Sorry for any and all extremely late updates, my terribly lame excuse is my changing work schedule and side jobs. Because of my horribly late update I made it extra long. Other than that, please enjoy!

~Parseltongue~

'thoughts'

emphasis/spells

If someone where to attempt to surprise or catch him off guard, they would have a very difficult job. This little slip of a girl had managed it in but a few short moments and a couple of sentences. 'Well, there goes my idea of waking the brat up from her snug bed.' Severus couldn't help but think.

Clearing his throat, he lightly gripped her delicate hand and introduced himself with only a slight sneer, "I'm Professor Severus Snape, Potions Master of Hogwarts. A pleasure to meet you, Miss Potter." The impish child smiled charmingly and asked once more what beverage he'd prefer.

After hearing the curt reply of, "Tea, please.", Seren set about making a good pot of Earl Grey and finishing of the full English breakfast her relatives enjoyed as the Professor sat himself in one of the dining chairs and watched her closely. Moments of observation passed before he spoke again, "Miss Potter, why do you make breakfast instead of the Lady of the house? Should a child not be sleeping?"

Seren neither paused in her cooking nor turned around to answer, "Oh, no. Aunt wakes at eight-thirty, half an hour before Uncle. I was telling the truth that they'll only entertain guests after nine, most likely the earliest would be around nine-thirty. I'm sure that you can be the exception seeing as you're the Professor who shall be the one to take me off of their hands... At least for a bit."

Severus was about to respond before he felt a sudden weight coil around his lap and over his shoulders, effectively pinning him to the chair, and heard angry sounding hisses near his ear.

~Don't be rude, two-legged, my Sarff provides for the house as a proper Den Mother should! Though I too disagree with her treatment, she will be an excellent Den Mother because of her knowledge! Why I Should-~

Seren twirled around quicker than the imps she resembled and scolded her favored serpent in English so as not to frighten the poor Professor who was currently facing Uparaja's displeasure; and rather large fangs. "Uparaja! That's enough out of you, where did your manners go? You're acting like the mindless beast the Dursley's claim you are, release Professor Snape immediately or I won't allow you into my hammock for a week." The hissing stopped immediately as the giant python looked over at his chosen speaker and pulled back slightly from the surprisingly intimidating form of his Sarff leaning forward slightly, bent at the waist, with one hand on her hip, the other brandishing a spatula menacingly in their direction and a dark expression on her pixie-like face.

To say Severus was surprised that the dainty child could be even remotely intimidating would be an understatement; the fact that the nearly twenty foot reptile obeyed and slid off of his person to coil at the little girl's feet as she went back to cooking shot that surprise straight through the roof. He knew the twitch would happen before his eye actually began to twitch; just as he knew the migraine he was going to have would probably be equivalent to the feeling of a herd of hippogriphs stampeding over his skull... Twice!

Nearly ten minutes of slightly uncomfortable silence followed. Severus took a deep breath before he braved the uncharted waters, "A wonderful pet you have, Miss Potter."

A giggle came from the girl's mouth as she plated the large breakfast, to set onto the table, "Wonderful as he is, Uparaja is not a pet. He's my friend and companion. Even Vormund has made him my companion for life." She refilled his tea cup as he tried to figure out what her last sentence meant. He gave up after a couple of long moments of thought.

"I know that vormund is German but what does it mean?"

"Guardian."

"And who is this guardian?"

"Magic. I've named mine Guardian because of how much it's done for me; I usually also think of Vormund as a male."

He took a moment to digest that odd tidbit of information. "So, you're using the word guardian as a name. So I should think of it as a capital V?"

"If you think of the literal word, that's also a capital G, sir."

Severus thought the hippogriph analogy from earlier wouldn't do his blossoming migraine any justice what-so-ever. He merely blinked and nodded along to prove he was even listening; although, he definitely wasn't comprehending. Then what she had threatened the reptile with earlier finally registered. 'So much for me being the overly observant one... maybe I need a vacation.'

"Miss Potter?" He got a hum in return. "You told your companion earlier that if he didn't obey he would be denied access to a hammock, correct?"

Seren nodded as she plated the large quantities of food, "Yes, we share living space. It's completely split in two equal sections yet we share sides quite often. Now that I've put a large water basin in my... space, its too small for a... bed. I rather like the hammock instead of what I used to have."

Having been so focused on what she was saying he caught her minute pauses at certain moments, like she was searching for a different word than what she was going to use. "And what did you use before Uparaja joined you?"

He saw the slight wince before she had managed to make her face a neutral mask. She didn't answer until she had placed the food onto the dinner table. She faced him and sighed softly before giving in, "You caught my mistakes, hm? My last sleeping arrangements consisted of a -ahem- cot..." She peeked through her fringe to gauge his reaction. The twitching over his eye had to be, at least partially, bad; whether it was bad for her or the Dursleys had yet to be seen.

