Heyo friends! Long time no chat! I've been sewing a ton lately because I have a convention this weekend and wanted to finish some cosplays! I made this chapter extra long as an apology! Ihope you enjoy, I think things get interesting here ;) After this chappy I anticipate that Penny's misery will only last 2 more chapters :(
Enjoy and have a great new week!
EDIT: I had a great commenter bring up to me that the logistics of the mark I had originally written didn't make much sense, but I have not edited that chapter yet. In this chapter and from here on out, Penny's dark mark is located beneath her collar bone in the center of her chest (in that space just above the cleavage) and the snake winds down between the cleavage and ends on her sternum. Hope that isn't too confusing lol.
The tendrils wrapped around Penny's head began to move again, twisting along her to secure the arms and legs that were now free because Snape had gone. She winced as they skirted along her mark, her heart filling with dread as she wondered what Voldemort could possibly want from her now.
He watched her quietly for a long moment, and then he knelt down, his red eyes moving from her face to the hideous mark he'd just forced Snape to etch into her chest. A faint smile touched his thin lips, a long finger skirting the bleeding mess almost tenderly.
"I do hope you won't begrudge him for this. Not when such a display of loyalty will not be forgotten by me. Those who serve me well are always rewarded, and the rewards of your betrothed shall also be yours."
Penny could not respond being too preoccupied with trying to contain the yell that wanted to escape her lips due to his finger setting the mark on her chest ablaze, Penny certain if he did not move it soon then it would burn right through her. Voldemort cared little for the agony he induced, and in callous disregard slowly traced the outline of the mark, ending at the snake's head that sat atop her sternum.
"Much has changed since our last meeting, Penelope. You'd have heard how that dear brother of yours was kind enough to help return to my corporeal form; a plan I was not sure would come to fruition after Wormtail let you slip through our clutches. It was a most perplexing debacle, one he remained woefully unable to explain. It left me curious, how is it you escaped, hmm?" he said, softly, removing his finger.
Eyes watering from pain, Penny looked into red as a sense of confusion flooded her.
"I-I don't know," she stammered, racking her brain for any trace of the memory. It was a question she had failed to ask when she'd woken after the foolhardy endeavor to get her own memories back. Perhaps Snape had wanted to ask the same question, though he never vocalized it, but given Penny's state, he likely did not think it was the right time to push such a topic. Whatever the answer, the truth of it remained somewhere locked up inside of her.
"A fortunate pity. You will understand that I have to take a look myself—if someone were to have helped you and erased your memories so I would not find out, well I can't leave them among my ranks, can I? But fret not, seeing as I just gifted you to my most useful servant, I shall tread delicately."
Penny only had a split-second to contemplate how awful it would be to have Voldemort enter her mind before a terrible prodding sensation in her head made the world around her begin to blur together. She tried to push back against the sensation, but it merely prodded harder, pushing past her with ease and sending an explosion of pain into her brain. Her yell of protest and agony was drowned out by the sound of rushing wind filling her ears.
It took a long moment before Penny realized that she was no longer looking up into the face of Voldemort and that in his place stood a street lamp. Blinking several times as though it would somehow help her make sense of what she was looking at, Penny sat up slowly, looking around and realized she was sitting on the familiar street she had watched Dumbledore walk in search of a memory—her memory; Penny had been forced into her own mind, yet again. It was strange how foreign it felt to her, it almost gave her the creeps. Shouldn't she know herself better? Though she felt connected to most of what she saw before her, there were things creeping at the edges, things she did not want to get a better look at or acknowledge were a part of her.
The thought of what was creeping around her reminded Penny of the last time she was here, a most vivid image of herself being chased by some awful creature making her feel suddenly uneasy, she did not have Dumbledore to rescue her this time. Deciding it was better not to stay put, she got her to her feet, but wasn't sure what to do next. Was she supposed to go in search of Voldemort or would he just find what he was looking for? How much could he look at? Penny did not much fancy the idea of him meandering through her mind as he pleased, there was plenty she did not want him seeing, some of which might end up in getting Snape killed. Surely there must be a way to keep those memories from Voldemort's prying eyes, but Penny did not know how because she had never asked Snape how Occlumency worked, but she knew it was possible.
As though summoned to solve her conundrum, a shadow fell across the street before Penny causing her to whirl around and face whoever had snuck up on her, fearing it was Voldemort.
Much to her surprise and relief, Penny found Tom leaning lazily against the lamp post.
"What're you doing here?" Penny all but demanded, the impoliteness of her tone making Tom's jaw twitch in irritation.
