Peverell Beach House, Cornwall, 8/17/1991,17:39
Harry stepped out of the floo to hear the sounds of the twins arguing over a toy dragon.
He had been at the school all day attending faculty meetings and taking inventory of supplies for the upcoming school year.
Harry was quite pleased with himself he had managed to barter a deal with the Greek preserve to keep Hera and her chicks at Hogwarts until the first of next year. He would be doing another venom extraction over easter break for the reserve and would only make half of his usual fee in exchange. That was still twenty-five hundred galleons a vial which was nothing to sneeze at. The Greek ministry had planned on using the profits from this extraction to acquire more creatures for the other preserves so it was a win-win for everyone.
Harry was surprised when he saw Draco step into the sitting room dressed in acromantula silk robes and nibbling on a biscuit.
"Draco," Harry grinned upon seeing his nephew.
"Hello Uncle Harry, are you just coming back from Hogwarts?" Draco asked, his face lighting up at the mention of school.
"Yes, the staff is getting things in order for the upcoming term," Harry nodded as he hung his outer robes on a hook.
"I can't wait to see the griffin chicks you told me about," Draco exclaimed as he finished his treat.
"You're welcome to take a look at them. You can even come down and feed them on the weekend if you like," Harry offered.
"What do they eat?" Draco asked looking interested.
"Mice and small rodents mostly," Harry said as the twins barreled down the stairs followed by an annoyed-looking Bellatrix.
"Hey daddy!"Carina squealed as Harry knelt down and pulled her into a hug.
"Dad I made my toy hovered!" Ignotus exclaimed as Carina released him and Ignotus got his own hug in.
"So did I, he was just copying what I did," Carina huffed.
"I'm so glad you're home, they have been hovering their toys all afternoon," Bellatrix beamed.
"That's amazing, though I hope they didn't break anything," Harry said as he stood back up.
"No, they were levitating stuffed animals," Bellatrix assured him.
"I tried to levitate my bed but it wouldn't move," Carina pouted.
"Just give it time, princess," Harry smiled.
"You're just in time, dinner will be served," Bellatrix said before placing a kiss on his cheek.
"You know I'm never late for dinner, so where is Cissa?" Harry asked surprised to see Draco here without his mother.
"Mother is on a... date," Draco said and there was no mistaking the look of annoyance on his face.
"Oh," Harry said in understanding.
"She asked if I would watch Draco for a few hours," Bella shrugged.
"Daddy, what is a date?" Carina asked innocently.
"It's when a man and a woman go out to get to know each other, princess," Harry explained.
"Why?" Carina asked innocently.
"So they can find out if they like each other or they go just to spend some time alone together," Harry explained.
"Did you and mum go on dates?" Ignotus asked curiously.
"Of course, your father took me on many romantic dates," Bellatrix gushed.
"When can I go on a date, daddy?" Carina asked with interest.
"When you're fifty," Harry said seriously.
"Daddy!" Carina exclaimed.
"Fine forty-five," Harry chuckled.
"Oh Harry, her teenage years are going to be hard for you," Bellatrix giggled.
"She's not going to become a teenager, she's going to stay my little girl forever," Harry said stubbornly.
"I'm not a little girl" Carina pouted.
"Of course not, princess," Harry agreed.
"Who would want to date her anyway," Ignotus snorted.
"Plenty, I am the pureblood daughter of a Wizengamot lord," Carina exclaimed in a haughty tone that reminded him of Narcissa.
"Who is Cissa going on a date with?" Harry asked as the twins started bickering.
"Bill Weasley," Draco said with a sneer, giving Harry a horrible case of deja vu.
"Oh, well I'm sure they will have a wonderful time," Harry said as he looked over at Bella for answers.
"This will be their first date," Bellatrix explained as Jangles entered the sitting room.
"Dinner be's ready," Jangles said.
"Punctual as always, Jangles," Harry beamed before Carina grabbed his robe sleeve and practically dragged him towards the dining room.
"Hurry daddy, tonight we're having lasagna," Carina exclaimed in excitement.
"Well why didn't you say so," Harry demanded as he scooped her up in a fireman's carry and hurried towards the dining room, her peals of laughter echoing through the house.
"I don't think there is enough for everyone," Harry said sadly as he set his daughter in her usual seat.
"That is a huge pan of lasagna, daddy," Carina said in confusion
"It won't be when I fix my plate," Harry smirked as Bellatrix led her son and nephew into the room at a more sedate pace.
"You really shouldn't carry her, Harry," Bellatrix sighed.
"Yeah, you might break your back as heavy as she is," Ignotus sniggered.
