Voldemort stalked around the dining room of the Riddle Mansion. He looked murderous. "Nott!" he shouted.
"Yes, my Lord?" Avery Nott's shoulders were tense, his head down.
"Tell me, again, how we managed to attack a cottage in the middle of nowhere, managed to get thwarted by no lesss than twenty Aurorsss, and managed to lossse ten good Death Eaters in the processs?" Voldemort drew out his S'es, and conveniently left out the part where he had lost his serpent. ~After all, it would do no good to inform my followers of my mistakes when I am gently chastising them for theirs.~
"I don't know, my Lord."
"Hmm." Voldemort cast his gaze around the room once more. "I think we may have a ssspy in our ranksss… I wonder who it issss." Voldemort stopped behind Nott's chair and laid his icy hands on the tense man's frame. "Could it be… you?"
"No, no, my Lord! I would never betray you!" Avery tried to keep his abject fear hidden, but he was failing miserably. Voldemort did not truly think it was Nott. He just wanted to raise the tension in the room. Perhaps the true traitor would reveal him or herself with a nudge in the right direction.
Voldemort hummed again. "Even sso… I daressay that everyone in this room desservessss death. I am a merciful massster. I will sssspare you all, and let you go with a tassste of the Cruciatisss. How doesss that ssssound?" Silence reigned. The Dark Lord's temper boiled. "No response?"
Several hasty "Yes, my Lord"s echoed around the room. Voldemort drew his wand and finally let anger take control of his actions.
"CRUCIO!"
Both Harry and Nagini woke with a start. Harry's chest heaved as he caught his breath. "Did you ssee that too?" Harry asked.
"Yesss!" she sounded surprised. "Doesss this phenomenon usually occur?"
"Yeah... it doesss. Every night."
Nagini's eyes looked sympathetic. "The Oath-Breaker doesss not know when it is appropriate to cease his torture."
Harry looked down and twisted his mouth. "I usually write my dreamsss down for later ussse, but these are weird circumstancesss. You know?"
"I do know. It must indeed be 'weird' to have a much-feared sssnake come and declare you her hatchling." Nagini's head tilted down and she rubbed her snout against Harry's cheek. "Wasss anything different about that dream, other than the fact that I could sssee it asss well?"
"Yeah, actually! I couldn't feel the Crucio that The Forssaken One cast!" That was strange. Usually, he felt it when Voldemort cursed anyone. Now, only his scar hurt.
Nagini she hissed pensively. "You poor hatchling. You have experienced too much in your short life. Maybe your pain wasss muted becaussse I wassss there with you."
"Who knowssss."
A few minutes later, Aunt Petunia knocked on his door. The sound was not as angry as it usually was; maybe Uncle Vernon's silence had scared her too. "Harry? Get up and make breakfast." Her footsteps then retreated back down the hallway.
Harry chuckled. He ran one finger down Nagini's forehead, thinking. "How about we make a grand appearance thisss morning?"
The snake looked positively devious. "Yessss… That would be mossst sssatisfying." She unraveled herself from Harry's legs, arms, and torso. She silently slid to the floor, waiting for her hatchling to get dressed for the day. Harry then went out of his room and went to the bathroom and met Nagini out in the hallway. He grinned at her, and she gave a hissing laugh.
They made their way down the steps. Nagini made almost no noise slithering down the steps. She truly was a terrifying sight. The middle of her body was so large, Vernon wouldn't even be able to wrap his hands around her!
They made it to the bottom of the stairs, and turned the corner. Nagini abruptly stopped before going into the kitchen. "Wait… I feel dark energy here." Harry pivoted curiously to see what she was looking at, and he saw that she was staring intently at his cupboard. "Care to explain?" she hissed.
"If I tell you, you've gotta promissse you won't kill anyone." Harry leveled a pointed look at Nagini until she tilted her head in assent. "Alright… I ussssed to live there."