"The only thing I ever seem to be doing, saving you from your own stupidity."
"I didn't ask for your help, besides, I'm fine."
"Is that so? I do not think I have ever met a less self-aware person, it's a true gift you have," he said, bowing his head in evident derision.
Penny scowled in irritation, looking decidedly away from Tom and towards the streets branching from the one they stood, trying to decide on a course of action that did not include trusting Tom. "While I'd love to chat, I'm a bit busy looking for someone," she said, deciding to take the street to her right, but Tom caught her wrist.
Eye's narrowed, she turned on him, but as soon as their eyes met he used an exaggerated motion to release her and express his good intent. "As I said, zero self awareness. The Dark Lord is that way," he said, inclining his head toward her left.
"How do you know that and how did you know it was the Dark Lord?" Penny said, feeling slightly dumbfounded.
"Penny, Penny, Penny, I live here, in your mind, do I not? Did you think I would not acquaint myself with your inner workings?" he said, his charming smile not reaching his pretty brown eyes. Penny could not help but sense a warning in his words and she glanced around, noting again how unfamiliar her own head felt.
"As for the Dark Lord, I have existed in this form for as long as you have been alive, one hears things, like how the self-proclaimed ruler of the wizarding world lost to nothing more than a boy, twice," Tom went on, the disdain so thick in his voice Penny could stick a spoon in it and eat it like hot fudge.
"That boy happens to be my brother," Penny said, not certain why she felt the need to be defensive.
"Yes," murmured Tom, "And yet you are as talentless and unexciting as they come. But I digress, you have somehow managed to get the Dark Lord's attention, a fortuitous blunder on your part."
'Fortuitous! Did you miss the part where he just had me mutilated!"
"You were marked because that meddling fool got greedy," Tom said, sounding slightly impatient at the mention of Snape.
"Snape? Are we talking about Snape? Because if we are, you do realize he is the reason we are not currently in a million pieces right now."
"You really must learn to be more discerning, Penny. It is evident to those paying any attention that mutilation is not what that pitiful creature, Yaxley, seeks. He is as mundane as they come, fueled by some juvenile rivalry with that beloved Professor of yours. You are merely the tool to get at him because love is the most obvious of weaknesses, but he failed to account for the stupidity of love—because that Professor of yours—most chivalrously—risked everything just to keep Yaxley from raping you, only to end up trusting his life to one such as you," Tom responded with an eye roll, as though Snape's decision was the most obviously wrong choice out of the bunch.
"Seeing as I was the one who Yaxley was intending to sexually assault, you'll find I disagree with that sentiment," Penny said, mutinously, not liking how casually Tom explained the 'what-ifs' of her situation.
"That is because one as sheltered as you lacks all imagination, it's precisely why that beast the Carrow boy left here slumbers unchecked," said Tom, eyes flashing in annoyance as he looked away from her and into the distance, his thoughts far from her and her miniscule problems.
"You know you change topics faster than you change moods don't you? So you'll forgiven me for wondering how the hell the Carrows ended up in this conversation when I thought we were arguing about Snape?"
Sighing in annoyance, he said, "Seeing as you continually insist on perpetually existing in denial, perhaps a field trip is warranted." In uncharacteristic abruptness, he turned away from her and walked decidedly in the direction with the least amount of light posts.
"Hey, where do you think you're going! Mind explaining yourself," Penny huffed.
"If you want answers, come and learn how to find them for yourself."
Annoyed by the insinuation in Tom's voice, Penny begrudgingly followed after him, mildly curious what he would have to show her in her own mind that she somehow did not know existed.
They walked for what felt like ages, the houses along the street getting shabbier, the street lamps becoming sparser and forcing them to walk through long stretches through darkness, which bothered Penny more than Tom. He seemed to move as one who traversed this path regularly, unbothered by the things that rustled at the edges of their periphery.
The further they went, the more uneasy Penny began to feel. The air around them had changed somehow, it was heavy and a blanket of fog was beginning to accumulate around them, making it nearly impossible to see from whence they had come. Instinctively, Penny moved closer to Tom, convinced something was scurrying just along the edges of her vision.
He glanced down at her, a smirk playing at the corners of his mouth. "No need to look so worried, Penny, we all harbor unsavory secrets, these are merely yours."
"I hate to be the one to tell you this, but I have no secrets, I'm rather boring, actually," said Penny.
"Don't be so humble, your ambition, desires and unbridled anger impressed even me. I suppose this is why you are attracted to that meddling Professor of yours, a part of you wishes to be more like him, does it not—powerful, self—reliant, respected," Tom said, softly.
