AN: Chapter 10, after the loss of all things on the computer, was a pain to write. It does, however, have up sides for me, which in my opinion are twofold. One, it is very short! Two, it has Remus/Sirius in it. Yippee!!! As I said before, the canon Draco and Harry never actually made me think of them as a couple (except that JKR constantly has Harry in and out of closets, hmm…). I think they'd be a splendid couple, so in my story they are. (As well as another couple, but that doesn't really show up 'till later. And don't blame me, I didn't come up with it, the characters were just wandering around the fringes of my story and I suddenly realized that they were going out behind my back! Not my fault.) Oh and Narcissa's popping up again. Yay!

Thanks to everyone who's been giving me so much encouragement. I will be continuing the story after all.

Disclaimer: I don't own any of J. K. Rowling's WONDERFUL creations and I am sincerely sorry about the butchering that they receive at my hands. And keep your paws off Nat. He's all mine!

Parlance of the Serpent

Chapter 10

Harry wiped the dirt on his hands off on his robes and stood up. He took off his glasses and tried to clean them on the hem of his shirt, succeeding only in spreading the soil around more. Harry replaced his glasses and walked over to where Professor Nimity was taking notes with a bent quill.

"Um, excuse me Professor Nimity."

"Ah, Harry," the professor looked up and smiled toothily at him. "You've finished picking up the Blue Blindertree seeds? Are you sure? They tend to spring up when you expect them to be gone."

Harry grimaced.

"Ah yes, I see you have already figured that out. Well you may go now, just be careful in the future."

"Thanks Professor."

Harry picked up his books and left the greenhouse. Professor Nimity had been extremely understanding, only taking three points and making him clean up after class. Ron had offered to stay and help, but Harry had insisted that he do his own work. Now, as he walked across the courtyard to the large front doors, his tired back made him regret that decision.

"Alrigh' Harry?"

Harry turned away from the door and grinned. Rubeus Hagrid, Care of Magical Creatures professor, was trudging across the courtyard towards him toting a sack of books.

"Hi Hagrid," Harry said. "I'm all right. Just a bit tired from cleaning up in greenhouse six."

"Just had Elsa Nimity did yeh?" Hagrid grinned broadly beneath his whiskers. "What'd yeh make of her, then?"

"I liked her I guess," Harry shrugged. "I had to clean up the greenhouse for spilling some seeds. Not that I didn't deserve it. Harry added.

"Good, good," Hagrid bellowed as he held the doors open for Harry to go through. "An' how'd yeh like my class then?"

"It was great, Hagrid," Harry said enthusiastically. "I loved the augury Ron brought in."

"Yeh," Hagrid agreed jovially. "I was worried mighta made the class sad, but he said it'd work out. Ron's been a great help settin' up the class. If he don' go on t'other things, I reckon he'd make a right good professor."

"Somehow I don't see it," Harry said, grinning at the idea of his friend teaching. "Speaking of other teachers, how's Madam Maxime doing?"

"Oh, eh," Hagrid hitched up his sack, pleased and slightly embarrassed at the mention of his fiancée. "Olympe's doin' fine. Actually comin' t'see me at Christmas. An' I'm visitin' her soon on weekends an' such."

"That's excellent Hagrid," Harry said. "Look, I've got to get up to the common room."

"Right. Come round fer tea sometime next week. Bring yer friends."

"Of course," Harry waved as he walked up the staircase to the common room. "See you."

Harry walked quickly to his common room, hoping to catch Hermione with a free moment to help him with his new Herbology work. As he approached the portrait of the Fat Lady, Harry saw it swing open. Dean Thomas and Ginny Weasley rushed out, and almost into Harry.

"Hey," Harry said, stopping the pair. "Where's the fire?"

"In my brother's hair," Ginny said, pushing past him. "Run for cover."

"She's right, Harry," Dean said. "Ron and 'Mione are having a bit of spat… which means flying objects are sure to follow."

"Oh no!"

Harry hurried through the still open portrait hole. Inside the common room, he stopped and stared at the scene in front of him. Ron stood by the huge fireplace, his face redder than his hair, yelling at Hermione, who stood on the other side of the room glaring back at him. Harry saw his friends' book bags lying on the floor near them, clearly dropped in haste and anger. Other students were clearing out of what was apparently the battleground. Harry stopped Neville in his pursuit for the portrait hole.

