Snake Venom

Hogwarts

Falcon smiled as his pet snake, Kori, slithered onto his shoulders. She was a Japanese ice cobra and cold to the touch, with silvery blue scales. He fiddled with his wand and thought back to when he had bought it.(Flashback)Falcon walked into the old shop he had been led to. Rows of boxes lined the shelves, and glass cases filled with rows of odd sheaths formed a counter. Snape had been insistent they stay away from Olivander's, and instead get him a custom wand. A large burly man emerged from the shadows. He was tall, with a thick black mustache and dark braided hair. "You'll be wantin' a wand? Untraceable?" Snape nodded and the man smiled. "Well come over then!" He pulled down several boxes and tucked them under his arm as he led them to a workshop. He set the boxes down and unpacked them, laying out rows of scales, sinews, feathers, and a multitude of other objects.The man finished laying everything out and herded Falcon to the center. "Close your eyes, try to feel each material. If any call to you, grab 'em." Falcon closed his eyes and concentrated, letting his magic spread out. He felt himself being pulled to two objects and walked over. He opened his eyes and picked them up, turning each in his hands. One was a large tooth, about the size of his palm, and the other a reddish-brown scale, the size of a galleon. The shopkeep let out a low whistle as he took the items and laid them onto a leather mat. "Taken from Scylla and her counterpart Charybdis themselves those were. Rather nasty creatures, but powerful." Falcon then wandered over to where numerous chunks of wood were laid out and felt drawn to a piece of lightly colored wood, with what looked like thin gold running through it.The burly man shook his head, amused. "You seem to be drawn to the unusual. That there is a piece of wood from Yggdrasil, the world tree, believed to be the center of reality by the old Norse." The man grabbed the wood and got to work creating Falcon's wand. When he was finished, he presented it to him. "Now you be careful with that," he warned. "That is by far the most unusual wand I have ever created, and even I can't be sure what it is capable of. Fifty galleons." He dug into his purse and handed it over, clutching his new wand to his chest.(End)Falcon smiled. He was excited to go to Hogwarts, and hopeful to see Draco again. Throwing the last of his books into his trunk, he slammed the lid closed. Lioness, the lion tamer they had picked up a few years after they took Harry in, peeked into the door. "What's wrong little bird?" He smiled and shook his head. "It's nothing, just nervous I guess."(Train)Falcon collapsed in an empty compartment. A rather large red-headed family had been hollering loudly about the platform, even getting a few odd looks from Muggles. As if the statute of secrecy meant nothing! He pulled out an advanced potions textbook and began reading, making a mental note to ask Snape what an "S class potions clearance" was. About an hour later, he heard the compartment door slide open."Mind if I sit here?" Falcon looked up and smiled when he saw that it was Draco. He nodded and gestured to the empty seats around him. "I think I can squeeze you in." Draco smiled and sat down, extending his hand. "Draco. Draco Malfoy." Falcon grabbed it and shook it. "Falcon Aircutter, a pleasure." Draco smiled, then looked puzzled, his eyes widening with realization. "Wait a minute... Falcon?!" Falcon laughed. "I know I look different." Draco shook his head again. "That's an understatement. You look... very Japanese..." Falcon paused, not sure if he should be offended or not. Draco grimaced. "I'm just surprised, I didn't mean to offend you or anything, I'm sorry." Falcon nodded. "It's alright it took some getting used to for me as well."Draco seemed to be waiting for an explanation, and he sighed. "Get ready for a messed-up family tree. I was named Hotenami Hatokien by my parents at birth, then I was adopted by Tom Riddle and named Salazar Riddle, then Harry Potter by Lily and James Potter, and finally Falcon Aircutter by the White Tiger circus troupe. Thus, making me the heir to the Hatokien, Riddle, Gaunt, Peverell, Potter, Black, Slytherin, Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, and Hufflepuff houses and vaults." He paused to give Draco a chance to process the information. Draco looked at him with wide eyes. "Think of all the parties you'll have to attend." Falcon paled.As the train pulled into Hogsmeade station, both boys scrambled to get their robes on and scurry off the train. They quickly joined the rest of the first years being led up a path and to a large lake. Falcon was awestruck at the beauty of the moonlight reflecting off the water and pulled out his sketchbook. Draco watched with interest