CHAPTER 9

04 July 1986 - The Evans Keep - 1:20 PM

Lily paused in her apple tree pruning to take a sip of water, grateful its bottle was charmed to be ever-cold and ever-full. She smiled indulgently in Harry and Sirius' direction, eyes crinkling in delight as she watched the two play a rather animated game of frisbee in the adjoining open field. Lily laughed when Sirius (in his Grimm form) caught the frisbee and charged Harry, gently tackling him to the ground and covering the giggling boy in licks. Harry's round-framed wire glasses - charmed to the hilt - became slightly crooked at the Grimm's enthusiastic face licks.

'It's moments like these.' Lily thought, relishing in the idyllic scene before her. Harry was a remarkable boy of six, seemingly so advanced in spite of his youth. Incredibly perceptive, keenly intelligent, and adorably charming, he had all of the adults in his life wrapped around his little finger. Sirius was the absolute worst, insisting on his 'godfatherly duties' to spoil Harry rotten. She'd had to physically restrain him from purchasing every little thing in Quidditch Quality Supplies for Harry's upcoming seventh birthday, begrudgingly allowing the excitable man to buy a premium Shooting Star training broom and enough Puddlemere United paraphernalia to cover every wall in Harry's expansive room.

'Not that Tom and Severus are any better,' Lily thought, recalling the massive mountain of books and puzzles the men routinely lavished on Harry, to 'nurture a keen and necessary Slytherin mind' Severus had smugly said. Her thoughts were interrupted by the speeding buzz of a Cornish pixie as it zoomed by, forcing her to quickly reapply her Vestamentarum shield. Neither she nor Harry ever went out in the expansive orchards without it, lest they be accidentally stung by any stray critter of the swarm of magical bees, Cornish pixies, and doxies that roamed the orchards and surrounding forest. She'd discovered the colonies almost four years ago, and instead of having them removed, she'd bound them to the estate's ward scheme. In case of a break-in or attack on the property, they served as a powerful and deadly defense mechanism, eagerly stinging and devouring enemies as needed.

Lily reached down to grab her fruit basket as she ventured deeper into the orchards, again grateful that she'd charmed it to be weightless and never-full. Harry's voraciousness for apples and apple-flavored anything made such items necessary, and there were just enough apples to make a massive double-treacle apple pie, Harry's absolute favorite. Harry's newest friend also loved apples in equal measure, and Lily chuckled as the memory of said friend's discovery ran through her mind.

A Few Months Prior…

Lily started as the library door banged open, nearly causing her to drop the biochemistry text she'd been intently reading. She was preparing for her upcoming third (and final) PhD dissertation, and she'd practically been living in the library for the past few weeks. Harry was a blur as he rushed into the room, hair uncharacteristically ruffled and cheeks pinked in exertion.

"Harry? Are you alright dear? What's going o-?" The excited boy didn't give her a chance to speak as he rushed forward and grabbed her hand, excitedly chattering about 'something amazing!' he'd found and wanted her to see. Lily laughed at his enthusiasm as he practically dragged her out of the house, across the yard, and into the orchards, buzzing in his excitement. They suddenly stopped at one tree, and Harry released Lily's hand and slowly approached, carefully stretching his hand. Before Lily could move to stop him, little Harry hissed! Lily could only stare as a long snake unfurled from the tree's branches and gently curled around Harry's forearm. The snake was brownish-gray in color, with two rows of small dark spots running down the back towards its tail. There were a group of diamond-patterned spots on its neck, forming a series of cross-bars over the top of its head, the exact same spot Harry was gently scratching while he cooing hissed.

"Isn't she just gorgeous mummy? She says she washed up here during last week's rain, and she's been seeking shelter in the apple trees. She loves the apples, says they make for a tasty dessert once she's eaten her share of lizards and worms." Harry kept up his cooing hisses while stroking the snake's head, giggling sweetly when her tongue flicked out to tickle his nose. Lily carefully kneeled to be at eye-level with Harry, an inscrutable expression on her face. This was the first time she'd seen Harry interact and speak Parseltongue with any snake, and she was careful to keep her expression blank. She'd discretely been casting detection spells on the snake while Harry explained its origins, wanting to confirm the truth of her son's statement. Granted the wards would have long alerted her to the presence of a stray animagus, it never hurt to be careful.

"Do you want to say hello mummy? She's perfectly sa-" Harry paused suddenly, immediately becoming concerned at his mother's oddly neutral expression. He slipped his free hand into one of hers, his green eyes (identical to his mother's) shining in concern. Lily's heart warmed in appreciation, once again marveling at her son's perceptiveness to her moods. In spite of her formidable Occlumency, he could read her like a book, and it never ceased to amaze her that he always knew exactly what to say to lift her mood.

"Are you alright mummy?" he softly asked, rubbing soothing circles on the back of her hand.

Lily gave him a sweet smile, using her free hand to gently smooth his hair.

"I'm fine Harry dear, just surprised is all. I've never seen you talk to snakes before."

"I've never had one this close to me before!" He enthusiastically replied, giving the snake another scratch on its head. It's forked tongue flicked out and lightly tickled him on his nose, causing him to erupt in giggles. His expression suddenly turned serious, pinning his mother with an unreadable stare.

