Harry Potter and the Pendant of Corris

Chapter 1

The Snake Path

Harry stood at the window watching, just watching for them to come. He was waiting for Ron and Hermione to show up so that they could leave. He was beginning to get antsy. If he had to spend one more minute in the same house as the Dursleys, he was going to scream. Aunt Petunia had just discovered that Dudley was going out with friends every night to beat up younger kids, smoke, do drugs, and drink. She had been overwhelmed that her little Dudders would do anything like that. So, as a result, the atmosphere at number four, Privet Drive was just a tad bit to tense for Harry. Especially now that he knew Aunt Petunia wouldn't be getting anymore reminders from Dumbledore about his safety because now Dumbledore was dead.

Harry sighed. The one thing he wanted more in the world was for Dumbledore and Sirius, his Godfather, to still be alive. At least that way he would still have hope of a better life for himself in the future. Now he had no idea how he was ever going to make a better life for himself without the only two adults he knew for sure he could count on. Sure Ron's mom and dad were great to have in his life but it just wasn't the same as having Sirius or Dumbledore there for him. He sighed again and shifted his weight to his left leg. He had been leaning on his right leg for the pass twenty minutes and had only realized it when he noticed it started to hurt. He looked at his watch. Twenty passed two. They were supposed to have shown up at two fifthteen. They were five minutes late. What could possibly be keeping them?

Harry was just about to give all hope that they were even coming when he saw a branch on a nearby tree ruffle with the weight of something big. Squinting his eyes so he could see better, he watched the tree and saw a pair of legs sliding down the trunk. When most of the leaves had been cleared, he realized that the legs belonged to a girl with very curly brown hair. It was Hermione. She had apparently apparated into a nearby tree to avoid being seen by the muggles. Above her head, Harry saw another pair of legs. A few seconds later, Ron's red head came into view. Hermione must've had hold of his arm as Ron had not passed his apparition test. Harry sighed with relief. They had finally showed up.

"Hi Harry!" Hermione called when she reached the ground. "Sorry we're late, I had a bit of trouble getting Ron to grab hold of my arm so I could apparate us here." Harry nodded his understanding. So that's what had kept them. Ron was embarrassed about having to cling on to Hermione while she apparated rather than be able to do it himself. But soon, that would change. Both Harry and Ron would be taking the apparition test on Harry's birthday.

"Oh is that all!" Harry called. "I thought maybe you had been stopped by a wild rhino or something!" He laughed and Hermione smiled but Ron just frowned.

"Very funny Harry," he said sarcastically. "Anyway, are you ready to go?" Harry nodded and climbed out of the window. Then he pulled out his wand and pointed it at the window.

"Accio trunk!" Harry shouted and his trunk came flying out of the window. He pointed his wand at the window again and shouted, "Accio birdcage!" and Hedwig the owl's birdcage flew towards him. Once he had all of his things, he put his wand back in his pocket. "Alright, let's go." With one hand, he grabbed hold of his trunk and Hedwig's cage. With the other, he grabbed hold of Hermione's arm. "Okay, now I'm ready."

Hermione gave a slight nod at Ron who sighed heavily and took hold of her other arm. Then, she spun around and the vanished into thin air. Harry felt the all too familiar feeling of being squeezed through a small tube or pipe of some kind. The air was being knocked out of him. He shut his eyes tight and forced himself to breathe. When he opened his eyes again, they were standing in front of the Burrow. Harry let out at breath and sucked in the fresh air. He smiled at the small house in front of him. This was where Ron and his family lived. Harry loved it more than any other place in the world except for Hogwarts.

"Come on," said Ron. Let's drop off your trunk so we can get going." Harry sighed, fore unlike so many summers before they would not be staying at the Burrow. He, Ron, and Hermione were going to set out on a journey that day. He was only dropping his trunk off at the Burrow so the Dursleys wouldn't go snooping through it while he was gone.

Harry reluctantly followed Ron into the house and up the stairs to his small bedroom. Ron opened the door and Harry set his trunk down on the extra bed in the room.

