Why were people so terrified of snakes?
Matt Briar's return to classes didn't bother Drucy. He stayed far away from her, and she was distracted by more important matters. Jade had molted and was ready to return to her. That morning, Hagrid had beckoned to her at the breakfast table and told her to come by after class to pick up her greensnake. "Yer buddy Daniel is shakin' things up," he also told her. "Look." From her vantage point, Drucy saw that about five or six students were crossing from one table to another to chat, presumably with friends from other houses. "I seen it like this just after Voldemort ha' been killed. Now it's startin' again, just a little bit, and you helped, Drucy." Drucy had to think about that. She wondered what her mother would think about a Slytherin, her own daughter Slytherin, fostering goodwill between Hogwarts houses… especially between Slytherin and Gryffindor. Did Mom want her to just camouflage the family's Dark Magic tendencies for her own safety, or to actually be what she was supposed to present herself as? When she finished her breakfast, she caught her sister before class and asked her. Esme seemed pleased with the question.
"Just the fact that you're asking me this, Drucy, tells me that you're really growing up. Dad was right to send you here instead of Durmstrang. You're not going to like the answer, though." At that point, the first bell rang, and Esme glanced at the hallway before turning back to her sister. "Catch me before lunch, I'll explain it then."
Drucy would have been perfectly happy to catch Esme before lunch, but her sister didn't show until lunch was already well in progress. "Sorry, Drucy," Esme explained. "I had a quick thing I had to attend to." She took the time, though, after lunch, to walk Drucy to her Charms class and finish her explanation. "Drucy, Mom wants to mean what she says. I really think she wants to. But she's part of the previous generation, and they've got some old… well… you're old enough to hear this. She's got prejudices, Drucy. So do a lot of Gryffindors. So do some of the teachers. You know what, you've got 'em too. So do I. It's just that, well, it's natural for each generation to change them a bit. Even Mom was laughed at for thinking that it would be best for Slytherin-heavy families to keep a low profile and avoid criticism, and she knew what she was doing."
"How do we know she knew what she was doing?" Drucy asked.
Esme chuckled. "Because we're rich and influential, and they're not," she said. "Is it really more complicated than that? But let me finish answering your question. Mom is from the previous generation. You can depend on her to steer you straight at first, but you can't decide how to treat people your entire life by asking whether Mom would approve. You're going to have to decide how sincere you want to be, and you'll have people on both sides trying to tell you that you're an idiot for not doing it the way they think is best."
"That's the answer?" Drucy exclaimed in exasperation. "Do what you think is best, so that everyone can tell you you're wrong?"
"We were born just after a terrible war, and our house was on the losing side," Esme pointed out. "Nothing was ever going to be easy."
Drucy learned this anew at dinnertime. She and Daniel walked down together to retrieve Jade, who was a whole six inches now and looked even more stunning than usual in her fresh, brilliant green skin. Drucy could see even without Hagrid's assurances that her little pet was in the best of health. Even better, she didn't have to conceal Jade anymore, since she had the waiver signed by Headmistress McGonagall. Drucy decided to visit the Gryffindor table at suppertime. After all, she had had a banner day. She'd been complimented by Hagrid, she had her little familiar back, and she had actually done rather well for herself in Charms, though she was still rather behind the rest of the class. She walked in with Daniel and stayed with him, trying to appear casual. He happily gave her a place to sit next to him and started a normal conversation about Professor Binns and how impressively boring the man was.
It was no good. The other students edged away from her. Even a couple of Daniel's friends, who had been relatively friendly to her beforehand, froze up and kept quiet. Drucy felt primed and ready to deal with anybody who wanted to insult her or her house, but they wouldn't even do that. They just kept quiet, and she felt more and more as if she was exceedingly unwelcome. Finally, she spoke out, interrupting Daniel's account of his flying practice, addressing nearly half the table in a voice raised slightly in exasperation. "Look. She's a greensnake. She's harmless. They aren't even poisonous. She's tiny! You're Gryffindors! How can you all be so afraid of a greensnake?"
Stubborn silence met her outburst. After a moment longer, she rose from the table with her mostly-filled plate. "I'm sorry, Daniel. I really ought to head back." He gallantly offered to escort her back and carry her drink, and she thanked him for it when she settled down next to Roenna at her own table. "What's with those guys?" she asked him. "Are they really afraid of Jade?"
"I don't know," Daniel told her, looking as puzzled as she did. "I have no clue what's up with them. I'll see if I can sound them out on it later."
"Tomorrow's end of term," Drucy mentioned, as he started to step away. "Are you staying at Hogwarts for Christmas?"
"Oh, heck yeah!" Daniel's face lit up. "It's going to be the best Christmas I ever had. You're going home, though, aren't you?"
"Yeah." Drucy smiled, starting to relax at the thought. "I love it here more than I thought I would, but I do kind of miss my bedroom and my family."
"Well, Roenna will be around for a couple games of chess while you're gone, won't you, Roenna?" Daniel asked.
Roenna blushed slightly and nodded. "I'm staying at Hogwarts. I miss Daddy, but, well, he wrote me the best he could and asked me to stay."
Daniel winked at the two girls and headed back for his table, a slight spring in his step. Drucy looked back at her friend in mild astonishment. "Chess?"
"He offered to teach me," Roenna said shyly, and changed the subject. "Is that a greensnake? She's so pretty! When did you get her?"
Drucy explained about Jade, why she kept the pet hidden, and how McGonagall had basically given her permission to own it. "I'm not sure what to do when I get home," she said. "Mom was afraid that people would see me with a snake, or, worse, hear me with a snake, and assume the worst. I don't know if she's going to change her mind just because the Headmistress thinks it's okay."
Roenna admired Jade and let the greensnake curl around her hand and slip back to Drucy's wrist like a bright green bracelet. "She's pretty," she said, "but I'd rather have a toad. They're good company. They're like… like very small dogs, I guess. At least, the ones you get from the familiar shops are. They just sit, and they don't judge, and they like you no matter who you are."
Drucy couldn't help but chuckle at that. "To me, that's what snakes are."
Drucy did notice that Esme wasn't at dinner. She and Roenna finished their homework at Drucy's favorite table, underneath Professor Snape's silent glare. Drucy was just about to head to her room when Esme finally entered the Common Room, looking tired. "Where have you been?" Drucy asked.
"Ask me later," Esme told her wearily, and headed straight for her room.
Drucy let her go. After all, tomorrow started Christmas break, and she would have plenty of time to bother her sister… when she wasn't occupied with her own thoughts and troubles.