The next few days after the incident with the Runespoor were as normal as could be expected for a wizarding school. James's prank had left Gryffindor with a lot of catching up to do to win the House Cup, and the other houses took advantage of the delay to gain points of their own. Petal spent much of her spare time at Hagrid's speaking with the Runespoor, and it was while she was there one day that Jen Carrow's mother showed up at Hogwarts. Jen was back on her feet at this point, and would be able to sleep in her own bed tonight.

There always seemed to be one or two Slytherin members in Pomfrey's Ward with her, and there were currently two from her Study of Ancient Runes class, although one of them was a muggleborn Ravenclaw student. They had dropped off Jen's homework, and were helping teach her so she could complete the assignment. The cooperative spirit that the Slytherin's had just found was truly astounding and none were more surprised by their new attitude then the Gryffindor students. It seemed that the Slytherin's had finally realized that they were on their own in the school.

Jen was working with both her pureblood classmate and the muggle-born Ravenclaw to get through the assignment in her Runes class, aware that she didn't have the option to be fussy about her tutors for such a difficult course. Otherwise, she never would have bothered with a muggle-born. The three girls had their heads lowered as they talked quietly, and the sudden sound of heels clicking against the tile alerted them that they had a visitor.

Jen's irritated expression as she tried to grasp what she had missed in her class changed to a horrified one when her mother stalked into sight. There was no sign of Madame Pomfrey, so the nurse must have decided that Jen was healed enough for visitors. She wished she wasn't suddenly.

Hestia Carrow now worked in the Ministry of Magic in the office of Improper Use of Magic, and it was believed that she would take over the office as the next minister. Leading one office though was hardly Hestia's goal, and she was hoping to make it all the way up to Minister of Magic. The fact that Hetisa Carrow had left her office to come see her truly stunned Jen and she wished she hadn't come, for things never went well around her.

"Mother?" Jen demanded much louder then she meant, and the two girls with her scooched back so Hestia could see her daughter sitting up in bed.

"Jocaste," Hestia greeted Jen by her full name and clicked over to her daughter. "I heard about that Potter boy's antics. Are you alright?"

"You know about it?" Jen asked in horror, voice cracking slightly.

"Yes," Hestia promised. "Word has spread I assure you."

"And you wouldn't have had anything to do with that, would you?" Jen challenged darkly, not surprised at all that her mother would have something to do with it.

"The incident is in the Daily Prophet," Hestia said innocently, "haven't you read a copy?"

"The Daily Prophet?" Jen did shout this time and stared at her mother. "Why would you get it published? Insane stuff happens all the time at Hogwarts! This isn't anything special."

Hestia seemed unaware of her daughter's distress. "Oh yes it is. Imagine a rank 4 beast getting loose in Hogwarts because of a Potter. It certainly is worth reading about."

Jen hung her head, and clenched the sheets in her hands. This was just like her mother to turn the accident with the Runespoor into some publicity stunt to gain support. By flouncing up the actions of a Potter like this her opponents who supported the Potters might lose face, and let her gain the support they lost. Why was everything to her mother about power?

"We haven't gotten today's edition of the Daily Prophet," the muggleborn Ravenclaw beside Jen said innocently. "We've been helping Jen catch up on the classes she's missing, so we haven't had a chance to ask around for a copy."

"I see," Hestia Carrow said calmly, "and you are?"

Jen's eyes widened when her mother asked that, and even though she had no reason to protect the muggleborn she didn't want her mother to get mad at her for interacting with one.

"She's in my Study of Ancient Runes Class," Jen interrupted, "and she's helping tutor me. I'll be back in classes tomorrow."

Her mother hesitated for a dangerous second and then accepted her daughter's excuse and continued speaking in a tone as smooth and sticky as honey. "Well, don't you worry about this incident Jocaste. I'm going to speak to professor McGonagall next and I'm sure we'll be able to get this sorted out."

"Get what sorted out?" Jen asked in confusion, wishing her mother would call her Jen for once. "Things are already settled. They've been settled. The Runespoor's going to be sent back home to its forest, and Gryffindor's already lost all of its points and then some."

"Points?" Hestia laughed gently at her daughter's innocence and pat her head as if she was a small child, ignoring the fact that Jen swatted her hand away.

"You were almost killed," Hestia assured her daughter, "and there could have been a major disaster here at Hogwarts. It's clear that security around here as gotten quite lax and that professor of yours that was supposed to be teaching you about the Runespoor obviously doesn't take his job seriously."

"Yes there could have been," Jen agreed with her mother impatiently, "but there wasn't. Everything is fine. Don't go making a huge deal out of this like you always do just to get support within the Ministry."

