Ficlet: The Best Laid Plans
Title: The Best Laid Plans
Summary: Nagini shares Dumbledore's final plan for capturing Voldemort when he goes after the Philosopher's Stone. Set in a backstory fleshed out more at FFnet, where Nagini and Quirrell are both Voldemort’s familiars simultaneously.
Characters/Pairings: Nagini, Quirinus Quirrell, Voldemort
Genre: drama, with a dash of humor
Rating/Warnings: G
Medium: Ficlet
Word Count: 486
Can the Order post to Tumblr?: Sure
If yes, your Tumblr username: N/A
Are you sure?
Nagini looked affronted. What do you take me for, Quirinus?
I smiled, thinking of how far she’d come since the start of our...adventure. Back then, she hadn’t even been verbal, let alone able to express such nuance.
She tossed her head, picking up on my strand of memory. Well, unicorn blood does work wonders. But focus, love. We’re running out of time. I’ve told you what they’re planning.
It just seems so...unnecessarily complicated. And using three first-years as bait, to boot. I shook my head.
Nagini snorted delicately. I know. They’re idiots. They’re counting on us to be idiots, too.
Sadly, with the neural deterioration picking up its pace, it wouldn’t be too long until that was a correct assumption. I closed my eyes briefly.
Nagini’s comforting weight looped around my shoulders and settled. Now, now, no time for self-pity. We’ve work to do. Her tongue gently licked the side of my cheek.
I let my fingers drift along her scales in familiar patterns. You trust your source?
He’s a basilisk. A very old, very bored basilisk. I bring him small meat and he thinks my scales are quite fetching. I trust him. On this.
You wily little minx.
For the greater good, you know.
Mmhmm. We should tell the Lord.
I felt an icy wash of presence spill through my prefrontal cortex, blossoming from a cocoon wrapped deep in the threads of my limbic system. Tell me what?
We know what they’re planning with the Stone, my Lord. It involves...well...
Idiocy, supplied Nagini.
Our Lord’s amusement rippled through us, from tail to spine in one long, cool rush. Dumbledore never does anything obvious when he can build a Rube Goldberg machine.
My mouth fell open.
What?
I just...didn’t realize you knew the Muggle term for that.
Quirinus, really. I’m going to chalk that bit of idiocy up to your neural deterioration. How long have we shared brain matter now? Honestly.
I blinked hard. Right, then. So we have to be in reasonable enough shape to outmaneuver Dumbledore on this. The sooner we move, the better. Things are...precarious with us physically.
Agreed.
Nagini squeezed my torso affectionately. And we do have a backup plan.
I rubbed my cheek against hers. I don’t know if you can really hold two of us, love.
I will try. A black tension stretched between us, through scale and skin.
Our Lord’s presence sliced right through it. If you need to. Which you will not. Because we are quite capable of succeeding as long as we act swiftly.
I swallowed hard. How can you be so sure, my Lord?
Because that is what we must do, Quirinus.
He had a point.
Of course I do, Quirinus. That is why I am our fearless leader.
There was silence for a long moment, dripping and viscous with unspoken things. And then all three of us burst out laughing.
Damned right.
~~~
Author’s note: A Rube Goldberg machine is an unnecessarily complicated contraption to accomplish a simple task. Check out YouTube for some great (and entertaining) examples.
16 points
Summary: Nagini shares Dumbledore's final plan for capturing Voldemort when he goes after the Philosopher's Stone. Set in a backstory fleshed out more at FFnet, where Nagini and Quirrell are both Voldemort’s familiars simultaneously.
Characters/Pairings: Nagini, Quirinus Quirrell, Voldemort
Genre: drama, with a dash of humor
Rating/Warnings: G
Medium: Ficlet
Word Count: 486
Can the Order post to Tumblr?: Sure
If yes, your Tumblr username: N/A
Are you sure?
Nagini looked affronted. What do you take me for, Quirinus?
I smiled, thinking of how far she’d come since the start of our...adventure. Back then, she hadn’t even been verbal, let alone able to express such nuance.
She tossed her head, picking up on my strand of memory. Well, unicorn blood does work wonders. But focus, love. We’re running out of time. I’ve told you what they’re planning.
It just seems so...unnecessarily complicated. And using three first-years as bait, to boot. I shook my head.
Nagini snorted delicately. I know. They’re idiots. They’re counting on us to be idiots, too.
Sadly, with the neural deterioration picking up its pace, it wouldn’t be too long until that was a correct assumption. I closed my eyes briefly.
Nagini’s comforting weight looped around my shoulders and settled. Now, now, no time for self-pity. We’ve work to do. Her tongue gently licked the side of my cheek.
I let my fingers drift along her scales in familiar patterns. You trust your source?
He’s a basilisk. A very old, very bored basilisk. I bring him small meat and he thinks my scales are quite fetching. I trust him. On this.
You wily little minx.
For the greater good, you know.
Mmhmm. We should tell the Lord.
I felt an icy wash of presence spill through my prefrontal cortex, blossoming from a cocoon wrapped deep in the threads of my limbic system. Tell me what?
We know what they’re planning with the Stone, my Lord. It involves...well...
Idiocy, supplied Nagini.
Our Lord’s amusement rippled through us, from tail to spine in one long, cool rush. Dumbledore never does anything obvious when he can build a Rube Goldberg machine.
My mouth fell open.
What?
I just...didn’t realize you knew the Muggle term for that.
Quirinus, really. I’m going to chalk that bit of idiocy up to your neural deterioration. How long have we shared brain matter now? Honestly.
I blinked hard. Right, then. So we have to be in reasonable enough shape to outmaneuver Dumbledore on this. The sooner we move, the better. Things are...precarious with us physically.
Agreed.
Nagini squeezed my torso affectionately. And we do have a backup plan.
I rubbed my cheek against hers. I don’t know if you can really hold two of us, love.
I will try. A black tension stretched between us, through scale and skin.
Our Lord’s presence sliced right through it. If you need to. Which you will not. Because we are quite capable of succeeding as long as we act swiftly.
I swallowed hard. How can you be so sure, my Lord?
Because that is what we must do, Quirinus.
He had a point.
Of course I do, Quirinus. That is why I am our fearless leader.
There was silence for a long moment, dripping and viscous with unspoken things. And then all three of us burst out laughing.
Damned right.
~~~
Author’s note: A Rube Goldberg machine is an unnecessarily complicated contraption to accomplish a simple task. Check out YouTube for some great (and entertaining) examples.
16 points