Naga Inheritance

Sorry for taking so long. I hope there are people still reading my story. Thank you to my Beta Slythindor. Well here's the chapter, I hope you like it.

XXX Chapter Seventeen XXX

“Welcome my prince.”

“Hello Aggy.” said a certain snarky Slytherin to the gray haired, old naga guarding the entrance of the meeting room. She towered above him in her half-human form, her long albino tall boosting her to an inhuman and somewhat intimidating hight.

As her mouth split into an amused grin Aggie began pushing open the giant metal doors. “You may want to change.” suggested Aggie, with a speculating glance at her prince. “They're having an official meeting in there.”

Snape nodded and paused for a moment. Soon a diamond-patterned tail began emerging from beneath his robe. His eyes narrowed to slits as he slipped off his robe to reveal that he wore only silver and jewels beneath it. He began to rise as his tail reached its full length and soon he towered over Aggie. He almost had to duck to enter the meeting room.

“My ssson.” came a greeting from the largest of the snake-tailed beings in the room. His royal visage peered down from the ceiling and his mighty tail coiled in several piles about the room. Severus's father was a proud and powerful boa constrictor. The man looked no older than his son, but his face showed the distinct features which proved his Snape linage. “Have you brought usss newsss of the youngling ssspeaker?”

“Yesss Father.” said Severus, slurring more than the other man as he familiarized himself with the use of a forked tongue. “It ssseemsss our work with the sssnake-killer hasss been for naught. The youngling hasss left hisss nessst. Our youngling ssspeaker hasss suffered cruelly at that egg thief'sss jawsss. He ssstole and harmed the youngling'sss nessst mate.”

“Have you sssalvaged your relationsship with him at leassst my ssson? You are to bring the youngling into our nessst and teach him our waysss if you are to earn your placce on the throne.”

“Yesss, I have and I plan to reveal myssself sssoon.”

“Wonderful. I know you mussst leave soon, but you musst at least sshare a meal with usss firssst. Your mother will be appalled at how ssskinny you are, sshe may be human, but you can't live sssolely on their food. You have to eat some decent meat every now and again.”

“I know father.” said Severus with a smile meant to be affectionate, but every other naga in the room shuddered with fear for their future king. “I will ssstay.”

“Lovely.” said his father. “We're having your favorite, sewer rat.”

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Harry woke soundlessly from a nightmare, even Draco's presence (he lay only a few feet away) was not enough to save him from his terrors. He raised his wand to his mouth and cast a quick healing charm, swallowing the blood from biting his tongue to keep silent. He knew better than to scream. He knew he must not wake anyone with his suffering. That only led to pain. Even the silencing charms didn't make it safe to call out in fear. Tortured as he was with memories of those he'd lost and those he wished he'd lost, nights were sometimes agony.

Harry recast the charm that allowed him to see without his glasses and stepped elegantly from his bed. He smiled gently in the direction of his sleeping dragon. “Draco, it's time to get up.” chirped Harry cheerily as he pulled back the curtains of Draco's bed.

Harry broke into a huge grin, wishing he had Colin's camera. His aristocratic mate was curled up in bed hugging a worn dragon plushie. “Draco, it's time to get up.”

Draco opened one eye and glared sleepily at him. When he opened the other eye he realized what Harry was saying. “Tell anyone and I'll make you regret the day you were born.” said Draco, hiding the stuffed dragon beneath his pillow.

Harry just grinned in an almost sinister manner and grabbed Draco's hand to pull him out of bed. “you won't have time to get ready if you don't start now. It only three hours until breakfast.” said Harry teasingly.

“Disregard whatever Pansy tells you, I only took that long once.”

“I haven't spoken with Pansy, I was only kidding.” harry grinned, he hadn't believed Draco could really take that long.

“Than disregard what I said, nothing like that has ever happened.” Draco tried and failed, to seem like he was telling the truth.

“of course.” said Harry, “But before you run off to the bathroom to get ready,” said Harry as he pulled Draco down for a long kiss. Both boys were gasping for breath when it was over but Harry still managed to speak. “Good morning.”

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Ron yawned sleepily as he sat up and looked around. He grinned, he and Harry should- Oh, yeah, Harry was a Slytherin now. Ron had forgotten... He'd known of Harry's plan of course, he'd figured it out. He'd always been good at strategy. But it still hurt to know that he couldn't hang out with Harry anymore. Now that Harry was in his true house, Slytherin, he wouldn't want to talk to Ron anymore. Harry had always been a cautious Slytherin, even when it didn't show and now he was among his own kind. He wouldn't want a reckless Gryffindor friend anymore.

Ron sighed. The boys from the dorm had gotten together and talked the night before. Deep down they had all known that Harry was truly a Slytherin, how could they not after living with him for five years. They couldn't help hating the Slytherins regardless and partly because, of that fact. How could those bloody Slytherins steal their friend.

They even knew that that thought wasn't rational. The boys had made plans to be friendly with the Slytherins from now on, with the exception of a few. The boys would not let this end their friendship with Harry. If as good a person as harry could be a Slytherin, they couldn't be all bad.

Ron chuckled darkly. The other houses would be shocked. The girls would be shocked. Hell, even the boys outside their dorm would be shocked. Gryffindors and especially this group, were not known for thinking or the ability to be reasonable and to tell the truth, they hadn't been at first. No sooner had they reached the dorm, then the sixth year boys started arguing. They started jumping to conclusions immediately. Harry had been hexed. The sorting hat had been hexed. It was Harry, it was a polyjuiced death eater. Potions, imperius, curses, everything they could think of was blamed and then, finally, when they'd run out of ideas, Ron spoke up. “He planned it. He wrote to me over the summer and let me know he'd be a Slytherin this year.”

