Disclaimer; I don't own anything except the original characters

A/N; Before I had realised it, two years had passed in a blink of the eye. A combination of many things was what kept this chapter from being finished for a terribly long time, including returning to uni and a number of other obsessions that sparked many different stories. For everyone who is still following this story, I raise my glass to you, because I certainly wouldn't have expected it after so long. For those who had recently urged me to continue, I thank you greatly because it was you that forced me to start thinking about this story again. While I have never had any intention of quitting this story, it has been difficult to draw on the inspiration and motivation I needed.

As an added bonus, I can promise that the next chapter will be up in the next week or two; it is actually finished, and I simply need to edit it and correct any mistakes when I next have the internet. This story, for me, has been an awesome journey that started in 2005, just before the release of the fifth book, and I only regret that I haven't been able to finish it in the time that I promised.

For now, though, enjoy this next, far-too-long-awaited chapter!

Chapter Twenty Seven; Serpents and Magic

Had Hermione and Ron thought it through a little more, they perhaps would have realised what Harry's now-perfect vision meant for them. Couple that with classes and the magical talent that hadn't shown itself for awhile now... well, it was simply asking for trouble.

It all started, oddly enough, in Herbology. The entire class, now, kept an eye out on Harry since that first lesson when (or so they believed) he had almost gotten himself eaten by a plant. His smallest movement was usually acted upon as though a bomb was about to go off, and it usually got to a point where Harry actually preferred sitting in a corner and sulking by himself.

As such, no one would ever quite understand how it was Herbology that became the catalyst for the gateway he needed to cause even more trouble.

The students were sitting at their desks and taking notes as Professor Sprout explained how to properly prune a Trantacle Bush, a rather vicious plant that was not fond of sharp objects. Harry, on the other hand, had taken up his preferred spot on the floor next to the door and was quietly reading a book Hermione had given to him last night. He wasn't to know it, but it was actually his own first year Transfiguration textbook.

It was strange, but, as he read it, Harry had the overwhelming feeling that he had read it before. Certainly he was sure that he knew some of this information, though he couldn't say how he knew it or where he had learnt it.

It was a feeling he had been getting a lot lately when he snuck a peek at other's textbooks or when he read the books Hermione gave him. He hadn't told anyone yet, because he didn't know if it was anything to worry about... he wondered if this was one of those things associated with magic.

Still... it did make it slightly hard to read this book because he already knew it. He would much rather be with Ron and Hermione as they tackled that strange looking plant, because they looked like they were having fun (they were darting around it, jumping backwards and executing some seriously impressive dives to prevent the plant from whacking them). Unfortunately, no one would let him near the plants at all, which was a bit of a disappointment.

"Silly humans..."

Harry blinked at the sudden voice and he pushed his glasses up; they had started sliding down his nose. He looked around for the owner of the voice, but couldn't see anyone. It had been much too close to be one of the students. He hesitated for a moment and then raised the book so it covered most of his face.

"Who was that?" he asked quietly.

He didn't realise that the words that spilled from his lips were in a language that he had never heard before, one that only he and one other human could understand. The being that he spoke to, however, did realise it, and there was a shocked silence for a moment.

"Are you Speaking to me?" asked the voice.

Harry looked around again. Perhaps someone was invisible? It would make sense, because all he could see was a small green snake that was next to him.

"Yes..." he said slowly.

It didn't occur to him to be wary at all. At that stage in his life, Harry was oblivious to the more dangerous elements, because no one had had the heart to explain them to him. What did he know of dark lords and death eaters and dark magic? His young world currently revolved around Hogwarts and he didn't really know anything else. So it didn't concern him at all that he was possibly speaking to an invisible person.

The snake suddenly shifted, lifting its head and staring up at him.

"You are a Speaker," the voice said, just as slowly.

Harry tilted his head, unconsciously lowering the book slightly and briefly glancing around to make sure no one was watching him (Professor Sprout was currently trying to help Hermione untangle Ron, who had gotten caught when he got too close, so he doubted they were paying much attention to him).

