Nagini's New Future

In the forest, Wormtail was feeding the giant snake. Ever since he had been exposed for betraying his friends and pledging his loyalty to the Dark Lord, the Aurors had relentlessly hunted him.

In the end, he had sought information from every source, found his way to Albania, and met his former master, continuing to serve him.

Of course, no matter how formidable the Dark Lord had once been, after his defeat he could only eke out an existence in a cramped, gloomy forest, sustaining his strength by stealing the lives of animals.

When a magnificent, dazzling adult Phoenix appeared before him, Voldemort's heart was immediately filled with greed. This animal possessed such powerful vitality that even its tears could gradually heal the gravely injured. Could it perhaps let him...

But immediately afterward, a girl appeared with the Phoenix.

Voldemort quickly recalled the scene of their previous encounter. This girl had disrupted his plans. Anger welled up in him, and he drove Nagini, who had fallen asleep as night descended, to kill her.

Thus, before Evita had even landed, a giant green snake lunged at her. She instinctively raised her hand, and the Phoenix flashed with her to a spot behind the snake.

"Peter Pettigrew?" Evita noticed another person standing near the giant snake and cried out in surprise. Although she had never met Wormtail, his timid, shrinking demeanor gave her a clue.

Wormtail was holding a long, slender snake, probably the unfortunate animal Voldemort had possessed.

Evita frowned. Nagini was eyeing her menacingly directly ahead, Wormtail had drawn his wand at her upper right, and her dueling experience was pitifully limited.

But... fight magic with magic, and fight a giant snake with a giant snake!

"Echidna," she said, summoning the Basilisk. "Don't kill that snake. Coil around her."

The Basilisk, more than four times Nagini's length, flicked her tongue with a hiss and charged.

Voldemort: ???

Once again, he felt the shock he had experienced when he died with his eyes still open. Why did that girl also know Parseltongue? And why did she command such a powerful Basilisk?

The snake he had possessed was growing weaker by the day. Voldemort raised its body, his cold gaze fixed on the box hanging around the girl's neck.

"Kill her," he commanded.

Their opponent had a Phoenix. Wormtail, who knew a little about such creatures, shifted his position and raised his wand, shouting, "Avada-"

Evita shouted faster than he did. "Expelliarmus!" Wormtail's wand flew from his hand.

Then-

"Incarcerous!" she shouted at the snake Voldemort had possessed. "Accio!"

But Voldemort had already vanished without a trace, and Wormtail had turned into a rat and fled.

Evita was not discouraged. She put away her wand and claimed the reward for the quest she had received upon meeting Nagini.

A Potions recipe that could alleviate the Blood Curse.

Could this... be the legendary timely rain?!

Evita immediately took out her cauldron and an assortment of ingredients. Under Snape's rigorous instruction, she had become adept at preparing complicated, advanced potions like this one and had enough experience to make it.

But the ingredients required by the recipe were extremely precious. Evita had to search through her suitcase for them one by one according to the list, and even gathered a few fresh from the animals.

Thanks to Adele's efforts, the suitcase had a plentiful stock of herbs, and the animals Evita had put inside over the years were also quite willing to provide ingredients.

The third quest in the chain she had triggered was to change Nagini's future. Evita glanced at it and discovered that the reward included an estate she had long been yearning for.

It was an enormous estate, covering nearly twenty thousand acres, complete with all kinds of facilities and a bewildering variety of protective spells.

Evita's eyes lit up at once. Humming a cheerful tune, she prepared the ingredients one after another and put them into the cauldron without batting an eye.

Everything went smoothly. Even out in the open, the potion in the cauldron was unaffected by its surroundings and became a perfectly clear liquid.

Evita carefully poured the potion into a vial and walked over to Nagini, who was restrained by Echidna. Then she pried open her mouth and poured in the liquid.

One minute, two minutes, ten minutes...

Half an hour later, the giant snake, originally a full twelve feet long, gradually shrank and slowly transformed into a young-looking woman. She lay on the ground in pain, her chest rising and falling ever so faintly.

Evita hurriedly gave her some Invigoration Draught and sat beside her to keep watch.

An hour passed before Nagini slowly opened her eyes. The first thing she saw was the girl's gleaming silver hair and her radiant purple eyes. They reminded her of Dumbledore, whom she had once met. The venerable white wizard likewise had a pair of eyes that were sharp yet gentle.

Nagini was astonished by her present clarity. The Blood Curse's influence left her in a daze most of the time, and she was rarely as clearheaded as she was now.

She did not know what words to put together. In a voice barely above a whisper, she asked, "Did you save me?"

Evita squatted in front of her and pulled a long, long, long, long, long piece of parchment from her trouser pocket. "Blood Curse Alleviation Potion. The ingredients are Acromantula venom, market price one thousand Galleons; dragon heart blood extract, market price ten thousand Galleons..."

The countless Galleons made Nagini's head spin, and she even looked a little pitiful, but her anxiety eased as a result.

Seeing this, Evita put down the parchment and let out a long, long, long, long, long sigh. "I can't guarantee that I'll have enough ingredients at all times, but at least I have the most complete supply, and you need to drink the potion once a month... So you have to come with me, understand?"

Nagini nodded weakly. "Then... what do I need to do?" she asked softly.

Without pausing to think, Evita gave an answer she had prepared long ago. "Sales assistant."

Nagini tilted her head in confusion. She still looked young, but inside, she was a person from an era left behind long ago.

"You'll just sell some things and attend to customers," Evita reassured her. "Don't be nervous. The shop manager will help you learn the job. He's a good person who respects the elderly and cares for the young."

"But..." Nagini could not help worrying. "If I don't drink the potion in time..." Next month, she would still turn into a snake every night...

"It's fine," Evita said with a hearty laugh. "You can rest completely assured about that."

Tonight happened to be a full moon. Since they both needed to take a potion once a month, the two of them could compare notes on drinking their potions every month and even subdue each other...

With that thought, she looked down at the time. "All right, we should get going."

Nagini was pulled to her feet and watched the girl give her a slightly playful smile. "Don't worry, I'll arrange everything, including how to take you back. But first, I need to buy something..."

In a daze, Nagini nodded vigorously.