Disclaimer: All that is not JKR's is mine-and that mainly consists in the human character of Nagini and the influence she exerts on the magical world.
Chapter 22: Family, Friends, and Enemies
Voldemort smiled as he watched Nagini approach, slowly picking her way through the trees towards the clearing. When Nagini entered the clearing, she looked up at him, smiling. "Happy Christmas, Father," she said brightly, "though it is a couple days late."
"Happy Christmas, daughter," he repeated, looking at her. "How did you celebrate?"" he asked lightly.
A mischievous grin split Nagini's face. "By sneaking out of my dorm in the middle of the night," she replied, green eyes twinkling.
Voldemort raised his eyebrows. "Sneaking out? And where did you go?"
"To the library," said Nagini seriously. "Was the note from you?"
He nodded. "I had it sent to you, yes."
Nagini nodded, thinking to herself. She had been right. The note had sounded like her father, especially the bit about seeking knowledge.
"And what did you find?" he continued.
"I found the book," she replied, "and it looks really interesting. Unfortunately, I had to leave before I could get very far.""
Voldemort brought his eyebrows together in a question but didn't say anything, letting her continue.
"Harry Potter was in the library for some reason," said Nagini. "He was looking for something, but whatever it was, he didn''t find it because he made such a racket that someone was bound to come investigate."
Nagini paused to draw breath, and Voldemort took a moment to think over what she said. The story about Potter was interesting. What was the boy doing? Voldemort pushed it out of his mind. It didn't matter. All it meant was that Potter was inquisitive and a rule-breaker.
"Have you gone back?" he asked her now.
She shook her head sadly. "I was too tired last night," she said. "I could barely walk, let alone practice new spells.""
He accepted her excuse with a nod. He was disappointed, but she seemed even more so. "Return as soon and as often as you can," he told Nagini. "The spells in the Restricted Section are the more interesting and, often, more useful ones."
She nodded quickly, relieved that he didn't seem too upset that she hadn't learned anything from the books yet. They were silent for a moment, each thinking their own thoughts. Nagini couldn't wait to return to the library. The spells she'd glimpsed in the book seemed really interesting, and she could only imagine the secrets and spells that the other books on that side of the gate held.
"I believe it is time that I began teaching you as well," declared Voldemort suddenly, looking down at his daughter. If all went according to plan, he would have a body by the end of the year and could work on regaining his former strength. He needed to prepare Nagini for the part she would play in his plans. Nagini looked up in surprise.
"You're going to teach me? Here, in my dreams?"
He nodded. "What will you be teaching me?" she asked curiously.
Voldemort smiled. "All manner of things. I'll teach you spells that have been handed down through the centuries and secrets that have all but been lost to time."
Nagini leaned closer to him, intrigued. "Are you ready?" he asked. Nagini nodded, entranced. "Very well, watch.""
Nagini gasped. Her father had disappeared! He was simply there one moment and gone the next. A wind grew, circling Nagini and whipping her braid into her face. She slowly turned in place, trying to find where her father went.
"Turn around, Nagini," a voice said quietly from behind her. Nagini let out a small shriek and jumped, falling to the ground. Her father laughed lightly to himself as she slowly picked herself up.
"Did you do that?" she whispered.
"I became invisible and then melded with the wind to fly around you, yes."
Nagini stared at him in confusion, and he smiled before demonstrating again, visible this time. Nagini's eyes widened as the lower half of his body faded into the air around him, and he gently glided upward.
"Wow," murmured Nagini. "How did you—" she broke off.
"The incantation is 'Invisibilis.' There is no required wand movement. As long as you are holding your wand, it should work.""
Nagini pulled out her wand and looked at her father. He nodded. Nagini closed her eyes and said clearly, "Invisibilis." She cracked an eye open and looked down; she was still there. She looked at her father.
"Keep practicing," he told her. "You'll manage it soon."