"A Speaker?" he asked curiously.

"Ah, but I didn't realise I would find one so young," the voice continued; Harry couldn't help but stare at the snake as he finally realised where the voice was coming from.

"I didn't know snakes could speak," he said, tilting his head to one side.

"Of course we do," the snake said smugly. "Most people just don't listen."

It was a flat out lie, of course. Most people couldn't listen even if they wanted to. But Harry didn't know that.

"Oh," he said. He blinked. "Why did you call everyone silly?"

"It is truly an amusing pastime to come and watch these humans struggle with those plants," the snake hissed, something that sounded strangely like amusement colouring its voice. "See the red one? He's just been freed but, any moment now, he will be caught again."

Harry looked up just in time to see Ron yell as a branch curled around his ankle and jerked him off his feet. The snake hissed in unmistakeable laughter.

"I do enjoy the mishaps of young students," it said contentedly.

"Really?" Harry asked. The idea that this snake came to the Herbology lessons to watch everyone mess up somewhat amused him. "Do you get to see other classes?"

"No," the snake hissed. "I dare not enter the castle lest the horrible man and his cat catch me."

Harry was struck by an idea then, a rash thought that he didn't think twice about. He grinned down at the little green snake.

"I'll take you to class with me," he said brightly. "Then you can see what all the other classes are like."

The snake stared at him for a moment. And then it slithered closer to Harry.

"Little boy, you just became my new best friend," it hissed.

HPHGRWHPHGRWHPHGRW

In later days, when Hermione and Ron finally figured out that Harry had smuggled a snake into the castle, exactly how Harry had managed to get said reptile past every single person in the greenhouse without anyone noticing would remain a mystery. The fact remained, however, that by a combination of allowing the snake to slither into his slightly over-large clothes (charms could only do so much, especially after being used numerous times) and pasting his most innocent expression on his face, Harry managed to get away with it.

It didn't hurt that Hermione and Ron were bickering like a pair of kids. Ron, his ego severely bruised (as well as his body) from his tussles with the Trantacle Bush, was snapping at Hermione, who had started out by lecturing him on the values of being careful and ended up sniping at him for being irresponsible and oblivious.

Because they weren't paying attention, they had no idea that Harry was talking to something they couldn't see in another language, nor that a little green head was poking carefully out of his sleeve.

"This is the castle," Harry said proudly.

"It is quite... large," the snake replied, its head bobbing for a moment before withdrawing quickly as a group passed them, heading outside. "What lesson are we attending?"

"Charms," Harry said with a grin. "You'll like Professor Flitwick, he's funny. I wonder if he can talk to you, too."

"Perhaps," the snake said evasively. "I would rather no one know of me. They might send me back outside."

Harry hadn't thought of that. The fear was perfectly reasonable; most people would send the snake back outside instantly.

"Can you use magic?" Harry asked curiously as he followed his caretakers up the stairs.

"No," the snake said, a little regretfully. "I am not one of the magical kind, despite that I live near a magical school. Are you a magic-user?"

Harry tilted his head. Magic-user? He had never quite heard it put like that before, and the term amused him greatly. He wondered what Ron and Hermione would think of it. He would tell them once he said goodbye to his new friend at the end of the day.

"I can use magic," he said, smiling. "I attend classes with Ron and 'Mione, and I read magic books, too."

"Oh?" The snake poked its head out slightly again, interested. "What sort of books do you read? I am one of the few among my species who can recognise certain words in the human language, because a friend I had a long time ago taught me. She, unfortunately, did not Speak, but she was kind. She would read to me from her books, and I learnt a great deal about magic from her."

"Maybe I can read to you?" Harry suggested. He paused and glanced around almost guiltily, making sure no one can overhear him. "I opened a cupboard near my bed, once, and there were a lot of books in there, so I read them. Except, I'm not sure I'm supposed to, since they were locked up. Ron and 'Mione don't know." He glanced down at the snake and then continued, certain he could trust his new friend with his secret. "I already read most of them, though. I don't know when, but I did. There were a few I haven't read, so I'm trying to read all of them."