"Hey, Neville," Harry asked, grabbing Neville by the arm. "What's this all about?"

"Well it's," Neville began, only to be interrupted by Ron's bellow.

"HOW DARE YOU TALK TO THAT… THAT… THAT… THAT SLIMY FERRET!"

"Ah, never mind," Harry said, letting Neville go. "It's Malfoy."

"HOW DARE YOU DECREE WHO I CAN AND CANNOT TALK TO!" Hermione countered.

"BUT HE'S MALFOY!"

"SO WHAT?"

"Hermione," Harry said calmly as he walked into the fray.

"SO WHAT? HE'S A DEATH EATER'S SON!"

"Ron!" Harry turned to his other friend.

"THAT DOESN'T MAKE HIM A DEATH EATER!"

"YES, IT DOES!"

"NO, IT DOESN'T!"

"WILL YOU BOTH SHUT UP?"

Ron and Hermione stopped shouting, surprised by Harry's intrusion. Harry stood between the two of them, his wand raised.

"You may not care about your own eardrums," Harry said. "But try thinking about the rest of us."

"Harry's right Ron," Hermione said, taking a deep breath. "We should try to talk about this, screaming won't get us anywhere."

"There's nothing to talk about," Ron said quietly, his voice full of rage. He pulled out his wand and pointed it at his book bag. "Accio book bag. As far as I'm concerned, there's nothing to talk about. Ever."

Ron slung his bag over his shoulder and stalked up to the boy's dormitory. Harry and Hermione stood for a moment looking after him, then Hermione broke down in tears. Harry rushed over to her and hugged her. He guided her gently to a couch and sat down next to her.

"Sh, Hermione," He said soothingly. "He didn't mean that. You know Ron when he's angry. He just says the first thing that pops into his head."

"I know," she replied through her tears. "It's just so upsetting."

"Will you tell me what happened?"

"He's upset that I was talking to Nathair and Draco."

"Why were you talking to Malfoy?" Harry said, shocked. "And why are you calling him Draco?"

"Oh, you," Hermione said angrily, jumping up from the couch. "You and Ron are so closed-minded. You can't conceive of people changing, can you? Have you ever stopped to think that maybe Draco's not that bad? That maybe he isn't as immature as he used to be?"

"Yes," Harry replied calmly. "I have."

"Oh," Hermione sat down again, hesitantly. "You have?"

"Look, 'Mione," Harry looked around to make sure nobody else was there. Harry looked around to make sure nobody else was there. "I want to tell you something, only it's really important that no one else finds out, not even Ron."

"It's not as though I can talk to Ron about anything now anyway," she said pulling out a handkerchief to blow her nose.

"Stop it. You know he'll start talking to you again, he's just upset and confused. Now can I tell you this?"

Hermione nodded, her eyes serious.

"Dumbledore asked Sirius to tell me this, but only me. I'm sure I can trust you, though, and I think you could help Ron a bit by knowing it. You know how Lucius Malfoy was taken to Azkaban? Well, his wife and son were the ones who turned him in."

Harry proceeded to recount to Hermione what Sirius had told him the day he left for Diagon Alley. She listened quietly, only sometimes displaying surprise. When he was done they sat silently. Hermione suddenly broke the silence.

"Poor Draco."

"Excuse me?"

"Poor Draco," she repeated. "He must feel so conflicted now."

"What do you mean?"

"Well he did something wonderful for our cause, but he's still in a very dangerous position. He can't openly state that he helped us because his family had so many connections to the Death Eaters. His two best friends, Crabbe and Goyle, are both Death Eaters' sons. He's safe here, but his mother isn't. And Draco's also too proud to admit that he changed his mind helped us. Not when he's derided our cause for so many years."

"I suppose so," Harry replied. "I'd never really thought of Malfoy that way."

"He's not actually that bad if he's not insulting you," Hermione continued. "We've been assigned as partners in Spelling, so I worked with him in class today. And he's friendly with Nat, the other member of S.P.E.W. That's really why I was talking to them after class, why Ron was so upset."

