Hello, everyone! Here's the newest chapter for the "Harry Potter: the Serpent Lord" story. Enjoy!

* Review response:
The Sinful, the wizarding world seems to be lacking in logical (and several other, too) departments, so they (most of them, at least), no doubt, would believe every single word the great Albus Dumbledore says. Even if he says that apples are blue.
Penny is wise, Confeito, Reishin Amara, Hanzo of the Salamander, dark zues, thank you, folks!
Dark Dragen, "Serpent lord" will start in roughly 10 chapters. 15 at most. (the whole story is planned to be at least 50, so, don't worry)
Thaumologist, Dumbledore didn't do everything to change Harry into what he wants him to be, 'cause too much mind magic at once can have bad effects on the 'patient'. Well, I think, it can have. =)
Ratus, I know. I tried to contact my beta for the entire previous month, but he is silent. so... anybody wants to take the position of the beta-reader for this story?
Highvalour, 4 words: "the right of conquest". This should explain the Serpent lord thing.
Vukk, Ex10, Harry will get his memories back, but it won't happen for some time. Not that it would stop our hero from returning to the mindset he had during the first year.
RE5 forever, no, Dumbledore isn't evil. He's actually misguided good guy, who does too much manipulating of others and too little of actually trying to solve things himself. But in the end, he plays a 'bad guy' role in this story.
Tutenstein, because he is twelve (not yet) years old? We all tend to do stupid things at that age, don't we?
Still Not Dead Yet, Harry will get suspicious in the next chapter. But the whole thing won't be resolved for some time.
Victorules, voldy would play a role in Harry regaining his memories, but not in the way you wrote.

* Disclaimer: I DO NOT own "Harry Potter" and its characters in any shape or form.

"human speech"
"wraith speech"
'human thoughts'
"spells / parseltongue"

This chapter was not beta-read. Yet.
Anyone interested in becoming my beta?

chapter 11: Summer holidays begin

"Harry, where are you going?" Neville asked, when he saw his friend collect something from his trunk and turn to leave their compartment. Hermione, who was reading some book, too, raised her head to look at the green-eyed wizard.

"Sorry, have some business to do. I'll be back really soon." Harry replied and quickly left the compartment, but the bushy-haired witch managed to catch a glimpse of blush appearing on his cheeks. Were she not as serious as she was, this would be a perfect teasing material... Closing the compartment door behind him, Harry put his invisibility cloak on, which he took it along with a rather small box of quality chocolates from his trunk moments before, and started looking for a certain blonde girl he wanted to congratulate.

Unlike the train ride to Hogwarts on September first, when at least first years sat randomly, now the entire student body was split by the train's compartments into many small groups, which made Harry's task of locating Draconica both easier – he knew that she hanged around Greengrass heiress and Tracey Davis, thus it was more likely that she will be sitting with them – and harder, as he would have to congratulate her in front of others.

Going through the train cars under the invisibility cloak was a bit hard, as he had to dodge all other people in corridors, but as no one saw him – or so he hoped – no questions would be asked as to where and why he was going. Still, the young Griffindor stopped by a couple of compartment on his way to say hello to his friends from quidditch team, leaving the 'protection' of his cloak or returning under it in the tambours when no one would see him.

On his way towards the first car, Harry passed past a compartment that was occupied by Crabbe and Goyle. Apparently, Draconica didn't want her two supposed 'bodyguards' to be by her side, and the two Slytherin boys, not knowing what else to do, found themselves a compartment to sleep in during the ride to London... A little further on his way, the green-eyed wizard saw the youngest male Weasley playing exploding snap with Dean Thomas while inhaling any food either of them had...

Finally, in the third car from the steam engine, Harry saw a familiar blond witch, who, indeed, was sitting with two other 'neutral' Slytherin girls. Going a little more forward, to the nearest tambour, the young Griffindor removed his cloak and, folding it, put it into his pocket. Then he backtracked to the compartment where his 'target' was, and knocked on the door.

"Can I have a moment of your time, ladies?" He asked then as he slid the compartment door half-open. All three girls looked up at him, a bit surprised to see him there... Absentmindedly, Harry noticed that Draconica had a charms book on her lap, while Daphne and Tracey were reading some magazine together.

"Potter?" The Greengrass heiress asked. "Very well." While her mask didn't show it, Daphne was quite interested in what brought the Griffindor golden boy to this compartment. The young wizard nodded and slipped in, screening the door behind him.

"Now, I know that giving gifts early is considered a bad tone in either world, but I'm not sure that I will be able to have it delivered to you the day after tomorrow safely, ms. Malfoy, so... Happy Birthday!" With those words Harry, blushing not so slightly, presented the box of chocolates to the blond witch. Draconica, a bit surprised by this – she didn't expect to get a present from him as she didn't remember telling him that her birthday was on June second, or the day after tomorrow – but still accepted the sweets. "I will get you something more substantial when I can go shopping myself." Harry added in a whisper so that only Draconica would hear him. Then he continued in a normal voice. "Well, ladies, I won't take any more of your time, so... Have a nice ride." And with a small bow the green-eyed wizard left their compartment.

