Disclaimer: The usual, I don't own any of the characters or anything to do with Harry Potter. All credit goes to J.K Rowling. Anyone you don't recognise is owned by me.

Authors Note: Alright, I don't know much about vacation spots in England especially during the 30's however a Google search showed me Cornwall when i typed in holiday spots in england, so that is where this chapter is set. Also I don't know what kind of snakes there are in England especially one that would be so close to the beach.

CHAPTER TWO – Snakes and Burns

Summer 1932

"All right children. Don't stray too far from the bus." Mrs Cole called, as the small group of children left the bus and looked around in awe, breathing in the salty air that hung over Cornwall.

Tom and Isolde stayed closed to each other as the other children ran off, laughing happily, glad to be away from London and the melancholy air the Depression was bringing. The orphanages' beneficiaries had decided a small holiday was needed to lift the spirits of the orphans, so the trip to Cornwall had been arranged.

Mrs Cole watched as Tom and Isolde surveyed the beach in front of them. The two had become quite the duo since their meeting almost six months ago. You would barley find one without the other. "Keep an eye on Isolde, Tom." the older woman called softly, even though she knew that this was not necessary. The little boy was almost obsessively overprotective of the younger girl.

Tom merely nodded in reply, as Isolde led him to a small patch of grass and sat down.

"I like it here. It smells nice and no one is so sad." Isolde commented, picking a flower and spinning it around in her tiny fingers.

Tom looked at his friend. "We haven't been here that long." He said. "How do you know that no one is sad?"

Isolde shrugged. "I can feel it." Was all she said and that was the only answer Tom needed. Isolde was usually right when it came to her 'feelings'.

The pair sat in a comfortable silence, strange for children of their age. Isolde was playing with the flower in her hand while Tom just looked out at the ocean. The silence was broken when Isolde gave a little shriek and edged closer to Tom.

"What?" he asked.

Isolde pointed to the ground a couple of feet beside the spot she had been sitting on, where a small green snake was coiled, almost watching them. Tom stared at it. What a beautiful creature, he thought to himself.

"It's alright Isolde. It's not poisonous." He told his friend, edging slightly closer to the snake.

Isolde watched him sceptically. "Are you sure Tom?" she asked in a small voice. Tom nodded, still edging closer to the elegant creature. "Be careful Tom." Her voice was almost a whisper.

"Hello." Tom said softly to the snake.

"Hello human." Tom was surprised when he heard the snake answer him.

Glancing at Isolde whose doe eyes were wide, briefly, Tom turned back to the snake. "You can understand me."

The snake gave a small nod, which consisted of it rising up slightly and bobbing its head. "I can. And you can understand me."

"I can." Tom replied in awe. He was actually talking to an animal, a snake at that.

"I've never spoken to a human before." The snake told him. "They usually run and scream or try to hit me when I approach."

"Snakes don't –." Tom began but was broken off by a yell from behind him.

"Riddle, you freak are you actually talking pretending to talk to that snake."

Tom winced slightly and turned away from the snake to see George Foreman, a large boy of seven who was another orphan. George had been at the orphanage since he was two, arriving just after Tom's birth. He seemed to have developed an instant dislike for Tom which only doubled when Tom had somehow turned George's favourite truck into a porcupine. The feelings were very mutual.

"Go away." Tom told him sullenly, turning back to the snake only to see its tail disappearing among the grass.

"You were talking to that snake. Did it answer you Riddle?" George taunted with a smirk. "Did it tell you what a freak you were? That's probably why it slithered away. I saved its life before you set it on fire."

"Be quiet." Isolde spoke up for the first time and Tom turned his attention to his small friend who was looking very pale.

Unfortunately George also turned his attention to Isolde, who shrunk away from him. "What was that Issie?" he asked mockingly.

Isolde mumbled something under her breath. George stalked closer to her. "What Issie?" he asked again. "You want me to save you from freaky Tommy?"

Isolde shook her head as George roughly grabbed her arm and lifted her up off the ground. Tom was incensed, how dare he touch her? He stood up as well. "Let her go." Tom demanded in a low voice.

