After Ollivander explained the extraordinariness of her wand, Mary purchased a wand holster. The brown leather felt wonderful on her forearm and, after some practice, she could retrieve her new wand with ease.

The two children thanked woman for their wands and they left the shop. They began walking in the direction of the bookstore and pet shop. Mary stopped him to ask a serious question.

"Hermes," she started, "can you keep a secret?"

The boy was a little over an inch shorter than her but he looked up at her with solemn brown eyes. "Yes of course."

"Do you like snakes?"

"I guess so. They are one of the more understudied creatures so there are not many books about them. Their scales are beautiful and also provide great protection," Mary looked at him like he swallowed a dictionary. "Its quite difficult to tell if they're intelligent or not."

A loud hiss reached both their ears. Hermes eyes grew in alarm and stared at her stomach were the sound originated from.

"I…um…have a pet snake…" Hermes nodded dumbly. "And I can talk to her…" she finished lamely. Hermes' eyes were as big as saucers.

"T-talk?"

"Yes you idiot," Tatianna poked her head out of the neck of Mary's shirt. The boy took an unconscious step back. The black and white creature slithered down her shoulder and around her left forearm.

"Be nice," the redhead tried to calm her. "He didn't mean any harm. He's never met a snake before."

Hermes mouth went slack. "Wh-what did you say?" He looked at the snake but directed the question at Mary.

"She thinks you insulted her. Tatianna is very vain." The snake turned her head and hissed at her human. "What? You are." The snake appeared to roll her eyes. Mary returned her gaze to her friend. "She doesn't believe me that she is."

"So she…she can understand us?" He questioned. He reached out a tentative hand to the snake but quickly snatched it back.

"I thought this boy was clever." Mary absent-mindedly stroked Tati's head.

"She's just as smart as you and me. Compliment her and I think she'll love you forever." Mary said. She wasn't sure if it would work but stoking the snakes ego always worked wonders for her.

"You are quite beautiful," he said slowly. He looked to Mary for guidance. The girl simply nodded at him to continue. "I've never seen a snake with such striking scales. I bet they're as soft as silk and tough as nails….Do you mind if I touch you?"

Tatianna hissed an agreement. "Be nice," Mary warned. The snake shook it off.

A smile slowly crept across his face. "Wow you are so smooth and beautiful," Hermes exclaimed. The creature nodded her head in agreement. He giggled at that. "Tatianna is a beautiful exotic name that suits you perfectly. Do you mind if I hold you?" The snake contemplated for all of two seconds before slithering onto his waiting arm.

"I'm not sure if taking to snakes is normal here and I'm not sure what to do. I figured we, her and I, should ask you. You seem to know your books so I'm sure you could find something," Mary explained. "I found her at a pet store in a mall by my house. We've been friends ever since."

"You can find things in the bookstore just as good as me," he replied, still stroking the snakes black and white scales. "I'll help you look though and see if you and I can find a book on it. Since it looks like you don't like reading too much, I'll have to see if I can find you a book that you'll enjoy reading while I'm at it."

"Sounds like a deal," Mary said holding out her hand to shake. They shook and Tatianna crawled back to her rightful place around Mary. There was a gentle breeze that made the snake chilly. "She's cold," Mary explained. "I think she likes you now though…Can you keep her a secret though? Just until I know what I'm dealing with."

"Sounds like a deal," Hermes echoed.

"Can we go to the pet store first? That way we don't have to buy a book that we don't need."

"Definitely. I hate wasting money on a book that I could get the information for free." He smiled at her. "I think it's this way."

So the bushy brown haired boy and red haired girl went down the street. Sharing her secret with him made Hermes feel like she truly would be his friend. Nobody talked to him at his old school and never told him a secret. She was his first real and true friend and he would keep that secret with him until he died…Or Mary said otherwise.

The cobblestone road led the two to the Magical Menagerie. The building was quite boring compared to the magical shops around it. It was a plain brown stone that looked like it could fit right in in normal London. The bright gold printed letters on the window told the students they were in the right place.

A bell jingled as Mary opened the door for herself and Hermes. The sound could barely be heard over all the noise in the shop. Cages filled the walls all the way to the ceiling on both sides. There was barely enough room for the two of them to stand side by side.

