"Harry, c'mere!" Samantha called to her brother.
"What's going on?" Harry asked, pushing to the front of the crowd with Ron and Hermione.
"They're starting a Dueling Club!" said Leslie excitedly, pointing to the paper pinned to the bulletin board.
"The first meeting is tonight," Samantha informed him.
"Do they reckon Slytherin's monster can duel?" Ron asked, but he read the paper with interest.
"Could be useful," said Leslie.
"I'm going. Nothing wrong with getting a little extra Defense practice," said Samantha.
"Let's do it," Harry agreed.
At eight o'clock, Samantha, Leslie, and Max went down to the Great Hall, inside of which the tables had vanished and been replaced with a golden stage at the far end. It was very busy and loud, and warm with what seemed to be all of the school crammed together.
"Who d'you think is teaching it?" Max shouted as they walked through the crowd.
Samantha opened her mouth, froze for a second, and closed it again, her eyes focused behind Max and Leslie. "Oh no," she breathed.
"What?" Leslie asked urgently.
"I might have an idea…" said Samantha slowly.
"What is-" Max started, concerned, but just then the crowd began to silence, and the teenagers looked up at the stage.
"That," said Samantha quietly, pointing up at Gilderoy Lockhart, who was waving his hand for silence, wearing robes of deep plum, and accompanied by Professor Snape.
"Shit," Max whispered, staring at the pair.
Samantha took a deep breath. This couldn't end well.
"Gather round, gather round," said Lockhart cheerfully. "Can everyone see me? Can everyone hear me? Excellent!
"Now, Professor Dumbledore has granted me permission to start this little dueling club, to train you all in case you ever need to defend yourselves as I myself have done on countless occasions - for full details, see my published works.
"Let me introduce my assistant, Professor Snape," said Lockhart, smiling widely. "He tells me he knows a tiny little bit about dueling himself-"
"Yeah, 'cause he was a Death Eater," Samantha whispered. Max raised his eyebrows in surprise, looking at Samantha.
"-and has sportfully agreed to help me with a short demonstration before we begin," Lockhart finished. "Now, I don't want any of you youngsters to worry - you'll still have your Potions master when I'm through with him, never fear!"
"They should finish each other off," said Samantha quietly, toying with her wand in her hand.
Lockhart and Snape turned to face one another. Lockhart gave an extravagant bow, twirling his hands and looking like a fool. Snape inclined his head slightly, not taking his eyes off Lockhart, an evil smirk on his face. The men pointed their wands at one another like swords.
"As you can see, we are both holding our wands in the accepted combative position," said Lockhart. "On the count of three, will we cast our first spell. Neither of us will be aiming to kill, of course," Lockhart says.
"Snape might," Max whispered.
"One… Two… Three-"
Both swung their wands above their head and brought them down swiftly. Samantha knew what Snape would do before he even made a sound.
"Expelliarmus," she whispered with him.
"How'd you know that?" Leslie asked.
Samantha shrugged. It had been obvious to her.
With a flash of scarlet, Lockhart was blasted off of his feet. He flew backwards off of the stage, hitting hard into a wall and slumping down at the base of it.
After a moment, he got shakily to his feet.
"Well, there you have it!" he said grandly, walking back to the stage. "That was a Disarming Charm - as you see, I've lost my wand - ah, thank you, Miss Brown - yes, an excellent idea to show them that, Professor Snape, but if you don't mind my saying so, it was very obvious what you were about to do. If I had wanted to stop you it would have been only too easy - however, I felt it would be instructive to let them see…"
Snape looked as if he wanted nothing more than to perform a killing curse on Lockhart right then and there. Perhaps Lockhart noticed, as he said, "Enough demonstrating! I'm going to come among you now and put you all into pairs. Professor Snape, if you'd like to help me-"
They moved around the room sorting the students into groups of two.
Lockhart got to them first, and absentmindedly pushed Max and Samantha into each other, and put Leslie with Elias, who was standing next to them.
"Face your partners!" called Lockhart. Samantha turned to Max, grinning. "And bow!"
The two gave each other bows that mocked Lockharts, trying hard not to laugh.