"Hermione."

Harry and Hermione turned around to see an embarrassed Ron standing at the bottom of the stairs. They stood up and Harry started to head for the dormitories.

"I'll just give you two a moment," he said. "Shall I?"

"Yeah," Ron said gratefully. "Thanks mate."

Harry started up the stairs, shooting Hermione a wide-eyed look as he did so. As he entered the dormitory, he found Seamus Finnigan reading.

"Well," he asked when he saw Harry come in. "Did they sort themselves out?"

"Yeah," Harry replied, laying his books by his bed. "How did you manage to calm Ron down?"

"I just told him jokes and ignored his bad mood. He laughed, but eventually he felt uncomfortable and said he 'had to go get a book.' I just didn't bring it up."

"Good job."

As Harry opened his bureau to get cleaner robes, Hedwig swooped through the open tower window with a letter in her beak. She landed on her perch next to Harry's four-poster, and dropped the letter into his hand.

"Thanks Hedwig," Harry muttered affectionately.

He turned the letter over to see that it was from Sirius. He opened it quickly, took out the single piece of parchment, and began to read.

Dear Harry,

How are you? Are your classes interesting? Are your teachers treating you well? Obviously, that last question excludes a certain slimy haired, long nosed, so-called 'professor.' As I write this, Remus is looking over my shoulder and chastising me for encouraging you to disrespect your professors. He's right as usual, I suppose.

As I clearly stated, Remus is finally back from visiting his parents. Peter's much too good at hiding himself and I continue to regret the day that he joined us in our Animagus studies. Not many of Voldemort's supporters are out and free, so he doesn't have too many people to hide him, which is one comforting thought at least.

When is your next Quidditch match? I ask because Dumbledore has invited Remus and me for tea at Hogwarts and I was hoping the two events could coincide. I have only seen you play once, but I remember that you were fantastic!

I've got to go now. Write soon and often. Eat well, stay warm, don't hurt yourself, and don't tell me I sound like an old lady.

With much love,

Sirius

P.S. Remus sends his love too.

P.P.S. I thought you would be interested to know that I'm in contact with Narcissa Malfoy now. You see we were quite good friends at Hogwarts before she started mixing with Lucius. Apparently, she will also be in Hogsmeade on your first weekend there. (It's in four weeks, yes?) You may have to see her son a bit more than usual on that weekend. Her husband's arrest was extremely hard on her.

Love again,

Sirius

Harry folded up the letter and returned it to its envelope. He didn't like the idea of his family getting close to the Malfoys, but he also didn't want to stop Sirius from seeing his old friends, especially if Mrs. Malfoy needed help. And he remembered the conversation he had just had with Hermione about Draco Malfoy. If she could manage talking to him and working in class with him, perhaps spending time with him and his mum a little over one weekend wouldn't be a complete disaster.

"Bad news?" Seamus asked.

"No," Harry replied, getting out a quill and parchment. "Quite the opposite in fact. Dumbledore's invited Remus Lupin and my godfather to tea and Quidditch next week."

"It'll be nice to see Professor Lupin again," Seamus said enthusiastically. After a pause he added, "And…Mr. Black, of course."

"Yes it will be," Harry said, ignoring the other boy's discomfort at the mention of Sirius. The last time his godfather had visited had been a bit uncomfortable because most of the students, and some of the staff, still thought that Sirius would try to murder them in their beds. "They're also coming for our first Hogsmeade vacation."

"Oh. Brilliant," Seamus said, sounding like it was anything but.

"Who's coming?" Ron had appeared at the door, a huge grin on his face. "Not Remus and Sirius?"

"Yeah," Harry replied, glad that Ron had broken the tension in the room.

"Super!"

"You and Hermione sorted it all out then?"

"Yes." Hermione walked through the door and sat down on the edge of Ron's bed.

"Oy, Hermione," Seamus complained. "You're not supposed to be in here!"

"Oh honestly, Seamus," she replied. "Nobody's changing, are they?"

"As a matter of fact I was just about to," Harry remarked with a smile.

"Rubbish, Harry. You were about to write a letter to Sirius." She pointed matter-of-factly at the parchment and paper Harry had just pulled out.