Nagini's face adopted a deadly demeanor. "If they ever try to put you there again, I will persssonally eat them whole."
"Thanksss, Nagini. Really."
Harry went into the kitchen first. Aunt Petunia was sitting at the table and she glanced up at him from her newspaper. She looked back down fast, as if scared he would do something to her.
Then she saw Nagini.
The humongous snake had slithered into the kitchen, making as much racket as possible. That made Petunia look up again, and then she screamed shrilly. Nagini slid toward the table. Petunia stood up on her chair, still yelling incoherently. She pointed her newspaper at the snake and suddenly found her voice.
"HARRY POTTER! GET THAT-THAT DEMON OUT OF THE HOUSE!" She waved the captive paper like a sword in front of her.
Harry raised an eyebrow and gently crossed his arms (as to not disturb his wounds). "Which one?" he said snarkily. "I think my snake is pretty sure you're one yourself."
His aunt looked like she was going to go into cardiac arrest, for more reasons than one. Nagini gave a sibilant laugh. "Tell the woman that I will be watching her."
Harry smiled. "Aunt Petunia? Nagini wants you to know that she'll be watching you, alright?" he said sweetly. Petunia clutched her heart. Her eyes darted wildly around the room from her vantage point on top of the chair.
More commotion was heard in the stairwell. Dudley ran (well, lumbered as fast as he could) to the dining room. He paused as he took in the scene in front of him, and then he chuckled. "Oh, mum. When I heard you screaming, I thought you were in danger."
His mother looked down at him incredulously. "Not in danger? Do you know who that snake is?" She shook the still-extended newspaper. Wait. Did she know who Nagini was?
Dudley looked just as confused as Harry, although probably for a different reason. "Erm, No." He shifted from foot to foot. "Should I?"
Aunt Petunia visibly gulped and looked up at the ceiling. "Dudders, this snake belongs to the… fr-freak-that finally killed his," she pointed at Harry, "parents!" Her voice wobbled slightly with poorly concealed fear.
Dudley now looked terrified (and a bit betrayed). "Harry… is that true?"
Harry ignored Dudley. "How did you know?" he asked darkly, moving from the kitchen counter closer to the table.
Petunia daintily stepped down from the chair and sniffed the air. "The old coot that gave you to us-Dumbledore-sent us a letter a few days after you had left for your last school year. It told us to watch out for a large snake. With dark green scales and yellow eyes, named Nagini." Her nose wrinkled. "Well-I, of course, wasn't worried." She straightened her back, and glared at the snake and then at Harry. He didn't know whether her newfound courage was due to Harry's nonchalance or Dudley's presence.
Dudley backed up, meeting Harry in the kitchen. "Uh, Harry?" he whispered. "Why didn't you tell me?"
He sighed. "It didn't cross my mind. I'm sorry, I'm mostly sure she's on our side. Like, ninety-nine percent sure." Dudley looked physically ill at Harry's use of numbers. Harry ignored his cousin's disgusted expression and lowered his voice even further. "I saw it myself when Voldemort made the mistake that permanently turned her onto my side of the war."
"Vold-voldemart? That's his name?" Dudley said, his brows creasing incredulously.
"Voldemort." Dudley shrugged as if to ask if there were any difference. "Yeah, I know right? Well-turns out his real name-Tom Marvolo Riddle-can be rearranged to form the anagram I Am Lord Voldemort. Weird, right?"
Dudley nodded, looking a bit more reassured. "Well, as long as you know she's not gonna hurt me. Or mum."
Harry nodded, but he was a bit unsure himself. Voldemort did have a nasty track record of sending him false dreams before. But-Harry remembered-if Nagini meant him any ill will, the blood wards wouldn't have let her through. Also, that vision didn't exactly paint the prettiest picture of 'The Forsssaken One.' Harry doubted Voldemort actually wanted anyone to see him absolutely break down and scream like that.
