A/N: It has been a very long time since I posted two new chapters in three days (I think the last time was around Christmas last year, for the Eternal Point)! Went on a bit of a writing binge last week, and wound up editing/polishing these two chapters more quickly than anticipated.

Also... apologies for the potentially dual update emails! I managed to initially post chapter nine... of the Eternal Point. Whoops. Took it down quickly, but hope there wasn't any confusion.

Thirdly, a big thank you to everyone who has reviewed. It sounds soppy, but your feedback is always such an absolute pleasure and a motivation to keep writing. It's so lovely to be reminded I'm not just releasing chapters into the void. I appreciate it!

Chapter Nine: The Third Attack

Harry strode through the corridors, not making eye contact with anyone he came across, unable to make sense of what had just occurred. He'd known he could communicate with snakes since Dudley's birthday last year, but not that it wasn't something every witch or wizard could do. He especially hadn't known it was something bad.

His stomach twisted in knots as he tried to calm himself. Hermione would understand; she was sensible. She had stood by Slytherin's side ever since Mrs. Norris had been Petrified, and well before then as well. She'd been right at Harry's side when Voldemort was in the castle at the end of their first year. She knew the kind of person he was, and Harry trusted this business with the snake wouldn't be enough to change that.

It was Lavender and Parvati he was worried about. Knowing them, the news would be spread across the entire school by lunch. Harry grunted in frustration and sped up. Things had been going so well, too. Even though Marcus Flint had been a git yesterday, Slytherin and the other houses had come together to agree he was, indeed, a git. Now Slytherin would be back to being the school pariah, all because Draco had been stupid enough to summon a snake in the library.

Harry mentally directed every foul word he knew in Draco's direction as he walked quickly through the castle, all while knowing it wasn't really his fault. It had been stupid to try the spell indoors, but no one had known it would wind up like this. The worst result anyone could have imagined was a lot of shrieking and an unpleasant but brief trip to Snape's study, as opposed to a new heap of suspicion placed upon the house.

Come to think of it, what would Snape do once he found out what happened? Harry wasn't stupid enough to imagine the housemaster would somehow manage to avoid hearing what had occurred. Harry didn't think he'd blame Harry for his apparently sinister ability; Snape was continually going mental over the smallest of infringements, but he was clear about what the rules were. There'd never been any discussion about no one being allowed to speak Parseltongue.

If Snape was angry over anything, Harry decided, it would probably be over Draco summoning the snake in the first place. Harry wasn't sure if he'd be dragged into whatever retribution Snape levied simply by association, but he was too distracted by everything else to worry much beyond accepting he'd deal with that when that moment came.

No, Harry was worried about what the school was going to say about him- and about his house.

Was he Salazar Slytherin's heir? The Sorting Hat had put him in Slytherin, after all. And although both his parents had been in Gryffindor, Harry knew nothing about his father's family beyond them being pure-bloods. Maybe he was Slytherin's great-times-eleven grandson after all.

So what if you are? Harry thought impatiently to himself. It doesn't mean anything. You aren't the one who attacked Mrs. Norris or Fred Weasley. No one can prove it was you.

It wouldn't stop the whispers, however. Harry was used to the whispers by now, but it bothered him that, by extension, these whispers would target the rest of his house.

Does it really matter? Let them think Slytherin is evil. You know the truth, and Slytherin sticks together. You don't need them- you have one another.

This was true, but Harry was unsettled all the same, thinking of the Slytherin Snape had described from before Harry knew anything about magic, about how a house turned insular had its risks. Even now, with their reputation the best it had been in years, there were difficulties being a Slytherin. They had to put in three times as much effort to maintain said reputation, just because half the house's older siblings and parents had been awful. If the school truly turned against them the fight would be even more difficult. Harry cringed, thinking of how much harder Snape would come down on any perceived infraction than he already did.

"Careful, there, Harry!"

Harry stopped abruptly, nearly slamming into the enormous figure of Rubeus Hagrid.