"Sir?"

"Show me."

The dark look on his face had her complying more than his order. It was way more frightening than Uncle's; probably because the professor's face was sharper and his incredibly dark eyes glinted with something of a cross between realization, malicious anger and familiarity? Perhaps the familiarity was more understanding instead. She stretched out one of her small hands and waited until he had taken it in one of his much larger, calloused hands. Guiding him slowly from the kitchen, into the hall once more, she stepped daintily around Uparaja's large body as he slithered to the bottom of the stairs to keep watch; just in case.

Severus watched her closely as she led him back the way they came. The way her body was tensed spoke of resignation and humiliation; almost like she was afraid of what he'd think of her after this. Her innate grace also surprised him, it seemed like she danced around her large python as he weaved his way past them. He had almost kept on walking until he realized Seren was staring in shame at the cupboard door that blended nearly completely with the wall that made up the underside of the stairs. He had to take a really deep breath to calm himself. When the petite child reached for the latch he wanted to believe, more than ever before, that she was pulling a bad prank like her father.

With resigned determination, she opened the door and stepped lightly inside; not enough to pull the tall man in as well but enough to make him have to dip his shoulders a bit and peek his head in. She flicked the cracked switch next to the door to make the old, unreliable light turn on. She waited with baited breath in silence as his black eyes took in every inch of space, glittering darkly in ill-concealed anger.

"Miss Potter, how do you get into your hammock?"

She refused to look him in the eye, "I use the shelves of the bookcase as steps." She then showed him exactly how she did that.

"And where are the rest of your clothes?"

"I, um, That's it. I don't have any others, Sir."

He took a deep breath as he once more glanced over her clothes and slid his eyes back to her two pairs of shoes; a ratty pair of tenny shoes and taped together rain boots that looked two, maybe three, sizes too big. "Do you have a heavier jacket for winter, or better shoes?"

She dipped her head even lower when his voice became more of a growl towards the end. "No, sir. Just these shoes and the grey-ish hoodie on the last nail."

Severus took a moment to reorganize his thoughts when he noticed how Seren was cringing away from him. A loud series of hisses made her head shoot up.

~Sarff, the horsey two-legged is up! Time... About three minutes until she hits the stairs! Quickly!~

Not even a moment later and she had scampered down the shelves and pulled him gently, yet insistently, away from the cupboard, closed the door and led him quickly back into the kitchen.

Uparaja slithered quickly back to the child's feet as she set another tea cup down, poured some Earl Grey in, dropped two sugar cubes, added a dash of creamer and stirred it. Once done, she refilled the professor's cup again and stepped back and waited for something.

Severus glanced over the table and realized that there was only three places set, not including the saucer his tea cup was placed on. He looked again to Seren and was surpised to see her standing quietly in an out of the way corner of the kitchen. He waited for her to look up so he could catch her eye; he was rewarded when she glanced up through her lashes.

"Please, tell me you've already eaten..."

The guilty look in her eyes told him everything; however, it was when she put a finger to her lips to signal silence, that he felt his anger spike even higher than it had earlier. He understood what her rush had been for when Petunia Dursley walked in not even a minute later. He looked at the horse-like woman in carefully concealed contempt.

"Who are you?" She looked surprised when she noticed the tall man seated at her table. She glanced over to the corner that was designated her niece's, and sneered at the petite child with the python curled at her feet, "I've told you, girl, no visitor's until after nine on Saturdays. What possessed you to disobey?"

When Seren stayed silent, Severus was confused. She had answered all of his questions, even if it was with reluctance. When he noticed the pleased expression on Petunia's face, he began to understand: it was when she opened her mouth next that he realized just what the Dursleys thought of the girl.

"Speak."

The order one would give to a common dog, was the one that allowed Seren to answer her Aunt. "This is Professor Severus Snape, Potions Master. He's come as a representative of Hogwarts, Aunt; he's here to talk to you about my schooling." Petunia's sneer took on a disgusted edge as she again looked at the man at the table.

"I remember a Severus, used to always play with her... You are the same Severus, aren't you? No matter, the girl's not going to that freaky school to become even freakier. So you can just leave."

Severus had, had enough. "Miss Potter will be coming with me, as will her reptilian companion, for the remainder of the summer. Then she shall be attending Hogwarts for the entirety of the school year; hopefully, before the end of the year, she'll be placed with other guardians seeing as you and yours are obviously unfit. So kindly see to it that you find yourselves another poor soul to serve as your slave. Miss Potter, retrieve your things. Leave those rags you claim are clothes."

Seren's head shot up quickly, "Sir?" At his sharp look she hurried towards the hall, but paused at the archway. "That means I can bring my books, right?"