Harry began the dishes a few moments later. He ignored Nagini's cynical remark about how he shouldn't have to do that anymore. Harry actually didn't much mind doing the dishes now that he knew no one was going to smack him while his back was turned. He set the dripping plates and pots on the drying rack, and walked into the living room, planning to sit down on the couch and relax.
"Potter-absolutely not. Your snake may not let me give you chores," she glanced at Nagini, who was looking smug, "but I can put you in your room if you're not doing anything useful."
Harry shrugged. At least I don't have to break my back doing an insane amount of work today, he thought.
He started going up the stairs, but Nagini hissed, "Army-Leader, get sssome food. If I am not misssstaken, you have missed quite a few mealsss. Too many."
Harry stopped on the first step. He had gone longer without food before, but that didn't stop his stomach from rumbling at the thought of food in his belly. He smiled at Nagini's mother-henning. He wouldn't tell the serpent his observations-for some reason, he was pretty sure she wouldn't take kindly to being compared to a chicken.
"Alright, I'll do that." He went to the kitchen and picked up a stray piece of bacon and nibbled on it while going upstairs. Nagini followed him without a word. He stepped in his room and shut his door, silently rejoicing at recent events. It seemed as if Vernon wouldn't be bothering him any time soon, Dudley wouldn't be an absolute git, and Petunia wouldn't give him any chores. He could just relax on his bed (which was still ominously bloodstained) and not worry about straining his wounds.
It was like heaven. (Harry realized that his standards were probably abysmally low.)
Nagini silently coiled herself around Harry again. That seemed to be her new favorite spot. "Army-Leader, why did you come into your ssmall room again? I thought you would want to roam around the housssse."
"Pink-Flower," Harry paused, chuckling at the way parseltongue translated Petunia's name. "Pink-Flower told me that she wanted me to be in my room."
"Why?"
"Well, she figuresss that if I'm not doing anything, she doesssn't want to sssee me. That doesssn't hurt my feelings. I'd rather ssstay up here, after all."
"Are you sssure? I could make her let you go downssstairsss." Nagini squeezed her coils protectively.
"Thankssss, but I'm very ssssure."
Harry obviously needed some sleep, since he drifted off immediately after resting his head firmly on his flat pillow. Nagini followed soon after. Not much time later, they both were ensconced in a mercifully dreamless sleep.
Petunia Dursley didn't know what to do with this particular development. Not only was a snake in her house, it had to be a huge, intimidating one too! And not to mention that the-the old freak had said that THIS one in particular was dangerous.
She was mulling over these thoughts as she swept the kitchen floor. Usually Harry would do that job-and many more-but that blasted snake had to barge in and ruin every good thing in her life.
Suddenly, she heard a knock at the front door. Relieved for a reprieve in her work, she went to the door and opened it. Petunia plastered the well-worn socialization smile on her face. However when she saw the person standing in front of her, the saccharine smile slid off her face like water.
He was an intimidating man, standing at a proud 190 centimeters. He was wearing all black robes. A curtain of ebony hair fell to his shoulders. His nose was crooked, as if it had been broken in the past, and his obsidian eyes observed her shrewdly.
Petunia recognized this man instantly. It may have been almost twenty years (goodness, she was old), but she could remember the bane of her childhood existence like it was yesterday.
"Snape!" she yelped, once she had regained her voice. In Petunia's illustrious opinion, this day had held far too many surprises. A perfect day would contain exactly zero surprises.
"Yes, Tuney." Snape used the much-hated name Lily had given her sometime when she was twelve. He sneered down at her. "I have come to… check up on Mr. Potter," he said with disdain. "Although I sincerely doubt he is in danger, my employer set me to the task."
Severus Snape watched the pathetic woman squirm under his piercing gaze. He wasn't surprised by her actions, for he had perfected his death stare whilst spending numerous years teaching obnoxious little children who would rather play Quidditch than learn anything. He felt his sneer grow deeper as his thoughts strayed towards the troublesome sport.
