"ss,Parseltongue,ss" Just so that you know.

Disclaimer: Not Mine. Talk to Rowling. Just borrowing them a while.

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Last Time

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"Bloody irritating snake." He grumbled.

"I agree with you whole heartedly, Darion." Godric's voice boomed over the room. "Why you tolerate the man is beyond me. Why if I were you I'd throw a few hexes at him. I know a few good fire based charms that might do the trick. Like the good 'ole…"

"Godric." Rowena said, cutting the man off mid-rant. "Shut up."

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The Founders' Heir

Chapter Twenty-Five

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Why Me?

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"Elddir." A voice said, snapping Harry awake sharply. Harry jumped and had the person firmly bound and blasted clean across the room before he even fully awoke.

He sat on his bed, blinking a bit stupidly at the figure on the other side of his room.

"Malfoy?" he said, taking the spells off the boy, "What are you doing here?"

Malfoy gingerly got to his feet, sneering at him as he straightened his robes.

"Professor Snape sent me to get you." The boy said stiffly. "He keeps mumbling about insane witches who won't stop pestering him. I do believe he is talking about Madam Pomfrey."

"Uh, right." Harry said, still trying to blink sleep from his eyes. "She wanted me to stop by in the morning."

"Well it's almost noon." Malfoy said, eyeing him carefully.

"Tell him I'll go placate Pomfrey after I manage to roll out of bed."

Draco was silent for a few minutes, in which Harry yawned loudly, and tried to get his brain to catch up with his body's wakefulness. Apparently his mind wasn't quite ready to greet the day.

"Merlin, Elddir, what happened to you?"

"I had a run in with Voldemort last night, and Albus decided to have a pow-wow that lasted half the night."

Draco eyed him with a mixture of shock and fear. "I'm not sure that I want to know where you managed to run into the Dark Lord."

"Out around the lake where it meets the border of the Forest near the edge of the wards." Harry said nonchalantly.

"Right, I didn't want to know." Malfoy mumbled. He watched him for a moment before turning to leave.

"Oh, and Elddir," he said from the doorway, "you look like shite."

Harry rolled his eyes at the parting comment. Looking around he spotted his Familiar curled near the door along the wall. The growth potion hadn't yet worn off, and the large shape of the Griffin was hard to miss.

"You let him in?" Harry asked.

Cin simply looked at him, not even bothering to send an image.

"That figures." Harry mumbled, "Some guard you are."

He eyed the Griffin cub warily. "You like the ferret, don't you." He accused.

Cin gave an unidentifiable sound and settled his head on his paws.

"Traitor." Harry mumbled, plopping back down to the bed. He grimaced and let out a pained yell when the motion unexpectedly jarred the sensitive cut on his side.

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Harry finally managed to crawl out of his bed just before lunch and made his way to the Great Hall with the large form of his Familiar padding along beside him. He yawned widely as he walked into the Great Hall, ignoring the stares and whispers that erupted due to his presence. Apparently the Hogwarts rumor-mill was well under way. He was only vaguely curious, however, about how exactly the whole school found out about Voldemort's little visit to the grounds.

He risked a glance up to the head table, spotting the barely masked expressions of the Professors who knew of his identity. Snape's was, of course, utterly neutral behind his perpetual scowl. The man had deftly avoided him with a skill that Harry was impressed with, not that Harry had searched the man out with too much enthusiasm. Their eventual encounter would come, and Harry only hoped that he made it out in one piece, with his pride intact, or at least reparable.

Putting Snape out of his mind for the time being he absently took a place at the end of the Slytherin table that was generally free of students. There was no reason to crowd them, considering Cin's current size and unchanged eating habits.

Eating habits which Saire found utterly disagreeable and made sure that they all knew it.

"ss,Disgusting excuse of a mammal!,ss" she hissed, raising her head to a level that was higher than the Griffin's own. Cin paused in his…eating…and sent a predatory look towards the snake.

Harry eyed the two warily, thinking that Cin was technically only half mammal, but he wasn't brave enough to inform the Cobra of that little fact. He really didn't feel like getting bit by her, especially as she was nearing her change and her poison would be far more potent than it was before. He shifted to the side away from them a bit, hoping that neither would notice and tried to continue with his meal.

