Ye Olde Author's Note: Imagine my surprise when I realised all the notifications for this story! I was blown away by the response. Sadly, however, only two of those E-mails were about Reviews. If you read it, please review it!
Italics means they are speaking in Parseltounge.
Special thanks to:
Vorpalkitty: My first review, yay! I'm glad you like the story, and here's the next update! This chapter is dedicated to you, so enjoy.
Gmma 234: Thanks, glad you liked it.
Hermione sat in the back seat of her Aunt Emma's car, watching the passing scenery as it blended together to form different shades of colours. She was also trying to block out - in vain - the sickly sweet noise currently coming out of her cousin's mouth.
"Mother," demanded Primrose, her voice sickeningly coated in false sweetness. Her voice reminded Hermione of nails being dragged down a chalkboard. She grimaced at the thought. "Are we nearly there yet?" Primrose continued, boredom now evident in her voice, unconvincingly hidden by false pretences.
Hermione rolled her eyes and shook her head in disbelief. They had only been driving for a few minutes at the most, and, typically, Primrose was already complaining.
"Not much longer, Rosie." quickly replied Aunt Emma. Evidently the thought of either being wrong, or her precious little Rosie being bored was unthinkable, as Hermione saw her Aunt subtly pressing her foot down on the gas pedal, increasing the speed of the car to arrive at their destination quicker. Hermione checked her seat belt in response, pulling the belt out sharply until it locked in position, and then dropping it to allow it to return to it's natural position.
Better safe than sorry.
A few minutes later, Hermione and Primrose found themselves sitting on uncomfortable chairs as they watched their Aunt Emma and Mother respectively as she posed in various different positions with various different animals for billboards and posters that will hopefully, although Hermione wasn't sure how, raise the popularity of their local zoo.
"Doesn't mother look exquisite?" questioned Primrose, interrupting Hermione's plans of how she was going to get the black sock into the white washing and staging it to look like an accident. "I want to be just like her when I grow up." The dreamy expressing on her face told Hermione she was already planning how her future would go.
Hermione studied her Aunt. Her string like bleached blonde her was pulled up into what Hermione supposed was an attempted at an elegant bun on top her Aunt's head, with only a few loose strands, curled like coiled snakes hanging down to frame her face. Her outfit was similar to that of her daughter's, the white summer dress flowing, and swishing around her protruding knees with every twist and turn of movement. The bottom of the dress was designed in swirling threads of gold, much like that of the tight bodice that clung to her Aunt's thin frame, a cage for the lungs, and chest, that wished to expend beneath it. Hermione guessed she was supposed to be posing with a radiant smile on her face if the photographer's words were anything thing to go by. However, the smile was slightly of as Aunt Emma's normally - when starring at Hermione, anyway - accusing eyes, filled with fear as she peered closely at the hissing, yellow snake that had been draped across her shoulders.
"Seriously?" Hermione said, incredulously as she dragged her eyes back to her cousin. She blinked away the spots of light in her vision, left behind from the blinding flashes of the camera. Therefore, she wasn't able to truly appreciate the death glare her cousin was sending her way, the young girl acutely aware of the insult to her mother. Aunt Emma was currently posing in a stiff position as she tried to appear happy about the fact a snake was resting atop her shoulders, the heavy weight of it causing her shoulders to sag slightly.
"Yes," hissed Primrose, all pretences of her innocent behaviour gone as she allowed her features to arrange themselves to that of dislike as she faced her cousin. Hermione stared into her cousin's eyes, unwilling to back down and apologize for her thinly veiled insult of the spoilt girl's mother. Primrose, realizing that her cousin wasn't going to take back her words, huffed before turning in her seat to watch her mother.
Hermione allowed a smug smile to adorn her face as she slipped of the chair, her inquisitive nature showing itself as she decided to explore the place instead of sitting still like her Aunt requested. She could feel her cousin's penetrating gaze on her back as she silently slipped into the shadows, however she refused to turn around and meet the stare. Instead she carried on walking towards a simple table that had been set up at the back, carrying and arrangement of healthy foods. Looking at the collection of fruits and vegetables with distaste, she forced down a single carrot stick before continuing on her journey.
After a few minutes of navigating her way though various twisting colours of wires, Hermione found herself once again gazing at her Aunt Emma, however this time the snake had been replaced by a temperamental monkey, which was currently pulling Aunt Emma's hair harshly into a state of disarray while a zoo keeper attempted to calm the frazzled monkey. Hermione allowed her self a small chuckle before her vision was drawn to a rather large glass rectangular container that had vegetations and a averaged sized dry, hollow log inside. Hermione guessed this was where the snake had been placed after being harassed by demanding people and flashing lights. Cautiously, Hermione made her way over the wires lying carelessly on the floor and came to kneel in front of the large container, peering through the glass in order to find the snake that was hopefully fully secured inside. After a few minutes of staring at her reflection in the glass, Hermione's eyes were drawn to movement happening in the hollow confines of the log.
