I realize that this is a day early, but I'm going to be out of town for the July 5th update, and I wanted to update chapters on/by their update date. So here is chapter 7, and chapter 8 will come tomorrow.

Thank you to all you lovely readers (and especially reviewers: Acro111, The Yoshinator, and Carrot-Bunny). I can't say how much your comments mean to me.

I'm sorry to say that Dumbledore is not going to be the one to talk to Nagini. Originally, he was, but I changed that for a few reasons. First, Nagini does have to be somewhat different from her father, and second, generally, headmasters do not visit the Muggleborns/orphans to explain things. (When Dumbledore talked to Riddle, he was the Transfiguration teacher, and Hagrid is the one to talk to Harry.) Finally, I didn't want Dumbledore to meet Nagini in the orphanage; the meeting would remind him too much of the one he had with Tom Riddle fifty years ago, and I don't want Dumbledore to be suspicious of her until later. I'm sorry if that's a tad disappointing for any of you, but I hope you understand my reasons.

Disclaimer: the usual.

Chapter 7: The Future Is Coming

June 1991

Lord Voldemort was hiding in the forests of Albania. He was regaining his strength and waiting for his daughter. He had no intention of remaining in the forest, with nothing but the trees for company, forever. No, within a few years, he would be gone, and he would restart his plans where they had been left off. One day very soon, every witch, wizard and child would know he was the greatest wizard to ever walk the planet.

The time was soon approaching. He was growing stronger with every passing day. In a few years, he would call Nagini to him, and she would come. That was what he planned. . .

What he had not planned was to hear someone blundering through the forest, moving ever closer to him and making such a racket as to alert every animal within a hundred-mile radius to his or her location. Voldemort waited, hiding in the shadows as the stranger entered his clearing. The stranger wore a hooded, dark gray cloak that fell to the ground and held a wand in trembling hands. At the center of the clearing, the stranger paused and threw back the hood.

It was a young man, no more than twenty-nine. The newcomer looked around nervously. "I—," he began then paused to clear his throat. "I," he started over, his voice louder but still shaky, "h-have c-come. I-I've he-heard rum-ours of a great sp-spirit in the f-forest. I-I wish t-to m-make myself useful and le-learn gre-great sec-rets in r-return."

The man fell silent, and Voldemort contemplated him from the shadows. Was this an opportunity? He considered his options carefully. The man in front of him did not seem to be a very accomplished wizard and even appeared to be afraid of his own shadow, but then again. . . The man was a way out of the forest and back to civilization. Voldemort had decided. He left the shadows and appeared before the man.

"What is your name," Voldemort hissed into the night. The man jumped back in fright.

"P-Professor Q-Quirrell," he stammered.

"Professor?"

Quirrell nodded. "At H-Hogwarts. Th-this year."

"And what do you want from me, Quirrell? Why do you disturb me?"

Quirrell gulped. "I-I w-want t-to learn gr-great and p-powerful magic. D-dark magic."

"And why should I teach you?"

Drops of sweat collected on Quirrell's forehead even though the night was cool. "I-I c-can get you th-the Elixir of L-Life. The Ph-Philosopher's St-Stone. It's at H-Hogwarts."

Voldemort was intrigued. The Philosopher's Stone was at Hogwarts? That was just what he needed to regain his life. Going to Hogwarts was dangerous, he knew. Dumbledore was there, and so was a man Voldemort believed had betrayed him. However, if he could obtain the Stone, he could regain his life that much faster. He wouldn't need to wait another few years for Nagini to. . .

Nagini. He would be able to see his daughter in the flesh, even if she could not see him, and he would enjoy being in the castle again. It had been a home to be, and within its walls there were many secrets, many he had discovered over his years and others that were just waiting for the right moment. He nodded to himself. He was decided. He would venture out into the world and take a chance this wizard who was little more than a bag of nerves.

"Very well," he announced, and Quirrell jumped at the sound of his voice. "I will come to Hogwarts with you, and you will do everything I saw. As you do, I will teach you the great and powerful secrets that you wish to know. You will become a master of dark magics, the most powerful magic there is."

"Of c-course, m-my l-lord," said Quirrell kneeling down before Lord Voldemort. "As-as you w-wish."

Voldemort smiled coldly and laughed, sending shivers down Quirrell's spine. Exactly, he thought. As I wish.

Nagini walked by a group of orphans standing at the top of the stairs, and the whispers stopped. Nagini rolled her eyes. What had she done this time, she wondered. She could feel their stares as she walked down the steps, but she didn't turn around. Every time something odd happened, even the teensiest thing, their minds always jumped to her, thinking she was the cause of it all. Sometimes, it made her laugh because half the time, it wasn't her. Half the time, there really was a perfectly rational explanation. The other half—well, sometimes their suspicions were right.

After the first incident almost five years ago, whenever Nagini felt particularly sad or angry, things would happen. Lights would turn off, doors would slam, wind would blow inside, and all manner of things. And sometimes it wasn't always an accident. . . Sometimes Nagini used her magic purposefully. As a result, the others were too scared to confront her, let alone talk to her, but they weren't too scared to whisper about her.

Nagini sat down at her usual spot at the breakfast table, an idea slowly forming in her mind. A minute later, the whisperers entered the kitchen, and Nagini was decided. Betty, Sarah, and a boy named Jared Gow made to sit down at the far end of the table, but before they could do so, their chairs shot out from underneath them, crashing into the wall behind them. The three of them tumbled to the floor to general snickering. Nagini smiled. Just as they were trying to get up, their chairs shot forward, knocking them over again. The other orphans were no longer trying to hide their amusement; they laughed and pointed the three lying on the floor.

