Chapter 23
Today You Will Meet Your Maker
Harry Potter, Hermione Granger and Ronald Weasley sat uneasily in the late evening on the London Underground. Their train contained three other teenagers, all boys perhaps 18 or 19 years of age, drawing attention to themselves. They wore torn black leather pants and jackets, black t-shirts with more holes than cloth, and rings and pins piercing unusual parts of their body. Harry and Hermione may have heard of such characters, but never had they viewed them up close. Ron sat in his row completely flabbergasted and had to exert tremendous self-discipline to prevent himself from staring at the three boys. He stole glances at them as often as he could.
The two wizards both dressed in black clothing themselves, jeans and long-sleeve pullovers, and Hermione wore dark pants and a sweatshirt, but they still seemed like choirboys (and girl) compared to the older teens. The lack of tattoos and piercings no doubt contributed to that, as well as the fact that their hair retained its natural color.
The other commuters shifted nervously in their seats, hoping that the three punks would leave at the next station, and take their insufferably loud music with them. Instead, at the next stop, the three remained, causing most of the other riders to exit, rushing to board another car or wait for the next train. Harry never considered following their lead, for he barely noticed the annoying trio. He focused inexorably on the task ahead of them, and the loud music and antics served merely as background noise.
Ron could not ignore them, however, and his nerves flared when he realized that the three boys noticed the two wizards and witch. Only a couple of other riders remained on the car, but from their tattoos and bulging muscles they probably did not worry about the skinny young trouble-seekers. The three boys decided to focus their attention on the clean-cut threesome. Ron could see that Hermione noticed as well, and fear creased her eyebrows as her hand reached for her wand. Harry remained oblivious, lost in his thoughts.
"Oy, wot 'ave we 'ere, Colin, a few o' England's finest. Go to Eton, do yeh? Ma'be we could give 'em a diff'rent lesson t'nite. Wot you say, Colin?" boasted a scrawny lad to Colin, by appearances the leader of the gang. A more impressive specimen, Colin stood at least Ron's height but more muscular, with a couple tattoos on each biceps. His dark brown hair spiked in random directions, some of them colored black and red.
"Right you are, Mick," Colin retorted in a low, soft, threatening voice, "Me thinks their education 'as been lacking." He reached into his pocket.
"Get away from us," Hermione ordered, "or I'll call the police." Her voice shook slightly despite her best effort to appear strong. Belly laughs from the threatening teens rewarded her attempt.
Ron felt he had to do something as well, so he stood up to move in front of Hermione, saying, "Just leave her alone; we weren't bothering you. We don't want any trouble." Both had their hands on their wands, reluctant to use them in a muggle train.
"O', but you WERE both'ring us, sittin' over 'ere starin' at us," replied the third lad, whose name had not yet been mentioned., "We don' like the likes of you starin' at us."
Harry had finally been roused from his stupor and immediately understood the predicament. Already on edge, he snapped.
"Get away from her," he snarled in an unnaturally low voice, and the three boys jumped slightly at the angry voice which did not contain an ounce of fear.
Harry left his seat and stood in front of his friends. The punks did not laugh now, as perhaps they had not truly planned to do anything beyond scaring the pants off the three younger teens. Now the situation had turned more serious, as they could not ignore the impertinence of this skinny kid with the messy black hair.
"You shouldn' o' said that," warned Mick, as he pulled back his right fist.
Mick never threw a punch, however, as he inexplicably hurtled through the air, crashing against a row of seats four rows away. Mick's friends' shock was short-lived, as soon they found themselves in midair with the force of a heavyweight's uppercut, smashing their heads against posts and seats. The unnamed boy crumpled into unconsciousness; Colin escaped unhurt but enraged. He jumped to his feet and rushed at Harry.
"DON'T!" Hermione cried, sensing Harry's outrage and praying he would not kill the boy.
Harry did not hear Hermione or anything else, and he felt no reluctance to use his wand. Every muscle in his face tensed while he watched the older boy charge. He pointed his wand at Colin, lifting him into the air, all the way to the ceiling of the car.
Colin's eyes betrayed his fear as he yelled, "Put me down!"
