Warnings: Language, possible spelling errors, men in girls bathrooms showing off their serpents, you know, the usual.

Chapter 25-Parseltongue

The first day of Christmas break found Hogwarts in eerie, chilled silence. It seemed like everyone this year decided to go home, all except a small handful. Of the Gryffindor house, the four remaining sons and only daughter of the Weasley family , Hermione, Neville, and Harry remained in the slightly drafty tower. Joining them in the tower the night before was the sole remaining Ravenclaw Luna Lovegood, of which Harry had to butter up the Fat Lady into letting her in.

"Well at least it's not a Slytherin!" the portrait had huffed.

Rom had complained, but Ron had been a git since forever, and with Percy allowing it, most likely having something to do with his own Ravenclaw girlfriend, Ron had no backing and spent sulking up in his room.

Well, his loss.

The remaining Houses- Hufflepuff and Slytherin, also had a few stragglers. The House of the Loyal retained one Susan Bones, niece of Amelia Bones, and her friend, Hannah Abbot, along with an older student named Cedric Diggory. Ever since the court ruling of Harry's temporary guardianship, Susan had reached out with a friendly hand towards Harry, and since then she and Abbot had joined his little cluster of friends. Hermione had also joined the group, as her stuck up books-are-always-right ways had been thwarted by the Slytherin, Theodore Nott. She became instrumental in the research that the twins did, and they had practically thrown themselves at Nott's feet when they managed to corner him in the hallway, thanking him as some god who saved Hermonie from the clutches of evil...or something along those lines.

The two ended up sporting emerald and silver striped hair for a week, grinning like maniacs the entire time.

In any case, Slytherin had two students remain; Blaise Zabini and a Seven Year student whom Harry didn't know. Overall there were fourteen students out of the entire castle that remained behind. Neville said he should've gone home, but with explaining to his Grandmother about the Potter's will, she had agreed to let he and Harry get to know each other more.

The morning saw the Great Hall with only one table, making the remaining students and teachers eat together. However, this morning there was only one person sitting at the table. It was still early, but Harry was always up earlier than should be normal for a twelve-year old boy. Neville and Luna had come to join him a few minutes after he arrived, where Luna seemed to float over and pile some strawberries and honeydew slices onto his plate while saying something about warding off Heliopaths, not that he complained.

Harry had been enjoying his bacon when Fred and George came storming in, their eyes wide and grins spread across their faces.

"Guess who-"

"-showed up today?"

"Who?" Neville asked, setting his fork down.

Beaming, the twins smoothed out the Marauder's Map on a clear spot on the table, pointing towards the Headmaster's Tower. Harry leaned forward to look.

Several small dots were in the room that their finger was pointing to. One was labeled 'Albus Dumbledore', who sat stationary, most likely at his desk. Two more stood a little off near the window were labeled 'Charles Weasley' and 'Octavian Swingly', while the trio that resided in front of Dumbledore's dot were labeled as 'Amelia Bones', 'Abraxas Malfoy' and 'Marvolo Slytherin'.

The strange combination made Harry raise an eyebrow. "I thought your brother worked with dragons?" And Hagrid wasn't trying to raise Norwegian Ridge-backs in his house again, so why was he here?

"Dunno, he never said anything about visiting either," Fred said with a shrug.

They watched the small group before the dots began to move and leave Dumbledore's office, slowly descending through the castle before stopping at...

"Isn't that a girl's bathroom?"

Neville jumped, almost spilling pumpkin juice all over himself when Hermione popped up behind him, looking over at the map.

"Myrtle lives there," Luna added with a soft hum. "Perhaps they found the nest of Nargles there?"

Well, interest had been peaked, and so the twins grabbed Harry, abandoning his breakfast to escape to see what was going on in Myrtle's bathroom. Neville said that he'll find out from them later, while Luna smiled absently at the air and Hermione shook his head muttering "Boys".

"-I can't believe there's been a BASILISK just sitting under Hogwarts all these years!" Madam Bone's voice echoed down the hallway as the trio crept closer. "I'm surprised there's hasn't been more deaths than one fifty years ago!"

"Are you sure Lord Slytherin will be alright going down alone?" an unfamiliar accented voice asked softly.

Slowly rounding the corner, keeping to the shadows, Harry could see the speakers. Amelia was standing arms crossed, looking rather serious. A fiery haired man that could only be Charlie stood alongside a sandy, spiky haired man who looked a little concerned, while the much taller and beefier Abraxas Malfoy stood alongside them, looking like his birthday just came early. Dumbledore seemed to take on Amelia's serious scowl with his disarming smile. It wasn't very effective.

