The Phoenix and the Serpent

Disclaimer: The Harry Potter universe belongs to JK Rowling. No profit is being made from this story, and no copyright infringement is intended.

Author's Notes: Many, many apologies for the incredibly long delay. I completely lost contact with my beta-reader, and then when I finally found a new beta, I suddenly realized that the chapter needed more work. It grew and grew, until finally I had to split it into two chapters. So the next chapter is completely finished, and is with my beta-reader right now; it should be up very shortly.

Thanks to everyone who contacted me to ask about the delay and to encourage me to continue; rest assured that I have no plans to abandon this story! In fact, the entire plot is planned out in detail. Special thanks to my new beta, Veritabatim, for the excellent and thorough beta job.

UPDATED: 1/25/05 - Made a number of significant changes to this chapter to carry the story over to December, in preparation for future chapters. (The changes begin during the scene where Harry receives letters from his mum and dad, and the changes continue up until the end of the chapter.)

Chapter Six - Purebloods and Parseltongue

Tom's first few days at Hogwarts passed quickly. The classes - most of them, at least - were just as enjoyable as Tom had hoped, and he and Jennifer were quickly becoming good friends. This was largely because they had no one but each other to spend time with; Jennifer's roommates ignored her, and Brian and Daniel, who had hit it off almost immediately over a shared obsession with sports, spent all of their free time outdoors or poring over the moving illustrations of the books in Brian's Quidditch collection. Kenneth had made it clear that he hated both Tom and Jennifer, and although Julian had attempted to be friendly once or twice, his prejudice against Muggle-borns and the fact that he spent so much time with Kenneth made Tom reluctant to befriend him. By his second day at Hogwarts, Tom had decided to avoid Julian until his father wrote back with advice on how to deal with the situation.

In all, being in Slytherin wasn't as terrible as Tom had feared, but neither was it as easy as it had first appeared. During his first day, the other Slytherins had indeed avoided him and ignored him, just as he had written to his father. But over the next few days, the situation quickly deteriorated. Whispered taunts - some mild, some venomous - were hurled at Tom and Jennifer wherever they went: in the Great Hall at mealtimes, in the halls on the way to classes, and every time they made an appearance in the common room.

"Filthy Mudblood!"

"Swots!"

"Mudblood lover!"

Tom found it easy to ignore the insults, as he simply didn't care what the other Sytherins thought of him. Jennifer found them harder to deal with; she flinched at the jeers and soon refused to spend any time in the common room at all. This exasperated Tom to no end.

"Why do you care?" he asked, yet again, on their third day of classes. They were standing just outside the Slytherin common room. "Who cares what they think? You know that you're smarter than them, and better than them - we both are! They're just close-minded, immature gits! It's not as though they're trying to hex us, not since that fourth-year that Medusa scared away. Who cares about what they say? And we can't spend time together in my dormitory, or yours - where exactly are we supposed to meet if not the common room?"

"Use your imagination!" Jennifer snapped back. "The library, outdoors, empty classrooms.... Most normal people find it distracting to be constantly flooded with insults! I came to Hogwarts expecting to find friends, and instead I was sorted into a House of people who all hate me! No offense, Tom, but I prefer hanging around more than just one person - and it would be nice to have another girl to talk to. So no, I can't just ignore the insults, because they remind me that my next seven years here are not exactly going to be much fun!"

"We can sit with other Houses in the Great Hall," Tom suggested as he absent-mindedly stroked Medusa, who was coiled around his left arm and was half-asleep. "Not all the time, because then Snape or McGonagall will send us back to the Slytherin table, but if we only do it once in a while, no one will mind. We can sit with Adam, or even with my cousin in Ravenclaw - I'm sure he'll introduce us to the other Ravenclaws in our year."

"That's a good idea," Jennifer said, and gave Tom a small smile. "Sorry for shouting at you like that. It's just - I'm not used to this. Not at all. Back at home, I was always one of the popular kids...." Jennifer trailed off. "It's just hard to get used to, and it's the worst in the common room."

"It's raining outside, though," Tom pointed out. "And we need special permission to use an empty classroom, and we're not allowed to eat in the library, or talk any louder than a whisper. But the library will do for now, I guess."

