The Tree of Blacks (English version)

Snakes in the Grass - pt.1

November 1972. Hogwarts.

A breath of icy air made Alya shiver, and she clutched herself in her heavy cloak. It was late autumn now, and even the warm rays of the sun had lost much of their warmth.

It was a cold Saturday morning and Alya was holed up inside the Forbidden Forest, far from the hustle and bustle that raged around the castle. At that moment, a Quidditch match was being played between the Slytherins and the Gryffindors, the most eagerly awaited and heartfelt sporting match of the term. The entire school had poured into the stands surrounding the large Quidditch Stadium, including the teachers.

Alya didn't understand what people found so interesting about Quidditch; to her, it was boring as hell. Yet, it seemed to be the main attraction for students and professors of Hogwarts.

However, the fact that all the school's attention was focused on that pitch dotted with rings and delineated by stands overflowing with fans had its positive side, which Alya had found herself grateful for since first year.

Alya used to take advantage of those Quidditch days to sneak out of the castle and into the Forbidden Forest; with the absence of the teachers to watch the corridors, it was child's play, and none of her schoolmates gave any weight to her absence, believing her to be busy cheering on the Silver-Green House team somewhere else in the stands.

Thus, Alya had the opportunity to spend a couple of hours in peace, away from the pressure of her responsibilities as a noble Black at school, in the company of a good book and her slithering friend Koboro.

Also on that cold Saturday, Alya went to her secret place, sat down on the grass of a small clearing inside the Forbidden Forest and started to read her book, with Koboro rolled up beside her. The reptile's presence was not only pleasing to the girl for reasons of simple affection, but it was also extremely useful: it kept away uncomfortable creatures which could have been dangerous for her.

From time to time, the snake quickly uncoiled its body, only to target some succulent prey running through the bushes. Then, after its meal, Koboro returned to curl up next to its human friend.

Meanwhile, Alya's grey eyes were devouring the pages of a small volume, very dear to her. It was Treasure Island, the little adventure book, which Harry Bennet, the Muggle child she had met the year before in Cornwall, had lent her.

Little Black had finished it long ago, but she hadn't stopped reading it even when the characters' lines had become so familiar that she could recite them by heart.

A motion of melancholy gripped Alya's soul: during her first year at Hogwarts, she had many times fantasised - secretly, of course - about meeting Harry again during the summer in Cornwall, at the estate of Arcturus Black.

She had devised several plans on how to escape the watchful, probing gazes of her stern mother and sneak into the grove that separated her from the Bennets' small cottage. She craved to see that child again, even if he wasn't a wizard like her, to ask him how he had spent the year in his Muggle school, what subjects he had studied. In return, Alya would want to tell him about her, about what she really was, about her true nature and, above all, about Hogwarts and how fantastic the school of magic she attended was. She was sure Harry wouldn't be frightened by such a confession. Of course, it was a very serious violation of the rules imposed by the Black family; the most serious, in fact. Never mingle with Muggles.

But Alya realised that she didn't care. She missed Harry and wanted him to be her friend. She needed to have a real friend, who she could talk to and confide in. Or maybe even just chat about this and that, simply having fun.

Little Black was not naive and she knew perfectly well that the friendships she had calculatingly forged at Hogwarts could hardly be called sincere. Alya wanted a real friend, who would accept her as she was, and she was sure that in Harry she could find the kind of friendship she had hoped for.