Harry Potter and the Green Snake of Slytherin

4.

Bird of Prey

On the next morning, Avara woke up early. Too many thoughts were swirling through her mind and she was not the kind of person who would sleep late in the morning anyway. Looking around, she realized the silver and green Slytherin decoration in the dormitory looked like her own bedroom decoration at home. She jumped out of her four-poster, and walked on tiptoes towards the door. Lying on the floor next to her was a little green book she lifted up and put into her pocket. As she stepped out of the dormitory, she threw a glance at the small cage in the corner of the room. Her neighbours, Millicent Bulstrode and Pansy Parkinson, were still sleeping like logs.

It was a quarter to seven, and Avara had been reading in the patio for over one hour. Footsteps where getting louder in her direction, so she put the tiny green opus into her pocket, and made sure no-one could see her behind one of Hogwarts' heavy stone pillars.

After a while, she stepped into the vast, empty hall with wooden walls and took a seat near the kitchen. As a group of three Gryffindors entered the breakfast room she thought her cousin had not been pulling her leg.

Hermione Granger whispered to Ron "Eek! That Slytherin girl is there too".

Ron then replied "At least she doesn't look as mean as her housemates"... Hermione had to concede it, but she still was not pleased to share their usually private breakfast space with one of the green-clad students. They were always first for breakfast and enjoyed chatting freely before the others joined them.

While she seemed to bury her face, looking down to her green apple porridge - a typical Slytherin breakfast, the raven-haired girl with the deep green eyes was muttering "Attractus... attractus..."

As far as he was concerned, Harry was rather pleased with the sight of having Avara in the same room for breakfast. She was sitting on the next row of banks, a few feet away from him. Strangely enough, he felt like talking to her. He stood up and said "Morning Avara, would you like to join us for breakfast?"

Hermione looked at him furiously. If the killing curse had not been punished with lifetime prison in Azkaban, Harry would have died a lot of times within a few seconds.

Malfoy's cousin turned back and said "Hello Harry! For sure! I'm coming over". She hovered in her green Slytherin robe towards the three Gryffindors and took a seat next to Ron, facing Harry and Hermione. She introduced herself to Harry's friends "I'm Avara von Argentum", but Hermione answered "Oh, we know that already, everyone has been watching you at the Sorting Ceremony yesterday, in case you don't know, "

Avara dared not answer; she kept smiling at Hermione, thinking about all the cruel curses she could use to hurt her if she wanted to. Then she turned to Harry:

"Harry I must congratulate you heartily about your victory at the Triwizard Tournament last year, you were great!"

"Oh! You know about that?" asked Harry

"Of course I know! Viktor came back to Durmstrang telling everyone how impressive you had been", Avara said, lowering her eyes and stressing the word "impressive" with her deep and crystalline voice.

Hermione and Ron looked bewildered at each other when she spoke the word "Durmstrang".

Harry almost dropped his cup of coffee too; then he went on, trying to hide the fear on his face "So...you were at Durmstrang last year?"

"Yes, since the very beginning. I'm very proud of my time at Durmstrang; we had highly qualified teachers, the calibre of aehm ...someone like Albus Dumbledore, though not exactly like him"

"And say, Avara, is that true what people ..."

"...keep telling about the bad-ohhh-bad Dark Side of Durmstrang? Is that what you wanted to ask, Harry?" asked Avara, her piercing green eyes looking straight into Harry's.

Harry blushed and felt a light pain in his neck; he did not mean to offend her. Her eyes were glooming strangely, as if they were filled with dancing green fire drops.

"...of course that's true. We have Cursing and Mind Control classes, we must learn by heart the life of Lord Voldemort, and we learn how to kill, naturally" she said, waiting for his reaction

Harry's face faded to grey.

"Rr...really?"

"No", she said bursting into deep laughter

Ron and Hermione did not seem very receptive to Avara's jokes. Harry was relieved, but he also noticed that she had named Voldemort, not using "You-Know-Who", as did the ones who feared him.

Meanwhile, the students had started arriving into the breakfast room, mainly Ravenclaws and Slytherins, who had double Transfiguration at eight. Harry, Ron and Hermione were surprised to see that Draco Malfoy was not followed dumbly by Crabbe and Goyle as he stepped towards his cousin. Instead, they recognized the relatively handsome boy named Steven Packard, whom the Sorting Hat had sent into the house with the serpent.