"Brilliant, Holmes," Harry laughed.

"What?" Ron sat down next to Hermione, his face a picture of confusion.

"It's a muggle reference," Hermione said.

Harry stopped listening as Hermione and Seamus explained Sherlock Holmes to Ron. He sat on his bed, absently stroking Hedwig's feathers, as he thought about his family at home. It would be wonderful to see Sirius and Remus again. The two men were closer to parents than he'd ever had, and at the same time, closer to siblings than he'd ever had. It had only been a few weeks, but Harry was already homesick.

Again, Harry's mind was brought back to the issue of the Malfoys. He'd only met Narcissa Malfoy once and he'd had the impression of a very unhappy woman. If turning in her husband had heightened her sadness, Harry was all in favour of Sirius's friendship with her. The only problematic point was Harry's relationship with her son. Harry was willing to admit that Draco Malfoy might be less horrible than before, but that didn't mean he wanted to spend all of his weekend at Hogsmeade with him either

For about the hundredth time Harry wished that Draco had a pleasant personality to match his charm and good looks. Perhaps then his attraction to the other boy would be a bit more bearable. On the other hand, Harry was not eager to fully acknowledge the attraction he was feeling. His silent reverie was suddenly broken.

"Harry, help me," Hermione said. "What other books did Sir Arthur Conan Doyle write?"

"I don't know Hermione," Harry said, turning back to the events at hand. "The Dursleys were not exactly what you might call avid readers and Remus and Sirius know absolutely nothing about muggle culture."

"Really?" Hermione said, shocked. "But Remus always seems so cultured."

"Well you can complain to him next week when they come to the Quidditch match."

"Yeah 'Mione," Ron added grinning. "Unless you mind Sirius biting off your leg when you criticise his Moony."

"I say, that's not fair," Harry countered, laughingly. "He only bit your leg once and it had nothing whatsoever to do with him and Remus."

"Honestly you two," Hermione said, noticing Seamus' growing discomfort at the idea of Sirius Black biting off someone's leg. "Stop being so childish. Harry when you write your letter be sure to send my love to them. And now I have homework to do. And so do you, Ron."

Ron rolled his eyes and followed Hermione down to the common room. Seamus went back to his book and Harry began to write his letter.

Dear Sirius,

I'm doing well here. Classes are going tolerably well. We've got new Defence and Herbology teachers, as you already know. Nimity (Herbology) is nice enough, and Myrmidian's only flaw that I can see is that he's partial to Slytherins, including you friend the slimy one. (Don't tell Remus I said that, because I can't make up with him the way you do!)

I'd love you and Remus to come down here. Ron and Hermione are excited about seeing you two as well. Our first Quidditch match is next week on Wednesday. Gryffindor versus Slytherin.

And speaking of which, I think it's great that you and Mrs. Malfoy are friends. Honestly, I don't mind a bit. If you really like her I promise I'll try to be nicer to her son when you and she are around.

Hermione and Ron send their love, and so do I,

Harry

P.S. Myrmidian says that Remus is coming to help teach his classes at some point. Is this true? When is he coming? Tell him everyone here's really excited about that.

Harry perused the letter, searching for any faults before sealing it off. He tied it securely to Hedwig's leg, gently stroking her snowy breast feathers as he did so. Hedwig cooed happily and took off out the open dormitory window. Harry walked over to the window and leaned out, watching her fly away until the flapping of her white wings blended with the white of the clouds in the blue sky. Harry looked down and saw figures moving on the Quidditch pitch. Figures in green and silver robes. He watched them for a few moments, flying across the pitch, before pulling his head back inside the dormitory. He knew it would do no good to dwell on the upcoming match. He walked over to his bed and started changing into his clean robes. Neville suddenly opened the door and came in, staggering under the weight of books.

"Ah, Harry," he panted. "Hermione sent me up here with a message for you. She says you're to come down at once and work on your Potions essay."

"Thanks Neville," Harry rolled his eyes and grabbed his books.

"I had some questions about it," Neville said shyly. "Could I come along?"

"Yeah, com on" Harry said warmly, and lead the way down to the dormitory.