Serpentine Incident

Chapter Four

They drove in silence. Well Miss Morgan and Harry were quiet. Serenity was hissing up a storm.

"Where are we going little one? Who is this? Why are we going with her? Is she safe? Does she know you only speak our language?" Serenity asked questions non-stop. Harry didn't even think he could answer them if he wanted to.

"Mother please. This woman is going to take care of Harry from now on." Perseus hissed finally getting tired of the elder snake's nagging.

"Oh," was all Serenity said before finally calming down and nuzzling Harry's neck.

Harry looked up and noticed that they had left Little Whinging. Now they were driving through what looked like endless fields. He noticed one or two houses but they were spread far apart, unlike the houses of Privet Drive. He was awed by the large spaces that looked great for playing in. The back yard of Number Four was nothing compared to the yards of these houses.

The car soon slowed to a stop in front of a large light blue three-story house. Miss Morgan got out of the car and went around to Harry's side.

"This is where you are going to live from now on Harry," the snake-boy's jaw dropped nearly to the floor, and Shannon chuckled. "My grandfather built this house for his children. I had many aunts and uncles, but they're gone now. Come on, I show you and your snakes to your new room."

Harry followed the teacher into the giant house with his serpents wrapped around him. Inside, Harry nearly passed out from the house's beauty. Surely a freak like him didn't deserve to be even near a house like this.

The living room was huge. It was decorated with colors much like the outside. The walls were light blue and the ceiling had a slightly darker shade. All the furniture had the same color as the ceiling and looked like he could fall asleep on them as soon as he sat down. The carpet was darker and Harry's feet seemed to sink into. They were lamps and little sparkly things that were also blue tinted. Harry knew that they weren't for touching. Pictures on the wall depicted beautiful scenes of animals and people that all seemed have different expressions.

"She must really like blue," Perseus hissed into Harry's ear. The boy just nodded in awe.

"Come Harry I'll give you a tour after you see your room." Miss Morgan took hold of his hand and guided him upstairs. The hallways were also blue with different paintings hung on the wall. They passed three room before Miss Morgan stopped him in front of a dark blue door.

"Now don't worry. It's a little bare and dusty but we'll definitely fix it up. My room is right next door, so if you need my you can just come over and knock." Miss Morgan smiled at Harry and he smiled back. When she opened the boy Harry hesitated to go in.

The bedroom was as large as the Dursley's living room. It too had blue walls but they were darker than the rest. The bed was big enough to fit three of him in it. There was a large dresser and mirror on the side and Harry noticed a desk and a bookshelf. Miss Morgan gave Harry a little shove so he could go in and see the rest of the room. Behind the door was a closet that Harry thought was an extra small room. It reminded him slightly of the cupboard under the stairs, only a little bigger.

After looking around, Harry turned to Miss Morgan and gave her a big hug. This was definitely better than sleeping in the back yard.

"I'm glad you like it Harry. If you want we can paint it any other color and move the furniture around." Harry seemed to think for a second before shaking his head. He like the way the room was. "Well I guess its time for the tour then."

"No thanks I'll pass." Perseus slipped out of Harry's shirt then slithered to the bed. "I'm tired of moving around. I need a nap."

Harry giggled and Serenity shooed her head.

"That's fine I'll stay with Harry." She looked at her other children. "You can stay too if you want." The other snakes slithered off of Harry then went towards the bed. Harry was glad for the lessened weight. He took the teacher's hand and pointed to the door.

"I'll take that as a yes then." She guided Harry throughout the house showing him every room. Most of the rooms on the second and third floor were bedrooms and bathrooms. Of course the rooms were bigger than any room in the Dursley's home. When Harry stepped into the kitchen, his jaw dropped nearly to the floor. It was blue like the rest of the house but the sheer size of it amazed Harry. At least fifty people could fit in it. There were two stoves and two ovens, lots of cupboards, two big sinks and big thing Miss Morgan call a dish-washer. There was also a big refrigerator and table.

"When we bring friends over there will be enough space for all of us," Miss Morgan said when she pointed out the table.

Harry's favorite place of the whole tour was the library. He didn't quite know how to read yet, but the possibly of being able to read the dozens upon dozens of books in the library peaked his interest. He knew Miss Morgan would be teaching him to read very soon. After all that was the only they could talk to each other.

"Its dusty," was all that Serenity said when she surveyed the room.

"I love it," Harry replied.

The young boy watched as the teacher left his side to look at one of the shelves. She scanned it for a while before she picked one and brought it back. It had a picture of two hands on it and some words.

"A Beginner's Guide to Sign Language," Miss Morgan said to him with a smile. "My father always said it would come in handy but I never believed it until now. With this you won't have to write down everything you want to tell me. You can just sign it instead. Of course I'll have to learn it too and not everyone knows sign language so it will be difficult sometimes, but we'll work that out later."

Harry frowned at the older woman. Maybe this was a little too much for a five-year-old to take in, but if it helped Miss Morgan understand him it would be worth it. In his haste he grabbed the book and tried to read the first page. It was then that he remembered that he couldn't read.

"I think I'll read the pages to you first," she laughed and retrieved the book from Harry.

"Is she mocking you?" Serenity hissed indignantly.

"I don't think so," Harry responded as Miss Morgan opened the book and began to read.

"Well I think we should start with the alphabet first ok." With that Miss Morgan began to teach Harry and herself sign language. Harry seemed very good at it, but it took a while for him stop speaking in parseltongue while he signed. It sort of helped that Serenity smacked him with her tail every once in a while.

By the end of the week young Harry had learned to sign his and Shannon's whole names and he learned to ask simple questions. He would still go school with Miss Morgan and there he would to read and write. By the time Harry turned six he could read a few of the simple books in the library and have small conversations with his teacher/guardian.

Soon the other snakes had left and only Serenity and Perseus stayed with Harry. To the snakes' delight. Shannon redecorated a whole room strictly for serpents. Sometimes she would find Harry sleeping I there also.

Harry and Miss Morgan kept mostly to themselves seeing as they were very far from other houses. Soon Harry started while stay home while Shannon went to work in order to keep his appearance secret. No one found out about Harry's true neighbor until he turned seven. That was when he met their odd new neighbor, Mr. Rosier.

A/N: I know its short but I'm having a bit off writer's block at the moment. At least I updated. I'm sure the next chapter will be longer. Sorry it took so long but I just came back from Alaska. When I did come back I was so surprised about the reviews I had gotten. I'm so happy XD. What really rocks my boat is that I have more people on alert than reviews. So you all who are reading and not reviewing SHAME ON YOU! If you like my story enough to read every new chapter than you could at least tell me. It would boost my ego and my update speed honestly.

Anyway, yes I am using Evan Rosier. If you haven't noticed by now this story is AU. It has to be a Death Eater to tie in with the story and there is a good explanation for his appearance.

Just to those who actually read these long A/N's, here's a sneak peak:

Evan Rosier, a known Death Eater in the Wizarding World, had never expected to be hiding from Aurors in a muggle house. He also never expected to run into his distant neighbor and her snake-boy charge. Perhaps laying low wouldn't be so bad after all.

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