Hydrangea woke up at 8 that morning and went down to wash up before going to help her Aunt Petunia with breakfast, Petunia and Vernon, or Mom and Dad as she called them in private, always stressed the importance of being able to take care of themselves even while at that Magic School they were supposed to go to in a year or so. So today she would help with breakfast and Dudley would help with lunch. She had just turned ten yesterday and was thinking about everything that had happened since that day they sat both her and her brother -Dudley- down and explained everything, even showing them the letters and books that Hydra's real mom, Petunia's sister Lily had sent and the two letters from Dumbledore, one sent informing Petunia and Vernon of Dudley's wizard status, and the other that showed up with Hydra on the day she was left on her Aunts doorstep. They explained little, and privately Hydra and Dudley were not very trusting of this Dumbledore fellow. His letters left much to be desired and the one he left with her on the doorstep wasn't very lenient, all but demanding that Petunia and Vernon take her in, which confused her.
She scaled her hand on the side of the pot in her thinking, and her mother scolded her for being in her head and reminded her again to always be more aware of her surroundings while she checked over the small burn on Hydra's hand.
"Well, you're lucky it doesn't seem to be too bad, go on up to the bathroom and bring down the first-aid kit, I'll finish up breakfast from here."
"Thanks, Mom" She gave her a sheepish grin and went up the stairs to the bathroom, knocking when she found it closed.
"Just a sec" Came Dudley's voice from the bathroom as the toilet flushed and then the sound of rushing water could be heard as he -hopefully- washed his hands.
Hydra stepped back and let her brother-cousin come out of the bathroom.
"Burn yourself again?" He gave her an exasperated look.
"Yeah, but just a little this time."
He sighed and grabbed the kit before shutting the bathroom door and turning the light off. "Come on, let's go back down so Mom can clean it up and bandage it."
They went back down the stairs together, Dudley's footsteps a bit heavier than hers as he carried weight like his father, but he was also quite tall for a 10-year-old, so Hydra didn't think it could be all bad.
Not to mention they had been having lessons from their parents for nearly two years now. She got to learn all sorts of stuff, like whenever Vernon would have a dinner party, she and Dudley would sit in the back and observe the adults, how Petunia would pour the tea a certain way, how they spoke, and how business was done. They also learned the value of money and how certain things can be done. Petunia taught them how to dress and present themselves in public as well, to the outside world Dudley and Hydra were the perfect children, Polite, soft-spoken, and smart.
Hydra and Dudley were both excited about Hogwarts and the new opportunities and sometimes they let that get the better of them, which is how she got hurt in the first place. When she returned from her thoughts the second time, Petunia had finished wrapping up her hand with a bit of gauze and Dudley was setting the table.
The three of them sat down to have breakfast, Vernon had to go to work early that day so he wasn't home. Breakfast consisted of bacon, eggs, and flatcakes. After that it was Dudley's turn to wash dishes while she went out and watered the garden, Dudley joined her after a few minutes to help her weed.
Once their chores were finished they went off on their own, Dudley to his friends and Hydra to hers. Which of course Hydra didn't have many friends, there weren't many girls she found interesting, but that was fine, she preferred the snakes in the grass.
'Ssssspeaker' hissed the little garden snake as she knelt so it could curl around her hand.
"Hello lovely, your scales are looking particularly green this morning, have you shed recently?'
So started the slight conversation, soon interrupted as the snake saw a mouse scurrying away into the grass and demanded to be put down so it could chase after it.
Tonight, after dinner, she and Dudley would sit down with their father and he would teach them more about monetary value and political views. It would be a boring lesson, but necessary. Hydrangea's birth father was the Lord of a supposed Noble house, which meant that Hydrangea, unfortunately for her, was a Lady of that supposed Noble house. Vernon was absolute that she knew how to deal with those things as it would be expected of her in… the other world.
She glanced around for a moment, searching for eyes on her, and on finding none, began the short trek towards the woods, where once again she looked out for eyes watching her before she let herself go further in. Finding an area where she and Dudley had played as Children. It looks different now, four years later. The wooden chair they looted and stuck into the tree had started to be engulfed by it, and the grass came up to her knees. She planted herself on the chair after brushing away some leaves and focused on the tips of her fingers. Her fingertips were painted red to match the sweater she wore.
