A Creature's Justice

Chapter Eighteen; Snakes

                                                                  ~Phoenix Orion Rigel Malfoy~
                                                                           ~Harry James Potter~         
Narcissa and I headed out before Draco and Lucius, and I noticed some people giving us odd looks-clearly not used to seeing Narcissa Malfoy with another boy other than Draco. Narcissa gently squeezed my shoulder, murmuring quietly, "They will adjust quickly. Your father plans to place an announcement in the paper-not detailing who you were before, but simply that House Malfoy has blood-adopted another child. It will make some people gossip, and I have little doubt the old fool will come and investigate, especially after our meeting at Eyelops', but he can do nothing now."
Taking a deep breath I nodded, lifting my chin challengingly at anyone who stared too long, making them look away or flush awkwardly. Soon enough, we made it to the Leaky Cauldron, the pub that housed the main entryway into the Alley, and Narcissa spoke softly to the barman before handing him galleons. After a moment, she reached out for my hand, and I stepped forward, sweeping into a slight bow as I stated, "Phoenix Malfoy, sir, a pleasure to meet you."
The barman chuckled, bowing slightly back as he stated, "Tom, lad. Just Tom. It's a pleasure to meet you, but I must say-I haven't met you before, lad, but your parents are here quite frequently."
Smiling slightly I murmured, "I'm afraid I'm a recent addition to the family, Tom. My parents found me abused and manipulated, and they and my account manager at Gringotts saved me from my former guardians-they weren't worth being my family you see, since they hated me for my magic."
Alya chose that moment to poke her head out of my robe, making Tom jump back slightly, and I gently petted her before adding, "Sorry if she scared you sir, she's a rat snake, and she's not poisonous, plus, she won't bite you unless you hurt me, sir. You and your patrons are quite safe."
Narcissa dipped her head and spoke briskly, "My husband and son will be meeting us here around lunch time, Tom. Please escort them to the private room if they arrive here before us. I'm afraid Phoenix and I must be going."
Tom nodded, "It was good to meet you lad. See you in a bit."
I nodded, following Narcissa out of the pub and into the alley once again. "You did wonderful in there, Phoenix, remembering your etiquette. I'm very proud of you, dear." 
I beamed up at her, "Thank you, Mum. It's all thanks to you-thank you again for teaching me. I don't want to shame you or Da, or Uncle Severus. I'm very excited to be able to adopt the snakes-I hope they like me."
Alya lifted her head once again, "They will like you, Hatchling, for you are the one who is giving them a home, and safety. You are giving them a safe place where they can live without fear of being sold for potion parts, or to their deaths."
Nodding, I replied quietly, "That is true, Alya, but I fear that some may come to resent me, and I fear it. What if they don't like the trunk? What if they want to go back to the wild-to the places no doubt many of them came from?"
"Then you will find a way to help them understand. Many of them will be killed-no doubt they will have been born in captivity, and it is not safe for them to try and live in the wild, even if you found a way to return them to the place they once belonged to. If need be, I will set them straight on the matter, or I will kill them. If I cannot then I will contact your potions man and his snake and his snake will help me. I will not allow them to hurt you in an attempt to get free. You are entering the store. We will speak later."
I looked around me, noticing Narcissa had, in fact, led me to the store despite my attention being absorbed by Alya. I shot a sheepish look at Narcissa and apologized quietly. She smiled slightly back, shaking her head slightly in amusement. I noticed Phil coming out of the back room where the snakes were kept, and smiled, heading towards him. He noticed me and smiled widely, "Hello, Mrs. Malfoy and-Phoenix? Is that you? I see the adoption went well, congratulations!"
I grinned at him, "Yes, sorry we weren't back sooner, but I had to have a recovery period. We actually came here because we've contacted a trunk maker from France who has come to create the trunk I plan to place all the snakes in, and he mentioned he could create habitats specific to types, but I'm afraid I haven't met all the snakes so I was unable to look up the habitat information. Could you help me, sir?"
Phil smiled warmly, "That's a brilliant idea, Phoenix, I'd love to help you. I actually just finished a list of the snakes who will be fostered with you, so you came at a great time. Would you like to come and meet the snakes, or do you have other plans for today?"
I looked at Narcissa, who smiled slightly and admitted, "We are meeting Phoenix's father and brother for lunch, Phil, but we have about an hour and a half until we need to meet them, so we could stay here for a while. We'll need possibly fifteen minutes to bring the list to the trunkmaker and specify any other requirements, but otherwise I am quite fine with Phoenix getting to know his charges. This way, if any are opposed to the idea of going with him, we know now instead of when we come to pick them all up."
Phil nodded, leading us into the backroom, motioning something to the young woman who was running the counter, who nodded to him. After a moment, Phil stopped in front of a large tank that nearly took up the whole wall, "This is our green anaconda, I've named her Helena, because she's beautiful." Most of the tank was filled with water, though there was a large cavern area, and it was from there that a large olive green head poked out of.
"Hello, my name is Phoenix, Phil says yours is Helena?"
"Yes, Speaker, I have learned to answer to the name of Helena. May I ask what you are doing here? You smell very similar to the speaker who came and freed the black rat snake and Aneko from this place, but you also smell different."
"That is because I have been blood adopted, using magic, by my new parents. They take much better care of me than my former family did."
"That is good, Speaker. May I ask why you are here now?"