The day before, the headmaster had summoned Severus to his office. Dumbledore then went on to explain how his precious phoenix was feeling unsettled, and how the bird "usually had great intuition about things." Of course, the headmaster had immediately jumped to the conclusion that Potter was in danger. The wizard sent the extremely dubious (and irked) potions master to number 4 Privet Drive the next day.
Severus pushed past Petunia. Her discomfort was starting to irritate him, and he went inside the house. "Where's Potter?" he asked her harshly. He still hadn't forgiven her for treating Lily like dirt under her shoe, and he was going to do the same to her. Not to mention the fact that he hardly wished to stay in this disgustingly suburban house any second longer than he needed to.
The boy is probably sulking in his room, like the moody, impulsive teenager he is, Severus thought. "Answer me!" he said, wrinkling his nose as if she emitted an unpleasant odor.
"Up… upstairs bedroom, turn right," she stuttered, obviously shaken by ghosts of her past.
Severus snorted in repulsion and made his way up the stairs. He turned right, like she had said, and strode until he saw the sole door in that hallway.
He frowned when he saw all those locks on his door. Probably wanted to keep his relatives out of his room, the brat, he brooded. But, the back of his mind interjected. Why would the locks be on the outside of the door? He ignored the pesky (irrational) voice and knocked on the door. Severus heard a sudden intake of breath, some rustling of sheets, and a small hiss. Potter probably thought it was his Aunt, because Severus' knock had gone unanswered.
Such arrogance.
Impatient, Severus opened the door. Nose in the air, Severus planned to give the impertinent brat a significant piece of his mind. However once he finally saw the situation in front of him, he had to smother a wholly undignified noise as words died in his throat. It had been a long time since something had startled Severus that badly.
He saw Harry Potter himself, wrapped in none other than the Dark Lord's snake. Severus hoped against all hope that the boy was still alive. He raised his wand to cast a curse at the blighted thing-to keep it from strangling the child further-but the snake noticed and squeezed Potter. He woke up almost instantly. Potter turned owlish green eyes towards where Severus was standing.
Potter blinked the sleep out of his eyes and croaked, "Professor! Wh-what are you doing here-wait-don't hurt her!" The boy's brows were creased, and his lethargic face looked distressed, of all things.
The child hissed at the serpent coiled around him, and-to Severus' utter shock-the snake loosened her hold on the boy and allowed him to take his glasses from his nightstand. The Dark Lord's snake rose up beside Potter, and stared at Severus with all-too-familiar yellow eyes.
"Potter," Severus hissed faintly, keeping his wand trained on the snake. "Do you know exactly who that particular creature belongs to?" he asked, searching for a miniscule amount of sanity in that tiny brain of his.
"Of course, Professor." Severus had to resist the hysterical impulse to automatically take points from Gryffindor-for both his disrespectful attitude and abject idiocy. Potter tried to stand up, but he winced and sat back down. Severus finally saw the rest of the picture in front of him. He mentally pinched himself.
There was blood coating the boy's mattress and a bit of the floor, and Potter himself was wearing clothes that would barely be suitable for a house elf.
Severus' scowl grew. How did he not notice this sooner? He prided himself in his superior spy abilities, and that included the ability to take in every minute detail, even in the most stressful situations. It wasn't even as if the stark red on white sheets was minute. This had been, quite literally, right under his nose. Where had the blood come from? Surely not from Potter himself? How deep denial runs, Severus. The pesky voice had returned.
He decided to ask, strategically ignoring the situation with the Dark Lord's snake (for the time being). "Potter, where, exactly, did all this blood come from?"
Potter suddenly lost his astounding self-assuredness. "Erm, nowhere?" It was a feeble answer, and Potter knew it. "You know what-why are you-? What are you doing here?"