"It's rude to talk about a lady's weight," Bellatrix admonished as she took a seat beside Harry.
"You're the heavy one anyway, Iggy," Harry snorted as he cut up the lasagna, placing a slice of lasagna on each of the kids' plates along with a large portion of salad.
"It's just puppy fat," Bellatrix giggled.
"Mum!" Ignotus whined as Harry hovered the plates to land in front of each child.
Ignotus' face had started filling out and he had gotten just slightly chubby, Harry had been told this was common for kids at that age and it was nothing to worry about but Bella found it positively adorable.
"Alright, dig in and eat all of your salad or there won't be any dessert," Harry chuckled as he gave Ignotus a pointed look.
As the twins attacked the lasagna with the ferocity of piranhas, Draco moodily picked at his dinner. Harry and Bellatrix served themselves large portions of lasagna and began to savour the very well-prepared meal.
"Are you ready for your trip to Greece?" Bellatrix asked.
"I am, I am bringing Jennifer and Sanjay in to assist me," Harry assured her.
"Good, the last thing I need is you getting eaten by a basilisk," Bella said in a light tone though Harry could see the concern in her eyes.
"I promise that I will be careful, Emerald likes me so I hope that will prevent her from trying to eat me," Harry assured her.
"Good, I always hate when you work with giant magical serpents," Bellatrix confessed
"I promise to be careful, so what's the deal with Cissa?" Harry asked, deciding it best to distract her.
"She's lonely, she knows Draco going to school means she'll be all by herself, so Cissa wants some... companionship," Bellatrix shrugged.
"Bill had better watch himself with her," Harry muttered.
"Yes, if he's not careful he'll be her personal slave," Bellatrix whispered.
"Yeah, I bet she's already picking out his clothes," Harry sniggered only for Bellatrix to give him a deadpan look.
"As a matter of fact, she is," Bellatrix replied seriously.
"Poor bastard," Harry muttered.
"He may be in for quite a treat, Cissa asked if Draco could spend the night here," Bella whispered.
"Oh I can't wait until Molly Weasley finds out about this," Harry said, imagining the explosion of the Weasley matriarch when she found out her son was involved with Narcissa
"I would like to see that as well, Molly Prewitt always had a set of lungs on her," Bellatrix smirked.
"You don't have to tell me," Harry whispered as he heard the 'woosh' of the fireplace.
Harry and Bellatrix glanced at the doorway subtly drawing their wands. Harry couldn't help but grin when he saw Tonks enter the kitchen.
Harry looked over at Carina and smirked, "I told you there wasn't enough food, Princess."
"Wotcher Uncle Harry, is that lasagna?" Tonks asked hopefully.
"It is," Harry said as he gestured for Tonks to help herself.
"I just got my letter this morning, I was accepted into the auror academy," Tonks exclaimed as she fixed herself a massive chunk of lasagna.
"Albus told me you were a cert for the academy the day before the graduation ceremony and eat some salad with your dinner," Harry instructed.
"Ugh, you're worse than mum," Tonks sighed but she put some salad on her plate nonetheless.
"Then go eat her out of house and home," Bellatrix muttered irritably.
"Now be nice, you're going to miss her when she goes away to the academy," Harry soothed.
"Will not," Bella argued.
"You're going to be an auror?" Draco asked as he stared at Tonks in awe.
"I hope so," Tonks said between bites of her lasagna.
"I want to be a potioneer like mum and Uncle Severus when I grow up," Draco admitted.
"I'm sure you'll be much better than Severus, Draco," Bellatrix assured the boy.
"Ugh, I am so glad I never have to see that dungeon bat again," Tonks sighed.
"He was pleased you were graduating as well though Charlie's twin brothers are already worse than your little gang," Harry said as he sliced himself another piece of lasagna from the half-empty pan.
"Those two are bloody terrors, that's why we hardly ever went to Charlie's house," Tonks admitted.
"And they enrolled in my care of magical creatures class this year," Harry sighed causing Tonks to smile widely.
"I pity you, Uncle Harry," Tonks giggled.
"I think I may go back into field work," Harry joked.
"I think not, Bella likes having you home every night to deal with our unruly children," Bellatrix said flatly.
"I'm not unruly mummy," Carina exclaimed.
"Oh yes you are, you're just sneakier than your brother," Harry corrected.
The rest of dinner passed by easily with Tonks gushing over being accepted into the auror academy. Harry realised this was probably going the last dinner like this for a while with Draco off at Hogwarts and Tonks staying at the auror academy until Christmas break.
Harry glanced over at Tonks and not for the first time realised how much she looked like he remembered her from his timeline. In his timeline, she had died six years from now and he refused to let that happen this time around. Tonks was his family now and he was not losing his niece.
