Two Snakes Walk into a Library... PV Hanako Tone Reopened

[font=PT Sans]There were very few reasons as to why people would see a Hanako walking along the numerous ceiling-high bookshelves, dusty atmosphere, and ‘shh!’s every 3 minutes. To sleep, or to do an attempt at reading a book while evidently sleeping anyway. The library was a great place to sleep on the most part but it wasn’t his favorite place to sleep. Even after a year and a half attending Hogwarts, there were still many parts of the Library he had yet to step foot in. He’d rather hibernate under the covers of his bed for a good week than go adventuring considering his lack of curiosity for new things ( thus why he is not in Ravenclaw ). So what would a lazy person like him wander around somewhere so disinteresting to him? A secret lover? An elaborate plan to conquer Hogwarts? A secret stash of flower pots as his personal garden? No! It was his stupid wand buzzing like an excited bumblebee!

His nap time quickly turned into a frantic hunt through the library. Hasty steps brought him from here to there, his eyes scanning for … well..he didn’t exactly know what he was looking for. But he did know his wand! And his wand had a rare ability to vibrate at spoken parseltongue. A language of snakes. His language. What made him look like a parent looking for their lost child, then? Because for the past few days he hasn’t said a hiss of parseltongue.

Somewhere in this boring book cave, was a parseltongue. He wanted to believe it was only Wyatt, but even the stupid fellow snake charmer would not be that stupid. Even if he was not as well equipped on the parseltongue history as well as Hana, Wyatt was no baby when it came to controlling his hissing. That was how it always was with people like them. Control and hide control and hide control and hide over and over again.

So who the duck was speaking Parseltongue right now?! Speaking Parseltongue in a Library where shushing and easily be mistaken for hissing, goddammit!

Feeling his lack of stamina weighing heavier than his frantic frustration, he slowed down to catch his ragged breath. As his throat burned, he thought maybe he was lacking sleep. Maybe his wand was faulty. So many reasons could easily point to the fact that Hana is just a sleep-deprived idiot who wasted his nap time searching for something he hallucinated. Had he unconsciously missed his interaction with Wyatt where the two conversed in their special language? Did that made him hear hisses? With that thought in mind, his body felt light from the conclusion that he was simply just an idiot.

"Ughh," his eyes widened, glancing down at his pocket where his wand lay, a faint buzz reaching his ears.

"I. am. so. Tired." . Without another thought, he rushed to where he heard the hissing and finally, had encountered an exhausted-looking student. Their area was completely covered in books. Call him judgemental but looking at the numerous books and defeated look in the Ravenclaw’s eyes, something told him this was no Parseltongue. This was a studying-obsessed Ravenclaw student that can’t get over how they got their first E. Wow, this was his first time seeing one in real life. He glanced around for other students hoping to see another. A hope that had been crushed quickly.

“ I guess I have to clean this up “ he heard them say, to themselves in a language he had never hated so much until that exact moment. English. Why did it have to be English? Something wheeled up in his stomach as he glanced disappointingly at the sleep-deprived student. Disappointed? He’s disappointed? Did the thought of speaking in Parseltongue again made him so excited that he only gave himself false hope? It’s not the nerd’s fault that he hallucinated, but he couldn’t help but feel bitter. Just as he was ready to give the Ravenclaw nerd one last glare before turning on his heel and walk to the nearest table to get the sleep he deserved, the tip of his shoe touched one of the nerd’s book. His honey-brown eyes furrowed at the title. Snakes? As if a flick of fire lit up, his demeanor changed drastically. Though not exactly a ..positive change

“ You…” he seethed, his eyes boring into the Ravenclaw’s brown ones accompanied with a scowl that didn’t suit his soft features. “ You floppy whoopie cushion! Are you absolutely mad?!? “ the usually calm Hanako had no time to rethink his actions as his knees had already dropped onto the floor, his arms already reaching for the nearest book he could grab.

“ Snakes …” he threw the previous books aside just to grab a new one. “ Snakes..” he changed books again “ Snakes..” and again. “ Snakes”. This continued a few more times before he had no more books around him to check, evidently creating more mess than the Ravenclaw had. His eyes finally meeting the student again.

