It was a week before the final exams, and Blaise was studying his Transfiguration notes while lying sprawled on his bed. Draco swaggered into the room with the weedy boy, who Blaise had learned was called Theodore Nott. Blaise rarely spoke to Theodore, but at least he didn’t fight with him all the time like Draco did. Blaise was annoyed to see Draco and Theodore were in the middle of another one of their arguments, and Blaise found himself forced to listen because of their volume. He stuffed his fingers in his ears and tried to keep studying, but he could still hear them so he gave it up.
“So, that means you’re a coward,” Theodore was saying.
“I am not!” Draco insisted. “I don’t have to be a stupid Gryffindor to be brave. All purebloods are brave, I’m just more cunning and I don’t stand for having any Mudblood in my house like the Gryffindor idiots do.”
“Right,” Theodore snickered, making it clear he thought Draco was making excuses. “So, prove it then, coward.” Theodore smirked at him, imitating Draco’s own trademark sneer. “I’ll bet you two sickles you won’t dare. And I never waste money on bets unless I think I’ll win.”
Draco spluttered in indignation. “Of course I’ll do it! But- but you have to come too.”
“Sure, I’ll come, to make sure you don’t back up on the deal and cheat.”
Blaise decided to break his silence, though he rarely bothered. Draco either bullied him or ignored him, and Theodore…they simply didn’t click, and spoke to each other usually when asking to borrow some parchment or a quill. Now, though, he was bored with studying and vaguely curious.
“What are you two doing?” he asked.
Draco jumped around to look at Blaise, not having realized Blaise was in the room. Theodore was unperturbed and spared him a quick glance. “Oh, Draco wouldn’t tell what happened the night he was in the Forbidden Forest on detention, and I accused him of being a coward in there and he just doesn’t want to admit it. Then I dared him to go in- I’m betting him he’s still too afraid.”
“I am not afraid. You’ve got to be kidding. What’s a few werewolves, honestly?” Draco said in a tone of forced toughness.
Theodore laughed scornfully, and Draco tried to hide his annoyance.
“Blaise, you come too. You can watch Theodore and make sure he doesn’t plan any tricks on me.” Draco looked at him commandingly.
Blaise wanted to refuse, but he’d had too much experience with Draco. If anyone refused Draco’s “requests”, he’d send Crabbe and Goyle out to do their worst. And even their best wasn’t the kind of thing Madam Pomfrey appreciated. Resigning himself, Blaise simply nodded silently. “When are you going?” he asked.
Theodore looked at Draco. “Tonight?”
“Any time whatsoever is fine with me,” Draco said nonchalantly. “It’s no big deal at all. I don’t even need any Sickles, but a pureblood never refuses a bet.”
* * *
That night, the three boys met in the common room, Blaise in a warm cloak and internally scornful of the stupid bet and Draco’s need to prove himself, though his face was impassive. He’d learned to stay blank over the past year when faced with professors and students who didn’t understand his direct way of responding to situations, and often misinterpreted his expressions as insulting. He had found it easier not to respond, after a while.
They made their way down through Hogwarts and out a set of side doors doors, Theodore unlocking them with his wand. He’d always been excellent at Charms, Blaise knew, though Blaise did better than him in most subjects.
They tiptoed out onto the grounds without being caught. Blaise supposed it was pure dumb luck. The Forest loomed black and Blaise could hear faint whistling and rustlings as they walked into the first clusters of trees and bushes. When Blaise could only see the castle by turning his head around and peering hard through gaps in the trees, Theodore cleared his throat loudly.
“We’re going in and staying in for a full hour, out of sight of the castle, or else I win the bet,” he declared.
Draco nodded. “Perfect,” he said, still trying to look like all this was beneath him. Theodore grinned predatorily at him.
“I’m already planning how to spend my Sickles. Have fun.”
Draco furiously opened his mouth to reply but then closed it again.
“How much farther in?” he asked.
Theodore resumed walking, and the other two followed.
“Blaise and I will sit where you can’t see us. I’ll use my Omnioculars to keep an eye on you. You can get up and pace a bit if you like, but don’t walk around more than a few feet,” he added over his shoulder.
“Yes, and Zabini, you keep an eye on him. He has to stay in the forest too,” Draco said. “If you were planning on leaving, Theodore, forget about it.”