"Sorry, Hagrid. Didn't see you there."

"All righ', there?" Hagrid grinned down at Harry. He was covered in snow and carrying a rooster by the neck. "Aren' yeh supposed ter be in class?"

"Canceled," Harry explained simply. He gestured at the rooster. "What's that for?"

"Second one killed this term," Hagrid explained. "It's either foxes or a Blood-Suckin' Bugbear, an' I need the Headmaster's permission ter put a charm around the hen coop." He paused, studying Harry. "What's the matter?"

Harry shook his head. He'd tell Hagrid later, once he'd had time to process everything, over tea in his hut. "It's nothing. I've got to pick up my books."

He already had his books, as he'd expected to spend the entire period in the library, but Hagrid didn't know this. They parted ways with an agreement to have tea together over the weekend, and as Harry wandered further into the castle, no destination in mind, he forced himself to pull himself together. As much as he wanted to skive off his next class, he knew Snape would inevitably find out, and that he wouldn't accept 'emotional turmoil' as an excuse. Sighing deeply, Harry turned the corner, finding himself in an unusually dark corridor.

All the torches had been extinguished, and Harry walked slowly, wondering who'd put them out. Before he could think much about it, he found himself tripping over something solid.

He pushed himself up, freezing as he saw what he'd fallen over. Even more slowly, he raised his head from the Petrified body of Justin Finch-Fletchey and locked eyes with the equally-still floating spectre of Nearly Headless Nick.

Harry opened his mouth, then closed it, a mounting feeling of horror rising from deep within his stomach. A word came to his lips, and to no one in particular he whispered, "You've got to be kidding me."

Severus snatched the piece of parchment Cormac McLaggen was bent over instead of attending to his Shrinking Solution. It was the beginnings of his Charms homework, dated yesterday, and as Severus tore it to pieces he pointed at the dangerously bubbling cauldron in front of the first year.

"Pay attention," he snarled. "Ten points from Gryffindor."

McLaggen shot him an expression that suggested he was in fact the aggrieved party, and Severus resisted cuffing the back of the boy's head. Minerva would descend upon him like a locust if he treated her precious Gryffindors the way he did his Slytherins, even though Severus suspected it would do them a world of good.

The door flew open, and for a split second Severus wondered if Minerva had somehow read his mind and was here to warn him against even thinking about it. Her expression was grim, and Severus could see as she approached that it was accompanied by not-fully-concealed fear.

Severus reached her in several long strides and guided her back to the corridor as the double class of Gryffindor and Hufflepuff turned their heads to see what was happening. Shutting the door behind him, he asked, "What is it?"

"There's been another attack," Minerva said, and Severus closed his eyes, feeling as though he'd been suddenly plunged into icy water.

"Who?" he asked, heart pounding. "Did they catch who did it?"

"Justin Finch-Fletchey," Minerva said, face very pale. "And Sir Nicholas."

"Sir Nicholas?" Severus repeated, misunderstanding. "How on earth did a ghost Petrify a-"

"No, no," Minerva said impatiently. "They were both Petrified, just outside my classroom, during class."

They both went very quiet at this, and Minerva trembled slightly before saying, "Peeves discovered them and- well, he did what Peeves does best."

"Chaos," Severus said, pinching the bridge of his nose. "I imagine half the school already knows."

Minerva hesitated, then said, "Severus. Potter was bending over Finch-Fletchey when I discovered them."

Severus stared at her, unable to comprehend her words for a long moment. "Potter?"

"He said he was there because Herbology was canceled, and I have no reason not to believe him," Minerva went on quickly. "The boy is a second-year. I can't imagine he'd be capable of the sort of magic needed to Petrify a student his own age and a ghost."

"Potter was there?" Severus repeated, thoughts moving very slowly.

"I had to take him to Dumbledore's office," Minerva went on, as though Severus hadn't said anything. "You do understand, don't you? I would have taken him to you in a heartbeat, but Severus, this is out of our hands now. You do understand-"

Severus thoughts had caught up, and he was already off, halfway down the corridor before Minerva could finish her sentence. Without turning back, he called, "Cancel my class for me," then broke into a mad dash for the staircase to the castle's ground level.