"Fine!" Harry growled, lifting his wand and allowing his attacker to fall awkwardly onto the top of two rows of seats, then rolling off and crashing to the floor on his back. His head whiplashed against the hard floor, and another of the trio lapsed into unconsciousness. Mick had viewed these events disbelievingly, but he kept enough wits about him to dash out the door when it opened at the next station.
"This is our stop," Hermione half whispered in a quaking voice, her eyes wide in shock from the explosion of violence from her best friend.
Harry glared at the two other passengers in the train car who witnessed the whole confrontation. Big, tough men they may have been, but their eyes widened in fear as the slender seventeen year old pointed a stick at them.
"Obliviate them."
Fortunately Hermione performed memory charms with special skill, and within a few seconds, she had removed the memory of the one-sided battle from the minds of the two men. Then Harry, Ron and Hermione dashed for the door, just squeezing through before it closed.
"What about those two?" Hermione asked, referring to the two unconscious bodies still on the train.
"Forget about them," Harry ordered dismissively, and he immediately turned his attention to the Underground station, going over the directions Dumbledore had provided. "This way," he nodded, and the three strode towards the end of the platform until they reached the point where the tunnel out of the station began. Harry looked back and saw that the few commuters still in the station paid them no attention, as most headed for the street exit. "Follow me."
Quickly he jumped off the platform next to the rails of the train track and walked purposefully into the tunnel. His friends scrambled after him, Ron helping Hermione down, and they chased after Harry, who had almost moved out of view. As he walked, Harry ran the palm of his left hand along the wall, apparently trying to feel something. Suddenly some fifty yards into the tunnel, he stopped. His friends caught up to him in a few seconds.
"Is this it?" Hermione asked.
"Yes," Harry muttered, grasping his wand. Dumbledore warned him that he must perform the special opening spell exactly the first time, or the passage would not open no matter how many times he tried. "Let me concentrate," he whispered, and then tapping the tunnel wall three times he chanted, "In the name of the Ministry of Great Britain, open for the safety of your people." He then drew a pattern of three parallel lines and one diagonal crossing them, and the wall disappeared to expose a dimly lit passage, barely tall enough for Ron to stand straight, and only wide enough for two at a time. "Hurry!" ordered Harry, for he knew the wall would reseal itself in exactly ten seconds.
"Come on," he whispered as he carefully but quickly strode through the passage, which stretched out straight and considerably downhill. They did not need to walk far before the passage came to a dead end. Harry removed his wand from the pocket of his dark pullover, but before touching the wall he turned towards his friends. His hair had become especially tangled following the encounter on the Underground, and he had not shaved in several days. His eyes glared with intensity, and his friends would have feared him had they not known him so well. "Remember what we planned. This wall leads us to a cloak room in a little used wing of the Ministry, but we'll be inside anyway. Anything can happen now. Stay under the invisibility cloak at all times. Any questions?"
The three friends realized that in all their adventures, they had never faced anything as dangerous as this escapade, which they knew by any rational consideration almost certainly would fail. They said nothing, for they did not want to verbalize the thoughts in their minds - that it all could end tonight. Harry merely nodded and drew the same four lines on the wall. They stepped into the dark cloak room, which in fact contained many cloaks and coats, no doubt left there by fleeing ministry employees. Carefully, Harry opened the door into the corridor of the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts wing, and seeing no one, he stepped out. Ron and Hermione followed, closed the door, and then disappeared under the invisibility cloak.
They based their plan partly on the educated guess that this obscure section of the Ministry would be unguarded, or at the least lightly protected. Their guess proved true, as the "Muggle Wing" appeared to be completely vacant. Harry had not yet possessed Issamir, and to save time, he rushed down the corridor, assuming the others followed behind him. He had pulled the small serpent from his pocket, and it wrapped itself around Harry's neck. Ron and Hermione could hear them hissing at each other, having no idea of the contents of their discussion.
Issamir arched its neck to and fro, snapping its forked tongue out of its mouth from time to time.
"The great snake is not in this area, Harry Potter."
Harry hissed back, "I did not expect it to be. The great snake will be close to its master. I do not yet sense the dark lord. We must descend to a lower level."
