Chapter Text
The cracks of apparition sounded loud in the eerily quiet forest. Hermione and Harry both knew that it was futile, but they still run for their lives. He was here, and anti-apparition wards had been lifted before they had realised what was happening.
"Running won't save you, just come here and I promise I will make your deaths quicker."
Mocking laughs sounded from the Death Eaters that were hunting the duo alongside their lord.
Hermione's mind was spinning. She knew, that if she did not think of something, they would both die today. They would never be able to make up with Ronald.
Spells were fired at them from behind and Harry kept looking back at her, slowing down for her. Think. Hermione had to think.
"Aaah!"
Distracted by a myriad of spells nearly hitting them and Bellatrix's maniacal laughter, they missed the fallen tree in front of them, rolling down the slope. Hermione could have sworn that she hit every stone on her way down, bruising her starved body. Suddenly, there was no more ground beneath her. With more ear-splitting screams, they fell.
With a loud thud, Harry met the forest floor, landing in a heap of pine needles. Next to him, a loud splash resounded. "Harry!"
Their eyes met as Hermione tried to hold on while the rapid tried to take her away, tugging from all sides. Harry saw her eyes widen, and the next things happened in quick succession. First, Hermione hit him with a green spell, before letting go and letting the rapid sweep her away. His whole body tingled nearly as awful as polyjuice, and before he knew it, the pine needles covered every side of him. When he tried to move his limbs, he found them gone. He wiggled through the pile, scenting with his new forked tongue and knew; Hermione had transfigured him into a snake. Probably to hide him. She wasn't the most brilliant witch of their generation for nothing.
"Where are they?! Itty bitty Potter, come to Bella!"
More thuds resounded, and Harry could feel the vibrations their landing caused in his place amidst the pine needles. The pain in his scar, that he felt even as a snake, told him that Voldemort's anger was increasing with every second he couldn't find them.
"Nagini," he hissed in sibilant fury. "Where did they go?"
"Nagini will find them, master," Voldemort's gigantic snake promised. "Nagini is the best hunter in the world!"
Harry's tiny heart beat wildly in his tiny chest. Maybe, he thought, it would be a mercy to die of a heart failure now. He shrieked as Nagini entered his safe pile of pine needles. "Snakelet!" Nagini proclaimed giddyly. "S-stay back!" Harry warned and tried to hiss as menacingly as possible. He hadn't known that snakes couldn't slither backwards, and he did not want to show his back to Voldemort's murderous serpent.
Steps sounded. "Nagini, what are you doing? I doubt Potter is hiding in that pile of dirt."
"Master," Nagini hissed in excitement. "You promised me a snakelet! I want that one!"
Harry shrieked once more as, suddenly, all the pine needles were blown away. He did not like how exposed he suddenly was. Voldemort stood directly above him. He was huge.
He clicked his tongue as he stared down at the two snakes in disdain. "Nagini," the barely suppressed annoyance and rage were very audible. Nagini did not seem to care. "Did you not just promise to find me Harry Potter?"
Nagini raised her serpentine head; Harry had never known that snakes could look petulant. "Yes, after you keep your promise. I want my snakelet. now."
Voldemort pinched what would have been the bridge of his nose and sighed. "I will disable your heated rock for your childishness–"
"Snakelet!"
"–but, fine, you can have your Salazar damned snakelet! I will put it in my pocket while you search and it will come back with us to the manor, happy?"
Nagini preened. "Yesss!"
Harry, who had been trying to use this strange moment to his advantage, was suddenly flying through the air. It was surreal that the feared Dark Lord Voldemort… would bicker with his snake like that.
Harry was turned this way and that, as Voldemort scrutinised him. "Your new snakelet is rather pretty, I do have to say," he mused. "He has Harry's eyes," he murmured so quietly Harry nearly missed it. He must have imagined it.
"Yess, Nagini has the prettiest snakelet!"
After he had been sufficiently regarded, he was put in Voldemort's pocket. Maybe Harry had actually died and this was some kind of afterlife-nightmare. Was he in hell?
"Now, go. Find them."