They walked down the narrow isle slowly, peering at all the unusual animals: puffskeins, transforming rabbits, jewel encrusted tortoises, and many, many cats. Towards the middle of the store were animal medicines, tonics, and scrubs.

"Hello children, how can I help you today?" A kindly witch said behind the tight cramped counter as she put down her Witch Weekly. Her long blonde hair fell into her eyes, which she quickly brushed away with her hand. Her blue eyes sparkled.

"What do you know about magical snakes?" Mary asked quietly.

The woman smiled, "Well that depends. What kind of snake are we talking about? Some species I know a lot on but others my husband is more knowledgeable." She came around the counter and stood next to the children.

"Can people speak to snakes?" Mary questioned nervously. She didn't want to be a freak in this new world.

"Some people are born with the rare ability of parsletongue. People that do are called parselmouthes and are rumored to be descendants of Salazar Slytherin himself. Other rumors are that people who speak parsletongue are evil, like He-who-must-not-be-named. Most people don't know that He was a parselmouth, but my father in law is the one who discovered it when He came in here wanting one. All the snakes here hated him. Good riddance too!" The woman shuddered at the thought. "Why do you want to know about parsletongue?" she questioned when she regained her composure.

"I..uhh…" Mary started.

"She wanted to see if there was a way she could talk to snakes, she finds them fascinating." Hermes said for her. The young girl shot him a grateful smile.

"I'm afraid there's no spells to learn it. I've heard that people long ago could be taught parsletongue by a parselmouth. Considering how uncommon it is nowadays, it's hardly common practice." She flipped her hair over her shoulder as it once again got into her eyes. "Come here I'll show you the ones we have."

The witch led the way to an area farther to the back of the store. "These tend to scare some people, so we put them out of the ordinary wizards and witches way." She stopped at glassed in cages that stretched a few feet.

"This here is a common adder. It's like the kind that can be conjured, but these are real," she said pointing to one snake. The scales were brown with reddish colored spots. It lazily lay under the warmth of the artificial magical light.

"These two," she jabbed a finger at a sign, "are boomslangs." The bronze snake was the smaller of the two. It was coiled up tightly with its head under its body. The other snake in the tank was spring green with small flecks of bronze. It lay slightly over the other, with its head resting on the others body. "Most people don't know but boomslang is Dutch for tree snake. That brown one is a female and the other one is her mate."

Mary nodded. Only a few other containers of snakes were there. "Are these the only magical snakes?"

The blonde woman chuckled. "Merlin no! These are the only ones that we have. Some are very dangerous and need ministry approval for ownership like runespoor or the short-lived ashwinder. Some are also very rare like the Mordok, which can choose to be invisible or the feathered Quetzalcoatl from Central America."

Hermes was the one that nodded along this time. Mary wasn't surprised that Hermes, named after a Greek myth, also had heard of a snake from Mayan culture as well.

"What about Irving snakes?" Mary asked. She tucked a stray red hair behind her ear. The woman gave her a questioning look.

"Irving snakes…very rare. What makes you ask?" The witch asked the girl. Her blue eyes looked the younger one up and down, as if it would give the answer.

"My friend here found it mentioned in a book. Apparently they are very beautiful and I was wondering if they would be good companions," Mary said, hiding her smile. She remembered the conversation with Tatianna that neither of them were pets.

The witch gave Hermes a glance. "Irving snakes are very rare beings. They tend to look like many common snakes, which makes them difficult to find. All the eggs are wine colored, which makes them somewhat easier to spot a nest or hatchling. The venom them is extremely delicate. Depending on the snakes' mood, it can be as harmful as a basilisk or as useful as phoenix tears. I could suggest a book that would be useful…?" she trailed off. Both Mary and Hermes nodded excitedly.

The woman went back to her counter and pulled out a spare bit of parchment and a peacock quill. She scribbled down an authors name and title. She handed it to Mary who thanked her.

"I'm Maude by the way, Maude Oddpick by the way. My husband owns the shop," the blonde held out her hand to the bushy haired boy.

"Hermes Granger."

"Mary Potter," the girl said as they shook hands. The elder witch smiled at the two children.