Nagini nodded and opened her mouth to repeat the spell but then paused. "Does your wand become invisible as well?" she asked. Her father nodded. "So what happens if you then drop your wand? Does it stay invisible or turn visible."
Voldemort smiled. She was very bright. "It will regain visibility," he told her, "but I'd advise you keep a tight grip on your wand. If you're invisible, I doubt you are in a situation in which you can be without it."
"Not to mention the noise it would make falling," added Nagini.
"That too," agreed Voldemort, causing Nagini to smile as she returned to practicing.
Nagini walked down the dungeon corridor leading to the common room on her way back from the library. Tomorrow classes resumed. Nagini would have much less time to devote to trips to the Restricted Section and studying on the side, so she was taking advantage of the last few hours she did have. Nagini murmured the password and stepped through but then froze.
The common room was packed. All the Slytherins were talking and laughing together. In the corner, Draco and Pansy were showing off their Christmas gifts to some of the other first years. Nagini noticed that Theo and Blaise were nowhere in sight. Neither was Tracey, for that matter.
Nagini's head was pounding, unused to the chaos. She quickly slipped down the hall to the dorms before anyone saw her. Shutting the door behind her, Nagini leaned against the wood and breathed in relief. A small rustling made her look up. Tracey was sitting on her bed, staring at Nagini and biting her lip.
Nagini walked over and sat on her own bed, facing Tracey. "How were the holidays?" she asked.
"They were fine," said Tracey. "Yours?"
Nagini nodded then fell silent, waiting for Tracey to speak. After a moment, Tracey sighed and said, "I'm really sorry, Nagini. I know that just saying sorry doesn''t fix anything, but I am sorry."
Nagini shook her head and moved to sit next to Tracey. "Oh, Tracey, it doesn't matter. That's all past. You don't need to be sorry. If anyone should be sorry, it's me."
Tracey stared at her incredulously. "You're sorry? What for?"
"For not trying harder, for giving up on you when you needed me most, for—"
Tracey interrupted her. "I didn't want your help. There was nothing you could have done. I was the one who abandoned you, who betrayed you without a word of explanation. I—"
Just then Nagini started laughing, and after a moment, a confused Tracey joined her. "We're arguing about who is more to blame," cried Nagini, brushing tears from her eyes. ""How about we agree to forget the past and just move forward into the future."
Tracey smiled. "I like that idea." Then she sobered and said, "You were right, Nagini. Pansy didn't stop picking on me even though I joined her gang. It's not as bad as it was at the very beginning of the year, but she still says things, things that hurt."
Nagini put an arm around Tracey and hugged her. "I'm sorry, Trace."
"So am I," sobbed Tracey, tears pouring down her face. Nagini held her tighter. "I just missed you so much, but I was s-so s-scared.""
"What changed your mind then?" asked Nagini.
Tracey smiled slightly, wiping her tears with the back of her hand. "My brother, Nick. He's ten, but he always tells me exactly what I need to hear." She sniffled and continued. ""He asked me about my friends, and I told him everything. It felt so nice to be able to tell someone. When I finished, he just looked at me and said, 'You've been so stupid, Trace.'' He told me to talk to you and explain. He somehow knew you'd understand and would know exactly what to do."
"Oh, Tracey," said Nagini again. "I'll always be here for you. Don''t ever forget that. No matter what happens."
"I know," whispered Tracey. "I know."
The two girls were silent for a moment, both thinking of all that had happened that year. Then Nagini nudged Tracey and with a grin said, "Thanks for the present, by the way. I love it."
Tracey smiled. "You too. The stones are so beautiful, especially in the nighttime when they glow."
Nothing could ruin their moment together, not even Pansy because she and the other girls didn't return to the dorm until the early hours of the morning, long after Nagini and Tracey fell asleep.
Yawning, Nagini entered the Great Hall and headed toward the Slytherin table. Theo and Blaise were already there, helping themselves to some bacon and eggs. She sat down across from them and, still yawning, reached for a jug of pumpkin juice. "How were your holidays?"" she asked them.