Harry stood very still, too nervous to even sit. The large, circular room was filled with strange silver instruments on strange little tables. They puffed little bits of smoke and made strange sounds, a distraction that didn't seem to bother the portraits of sleeping old headmasters and headmistresses lining the walls.

What sort of situation had he put himself in now? Swallowing hard, Harry tried to will himself to be calm, but his body refused to listen.

If McGonagall had taken him to Snape, it wouldn't be so bad. Harry knew he'd still be terrified, but as snarly and strict as Snape could be, he knew he could count on him in moments of crisis. Dumbledore... well, Harry didn't know much about Dumbledore at all. He had been kind at the end of the previous term when he and McGonagall came to retrieve Harry and his friends from Snape's office, but aside from that Harry had never truly interacted with the man.

He would believe him, wouldn't he? Harry hoped he would, but it didn't look good. He'd been discovered at the scene of the first attack, the second had occurred near the entrance to the dungeons, and now he'd been discovered again at the scene of the crime. And it had just come out that he was a Parselmouth, just like the supposed creator of the Chamber of Secrets.

Something tattered and worn caught Harry's eye. He paused as he gazed at the object sitting on a shelf behind Dumbledore's desk. The Sorting Hat.

Harry took an involuntary step forward. The Sorting Hat would be able to tell him if he was the heir of Slytherin, wouldn't it? If that had been the reason he'd been placed in Slytherin, even if his parents had been in Gryffindor. The Hat could tell him if that was why he was a Parselmouth.

He hesitated, wondering how soon it would be until Dumbledore arrived, and, before he could stop himself, hurried toward the hat and jammed it on his head.

It covered his eyes, just as it had the last time he'd worn it. A long silence, during which Harry was only aware of the dryness of his mouth and his twitching hands, and then-

"Bee in your bonnet, Harry Potter?"

Harry jumped, then whispered, "Er, yes. I was just wondering..."

"Why I placed you in Slytherin?"

Harry nodded. "It's just... well, my parents were in Gryffindor. But I'm a Parselmouth. So..."

"So you're asking if you're the heir to Salazar Slytherin?" The Hat let out a low chuckle in Harry's ear. "You wouldn't be the first. Some children are fascinated by their family histories, obsessed even..."

Harry bit his lip, straining his ears for any sign of someone approaching.

"I'm afraid I haven't the faintest idea," the Sorting Hat said plainly. "The centuries are long, and I have far too much to keep track of to maintain family trees for every student who passes my way. I can tell you who your parents were, and their parents, and perhaps one or two generations before then, so long as I was placed upon their heads, but no further than that. My brim only contains so much, Potter."

Harry thought this over, then asked, "Why did you put me into Slytherin? My parents-"

"Yes, yes, your parents were in Gryffindor," the Hat said impatiently. "Textbook Gryffindors, too. And it's just as I told you, you would have done well in Gryffindor, just like them."

"But you put me in Slytherin," Harry replied. "Why?"

"Because you would have done equally well there," the Hat said. "And you didn't fight me, or at least not terribly hard."

Harry didn't reply, thinking of how he'd sat on the stool in front of the entire school, terrified. He could hardly remember what he'd thought in that moment. It had all been such a blur. He had argued with the Sorting Hat, but not terribly hard. And yet everyone he'd encountered until then had told him Slytherin was where the rotters went.

Having been under that impression, why hadn't he fought harder?

Harry pulled the Hat from his head, mind whirling with questions.

"Sherbet lemon," Severus barked at the gargoyle outside Dumbledore's study. He hurled himself through the opening the moment it was wide enough, and nearly flew up the spiral stone staircase to the landing above. The door was already ajar, and, as he ripped it open, he found himself nearly slamming into Hagrid's back.