"Wands at the ready!" shouted Lockhart. "When I count to three, cast your charms to Disarm your opponents - only to disarm them - we don't want any accidents - one…"
Samantha knew what Max was going to do before he did it. "Two…" came Lockhart's voice. Samantha gother wand in position, ready to do the same thing.
"Three!"
"Rictumsempra!" Samantha and Max shouted together, and then doubled over laughing, tears spilling out of their eyes.
"I said Disarm only!" Lockhart shouted. Evidently, Samantha and Max weren't the only two to disobey Lockhart.
"Finite Incantatem!" shouted Snape's drawling voice from a ways away.
Samantha sat on the floor trying to catch her breath, looking around the room.
There was a haze of greenish smoke around them. Harry and Draco were laying on the floor, as were Neville Longbottom and a boy Samantha had never met before, who she was rather sure was a second year. Ron was holding up an ashy-faced Seamus, and Hermione was wrestling with a large girl from Slytherin. Connor was being helped off the ground by a laughing Damon.
Harry leapt out from the crowd and pulled the Slytherin off of Hermione, and Samantha and Max used the other to push themselves off of the floor.
"Up you go, Macmillan… Careful there, Miss Fawcett… Pinch it hard, it'll stop bleeding in a second Boot." Lockhart walked throughout the crowd, saying things similar to this to every few pairings.
"I think I'd better teach you how to block unfriendly spells," said a very flustered Lockhart. "Let's have a volunteer pair - Longbottom and Finch-Fletchley, how about you-"
"A bad idea, Professor Lockhart," said Snape, gliding over and reminding Samantha vaguely of a bat. "Longbottom causes devastation with the simplest spells. We'll be sending what's left of Finch-Fletchley up to the hospital wing in a matchbox." Neville turned pink and looked at the ground sadly.
Rage flowed through Samantha. "Why does he have to belittle his students to make him feel better about his miserable existence?" Samantha whispered to Max and Leslie.
"Tell me about it," Max replied.
"How about Malfoy and Potter?" Snape suggested coolly.
"Excellent idea!" Lockhart said cheerily, gesturing a miserable-looking Harry and a smug looking Draco into the center of the room, which was quickly clear of students. Samantha pulled Leslie and Max with her as they fought their way to the front.
"Now, Harry," said Lockhart loudly. "When Draco points his wand at you, you do this."
He raised his wand above his head, did a strange wiggle spin, and it flew out of his hand. He bent over and picked it up, his face slightly red. "Whoops- my wand got a little overexcited."
Snape and Malfoy watched them, smirking.
"This is not gonna go well," Samantha whispered to her friends.
"Nope," Leslie agreed, sighing.
Snape muttered something in Draco's ear, making his smirk wider.
Samantha took a deep breath, wondering what in the world would happen.
"Three… two… one… go!" Lockhart shouted.
Draco raised his wand and bellowed, "Serpensortia!"
Out of the end of his wand came a long, black snake that fell to the ground with a thud. Leslie jumped back, and Samantha grabbed Max's hand and stumbled away from the middle of the room. The snake looked at Harry, ready to strike.
"Don't move, Potter," Snape said lazily. "I'll get rid of it…"
"Allow me!" said Lockhart.
"Oh no," Samantha murmured.
Lockhart brandished his wand, and with a bang, the snake shot into the air and fell back to the floor with a smack. Samantha was frozen to the spot, watching as her brother was about to be eaten by a snake.
Instead of going for Harry, though, the snake hissed furiously and turned, slithering to the boy called Finch-Fletchley with its fangs out.
The boy stood frozen with shock, and right as the snake got eye level with him a foot away, Harry shouted something. It sounded rather like a hiss, and it sounded angry. The snake fell to the ground and looked at Harry, who looked rather at ease.
"What just happened?" Samantha asked breathlessly.
"Harry's a Parselmouth…" Max said slowly.
"I don't know what that is but it doesn't sound good," said Samantha.
"What do you think you're playing at?" the boy shouted before turning away and running out of the Great Hall.
Samantha could tell all eyes were on Harry. She stepped forward, walking to his side. Snape also stepped forward and vanished the snake, looking from Harry to Samantha with a shrewd and calculating stare.
"Come on," Ron whispered, pulling the back of Harry's robes.