"For one professing to see so much, you understand little," Penny said, becoming distracted by the way the street came to an end, and a gravel path took its place, winding through a large, completely pitch black field. "Whatever he may be guilty of in the past, at least he tries. He made the choice to spy for Dumbledore and risk his life every time he appears before the Dark Lord and lies to him, he is proof to me that we need not be defined by our basest instincts, we can choose to be something different." Penny said coming to a stop where the gravel met cement.
For some reason she felt following the path before them was a very bad idea, but her eyes were ensnared by something gleaming ever-so-slightly in the middle of the field, making her annoyingly curious as to why Tom led her here of all places. And, afterall, this was her mind, why should she fear it?
"How very optimistic of you, Penny, or perhaps foolish, to have convinced yourself that one such as Snape could ever be satisfied with a mundane life after tasting the power the dark arts offers. Has it ever occurred to you that one as skilled at occlumency as he may be lying to you? A word of advice, one roommate to another, you would do well never to trust a disloyal dog, they will inevitably bite you," Tom said, his hungry eyes gleaming down at her and mouth stretching in cruel pleasure. Without so much as letting her process what he'd said, his hand clasped her shoulder and pushed her over the threshold between the street and the field and began guiding her through the dark, removing only when she shrugged him off in annoyance, disliking his touch.
"If you want proof of your own nature, take a good look at what your own heart is currently housing."
Penny didn't bother to ask him what that meant, knowing his arrogant nature would never just allow him to explain anything in plain language. So they walked in silence, the only sound to be heard, the scattering of rocks at Penny's feet, which felt obscenely loud considering her trepidation. But as they drew closer she became distracted, realizing the gleam was coming from a large rectangular box that appeared to have several glowing green tubes spiraling from it and snaking in several directions, with whatever they were reaching for being too far away to be seen.
However, when they stepped up to the box, Penny realized that it was more akin to a casket, but it was not made out of wood, and instead was forged with a clear glass. A rancid smell met Penny's nostrils, sending a wave of nausea through her. She coughed several times, trying hard not to vomit. Getting control of herself, she managed to take a good look through the glass, and what she found horrified her.
The 'box' could fit three or four people laying side-by-side and was being slowly filled with translucent green sludge that was being pumped from several different holes that connected to that tubing she'd noted stretching in every direction. So far, not a lot had accumulated, the sludge making up a layer covering only the bottom of the box, but Penny did not pay much attention to the liquid because her eyes quickly found a form within—a human form.
Lying in the center of the box, eyes closed, was Penny—she was looking at herself, except something was very wrong with this version of herself. For one, instead of the fiery-red hair she had inherited from her mother, the Penny-look-alike had a head of sleek black hair, and worse still, her skin was shriveled, peeling and missing from large swaths of her body. Currently, half of her face was missing, and in its place was black flesh on which piles of insects roamed, seemingly burrowing into the exposed flesh. Eyes taking in every inch, she noted how its fingers were skeletal, and her mouth was a lipless hole. Penny felt sure that had the eyes not been closed, as though asleep, empty sockets would be looking back up at her.
Looking at the corpse before her, Penny could not help but imagine this is what she could look like when she died and was laid to rest, the sight of which filled her with panic. What was such a thing doing in her mind? What was its purpose and why was Penny unnaturally fearful of it? She held her breath, almost afraid it would sense her and awake from her slumber. But surely that was insanity because it was not alive, and this was just her mind. But the way Tom also watched it, a look of impatient fury on his face, the one he saved for things that infringed on his plans, made Penny think just maybe she was right to be wary of such a thing, so she turned, prepared to ask Tom exactly what they were looking at.
But before the words even formed in her head and most abruptly, a raspy, ghoulish voice cried out as though it were aware of their presence, "Feed me!" At this beckoning the box began to shake and the odd humming sound coming from the different tubes screeched to a halt, causing them to quiver for a moment, and then began to retract at an alarming speed.
It was at this moment that Penny's feet moved without waiting for her head to determine what would happen next. Every instinct in her told her she needed to be as far away from that box before whatever those tubes were returned, or she too would be submerged in the rot. As though confirming this suspicion, Tom disappeared from her side, real alarm setting into Penny's chest.
Turning and moving without thinking, seeing only the light at the end of the field, somehow convinced if she made it across that threshold she'd be safe, Penny ran like her life depended on it, her strong thighs pushing her faster than she knew they were capable of going. Lungs and muscles burning, Penny moved, ignoring every stone that would have her stumble, the fear building in her chest that would render her helpless. Not even bothering to look when something screeched behind her, as though in pain, Penny swerved instinctively, sensing the air above her change direction, telling her something was coming for her. Not even a second after she moved from the spot, a whip-like sound followed by a collision finally forced her eyes to look away from her finish line and find that what she had assumed were tubes were actually tentacles, one of which had just impacted so hard with the ground that it made a meter deep crevice, in which it lingered a moment, before returning to the air.