"Why is he so much bigger all of a sudden?"

Harry risked a glance away from his two hostile familiars to take in the amused and wary face of Draco.

"I gave him a growth potion last night." Harry said, "He's been trained to fight as both a cub and an adult."

"He's certainly more intimidating as an adult." The blonde said.

Harry hummed his agreement, keeping one eye on the two animals near him. He was beginning to feel like he should put more distance between himself and them.

"They don't seem to get along too well." Draco said.

"No, they don't." he agreed. "Actually, that would be a gross understatement." He said wryly, as Cin's beak snapped shut dangerously close to Saire's tail.

"Are they always like that?" another Slytherin asked. Harry studied him a moment, trying to put a name to the boy. "Oh, I'm Blaise Zabini."

"Darion Elddir." Harry said, nodding. "And yes, they're generally always like that."

"Seems dangerous." Blaise commented.

Harry winced as he saw Saire flaire her hood and hissed a string of threats at the Griffin. Harry felt his eyes widen at her words, somewhat astonished at the breadth of her more vulgar vocabulary. He had no idea that she could swear so fluently. Not for the first time he wondered where she learned such things.

"At least its entertaining." Draco said from his side.

Harry glared at him. "Only when you have something between yourself and them," he said, "like me."

Draco shrugged nonchalantly. Harry eyed him for a moment.

"Where did you get her, anyways?" he asked the blonde.

"Her?"

Harry nodded. "She is female, yes."

"Then she was a gift."

"From whom? Diamond Head Cobras are extremely rare and valuable, who on earth would be willing to gift her to someone?"

Draco met his eyes evenly, obviously reluctant to reveal his source. Harry didn't back down. He wanted to know, though he had his suspicions. The rarity of Diamond Heads paired with their somewhat volatile natures would greatly limit the number of people able to handle such a serpent. Couple that with the boy's reluctance to reveal who gifted him the snake, and Harry had narrowed his selection down to two: Voldemort, or Lucius. If Draco's father had given him the snake, then it was safe to think that Voldemort had first given it to Lucius, or at least was aware of the serpent. Tom Riddle wouldn't let a Diamond Head Cobra get away from him without a valid reason. He was well aware of the snake's priceless uses. Harry rather figured that good 'ole Tom had acquired a pair of them. He couldn't imagine Tom giving away such a valuable snake without getting something in return. In which case, what did Voldemort expect from Draco in payment for the serpent?

"I'll tell you what, Draco," Harry said, "I'll make it easy on you. You just say yes or no when I give a name. Sound good to you?"

Draco didn't respond for a moment, but then nodded.

"Great." Harry said jovially. He met the blonde's eyes, suddenly serious. He had two main suspects, though he figured he'd only need one guess.

"Voldemort." He said softly, so that only the two of them heard his word.

Draco's eyes widened, then narrowed, emotions playing through his features so rapidly that Harry wasn't able to discern them. However, he had his answer.

"What does he want in return?" he asked just as softly, not waiting for the blonde to answer the first question.

Draco's jaw clenched tightly and his eyes hardened. Harry at first thought that the boy was angry with him, then realized that Draco's emotions were directed mainly towards the ones that had placed him in such a precarious situation.

"He already has what he wanted." Draco said between his clenched teeth and shifting his left arm a bit.

Harry sat back, regarding the boy neutrally. Draco appeared guarded, but also relieved. Apparently Saire was gifted to him by Voldemort, either before or after marking him. It was a disgusting parody of an exchange. Draco neither wanted the gift, or to give something in exchange. Harry wondered if he had told anyone about what had happened.

"Does anyone know?"

Draco shook his head in the negative. Harry was surprised at first, but then realized that it made sense. The boy probably didn't trust anyone. Snape's position as a spy against Voldemort may have been compromised, but it wasn't widely known. Likely, Draco still suspected the man's loyalties. And Dumbledore? A Slytherin rarely trusted such a grand-fatherly figure that Albus portrayed. No wonder Draco hadn't told anyone.