Together they headed through the maze of passages that made up the dungeons towards the staircase that led to the upper levels. A group of approaching sixth-year girls spotted them and developed identical sneers.

"We must remember to tell Snape that the dungeons are infested with rodents," a tall, dark-haired girl said loudly.

"The filth is unbearable," the girl on her left agreed, an expression of disgust on her face.

"And the stench!" A short, dark-skinned girl raised her wand and pointed it at her own face. "Foetidus Occludus!" She took a deep breath and let out a dramatic sigh. "Much better."

Jennifer hunched over her books and began walking more quickly, and Tom hurried to keep up.

"Oh look." The tall girl sneered. "The Mudblood's frightened. Poor ickle Mudblood. No one likes her."

"She should be frightened," the fourth girl said viciously.

"Faster, Mudblood!" the short girl ordered. "Get out of our sight!"

Jennifer slowed down, but she stayed hunched over her books, and Tom could see - to his alarm - that she seemed to be fighting tears.

A sudden flare of anger rose up in Tom, and he whirled around to face the other Slytherins.

"Help me, Medusa," he hissed in Parseltongue. "Frighten the girls."

Medusa was instantly alert. "Certainly," she said. She slithered down his arm, coiled herself up on the palm of his hand, and then raised the upper half of her body, her tongue flicking in and out. "Like thisss?"

The sneers on the girls' faces disappeared, replaced by looks of alarm.

"Excellent," Tom said to Medusa. "Stay in that position and hiss." He noted with vindictive satisfaction that the girls flinched every time he spoke in Parseltongue, and he was struck with a sudden idea.

Tom turned to face the girls, drew himself up to his full height, and extended his left arm, the one on which Medusa was perched and was weaving back and forth. "Stop!" he hissed at the girls in Parseltongue, trying to look as angry as possible. "Enough! The four of you should be expelled. You're cruel, sadistic, evil gits - Voldemort would've been proud of you!"

The four girls looked positively terrified by now; no doubt Parseltongue spoken in anger was even more intimidating that it would have been ordinarily. It was strangely satisfying to be able to say whatever he liked with no one any the wiser.

"You may think that we're just defenseless first years," Tom continued heatedly, "but we won't be first years forever, and Jennifer and I are the top students in our year. If you ever bother us again, I'll make sure you regret it!" Tom raised his wand in his right hand, and as if released from a spell, the four girls turned and fled down the corridor.

"They're heading towards the common room," Tom said, switching back to English as he watched the four girls dash around a corner and out of sight. "Let's hope they scare off the rest of the Slytherins with their story and that no one plans any revenge." He glanced over at Jennifer and saw that she looked pale. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." She let out a shaky laugh. "You can be really scary when you want to be, you know that? I was just imagining what you'd be like if you were an adult. You sounded terrifying - and Medusa looked like she was about to attack. What did you say?"

"Nothing much. Told them what I thought of them, and to leave us alone, or else." Tom shrugged. "It's mostly Medusa that scared them off, I think." He stroked Medusa's coils and switched back to Parseltongue. "Thanks for the help, Medusa. You can go back to your nap, if you'd like."

"Yess, I think I will. Wake me if you ssusspect that you will have more trouble." Medusa slithered back into the sleeve of Tom's robe and coiled herself around his arm.

Tom turned back to Jennifer, who still looked a bit shaken. "Do you still want to go to the library?"

"Yes, I do," Jennifer said firmly, a bit of color returning to her face. "The more quickly I learn magic, the sooner I'll be able to defend myself properly."

"Sounds like a plan," Tom said, smiling, and the two of hurried up the stone stairs and out of the dungeons.

When Tom and Jennifer returned to the Slytherin common room that night, all heads turned in their direction and murmurs spread across the room, but not a single insult was thrown at them. Together Tom and Jennifer hurried across the room and into the passageway that led to the dormitories, where they parted with relieved smiles and quick good nights.

The next morning was the same. The other Slytherins whispered as they passed and cast unfriendly looks at them, but there was no taunting, no name-calling. As they headed out of the dungeons and into the sunlight, Tom felt positively cheerful. "Do you want to sit with another House today?" he asked Jennifer.

"Yes, definitely," Jennifer said, smiling. "Hufflepuff, I think. I haven't had a chance to really talk to Adam for ages."

