A/N: I was reading, of all things, Bible fanfiction today. But this was not just ANY Bible fanfiction, no. This was Bible SLASH! I came across it when checking out a profile, and I couldn't help myself. It's just too amazingly ironic. I had to stop, because I'm not Catholic, or even anything remotely close to it, so the entire contents, except for the Slash, was completely lost on me. Who would have thought it would have given me the kick in the butt I needed to get on with this chapter? -Shakes Head-
A/N2: I tried to get this out sooner, but when I finally sat down to write the damn thing, my best friend wouldn't stop pointing out all the dirty innuendos! Not only that, but every time I walked away from the computer, she'd type in her own (R-rated) version. In any case, she gave me plenty of, -coughcough-, ideas. -Sound of whip cracking-
A/N3: A big, huge, enormous, gigantic, massive, immense, colossal, etc., etc., thank you to alxndra, who happens to have been my 100th REVIEWER!! Woot! Thank you again!
A/N4: This is, indeed, a revised version. The original A/N's amused me though, so I thought, "Eh. Why not?"
Warnings: We're getting the seeds of Slash here. Who knew Nagini could be so perceptive? Other than that, nothing much. Well, the craziness that follows Nagini, but what else can you expect?
Key:
Speech: "Oh my god! She updated!"
Parseltongue: §"Oh my God! She updated!"§
Thoughts: 'Oh my God! She updated!'
Disclaimer: Oh, I wish. (That's original. -Snorts-)
Nagini's jaws opened impossibly wide, looking as if she could swallow the humans whole. She probably would have, had Tom not immediately jumped into action. Lurching forward with a jolt, he raised his free hand, and commanded,
§"Stop."§
Nagini paused, and turned to look at Tom. Her jaw snapped shut upon meeting his gaze, and, in an amazingly human gesture, widened her eyes innocently.
§"I wasn't actually going to bite him."§
Tom raised an eyebrow.
§"Well, maybe a tiny bite."§
This time, it was Harry who responded.
§"Why a tiny one? Last I remember, you had no qualms eating humans."§
His tone dripped acid that was audible to everyone, although only two of them could understand what Harry was saying. And it was only those two who could see, or in Nagini's case, smell, Harry's fear.
Tom tilted his head to the side, gazing at the boy attached to his wrist. It was obvious that Harry had had a less than pleasant encounter with Nagini in the past, but he was still stumped as to why. Why had the spell on the handcuffs deemed him as powerful? Why did he know Tom's older version so well? Why was this scrawny, quick-tempered, poorly-clothed, contradiction-of-terms boy with the shadowed, impossibly green eyes and innocently handsome face so important?
TRHPTRHPTRHP
Harry was trembling, partly with fear, partly with anger. He desperately tried to keep his fear from showing, but he knew that Tom could see it. He was too close not to. He glanced at the others in the room; they all had their wands out and pointing at Nagini. He desperately wanted to pull Tom out of the way and let them blast Nagini away, but something in the way her eyes turned solemn and mournful at his words made him do the opposite. He shook his head at them, and held up a hand to halt their protests. Only Ginny and Hermione lowered their wands, trusting Harry's judgement completely. He frowned at the others, but turned back at Nagini.
There was a moment during which they looked into each others eyes, and then she spoke.
§"Would you believe me if I said that I did not truly want to eat you?"§
§"No."§
Her gaze turned rueful.
§"I haven't done much to earn your trust, have I?"§
He leveled a glare at her.
§"No. You haven't done anything to earn my trust."§
Before Nagini could reply, Tom cut in smoothly.
§"Are either of you going inform me on why there is so much bad blood between you two?"§
Harry glanced at him briefly, and replied in a mild tone.
§"Oh, it's no big deal. Well, except for the fact that she tried to eat me.'§
Tom raised an eyebrow, and responded in the same even tone Harry had used.
"Funnily enough, I gathered that from the 'I did not truly want to eat you' thing. What I want to know is why she was going to eat you in the first place."§
Keeping his voice bland, Harry answered,
§"I don't know. If she truly did not want to do it, then I cannot imagine why she would anyway." §
§"Maybe because my Master told me to, hmm?"§ Nagini shot back, her voice finally betraying a hint of exasperation.
§"Oh, that explains everything!"§
§"Actually, yes it does!"§
§"Because your master always knows best right? His idea to kill me when I was one was fantastic, even though it got him landed as an incorporeal shadow of himself for thirteen years! Oh, and all of his attempts to get his body back? Absolutely brilliant! Well, there was the minor flaw of him failing every time but one, but hey! It's all jolly!"§
§"I didn't say he knew best, but I couldn't have exactly said no, could I?"§
§"Oh, and why not?"§
§"I'm his familiar! Everything I do is controlled by him!"§
§"So you're here on his orders!"§
§"I never said that!"§
§"You just said that everything you do is controlled by him! If he didn't order you here, then why are you here?"§
§"I'm duty-bound to be with my Master at all times."§
§"He's not here!"§
Nagini flicked her tail agitatedly at Tom, who was watching the argument with a deceivingly smooth face.
§"Yes he is!"§
Harry glanced at Tom, and then flicked his eyes back to Nagini.
§"Why follow him? There are two."§
§"In the event of two versions of my Master existing at once, I can choose which one to follow and listen to."§
Tom frowned.
§"Why choose me? You've known the other me longer."§
Nagini looked at him, fondness appearing at the sight of him. It was an odd look on a snake.
§"I know you too. My other Master doesn't smell nearly as good as you do. He is Wrong. You are Right."§
This time it was Harry who frowned.
§"Right? As in Light?"§ Something about this tall and handsome Tom just didn't speak of Light to Harry. Well, not fully Light anyway.
Nagini tilted her head.
§"Partly. My Wrong Master is nearly completely Dark. He smells bad. Wrong. My Right Master is Light, but he has Dark in him too. Like you, actually."§
Harry gaped at her, flabbergasted.
§"Me!"§
§"Yes you. You have too much experience to be fully Light. You are too aware of the Dark to be fully Light. Just like my Right Master."§ She gave the snake approximation of a shrug.
Harry wanted to protest, to say that he was nothing like Tom, that he wasn't Dark, but he couldn't. Reality had slapped him in the face. Tom had the shadow in his face too. Maybe that was what made them resemble each other; they were both Dark and Light.
He glanced over at Tom, and found himself looking into jaded eyes. Eyes like his.
TRHPTRHPTRHP
'That does make sense.' Tom thought. It would certainly account for the similarities he sensed in the other boy. Something in his brain clicked. He tore his eyes away from the green before him, and looked at Nagini.
§"Is that why you did not wish to eat Potter? Because we smell alike? Light and Dark, I mean?"§
She nodded her flat head.
§"That, and the fact that you two will be good for each other."§
They stared at her blankly. She huffed, the exasperated action looking very odd when done snake-style, and elaborated.
§"As mates."§
§"WHAT!"§
A/N: There you go! I love Nagini… -Sighs happily- Review, pretty please?