Finally, the seventh chapter is here! Thanks for waiting, guys.
And in reply to the Guest who reviewed on July 13, there you go. Sorry for the delay, and thanks for your concern~! I was just a little busy and now... I'm not exactly back, but I'll try to update more... regularly. *cough*
Pairings: Potential Hadria (FemHarry) x Tom Riddle, but more platonic than romantic, other pairings undecided.
(Does anyone want to pair Gellert with anyone? XD And no, not Dumbledore please.)
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.
Beta: Happyfish
Edit: A kind reader has explained to me a little more about Greek mythology which I had missed, so there will be no more mentions of Cybele/Kybele with regards to divination and prophecy. Instead, the deity-in-charge is now Apollo.
As I am dipping my toes in many cultures and their respective mythologies, do feel free to let me know if I've gotten something wrong. I do take quite a bit of creative liberties in my fanfics, which means that many things might have been deliberately changed or made up, but I'm generally open to suggestions for improvements.
Chapter Seven: New Friends
"Cui Fortuna favet multos amicos habet." He whom Fortune favors has many friends. —Latin Proverb
The streets of Magical Athens were narrow and labyrinthine, paved with slabs of sun-dried clay or limestone, surrounded by shop-houses made of a variety of materials that suggested a haphazard mesh of old and modern materials—wood, clay, limestone, marble and glass. The higher-class sections of Wizarding Acropolis were less of a beautiful mess, with buildings made mainly of white marble walls and floors made of marble and mosaic tiles. The whole place was just like any other Wizarding city or town in terms of atmosphere. There was magic humming in the air for those sensitive enough, witches and wizards walked about, going about their daily lives, with the agora bustling with life and activity, crowded with shoppers and merchants in the marketplace.
Meanwhile, the Grinsens weaved their way through the morning crowd, and made their way to the House of Aether. It was a grand building belonging to an old family that died out and the House was now used as a place for various purposes, featuring a smaller marketplace in its courtyard and an area for people in the neighbourhood to hang out. The main purpose for Gellert to drag Hadria there was for her to make another attempt at interaction with fellow children her age.
"Kalimêra, Kyrie Gerwald, how are you?" a lady smiled at them near the entrance of the courtyard. She had light olive skin, dark brown hair like chocolate, and hazel eyes. Hadria recognised her as the wife of the man who owned the neighbourhood pet (read: dangerous pets) shop.
"Kalimêra, Kyria Adrasteia, I'm fine, thank you. You're beautiful as ever. How's the Kerberos?" Gellert replied with a charming smile and bright blue eyes. Hadria counted to three before Mister Damianos appeared behind Adrasteia, a strained smile on his face.
"The Kerberos is fine, Kyrie Grinsen. What business do you have here today?" Damianos said. Hadria sighed.
"Oh, I'll be leaving Little Hydra here for the day. Mind helping me keep an eye on her?" Gellert replied easily, unaffected by the man's hostile tone.
"Of course! Hydra's so sweet. Such a dear," Adrasteia laughed jovially. Hadria liked the both of them, husband and wife. They were very kind to her and she often visited their shop to look at the pets sold there. Their recent addition, a Cerberus puppy, was still being toilet-trained.
"Thank you very much," Gellert said genially, still smiling. "Come, Hadria. Let's get some breakfast before I leave."
As they walked over to a nearby makeshift stall selling pita bread, bougatsa, spanakopita and koulouri, Gellert muttered to Hadria, "Rather stiff, isn't he?"
"You were flirting with his wife, Gerwald," Hadria chided.
"A compliment does wonders, dear Hydra," Gerwald replied with a grin. "It's not always plain flattery. Besides, I've no interest in his wife. I treat most ladies the same way."
"Right. Of course. Scáth told me you once had a relationship with a wizard," Hadria replied cheekily. Scáth had told her no such thing, but the Grim would cover for her knowledge of things she shouldn't know anyway.