“ Why snakes “. It seemed like an innocent curious question if you take out the part where it sounded like he wasn’t actually asking. The way he looked at the Ravenclaw was as if he had already come up with an answer but was only desperately waiting for them to confirm it. [/font]

interacting: @Mars T'ien
mentioning : @Wyatt Starkey

@Hanako Tone
───── ⋆★⋆ ─────

English ⋆ Parseltongue

Well, that was a new one. Mars raised an eyebrow at the brown-haired boy who'd essentially just hissed in their face, taking in his seething form. Where'd he come from? Why was he so ticked off? They must've missed him, too buried in the books to notice his slight presence. Still though, all they'd been doing was reading. They looked around, trying to see if there was some else he could be addressing. Oh. Well, they were also maybe covering half the floor with said reading material but—that was besides the point. The insult was entirely unprompted.

They were about to question his rather tasteless introduction—and retort that they were, in fact, not mad, but just happened to be someone who liked to find answers when they had an unanswered question like a normal person—when he dropped to the floor and grabbed the nearest book within reach. Okay. This guy was definitely a weirdo.

"Hey, careful!" they reached out to him, eyes wide as he began randomly throwing the books behind him. These are library books, for gods sake, could you not—" However, before they could grab his wrist and stop him from trashing the utterly defenseless bundles of paper, something caught their ear. Mars froze for a moment. Snakes? Was that why he was searching frantically through the books like no tomorrow? Then... was he also—

—they had no time to finish this though before the boy turned to look at them. Dark eyes meet their own, seemingly boring into theirs as he asked a very simple question. Why snakes?

Mars... really didn't know what to say. They stared at him for a moment, lips parting in palpable confusion. Wait. Wait, wait, wait.

"You— I—" they stumbled, hands coming up in some meaningless gestures. Mars swallowed their words, took a breath, and started again.

"Wait. Wait, just a minute, let me get this straight. You—interrupted my study session, called me whatever the hell that was, and then threw my books around the room—just so you could ask me that? What the hell is wrong with you?" they questioned, sitting back on their heels. The subsequent shock of watching someone invade their workspace had worn off by now and Mars was half-frowning, half-trying-not-to-burst-into-incredible-laughter at it all.

They threw him a half-grin, posture relaxing slightly. In retrospect, they probably could've just told him exactly what they were looking for. Parselmouths... well, they seemed a bit taboo, but Mars wasn't particularly ashamed of it, not with them stumbling over the language every other second. But something about him... made them reset first.

"You know, if you want to talk to someone, you usually start with "Hi, my name is—" and then you can go around calling them a... what was it?" they put a finger to their chin and then looked at him slowly, a grin spreading, "Right, a floppy whoopie cushion."

Mars pushed themselves onto their knees and ran a hand through their hair. They were very much surprised that they hadn't accidentally switch over yet. Praying for the streak to continue, they spoke, "But, as for snakes, well..." they looked up at him, eyes shining slightly, "Guess I'm just fascinated by them."

Did he think it would be that easy?

[font=PT Sans]Hanako chuckled in a mocking tone as he flipped through more of the pages, getting more and more displeased he’s doing this in the first place. “ ‘What the hell is wrong with you..’ he repeated softly, “ still asking that after I’ve come this far or - oh yea sorry was that a rhetorical question? If not, I’ll happily help you get an answer but maybe another time, yea, Pigeon?”

He said this yet he was curious as to why this student didn’t just leave already. Were snakes that fascinating to them? In fact, they looked rather...relaxed? Hanako himself freaked out when his instincts forced him to be in a rather dangerous situation. One that might reveal the secret of parselmouths. At what cost? A chance for this pigeon to be one of them?

They then sarcastically suggested a better way to communicate compared to suddenly swooping into someone’s space. Which was honestly true. Hanako was not as clueless as before when it came to ordinary everyday greetings. Internally, he admits there should’ve been a better way to investigate the pigeon if not for his rush into the possibility of another parselmouth. But he wasn't okay with admitting it.“ That’s so basic, though. Who'd want to be greeted in such a boring way” he replied cooly. “ And if you ask me, you don’t seem particularly bothered by that sort of greeting,” he noted the grin they had on their face. “ But I suppose I get what you’re trying to imply. ‘ Hey, if you’re going to invade my bubble might as well tell me your name’ yea? Hahah, it’s Hana, by the way. Yes- Hannah as in- h a n n a h. Really don’t feel like explaining that any further today so let’s go back to you, yea? Want me to call you a floppy whoopie cushion since you’re not that bothered? Too long, maybe? Pigeon perhaps? That’s what I’ve been referring you to for a while. I think it quite suits you and your little Ravenclaw uniform~. Much shorter then whatever I called you before”

To his surprise, they actually gave him a response. Albright not a detailed one. One that was rather suspicious, actually. It gave Hanako the feeling of being baited and he didn’t like it one bit. Not the vague answer. Not the glint in their eye. Everything was some sort of game and to be on the 'being played' end of it was probably his karma. He wasn’t going to get anywhere by forcing the answer out of the student with the usual doses of insults and mockery.

