Chapter 9: Friends
Suspicion and a standoff.
Nagini's amber eyes blinked open with the first light of dawn. She stretched her coils and roused the others. They had come far but she had learned from her old Master never to stay in one place too long. Harry was excited to be back on the move and climbed unquestioningly up onto her back. Sahensha stared after the Python with curious eyes. Indiis was still careful not to look into the Basilisk's eyes directly even though they had seen Harry meet its gaze several times without consequence.
Could Sahensha control his killing stare? Or was the Emperor immune? Indiis kept his own counsel and did not forget this curiosity.
They travelled the whole day and night, stopping for nothing. Harry's questions lasted until noon, and Sahensha's until dusk. They travelled swiftly, scales sliding over dirt and root, and sometimes down sloping hills or up walls of rock and shale. The trees were fewer now and they changed from oak and elm to pine. The sky carried more clouds here, and rain fell over the four for the first time. Delighted, Harry made them stop, and played in the rain for two hours.
A soaked Nagini prompted them onwards as the skies cleared.
"We are traveling far," Sahensha said as a second dusk came.
"Well," Harry said reasonably, "If we keep going, we'll be far enough away from that place I came from. I don't ever want to go back there."
Indiis nodded. "You did not belong."
Sahensha blinked, head tilted in curiosity. Harry saw his questioning gaze and explained. "I was in a place I didn't belong. They kept me in a small, dark space that was always cold. They didn't let me play outside where the sun was or explore beyond the back garden or the front lawn. Of course," he admitted with the pride of a child who had discovered a way to do something he shouldn't, "When they weren't paying attention I snuck out during the night and day. That's how I met Indiis and all the others."
"Your Sire tried to keep you in your nest?" asked the Basilisk. The concept seemed difficult for him to picture. Harry shrugged.
"It's like Indiis said. I didn't belong there. The other humans took me from the outside and kept trying to put me back in. It was like they were trying to hide the whole world from me." This thought seemed very silly to Sahensha.
"They could not," he offered. "The world is too big."
These words seemed very true to Harry. Everywhere they went was something new to discover. They had found great hills in the distance called mountains and big ponds called lakes, they passed through damp marshes and across flat planes. Nagini had begun to answer his questions as Indiis became unfamiliar with their surroundings. Harry had learned of sky and the birds, of dirt and the seasons, of life below the lake surface and the patterns in the clouds which foretold a storm. He asked and learned in an endless cycle. There was so much to know!
"What about frogs?"
"They are good for snacks," Nagini answered as they slithered through tall grass. "Toads may make a small meal. A toad and a frog may make a meal."
She had defined a meal as any food that kept them full for longer than a day. Harry was sucking the marrow from the last of the bones he had brought along. They were savory and fun to suck, and Harry wondered which animal bones would be tastiest.
"Not frogs," Sahensha muttered, "Their bones are brittle and sour."
Harry enjoyed guessing. "What about birds?"
"Too small," Indiis complained.
"You are too small," Nagini hissed. The coral snake muttered something about size and ducked into the loose collar of Harry's shirt. "Big birds are good," Nagini continued. "Owl and Eagle. Buzzards, Turkey. I have heard a bird called a Condor. They say it cannot be swallowed, its wings are wide as a snake is long. I shall test my jaws against it one day."
Harry nodded and guessed again. "Cats? Dogs? Lizards? Bugs?"
The list went on. Harry guessed until he ran out of animals he knew, then asked what other animals snakes ate. Indiis gave his own list as they passed by a tall timber pine. Nagini kept up her quick pace all the while, full of strength from the good meal days ago. Magic rabbits made for at least a meal apiece, she had said, she could carry Harry for three whole days now. Sahensha kept his own council and followed at the rear.
It was midday. The Emperor's adventure had gone on longer than Harry could count (though being only eight, he had no way of telling the exact passing of time). He still wore the white shirt and tan trousers from his time with the Dursleys. He wore no socks or shoes. He had messy black hair, made extra unruly by belonging to a young boy, a species not particularly prone to taking baths of their own accord. Harry Potter was sitting on top Nagini's back in his usual spot as they made headway into a new portion of another forest. Indiis rested against his neck and shoulders, hung in his own spot like a loose red and black necklace. Behind them the Basilisk Sahensha kept pace. His half-closed eyes were fixed on the Python's slithering figure.
They were passing some thin pines when Sahensha lunged and Harry sat up in awe as the bigger snake sped ahead of Nagini. He hadn't seen any of his friends move so fast before. It was breathtaking to see the big snake surge ahead of them, a blur of shimmering blue and green. Nagini slowed as Sahensha circled back and coiled in their path. His pale yellow eyes stared straight at them and Nagini lowered her gaze at once. Harry did not. Indiis dipped beneath the hem of Harry's shirt, still wary of the big snake's stare. Harry slid from Nagini's back and came to stand between the two big snakes.
"What's wrong?" Harry asked.
"Where are we going?"
Harry turned and looked to Nagini. The Python was sliding side to side in indecision and did not answer Sahensha's question.
"Nagini?" Harry asked, also curious.
He was having fun on their adventure, of course! But he had never needed to know where they were going before. Harry wasn't entirely sure he wanted to know where they were headed. Mostly, he wanted to go, and keep going away from where they'd come.
"Yes, Python," Indiis asked softly from the safety of Harry's neck. "Where do you take the Emperor with all speed?"