Hagrid, who was in the middle of an impassioned plea of Harry's innocence, didn't notice him as he waggled a dead rooster, which he held by the neck, for emphasis. "-yeh've got the wrong boy, sir, I know Harry never-"

"Hagrid," Dumbledore said loudly. "I do not think Harry attacked those people."

Hagrid gaped at Dumbledore, then exhaled loudly. Severus exhaled as well, and was immediately annoyed with himself. Of course Dumbledore didn't think a twelve-year-old boy was capable of such an attack. All the same, memories of years past flitted across his vision, of when the Rowle siblings and Lucian Bole's older brother had attacked that Gryffindor girl so badly there'd been no other option than expulsion. There were worse memories flitting about as well, of attacks during the war, and the way the house of Slytherin had once conducted itself.

Harry had spotted Severus, and Severus wasn't certain if the look of relief spreading across his face was primarily from Dumbledore's words or his appearance. Both, most likely.

"What happened?" Severus asked, and Hagrid started, so absorbed in his own emotions that he hadn't noticed his arrival. He whirled around, the dead chicken losing a few feathers as it landed against Severus's shoulder.

"Er- apologies," Hagrid said, turning very red. "I'll be- I'll be goin', then-"

Hagrid retreated in an awkward shuffle, several more feathers dislodging from the rooster as he made his way from Dumbledore's study.

"Sit, the two of you," Dumbledore said, his expression far more serious than usual, but not as grim as Severus had yet seen it. "Please."

"What happened?" Severus repeated, barely a second after they'd made contact against the offered chairs. "Tell us everything, Potter."

And so the boy did, explaining how he'd been on his way to his next class when he stumbled across the Petrified bodies. "They were already like that when I found them," he explained. "I was only there for a moment when Peeves turned up, and, well..."

He trailed off, and Severus once more imagined the unnecessary chaos that must have occurred. The damn poltergeist had likely notified the entire castle by now that Harry Potter was a murderous lunatic.

"What were you doing in that corridor?" Severus asked, something suddenly occurring to him. He fixed a particularly stern look on the boy. "Class was still in session, canceled or not. Did I not make it perfectly clear you were to spend your Herbology period in the library?"

The boy froze, then dropped his gaze, as Severus's irritation mounted. From behind his desk, Dumbledore let out a soft chuckle and said, "Ah, the joyous student pastime of skiving off. We've all been caught by its temptations at least once, haven't we, Severus?"

Severus glared at the him. He already felt like a student, sitting on this side of the desk with Potter; the last thing he needed was the headmaster undermining his authority.

"I wasn't skiving," Harry said quickly. "Well, I was, sort of, but- well, sir..."

"Go on," Severus said. "If you have a reasonable explanation, let's hear it."

The boy hesitated, and, growing impatient, Severus snapped, "Get on with it, then."

"Well," Harry said, ducking his head once more before looking up. "I suppose you're going to find out eventually, sir. I mean, it would be impossible to hide it..."

"Perhaps a sweet or a fizzy drink might help everyone relax?" Dumbledore asked.

"Absolutely not," Severus snarled before Harry could answer. He turned to the boy and said, "On with it."

"Well, you see, sir, there was... well, there was a snake," Harry said quickly, looking terribly nervous. "In the library."

"All the way in the library?" Dumbledore asked, tone light. "Quite a journey for such a small creature to make."

"It was angry, sir," Harry said quickly, not elaborating on how the snake came to be there. "And Hermione turned up, and she startled it, and..." The boy paused here, as though he didn't want to say any more but aware he had to. "I talked to it, sir."

There was a long silence as both Severus and the headmaster took this in. Severus stared at Harry, then said, "You spoke to the snake?"

"I told it to stop." The boy lowered his gaze again. "I knew I could do it, even if I wasn't really thinking about it in the moment. I talked to a snake once before, sir, at a Muggle zoo. I didn't know it was unusual." He paused, then said, "That's why I wasn't in the library. I needed to... needed to think about it, sir. And it was very noisy in there. Because of the snake, sir."