Leslie and Max walked up and Samantha linked hands with Max. Ron pushed Harry out of the Great Hall, with Samantha, Max, Leslie, and Hermione following a few feet behind behind.
"What's a Parselmouth?" Samantha whispered to Max as they walked.
"A wizard who can talk to snakes. Salazar Slytherin was famous for it," Max whispered back.
"That's not good…" said Samantha.
"It most certainly is not," Max agreed.
They made it to the empty Gryffindor Common Room. "You're a Parselmouth," Ron said to Harry after shoving him into a chair. "Why did neither of you tell us?"
"I didn't know what that was until today!" Samantha said.
"I still don't know what it is!" Harry cried.
"You can talk to snakes," Max answered solemnly.
"I know," said Harry.
Samantha gasped. "Oh!" she said.
"What?" Hermione asked urgently.
"That's only the second time I've done it. I accidentally let a boa constrictor out of its cage once- he told me he had never seen Brazil, and I set him free… before I knew I was a wizard, of course," said Harry.
"A boa constrictor told you it had never seen Brazil?" Ron asked faintly. "Sam, did you know this?"
"Well, I was there, but I forgot about what happened before the glass vanished, because then we got in trouble for setting a snake on Dudley and Piers," Samantha answered, flustered.
"Harry, this is bad," said Max.
"Why? Can't lots of people do it?" asked Harry.
"No, Harry. It's very, very rare," Ron answered.
"Well, who cares? Listen, if I hadn't told that snake not to attack Justin-"
"Oh, that's what you said?" Leslie said.
"What? You were there, you heard me."
"We heard you speaking Parseltongue," said Ron.
"It sounded slightly like you were egging the snake on. It was creepy," said Samantha.
"How can I speak a different language without knowing?" Harry asked, bewildered. "And what does it matter how I did it, as long as the snake didn't actually attack Justin?"
"It matters," said Hermione in a hushed voice, "because Salazar Slytherin was famous for it. That's why the symbol of Slytherin house is a serpent."
Harry's mouth fell open.
"Now the whole school's gonna think you're his great-great-great-great-great grandson of something-"
"But I'm not," said Harry.
"That's hard to prove, he lived thousands of years ago," said Hermione. "You could be."
"Wouldn't we be in Slytherin, though? Gryffindors and Slytherins are rivals, everyone knows that. You can't put Slytherin's heir in Gryffindor, and you can't put Gryffindor's heir in Slytherin, it just doesn't work," said Samantha.
Hermione sighed, looking grim.
The next morning, Samantha went straight to the library to research Parseltongue, and Occlumency. She had a free period, which she was very grateful for.
As she sat at a table scanning through a book she had found about magical snakes, she heard a little of the conversation happening a few tables away.
"I told Justin to hide up in our dormitory. I mean to say, if Potter's marked him down as his next victim, it's best he keep a low profile for a while," said a boy.
Samantha perked up. She was rather sure this group had no idea she was there.
"Justin actually told him he'd been down for Eton. That's not the kind of thing you bandy about with Slytherin's heir on the loose, is it?" the boy continued.
"You really think it is Potter, then, Ernie?" an anxious-sounding girl asked.
"Hannah," said the boy, "He's a Parselmouth. Everyone knows that's the mark of a Dark wizard. Have you ever heard of a decent one who could talk to snakes? They called Slytherin himself Serpent-tongue."
There was a small murmur of agreement from the other students at the table. Samantha watched them, wondering whether to hex them now or hex them after they finished their conversation.
"Remember what was written on the wall? Enemies of the Heir, Beware. Potter had some sort of run-in with Filch. Next thing we know, Filch's cat's attacked. That first year, Creevey, was annoying Potter at the Quidditch match, taking pictures of him while he was lying in the mud. Next thing we know, Creevey's been attacked."
That was bullshit, and Samantha knew it. Harry had been in the Hospital Wing regrowing all of the bones in his arm that night. There's not much you can do with a boneless arm, let alone if it was your dominant arm. She was tempted to walk over and tell them this, but stopped when she heard the girl speak again.
"He always seems so nice, though," said the girl called Hannah. "And, well, he's the one who made You-Know-Who disappear. He can't be all bad, can he?"
