Chapter 1: In which we All Fall Down
Age 4 Oct. 31, 1984
Harry was cold, wet, and couldn't see anything. He sat forlorn under a tree, picking idly at a rather large hole in his far to big shoe as warm tears stained his cheeks. Even my cousin's feet are fat. He thought with a hiccough.
"I'm not a freak." The small child whispered. "I'm not."
A mottle of bruises and various lacerations glared angrily up from under the rags he wore and one had to wonder: What could a boy so little and innocent have done to deserve such treatment?
He shivered violently, and knew that his uncle wasn't coming back. His whimpers subsided in small amounts, until they fell into small hiccoughed puffs, frosting over as the first drops of rain froze into snow.
No one was there to see the small body of their savior shiver fitfully as his black tear-clumped eyelashes iced. When the tears froze into shards of cold diamond against his cooling face. Those that would praise him in years to come, pile their hopes on his shoulders, where were they now, when he needed them most?
Their dreams were filled with candy, dancing fruit, and cocoons of blankets. After all, heroes are better out of sight and out of mind after they've served their purpose.
In another part of the forest that Vernon had dropped his charge off in, a sinewy body was sliding carefully though crackling leaves, ignoring the flutter of snow on her black scales. She really didn't know where she was going, and no longer cared. Her Tom was gone, had been gone for three years. Today was in fact the exact day he had died, leaving his precious familiar to fend for herself.
Nagini would have cried, but snakes didn't have tear ducts, and her stomach was suddenly in need of sustenance. Tom Riddle hadn't really been Tom Riddle for the last part of his life anyway. If she was going to properly morn him, it would not be the day his body died, it would have been years before than when his decent into death and madness had finally tipped him over the edge.
She gave the snake's equivalent of a sigh, but straitened at the taste of young heat on her tongue. It wasn't far, and it was already half dead, saving her the trouble of subduing it. Nagini wasn't really in the mood for a fight anyway. She continued more cautiously now, tongue flickering out more frequently.
She wound under one last bush, pushing her head out to see a small mop of black ratted hair and tattered rags.
A human then. She would have grimaced if she could. Humans were not necessarily the best cuisine, but she was desperate and hadn't had something filling in nearly a fortnight. She approached, not really worried about waking it. It was to far gone to be a threat. She nudged it's head up with her tail, taking in it's small pale features. It's nose was blue on the tip, lips pasty. It was rather dirty, but she'd had worse.
She moved to coil about it, settling around it's small frame, and it fell limply into her strong body. She used her tail to tilt its head back, flickering her tongue over it's supple flesh. She planed to savor this meal, as she didn't know when she would get another one. It made soft whimpering noises, clutching at her fitfully in some sort of nightmare as it's eyes moved restlessly beneath it's eyelids.
It made her pause, and she stared at it strangely. Something was off about this little one. It's head flopped back bonelessly, reveling a small bared throat, that was already deathly cold when she pushed her nose against it. It was shivering uncontrollably as she continued her search for the wrongness. She moved up farther, and her eyes honed in on it's forehead. That mark... This is the child. This is their savior. It made her angry, for even though she was hungry, she could still understand that the darling of the wizarding world had been left half frozen under a tree in some isolated forest to die.
As she stared at this little boy in front of her, trying to decide what to do, he blinked impossibly green eyes open and stared back. She reared back in shock, seeing the eyes of her master in this boys face. The emerald color that had been Tom's alone before the dark arts had robbed him of it, now sat in this small child's face. And his mop of black messy hair, the same raven shade.
She drew herself closer again, to study him. He obviously had no clue what was going on, his beautiful eyes staring past her blankly. She nudged him with her tale, propping his body back up carefully. It took him a good few minutes, but he finally managed to focus on her, before his eyes began to slip closed again. A hissing sigh left his lips, sounding just a little to much like her own language to be coincidence. She jabbed him sharply in the side, trying to wake him up. She ended up having to shake him rather hard, and receive a slurred, "Please, no, I'll be good!" Before he focused on her again. He squinted at her, not seeming to be able to see her properly.
She noticed a small pair of crushed glasses near the tree trunk and moved closer so he could see her. She hissed experimentally to the boy in her tongue, and felt silly. It would be to much to much to ask for this little boy that looked remarkably like her dead master to be able to speak.
But, the remarkable happened and the sibilant hiss of Parsel slipped from his lips. He didn't look surprised, and she wondered if he even realized what he was doing.
"Oh Wadjet, what have I gotten my self into?"
He seemed to forget about the cold for a second and giggled running tiny hands over her scales. He hissed quietly, about how pretty she was and her heart melted for the first time in years. There was no way she could harm this small innocent creature, but Nagini also realized that if she didn't find him some sort of warmth soon that he would die anyway.