Unfortunately for Penny, looking away from her path proved to be folly, and her foot caught on a particularly large rock that caused her to tumble onto her face. She landed hard onto the wet ground, trying to pull herself free of the mud and scramble to her feet, but another tentacle snaked its way around her leg and began pulling her back the way she'd come. Yelling out in fear, Penny tried to yank her foot free, but the effort accomplished little, so she reached for the nearest rock and held on for dear life. This seemed to be enough to halt its progress, but when she glanced back at the tentacle trying to determine how to break free, she saw three more making a b-line for her, somehow knowing she was already trapped.
She watched in horror, kicking at the tentacle holding her, knowing full well it was no use, more terrified than she had ever been before. She did not want to be trapped with that rotting thing in the box! Some part of Penny knew with certainty that were she to be dragged into it, she would never get free again. Grunting in frustration and determination, Penny pulled with all the upper-body strength she could muster, begging Merlin to let some miracle free her from this debacle; the tug-of war making her feel certain the tentacle would soon pull her leg from her body, but she did not care, it could have it so long as the rest of her could get free.
The sound of her screaming, which occurred without her consent as she sensed the nearness of impending doom drowned out the footsteps headed toward her, the disappearance of the tension in her leg catching her by surprise and causing her to smash her face into the rock she clung to for dear life. Dazed and convinced she'd lost several teeth, Penny rolled just as Tom grabbed her by the neck of her shirt and dragged her to her feet, forcing her forward, an ax held tightly in his other hand.
The second they cleared the spot, the three tentacles smashed down, the monster from which they came yowling in anger. Turning on the spot, Tom came to a stop again.
"What are you doing!" Penny yelled in disbelief, but Tom ignored her, he was watching their pursuers, eyes calculating. The greedy thing behind them reached out toward Tom who sidestepped with ease, and as soon as the creature connected with ground, he swung the ax, lobbing off a good three feet of the member and sending green sludge spurting in every direction from what was left of the writhing limb, and then he turned again and jogged toward their exit, looking much too calm in Penny's opinion.
"What the hell was that?" Penny demanded as soon as they had made it safely into the light of the lampposts several streets away from the field.
"That would be the gift Amycus Carrow left you," Tom drawled, looking disgusted by the remnants of the tentacles sticking to his pristine shirt.
"Since when does a curse take a shape!"
"What did you imagine it would be?" he said, the ax disappearing and his shirt changing in a blink of the eye.
"I-I don't know, not like that not like—"
"You?" he said almost tenderly, his brown eyes studying her face with a gross curiosity.
"That wasn't me," she said, sternly.
"True, it is not you, yet."
"Not ever," Penny corrected, setting her jaw.
"Then I suggest you stop waiting for that lying Professor of yours to save you from it and endeavor to make some meaningful progress," Tom said, coolly.
"I don't know what your vendetta against Snape is about, but in case you hadn't noticed, he is the only one who has been able to make any progress—"
"He dulls your symptoms, yes, but the person standing between you and that monster waking is and always has been me,' said Tom, his brown eyes flashing with impatience.
"You? And what have you done?" Penny said, skeptically.
"Did you register anything back there?"
Tapping her foot in irritation, Penny conceded silently to his accusation and waited for Tom to elaborate. His eyes betrayed his satisfaction, but he continued without further mention of her ineptitude. "From what I observed, she is feeding off of those things which you hide in the deepest recesses of your head, that is, what you have exiled comes here, beyond the reach of your control, leaving it prime for the taking. Because everything here is forgotten, it does not mind a new master, but you—well let's just say you will not like having a split personality much."
"And how exactly do you suggest we keep it from waking?"
"I have been coming here periodically and pruning, if you will, it slows her feeding, but it will not stop her indefinitely. Unfortunately, only you can do that."
"How!" Penny said in exasperation, her brain reeling at the thought of some alter-ego vying to steal her body from her and locking her in that box.
"Manners, Penny," Tom said dangerously. "You ask much of me without offering anything in return. Why should I help you with a problem you could have avoided by following my advice?"
"I let you live in my head," Penny replied, dubiously.
