Chapter 11: The Snake
Samuel awoke very startled, and not extremely pleased to be staring right into the face of Peeves. The poltergeist whispered incoherently to Samuel about snakes and dark witches. Samuel put his hands on Peeves shoulders and pushed him down onto the bed. James woke up groggily and stared at the Poltergeist in disbelief.
"Calm down, Peeves." Samuel said reassuringly. "I believe you. Now what happened?"
"I was outside Filch's room banging pans together when I heard it. I flew to where I heard the noise, so I could drop the pans on whoever was making it." Peeves said in between snickers. "Then I hear chanting, then hissing and scraping. A snake that changed color came out from under the door and came this way. I lost it."
"Odd for a poltergeist to care." Samuel said. "Don't your kind take pleasure in hurting others?"
"But not killing!" Peeves said defensively. "I was scared of the snake, more then I'm scared of you."
"I see. Chanting you said. Do you think someone conjured this snake?"
Peeves nodded enthusiastically. "Shadows."
"You said it was headed this way?" Samuel asked.
Peeves nodded. "I had to come fast. It moves quick."
"Crap." Samuel said as he stood up and dressed himself. "James, get ready." James dug into his own bag and removed two pieces of what looked like metal piping, and fitted them together. "How big did you say this thing was?" James asked.
"Huge, twenty feet long, as big around as Hagrid's arm." Peeves said as he knocked things off of Samuel's shelves.
"Don't do that." Samuel said. Peeves stopped abruptly and folded his hands behind his back. "Was it a basilisk?"
Peeves shook his head. "No, scarier."
"You don't know what is was." Samuel asked. "Can it hurt you?"
Peeves shrugged as he stared longingly at something shiny on the window sill. "Probably not."
"Can you help my find it?" asked Samuel.
Peeves nodded as Samuel clasped his sword belt around his waist. Just then Harry burst into the room.
"It's back!" Harry cried.
"What?" asked Samuel.
"The basilisk. I heard it talking." Harry said.
"Where is it?" Samuel asked.
Harry pointed out in the hall. Samuel and James rushed out into the hall and down the stairs into the common room.
"Where?" James asked, holding his staff at ready.
"I can hear it humming." Harry said.
A low hissing noise came from the shadows and the sound of scales scraping over stone echoed through the room. The snake hissed unseen from the shadows.
"What's it saying?" Samuel called back to Harry.
"It's after the heart bearer." Harry said with a shrug.
"James get the cube on my dresser." Samuel said.
James darted back to the bed rooms and returned with the small wooden cube in his hand. Samuel took the cube and looked it over. He slowly flipped the top open and a heart shaped wooden model sprang out. Samuel was immediately hit with a feeling of extreme affection for James, though in a brotherly type fashion.
"Crap." Samuel said. "It was enchanted. I love you man."
"Great can you shake it off? I don't need you getting mushy." James replied, eyes darting around the room.
Samuel turned his head and shook off the enchantment like one would shake water from one's hands.
"I'm better." Samuel said. "Still love ya though." He cackled.
"Shut up. You know I hate snakes." James said as the two brothers stood back to back, slowly turning around searching the room for the snake.
"Well now that I'm the heart bearer it should get stirred up pretty quick." Samuel said. "Harry?"
"He's quiet." Harry said, still standing on top of the stairs.
The slithering sound stopped and Samuel noticed movement in the far corner of the room. A translucent shape moved out into the center of the common room. The shape seemed to coil in on itself. The hissing started again.
"I think it's mad." Harry said.
The snake changed to a brilliant shade of blue for a split second then blended in again with the room. A loud shrill rattling was heard from the general direction of the snake. Samuel drew his sword and held it in both hands, ready to defend himself.
"Just like home." Samuel said. "Remember the rattlesnakes." he asked James.
"Yeah only this thing is kinda small compared to what we've seen." James replied.
"Yeah but, ours don't change color."
"They also don't have poison that eats through carpet." James said, indicating the snake. The snake had opened it's maw and a tiny droplet of venom had dripped from it's fang, burning a hole in the rug that partially covered the common room.
"So much for a dry bite." Samuel said.
"What I'd give for a giant hoe right now." James said.
"It's challenging you." Harry said.
"Tell it that it is lower then the lowest of cattle, and the dust is it's meal" Samuel said. "Tell it that my brother and I are the seed of woman, and we will bruise it's head before it bruises our heel."
Harry looked at Samuel questioningly for a moment then made a low series of hissing noises. The snake seemed to be rattling louder and faster. "It's going on about the ancient curse. It didn't like that very much."
The snake lunged at Samuel with lightning speed and deadly aim. Samuel evaded the snake's head and James moved into position behind his brother again. The snake slithered around the two and Samuel turned slowly, never taking his eyes away from the head. The snake lunged at James, who knocked it aside with his staff.