Severus looked at Harry, then at the headmaster, who didn't say a word. Without moving a muscle, he somehow seemed far more serious than he had just a moment before.

Finally, Severus spoke, not sure what he was about to say until he said it. "That's no excuse for leaving the location you were instructed to remain in."

"Though, of course, human emotion is a powerful thing," Dumbledore said gently, gazing directly at Harry, who slowly lifted his head once more. "And it is the last day of term, isn't it, Severus?"

Severus glared at Dumbledore again. He wasn't angry at Potter for being overwhelmed, or even for slipping away to try to understand the magnitude what he'd just discovered about himself. Severus was, however, exceedingly overwhelmed by the many things he'd just learned, and it was with a clipped tone that he said, "Potter, I need to speak with the headmaster now. You're to go straight to my office and wait outside for me. If you move even a muscle..."

The boy nodded, then murmured, "Yes, sir," before rising to his feet. He'd nearly made it to the door when Severus rose.

"Potter- you didn't hear the voice again, did you?" he asked. "The same voice you heard the night of Halloween?"

"I didn't, sir." Harry shook his head. "I didn't hear anything."

"You're quite certain about that?" Severus asked, remembering how the boy had attempted to hide the fact that he'd been attacked in the middle of the night the year before even as his classmates argued against him. "If I discover you're concealing even a fraction of something important from me..."

He trailed off again, and Harry quickly said, "I'm telling the truth." He shifted from foot to foot, then added, "Sir."

Severus nodded, then said, "Go on, then."

"Snape's going to kill me," Draco muttered as he and the rest of the Slytherins made their way to Flitwick's class. "Of course the snake had to vanish in front of Madam Pince- if I'd been able to convince her it wandered in from outside, I'd have been in the clear. But the damn thing had to vanish..."

Which had made it immediately obvious who was responsible. Granger was the very definition of a rule-abiding swot, and Brown and Patil were so genuinely terrified by the sight of the snake it was clear they had nothing to do with it, leaving only the Slytherins.

"Maybe he'll be so distracted by Harry being a Parselmouth he'll forget to punish you," Vincent suggested.

"And maybe he'll do a Christmas jig in the Great Hall tomorrow morning," Draco shot back irritably. He sighed. "Face it, boys, I'm toast."

Millicent, who'd been speaking with a third-year Slytherin further up the corridor, hurried to join them. "Have you heard?"

"Heard what?" Greg asked.

"About what just happened," Millicent said, her face pale. "Harry was there. McGonagall brought him to Professor Dumbledore."

"Of course he was there," Draco said impatiently. "He was the one talking to the snake. McGonagall brought him to Dumbledore for that?"

"I'm not talking about the rubbish with the snake in the library," Millicent said, just as impatiently, her eyes wide. "The attacks have started again. Justin Finch-Fletchey and Nearly Headless Nick were both Petrified. Haven't you heard?

"Something needs to be done!" Severus all but shouted at the disgustingly calm headmaster. He slammed a palm against his desk. "We can't keep ignoring this. Students are being attacked!"

"We aren't ignoring this," Dumbledore said, his tone soft. "Severus, you know as well as I do the precautions that have been taken- the extra charms placed on the castle- the nightly sweeps-"

"Well, they aren't working, are they?" Severus had worked himself into a rage, and he rather enjoyed being in a rage, even if he didn't enjoy the reasons behind it. "This insistence on normalcy is putting everyone in danger. You're putting children in danger!"

"Severus," Dumbledore said, just as calmly, but with a hint of steel to his voice. "We've searched the castle time and time again. There are multiple staff members patrolling at all times. The parents have been notified, and reassured all measures have been taken to protect their children. We're working with the Board of Governors to keep things running smoothly while doing whatever we can to catch the culprit. What would you do in my place?"

"More," Severus snapped. "Cancel classes. Interrogate each student until one cracks. Use Veritaserum-"

"Which is illegal," Dumbledore reminded him.