"An arrangement one could argue benefits you more so than me"
"What do you want, Tom?" Penny said, crossing her arms,
Tom surveyed his finger nails, as though their current conversation did not interest him in the least. After a moment of contemplative silence, he sighed, looking up into the sky of her mind, which also happened to have stars like the one in the real world.
Turning back to her, "My desires are those of any other, freewill and a body to exercise that free will," he said slowly, his voice impossibly casual and almost fooling her into believing she were having any normal heart-to-heart with a long-time around about life and existential crisis', except Tom was the furthest thing from a friend and Penny was pertinently wary of him.
"You can't have mine," Penny blurted out, convulsively taking two steps away from Tom and causing him to chuckle softly.
"How curious, you think you have freewill? You, who are bound more than any other to the whims of destiny, to the whims of your coordinate? Your body is the furthest thing from what I desire, Penny. Because no matter what you may want, how hard you try or what you do to resist it, you will always be ensnared by that Professor of yours. No, what I desire is my own body."
"And how the hell am I supposed to give you that?" Penny said, only realizing how stupid she was when Tom cocked an eyebrow at her and looked lazily at her reproductive organs.
"I'm 15! I am not getting pregnant!" she said, furiously. "And if you think I'd let you spiritually shag me—"
"You really are so crass sometimes, Penny. I cannot impregnate you, but I trust you can work out how the process works on your."
"Whether I decide to partake or not—none of your business—15!" Penny sputtered, feeling mortified by the direction this conversation had just taken.
"Am I not a patient man? I have been trapped in this form long enough that the next few years until you reach adulthood matter little to me. To receive the body I am willing to wait, under one condition."
"How generous of you to wait until I'm no longer underage," Penny said, dryly. "And a condition, that's rich considering I have not even agreed yet! Tell me, what does Lord Tom require of me to be his surrogate?"
"That the body comes from your first pregnancy, and the father under no conditions be Severus Snape. I do not care whom you choose so long as the donated sperm not come from him."
"Donated sperm! You make it sound like I'll just be hitting up the first man I come across," Penny said, utterly flabbergasted by how Tom's features remained straight and his voice level. Surely he could not be serious?"
"Your sexual preferences are of little concern to me," he shrugged, looking utterly unperturbed by Penny's suggestion.
"And Snape? Really, you thought I'd—?" Penny said, incredulously. "I would—he would impregnate—" Penny floundered, her face burning at the thought of her and her Professor caught up in such an intimate activity.
"He is your betrothed," Tom said softly, but Penny did not miss the way he smirked in amusement at her expense.
"He assured me he'd never. . ." Penny said, stiffly.
"Yes, well much can change between 15 and 18," Tom said, smoothly..
"Regardless," Penny said, too affronted to even address the insinuation of that statement. "You expect me to sell the soul of my firstborn—"
"Soul? Don't be ridiculous, a clump of cells does not have a soul, Penny, not until I merge with it."
"And there's the next problem, you want me to give birth to you?" Penny said, trying hard not to vomit at the idea. "Are you going to suckle at my tit and call me mum too?" Penny went on sardonically.
"Do not tell me you are so foolish as to believe sharing DNA amounts to anything? Orphans can be so uselessly sentimental. But as you said, we will have time to work out the details and arrangements can be made, I need never burden you, nor take your name."
"And why not Snape, just out of curiosity?"
"I thought that obvious," he said, and when Penny didn't respond he added, "because he loves you, and were the child in your belly his, you would find him even more meddlesome than he already is. You would not want to see him disappointed when he learns that paternal love in him is wasted on me, would you?"
"Snape paternal," Penny laughed, "Funny. But you're insane if you think I would ever agree to this."
"I think you will find I am not, and you will," he replied, tossing his hands behind his head and giving himself a good stretch, as though he were about to take a nap or sit down for a long movie and not having the absurd conversation they were currently having. After a yawn he looked down his heavy lidded eyes at her, "I am not a betting man, but I'd wager given the current circumstances you are highly motivated to procure my help."
There it was, the note of a threat in his voice. It caused Penny to stand a little straighter and square her shoulders.
"Thanks, but I think I'll work out my curse problem on my own."
"And the Dark Lord? He is here in your mind, you would not want him finding something he should not see," Tom said, delicately.
"Are you threatening me, Tom?"
"Tut tut, Penny and here I thought we were finally becoming friends. I would never threaten you but I'd hate it if something were to happen, and the Dark Lord stumbled upon those memories from Midsommer and he learned that his servant, Snape had lied to him. I imagine he would be angry, and from what I heard the Dark Lord offers no mercy to those who betray him."
"If you did that, he'd kill me too," Penny said, her jaw clenched.