"Hey Potter! Are you plotting a Gryffindor-Slytherin alliance or what? I mean, as such it would not be a bad idea, if your house was not so packed with Mudbloods! It's not like you are one of them, I told you that already..." said Draco, smirking.

"Anyway, I'm in a good mood today, Potter. If you want to join us later for the break before Potions, feel free to do so" Malfoy was speaking with his bored, drawling voice, but something sounded different in him. Avara took a leave from the three Gryffindors "See you later" she said.

Harry, Ron and Hermione did not look like finishing off their breakfast, though for different reasons. Harry still did not know what to think about Avara von Argentum. Every time she was close to him, he felt a strange sensation which he did not want to escape from. It had nothing to do with warmth, rather a crystalline coolness that submerged him all over and gave him a feeling of strength.

The other Gryffindors finally came in and gathered around them, listening to Ron's and Hermione's rants about Avara. Hermione was turning her back to Harry, as if he had let the Devil in person inside the room. "But really! You should have listened to her: Harry you have been impressive" she said, mockingly "What a slimy Slytherin she is! The house elves would have to polish the floor for one whole week to wipe the slime off"

Angelina Johnson said "I bet she can't even play Quidditch! It would mess her hair all over". Ron was listening with interest.

It was too much for Harry, who cut in "At least, she is not ranting at people like you do! And what if there were also good elements in Slytherin?" He stood up and left, heading for the Gryffindor common room.

***

Professor McGonagall was sitting at her desk in the Transfiguration classroom, behind a heavy pile of Charles Changeall books. Changeall had gained worldwide fame by turning a swarm of venomous flying grasshoppers into a bridge, saving the whole town of Sydney, Australia, from a thousand horrible deaths. He then started writing down his science into books, so that Dark Forces could be fought against using the most advanced transfiguration techniques.

Minerva McGonagall welcomed the blue and green students in the classroom, checking for eventual latecomers. She had been willing more than once to turn students into pocket watches or clocks, so that they would be on time.

As usual, the Slytherins had taken the left side of the classroom. On the second row, one could see Draco Malfoy, Avara von Argentum, and Steven Packard. Crabbe and Goyle had wanted to sit next to Draco, but the bank was not long enough for them. Avara did not seem to be sorry for them, either.

On the right side, Cho Chang from Ravenclaw was not paying much attention to page sixty-six of "Advanced Transfiguration". She had been hearing that Harry Potter and his friends had been having breakfast with that Slytherin girl.

Looking sad, she kept thinking about last year's Yule Ball. "I should have accepted to be Harry's partner when he asked me off. Now it's too late..." But as she was thinking about that, she burst into tears, as she remembered the gruesome way Cedric had died. Her heart seemed to be burning.

Avara, who was sitting not far from her, came closer and holding her hand, she asked softly: "Cho, are you alright?"

***

Harry had not been attending Herbology with his housemates this morning. Instead, he had been sleeping for an hour; it was the best way for him to escape from the Gryffindors' childish attitude.

As he woke up, he remembered Malfoy's proposal in the breakfast room and reckoned it was worth a try; at least he would not be mocked up. He prepared his wand and books for the upcoming Potions class with Professor Snape, and headed towards the dungeons' entrance, which was the Slytherins' meeting place.

There, three students wearing emerald green robes where chatting together, then slowly turning at him "Hey Potter, don't be afraid, we won't Petrify you", said Draco Malfoy. It was quite unusual for Harry to wander in Slytherin area; he was feeling a bit ill-at-ease.

"Malfoy, I'm not afraid. At least, less than you were in the Forbidden Forest, actually". But Draco did not catch the bait. Instead, he said "This is my new friend Steven Packard. He is pure-blood and a lot cleverer than Crabbe and Goyle, which is not difficult I concede."

He then added "I knew you would come. I had told you some wizarding families are better than others, I'm glad to see you finally made up your mind about it"

Harry did not know what to say. He did want to stay away from the Gryffindors since this morning. Malfoy's interpretation did not sound completely wrong after all. Stranger yet, Harry seemed to enjoy talking to the three of them.

Avara aimed her wand at the huge clock that was hanging above the dungeon's door and said "Quantum Horum". As the rusty hands started spinning and stopped on the "Almost Late" sign, she rushed the three boys to go down to Snape's class. She really wanted to arrive on time and make a good impression on Snape. She needed the Head of Slytherin House to play an important role very soon.