While the girls were discussing what he had done, Harry made it back to the compartment where Neville and Hermione were sitting.

What young Harry didn't know, was that Dumbledore tried to adjust his relationship with ms. Malfoy when he changed his memories. But even with the power of the elder wand the old headmaster failed there as he both tried to be subtle about it, and tried not to cause any additional mind damage to the young Potter – the world didn't need an insane hero, after all. But the old manipulator didn't let it bother him much: if he could keep Harry on the light side, ms. Malfoy, through her association with him, could be used to spy against dark families and Tom himself, when he decided to reappear...

The ancient headmaster also tried to adjust young Potter's views on himself and the Dursley family – very subtly, of course – but as madam Pomfrey chose the very bad moment to go check on her patients, Dumbledore couldn't check the results of his work there, and didn't knew that this charm too wasn't completely successful...

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Augusta Longbottom wasn't sure what to think of the latest events at Hogwarts. On one hand she wasn't happy that her grandson ran away from the Death Eater that attacked students: his father and her son wouldn't run. On the other hand, had Neville not run away, he would have being captured too – no matter how much she wanted to see an auror in him, her grandson was still just a first year student – and there would be no one to alert the stuff on time to save the attacked students from torture and possible death...

So the Longbottom matriarch settled for just congratulating Neville on doing good in his studies. At the same time, the elderly woman made a mental note to talk to the rest of the Board of Governors about getting the information out of Dumbledore about how the Death Eater managed to get into the school unnoticed. And, depending on what the old headmaster would have to say, it was possible that the Board would have to readjust the budget of Hogwarts for the next year to get the money needed to update the wards around the castle.

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Now knowing what to do, Hermione quickly passed through the barrier that separated the platform 9¾ from the muggle part of the Kings Cross, and almost immediately saw her parents waiting for her there. As she stopped the trolley with her luggage next to where he parents were standing, the bushy-haired witch went to hug her mother and then her father – she missed them dearly since they saw each other last during the Christmas holidays.

"How was your year, Pumpkin?" Hermione's father, Dan, asked, as the girl finally released him from her hug... Apparently, they weren't informed about the Death Eater getting into the school and attacking Hermione and Harry. Not that the bushy-haired witch was going to tell them about it, lest they pull her out of the school and away from her friends.

"It was good. And I was ranked first in my year and..." Hermione started enthusiastically, but suddenly she recalled what they were said about doing magic during summer holidays, and her mood dropped a little. "Unfortunately, I won't be able to show you anything, aside from my books."

"And why is that, dear?" Her mother, Emma, asked.

"Well, as know, magical society is hidden from ...non-magical people and so that it could remain just like that, they placed restrictions, so that I can do any magic in front of ...non-magical people." Hermione replied. "There are exceptions, of course, like self-defense, but..."

"I understand." Dan Granger said. "And we should have guessed that there will be something like this. After all we didn't know anything about magic until one of your professors – McGonnagal was her name? – came the previous summer and explained that you are a witch." The man said.

"Now, pumpkin, tell us some more about your lessons." Hermione's mother changed topic to a lighter one – no one wanted to talk about politics and such on such a good day. Hermione nodded eagerly and started talking about her classes, while she and her parents made their way to the parking, where Dan's car was...

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Unfortunately for Draconica, her father wasn't as happy to see her back. The scowl that was on his face when he greeted her at the station told the blonde girl as much. At least, like a proper pureblood, Lucius Malfoy would keep his family's business hidden from the public...

After the Malfoy family flooed to the manor where they lived, Lucius ordered one of their house elves to take Draconica's things to her room, while he led his daughter to his study, while Narcissa silently followed after them. In the study, the head of the Malfoy family sat in his armchair behind a large mahogany table with various papers in neat folders on it, while his wife took a guest's chair, leaving Draconica to be the only one standing in the room.

"It was reported to me..." Lucius began. "...That you were seen with Potter, squib Longbottom and a mudblood on multiple occasions. I originally planned to punish you most severely for not behaving like you are supposed to do, but your mother managed to talk me into postponing my decision until I hear your reasons. So explain yourself, young lady." So this was what got her father so displeased with her...

"Father, as you might already know, the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor the headmaster had hired for this year was ...not the best one." Lucius nodded: he too was displeased with Dumbledore's choice of DADA professor. "As such, if I were to receive proper education on this subject this year, I had to either do a lot of self-study, or to use notes of someone, who did. I chose Potter, because he was one at the top of the class in this subject, having marks above those any of my housemates had. Also, this allowed me to get acquiescent with him. While Potter won't be on our side, he is not Dumbledore's pawn and doesn't like the headmaster much for some reason." Draconica said.

"I see..." Her father replied, while thinking how he could use the rift between Potter and Dumbledore to further his own agenda. "But that doesn't explain your being acquiescent with the squib and the mudblood."

