Graphic credit: Felixir

A little way off the path between the castle and the lake stand several half-sphere outdoor shelters, known as the domes. Made from a sturdy and clear, charmed material that keeps the temperature inside relatively comfortable, and the air fresh, the main purpose of the domes is a location to hang out, alone or with a few friends. They also serve as impromptu shelters during sudden downpours, cool relief from the summer heat, or a place to warm benumbed fingers and toes during bitingly cold winters. Each is accessible by a simple door made of the same material. No need to reserve them - just make sure no one is already there before entering!

The domes are near to each other, but not clustered too close together. They are completely transparent; those outside can see in, and those inside can see out. Occupied domes will light up - though the light has no obvious source - useful and downright cosy on overcast or gloomy days. The groundskeeper, and any staff member looking out of the windows on this side of the castle, will be able to see the domes if they're lit up after dark, so unless you want to light the 'hey, look at me, I'm out after curfew' beacon, best not to come this way after hours. Tapio would rather not have to take House Points from rulebreakers (but he will).

Each dome contains five comfortable chairs, and can comfortably hold as many students, maybe a couple more if you don't mind a tight squeeze. Try to refrain from seeing how many students can fit inside one of these things at once. Getting a score of kids hopelessly stuck will not have a good outcome for anyone, but it's up to you if you want to test that theory out for yourself.

Vera was trying very, very hard to not panic. But she was also failing.

She'd pulled Sass out to spend some time with her on the grounds, letting the rosy boa wrap around her shoulders as she generally did when they spent time together, but somehow between the reptile room to here in the dome she had set up camp in, the snake had slithered it's way away from her and was currently hiding... somewhere. Vera was pretty certain she'd had Sass with her when she entered, which meant the snake had probably found a spot to burrow inside the dome. But the problem was she was so used to the feeling of the scales against her skin she hadn't noticed when it was there or when it disappeared. A downfall she supposed of how much she coddled her familiar.

Having abandoned the books she'd left open on the table, Ve started crawling around the floor looking here and there and everywhere she could. "Sasssssss." She spoke, holding out the s's for way longer than necessary. "Sasssss!"

If only she spoke parseltongue.

Another day, another stroll through the grounds. He had been at the greenhouses trying to gather ingredients for a bit of out of hours potion brewing, but nobody needed to know the details about that...

...

A short walk from there and he found himself at the domes - always a pleasant place to spend some time, but he didn't plan on staying long. He did, however, notice Vera acting suspicious inside one of the domes. Maybe she was having an identity crisis and now saw herself as an animal. Hey, he wasn't one to judge, and perhaps he didn't know Vera well enough to involve himself but how could he resist?!

He stood idly outside of the dome and watched for a few moments, utterly amused. He then crept forwards a little until his face was pressed against the glass (gross, in hindsight) intending to startle her. "Are you trying to summon a Slytherin? Because here I am." Solly announced. Her lucky day because he was THE Slytherin.

That sounded like a good twitter bio.

It was entirely an undignified position Solly had stumbled upon, the sixth year still crawling around and occasionally frantically (yet softly) raking a hand over the dirt any time the earth seemed disturbed. Still, nothing. Her jeans were already covered in the dirt she'd upturned as well and she'd definitely be needing to plan a manicure night with Sia later to undo some damage.

Y’know, unless she instead was bedridden because she was the WORST snake owner ever.

At the question, which did surprise her, Ve jumped slightly before looking up. At the face pressed against the glass, which she absolutely probably would have teased him about in normal circumstances, she just blinked now. ”A Slytherin, yes! Are you a parselmouth?” Was that even the right word for it??? She knew it was absolutely a stereotype to ask him that buuuuuut it didn't hurt to ask even on the very, very slim chance it was true.

When was the last time they even HAD known of someone adept in the language????

Solomon quickly removed his face from the glass because it felt a little… slimy. He took a few moments to be grossed out, rubbed his mouth with his sleeve, and then looked back at the Gryffindor with a hint of grouchiness about him, despite his previous smile. He hadn’t noticed the dirt that accompanied Vera, mostly because he wasn’t the cleanest himself.

His amused expression was completely gone by now, and it had turned into a curious, and somewhat irked one as he entered the dome with Vera. “Uhhhh… no…” he refrained from pointing out that just because he was in Slytherin, did not mean he could talk to snakes. “Why do you need a parselmouth?” Solly questioned as he recalled a story from an old history book regarding a basilisk in the school, aaaaaaaand now he was thinking the absolute worst.

Parseltongue was just weird to Solomon, because how hard could it really be to talk to a snake??

Sssssssss…

Done.

In normal circumstances, she would have noticed the soured mood and probably incessantly questioned him on it - despite the fact they were not particularly close. He'd bested her though in a duel at least once though which in her book generally insinuated a closeness that would make no sense to anyone else rational. But perhaps that was because she always thought it was more fun to have friends over enemies or even acquaintances.