Gellert glared at her, his usually merry face now scowling. Hadria knew he wasn't really angry though. Just annoyed.
"Scáth should keep his jaws shut sometimes," Gellert retorted. "And I did not have a relationship with anyone. I did have a wizard friend who might have had the idea we were together though."
Hadria gave him a playful look. "You must have led him on then."
"Why is it always my fault?" Gellert demanded exasperatedly. Hadria chuckled but did not reply him.
"Kalimêra, Mister! Two bougatsa please," she said to the bread-seller, a wide beaming smile on her face, her green eyes catching the morning sun and shining with an emerald light that she learned would captivate and enchant the average person, Muggle, Witch or Wizard.
"That would be four Sickles for you, young lady," the bread-seller replied, handing her the bougatsa in two separate paper-bags with a cheerful smile, despite the fact that it should have been six Sickles instead. Gellert chuckled to himself as he paid for the bread. He wasn't sure when the girl had begun adopting his mannerisms, but she was becoming quite good at charming people.
"Alright. Now be good and don't get into trouble while I'm gone. I'll be back and pick you up by dinner," he told her as he took his breakfast from her.
Hadria made a face. "Can't I come with you to Olympia?"
"No, you may not. I'm taking Geist there and you know how he is about two people riding him."
"What about Nacht?"
"Nacht will be staying with you. Hardly anyone can see him... You can't see him. It's best if we do not bring any attention to the fact that we have an invisible winged horse with us. Most do not take kindly to Thestrals."
Hadria wisely kept her mouth shut about seeing Thestrals. They had been invisible to her until she turned eight, and she didn't want to explain to Gellert when she had seen anyone die.
"Fine. Go play with Thanatos or whatever. See if I care," she said instead.
"I'm going to the Temple of Zeus. Not Thanatos," Gellert replied. "I'm not sure if I can survive an encounter with Death."
Hadria grinned. "Good, 'cuz I'll miss you. Bring back a piece of lightning for me if you can?"
Gellert gave her a hug and a merry smile. "If I can. I'm going there to do some magical research though, not seek an audience with any High Entity, let alone the Personification of the Sky."
"Don't get struck by lightning or something," Hadria said, wishing him a safe journey. Then Gellert prompted her to go make some friends.
He watched her as she dodged through the crowd, nearly crashing into some crates of fruits, yell out an apology and ran off again towards the area where other children were sitting around a storyteller regaling tales in the simplest Greek, laughing all the way, her dark hair wild and flying freely behind her, bright eyes sparkling with the exhilaration of her reckless running. He did not fail to notice how many eyes followed her small frame as she passed, entranced by her. Though they probably did not know exactly what captivated their attention.
Gellert knew it was her appearance, coupled with her free spirit that shone through her eyes and her magic that swirled around her, subtly affecting those around her without her knowledge. He would have to teach her how to reign in that magic once she got her Hogwarts letter. Though he himself went to Durmstrang, he felt that Hogwarts would probably be more suited for her. She could help him keep an eye on Albus, gain useful connections in her magical homeland, and it would be easier to make use of her celebrity status there in Hogwarts and Magical Britain while observing the happenings there, political climate, war status and all... Which was the whole point of adopting her in the first place. To gain an advantage over the Wizarding world and have a good laugh when Albus finds out about the adoption of his precious Chosen One.
(Those weren't the main reasons, however, as he had been reminded by Scáth before he accepted that he wasn't as Dark Lord-ish as he liked to think. He was also afraid, though he would never admit it, afraid that she would get influenced by the teachings at Durmstrang. Though the school was not inherently Dark, it was no doubt Darker than Hogwarts, and he did not want her tainted by anything Forbidden, which was likely to happen if she studied there, considering how she could nearly do Forbidden Magic without intending to... If she went Durmstrang, Gellert had a feeling she would end up summoning a Dark Spirit by the end of her first year, accidentally terrorize every student and teacher by second year, and get the school closed down by her third. Though he wasn't really too concerned about the school. They'd kick her before she could do much damage, he reckoned. Yet, something about her messing with anything Forbidden did not sit well with him. Perhaps it was because he could not deny that he had a heart, and that he loved Hadria, his sweet little child, despite not wanting to think of himself as a father.)