"The muggleborn witch Potter associates with, and I had to get acquiescent with, is Granger, who is currently ranked first in my year. She might be coming from a not-magical family, but she is a good researcher and has great memory, which allowed her to take her rank. By being acquiescent with her, I get an easy way to have the materials for my homework found and prepared for use. So for as long as I gain something from it, I see nothing wrong with being civil with her..." Draconica made a pause, before continuing. "Regarding Longbottom, father, the rumors about him being nearly a squib were wrong. He might be a bit crude in his wand work, but so far he had displayed an adequate level of magical power, in the top ten of the class, actually. And in a few years he will ascend into the Lordship of house Longbottom, which will add a political power to his magical one, making him someone, whom you don't want to be open enemies with. As such, it would be better to gain his trust now and use it when the time is right, than trying to manipulate him later. In addition to this, Longbottom is on the top of the year in Herbology and having him to help with the studies does improve my grades too." Lucius sighed: Narcissa had created a true politician from their daughter. And the arguments Draconica presented were all good and 'excused' her acquaintances, no matter how much he may dislike it.

"Very well, I believe I have heard enough." He made a pause, but Draconica's face didn't betray her worries. "I will allow you to continue being acquiescent with those three under the condition that your rank with be fifth or higher in your year. But remember that should you turn a blood-traitor, the consequences would be ...most severe."

"Thank you, father." Draconica said with a small bow. "With this be all?" Her father nodded.

"Yes, you may go." With another slight bow, the blonde girl left the study. Her mother followed her, and as soon they both were in the corridor and the study's doors were closed behind them, Narcissa knelt in front of her daughter.

"Draconica, dear..." Unlike her father, her mother did have a soft spot for her.

"Yes, mother?" The blonde girl asked.

"Tell me... Is there another reason, besides academical one, why you chose to associate with your Griffindor friends?" The older blond asked. The slip of Draconica's mask, even if it lasted a mere second, was enough for her mother to get the answer. "I see..." Narcissa said with a small smile. "Don't worry, I won't tell your father: I remember what it is to be a girl like you... Just keep in mind that there is an active contract for you there." Draconica nodded.

"Thank you, mother." But Narcissa remained knelt in front of her daughter.

"And... Don't tell this your father, but I want you to continue studying with your friends." The younger witch raised her eyebrow questioningly. "Rumors say that Dumbledore is considering hiring Lockheart as your next DADA professor. I remember the man being a couple of years below me at Hogwarts, and he was nearly at the bottom of his class... I highly doubt that he did half of the things he writes in his books." Draconica nodded. It looked like there will another year when she'll have to learn defense without the DADA professor to help her... "But don't let me take anymore time from your summer now, my little star."

...Once Draconica was back to her room, she dropped onto her bed, deep in thoughts about her possible feelings for a certain dark-haired Griffindor. He was nothing more that a study partner and a useful associate, right? Still there was something that caused her reaction to her mother's question. Sure, the young Potter was intelligent and nice to be around, but did she really see him as anything more that a mere acquittance? Apparently, she did, and that wasn't a good thing. So, hoping to destroy whatever feelings she had for the green-eyed boy before they got completely out of her control, Draconica started practicing her occlumency to keep her mind organized in the way she wanted it to be.

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From the platform 9¾ Harry flooed to the Leaky Cauldron and, after leaving his things with Tom the bartender, went into the Diagon Alley. The green-eyed wizard had plans for his summer, and those plans needed some muggle money, so he went straight to Gringotts. There he converted a hundred galleons into five hundreds pounds – it seemed that the exchange rate was a constant here – and asked the goblin teller a question that he forgot to ask behind his excitement of being introduced to the magical world the previous summer: who had access to his vault? After receiving the answer that only the holder of the key and those with him at that moment, as well as the information that this vault was a trust one and it wasn't accessed until the previous summer, Harry thanked the teller and left the goblin-ran bank.

After collecting his things from the Leaky Cauldron, the young Potter was on his way back to Dursleys' residence. He, actually, wasn't completely sure why he felt the need to go there at all, but... At least his relatives should be in a relatively good mood as they didn't have to pick him up from the King's Cross...

When Harry finally reached number four, Privet Drive, it was already about an hour past the time Dursleys had their dinner at, so they were most likely watching some film in the living room now... The young wizard knocked on the door, and almost immediately heard heavy footsteps that could only belong to his uncle. The man opened the door and looked at him for a moment.

"It you? What are you waiting for, come in." Harry quickly entered the house. "Now, boy, give me your things so that I can put them away." The green-eyed wizard shook his head.

"I don't that this would be a great idea." Vernon immediately turned dark-red in his face.

"And why is that, boy?" He asked.

"I have a homework for summer, and if I can't complete it, they'll have me repeat a year or, worse, expelled. And I can push for emancipation only after I have passed the first set of my exams." Harry lied, while trying to look like he wasn't. "Do you want me to be here more than absolutely necessary?" His uncle shook his head. "Then let me have my things during the summer. I promise that you won't see anything ...unnatural."

"Very well, boy. Take your damn things to your room!" Still red-faced man said loudly. "But if I hear or see anything freakish, you'll be very sorry." Harry nodded and started carrying his things upstairs. "And make sure that your bird doesn't wake me up, or I'll kill it!" Yelled Vernon from downstairs.

That's all, folks!
The twelfth chapter will be published in a week.
Leave me a review.