Harry Potter The Serpent

"The most haunted house in Britain," Draco repeated from memory. "got to be honest, I was expecting something a bit more...terrifying. This isn't scary at all." He scoffed.

"In that case why don't you go closer to it?" Blaise suggested with a grin.

"Why?" Draco said quickly, a little too quickly since he started talking in a slightly slower voice. "I see no reason to go there."

"But you said it wasn't terrifying." Theo reminded him, also grinning.

"Neither is Weasley's house, but I don't want to go there either." Draco countered.

"I don't know about that." Daphne replied. "I would find Weasley's house to be much more scary, imagine the diseases you'd get." She said, earning laughs from the other Slytherins.

"Are you sure you don't want to go, Draco?" Tracey smirked at the blond boy.

"I am not interested, what about Harry? He can go," Draco said before turning to Harry. "go on Potter, you're the bravest of us, and the strongest."

"Your words do fill up my heart with joy, Draco, but need I remind you that I was the one who fought a troll in my first year, and have gone into the Chamber of Secrets last year. I think it's about time you start to pull your own weight Draco, you take the adventure this year." Harry said before he gestured to the shack. "Have at it, Draco." Harry smirked.

"F...fine." Draco said before walking to the shack, mumbling under his breath as he did so.

"So...how long do you guys reckon it will take until he comes running back?" Theo asked the group.

"He'll get halfway at least." Blaise guessed.

"Less than a minute." Harry replied.

"He'll go all the way." Pansy said confidently, after all Draco was a very brave boy, at least as far as she was concerned.

"No, he won't." Crabbe replied.

"What do you mean 'he won't'?!" Pansy demanded.

"He is coming back now." Goyle replied as he gestured to Malfoy who was indeed coming back.

"I should have bet money." Harry sighed.

"That was really quick, Draco." Blaise grinned. "Did you somehow learn to apparate?"

"There was a sign that said 'don't get close'," Draco shrugged. "I am a well behaved student of Hogwarts, I am not going to break the rules." He said, there was a collective snort from everyone in the group.

A small while later the group of Slytherin's were sat outside of the shack, sitting in chairs that they had created, – with magic, what else? - all apart from Harry and Daphne who were both standing a small distance away and practising spells. Harry knew that Daphne had a real knack for ice related magic, so he decided that it would be a good time to start practising.

"Alright, now just loosen your wrist a little bit and you should be fine. Remember, it's like being an opera conductor, not a blacksmith with a hammer." Harry advised, standing right behind Daphne.

"Opera conductor," Daphne repeated under her breath. "got it." She said before she practised the wand movements one more time. "Alright, I think I got it." Daphne said before she performed the spell, the snow in front of her twirled upwards before changing and taking the shape of a human. It stood around the same size of Daphne. "I did it!" Daphne grinned brightly.

"Keep your concentration, keep your concentration." Harry quickly said.

"Concentration, got it." Daphne nodded, focusing on the snowman.

"Atta girl Daph." Harry clapped for her, of course keeping his clapping as light as possible so to not break her concentration. "Now, try and get it to move."

"Got it." Daphne said, she moved her wand slightly and the snowman took a few steps forward, she moved it again and then it moved back. "I'm doing it."

"Nicely done, Daph." Harry smiled at her.

"Thank you," Daphne replied just before she allowed her snowman to collapse, turning back into regular snow. "that was so cool." She grinned as she looked at Harry.

"Was that a pun? Was that intentional?" Harry blinked as he looked at her.

"It was a pun and no, it was not intentional. Or...at least not this time, I cannot speak for the future." She replied.

"Fair enough." Harry laughed before he cast a tempus spell to check the time. "Oh crap, I've got to go now."

"Oh, where are you going?" Tracey asked in a curious voice.

"I am meeting Blaise's mom." Harry replied.

"Hey!" Blaise said in an offended voice.

"No, I have an actual meeting with your mother." Harry began explaining. "In her last letter to me she said that she wanted to talk to me face to face, in private. I am meeting her in the 'Three Broomsticks'." The 'Three Broomsticks' being a very popular pub and inn that was located in Hogsmead.

"Why do you have a meeting with Blaise's mother?" Draco asked in a confused voice.

"I wish I knew," Harry shrugged. "anyway I'll be off now, she does not seem like the type to appreciate being made to wait."

"No, she does not." Blaise said with a small shake of his head.

When Harry arrived in the Three Broomsticks, he saw that it was packed full of customers, some were adults and some were clearly Hogwarts students. Some were talking, some were laughing, the food and drinks looked brilliant. When Harry entered the majority of people noticed that he had a snake on his shoulders, the Hogwarts students were able to quickly to ignore it with ease of practise. Though most of the adults could not help but look, they had of course heard that the boy-who-lived was a parslemouth and that he had possessed a snake for a familiar, but hearing and seeing were quite different things.

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