The Familiar (Tom Riddle Story)

Salazar's Familiar

Tom came back the next night. Eve? would have noticed his absence had he gone when he first found it. The entire day Tom was fidgety, he couldn't seem to stay still through any of his classes. Those who noticed said nothing about it.

As night fell, Tom could barely hold in his excitement. He would bond with the familiar and become master of Salazar's weapon, his birthright.

He waited until even the painting slept, his graceful steps were silent as he slithered his way to the upstairs women's bathroom he had found himself in the night before. 

Once again the hiss of parseltongue pierced the air as he commanded the chamber to, "OPEN."

The sink receded and a pipe appeared. Tom didn't hesitate to slide down this pipe descending into the dark void. The damp smell of dust and rot filled the wizard's senses as he entered the underground passage, most likely located under the lake. His footsteps echoed off of the cobblestone walls as he expertly danced around the bones of small animals littering the floor.

He approached what appeared to be the giant shed skin of a snake. Tom marveled at the size, knowing that his weapon was even larger. 

The Chamber itself was a huge temple-like room with pillars and carved serpents. A shrine to honor the Slytherin lord. On the far wall, there was a massive statue of Salazar Slytherin. 

He stood for a moment basking in his own triumph, after nearly a thousand years he was the only wizard besides Salazar himself to step foot into the chamber. He gazed at the stone eyes of his ancestor letting the language of the snake take over, "Come forward Salazar's weapon! I am the heir of Slytherin, and I have come to claim my birthright and continue my ancestor's noble work." Tom closed his eyes, he had researched Basilisks during his lunch period and though he knew the king snake would obey its master, he was still cautious of the effects.

He heard a harsh hiss-like laugh that sent a cold chill up his spine. Very few things brought the young dark lord discomfort, but during this moment the distinct prick of fear told him he made a mistake. 

He heard the slow slither of an enormous being surrounding him, yet he refused to open his eyes

"You? an heir of SSSSlytherin? I can ssssmell you boy, I ssssmell your dirtied blood... " The voice of the basilisk was feminine, dangerous. The words fell like venom into his mind, the language he had until now only heard himself speak.

"I am a descendent of Salazar Slytherin. His Heir, I am your master and you will-"

He was cut off by the mocking hiss of the Basilisk he still refused to look at. 

"Yessss you are a descendent... that much is clear...But you are no master of mine, no bond hassss been forged and I would never willingly ssssubmit to a filthy half-blood wizard." 

"If I open my eyes would you kill me?" 

"I will not harm the blood of my massster, even if it is ssssullied."

Deciding for once to take a chance, Tom Riddle opened his eyes to gaze upon Salazar's familiar. The snake was enormous, towering nearly a story tall and still being able to wrap itself completely around the chamber. 

Tom stumbled back gazing at the beast, a clear pair of eyelids covered piercing yellow. He assumed that the basilisk did this in order to keep him from dying immediately. 

"You are a familiar! AND-"

"That I am... and yet I am not yoursssss."

"What is your name?"

"I am Nyoka... The Queen of SSSSnakes, SSSSlytherin's right hand."

"You will obey me Nyoka. YOU ARE MINE TO COMMAND!"

"HAHA YOU ARE A SSSSTUPID LITTLE BOY! I may not kill you but no halfblood will ever command me. Do you think sssspeaking my language makessss us equal? YOU DO NOT A THING ABOUT THE MASTER FAMILIAR BOND!  Go boy... leave me. I have waited 1000 years for my master and I shall wait for 1000 more." 

With that the basilisk slithered back into the hole it crawled out of leaving Tom alone with his thoughts. 

The next day during his free Tom raced once again to the library with one thing on his mind, Familiars. 

After nearly an hour he finally found what he was looking for, in a small black book in the restricted section. (Librarians are easily charmed by handsome boys with curious minds) 

Familiars are shape-shifting spirits, they have extremely powerful magic similar to that of a house-elf. They have the ability to shift forms, even to a human. Most known familiars have a specific gift, for instance, Godric Gryffindor's lion familiar controlled fire that could burn anything. Familiar's are extremely loyal, after a contract is made they are bound to their witch or wizard until the death of either themselves or their masters. 

He continued to read, most of it completely irrelevant information until finally, he reached the chapter about contracts.

Familiar contracts are a sacred binding of the souls, once complete they can not be undone until the death of either the master or the familiar. If a master should die, the contract is broken and the familiar can be claimed by another. 

In order to forge a "master-familiar bond" or a contract, there must be an act of binding of the souls. This can be done in many ways; through a magical oath given by a familiar, through a sharing of blood, but the most common would be the sharing of an intimate act (kiss, intercourse, etc.). A bond can be forced on a familiar but it may cause some problems within the relationship. A familiar contract is not to be taken lightly, while it is impossible for a familiar to do harm to a master, it is also impossible for a master to harm their familiar. The result is the inability to cause an untimely termination of one's contract by killing the other.

Ok... Simple enough... just... kiss the 50 foot, unwilling, killing machine. 

Easy. 

One simple kiss and he would have eternal control over the basilisk...