Chapter 4

The pain was terrible. My entire body felt as though it was being cooked alive…my skin was burning. I could not open my eyes, the pain was too intense. I knitted my eyebrows and prayed for death to come quickly and relieve me from this terrible agony. Then all of a sudden, I felt a strange cooling sensation that eased the pain I felt. Was this death? I relaxed and gave a sigh. Then, a whirling darkness enveloped my senses and thoughts, and I lost touch with reality all together.

***

The dark trees of the Black Forest towered over me, massive and menacing. Their leaves blocked off most of the sunlight, shrouding the entire area around me in grey. The air was suffocating. It was deathly quiet, with no calls of wild beasts or shrill songs of birds reaching my ears. I knew that I must be near the heart of the forest. The silence was unnerving, and I felt the hairs on my neck prickle. I felt as though every move I made was being watched. Feeling nervous, I took out my wand to defend myself against any sudden attacks. A sudden rustle of dead leaves behind me made me jump. I spun around, holding my wand in front of me like a knife.

I came face to face with a snake. It was a vivid poisonous black, with yellow patterns all over its skin. It was about as long as a boa constrictor. The snake stood out well amidst the grey shadows that surrounded me. I recognized it as being one of the most poisonous snakes in the world. I stared at it, unsure of what to do. Should I kill it, or stun it? 

Its head was raised, and its slit eyes were level with mine. There was something… compelling… about those eyes. They were blood red and glittered like diamonds. I have never seen such strange eyes before, in either man or beast. I felt as though I was being hypnotized. I tried to tear my gaze away, but found, to my horror, that I could not. It slithered towards me, disturbing more dead leaves, its eyes still fixed on mine. I tried to run but my legs seemed to be rooted to the spot and I could not move. I could not even utter a spell to get rid of the snake. It was like as though someone had placed a full-body bind on me.

The snake drew closer and closer to me. Resignedly, I closed my eyes and waited for its fangs to sink into my flesh, to spread poison in my veins. But nothing of that sort happened. Instead, I heard a voice, a hissing, raspy voice like a snake break the silence. "Quirrell…" My eyes snapped open in shock. The snake was only a few inches away from me, its mouth open, showing glistening fangs and a forked tongue. "Good afternoon…" it whispered again. I was numb with disbelief. How could I understand what the snake was talking? I am not a parselmouth, and so can't speak to snakes… what on earth is happening? 

"What's the matter? Are you feeling a little shy, Quirrell?" The snake said mockingly. I tried to speak, but all that came out was a raspy sound. I cleared my throat and tried again. "H-How did you know my name?" I managed.

"I have ears, I have senses." the snake hissed smugly. "And I can move fast." Cold sweat began running down my face. I had the horrible feeling that the snake had been spying on me ever since I came into this forest. The snake continued speaking. "And can I ask what a young man such as yourself is doing here in this forest?" The question was asked in such a way that made me compelled to answer.

"I-I am researching on Dark Creatures," I answered. The snake's red eyes bore into mine. "So you are a zoologist, is it? Interesting…." It hissed, its smooth tongue flashing in and out of its mouth. It drew even closer to me. "No, I-I am actually the Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher at Hogwarts," I corrected. I felt really stupid, standing there like an idiot and talking to a snake. I was still feeling very uncomfortable with the stifling stillness of the forest around me and having a poisonous snake talk to me was not helping very much in relieving the tension.

My wand was still outstretched towards it, and I wondered whether I should stun the snake and keep it as a specimen to be further examined later. The snake was evidently more intelligent than any of its kind I had ever seen before.  It could actually speak English and converse with me. "You are a teacher at Hogwarts? Good… this is very excellent news…" The snake drew itself up and looked at me straight in the eyes. Authority and power exuded from it, making me feel very insignificant and small. It opened its mouth and displayed again its wonderful pointed fangs. "Come and join me, Quirrell… I can make you rich…I can make you powerful…"

"W-What do you mean?" I stuttered, my quivering wand still pointing at it. "You're just a snake. Why on earth should I join you?"

The snake snapped, "I am not really a snake. You fool…can't you see that I'm far too intelligent to be one?" Stunned by this piece of news, I staggered back. "T-Then what are you?" I managed to say. This was looking dangerous. That snake could actually be an animagus in disguise, and whether his magic was good or evil…

The snake paused and surveyed me with its eerie red eyes for a moment. It then spoke, its voice sweetening. "You ask who I am? I was once powerful, boy…I was once the greatest wizard in the world. I was so feared, that people dared not call me by my proper name. Even now, ten years since I was last seen, my name is still feared throughout the wizarding world." The snake paused for a while before continuing, "My downfall was caused by a baby… and it is because of him, that I am now reduced to this state, worse than shadow of my former power. I'm sure you have heard of the boy's name. His name… was Harry Potter."

My eyes grew even wider and my mouth fell open. "No, it can't be, you can't be-"

The snake slithered closer to me. "But I can," it hissed softly.

I stumbled back again and whipped my wand up to point at it. "Don't c-come any closer, or-or I will k-kill you!" I stammered. Fear crept into me. I realized that I was actually in the company of the most feared Dark Wizard in the world…Lord Voldemort.

The snake showed no sign of fear or anxiety. Instead, it threw back its head and laughed high and cold. "You will kill me? You will just be wasting your time. I can't be killed…I am immune to death. I, who am further along the path of immortality than anybody else, die such a normal death? If you cast the Avada Kedavra on me…which will be a tremendous drain on your puny reserves of magic and strength, you would only be able to kill this snake's body I'm residing in, and not me."