He was not to know that the snake was glancing at him, considering his words. The snake was no fool; it knew the smell of this particular human, and it had seen this human at many different ages over the past few moons. Long before, though, he had been a lot older.

Something magical must have happened, but it appeared that the young human was not quite aware of it on anything but a subconscious level. The snake, having been at Hogwarts for many, many moons, had learnt many things in its time there, achieving a level of sentience and intelligence that many of his species could not boast, and it knew that there was something odd going on now as surely as it knew that the grass smelled fresher straight after rain.

"We will look at these books before I leave tonight," it said finally, causing its young friend to grin at him.

It was at that moment that they arrived at the Charms classroom. Ron and Hermione gave each other one last glare and then quieted. Harry instantly stopped speaking to the snake, smiling up at his guardians cheerfully as they glanced at him before entering the room.

They were one of the last few to arrive, and Professor Flitwick was balancing on his pile of books as he directed a piece of chalk to write notes on the board. Quickly, Ron and Hermione found their seats, and Harry settled himself at their feet, not wanting to draw attention to himself.

Normally the action would have drawn attention, since he would usually, especially since turning eight, clamber up onto a chair in order to watch the lesson intently. But Harry had become rather famous for sulking mightily after Herbology lessons, so everyone simply left him be.

"What does this class teach you?" the snake asked curiously.

Harry thought about that for a moment. He knew that he had attended Charms classes since he was little, and he knew that the clever Charms professor was Flitwick... but he couldn't actually say what Charms were. No one had ever sat down and explained it to him.

"We're... making things do stuff," he said vaguely, figuring that sounded about right.

It seemed to satisfy the snake, though, who simply hissed its understanding and settled, daring to poke its head out a little further since they were hidden beneath the desk. As the last students hurried into class at the last minute, Flitwick cleared his throat and turned around, beaming at the students.

"Good morning, all," he said cheerfully. "Today we shall be learning about the Supersensory Charm. This is a very handy little charm. Upon being cast, it will give one enhanced senses, so to speak. If cast properly, users under the charm will be able to sense what is around them, without having to look, within a certain radius, depending on the magical strength of the caster."

The scratching of quills filled the room as everyone took quick notes, some more comprehensively than others. Flitwick stared around at everyone, waiting momentarily for them to catch up, before continuing.

"The incantation for this charm is Circumspicere, which translates literally to 'look around'. The wrist movement is a simple, sweeping wave followed by a slight twist, which we will practice shortly. For the rest of this lesson we will take notes on the history of this charm, as well as the practical uses of it. At the end of the lesson we will briefly practice the wrist movement and pronunciation, so that we will be ready to practice next lesson."

There were a few groans; practical lessons were much preferred over theory lessons, after all. Underneath the desk Harry, highly fascinated by Flitwick's motions, was clumsily practicing the wrist movement with just his hand, though it didn't look anything close to how the Charms professor had done it.

"See, I can practice too," he said, delighted, to the snake.

"Very clever," the snake said with some amusement. "I'm sure you'll grow up to be a very strong magic-user."

"Maybe," Harry said with a shrug, making it clear that that wasn't at the top of his 'to-do' list. He dropped his hand as Flitwick started his lecture, the students hurrying to catch up with their notes. "Looks like no magic today. Sorry."

The snake made an odd hissing noise without any words, almost as though it was sighing in disappointment. For a moment it laid its head on Harry's arm, its tongue briefly tickling his skin when it flicked out. Suddenly, though, it perked up.

"Just because they don't do magic, doesn't mean we can't," it hissed out mischievously.

It took a moment before Harry understood. When he did, he hesitated; he still had very clear memories of the last time he had tried to play pranks with magic.

"It will let you practice," the snake wheedled slyly. "You need to practice to be good at magic, right? I'm sure your friends won't mind. Just practice some of the spells you learnt about."

