A Familiar Friend Pet

Parseltongue

When Mateo had first discovered he was a Parselmouth, that had been down to the help of a friendly jungle snake near the family village. After that encounter with the serpent, Mateo was under the impression that he'd never see the creature again, but that would turn out to be far from the case.

The first instance would be only a few days later, after Mateo had asked his Abuelita to train him to be able to speak Parseltongue more fluently. He was simply walking to another of the houses when a snake stopped him in his path. Mateo crouched so he could see better, and that is when he heard a familiar voice in his head hiss, "Congrats on your choice. I expect to be hearing from you soon." At the time, Mateo couldn't have been sure it was the same snake, but when they would converse later on, it would be confirmed.

Mateo's next encounter would be a few years on, and this time it would be an accidental meeting from both parties. As Mateo had wondered the woods, completing Herbology work that had been set over the summer, he'd noticed a familiar pattern of scales glistened in the light and attempted to reach out.

"Snake? Is that you?"

The serpent would stop in his tracks and rise to look at Mateo, its tongue flickering. "My friend... it's been some time. How have you been?"

He stayed in that clearing of the rainforest, simply just talking to the snake, for several hours. It had been so long that his family had needed to send out a search party for him. They had many questions for him when they did eventually find him, lying on the ground hissing at a snake.

The pair would meet up on regularity after that occasion when Mateo wasn't at school, and at times Mateo would even find himself missing the company of the serpent. When he finally graduated from Castelobruxo and decided to go travelling, it was the snake he was most worried to break the news to.

He found the snake lurking outside the house as he returned from informing his family, staring very intently at him. "So it is true? You plan to leave and travel the world and never return?"

"I will return," Mateo tried to reassure. "You will barely miss me."

The snake paused, as if thinking. "What if you took me with you?"

"Would you be ok? I mean, away from this environment for so long? I don't know about snake care."

"I trust you to take care of me."

He dubbed the snake 'Buddy', reasoning that the serpent had become his travel buddy, and from then on, Mateo would no longer be alone on his adventures. He'd explore the world with his faithful snake by his side, and Buddy would still be with him when he chose to settle down in the UK.

One day, when he'd gone into the Magical Menagerie in Diagon Alley, the shop owner had commented on the snake with him.

"That's a lovely snake you have there, dear. Seems really happy with you."

Mateo smiled. "I'd hope so. He's been my buddy for so long now."

Word Count- 534/400

What animal do you wish to purchase? Emerald Gazer
What do you want to name it? Buddy
Is this a boy or a girl? Boy
What is your pet's date of birth? November 17th 2008