AN: This is literally my first fanfiction. Don't expect high quality content because I certainly don't. In the future I will probably read this and think it is a piece of garbage. But right now, I am proud of it. Therefore, advice is not only allowed but encouraged. I shall also warn you, I am going to change most canon events, so don't expect the timeline to be precise.

On a happier note, please join the Haphne server! Link: discord dot gg/pKSdvJQvhU
We do several weekly activities such as a discussion club, Care of Magical Creatures lessons and our own movie/anime club!

8th of November 1992, Hogwarts hospital wing

Harry was awake again. He hadn't been able to sleep really well all night, but hearing about Colin Creevey's attack had not helped at all. He was staring at the ceiling, thinking about the mysterious attacker, when he heard a pop.

"Dobby warned Harry Potter, but the Great Harry Potter did not listen!"

"Wait, Dobby? What are you doing here?" Harry asked.

"Harry Potter lied to poor Dobby! Dobby came to see Harry Potter, to see if he was doing well after Dobby's bludger!"

Harry's eyes became the size of saucers. "THAT WAS YOU?! You could have killed me Dobby!"

The elf didn't seem to think that, and he rebutted: "Dobby's idea was not to kill Harry Potter. Dobby had control all of the time. Dobby only wanted to harm Harry Potter."

"You only wanted to HARM ME?! Are you insane?! If I could use both arms, I would be strangling you right now!"

Dobby was not impressed. "Death threats do not work with dobby Sir. Dobby is be receiving them several times each day…" Dobby paused for a second and continued:

"Dobby only wants the Great Harry Potter Sir to go back home. Dobby thinks it is better for him to come back badly hurt than dead!"

Harry wasn't convinced at all. "Badly hurt? You almost killed me Dobby, so I think you should be the careful one here!"

" Oooh no sir. Dobby remembers. Dobby remembers stories about half a century ago… Students were getting attacked at Hoggy Warts, and one died! Dobby does not want Harry Potter to die, Harry Potter must LEAVE!"

Harry chose to store that piece of information for later. Now, he would make Dobby leave.

"Dobby, I won't be leaving. You either leave me alone, or I will make sure one of the professors gets rid of you, you choose."

"Dobby will be leavings now. But Harry Potter must be careful. Dark days are approaching Hoggy Warts…"

23rd of November 1992, Gryffindor common room

The aftermath of Colin's attack was way worse than Harry expected.

Lots of students (specially the muggleborns) became increasingly paranoid. The Weasley twins were caught yelling "CONSTANT VIGILANCE!" a couple of times, something Harry did not understand.

This paranoia was also accompanied by opportunism. After all, opportunities always lied in every crisis… Some students had taken advantage of that and had started selling talismans and other objects to 'protect' against Slytherin's monster. Despite being the house of the brave, Gryffindor had been the most affected house by a lot.

As expected, Hermione could not resist the temptation caused by this enigma. As soon as Harry had been freed from Madame Pomfrey's attention, he was grabbed by his female friend and dragged into the library, where he found Ron, who probably suffered the same fate.

Hermione started by trying to find any copies of Hogwarts, a History, only to find out that a lot of Ravenclaws had overtaken her, and reserved the book for the following month. Knowing that she wouldn't be capable to wait, Harry offered Hedwig to go to Hermione's house to bring back her copy.

Unfortunately, it did not help at all. Slytherin's chamber was only mentioned twice in the book, and the only useful information was about the attack in the forties, when a girl was found in the bathrooms.

After hitting that dead end, Hermione decided that they could start thinking about possible suspects. Several names were mentioned, Draco Malfoy and Daphne Greengrass included.

"Hermione, as much as I hate Malfoy, I don't think neither him nor Greengrass are responsible for the attacks."

"I do not really think so either, Harry. But you have to admit Ron made a good point by mentioning their lineage." Ron looked at her surprised, but he argued:

"Yeah well, but that is only because they are the only ones there capable of doing it. Old families traditionally sorted into Slytherin, and Malfoy can't stop insulting muggleborns."

