Harry Potter and the Green Snake of Slytherin

Near the small town of Silberberg in Germany, most people used to spend their spare time in the forest, collecting mushrooms or wandering for hours in this quiet, intimate, yet singular patch of birches and cypresses.

But very few of them had noticed the old wooden sign that stood at the very end of the forest, maybe because one couldn't read anything useful on it. It looked like time had completely washed out most letters, except for two or three of them. Children playing hide-and-seek nearby had managed to decipher "A.G..." and perhaps "O" near the end of the sign, but that was it. And yet, nobody had been tickled by curiosity strongly enough to get to know more about that sign.

Today was May, 31^st. Renatus Troomveld had decided to arrive the day before in Silberberg, spending the night in a small but cosy guest house. It was important for him to have all the time necessary today to go for a walk in the forest. It would help him empty his mind about the thoughts that had been haunting him steadily for weeks.

After pacing for more than three hours between the dark green and silver trees, he finally found the narrow alley that led him to the wooden sign he was after.

"Aha, here we are again" said Troomveld.

He withdrew something looking like a wand from his brown raincoat and aimed it towards the sign. "Apparecium!" he whispered in the right tone. The ancient letters started to appear one by one, revealing what had been hidden to the profane eye for decades. Once the words were complete, they began to glow in a shimmering, silvery light. An arrow appeared at the right end of the sign.

The landscape around Renatus seemed now completely different. There were seven similar alleys around him, crossing each other in a star-like fashion. The sign then started spinning like crazy, then it finally stopped, the arrow pointing precisely in the direction of one of those seven roads.

He put his wand back into his coat and started walking down the alley, wondering what his old friends were like, after such a long time.

***

Arsenius and Vinea had been living in this house for over fifteen years now. Actually, the house was the former castle of Silberberg, but the village people thought that it had been swept off the landscape after the WWII bombings. Both of them really enjoyed the House and the fact that only a chosen few knew about it. Maybe that's why they spent a lot of time casting several Pulchra Moda spells on it to make it look cosy and fashionable. Vinea just had to think of new wallpaper and furniture and there it was, for her greatest pleasure.

Tonight was indeed very important for Arsenius and Vinea. They had not heard any news from their old friend Renatus for over fourteen years and it was as if he had come back to them as suddenly as he had vanished into the big nowhere. In the letter he had sent them using his very personal owl, Renatus had asked if he could join them for supper tonight to discuss "important matters". Of course, both of them were really excited to meet him again and they had not hesitated for a second.

Though their daughter's birthday also appeared to be on May, 31st, the young woman reckoned it would be quite an interesting evening if the family spent the evening with Troomveld, for she had heard a lot of intriguing things about him. She was very mature for her age: she used to spend a lot of time in the forest reading books, and enjoyed discussing for hours about the meaning of life and other fundamental topics that seemed of no interest to any other fourteen year-old girl whatsoever. And she had developed frightening skills too.

Now she was lying on her bed, lost in her thoughts, when suddenly someone knocked on the heavy oak door. "So, Feebee, what are you waiting for? Go and open that door! Right now!" she said with her deep and crystalline voice.

Feebee the house elf let the guest in and asked politely "Will Renatus Troomveld allow Feebee to take his coat, please?" The girl went down the ivory staircase and silently watched the tall, good looking man that had entered her house. She felt very strange, almost sick; it was as if she knew him, but couldn't remember anything. Her head was aching.

Renatus Troomveld was there, standing in the hall, holding a wooden cane in his hand. Something in his whole attitude denoted a very complex, intriguing personality. Arsenius welcomed his former schoolmate with warmth, and they started talking about the good old times while heading for the lounge. It seemed like that they had not seen each other for only one week.

Later that evening, Vinea entered the lounge and invited them to follow her into the dining room, which was exquisitely decorated-that new "Scintillatus" variant of the Pulchra Moda spell was by far her favourite-the cathedral-shaped roof of the room was lit like a midsummer night's sky, with hundreds of shimmering stars that made it look alive.

Troomveld sat down, followed by Vinea, Arsenius and their daughter, and they began the meal with the delicious asparagus soup that Feebee the house elf had served them.

During the first minutes of the supper, all of them remained strangely silent. The room was filled with awe and respect; tt looked as if they were all trying to guess each other's deepest feelings.

Arsenius was a very tall, raven-like man with jet-black hair and deep green eyes, his body was slim and aristocratic, he looked as is if he were suspicious about everything, but that only meant that he was trying to fathom whether something was good for him or not. His wife Vinea could have been mistaken for his sister, if she had not those typical purple eyes which happened to be found only in women in her family, for three out of seven generations. For the rest of her family, blue eyes were the rule of thumb.

Suddenly Renatus broke the silence and started talking to the girl:

"Happy Birthday, young Lady", he said.

"Thanks, Renatus," she answered, "after all I heard about you, I thought this could be an enriching evening for both of us"

"So, you are now leaving Durmstrang?" he asked.

"Yes, I'll have to spend some time with Mudbloods, I guess... Although some professors are said to be really good, that Snape for instance"

"Ah yes...Snape. He was a pretty good Slytherin", Renatus sighed.

"We had a good time there too, remember, but you know, it was best for her she went to Durmstrang for the first four years. Some basics you just don't learn anywhere else", Vinea added blinking towards Troomveld.

"And...How's Malachius?" Renatus then asked

The awkward feeling that was making the girl uneasy since Troomveld entered the house seemed to vanish. It was as if she had found the key to everything that had been unclear in her life until that very moment. She had never told anyone about Malachius before. Her deep green eyes, which usually looked like her father's, were now filled with that particular glow she had noticed a few times in the mirror at some very important stages of her life.

"Oh he's fine. We'll meet him later if you wish" she said.

"It would be a pleasure!" Troomveld said, and whispering to her parents he added: "She's perfect".

Both Vinea and Arsenius understood the precise meaning of his words. But they did not expect their daughter to guess what it was all about too. And she knew.

***

After taking a piece of the delicious green apple cake and a cup of wizard's coffee, Renatus and the girl walked up the large ivory staircase and stepped into her private room. It was decorated in shades of green and silver. Even the flames inside the fireplace were shimmering green and filled the room with a subtle warmth. Renatus complimented her about her good taste while fetching a small vial filled with a quicksilver-like Potion out of his pocket. They both sat in the comfortable dragon-leather armchairs that she had been offered for her 13th birthday and lifted a toast to celebrate her upcoming school year at Hogwarts.

In the opposite corner of the room, Malachius had almost fallen asleep, but he knew both of them would be here tonight. After discussing important matters for about two hours, Renatus Troomveld and the girl woke him up.