Well, now, that was a different matter entirely. Harry started to grin. There was a small part of his mind that was telling him that this probably wasn't a good idea, but it was overtaken, quite quickly, by the childish eight-year-old that had not had a chance to play when he was originally that age.

"Okay."

The snake hissed again, this time in triumph.

Not many people would know of the little green serpent that had lived on the grounds of Hogwarts longer than many of its students had even been alive. Hagrid knew of it, of course, since he was the one that had brought the injured little snake to Hogwarts around fifteen years previously in the first place. Dumbledore knew of it, naturally, since Hagrid had told him when he had let the snake loose only for it to stick around. Much of the staff, as well, knew of it, and simply let it be. And, occasionally, a student would catch sight of it before it would dart out of sight.

Of the people that did know about it, not one of them had ever been able to talk to the little snake. It didn't show itself to humans often, especially since the caretaker made a point of hunting it down whenever it was sighted, but even the humans that had seen it knew next to nothing about it. It was reptile, a creature, and it likely wouldn't have much to say, anyway.

Seven years ago, a young girl befriended this little snake in the year before she left Hogwarts. The snake, which had already become fairly intelligent due to the magic that surrounded it, learnt a lot from this girl and from the books that she would read continuously to it. She didn't have a lot of friends, and she delighted in the moments that she spent with the reptile.

It was this girl that taught the snake many different spells and enchantments that it could never use. It wasn't all just school stuff, either; she might have been lonely, but she had a healthy temper and was not above playing pranks on the people that teased her. She was quite creative in the way that she used spells, and she passed on quite a mischievous streak to her little friend, who grew more and more amused as it watched people blunder. It was after she left that the little snake, knowing that it could never cause the chaos she had, started to attend Herbology lessons to watch how the students handled the plants, often with hilarious results.

With a magic-user by its side, even if only for this one day, the snake suddenly saw a lot of possibilities open to it. There was much that he could teach this young human, and it was suddenly glad that it got the opportunity.

After all, what being didn't like to pass on knowledge to its young? Yes, the young one was a human and, indeed, its knowledge was mostly in all the mischief it had been taught seven years ago...

But, well, it still counted, and that was all that mattered.

HPHGRWHPHGRWHPHGRW

If Hermione hadn't been so utterly confused and suspicious of the implications, she might have actually been impressed by the rather amazing Charms work; Professor Flitwick certainly was, despite the fact that total anarchy was currently reigning in his classroom. Hermione, however, was a little more wary of the magic that had gone into said anarchy, especially since she knew of one slightly-too-powerful little boy that was sulking enough to not care about the consequences of what he had done.

It started with the basic Locomotive Charms. A book (thankfully one that was sitting on a shelf and not one that Flitwick was standing on), started to tremble, lightly at first and then more violently until it started attracting attention. When it seemed that everyone in the room was staring at it, it flew suddenly across the room and came to an abrupt stop on the desk across from the bookshelves.

Nothing else happened after that, and everyone started to return to their notes, a little confused about what had just happened. Five minutes later, though, it occurred again; only, this time, it was two books from the shelf instead of one, and they began to race each other around the room, causing the rather stunned Professor Flitwick to dodge before one of them knocked him down.

Then there was the Levitation Charm, cast even as the books continued to race, heedless of the gaping students. With a yell, poor Neville's chair suddenly rose a few centimetres off the ground and hovered there. All attention was drawn from him, however, when Lavender Brown began to laugh hysterically; a slightly too-powerful Cheering Charm, it seemed.

The charms themselves were suspicious if what Hermione was thinking was correct, simply because she was certain that she hadn't given Harry books higher than first grade material, and the Cheering Charm, at least, was in the Standard Book of Spells Grade Three.

A moment later she narrowed her eyes and corrected that thought as she watched the vases on the windowsill begin to overflow with water. The Refilling Charm was most definitely from the Standard Book of Spells Grade Six.

Steeling herself, she ducked her head under the desk, her gaze stern. A pair of green eyes, all-too innocently wide behind round lenses, looked back at her, the very picture of virtue. In reply, her own eyes narrowed in suspicion; she was well-acquainted with that look by now.