'Maybe it's time to pay someone a visit,' Harry thought to himself as he took another bite of his dinner.
Umbridge Residence, Kent, 8/19/1991, 02:39
Two figures appeared outside of the gate of Dolores Umbridge's home with a barely audible 'pop'.
He had learned something last Halloween from Corban Yaxley and had been saving this trip as long as possible.
The minister's office had a massive information leak due to an ambitious junior undersecretary. Dolores Umbridge had been giving Corban Yaxley all sorts of information about Minster Longbottom in hopes that she could be the next minister. Harry would bet his younger self's brand-new Nimbus two thousand that she hadn't stopped leaking information so he figured it was time to nip the problem in the bud.
Harry had debated on waiting for Halloween but had finally decided he should take care of her before he had to return to Hogwarts.
"Why don't you do the honours?" Harry offered his wife who was donning that sexy catsuit of hers once again.
"Ever the gentleman," Bella giggled as she began dismantling Umbridge's wards.
"Well I know how worked up this kind of thing gets you," Harry chuckled as the wards cracked, the sound of shattering china echoing over the property.
"Yes, Auntie Bella will have a job for you when we return but now it's time to get to work," Bella said before her body shifted into pitch black smoke and she flew through the air towards the two-story brick house.
.Harry closed his eyes and transformed into his own ethereal smoke form, though his smoke was dark grey in colour. This was a spell Voldemort had created that he had taught his inner-circle death eaters. Bellatrix had recently taught Harry the spell but this was the first time he had tried it in a real-life situation.
The spell made it so he could fly without a broom but still gave him free use of his wand. The dark thick grey smoke wrapped around him and made him look like a phantom as it billowed and trailed behind him. The smoke also obscured his features but he could see as clearly as ever as he travelled through the night sky, moving almost as fast as he could on a broomstick.
Harry caught up to the billowing cloud of pitch-black smoke that was his wife as she flew towards the second-floor window of the home. Suddenly the wall exploded inward opening one whole side of the house before they flew inside.
They both rematerialized in a destroyed hallway and had to sidestep a killing curse that was cast from a half-open doorway at the other end of the hall.
Harry lazily flicked his wand at the door causing it to explode into the room, Harry heard a blood-curdling shriek followed by a loud 'crash.'
"Oh no Reaper, I think you broke her," Bella cackled as she entered the room.
Harry stepped inside to find Umbridge in heap on the floor. From the dent in the plaster, it looked like she bounced off of the wall. The bedroom was a shrine to all things pink and frilly the floor was hardwood with a ghastly pink rug covering most of it. The bedspread looked like something a six-year-old would have, pale pink with kittens frolicking about. The walls were decorated with familiar china plates with gambolling kittens painted in bright colours. The wallpaper was a hideous pink as was the ceiling and the leather sofa in front of the fireplace. There were knitted doilies and lacy table covers on every surface. However, the most horrifying feature of the room was the hideous frilly pink nightgown she wore (though he was very thankful it covered her quite thoroughly).
"She wasn't very bright casting a spell that would show us exactly where she was," Harry sniggered as he summoned Umbridge's wand from the floor beside her.
"Ow," Harry heard Umbridge groan as she began to come to.
"Oh goodie, she's still alive," Bellatrix cackled.
"Well, not for very long," Harry corrected.
"T-Thomas said you wouldn't h-hurt me as long as I gave him information," Umbridge exclaimed, looking between him and Bellatrix.
"We're not death eaters, the fact that you gave them information is more incentive for us to hurt you," Harry pointed out, his voice sounding sinister due to the voice alteration charms the hood of his unspeakable robes.
"Who are you?" Umbridge demanded.
"I am Reaper and you have been passing on information to my enemies, you must be... punished," Harry said, enjoying the look of terror on her face.
"Don't hog all of the fun," Bellatrix cooed her own voice altered by her silver mask.
"She's all yours, Chimera. I like to watch," Harry offered.
"Good, I always hated this little bint in school," Bellatrix said as she stepped forward.
"I knew it, you're Bellatrix Bla-
"Legilimens," Bellatrix hissed, cutting Umbridge off mid-sentence.
Harry grinned as Bella's spell hit Dolores with the force of a rampaging dragon and he had no doubt she was going to have a splitting headache when Bella was finished.
From Harry's perspective, it looked like they were just staring into each other's eyes, both of their postures rigid as Bellatrix retrieved the information she was after.
It didn't take long before Bellatrix released the spell and shook her head in disgust.
"It seems that Dolores was conspiring to kill our minister," Bellatrix said as she looked over at Harry.