Smiling, I stepped closer, "I have come to an agreement with Phil, your caretaker, about the snakes like yourself who are too large or dangerous to be adopted out, or snakes who refuse and are not meant to be adopted. I have agreed that I will take any who wish to come with me, and I will house them within a large magical trunk so that they may live a hopefully happier life outside of a glass container."
"That is very kind of you, Speaker, but I am sure from the anxiety coming from your nest mother that she will not allow me to be one of them. It is understandable-I am very large, and cumbersome. I weigh more than you, the Caretaker, and your nest mother combined. I also would not be happy within a trunk-I am meant for water, you see, not usually land."
"I am here to get a list for the type of habitats you all prefer, and I am sure that we could make a lake or river for you to live in, in the trunk Helena. You seem very unhappy within your tank-it is not big enough, and you cannot stretch out. My nest mother will agree so long as you promise no harm will come to me or mine, or the other snakes. That is the other thing, you must learn to give space to others and not attack unless they attack first. I promise I will feed you all, but I cannot stand the thought of caring for you all and finding out one of you had eaten each other."
"You speak truthfully-you truly mean to care for us until the end of our days. Why is this, Speaker? Why do you care about snakes such as myself? We are not magical. We do not give you things when we shed. They have not found me a magical mate, or a mate at all, so I will have no children, least of all any who would be able to conduct magic with you. Why do you insist on taking us with you?"
"Because I know how it is to be trapped in a small space, day after day, barely being able to move. My former family-they put me inside a cupboard, a space meant for shoes and coats. I had no space to move, no space to play. Barely any space to grow. I will not allow you all to waste away inside your tanks with little to no happiness. If I can help someone, I will. My family saved me, and I will save others, and pay my good fortune forward. Someday, when I have hatchlings of my own, I hope they will have the same gift I have, and will continue my work. I will better as many lives as I can within my life, and hope others will learn to do the same."
Helena climbed out of the cavern, her body long and nearly as thick as my torso, and she hissed softly, "Very well, Speaker, I would join your nest if I am allowed, but do not feel sad if I cannot. I do not blame your nest mother for her unease. I am a predator, and she is aware of it. Nevertheless, I swear that I will never harm anyone so long as they do not harm me or mine first."
Smiling, I nodded, turning to Narcissa, "Her name is Helena, Mum, and she promises she won't hurt me or anyone else. She just wants space to swim, and enough to eat."
Narcissa swallowed lightly and nodded, "She may come, but if she hurts you, I will kill her myself. What sort of habitat does she need?"
Smiling lightly, I admitted, "I think a river or a lake, maybe a pond. I think I read once that they came from the Amazon rain forest. Do you think the trunkmaker would be able to make that, or will I need to learn to do it myself?"
Narcissa smiled lightly, "I believe it is possible, my love. Shall we meet the next one?"
Phil motioned us to the next tank and stated, "This is Smoke, he's a magical black adder snake. He was found by some muggles and taken as a pet, but one of them was cruel to him and he bit him. One of the Scotland Yard that responded was a muggleborn and recognized him as magical and so brought him here. He hardly leaves his burrow, I'm afraid, even though they aren't usually a type of snake that burrows. They like open plains and lots of rodents."
I stepped closer to the tank, "Hello, Smoke. My name is Phoenix, I'm a Speaker, and I'm here to offer you and others the opportunity to come and live with me in peace where you'll be safe and happy, and you'll never need to worry about a human hurting you again."
The voice that responded sounded both angry and afraid, "What would you know about being hurt by a human, human?? What do you know about how they try and pry your scales off, or try and cut off your tail to see if it grows back??"
"I admit, I have not had those experiences, but I have been hurt by humans. The human family I used to live with were cruel, awful humans. They didn't want me, you see, and they were scared because I was magical. They would hurt me, beat me and burn me. Make me serve them food, but starve me. They left scars on my back from where they lashed me. If I were not magical I'd be dead, just like you. I'm a creature, a hell hound. My creature side woke up when the boy shoved me under water and attempted to drown me, and then the man beat me so badly I nearly died. Of anyone, Smoke, I would understand exactly how it feels to be hurt by humans and not trust them." I took a deep breath, forcing my emotions back under control before I continued, "The human female with me is my new mother. She and her husband were the first to show kindness to me, and they have healed what they can of my injuries from the other humans. They have taken me in, and even used a magical way to adopt me, make me their son by blood. Please, let me show you not all humans wish to hurt you. Let me show you that we care, and that we're not all cruel."
The long sinuous body slowly furled out of under the rock, and I smiled softly as Smoke agreed. "Will I be leaving now, or will you be coming back another time?"
"I'm afraid I don't have the trunk ready, but can you tell me which types of places you like to live, anything specific you'd like?"
"We adders like tall grass, and rocks and trees. I think they're called Heathlands, that's where I was found originally."
Narcissa cleared her throat, "My love, it's almost time we met your father and brother, I believe Phil has given us a list of habitats and names, and types. We can come on the day the trunk is finished and meet with everyone, but I'm afraid we must be going soon."
I nodded, "Okay, Mum, thank you for letting me speak to some of them today, Phil. We'll owl you about when we'll be back when the trunk is done. Until then, please think about any that may need special care or need to be introduced carefully."
Phil nodded, "I'll do that, Phoenix. Thank you for your help, and I'll try and figure out any who need special treatments while I wait for your owl."
Narcissa gently tugged my hand, and I waved cheerfully at the snakes before following her out of the backroom and through the store.