She managed to wrap his bony body in her coils so that she could still move.
"Little one?" She asked softly, but he was already asleep on her back, his breath whistling softly through his mouth.
She couldn't help but feel happy, even if she also felt slightly guilty. After all, this was the boy that had been Tom's (She refused to call him that ridiculous name he had made up for himself) downfall.
Age 9 September 1, 1989
"You're not focusing hard enough."
Nine year old Harry had his eyes squeezed shut, concentrating as hard as he possibly could. Nagini had said that it was possible to become like her, how her last wizard had been able to. She said it would probably take him a few years before he would be able to actually make the change, but she said he was doing wonderful for his age.
Harry began to squirm after a few minutes, getting antsy. He was tired of meditating, and wanted to play.
"Please, Nagi?"
"I thought I told you not to call me that, you imp." She said fondly. Harry pouted. "Please what?"
"Please can I go play? My head hurts."
She stared at him with her large yellow eyes. Finally she nodded and nudged him with her nose.
"Go then, you brat." The raven haired boy grinned and pressed a kiss to her nose.
Harry climbed down from the tree they had been settled in. His motions were practiced and easy, with a fluent grace. He was clothed in things they had carefully pilfered from campers or by other means. Harry's hair was a long matted tangle that they had tried unsuccessfully to fix several times. It didn't help that it had the uncanny ability to regenerate itself every time they found something to hack it off with.
Harry was a happy boy, a wild child. He did as he pleased most of the time, and he had a caring maternal figure. It did not bother either of them that he was human and she was not. She had taken care of Harry as long as he could remember, though sometimes at night, he would have nightmares about a time when he was beaten and forced to live in a tiny dark space, about a burning heat and a green light. He tired not to remember.
Nagini sighed, making sure he did not get to far out of sight. She had relocated them after the first time the wizards had come searching and almost found them. Now they lived in a valley with trees surrounding it. It was very secluded and Nagini could only hope that it would buy her and her surrogate hatchling some time. She knew they probably could not hide from the wizarding world forever-- he was their 'savior' after all-- but she could do her damnedest.
Age 10 February 20, 1991
Nagini watched with proud fascination as the first scales began to sprout on her charge after nearly a year and a half of hard work. It would still take a great deal longer, but he was doing shockingly well for someone that was only ten and a half and had a snake for a tutor. It helped that she had been pushing him extra hard lately, as she had heard whispers of something dark.
She had her suspicions. Strong suspicions; after all she had been the familiar of Tom Riddle for nearly fifty years. A good deal of those years he had spent attempting to make himself immortal, and she knew there were fail safes that he had created in just such an event that someone had actually managed to toss a well aimed Avada in his direction.
Of course, if she had heard the rumors, so had others. They would probably have made their way back to Dumbledore by now, and if anything came from them they would want their little savior back.
Harry was rather adorable with his nose scrunched in concentration, sweat dripping down his face and neck. It was painfully slow work, and from what she could tell, and somewhat excruciating. She could only hope he managed his transformation before Dumbledore came for him. It was his only possible route of escape, as far as she could see.
Nagini was curled protectively around Harry, in the underground nest sort of thing she had helped Harry build for the cold winter months. There were definitely scales, black and pale silver-green. Using the tip of her tail, she carefully pried one of his eyelids open. She studied the green globe closely and thought his pupils might just be a little more oblong. Maybe. Or that might just be her wishful thinking.
Harry's breath was becoming harsh and labored. He clutched at his head and doubled over in pain. She held him carefully, soothing him. She felt the last string of magic holding him back stretch like a violin string, straining but beautiful, and snap. It was as if a scaled dam had been broken, and scales seemed to explode over his bare skin. Before his body could transform with them, they were sucked back in as if by a vacuum. Little Harry collapsed against Nagini's body, in a dead faint.
She smiled down at him proudly. He had come so far, it would only be a matter of days now.
Age 13 March 18, 1994
Harry's scar burned for the umpteenth time. Even as a snake, he could still feel its painful sting with the unwanted visions that he couldn't understand. He buried his nose in Nagini's scaled belly, and she wrapped tighter around him unconsciously, use to his nightmares as she was. She hissed softly in sleep, and the noise soothed him. He felt rather guilty, and tried to be quiet, but it hurt so much.
When ever he would explain the visions to her, she would go quiet and get a far away look. She tried to hide it, but he knew there was much more than she was telling him. It had been over three years now since he had mastered his transformation, and he hadn't changed back since. He had hated his other body, and felt much more comfortable in this skin.
Nagini stirred against him, and moved to stretch. A sent caught his noise and he froze.
"What is that?", Harry asked carefully. The cobra paused, and her her eyes widened slightly.