Adam looked surprised when they slipped into seats across from him at the Hufflepuff table, but he recovered swiftly and seemed really pleased to see them. He promptly introduced them to his many friends, who were surprisingly friendly, given that the two of them were Slytherins. It was a welcome relief for Tom to be surrounded by people who didn't hate him.

With friendly chatter washing over him as he ate, Tom felt himself relaxing for the first time in days. When the owls soared into the Great Hall for the morning mail delivery and Tom spotted Hedwig swooping towards him, his spirits rose even further. A letter from Mum and Dad would be a comforting reminder of home, and he was anxiously awaiting Dad's answers to his questions.

Tom untied the envelope from Hedwig's leg, slit it open, and pulled out the letter inside. Or rather, letters. A small note was folded up inside the larger parchment, and when Tom unfolded it, he saw it was from Mum.

Dear Tom,

I haven't had the chance to write a proper letter, but I couldn't let Dad send you his letter without including a note of my own, however short.

How are you enjoying your classes? Hogwarts itself? Which is your favorite subject? As soon as you get the chance, I want a nice long letter!

Also, I want you to promise me that you'll let us know if anything happens, if any of the Slytherins do start giving you a hard time, all right? I've been trying not to worry about you, but it isn't easy. I miss you terribly; I've already begun counting down the days until the Holidays. I love you, Tom. Make us proud.

Mum

After the chill of the Slytherin dungeons and the cold attitudes of the Slytherins themselves, reading a letter from Mum was like being wrapped snugly in blankets on a cold winter night. The long months ahead, far away from home, seemed suddenly bleak.

Almost absent-mindedly, Tom reached out to stroke Hedwig. She hooted, and when Tom turned to glance at her, she nudged Dad's letter with her beak. Tom smiled - he wondered sometimes what it would be like to understand Hedwig, the way he understood snakes - and he began to read.

Dear Tom,

We were happy to hear that you've found friends in Slytherin and that so far no one has been giving you a hard time. Yes, we do think that you should be friendly towards Julian. I have met his father several times at various Ministry functions, and although he is strongly prejudiced against Muggles and Muggle-borns - and vocally so - he never subscribed to the belief that they should be killed or even harmed. As far as I have gathered over the years from my various sources, he was never a Voldemort supporter or sympathizer, and he seems to be a fairly decent person. Chances are that Julian is a decent boy as well, and if the two of you become friendly, it may help to lessen his prejudices.

Now that we've gotten that out of the way, I'm sure you've been wondering (and worrying!) about how the rest of the family has been reacting to the news that you were Sorted into Slytherin. You'll be relieved to hear that they've mostly been taking it well. Jamie was devastated at first - because he's absolutely certain that he'll be Sorted into Gryffindor, and that would mean that the two of you will be in separate Houses - but by now, he's mostly resigned to it, and I think he's even beginning to like the idea of not having his older brother constantly around to keep an eye on him. Uncle Ron is glad you're not a Quidditch player, though; he says he couldn't possibly cheer for the Slytherin team! After they got over their first shock, Fred and George were positively gleeful; you can expect several owl deliveries of all sorts of pranks to play on the Slytherins, now that you have access to the Slytherin common room and such. DON'T follow their instructions! If you're caught playing pranks on the other Slytherins, then trust me, they WILL start giving you a hard time. Grandma took the news the hardest, but we explained to her that the Sorting Hat changed its policy this year, and that there were even a number of Muggle-borns Sorted into Slytherin with you. She still isn't happy about it, so if Professor McGonagall gets a Howler tomorrow morning, you'll know who it's from. I've warned her not to mention your name, so we can only hope that no one will realize that it's you she's referring to.

Speaking of Professor McGonagall, yes, the letter I sent to her did concern Dark matters, but if all goes as I hope it will, there is nothing to be concerned about.

As for Professor Snape's behavior, did you consider they he may be trying to overcome his tendency towards treating Potters unfairly? After all, he is your Head of House; perhaps he feels that unless he ignores you, his dislike for our family will cause him to act in ways he might regret. It would make sense, then, that he would be reluctant to give you detention, as he might rather err by treating you too leniently rather than too harshly. There's no reason to worry about it, I assure you.