The easiest way to move between floors would of course be the elevators, in this instance an unavailable mode of transportation. Fortunately, Dumbledore provided Harry with an alternate means of moving between floors, which he had spent hours memorizing, not daring to bring a map of the building with him in case he should be captured. They approached the center landing of the floor near the elevators, but before reaching them, Harry found a small closet to the right side. These closets in fact served as entrances to a hidden stairway between floors, but few in the magical world knew of them, not even employees of the Ministry. He ducked into the tiny room, half full of various cleaning supplies, leaving the door open for the followers. The door appeared to shut by itself, and Ron whipped off the invisibility cloak.
The three comrades glanced at each other briefly, with the unspoken message of "so far so good." Harry paused to take a few deep breaths and again traced the three parallel and one diagonal line on the back wall, which abruptly disappeared, exposing a narrow, dimly lit stairwell. Harry and Dumbledore surmised that Voldemort would naturally gravitate to the bottom dungeons and secret laboratories at the lowest point of the building, an area not open to the public and seen by only a select few wizards. The elevators did not travel to this level, which could only be accessed through hidden entrances. Fortunately, Dumbledore had on several occasions visited this forbidden area.
They descended floor by floor, stepping into similar closets each time, one containing parchment and ink bottles, another unlabeled large buckets. At each stop, they listened at the door, and two floors down, they heard muted voices of death eaters. Finally they descended as far as they could, arriving in a small, empty stone room, which by all appearances had not been entered in years. The three friends and Issamir paused, none of them desiring to see the other side of the door.
By now, fear mixed with excitement and anticipation. Harry, Ron and Hermione huddled close together, their noses just inches apart so that they could speak at the lowest whisper, even though Hermione had placed a silencing spell on the door.
"Promise me again that you will stay in here," Harry urged.
His two friends did not respond, and Harry angrily hissed, "We've been over this ten times. If you leave this room, you'll ruin everything. Our chances are slim enough as it is. The cloak won't do any good if Voldemort is around. I need you to be here to get us out of this place. Who knows what condition I'll be in." Ron and Hermione could feel Harry's warm, moist breath as he implored them. "And stay under the cloak!"
"We know, Harry; we just feel so helpless," Hermione whispered back, "Be careful! You can only last about half an hour inside the snake."
Harry nodded, but did not move. The whole idea of sauntering around in the body of a snake, finding Nagini, having a nice conversation with it, discovering whether it is a horcrux or not, killing it if necessary, and then escaping alive, seemed ludicrous.
Finally he smiled at his friends and with a nervous laugh asked, "Who thought up this stupid idea anyway?" Hermione forced a smile of her own and ran her fingers through Harry's hair, while Ron placed his hand on his shoulder.
Hermione fastidiously cracked the door open and peaked outside, seeing nobody. Issamir arched its body and darted its tongue several times, then hissed.
"Nagini is here," Harry informed his friends, barely audibly. He hissed back at the serpent, which hissed in return. Placing Issamir on the rough stone floor, Harry whispered, "See you soon," but he hesitated before possessing the waiting serpent. "If I don't make it back, you know how to get out. Don't come after me." A moment later he disappeared.
Inside the snake's body, Harry heard Issamir's thoughts.
"Allow me to lead, Harry Potter. You are not a serpent and do not understand our ways. I will speak with the dark one's serpent. You may give me your thoughts or suggestions, but do not attempt to control me. The great serpent will sense that something is not right."
"I agree," Harry responded, hoping that Issamir could "hear" him, "I am in your . . . care." He almost used the Parseltongue word for "hands" but realized the inappropriateness of it. The small, slender snake slithered out of the cracked door, but a few feet later Harry asked it to look back at the slightly open door. Ron and Hermione had not closed it, peering out of the crack, and Harry/Issamir stared at the door until they got the hint. The door clicked shut.
