"I'm a what?!" Harry asked, shocked.
"A parselmouth, Harry. It means you can speak to snakes. And they can understand you, and even talk to you." Lupin replied. Seeing the look on Harry's face, he continued on. "It's nothing bad, at least most people say it isn't bad. But this is going to be big news." "I must tell the Headmaster," he announced. When he came back, he motioned him up to the Headmasters office. "Lemon Drop," Lupin announced. The two stone Phoenix's flew back to their perch, forming an entrance. They walked through, to find Dumbledore sitting behind his desk, Fawkes the red and gold phoenix, on his perch. "Very good Remus, you may go," he said dismissively. "So, Harry you are a parseltongue, correct?" Dumbledore said, eyes twinkling.
"Yes, at our Defense- "Harry, Remus told me," Dumbledore interrupted. "Parseltongue is a brilliant, yet vastly misunderstood language. For Salazar Slytherin, the founder of Hogwarts, was a parselmouth. His daughter married into the Gaunt family, a pureblood fanatical, and historically unstable family. Marvolo Gaunt, had a daughter named Merope Gaunt. She was magical, yet very weak. This was because of the constant stress and beatings that her brother Morfin and Marvolo gave. She still had the parseltongue ability, and when Morfin and Marvolo Gaunt went to Azkaban, Morfin, three years, for using magic in front of muggles, and Marvolo, six months for attacking a ministry agent, Merope ran away. She fell in love with a muggle. She fed him a love potion, and they got married. She kept feeding him the love potion, and eventually she was pregnant with a baby boy. The muggle's name was Tom Riddle. Eventually, Merope stopped feeding Tom the love potion. And then, Tom Riddle left her. Merope gave birth, then died. The baby was named: Tom Riddle Jr. Harry gasped. Voldemort! He had read something in a book about a dark wizard named Tom Riddle, who disappeared 13 years ago!
"Something wrong, Harry?" Dumbledore questioned.
"Tom Riddle Jr, he's Voldemort isn't he," Harry inquired.
"And he's a parseltongue, isn't he." No, it can't be.
He asked, horrified "Is that why I have it?
Dumbledore replied, "Yes, Lily Potter nee Evans, your mother was a descendant of Aradia Slytherin, Salazar's daughter. The Gaunts, are descendants from Aradia Slytherin's brother Shamil Slytherin, A parselmouth who created many rituals to enhance his body to the point where he was immortal. It is not wise to strive for immortality. He eventually went insane, as he watched the sun rise and set for 900 years, his body and his magic waning. He eventually snapped, and murdered his sisters' granddaughter, Rose Evans, and her family, something that would be known as the Evans Assassination. His magic, dwindled until it ran dry, and he was given the dementors kiss. And Voldemort disappeared for thirteen years, trying to find everything he could on the rituals of Shamil Slytherin, for there is one thing that Voldemort fears above all else: Death," Dumbledore finished. "Goodness, Harry you better get to bed," Dumbledore commanded.
That night, Harry couldn't sleep, pondering over everything that Dumbledore had told him. So he was a parselmouth because of his bloodline, tracing all the way back to Salazar Slytherin himself. He mostly thought about what would happen if the castle were to know that not only was he a speaker of the snakes' native language, but that he was the descendant of one of the most powerful, and most evil wizards ever.
The next morning, Harry woke up, got changed, and headed down to breakfast in the great hall. "Thanks girl," Harry appreciated, as Ema, his brown hawk owl flew down to him with the news, along with a letter. Harry took the newspaper from Ema's talons, and looked at the front page. 'Boy-Who-Lived is the Descendant of Dark Wizard Salazar Slytherin,' was the headline. His smile faded. As more and more students read the headline, he got more and more dirty and scared looks. He quickly put the newspaper down, and cast the spell, Diffindo! The paper was torn in two, and he quickly disposed of it. He then read the letter. It was from Dumbledore, and Harry read it. 'Meet me at my office at 8:00. I have some things to talk to you about. PS: Lemon Drops are delicious. Professor Albus Dumbledore. As Harry went to his first class of the day, Double Charms, he noticed Neville sitting awkwardly far away from him, along with most other kids in the class. There was no one sitting within three seats of him in any direction. Neville was shooting him nervous looks every so often. They were learning the Ignition Charm, Incendio, and the Water-Making Charm, Aguamenti. Harry had read up on these two spells, and easily performed them on his first try, which received applause from Professor Flitwick. After class, Harry confronted Neville about Charms Class. "Why were you sitting so far away from me?" inquired Harry. "You don't actually think I'm doing this right?" Harry interrogated, more forcefully this time. Neville whimpered. He mumbled, "My gran thinks that you are behind it, and she sent me an owl this morning, commanding me to stay away from you. I personally don't think that you are doing this, Harry. I trust in you, but deep down, I know that I have to listen to my gran. I'm so sorry, Harry. I will do my best to comfort you as much as possible, but I need to make sure I don't get too close to you." "Neville, I get that you are in a tough spot, but I don't think that your gran has the power to make that decision. She may have made it seem like you are to do exactly as she says, but for crying out loud, Neville, be your own person. She can dictate who you play with, but she can't dictate your friends, Neville," Harry finished, exasperated. "You can be friends with someone, and you don't have to hang out with them. That's why I think your plan was brilliant. You don't have to hang out with me, but all I ask is that you be my friend."