The Speaker and His Wraiths

A Surprise Visit

Chapter 64

Hello?
'You're doing it wrong.'

'No I'm not!'

'Yes, you are.'

Harry opened his eyes with a huff of indignation, crossing his arms. 'This is stupid anyway.'

'Perhaps.' Nagini acknowledged, 'But if you're going to do it, at least do it right.'

'I'm trying!'

'Well, you're failing.' Harry scowled at her, though she seemed undaunted.

'Fine. Explain it to me again.' Harry switched which foot was folded over which, sitting cross-cross on the grass. 'Start over or whatever.'

'Close your eyes.' Nagini instructed. Harry did as told, exhaling his frustration in an attempt to relax. 'Good. Now, reach out with your thoughts.'

'How exactly am I supposed to do that?' Harry scowled, eyes still obediently closed.

'The same way you used your eyes, your fingers, your ears.' Nagini said, 'Reach out and listen for me; find me.'

They'd been going through the exercise for maybe half an hour, with little to no success. Nagini could sense Harry's presence the same way she could Tom's, but not in the way she sensed other people. She said it was like reaching for the pieces that match with hers using the Horcrux, tapping into it somehow. Nagini could feel them no matter where they were - she always knew. She said it was like an instinct, that when she wanted to know where they were she just knew.

Harry wasn't sure he could do it, but Nagini convinced him to try. There wasn't really much to lose, and Harry didn't have anything better to do since Tom was working in the study. If Harry interrupted he'd no doubt stop what he was doing, so Harry wasn't going to disturb him unnecessarily. Planning his reappearance to the public and mapping out relations did take a lot of work that Harry couldn't really help with. So, he played along with Nagini and tried his best, despite the fact that he had absolutely no idea what he was doing.

'I don't think I can do it.' Harry said in frustration, 'Maybe it's a snake thing.'

'It would be a human thing if you figured out how to do it correctly.'

'Nagini!' Harry opened his eyes with a groan. 'This is harder than it looks!'

'You're not reaching properly.' Nagini hissed, 'Reach the way you do with your ears.'

'What does that even mean?'

'With your eyes closed, you can still hear me.' Nagini said, 'You can know where I am even though you cannot see me, right?'

'Well, yeah.'

'This is the same thing. Close your eyes, reach out with the senses you used to find Us last year.'

'But I had to be sleeping to see the other Horcruxes.' Harry frowned, 'I never managed to do it when I was awake.'

'That is a past obstacle. Forget it.' Nagini told him, 'Try it again here, reaching for me. Meditate, breathe, find me.' Harry took a deep breath and shut his eyes again, trying to concentrate.

When he first realized he needed to find the other Horcruxes, Harry started meditating to try and find the connection. He'd succeeded only in his dreams, starting with the Diary all the way to Nagini last. Harry wasn't sure how to find that connection again, or if he even could with all the others gone.

'Focus on what you feel.' Nagini hissed. Harry didn't know what that meant, but he pursed his lips and tried. 'I am close, which makes it easier. What do you feel?'