I do not own Harry Potter. J. K. Rowling does.
Harry, Ron and Hermione walked down into the dungeons for their potions class, taught by their least favorite teacher, Professor Snape. Professor Snape was a thin man with sallow skin, a large, hooked nose, and yellow, uneven teeth. He had greasy black hair which framed his face, and cold, black eyes. He always wore black, flowing robes which give him the appearance of an overgrown bat. Snape disliked all Gryffindors, but he especially hated Harry. Ever since Harry had arrived at Hogwarts, Snape had unsuccessfully tried to expel him on several occasions. They walked towards the queuing fourth years outside Snape's classroom. Draco Malfoy and his cronies were reading a newspaper and looked extremely smug.
"Hey Potty!" shrieked Pansy Parkinson," your little scar hurting again?"
"Get out of my way," Harry said coldly.
"Gonna go berserk?," Malfoy mocked, the Slytherins all pulling mad faces. Malfoy threw the newspaper to them and Ron caught it, unfolding it and looking at the title. Harry and Hermione peered over Ron's shoulder. The headline read:
HARRY POTTER "DISTURBED AND DANGEROUS". Harry had a sinking feeling in his stomach that he knew what this was about. The boy who defeated He Who Must Not Be Named is unstable and possibly dangerous, writes Rita Skeeter, Special Correspondent. Alarming evidence has recently come to light about Harry Potter's strange behaviour, which casts doubts upon his suitability to compete in a demanding competition like the Triwizard Tournament, or even to attend Hogwarts school.
Potter, the Daily Prophet can exclusively reveal, regularly collapses at school, and is often heard to complain of pain in the scar on his forehead (relic of the curse with which You-Know-Who attempted to kill him). On Monday last, midway through a Divination lesson, your Daily Prophet reporter witnessed Potter storming from the class, claiming that his scar was hurting too badly to continue studying.
It is possible, say top experts at St Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries, that Potter's brain was affected by the attack inflicted upon him by You-Know-Who, and that his insistence that the scar is still hurting is an expression of his deep-seated confusion.
"He might even be pretending," said one specialist, "this could be a plea for attention."
The Daily Prophet, however, has unearthed worrying facts about Harry Potter that Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts, has carefully concealed from the wizarding public.
"Potter can speak Parseltongue," reveals Draco Malfoy, a Hogwarts fourth-year. "There were a lot of attacks on students a couple of years ago, and most people thought Potter was behind them after they saw him lose his temper at a Duelling Club and set a snake on another boy. It was all hushed up, though. But he's made friends with werewolves and giants, too. We think he'd do anything for a bit of power."
Parseltongue, the ability to converse with snakes, has long been considered a Dark Art. Indeed, the most famous Parselmouth of our times is none other than You-Know-Who himself. A member of the Dark Force Defence League, who wished to remain unnamed, stated that he would regard any wizard who could speak Parseltongue "as worthy of investigation. Personally, I would be highly suspicious of anybody who could converse with snakes, as serpents are often used in the worst kinds of Dark Magic, and are historically associated with evil-doers." Similarly, "anyone who seeks out the company of such vicious creatures as werewolves and giants would appear to have a fondness for violence".
Albus Dumbledore should surely consider whether a boy such as this should be allowed to compete in the Triwizard Tournament. Some fear that Potter might resort to the Dark Arts in his desperation to win the Tournament, the third task of which takes place this evening.
Harry looked up to see all the Slytherins smirking at him. "How did she find out?" Hermione gasped.
"I dunno," answered Ron. "Maybe she's got an invisibility cloak?"
"So Potter tell me," said Malfoy."Are you going to be sick or something? Because if you do get sick, throw up on the mudblood Granger, that would give us all a laugh." Pansy Parkinson sniggered.
"Shut up Malfoy!" Ron snapped, his ears going red.
"Dear, dear, we seem to have touched a nerve," said Malfoy smoothly. Harry and Ron drew their wands angrily and the other students all scrambled to get out of the way. Harry raised his wand at Malfoy and was just about to use a good hex on him when a voice interrupted him. "Potter! Weasley!" Snape drawled. "What do you think you are doing!"
