Abnormal

"Hiss~ Haha~ Idiot, you still haven't found me, how amusing~"

The voice grew closer. Tom blinked and lowered his head. At his feet, a small black snake was staring at him, flicking its tongue. He rubbed his eyes in disbelief and tentatively crouched down. "Are you the one talking?"

"Holy crap!! I actually met someone who can speak Parseltongue!"

It was confirmed. Tom was now truly certain he wasn't a normal person. He'd never heard anyone else converse with snakes. "The Headmaster doesn't like children who curse, so don't curse anymore..."

The little black snake flicked its tail, turned its head, and left. Even with Parseltongue, it couldn't interfere with a snake's freedom! It wasn't human, why should it care about what some Headmaster said!

The conversation with the little snake made Tom feel a bit better. Although he still felt like something was missing, at least he had made a new discovery. This way, he could survive without the Headmaster, just as the Headmaster wished...

When night fell, Tom quietly opened his door and slipped out into the yard, looking up at the stars. He wanted to find which one was the Headmaster, but there were too many; he couldn't count them.

He held his face in his hands, feeling a bit annoyed, and sighed. "Okay, then the biggest and brightest one is the Headmaster! The ones next to it are Mom..."

"Wow... you really are a childish little kid~"

Looking down at the little snake that had reappeared at his feet, Tom bit his lower lip, feeling a little embarrassed and annoyed. He was just a child! Why did a snake have to mock him too?

"Better than you, at least I have hands, and you don't."

Rolling on the ground, the little black snake suddenly felt a surge of competitive spirit. It wriggled back and forth, tying itself into a knot. "I can tie myself into a knot! Can you? Such an unlovable hatchling!"

Not wanting to bother with the thing on the ground, Tom continued to cradle his face and look at the sky. Even if he wasn't a normal child, he wouldn't tie himself up like that for no reason. It was too stupid, truly too stupid.

"Hiss hiss hiss... Help me untie... Please, I can't get myself out..."

With a sigh like a little adult, Tom swayed his small head and reluctantly reached out to untie the little snake. He had said it, it was too stupid. He even thoughtfully pretended the incident hadn't happened, changing the subject by recalling their conversation from earlier.

"I can talk to you, is that strange? You haven't seen others do this?"

If it could roll its eyes, the little snake would have done so without hesitation. How old was it? It hadn't seen that many humans. It was lucky it hadn't been chopped up by humans; it was clever. "Do you think I'm idle? Why would I bother talking to humans?"

Tom raised an eyebrow. That was true. If he couldn't understand snake language, he probably would have found a way to kill this snake during the day. Who knew if this guy would suddenly bite him? It would be terrible if it was poisonous.

Back in the summer, someone had been bitten and died from a venomous snake. The Old Headmaster had told him then never to run into the grass.

"Sigh..."

The little snake poked the dejected little cub with its tail, flicking its tongue. It didn't understand complex human emotions. Wasn't death a normal thing? It needed to fill its belly, so it hunted other creatures, just like humans killed pigs.

"Why are you sighing?"

"You wouldn't understand." Tom thought of the Old Headmaster again. He was the only one there who had been kind to him. "Why do people die...?"