Severus would neither let himself back down nor get led. "Potter, will you force me to use Legilimency on you?" he threatened. Severus shifted his wand from pointing at the Dark Lord's pet to pointing at Potter's head. He felt a snarl form on his visage as he ascertained that Potter was in no immediate danger from the serpent.
"No!" Potter shouted, causing the overgrown snake to hiss and spit at him. Potter hissed right back at her. This display helpfully reminded Severus of the boy's parselmouth abilities.
Whatever Potter had said seemed to placate her, and the serpent backed down. The child scowled at Severus. "Fine. I'll tell you. Just so you can report to your Slytherins how 'pathetic' I am. How 'attention seeking' I am." The child's face twisted into a growl.
The potions professor nearly lost his façade of calm disinterest. Irritatingly, Potter had noticed the slip of his mask and his lips curled up into a gruesome smile. "Yes, I couldn't stand up to my own Uncle, that's what," he muttered. "As you can see," Potter waved his arms around to indicate the entire spartan room, "the Dursleys aren't the kindest to me. Surely you can piece together the rest. You're a smart enough guy." Potter's face was turning an interesting shade of pink. Severus waved his left hand in a circle as if to say go on. He refused to acknowledge the forming understanding in the back of his brain until it was confirmed out loud.
"Fine!" Potter threw himself back onto the bed. The springs creaked painfully. "You can't figure out the puzzle? I'll just spell it out for you, then. Uncle Vernon has recently taken to beating me. You happy?"
To say that Severus was appalled would be an understatement. He fought to regain his mask of indifference, but it was extremely difficult (and ultimately futile). Potter-James Potter's son, famous Golden Boy, beloved teacher's pet, The Chosen One-was beaten at home? No. No, this simply was not possible.
Severus felt the world shift under his feet. His wand arm wavered as Potter's words sank in. The potions master had to lean on the doorframe to keep himself from falling. Severus felt a nasty taste in his mouth as the understanding finally formed completely.
No matter what the headmaster said, he would have to get the boy out of this place.
His anger mounted as he looked closer at the angry marks that were visible on Potter's body.
Severus finally saw red. "He what?" he bellowed, spectacularly losing his temper. He started forward, only stopping when the snake looked like it was about to strike him. "You had best not be misleading me, Potter!" The idea that one's own blood relations could attempt to do that to them was almost inconceivable in the Wizarding World. (That did not save Severus from own his muggle father, however.)
The boy looked up nervously-most likely gauging Severus' anger-and shook his head. All indignation seemed to have drained from the boy's body. "If Nagini hadn't stopped him, I feel like he would've killed me." He shuddered.
Severus sighed and came even closer. He stopped dead in his tracks when the snake hissed at him, daring him to come further. "Potter, tell the snake to desist in its ridiculous posturing."
He exchanged some sibilant words with the snake, and it coiled up tightly on the bed beside him. Severus had seen that pose many times before as his time as a Death Eater. It was what the snake looked like when it was preparing to attack.
"Potter! I told you to tell that blasted thing to back off!"
The boy's ire reemerged. "Nagini is not a thing, she's a living, breathing creature!" Then he looked pensive as Severus' words sunk in. "I thought she did 'back off,'" he murmured.
"No, it didn't!" Against Severus' will, a finger rose to point at the snake. "I have seen that position before. That means it is getting ready to strike!" Severus' knuckles turned white on the wand that was currently tight in his grasp.
Potter frowned and seemed to have an entire conversation with the serpent. His eyes occasionally flicked upwards to the potions master in the doorframe. Finally, the snake hissed and laid down flat, her tail whipping out on the floor in an agitated manner.
Severus discerned it was most likely safe enough to approach without a bite from it. He inched forward. "Take off your shirt and lay on your stomach," he commanded. Potter looked suspicious at best, but a quick bark of "Now!" caused him to obey.
Severus sucked in a breath at what he saw.