After Gellert left, Hadria spent one and a half hours listening to the storyteller recount glorious tales of valour and honour, of clever heroes slaying fearsome snake-haired women, and riding winged horses to victory. When the storytelling was over, Hadria was greeted by two boys and a girl. The girl and one of the boys seem to be around her age. The other boy looked a couple of years older.
"Geia'sou," the older boy said. He was a fair bit taller than her. "You're a foreigner, aren't you?"
"Yes?" Hadria replied with an amused smile. The boys exchanged a glance and the girl glared at them before glancing back at her.
"Don't mind them. They're usually not this rude. Would you like to join us? We're going to see the Oracle. She's in the next courtyard, and she's offered to Speak the future for us kids for a small price today as it's gonna be her last day here."
Hadria blinked. This was unexpected. But...
"Sure, why not?" She already had a Prophesy about her already. What could go wrong?
Along the way, Hadria dropped by Adrasteia's stall (she had a proper shop, but sometimes, she and her husband would come to the marketplace or the House of Aether to sell their more exotic breeds of pets) to tell her where she was headed.
"You know them?" Polys, the other boy, asked. They had introduced themselves as Kastor and Polydeukes, named after the famous twins in Greek mythology. Polys was the younger one, while Kastor was the older brother. The girl was called Thaleia. From what Hadria had gathered, she was Polys's childhood friend.
"Yep. I passed by their shop last week and have been visiting the animals they sell every day since," Hadria replied blithely. Polys and Kastor gave her odd looks and so did Thaleia.
"What is it? Have I got something on my face?"
The three of them looked at one another, then converged onto her. The boys had eyes shining with curiosity and excitement.
"So, do they really have a Khimaira?"
"I heard they took in a Hippokampos! Is it true?"
"Have you seen the Kêrboros? Is it huge? Is it fierce?"
"They say Kyrie Damianos is actually the reincarnation of Herpōn ho Deimos! Have you—"
"Have you not visited the their shop before?" Hadria interrupted their stream of questions.
"We're not allowed. It's too dangerous for anyone below seventeen to see the animals they keep there," Thaleia explained. "You don't look seventeen though."
Hadria recalled the Greek sign outside the door of the pet shop. She couldn't read much Greek—though she had now picked up a few phrases here and there—so she had just ignored it and walked in. And had gotten ambushed by an adolescent Griffin.
"Oh... Their animals like me. Well, most of them. There was this winged foal that didn't like me for some reason..." Hadria laughed sheepishly.
The rest of the walk to the Oracle was mostly silent, but Hadria kept receiving looks of awe from the boys. The girl merely looked wary.
"You keep glancing at me like I might spit fire. I assure you, I'm not a dragon," Hadria finally said to Thaleia with a raised eyebrow and a smirk tugging at her lips.
The girl laughed, relaxing, as Hadria had expected. "No, it's not that. Your name may sound similar to 'Hydra', but you don't have scales. It's just that the creatures in Parádeisos ton Th'hríon are supposed to be quite dangerous. If the animals do not bother you, wouldn't that mean that you're more dangerous than them?"
"Maybe I'm just so insignificant that they don't deem me worth their effort of mauling or whatnot. And anyway, there aren't any Chimeras, unlike what Polys seems to think," Hadria replied with a grin. "I think the adults are just being extra cautious about letting children enter the shop."
Thaleia looked like she took Hadria's word for it, and they chatted about other things until they reached the second courtyard, looking down at the open space from the steps they were standing on.
The Oracle was seated in the middle of the smaller courtyard, upon an elaborate silk carpet. People crowded around her as a man tried to haggle with her for a Speech. She had caramel hair and tanned skin, and was wearing a deep purple woollen cloak over robes the colour of sunset.
