Chapter 3
Sir Edmund, Ginny had soon found out, was the perfect listening ear she desperately needed after the exciting events of the day. He was also nice enough to take her around the manor and give her a little tour to, as he put it, “make up for the discourtesy his nephew had shown her.”
Admittedly, she had been sulking at the beginning, much to the older man's amusement, as he pointed her to the exit from the blasted corridor. Which, to Ginny's great indignation and outrage, was simply tucked behind his portrait.
Her ensuing wrath had the man in stitches as she described exactly what she thought of the bloody person who had placed that hateful curse near her room.
“He can't possibly think I would've robbed him blind! Enchanting the entire corridor, I mean really, I'm a patient,” she gestured to her head covered in bandages. “A patient- who mind you-” Ginny continued, “-had her wand stolen from her! Any guesses as to by who?”
At her question, Edmund had pretended to think deeply, a hand on chin. “If I may,” he began delicately, clearly acting for her benefit, “I speculate that it has something to do with…Tom?”
“It has everything to do with him,” she hissed. “Of all the stingy, miserly-” At this, the older man laughed freely. “-penny pinching, miserable-” Ginny cut herself off, before she well and truly offended the man by disparaging his nephew even further.
Though it seemed Sir Edmund had taken it all in stride, the corners of his deep green eyes crinkled with what was unmistakably mirth. “I've heard Tom described as a great many things, but stingy is a word very rarely used in conjunction with him.”
“I apologise if I overstepped-”
Sir Edmund easily waved her concerns away, “Of course not, Miss Weasley. Please lay your concerns to rest. Though I must confess, while the word is rare...it is in no way..untrue,” he said slyly.
It was Ginny who had burst into laughter this time, matching the grin on the older man’s face. But before she could offer another witty comment, she felt her axis tilting.
Merlin's saggy balls- not again.
Luckily, she had managed to catch herself in time, only stumbling slightly instead of taking a nosedive straight into the floor.
“Miss Weasley!” Sir Edmund exclaimed, alarmed. “My dear girl, are you alright?”
“I'm alright, please- excuse me-” The end of her sentence was punctuated by a hiss of pain as she clutched at her throbbing temples.
Her statement was as convincing to her as it was to the gentleman, who had now decided to take matters into his own hands. “I must insist you return to your chambers, my dear. You are in no state to be moving around like this,” He said, concern evident in the furrow of his brows.
“But I-”
He cut through her feeble protests. “Here, let me call for an escort- Daisy- to the north wing if you would please.”
With a loud pop, a house elf appeared. Clad in light blue robes, along with a white bonnet resting on her head and brown shoes that had a shiny silver buckle. Her appearance was unlike any other house elf she had ever met.
“How can Daisy be of help, sir?” The elf enquired before her blue eyes landed on Ginny and widened. “Miss Guest is out of bed?”
She quickly ambled over to Ginny, checking over her. “Miss was injured badly and needs rest, Young Lord said. Why is Miss here? Unless…” She turned to glare at Sir Edmund, hands on her hips.
The man in the painting looked embarrassed, coughing into his hand. “Daisy, could you take Miss Weasley to her room, I believe she needs to rest.”
Daisy for her part looked outraged, “Why Sir bring Miss out! Young Lord already give strict instructions-”
“-I assure you I did not bring Miss Weasley out of her room, she was trapped in the corridor outside her room for a few hours-”
“-Miss was trapped?! And for hours?!”
“I feel fine, please, both of you-”
“-the lady was in tears-”
“Sir Edmund!”
“-clawing at the walls-”
“-No wonder Miss's hands look hurt, Daisy is sorry Miss.” Ginny's hands were carefully held by the elf, who looked at the split skin and broken nails with a mournful gaze.
“So pray tell how I could have abandoned her in that cold hallway all by herself!” Sir Edmund huffed as Ginny held back a groan.
“Daisy,” Ginny began, squeezing the elf’s hand. “I promise you, I feel perfectly alright, these are simple scratches that can easily be fixed with a salve.”
The hand that held hers was a little rough, somewhat harder than human skin and slightly cool. But the concern they exhibited was so achingly warm and familiar…
“If Miss is sure,” she acquiesced, chewing on her lips.
“I am, thank you.”
“But Miss must get her wounds treated,” she insisted, her eyes peering up at Ginny. “And eat dinner, Miss was unable to eat anything after being brought into Manor.”