"Come on mate," Ron said in an effort to cheer Harry up. "Think about it. This will be the most amazing summer any of us have ever had in our lives. We're going on an adventure, a real adventure. Aren't you excited mate?" Harry smiled and nodded. When Ron put that way, it really did sound exciting.

Just then, Hermione bustled into the room. She was holding three backpacks. She smiled at the two of them and handed them each one of the backpacks. She gave Harry a green one, Ron a blue one, and kept the red one for herself.

"What are these?" Ron asked looking at his with a puzzles expression on his face.

"They're backpacks. Muggle children use them to carry their school supplies in and to pack stuff for vacation or summer camp. They'll come in useful for us. But please, pack only what is necessary. That means no trying to cram all your Chuddley Cannons stuff into it, Ron."

"I know what it means Hermione, but thanks for the lesson anyway!" Ron shouted at her angrily. Harry just shook his head. Sometimes, he just couldn't understand Ron and Hermione's relationship. They bickered quite often but yet they still got on well. It was complicated. You really had to know the two just to understand the way their relationship worked.

"No need to be angry. It's just that last time I told you to pack only what was necessary, you went all out and tried to pack everything you had! I don't want that to happen again."

"I know Hermione. I learned my lesson from that experience. It won't happen again, I promise. I just think you need to learn how to trust me more. I'm your friend. I'm not going to do anything to embarrass you. Besides' isn't your job to embarrass us?" He laughed and Hermione scowled. She spun on her heel and headed out of the room. "What did I do?" Ron asked Harry. Harry at first shrugged been then he remembered that whenever Hermione scowled and marched out of the room, it meant she was usually upset with one of them. In this case, as in most cases, it was Ron.

"Ron, you should know by now that when she does that it means she's upset. You made her mad again. You really should watch how you react to her advice. She was only trying to be helpful you know." Ron frowned before he answered him.

"I know. It's just that for some strange reason, I love to argue with her. I know it sounds weird but I do. I really can't explain it Harry. What is going on with me? Why do I like to argue with her so much? There must be a logical explanation for this, there just must be!" Ron threw the last of his necessities into the backpack and slung it over his shoulder. "Well, come on then, we better head downstairs. Hermione would be even more furious if we take to long." Harry nodded. Slinging his own backpack over his shoulder, he followed Ron out of the room.

Harry sighed as he walked out the front door and turned around to look back at the Burrow. He was really going to miss it while he was on his journey. Not to mention he would miss Hogwarts to but he had made up his mind. He wasn't going to return to school until he had defeated Voldemort. This whole journey was to track down the remaining parts of his soul and then track him down and destroy him. Ron and Hermione were such good friends to be giving up their own seventh year of schooling to help him, especially Hermione. She loved to be the best at everything. He knew she had to really care about him to miss her year as head girl.

He and Ron waited patiently until Hermione came out. She too had the backpack slung on her back and she was also carrying a water bottle. She slipped the pack off and set on the ground so she could open it. She pulled out two more water bottles and handed them to Harry and Ron.

"Here, you're going to need it. We're in for a long journey."

"Gee thanks Hermione," said Ron, "But exactly how is one water bottle going to last us this entire journey!"

"You're so gullible Ron. The water bottles are self-refilling. Meaning whenever you run out of water the bottle will magically refill itself. Not to mention, they also keep the water nice and cold so we won't get dehydrated." Harry smiled at her.

"Wow Hermione," he said, "You really do think of everything, don't you?" Hermione beamed and hid her face. Harry could tell that she was blushing but he didn't say anything.

"Well," Hermione finally managed to say, looking up at Harry and Ron again. "We best be on our way, we're wasting time." She closed the backpack and slung it back on her back and started walking down the dirt road leading away from the Burrow. Harry and Ron looked at each other and shrugged. Then they followed Hermione down the dirt road and ran to catch up with her.

A couple of hours later, they made their way out of a forest and onto a very twisted path. Harry, Ron, and Hermione all stopped and looked at each other before continuing on their way. The atmosphere around the path was dark and gloomy. It made Harry's hair stand on end. He could tell by looking at Ron's face that he was nervous. Hermione, however, didn't look in the least bit frightened. On the contrary, she looked very determined and pleased.