"She looks warm," Polys mumbled and Thaleia raised an eyebrow.
"I mean, the colour of her clothes. And that cloak," he elaborated.
"You would be warmer if you had listen to Mamá and brought your scarf," Kastor snorted and cast a Heating Charm on his younger brother, before looking over at Hadria. "Aren't you cold? "
"Nope. My clothes are warmer than they look," Hadria replied absently, keeping an eye on the crowd before them. "Oh look! The man's gone away. The Oracle's no longer busy."
There was a lot of jostling as the four children squeezed through the crowd to get down to the front, and the children forgot about the suitability of Hadria's clothes for winter.
Hadria was wearing her 'cloak' over black robes with green and gold trimmings. The robes by themselves wouldn't have been warm enough in the Greek winter, but she had a Lethifold's help. Noh typically had a cold temperature and was comfortable to wear in summer. In winter, Hadria simply fed the creature more (his diet under Hadria's care usually consisted of pigeons or fish. Hadria would feed then him live goats in winter, though he had a preference for deer) and the Lethifold would become sleepier and thicker after a big meal. His body temperature also rose with the amount of meat he eats (something about energy and digestion of food).
Hadria had thus taken to using Noh as a cloak everywhere, and the creature didn't really mind. He enjoyed cuddling (Gellert said it was the wrong word because cuddling implied a degree of cuteness and he felt the Lethifold was not and Hadria insisted otherwise) Hadria, probably because she was warm-blooded non-food, and hence, essentially, a long-lasting source of warmth for the creature which seemed attracted to heat. However, he would sometimes nibble at her or her clothes like a goat, and she would either threaten to feed him to Nacht or set her Patronus on him if he didn't behave. The nibbling would stop for a while after that.
"So, come for a Speech, have you?" the Oracle said when the children reached her. Her voice was warm, and her dark eyes were lit with stars.
"How much does it cost?" Hadria asked. The lady had a few silk bags placed around her, but Hadria could not tell if it contained money or something else.
"Thirteen Sickles for an ordinary Divination, one Galleon and seven Sickles for a full Reading," the Oracle replied. "But if you wish for a Speech, then you will pay the price after the Speech. The cost of a Speech will depend on Phoibos Apollon himself. Some, like the man earlier, will be made to pay by material methods, such as gold or animal sacrifices, usually a calf. Others pay by other means, such as the giving of a memory."
Although she had previously known of Apollo as the god of the Sun, Hadria understood from the books she had read recently that Apollo was a very important Olympian deity as not just the god of the Sun, but also the god of oracles, healing, archery, arts and more. She wasn't sure how that translated to the Higher Entities, but it seemed like he must be favoured by Fate.
And so a curious Hadria said, "I'll have a Speech then."
"What? But the price!" Thaleia protested.
"Today, for you children, I will intervene on your behalf and you will only need to pay half the price," the Oracle offered kindly.
"But you can't pay half a memory," Kastor pointed out.
"No, but Phoibos Apollon could take a memory of less value instead," replied the Oracle. "So what will it be?"
The children looked a little hesitant. In the end, Thaleia and Polys paid for an ordinary Divination while Kastor opted for a Speech.
"Alright, who will like to go first?" the Oracle asked.
Polys went first, and asked if he should go to Beauxbatons to study next year. The Oracle reached out a hand. A little-owl swooped down on light wings and perched on her hand. Then the owl took to flight again, giving a querulous call as it went.
"A wise choice," the Oracle said after the owl left. "But you may want to pick up a bit of French before you go."
Polys flushed with embarrassment while Thaleia giggled. Kastor rolled his eyes.
"How did that work?" Hadria asked the Oracle, thinking about Trelawney, tea leaves and crystal balls. She knew they worked for those who had the Gift of Sight, and Trelawney's Sight was dormant most of the time. But summoning a bird and what?
The Oracle smiled at her and winked. "The Signs are there for Reading. Those who carry the Gift of Sight will be able to See the decisions of the Moirai."
