Parseltongue

What if the Horcrux in Harry had more of an effect than it did in the books? what if it affected his personality and memories as well as gifting him with Parseltoungue?

Severus stared bored at the new students. One did catch his attention, a small boy with dark hair and glasses. He was slouching where he stood and Severus' impression was more bored arrogance than worried fear.

"Potter Harry" was called and this was a name he was interested in. The boy he'd been observing walked up. More confident than Draco Malfoy had been he calmly waited for the Hat to announce "Slytherin". When surprised murmurs broke out he looked around.

"I'm a fairly cunning self-preserving sadist. Where else was I going to go?"

"Mr Potter please go to your seat." Minerva requested.

Potter then surprised everyone again by replying "Yes Minerva."

As Minerva stared at him he raised his hands to his head "Stupid multiple personality disorder. Sorry Professor."

Minerva glanced at Severus. "Speak to me later Mr Potter."

"Yes sir." Potter went to his seat.


Draco was confused. This boy had seemed so confident earlier in the Sorting but now the meal was underway he had his head on the table. Sitting next to him Draco could hear the faint murmurs.

"Stop it…stop…I want to fit in, be normal…why can't I?"

"Potter?" Draco pushed him. Instantly Potter grabbed his wrist and sat up.

"What?"

"You should eat." Draco indicated the food. As a young child Draco had never been allowed to miss a meal, never. This made it hard for him to sit by and watch this person not eat anything over the dinner.

Potter watched him carefully "Fine Draco."

"I didn't give you permission to use my first name."

"Do I require it?" Harry laughed "Anyway I know your father; calling you Malfoy would confuse me."

Draco was puzzled. Of course his father had many associates that Draco didn't know but surely he would mention Harry Potter.


At the end of the meal Potter walked up to Professor Snape while everyone else filed out.

"Why did you wish to speak with me?"

"I would hope that would be obvious." Severus sneered "You cannot address teachers by their given names."

"It's a bit hard sir. Remembering Minerva as the bossy Gryffindor Head Girl conflicts with the knowledge of her being a teacher and therefore cannot be addressed that way." Potter explained.

"You mentioned multiple personality disorder?"

"I'm not sure if that's it or not. Sometimes I'm me and I want to be kind to people and fit in but then…then I can remember power, being in charge and having people kneel before me. I want that feeling again."

"Remember who kneeling?" Severus was curious.

"Er…" Potter closed his eyes "Malfoy, Lestrange, all three of them, Rosier, Crabbe, Goyle…" he went on, listing all the people Severus had known as Death Eaters. "And…oh no you don't…he's in all of them…give me a name…"

"Don't worry if you can't remember all of them." Severus told him "But no being so impudent in class, can you do that? Restrain your other side during lessons?"

"Give me a second." Potter closed his eyes again; he'd opened them when Severus was talking. "Yeah. I get mostly control during the day and a lot of nightmares. We can do that."

"Very well. Come, you need to be shown where the common room is."

"Yes sir." Severus didn't miss the slight accent that was present on those words. The same accent the Dark Lord had had, he hissed his "s"s.


"Hey." Hermione looked up from where she was eating breakfast alone. Harry Potter was standing next to her. "We're in the same class together now so I was wondering if you'd like to walk down together."

"But you're a Slytherin." Even if she hadn't really made friends in her own House yet she knew she wasn't supposed to be friendly with Slytherins.

"And sorry to be so blunt but you and I are the only people in first lesson Potions that are sitting by themselves and I need somebody to keep me sane until the lesson."

She looked at him closely, he didn't seem to be pleading per se but she did get a sense of need like he was saying. And she didn't seem to be making very many friends in her House…her better nature took over. "Sure I'll walk down with you."

He smiled gratefully and as they walked down, he knew the way, he asked her about what she thought Potions would be like.

"Well I want to learn all of it, and I read all the textbook, I understood most of it."

"What didn't you understand?"

"Why mistletoe added to aconite doesn't explode."

Kindly he explained. He didn't bother waiting outside like Hermione suspected they were supposed to do, just pulled out his wand, twirled it and tapped the door, leading her in. He sat on the teacher's desk and she sat on one of the front row desks.

She didn't really notice the rest of class entering, except when they started asking Harry questions as well. And she, and the rest of the class, only noticed Professor Snape when there was a brief lull in the questions and he told Harry "That's enough for now I think."

Harry nodded, slipped off his desk and sat next to Hermione in the front row.

"Now, to see how many of you were listening who didn't understand the textbook…you," he pointed at Ron "What is the difference between wolfsbane and aconite?"

Hermione remembered that had been the question Ron had asked Harry.

"They're the same." He answered.

"Correct." He went around the class asking everyone the questions they had asked Harry.

"And Mr Potter, how does one gain entry to a securely locked classroom?"

"Well depending on the complexity of the lock sir…" Harry smiled "I undid the barrier to lock the door. And you call that secure? It was the ward you used to use on your workroom at the Manor."

Professor Snape frowned at him "That lock kept everyone but my employer out at the time and it keeps everyone out now, except for you. Could you not enter the classroom without permission again? There are things in here I do not want anyone touching without supervision."

"Yes sir. And that name I couldn't remember yesterday? Severus Snape." He looked at the Professor significantly.

"Thank you for clarifying my suspicions. Now…" he took a register and went straight into a lecture about his lessons.


Hermione found herself becoming friends with Harry. They shared a similar nature, wanting to learn. Harry knew a fair amount of the things they learnt in class already and classified it as "baby stuff" but was respectful that not everyone else knew. He also had this slightly annoying on occasion belief that he was better than everybody he didn't like.

He ignored the rules he didn't like, specifically the ones involving sitting at ones house table and not duelling in the halls.

Today they were sitting at the Slytherin table. Well, Hermione was sitting at it, Harry was sitting on it. He didn't eat much at lunch. He just ate a fair amount at breakfast and dinner.

"Why is that filthy Mudblood here Potter?" Draco asked scathingly.

"Ignore him." Harry told Hermione "He's just a…" and Hermione didn't catch the rest of it because it seemed like a snake had suddenly taken control of Harry's vocal chords.

Another hiss came from the teachers' table. Harry turned to face it and spoke again in that strange hissing language.


"Who are you to speak this language?" Harry heard a voice ask.

"Who are you to speak this language?" he countered, aware that everyone who could hear him was staring. That was fine, it wasn't every day you met someone who could speak Parseltongue.

"Do not be so impudent! I am the Dark Lord!"

"Oh really? Someone's a bit full of himself isn't he?" Harry smirked letting the other half of his personality take over. The person was hiding and called themselves Dark, he should be able to find them. "Who are you hiding behind then? Ohhh…" he pulled out his wand and twirled it as he walked up to Professor Quirrell. He knew that use of the Unforgivables would see him punished but a curse not many knew of…he touched the end of his wand to Quirrel's chest and performed the curse non-verbally. Quirrell screamed.

After far less time than Harry deemed necessary he was interrupted by Severus.

"Mr Potter stop."

"Yes Severus." Harry looked at him with amusement that this man dared to order him around.

"Five points for using my given name and if you ever use that curse again you will have detention every week for the rest of your school life."

"Yes sir." Harry stepped away from the table and back to Hermione "And if that self-proclaimed Dark Lord decides to insult me again I'll do worse."