Harry didn't want to continue this line of thought. Malfoy was an asshole, but Harry didn't think he had the subtlety needed to go around trying to kill people. And Greengrass… If she was the heir, wouldn't Astoria be on it too? Did she befriend Colin to not raise suspicion? He had a better theory though:

"What if the heir is not in Slytherin?" Both Ron and Hermione looked at him as if he had grown a second head.

"Think of it, last year we thought it was Snape, and it turned out to be the least expected adult in the castle. Why can't it be the same this year? Maybe the heir sorted himself into Hufflepuff on purpose? Nobody would expect him there…"

Hermione stopped his train of thought and the argument as a whole:

"Right now, we know nothing. We do not even have a decent suspect. I suggest we just leave this until something new happens."

17th of December 1992, Great Hall of Hogwarts

The students were having breakfast at the Great Hall. The consequences of Colin's attack still could be felt, but Hogwarts was slowly coming back to normalcy. The only notable absence was the one of the headmaster, but it was nothing unusual either.

Much to the students' surprise, professor Lockhart suddenly rose from his seat.

"Good morning students. I hope you are having a good breakfast today. After a long discussion with the headmaster, I am very glad to make the following announcement:"

Everyone's attention was currently on the DADA professor. It was possibly the first time he had said something minimally interesting after all.

"Today at 8pm after dinner, there will be the first hosting of the duelling club here, in the Great Hall, available for students of all ages! We will be starting with the basics, so make sure to come tonight!"

Instantly, murmurs started resonating around the Hall. Harry could hear students from all houses and ages discussing the advantages of the duelling club, including one Seamus Finnegan, who thought it was especially useful these days.

Harry looked around him, to notice that Ron and Hermione were also discussing about this:

"This is a great idea, Ron; people should be able to defend themselves!"

"I am just saying that we don't know anything else about it! What if it turns out to be false ?"

"Don't be like that Ronald. I doubt the headmaster would approve of this if there wasn't a good planning behind it. What do you think about it Harry?"

Realising it was his turn to speak, Harry answered:

"I think we should go. We don't lose anything just by giving it a try, do we? Plus, if it turns out to be so bad, we can just agree to never come back again, right?"

While the trio was having this discussion, a different conversation was going on at the teacher's table, now that Lockhart had left.

"You know that Gilderoy will be the one hosting this event right?" Professor Flitwick asked.

All the other professors nodded. But professor McGonagall rebutted:

"Is he going to do that by himself? I don't think any of us would be able to deal with all the students on their own, not even Severus on his best days…"

"I don't think so, Minerva. I honestly think that Gilderoy is going to ask for an assistant sooner rather than later."

"So it is a matter of time before he comes to one of us right?" Professor Greengrass asked.

"That is correct, yes. And you all know that he will probably want to provide a demonstration… And I believe all of us here have at least one reason to curse him, right?"

All the professors nodded at this question. They had all been approached by Lockhart at one moment or another, and he had tried to teach them how to do their jobs.

Professor Sinistra was the first to answer though:

"What are you suggesting Filius?"

"I suggest doing a lottery between all of us, and the winner gets to be the 'assistant'. Are you all with me?"

The professors' mood changed all of a sudden. A chance to curse the biggest idiot in the castle? And you could get away with it? This was too good to be true.

"Okay then. I suggest we all write our names down in a piece of parchment, and we draw one name. Whoever it is, will be the fortunate 'assistant' tonight. All in favour?"

None of them opposed. The students would have a nice surprise that night…

That afternoon…

Students were agglomerated inside the Great Hall. The house tables had been moved aside, and there was a large duelling platform occupying the centre of the Hall.

Harry and his friends entered the Hall just in time to hear someone speaking:

"Come closer everybody, it is important for you to hear everything correctly!"