Hadria groaned. The answer didn't really help at all.
"Now who's next?" the Oracle questioned.
Thaleia got her question about love answered by a magpie and the Oracle with knowing smiles. She too blushed deeply when she realised that even though she had asked vaguely about relationships, the Oracle had somehow sensed her true question.
Kastor was next, because Hadria decided to go after him and see how it goes first.
The Oracle took look at him with intensely focused eyes, after he had asked about the electives he should take and how it would affect his career (Hadria personally thought that thirteen was too young an age to think about ones career but to each his own). Then her dark eyes glazed over, before focusing again with colourless eyes and she whispered loudly in strings of Greek. When it was over, her eyes returned to normal.
"What was that?" Hadria asked the others. "I could only catch a word here and there."
Kastor looked at her blankly, while Polys and Thaleia looked amazed.
"Oh don't worry about him. A tiny piece of memory was taken from him. That's all. He'll be alright once he gets over the shock of losing something he can't remember." the Oracle said, explaining Kastor's blank look. "And I believe I Spoke about his future as a Healer. I think he'll take some time accepting that as well."
Hadria frowned. "What's wrong with being a Healer?"
"The Oracle compared him to Eleithyia," Polys chuckled, and upon seeing Hadria's bemused expression, elaborated. "She's the goddess of childbirth."
Hadria laughed merrily at that, and Kastor, who seemed to have gotten over his dazedness, scowled at her. "Well it's your turn, little Nymph."
"Nymph is an apt term, I think," the Oracle commented. "You are the Hydra I have heard of, am I right?"
Hadria blinked. "You've heard of me?"
"I have studied many cultures, and travelled all over Europe. I have seen and heard many things, and I recognise the Sign of the Sun, shaped into the form of Zeus's Weapon from the Sky. It adorns your brow like a Kiss from the Heavens... or perhaps a Kiss from Death," the Oracle said, sharp eyes focused on her choppy bangs, as if she could see through her hair to find the famous mark on her forehead. "I do not have to be an Oracle to know that you will have a hard road ahead."
Thankfully, she did not say more about the subject after that, and left the other three children confused.
"What would you like for me to Speak about, little Nymph," the Oracle asked instead. Hadria shrugged, glad for her new ability to hide her thoughts and feelings. Otherwise, her face would be a picture of shock and disconcertion.
"Anything about my future, in general?"
"Your future..." the Oracle repeated, and her eyes changed colour. This time, however, she spoke not in Greek, but English.
"The Three who are Favoured have arrived... Their Fates are intertwined, the One who deserves Death's Freedom, the One who earned Death's Invitation, and the One who inherited Death's Temptation... Born as the sun dies at Summer's End, born from the ashes of Hallows' Eve... And they will gain what they never had, but must lose the chains of a past that never passed... For they have the power to vanquish the Dark Lord, but to free the future they must first free themselves... I could repeat the first line again for dramatic emphasis but I doubt you'll appreciate it. You have Our Blessings, so fear not your Fate, focus on the Present of Time, Luck will be with you, until we meet again."
Hadria stared, and stared. Did Fate just talk to her through a mortal? Was that what she had done when she gave Trelawney the original Prophesy? Does this Prophesy overwrite the other?
"That... has never happened before," the Oracle mused as she regained her senses, then gazed into Hadria's emerald eyes with a dark fire in hers. "Looks like we can expect great things from you, young Hydra. And I expect that I will not be the only one who will say this to you."
"Thank you, for your time and your Speech," Hadria merely said, feeling a little overwhelmed and wondering what Fate had done this time. (Don't worry? How could she not worry?!) "What will my payment be?"
The Oracle laughed, a musical sound. "Ah, little Nymph, but you have already paid, I think, in a past that will not pass."
Hadria wasn't quite sure if she interpreted the Oracle's words correctly, and vaguely wondered if Fate Gifts her Children with the urge to be unnecessarily cryptic.