Harry frowned. There was something accusatory in his friend's voice he hadn't heard before. Uncertainly he glanced between the two largest of his friends. His fingers reached up in an unconscious gesture to reassure his small friend. Indiis rose to meet his fingers, enjoying their warmth.
"Just as he says," Nagini hissed back, "Away from his cage. We go anywhere away from there."
"So fast?" Sahensha asked. He was rising up, casually making a show of his height. "You flee, as if fangs seek you."
The Basilisk's eyes were focused squarely on the Python's head, as though he was trying to see the answers through her skull. His crown scales glistened against the sunlight, red like blood. Harry suddenly understood why he was called King of Snakes. Sahensha looked commanding, tall and proud.
Nagini stilled and all her coils tensed. Harry had never seen her look so small yet dangerous.
A familiar wiggle around Harry's wrist told him Indiis was climbing over his body. The Coral snake adjusted his position and looped around Harry's shoulders. Harry ran a hand along his scales over and over again in a comforting motion, unsure if he was comforting himself or Indiis. He had never felt torn this way before. His friends were fighting! Harry didn't like it and he didn't know what to do. Sensing his friend's discomfort, Indiis climbed up the wild nest of Harry's hair and coiled like a circlet on his head.
"Are your fangs for you, or the Emperor?"
The two big snakes turned to face him. The bold little snake was holding his ground, sitting in a coil safe on Harry's head. His eyes were closed tight but his face was turned to them. Indiis repeated his question. "Are your fangs for you, or for the Emperor?"
Harry felt the Basilisk's gaze upon him, warm and steady. He met Sahensha's wide yellow eyes without fear. The Basilisk's eyes were beautiful and fierce, though there was no malice in his gaze.
Nagini looked also to the young human. Her amber eyes were clouded with many emotions. Harry wondered what made her worry so much.
Sahensha was first to drop his snout to the ground. "For the Emperor," he replied. Nagini followed his lead, her coils relaxing.
"For Harry Potter, the Emperor," Nagini agreed. She dipped her nose low as well.
"What does that all mean?" Harry asked, lost. "What's going on?"
Indiis slipped back around his shoulders and kindly explained. "We are your friends, Emperor. We have promised to protect and serve you." His gaze turned judging as he glared at the larger snakes. "To better protect you, we should not fight amongst each other."
The larger snakes dropped their gazes, both guiltily giving apologies to the smaller Aniliidae.
Harry thought about it, dropping to sit cross-legged in the grass. Nagini kept her nose to the forest floor. Sahensha rose his head but remained where he lay in a large green-blue coil. Indiis slithered in a contented circle around Harry's neck and collar, happy to be close to the Emperor's warm skin.
They all sat a while in silence as the eight year old made up his mind.
Harry shook a finger at the two big snakes.
"You're not to fight with each other," he reprimanded. "Indiis is right. You're both my friends, and friends shouldn't fight." He crossed his arms over his chest expectantly. Sahensha turned and found Nagini's tentative gaze on his scales. It was the closest she had come to meeting his gaze. He regarded her with some surprise and then bowed his head. "It shall be as you say, Emperor."
"That's another thing," Harry continued, uncrossing his arms and sighing a little. "You keep calling me that."
"It is your birthright," Indiis hissed. "You are the Emperor."
"I know," Harry stressed, "We've had that talk. I still don't get it, I think. But I want you to call me Harry. That's my Name. I call you your Names."
For the first time the three snakes looked mildly uncomfortable with Harry's request. Harry felt dismayed and it showed plainly on his face. Indiis was quick to reassure him. "If it is the Emperor's desire, we may speak his Name!" Sahensha's large head nodded slowly in agreement but was clearly still resisting the thought. "It is not done," he explained. "Snakes speak plainly. Most of us have only one Name."
"Well, you're all my friends." Harry said, standing. "And if I'm the Emperor, then you have to do what I say, right?"
All three heads nodded along now. Harry huffed. "But I don't want you to have to do what I say! We're friends! I just want…" He swallowed, tears coming to his eyes, which he hastily scrubbed at. He was frustrated, a feeling he hadn't felt in a long time. The last time he had wrestled this emotion he had been coming to grips with the fact that the humans in his former cage would never want him the way he wanted to be wanted. It was a quiet minute passed before he continued in a small voice.
"I just want us all to be friends."
The three snakes held a fast conference. They understood the desire of their Emperor, but it simply wasn't done. What to do? Finally, the bold Aniliidae spoke.
"Emperor Harry Potter… If it is your wish, we will call you by your Name."
"Yes, Harry Potter," Nagini hissed. "We are all your friends. You can trust us."
"We have sworn to protect you, Emperor Harry," Sahensha said, compromising. "We will not leave your side. We shall use your Name. This makes us friends. All is as you wish."
The eight-year-old hadn't noticed the three coming closer, and was surprised to find himself surrounded by coils on all sides. Nagini's distinct green body with brown and black diamonds was pressed against his thigh and back, Sahensha's deep blue-green scales squeezed gently but firmly against his shin and stomach. Indiis was pressed firmly around his arm. All three rested their heads somewhere on Harry's body, and Harry hiccuped, sobbing.
It was like a huge scaly hug.
It was warm and moving and familiar, and it was perfect.
Harry Potter cried and cried and finally felt like he belonged.
End Chapter