"Can we stop for a moment?" Ron asked. "My feet are killing me." Hermione stopped and turned to look at him.

"No Ron, I'm sorry, but that is not an option right now. We have to get all the way down this path. And then we may rest. Don't look at me like that. I know you're tired, I am too and I want just as much to be able to stop as you do. But there's a reason why we must keep going until we reach the end of the path."

"And why is that?" Ron asked, rather angrily. However, Hermione kept her voice steady and calm when she responded.

"Oh Ronald, don't you know anything?" She rolled her eyes. "This is the snake path. Why do you think it twists so much? It's because the path slithers through the hills like a snake."

"So? That doesn't explain why we can't stop and rest."

"Ron, the twisting of the path isn't the only reason this is called the snake path."

"It's because the surrounding areas are littered with snakes," Harry said. Hermione looked at him, stunned.

"That's right Harry, but how did you know that?" Harry pointed at the grassy area just behind her. When Ron and Hermione turned to see what he was pointing at, a long black snake was slithering onto the path. It was headed directly for Hermione and its fangs were bared. It was on the verge of biting her. Thinking quickly, Harry spoke to it in parsel tongue, telling it to go away and leave them alone. Instead, the snake turned its eyes on Harry and started to head for him.

"HARRY!" Hermione cried. Harry hastily began backing away from the snake. He had completely given up trying to talk to it. It obviously wasn't nearly as obedient or friendly as some of the other snakes he had communicated with. Even the basilisk wasn't this disobeying and it killed people with its stare. Harry kept backing away until he backed into a tree. He was cornered. There was nothing he could do, the snake was going to bite him and then his whole life would flash before his eyes and he would be dead. Lord Voldemort would live on to terrify and kill wizards and witches everywhere. No one would be safe from harm, not even the muggles. Harry squeezed his eyes tight, bracing himself for the pain of the bite but it never came.

When Harry finally opened his eyes the snake was lying on the ground motionless. It seemed to be dead. When he looked closer, he noticed to small holes in its body near the head. And slithering around Harry happily was a small green garden snake. It was apparent that the garden snake came to his rescue but how could a little harmless garden snake kill a big black deadly snake? Harry didn't know but he didn't care, he was just grateful that his life had been saved. He looked at Hermione. Her face was starting to gain back its color as it had been white with fright. Then he looked out Ron whose face was all blue. He had been holding his breath the whole time and had only just now released it and begun to breathe again.

"Good God Harry!" Hermione shouted. "You were nearly killed. You shouldn't have spoken to that snake. What were you thinking!" She started to shake him. But Harry just looked at her with love and kindness in his eyes.

"What was I thinking? I was thinking that I needed to save your life. You don't deserve to die anymore than I do. I rather have that snake after me than biting you. If I hadn't done anything and that snake had bitten you, you would be lying here dead and I would never be able to forgive myself. I am so glad I am smarter than that."

"You should be glad that you know parsel tongue. Otherwise, we would've all been doomed!" Ron said suddenly. Harry and Hermione both looked at him. They had not expected him to be able to say much of anything at all. "What?"

"Nothing," said Hermione. "We just weren't expecting you to be able to speak that's all. You usually become speechless in these kind of situations." Ron suddenly realized what she was pointing out and grinned at himself. "Well, at least I don't wet my pants when I'm scared like that Ravenclaw fifth year!" He started to laugh and a few moments later Harry and Hermione started to laugh too. It was pretty funny even though it was sad that a fifthteen year old kid still wet his pants when he was scared. The guy was such a baby that Harry, Ron, and Hermione thought he ought to have been put in Hufflepuff.

"We shouldn't be laughing," Hermione said, "It's very rude. Especially when we are talking about a problem that is probably associated with a medical diagnosis."

"You're right," Harry said. He looked down and noticed that the little green garden snake was still circling him. He bent down and picked it up. It looked at him with its big brown eyes. "Hey little guy," Harry said in his regular English tongue. "What are you still doing down there?"

