Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter and Company.
Harry went to Snape's office instead of the potion's class room for his Wednesday mage sight class. There on the desk was a lone potion vial. A stack of scrolls Snape was correcting. And a cage with a strange greenish gray snake in it.
Snape looked up when Harry got to the desk. "A single dose of Universal Snake Venom Antidote. Please drink it." he ordered Harry as he capped a bottle of red ink.
Harry picked up the vial, uncorked it and downed the potion quickly. He blinked strawberries. The potion tasted of strawberries. "Strawberry flavored Anti-venom?"
"The strawberry flavoring comes from crushed strawberries. Which do not react to the neutral ingredients that make up the potion. Hence flavoring the potion is simply finding a flavor that wont react and adding it." Snape informed him.
"Wished more potions could be flavored." Harry grumbled remembering the Skele-gro he had to take his second year. "What kind of snake is that?"
"It's a Glass Lizard from the central United States. Lack of legs not with standing. I'm attempting to see if I can breed them for there tails." Snape explained.
"Are they hermaphrodites?" Harry asked.
"No, I've three females already. This male was delivered today. I am curious to know if you're ability with Parseltongue would allow you to communicate with it."
Snape mused.
"I'll give it a try. What do you want me to say to it?" Harry asked.
"At the moment nothing as the lizard is hibernating. When the weather is warm enough for them to be active then I will have you attempt to communicate with it. Until then would you mind telling me why you went to the Slytherin 7th years about Miss Granger's attack?" Snape asked in a puzzled voice.
"Hermione wasn't the only one attacked. When I was serving my detention with Madam Pomfrey a girl from Hufflepuff was brought in by a pair of Slytherin 7th year girls. Madam Pomfrey had me use my mage sight to trace the hexes used. Later when Hermione was attacked Madame Pomfrey had me do the same for her. I noticed the signature of the magic was the same." Harry Explained.
"Why would you go to Slytherin instead of Hufflepuff?" queried Snape.
"I wanted to know if there had been attacks like the Hufflepuff girl and Hermione to Slytherin students." Harry replied.
"You do remember that Madam Pomfrey has mage sight as well. She has reported this to the heads of house and the Headmaster. We are on the look out for the person who is doing this." Snape said coolly.
"I remember. However not all students go to Madam Pomfrey if they get hexed." Harry explained. "I want to include those students as well."
"I see, This was Miss Granger's idea I take it." Snape asked curious.
"Ron's actually." Harry replied.
"Mr. Weasley? He doesn't strike me as the type to think of something like this." Snape commented.
Harry bristled for a minute at Snape's remark then said. "He's trying to see if there is a pattern to the attacks and not just the a pattern of the victims. One thing he has found out already is that there is a random Jelly Legs Jinx being cast on the fourth floor by the Backwards Staircase. He thinks it's the suit of armor that stands there. It glows faintly purple to me."
"He's certain of that?" Snape asked interested.
"Yes he is." Harry answered.
"I'll have to investigate when I have time. Any other patterns the teachers and the Headmaster should know about?" Snape asked.
"Not yet. Was there a reason why we are meeting here and not the class room like usual?" Harry asked.
"It seems the pest problem isn't over with yet. The Headmaster has asked each Head of House to go through their section of the castle checking the wards specific to that house. There are specific wards to keep pests out. You will accompany each Head of House as they make that inspection. For tonight you will accompany me on my inspection tour." Snape explained.
Harry followed Snape as he lead the way down past the entrance Slytherin common room to the point were the passageway split off into three other passageways. "This is the point where Hufflepuff and Slytherin wards meet. Those two passages are Hufflepuff territory." Snape indicated the passages to the front and left.
They took the right hand passageway and quickly came to a stairway that led down. When they reached the bottom of the staircase they had descended four floors. "This is the lowest accessible level. There are two more below this one with access points in the Headmaster's Tower." Snape explained.
