krystalkatzficz | Hogwarts Christmas part 12

“Sorry, it can be a little overwhelming...” Harry laughed as Nino felt his eyes adjust to the brightness. Once they had he saw that he wasn’t actually in a garden but more like...A tank...Like the kind that you would see in a pet shop, only it was huge and seemed to stretch as far as the eye could see. “This is my tropical section, a lot of the desert snakes are in here. Almost all of the animals here are rescues from homes that...Didn’t know how to take care of them. Of course, ideally we would like to release them into the wild but most were born in captivity and wouldn’t know how to survive. So we like to give them as much of a real environment as possible...”

“It’s amazing...How did you set this up? The magic alone must be incredible...”

“Wards and ruins. I had a lot of help, Charlie Weasley and Hermione, Draco helped too...” Harry hummed proudly looking around his own private desert while running his fingers through his hair. “Charlie works here too, he’s in the dragon compounds though...”

“You really do have dragons?” Nino felt like bursting with happiness. Of course, he had read all about dragons growing up but he had never seen one in the flesh.

“Yeah, we brought them from Gringotts...They were trapped in the lower levels, we can walk or take brooms which...” Harry’s question was broken off by Sho almost screaming;

“Walk...Sorry, I’ve never been very good at flying...”

“Sho is more...A thinker...” Nino smiled at his date squeezing the hand that was still holding his understanding him completely. Slytherin and Ravenclaw had had their first flying lessons together back in first year and he could still remember the way Sho’s face had changed colour dramatically as he hovered a few foot of the floor. He had thrown up as soon as he landed and even now he didn’t care for flying.

“Ah okay, like Herm’ it’s fine...” Harry grinned at them happily his green eyes dancing before he turned on his heel and made his way through the desert leaving Nino and Sho to follow behind as he started talking about the set up. It truly was amazing and Nino couldn’t help but laugh as a giant snake slithered its way towards Harry. It was easily twelve foot long and had spines on its body. His head was the size of a football and its eyes blinked in the dark. “Terence...”

“He is called Terence?”

“She actually, her previous owner thought he was buying a male and called her Terence...” Harry bent down and reached out a hand to the snake who lifted her whole body to allow him to touch her head. The saviour of the wizarding world smiled fondly stroking her under the chin. “Terence is a cross between a python and a basilisk. She can’t petrify you but if you look her in the eye too long she can give you a rather nasty headache...But she tends to hide herself away...She said that you can touch her if you like but be careful of her spines, her venom hasn’t been milked yet. Professor Snape is meant to be coming by some time to gather her toxin...”

“...Professor Snape...” Nino whispered the name with more reverence than he should but Snape was kind of his hero. The reason he wanted to be a potions master. Severus Snape was the youngest potions master in UK history he had written the book on potions and then rewritten it again. He had been extremely lucky to survive the bite from Nagini but he had with a great deal of scaring around the throat. He had left Hogwarts as soon as his trial was over and had spent the time since working privately for hospitals and potion shops.

“Yes, he’s the only one I trust to do it properly. He’s Dray’s God-Father...Not as scary as he used to be. I guess the weight of the world being lifted off your shoulders can do that...”

“Nino isn’t scared, I think he’s in love” Sho snorted nudging him with his elbow causing Nino to flush and Harry to let out a long laugh. “Nino is working to be the second youngest potions master in the UK. I think Professor Snape is something of an idol...”

“Really? I guess I never really looked at it that way. He was always the bat of the potions classroom...But for someone really into potions then I suppose he is someone to look up to” Harry stroked the snake at his legs before hissing something in parsaltongue. The snakes giant head nodded and then she slithered over to them looking up at them expectantly with her beady black eyes. “Remember don’t stare for too long into her eyes, you really will get a stonker of a headache that not even pain potions can get rid of...”

“Okay...” Nino nodded glad that they had stopped talking about his mild obsession with Severus Snape. It wasn’t as though he fancied him, he just respected him as a potions master. The bloody Baron was amazing to talk to about potions but he was sure that Snape would be more so. He had after all corrected the books when he had been in school. Slowly Nino let his hand move down the snakes back being careful not to touch the spines that were quite clearly swollen with poison. The snake hissed and closed her eyes rubbing her head against his hand.

“She likes that...She says that you have a nice touch...”

“I’m glad, Sho...Stroke her she feels so soft...” Nino said coaxingly at the other boy who was looking nervous as he reached out to stroke the snake. “She’s so warm...Her scales flash in the sunlight...You really are beautiful Terence...”

“Yeah...” Sho nodded clearly uncomfortable while Harry looked pleased.

“Okay, come on then...”

TBC

A/N: I hope that this is okay ^_^