***

They hurried down to Professor Snape's classroom in the dungeons. The Slytherins had their own, torch-lit, secret passage to the Potions class, whereas the other houses had to walk twice as long through a dark, frightening corridor where ghouls or ghosts could attack them anytime.

When they finally arrived into the classroom, Avara was pleased to see that she was not late. She had even enough time to choose a good seat.

Professor Severus Snape was exactly the way she had pictured him to herself: tall, dark, raven-like with shoulder-length black hair, an aquiline nose and deep cold eyes. He was wearing a black, billowing cloak that made him kind of hover over the ground like a giant bat. He was throwing a piercing yet detached glance around him, trying to find something interesting that could give him starting material for his Potions class.

He was surprised to see that Harry Potter was coming along with a group of Slytherins, and that Avara von Argentum was with them. This girl was even more impressive when she was sitting only a few feet away from him.

When his eyes met Avara's, he knew that she undoubtedly had great things in mind. And suddenly it became clear to him: she had thought it all up and she was the only one who could achieve that goal.

Although he did not exactly share Avara's views on the subject, Snape had a feeling of strong respect for her. He had well known her parents, fellow Slytherins who originated from one of the most ancient wizarding families and lived in Germany. Vinea von Argentum was born a Malfoy and their daughter seemed to combine the talents of both families. No wonder her cousin Draco liked her so much. He smiled innerly.

As Harry Potter sat down next to Ron among the Gryffindors, Snape could hear loud murmurs echoing from the gold and red rows.

"Now, now, Ladies and Gentlemen" he began, almost whispering, "Can you please tell me what could possibly be so important during this class, that you consider unnecessary to pay attention to the recipe of the Icebreaking Potion ?", his cold, soft, and cynical voice getting louder and clearer.

"Miss Granger, for instance..." He was standing so close to Hermione that she could almost hear him breathe. He was tapping the back of her chair nervously with his long, thin, fingers.

"Please tell us what are the two main ingredients of the Icebreaking Potion, we are listening" said Snape.

Hermione had been making fun of Malfoy and Packard all the time with her neighbour Alicia Spinnet and she was unable to reward the Potions Master with an answer.

"Oh you don't know? I was expecting you to lift your arm in the air like a rocket, Miss Granger! How pitiful... Thirty points will be taken from Gryffindor" said Snape. "Anyone else wishes to lighten up Miss Hermione Granger?" he then asked, grinning.

Hermione looked up, ashamed that the recent developments with the Slytherins had diverted her from paying attention to the lesson.

Then she was hit by the fatal stroke: Avara von Argentum raised her hand without rush; when Snape asked her, she answered calmly "Powdered Devil's root and an infusion of Dragon's tongue, Sir".

Actually, the question Snape had asked was a very difficult one. He had wanted to frame Hermione with a 7th-year level question. But Avara knew her Potions well. "Exactly, Ms von Argentum", said Professor Snape, impressed. "Ten points will be awarded to Slytherin for your valuable knowledge". The Slytherins rejoiced, while the Gryffindors were asking Hermione why she could not answer the question as if she had committed an atrocious crime.

***

After the class, Avara asked the Potions Master "Professor Snape, I really enjoyed that class. I was eager to meet you, after all that had been said at Durmstrang... You know at least what Slytherin pride means!"

Severus Snape was looking at her, his usually cold and cynical black eyes glowing with interest.

"I knew that you would be coming soon, Avara von Argentum", he said, thrilled.

He went on: "When I was a Death Eater, the ones who Knew kept telling in our Meetings about a girl with raven-black hair and glooming green eyes... and I know it's you."

Avara was listening to him silently, the green sparks in her eyes glowing brighter than ever.

"Though we chose separate ways, I can help you, Avara" he said

"Severus Snape, I can feel where you stand now. But it will not be easy for you... You will have to make choices" she replied calmly using her mysterious, crystalline voice.

They both remained silent for a couple of minutes. Then she asked him a question every other student could have asked: "Could you please tell me what kind of potions we will be brewing in class for the next few months?"

Snape walked into his office and fetched a tiny piece of parchment entitled "Fifth year Potions Class" and handed it to her.

"Goodbye, Professor" said Avara, without turning back.

"Good luck, Avara" said Snape, watching her leave the classroom.

She would have plenty of time to have a detailed look at the programme tonight. But now it was time to join her housemates for lunch.