Brumous Sneak Peek!!!!
Okay. Okay. OKAY! I’m posting my unedited sneak peek a day early because I AM SO EXCITED. This is dedicated to all of you who follow me! Don’t let warm and fuzzy chapter title deceive you, though. This is the cliffhanger chapter.
Chapter Thirty-Nine: Fluffernoodle
“Everyone deserves a name and to be called by their name,” Harry reasoned.
He had always hated when he wasn’t called by his name. He particularly hated to be called boy. It had felt dehumanizing, like he wasn’t good enough to be called by an actual name.
“You can name him,” Sirius conceded, his hands throwing up in the air.
Harry took another bite of his sandwich and thought on it. What would be a good name for a snake? He craned his neck, trying to see the snake but he seemed to be well-hidden. He hissed out for the snake, ignoring Sirius’ dramatic sigh. Much to Harry’s amusement, the snake slithered out of pocket of Sirius’ leather jacket.
“Merlin fucking hell,” Sirius muttered, shrugging off the jacket and laying it on the seat next to him. “Stop that!”
Harry sat his sandwich down and leaned forward. “What is your name?”
Sirius rose from the table, crossing the kitchen to grab a fizzy drink. He twisted the lid off one and took a long swig of it, leaning against the counter.
“No name,” the snake hissed, slithering up onto the table.
“What name would you like?” Harry inquired.
“Whatever pleases the nice smelling one,” the snake replied.
Harry grinned. “His name is Sirius. It takes him a while to open up. He’ll get there. Don’t worry.”
The snake turned to look at Sirius. Harry glanced up at his godfather to see him staring at the pair of them. Pursing his lips to the side, Harry tried to think of a name for the little thing.
“How about Slinky?” Harry hissed.
The snake turned back to him, his little head shaking in the negative.
“Fettucine? Macaroni?” Harry asked, only to receive a no. “Uh… how about something like Stewart? Do you like human names?”
“I do not feel like a Stewart.”
Harry was out of ideas. Honestly, when he named Hedwig, the name had stood out to him the moment he read it. But with this little snake, he had no idea what to name it. Shifting, he reached out to pull his mirror out of his pocket to contact an expert.
“Ginny Weasley,” Harry said in the mirror.
“What are you doing now?” Sirius asked, still refusing to get any closer to the table.
“I told you, Ginny likes naming animals,” Harry explained. “Plus, he didn’t like any of my suggestions.”
Harry’s reflection rippled in the mirror. Ginny looked back at him, her bottom lip secure between her teeth. Harry grinned at her and her face immediately relaxed.
“Hey, do you want to name Sirius’ pet snake for him?” Harry asked.
“He’s not my pet!” Sirius shouted.
Harry ignored him. “He didn’t like any of my names. The snake that is. Sirius is distancing himself from the entire process.”
Ginny laughed. “Can I see him?”
Harry flipped the mirror, leaning to the side so he could see Ginny’s expression.
“Aww, he looks like a little fluffernoodle!” Ginny cooed. “Look at his big eyes! Harry, his eyes are gorgeous!”
The snake turned to Harry, as though wanting him to translate. Harry did, telling him he looked like a fluffernoodle with big and gorgeous eyes. The snake appeared to smile.
“Fluffernoodle?” the snake hissed, blinking. “Fluffernoodle. Fluffernoodle. I like that name.”
“Err, I don’t think it was meant to be a name,” Harry replied.
“I am Fluffernoodle.”
Harry glanced up at Sirius, a wince crossing his face.
“What?” Sirius snapped. “Why are you looking at me like that?”
“Uh, he likes the name Fluffernoodle and wants you to call him Fluffernoodle,” Harry replied.
Sirius rolled his head in a dramatic fashion. “I am not calling that damn snake Fluffydoodle!”
“Fluffernoodle!” Ginny corrected. “Merlin, Sirius, if that’s what he wants, then you have to call him that! How would you like it if someone called you Albert or something?”
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