"Did anyone else understand what she said?" Kastor asked no one in particular as they left the Oracle.
"Your guess is as good as mine," Polys replied and glanced at Hadria. "The Prophesy was for you. Surely you know what it meant?"
"It sounded really important. Like an omen that signals the End of the World," Thaleia added, eyes wide.
Hadria shrugged. "I'm probably supposed to know who are the Three mentioned in the prophesy, but I'm not sure."
"Really?" Kastor pressed.
Hadria frowned at him. "Really."
"You must be very special..." Thaleia commented with wonder. Hadria nearly groaned aloud. One guy suspicious about her, one girl in awe of her... Sounds familiar.
"Little Hydra!"
The children looked at Adrasteia waving at them as they stepped back into the first courtyard. Hadria hurried towards her and the other children followed hesitantly.
"You look rather excited, Kyria Adrasteia. What's the good news?" Hadria asked when they reached her stall. Kyrie Damianos was nowhere to be seen.
Adrasteia laughed. "Oh, it's just that we've found someone who would like to purchase the Kerberos. Damianós will be travelling tomorrow to meet our new customer. Good thing too, since the puppy will soon be too big for us to keep. Our darlings always grow up so fast!"
Some times, Adrasteia reminded Hadria of Hagrid in her passion for interesting animals. Not that she had any right to judge, considering how she seemed to have developed an affinity towards most magical creatures.
"But the puppy's only... what? Six months old?" Hadria questioned as she followed Adrasteia to the back of her makeshift stall, where curtains hid metal cages and glass tanks containing small animals, leaving the other children outside. There were falcons, lizards and tortoises, mice and hares. Of the magical variety, there was a grey Kneazle with sleeping on top of a cage containing a small white mouse with large red eyes, a fire salamander in the corner, nestled in magically contained fire, and three owls perched freely above the cages containing hares.
Leashed to a post was the Cerberus puppy which was sleeping at the moment, a magical lyre placed beside him, playing by itself. If he had been awake, he would have been running about the store as far as his leash would allow, and peeing everywhere. He resembled a full-grown Ancient Mollosus dog, but was twice the size, and had three heads instead of one. He was like a giant stuffed toy—large, cute, fuzzy and totally huggable.
"In a month or so, he'll be having a growth spurt, and by the time he's nine, he'll be the size of a full-grown Kerberos," Adrasteia said, scratching the puppy behind one of his six ears.
Hadria tried to imagine the puppy as a full-grown Cerberus and the image of a fierce and growling Fluffy kept coming to mind.
"Me singchoreite!" someone called out from outside the curtained section of the stall, and Adrasteia hurried out to greet the potential customer. Hadria was left alone in a store full of animals.
Curiosity got the better of her, as usual, and Hadria found herself peering about the store, examining the various animals. She knew Adrasteia would not mind, as long as she did not actually discover a particularly dangerous animal that was meant to stay hidden.
After some snooping, Hadria found a covered cage in a corner behind a tortoise tank. When she lifted the black cloth covering the cage, runes lit up and dissipated. Hadria froze for a second, wondering what enchantments she had just lifted, then stared inside the cage. A large ferret-polecat-like creature stared back.
The animal had light ash brown fur with darker chocolate markings, and bright black eyes. It was only slightly smaller than a common otter. There was a half-eaten rat in the cage with it. And then, the animal opened its mouth.
"Scar-y. Scarry. Scaaaary!" This was followed by snickering.
Hadria frowned at the Jarvey, subconsciously rubbing the lightning-mark on her forehead. "Unoriginal prat."
"Death stink... Zombie!"
Eh… what? "Mutated skunk."
"Hairless ape."
"Better hairless than hairy. Though your fur would make a nice scarf, don't you think?" Here, Hadria smiled oh-so-sweetly at the Jarvey, who paled rapidly. In fact, it had turned a snowy white with a tint of palest gold.