"It is not possible." Harry gave her a confused look, or would have if the sent hadn't been overwhelming his senses.
"What?" Harry asked, feeling rather dazed.
"I seem to be in heat. This hasn't happened for over forty years." She hissed bluntly. Harry hummed in a distracted manner, and Nagini realized what was happening. She eyed the young viper, considering her options. If she didn't do something soon, she would most likely end up rather pregnant, and she wasn't sure she wanted that.
However, her current situation could not be ignored.
"Harry, love, I'm going out for a while." Harry nodded in a vague manner, and she slipped out of their nest quickly.
Age 13 May 12, 1994
Her eggs were a soft cream color, with black speckles. Their were exactly twenty-two of them, and each and every one was small and round. Harry preened over them, constantly nudging them with his nose and hissing quietly to them. He would sit for hours curled around them, absolutely glowing.
There was one that was smaller than the rest, and she knew it would not be healthy. She had said she would get rid of it, smash it, as the hatchling would never be able to live a full life. Harry had recoiled violently at her suggestion, saying that he had been small and runty too, why hadn't she killed him?
She had figured that it was just his lingering humanness, and after a long heated argument, she had allowed him to keep it, but warned him that it was a cruel thing to do. It would never survive.
Harry swore it would.
She nudged the leaves that made up their nest closer, making sure all of the eggs were covered. It was still chilly out, and it wouldn't do for them to get cold. They would be hatching any day now.
Age 13 May 20, 1994
Only nineteen of the eggs hatched, and Harry mourned each of the ones that didn't. Nagini thought it impractical, she knew that was just the way it went, that was why she had that many eggs to start with. If five of them made it to maturity, they would be lucky. She didn't tell Harry this, as he already seemed overly sad about something that he had no fault in.
Surprisingly enough, Harry's runt had hatched. Where all the rest of them were mostly black with dark greyish markings, the runt was white with markings so pale they were barely visible. It's eyes were crimson, and it hid from the light more than the others. It was tiny, and wasn't strong enough to fight for it's own mouse. Harry was loving and patient, making sure it got it's share, and slowly it grew along with the rest. Months of care and devotion paid off as the sickly young snake bloomed into a beautiful loving companion that stayed on after most of the others left the nest. Harry adored the young serpent, and named her Blanche.
Age 14 May 20, 1995
It was a year later to the day that the wizards found them. They came marching through the forest, the White One at their head. His beard tucked into his belt, violently purple sleeves pushed up to his elbows, and wand held at destructive ready. Another clutch that had yet to hatch had been laid again this year. Nagini found it strange that she should be in heat two years in a row after nearly forty years of being barren.
Over the winter, their small underground nest had become too cramped for a growing teenager, and as a result, they had had to move their nest above ground.
The wizards trampled through their forest, crushing flowers and grass that hadn't been touched by human foot since Harry had mastered his change.
They moved steadily closer, and she felt Harry rear in shock next to her as he slithered out of the forest from his most recent hunt. Blanche followed behind him, and never having seen a human before, she was more curious than scared.
Nagini stared hard at Albus Dumbledore's band of merry men, and caught the scent of the dark haired one that followed closely next to the aged wizard. She knew him, and he in turn would know her. After all, he had been one of Tom's inner circle.
"Harry, we must leave. We cannot stay here. If they find us, they will take you away." Nagini hissed. It was hopeless, because she knew Harry would never abandoned their clutch, and their was no way they could move the thirty-six eggs before the wizards reached them. Dumbledore was casting his wand this way, scanning for life.
"No! I will not leave them!" And she knew he wouldn't. She gave him a defeated look, and hissed back quietly.
"I know." And they were three metres away, and then two, and Dumbledore's wand glowed a pulsing red. She could hear them talking in excited human voices. After such a long period away from human speech, she was unable to decipher half of what they were saying.
She steeled herself for what was most likely her death. Humans as a rule were not tolerant of snakes. She reared, flaring her hood, and bared her fangs. Before she could tell Harry to stay down, he was next to her, following suit. Protecting their nest from the wizards.
Snape gaped at her, and paled.
"Severus." She hissed loudly, and having heard his name said in Parseltongue so many years before repeated in anger, or otherwise by his Lord, he recognized it. She could see it click, and he choked out a fearful reply.
"N- Nagini."
Dumbledore was a very sharp man, even in his old age, and the vaguely lightning bolt shaped patch of discolored scales over the black and green snake's very poison colored eyes did not slip his notice.
The fact that Severus seemed to think that the snake beside it was Lord Voldemort's long lost familiar also didn't pass him by. He highly doubted either of these things were a coincidence, but would need more time to figure everything out. Making a split decision, he advanced slowly, wand now carefully hidden up his sleeve.