Blaise just shrugged, but Theo piped up, "They were alright. We stayed at home this year and visited relatives, which was okay. What about you?"
Nagini shrugged. "Not too bad. The castle was very quiet, which came as a relief. I—"
She was interrupted by a loud snort. They all turned to see Pansy Parkinson come over to join them.
"What do you want, Pansy?" asked Nagini tiredly.
"Well, I couldn't help but overhear . . . ," she began.
Theo snorted, and Blaise drawled, "Sure, you couldn't."
Pansy glared at them for a moment before turning back to Nagini, who was waiting patiently for her to get on with it. "As I was saying," she continued in her sickly sweet voice that promised trouble for whomever she was talking to, ""I couldn't help but overhear you talking about your holidays. I just wanted to say that I feel so bad for you, having to stay here all by yourself. You must've been so lonely.""
"I wasn't the only one in the castle," interrupted Nagini, "and if you really were listening, you would have heard me say that I enjoyed my holidays."
"Especially," continued Pansy as if she hadn't heard Nagini, "because everyone that stays at Hogwarts isn't wanted by their families. But then again, you don't have any family at all, so that must be worse. How does it feel to know that no one wants to spend time with you if they don't have to? Not your family, not the orphanage, and not even your 'friends.'"
Nagini shared a look with Theo and Blaise. They looked as exasperated as she felt. Turning back to Pansy, they said in unison, "Go away, Pansy." Then they pointedly ignored her, eating breakfast and talking amongst themselves. Pansy glared at them before storming off in a huff.
Nagini laughed. "That was amusing," she said.
"That girl is the most annoying person I've ever met," said Theo staring after her, and Blaise nodded in agreement.
Nagini smiled. "Does that mean you'll help me?"
They narrowed their eyes at her, knowing exactly what she was referring to.
Nagini noticed their reluctance and sighed. "Please?" she asked them. "If she's the most annoying person you've ever met—"
"Who's the most annoying person you've ever met?" asked Draco Malfoy sitting down beside her. Crabbe sat down on his other side while Goyle sat next to Theo. "It's not me is it?"
Nagini rolled her eyes. "No, it's not you, though some days you come a close second."
"Ouch," he winced as if her words had stabbed him. "Who's the lucky winner then?"
"Pansy Parkinson," replied Nagini.
He nodded his head. "I can see how you'd find her the most annoying person. You two agree, I suppose?" he asked Theo and Blaise.
Blaise nodded while Theo said, "Definitely."
Draco laughed, and Nagini rolled her eyes. "You would too," she told him, "if you really saw her."
Draco shrugged, and Nagini turned away. The conversation had ended.
Despite the renewed confrontations that second term brought with it, Nagini was glad for classes to resume. She had missed the simple pleasures of learning in the classroom, of performing magic and knowing that she grasped it so easily. She had learned so much, yet she was still awed by the spells they studied. In fact, Nagini felt the more she learned, the more she was amazed by the magic and what she could do.
It helped that classes were becoming more interesting, though not necessarily more challenging. In Transfiguration, McGonagall set them to transforming teacups into rats. Nagini didn't see much point in the task. What would they ever need with the rats, anyways? She supposed, though, that the spell taught them the basics of object to animal transfiguration. She couldn't hold back a laugh when she "accidentally" set her rat on Pansy. Pansy had leapt on top of her table, screaming and shrieking. She didn't come down until McGonagall vanished the rat. All the Ravenclaws and Slytherins laughed at her. Even Tracey and Daphne smirked a bit, though they also screeched when the rat ran by them. Her other classes were also more interesting second term. In Herbology they were working with more dangerous plants, and in Potions they began making more complicated potions. Nagini loved going to her classes, except History of Magic. She thanked the stars above for Theo's Christmas gift. He was right—the Sugar Quills really did come in handy.
~Kasyntra