"The Chamber of Secrets is I think further down below. It's accessible through Moaning Myrtles Bathroom." Harry said.
"Which is in the Headmaster's Tower." Snape told him. "This level was formerly used as an escape route for the students if the castle was attack. Then it was used for food storage. Now it's empty the castle itself has sealed the storage rooms.
The glow of magic from the castle walls giving them enough light to see with. As the rounded a corner Harry noticed a trio of cat like creatures attacking what looked like a mole the size of a terrier. "What are they?" he asked.
Slytherin Cats. Their purpose is to hunt the rodents in these lower levels. Slytherin himself bred them to this and bound them to the castle. He was a noted Beast master in his day." Snape explained. "Regrettable they can't be removed from the castle."
"Some how I always thought Slytherin as a potions master like you." Harry commented.
"When the castle was built wizards and witches did different types of magic. Hufflepuff was the castles potion mistress. Ravenclaw taught charms. Slytherin was the beast master and Gryffindor was the Herbology instructor. I take it you have never read Hogwarts, a History?" Snape asked.
"No." Harry replied.
"Then consider it added to your mage sight studies. One chapter a week. I will quiz you on what you have read." Snape promised.
They approached a passageway with iron bars across it. There Harry caught a glimpse of pale silver tail as it went into a hole. "I saw a glowing silver tail in that direction." pointed Harry. "Snake of some kind I think."
"Silver snake you say?" questioned Snape
"Is it a pest?" asked Harry.
"Mr. Potter consider yourself very lucky. You are among the handful of people who have seen a glimpse of a silver viper." Snape grinned. "They are a created beast of purely magical origin."
"Did Slytherin create them?" Harry asked.
"No, myth has it that Merlin was the creator of the viper." Snape explained.
Turning a last corner they came to the wards. There was a knot of painfully bright color in the wards near the roof of the passage which at this point became a natural cavern. Snape murmured spells and made elaborate gestures with his wand. Some of which caused one color or another to grow brighter or dim.
"Damn. Mr. Potter I want you to go to the Slytherin Common room and get all of the seventh years and all of the sixth years who are of age" Snape ordered when he finished his spell work. He reached into his pocket and drew out a snake carving handing it to Harry. "This will get you inside just touch it to the door. Hand it to the prefect on duty. It should be one of the sixth years. Tell him what I have told you then lead them back to this place."
"Yes Sir." Harry took off running. He followed Snape's instructions to the letter. The prefect was a girl. She touched her wand to her prefects badge and with in minutes all of the Slytherin prefects where in the common room. Harry told them what Snape had told him. They in turn collected all of the other 6th and 7th years.
The Slytherins followed Harry back to were Snape was. Once there Harry blinked the knot was now visible to every one. "As you can see the wards in this section of the castle have been compromised. This is what has lead to our vermin problem. To fix it I am going to lead you in the repair ritual in which you will lend me the magic to repair the wards. Most of you have already done some ritual work when you lent me the magic to strengthen the wards on the Slytherin common room and dormitories. This ritual is very similar. Form a half circle with me at the center. Mr. Potter if the wards fade from sight I want you to tell Mr. Warren. Mr. Warren if Mr. Potter tells you that they have faded from sight you are to cast the spell that makes them visible understood."
The students got into position. A low chant by the students with their wands pointed at Snape. Harry too a quick look as he felt the magic rise. Each wand had a stead beamof light going to the tip of Snape's wand. When it was almost to bright to see Snape turned and began to repair the wards."
"Potter do you see the wards?" hissed Warren quietly.
"Yes, very faint." Harry told him. While he spoke the wards grew brighter and Warren could see them. Never through the repair did they totally fade out of normal visible sight. When it was over Snape had Warren escort Harry back to the Gryffindor common room. He had given Harry a note that excused him from his morning classes since it was nearly three in the morning when they finished.
Author's Note: Glass Lizards are real. Go here to check them out.