"You could, you know." Harry said.

"Like who, Elddir?" Draco snarled. "Who could I trust?"

Harry raised an eyebrow at the boy's fierceness. "There are a number of people who would listen and believe you."

"Like Dumbledore?"

Harry titled his head to the side in acquiescence. "He is one, though I doubt you would feel comfortable speaking with him."

"Understatement." Draco said, though with less veracity.

"Your Head of House would be a good idea." Harry said.

Draco curled his lip at the suggestion. Harry smirked slightly at the expected reaction. "Is he not related to you?"

"Distantly, on my mother's side."

"Through the Black family?" Harry asked, somewhat surprised. Interesting. If Draco was related to Snape through Narcissa, then Snape was similarly related to Sirius. Harry snorted inwardly at the idea. The Wizarding nobility were so inter-married that it was a wonder that separate Houses still existed. He briefly wondered if the Potter line was similarly inter-woven. He dismissed the idea as quickly as it came. He had no desire to know if he was somehow related to Snape or Malfoy, however distantly.

"Anyways," Harry said, coming back to the conversation, "He would listen to you."

Draco looked skeptical, though he didn't voice his thoughts on the matter.

"I would vouch for you as his Apprentice but I'm not sure if that would gain you any advantage or not." Harry mused, "He isn't terribly fond of me. However, I will mention it to him if you do not object."

Draco didn't respond, but he no longer looked like he was about to bolt at the first signs of trouble. Harry patted himself mentally on the back for a good deed done. He may not be fond of the Malfoy heir, but the boy certainly didn't deserve a forced servitude to the Dark Lord. The kid didn't even get the chance to decide his own stance in the confrontation. Harry would mention it to Snape, when he was sure his life was secure from the volatile Head of Slytherin.

His musings were cut short by a fierce growl, followed closely by the tell tale sounds of Saire's insults. He whipped his head around to his familiars, cringing at the site. The Griffin had his front half on the table and was looming over Saire, whose hood was spread in defense and looked about ready to strike.

Harry groaned and let his head fall heavily to the table, narrowly missing his plate and goblet.

"Just what I need." He grumbled into the wood under his head. Harry eyed the two for a moment, restraining himself from banging his head on the table again…barely.

He wasn't prepared for the full-grown Griffin 'cub' to pounce.

He was even less prepared for Saire to dash out of the creature's way by darting down the length of the table towards him and the rest of the house.

No one was prepared for Cin to tear down the table after the snake; on top of the table.

Harry reminded himself that Cineris was his Familiar and that it would be neither appropriate nor smart to kill him. He could, however, string the beast up with diamond-enchanted chains from the highest quidditch goal post; for days.

Harry let his head fall back to the table. Hard. Repeatedly.

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"Bloody irritating creatures!" Harry spat.

"He is cute though."

Harry glared at Hermione then stared at the Griffin. Cineris had returned to his normal size, somewhere in the middle of the whole fiasco in the Great Hall. It didn't stop the cub, however, from continuing his pursuit of the snake now wrapped tightly around Harry's middle.

"Adorable." He said. "Tearing up and down the Great Hall, upsetting entire house tables, scaring the students out of their wits. A couple of the younger years were tears! Even the upper classes kept their distance. They completely upset the entire lunch period. Not to mention made a mess to rival the food fight a few days ago."

"What possessed you to start a food fight, anyways?" Hermione asked.

Harry, sensing an impending lecture from the girl, quickly placated her. "It was imperative that I distract the student body."

"By starting a food fight?!"

"It worked!" Harry said. "You may not have noticed, but Albus wasn't present. Actually, neither was Moody."

"I was a little busy dodging mashed potatoes." Hermione said a bit tightly.

Harry shrugged. "There was an emergency. A food fight was the first thing that popped into my head in the short amount of time I had to work with. Besides, I got to through food at Malfoy." He said with a smirk.

Hermione humphed, and crossed her arms, looking at him with a stern expression that could rival McGonagol's best. Harry tried to ignore it.

"At least no one is likely to forget you." Hermione offered, apparently getting past him starting a little bit of mutiny. "This is going to go down in Hogwarts history. Probably could rival the reputation of the Marauders."