Nagini gave them a moment's respite, allowing them to get up from the floor and sit down. Just then a breeze began blowing in the kitchen, slowly gaining strength until it almost lifted little Maggie Bennett out of her seat. The wind pulled and tugged at the orphans' hair and clothes, but it didn't touch anything else in the kitchen, and it didn't touch Nagini. The orphans looked around fearfully, trying to find where the wind came from. Just then the door opened with a bang, and Martha walked in. The wind died down as quickly as it had come up.

The children ate in silence, not looking at each other. Nagini rolled her eyes and stood up; everybody froze. "Bye, guys!" she called cheerily waving at them over her shoulder. They tensed, and Nagini laughed. For good measure, she made the lights flicker as she left and had the door slam after she had walked away.

Still laughing to herself, Nagini walked outside and made her way over to the maple tree. Looking around to make sure no one was watching, Nagini swiftly climbed the tree and hid amongst its branches. With one more glance to make sure no one could see her, Nagini edged over to the wall and slipped over its side. Using the ivy as handholds, Nagini climbed halfway down the wall then jumped the remaining few feet, landing lightly on the sidewalk.

As she walked down the streets of London, Nagini tilted her head up to enjoy the sunshine streaming down. No one at the orphanage would even know she was gone. Well, the other children would notice, but they would be much happier, the longer she was out of sight. Nagini rolled her eyes and laughed. Well, she was happier to be away from them as well. They no longer hurt her, and it was fun to scare them out of their wits, but they were different from her. She wanted to be around people who were like her, people who were magical.

About ten minutes later, she had arrived at the park. From the snatches of conversations she'd picked up over the years, this was where she was found before she was brought to the orphanage. She felt a connection with the place; it was a part of her pre-orphanage life, and maybe it would be a part of the post-orphanage as well.

Nagini sat on the ground under a weeping willow, leaning against the tree trunk. Beside her, a creek streamed merrily through the grass. A cluster of daisies grew at its edge. Almost absentmindedly, Nagini turned the daisies from sunshine yellow to bright silver. With another thought and hand gesture, the creek began to bubble and laugh.

Nagini smiled contentedly. Soon, very soon, maybe even tomorrow or the next day, someone from Hogwarts would come for her. Only then, would she be fully inducted into the magical world to which she belonged. And after she went to Hogwarts, she thought, she would be able to see her father face-to-face. He was waiting for her, and she would go to him as soon as she could. Nagini stared up at the branches of the willow tree.

Nagini thought back on all the conversations she had had with her father in her dreams over the year. She had developed the habit of going to bed early in the hopes that she could speak with him again. Her dreams of him were not that frequent, but that only made the ones she did have all the more special. He answered any question she had, and in doing so, he had taught her so many things about the magical world, about Hogwarts, and about herself. She lay back on the ground and gripped her locket tightly in one hand. She remembered once asking him about it. . .

"What does the "S" on my locket stand for?" Nagini asked her father looking down at her locket before holding it up for him to see.

He took the locket from her and examined it carefully. "The "S," Nagini, stands for Slytherin. Salazar Slytherin."

"Who was he?"

"He was a great wizard," replied Voldemort quietly. "He was one of the four Founders of Hogwarts. You are his descendent."

Nagini reached to take her locket back as she processed the information. The locket reflected the light just so, and Nagini was reminded of something. "Why does it look like a snake?" she asked curiously.

Voldemort smiled. "The snake was Slytherin's symbol. He was a Parselmouth, meaning he could speak with snakes. So can you."

"Really?"

He nodded. "All of his descendants can."

Nagini smiled at the memory. Ever since she had learned she could talk to snakes, she had sought one out to practice on, but unfortunately, she never did find a snake to find out if it was true or not. She supposed she would learn soon enough at any rate. At Hogwarts there had to be at least one snake for her to talk to. Hogwarts, she thought gazing at the blue sky through the willow branches.

Maybe tomorrow or maybe the next day a witch or wizard would come for her. Maybe even today. . . Nagini sat bolt upright, dropping her locket. What if the representative from Hogwarts really was coming today and she wasn't there? Would they leave, or would they wait? They couldn't know she ran away during the day. She was supposed to be an intelligent, well-behaved young girl that any school would want.

In a flash, Nagini was up and running back the way she came, her locket bouncing against her chest as she rushed back the way she came. She barely noticed the passersby, staring at her and wondering where the fire was. She sprinted down the streets, her feet barely touching the ground. For some reason she couldn't explain, she just knew that the representative from Hogwarts was coming today and was about to arrive at the orphanage.

Nagini was panting slightly as she rounded the final corner. She darted past a little boy holding an ice cream cone and nearly ran into a tall severe-looking woman with hair pulled tightly back in a bun. Nagini skidded to a stop and around the corner of the wall surrounding the orphanage. Bracing her feet on the brick, she pulled herself up by the ivy until she was sitting on top of the wall. Quickly, she slipped over to the other side and into the confines of the maple tree. Nagini paused to catch her breath and waited, idly playing with the locket around her neck. She knew it wouldn't be long. . .

Well, what do you think? Who do you think is going to be there to talk to Nagini? (Hint, hint, Nagini nearly runs over said person in the final paragraph.)

Well, what do you think? Nagini can be pretty nasty to people who hate her, can't she? By the way, I notice that reviewing is so much easier: all you have to do is start typing in the box below. (cough, cough )