Well, if it’s a game they’d want then it’s a game he’ll try out as well. Unfortunately, he had never been good with these sorts of games but who was he to back down? He wouldn’t be Hanako Tone if he turned and run away at this crucial moment. He was a loser sure, but not thatkind.

Hanako showed them a grin that would’ve looked cute if they weren’t obviously empty. “ Mind if I ask what fascinated you about them to have you booking so many dates with these books? Surely, you would be looking for something specific if you’re piling up these many books. Can’t find what you’re looking for is it~?” he mused, an innocent smile on his face. “With these many books, you should’ve been able to find what you wanted, yeah? What’s so hard to find about an animal like a snake? Why don’t you start by talking about that hm?~. I know my entrance is a bit uhh..dramatic~” he winked” but who knows I may be the best help you can get~”
[/font]

@Mars T'ien

@Hanako Tone

English ⋆ Parseltongue

Mmm, so this was the game he wanted to play. Whoopie cushion, pigeon, this Slytherin brat had no end to his quippy personality. Hana, hmm?

"If you're looking for brevity, you can try Mars," Mars said, crossing their arms over their chest. "It's one syllable less and my actual name."

They looked him up and down, awash in a sea of books. The brat had made their clean up job so much worse. "Kinda surprised your name's Hana. Seems too... cute," they said pointedly, sliding to stack a few of books. How to Care for Your Pet Snake flashed under their fingertips. Ugh, this was pointless.

They stopped short when he offered his help.

"You help?" they asked incredulously, staring at him. Sure, they'd only known the guy for the past two minutes, but it was already quite an amazing thing to think he'd actually know something they didn't. But then, well. They didn't really know much about the wizarding world. It wouldn't really be that surprising if he knew something they didn't. Should they take the chance?

Mars sat muddled in internal conflict for a while. On the one hand, they wanted to know what was up with this whole other language business. On the other, they really didn't want to give this guy the satisfaction of knowing something they didn't. Also, considering there was almost nothing on their specific... situation, there was a slim, slim chance he might know. Which could be a good or a bad thing. Which brought them all the way back to the start of their dilemma again.

They decided, finally, to keep testing the waters a little bit. It was kind of fun to play with the brat anyway.

"Oh, so you know something this entire, massive library doesn't? they prodded, turning their back on him as they reached for the scattered titles.

Snakes of the Wild West. Top Ten Snakes That Will Kill You. Snakes!: For Kids. Mars scowled. Why was there so much muggle reading in a library for wizards? Surely, it was more interesting to write about a "secret language lost to time" or whatever. Hair Care for Snakes?! What was the point of that?

They sat back on their heels, choking down a sigh. Better to not let the boy behind them know they weren't getting anywhere.

"A lot more information can fit in a book than your little pea-brain, y'know," they said, probing a little more.

[font=Times New Roman]ooc note: hehe I no longer use green color coding for Hana's dialog, so if you see a different color than my last posts, no worries! Your eyes are still okay![/font]

[font=PT Sans]“ I could say the same for Mars. Not every day I hear that name. You’re not pulling my leg, are you? You’re not just giving me another nickname so I stop calling you pigeon, right? Well, not going to work. Nice try.”. Hana didn’t mean to betray a fellow holder-of-a-weird-name, but what kind of name was Mars? Mars, the planet? Not even Aries? Just the whole planet- Mars? They almost got him good, thinking it was their real name. Well, nothing gets past Hanako Tone.

Upon hearing them describe his name as a horrendous adjective such as ‘cute’, Hanako visibly frowned. Not that being cute was such a bad thing. He had discovered that it was better that people saw his name as cute than be reminded of the popular Japanese toilet ghost. He still, however, kept a sneaky smile on his face, not wanting to back down. “But be careful about calling my name cute. You know that’s how all my admirers start out with. First it’s my name. Then my good looks. Then my smarts. Then bam- another kid whose poor heart- enchanted by my wholesomely charming self- I am forced to break. If that’s what you were aiming for when you called it cute, I must politely- “ he failed to keep a straight face for a split second before turning serious once more “ politely reject your advances. K, Pigeon?” he shrugged.


