A/N I wrote this chapter a long time ago and completely forgot about it. Here it is folks. If anyone would like to write a companion piece that centers around Harry's shananagans besides the bedtime stories, maybe we could collaborate.

Chapter 4:

January Fun

Harry slid down the pipe and whispered the password to the chamber in parceltongue. Asteria heard him and was already coiled up on the floor. She watched as her little heart's egg walked forward and placed down a plate of bacon. Her hatchling slid down Harry's arms and pooled in a small coil on the floor. He was now two feet long, but Her heart's egg could still hide him well, it seemed.

"His eyes just started to turn yellow today," said Harry. "It's not easy hiding him, but I managed to find the kitchens, and the house elves don't mind feeding him the rats and mice they catch around the school. It's almost February but I thought you would want to see him before Valentine's day."

"Your friends are not suspicious of you?" asked Asteria, after checking over her hatchling and whispering instructions to him. "I find that strange. From what I know of the school, most students would avoid you like the plague."

"Ron and Hermione know, and so does Draco and my other friend Daphne," said Harry. "I found a vow in a book in the library. It's supposed to keep it a secret, but not so bad as an unbreakable vow. Right now my friends and I are mostly keeping an eye on the teachers and I keep the snake wrapped around me under my clothes most of the time. Draco and Hermione taught me some basic wards, so no one snoops around in my belongings or my bed."

"And what of your head of house?" Asteria asked, still checking over her hatchling and instructing him in his venom and the proper way to keep his eyes open or closed around people. "I heard professor Snape can be quite volatile. I'm sure the other professors wouldn't like this either. Have you named my hatchling yet?"

"Well," said Harry, scuffing his foot along the stone floor, "I don't really know what to do. Nothing bad has happened yet. The hard part will be when he gets larger. I suppose I'd just bring him down here to be with you. I've decided to name him Sly. It just sounds like a good snake name to me."

"There is a room on the seventh floor you could hide him in," Asteria murmured, wrapping Harry in her coils. "Sly might like it there if you ask for the right environment."

Harry nodded as he cuddled with Asteria and Sly. Today had been fun, and he noticed that Sly's outer eyelids were closed while his inner ones were open. He wondered how much Sly could see through them. Asteria nudged him, wondering if he had been listening. He turned his attention back to her.

"This chamber was one of the first things my master Salazar built," Asteria said, going into bedtime story mode. "He built many secret nooks and alcoves hidden by special passwords only a parcelmouth could access. Over time, he built a passage that slopes up and meets up with the lake. He sealed it up so that the lake water wouldn't flood it, but it's still a good escape rout."

"When my mate joined me, he built my special home larger. He added an extra place for him to sleep. I believe the statue is in an alcove right next to Salazar's statue."

Harry listened avidly before Asteria nudged him and told him to get back up to the castle for some sleep. Sly wrapped himself around Harry's body and Harry threw on the cloak. Asteria watched them vanish from sight, then she slid into her own personal quarters to sleep.