"It's toying with us." Samuel said. "Get ready."
A long moment passed, then the snake started moving with incredible speed. In response the brothers danced out of it's way, returning blows of their own. Neither party was successful in injuring the other. The speed at which the brothers, and the snake moved was mesmerizing and Harry lost track of them both. Finally the snake showed signs of tiring, though the brothers were sweating as well. In a second the snake lunged at Samuel, and in response Samuel brought his sword down on the snake's neck as he stepped aside. The head fell to the floor with a thud.
"Whew." Harry said.
"It ain't over." Samuel said as the snake's body began thrashing wildly about the room, knocking things over and breaking others. The brothers stepped aside and finally the body stopped thrashing, it's colors changing rapidly. Samuel wiped his forehead and wiped his sword off and stuck it in his scabbard. James shook Samuel's hand and they started up the stairs.
"That was amazing." Harry said. "Could you teach me how to use a sword?"
"Sure." Samuel said. "Doubt Dumbledore would approve though."
Harry's eyes widened and his jaw trembled. "Guys." He said pointing back to the snake.
Samuel and James turned around to see the snake looming over the common room, it was much larger, and had two heads where there had been only one.
"A hydra." Samuel said. "Clever."
The wizard slayer drew his sword and charged at the snake. "Hope you know a fire spell." He called back to Harry. Harry drew his wand in response, James held out his staff. With lightning speed Samuel dropped one of the snake's heads to the floor, and two more started to grow back in it's place. Harry waved his wand at the stump and a blast of fire seared the rapidly healing wound shut. Samuel danced around the snake and finally dropped the second head to the floor. Before Harry could react, a burst of flame shot from behind them, and from James' staff. The flame sealed the wound and scorched where the head had been pretty bad. Hermione stepped between the two young men and grinned.
"I thought I heard something." Hermione said as she watched the snake body thrash around wildly. When it stopped she stepped forward to inspect the three heads on the ground.
"They can still bite." Samuel said, wiping the blood of his sword on the charred stump that was once the snake's neck.
"Don't be ridic…" Hermione said, then jumped back as the severed snake's head snapped at her.
"We need to get this outside. I want the skin. I think it'd make a darn fine cloak." Samuel said. Hermione and Harry levitated the dismembered snake parts and the four started outside. Samuel knocked on Hagrid's door and the large man answered in his pajamas.
"What?" Hagrid asked groggily.
"We just killed ourselves a hydra." Samuel said. "Wanna help skin the beast?"
Hagrid's already large eyes widened at the sight of the three snake heads floating behind Harry and Hermione. "Pity." Hagrid said. "Would have made a right fine pet."
"Yeah a giant rattlesnake with multiple heads would make a good pet." Samuel said. "Help me get this thing ready please. We need to dispose of it before morning."
Hagrid lumbered out of his cottage and he and Samuel took snake's body and tied it to a high hanging tree branch. Hagrid retrieved a ladder and Samuel started skinning the snake. The whole process took about an hour and Hermione knew a way to magically cure the hide. Samuel cut the rattle off the snake's tail and tossed it to James.
"Souvenir."
James grinned and inspected the still floating heads. "What are we going to do with these?"
"Get the fangs from one, preserve 'em. I've got a use for 'em." Samuel said. "What to do with the meat. I doubt it's good to eat."
Samuel raised his hand to the still dangling snake's body and a roaring blue flame shot from his hand. In seconds the snake's body was consumed, leaving nothing but a long chain of bone. Harry and James looked at Samuel in shock, and Hermione just stared. Hagrid took a step back.
"I forgot. You don't know." Samuel said. "Well that blew my cover."
"That wasn't magic." Harry said.
"I know, I'll explain later." Samuel said as he caused the larger rib bones to fall from the snake's spinal column. Samuel bundled them up and sent them floating to Hermione.
"I assume you know what these are for?" asked Samuel.
"Wands?" asked Hermione.
"Wands, Staves, whatever." Samuel said. "James can you drain the venom from the heads?"
James nodded. "I think so."
"Alright lets get this stuff in my office, and get some sleep. If that's possible after this." Samuel said. "On the bright side, almost everyone leaves tomorrow and there shouldn't be any problems 'til after Christmas vacation."
Hermione cast a preservation spell on the three hydra heads and they all went back into the castle. After stowing the hydra parts in Samuel's office they went to bed. Thankfully for all the noise few of the other students woke up. Samuel informed Filch of what happened, and a cleaning team was sent to the Gryffindor common room. The night was long and filled with nightmares of the horrible snake. Fortunately they were just that, dreams. Still dreams occasionally give glimpses into the future, and for Hogwarts the future looked grim.