She focused on the red and imagined flames igniting from her fingertips so she could cup the warmth. Her Aunt Petunia didn't know she came here to practice her magic. Dudley didn't either, here in the bounds of the small woods behind Private Drive. Hydrangea Potter-Dursley became Hydra, Queen of the Woodland Realm, she let her imagination run wild as the first flickers of fire started to ignite on her hand. Willing her magic to take shape, she focused on the fire. Something that could provide warmth on cold days, but also devastation and fear if let run wild.
A low hiss escaped her mouth and the tall grass began to move and shift as tens of snakes, some harmful and some not, slithered their way toward where she sat, cupping a small ball of fire in her left hand. From the tree, the boa curled its way down and rested upon her shoulders. She had stolen him from the Zoo when she and Dudley were eight, It was accidental of course, but he had been her companion and confidant ever since.
'Hello Sssspeaker~' the boa hissed in greeting, nudging his face against her cheek and drawing her from her thoughts.
"Hello Tress." she ran her free hand along the length of his body, stroking him lovingly. His name was short for Distress, as that's what had happened in the zoo. Of course, she wasn't very creative when it came to naming things, but he had liked it well enough.
'You sssmell ssstrange doess ssssomething bother you? SSsspeaker?'
"No Tress, I'm merely concerned, and I'm tired."
'What concernsss you? I will bite itsss' He hissed, always quick to come to her defense, his declaration of biting also stirred up some of the other smaller snakes that sat clustered at her feet, and similar declarations also went up.
She laughed and palmed the fire in her other hand, focusing on it to see if she could get it to float, and grinned widely when it did as she commanded. She patted her lap and beckoned the smaller snakes to come closer to the warmth, being close to the end of summer they would all be going back underground soon.
"I don't need you to bite anyone, Tress, and that goes for the rest of you. I'm concerned about the lessons my parents have been giving me and Dudley, they're getting a bit hard for me to understand, and it won't be long before our Hogwarts letters come. I'm worried about it, what the other wizards with think."
'Then I will go with you' Tress stated matter-of-factly.
"And just how am I supposed to get you there? It's hard enough sneaking you into the house before winter, how am I going to get you to Hogwarts?"
'I will hide in your luggage.'
She sighed and hugged him closer, relaxing as he squeezed her tightly. "Alright. You can come with me, but only because I'm too scared to go without you."
Distress didn't bother to respond, only hissing in agreement and coiling tighter around her.
She slipped him under her sweater before returning home and snuck him up to her room before Petunia could catch her. Upon entering he uncoiled himself from her torso and slithered his way under her bed where he favored to nest.
"Alright now just.. Stay hidden, I'll bring you up the leftovers from dinner,"
'Is it Bird?'
"No it's not chicken, I think it's pork."
He hissed approvingly before she made her way back down the stairs.
Dudley passed her on the first-floor landing and plucked a garden snake from her hair.
"Better put it outside before mom catches you." He handed her the wriggling snake and she huffed before going over to the kitchen window to place him outside in the flowers.
"Off you go, quickly" She hissed, dumping the little garden snake carefully in the flower bed before shutting the window and turning around, her Lady facade in place as she helped Petunia with dinner.
After dinner, she and Dudley sat down with their father and he handed over some time sheets with a bunch of numbers on them and explained he wanted them to give him an idea to fix the problems on the timesheet, with an explanation as to how it would not only fix the problem, but not create new ones as well.
So with pens in their hands, they started scribbling on spare paper, trying to work out different ways to fix the problem he had handed them.
It took them both over an hour before they had an answer that satisfied all of Vernon's prompts without causing any other hypothetical problems.
After that, they were allowed to relax for an hour before bed. Hydra spent that time in her room speaking quietly with Tress and reading Lily's old school books she had sent along just before their communication cut off.
Soon she'd be off to Hogwarts, she was most looking forward to Potions and Defense against the Dark Arts, so those were the books she studied most of all. Petunia knocked on her door to let her know it was bedtime so she clicked out her lamp and ducked under the covers with her book, whispering the first-year light charm quietly to herself and grinning widely when a small ball of light flickered into existence in her palm.
The covers shifted as Tress crawled his way up into the bed to curl around her, and soon fell asleep in his coils, content and ready for what was to come.
AN: Hey! Hope you've enjoyed this chapter sorry if it feels a little stale but we'll finally be getting to Diagon Alley and Hogwarts in the upcoming chapters and the first confrontation with Malfoy and Gringotts. Remember to Follow, Favorite, and Review if you've enjoyed it so far! Cheers!