"Harry Potter," she said, and the little boy averted his gaze quickly, almost guiltily. "What do you think you're doing?"

As if in reply, Neville's chair suddenly dropped with a jarring thud. The sixth year instantly leapt out of it, more than glad not to have been levitated any higher. Hermione raised an eyebrow at Harry, who was suddenly not able to meet her eyes; he always had kept his heart on his sleeve.

"...Practicing?" the little boy ventured after a moment of still silence, the vases no longer overflowing. Lavender, unfortunately, had to be led out of the classroom by Parvati, still doubled over in hysterics.

"Practicing magic is very good, Harry," Hermione agreed, biting her bottom lip slightly; she had the urge to laugh, but to do so would completely diminish her current authority. "But not on other people. And..." Her gaze sharpened slightly, and Harry ducked his head. "I want to know how you know those spells."

The little boy winced. It was enough to tell her that he had done something which he was very aware he shouldn't. It didn't take much to put it together.

After all, Harry's books were in the cupboard beside his bed, locked securely, yes, but obviously not securely enough if the eight-year-old could get into them. Possibly he had mastered the unlocking charm, or maybe he had just blasted the lock open with magic. Either way, she would have to tell Ron to keep a better eye on his best friend.

On the other hand...

Hermione surveyed Harry thoughtfully. The mastery Harry had just displayed over those charms (apart from the too-powerful Cheering Charm, an effect that he had unknowingly replicated from exams in third year) was, frankly, somewhat astounding. Previously, Harry had just let loose magic and let it do what it will, expelling it more than directing it. Not only that, but he had just done the Charms wandlessly and soundlessly.

It seems that he had been reading those books very closely. The theory likely would have flown over his head... but he had still understood enough to cast the spells.

Or perhaps this was his older memories coming out again? Harry, the sixteen-year-old, had already learnt the basics he needed to acquire a mastery of the spells he was taught. If they combined that with the innate understanding of magic that Harry, the eight-year-old, had...

Well, suddenly the small display that Harry had just put on didn't seem so surprising.

A sudden clap pulled Hermione out of her thoughts, and she looked up to see that Flitwick was calling for attention, attempting to bring order back to his classroom. It didn't take much; the students instantly began to settle, the mysteries of the last few minutes being put on the backburner in case their teacher decided that he should hand out a few detentions to calm unruliness.

Though, if Hermione had to say, she thought that detention couldn't be the furthest thing from Flitwick's mind. He looked absolutely thrilled, and his gaze kept flicking to Hermione's desk; there was no doubt he knew exactly who had been behind the chaos.

Still, it was over now, and there were things to be learnt and taught. Hermione paused for a moment and then bestowed a stern look on Harry.

"We'll talk later," she promised.

Then she sat up and picked up her pen. She would talk to him about all this after classes were finished.

And, maybe by then, she would have figured out exactly what she wanted to say.

HPHGRWHPHGRWHPHGRW

Unfortunately (and, really, she probably should have expected it), Harry decided to pull one of his disappearing acts after classes were finished for the day. One moment he was with them, sitting quietly under the desk in Transfiguration… and then, suddenly, he was gone, darting out the door faster than Hermione could see him

Hermione paused for a moment outside the door of the transfiguration classroom, bringing Ron to a puzzled halt. She took a deep breath, thought about it and then turned to the red-head.

"Harry is gone," she said calmly.

She could almost see Ron's thoughts flash across his face; mayhem, trouble, magical pranks… a split second later, he shook his head and straightened.

"Why?" he asked.

"I caught him performing magic in Charms," Hermione explained. A grin started to form on Ron's face and she rolled her eyes. "Yes, that was him. That wasn't just any magic, though. Ron, one of those charms was at a sixth year level. We learnt it earlier in the year. Which means he's managed to get into that locked cupboard beside his bed."

Logically, they probably should have moved those books elsewhere before now. But they hadn't known, back then, just how long it would take for Harry to get back to the correct age. By the time they had realised that it was going to take longer than they had thought it would, they hadn't really seen a need to move them. Unfortunately, they appeared to have underestimated Harry's resourcefulness as he got older, despite the fact that they should have known better than anyone.