This of course led to more yelling and stupid ideas, but when they'd finally calmed down, they'd decided to support Harry. If he thought that becoming a Slytherin was the best idea than they'd let him. Hell, some of them started coming up with half-baked plans of becoming Slytherins themselves. They'd follow Harry to the center of the earth or the pits of hell (more commonly known as Riddle Manor) if that's where he wanted to go. After five years in a dorm with Harry they'd learned to trust his judgment.

Ron cast a tempus charm and gasped. 'Merlin, I'm gonna be late for class on the first day back. There's not even time for breakfast.' Ron groaned and leapt into action, dressing at an almost inhuman rate. He was a pro at such things, he was always sleeping in, but usually he had Harry to- Harry. Ron paused for a moment in sadness then rushed on recklessly. He had to hurry and get his schedule or he wouldn't even know where to go. As he started down the stairs toward the common room he heard Dumbledore's voice.

“All Gryffindors shall get an extra hour for breakfast because of the holdup now.” Ron poked his head into the common room just in time to see Dumbledore give a magnanimous grin before departing. The common room was filled with Gryffindors. The students seemed sluggish, as though still tired, or under the effects of a spell. Had someone form another house had gotten in and played a trick this early in the year? They quickly returned to normal and Ron convinced himself he'd only imagined it. “C'mon guys.” said Ron, slinging his arm around Neville's shoulders and pulling him toward the portrait hole. Neville grinned, but shrugged his arm off and they headed toward the great hall.

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Severus stalked across the front of the potions classroom, one hand behind his back, one in the air in front of his, as though trying to grasp the almost tangible attention of his still slytherin audience. “As such we can not use two ingredients that contradict each other. Zabini, give an example of two opposing ingredients.”

“Belladonna and Wormwood.”

“Fifteen points to Slytherin.” The classroom door creaked slowly open. “How kind of you to join us. I see if have not been graced with an idiot free class this year. Twenty points from Gryffindor.”

“But Dumbledore-”

'Would you like a detention as well?”

“No.” chorused the Gryffindors resentfully.

“No what?”

“No Sir.” snarled the boys.

Severus sneered at the Gryffindors. “What are you waiting for? Find a seat.” Severus flicked his wand at the board and there appeared the directions for a complex healing potion. He sat down at his desk and pulled out a “Potions Annual”, his favorite magazine.

'Not again. Must they mention me in every issue?' thought Severus, secretly pleased. As per usual, the editor of Potions Annual, know that it was his favorite magazine, had requested of him a new innovation. After his work on the wolfsbane potion they would not leave him alone.

Snape smiled faintly, although it undoubtedly looked like a sneer to most of his students. A sound. Severus looked up to find the source. Plop, plop, plop. “Longbottom, what are you doing?”

The boy was dropping what appeared to be belladonna in his cauldron. “Putting in the next ingredient.

“You idiot.” Snape only just had time to throw up a shield around the cauldron before the explosion started.

Fires blossomed in Neville's cauldron, destroying it and leaping up to kiss Snape's shield.

When they were finished there was total silence in the classroom, for a moment and then Snape started in on Neville. “Where?! Where does it say add belladonna? This potion has a dragon's blood base you imbecile.”

“B- but wasn't it...”

“What? Tell me what you confused belladonna with. And try to claim you have some measly amount of skill in herbology.

“Mint.” The word was little more than a whisper.

“MINT! A Hundred points from Gryffindor! You will also have detention with Filch for a month and a forty inch paper on just how unalike mint and belladonna are and another on why belladonna can't be used in a potion with dragon's blood. What are you all looking at? Get back to work!” Snape sneered.

“There was a flurry of movement as they rushed to cater to their neglected potions. There was a chorus of groans around the classroom as people looked into their cauldrons only to find a sickly brown slop. Healing potions require constant attention.

Harry consulted his book and began crushing several rose petals in an attempt to return his potion to full potency, all the other talented students in the room. In less than five minutes only a few on the Gryffindors were still struggling to revive their potions.

“Look at him. He's already showing his true colors, the slimy snake.” said Seamus scornfully. “No doubt he's fucking the greasy git for tutoring. You add shrivel fig -bang- to basilisk tears -bang- to get a powerful -bang- healing drought.” The other Gryffindor boys laughed scornfully. All except Ron, who was shocked. Didn't they agree not to do that?

“Actually shrivel fig and basilisk tears create a mild toxin that when added to elderberry will produce boils. You will join Mr. Longbottom in detention. And I'll take a further 50 points for disrespecting a teacher.” said Snape with a cold sneer. The boys showed reptilian qualities as they changed color more quickly than any chameleon, first going white, followed quickly by red, than oddly enough green with silver polka dots as a nonverbal curse was thrown at them. “A wonderful improvement I'm sure.” said Snape grinning cruelly at the now multicolored boys. He walked swiftly to his desk, taking a cursory glance in Draco's cauldron as he went. “Twenty points to Slytherin.”

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“I thought we were supporting Harry?” said Ron to the other Gryffindor boys as they headed out of the potions classroom. “Didn't we agree to that last night? How come your making fun of him?”

“What are you talking about? We never said that. We voted in the common room this morning. We all hate Harry.

“You voted? You mean when Dumbledore was there?”

“What do you mean, 'when Dumbledore was there', he's never been in our common room.

“But I saw-” Ron stopped. He stopped talking, stopped walking, even stopped breathing for a moment. 'Dumbledore?' thought Ron and suddenly he knew the cheery old man could not be trusted, not about anything. “Oh, I must have been dreaming.” he said aloud, smiling weakly at Seamus. Mentally he made plans to find a certain Ravenclaw after class. Kyle would be very interested in this.

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Thanks for reading I hope you liked it. Any comments? I hope so, reviews inspire me. I hope you're happy and well whoever and wherever you are.
Tenari Rose^^