re-opened Scintillating Small Talk pv

interacting: @Linda Ramirez
English | Parseltongue

Suddenly, there was someone behind Della, but they didn't startle her. It wasn't unusual to see someone else, lost in their thoughts at this time in the morning, but usually, while they were lost in their thoughts, they would leave Della to be lost in hers. From the corner of her eye, she saw a familiar flash of brilliant red. Linda, her broom-racing teammate, was asking to sit with her. "Hi Linda, of course!" She hadn't spent much time with the second year, but Della felt a fierce attachment to her team. She patted the ground next to her invitingly.

She noticed the redhead was also carrying a sketchbook. "Yes, I spend a lot time here drawing in the mornings. What are your favorite subjects to sketch? I like landscapes and . . . " She trailed off as she realized her sketchbook was wide open to a snake. Because she didn't know Linda well, she wasn't sure about the girl's aversions to the creepy and the crawly. Della resisted the urge to snap her notebook shut—that would be too obvious.

". . . And I like to draw animals." Linda definitely noticed her drawing because her next question was one that Della often wondered herself. Maybe Linda wasn't averse to scaly animals after all. "I think it would be quite rare to see one. I read that there are adders native to Scotland, but I'm not sure how many nonmagical creatures make it to Hogwarts. I did see a snake in my backyard once as a kid, but that was down in London. Still rare though."

interacting: @Linda Ramirez
English | Parseltongue

To answer Della's question, Linda showed her own sketchbook—with the page open to a snake. What a coincidence. Della hadn't expected the other girl not to find Della's obsession creepy, but it was mind-blowing that she had a similar hobby herself. She could hardly think about the technique or talent of the other girl, she was too busy considering the subject matter. "Wow! Since we have similar taste in animals, we should draw some together sometime. Even now, if you're not too busy? That's what I was doing anyway." Della's mood lightened considerably at the thought of having someone to draw with. It would probably be more peaceful than being stuck with her thoughts.

Linda explained that her uncle had a lot of pet snakes and that she had heard people around Hogwarts even had them as pets. Della knew about that, too, though she hadn't yet caught a glimpse of one. She wanted desperately to talk to one of those students, see if they had the same talent as her, but they were proving to be reclusive. At the same time, what if they just enjoyed a pet snake? Owning a pet was one thing, talking to them was another. Della was also concerned about revealing herself accidentally. She would probably have to tread carefully in this conversation—not everyone was keen to accept a Parselmouth.

"Your uncle has pet snakes? That's pretty cool. I bet it's great to be up close to them—to be able to draw them, you know? Why does he have them? Does he have other pets? All I have at home is a golden retriever."

English | Parseltongue
@Linda Ramirez

Linda agreed to properly join Della and draw for a while. The older Gryffindor started to rummage through her bag, "Here I have a few extra pencils, erm, a pen or two, some colored pencils—oh, that one's broken—and um, a few tubes of gouache paint. Oh! But no paintbrushes." She let the varied assortment of art supplies spill out onto the grass. Each was in a different state: some brand new, some used, some misused. Most of them were of muggle origin, but there was a magical ink here or there. Della was suddenly feeling self-conscious about her organizational skills.

Linda continued to explain her uncle. At first, Della didn't even realize what she had said because it was so nonchalant. But when Linda asked if she had revealed too much, Della played it back in her head. Linda's uncle could talk to snakes, and she could understand him—though not speak back.

The older girl was no longer concerned about her art supply disarray. She was internally reeling as she comprehended what Linda had said. She knew—and was related to—someone who could speak to snakes. And somehow Linda had even learned to understand the language! Della hadn't considered her talent as an actual language: She'd barely used it, and she never thought about how she said what she said. Comprehension was simultaneous. Did Parseltongue have grammar? Were there nouns, verbs, and adjectives? Pronouns? Did snakes say "I"?

Instead of letting these questions tumble forth as word vomit, Della knew she needed to play it cool. She was mostly certain she could trust Linda, but another part of her worried that this was some kind of trap.

"No, no, I don't think you said too much. I know there's a stigma around the whole speaking-to-snakes thing. But I don't really understand it. I come from a family of muggles, so it's not like that for me.

"So is your family full of wizards? Does the ability run in families? How do you learn it if you're not born with it? You must have a talent for languages in general!"