Groomed

(Pt 6)

Speaking:
"Talking"
Thinking
'Parseltongue'

Harry stared at the books piled within the bookshelves of Riddle Manor. It was a rare day where the Dark Lord and the snake- Nagini, were both absent from his side. It had been a month since he'd been given to the Dark Lord- leaving him an object in the Alphas grip.
He sighed, and looked down where he sat in the middle of the lounge room. Clenching his fists, Harry thought through his options.

1) He could keep sitting on the couch bored out of his mind until the Dark Lord or that snake came back.
or
2) he could get up, get one of the books and possibly be caught touching what isn't his.

Harry sighed again, finding himself between a rock and a hard place. Honestly, the thought that he'd be punished for reading a book made Harry shiver, but he really wanted to know what the contents of at least one of those books held. His fingers practically itched.

It took Harry another hour to make his decision. This decision may've been what showed that Harry was truly a Potter. Because while he knew he should sit still and make sure he doesn't get punished at all cost- the urge to get one of the books was truly unreal. Standing, Harry walked over to the wall of bookshelves and skimmed through the many different binding titles. He pushed up onto his tiptoes to grab a forest-green book titled "The History of Parseltongue".
Harry had once heard the word "Parseltongue" though he'd never learned the meaning of the word. Maybe it was just a fancy name for an old wizard or something- he didn't know.
Opening the book, the binding strained from not having been opened for so long. Peaking behind him, Harry settled on the floor and flipped to the first page.
To say the contents were... intriguing would be an understatement. The words were disfigured, and the dating seemed to go all the way back to the early B.C.'s of time. Harry furrowed his eyebrow at one particular name -Salazar Slytherin. So he kept reading, losing himself in the words, the history, the name Slytherin.

Time flowed like it never had as Harry continued to sit on the wood floor, with the book neatly in his lap -hands holding the pages back. Flipping another page, Harry engulfed himself in Chapter Three: Lineage of the Snake-Tongue -as the door to the lounge creaked open and in popped the head of a small, black-furred animal. It's fur was poofed, as if the creature was constantly on edge as eyes as sharp as a predators moved across the surroundings.
Until they landed on Harry. Slipping in, the creature made a habit of silence as its paws moved against the carpet, then hardwood until the fur was brushing against Harry's side, and a rumbling purr came from its tummy.

To say Harry jumped to his feet with the book flying all the way to the ceiling, would be an understatement. The boys heart thumped widely as his eyes shot across the lounge, before finally landing on the animal near his feet. It meowed -a delicate, and almost silent sound.
A sigh came from Harry's most inner being, before he lowered onto his feet, and picked up the animal. It was a kitten -couldn't have been more than two months old as Harry looked over the animals being. It was almost the perfect cup size for his two hands -which was very small considering Harry's upbringing. The kitten meowed, and licked out its tongue. Harry was speechless.

He hadn't expected the Dark Lord to house a cat. And with his damned snake around too. Harry frowned and placed the kitten back onto its four paws. It meowed once more, before burying into Harry's robes and purring.
The Omega giggled. Running a hand on the kittens back, it moved and leapt to the lounge door. Harry frowned and shook his head.
"Come here, we're not supposed to go out there." But the kitten ignored him and scampered out the door, leaving it wider for Harry. He frowned.

Choice 1) Follow the kitten and bring it back to the room where he could find a safe place so Nagini nor the Dark Lord found them.
or
Choice 2) Stay in the room, don't close the door, possibly be caught and wish for the easiest punishment that could possibly be handed to him.