The snake's grey skin provided perfect camouflage on the grey stone floor of the roughly-finished, dungeon-like area. They heard voices from afar, though Harry could not understand any words. Light from an opening ahead and to the right met their eyes, and the voices emanated from within, but Issamir informed him that Nagini did not occupy that room. The slender serpent quickly moved its head and upper body side to side, testing the air with its tongue. In a flash it crossed the wide hall, taking cover in the shadows where the floor met the wall, virtually invisible. Avoiding any hasty movements, it glided past the door. Harry only saw a flash inside the large room, where at least three death eaters worked on something that Harry could not see. He had no time to dwell on it.
Harry felt comfortable enough within the serpent, more of a passenger than a conductor. He did not need to expend much energy to maintain the status quo, and Harry believed that he could remain in this state for an hour at least. Issamir continued its silent, circuitous route through the dungeons, never taking the most direct line anywhere, but always seeking the dark corners and cracks. Fortunately the dim lighting in the area favored them, for it would have been difficult to spot the grey snake against the grey floor even if it slithered openly down the center of the hall. At one point, Issamir stopped in a shaded nook while two death eaters walked silently by. Harry vaguely recognized one of them.
Issamir constantly flicked its tongue, and Harry could feel various sensations as a result, but not being a snake, he had no idea what they meant. The snake, on the other hand, understood every nuance in the air.
"The great snake is in that room, Harry Potter. She has probably already sensed me. Once again I request of you, do not attempt to control me. You do not know the proper manner of speaking with such a creature."
"I understand, Issamir. I trust you. You will let me know if there is anything I can do to assist you." Harry's thoughts confused him, as he heard them both in English and Parseltongue, as if simultaneously interpreted. Issamir paused, again testing the air repeatedly, and when convinced of safe conditions, it rapidly slid across the stone floor of the corridor and entered an extremely dim room. Human eyes could barely see in the darkness, but this posed no problem to a serpent. Between eyes and tongue, Issamir (and as a result Harry) could see just fine. The medium sized room appeared to have been claimed by Nagini as its own; no evidence of any human activity could be seen. Even Harry, though not a snake, could sense the presence of Nagini easily, and his adrenalin surged. He forced himself to calm down.
Harry vaguely noticed the contents of the room. An unfinished wooden work table stood just to the left of center, surrounded by several beat-up wooden chairs. A few smaller tables and benches lined the walls.
The small snake sensed that Nagini lay coiled in the back left corner of the room, and not desiring to come too close, Issamir headed for the back right corner. It knew by now that Nagini would have sensed the presence of an intruder, and Harry feared (as Hermione had reminded him) that Nagini might attack first and ask questions later.
"Stay where you are," came a deep hissing, an evil hissing. Immediately Harry felt it to be the Parseltongue version of how Lord Voldemort spoke. Nagini had to be a horcrux; Harry knew it. He could FEEL it. The temptation arose to release Issamir and resume his human form, for Harry had concealed a large blade in his clothing. I could surprise it and slice off its head before it knew what happened, he thought, but he knew that he must wait. He had to satisfy himself completely that Nagini was a horcrux. One way or the other, however, Harry did not intend for the great serpent to live another day.
"I am Issamir, a small serpent and resident of this structure. Rumor had it that the Great Serpent, the companion of the snake wizard, had entered our home. Though small and worthless I may be, I could not resist the urge to contact the Great Serpent, though it may mean my death, for I cannot hope to escape your powers. I come in friendship and admiration, but I will leave in an instant if so you desire."
By stroking Nagini's ego, Issamir hoped to entice the huge snake into a conversation. It worked.
"Normally I would expel you immediately, or worse," hissed the huge snake menacingly, "but I have spent many tedious days in these rooms. I will allow you to remain in my presence for the time being." Harry immediately hated Nagini.
What an arrogant git, he thought, the similarity to Voldemort obvious.
"Thank you, you are most kind," Issamir responded obsequiously, "We have spoken of you and the snake wizard often. Your presence here has created great excitement in my clan, and dare I say it, fear. Your fierceness is known among all serpents."
Laying it on a bit thick, Harry thought, but he hoped the small snake knew what it was doing.
"Rumors are rumors. Little of the truth is known of me," Nagini responded with false humility, for Harry could sense the pleasure in its voice. Concerned that Nagini did not appear especially talkative, Harry feared that Issamir may be unable to pry any useful information from it.