Harry was instantly disappointed. Why did it have to be Lockhart? What did he do to deserve this?

Looking around him, Ron was wearing a very similar facial expression. Hermione looked as if Christmas had come early instead. Harry had tried to make her see Lockhart as what he really was but he had not achieved anything so far.

"We will be starting today's session with a little demonstration. So please greet Professor Greengrass, who has gladly accepted to be my assistant for the day."

Everyone's eyes looked at Professor Greengrass, who was smiling in a scary way. 'Someone is going to have a good time, and it won't be Lockhart.' Harry thought.

"Do not fear." Lockhart said smiling "You will still have your potions Professor when I'm through with her."

Her look could definitely kill now. It reminded Harry of the time when Daphne accused him of corrupting Astoria. Despite this, she kept silent as she stepped into the platform.

Lockhart and Greengrass stopped in the middle, bringing their wands up in front of their faces. They nodded to each other, before returning their arms to their sides. They turned around and walked away from each other.

They stopped suddenly, they turned around and came back to their stances. Lockhart had his usual 'shit-eating' grin, while Greengrass was looking at Lockhart with a maniac smile.

"One" Lockhart began counting down "two…three!"

"Expelliarmus!" A red blast fired from Greengrass' wand, hitting Lockhart in the chest.

Lockhart flew back as his wand flew out of his hand and towards the potions professor. Many laughed as the 'legendary Gilderoy Lockhart' landed on his back. Even professor Greengrass could be seen with a full smile on her face.

"Well done, Professor Greengrass." Lockhart stood up and made his way to the potions mistress. "I believe it was an excellent spell to show to our students, though you made it rather obvious about what you were planning. I could have stopped you easily, had it not been for my desire to show the effects to the students."

"Perhaps it would be more prudent to teach the students how to block unfriendly spells first."

"Ah, yes" Lockhart looked surprised but composed himself quickly. "How about we bring some volunteers? Uh… Potter and Weasley for example?"

Professor Greengrass looked at them for a second, and came to a decision. "Not a bad idea, but I think their friendship may not allow them to give it their best. Perhaps someone from my house? Miss Greengrass if you may?"

Daphne got on the stage to stand in front of Harry. At that moment he could only think 'Why do all the Greengrass women make my life difficult?'

He looked at her, and she mouthed: "Scared Potter?"

Harry answered with: "You wish!"

They bowed to each other, and followed the same procedure their teachers showed a few minutes ago, when they finally found themselves looking at each other once again.

Just before starting though, Lockhart came to give him 'advice', which apparently involved dropping ones' wand. After this 'helpful' intervention from Lockhart, they took their stances.

"On the count of three" Lockhart said "And remember that you can only disarm and defend. One, two and three!"

Harry and Daphne drew their wands at the exact same time. The two of them yelled 'Expelliarmus!' at the same time, but with different results.

Harry's spell missed Daphne's arm by a few inches, and she did not even flinch. Daphne's spell was more accurate, but Harry was able to sidestep it without too much effort. Realising that it wouldn't be a simple fight, they both started throwing spells again.

That turned out to be a good entertainment for the student body. Daphne was combining dodging and the occasional weak shield, while Harry could only dodge. Harry managed to break a couple shields, but not with enough strength to disarm her.

'Stupid Lockhart and his stupid lack of useful knowledge'. Harry thought. 'There is no way this is finishing anytime soon, right now, I can only hope to last longer than her.'

Daphne was finding herself in a similar conundrum. She hadn't been able to land a spell on him yet, and she was becoming desperate.

'There is no way I am letting him win this. He has always had the last laugh, but not today. He may have tricked my sister somehow, but I am going to show him why our house is superior.' Daphne stopped for a split second, and then she said:

"Serpensortia!"

A common gartner appeared out of nothing, for everyone's surprise, and there were several gasps and looks of awe coming from the other students.