"I don't care if it's illegal, if it reveals whoever is behind this. If-"

"Nothing will be able to be done," Dumbledore interrupted. "Because the usage of Veritaserum without prior suspicion- and I mean real suspicion, Severus, with evidence and a warrant- is not enough to charge a person with a crime, or have them expelled from Hogwarts. The Ministry would overturn it in a moment."

"But then we'd know," Severus argued. "We'd know who was behind it."

"Think clearly, Severus," Dumbledore said. "The student would be allowed to remain at Hogwarts, and could claim the confession was coerced, or falsified. Whoever administered the Veritaserum would be permanently sacked, and possibly charged. And then what?"

"We could have Lockhart administer it," Severus muttered, only half-sarcastic. "Headmaster, something needs to be done. We need to track down whoever is behind the attacks, because the parents won't stand for it for long, and neither will the Board of Governors. The last time the Chamber of Secrets was opened someone died. Who's to say it won't happen again?"

"I'm more aware of this than you know," Dumbledore said, very quietly. "I may have been behind many brilliant things thus far- but I will be very honest when I tell you I don't know who is behind these attacks."

Severus stared at him, then said, "Then what shall we do? Shut down the school for an inquiry?"

"The Board will almost certainly remove me if the school is shut down, even temporarily." Dumbledore shook his head. "They've been trying to remove me for years, you know that, what with Lucius Malfoy at the helm."

Severus nearly said that perhaps the Board of Governors had a point, that perhaps Dumbledore had lost his touch, considering the severity of the situation they now faced. And yet... Severus imagined what would happen if Dumbledore left, if Minerva was left to run things on her own. Severus trusted her with his life, but he knew the pressure she'd be under, and knew she likely wouldn't be able to discover who was behind the attacks either, not quickly enough to appease what would likely be an even-more panicked body of parents and governors. If they removed Dumbledore from his post, it was only a matter of time before they sacked Minerva as well.

Then what? Severus thought this over. The Board of Governors would appoint a new headmaster. With Lucius at its helm, it occurred to Severus that there was a real chance that person would be him. It wasn't an idea that entirely displeased him. He'd often thought of how he'd run the school if he had the chance- he'd certainly run it very differently than Dumbledore did. All the same, he didn't want to be headmaster. One house to look after was more than enough on his already borderline-nonexistent patience; he'd hex the entire student body half to death if he was responsible for all of them.

Besides, he didn't know who was behind the attacks either, and, beyond turning the school into a completely locked down, military-style academy, he was just as in the dark as to how to smoke out the culprit, ranting and raving be damned.

"All right," he said at last. "We can't shut down the school. But we need to do more than what we have been. We need to make real changes, Headmaster."

Dumbledore nodded, far more tired than Severus had seen him in a long time. "Indeed. I'm afraid we do."

"Snape's not in his classroom. Class must be canceled."

Harry looked up sharply, hearing the voices around the corner. He rose to his feet as the footsteps grew closer.

"Free period, then?" a second person said. "Let's go upstairs. I hate these grimy dungeons."

The dungeons were far from grimy; Professor Snape insisted they be kept in top shape. Outside the Slytherin common room and dorms they could be a bit spartan, perhaps, but Harry resented them being called grimy. He didn't have much time to think it over, however, as the voices were growing closer and closer, and he knew they didn't belong to Slytherins.

The last thing he wanted was a confrontation, or even an awkward encounter with a group of students who were certain to know what had happened by now. Snape's study was locked, as it always was, but the unused cupboard they often used for hide and seek was just a bit down the corridor. Harry scurried toward it and shut himself in just as the group of students rounded the corner.

"Where do you think he is?"

"Off defending Potter, I imagine. What do you think it'll take for Dumbledore to chuck him? Someone actually dying?"

"You don't think it was actually Potter, do you? He's a second year."

"He defeated You-Know-Who when he was a baby, didn't he? He's capable of magic none of us can imagine."

A mass of voices now, none of which Harry knew or could distinguish from one another, all talking at once.