"Or what Tommy? You'll set me on fire?" George asked still gripping Isolde's arm tightly, tear were beginning to leak down the little girl's cheeks. This only made Tom even madder.

"Let her go." He repeated. "You're hurting her."

"Really?" George asked, smirking again. He shook Isolde roughly as more tears slid down her cheeks. "Am I hurting you Issie?"

Isolde nodded slightly, looking at the ground. Tom was trembling with rage. He wanted so badly to hurt George, to make sure he would never touch Isolde again. He started to step toward George and Isolde to rescue his friend, when George let out a high pitch scream and darted away from Isolde, staring at his hands.

"What did you do you freak?" he demanded.

Tom was confused. "I didn't do anything." He said. George had tears in his eyes.

"Oh yeah, what's this?" he asked, holding out his hands. Tom was surprised to see that the boy's chubby hands were red and blistered, like he had just touched a stove or something.

"I didn't do that." Tom defended himself.

"You're a freak. I'm telling Mrs Cole." George sniffled before running off in the direction of the beach.

Tom watched him go, not really worried. A sniffle behind him, reminded him that Isolde was still there and he turned back to her.

"Are you alright?" he asked her, stepping closer to her. She was rubbing her arm, where a hand shaped bruise was slowly forming.

Isolde nodded, still looking at the ground as she wiped her tears away. He gently touched her arm, any anger he had felt before going away quickly. Isolde always seemed able to calm him down whether by speaking softly to him or a touch to his arm.

She looked up at him. "What were you saying to that snake?"

Tom looked at her, confused. "You heard what I was saying." He told her, but Isolde shook her head.

"No, you were hissing like a snake." Isolde said, her eyes still wide, but some of the colour had returned to her face.

"I was?" Tom asked, bewildered. Isolde nodded. "Hissing?" Another nod. "I can talk to snakes."

Isolde bit her lip. "What were you talking about?"

Tom shrugged. "I just said hello and the snake said hello back."

"Wow." Isolde said.

Tom was a little worried. The other orphans had wasted no time telling Isolde to stay clear of Tom upon her arrival at the orphanage. The little girl however stuck by her new friend, even after a few little accidents including the curtains in the mess hall catching fire when George and his friends were teasing Tom. He was just waiting until she realised he was too different to be friends with. His new found discovered ability to talk to snake might just be the thing that would scare her away.

"You don't think it's scary?" he asked her quietly.

Isolde shook her head, her pigtails flying, before she gave Tom a hug. Tom relaxed immediately. For someone who had once shunned any human contact at all, it hadn't taken long to get use to Isolde touch. "You're my best friend Tom. Do you get scared by my feelings?"

Tom shook his head, hugging her tighter. Boy, he was glad he wasn't going to lose her. He had no idea what he would do if Isolde left him.

The pair just stood there hugging. The moment was broken by the arrival of Mrs Cole, who had George standing behind her, his hands wrapped in white cloth. "Tom, Isolde." She said and they broke apart to look up at her.

"Yes Mrs Cole." Isolde said in a small voice.

Mrs Cole looked down on them. "Would you mind explaining to me how George burnt his hands?" she asked. "He tells me you know."

"We don't know." Tom said in a sullen voice.

"He's lying." George spoke up. "He did it."

Mrs Cole shushed him. "I'd like to know how George." She said.

"He's a freak." George said loudly.

"George." Mrs Cole admonished. "Enough." She turned back to Tom and Isolde, who were now holding hands and standing close together. Neither said anything and the matron sighed. "I'm afraid that if you don't tell me what happened, none of you will be getting any ice cream as a treat tonight."

George smirked, but it dropped away quickly when Mrs Cole turned to him and told him that unless he told the truth he wouldn't be getting any either. George sulked away looking like he had been kicked, while Mrs Cole had turned back to Tom and Isolde. They didn't budge and she sighed again, before telling them to make their way back to the bus as they would be travelling to their accommodations for the evening soon.

She walked away, leaving the pair trailing behind her in silence, both silently going over the events of the past hour or so.

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A/N: So what did we all think? I'm hoping for a few more reviews this chapter. I'm grateful to those who added the story to their story alerts and story favourites, but reviews are always nice.