„I wish we had one on our side again ", Sirius told Remus one evening when the two of them had a few moments for themselves.
"What?" His friend didn't understand.
"A Parseltongue. You know, like James. He could help Harry. Keep that snake of Voldemort's off his back." Sirius explained.
Remus looked at him thoughtfully: "You know that James was one of a kind, right? He was the only known Parseltongue to be sorted into Gryffindor. All other Parseltongues were sorted into Slytherin."
"I know that. But still, there might be one out there nobody knows about."
Remus just shook his head. But he knew that when Sirius something in his head there was no way someone could talk him out of it. He was very much like James in that way. And Harry, once he came to think about it. James had been the only one who had been able to talk Sirius out of anything. Thinking of James…
"Does Harry know?" he asked his friend quietly.
"What?" The question surprised Sirius.
"That his father was a Parseltongue."
"I haven't told him. So I think he doesn't know."
"You have to tell him, Sirius. He deserves to know." Remus had an urgent tone in his voice.
"It's going to be a shock for him. He has gone through so much already. We can't do that to him." Sirius was almost shouting now.
"Something tells me that Harry's not gonna be shocked at all." Remus tried to calm his friend down.
"Why?"
"Because he doesn't judge his father. He just wants to know everything about him. The people who tell him about James are judging him. Snape tells him, how arrogant James was, and I don't need to tell you what his relatives are telling him. You, me, and Dumbledore are the only ones who can tell Harry the little things that made James James."
"Fine. I'll tell him at dinner."
oOo
When the two of them came into the living room, Harry was chatting with the Weasleys and Hermione. They seemed in good mood. To Remus it sounded like they were talking about good school memories.
"That was the first time I have seen Snape speechless," Fred said, smiling.
"Especially since he is the head of the house with the snake." His brother added, smiling just as broadly.
"You know that there haven't been any Parseltongues for ages," Hermione argued. But even she sounded pleased at the memory of a speechless Snape.
Remus and Sirius shared a look. Since the kids were already on the subject it seemed as good a moment as they were gonna get. At least they didn't have to explain to Harry what a Parseltongue was. There still were some gaps in his knowledge concerning the wizarding world.
"But none of you can imagine what it is like to have friend who is a Parseltongue," Sirius said.
"We do," answered Hermione, Ron, Ginny, Fred and George simultaneously.
"You don't. Because you haven't got one as your friend," Remus argued.
"And you have?" Harry asked them. He had a feeling he knew where this was going, but wanted them to tell him whether he was right or not.
"Yes. It is a secret no one can know about, because people would think you are the great, great grandson of Salazar Slytherin for all we know about him," Sirius answered them.
"Well. It sure just was one more secret for you guys. Since you already had a werewolf and three unregistered Animagi in your group," Ron said Giving Hermione and Harry a look which said What's the big deal?
"Well. When you see it that way. But Parseltongues are much rarer than Werewolves, so that was our biggest secret." Remus said, slowly losing ground to the arguments of the kids who just didn't understand what they were trying to tell them. But Harry was suspiciously quiet. There was something going on in his head, he knew. He just had the same look James always had.
"Not to mention that not all Werewlves are considered bad. Most of them are, but not all of them. Whereas Parseltongues always have been in Slytherin except one and that one was…" Sirius started his explanation.
"Wormtail," Harry finished for him.
"It certainly would fit. But no he isn't. James was." Sirius finished, watching Harry closely. But instead of shock he saw confusion in his eyes. Harry looked at Ron and Hermione.
It was Ginny who finally broke the silence: "Well. It would explain a few things."
"Definitely. Maybe the Majority was right in this case," Fred nodded, smiling slightly.
"Yeah. But somehow he missed the lesson about keeping it a secret," George added.
"Shut up! All of you. I saved his life. And you know that." Harry didn't look amused. "And besides. It doesn't explain anything. Dumbledore told me at the end of second year, that Voldemort accidentally gave me some of his abilities. And now I am supposed to have same abilities from my father?"
Remus and Sirius finally understood what this was all about. Harry obviously a Parseltongue, too, and had believed that he was because of Voldemort.
"So that was why none of you were shocked to hear that. But who did you tell, Harry?" Remus finally asked.
"He didn't tell anyone. He gave a demonstration before the whole school during the Duelingclub," Ron answered.
"Why would he do that?" Remus asked.
"To save a boy's life," Harry answered defensively.
"What is it with you and that urge to help each and everyone you come across, Harry? One day it will get you killed." Sirius sighed. Harry was so hard to keep safe.