"Yes, you speak the truth. Many in my clan have complained that you are merely the servant of the snake wizard, but I have disagreed," Issamir hissed, expressing great disdain for his ignorant relatives. Harry knew that Issamir's statement would irritate the great snake.
"Tell your clan that I am servant to no wizard," Nagini hissed with great indignation, briefly uncoiling and recoiling. "The snake wizard is my friend and partner. He and I have had many adventures, both great and small, triumphant and disappointing. But I am not his servant." Issamir's comment clearly bothered the huge serpent; it hit too close to home.
"I knew that to be true, and I told my clan never to speak ill of the Great Serpent, and indeed many in my clan would never think such slander against you." Nagini had partially uncoiled again, causing both Issamir and Harry concern, but the giant snake merely repositioned itself, and did not appear interested in an attack. Issamir carefully pressed on, "All serpents respect you, but because you are rarely seen by our kind, many false rumors are told. Despicable rumors!"
Nagini lifted its head and looked away, feigning complete disinterest in these "despicable rumors," but Harry could feel the smoldering rage inside of it. Surely Issamir felt it too; Harry wondered why his new friend did not proceed. But Issamir knew not to say more until asked, and the slender reptile felt sure that Nagini in the end would inquire. Snakes are extremely vain and curious creatures, and Nagini was dying to know the content of these rumors.
Finally it gave in, "And what lies are said of me?"
Issamir moved away a foot or so and forced itself to tremble, as if it did not want to disclose these scurrilous rumors, but had no choice but to do so, now that Nagini had asked.
"Some believe that the snake wizard controls you. That he has performed some sorcery that has left you only partly in control of your actions." This time Issamir did not indicate disagreement.
Nagini hissed in anger, making no pretense at its irritation. Clearly Issamir's statement hit a sensitive nerve.
"Have I not said, I serve no wizard! The snake wizard does not control me. It is true that we have a special connection; a connection never seen before between wizard and serpent. But the snake wizard does not control me, nor do I control the snake wizard."
Now we're getting somewhere, Harry thought, anxious for Issamir to probe deeper. Instead, Issamir appeared to change the subject, much to the wizard's irritation.
"Others have ventured to question the purity of your blood, that you have . . ." Issamir paused dramatically, "basilisk blood."
Again Nagini hissed, loud and long, this time in outrage. Apparently basilisks had a poor reputation among serpents, though Harry had no idea why. As far as he was concerned, a basilisk was nothing more than a huge serpent, but from Nagini's reaction, the reference to a basilisk deeply insulted it. This time Issamir did indicate disapproval, perhaps out of self-preservation.
"The idea is outrageous beyond words," the slender serpent agreed, "but now I can tell them the truth, that your blood is pure, untainted by evil. I will make sure to spread the truth throughout my clan, and beyond."
"Get back to the connection with the snake wizard," Harry communicated to Issamir, but the creature merely told Harry to be patient. More than half an hour had passed since he entered the serpent's body, and Harry worried how long he could last. So far, however, he felt no danger of losing control, as he had to exert little power to control his host.
"I understand how the lie arose," Nagini hissed after a few seconds. Harry had the feeling that it wished to continue the conversation, as it rarely had a chance to speak to anyone other than Voldemort. "There is a certain resemblance, though of course I am much smaller. I do have unusual powers."
"Yes, we have often heard rumor of your powers. They are said not to be powers of a serpent, but of a wizard. What are these powers?"
"Of that I cannot speak. I will tell you this however. My powers and the snakelike powers of the snake wizard are the result of an agreement between us. He has given me part of his essence, and I have done likewise for him. Each of us has gained from this mixing of our inner beings."
That did it. Harry no longer harbored any doubt that Nagini in fact was a horcrux. Reference to Voldemort's "essence" and a "mixing of our inner beings" could only refer to their souls. Suddenly it all made sense. Voldemort's snakelike appearance resulted at least partially due to a piece of Nagini's soul in him, while Nagini's wizard-like abilities resulted from the insertion of a portion of Voldemort's soul. Nagini was Voldemort's horcrux, and Voldemort was Nagini's. Harry had heard enough.