"Oh, so you know something this entire, massive library doesn't?” Hana had no comeback for this because mainly they were right. Hanako’s grades sucked. Even just opening a few books from this massive den of information, he would’ve stopped getting A’s all the time. But did this massive den of information have the ability to talk to snakes? He didn’t think so. Therefore, Hana was clearly more qualified when it came to the topic of snakes. Major problem is that Mars didn’t know that.

They then looked surprised at Hana offering help, to which Hana returned with a slightly confused face of his own. “ Ummm I don’t know what you heard from those pesky 1st years but I’m not all that bad, you know. “ He said as a matter of factly, unaware that Mars was confused about something else, and not his inability to help anyone but himself. “ My entrance may be dramatic, yes I may have disturbed your personal studying- and yes I may have called you pigeon, but I have a heart of gold. Honest. And one big enough to help a stranger because..” he trailed off trying to remember what reasons someone might help a rando they barely knew. “ because I…can? Yes, I can. Big heart. Huge.Totally~”. By now, Hanako had stopped needlessly scanning the books, convinced there was nothing else to see.

His previous adventures with books around them only solidified his belief that they had to be searching for something about snakes, but a specific topic that wasn't easy to find. No matter how ridiculous the books were, ( Hair care for snakes? What even is that? ) this Mars person really decided to give it a chance. Now, the next question. What was this information for?

If what they were looking for was what Hana thinks, then Parselmouths didn’t have the best reputation. How would Hana know they were one themselves, or if they were merely curious, or if they had certain intentions to harm them? As the suspicion grew, Hana almost forgot why he was here. His wand. Wanda never lies when Parseltongue is spoken. Someone said it. Mars just happened to be here. But it could just be pure coincidence. Mars could genuinely be interested in … weird snake topics, and maybe another Parselmouth was around here. Maybe they were gone already.

Whatever it is, Hana was way too lazy to find them now. Now that he was here, he might as well confirm if Mars is a friend or a foe. He already made a blunder showing of his relatively charming self when he barged in here like he owned the place. Even with that, he needed to make them open up. Vague answers were his thing. It gets complicated when both people are fond of being vague. His mental energy can't keep up.

He needed to intrigue them somehow. Show them a slice of pie so that they’ll look forward to the next one. Hana was not a good baker, but he did recall he missed breakfast, so his slight hunger made him completely understand his little analogy. Pie sounded good now.

"A lot more information can fit in a book than your little pea-brain, y'know," Alright, that little comment deserved a little glare, which Hana gave. Until an idea popped up in his head, replacing his glare with an amused smile.

“Ohoho~. You’re right about that one. But not everything can be found in these little bundles of pages. Information can be found even in the most unusual things. My pea-sized brain being one, and perhaps… this wooden stick we call a wand”. From where he sat, he pulled out his wand, not with a tight grip on the handle as one did if they wanted to cast a spell. Instead, with his thumb and 1 finger, he held it in the middle of the wand, balancing it upright as if pulling out his wand was merely for Mars to see it more clearly without touching it. “Which, I assure you has a much smaller brain than I do”.

This was something he could share without revealing too much.

“ Do you know much about wand cores, Pigeon? That particular one can teach about something not a lot of these books have. Are you familiar with the creature called Horned Serpents? Surely with this many snake books around you, you’re at least a bit familiar with it, right?” he asked curiously, genuinely eager to see if reading all these worthless books wouldn't be entirely fruitless for them
[/font]

@Mars T'ien

@Hanako Tone

English ⋆ Parseltongue

Mars smirked. He really thought they were fooling him? Mars was a pretty historic name—seemed this Snake was just a bit uneducated. Although, they supposed it was kind of odd when you took in the T'iens all together. Mars, Julius, Sandor, Urian, Nereus, Plato. It was obvious that their parents had been fond of the solar system.

"Believe what you want to believe," they shrugged, shoulder lifting under their heavy robes. "But if you keep calling me Pigeon, I'd learn some countercharms. I throw a mean curse."

They smirked, absentmindedly playing with the pages of a book as they listened to him ramble. Boy this kid liked to talk. One of those types who liked the sound of his own voice, if they had to guess. They raised an incredulous eyebrow at the way he retorted to their "cute" comment.

