Disclaimer: Don't own Harry Potter and Company.
The next morning Harry got out of bed before dawn dressed and met Prof. Sprout by the door closest to the greenhouses. The Mills sisters where there as well as the other heads of house. Harry and the Mills sisters where to check out green houses 1, 3 and 4 as there where few plants that would attract the Blood Moths in them.
"Prof. Sprout why do I have to be here?" whined Annie Mills. "Because the Earth gift runs in your family and you are showing signs of it already, Miss Mills." Prof. Sprout said.
"Great just great," Annie complained. "Da and Grandpa are just going to love it. They're going to make me learn how to run the farm. I hate farming!"
"There are many other skills that Earth Sense can be used for not just farming." Snape replied. "I myself have the earth affinity and your potion grades are acceptable enough to earn yourself an apprenticeship with one of the old school masters if you don't make an O on your OWLs."
"Curse breaking is also a skill that Earth sense is useful for." Prof. McGonagall said.
"I've got the affinity Annie and I like farming." Lexie Mills reminded her sister. "I'm also older then you."
"This isn't getting rid of those horrid Blood Moths. To the green houses." Prof. Sprout commanded. Once they had arrive at the green houses the teachers head to the green houses holding rare and delicate plants. "You three are to check as a group. Lexie you are in charge. I'll be in greenhouse 12 if you need me."
They started in greenhouse 1 as that one only held plants that had little magic in them. Harry took the potted plants the first years had going. He found the faint after glow of some sort of magic and it was fading fast. "Over here I've spotted something."
Lexie Mills came over. "What did you see?" She asked. Prof. Sprout had told her that Harry had mage sight and could see the magic.
"The after glow of some sort of magic. I'm not sure what sort. It's gone now." Harry admitted.
"It's still to cold in here for Blood Moth cocoons to drop their magic. How big was the signature?" Lexie asked.
"Mouse size. I remember something about a teleporting mouse." Harry commented.
"Timmons Mouse. Annie are you feeling any of the plants gnawed on?" She asked her sister.
"Yes," Annie said as she closed her eyes. "Over near were you are." Came the answer after a few minutes.
Lexie murmured a spell and all the plants that have been gnawed on showed up with a bright purple glow. "Look for droppings near the plants that glow. Prof. Sprout can use them to back track to the nest."
Annie found the first droppings she scooped them up with a trowel and put them in a glass jar. "It doesn't matter if they're mixed." She told Harry when he found some.
With greenhouse 1 complete they moved on to greenhouse 4. Harry, this time being assigned the tool cupboard. There he found some of the tools knocked down. He knew that the day before everyone left for the holiday all the tools had been neatly put away. Prof. Sprout always assigns two students to see that they are and that day it had been Neville and himself who had been the two so chosen. Seeing no glow of magic around any of the tools he begins to put them back. Righting a bucket he feels a sharp pain in his left hand. When he looked in that direction he saw an common adder. He hissed for the snake to be still. "Lexie get Prof. Sprout and Snape." He yelled out the door.
"Potter?" Annie asked from the door way.
"Common adder. It bit me." Harry replied. He had to hiss at the snake to stay still again.
"Right." Annie backed out of the room and closed the door. Harry left inside the storage cupboard with the snake tried to find something he could put the snake in. The bucket would work but it had no lid. There wasn't much else to use unless he wanted to kill it.
About ten minutes later Snape came to the door. "Do you have the snake secured?" He asked through it.
"Could you transfigured a cage for it. Most of the stuff in here isn't usable as a base material." Harry asked.
"Give me a moment." Snape said. A minute later the door opened a crack and a tiny cage floated over to Harry. Harry enlarged it and levitated the angry snake into it closing the lid tightly. "It's secure." He said opening the door all the way.
Snape cast a quick spell on then snake. "Common adder, excellent identification. Were where you bitten?"
"Left hand as I was picking up the water bucket." Harry extended his left hand. It was beginning to swell.
"I take it you have not taken the universal antivenom potion?" Snape asked.
"Didn't know such a thing existed." Harry replied.
"It renders you immune to common snake venom like that of the adder, cobra, and other snakes common to the Eurasian continent. Australia and New Zealand have a different version as do North and South America. Africa's version is similar to that of the Eurasian version." Snape replied. "Being a parselmouth should give you a partial immunity already. Since the common adder venom is not that toxic I'm going to place a monitoring charm on you and you can continue with what you are doing. However if you feel any dizziness send for me immediately."
"What about the snake?" Harry asked.
"Gravid female." Snape said after a quick spell on the snake. "Leave it in plain sight for now with a low grade warming charm on the cage and I'll have Hagrid come and get it to put with the other snakes kept for ingredients.
Harry finished with the cupboard and they moved on to greenhouse 5. That one was a water garden. He remembered spending most of second year in this greenhouse. It was the only one with an anteroom where they had changed out of their winter things.
By lunch time the snake bite was just two punctures on the back of his hand. Madam Pomfrey had checked him over and pronounced him fine. Harry went back to his tower to take a nap. There was cold sleet falling outside and he felt a little achy.
At dinner Snape handed Harry a book on Australian Aboriginal Wizards and Witches. "Sir?"
"The Aborigines are about the only people to have any in-depth knowledge of parseltongue. While it isn't much it is magic of the light there." Snape replied. "I'd like the book back when you are done with it. It belongs in the Slytherin library. Parselmouthes are usually sorted to Slytherin as it requires two magical parents for the gift to show up."
"What's the difference between a gift and an affinity?" Harry asked.
"A gift is the one bit of truth about magic that the so called pure bloods have to back up their belief. As a gift requires both parents be magical. However that includes muggle born parents as well." Snape replied.
"An affinity on the other is just that an affinity for a certain class magic. The affinities are Earth which is further subdivided into wood and metal, water, fire and air. If a couple each with the earth affinity marry there is a good chance that their child will be born with the Earth Gift." Dumbledore explained. "A muggle born has as much chance of having an affinity as wizard born."
"If people where bred like animals then the so called pure bloods would have something to stand on." Prof. Flitwick commented. "It's much like breeding a specific trait in cats say for black fur. Breeding 2 black cats will get you some black kittens breed only the black kittens to other black cats the percentage of kittens that will be black goes up."
"I think I get the picture." Harry said with a grin.