She also probably would have apologized for the potential offense, which it seemed like maaaaybe he did actually take some to her question. But she was DESPERATE, okay? She couldn't HELP but ask! "....... I managed to lose my snake." She nearly whispered it because a) she was appalled with herself and b) she knew most people were not overly fond of the slithery creature and she didn't want him to PANIC and potentially STEP on Sass hidden in the dirt or something. "I was hoping if someone could TALK to her they'd be able to tell me where she went off to." Like... a game of marco polo or something.

Or... SSS / sss?

JUST as he had feared, Vera was looking for a snake! The discomfort was apparent on Solomon’s face, but he didn’t want to indicate that he was afraid of snakes. Being a Slytherin, it felt a bit embarrassing to admit that fact. He was a bit of a weird Slytherin, though, in all fairness. “You brought a snake outside?! Without a cage?!” He wasn’t no expert but that sounded like an accident waiting to happen.

“Well, sorry… I can’t speak to snakes. I don’t know anyone that can. Surely you’ve picked up a few words since you own one?” Was that something you could learn in a class, or? “Maybe we should just try.” MERLIN knows why he was happy to help. He was just such a nice person, okay?

Solomon instinctively stood up on one of the chairs and helped (somewhat) but looking around his immediate surroundings. Purely for selfish reasons, of course.

Still focused on her search, Ve did not notice the change in Solly’s demeanor or anything that might have flitted across his face. Besides, she was so entirely unafraid of snakes that in the presence of others she often forgot that she was actually in the minority when it came to that. However, at his accusatory sounding words, she did sit back on her heels for a moment and looked towards him. “Sass is only in her cage when she has to be. She’s used to being handled and with me, so I take her with me a lot. She’s also a rosy boa which is not known for being fast, so usually there’s not a big risk of her coming out with me.” She also usually preferred to be curled around Vera. Something had probably spooked her and she was curled into a ball somewhere. Her breed didn’t generally bite either so no one was in any risk of her, though Sass could certainly be at risk from others.

If Parseltongue was something that could be learned, she would very, very quickly sign up for that class. How beneficial would that have been in her desired future career as a herpetologist? “I don’t think it’s something you can pick up but…. We can try.” She got down again and looked around, before giving a loud “ssssssss”. Did that sound like a ‘come here’?

Glancing over and seeing Solomon’s feet disappear from the ground, she looked up to see him standing on higher ground and gave a raised eyebrow. “... What are you doing?”

He could sense her becoming a bit defensive about his mention of a cage, but he wasn’t going to feel bad for asking. In his opinion, when taking such a creature out in public, you should think of that sort of stuff. He couldn’t help but snort when she said it usually stayed with her. “Well, it clearly didn’t want to stay with you today.” He really didn’t mean to come across nastily, he was just a little frustrated. Solly sighed, realising he was being a total hypocrite. “Sorry. I’m sorry. I lost my toad last term, so I understand what you’re going through.” Only difference was, toads weren’t so bitey.

It was probably correct that you couldn’t just learn Parseltongue like you could with French, for example. Otherwise everyone would be able to do it. He wasn’t really sure how else to lure a snake, guessing that they probably enjoyed the freedom!! “Does it have a favourite snack or something?” Solly paused and looked immediately panicked, “Is it big enough to eat humans aged 15?” Just curious.

What was he doing?? Ummmm fighting for his life? It was true that her questioning had embarrassed him somewhat, though, so he had no intention of sharing his little fear. “Obviously I’m getting a birds-eye view from up here. To find the snake.” He stated, peering around to really play the part.

ASGFHJDFGL. If she wasn’t so concerned, she would have been BEYOND offended. Sass loved her!! She just also loved freedom and sometimes she wanted to do some more exploring. Vera was generally good about seeing the cues of what Sass needed and responding appropriately, she’d just been distracted this time. Distraction from the true depth of her ire, she still opened her mouth to snap back but… Solly was apologizing so she closed it instead. While she wouldn’t say he was forgiven… he got points at least for backtracking. “Where’d you end up finding him?” Rosy boas weren’t bitey either, she would have assured him. Sass was one of the most docile types of snakes which was why Ve was so comfortable having her out.

A favorite snack….. Well… “Any chance you know how to quickly transfigure something into a mouse?” THAT was her favorite snack and Ve didn’t usually keep one of those on her. Sass only got one about once a week. At his silly question, she blinked at him in surprise until… “Sol, are you scared of serpents?” It was unfathomable to her but she had heard some people were. Why else would he be worried about it being able to EAT him?

A birds eye view? “... Just don’t eat her when you find her then.” She replied, before spotting a sliver of the rosy hue of her familiar. Her face split into a grin as Ve scrambled up and moved over to pull Sass from behind the corner she’d found to curl up behind. “THERE you are!”