The door clicked open and a thin but surprisingly strong hand gripped his arm and pulled him through the door.
"What time do you call this, Riddle? I ought to leave you outside to freeze." The matron spat at him, her face reddening in outrage. Tom scowled and glared at Mrs Cole.
"Get your hands off me." He demanded, a vicious tone colouring his words. The matron only clamped her knobbly fingers more fiercely around his upper arm, and Tom felt sure that it would bruise. Before either of them had a chance to derail the situation further, Martha strode into the entrance hall and called out to the matron.
"Mrs Cole, Eric Whalley's getting worse and I can't find any iodine..." She trailed off upon seeing the compromising position the matron and Tom were in. Her eyes flitted between the two, and she bit her lip – clearly wanting to say something but equally not wanting to risk Mrs Cole's ire. The matron in question finally released Tom's arm, and he snatched it back to his chest and rubbed it for an added effect.
"Will...err...can you –" began Martha, still visibly uncomfortable.
"Just follow me." Mrs Cole silenced Martha, walked away from Tom and beckoned Martha to come with her. She threw Tom a steely glare before she left, however, and Tom was lucid enough to realise that he had gotten lucky; he had completely forgotten about the sleeping snake hiding under his scarf. Nagini had not remained hidden for this long without Tom severely controlling his temper so as not to arise further suspicion.
Taking the boon for what it was, he stalked back to his room and shut the door, collapsing to the floor as soon as he had done so. The exhausting day was finally catching up to him, and he managed to crawl back up onto his bed before he blacked out completely.
Tom's unnaturally long and pale fingers caressed his wand, running down the length of the thin yew wood. His followers watched with a bated breath as he deliberately pointed it in their direction, and a pleasurable thrill ran up his spine as they tensed. He chuckled, a high warble that seemed to only further terrify them.
"My...friends. It has been a long thirteen years, hasn't it?" He quietly whispered. The cloaked figures kneeling before him hesitated, and then cautiously nodded in agreement. Tom smiled, but it was not genuine – it was a toothy smile that displayed rows of sharp teeth and stretched sideways along his jaw.
"The boy has fled from us again. Avery, would you say it was due to any incompetence on my part?"
A figure to his right threw himself flat on the ground, almost kissing the dirty marble floor. "My master, my Lord...it was a lucky escape for the boy! You are too magnificent –" He cried before Tom's gentle shushing cut him off. Avery remained flat in the floor, completely still, aside from the slight trembling of his shoulders.
Tom turned his gaze to another. "And you, Lucius?" he hissed, drawing out the sibilance in his follower's name. A bowed follower in the middle lifted his head up, white-blond hair surrounding a bone white mask like a halo. A silky but wary voice drifted from it's depths.
"It is as Avery said, my Lord. The boy only escaped due to foolish luck."
Tom leaned forward on his dark throne. "Do you think yourself completely innocent, Lucius?" he hissed lazily, eyeing with glee as the usually stoic man flinched.
"Of course not, my Lord. I...and others should have apprehended the boy –"
"Exactly." Tom drawled, now twirling his wand between his fingers. "And what punishment do you propose I mete?"
The blond audibly gulped. "My Lord..." he left the title hanging, question hidden in his words. Tom's eyes narrowed.
"Careful, Lucius." The wand had stopped spinning, and was now innocently pointing at the terrified follower. "One might think that you are...unsatisfied with your Lord."
"No, my Lord!" Lucius prostrated himself in a similar manner to Avery, white hair weeping across the marble. "I beg you forgiveness. I mean no disrespect –"
"Crucio." Tom intoned, watching avidly as a pulsing red light spun out the end of his wand and met Lucius head-on. The blond convulsed and shook under the onslaught, a low moan of pain freeing itself from clenched lips. Tom leant back in his seat and observed the display with waning interest, eyes flicking over the rest of his followers. Half looked as if they wanted nothing more than to run and never look back, while the others...Well. They had been his followers for a reason.
When the show stopped and Lucius lay shivering on the floor, all dignity well and truly broken, Tom addressed his followers once more.
"Let us begin with the reports. I will most displeased if unpleasant rumour.."
Tom woke up in a sweat, gasping for breath. His hands gripped his sheets tightly, and he tried to steady himself as long breaths rattled out of his heaving chest. His legs were violently trembling and rapid shakes shot up his arms and froze his spine.
:Nagini.: He pleaded.
:Speaker?: came her careful voice from the floor. He looked down and saw a full-sized Nagini uncurling herself and eyeing him with concern. His shrinking charm must have worn off.
:Could you...please...: Tom didn't know what he wanted to say, didn't know what he needed, just knew that something was desperately wrong.
What had been that dream?
Nagini clearly didn't know what to do, either, but she straightened herself up and dealt out instructions with an authoritative tone, while Tom could only listen dumbly.
:First, you will put some day-clothes on. Then you will calm down and gather your thoughts. I will go and get a rabbit from the garden because I am hungry, and when I come back you will tell me what's wrong.:
Tom watched as she slithered out his window, barely noticing as she curved around a drainpipe and slowly made her way to the ground instead of just falling down. He nodded to himself and pushed up off the bed and monotonously completed her instructions, and then sat on the bed once more. He stared out the window, noting that the sun was already a good way through it's journey. It looked to be around noon.
Who had been those people? Who was the boy they were talking about, who was the lord?
"I was." Tom mumbled to himself, a hand grabbing at the cloth of his shirt by his heart. "I was their lord."
Why had he imagined himself in such a way? The hands – they were monstrous, pale and freakishly long; as if there was an extra knuckle in his fingers. Tom couldn't have been that man – that monster, it must not be real...
Tom stilled. What if this was like the dream he had all that time ago? Tom had had a few dreams since the first, but nowhere near as dramatic – he could never remember them properly come morning, only knowing that they had occurred. The feel and realness of this dream he had just had was too similar to the one with the rabbit for him to ignore. What was he in his dreams? Some sort of predator?
Two knocks startled him from his thoughts and his door swung open, and a flushed Mrs Cole entered his room.
"Tom? You've got a visitor."
