The red and gold Snake.

Chapter 3: Ill Palazzo Zabini

It was dawn when they arrived at the Zabini mansion and the three young Slytherins had fallen asleep in the backseats. It was Orion who woke them up.

"Master Zabini, we're home." The big guy gently shook Blaise arm. Harry, who was a light sleeper, had woken up the moment Orion had opened the door but his two friends hadn't. "Master Zabini." The man shook his Italian friend a tad harder and the boy shocked awake.

"I didn't do it!" He yelled. Well, you could say that woke Theo up as well.

"What didn't you do?" He asked grumpily. His hair was sticking all directions and his eyes were very small. "Because you certainly woke me up."

Harry sniggered at his two friends and noticed Orion waiting patiently.

"We're home, Master Zabini." He said. "If we want to sneak in before your mother wakes up, we better get going."

"We need to sneak in?" Harry asked surprised.

"Yeah, didn't I tell you that? My mother wasn't informed that we were going to get you." Blaise said as a matter of fact. "Now, come on. If we're quick we can get some sleep before she wakes us up and we tell her you were dropped off by your family."

The three Slytherins got out of the car and Harry froze when he saw the Zabini mansion. It was more of a palace in his eyes. It was built with a light brown stone with a lot of windows in it. Before they could enter the house, they had to take a small set of stairs first that was surrounded by rosebushes.

"Welcome to Il Palazzo Zabini." Blaise said proudly. "Mom likes everything that has to do with gardening so after we got some sleep, I shall give you a tour."

"You must check out his swimming pool." Theo said smirking. "They have one on the roof and you can see the whole setting."

"You even can see the sea." Blaise said smiling. "That's behind those trees." He pointed at some oaks. They quickly went towards the front door that opened the moment they arrived. Harry, who thought it had something to do with magic, just wanted to comment on that, when a shrill voice sounded from behind the door.

"BLAISE ZABINI! WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?!" A bronzed woman with long black hair and piercing brown eyes came from behind the door. She was wearing a lilac bathrobe and a very angry expression.

"NO NOTE! BED'S EMPTY AND BODYGUARDS GONE! YOU BETTER HAVE A GOOD EXPLENATION OR I SWEAR YOU CAN FORGET ALL YOUR PLANS FOR THE SUMMER."

"But mom, we had to save Harry. Those muggles had jailed him in his room without food!" Blaise tried to reassure with her. It seemed as if the woman only that moment noticed that Blaise was accompanied by Harry and Theo.

"Poor child, come in quickly." Blaise, who thought he was off the hook smiled relieved. "And you, make sure his trunks get upstairs." The woman said to her son. "Without using one of the elves or your bodyguards." The boy groaned but did as told, taking over the luggage from Orion.

"I'm sorry, Fina." Theo muttered with a guilty face. "We should've left a note."

"Don't you worry, Theo." The woman smiled at both him and Harry. "Orion did leave a note, I just wanted to give Blaise a good scare so he would think of that next time." She winked at them and both boys chuckled. One thing was sure, she had succeeded in that! "And you must be Harry, welcome to our house." She gave the raven a tight hug before releasing him again. "Now, what do the two of you think about some scrambled eggs and bacon as breakfast? It's Blaise's favourite."

"That sounds wonderful, Mrs. Zabini." Harry said politely.

"Oh, you can call me Fina, dear. That's the only name I keep." The woman gave him a warm smile and let them through the entrance hall towards the kitchen. "Now, I see my dear son wasn't exaggerating when he said those muggles withhold you food." She muttered, scanning Harry's skinny form. "Bella!" She demanded. A small house-elf appeared, wearing a black apron. The elf smiled at her mistress.