"He can't have gone too far," Ron said after a moment. "I saw him not long ago. We'll just find out who saw him."

"Yeah…" Hermione paused and then rubbed a hand over her forehead. "Ron, I think Harry's getting some of his memories back. Not consciously, as such… but I think part of him is starting to remember things that happened before he was deaged."

"Like what?" Ron asked, frowning.

"Like the magic," Hermione pointed out. "Even if he did read those books, they should have been beyond his understanding. But he accurately produced most of those Charms. And sometimes... it just…"

"Yeah, I get it," Ron said suddenly. "Sometimes, it seems like he's still sixteen. Then he's eight again."

"Exactly," Hermione said, relieved that he understood. "Remember when it was explained to us? About Harry's three selves at the moment? His original past self, his older present self, and his younger present self."

"Yes…" Ron said slowly.

"What if they're all starting to merge?" Hermione asked. "Previously, we thought that they were all separate. His original past self is mostly gone at this point; I don't know if he still gets memories from his first childhood, and he hasn't said anything if he does. I doubt he'll forget about it after he's been cured, but, right now, it's become obsolete. So, now we have his present younger self and his older present self."

"That's… Harry now, and when he was sixteen, right?" Ron interrupted.

"Yes." Hermione nodded absently, too far in thought to care about the interruption. "These two should be separate. Harry the eight-year-old shouldn't have any memories from before he was deaged. For him, none of that has happened yet."

"But it has," Ron said, confused.

"But it shouldn't have," Hermione stressed. "Imagine you are eight years old. Would you have memories of being sixteen?"

"No… I'm not sixteen yet," Ron said in dawn comprehension.

"Exactly," Hermione replied, satisfied. "Harry shouldn't know yet what happens when he's older. But those memories are coming to him anyway, because he's in the unique position of being sixteen before he was eight. Small memories are coming to him, and he's unconsciously emulating behaviours and performing magic that he wouldn't have done until he was that age… that he wouldn't have even done a few years ago. At eleven, he couldn't do a Refilling Charm. At eight, he can… because he did it at sixteen. But he shouldn't be able to. Which means that Harry's older present self and younger present self… they're merging, Ron."

Ron slowly nodded. Then he frowned.

"But… what does that mean?" he asked.

This was what Hermione hadn't wanted to explain. She hadn't wanted to tell him, because she knew how he would react. But she had brought the subject up, and it was only fair that she tell him before he was forced to acknowledge it when it happened.

"It means…" Hermione drew in a deep breath. "It means that his older present self will change. Is changing.

"And there's nothing we can do to stop it."

Coming Up; Chapter Twenty-Eight - Lost: Harry doesn't see any problem, at first, in entering the forest to see his new serpent friend home. Unfortunately, he then can't find his way back.

Thanks to;

There have been so many reviews over the last two years, that I don't know where to start. Rather than naming everyone individually this time, though, I'd just like to thank everyone who reviewed over these two years, whether you did so at the time the chapter was published or even as recently as two weeks ago, telling me that you couldn't wait for the chapter despite how long it has been since I updated. Thank you all for taking the time to review and tell me how much you have enjoyed this story, even as the writing has changed significantly throughout it.

One thing I did need to mention was the subject of canon. No one has asked, because the story is so far AU that I suppose it didn't really need to be asked (starting this story before the fifth book meant that little details, like Sirius' death, didn't make it…), but I thought I would talk about it anyway, because the subject of canon has been another thing that held me hand with these next chapters. If canon is to be mentioned at all, it will be far more vague than it ever was in the book. Horcruxes will exist, but Harry, this time, won't have anything to do with them. I've started hinting, recently, as to what is happening with them. Apart from that, however, canon doesn't have much of a place in this story, and I have decided to continue in the same vein that I have done for the last nine (that long!) years.

Thank you again to everyone, I hope this chapter meets your expectations.