"Is it bad that I can speak to snakes?" Lily lightly sighed at the question, gently pressing Harry into her side and pressing a soft kiss onto his forehead, just left of his scar.

"No love, it isn't bad that you can talk to snakes. I guess you can say, it's a… family thing." And then, LILY EVANS HISSED! Harry's eyes widened in shock as the snake unfurled from his arm and wrapped around his mother's, her sibilant hisses coaxing the snake up her arm's length. It eagerly stuck its tongue out and flicked it repeatedly at Lily's nose, causing her to giggle. Harry made a light choking sound in his excitement, before erupting into a slew of questions.

"You can talk to snakes too?! How?! Why didn't you say anything before?! Is it really a family thing?! Does Unc-" Lily laughed in response, eyes crinkling in genuine amusement.

"Yes I can talk to snakes, and as for how, it's a rather interesting combination of my ancestry, sympathy, and contagion." At Harry's curious stare, Lily continued. "You see, I'm descended from a long line of squibs who all share a common Slytherin-related ancestor. I was Sorted into Slytherin House, and spent the next seven years surrounded by a rather absurd abundance of serpentine symbology, making it much easier to learn the language than otherwise possible. And yes, learn, because for whatever ridiculous patriarchal reason, only male descendants of Slytherin can naturally speak the language. Anyone else is required to learn to be able to speak it." Lily paused in her explanation to assess Harry's reaction, internally pleased that he was carefully absorbing all the given information, brow lightly crinkled in concentration.

"Does that mean Uncle Tom is also related to us? I've heard him speak Parseltongue before." Lily nodded her head in ascent.

"Yes he actually is. He is descended from the Gaunts, who are also related to Slytherin via a maternal ancestress. We are all technically cousins." Lily gave a small laugh, causing Harry to laugh in turn. His expression once more turned unreadable, his brow once more crinkling in concentration.

"So if it's inherited, that means that Jim can speak to snakes too." Lily nodded quickly at his assertion, pleased to see him make the logical connection. She steadfastly ignored the pained twinge of her heart in reference to her other son, clamping down on her mental shields.

"Yes, he can speak to snakes. But I imagine it would be something he'd keep to himself if he's discovered how, given the… negative connotations Parseltongue earned during the recent Wizarding War." Here Lily took a deep breath, before continuing on. "The Slytherin-related family my family - the Evans - are descended from are notorious blood purists, with its last Lord perishing as a marked Death Eater. He was Erasmus Lord Wilkes, also known as… The Toymaker. He had a sadistic obsession with Muggle toys, ensorcelling them with Parselmagic and allowing them to wreak havoc amongst unsuspecting magicals and muggles, maiming or killing them in horrific ways. The lucky few that survived always recalled hearing a horrifying hissing noise right before the toys attacked, which was later discovered to be Parseltongue. As such, it's considered a major taboo to know Parseltongue, even more so to speak it aloud." Harry's face had paled at the description of the Toymaker and his creations, prompting Lily to give him another comforting hug.

"So… barring Uncle Tom, Severus, and yourself, I shouldn't tell anyone else I can talk to snakes, right?" Again Lily was struck by his perceptiveness, already knowing to keep this ability secret.

"Yes" she nodded, "barring Uncle Tom, Severus, and myself, we aren't to tell anyone else you can talk to snakes, even well-meaning godfathers with the best of intentions. As accepting as Sirius is, he's still a soldier of the past war and remembers all of the wretchedness Erasmus unleashed, and he may not take it well." Harry once more gave her an inscrutable stare, eyes unblinking. In a few beats, he quickly nodded in agreement. He took her free hand once more and led her out of the orchard, chattering on excitedly while Lily stared in no small amazement, gently rubbing the snake's scales all the way.

The snake - whom Harry had named Selma - was currently in a magical terrarium in Harry's room, directly in front of the largest available window to soak up as much sun as possible. On days when it was particularly dreary, Lily had created a charmed solar panel that would mimic a typical sunny day, bathing Selma in much needed warmth. Tom had been absolutely ecstatic; he'd spent an entire afternoon speaking to Harry and Selma in Parseltongue, lavishing the latter with surprisingly paternal affection. He'd helped Lily with the terrarium's creation, even going as far to create a Parseltongue-based ward to obscure the terrarium from Sirius' curiosity (and the Grimm's keen sense of smell).

Shaking off the memories, Lily dutifully finished her pruning and picked a few more apples, making sure to have plenty for Selma. Banishing her tools back to her office, she picked up the basket and made her way to the house, pausing to get Harry and Sirius' attention.

"Alright boys, I've got enough apples to feed a circus, want to come help me clean them off? We can help Mia make candied apples and some apple treacle pies!" A resounding chorus of "Yes Mummy!/WOOF WOOF!" responded as the Grimm transformed into the tussled form of a laughing Sirius Black, who immediately scooped up a laughing Harry to sit on his shoulders. All three continued on into the home, eager to spend another beautiful summer day.

AN 1: Lily is a Parselmouth! As I mentioned, it's a unique combo of ancestry, sympathy, and contagion. Plus I always wanted to use the phrase "Lily Evans HISSED!" in some dramatic capacity. We'll see her Parseltongue abilities more in Harry's Second Year and Book II of this series

Next Chapter - Severus, Dumbledore, and more Tom!