"I pity the fool who falls for you," they snarked, "They have poor taste." Really? Insinuating they liked him was the best he could do? This is first time you've met him, said a voice in their head. Mars sighed. Well... yeah. Maybe they weren't supposed to be so snarky to someone they'd just met. But then, hadn't he started it? It was kind of hard to escape the rhythm of it—they'd spent too many years of their life bickering with five younger brothers, each of them with their own cadence and style.

Oh no, they were projecting again. It was hard not to think of their family these days, in the heat of confusion. If Sandor or Urian were wizards... they shook that idea away. Better that they weren't. The wizarding world had dangerous and secrets untold. One of which they were trying to figure out now. With a boy who reminded them insufferably of their reckless younger brother.

Help, help, he was still offering his help. Mars had half a mind to leave this conversation and find something actually productive to do, when they stopped short. They couldn't help the slight grin that spread over their face. Oh? He was admitting to being pea-brained? That was an unexpected development.

They were forced to look at him when he started talking about his wand though. A wand? What could that have to do with any of this? Subconsciously, they slipped a hand into their pocket, rubbing the crooked wood of their own cherry one. It was a good tool, and a good friend. Friend... friend. Maybe... did Hana's wand have a personality of its own? Maybe it came alive and spouted answers to life's impossible questions. They sniggered at the thought.

But Hana wasn't talking about his wand's personality. He was talking about cores. Cores? Mars' knew theirs was unicorn, consistent and faithful. Dragon was strong but temperamental. Phoenix was high-strung and hard won, but produced great results in the end. But Horned Serpent... that was a new one.

Horned Serpent, Horned Serpent. It sounded familiar. Maybe it was mentioned in passing in a Potions class. Maybe History of Magic. Where had they heard it?

Suddenly a bolt of shock hit them. Oh! The creatures that inhabited North American lakes, snakes with blue eyes and silver horns. The ones that emit low notes when in danger, who's jewels were meant to grant invisibility and flight. Mars racked their brain. Wand cores, wand cores, wand cor—

—"Oh," they breathed. Then they clapped a hand over their mouth. Sh*t. Hadn't meant to do that. But maybe...

"Well, if you're sssaying what I think you're sssaying," they said slowly, carefully keeping themselves in the brand-new language, "Then thisss should do sssomething, no?"

Mars watched with rapt attention, wide-eyes fixed on the wand in Hana's hands. Where they right?

[font=PT Sans]"Believe what you want to believe," they shrugged, shoulder lifting under their heavy robes. "But if you keep calling me Pigeon, I'd learn some countercharms. I throw a mean curse."

“ In a peaceful library like this?” he countered, challengingly. “ Hmmm, I don’t think it’s such a good idea. However, I truthfully do not have the best pain tolerance. So I’m not willing enough to tempt you even more with the idea of cursing me. But I also would brag that I’m not that bad at Defence Against the Dark Arts, so how about this? I keep calling you Pigeon, fuel you with pent-up frustration, and we can pick a time and date where we can take it outside. “ he suggested optimistically, half joking and half not. Respecting people by calling them with their names? Ummm, he hasn’t reached that far in Decent Human Behaviour class yet.

While he didn’t have the best pain tolerance, it wouldn’t be his first time being hit by a nasty spell. With a big mouth like his? In his 1st year, he basically asked to puke slugs all the time. But the bottom line is that he wasn’t so freaked out by Mars’s retort.

"I pity the fool who falls for you," they snarked, "They have poor taste."

“ Gosh, I know right???” Hanako said it so enthusiastically as if he wanted to scream louder, but they were in a library after all. “ Poor souls, really. I’m assuming they like the chase. I give quite a good one. Although I would argue- and I’m sure you’d agree- that it’s really not worth it. But what can you do, you know? Already this handsome might as well have fun with it”. Said the 135cm boy who looked like he’d be the kid in the back of the classroom that would be too shy to ask for a toilet pass. Mars was going to have to pick something else to be snarky about because no one talked less of Hanako than Hanako himself.

When Hanako pulled out his wand, he truly didn’t expect much. The grip on his wand loosened the more time Mars took to answer, his curiosity diminishing by the second. Perhaps it really was just coincidental timing. He was really about to call it a day and be gone from their sight until a familiar hissed reached his ears.