"Yes, anything of import to you. Except for the rags. Hurry along now." She nodded and hurried to pack her beloved books and the pretty crystal things that Mrs. Figg had given her over the years, that she'd hidden behind a loose board in the wall and asked the spiders to keep safe, into an old, tatty backpack.

Uparaja had stayed behind to watch the stare down between the two-leggers. When the horsey one made a move to attack the dark one, Uparaja slithered up the dark one's body and curled over his shoulders to be as intimidating as possible. It helped that this two-legged was taller than the other. He bared his long fangs and made sure that he spit at the female as he hissed loudly. The horsey one's squawk made him a very happy snake.

Severus didn't know why the python had done what it had, but seeing Petunia cower in the very corner her niece had stood diligently in was oddly satisfying. The reptile slid carefully back down to the floor and moved towards the cupboard, so he followed it. He made it in time to watch Seren pull a small pouch out of the wall that was not only covered in thick spider webs, but rather fat spiders as well. He was about to tell the girl to drop it when every single spider scuttled up her arms and allowed her to pull off the sticky webbing to check its contents. He was once more dumbfounded when she decided to thank the eight-legged critters and they, in return, caressed her face and neck with their front legs...

"What next with this girl?!' He didn't know how much more he could take of her many surprises. 'I'm not sure I can keep hating her... She's not what I expected. She's more like what I'd imagine a more Slytherin-like Lily to be. We'll see.'

Once the spiders were back behind the wall, she slid the board back, put the dark colored pouch gently in an old backpack filled with books, slid on the ratty tennies and the huge hoody, slid the backpack on and left the cupboard without another glance. She looked up at Severus and smiled softly, "I'm ready now."

So they both walked out the door without a thought to the hyperventilating Petunia Dursley cowering in a corner of her own kitchen. Once the front door was shut behind them, Seren looked up to the professor who'd just taken her from the place she hated most. When he looked down she told him, quite happily, "Sir, there's one more place we have to go. I hope you like snakes."

Seren then grabbed his large hand and led him through the Dursley's side and backyard, taking him carefully behind the Gardenia bush and slipping through the loose boards of the fence. She beckoned for him to follow, which he did only after grumbling about climbing through muggle fences. On the other side he was surprised to find a small dirt path into the unusually dark woods behind the houses. Seren led him into the woods, "Watch your step, the path is kinda covered in roots in certain areas. The spotty sunlight doesn't help much either. Actually... Vormund, light the Faerie. Really bright, please."

Before Severus could ask how you light a fairy, of all things, a nearly blinding ball of light near exploded into existence above their heads. Uparaja slithered ahead of them and hissed in a way that he could only describe as impatient.

~Quick, I told Mother to be prepared for the small Faerie light. That we'd be leaving then. Sister Gwella is next to be Mother. Hurry, I want to leave those awful two-leggeds and never see them again!~

"Miss Potter-"

"Seren, please."

"Excuse me?"

"Call me Seren, I haven't started school yet, sir. Please?" The near begging look on her impish face had nothing to do with why he agreed, really!

"Very well. What does it matter if I like snakes? I think Uparaja is just fine."

Her giggle, admittedly, threw him off a bit. "Uparaja is my life companion, thanks to Vormund, but he wasn't my first companion. I'm taking you to the Den, we have to take Mother with us. Mother took care of me first, the Den is my family and Uparaja will be with me for life. We're here. Vormund, drop a mini-Faerie."

A small spark of light, separated from the main orb, flew into the knotted, twisted roots of a huge tree. From where he stood, Severus could see a large, dark, writhing mass of scales. "Sir?" He looked to the pixie-like child at his side. "Do you know the snake-language?"

"Not myself, no, but I know of it. Why?"

"How do you feel about it?"

"... It is considered Dark in our world... Personally, however, I find it -ahem- rather fascinating."

"So... You don't hate it?"

"No, does this line of questioning have a purpose, Miss Po-... Seren?" He had an idea but wanted her to confirm it before he jumped to any more conclussions about the girl.

"Um, I'm a Parselmouth, sir..."

'And there's another point against James Potter. Damn.' He sighed deeply, "Any other surprises you have, Miss P- Seren."

He wasn't expecting her to answer; she did anyway and surprised him by how willing she was to part with the information.

"Uparaja and I've decided to take Mother with us to Hogwarts, she'll die soon so we're going to bury her on the school grounds, and my Den name is Sarff. I love green and black because my relatives hate them, I like spiders as much as snakes, high places make me feel better, my stomach can't handle very much food, or rich food, but I enjoy sweet things. I'm comfortable in dark places, the smell of spring rain calms me while cleaning products or anything similar make me nauseous and the feel of snake scales and being held calm my panic attacks. I think that's it, sir."