“Well,” Ginny said, meeting the hopeful glances of Daisy and Sir Edmund. “I suppose there's no reason to decline..”
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Daisy apparated Ginny to kitchens, all the while insisting Ginny should not strain herself further. The sensation of apparition had never been pleasant but it was made infinitely worse by the ordeal her body had been through.
The feeling of being squeezed through a bottle only served to compound the nausea she felt, but Ginny was still a Weasley, damn it! And she absolutely refused to let everyone bear witness to the contents of her stomach.
The witch and elf appeared in the kitchen with a loud pop and to Ginny’s immense relief, she only swayed slightly in place before finding her footing. Once Daisy had reassured herself that Ginny was alright, she set out to the pantry room.
Taking a seat at one of the tables in the main kitchen, the young witch examined the room. On the wall opposite to her were three large palladian windows that looked out into the garden. A few pots were boiling away on the stove to her right. Another table next to her had dough rolled out, fresh fruit cut up and plated.
Clearly Daisy had been busy when she was called away. And, Ginny frowned, looking at the half eaten pudding on the table she was sitting at, had been in the middle of a meal perhaps?
Pursing her lips, Ginny got up from her seat, intent on finding something to cover the food and apologising to the elf as soon as she stepped out from the pantry.
As she took a step forward, it reached her ears- a sound. Almost imperceptible in any other circumstance but in that moment, it echoed in Ginny's ears like a drum. The unmistakable sound of something dragging across the floor. Something heavy. And large.
Ginny had never considered herself a particularly unlucky person but for fuck's sake her luck was utterly bollocks wasn't it?
As she turned around to grab the chair for some sort of a defense (because she couldn't blast that creature away without her bloody wand) it was too late. The giant snake was already upon her.
It was about her own height, with silver scales covering the length of its body that wrapped around the kitchen table. Yellow eyes staring right at her, its forked tongue flicked about tasting the air as Ginny swallowed.
Her grip on the chair tightened further, her nails digging into the hard oak wood. If only she'd had her wand. She felt its loss as keenly as one would a missing limb, now more so than ever.
The snake twitched and she tensed as it reared back, opening its ghastly mouth full of sharp teeth and lunged at her. Ginny had been fully prepared to duck and use the chair to hit it as hard as she could when the door opened.
“MISS NAGINI!” Daisy’s voice admonished, as she rushed into the room, a selection of vegetables and meat floating behind her. “Just what are you doing?! You are scaring Young Miss!”
Ginny looked on dazedly as Daisy placed the ingredients she was carrying on the table with a snap of her fingers and approached her.
“Daisy apologizes on Miss Nagini's behalf for her behaviour.” she said, bowing her head. “Daisy hopes Young Miss will pardon this rudeness.”
Giggle.
Daisy's ears twitched at the sound and she turned to glare at the figure on the table.
The snake had been replaced by a young girl of around seven or eight years old. She had long dark hair tied up in little pigtails with a red ribbon. And twinkling brown eyes that were currently crinkled in mirth as her little hands covered her mouth.
“Miss Nagini must also apologize for her conduct towards the Young Miss! And you must get off the table at once!”
The girl pouted slightly at the elf's reprimand and jumped off the table, making both Ginny and Daisy scramble to catch her but Nagini needed no help as she landed gracefully on the floor.
Daisy squawked, incensed as her ears fluttered harder. But sunk into silence as the girl dropped into a picture-perfect curtsy. Lifting the edges of her floral gown with white lace trim, she crossed one of her red shoes behind the other.
“I extend my heartfelt apology for the discourtesy I have shown you Miss,” she said primly. “I hope you can overlook the follies of youth so that we may leave this incident behind us.” She then looked at Daisy for approval.
The elf meanwhile had grown emotional, holding a hand to mouth. “Miss Nagini….” she murmured, with tears in her eyes. “You've grown so much! You bring this elf much joy.”
Nagini meanwhile beamed with excitement, “Did I do well Daisy? Just like our lessons?”
“Oh, it was utterly perfect Miss,” Daisy sobbed, now pulling a handkerchief to dab at her eyes.
“And what is going on here?” Sir Edmund's voice asked with great amusement as a picture frame materialized behind Ginny. “Care to fill this old man in on the happenings during his absence?”
“Uncle!” Nagini exclaimed, running upto the portrait. “I performed a curtsy! A perfect one too!”