Hadria couldn't help but burst out laughing at what looked like a large ferret in its winter coat. (Not to mention the fact that it reminded her of someone she knew in her previous life. Someone she would probably meet again in the future.)
Three heads poked in through the canvas flap by the side.
"Who were you talking to?" Polys asked curiously, as they looked about.
"Oh, this hilarious joker over here," Hadria replied, gesturing to the still-pale Jarvey who was now agitatedly backing away as much as its cage would allow.
"Ah, I see you've found the rude kid," Adrasteia commented from behind the three children. "Can't find a buyer for him. No end of insults. We're not even sure if he knows half of what he's saying."
The Jarvey snapped out a few Greek words at the shopkeeper, his fur colour returning to its original dark colour, which Hadria suddenly realised was a little odd.
"It's winter," she commented aloud, staring at the Jarvey's summer colours. Adrasteia came round to stand beside her and peered into the cage.
"If you're wondering about a Jarvey's coat, it's because its fur does not change colour according to the seasons, unlike its Muggle relatives. Its colour-change reflects how it feels, though it can sometimes change according to its will. Rather like a khamailéōn, except that its colours only range between shades of brown, grey and white," Adrasteia explained, then gave her an inquisitive look. "What did you say to frightened him?"
Hadria grinned. "I just pointed out that he would make a nice fur scarf."
Adrasteia looked thoughtful. "You're the only one who gets along with him so far..."
"I won't say 'getting along' is the right description," Hadria interjected with a giggle.
Adrasteia smiled and continued, "Would you like to keep him? I can give him to you for free. His previous owner left him with us, in a hurry to get rid of the pesky brat, and it's doubtful that we'll find anyone else who'll have him."
It was actually quite a tempting offer. Hadria was quite pleased with the idea of having one more person to squabble childishly with, though she wasn't sure how Gellert would take it.
"Does he have a name?" Hadria asked.
"No... Not yet. You're welcome to name him," Adrasteia replied, as she rummaged through some boxes for Jarvey food.
Hadria eyed the Jarvey, who was glaring at her petulantly, but surprisingly—or not so surprisingly—silent.
"What do you think of 'Snag'?" Hadria asked the Jarvey, wondering how intelligent the creature was.
"Not hiccup," the Jarvey snapped, much to Hadria's bewilderment. It took her awhile to understand what the Jarvey was saying. She wasn't good with many languages, but she did learn some magical terminology from various countries, in particular, those pertaining to animals, courtesy of Gellert's teachings.
"I actually meant the English word, Snag. And now that I think about it, it suits you pretty well," Hadria laughed. "Well then, Snag you are."
The Jarvey gave her a glare. "Tyrant!"
"Well what name would you rather have, then?" Hadria threw at it.
"Greatest Lord and King Over all Snakes, Rats, Rabbits, Voles and Moles," the Jarvey automatically proclaimed. It was his longest speech yet. Five eyes stared at the overgrown ferret.
"That is one long title," Kastor finally commented.
"That is one egoistic kounábi," said Polys.
"It just… listed everything it considered as prey, didn't it?" Thaleia asked.
"… I think I'll just stick to 'Snag'," Hadria muttered and Adrasteia laughed.
Five minutes later, Hadria walked away from the shop, her three new friends by her side, and a caged Jarvey under her arm.
Kastor commented, "You know, when we saw you today, I don't think any of us expected you to be a Psithyristís—"
"Sith-what?" Hadria interrupted.
"Psithyristís. Whisperer. It was a term used to describe Hermes, but now it has become the general term we use for people who have an affinity for animals. It is also sometimes used to for people who have an affinity for snakes in particular. I've heard some foreigners call it Parcel-speaker…?" Polys explained. "But it can still be used as its general meaning."
(Here, Snag snickered and Hadria shot him a look, wondering if he could somehow tell that she could actually speak Parseltongue. Did Parselmouths have a different smell?)
"But as I was saying, when we first approached you, we just thought it would be interesting to get to know a foreigner. Especially one who knows some Greek," Kastor went on.