"I'm not surprised, is there anything else?" Harry asked as he pointed his wand.
"She was leaking information to Thomas Avery but she didn't have access to much other than Augusta's routine," Bellatrix shrugged.
"Then we can be off, I suppose I will have to have a word with the minister," Harry muttered, already dreading that conversation.
"Indeed, I suppose we should finish up here," Bellatrix said as she raised her wand.
"I'll do the honours, this time," Harry said as he raised his wand.
"Fine, spoil Bella's fun," Bellatrix pouted.
"Avada kedavra," Harry said dispassionately, his spell striking Umbridge square in the back.
"I can't let my wife do all of the work," Harry chuckled.
"Fine but I get to raise the mark," Bella said, her eyes boring into his through the eyeholes of her mask.
"Of course dear," Harry said before he shifted into his smoke form and flew through the bedroom window, the glass exploding outward as he flew to the ground and rematerialized on the lawn in front of the house.
"I thought you would enjoy that spell," Bella giggled as she rematerialized beside him.
"I will give Riddle credit, is a very useful spell," Harry conceded.
"He's going to be furious when he finds out," Bellatrix giggled.
"Most likely, go ahead and cast the mark," Harry encouraged.
"Morsmordre falce!" Bellatrix intoned in a giddy tone as she pointed her wand over the house.
Harry watched as the altered dark mark formed over the house illuminating them both in an eerie green glow. The scythe glowed just a little bit brighter than the skull and serpent it was superimposed over. The severed snake head floating listlessly underneath the mark looked slightly paler in colour than the rest of the mark.
"It's beautiful," Bellatrix murmured in awe.
"Let's go home," Harry said as he took Bella's hand, knowing the ministry would be here within the hour.
"Take me home," Bellatrix said breathily as she continued to stare at the mark, seeming transfixed by the mark glowing like a neon sign hundreds of feet above them.
Smiling to himself, Harry turned on the spot and apparated them away, feeling quite pleased with what they had accomplished tonight.
XXXXX Reserve, Greece, 8/21/1992, 09:29
Harry waited patiently on the beach as the clock ticked closer to the time his assistants were scheduled to arrive by International portkey. It was an odd feeling to be the one in charge of one of these excursions, especially since his old mentor was working on this job.
Harry grinned when he saw two separate flashes of blue about ten feet apart as his two assistants appeared looking a tad disoriented.
"Bout time you two showed up," Harry exclaimed.
"We had to, otherwise nothing would get done," Sanjay chuckled as he pulled Harry into a manly hug.
"You should show more gratitude Harry, this is my vacation," Jennifer added as she pulled him in for a warm hug after Sanjay had released him.
Harry noticed that she had grown since he had last seen her, her face looked a tad thinner and she carried herself much more confidently. Jennifer had dark hair up in a ponytail and she wore ankle boots, short khaki shorts, and a button-up shirt. Jennifer was looking around in every direction as if hoping to catch her first glimpse of a magical serpent.
Sanjay looked just as Harry remembered him though his face wace was a tad more lined and there was a bit more grey in his hair. He was wearing a simple tee shirt that Harry believed was for a quidditch team but it was written in Hindi so Harry couldn't be sure and a pair of jeans. Sanjay looked like he always did on an extraction, anxious to get started.
"Well, I suppose introductions are in order. Sanjay meet my former apprentice, Jennifer Martin. Jennifer, this is my former mentor, Sanjay Patil," Harry said.
"I've heard a lot about you, sir," Jennifer said as she shook Sanjay's offered hand.
"Just Sanjay will do my dear. I have heard quite a bit about you as well," Sanjay beamed.
"She has been taking South America by storm," Harry chuckled as he led them over to the wizarding tent he had set up.
"I actually picked up Central America last spring," Jennifer admitted.
"Ah I do miss working in the Amazon," Sanjay said wistfully.
"I was just glad I could pull you out of retirement for a week," Harry said.
"I was going mad sitting around the house. I figured Newt would have elbowed his way into this excursion, though," Sanjay inquired.
"He and Tina are in your neck of the woods helping the reserve with an injured occamy, from what I gather they made a vacation of it," Harry shrugged.
"I hope you have more sense than to take your wife on vacation at a nature preserve," Jennifer said in exasperation.
"I do though Bellatrix wants me to take her on a trip to Australia but we've still not gone yet," Harry lamented as they all took a seat around the dining room table.
"You were terrified of Australia," Sanjay snorted.
"Just Sydney," Harry defended as he offered them a glass bottle of Coca-Cola from the bucket full of ice that was waiting for them on the table.
"Why were you afraid of Sydney?" Jennifer asked as she vanished the cap off of her drink.