Theodore stopped walking. “Here is far enough,” he said, pointing to a small gap in the trees. “Enjoy yourself. The hour starts-“ he glanced at his watch- “Now. Go!”
He scurried out of the clearing, Blaise hurrying after him.
As they went, Blaise asked, “Would you really have left the Forest?”
“Well, maybe. Probably, actually,” Theodore admitted. “Draco knows me pretty well. Most pureblood children do. All the social events- there’s nothing else to do. We played as children, and fought, and all of that, and I know him better than most people, I imagine.”
“I didn’t know that you two knew each other that well,” Blaise said, interested.
“You’re pureblood too, aren’t you?” Theodore asked, suddenly suspicious.
“Of course,” Blaise said dryly, slightly affronted at the question. “Do I look like Mudblood scum to you?”
“I suppose not,” Theodore said begrudgingly. “Here- this tree looks all right. Let’s climb it and take a look at Draco.”
Clambering up the branches, Theodore added, “Of course, you never did go to any of the parties or anything.” He waited.
“Well,” Blaise stammered without his usual smoothness, “I- I suppose my mother didn’t go. Or if she did, she never brought me with her. You know- you’ve probably heard all about her.”
That was one of the things that had been hard for him to get used to at Hogwarts- people knowing all about his mother. He’d known she was beautiful, but not how famous she was. Listening to the rumors about her old husbands’ fates both surprised and hurt him. He had been very young, of course, and he hadn’t really understood everything going on in his home. At the same time, things he remembered nurse saying, or the way his mother’s jewelry had gotten more and more expensive over the years- things simply fit together like the pieces of a jigsaw inside his head, though the picture they suggested seemed horrifying, terrible, impossible. He refused to believe it, and knew he would never work up the courage to ask his unapproachable mother about any of it.
Even his nurse, who had sent him a postcard or two every couple of months- he could never ask her that. He didn’t want to know. He would rather believe it was all silly rumors, nasty gossips’ fabrications. Perhaps, he had decided, perhaps that really was the truth.
Theodore had turned his attention to the Omnioculars.
“He’s pale, that little coward,” he gloated. “And he’s looking around all nervously. I bet he’s terrified. I might just help him get a little closer to the edge…”
He pulled out his wand. “Want to stop me, Zabini?” he said challengingly.
“What exactly are you planning on doing?” Blaise asked.
“Nothing, really, just a little spell I know to scare him. It won’t hurt him. It’ll just blow cold air so the trees around him shake and he feels a chill.” Theodore aimed his wand and said, “Ariafreda!” A gust of cold wind blew out of his wand and rattled through the trees. Theodore peered through the Omnioculars and laughed aloud.
“Ooh, he’s shivering and looking in every direction like he thinks an ickle ghostie is coming to get him! Idiot.”
Blaise heard a strange sound in the tree behind him and jumped.
“What was that?” he said carefully.
“Just me,” a quiet voice said. Blaise stared at the tree but couldn’t see anyone.
“Where are you?” he asked, puzzled.
“Right here!” the voice answered. Blaise looked carefully at the tree again, but all he saw was a couple of ants and a small garden snake. Bugs and reptiles had never bothered him, but now he was getting worried that he couldn’t figure out who was talking.
“Blaise!” Theodore grabbed his arm and shook it, and Blaise jerked his attention back to him.
“I thought you were having a fit or something, you were hissing and spitting like mad!” Theodore said uncomfortably.
“What?” Blaise said blankly. “I wasn’t. I was just trying to figure out who was talking over there.”
It was Theodore’s turn to look completely confused. “What? Who?”
“I don’t know. Maybe we were both imagining things,” Blaise offered.
Just then, Theodore was distracted by something he saw in his Omnioculars.
“Oh, no,” he breathed.
“What is it?” Blaise asked.
“There’s something coming up behind Draco. I don’t know what it is, but it’s big and…I don’t know what it is, but we’d better get closer in case he needs backup. We’ll be in huge trouble if he gets hurt.”
They climbed down the tree in a hurry. Blaise got a few scrapes on the way down, and he pulled out his wand as soon as they reached the ground. He saw the little garden snake slithering down the tree after them.
They ran to the edge of Draco’s clearing, and peering through the foliage, were relieved to see the huge creature was standing still, though it seemed to be watching Draco. Blaise had no idea what it was, since it was hiding in the shadows, though it looked furry and its eyes caught the light with a weird yellow glare.