Just as shocked as Mars, the vibration sensation he felt at the tips of his finger was enough to drop the wand and leaned away. His surprise never ceased even with the short lived silence that ensued between them. His eyes darted back and forth from the fallen wand and the equally surprised Mars. It was only until Mars started speaking more Parseltongue, that his regular smile came back to his face.

“ Well, would you look at that~” he grinned as he peered closer to the vibrating wand like it was a fascinating artifact. It was not his first time seeing it tingle like that, but he had expected Parseltongue before it even did anything. But this time it was different. It was unexpected, new, and in a way- refreshing. Just like the one that triggered it.

Woah, Hana being right? That was an odd feeling of fear and joy. “ You got that, right..” he muttered almost in a daze, his eyes still focused on the wand although it was now still. He reached over to pick it up, inspecting it a bit before putting it back in his pocket. Seemed like there was no need for it anymore. Mars took the pie, and now he had a whole new topic to talk about. " So.... you're a Parselmouth. Interesting. But, you probably already knew that, didn't you?"

“ Horned Serpent Horn core. Vibrates when Parseltongue is spoken” his eyes watched closely. Just like when he met Wyatt, there was a certain light that cascaded around them when Hanako found out there were others like him. It was truly odd. Upset that he wasn’t as special as he thought he’d be, obviously. But he was somehow fascinated by the idea that there was another person apart from his Grandmother who could speak the language of snakes.

It was like an unexplored territory that he didn’t expect to find. Language was a powerful communication tool. Alas, he never expected to use his own Parseltongue since coming to Hogwarts. Much less hear it from another. Yet, here he was, right in front of the 2nd Parselmouth he met.

His mind wandered to question just how many were there, actually? Hiding among his peers just as normal looking like him, blending in with the crowd with ease. But that would be explored later. Since as of now, his sole focus was on Pigeon, a.k.a, Mars.

“ You looked surprised earlier like you didn’t mean to say it. “ he pointed out carefully, yet with evident curiosity. “ I thought I was special for a second there. Did you not intend to show me your ability in the first place? I’m hurt~ . I thought we were becoming pretty good friends, are we not?“.

Everything started to click. So much so that Hana thought he had no need to be fake interested in helping to find what they were looking for. It was Parselmouth. They seemed much less experienced with it than Wyatt. Extra S’s? What were they? 5? It’s like they never used Parselmouth before.

He gazed at the books that surrounded them, amused at how little value they ended up being in the end. “ Well, I suppose I don’t need to wonder what you might be looking for with all these books. Parseltongue? If so, no wonder why you didn’t find anything. Not with the reputation they have.”

Hanako truthfully wanted to dig more into this. Why couldn’t they control their parseltongue yet. Why did they need to go to the library just to find information on them? Shouldn’t they have an older Parselmouth teaching this to them? Its weirdddd everything is weird! But calming down was the best option for now.

Unlike Wyatt’s situation, they were not at the chamber. Hana’s own ability to understand snakes was not as obvious. The boy still hasn’t decided if it was worth sharing, or not. There was no guide to ‘ What To Do If You Meet A Parselmouth Like You’. Therefore, he decided to keep it under wraps for now, although he was urged to ask more questions.

As of now, they had to pretend they weren’t totally sure about their motive in searching for snake books. Playing dumb, another talent of his. “ See what I mean when I suggest I could be of help? So, why not indulge me in your little mission, whatever it might be. Perhaps I could be as much help as my wand was. Saw something cool didn't you? So why not~?”

Of course, unbeknownst to the clueless Hana, he had very much revealed earlier that he could understand Parseltongue as well. It was only a matter of if Mars pointed it out or not.
[/font]

@Mars T'ien

@Hanako Tone

English ⋆ Parseltongue

Mars smiled at the thought of clashing wands with the little Slytherin. If he wanted, they certainly wouldn't mind going a few rounds. The second comment, though, had them chuckling. It seemed sarcastic, but in reality, the boy wasn't unattractive. Dark hair, boyish figure (he was still... what? 11?), they could see him stealing a few hearts. If not, of course, for that personality.

"Mm, fair enough," they echoed quietly. A half-minded thought, one they didn't quite register when they were staring in the face of a possible answer. The wand was shaking. They'd figured—or really, half-guessed—that it might happen. So that's what this was? Par... Parseltongue, it had been called? They weren't quite sure. It had only been mentioned in passing in a dated charms textbook they'd found.