"Harry here doesn't like spiders," Sanjay chortled.
"If you had your arm shoulder deep in an acromantua's gonopore you wouldn't like them much either," Harry shrugged.
"I don't care much for spiders myself, a Brazilian wandering spider bit my father years ago and he almost died," Jennifer admitted.
"Exactly and the Sydney funnel-web spider is nothing to sneeze at either," Harry agreed.
"Well as long as you don't step on one, they won't bite you," Sanjay shrugged.
"Well enough about arachnids, are you ready to go wrangle some of the deadliest snakes on earth?" Harry asked.
"Yes, we might as well get to work. Is it the same setup as last time?" Sanjay asked.
"Yes as far as the extraction goes. But there are also three basilisk hatchlings somewhere on the island that we have to find," Harry explained.
"What?" Sanjay coughed, sputtering on his drink.
"Emerald laid a clutch of eggs last spring, I found the eggshells yesterday when I was gathering up the three smaller adults," Harry beamed.
"There hasn't been a naturally bred basilisk in centuries," Sanjay exclaimed.
"I know, I really want to study the differences between them and the bred basilisks," Harry said excitedly.
"Oh no, you're starting to sound like Scamander," Sanjay chuckled.
"That could probably be groundbreaking research," Jennifer said thoughtfully.
"My thoughts exactly but we'll worry about that last. The first thing on the docket is venom extraction. I already have the three small adults corralled in their pens, so those will be fairly simple," Harry explained.
"And the big one?" Jennifer asked warily.
"She has agreed to let us milk her in exchange for seven live sheep," Harry answered.
"We're not putting her to sleep?" Sanjay asked look g surprised.
"No, I am just getting her to trust me and I don't want to ruin that," Harry admitted.
"Interesting I have never worked with a basilisk that old before, what is her temperament like?" Sanjay asked with interest.
"Very mellow. Did you know she likes to swim?" Harry chuckled.
"No, I didn't think basilisks were very strong swimmers," Sanjay admitted.
"I got sent out here a few years ago to retrieve scales and I watched her swimming in the ocean. She was fishing under the moonlight like a sea serpent, she's actually quite graceful," Harry smiled.
"What am I going to be doing?" Jennifer asked pulling Harry from his reverie.
"Sanjay and I will collect the venom, you will climb onto her back and massage her venom glands," Harry explained.
"So I get to ride a basilisk?" Jennifer giggled.
"Yes, though try and be gentle, she's over a thousand years old," Harry said after he drained his bottle of Coke.
"Alright, the sooner we get the big ones milked the sooner we get to find the hatchlings," Sanjay said and there was no denying the excitement in the man's voice.
"Alright, but you can't take one home with you. I am already on the hook for a mother griffin and a nest full of hatchlings that the Greek ministry loaned my class," Harry warned as he led them out of the tent.
"Ah speaking of Hogwarts, could you keep an eye on my granddaughters? They are starting their first year next week," Sanjay said sounding quite proud.
"Not another set of troublesome twins, I hope?" Harry questioned with a put-upon sigh.
"They can be mischievous but they have nothing on your brood," Sanjay shot back as they began walking down the beach.
"Surely Harry's children aren't that troublesome," Jennifer said sounding sceptical.
"I wish I could say they weren't," Harry said as he glanced over at Jennifer.
"I will have to meet them one day," Jennifer grinned.
"I have been meaning to invite you over for one of our cookouts," Harry said thoughtfully as they arrived at the pens.
"Alright, let's get to it," Sanjay beamed as he took out his collection equipment.
Harry couldn't help but smile, it was just like old times and he couldn't be happier.
XXXXX Reserve, Greek Island, 8/24/1991, 14:29
The extractions on the three smaller basilisks went fairly smoothly, Jennifer was even able to milk the smallest of the three with little trouble. They handled that task before the sun went down on their first day.
Milking Emerald took all of the second day but yielded over three gallons of pure top-quality venom which meant all three of them would make a hefty sum from this trip.
On the third day, they collected shed skin which was also very valuable. Harry and Sanjay also took the time to give the three smaller adult basilisks a full health check while Jennifer collected the skins from their section of the island. Once The snakes were checked out, they were released from the holding pens and slithered back towards the interior of the island.
The basilisks were so familiar with the procedure they didn't put up much resistance when Harry corralled them into the holding pens. They knew by now that when they were put in the pens they would eat like kings for a few days and were always eager for a free meal.
It was on the fourth day of the trip that they began to search out the hatchlings. Harry had told them about. They had been searching all morning and were currently looking around a swampy area that Harry suspected the hatchlings were staying in. The swamp was towards the centre of the island in the shade of a copse of tall trees and there were quite a few lizards and frogs in this area that would make a fine meal for a tiny serpent.
