the snake who lied [1] | a nagini story

Chapter 14

Zig-zagging her way through the foggy forest, Nagini propped her head up to listen attentively to any peculiar sound, desiring for it to be composed by the Death Eaters.

Faint manic shouts and yells were echoing outside of the trees. Nagini instantly recognized them to belong to her servants' voices. She subtly snaked closer to the place where it came from and was delighted to find almost everyone running for their lives, begging for mercy and Muggles flying up in the air. The Ministry fought hard by sending quick and affective spells to their opponents. Some of the Death Eaters (obviously the weaker ones) were defeated with ease, while the properly trained ones were productive in protecting themselves and cursing their enemies.

Nagini wanted with all might to find Lucius Malfoy, or even better, Narcissa Malfoy, even if the odds weren't in her favor - Cissy never attended this spectacular kind of shows.

She used her enhanced sense of smell to identify her target under all of the dark masks, yet her nose picked up something else. Blood. Nagini quickly turned her head to see a tasteful sight: Mrs. Roberts fell hard on the ground; the Death Eater who hoisted her up was lying unconscious, but the wizard who cursed him didn't stay to help the poor Muggle woman; he left to help his fellow workers.

Nobody seemed to notice Mrs. Roberts presence. The fall made her slumber into a coma. Fear and physical pain never collided and resulted in a positive reaction.

Her wrist was cut and it bleed; not much, but enough for Nagini's brain to melt and empty her needy stomach. She hasn't eaten anything good since Frank Bryce, and even him she didn't finish (she was never a fan of old bodies).

Perhaps finding Lucius could wait.

Nagini sliced the dead grass with her considerably long body and longed for Mrs. Roberts' unconscious form. The snake has heard various rumors about the way her specie subdued and killed their prey. They think the victim dies from asphyxiation or from crushing their bones. Although they could easily accomplish that, but only in rare occasions. She was a reticulated python and her way was constriction: she strikes and holds the prey in place by her coils. She wraps two loops around the prey, forming a constriction coil, but the final act is made by shutting their blood flow and pressing it to the brain, leading into a cardiac arrest. And this was exactly what she has done to Mrs. Roberts.

Nagini waited patiently, monitoring the woman's heartbeat. Meanwhile, her glare kept stopping at the dripping blood coming from her wrist. She decided she couldn't wait anymore, so she longed to bite the small cut bigger, for more blood to flow. Her venomous teeth sunk into the fragile skin, sensing the spurting liquid warming her cold insides.

Not even a delectable moment has passed when she heard a faint, shaking voice.

"Master Nagini."

The snake snapped her head out of her prey's arm and stared at the hooded and masked face. She tried to concentrate her senses on him, pulling angrily away from Mrs. Roberts. Her smell picked up the Death Eater's blood, pumping at immense speed inside his body and recognizing it immediately. Just as she wished earlier, she was met face to face with the old Lucius Malfoy. There was no surprise he identified her from only seeing her snake form. He was one of the people who helped her transform into a human, and plus, what kind of snake is rummaging into a forest, in the place so securely protected by the Ministry of Magic?

"Master Nagini," he spoke once again, this time gaining more confidence. "Please head away from the woman and join us in the riot."

If she was in her Davina form, she would definitely laugh hysterically in his face. Who did he believe he was, demanding her to leave such a delicious meal behind? Instead of transforming back and spit all of this to him, the snake simply hissed in his direction and it made Lucius step back in a second, trembling from head to toe.

She turned away from him to continue sucking the life out of Mrs. Roberts. Poor family, such a tragic way to lose their mother and wife. She kept going at a rapid pace, until her coils couldn't feel the heartbeat beneath her wrapped body. Making sure all of the droplets of red liquid were emptied form the woman's deceased body, she slowly pulled away, unwrapping her length and heading to Lucius' way, not daring breaking eye contact. She rose her head up high alongside her upper body and looked directly into the man's horrified stare, even if it was hooded from Nagini's sight.

She gesticulated for him to follow her into the woods to hold a decent conversation. From human to half-human. The snake couldn't express enough the regret that only a limited number of people could speak Parseltongue.

She led the way ahead, with Lucius silently following behind, not daring to pace too close to her snake body.

When they sunk deeper into the damp forest, away from the horrifying noises, Nagini decided it was safe to transform herself back. She despised turning back into a human, not only because she already loathed the complexity of the bones, but also because it was a little bit harder. She needed to pull most of her length up, which was already tiring since she measured 6 meters, and she had to swirl her head around her body, finishing up by her Davina face coming out of the tangled mess.

When her whole human presence was visible again, she made sure her eyes still kept the snake orbs, considering she looked more terrifying this way.

"Missed me, Lucius?" she asked in a fake sweet tone.

"Lots, Master." He responded back, shaking slightly. What a honey mouthed twat he was, speaking like he concerned himself in the slightest about her well-being.

"Sure I believe you. Well, no need for arguing now, it'll do us no good. Now tell me, does the riot look good? Is everything going as we planned?" she questioned while pacing and not pulling her yellow eyes from him.

"Yes of course, Master, we've gathered many previous Death Eaters – who were still willing to prove their loyalty, and now we are in the middle of the riot and everything seems to be going well." He said all of that in a single breath, as fast as he could.

"Good. I've also noticed your main targets tonight are the Muggles."

Lucius looked like he just woke up and remembered Nagini's attachment towards Granger, the only human she didn't despise in the slightest.

"Um- yes, the Dark Lord will definitely be proud of us, taking in considering his prejudice..."

"I'm totally aware of my father's perspective, thank you very much, Lucius." The man stopped moving and breathing at once, afraid of his Master's suddenly raised voice. "But I'm demanding you to make sure that Hermione Granger is safe, and if you don't, then you shall meet Mrs. Roberts' fate."

"O-of course, Master Nagini."

"Very well. I've got to be honest, I expected you to ask about Dark Lord's well-being, since you fully know what I've been occupied with the entire summer. I'm really disappointed in you after all you try to do is proving us your loyalty." She added with a frightful leer and Lucius' knees almost betrayed him.

"M-m-master, I really am one of your best servants." Nagini scoffed at his pathetic attempt at redeeming himself. Noticing this, he quickly added. "I-I didn't ask because I was afraid I wasn't supposed to do so."

"Yes yes, let's say I believe you. If you are actually wondering, my father has finally regained his body. Well, not his great one but we are working on it." Nagini's forehead wrinkled after remembering how weak and ugly he looks. "Anyway, he's asked me to warn your lot: he is very upset with some of you not even trying to find him..."

"But I always helped...'

"Don't you dare interrupt me!" she yelled and Lucius dropped his face to stare aimlessly at the ground. "As I was saying, when he'll come back with his powers regained, he will make sure you will all crumble at his feet, begging for forgiveness and mercy for not being there when he needed the most." And then added with an adorable smile plastered on her face. "Please kindly send our message to the other Death Eaters."

"As you wish, Master Nagini."