Alaina - Hey, thanks. Here's the next chappie then.
AshesonFire - No, sable is black too. I checked a dictionary.
Close to three hours later, Harry was standing just out of sight up the stairs to the boys; dormitory, fiddling nervously with his shirt-hem. The party for the new Gryffindors had ended about half an hour earlier, and all the other boys were already in bed – and asleep, if Seamus's snoring was anything to go by – yet Harry was still standing on the stairs and trying desperately to think of something to say.
The reason was sitting right there on the sofa, polishing off the Chocoballs and reading a magazine, black hair flopping over her face. How long could one person sit there? Did she ever sleep? Maybe she was some magical creature that lived on silence and needed no rest. That would explain a lot, actually.
Harry was just steeling himself to walk up and start a conversation when a raspy, hissing voice broke the silence. It took him a few seconds to realise whoever – or whatever - it was wasn't speaking in English.
"Do you intend to sit there all night? I am getting bored. And hungry." The voice was icy cool, clipped and precise.
"I'm not going up there until I know everyone else is asleep. And I may just Stupefy them for good measure," Sabina answered, turning another page of her book. There was a quiet, reflective pause.
"You are one of the most childish girls I have ever come across."
Sabina stiffened and jerked her head up, apparently staring at her left sleeve in shock and horror. "You're calling me childish?"
"Would you prefer immature? Puerile? Infantile? Babyish? I'm quite sure I can come up with half a dozen other synonyms."
Sabina leapt up and pulled off her robe, glaring at her left arm. Or, more specifically, the creature twisted around it. "Stop calling me childish! I'm sixteen!"
"I was referring to mental age there," the snake commented, sliding off Sabina's arm and onto the sofa. "And, by the way, I will remain in the dormitory tomorrow. I know I am cold-blooded and expected to enjoy warmth, but it was terribly hot and stuffy in your sleeve. England is not Bulgaria. You're not supposed to wear five layers of clothing."
Sabina was silent for a few minutes. When next she spoke, her temper seemed under control. "You can't speak to me like that."
"Oh, how terrible. I do apologize." It was truly amazing how much sarcasm the snake's voice could convey. Sabina fumed at it for a few seconds, before draping the snake around her shoulders and stalking up to the dormitories.
Harry flattened himself against the wall to avoid being seen, and didn't move until the sharp clicking sound of Sabina's shoes died away. As he slid into the dormitory, closing the door carefully to avoid waking Ron, his thoughts buzzed with this new development. So, Sabina was a Parselmouth? That explained why her father didn't want her at Durmstrang any more. She'd probably been bullied about it. He remembered his own second year, when he'd been suspected of Dark wizardry and hissed at in the corridor, and scowled. Yeah, that would be it. Deciding to talk to her in the morning, he scrambled into bed and was asleep in ten minutes flat.
AshesonFire - No, sable is black too. I checked a dictionary.
Close to three hours later, Harry was standing just out of sight up the stairs to the boys; dormitory, fiddling nervously with his shirt-hem. The party for the new Gryffindors had ended about half an hour earlier, and all the other boys were already in bed – and asleep, if Seamus's snoring was anything to go by – yet Harry was still standing on the stairs and trying desperately to think of something to say.
The reason was sitting right there on the sofa, polishing off the Chocoballs and reading a magazine, black hair flopping over her face. How long could one person sit there? Did she ever sleep? Maybe she was some magical creature that lived on silence and needed no rest. That would explain a lot, actually.
Harry was just steeling himself to walk up and start a conversation when a raspy, hissing voice broke the silence. It took him a few seconds to realise whoever – or whatever - it was wasn't speaking in English.
"Do you intend to sit there all night? I am getting bored. And hungry." The voice was icy cool, clipped and precise.
"I'm not going up there until I know everyone else is asleep. And I may just Stupefy them for good measure," Sabina answered, turning another page of her book. There was a quiet, reflective pause.
"You are one of the most childish girls I have ever come across."
Sabina stiffened and jerked her head up, apparently staring at her left sleeve in shock and horror. "You're calling me childish?"
"Would you prefer immature? Puerile? Infantile? Babyish? I'm quite sure I can come up with half a dozen other synonyms."
Sabina leapt up and pulled off her robe, glaring at her left arm. Or, more specifically, the creature twisted around it. "Stop calling me childish! I'm sixteen!"
"I was referring to mental age there," the snake commented, sliding off Sabina's arm and onto the sofa. "And, by the way, I will remain in the dormitory tomorrow. I know I am cold-blooded and expected to enjoy warmth, but it was terribly hot and stuffy in your sleeve. England is not Bulgaria. You're not supposed to wear five layers of clothing."
Sabina was silent for a few minutes. When next she spoke, her temper seemed under control. "You can't speak to me like that."
"Oh, how terrible. I do apologize." It was truly amazing how much sarcasm the snake's voice could convey. Sabina fumed at it for a few seconds, before draping the snake around her shoulders and stalking up to the dormitories.
Harry flattened himself against the wall to avoid being seen, and didn't move until the sharp clicking sound of Sabina's shoes died away. As he slid into the dormitory, closing the door carefully to avoid waking Ron, his thoughts buzzed with this new development. So, Sabina was a Parselmouth? That explained why her father didn't want her at Durmstrang any more. She'd probably been bullied about it. He remembered his own second year, when he'd been suspected of Dark wizardry and hissed at in the corridor, and scowled. Yeah, that would be it. Deciding to talk to her in the morning, he scrambled into bed and was asleep in ten minutes flat.