Slowly, the snakes head gracefully twisted itself out of the hollow log, it's body coiled behind him as he slithered silently through the vegetation placed at the bottom to the see-through cage. Raising it's head slowly, it's black, beady eyes stared right into the chocolate swirls that were Hermione's eyes.
"Hello there, you probably hate this attention don't you? I bet you at least hated the glaring flash of the camera?" Hermione mumbled to her self, seemingly unaware the words were even passing her lips as she stared into the black, bottomless depths that was the snake's eyes.
As if in response, the words, "You have no idea." were seemingly hissed from no where. The words materializing in the air as it flew past her ear. Hermione frantically searched for the source of the sound, her chestnut curls bouncing on her shoulders as her head whipped left and right. When Hermione spotted no one close enough to whisper the words, Hermione's logical mind came to the conclusion it must have been the snake, which was now staring at her almost curiously, it's head cocked to the side as if it had asked her a question and was waiting, patiently, for a response, despite how illogical this idea seemed.
Feeling like an idiot, Hermione glanced around once more, and seeing no one was paying attention to her, as usual, faced the snake, "Was that you?" She eyed the snake in apprehension.
Of course, hissed the snake, it's head bobbing up and down slowly to the surprise and shock of Hermione.
Hermione was still gazing at the snake in wonderment, and consequently did not hear her cousin's approaching footsteps' as she manoeuvred, hopped and jumped her way across the abundant wires.
"Found the snake, have you?" inquired Primrose, pulling Hermione out of her trance. Hermione bit her tongue in order to hold back the sarcastic reply begging to be released.
Of course, duh. You're staring at it, are you not?
Hermione blinked owlishly, shaking her head subtly, in order to disperse the wonderment fogging her brain. Hermione focused on her cousin again, the offensive words to the snake penetrating her head.
"Mother tried posing with the snake various times while you were gone, apparently the snakes are one of their most popular exhibits, however the snake was dreadfully temperamental, and refused to obey the commands of the photographer," Primrose informed Hermione, in a haughty tone of voice. "Rather useless things if you ask me, I mean, they don't do much do they?"
Hermione's anger had steadily rose throughout the tirade, and with the last sentence exploded in an invisible bust of energy, the only response of its release the shrill scream that left Primrose's lips as the snake darted out the glass enclosure, the glass wall seemingly dissolved by the raw energy that erupted from Hermione, and slithered across the hand Primrose had settled near the base of the cage as she kneeled next to Hermione. The girls both jumped back as the snake continued to slide silently away.
Turing back around to face Hermione, the snake hissed a quiet "Thanks." before disappearing from sight, veiled only slightly by the wires swarming the floor. Hermione nodded her head slowly in astonishment, stopping a few seconds later as she realized the snake had already disappeared from sight. The girls scrambled to their feet, staring at each other, their gazes' locked before they realized the eyes currently staring at the two.
Immediately, Primrose jumped to defend herself, armed with her false sense of innocence, she turned to Hermione again, "What did you do?" she exclaimed. Instantaneously, the plentiful staff fixed their condemning gazes on Hermione.
Hermione smiled innocently, before turning around to face her cousin, "I didn't do anything," she hissed. She know it was useless however, as she could already feel the penetrating gaze of Aunt Emma, the promise of untold horrors yet to come.
The car ride home was deadly silent, the car filled with unmistakable tension. The photoshot had been cut short, in a bid to find the run away snake that had managed to flee from it's prison, a fact Hermione's Aunt was less than pleased with. Exiting the car, Aunt Emma slammed the door shut with more force than necessary before grabbing the back of Hermione's neck and forcibly dragging her into the house. Hermione stumbled slightly up the steps, however Aunt Emma was undeterred as she continued to drag Hermione in the direction of her room.
"You've to stay in here for the rest of the night," hissed Aunt Emma, harshly bashing the white door open with her shoulder, Hermione didn't miss the slight wince though, before flinging her niece inside. "I don't want to see your face until you're required to make our coffee."
Hermione had just enough time to catch the cat that caught the canary expression on her cousin's face, a smug, satisfied smile lifting her lips, before the door was slammed shut in her face with a loud, obnoxious bang.
Sighing, she turned towards her book self, the only thing in the room that was easily seen as being in use, the books overflowing, more books pilled up at the side, in dangerously high piles. Hermione's only escape from the world around her. Grabbing a book, she nestled herself into the comforts of her bed, balancing the book on her thighs, submitting herself to the written word
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Mischief Managed.