Disclaimer: I disclaim. JKR owns what she owns, and the plot bunny was grazing in the Evil Overlord list.
The snake curled around his shoulders was worried.
She knew, of course, that he was not a nice man; perhaps he never had been. And yet, he was also not a madman.
She could not read, of course, but there had once been a time that he had been closer to human, and in that time, he had read to her on occasion. Once, he read her a story about a group of not-entirely-magical Aurors of some sort, living in a city. Their leader had been drunk, and in an attempt to sober him up, they had given him magical coffee, which had taken him to the other side of sobriety. They called that state "knurd."
She thought sometimes that not long afterwards, he had become knurd himself.
He wanted power. She knew that. She helped him, sometimes, when she could, because she loved him. She did what she could to find him new sources of power.
Over the years, she had gotten to where she could understand the humans' language. She was a snake, so she couldn't speak it herself, but she followed along fairly well. Sometimes she still had to ask him for translations, but that was rare.
He was afraid of many things, although perhaps she was the only one who knew that. She'd been his constant companion for years, after all; it was only fitting that she knew him well. His fear and his desire for power – power of all sorts – combined in an unhealthy manner, it seemed to her.
She was a snake. She did not understand his drive to power. For her, a full belly, a place in the sun, that was contentment. Sometimes, the hunt drove her. That, she could understand.
But his plan now – it worried her, and it worried her greatly. There were certain laws about the universe that she knew as instinctive fact, and he was about to violate one of them.
"Do not do this thing. It is not right," she hissed at him.
He looked at her, curled around his body in a tight embrace. "Why not?"
"There was a book you read me, once. You are not remembering it, if you do this thing."
"What are you talking about?"
"It said... No matter how tempted I am with the prospect of unlimited power... (and I know that this tempts you, although I do not understand it...)"
He looked from her to the object hovering in front of him, and then replied, guardedly. "Go on."
"I will not consume any energy field larger than my head."
He blinked, several times more than necessary, and considered her words for a moment.
And then, he began to laugh.
His followers, standing in black robes around the edges of the room, looked away from the bright glow in front of them, to the pale man draped in snake at the front of the room. A few of them glanced at each other, trying to see if one of them understood the joke.
"Ah, my dear Nagini. You are wiser than I give you credit for. And I think that while a reward for you is in order, a punishment for another is in order, as well.
"Lucius. This was your idea, and you were the one who brought me this gift. Why?"
A tall, slender man, with long white-blond hair, stepped forward slightly, and knelt in front of his lord.
"My lord, I thought that this gift would please you. If I was wrong, I apologize, of course, but I don't understand... there was a prophecy..."
She hissed at the blond man, knowing that he was lying to her friend, knowing that her friend had been carried away because of prophecy before.
Her friend seemed to understand – and perhaps agree – with her thoughts. "You are a foolish man, Lucius. And you do not think... or perhaps, you think too much. Such men are dangerous."
He ran his wand through his fingers for a moment, before pointing it at the man kneeling in front of him. His whisper was perfectly heard by all in the stillness of the room. "Crucio."
He held the curse for nearly an hour, until blood dyed the blond hair red, and then he lifted it. Instead of screams, there were now only moans of pain.
He smiled, or perhaps only bared his teeth, before uttering a charm he had learnt in his first year of schooling. "Wingardium leviosa." The broken body of the once beautiful man floated into the air, and was consumed into fire by the glowing power floating in the center of the room.
He turned his head towards his newly promoted second in command, standing stiff with shock. "Get rid of the mess. You will join me later."
He left the room then, idly caressing her coils as he walked.
She hummed in pleasure. She was not worried anymore. He was in a good mood.
Author's note: Due to a conversation with my friend Bumbi, I decided to revisit the Evil Overlord List. ( www eviloverlord com ) This particular sketch is based on rule #22, posted above unedited.
I also have to think that Voldemort never read Rule #34. "I will not turn into a snake. It never helps."
The line "You think too much. Such men are dangerous" is lifted from Shakespeare's Julius Caesar, I believe.
And the book from which I took the theory of "knurd" is one of the Discworld/Night Watch books by Terry Pratchett.
More plot bunnies will be upcoming. My two main WIPs, both posted on Ashwinder, are currently being revised, and will be updated when my muse quits handing me bunnies.
