Chapter Three: Snakes

As Hermione walked down the corridor, she caught bits and pieces of conversations.

"-down the stairs. He just-"

"I saw it with my own eyes."

"Freak."

Ms. Cole was out of the orphanage and as the oldest female, Hermione was expected to care for the other children. There was paperwork to be done and bills to be paid at the hospital for one of the children.

Not even a full day before, a boy had fallen down the stairs and sustained a great deal of injury. Luckily, there were children in the room next to the stairs and screams reached Mrs. Cole quickly. A car was called for and the boy was rushed to the closest hospital immediately.

Hermione had been in her room at the time. Legs pulled up to her chest and arms wrapped tightly around, she sat staring at the wall. There was one quick knock before Mrs. Cole barged in.

"Hermione!" she yelled, "There's been an accident and I need you to watch the children while I'm gone. You must hurry!"

Mrs. Cole pulled Hermione's arm frantically until they were both in front of the gate. "The other children are all in a panic. Calm them down, give them dinner, and send them off to bed. I'll be back later tonight."

As Mrs. Cole got into the backseat with the unconscious boy, Hermione was able to catch a glimpse of the victim.

Aaron.

It was the boy that Hermione had the misfortune to meet her first day. There had been other encounters since then. Unpleasant was not the right word to describe them.

The driver pulled away from the orphanage, and Hermione watched the car until it was out of sight. With a deep breath, Hermione returned inside to deal with the other orphans.

Mrs. Cole didn't return that night. Aaron's injuries were more severe than they had suspected previously, and she stayed to answer police questions about the accident. Hermione did as she was told and sent the children off to bed with their stomachs filled. One orphan, however, could not be found.

Tom was missing from dinner the night before, and when Hermione called the children for breakfast, he was not in his bedroom. Lunch was approaching and Hermione was determined to find him this time.

"Peter!" Hermione called out to a blonde boy passing by, "Have you seen Tom?"

The boy named Peter flinched at the name. His eyes avoided Hermione's as she looked down at him. "H-he w-was outs-s-side, I t-think," the boy stuttered nervously.

"Thank you," Hermione said softy before turning to check the garden. Nearly a month she had been there and without a need for careful observations, it was clear to Hermione that Tom held a sort of power over the other children. The other orphans, like Peter, were extremely wary whenever Tom had been around. Even strangers to the orphanage, such as potential parents, steered clear of the mysterious boy. Finding Tom a home had proven difficult for Mrs. Cole.

As Hermione approached the garden, she could hear a strange whisper. Careful not to reveal herself, Hermione peered around the door frame. Fortunately for Hermione, Tom had his back to the door, so she crept a little closer.

The whispers she thought she heard were actually words of a language she had only heard Harry speak.

Parseltongue.

Tom was crouching on the ground by some dying rose bushes, conversing in the dark language with someone Hermione could not see. She took this opportunity to slip in closer to kneel behind a stone bench. Honestly, it felt more silly than anything to Hermione. For years, with Harry and Ron, she faced greater dangers and tougher spy missions, and here she was, worried that she'd be caught by a 10-year-old boy.

The low hissing stopped and Hermione instantly froze.

"I know you're there."

The voice was low for a boy his age. Hermione attributed it to the melancholy darkness that Tom always seemed to carry around. He never smiled and hardly ever spoke to the other children.

The young witch had decided to reveal herself by standing, but something curled itself on her leg. Hermione stifled a shriek as she tried to remember whether the black diamond patterns meant harmless. Or venomous.

She took slow breaths, careful not to move in fear of being striked. A shadow fell over her, and Hermione looked up to find Tom standing beside the bench. Surprised, she struck the back of her head against the cool stone and gave the slightest wince of pain.

"What do you want?" Tom asked, arms crossed and standing impatiently as he awaited a response. The snake slithered further, tugging on Hermione's sock as it made its way up.

Even if she were to have gotten bitten by the snake, Hermione was a witch and had spent enough time in the Hospital Wing volunteering with Madam Pomfrey to know a few spells to counteract poisons. With her Gryffindor courage, Hermione carefully lifted up the snake with both hands and placed it on the ground beside her before standing up and brushing off her skirt.

"Hello, Tom," Hermione tried to say amicably. "We missed you at dinner and breakfast and so I wanted to make sure you were eating."

Tom was watching the snake beside Hermione's leg. It looked at Tom and then at Hermione before circling behind Tom. "How did you know it wasn't venomous?"

Hermione thought for a moment. "I didn't. Is he your friend?" she asked quickly after answering, crouching down to greet the snake peering out from behind the boy. "Does he have a name?"

Tom looked surprised at Hermione's question. "Yes," he answered cautiously, "It's Morsus."

"Morsus," Hermione repeated slowly, trying out the name, "Is this where you run off to all the time? The garden to see Morsus?" She could sense a shift in Tom's posture to one of defensiveness.

"The others know not to come out here," he responded with annoyance.

Hermione nodded her head. "I see. Well, I'm still fairly new here and didn't know." Tom didn't say anything, so she hummed quietly to herself as she stared at the black serpent curled a few feet away. A few minutes of silence passed.

"They're all saying I did it," Tom stated abruptly. Hermione didn't bother to pretend as if she didn't know to what he was referring.

"Not everyone," she said softly, looking up at him. "Now, let's go get something to eat."

Hermione began to move past Tom, but when he didn't follow, she stopped. Tom stood there, shifting from one leg to the other. The perceptive girl could sense the conflict in Tom's face. He was probably hungry, but too stubborn to follow her inside.

She laughed to herself. It was never a struggle to get Harry and Ron to the Great Hall for meals. Often, it was the other way around, with Hermione chained to the library and the boys having to drag her away from her books. Out of her jacket pocket, Hermione pulled a shiny apple.

"Here," the young woman said, holding out the fruit, "I took it from the kitchen before I went to look for you. All yours."

When Tom didn't move to take it, Hermione took his hand and placed the apple in it. He still stood there silently, but held onto the gift.

"I promised some of the other children that I would read to them during lunch," Hermione casually lied. It was the carrot on the stick that Hermione hoped would lead Tom to come to the dining room.

With a small wave, Hermione walked backwards towards the orphanage. "Bye, Tom!" she called cheerily. Tom watched as the girl disappeared from view. For a few moments, he shuffled back and forth. Morsus slithered over Tom's feet.

Looking down at his companion, Tom muttered, "She's... different."