"Can I tag along with you?" the snake said. Harry smiled.

"What is it?" Ron asked.

"The snake wants to know if it can come along."

"Well I don't see why not," Hermione said, "It's a perfectly harmless little snake. Besides, I think it's rather cute." She grinned and reached her hand out to stroke the top of the snake's head. It's eyes clothes in relaxation and it flicked out his tongue to give Hermione's hand a little affectionate lick.

"Okay, Hermione," said Ron, "You are starting freak me out. Can you please return to normal so we can move on?"

"Only if you agree that the snake can come along too," Hermione said a little flatly.

"I never said it couldn't!" Ron shouted.

"Guys, come on now," Harry jumped in. "Now is not the time to be arguing. We're on a mission, remember? Alright, it's settled, the snake can come with us." The snake hissed with joy and gave Harry's hand a playful nibble. "Now, what am I going to call you?"

"My name is Sleek," the snake hissed.

"Oh, is that so?" Harry said. The snake nodded its head.

"What?" Hermione asked.

"The snake says his name is Sleek. So I guess that is what we will be calling him. I never knew snakes already had names."

"Harry, snakes have their own language, which means they have their own world, which means they already have names. Sleek is probably what his parents named him when he was born."

"That's another thing too," Ron said, "How are snakes born?"

"Well," began Harry, "The mother lays an egg and the baby snake hatches out of the egg. That should be simple enough for you to understand."

"And just what it that supposed to mean!" Ron asked angrily.

"Nothing, I'm just playing with you Ron." Ron looked unconvinced but smiled when Harry started laughing. "Don't be so shallow Ron." Ron playful punched Harry on the shoulder and Hermione rolled her eyes.

"What?" Ron asked.

"You boys rough house and mess around way to much. If you don't mind, we are on a serious mission here. We don't have time for you two to be fooling around. Now Harry, put that snake around your neck or something and let's get a move on. I don't want to be on this path much longer. It seems to be about lunch time for these snakes and I don't want to be on the menu!" She picked up her backpack and slung back on. She had taken it off to remove her water bottle to have a drink. Harry and Ron looked at each other.

"Since when was socking someone in the shoulder rough housing?" Ron asked. He looked at Hermione like she was crazy.

"Since any mode of violent play is considered rough housing. This is exactly how kids get interested in boxing and wrestling. It really isn't good. All that stuff is false anyway." It was Ron's turn to roll his eyes. "What?"

"Nothing," Ron said. He leaned close to Harry and whispered in his ear, "Girls! They don't understand anything in a man's life!" Harry chuckled softly so Hermione wouldn't hear although he really didn't find anything funny about what Ron had said. On the contrary, he found it quite rude but he wasn't about to tell Ron that. In any sense, he was actually on Hermione's side of the equation this time. Hermione stared at Ron. She looked rather hurt.

"And just what are you whispering about me back there?"

"Nothing, nothing at all," Ron responded, trying to stifle a giggle.

The three continued to walk in silence for the next several minutes. No one wanted to say a word for fear that it would offend one or both of the other two. They didn't need to be on unfriendly terms right now. They needed to work together and there was no way they would be able to work together if they were all mad at each other. And so they walked, not a word being said. Finally after what seemed like years they met the end of the path and a village.

"Come on," said Hermione, "It's getting late. We should find a place to stay for the night."

"But Hermione," Harry said, "How are we going to get a place to stay, we don't have any muggle money?"

"You might not but I do!" Harry's mouth dropped open as she reached in her pocket and pulled out a very large was of muggle money. It looked like nothing but one hundred pound notes.

"Hermione," Harry shouted, "How did you get all that?" Hermione just shrugged before she responded in a cool and casual voice.

"My parents give me two hundred dollars every year on my birthday to spend on whatever I want as long as it's not sweets. I've been saving at least half of every two hundred they've given me. And sometimes I saved the whole thing! So now I have all this money. It should be useful on our journey. Now come, on, let's go." Harry and Ron looked at each other and followed her down into the village.