Finally, they settled, and someone said, "He was found with the cat. And the second attack was practically on the Slytherin common room's doorstep. Now he's been found again, and right after attacking that Gryffindor girl with a snake. If I were Dumbledore, I wouldn't take any chances. I'd put him on the Hogwarts Express back to London faster than you could blink."

"Do we know for sure he was actually attacking Granger with the snake?"

"He was talking to it, that much is certain. That's what the girls who were there said. Salazar Slytherin could speak to snakes, and Potter's a Slytherin, isn't he? I don't care how old he is. With the Chamber reopened it's only common sense..."

The voices vanished as their owners retreated, and Harry stood very still, unable to move.

It's all right, he told himself. Professor Dumbledore and Professor Snape believe you, and that's what matters.

It did matter, but it wouldn't make his life amongst the rest of the student body any easier. Harry swore silently, just as someone swore more loudly in the corridor outside. He froze, taking a moment to put the voice to its owner, then quickly threw open the door.

Professor Snape stood at the corner of the corridor, the same way the passing students had come, his gaze turning from the closed office door to Harry. Storming toward him, he proceeded to land a cuff to the back of his head.

"Ow!" Harry protested, unable to stop himself.

"Did I not tell you," Snape said, gripping him by the ear and dragging him toward his study, "To wait outside my study and not move a muscle?"

"Ow- sir-" Harry exhaled in relief the moment Snape released him, once they'd crossed the threshold. Rubbing his ear and wincing, he said, "Sorry. I know you said not to move, sir, but there were a group of students leaving your classroom. They were coming my way, and they were... saying things, sir."

Harry hesitated, dreading having to tell him exactly what they said, but Snape just stared down at him, then, mercifully, nodded. "Sit, Potter."

Harry sat, his relief increasing before fading nearly as quickly as it came. He watched as the housemaster rounded his desk and lowered himself into the chair. For a long moment they just stared at one another. Finally, Harry asked, "Am I in trouble, sir?"

"No," Snape replied. "Of course not. As I said, you shouldn't have left the library, and you wouldn't have inserted yourself in this entire mess if you hadn't, but... given the circumstances, I do understand your needing some space. As I've said, I'm a tyrant, but I'm not an unreasonable tyrant."

"Oh." Harry studied his lap, then looked up before Snape could order him to. "Thank you, sir."

Snape's lip twitched a fraction of an amount. "I told you to come here so we could talk."

"Oh," Harry said again, and he waited for Snape to lead the conversation. When the silence only stretched on, Harry asked, "Is it bad? That I can speak to snakes, sir?"

Before Snape could answer, he added, "Is that why I'm in Slytherin? Because I can do that? Could other people in my family do it? Is it only me?"

The words began to pour out of his mouth faster than he could formulate them in his mind. "Why am I in Slytherin, sir? Not that I'm sorry I am, but my parents were in Gryffindor, and Volde- You-Know-Who, he was in Slytherin. He killed my parents. Why am I in the same house as the person who killed my parents? Everyone I met before going to Hogwarts told me I shouldn't want to be in Slytherin, everyone except Draco Malfoy, and he was an absolute tit- sorry, sir," Harry said quickly at Snape's raised eyebrow, then continued on. "Why did I wind up in Slytherin? Why didn't I fight the Sorting Hat?" Harry paused to draw for breath, then fell silent, belatedly adding, "Sir."

Snape didn't reply straight away, instead studying Harry very intently. Finally, he waved his wand, and the tray with the self-refilling teapot and matching cups floated down from its usual upper shelf. As it landed, Snape tapped the tray with his wand, and a plate of jam tarts and biscuits appeared. Harry stared at them, then at Snape. Despite being in this office multiple times (more times than he'd have preferred, if he was being honest), Snape had never offered him jam tarts or biscuits before.

"Eat," Snape said, unable to conceal the impatience from his voice, but obviously trying- something equally unusual. "And we'll talk, Potter."