They started when he murmured quietly, "You got that right." Wait. That had been a response to them, no? A response to them saying that speaking.... speaking Parseltongue should do something to the wand. Why had he come over here again? To interrogate them about snakes? Had he just chosen random person in the library to harass?

The pieces started to click together in their head. So this was a thing. And it was a thing that other people had too. Was it everyone then? What was it? Why was there no goddamn information in this library? In answering one question, a wave of new ones rolled through their mind.

His words pulled them out of their stupor.

"A Parselmouth? they questioned, "Is that what it's called? This... thing?" They'd had no idea they were a Parselmouth, but that much was probably apparent to Hana. In truth, there was a lot they didn't know about this wizarding world. They had about a million things to learn.

"Not intend to show you? Well, I suppose it wasn't a direct thought I had but, y'know, when a rando comes up to you in the library and starts harassing you, your first thought isn't usually, "Oh, let me show them this really weird thing I can do!" they quipped. They did hesitate at the way he said reputation though. It was foul, like moldy cheese on bread.

Mars frowned. So that was why there was no books? Was there something wrong with this ability? It didn't seem all that bad, just a little... discombobulating. The wave of questioned rushed anew. They sighed, putting down the copy of Nooks and Hidey-Holes: the Best Houses for Your Best Friend they'd been fiddling with.

Turning, they looked Hana square in the eye. Somewhat annoyingly, he seemed to be their best bet for information.

"Fine. Help me then. What is this... thing I can do?" they questioned. "I hope you know, seeing as you can do it." And that was that. Fingers crossed he didn't give them the wrong information.

[font=PT Sans]Wow, this was kinda good. They laughed at Hana’s many jokes instead of throwing books at him. They were in Hana’s good books for now. He understood that a select few would actually see the charm in his choice of words, and those people were worth sticking close to.

“ This….’thing’?”, Hanako slowly repeated their question as if it was spoken in another language. He showed visible concern and confusion. This wasn’t pretend dumb. Hana knew what was pretend dumb, as it was used frequently by the boy. But this was not pretend dumb. This was … actual dumb dumb.

Did they really have 0% about what they were talking about? Oh gosh, it's Wyatt 2.0, but with Ravenclaw uniform and more available facial expressions apart from disgust. Was it too hasty for him to assume everyone would’ve gotten at least basic education about their abilities? How could this be a new thing to you? It was an ability you were born with. It could be learned to understand but near impossible to replicate. As a child Parselmouth usually, it was harder to control the language. He would’ve assumed that's the time -even without an adult Parselmouth to guide you- to find out what this was. Not right now. Not when you’re in your 2nd year of Magic school. The timing was ultimately confusing for him and he almost forgot to answer the question with another question. “ You…. seriously never knew? Not even as a kid? “ he questioned curiously, his tone oddly serious.

They were either super unlucky or super sheltered.

When they started yapping about Hana deserving to know about their Parselmouth heritage, he couldn’t help but respond with just light laughter. Again, they weren’t wrong. Harassed, was a word a bit too harsh for the totally innocent angelic boy. He freaked out when they first interacted, that fact is true. It was uncommon to have his wand respond to Parseltongue that was not coming out of his own mouth. He was too hasty and certainly would have done it in a better way. But now that they were here, perhaps Mars would know there were worse things to get upset about when it came to Hanako.

Their lighthearted scene ended just as Hanako implied Parselmouths was bad news. He silently observed their reaction, who turned rather solemn. It was basic news. Most would have generally accepted the fact that Parselmouth business was mainly bad business. Perhaps they were not from the wizarding community. That would’ve greatly explained their lack of knowledge on the subject.

However, the boy abstained from asking more than he already had. Knowing the full story required energy, time, and listening skills. A big waste on someone Hana just met.

"Fine. Help me then. What is this... thing I can do?" they questioned. "I hope you know, seeing as you can do it."

His first reaction to that had been a clearly fake and troubled gasp. Which morphed into a slight chuckle and a smile that didn’t really reach his eyes. “ Aww whatever could’ve gave it away”

No seriously, what gave it away? His ego was taking a huge punch to the face right now. He attempted to act cool with it but huh when what where how? When did he make that slip-up? He acted like he was cool with it, but he genuinely had no idea where the idea came from. He had prided himself in his parseltongue fluency. It was nothing new and something he had spoken freely in his home since he was a child. Slip-up and accidental hisses were something the Pigeon did. Not him.