Love you,

Dad

Tom reread the last paragraph of the letter, frowning. Dad's explanation for Snape's behavior made very little sense; from the stories that Tom had heard about Snape, and from what Tom had witnessed so far in the classroom, there was no way that Snape cared in the slightest about treating his students fairly. Still, anything was possible....

Firmly putting the matter out of his mind, for there were more important things to worry about, Tom considered what Dad had written about Julian. Getting friendly with Julian would be difficult - he'd have to try to find some way of speaking to Julian without Kenneth anywhere nearby - and it would likely take a great deal of effort. Still, it was doable.... But befriending Julian could wait a few weeks. Living at Hogwarts was still too new, and so were the classes, and he still had to work out some way of protecting himself and Jennifer from the other Slytherins....

As the days and then weeks passed, the other Slytherins stayed far away. Tom and Jennifer were relieved and uneasy by turns; conversations often stopped when they entered the Slytherin common room, and hateful glances were frequently cast their way. It was easy to wonder if some sort of malicious plot was in the makings. The older students were particularly intimidating - Rosier and MacDougal, the boys who'd started up with him and Adam on the train, were the worst of the lot - but no one attempted to hex Tom or Jennifer, and for that alone they were grateful.

But they were not shunned by everyone. Tom and Jennifer allowed themselves the luxury of eating meals with Adam at the Hufflepuff table as often as they dared; Snape had summoned Jennifer to his office at the end of a week during which they had not eaten a single meal at the Slytherin table, and had threatened her with dire consequences if she continued to avoid the Slytherin table completely. Tom had pointed out to Jennifer how bizarre it was that Snape hadn't spoken to him as well - but Jennifer was convinced that Snape simply held a grudge against her for her attitude in his class. Unlike Tom, who tried to remain inconspicuous in Potions - which was made easy by the fact that Snape continued to ignore Tom completely - Jennifer seemed to take a perverse delight in provoking Snape.

"He's an utter git," Jennifer had explained once to Tom, cheerfully unconcerned at the prospect of yet another detention. "And I went over to McGonagall after that time when he gave me a week's worth of detention for nothing more than my tone of voice, and you know how I'm a model student in her class - I think she really likes me, even though she supposedly doesn't normally like Slytherins - and I think she warned him, because since then, he only gives me detentions when he really loses his temper. I don't mind getting a couple of detentions a month if it means not having to cower in class. I've asked around, and it's the Head of House who chooses the Prefects, unless the Headmaster or Headmistress interferes, and there's no way that Snape would choose me, no matter how quiet and meek I am in his class, so why bother?"

It was true that Snape did seem to loathe Jennifer, but that didn't explain the fact that Snape ignored Tom completely. Every once in a while, Tom mulled over what Dad had written in his letter - that maybe Snape was trying to keep his old grudges from taking over - but even though this made no sense, Tom couldn't come up with any other explanation for Snape's strange behavior.

But their frustrations over Snape and their fellow Slytherins were overshadowed by the thrill of learning magic and the heartening camaraderie offered by Adam's friends. As the weeks passed, Tom and Jennifer quickly grew immersed in their new life at Hogwarts. September faded into October, and then October into November. Every week, without fail, Tom received a letter from Mum or Dad - and in early December, Dad's letter asked about Julian.

In dealing with the overwhelming experience of adjusting to life at Hogwarts, Tom had completely forgotten about his resolution to befriend Julian - but now that he'd been reminded, Tom was determined to begin immediately. In all the weeks that had passed, he and Julian had exchanged nothing more than the occasional polite 'Hello' and 'Excuse Me' - but unlike Kenneth, whose nastiness only grew worse with the passing time, Julian didn't show any sign of disliking Tom. Kenneth was the only real hindrance to Tom's plan, as he and Julian were nearly always together, and Tom knew this could only work if Kenneth had no opportunity to interfere.

It wasn't until the end of the week that Tom got his chance. Kenneth had been caught hexing another first year - a Muggle-born Ravenclaw - and had been assigned several hours' worth of detention with Filch directly after supper.

Since Brian and Daniel were somewhere outdoors, this meant that Tom and Julian were left alone in their dorm. With Medusa coiled around his shoulders, Tom approached Julian with what he hoped was a friendly smile. "Isn't Hogwarts great?"