"I am now little more than a spirit…" The snake spoke softly. "But if you join me, I can give you all your heart's desires… I can make you rich … I can make you powerful…"

'Why should I join you? You are evil. I read in the books how terrible and frightening your reign was. People were living in misery and fear at that time." My voice shook. The snake hissed, "I am evil? Foolish and ignorant boy, there is no good or evil…there is only power, and those too weak to seek it. Join me, and I can make dreams which you had never dared dream about come true…I can make you powerful too…all your enemies will cower before you, begging for mercy."

Images of the bullies at school sprung into my mind. I remembered the bruises I had, the broken noses… The snake nodded, as though reading my mind. "You see? I can help you get revenge. Together…we can eliminate them and make them suffer dearly!"

"No!" I shouted. "I have already given up being petty about this issue. Severus, my closest friend, had told me…"

The snake stiffened. It then let out one long low hiss. "Severus Snape?"

"Y-You know him?" I asked, thunderstruck. The snake laughed harshly again. "Know him? Of course I do…He was one of my best Deatheaters…one of the most ruthless and cleverest among them."

I reeled with shock as my mind struggled to take in what I had just heard. Snape, a-a deatheater? It can't be…surely there was a mistake… he would have told me… "You're lying!" I said wildly.  The snake's mouth curled into a hideous lipless smile. "Lying, am I? Didn't you say he was your best friend? That means you should have wondered why you did not see much of him the moment I came into power ten years ago…"

"He told me that he went to Africa to study dragons!" I said defensively.

"Oh…lying to his best friend…dear me, dear me…"The snake smirked. "Snape was a Deatheater. It was I who burned the Dark mark on his arm when he swore allegiance to me ten years ago on the second of May… I have a long memory that has never failed me." Looking at the look of disbelief that was etched all over my face, the snake continued, "You don't believe me? Think about it…why would I lie to you? There is no gain in it."

I felt hurt and betrayed. The snake was right. Why would it lie to me? What hurts me most was that Snape lied to me. Why didn't he tell me the truth? Was he afraid that I would hand him over to the Ministry or refuse to be his friend? Am I that shallow? I thought he treated me like a brother. Now I felt as though I knew nothing of the man whom I thought I was so close to. My hand clutched my wand even tighter, and I shook with suppressed anger.

"Your best friend has betrayed you," The snake said, its voice as smooth as honey. "Join me…we will make him pay…we will administer a slow and lingering death for him as payment for lying to you…"

I was more than ready to accept the snake's advice. But something still held me back. Even though he lied to me, Snape was still a good friend to me when I was younger…I detested killing, and killing Snape because he lied to me seemed too harsh. The snake, as though sensing my indecision, drew itself up again and looked at me straight in the eyes. I quickly tried to tear my gaze away but it was too late.

"Quirrell, you are destined for greatness…why do you let a good-for-nothing friend like Snape slow you down? He will make trouble for you one day if you are not careful…he has shown that he is capable of deceiving friends." The snake's gaze into my eyes intensified. Its ruby red eyes seemed to expand and fill my entire vision. Soon I saw nothing but redness everywhere.

"I am offering you a golden opportunity, Quirrell. Take it! Share your soul with mine, and we will be the most powerful wizards in the world! If you don't…" The voice turned threatening. "You are of no use to me. I will kill you with the poison in my fangs in a flash." The voice turned sweet and smooth again. "Surely you don't want that to happen to you…I can give you all the fame you want, all the pleasures and joys of life…you need only say the word and your great destiny will already be created."

"I-I…" My mind was in turmoil. Voldemort could offer me anything I wanted…I had no doubt about that. I had read all about his accomplishments in books. But he is evil and heartless… no wait, but he is right, there is no good or evil in this material world. There is only power… But what about my father… what would he say when he finds out that I had joined the Dark wizard he had so often spoken out against?

The snake said softly, "I know about your father…but, it is time for you to break free from your father's convention and rules. It's time for you to make your own choices and life."

 I thought of all the pain and unhappiness I went through in school when I was a young and budding wizard. I thought of my previous ambitions and desires… and most of all, I thought of the hurt and pain I felt when I found out that Snape lied to me.

"Yes…I will join you, my…lord," I finally spoke, submitting to him my will and soul. I bowed my head and put down my wand. A shrill, high pitched laughter rang in my ears. "Yes…finally, you have consented…"

I raised my head as a thin, mist-like substance began pouring out from the serpent's mouth. I watched, transfixed, as the substance hovered before me. The substance soon took the shape of a face, a horrible skull-like face with burning red eyes the same as the snake's. A soft 'thump' among the dead leaves where the snake was distracted me from the face.

The snake's body was slumped on the ground. Its eyes had glazed over and I knew that it was dying. The face that hovered before me whispered, "Close your eyes and relax…this will not take longer than a minute…and when I'm done, you and I will be fused together and do great and extraordinary things!"

I closed my eyes and waited. Then, all of a sudden, I felt an intense pain in my chest. Something was pushing into me, something searing hot and sharp. I fell to the ground and convulsed. The pain was all-consuming and I cried out in agony.

"AAAHHHHH!"

I sat bolt upright, panting heavily with sweat dripping from my head. I looked around wildly and saw that I was in a bed, with a patchwork quilt covering me. I realized that I had been dreaming. It was only a nightmare. I heaved a sigh of relief. As I lay back onto the bed, I was hit with a sense of unfamiliarity. Who does this bed belong to?

Author's note: Hellcat who wrote 'Rhamnus Frangula' has read this and although this scene seems similar to one in her fic she doesn't mind and we knew that this was going to be in conflict at some point along the way. If you have any complaints then so be it but otherwise the only rights I think I have infringed upon is the ones that JKR has to HP.

Any comments regarding my fic would be greatly appreciated.