Scorpius's fourth year was, in all respects, going rather splendidly. He was doing well in his courses (with some help from Rose in Arithmancy), The Gryffindor team was performing well, and he was still having all the mischievous fun in the world with Rose and Albus. Yes, even his correspondence with his parents was going well. It was still hard to tell them everything about his life at Hogwarts, they were his parents they didn't need to know everything, but it was getting a little easier.

Dear Dad,

Quidditch season is going well this year. I expect we'll win the Quidditch cup! I'm not trying to sound cocky, but the Ravenclaw team is quite a dud this year, and Slytherin is moderately good. Surprisingly Hufflepuff will be the team to beat, but I doubt we'll have too much of a hard time.

I'm doing well in my courses, although I probably could hardly make it through without Rose and Albus. Without her well-aimed kicks to our backs we'd never stay awake in History of Magic.

Scorpius paused and smirked a bit at his letter. Was a little Malfoy arrogance coming out? People had always told him it would come out eventually, although, as Rose's father would sometimes tell him, he was loads better than his father had been. It always made Scorpius laugh because although he knew his father was a bit high-minded, he could never fully imagine him as a snob at school. When he would ask Mr. Weasley about it he'd just smile vaguely and say, in an all-knowing way, "The past is in the past, as my wife would say."

Scorpius always found that irritating. What was so important about the past staying in the past? Shouldn't they know the past to better rule the future? He shook the thoughts out of his blonde head. He really didn't want to give himself a headache by thinking too deeply on a Thursday night. He dipped his quill in his pot of green ink and began to write again.

I think Rose might finally consider going out with me. I'm hoping she'll say yes. Although Albus says he's okay with it (even though he gags every time I talk about it) I'm trying to make sure James doesn't find out. I'm pretty sure he'd hex me then give me a muggle style pounding just to be sure. So under no circumstances don't tell mum, cause then she'll tell all the Mrs. Weasley's who will tell all the Mr. Weasley's and one Mr. Potter, and then your son would go missing forever. You don't want that do you?

Anyways, remember our incident second year? The whole talking to snakes thing? Well, Professor McGonagall thinks it's time we master it, so we're going into the forest tonight with Hagrid to look for snakes we can practice on. I'm hoping they're small snakes. I'm not too keen on being eaten by a Basilisk or something.

Your son,

Scorpius

Scorpius chewed on the end of his eagle feather quill, pondering his letter. Should he really tell them about the snakes? Knowing his parents his father would start hyperventilating and his mother would be irritated because she'd be the one to have to calm him down.

"I swear sometimes your father has the disposition of a Victorian damsel in distress!" His mother had exclaimed in frustration last summer as she held a napkin to her bleeding nose while his father stuttered and waved his hands in front of her. She had been elegant reclining on the leather couch by the tall glass window that gave a view to the hill their home sat upon. Scorpius would never forget that image of her, the sun lighting up her exasperated face, and it made him smile.

Suddenly Scorpius heard the dormitory door open and he turned his head to see Albus standing there, a nervous smile on his face. "Ready to go speak to some slimy snakes?" Albus asked.

Scorpius snorted. "Let me send this letter off," He replied. "And snakes aren't slimy."

"That's the Slytherin in you talking I expect!" James laughed, watching as Scorpius moved over to his Long-eared owl. The owl, Thoth, peered at Scorpius with his bright orange eyes and stuck out his leg expectantly. Scorpius busied his hands with rolling up the parchment and tying it firmly to Thoth's leg. "There's a bit of Slytherin in you, Albus." he said as he picked up Thoth and carried him to the open window. The bird hooted loudly before flapping his wings and taking off into the November night sky. Scorpius stared for a moment, one of Thoth's feathers floating down from the overcast that hung over the stars and moon.

"Well," Scorpius said, spinning in his heels, grabbing Albus by the shoulders and pulling him towards the door. "Shall we secret Slytherins make our way to the dark side?"

The dark forest surrounded the trio and Hagrid, embracing them in an eerie blackness. Fang, although given a lengthened life for living in the magical world, was too old to come into the forest with them. The branches swayed in the chilly November gale and they would rock closer and closer to their heads as if seeking to snatch them from the ground.

"Ya know, yer parents came into the forest together many times, one in particular their firs' year… Never forget the look on Malfoy's face…" Hagrid chuckled although he quickly stopped, looking at Scorpius and saying, "No offense lad." Scorpius shrugged although once again he became irritated with how little he knew about his father's school years. In fact, no one really knew about the school years of anybody who had been in the war.

"He was only eleven," Scorpius grumbled. "I was scared of this place… at eleven."

Rose turned and beamed at Scorpius. "You treated this place like your personal playground," she said. "But it's brave of you to say that you were a little scared." She gave him that smile that made his heart twitch before she turned around to ask Hagrid a question.

"So, Hagrid, where are we going?"

"Oh, you lot are in fer a treat," Hagrid exclaimed, a wide smile making its way through his bushy beard. "I found a nest of magical adder's not to far from here. They're like a normal adder except the magic of the forest has made them much bigger and their lives have been lengthened."

All the color drained from the trios face.

"Um… Sounds like fun?" Albus offered weakly as he stumbled across a protruding root.