"The babies don't have the death stare, do they?" Jennifer asked as they trudged their way through the mud on the side of a large stagnant pool of water.
"No, not until they are a few years old but their bite is just as deadly," Harry answered.
"Lovely," Jennifer muttered.
"They are also resistant to spells," Sanjay added.
"So that freezing spell won't work on them," Jennifer said in understanding.
"No, so don't try using it," Harry said very seriously.
"I won't," She promised as something stuck its head out of a rotted log, something with vibrant yellow eyes.
§You are a strange creature§, the little snake hissed sounding almost childlike.
§Hello little basilisk§, Harry cooed causing the snake to slither toward him excitedly.
§You're a speaker?§ The hatchling hissed happily.
§I am§, Harry grinned as he knelt down on the muddy earth.
The little basilisk was slender and about two feet in length. It was a bright poisonous green colour with vibrant yellow eyes.
§Where are your nestmates?§ Harry asked curiously as the little snake slithered up his body with ease and curled loosely around his neck.
§The male is hunting frogs and my sister is slithering up behind the other two legs§ the little snake explained, her forked tongue tickling Harry's neck.
Sanjay spun around to see another basilisk hatchling slithering towards him. This one was a lighter almost lime-green colour with vibrant purple eyes.
"What did it say?" Jennifer asked warily.
"The male is out hunting frogs and the other female is right behind you," Harry explained, causing her to spin around in time to see Sanjay gently pick up the other hatchling.
"Don't worry, they're quite friendly," Harry assured his former apprentice as he stroked the little basilisk's head. with the tips of his fingers.
"They are like little children," Sanjay exclaimed happily as the hatchling he was holding curled around his neck to soak up his body heat
§Why are you here, speaker§, The snake Harry was holding asked.
§I take care of the serpents on the island and I needed to make sure you and your nest mates were healthy§, Harry explained.
§Oh, so you're not here to take us away like you did the big ones?§ The snake asked nervously.
§No, you and your nestmates are too young. The big ones should have returned to their nesting grounds by now§, Harry said thoughtfully.
§Hmph, the male said that you were catching them so you could eat them§, the little snake hissed, sounding like a petulant six-year-old.
§I don't eat serpents§, Harry assured her
Harry and Sanjay began the process of getting measurements for the two different hatchlings while Jennifer recorded them. Harry named the hatchling he was holding Citrine and Sanjay named his hatchling Esmeralda. Luckily, both serpents seemed to like the names and were quite cooperative during the measuring process.
It was just as they were finishing up that a slightly larger basilisk hatching slithered over to them. This new hatchling had a patch of red scales on its head and bright green eyes. It was almost three feet long and much girthier than the two females.
§You cannot eat my nest mates, I will bite you§ The snake hissed in warning, its voice kind of reminding Harry of Ignotus.
§He isn't going to eat us§, Citrine hissed from her place on Harry's shoulders.
§I don't eat serpents, you must be the male§, Harry said as he studied the new arrival.
§I am the most powerful male on the island§, the little snake bragged, raising his little head off of the ground.
§I am sure you will be one day but I'm afraid there is a very powerful male still on the island§, Harry said gently.
§You didn't eat them?§ The little snake asked, sounding almost disappointed.
§No, we collected their venom, checked their health and sent them back to their nesting grounds. Did you catch a frog?§ Harry asked.
§No, they were too fast§, The male pouted.
§I will get you a frog if you let my friend get your measurements§, Harry offered.
§You have a deal speaker, I have never gotten a frog just the lizards§, the male hissed excitedly.
§You cannot bite her§, Harry said firmly.
§I will not bite but I want the frog first§ The snake bargained.
Harry chuckled and waved his wand summoning three large frogs from the nearby swamp and lowered one of them to the male who struck much faster than Harry expected.
§I want a frog§, Citrine hissed hopefully.
§One of these frogs is yours§ Harry assured her.
§I want my frog§, She hissed excitedly, her tiny tail flicking rapidly.
Harry gently unwound the squirming hatchling from his neck and set her on the ground.
§Are you ready?§ Harrya asked as he hovered both frogs about four feet in the air.
§ I'm ready§, Citrine hissed as she took on a striking pose.
Harry lowered one of the two frogs hovering in the air, when it was about a foot off of the ground, Citrine struck hard and sank her tiny fangs into the frog.
"Jennifer, after the male finishes his frog I want you to get his measurements," Harry instructed as he hovered the last frog over to Esmerelda who Sanjay had just sat back on the ground.