He communicated with Issamir, "Now we know. We must do what we planned. Are you ready?"
"Yes, I am ready. Good luck, Harry Potter. May we have the fortune to escape alive."
With that, Issamir moved towards the center of the room, and through its eyes Harry quickly scanned for the best place in which to reappear. Harry and the snake had devised a plan, simple but deadly. Step one: enrage Nagini.
"Fascinating," hissed Issamir, who then paused for a moment as he heard a couple of death eaters passing by. "However, most serpents believe that there is another snake wizard of even greater power. The boy named Harry Potter. He is said to have unknown powers. It is true, is it not, that your snake wizard has failed to kill Harry Potter more than once." The hint of a taunt could be heard in Issamir's hissing; Nagini lifted its head and neck, and then semi-coiled into an attacking position.
"And what do you believe, my dear Issamir?" threatened the giant serpent, which to Issamir's eyes appeared to triple in size, "Is Harry Potter greater than the snake wizard?"
At that moment Harry released his possession of the small snake, momentarily paralyzing it, while the young wizard materialized in the corner of the room, about ten feet from Nagini. As soon as he felt in control of his body, he reached into a pocket to remove a knife which he had found in Grimmauld Place some time ago. Magical in nature, it shrunk to the size of a pocketknife while in his pocket, but as soon as he removed it, a blade some ten inches long appeared, which had been sharpened expertly by Dobby earlier that day.
"Yes he is," Harry answered in Parseltongue, "and today you will meet your maker."
Nagini's shock at the unexpected appearance of the nemesis of the snake wizard caused it to freeze momentarily, and Harry lurched forward with the blade barely visible in the dim light. Nagini could see it perfectly, however, and Harry's body had appeared just a bit too far away to reach it with his first swipe. The giant serpent finally reacted and briefly retreated before turning towards his sworn enemy. Neither had time for trash talking now.
Harry's leap forward brought him closer to his prey, and the adrenalin in his blood precluded any sensation of fear. He regained his balance and leapt to the left, as Issamir scurried to the far side of the room. With blinding speed, Nagini coiled and uncoiled, streaking through the darkness towards Harry's neck. The instinctive leap to the side just avoided the strike, and Harry wildly slashed at the serpent's body some four or five feet below its head, leaving a deep gash. The snake emitted an "ssssssssss" of pain, but it had not been incapacitated.
A surge of energy passed through Harry's body, a combination of hatred for the snake and its master, adrenalin, and competitiveness, for suddenly this seemed like a sport to the young wizard. If he had a moment to reflect, he almost would have thought it enjoyable. But he had no time to reflect, for Nagini swung its body back towards Harry, who avoided its mouth only to be struck squarely by the snake's body, throwing him some six feet across the room, knocking over the table and chairs. Like a seeker on a broom, Harry rolled with the force of the strike and then jumped to his feet. He knew that his wand would have little or no effect on the creature, which like a dragon was immune from most spells. Nagini would die the muggle way.
"You are very foolish, Harry Potter," Nagini taunted, regaining its arrogance. It felt that it had survived the wizard's best shot, and the human no longer enjoyed the element of surprise.
Harry hissed his response, "No, you are the foolish one, allowing the snake wizard to place a part of his soul inside of you. You are as evil as he is, and you deserve to die."
Just as Harry finished his comment, Nagini sprung forward, and Harry anticipated the strike just in time. The giant snake's huge mouth opened in front of him, exposing two five inch fangs. Harry feinted as if jumping to the left, and the snake, anticipating it, moved in that direction, but instead Harry ducked straight down, and sweeping the blade with an upward backhand stroke, the knife sliced through Nagini's neck, just a couple of feet below its head.
The blow nearly severed Nagini's head from its body, and only a thin layer of skin and muscle attached it to its body, the reptile version of Nearly Headless Nick. Arteries had been severed, and deep red blood spurted from the snake's body like a geyser, soaking Harry's pants and shirt. Its head and upper neck momentarily stayed erect, and the head briefly turned towards Harry, who saw the life quickly fade from its stunned eyes. A moment later, Nagini crashed awkwardly to the stone floor and died.