If it was just a small trick or a joke, Hanako had completely fallen for it, regrettably so. But his ego was too bruised to ask them how they knew. Thinking back that Mars didn’t know anything about Parselmouth, he felt safer with them knowing this. It’s not like they were wrong, and perhaps their shared dark heritage could do more help than harm?

“ Welllllllll, I didn’t sign up to teach Parselmouth class today, you know. But as an apology for barging in here and stopping you from wasting your time even further, I suppose I can give you a bit of a brief on what you’re looking for. The first thing you should know? Probably… practice on making it.... less obvious.”. His hands reached towards one of the many scattered books. While he’d talk, he’d pile them up in short towers, giving Mars and him more room to have a friendly chat.

“ I could’ve missed you if my wand didn’t warm me. But Parseltongue is much more obvious to non-Parselmouths. They could’ve found you and… well, I like to think Hogwarts students are much smarter than they let on, but it’s not an ability you want other people to know you have. Do you know some of these names? Herpo the Foul, Salazar Slytherin, Tom Riddle ,also known as Voldermort...they were thread setters, let me tell you that. Because of what they were famed for, people noticed a sort of pattern the 3 influencers had, which iiiissssss….?” Hanko trailed off and took a glance at Mars, expecting an answer. Whether he got one or not, he wouldn't give them a lot of time to think before continuing.

“Bingo~ They all could talk to snakes. Parselmouths. That’s the term that is used to describe them. Us. The rare ability to communicate with serpent creatures, big and small. An ability that will only get stronger. At some point, not only would we be able to talk to snakes, but we could bargain, influence, “ Hanako’s chirpy tone stopped there, and he continued blanky. “ and control”.

“ See, that’s the thing with control. You have too much, and you start doing things you weren’t supposed to do. The wizards I mentioned earlier? They did just that. “ Arranging the books stopped Hanako from sounding so bitter the more he explained. “ And now whenever the term Parselmouth comes up, most people think ‘ oh, dark wizards’, ‘ evil’, ‘foul’ ‘destroyer of all happiness and joy’ ‘killers’, you get the idea.”

Hana frowned, realizing there were no more books around him to make into book towers to. Feeling as if he had explained enough, he clasped his hands together and gave Mars a bright smile. “ Well, that’s all I have for now. Thanks for attending class, for coming to Hanako’s lesson on Parselmouth 101, we’ll see you next time~”. He said this but he showed no signs of leaving.

How could he leave? He found a fellow Parselmouth who seemed much more lost than he initially thought. Who's to say Mars wouldn’t spread this around school? Would he wake up tomorrow with people calling him a dark wizard? That would be so hilarious, he would love to see that. But as of now, it was not a scenario he hoped to see too soon. Mars couldn’t be left alone right now. The uncertainty of what they would do is too much.

“ So, in conclusion. You should really control those hisses of yours. It’s not a bad ability, it just has a bad reputation. Your peers might hate you, your friends might turn on you, heck- maybe your own family. It’s just not something to parade around with. Which is why we hide it. “

We.

He and Wyatt. But it could easily be interpreted as general Parselmouths if Mars didn’t ask to specify. Hanako didn’t know Wyatt’s circumstances on why he hid his Parselmouth heritage. Hana's assumption was that he had enough bad rumors surrounding the boy. With being a rather gloomy and loner-type kid, there were things about him being from a dark wizard family. When you’re too quiet, people like to talked for you. Added with information that he was Parselmouth…well, Hana wouldn't be surprised if he ended up being the only friend Wyatt would have. A lovely yet pitiful scenario.

Regardless, it was generally much safer for one to hide their Parselmouth ability, and he hoped his explanation would convince Mars that they should too. Perhaps it was because they laughed at his stupid jokes, or threatened to hex them for not shutting up about the horrid nickname, or that they were both Parselmouths, there was a certain…urge to be there for them.

Hanako having the urge to help was extremely rare. But he knew it was there. Why else would he go on and on about how bad it was to show off their abilities?

“ Do you get it now? We hide. That’s just how it is”

Ew, it sounded really pathetic and cowardly when he said it but there was no sugar coating this sort of thing. It was much too bad for an adolescent's social life. Surely, Mars would understand.
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@Mars T'ien & favourite @Wyatt Starkeywhom I forgot to tag the first time but here you are~