"Okay," Jennifer said somewhat nervously.
"He has agreed not to bite, just be gentle and you won't have any problems," Harry assured her.
Harry had no reason to worry, Jennifer got the male's measurements with ease while the two females slithered back into their hiding places to let their meals digest. The male that Jennifer had named Ruby, actually fell asleep during the measuring process much to Harry's amusement.
An hour later, the three of them were heading back to their base camp, Harry would be turning their findings to the head of the reserve as they had no idea about the new hatchlings. All in all, it had been a very productive trip, the skins they had collected were worth a small fortune. That wasn't even counting their extraction fee of five thousand galleons per one-ounce vial of venom. They had collected four hundred and twenty-one vials of basilisk venom, even split three ways that was a very large sum for each of them.
"So I have to come back here next spring to collect venom for the reserve, if you two are interested," Harry offered.
"I would love to," Sanjay exclaimed.
"The job only pays half price for extractions, I'm afraid," Harry warned, giving them both an apologetic look.
"I don't care about that, I want to document the hatchlings' growth rate," Sanjay waved him off.
"Who sounds like Scamander now?" Harry snorted.
"Why does the job only pay a half rate?" Jennifer asked curiously as she began packing up her stuff.
"I made a deal with the head of the reserve," Harry said before he explained about the griffin that the reserve had loaned Hogwarts and how she had laid a clutch of eggs.
"So now you have griffin hatchlings to show your class," Sanjay nodded in understanding.
"Yes, they hatched last May but they are still quite tiny," Harry grinned as he packed up his own gear.
"I'll come along as long as you let me meet those twins of yours," Jennifer bargained.
"Deal, Bella wants to meet you anyway. You can stay with us after we finish," Harry agreed.
"Good, just let me know when you want to go," Jennifer said.
"It'll probably be over Easter break," Harry said thoughtfully.
"That should work for me," Sanjay said as they stepped out of the tent and Harry waved his wand to make it fold itself up.
Soon they had the camp packed away and everything except the venom storage boxes were shrunk down and stored in their owners' pockets.
"Jangles," Harry called out and was rewarded when his elf appeared in front of him with a soft 'pop.'
"Master Harry, you's be done already?" Jangles asked.
"Many hands make light work, Jangles. Could you please take these boxes to Narcissa?" Harry asked.
"At once, master. Jangles be fixing your favourite tonight, Fench dip subs," Jangles chirped before disappearing with the crates of basilisk venom.
"I heard that Narcissa Black had taken over the company," Sanjay said in amusement.
"Yeah, I found out last year," Harry snorted.
"Who is Narcissa Black?" Jennifer asked.
"My sister-in-law," Harry explained as they made their way to the portkey area.
The irony of him working for Narcissa wasn't lost on him. Considering he had followed this career path to get away from the jobs she had wanted him to do when he had first arrived in the past. He supposed that he couldn't complain, his vaults were filled with money he'd earned from working for Narcissa over the years.
"Thanks for inviting me along," Jennifer said when they came to the area their portkeys had dropped them off a few days ago.
"I figured you might learn something from us old folks," Harry smiled.
"It was a lot of fun and I earned a years pay in three days," Jennifer beamed.
"Good, now go enjoy your vacation," Harry smiled
"I plan on it. Take care of yourself, Harry," Jennifer smiled as her portkey activated.
"You did a good job training her," Sanjay said as soon as Jennifer had disappeared in a flash of blue light.
"She has an eye for snakes," Harry grinned.
"I'm afraid I must be off as well. If I am lucky my granddaughters may pay me a visit before they leave for Hogwarts," Sanjay said with a fond smile.
"I'll keep my eye on them," Harry promised as he shook the older man's hand.
"Until next time old friend," Sanjay said as he removed his return portkey from his pocket.
Harry watched as Sanjay disappear and took out his own portkey. As he activated his portkey, he couldn't help but wish he had a reason to stay here a bit longer.
Hogsmeade Station, Hogwarts, 9/1/1991, 18:39
Harry Potter stepped off of the train and turned to assist Daphne and Susan step onto the platform while Draco rolled his eyes.
"Potter, you are definitely going to be a Gryffindor," Draco chuckled.
"I hope so, Padfoot said he would disown me if I went to Slytherin," Harry said as they were shunted around by the crowd of students.
"I hope you become a Hufflepuff," Susan teased.
"That would still be better than Slytherin," Harry said thoughtfully.
"Hey there's Uncle Harry," Draco exclaimed as he pointed across the platform.
"He is so handsome," Daphne gushed.
"Yuck, I don't want to hear that," Draco scowled.