He examined Potter's emaciated back, staring at the crisscrossed scabs there. Some looked relatively deep, and others had the distinct shape of a belt buckle. Some were festering with infection.
Severus felt all his preconceived notions of one Harry Potter steadily being stripped away.
He didn't like that feeling.
Severus desperately tried for a conversation. "So, Potter. I'm guessing you know the identity of the abnormally large snake you are housing?" he tried to make his tone neutral while grabbing a vial of cream for the aftereffects of the Cruciatus, of all things. Severus recognized that particular brand of nerve damage when he saw it. The salve wasn't exactly ideal for open wounds, but it was the best Severus had with him. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed that the snake relaxed a bit at his calm voice. Severus tried again. "So?"
Potter sighed. "Yeah, I do. I know she's switched sides though."
"Not meaning to provoke you, but how are you sure of that?" Severus treaded lightly.
"I had a dream." He winced when Severus started applying the salve to his mangled back.
"The Dark Lord has been known to send you false dreams before."
"I know that!" Potter snapped. Severus sighed internally. It probably wasn't a good idea to bring up false dreams, considering what had happened in the year before. What do I care, Severus scolded himself feebly. "But, it did make The Forsaken One look pretty bad, in a way he wouldn't have liked."
"The Forsaken one?" Severus murmured, asking for clarification.
"Oh. Yeah, that's what Voldemort's name comes out as in parseltongue."
"Do not say the Dark Lord's name!" he growled.
"Why not?"
Severus did not have an explanation for the boy's query that would make him sound like a sane human being. Instead of answering, he just exhaled irritably. Although Potter wasn't everything that he seemed, at least he still could rely on the boy's astounding talent for irritation. "Just... cease."
He snorted. "Sure."
He had to bite the inside of his cheek to keep from retorting. He spared a thought to ask himself why he always let Potter provoke him. He could withstand torture from the Dark Lord and infuriatingly evasive foolishness from the headmaster, but when it came to this child lying on his stomach on his bed, the potions master always lost it. Maybe he's just a reminder of my past failures, the nettlesome voice suggested. How I was ultimately responsible for my only friend's dea-
Severus quashed that train of thought.
Once he finished with the boy's back, he asked, "Is there anywhere else that needs attending to?" Potter nodded. "Where?" he said impatiently.
"My chest." He rolled over onto his back, displaying the wounds there. Severus was expecting it to look ghastly, so he didn't react as strongly. His nose twitched. He let out a slow breath through his mouth and proceeded forward. This time, Potter instigated the conversation.
"Sir, with all due respect, aren't you a Death Eater? And why are you helping me? Godric, why did you come here in the first place?"
Severus rolled his eyes at the invasive question and the boy's choice of invocation. "As you can see, I am a Death Eater, but I am also... of certain use for the headmaster, so you needn't worry about your wellbeing." Severus paused in his ministrations and looked up. "Your immediate wellbeing. As for your next question, I would aid anyone in your situation, insufferable brat or not." He dabbed salve on a wound that looked particularly painful, and Potter sucked in a breath. "I apologize."
Silence enveloped the room yet again, and Severus felt the indescribable urge to fill it. "The headmaster's bird felt like there was trouble, so his mind instantly hypothesized that you were in danger. Which-you were," he grudgingly admitted.
Potter seemed to mull over the influx of new information. Severus soon finished applying the cream to his chest. "Anywhere else?" he asked curtly.
Potter uncomfortably shook his head. Severus didn't believe him for one second, so he handed him the vial to touch up on anything he'd missed.
"I will be waiting downstairs for you. Bring your things." Severus started toward the door.
"Wait, what?"
Severus turned around to stare at him. "Well, you cannot expect me to leave you here. You look like you haven't had a decent meal in weeks." He stepped out of the room, closing the door behind him. Had he been… friendly… to Potter? Really? Well, it was instinctive, his mind protested hesitantly.
Please tell me I'm not starting to feel concern for the boy.
