A/N: Once again, I don't own anything in this that you don't recognize. Also, I unfortunately don't own Nico's nickname for Lockhart. I wish I did, but I found it in someone else's story. Unfortunately, I can't remember the author's name or their story, I just remember that it's a 'reading the books' story.
Altered Fates
Part Two: Heir of Slytherin
Chapter Four: Duels, Truths and Another Attack
The next morning, the four friends went to Myrtle's toilet to start working on the Polyjuice Potion while waiting for Harry. In the meantime, Nico explained what he'd overheard that night. Neville was convinced that it meant that Lucius had opened the Chamber the first time, and now Draco knew as well. After Harry showed up, they found out why they were perfectly safe in brewing the potion there, as Myrtle showed up. Before she disappeared, Nico pulled out his Ghost Book (a diary of sorts listing how all the Hogwarts ghosts had died.) When he found he didn't have a cause of death for Myrtle, he asked her "How did you die?"
Hermione stared at him in shock, as did Myrtle and Ron. Harry and Neville were the only other people who knew about the Ghost Book. "Why do you want to know?" Myrtle asked.
"I'm writing down how all the Hogwarts ghosts died. I haven't asked you yet, and you're here, so why not tell us?"
"Ooooh, it was dreadful," she said with relish. "It happened right in here. I died in this very stall. I remember it so well. I'd hidden because Olive Hornby was teasing me about my glasses. The door was locked, and I was crying, and then I heard somebody come in. They said something funny. A different language, I think it must have been. Anyway, what really got me was that it was a boy speaking. So I unlocked the door, to tell him to go and use his own toilet, and then —" Myrtle swelled importantly, her face shining. "I died."
"How?"
"No idea," said Myrtle in hushed tones. "I just remember seeing a pair of great, big, yellow eyes. My whole body sort of seized up, and then I was floating away…" Big yellow eyes, and a boy speaking another language? Could it possibly have something to do with the Chamber?
"Myrtle, how long ago was this?"
"Oh, about sixty years. It was just a few weeks before something people called D-Day." Well, now the only question was when did the Chamber open. If it was opened in 1944, then it was possible they had found the Chamber and how to open it.
Three week after Colin's petrification, it was announced that a duelling club was being set up. During that intervening week, the First Years had taken to travelling in groups while a black market trade in protective talismans and amulets sprang up, though they were all fakes. Also, Harry and Hermione had caused an incident in Potions allowing Mione to steal the few ingredients that they needed for Polyjuice that they couldn't get themselves. The method that they went about it made the prankster in Nico swell with pride, as they had tossed a rocket into Malfoy's swelling potion, causing it to explode over everyone in the vicinity.
Everyone was naturally excited about the possibility of a Duelling Club and quickly gathered in the large classroom set aside just for that purpose. Everyone hoped that Professor Flitwick would be the one leading it, as there were rumours claiming that he was a master Duellist. When they arrived, however, they found Lockhart and Professor Snape in charge. Somehow, Idiockhart (Nico's new nickname for their DADA teacher-a combination of idiot and Lockhart) seemed to think that he had a chance to beat Snape so thoroughly that he claimed that they would still have their Potions Master when he was through. Personally, Nico was hoping that Snape would kill the idiot and save them all a lot of trouble. Once the introductions were done, the demonstration duel began. The two combatants brought their wands up in a salute, bowed slightly, then took five steps each before turning on each other. Idiockhart then counted to three, on which Snape immediately shouted out Expelliarmus! To Nico's practiced eye, it was obvious Snape put a lot of power into the Disarming spell, as not only was Idiockhart disarmed, but he was also thrown into the wall. "Do you think he's all right?" Mione asked
"Don't worry, Mione. Expelliarmus can't do much damage, unfortunately. And why are you still defending him? His classes are all about promoting himself, he thinks pixies are dangerous, and he can't even cast a proper healing spell. He has got to be a complete fake." Mione, as usual, had to bow to Nico's logic.
Idiockhart decided he'd been humiliated enough, so he split the students into pairs and had them duel. But before starting his own duel with his acquaintance/friend Theodore Nott, Nico turned to Professor Snape and asked "What's a good shielding spell, Professor?"