"He'll be fine," the older Malfoy said, patting the man who had to be Octavian on the shoulder. "Itzal listens to those who speak the tongue of his original master. Marvolo will make sure he keeps his killer gaze in check."

"I can't believe we get to take him back home," Charlie said, looking just as excited as Abraxas did. "A Basilisk! There hasn't been a siting of one in a century, and having one as old as this just living right under our feet! And we get to take it back to the Reserve!"

Octavian didn't look too convinced.

Meanwhile Amelia was muttering about making an official apology to Hagrid, but she was too far away for Harry to hear what that was all about.

They didn't have much longer to wait for any excitement, as Harry could hear someone within the bathroom speaking.

"Come on, Itzal! Get your sorry ass out here you fucking lazy bastard of a serpent!"

"Why should I?" came the deep huff of a reply. "I've done just fine being down here for the last thousand years. I can carry on in the same manner. I don't need to go to some dragon-filled shit hole. You're lucky you're of Salazar's blood, or I would've swallowed you whole!"

Someone's back appeared in the doorway, before turning to stick his head out, the amethyst eyes narrowed as Lord Slytherin glared at the others. "Hang on a moment- he's being difficult. Petulant child." He sniffed before pulling his head back into the bathroom. "And you were complaining that you were bored when I saw you last."

"I was. I just don't want to deal with dragons. They're annoying and stuck up and strut around like scaly, fire-breathing peacocks. Besides, the last time you said you were getting me out I ended up killing that girl and you used her for-"

"Okay okay, I was a prat then, I'm sorry." He didn't sound very sorry though. "Shall I widen the doorway for Your Royal Highness so you can get your fat ass out of the bathroom?"

"Fine fine. Do what you will, Salazar's demon spawn. Tell that fire-haired one not to cry all over his poor babies if I end up eating his precious dragons."

The doorway suddenly widened to unimaginable proportions and Lord Slytherin stepped out into the hallway, followed by the head of the biggest snake Harry had ever seen. It was massive, a green-grey color, its eyes possibly a yellow if the second eyelids weren't covering up the color so it wouldn't end up killing anyone. The others stepped back, Dumbledore in shock, Octavian and Charlie in awe, Amelia just because she didn't want to get squashed, and Abraxas didn't move at all, looking like he wanted to run up and give the thing a hug as it forced its fifty foot long body out of the doorway and into the corridor.

"This is Itzal," Marvolo said dully, gesturing his hands up to the massive serpent. "Itzal, these are Dumbledore, Bones, Malfoy, Weasley, and Swingly. I wouldn't mind if you ate Dumbledore."

Harry didn't know why all except Dumbledore shivered slightly. Even Fred and George did.

"No, he's old and tastes like soggy lemons." The massive head turned suddenly, its hooded gaze turning towards the shadowed corner that Harry and the twins hid in. "And who are they?"

Harry, feeling sheepish for being called out by a giant serpent, stepped out of the shadows. "Hello," he said, waving slightly towards the group. Only to lower his hand as everyone just gaped at him- which looked quite strange of a fifty-foot Basilisk.

"Harry-" Fred hissed as the twins stepped out beside him.

"Why didn't you tell us-"

"You were a Parselmouth?"

Harry blinked. "A what?" What on Earth was a Parselmouth?

Amelia recovered with a strangled clearing of her throat. "Harry, do you understand what this...Basilisk...is saying?" she asked slowly.

"Well, yeah. I mean, didn't everyone? It was quite a comical conversation." He let out a nervous laugh, which died very quickly, anxiety gnawing at his stomach and breakfast sitting rather heavily in his gut. "W-weren't you listening?"

All of a sudden, Lord Slytherin was standing before him, amethyst eyes gazing down at him. "This should be impossible," he muttered, looking Harry up and down like some sort of specimen he was considering on dissecting. "The Potters aren't related to Slytherin line."

"Well, they are related to the youngest Peverel," Amelia butted in, folding her arms. "As were the Gaunts related to the eldest."

Marvolo huffed. "Yes, well, only the eldest of the three spoke Parseltongue, and the bloodline should've thinned out by then." He muttered under his breath, circling Harry as the boy stood rigid where he stood, crossed between horrified and confused. He was related to Slytherin?