The snake looked around the room, only to stop at Justin Finch-Fletchley, intimidating him quite badly, and suddenly, it spoke:

$ Where am I? Who has summoned me? $

Harry, who was the only one to understand snakes (and had good experience with them), answered:

$ You are in a school, the one with the bright hair behind you summoned you $

The snake turned to look at Daphne, who was speechless at the moment, just like everyone else.

$ Can I come with you, speaker? All this people here scare me… $

Harry looked around to notice that everyone was ogling at him with interest (and fear), so he announced:
"Well, after this demonstration, I think I will be leaving for the night."

Harry coiled the snake around his neck, and sprinted all the way to the common room without waiting for anyone, and never looking back. When he reached the portrait of the Fat Lady, Harry muttered the password and quickly entered the common room.

He was instantly greeted by Astoria, who was sitting in front of the fireplace, reading her charms book.

"So, how did the duelling club go?"

"Let's just say it could have gone a lot better, you alright?" However, before Astoria could even answer the question, the snake spoke:

$ Speaker, who is she? She seems nice…$

$ This is Astoria. She is related to your 'summoner'$

$ Can I go with her. I need somewhere warm in this cold day $

$ Let me ask her first, I don't know if she likes snakes that much $ This time, he was interrupted by Astoria, who looked flabbergasted.

"YOU SPEAK PARSELTONGUE AND YOU DID NOT TELL ME?! THAT IS SO COOL!"

'Well, that is good' Harry thought. 'At least I have some support in here'

"Yeah, I do. I never thought it was important for people to know…" He then asked:

"The snake seems to like you for some reason. Would you like to take care of it?"

Astoria looked at him for a second, and then looked at the snake.
"I always wanted a pet; does he have a name?"

Harry was surprised once again but answered in the negative.

"I think I am going to name you Asclepius. In honour of the greek's God of medicine. Do you like it?"

The snake hissed happily, so Harry decided to leave Asclepius with his new owner and go to sleep. Before he left the room, Astoria asked him:

"By the way, where did you find a snake?"

"It would be a better idea to ask your sister." He answered, before going to his room.

18th of December 1993, Hogwarts, Transfiguration classroom

The morning after the duelling club, was a very hard one for Harry. Immediately after his revealing as a parselmouth, all kind of rumours about him started circulating around Hogwarts.

'Curse Hogwarts and its stupid rumour mill. As if talking to snakes meant that I will become a mass murderer or something like that.' Thankfully, his friends and the rest of the Gryffindors believed in him being a decent human being.

The same could not be said about the other houses, though. Most of Slytherin hated him already, so Harry wasn't surprised to see them whispering behind his back. The Ravenclaws were mostly curious and looked at him as if he were an experiment in a Chemistry lab.

The worst reaction came from Hufflepuff. This house contained the most muggleborns in his year, and therefore, they had the most reasons to fear him. That didn't mean that Harry accepted it all without expressing emotions. The words of Ernie Mcmillan had hurt him quite badly, especially when he didn't bother to remember that Lily Potter had been a muggleborn as well.

He was not the only one in the spotlight though. Just as fast as his language abilities, the news of Astoria's new pet started running around the school as well. The conspiration theories were abundant and diverse. Some people believed that Harry had recruited Astoria to do some evil deeds with him. The most amusing were the ones that thought that Asclepius was an engagement present, and that Harry would make Astoria become his Dark Lady.

Harry had to give it to her. Despite it being the first time for her to be in the spotlight, Astoria handled everything like a champ. She regarded everyone with complete disinterest, and continued her life as usual, as if nothing affected her.

All in all, it was a very uncomfortable day for Harry. It still could have been a lot worse though. Thankfully, Professor Lockhart was too scared of him, so Harry did not need to become a character for his play today. Professor McGonagall had soon realised his condition, and she held him back for a moment after class:

"Mr. Potter, if you may stay here for a second please."

Harry asked his friends to wait for him at dinner, and he sat in front of McGonagall.