"Well it's a pleasure to meet you two. I do hope you stop by again. Not many people are interested in the beauty of our slithering friends," Maude said. "And Mary do tell me if you ever find, or think you've found, a Irving snake. I'd love to get a look at one." She smiled and added a wink.

"Oh yes," Mary breathed, trying not to blow her cover. "I hope I find one soon. They sound wonderful."

With that the two children headed out of the Magical Menagerie and began the trek to the bookstore. The silence between the two didn't last long, "So what's the name of the book?" Hermes asked.

Mary pulled out the scrap of parchment from her pocket. "9009 Serpents of the Magical World by…Jeeoff Thorpin? I think is how you say it."

"Mind if I see it?" Hermes held out his hand. Mary handed the slip of parchment to him, and suddenly noticed the dirt under her nails from that morning's gardening. She quickly hid her hands behind her back while he read.

"I think its pronounced Geoff Thorpine, rather odd name isn't it? Seems like everyone here has odd names, not that I'm one to talk."

"Sure Hermes is odd but at least it doesn't make people expect to see an old person, like the name Geoff or Maude, but Maude was pretty awesome don't you think? I'd love to work there!"

Hermes laughed as his friend. "I'm sure you would Mary, but me I'd much rather work here!" He gestured to the building that was now in front of them. Florish and Blotts owned half a block, or so it appeared from the outside. Things in the magical world were very deceiving, such as the bank.

"Hmmm…I'm guessing you absolutely despise books? Full of all sorts of rubbish things like knowledge?" Mary joked, slightly shoving her friend.

"Oh yes horrid things those books. Full of information and characters and the most wonderful stories of daring heroes and evil villains," he sighed with his eyes containing a far off look.

Mary grabbed his hand and dragged him to the door. "Come on hero, I don't have all day and neither does Professor McGonagall."

The inside of the store was even larger than what the children imagined from the outside. They both had to pause in the entryway to gaze around them in awe. The books were stacked to the ceiling, on row after row of shelves. Some books were the size of postage stamps, others the size of a man, still others were velvet or silk, and a few even contained no writing at all. It was obvious Hermes was in heaven.

"Have you ever seen something so wonderful in your whole entire life?" Hermes murmured. His feet carried him passed many of the rows. Mary dutifully followed the wondering boy.

"Oh yes I saw something this wonderful when I had breakfast this morning. I had three pieces of bacon instead of one!" Mary answered him sarcastically. He shot her a look of slight annoyance before a smile over took his face and he laughed. Mary giggled along with him.

"What's so funny?" a voice behind Mary asked. The two children's smiling faces turned to face the voice. A girl with blonde hair stood before them in soft sapphire blue robes. Her face was void of expression.

Mary knew appearances can be deceiving and explained to the girl, "He was saying the library was wonderful and I said it couldn't be as wonderful as my breakfast this morning." The girl smirked at that and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

Hermes bravely stuck out his hand. "I'm Hermes and this is Mary, we are first years" he stated. The girl shook his hand, her blue eyes a light.

"I'm-"

"'Cilia, there you are! Your father and I have been looking for you for some time now." A woman with the same blonde hair placed her hand on the girl's shoulder. "You know young ladies do not stray too far or else they could run into trouble," the woman said in hushed tones in her daughter's ear. Cilia nodded, all trace of the smirk from earlier wiped from her face.

"Yes mother, I'm sorry for disappearing on you. I was just making acquaintances with other first years," her mother opened her mouth to interrupt but Cilia hastily continued. " Not that there's anything wrong with Gertrude and Virgila, but you do always say that I need to widen my horizons."

Her mother smiled slightly, or what those who knew her could consider to be a smile. Others might consider it a puckering of her lips. "Now we must be going, do excuse us…?"

"I'm Mary and this is Hermes," Mary stated shyly, unsure how to understand that encounter she had witness.

"I'm Dracilia and this is my mother, Lucia." Lucia nodded slightly to each child. "I guess I'll see you two at school," she said as she hurried to catch up with her mother who was already five steps away. Dracilia waved a little before her face turned neutral again and dutifully followed her mother out the door.

Hey guys sorry about the wait! Busy summer and got to spend some time in Holland and Germany so I'm packed full of inspiration right now! Now that I'm back at school, I'll try and update again soon