"Oh, I don't think so. You're much too useful, are you not? Blood magic is very powerful, and hard to come by in his case."
"You think I'm going to let you force me into this? I'd sooner—"
"Of course not, you're stubborn toa fault, but I am certain you will do everything in your power to protect that fool, so I intend to use that to my advantage. I must ask though, does not my proposition benefit you too? If you remove your silly moral notions about souls and clumps of cells, do you not desire to be free of me and this contract of ours?" Tom said, stepping into her bubble and touching her cheek with a long slender finger. "Give me this, Penny, and you need never see me again," he smiled, looking as pleased by the idea of not seeing her as she was to be rid of he.
"To be clear, you are proposing that in exchange for—I don't know—becoming pregnant with you, then you would completely nullify our deal, as in, cease to be connected to me mind or body; help me get rid of this curse and show me how to keep those memories from the Dark Lord's prying eyes?"
"That is exactly what I'm proposing," he breathed, removing his finger from her cheek, eyes glittering with excitement, an excitement Penny knew, it was the same look she'd seen when she first tied herself to him through equivalent exchange. It was a look that told her she should be worried, but given the situation, Penny did not have any other options, Tom intended to make good on his threat, he did not care what happened to Snape, in fact she wagered he would be happy to cause the man any amount of suffering, but Penny did, she cared so irrationally much for Severus Snape, that even though he'd carved the dark mark into her and left her at Voldemort's feet bleeding, she would still make this deal just to protect him.
"Fine, so long as Snape remains alive, that bitch in the box dies, and you make yourself scarce from my mind once born and no one ever finds out, you have yourself a deal," Penny said, extending her hand.
With a look of unhinged jubilation, Tom took her hand, clasping it tightly, causing their hands to glow, a thin thread snaking its way around them as though tying them together. Leaning in, he pressed his lips to her forehead and whispered, "As you wish," and then vanished before Penny could even yank herself away, repulsed by his nearness.
Penny once again stood alone on the dark streets of her mind, wondering what kind of hell she just assigned herself to and very much cursing the day Tom came into her life. She consoled herself by glancing back in the direction of her look-a-alike, she did not want to ever see her awake and if Tom could get rid of her, then she felt annoyingly relieved. A chill creeping up her spine, Penny retraced her steps, deciding to go looking for Voldemort and seeing for herself exactly how she'd escaped him a year ago.
It took some effort and what felt like an hour of wandering until Penny finally sensed the presence of an intruder. Chasing after it, she stopped just under a lamppost whose light was glowing much more brightly than those around it. Squinting, she looked up, startled to see images flashes in the place she expected a lightbulb to be.
Uncertain how she was to get into the memory, Penny, feeling very foolish, reached up with a hand, as though the light might stretch a hand back at her and pull her in. Much to her surprise, the images bulged, expanding until they swallowed her whole. She did what felt like a back flip, and soared in a controlled manner into a memory that Voldemort seemed to have been occupying for some time now.
As she suspected, he did not notice her presence and remained transfixed on what was going on before her, not so much as stirring when she stepped up beside him. Turning, Penny was instantly confused by what she was witnessing, having clearly missed important details from the first portion of the memory that would have explained how she'd come to be running through the woods beside a tall, dark-haired woman, whose name Penny did not know.
Streaks of red followed after them,one grazing the woman's leg and causing her to fall. The memory-Penny turned to her fallen friend, reaching to help her up.
"No Penny," the woman said, "You have to keep going, I've taken you as far as I can," she said, wincing as she pressed her palms to the sides of her temples in evident pain.
"I'm not leaving you here!" memory-Penny said, stubbornly, "You've done so much for me, I can't just—"
"There isn't much time, as much as I would like to, it is not possible for me to retain this form much longer, his hold over me is too strong, Penny, I need you to go. Let me do this for you."
"If we can just get far away perhaps the magic will not be as strong, it's your body, surely—"
The woman reached up and grasped Penny's shoulder, a sad smile on her lips as she looked into Penny's distraught features.
"I've been under Voldemort's control for so long I forgot I was human, but there is no cure for a maledictus, you need to understand, that no matter what I do one day I will never be able to return to this shape again, that is the course of the curse. Once I transform, you will no longer be safe with me, the hold Voldemort has over me, it is too strong. Don't be sad, I'm not, you've given me a wonderful gift, Penny, you reminded me who I was—who I am. I had a dear friend once who gave me my freedom, but I failed to keep him from the clutches of another dark wizard, so please, let me honor his memory and pass on that freedom to you," the woman said, the back of her hand brushing a tear gently from memory-Penny's dirty cheek.
