𝔸 𝕊𝕡𝕪 𝕀𝕟 ℙ𝕣𝕚𝕧𝕖𝕥 𝔻𝕣𝕚𝕧𝕖

Chapter 8

Most of the snake's hide seemed to be typical for a snake, but on the back of its head was a pattern resembling a human face.

She stared at it.

It resembled an evil looking man with glowing red eyes and, curiously enough, no nose.

The face stirred something in her memory.

She recalled how Harry had told her about Professor Quirrell, and how Lord Voldemort had burst out of the back of his head through possession.

She gripped the snake in her grasp and grimaced.

Mother hadn't killed Voldemort.

She had made her family into a target.

She had already sent Hedwig off with her newest letter to Harry, so she wasn't able to contact him about her suspicions.

No, there was nothing else for it.

She would have to take the snake to Number 12 Grimmauld Place and have Sirius look at it.

She took the snake's body up to her room and locked it in a chest.

The idea of having the corpse of a creature that had been possessed by an evil sorcerer in her room rattled her, but she had no choice.

Her parents would throw the snake out with the rest if she didn't take steps to secure it.

She took a moment to iron out what she knew.

Yor had incurred Voldemort's wrath by trying to kill him.

Yor must have thought she killed him, but failed.

The fact that the snakes kept coming back indicated that Voldemort would not be killed if his host body was killed.

Yor probably killed a host, not the real thing.

It wasn't her fault... she had no idea that Voldemort was a wizard.

But it begged the question... how did one kill a wizard?

Anya was busy pondering the question when her sharp eyes caught the distinct sound of a snake hissing.

She stayed completely still, eyes perked.

She ran her mind around the area but picked up no thoughts to speak of.

She almost wondered whether it was her imagination when the snake struck.

Anya had spent the past several years of her life learning martial arts from her Mother, one of the strongest people on the planet.

Although the snake had a distinct natural advantage, and almost caught her by surprise, it wasn't enough.

She snatched it by the neck and held it aloft.

Its body thrashed wildly about as it tried to break free, but Anya held firmly onto it.

"Lord Voldemort, you are wasting your time." Anya told it.

The snake stopped moving.

It glared at her hatefully.

'Who are you?'

She tried to hide her surprise at the sound of the snake speaking human words.

"I'm just a girl." Anya said. "A girl that has bested you."

The snake hissed.

"If I had a fraction of my powers, girl, I would have destroyed your entire family weeks ago."

"You couldn't even handle my Mother, let alone the entire family." Anya told him, exasperated.

She reached to her bedside, grabbed an empty glass of water, and then quickly placed it over the snake, trapping it inside.