Im so sorry for the very late and short chapter. reality caught up with me and we also had an assesment week. gomen! sorry! pasensya na!

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Chapter 4: welcome to the snake's palace

Everyone in the Great Hall sniggered as they watched Professor McGonagall enervate the fallen Professor Snape for the second time.

"Just a few notices before you go," Dumbledore smiled. "The charming Mr. Filch has a list of things that has been banned. And most of it is from a wonderful shop called Weasley Wizard Wheezes. Ah, yes. Mr. Potter, May I speak to you in my office? That is all. Pip Pip. Off you go to bed."

The trio which sat at the end of the slytherin table exchanged glances. No, scratch that. The whole slytherin table exchanged glances. Even former Gryffindor that just been moved to slytherin is already considered family. That's what slytherin is all about. Family. They never the old fool, there was just something off with the kind smile and twinkling eyes, they just didn't know what.

"What do you think he wants?" Neville muttered, he never trusted Dumbledore either since the day that the headmaster told him that his parents lost their minds; the head master made the mistake of having the slip of the tongue.

"I don't know." Harry scowled. "If it's about the sorting thing. So much for being unprejudiced and seeing good in people."

Hermione nodded and frowned at their conversation. "What are you going to do with Ginny, Harry?"

"I'll cross that bridge when I have to…" Harry stood up and bid goodbye as a prefect began instructing the two former Gryffindors where and who to go to if there were any trouble. The prefect also told them the password and where the common room is. Harry scowled deeper as he reached the gargoyles, he didn't like the feeling that was bubbling in the pit of his stomach.

"Bertie Bott's every flavoured beans." Harry said, but the gargoyles remained still and lifeless. "Uh… what about…Lemon drops."

Harry jumped as the gargoyles began shaking to make way, so Harry can climb up the stone steps that led to the headmaster's office. As Harry made his way upstairs the feeling in his stomach grew darker and darker; as if it was warning him that the headmaster was going to avada kedavra him. Harry shook his head, what a stupid thought. The headmaster won't hurt his students. Right? Right.

"Enter!" a voice boomed after Harry knocked on the door of the headmaster's office. Harry entered slowly while he scanned Dumbledore's face for any signs of anger but found none. "hello, dear boy. Would you like a Lemon drop?"

"No thank you." Harry cocked his head to one side. "What are you going to talk to me about, sir?"

"ah, yes. Straight to the point aren't we, Mr. Potter? I must say how very slytherin of you." Dumbledore's eyes flashed an emotion he couldn't quite decipher. Harry also didn't like the way he said the word slytherin. "Congratulations for your engagement. So, who is the lucky girl?"

Harry blinked at the sudden change of mood and tone but nontheless replied. "thank you, sir. However, me and my beloved still aren't comfortable of going public." Harry eyes were searching Dumbledore's office, he himself wasn't sure what but his eyes froze on Dumbledore's hand. There was nothing wrong with the hand, maybe except for the fact that it looked young. It looked as if hand never aged. No wrinkles. No scars. No nothing. Harry blinked and quick as a flash the hand that was once young had turned old and withered.

Harry's eyes widened at the discovery. He wanted to ask what that was but he held his tongue. Something fishy was going on and he was going to find out, without Dumbledore finding out. "If that is all professor, May I go and have my rest? After all lessons start tomorrow and Hermione told me that our frogs test start this year, I wouldn't want to fail."

Dumbledore looked a bit taken aback but his face swiftly became neutral once again, he smiled, but his smile seemed sinister. "Of course, Harry. I'll see you soon."

Harry shuddered at the thought of Dumbledore smiling sinisterly. Perhaps it was his imagination, yeah that's it. As Harry walked towards the slytherin common room portrait; he still remembered it from second year for some unknown reason; he stopped and pouted at the snake, when he remembered he didn't know the password.

"Hello." Harry hissed in parseltongue feeling slightly foolish; he wasn't sure weather the portrait of the snake can talk back or not.

The snake slithered and stared at him in shock. "A ssspeaker, I sssee. I haven't ssspoke to one in sssix hundred yearsss. How may I be an asssissstant to you?"

Harry smiled and made a mental note to talk to the snake more often. "Ah, well you sssee I jussst transssferred to the house of ssslytherin, and I wasssnt told the password. May you be sssoo kind and let me in?"

The snake amusedly hissed. "Just this once. But before I open the portrait I have sssomething to tell you: you have very powerful magic. In your inheritance, there will be sssome sssurprisssesss in store for you…Beware there isss danger afoot in the near future."

Harry furrowed his eyebrows at the message, he already knew the danger, what he wanted to know was how near was it. And the magic thing…he'll just have to wait. "Thank you. What isss your name?"

The snake, if it could, smiled. "Zakri. My name is Zakri. I like you may you have good fortune in everything you do."

Harry hissed goodbye as he stepped in the slytherin common room to find a party in full swing. Blaise and Neville were discreetly talking in a corner, Hermione was flirting with Theodore Knott and Draco was sitting in front of the fire while fiddling with his ring.

As he entered, everybody stopped what they were doing; as if the pause button was pressed. Draco made eye contact with him and the other slytherins then smirked and drawled. "Welcome to the snakes' palace."

Everyone except for the Gryffindor made eye contact and unisoned. "Where everyone is a part of our family. We are family."

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