"Harry," He said soothingly. "Harry, my boy, I'm not going to hurt you."
Dumbledore was taking an enormous risk trying to talk down a potentially poisonous snake and it's definitely lethal companion. Their hisses intensify, and Snape said something warningly, but the headmaster was too focused on his task. Another hiss and then a crunch followed by a sharp squelch, and with lightning speed two enraged snakes were striking.
The next few seconds were a blur of rapid magic, venom, and the crunchsquelch of of wizard boots on eggs. When the sparks cleared, two snakes were laying unconscious in a mess of yolk and blood, Dumbledore standing over them.
Snape stared at the back of the Headmaster, covered in what might as well have been infant's gore. Did the man have so little respect for nature? Or was it that he had so little respect for anything even rumored to be dark in any fashion?
Snape watched as the Headmaster muttered a few strong banishing and cleansing charms. When his robes were spotless, he turned his wand on Nagini's companion.
He began incarnating, waving his wand in precise even movements above the snake. Within moments, there was a pop and a young delicate human body replaced the snake, a tangled matt of hair knotting with the grass and weeds around it. Snape gasped softly, his eyes refusing to believe what he saw. He could see the resemblance to James Potter, and when the Headmaster whispered Ennervate there was Lily with the blink of glazed green eyes.
What he wasn't expecting, was the even more pronounced resemblance to his old master. By the tensing of Albus' shoulders, he knew the old coot saw it too. It might have just been too much time spent in animagus form (how had this boy of what, thirteen, fourteen, have managed to achieve such a thing, anyway?) for he knew that was what had caused a lot of the changes in Voldemort's appearance. The boy's nose was not nearly as flat and serpentine as the Dark Lords had been, but it was there, and the eyes were split with silted pupils. The entire face was serpent like, and when his glazed look finally faded, the boy's body recoiled in a decidedly snakelike manner. Parsel flowed from his lips, and he snarled, rather large dangerous looking fangs snicking down behind his eyeteeth.
The Headmaster was attempting to placate the boy, but even to Severus it was rather obvious he couldn't understand english. Nagini was beginning to stir, he could see her long and very dangerous black body glint as she moved sluggishly. Her coils carefully came up and wrapped themselves around her charge, protecting him. Snape wondered why the Headmaster was still standing there, and hadn't moved to stun her again.
When she finally managed to lift her head, she glared angrily at Dumbledore. She made to strike at him, and her nose bounced off a shield that the man had erected.
Well that explains that. Snape thought.
Nagini turned to the boy she currently held wrapped in her coils.
"Nagi, I'm scared."
"I know, love."
"Where are the eggs?" Harry's tone took on a panicked edge. "What did the White Man do to with our eggs?"
Nagini knew what had happened to the eggs, she had heard the sound of boots on shell and yolk. She imagined he had most likely banished the remains, not wanting to alarm Harry. She didn't say anything, know that Harry would be much more hurt about their loss than she. She turned back to the aged wizard, who seemed to be trying to converse with Harry. He seemed to have forgotten that Parseltongue was an ability one was born with, where English was not.
Nagini listened carefully to what he was saying. She could understand a bit of it, if she tried.
"Hogwarts...take care of you...schooling...godfather..."
"He seems to think that you should go to Hogwarts with him for schooling, and that you godfather is there." She hissed quietly to Harry. Serpentine verdant eyes snapped to her, and she felt a pulsing shiver run through the length of her body. Oh how much he looked like Tom...
"My godfather? What is a godfather?"
"A godfather is like... A surrogate father human males appoint to their hatchlings in the chance of their death." Harry looked bewildered for a second.
"But, you said my real father was dead. Why didn't my godfather take me in then?" Nagini shook her head.
"I have no idea, love." Dumbledore looked like he was getting rather impatient. Harry sighed, shifting his gaze back to the old wizard.
"We don't really have a choice, do we?" Harry said, referring to what Dumbledore wanted. Thin boned hands pushed thick matted black locks out of his face as he glanced around at the few dozen wizards that had surrounded them. And array of emotions could be seen on their faces, if one cared to look. Harry didn't have much, if any, experience in reading wizards, so he didn't.
"No, most likely not. It won't be for very long, Hogwarts is near a large forest, we can easily escape after a few days." Harry turned a resigned face on the headmaster and nodded solemnly. While Dumbledore spoke quickly to his companions, Harry glanced down, making sure that Blanche was secured around his calf. Finally, the old wizard took out a lemon yellow tin for Harry to touch. A great many cracks filled the air, and Dumbledore's companions disappeared. Harry reached out one slender pale finger, gingerly touching it to the yellow thing at the same time that the tip of Nagini's settled on it. A nauseating tug behind his navel followed, and then swirling blackness.