A possible visitor or two? Ⅵ

Sitting back in her seat, Rowan ruefully sighed out loud. "Ji Marwah, you have given me much to think of," she sheepishly admitted.

Vaibhav Marwah showed a pleased expression and made the symbol of the "Hamsa Hand." The fingers connect in the representation of the element symbolizing (chakra). The thumb for fire and solar plexus chakra, the forefinger representing air and heart chakra, the middle finger for the ethereal elements and throat chakra, the ring finger representing earth and root chakra, and the pink finger representing water and sacral chakra.

Vaibhav Marwah's hands moved together to join and form the magical third eye. It had many names such as the Eye of Buddha, the Eye of Horus, etc. The third eye represented many such as Buddha, Horus, Shiva, etc. For wizards and witches in India, the Anja Chakra is believed to be the seat of the soul, a gateway to the divine, the Great Beyond.

Rowan recognized the symbolism and thoughtfully furrowed her brow as Vaibhav Marwah returned back to center. Seeing the elder wizard taking a sip of tea, she understood that the lesson was over. She offered a deep solemn bow to the elder wizard whose eyes crinkled as he smiled while his smile was hidden behind his teacup.

Switching back to English, Rowan with bolstered interest turned toward her Aunt. "Aunt Georgine, you previously stated that you had traveled through the Orient in your youth. Did you ever visit India and the city of Mumbai?"

"Of course," Georgine proudly arched her neck in remembrance. "There were many charlatan snake speakers among the commonfolk, the muggles called themselves 'snake charmers." She cooly snorted. "Though there was a talented muggleborn wizard by the name of Ganapati Chakraborty."

Georgine recalled with nostalgia. "He was quite popular with the muggle masses as well disguising himself as a magician. For personal reasons, he retired to Barnager and spent the rest of his life in spiritual pursuit."

"Mm," Vaibhav Marwah nodded his head in assessment. "Not entirely though," he disagreed in an accented English. "He was the mentor of Protul Chandra Sorcar (P.C. Socrar Senior) and Kantilal Girdharilal Vora. Tragically, his eldest protégé passed away recently in Japan (in 1971)."

"Yes, only 57 years old," Georgine muttered as there was only a two-year age difference between the two of them.

The topic continues in English on various innocent topics until Shesha unable to suppress her curiosity about the young serpent speaker in this strange foreign land finally slithers down her master's shoulders across the table toward the young serpent speaker.

 Georgine pauses in mid-conversation reflexively reaching for her wand. Despite the cobra's actions, Vaibhav Marwah makes no motion to stop his familiar from approaching Rowan. Seeing that the elder wizard appeared to be at ease with the actions of his familiar, Georgine visibly relaxed as she continued the ongoing conversation with the elder wizard. Yet all the while keeping one eye on her niece and the approaching cobra.

The cobra, Shesha lifts her head and scents the air around the snake speaker. "Tastes of the hot sands of the south. Far, far away from here." She flicked her tongue again. "Cold and wet too, belonging to this land." Her nostrils wrinkled metaphorically.

"A hint of death," Shesha whispered to herself. "Yet the strong scent of earth and plants." She furrowed her brow at smelling the faint scent of gold and silver almost completely hidden underneath. "Not all, witch. No, no, no. Rakshasa (Goblin)."

Shesha titled her head as if puzzled. "Young serpent speaker, your scent is most strange."

"I suppose that is true enough," Rowan shrugged not at all disturbed by the cobra's conclusion. She gently raises her hand for the serpent to sniff.

The serpent does more than that as Shesha darts up Rowan's arm. Rowan is slightly startled at the cobra's fearlessness. Then again, there is not much a wild cobra fears in the wilderness of India other than its mortal nemesis, the mongoose.

The cobra up close is breathtakingly beautiful with polished, glistening onyx-colored scales and a cream-colored underbelly. Shesha instinctively preens at feeling the admiring gaze of the young snake speaker. "Shesha is a great beauty," the serpent loudly complimented herself. "Shesha has turned away dozens of mates. Shesha is most coveted."

 "I can see that," Rowan's lips curl up in a genuine smile. Naturally experienced thanks to Nadira, she crooks her finger and reaches over to gently scratch underneath the chin of the serpent.

"Ah, yesss," Shesha happily hummed as she half closed her eyes in pleasure.

A chuckle filled with mirth escapes from Vaibhav Marwah. "Should I be alarmed, Shesha?" He teased his familiar in parseltongue. "I fear that you will be seduced away by the young snake speaker at this rate."

Shesha lazily replies, "Maybe," earning another loud burst of laughter from her master.

Shaking his head rather bemused, Vaibhav Marwah returned to his conversation with Georgine Prince and explained the parseltongue conversation he had with his familiar. Georgine is unable to hide a smile as well and shakes her head at the cobra. "It would seem you have a rather fickle-minded serpent, Master Marwah."

"Indeed," Vaibhav Marwah with a good-natured smile agreed.

The conversation resumed between the two adults until Shesha stopped moving and abruptly lifted her head catching a waft of a scent. She slithered up further Rowan's arm and sniffed her face and neck. "Yesss, Shesha smells great power. It was hidden, but Shesha remembers. It smells of the great and powerful serpent, the one that rests beneath the great waters of the great stone lair."

"Nadira is her name," Rowan easily answered without qualms. "Nadira was only an egg when her mother, a Great Horned Snake entrusted her to me. She was to be the guardian of Hogwarts."

"A great one," Shesha reverently whispered.

"Yes, she was."

Shesha hums sadly and sniffs Rowan again determined to not miss another scent. She was a great and powerful naja naja (cobra). She missed nothing!

With wrinkled brows, Shesha pulls back from Rowan in shock. Her hood almost flares up as she stands up and she coils tighter around the young serpent's arm to remain upright, "Two other great serpent eggs have passed through thine hands. One dead and the other lives."

Seeing the confusion on the cobra's face, Rowan coaxes the serpent to relax by gently petting it on the back of its head. "One egg, I could not trust," she plainly confessed, "and the other egg, I have yet to determine its final fate."

Shesha grumbles loudly in displeasure, before quieting down and taking another sniff. Unhappily, the serpent mumbles, "Young snake speaker, ye have also shed the blood of a great powerful serpent."

"I could not save the Basilisk. It had gone mad long before I was ever born."

Shesha's face rose to meet Rowan's gaze as the serpent's eyes stared face level with that of Rowan's. "Shesha has eaten others of its kind to survive, young snake speaker. Shesha does not regret surviving, and neither should ye."

Understanding flashed through Rowan's eyes as did a previously unknown measure of relief. She had been carrying the guilt of the death of the Basilisk and the Basilisk eggs' destruction for some time. She had known it needed to be done, yet it felt good to be understood. She would not have wished it had been so, but it had.

With sincere gratitude and appreciation, Rowan resumes scratching the cobra causing Shesha to almost purr in pleasure. Once the serpent is relaxed again, Rowan asks the cobra where it was born. Shesha happily begins to recount the majestic tale of her birth in her master's hand. It shouldn't be a long story, yet it was.