Hidden Mysteries
Ignorant of his powers
As the unsuspecting family
Treks into the spacious zoo,
And what seemed as luck
Proves only to lead to mystery
As a thick, massive boa
Lazes in greenery
And pity leads him
To sympathize.
Shock as the great snake
Raises its head and
Surreptitiously winks,
Jabs its tail as they
Converse, and quite suddenly
Is cut short by
The greedy cousin-
And shrieks of horror
Sound as glass magically
Disappears.
Slithering out,
Snapping playfully,
It quickly nods to the amazed boy
To show its thanks
And slides away on powerful coils,
Surely a magnificent dream!
But terror fills these halls
As the second school year rushes forward,
Unsafe to be alone, no longer
Can they be free,
And such fear leads to
More security found in extra
Study- a dueling class,
With a mutual enemy, who
Smirks, gloats when he is
Winning, raises a wand
High to jettison
A viper, hissing, spitting,
Ready to advance.
And treacherous feet carry
Him forward, feeling quite
Conspicuous, and shouts
Word of warning,
As the snake bows
Its head in docile manner.
But a hush fills the hall,
For the hero seems a
Hissing and slippery friend,
A sure candidate for the
Heir of Slytherin
And panic steals through
His soul at conversing the
Unknown language,
Not knowing what to believe.
The school year races on
And hissing fills its walls
As more and more victims
Fall to its foreboding stare,
And suddenly does he find
Himself in the secret
Chamber-
Ready to risk it all to
Save every life,
And faced this time
With horrid realization
That he does not have
An arsenal of weaponry:
Just a songbird, a hat,
And the language cannot
Save him.
He cries out
As a ruby handle slides
Into his shaking hands
And a few sure jabs
Kill the horrific, giant
Basilisk.
Survived due to phoenix tears
And the true enemy hindered
By its own faithful creature.
And now, after several
Years, does he lie,
Injured in a graveyard
And foreboding creeps
Into his icy skin.
And then comes forth
A hair-raising sound,
Long supple body,
Thick, undulating with
Its ugly triangular head
And diamond patterned tail,
Destined to meet him
Again and again-
As he is chained to the gravestone,
As he dreams a wretched nightmare
That gives him fangs,
As he follows the tiny woman
Up the stairs in hopes
Of gaining a weapon,
Only to fall as she strikes-
But somehow he survives
Against her slippery harm...
And left once more to
Watch, lying dead,
As the final viper is stripped
Of life under the ruby sword.
And under the hawthorn wand
Raised up so high,
The enemy is shunted
Aside, left to Death's hungry door...
As he lies upon the brick
Zoo floor, he cannot know,
Cannot understand
What potential has opened
Up, watching
The constrictor's tail
Whip around, slowly
Slithering away.
He only knows laughter;
Only knows misery as he is slammed
Into his cupboard.
And the memory is lost
To the far reaches of his mind
Until he is ready
To call upon its power
Again.
Hidden Mysteries by Nagini Riddle
Chapter Endnotes: My tribute to not only Harry, but snakes as well. :)