"Harry, my boy, have you always understood snakes?" Dumbledore asked suddenly. Harry repressed the urge to wrinkle his nose at the Headmaster's choice of words. It reminded him too much of Uncle Vernon. "I accidentally set a boa constrictor on my cousin at the zoo if that's what you mean," he ground out. "But I don't understand. That snake spoke English, and so did this one." He gestured up to the Basilisk, which was occupied in receiving chin scratches from Abraxas who was cooing softly to the massive beast, much to Octavian's uneasiness.

"You don't even know that you speak it," the amethyst-eyed Lord said, and it wasn't a question. The man stopped before him, folding his arms as he studied the boy before him. It made Harry queasy, yet he squared his jaw and stared up at the strange colored eyes in stubborn defiance. He swore he saw the taller man's lips twitch and one eyebrow rise just a centimeter higher.

"It's a spell, most likely," the man said suddenly, turning to look over his shoulder towards Amelia. "The evidence points to as such. It seems not to cause any harm in his Magical Core or his appearance, so it's probably best just to let it lie."

"That may not be the best idea," Dumbledore said soothingly. "There are many who fear such Dark abilities, and it may be detrimental to Harry if the news gets out."

"I don't mind," Harry blurted out, feeling the twins step even closer towards him as if rebutting Dumbledore's words. "I mean, it will be useful when I become a Magical Veterinarian. Besides, I like snakes."

This time the Slytherin Lord's lips twitched upward, while Abraxas stifled a chuckle, Amelia shook her head in amused exasperation, Charlie grinned, Octavian looked a little confused, and Dumbledore looked taken aback.

"I support my ward's choice," Amelia said, butting in before Dumbledore could say otherwise. "And if does become a problem with the students, I will be glad to come in an explain how one Parselmouth managed to save the entire school from potential disaster by removing a colossal, poisonous, killer-glare serpent from Hogwart's basement." She gave Dumbledore 'The Look', daring him to say otherwise. He suppressed a sigh of defeat. It was super effective.

"The Hatchling's adorable. Can I take him with me to the dragon-filled Hell?"

Lord Slytherin scowled. "No."

Harry smiled as Fred and George waved at Charlie, who waved back, before the three of them were shooed away by Amelia.

The trio returned to the Common Room, where they delved into the tale with the others. They didn't seem scared of Harry's snake talking ability at all, in all actuality, they seemed rather intrigued by it, and Neville shook his head saying something like "Only you, Harry." Well, all except for Ron, who called from the couch that Harry was turning Dark. That received a slap over the back of the head by Percy, to which the twins and Ginny cheered. Apparently Percy wasn't so bad after all.

And when Christmas morning came, Harry shouldn't have been surprised to find Wizard's Best Friend: A Guide to Magical Pets from Around the World by Guiscard Garsea from Hermonie, several plants that were used in potions to treat animal illnesses from Neville, and a recently hatched Alaskan Ice Viper from the Weasleys included with his pile of other small gifts of sweets, a book on Magical horse breeds from Gereon, and the usual Weasley matriarch care package along with a note from Amelia saying she was going to pick him up that afternoon to visit his godfather.

Curling the small ice blue and white serpent around his neck before being smooshed between two identical Weasleys claiming their love for him for giving them a book of jokes and pranks and successfully knocking a then-sleeping Umbra off his lap, the genet giving the pair a look before flicking off under the couch to hide from the madness, Harry couldn't help but smile. It was the best Christmas he could ever ask for.

Notes:

Harry's Parseltongue abilities is shown. Marvolo is both confused and intrigued, and might be getting closer to finding his last Horcrux. Abraxas treats all large monstrous things like puppies. Amelia's not amused by Dumbledore's shenanigans. Ron's a prat. Percy's less of a prat. The twins be twins. Hermione's rejoined the group. And other things.

Oh, and Harry got himself a snake now, lol.

Have I ever mentioned how I love making things up? Species and book titles and random OCs that show up for one chapter? I love it.

ALSO THIS STORY IS UP TO 40 REVIEWS, 41 STALKERS and 25 FAVES, which in total is THE HIGHEST FOR ANY OF MY STORIES EVEAR! *sobs dramatically* I love you guys.

And response to reviews:

H.N. Dots: England's working on getting irritated. He's having doubts, but doesn't want to doubt the man who saved him the last time with the last dark lord. Not all that glitters is gold, he's finding out. And daww, you have a nice day too!