Crashing through the bushes and interrupting their conversation came Crouch, raising his wand at Penny. Acting with a swiftness Penny did not have, the woman dove at him and knocked him over before wrestling the wand from him just as Wormtail, huffing and sweating profusely emerged from the darkness. A red blast told Penny the woman had stunned Crouch, but Wormtail, yelling in frustration and realizing he was about to lose Penny, raised his wand and hissed, "obliviate," just as memory-Penny screamed, "Nagini!" Wormtail's spell hit Penny, sending her body falling motionless to the forest floor merely seconds before Nagini's spell reached Penny, sending her body away in a puff of smoke and she turned her wand on Wormtail before he could turn on her.
Wormtail collapsed much in the same manner Penny had, hitting the ground at the same moment Crouch's wand slipped from Nagini's hand and she let out a blood curdling scream. Her body twitching unnaturally, the slender shape of the beautiful woman contorted grotesquely, the sound of every bone breaking echoing through the silent woods, returning her again to the form of the giant snake and Voldemort's prized pet.
Penny gaped at the memory before her, which was quickly melting away, revealing a pair of red eyes looking back at her.
"Nagini?" she said, weakly, utterly perplexed at how that monster could actually be a woman, and that woman would have any inclination to help her, Penny, her master's prisoner.
"What a troublesome gift you have, Penelope," Voldemort said, "I cannot have you disturbing the delicate state of my beloved pet again."
"I w-won't, I swear—"
He considered her for a long moment, "We need a solution to this conundrum of ours seeing as you will be returning when I have need of you, but that is not pressing, what is pressing is how shall I punish you, hmm?" he said, waving his wand and releasing her from her binds. With her new-found freedom, Penny began to back away, trembling from head to toe."Please, I-I'm sorry. I didn't know—I didn't—"
"And yet you did," he said quietly, his red eyes flashing with anger for the first time that night. "You disobeyed me, Penelope, tried to steal my pet from me after I'd welcomed you, given you a place and a chance to prove yourself. Such offenses must be punished, if they weren't others may think they could follow after you."
He took a slow step forward, watching her like a human might an ant, curious as to where it might scurry, but not worried in the slightest that it would escape the thumb that intended to squash it.
"You may enter now," Voldemort called softly, stopping just shy of Penny.
The door behind them opened, Penny marveling that Yaxley was able to even hear his Master. He walked across the room, knelt before Voldemort and said, "My Lord."
"Corban Penelope here is ready to go, but before you depart I have a task I believe you are uniquely suited to accomplish."
Yaxley raised his head, his blue eyes glinting with cruel excitement.
"Our young friend here has disobeyed her Lord in the most grievous of ways and needs to be punished so she learns never to repeat her sins. I would like you to destroy something precious of hers, demonstrate the cost of disloyalty."
"Thank you for choosing me, my Lord, I have just the thing in mind."
"That is all," Voldemort replied, his red eyes turning momentarily back to a horror-struck Penny, whose shirt was still splayed open and entire body burning in pain. What more did this monster want from her? And worse still, what was it that Yaxley had in mind?
Grabbing her unkindly, Yaxley forced her to her feet and began dragging her with him, Penny's brain too numb to process what was going on. Everything that had transpired this night was swirling in her head, filling her with so much exhaustion she thought she might faint where she stood. But taking up more mental space than any other thing that had happened was Nagini, this snake-woman, and how exactly she'd become a woman and arrived at the decision to help Penny.
Several halls away from the cursed room Voldemort resided, Yaxley stopped, took Penny and shoved her against the wall, one hand taking up residence on her chin and forcing her to look at him, his grotesque blue eyes looking hungrily over her terror before turning down toward her exposed chest; a fat finger tracing the the cursed mark that was carved between her cleavage.
Penny winced as his finger scraped against the fresh wound, but said nothing, not wanting to provoke him further. She did not have any energy left in her to fight with him,she barely had enough to stay upright. She wanted to close her eyes, fall into a dreamless sleep far away from the mental and physical pain plaguing her,
"Oh love, look at the mess you've made. If you'd come with me, at least you might have found some pleasure in our time together, but now you've gone and angered me, and I promise you will regret that. You will curse the day Severus dared to lay claim to you," he said, his hot putrid breath swimming across her face because he was much too close to her
"You can't hurt me," Penny said, trying to muster enough confidence to believe what Snape had done would be enough to spare her further torment.