Snape turned to him and asked "Why are you asking me?"
"Well, do you see any other teachers here, Professor?"
"And what about Mr. Lockhart?"
"Like I said, do you see any other teachers here?"
"Well, in that case, the best one would be Protego. It should be simple enough for even a First Year to cast it." Nico thanked Snape, passed on the knowledge to Neville, and then joined Nott. Unfortunately, Ted proved to be a novice at duelling, and Nico beat him with a quick Expelliarmus and Stupefy. When Idiockhart called for a stop, Nico quickly revived him with Ennervate. Lockhart then called for a volunteer pair to demonstrate how to block unfriendly spells, naming Ron and Harry as his preferred pair. "Weasley's wand causes devastation with the simplest spells. We'll be sending Potter to the hospital wing in a matchbox. Might I suggest someone from my own house? Malfoy, perhaps?" Even Lockhart wasn't so much of an idiot to have not seen the rivalry between the two, but there was no reason to keep the two apart. In any case, those who knew about the duel that was supposed to have happened the previous year (i.e. Nico, Neville and the Trio) were looking forward to seeing how this played out.
The pair saluted each other, and greeted each other in their usual, 'friendly' manner. "Scared, Potter?"
"You wish." Everyone could tell just from those four words that this would be a good duel to watch. Idiockhart insisted that the duo use only disarming spells in order to prevent accidents, but everyone knew there was no chance of that happening. When Lockhart hit two in his countdown, Malfoy hit Harry with Everte Statum, the hurling hex. When Harry got up, he hit Malfoy with Rictusempra, the tickling jinx. Snape was furious with Malfoy, and once he'd ended the jinx, he picked Malfoy up by the collar and threw him back in. Then Malfoy cast the spell that truly changed the game: Serpensortia, a spell that summoned a king cobra. Snape was going to get rid of it, but once again Idiockhart intervened to create a disaster, casting Alarte Ascendare, a spell that sent the snake flying into the air before it fell back down and came after Nico. Nico stood there, entranced by the snake's deadly beauty and almost didn't notice Harry speaking to the snake in a language that was most definitely not English. After getting over his shock at hearing Harry, Snape burned the snake to a crisp. Ron immediately grabbed Harry and pulled him out of the room, with Mione, Neville and Nico quickly following, Snape staring after Harry in shock.
"You're a Parselmouth? Why didn't you tell us?" Ron demanded. To Nico and Neville's surprise, it almost sounded like Ron was jealous of Harry's ability.
"I'm a what?"
"It means you can talk to snakes, Harry," Mione explained.
"I know. I mean, I accidentally set a python on my cousin Dudley at the zoo once. Once, but so what? I bet loads of people here can do it."
"Unfortunately not, Harry. Nico and I discovered that it's not a very common gift. It could get very ugly."
"How, Neville? If I hadn't told that snake not to attack Nico, he might be eligible for the Headless Hunt!"
"So, that's what you told it! Thanks for that, by the way."
"You were there, you heard me."
"We heard you speaking Parseltongue. Snake language," Ron explained. Once again, the jealousy was clear in his voice.
"I spoke a different language? But I didn't realize . . . How can I speak a language without knowing I can?"
"Who knows? But we may have a problem," Nico said. "There's a reason the Slytherin's symbol is a snake. Salazar was a Parselmouth, so it's a possibility that the rest of the school is going to think you're his descendant, and Heir."
"You guys believe I'm not, right?"
Neville was the first to speak up. "No matter what, Harry, I'm going to believe you. If you say that you're not the Heir of Slytherin, then that's good enough for me. Hell, after last year, I'd probably believe you if you said that the sun rose in the west!" The other two also agreed that they trusted Harry completely, although Ron was a little slow to say so.
Nico said something completely different. "Who cares if you're a Parselmouth, I think it's really cool!"
Over the next week, Harry quickly became a pariah at the school, with only the Quidditch team and his three friends sticking by him. Nico grew so tired of Harry's treatment that he immediately hunted down two of the few students that could help out with the situation: Cedric and Romulus. He quickly found them in the Great Hall, studying. "Guys, I need your help. What do you need in order to convince the other students that Harry isn't the Heir of Slytherin?"