MillieTheKitty27: It's official- Miracle Man is tacky. But tacky's cool, right? And Snape's boss. I think he needs to get more action... gotta plan another chapter with him in it... Also Snape does know about Marvolo, he just doesn't say anything about it because of obvious reasons. I'm trying to make a lot of character's their own personalities, but I don't know how well I'm doing making them all original and shit. Also apparently Vati and Scot turned out to be a very good idea as a pairing. Which is all thanks to PChesire, who convinced my brain to support the notion. Which works well for me, because before Vati didn't even have a pairing, he just went solo in his sad little corner of abandonment while everyone else was snogging face.

MusicalDragon: 1, I love your name, it's kind of whimsically awesome. 2, I'm glad you like it that much. I try (sometimes) to make this story the best, but I tend to get lazy or my brain gets off track and then suddenly things happen and I'm left confused as to what the characters are doing. I have no idea what I'm doing, just trying to make characters from the story much more boss than they were. I need to get more country action too, hurm... AND IGGY WAKE UP, IT'S A QUARTER AFTER NOON! (gasp, what is England's territory doing in Mexico? You aren't James Bond, are you?)

IN OTHER NEWS:

I'm working on multiple plot ideas, some of which I have started developing, and some are just in brain stage, of which I am willing to share with all of you. It's like free advertising, only that you get to reap the benefits of my labor.

I have ONE Homestuck one-chapter-only story that is... well...about two-thirds done. It probably should be at least two or three chapters long, but I'm lazy and so it's going to end up being one giant ass chapter. It is a Petstuck-based story, of which the idea came to me about a year after I read the stories that were written on that area which I don't even remember the title to to give credit where it's due. The story will include The Grand Highblood, The Sufferer, all three Pyropes, and Mituna. Strange combination, I know, but I wanted to try something a bit different than the norm... Anyway, that'll be up within the week or so if I get off my lazy ass, so if you're interested, stay tuned.

I have ONE Hetalia story that is in planning and I might actually get to typing up the first chapter soon. I'm actually quite excited for this story (PChesire should know, she gets to read my ten thousands PMs every day with my rambling ideas). Ideas are being tossed around, but I think it's going to fall down to a combination of:

Wingfic, Human/human-likefic, Schoolfic, which will include rival groups, the weirdest combination of roommates ever, scheduled up to 37 countries, not including Greece or Turkey which I completely forgot when I was making my list but will be added, and includes Rome, Scotland, Wales, Ireland, Sealand, Belgium, Vatican, Seborga, San Marino, and a lot of the main-cast countries, to which I am thinking of opening for OCs and countries that I may have forgotten or not included so far.

This story is sort of based on a Songbirds vs Birds of Prey senario, with a third party of 'Others' that would include seabirds, peafowls, flamingos, and other birds that are not classified as 'Raptors', which include owls, falcons, eagles, hawks, kites, and osprey, or birds classified in the clade of Passeriformes, or perching birds or commonly known as 'Songbirds'. The 37 countries I have listed are those whom I have paired with a bird species, of which some I paired due to their personality, some due to their looks, and some because why the fuck not? and all because they live in or approximately in the general area of which birds reside geographically to the country that I paired them to. Some are not typical bird wing-types or forms used in the few Wingfics I have read, although some are blatantly obvious (like America has Bald Eagle wings, because like he'd be anything else).

Lastly, I have ONE plot idea that I have no idea when I will ever get to work on. It's a Harry Potter story, including Eli whom is in this story, and will be based on Harry being raised by a Muggle who happens to be a potter. Like, a legit potter. He runs a pottery shop and makes ceramic shit and things. It's both crazy and silly at the same time, and I have no idea how I'll ever get it out of my head and onto my computer and make it sound any decent. Because people will go up to Harry and be like "You look like a Potter," and he'll be all like "Why yes, I am." Because technically, yes, he is a potter. He makes pots and vases and shit, with his father. And his father's very open to things, which lets Eli get away with magic because it's 'South American Native/Aztec/Mayan/Incan Voodoo' or some other fucked-up thing she can come up with that makes absolutely no sense but he just nods his head and accepts it.

See? It's quite silly, but I don't care. My brain likes to revolt.

Anyway, at this moment in time everything one big giant awesome mess and if you guys want to get in onto my thinking jams via PMs, you can go right ahead and shoot them at me because I love talking ideas through. I don't mind sharing at all, because it's not like it's some big secret or something. Well, some things I keep secret, but a lot of the ideas and things I can always use the help to go through and say 'yay' or 'nay' to.

Lastly, sorry for the long winded rambling. I like to share. :3

(This chapter was posted on June 15, 2014)

Next Chapter: One Step at a Time