She then giggled, pointing to a still crying Daisy. “And Daisy was so touched she hasn't stopped crying since.”
“That's such wonderful news, darling!” Sir Edmund praised, expression full of loving indulgence for his niece. “You've shown such remarkable progress in your lessons, I am so incredibly proud of you.”
“I'm grateful for your praise but I still have much to learn,” Nagini replied, folding her hands in front of her.
“Spoken like a true lady, my dear.” He said and turned towards Ginny. “Miss Weasley, this young lady here is my niece Nagini. It was she who saved you last night.”
“Oh,” Ginny said, facing the young girl who was now looking at her expectantly. “It seems I've been remiss in my manners.” Placing one hand on her chest, she inclined her head, lifting the hem of her nightgown as she dipped into a curtsy of her own. “For your efforts that saved my life, Miss Riddle, I thank you from the bottom of my heart.”
Nagini looked both delighted and shy at Ginny’s praise, pressing her hands against her slightly flushed cheeks. “It was um-” she mumbled under her breath. “-My pleasure? It was my pleasure really.”
Ginny couldn't help but feel endeared as she knelt down to her little saviour's height who was now watching her curiously. “And I'm honoured to make the acquaintance of such a brave and kind-hearted lady, even if the she fancied herself a red-headed snack,” she added slyly.
When Little Nagini flinched at Daisy’s narrowed eyes, Ginny continued. “But my brothers told me that the Weasley family's motto is to give as good as we get,” she winked. “So I would suggest keeping an eye out for any surprises.”
The girl clapped in delight, bouncing on her feet, “I just knew you would be wonderful!” She turned to the portrait frame, “Didn't I, Uncle? I said she would be special, didn't I?”
“And so is, dear,” Sir Edmund said, looking at Ginny gratefully. “Very special, indeed.”
“Very brave too!” She tugged on Ginny's arm. “Tell us about how you defeated those spiders, Lady Weasley! Please?”
Ginny laughed, bemused. “How could I say no?”
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And so Ginny regaled her little admirer with the tale of her fearsome battle. Nagini listened with rapt fascination, her eyes sparkling with wonder. Sir Edmund praised her quick-thinking though she noticed his mouth tightening at times. Daisy had brought out a spread of soup, bread and fruits for Ginny to nibble on while she tended to her hands. The elf had been appalled at her lack of an escort while riding into the forest but looked satisfied when Ginny finished her meal.
Soon enough tea and desserts were brought out with Daisy even graciously making an exception for Nagini's second helping of pudding for the evening. The young lady insisted on being the one to feed Ginny her portion of the sweet treats since the salve and bandages made it difficult to properly hold a spoon.
Ginny took the opportunity to lighten the mood with stories about her childhood. Most of them were about the terror Fred and George had unleashed on them over the years. And their antics had left even Daisy with a bemused smile on her lips.
“And then Mum and I came home to the Garden Gnomes marching upto the main building with little makeshift weapons-”
“-Weapons, you say?” Sir Edmund asked intrigued.
“Well, they were little sticks fashioned into spears and pebbles they managed to gather,” Ginny shrugged. “Not the most fearsome weapons but it was certainly a sight.”
“Daisy has never heard of Gnomes acting this way. Miss has…interesting brothers.”
“It's kind of you to assume I did not have a hand in this, Daisy.”
Daisy let out a long-weary sigh as Sir Edmund chuckled.
“Stop interrupting her,” Nagini chastised, feeding Ginny a spoon of bread pudding, accidentally smearing some across her chin. “What happened next, Lady Ginny?”
And before Ginny could respond, the sound shoes clicking against the floor plunged the room into silence.
“I see you're all having fun.” Long fingers reached across the table from behind Ginny, smoothly plucking an apple from the bowl of fruits.
She turned around as the hand retreated, and he spoke again, “I know I'm late but that's no excuse to leave me out of this little gathering.”
“Tom!”
“Welcome home, Young Lord!”
Nagini rolled her eyes. “That's because you weren't invited,” She sniffed, crossing her arms.
“Oh? Well that's just mean, isnt it?”
“Hmph.”
And then those dark eyes moved away to land on her.
Oh.
“And I see our lovely guest is awake,” he said, the corners of his mouth lifting. Not quite a smile, no, but it made her breath hitch just the same. “Pleased to meet you, my name is Tom Riddle.”