The snake curled around his shoulders was worried.
She knew, of course, that he was not a nice man; perhaps he never had been. And yet, he was also not a madman.
She could not read, of course, but there had once been a time that he had been closer to human, and in that time, he had read to her on occasion. Once, he read her a story about a group of not-entirely-magical Aurors of some sort, living in a city. Their leader had been drunk, and in an attempt to sober him up, they had given him magical coffee, which had taken him to the other side of sobriety. They called that state "knurd."
She thought sometimes that not long afterwards, he had become knurd himself.
He wanted power. She knew that. She helped him, sometimes, when she could, because she loved him. She did what she could to find him new sources of power.
Over the years, she had gotten to where she could understand the humans' language. She was a snake, so she couldn't speak it herself, but she followed along fairly well. Sometimes she still had to ask him for translations, but that was rare.
He was afraid of many things, although perhaps she was the only one who knew that. She'd been his constant companion for years, after all; it was only fitting that she knew him well. His fear and his desire for power – power of all sorts – combined in an unhealthy manner, it seemed to her.
She was a snake. She did not understand his drive to power. For her, a full belly, a place in the sun, that was contentment. Sometimes, the hunt drove her. That, she could understand.
But his plan now – it worried her, and it worried her greatly. There were certain laws about the universe that she knew as instinctive fact, and he was about to violate one of them.
"Do not do this thing. It is not right," she hissed at him.
He looked at her, curled around his body in a tight embrace. "Why not?"
"There was a book you read me, once. You are not remembering it, if you do this thing."
"What are you talking about?"
"It said... No matter how tempted I am with the prospect of unlimited power... (and I know that this tempts you, although I do not understand it...)"
He looked from her to the object hovering in front of him, and then replied, guardedly. "Go on."
"I will not consume any energy field larger than my head."
He blinked, several times more than necessary, and considered her words for a moment.
And then, he began to laugh.
His followers, standing in black robes around the edges of the room, looked away from the bright glow in front of them, to the pale man draped in snake at the front of the room. A few of them glanced at each other, trying to see if one of them understood the joke.
"Ah, my dear Nagini. You are wiser than I give you credit for. And I think that while a reward for you is in order, a punishment for another is in order, as well.
"Lucius. This was your idea, and you were the one who brought me this gift. Why?"
A tall, slender man, with long white-blond hair, stepped forward slightly, and knelt in front of his lord.
"My lord, I thought that this gift would please you. If I was wrong, I apologize, of course, but I don't understand... there was a prophecy..."
She hissed at the blond man, knowing that he was lying to her friend, knowing that her friend had been carried away because of prophecy before.
Her friend seemed to understand – and perhaps agree – with her thoughts. "You are a foolish man, Lucius. And you do not think... or perhaps, you think too much. Such men are dangerous."
He ran his wand through his fingers for a moment, before pointing it at the man kneeling in front of him. His whisper was perfectly heard by all in the stillness of the room. "Crucio."
He held the curse for nearly an hour, until blood dyed the blond hair red, and then he lifted it. Instead of screams, there were now only moans of pain.
He smiled, or perhaps only bared his teeth, before uttering a charm he had learnt in his first year of schooling. "Wingardium leviosa." The broken body of the once beautiful man floated into the air, and was consumed into fire by the glowing power floating in the center of the room.
He turned his head towards his newly promoted second in command, standing stiff with shock. "Get rid of the mess. You will join me later."
He left the room then, idly caressing her coils as he walked.
She hummed in pleasure. She was not worried anymore. He was in a good mood.
Author's note: Due to a conversation with my friend Bumbi, I decided to revisit the Evil Overlord List. ( www eviloverlord com ) This particular sketch is based on rule #22, posted above unedited.
I also have to think that Voldemort never read Rule #34. "I will not turn into a snake. It never helps."
The line "You think too much. Such men are dangerous" is lifted from Shakespeare's Julius Caesar, I believe.
And the book from which I took the theory of "knurd" is one of the Discworld/Night Watch books by Terry Pratchett.
More plot bunnies will be upcoming. My two main WIPs, both posted on Ashwinder, are currently being revised, and will be updated when my muse quits handing me bunnies.