Hadria scoffed. "My knowledge of Greek is about the same as that of the four-year-old children around here."
"How old are you?" Polys asked.
"Ten. I'll be turning eleven in eight months. Hey, that looks good!"
Thaleia glanced at the café, then looked at her oddly. "Did you not have breakfast?"
"Breakfast was hours ago," Hadria replied with a grin, (ignoring Snag's declaration of "Piiggg!"). "It's about lunchtime now anyway."
"Then we should head back to Kyrie Adrasteia. She said she would be treating us to dessert, so we might as well have lunch with her," Thaleia said, and they went back into the shop.
They had lunch with Adrasteia, and a dessert of yiaourtopita (Greek lemon yogurt cake) served with ice cream and fresh fruits. Snag had a whole bowl of vanilla ice cream with orange peel preserves to himself. Hadria had a hard time trying to get the Jarvey to say thank-you to Adrasteia without insulting her at the same time.
When Gellert came back a few hours later, Hadria was still arguing with the Jarvey about basic manners while they (Hadria, Polys, Kastor and Thaleia) helped Adrasteia decorate her shop with posters of papyrus, featuring ink-drawn pictures of various animals.
Hadria only noticed Gellert's approach because Snag had suddenly stopped mid-insult, only to start chirping, "See gold head, so thick and heavy!"
She didn't even want to know if the Snag was calling her guardian an idiot, and instead, chose to observe the blonde man. She saw the moment when he caught sight of the Jarvey in her hands. The moment when his expression changed from cheerful to oh-Merlin-no-don't-tell-me-it's-another-one.
"That would be my guardian, Snag. So try and be less insulting, yeah?" Hadria muttered, knowing full well that the Jarvey wouldn't heed her advice anyway.
"Kyrie Gerwald," Adrasteia greeted cheerfully from the shop when she spotted Gellert. "How was your trip?"
"Fruitful," the blonde wizard replied shortly, staring at Hadria. "Why is Hadria holding an overgrown ferret?"
Hadria had the decency to look sheepish. "Gerwald, meet Snag. Snag, meet Gerwald."
"Nugget-head!"
In the end, Hadria learnt a useful Lightning Ball Charm from Gerwald who discovered its existence among old texts in Olympia, and Snag learnt that if he "can't say something nice… don't say nothing at all."
Terms (courtesy of Google i.e. it may not be entirely accurate and this is spelled according to how I interpret the Greek alphabet and not the way it should be pronounced e.g. g may actually be pronounced as a y and b may be pronounced as a v. Also, I have placed apostrophes where I'm either not sure of whether it should be one word or two due to different sources e.g. geiasou/γεια σου, and where I think it would be helpful e.g. thhríon/θηρίων.):
Kalimêra - Good morning/Good day
Kyria/Kyrie - Mrs/Mr
Geia'sou - Hello (informal)
Herpōn ho Deimos - Herpo the Foul *according to harry potter wiki
Parádeisos ton Th'hríon - Paradise of (the) beasts
Me Singchoreite - Excuse me
Κounábi - Marten, but may refer to other similar looking Mustelids e.g. ferret, stoat etc
Other terms which seem obvious enough/can be guessed or otherwise inferred.
(If you see a term that looks foreign but is not in italics, its likely to be spelled in the 'English' form of the Greek word e.g. I wouldn't italicise Beijing just because it was originally a Chinese name.)
(If any Greek reads this and has anything to say/correct, please PM or review~ Thanks~)
That's all for now. How was it? Not entirely satisfied, but I realised I've dragged this long enough.
Hope you guys enjoyed it more than I did.
Check for progress on my profile. Next up: A letter from Hogwarts and a shopping trip.
P.s. I'll be posting a 'side-fic' some time soon, a what-if one-shot on what would have happened in an alternate universe where Hadria gets a Basilisk instead of a Jarvey. Just an idea I played around with. Decided to have it posted for anyone bored enough to check it out.