Julian looked up from the essay he was writing, his expression wary. "Yes, it is," he said. It was clear that he was wondering why Tom had suddenly decided to stop ignoring him.

"I'm really enjoying the classes," Tom pressed on, determined to start a conversation. "I miss my family, though. I have a bunch of younger brothers and sisters. Do you have any siblings?"

Julian still looked confused, but he answered readily enough. "Yes," he said, "I have one sister. She's much older than I am, though, so I don't know her very well."

"Where does she live?" Tom asked curiously. "I have an uncle who lives in Romania, but he visits us as often as he can."

"She lives at home," Julian said, clearly puzzled by Tom's question. "Why would you think she lives abroad?"

Now Tom was confused. "But you said you don't know her very well!"

"I hardly ever see her," Julian explained. "Her rooms aren't near mine at all, so even before starting at Hogwarts, I never saw her much. I did see her at dinner most nights, but I'm still too young to be allowed to join in the conversation, so.... " Julian shrugged.

Tom was still bewildered. "What do you mean, you never saw her much? You were living in the same house!"

"Yes, but we're on opposite sides of the manor," Julian explained. "Her rooms are in the East wing, and mine are in the South wing, where the nursery and classrooms and children's rooms are. Don't you have separate wings in your house?"

"No," Tom said, taken aback. "Our house just has a main level, then another floor where all the children's bedrooms are, and then a second floor for my parents."

"Really?" Julian looked surprised. "Your family is one of the old ones, though; what happened to the Potter estates?"

Potter estates? "I have no idea," Tom admitted.

"So you don't live on any estate at all?" Julian looked flabbergasted now.

"No, we don't." Tom was beginning to feel defensive. He knew his family was well-off, even wealthy; who cared about living on an estate? And who'd want to live in a house where you only saw your siblings at dinner?

Julian still looked shocked. "But then - what did you do all day? Whenever I wasn't with my tutor, I spent my time outside on the grounds of our estates, horse-back riding and hunting.... And my father's hobby is herpetology, so we have a snake preserve on our main estate, the largest one in England." He looked wistful. "I have two pet snakes; you're really lucky that you were allowed to bring yours with you. I wish I could speak Parseltongue."

"A snake preserve?" Tom said. "Really? Wow! I'd love to visit a place like that and talk to all the snakes...."

"You can visit, if you'd like," Julian offered. "During holidays or summer vacation. My father would be pleased; he's always happy to welcome snake-lovers to the preserve."

Tom felt a spark of excitement flare, but reality quickly dampened it. "I'd love to, but there's no way my father would give me permission. He's always worried that one of us is going to get kidnapped, and he doesn't know your family well enough to let me go off on my own."

"Isn't your father a Parselmouth, too?" Julian said. "He might enjoy visiting the preserve as well, and then he can bring you over himself...."

"Maybe," Tom said doubtfully. "I'll ask him." He smiled at Julian. "Thanks for the offer, though, no matter what happens. At least I have Medusa."

"One of my pet snakes is an adder as well," Julian said, smiling. "A male, though. Is your snake very intelligent?"

"Medusa's amazing," Tom said proudly, and launched into the story of one of Medusa's many brilliant ideas. Julian listened with interest and then rejoined with a story of his own.

As they swapped tales, Julian slowly grew less reserved, and soon he and Tom were laughing together over one of Tom's funnier accounts. The time passed more quickly than Tom would have thought possible, and as he glanced at his watch, he realized in alarm that Kenneth might be returning at any moment. Quickly, Tom excused himself to find Jennifer and finish his schoolwork.

When Tom returned to the dormitory later that night, he hurriedly got undressed and climbed into bed.

"Goodnight, Tom," Julian called out from across the room.

Tom drew back his curtains. "Goodnight, Julian," he said, and smiled. Instinctively, he turned to Kenneth's bed. Even in the darkened room, Tom could see that Kenneth looked furious at the sudden friendliness between the two boys. Indeed, as Kenneth turned to glare at Tom, his expression was one of outright hatred.

Tom closed his curtains again and tried to fall asleep, but the hatred on Kenneth's face was hard to forget. Kenneth's grudge against him and Medusa was nothing new, but this pure hatred was unexpected and frightening. Tom lay awake for a long while, wondering uneasily if Kenneth might try to take revenge.