"Don't worry, you are not in trouble. Could you answer some questions?"

Harry nodded, because he didn't completely trust his voice.

"First of all, are you all right? I know today has been a demanding day for you, and you seemed to be struggling in my class."

"Well, it has been difficult for me, but not as hard as it seems. I have become used to it after last year Professor, and luckily; no one has approached me. They all prefer to talk behind my back."

McGonagall looked at him in the eyes, and answered:

"It may not be the most polite thing to do, but it could also be a lot worse. Mr. Potter, I want to tell you something and I am going to be very clear on this ok?"

Harry nodded and asked her to continue.

"If anything worse happens, might it be insults, hexes in the corridors or someone wishing you harm, I want you to tell me. I stood aside last year, but I want to remedy that from now on. Do you understand?"

"Yes Professor. Thank you for your help, I will keep it in mind if thinks get worse."

She smiled at him, and gave him permission to leave. Harry's trust in his head of house increased significantly that day.

That night, Hogwarts unknown corridor

Tom Riddle was feeling quite satisfied. Today he had managed to take control of Ginny Weasley's body once more, and he was going to liberate Slytherin's monster.

He was looking around the corridor, to find a boy talking to a ghost. This was perfect. Attacking the boy would mean one less mudblood going around the castle. And harming the ghost would also send a message. If even a ghost could be attacked, how could you be sure you were safe? Paranoia would fill the halls, and hopefully; all the mudbloods would leave the castle.

He looked with wonder as the monster attacked once again. Unfortunately, the boy would survive. But it didn't matter. It was only a matter of time, before he fulfilled his destiny.

20th of December 1992, Gryffindor common room

Things had only become worse in the last few days.

Harry was currently sitting on his favourite chair in the common room. It was the closest to the fire, but it was also the comfiest by far, making it very desirable by students. Luckily, since most of them were preparing to leave for Christmas, Harry had managed to secure it for himself. Now, he was busy trying not to be humiliated by Ron at chess.

"So, who's winning?" Harry turned his head to see that Astoria was talking to him.

"That's a trick question. You already know Ron is the best player in the house and possibly the school." She smiled at him knowingly, and she retorted:

"That does not mean he is unbeatable. One day you may win." Harry sincerely doubted that, and he also doubted that she wanted to talk about chess.

"Even though we are having a nice conversation, I feel this is not what you want to talk about. So is there anything you want to tell me?"

"Yes. I want to tell you that I will be leaving on the train in an hour. I will be spending Christmas at home, with all of my family. My sister and cousin will leave as well." She responded.

"Oh, that is good to hear. I hope you have a nice time this Christmas and we will see each other in two weeks."

"Thank you, I wish you a merry Christmas as well Harry." She made to leave for her dorm, but she turned around as if she just remembered something.

"By the way. You should remember chapter 5 of the book my sister gave you. You may be 'rivals' but you have to do it properly."

Harry searched through his mind to find the contents of the chapter. A smile appeared in his face at the remembrance of said chapter.

"Yeah, I remember now. Tell Daphne that I will be expecting something as well."

Some hours later, at King's Cross station, London

"Here they are, my darling daughters!"

"Please father, do you have to embarrass me this way?" Daphne questioned.

"Awww, come on. Can't a man be happy to have his family reunited for Christmas?" Mr. Greengrass asked.

"I am here too dad. Don't I deserve some paternal attention as well?" Astoria asked. However, this paternal attention was not directed at her, but at the snake resting on her shoulders. This time it was her mother who intervened:

"Astoria, dear. How long have you had a snake for? You should have asked permission you know?"

"I know mum. I have barely had it for a week, not a lot of time to warn you, you know?"

"Okay, I'll accept that for now, but this is not over yet. By the way, how did you get it?"

"Oh. Maybe you should ask my dear sister over here. I think she knows better."
At that sentence, Daphne's hate for Astoria reached an all time high.