This statement seemed to amuse Yaxley, who broke into laughter. "Sweet, sweet, Penny, maybe I cannot hurt you directly, but let me assure you, you will find no shortage of pain while you are with me. We will explore all the avenues open to us, I promise," he said, laying a wet kiss on her cheek and holding it, as though savoring the taste of her. When he was finished, he pulled her from the wall and pushed her unkindly back into the room that was still full of Death Eaters, Snape's absence being a noticeable change to the atmosphere.
All eyes turned curiously to Penny, looking annoyingly satisfied by Penny's miserable, disheveled appearance, but then, almost comically, their eyes drifted downward finding the large, hideous mark on her chest and they all made their way towards them, stopping just shy of Penny and craning their necks to get a better look.
"The rat wasn't lying after all," Lucius mused out loud, sounding almost impressed.
"That bastard really laid it all on the line for this wench," Alecto said in evident disgust as he reached out to touch Penny's mark, but swatted his hand away before he made contact.
Fury flitting across his handsome features, his eyes met hers purposefully before he backhanded her across the face. Were Yaxley not holding her, Penny was certain she would have stumbled from the force of it, but she did not let out so much as a grunt, turning back to him, her nose in the air.
"As loathsome as his choice is, I must caution you Alecto, I'd kill anyone who laid a hand on Narcissa."
"I am not his longtime friend like you, Lucius, and she is only his betrothed, I trust he will hear reason before seeing this insanity through," countered Alecto.
"Regardless, save it for such a time," said Lucius.
"I don't know, dirty blood or not, she's a tough one, isn't she? Still standing after a mark that big, and over so much bone," Nott said, looking down on Penny in amusement.
"Like pain, do you, Penny?" Amycus said in that monotone voice of his causing the others to laugh.
"That kinky bastard, I always knew he was hiding something," Nott boomed, but Penny ignored him, her eyes falling on Amycus who seemed to be watching Penny too intently, so intently in fact, that Penny involuntarily recoiled into Yaxley's chest, keenly aware of how Amycus' eyes had traveled from her mark to a scar just below it—the scar he'd given her with that cursed blade of his.
Heavy-lidded eyes found hers, a horrible grin twisting along his mouth, telling Penny Amycus knew, he had figured out she was the girl who'd escaped him, though no one else beside him seemed to share the same recognition and he did not bother to announce it, he just observed her as one watches something they find undeniably alluring, waiting almost lovingly for the moment to strike.
"Your ugly mug is scaring her, Amycus," Alecto said, punching his brother in the arm, with a hard laugh.
"Oh? Are you afraid, Penny? Why would you be afraid of me, I wonder?" Amycus said, not taking his eyes from Penny's face, and Penny unable to break from his hold.
"Because you're a twisted fuck, anyone can see that from a mile away," jeered Nott.
Amycus merely shrugged, not bothering to disagree.
"Yes well, Amycus will not be getting the chance to mutilate our pretty Penny here, she has been trusted to me now, and I intend to take such good care of her," Yaxley taunted in Penny's ear before pushing her very reluctant form toward Amycus who was standing between them and the door.
"Do try to remember breaking your vow means death, Corban," Lucius said.
"Come and play again soon," said Amycus, his left hand purposefully grazing the length of her scar as he stepped out of her way.
With a firm grasp in her hair, Yaxley dragged Penny once again toward the exit and into the cold night air. As she stumbled along the long drive, remembering the last time she'd been unlucky enough to traverse down it, Penny couldn't help but feel a sense of hopeless dread overcome her. Though she knew Yaxley could not strike or rape her, Penny savored every step forward, knowing utter agony awaited her, every fiber of her being afraid to find out exactly how he intended to accomplish Voldemort's task of punishing her; wishing with a terrible sense of regret that she'd never gone to the Slytherin common room, because if she hadn't she would be sitting with her brother in Grimmauld Place right now, far from the loathsome hands that held her, and the cooing voice that reminded her that every step forward brought her closer to a misery he could not wait to watch her endure.
Yep, Tom is a horcrux who doesn't like being a horcrux and wants his own body! What could go wrong with 2 Dark Lords?
EDIT:
Alright, so anyone who hasn't seen the fantastic beasts franchise, I am using the backstory on Nagini from it (she has the maledictus curse) if you don't know about it, check the wikia or leave any questions and I can answer them!
With Tom, this is the horcrux connected to Harry and the one Voldemort didn't know he made. In this story, I'm going with there being a fracture between Voldemort and this horcrux, because Voldemort has split his soul into so many pieces, he, in a sense, no longer has a connection to this Tom. And this Tom does not feel connected to Voldemort, but despises the decisions he made and thinks he would have made better ones, so in a sense he is a horcrux in rebellion and that is why he wants his own body.