Hestia's sweet manor darkened at Jen's sentence dangerously, but then lightened again after a second. "I cannot let things stand. Once a beast has gained a taste for the flesh of humans then it will likely go back to hunting them. That Runespoor has to be killed, and that's just the start."

"If you want to kill the Runespoor then you're going to have to go through Petal," Jen sighed, "and I don't know how well that would end."

"Petal?" Hestia drew her features together as she thought about it. "She was the girl that got the Runespoor to release you, correct? Honestly, your teacher couldn't even get his snake to let go of you, and a first year had to do it for him. One first year will hardly be a bother, child."

At Jen's persistence, McGonagall had relented not to tell her mother that Petal had used an Unforgivable Curse to get the Runespoor to drop her. Hestia likely believed that Petal had just used a stun spell, and that was for the best. Jen's mother didn't know how casually Petal had used the spell or the fact that she had seemed to be experienced in the use of the torture curse. Her mother had no idea what Petal was capable of, but Jen supposed that her mother needed to be taught her place. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad if she met Petal.

"I am going to speak to McGonagall now," Hestia Carrow told her daughter in a voice that was supposed to be comforting, but came off as sickly sweet as it always did. "Don't you worry about a thing. That beast that attacked you will be dead before long."

Jen gave her mother a dubious look, but let her leave. After she did, the students with Jen gave her a curious look.

"Why did you let her walk off like that?" The muggleborn asked stupidly. "Petal's spent the last few days chatting with the Runespoor. I half think she's going to adopt it and you're going to let your mother kill it?"
"I'm not letting Hestia Carrow do anything," Jen promised with a Slytherin worthy smile. "My mother's going to have to get by Petal before she can get close to the Runespoor, and I don't think that will work out very well for her."

"You want your mother to go up against Arclight?" The Slytherin with Jen asked dubiously.

Jen smiled and nodded, and the Slytherin hummed as she understood. The Ravenclaw was too good-hearted to understand what Jen was up to, and Jen wasn't going to explain herself to a muggleborn.

"Let's finish up these last few questions," Jen told the students with her and pulled her paper back over to her.

Scorpius had left the Flint twins, and now wandered down to Hagrid's cabin where the Runespoor was. He had often wished he was a Parselmouth, and although he was a little jealous to discover Petal was, he wasn't very surprised. Petal was full of surprises, like the fact she lived on a magical creature reserve that had a winged chimera as its Alpha creature. The lattermost fact was still sinking in for him.

He saw the younger Potter, Albus, and the Weasley girl enter Hagrid's cabin to speak with him. Scorpius skirted around the area, having no wish to bother with the half-giant professor or a Potter. It was easy enough for him to find the Runespoor cage just inside the treeline and Petal sitting in front of it. She was hissing with the snake and it was responding. All three heads tried to respond at once, and Petal giggled as their voices canceled each other out so she couldn't understand any of them.

"Hello Scorpius," Petal greeted in English without looking up from the Runespoor.

Scorpius was only so surprised that she knew it was him, what with her fairy sitting on top of the Runespoor cage, so he didn't recoil.

"Hi Petal," he greeted her instead, hoping he wouldn't start stuttering. "You're down here a lot now."

"There's no one else here I can speak to," Petal shrugged and motioned towards the Runespoor.

Scorpius's eyes did widen when she slipped her hand between the bars of the cage and pet the three heads in turn without fear. Not even the right hand tried to bit her, and it looked like it would be purring if it could.

"He's never met anyone else he can speak to either," Petal smiled, "so it's nice for him."

Now Scorpius tensed, "he? Are you saying Runespoor are sentient?"

"Not to the degree that we are," Petal shook her head, "but they are capable of forming thought and words. There are many magical creatures out there like him that are classified as beast because no one can understand they're language."

"I thought Parseltongue only worked with snakes?" Scorpius asked warily and sat down near her.

He took his bag off his shoulder as Petal chuckled to herself in amusement. Scorpius had come because he was curious about the Arclights, but now found something else to learn.

"That's what it is most famous for, and reptiles do think that a human who can speak their language is someone they should honor and obey, but there are many magical creatures out there a Parselmouth can communicate with. Take fairies for example," Petal glanced at the green one sitting on the cage. "Parseltongue is a common language for many. My family can all speak Parseltounge, so we understand this. Most of those who cannot speak it tend to be unaware of the fact."

"So he's semi-sentient," Scorpius said thoughtfully. "Did you say snakes honor Parselmouths?"

