Chapter 8: Nagini and dead Tutors

Disclaimer

Don't own Harry Potter. JK does

$ PARSELTONGUE $

HP POV

Tom's birthday had been a quite affair, Mort had made an appearance but didn't stay long. He was very touchy feely but I could see it was just to see Tom angry and he was. I went along with it and derived some pleasure seeing from seeing him so flushed with puffed cheeks and anger blazing in his core.

I had of course looked around the many magical alleys in London, looking for something that would fit Tom perfectly. I couldn't buy him books, he had an abundant of that at the castle but after looking around many times, I failed to secure anything.

On a whim, I went to Albania, remembering Voldemort's many visits there. I was walking aimlessly around when I spotted a dark little shop hidden and squeezed between two buildings. I walked in out of curiosity and immediately discovered it to be an animal menagerie. There was an interesting assortment of animals, both muggle and magical but none that interested me so I walked further in to the reptile part of the shop and that's when I saw her, Nagini. At first I was surprised. She was small, the length of my arm and when I had first met her when she had been large enough to swallow a whole human.

I made quick work to her cage and when I reached her, she raised herself as high as she could with her small height and glared at me as much as a snake can and started muttering;

"Stupid human. Just like the rest with no sense of self preservation, coming close like. I wish I could bite him"

Ihad to stifle a laugh after hearing her, with her master trying to kill me all the time before, I never had a chance to get to know her. I could understand why Tom got her, she was feisty.

"Well I hope you won't bite me. You seem interesting and would serve my son well so you biting me probably wouldn't the best plan of action" I said with an upturn of my lips. She was so perfect for Tom.

"A speaker?"

She seemed shocked and I was even more shocked that I could read snake expressions now. I had really gone senile like Mort often said I thought to myself.

"So, now that we have established that I am a speaker, are you amicable to coming home with me and being my son's companion? He's a speaker also" I asked a little impatiently.

"Even for you humans, don't you look too young to have a hatchling?"

She was confused, I could see but she was looking at the lid in a gesture for me to open it and take her out and I did whilst trying to explain to her that I adopted Tom but most words got lost in translation but she got what I meant.

The purchase was quick and soon, I was back home getting Nagini settled in and giving her to Tom the next day. He had looked surprised when I gave him the box and it moved. When he opened it, I saw awe in his eyes and possessiveness. For a moment I didn't understand that sentimentality until I remembered how I held on to the cake that Hagrid had given me when I was Harry Potter. I had cherished it and eaten it even though it tasted horrible. It was mine and mine alone.

After his birthday I started actively looking for tutors and I had a few come and have a lesson with Tom but they always came out of the room looking traumatized with tortured eyes. I had a talk with Tom because even though I enjoyed their tortured looks more than one should, I wanted Tom to be the best he could be. He agreed to be more accommodating and he was for a few days with a new tutor while muttering to Nagini the many ways he could kill them. I found their talks amusing and when he saw me listening in, he made them as gruesome as possible. Quite the imagination he had.

Things started going downhill when I received a letter informing me that the tutor I had employed had died suddenly while at dinner with no one knowing the cause. She had showed great professionalism towards Tom but I could see that she was crushing on me hard and as I found out, so did Tom. I saw him climbing the stairs with Nagin wrapped around his neck like a scarf with a self satisfied grin on his face and knew he had something to do with it.

I didn't question him about it and he didn't offer any answers. The next tutor was a young man from France. Tom took a quick dislike to him for reasons unknown to me but they worked well together on his studies with etiquette and first year spells. He was with us for two whole months when he had an accident while portkeying home and he died instantly.

I could see Tom smiling from the library window.

After a few days, I decided to finally talk to him, I was tired of tutors being afraid to even show for an interview;

"Why do you keep killing your tutors off?"

It was not an accusation, he knew that I knew.

"I thought the reason was completely obvious. They were morons and didn't have the skills to teach a rat much less a human. I was doing a public service. Getting rid of them so they won't torture other people with their stupidity"

He said all that with a straight face with nothing giving away his thought. But I knew better and could quite clearly see the gleam in his eyes.

"What would you have me do Tom? You need to learn"

"Then you teach me whenever you have time. I can do everything else myself"

I knew I shouldn't give in, he was just looking for ways for us to be in close proximity to watch me and see no one else around me but I was getting bored without his little tantrums and so I found myself agreeing to it.

What would schooling Tom Riddle in all the basics be like? I could only hazard a guess but I was no less excited.