"I'm pointing my wand at him," Harry said calmly, pocketing his wand.
"50 points from Gryffindor each," said Snape gleefully, "and detention for a month for an unjustified attack on a fellow student!" This statement was drowned by a cry of outrage from all the Gryffindors. They had just lost 100 points! "Silence!" roared Snape. "Get into the classroom now or another 100 points!". Harry and the rest of the Gryffindors all glowered at Snape but they all went into the classroom and found tables. Harry, Ron and Hermione all went to sit at the very back. "100 points!" Ron burst out angrily. "Just for pointing our wands!"
"Malfoy asked for it," Harry snarled. "Wish I could turn him into a ferret. I'd be bouncing him along every day."
"What I want to know," said Hermione without even paying any attention to what Harry and Ron was saying, "is how Rita Skeeter is getting all this information. I thought she wasn't allowed here!"
Harry just opened his mouth to say something when Snape cleared his throat. "Today we will be brewing a babbling beverage," began Snape. "We will also witness the effects of veritaserum, a truth potion. The instructions for the beverage are all on the blackboard. Begin." The students immediately set to work, chopping and mixing various ingredients together while whispering in
hushed whispers, glancing at Snape every so often.
"Veritaserum!" Ron said, "what if he questions us? He'll know everything about Sirius!"
"He probably doesn't mean that Ron" Hermione answered. "Veritaserum can only be used on rare occasions and they have to be approved by the ministry." Harry however, thought that Snape did mean every word. They carried on brewing the potion, occasionally glancing at Snape very nervously.
"Time is up," said Snape. " Cork your potions and bring them to my desk for marking. Then we shall select a person to take the truth serum." Snape's eyes lingered into Harry's for a moment. Everyone all corked their potions except Neville, who had just melted it into liquid. "Potter!" said Snape. "Come here."
Harry began to panic. Snape and the rest of the class would know all his secrets! Harry scanned his bag anxiously, hoping for a way out when the bottle containing the babbling beverage he was brewing caught his eye. Could it work? Harry quickly hid the tiny bottle in his hand and walked towards Snape's desk. Snape sneered at him and turned around to speak to the class. Seizing the opportunity, Harry discreetly took the small bottle on the desk and replaced it with his own. "Now," said Snape, turning to face Harry and uncorking the small bottle, "watch the affects of veritaserum." Snape handed the uncorked bottle to Harry, with a satisfactory gleam in his eyes. Draco Malfoy and the rest of the Slytherins all looked excited while the Gryffindors all looked horrified. Harry took a deep breath and poured the potion down his throat. Harry suddenly felt an urge to babble nonsense to Snape.
"Potter!" barked Snape. "Have you broken any school rules?"
Words tumbled out of Harry's mouth before he could stop them."Professor Snape did. He danced with a Hungarian Horntail at the top of the Astronomy Tower to the Sugar Plum Fairy." All the muggleborns in the vicinity stifled sniggers. Snape started to turn purple.
"And have you by any chance, broke into my office?" hissed Snape. Again words tumbled out of Harry.
"The bearded barmy goat and the tabby cat broke into your office and had a lemon drop tea party," Harry said in a rush. "And then a swooping bat came with a nasty hooked nose and black greasy fur chased them away." By now, all the students were laughing.
"Shut up!" Snape roared. "You are a filthy stinking liar Potter! 200 points from Gryffindor!" Snape was about to give Harry detention for the rest of a term before a very amused voice said, " Is there a problem Severus?". It was Dumbledore. Before Snape could say anything Harry quickly replied, "Oh, no Professor."
"In that case, Harry, run along now. I believe you have to meet your family for the third task. I shall walk you there." Dumbledore said cheerfully. Harry ran back to his desk, drank the antidote for the babbling potion and shoved all his things into his potions bag. He bade a hasty goodbye to Ron and Hermione and headed out of Snape's classroom. Once they had reached the end of the corridor Dumbledore said with his eyes twinkling, " Take 300 hundred points for Gryffindor, Harry."
The end.