Petal nodded and retracted her hand from the cage, leaving the Runespoor to look after it sadly. "That's correct, which is why snakes always listen to us. Other reptiles feel the need to honor Parselmouths as well, if not obey us as snakes do. As a Chimera, Chi is part dragon, and as a part-reptile, he respects Parselmouths. That's why he likes me."

Scorpius swallowed as the implication of what Petal just said sank in. As a part-dragon, the Chimera liked her. What about a real dragon? Could a Parselmouth get one of them to obey them?

"A dragon would be much harder than a Chimera," Petal said nonchalantly just after Scorpius thought it, surprising him. "Dragons are actually fully sentient like a human. Because of this, they have a very strong will of their own and few dragons see the need to listen to or even let one of us live. They don't respect those who cannot fly on their own, and call us human's grounders."

"So they eat you to," Scorpius looked at the Runespoor in the cage as it lowered its head. "I guess that's why I've never heard that a Parselmouth can speak to dragons before."

"They actually like eating us," Petal chuckled quietly. "They don't like the fact that a grounder like us can speak to them. The dragon that used to live on my families reserve never attacked my family because we're too powerful. A family like mine with Parseltongue in its ancestry has learned how to kill dragons in self-defense. Chi's much more reasonable then a dragon, and like Makato, likes the fact that there's someone he can talk to."

"Makato?" Scorpius frowned. "Who's that?"

Petal pointed at the Runespoor. "That's what the Runespoor told me its name was. Like most Runespoor, its name is three syllables, and each head's name is a single syllable. You put the three names together to get its full name."

"A name," Scorpius whispered in awe. "It has its own name."

"I did say it was more than some mindless beast," Petal reminded Scorpius.

She let him look at the Runespoor for a few seconds more before asking somewhat slyly. "What did you want to see me about?"

"Huh?" Scorpius said without glancing away.

"You've been keeping your distance from me," Petal reminded Scorpius and dropped a few leaves from the forest floor into his hair. "Yet now you seek me, so what do you want?"

He had to want something. A mute always wanted something.

Scorpius brushed the leaves out of his hair and looked down. "I wondered if you would tell me more about your villa. It sounds like something out of a storybook, growing up on your own island on a reserve for all sorts of magical beasts. Being the friend of a Chimera."

"You know that you're a wizard, right?" Petal asked Scorpius amusedly.

Scorpius smiled shyly, "yeah. Will you? I mean, unless you don't want to because it is kind of personal."

"I don't mind telling you a little," Petal assured him, amazed that he was so shy.

As long as Scorpius didn't figure out her family's secret then she wouldn't have to kill him.

"What do you want to hear about first?" Petal asked him, turning the way she sat so she faced him. "Chi, the poacher's occasional visits, the sea serpent?"

"Sea serpent?" Scorpius said in a voice loud from surprise.

"I never mentioned her?" Petal asked curiously, "oops."

Scorpius gave her a serious look, and Petal shrugged innocently.

"I guess you want to hear about her first, right?" Petal asked in the same innocent tone.

Scorpius nodded. Petal smiled, but before she could begin her story Em's wings snapped straight out and she started making a series of buzzing noises like a bee. It was obviously a warning of some sort because Petal stood suddenly, wand in her right hand again.

"What is it?" Scorpius asked and quickly scrambled to his feet.

"Trouble," Petal said seriously as Em came over and sat on her shoulder.

Scorpius looked the way she was and saw Hagrid walking down the hill with a woman he had never seen before.

"Who are you?" Petal asked the woman, not raising her wand but not hiding it.

"Hestia Carrow," the woman introduced briskly, "and I am very busy so I suggest you step aside from that creature."

She made a shooing motion at Petal, and Scorpius realized that the Carrow woman was talking about the Runespoor.

"What are you going to do with the Runespoor?" Petal asked her seriously.

"It's going to be taken from school grounds and killed of course," Carrow dismissed Petal. "Now step aside."

"You are not killing Makato," Petal assured the woman and raised her wand to her. "He's mine. If you want to kill him, then I fear you're going to have to get past me first."

The woman hesitated.

"If you dare," Petal added as a challenge to the woman.

Scorpius looked between Petal and the Carrow woman rapidly. Petal's gaze scared him, and the bloodlust that promised she would enjoy fighting made him step back. Then Petal smiled.


I'm a little curious, but is anyone else scared for Hestia Carrow? Petal was practicing the killing curse under her breath not long ago.

Not much is said on Parselmouths besides their ability, and not much is said on how the effect on other magical creatures. It leaves it completely open to the imagination. You'll understand why I am focusing so much on an OC like Petal in the next chapter.