He could only blink at her. "Alright, I'll try to, ah, keep that in mind." Then he noticed the other snake coiled around her neck and shoulders. "There's a black adder on you... Is that Mother?"

Her blinding smile was answer enough. "Yes, she's already agreed to come away with us. And she's chosen Sister Gwella to be the next Den Mother, she still has about three, maybe four, years yet before the Den begins calling her Mother, though."

"Welsh for heal."

"Yes, sir. She's taken to healing everyone's hurts, so when she became of age Mother named her Gwella. Mother used to be called Darian, because she was the shield that kept the Den safe. Each Den Mother is chosen by how much they've helped or protected the entire Den."

"I see. Is it really okay to just take her away, though?"

Seren nodded as she stroked the elderly adders head, leading the way back to the road as Uparaja once more weaved between them. "I've asked if she wanted to see where my new home was before she passed on. See, she's been holding on to be able to ensure I got to go to Hogwarts; she was very excited for me."

They had reached the fence to the Dursleys' yard. "All right, the letter for your school things is right here in my pocket. However it states that you may only bring a cat, owl or toad to school. You aren't allowed a snake, even my Slytherins aren't and they're in the House of Snakes."

Seren blinked wide killing curse green eyes at him, "But Uparaja can't be more than about 500 yards from me without us both being hurt, and Mother is on her death bed."

The part about being hurt caught his attention as he remembered her saying that her magic itself had ensured that Uparaja was her life companion. "Seren, would your Vormund have made Uparaja your familiar?" Her blank look wasn't helping him. "It's where an animal is bound to you by magic, for life. Usually a familiar helps and protects its witch or wizard but occasionally a familiar is bound because its necessary to properly channel one's magic. Do you require the extra help using your magic?"

Seren looked thoughtful. "I don't think so, Vormund has always done what he does now. I compare it to 'Home'. Vormund is warm and comforting so that's what I think of as a home, just like Mother is loving and caring. Maybe, since Vormund realized Mother's leaving me soon, he made Uparaja mine to fill the soon-to-be void; but Uparaja is more power and protection, though he is loving and caring, too. Does that make him a familiar?"

Severus straightened up as Uparaja wound his way up his body and hissed angrily. ~Sarff, make sure he doesn't separate us! You're mine, for ever and always; we promised!~

~Little Sarff.~

Both humans looked to the grey-ish colored adder wrapped contentedly around Seren's shoulders. ~Yes, Mother?~

~You are a wrach ifanc, a young witch, and you will need all the protection you can get. As a dewin, the dark two-legged should know a spell of some sort to be able to know for sure. Ask him, Sarff, anything to keep Uparaja by your side.~

~I'll do as you ask, Mother. But what's a dewin?~

A hissing laugh was heard. ~A wizard, Sarff. You are a wrach and he is a dewin.~

Seren blinked owlishly and couldn't help but wonder, 'Why does Mother like using Welsh words... Maybe its a quirk of being old.'

"Mother says that, as a wizard, you should know a spell that can tell if Uparaja is a familiar. Is that true?"

Severus felt like smacking himself in the face. He was a wizard, a damn good one if he did say so himself, and yet it took an old and dying snake to make him realize that- Yes. He did know a spell that could tell if an animal was a familiar. Just like there was one for finding out if an animal was a wizard in animagus form. This was really, just not his morning. Or maybe the Potter girl just liked throwing him off; she could make a living doing it if she kept this up.

"Your mother would be correct. Please tell him to hold his head away from my body, let me use my right arm and hold still."

After Seren had relayed his orders, Severus, with wand in hand, made a few quick twirls and a flick towards Uparaja's head as he stated, "Nota est nexus." When Uparaja glowed a cheery gold, he couldn't help but whisper, "By Merlin's beard... He actually is her familiar."

Looking to Seren, who stood with eyes glittering with interest, he said, "Congratulations are in order, Miss Seren Potter, you are indeed the proud witch of an even prouder familiar. It seems that you'll be getting away with bringing Uparaja. The adder around your neck and shoulders, however, is another story." Seren's happy face fell; but, she was a smart young lady who was determined to get her Mother to Hogwarts one way or another.

"Sir, do you have a familiar?"

"No... And I won't make a dying adder my familiar if that's what your thinking."

"Not quite. Could you bring her to the school, surely they'd let a teacher bring a dying snake? You could claim she's an old pet that you want to spend her remaining days with. It wouldn't be for very long. If you wish, I'm sure Mother would allow you your choice of young, healthy adders to have as your own familiar."

The thought of having a black adder as his familiar was tempting... He sighed, there was only one thing to do. "Very well, I'll accept your trade if your Mother agrees that I could have a healthy adder from her den."

And with Mother's blessing, the pair once more left the woods; only this time, their were two humans and three snakes.