Theodore motioned to Blaise to stay quiet and watch. They stood frozen in the shrubbery for a few tense minutes, and then suddenly the beast sprang. With a shout, Theodore and Blaise ran into the clearing, each firing a curse at the creature- Blaise tried a Leg-Locker, the only one he could think of at short notice- but it didn’t seem to have much of an effect, and then they were under attack by a whirling heap of dark, shaggy fur and fiery wild eyes and sharp claws. Theodore managed to grab Draco and shout for them to run.
Blaise ran as fast as he could toward Hogwarts, the heavy thuds of the beast’s footsteps and the rancid-meat smell of its breath close behind. He made it almost to the edge of the forest, but then tripped on a branch and went flying. Luckily, he landed just outside the periphery of the forest, where the beast didn’t seem to want to go, but he still scrambled as fast as he could on his knees until he was in the middle of the grassy Hogwarts grounds.
The voice spoke again. “I’m glad you escaped. That nasty creature is pretty unpleasant to humans. You are a human, aren’t you?”
Blaise looked around him, but again there was no one there.
“Where are you?” he said angrily. “Tell me!”
“Right here, of course. Look down!”
Blaise obediently looked down at the grass next to him and saw a small garden snake.
“No- that isn’t- that can’t be the same snake I saw before in the Forest,” he said, confused. It looked exactly the same. Maybe there were lots of snakes that looked like that. A snake couldn’t possibly be following him…
“Of course I am!” the voice said, and Blaise suddenly got it.
“You’re not…you’re the snake?” he said incredulously.
“Got it. Great work. My mother always told me humans were logical beings.”
“Have you ever spoken to a human before?” Blaise asked, still a little bemused at taking to a snake.
“Nope. I think most of them can’t understand us. Any idea why you can?” the snake said.
“No, sorry. This is the first time I ever spoke to a snake.”
“Oh, well, I was curious, so I followed you to here. But since you don’t know, if you’ll excuse me…” the snake trailed off.
“You want to leave? Where are you going?” Blaise suddenly felt he wanted to keep talking to the snake longer.
“I’m hungry. You can’t catch mice if you sit around talking, after all.” The snake thrashed its tail and turned around, eager to return to its usual business.
“Oh,” Blaise said, “I suppose that’s true. Good luck with your, er, hunting, then.”
“Thanks,” the snake said, and slithered off into the grass and out of sight.
It was not until Blaise’s second year, when the news that Harry Potter was a Parselmouth began to spread throughout the school, that Blaise went to the library and found out how rare it was to have that gift. Luckily, Theodore seemed to have forgotten all about it, since he had never known what really happened. Blaise wondered how he had gotten such a strange inheritance, and guessed his pureblood heritage must have some unusual talents in it. Perhaps he was related to Herpo the Foul, or Salazar Slytherin, or any of the other famous wizards in the past who’d had that talent.
That summer, though, he’d asked his mother if he was related to any famous dark wizards or Parselmouths, but she had looked at him blankly and dismissively shooed him away, uninterested in his question. A few weeks after he’d asked her, the whole house was turned upside down when Mr. Heppleworth came down with a terrible cold, which he had ignored for too long. It turned into double pneumonia, leaving him susceptible to a potent strain of dragon pox going around that year. Mr. Heppleworth died shortly after Blaise returned to Hogwarts.
Not missing his mother’s ex-fifth husband all that much, Blaise went about his third year much the same as his first two, despite the slightly harder class work. This year, though, and the next few years after, he’d often sneak out into the forest and talk to different snakes. He never went too far in, though, and always kept a close eye on his surroundings to watch for murderous beasts.
Although he didn’t particularly get close to any specific snakes, the conversations he had with any who happened to slither by often were the best he’d have out of all his acquaintances. He learned which types of mice were the best, what times of day were the best to hunt, which snakes were eaten by owls or other predators (mainly the unlucky ones) and other highly educational tidbits, although few were likely to become practical in his own life.
Snakes weren’t very interested in prolonged conversations with a human, though they would talk for a short while. Still, the time he spent in the Forest was his favorite part of all the time he spent at Hogwarts.
A Blaze of Light by Leahr
Chapter Notes: Please review! Drama will build soon.