Cedric and Romulus turned to each other, and then back at Nico. "Well, an explanation for where he was when Ms Norris and Creevey were attacked, and an explanation as to how he survived the Killing Curse. Those seem to be the main arguments against him," Romulus answered.
"That's easy. He was in detention when that cat was petrified, and in the Hospital wing when Colin was attacked. As to how he survived, Dumbledore says it was because his mother sacrificed herself to save him. And then think of this: Harry's mother is a Muggleborn as is one of his best friends. Harry doesn't care one bit about blood status or whether people can use magic or not. Hermione is his best friend and a Muggleborn, while Draco Malfoy, a pureblood, is his worst enemy. Also, wouldn't Slytherin's Heir be sorted into Slytherin? Besides that, we've been trying to figure out who it is ourselves, and our main suspect is Malfoy."
"Thanks, that should help, assuming he isn't caught near another attack again. By the way, could we talk, alone?" Cedric asked. Nico readily agreed and Cedric led his little brother to the seventh floor opposite the tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy teaching trolls ballet. Nico was a little worried about his brother's sanity when he passed in front of a section of the wall three times, until a door appeared out of nowhere. Cedric opened the door to reveal a small, comfortable room that resembled one of the common rooms. "Welcome to the Room of Requirement, Nico." Nico immediately sat on one of the sofas, while Cedric paced around the room, apparently gathering up his nerve. "Nico, you consider me your brother, right?"
"What sort of question is that? Of course we're brothers, brothers in every way except blood."
"Brothers, no matter what?"
"No matter what. Even if you turned out to be a Death Eater, we'd still be brothers. I'd be very upset with you, but we'd still be brothers. Why?"
"Well, I've got a bit of a personal secret, and I'm a little worried about how you'll take it." He paused for a moment, regathering his courage, and then said "I'm gay, Nico."
Nico was stunned. Whatever he'd been expecting, it definitely wasn't that! "Wow, that must have taken quite a lot to tell me, bro. Does Dad know?" After the death of Eric Grace the previous year, Nico had come to consider the Diggory's as his true family, and talked about them as such.
"No, not yet, you're the first person I've told. I know he won't mind though. Fortunately, the wizarding world is for the most part very accepting of gay wizards and witches. The only problem is when pureblood heirs are gay. I am worried about what he'll say when I tell him who I fancy though."
"Hold on, I'm the first person you've told and yet you already have a boyfriend?"
Cedric smiled at that. "No, not a boyfriend, more of a crush. Problem is that he's two years younger than me and in a different House. Besides that, pretty much everyone has a crush on him."
That gave it away. "Wait a minute, you mean Harry? You've got a crush on Harry?" Nico could hardly believe it. His big brother had a crush on his best friend! If it weren't for the fact that it would probably hurt Cedric's feelings, he'd have probably laughed at the situation.
"Yeah, ever since I saw him at the Sorting Ceremony last year. He passed right by me, and ever since, I've had a major crush on him."
"Bloody hell. Are you telling me that you've had a crush on my best friend since before you knew who he was?"
"Well, yeah. And after everything you told me about last year, it's just made me fall even harder for him." That gave Nico some food for thought. He knew that Harry hated people liking him just for his fame, so maybe this would be a good thing for him. Nico immediately started wondering if there was a chance that Harry could possibly be gay as well, and if so, possibly attracted to Cedric.
A few days after the meeting in the Room of Requirement, Nico and Harry had just had a short meeting with Hagrid and were now walking to their common room when Harry said he heard something inside the walls. Nico followed Harry, until it landed them in front of the worst sight yet: Sir Nicholas and Justin Finch-Fletchley had both been attacked by Slytherin's monster. They were both lying down, with Nick about fifteen cm (six inches) over Justin, both of them petrified, and Nick's head was halfway off. To make things worse, Peeves was the first to find them, followed quickly by Filch and Ernie Macmillan, a Hufflepuff Second Year who was convinced that Harry was the Heir. Peeves immediately came up with a tune and started singing "Oh, Potter, you rotter, oh, what have you done, You're killing off students, you think it's good fun —" Fortunately Professor McGonagall quickly found them and took them both to Dumbledore's office, where he would decide what would happen to them.