"How comforting." Harry said dryly.

"Cineris is young, Darion." Rowena's portrait said.

"And that's an excuse?!" he asked incredulously.

"The Familiars gifted to our Heirs age slowly, Darion. You know this."

Harry sniffed and plopped himself down on the floor below the Founder's frame. Cin sidled up to him slowly, as if searching for forgiveness. Harry ignored the cub for the most part though didn't push him away. The Griffin seemed to take this as a good sign and curled his sleek body around his feet. Harry sighed.

"That doesn't explain his temperament." He said.

"Ash Griffins are called such for more than their coloring." Rowena said from above him. "They are rather feisty creatures and they hold a reputation for sparking confrontations."

"Antagonistic." Harry said under his breath. "Why can't you get along with just one other creature?" he asked the cub. Cin didn't respond.

"He gets along with you." Rowena said almost fondly. Harry conceded to her point. He knew that Griffins were picky with those they associated with, Ash Griffins even more so than their golden-hued cousins. They were also notoriously possessive and jealous guardians. It was really a miracle that Cin accepted Saire's presence at all. He didn't like the snake, but he didn't actively work against her for the most part. They were kind of like siblings. And they got along about as well as a pair of siblings, too.

"You're like a troublesome toddler." He grumbled, flexing his bare toes under the creature's belly, eliciting a soft purr from the cub. Saire, not to be outdone, slithered out from her stranglehold around his diaphragm and curled loosely around his neck and shoulder. He took a deep breath, making sure that he was still able to breath properly after having a serpent try to strangle him.

Harry rubbed his cheek on the top of her head in greeting. He had to concede that the two were entertaining. He wouldn't really know what to do without them.

"Tell me again why we're up here along an unused corridor, in a dusty old classroom by ourselves?" Hermione asked.

"Avoiding Pomfrey." Harry commented at the same time Rowena said, "I asked him here."

Harry sent a scowl up towards the portrait above his head.

"Ok, so avoiding the vulture-doctor is just a bonus." Harry said sullenly.

"I doubt Helga would appreciate the sentiment." Rowena said.

"She doesn't need to worry," Harry said, "she's not a vulture, she's more like a kangaroo; always wants to keep me in her pouch like some way-ward chick. Poppy is the vulture. She even circles around you like one."

"You're not too fond of medi-wizards, are you?" Hermione asked.

"I have no problem with the people themselves. Both Helga and Poppy are wonderful women. I just spend far too much time needing their services."

"Some things never change, then." Hermione said with a grin.

"Regrettably." Harry said. "I'll always be hounded by crazy Slytherins out to either kill me or make me bleed. Voldemort at least doesn't torture me under the guise of being helpful. Salazar was just a bloody tyrant." He grumped.

"Was he really so bad?"

"His idea of a lesson usually involved me ending up in the Medical Wing, Hermione." Harry said dryly.

"Oh."

"He taught you valuable lessons."

Harry snorted. "I can't argue with that. I just didn't much care for his methods."

"You should be happy that he deigned to teach you at all. He was rather picky with his students."

"I'm flattered." Harry said a bit flatly. "I suppose, at least he meant to try to cause me harm. Godric always seemed to manage it accidentally. I'm not sure which is worse."

"Godric is just a little over zealous." Rowena said. "It's in his nature."

"Like it was Sal's nature to chuck snakes at my face, and potions at my feet." Harry said, "You know he actually managed to corrode the floor out from under me once, and I fell straight down three stories into a cave system under the school that no one knew about." He tilted his head to the side in thought. "I wonder if its still there."

"Helga used the opportunity to teach you how to mend bones, if I recall."

"Yea, mine." Harry grumped. "Five of them. I had all kinds of practice."

"Practical application is the best way to learn." Hermione said.

"My sentiments, exactly." Rowena said with approval. Harry didn't have to see the Founder to know that she was giving Hermione a glowing look of appraisal. He felt like was being ganged up on. Two on one odds were hardly fair.

"Why me?" Harry said, hardly expecting an answer.

"No one can truly answer that, Darion." Rowena said.

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