the reason i think everyone is complaining about the puffs not the snakes is cause he was stepping into there common room so he would be in full view of the rest of the puffs which is a far to risky for a snake and malfoy just had his reputation drop recently in his house so in my opinion he would be extra cautious the question now is is this an initiation ceremony or a neutralization of darkness i say its a initiation ceremony still i cant wait to read it and know for shure