"Yes that you would find the only poisonous snake in Britain," Rose said.

"That have been magically enhance!" Scorpius added.

"That have been magically enhanced," Rose repeated. "Yes, how fun, how lucky, Hagrid."

Hagrid seemed to miss the sarcasm and terror that had invaded the trio's voices because he kept smiling and began humming a pub song that no one else particularly wanted to hear at that moment.

After what seemed like an hour they finally arrived to a truly dark part of the forest, and the group could clearly hear the slithering and hissing of what sounded like hundreds of snakes.

"Go on," Hagrid said happily, pushing the trio forward with one enormous hand. "Speak to them!"

"Ah yes, we'll just jump right in shall we?" Scorpius drawled. Rose and Albus simultaneously elbowed him in both of his sides.

"Oof!"

"For that comment, Scorpius, you can go first!" Rose said, pushing Scorpius ahead of her.

"Yes Scorpius, you've volunteered. Go jump right in!" Albus chimed in, giving Scorpius a little nudge.

Scorpius glowered at the pair of cousins that were supposed to be his friends. They grinned maniacally right back at him. Scorpius sighed and turned around to face the pit of snakes. In taking a huge breath of cold air he gathered his Gryffindor courage and stepped forward. What Scorpius saw nearly made him turn tail and run back to the dormitory.

They were adders all right but not the small adders he sometimes saw near his own home. The ones that he had been constantly told rarely attack. No, these were fifteen times the size, nearing the length and width of a very fat anaconda. Their eyes glistened in the moonlight that filtered through the trees. Their scales rubbed against each other, sliding over one another, twisting and curling until Scorpius felt like he was going to be sick.

Humans, he heard, a hissing sound that barely sounded like English. I can smell them. Meat, young meat. One is old.

The big one is Hagrid, he heard another say, a deep, old voice. He is off limits. Or do you want to become a spider's food?

There was a shaking sound within the nest; many had sped up their writhing as if running in fear at the mere mention of the huge arachnids on the other side of the forest.

But the young ones… There is no rule about the young ones…

This caused Scorpius to speak up, "I have no desire to be food, thank you very much!"

There was a sudden silence. The snakes stopped moving. Scorpius began to wonder if he had even spoken parseltongue… Maybe second year had been a massive fluke…

You speak to us? The old one asked, and from the depth of the pit he saw a particularly fat adder, in the process of shedding his skin, slither up to meet him at the pits edge. His eyes were beginning to turn milky white, and when he opened his mouth his fangs were glistening. You understand us?

"Yes," Scorpius said, and this time it sounded more purposeful, like a hiss. "I have come to talk to you, speak your language, so I would very much like to do that instead of become your food, if you wouldn't mind."

The snakes hissed but this time, instead of menacing, it sounded reassuring. We have rules, the elder said. We will not attack a wizard who speaks our language. From what the old tales say, your language controls us.

"I do not wish to control you," Scorpius said hastily. "I only wish to know you, and to practice."

The snake cocked his head to one side, studying him.

The other two? He asked. Are they food or friend?

"Friend!" Albus and Rose said at once, scurrying forward to meet the elder adder.

"Definitely friend," Albus said. "We have also come to practice."

"Why are you afraid of the spiders?" Rose asked curiously. "Spiders are afraid if the basilisk, so I would've thought they'd be afraid of all snakes."

There was a furious rustling amongst the snakes at the mention of the basilisk. They intertwined themselves even closer to each other and hissed, Fools, fools! Fools to not be afraid of such creatures!

All creatures are afraid of the basilisk, the elder said, turning his head to face Rose. Even snakes become victim to his evil eyes and his monstrous fangs. We are normal snakes, simply empowered by the magic that surges through this forest. We might be bigger than many creatures, but the spiders are much bigger than us, and we cannot kill them with simply a look. No, to them, we are food.

The elder began to slither back down into the pit, still trying to shed the rest of his skin.

Come back again, and please bring food with you so we are not so tempted to eat you instead. Albus made an audible gulp.

"Understood," Rose said, "We'll see you next time." As Albus and Rose scurried back to Hagrid, Scorpius took one last look into the pit and something caught his eyes. Amongst the many snakes slithering in the hole a shining black stone sat amongst them on the far left side. Amazingly, many of the snakes seemed to be avoiding it, leaving it in plain view.

Scorpius didn't know why but he felt a magnetic pull to this stone, something he felt he needed, wanted, to know from it. Without thinking he jumped into the pit of snakes, sliding amongst the scales, snake skins, mud, and bones of past meals.

"Scorpius!" Hagrid roared. "What do ye' think yer doing, boy?"

"Dropped a galleon!" he yelled back.

"A silly galleon isn't worth your life Scorpius!" Albus yelled, running to the edge of the pit.

"They won't hurt me!" Scorpius said, and he was right. Rather than try to take a bite out of him the snakes merely stopped rustling and watched him as he climbed amongst them to reach the shining stone. When he picked it up he felt a strange pulse of power. He could feel Albus's eyes on him trying to get a better view.

"You got it, Scorpius?" he asked, his voice suspicious.

"Yeah," Scorpius said, hastily putting the black stone in his robes pocket. "Yeah, I got it."