as the paper quickly turned into a rather good sketch of the lake. He looked up. "That's good." He blushed and looked away. "It could be better." Draco gaped, then shook his head and rolled his eyes. "Artists" "First years over here! First Years!"Falcon and Draco were pulled out of their conversation by a sudden, loud, booming voice coming from a large man. They both hurried forward to claim an empty boat. Just before the boats set off, two burly and stupid-looking boys climbed into the boat. Both Falcon and Draco edged away from them a bit, sharing amused glances as the boat rocked. As the boats hit the shore, all four boys practically launched out of the boat and onto solid ground. Draco turned and noticed Falcon hadn't taken his cloak off after he had changed his robe. "Hey, why do you have your cloak on? It's a little warm for that many layers." He bit his lip and looked off to the side. "I didn't want to get noticed a whole lot." Draco nodded. "Perfectly understandable."The small group of first-year-olds slowly walked up the narrow and winding path to the castle door, where a stern-looking woman waited. "Thank you Hagrid I'll take it from here." She led them into a small chamber and looked around before shaking her head. "Please freshen up, the ceremony will begin shortly." With that, she left. Falcon whipped out a comb and began combing his long black hair, wincing whenever he brushed over his slightly pointed ears. Draco laughed. "I think you're fine. She was talking to people like Weasel over there." Falcon turned to see a boy with loud orange hair storming over. "What did you say Malfoy?!" Draco smirked. "I said you are a dirty lowlife." The boy's face reddened, clashing horribly with his hair. Falcon shot a confused glance at Draco, the sudden change in attitude seeming odd. He stepped between the two. "Come on, don't get detention before we've even started classes."The boy looked up at him and cowered slightly, before turning and storming off. Falcon wasn't surprised. For an eleven-year-old, he did look off-putting. Two of his teeth had sharpened slightly, and his green eyes gave off an eerie sort of glow. He was about to turn back to Draco and scold him for his attitude when several screams startled him. Looking back in alarm, he nearly laughed in relief. Floating through the walls was a large group of ghosts, heatedly discussing someone called "Peeves." Suddenly, they paused as they noticed the terrified looking gazing up at them. "Hello." Called a friendly-looking ghost in brown friar robes. "Hope to see you all in Hufflepuff! My old house you know." Draco snorted quietly. "Not likely."The doors opened again and the stern woman, Professor McGonagall, led them into a large dining hall. Falcon again began sketching when he noticed the ceiling. Among the whispers, he heard a loud and bossy-sounding voice. "It's charmed to look like the sky outside. I read about it in Hogwarts A History." He saw Draco rolling his eyes beside him and smiled. McGonagall unfolded a sheet of parchment. "Abbot, Hannah." The hat was quiet for a moment, then shouted. "Hufflepuff." He drowned out the Professor until he heard called out, "Falcon Aircutter/Harry Potter!" Immediately whispers broke out. "Aircutter?" "Potter?" Falcon smiled shed his cloak and let his wings unfurl before sitting on the stool. He could faintly hear Draco snort and whisper. "Showoff" He scowled as the hat dropped onto his head and he heard a voice. "Hmm... difficult. You would do well in Gry- No? What's this? A Slytherin I see." The hat seemed to clear its throat before yelling out "Slytherin." The hall was deathly quiet, then the Slytherin table erupted into cheers. Falcon smirked smugly and went to sit by Draco.The hall waited for the headmaster to speak, but turned their attention back to McGonagall when she cleared her throat and stared confused at the parchment. "And as per their requests, Ron Weasley is in Gryffindor, Fred and George Weasley." Two redheaded boys gleefully skipped up to the stool and sat down, the hat stretching to fit over both of their heads. Barely a beat passed, then, "Slytherin!" Falcon applauded, leading his table to a loud burst of sound. Fred and George skipped over to the table and sat beside Falcon and Draco. "Can't stand our little brother at home-" started one, Fred, then George finished. "- let alone at school in the same house." Falcon bit his lip for a moment, then decided to take a risk. "Well then Gred, Forge, I hope you enjoy green." The brothers looked at each other before breaking into wide grins. "Well, I daresay-" "We may have found-" "A replacement brother. You don't mind terribly, do you?" He smiled and shook his head. "I've always wanted two redheaded twin brothers." They both smiled. "How very specific."