"Shush Draco, he's saying something," Susan said as they heard Harry Peverell's voice carry over the platform.
"All first years, come this way, please."
"Come on," Susan said as she hooked her arm through Harry's.
"Oi, I can walk on my own," Harry protested feebly as the redhead practically dragged him toward where Professor Peverell was standing.
"Shush Harry," Susan chastised, shooting Daphne an amused grin.
"Are you going to take that from her, Potter," Draco asked sounding highly amused.
"Quiet, Draco," Daphne said in an uncanny imitation of Narcissa.
"You sound just like Missy Cissa," Harry guffawed.
"It's scary is what it is," Draco said, shooting Daphne a glare.
The four of them quickly navigated their way through the crowd of upper years to where the other first years were gathering around Professor Peverell.
They waited as the rest of the first years soon crowded together, the cool breeze blowing the scent of pine and lake water through the air.
After the last of the upper years had left the platform, Professor Peverell seemed satisfied that all of the first years were present
"Good evening, I am Professor Peverell. I want you all to follow me and please stay together," Professor Peverell called out over the almost empty platform.
"Where are we going, Uncle Harry?" Draco asked as the professor began to lead them down a narrow trail through tall pine trees off to the side of the train station.
"Not you too, it's Professor Peverell while we're at school, Draco. And to answer your question, the first years take a special trip for their first time at Hogwarts," Harry said as they turned a corner and came to a long dock on the edge of a vast lake.
"Sorry Professor," Draco said sheepishly as he looked around in awe.
On each side of the dock was a row of tiny row boats without oars, on the stern of each boat was a four-foot pole that held a lit oil lantern casting the dock in a yellowish light. The boats rocked slightly from the waves and the dock creaked as the group walked out onto it.
"Just don't make a habit of it, Mr Malfoy. Now, I want everyone to get in a boat. No more than four to a boat, if you don't mind," Professor Peverell instructed kindly.
Harry quickly clambered into a boat and offered Susan his hand to assist her in climbing aboard. Draco and Daphne soon joined them, Draco helping Daphne in the same manner.
"I am so excited," Susan squealed as she wrapped her arm around Harry's.
"I don't like water," Daphne mumbled, looking very uncomfortable.
"I've seen you play at the beach all the time," Draco pointed out.
"That's different, I never go out very far," Daphne defended.
"Professor Peverell won't let anything happen," Susan soothed.
"And if you do fall in, I bet the giant squid will save you," Harry added, only to jump when Susan elbowed his side.
Before Daphne could reply, Professor Peverell got their attention.
"Alright, it looks like we're all here. Please stay in your seats, the last thing I want to do is fish one of you out of the lake, the water is quite chilly," Professor Peverell said before he climbed into the empty boat at the end of the pier and tapped the bow with his wand.
Gently the boats began to glide out into the lake with no visible means of propulsion, the bow of the tiny boats cutting through the water and bouncing lightly over the choppy lake making Susan grip his arm tighter.
Harry watched as they glided further out into the lake, the bright moonlight bathing them all in a silvery glow making Susan look almost ghostly pale beside him.
The lake seemed to veer to the right and Harry watched in awe as they turned the bend around a mountain and a massive castle came into view sitting high up on top of a cliff. The castle's many windows were lit orange glow that cut through the night with the quarter moon as a backdrop. The castle reflected in the lake in front of them as the boats approached the steep sheer cliffs, the castle seeming to only get larger the closer they got to it.
Suddenly a curtain of ivy on the side of the cliff parted to reveal a tunnel leading into the cliff. There were torches set into the walls of the tunnel creating just enough light to where they could see ahead the boats ahead of them.
The tunnel soon opened into a vast underground cavern with a high ceiling that Harry was certain was directly under the castle. Soon their boat gently bumped into a pebbled beach as the ride came to an end.
Harry quickly hopped out and assisted Susan and then Daphne, who looked a bit queasy.
"I can get out myself, Potter," Draco smirked as he hopped out of the boat.
"Prat," Harry sniggered.
"Alright, we're almost there. Follow me, please," Professor Peverell instructed as he led the first years through an opening in the stone wall of the cavern.
As Harry and his friends followed the other first years up a set of stairs that led up a passage in the cliff, Harry felt his excitement building.
He had finally made it, he was at Hogwarts! Harry had been waiting to come here since he was five years old and now he was finally going to learn how to do magic!
They stepped out of the passage onto a wide lawn in the shadow of Hogwarts castle, the light from its many windows casting the students in an orange glow. Professor Peverell led them up a set of stone stairs and knocked smartly on a massive set of oak doors.
'I'm finally here!' Harry thought happily as the doors began to creak open.