There was a pause for a moment, and the original boy continued in a dark tone. "No one knows how he survived that attack by You-Know-Who. I mean to say, he was only a baby when it happened. He should have been blasted into smithereens."
"The killing curse leaves no mark behind," Samantha breathed. She was thinking of a lot of things to say to this boy, most of them rated R.
"Only a really powerful Dark wizard could have survived a curse like that." His voice dropped even lower, and Samantha scooted closer to their table to hear. "That's probably why You-Know-Who wanted to kill him in the first place. Didn't want another Dark Lord competing with him. I wonder what else Potter's been hiding?"
There was a loud throat clear, and Harry stepped out from behind a bookshelf. Samantha couldn't help but laugh at the shocked looks on the kids' faces. "Himself behind a bookshelf, apparently," she said, walking towards the group.
"Sam, what're you doing here?" Harry asked.
"Free period, I'm doing some studying," Samantha answered. "Or, I was, until I heard this conversation." She glared at the students seated at the table. "Did you consider the fact that when Colin Creevey was attacked, Harry was laying in the hospital wing asleep, regrowing the bones in his right arm? Madam Pomfrey and a house elf can attest to this," she pointed out to the kids. "And, when Mrs. Norris was attacked, Harry was at Nearly-Headless Nick's birthday party. A bunch of ghosts can tell you that. Plus,he's friends with Hermione, who's a Muggle born, and our Mum was Muggle born, and he's friends with the Weasley's, the biggest blood traitors around! Don't you think if he was Slytherin's heir, he'd be friends with Draco Malfoy, or someone else with that view?" Samantha asked, her voice raising ever so slightly. "If he was Slytherin's heir, if we were all descendants of Salazar Slytherin, why would all three of us be in Gryffindor? Everyone knows Slytherin and Gryffindor were and are rivals. Both of our parents were Gryffindors, too. Harry is not Slytherin's heir, and he is not the one attacking Muggle-borns!" Samantha said passionately.
There was silence as Ernie stared awkwardly around. He didn't look completely convinced, but he also didn't seem to want to argue with Samantha.
"Fine, Harry's not the heir," he mumbled.
"Glad we can all agree," said Samantha. "And if I hear you say anything about it again, I'll find the heir and personally make sure that you're their last victim before they get expelled."
Ernie eyed her with disgust, but nodded.
Samantha, satisfied, walked away, putting the snake book back on the shelf and taking one she had found about Occlumency with her.
She left the library, deciding to go to the bathroom.
When she reached the bathroom, she heard water running. "Hello?" Samantha called. No response, and the water kept running. Curious, Samantha stepped inside, and she froze. Standing quite still with her hands under the faucet and looking down at them with shock and surprise was none other than Ellie.
Samantha rushed over to her, splashing herself slightly with the thin layer of water beginning to trickle down from the sink where it had overflowed.
She turned the tap off and looked curiously at the bottom of the sink, where the plug looked as if it had been fused with the drain. She stuck her hand into the small pool of water and tried to pull it up, but to no avail; the plug was fused to the sink.
"What could've done that?" she whispered to herself.
She then turned to look at Ellie. She looked shocked, staring into the puddle of water. Her long, wavy, light brown hair was falling into her face. Carefully, Samantha reached out and lucked it beind her ear, noticing the small, silver earrings shaped as moons that her hair had hidden. Samantha met her eyes. They were glassy, not the usual, warm, bubbly tone they had. She took a paper towel out of the dispenser and dried Ellie's hands, feeling how cold they were.
Samantha knew she needed to get help. She didn't know where else to go, except to get a teacher. Dumbledore, she decided, would be her best option.
She rushed out of the bathroom, running the only way she knew how to get to his office, through the Transfiguration corridor.
When she got there, she almost fell over in shock. In the middle of a crowded hall stood Harry, next to Professor McGonagall and two frozen bodies, the first of Justin Finch-Fletchley and the second, a blackened version of Nearly-Headless Nick.
Staring with wide eyes at the scene, it took Samantha a moment to remember what she was doing. "P- professor?" she sputtered.
Professor McGonagall looked up at her. "Miss Potter?" she asked.
"There's been another attack," said Samantha.
"So I can see…" said McGonagall, eyeing Samantha.
"No- not this one. In the bathroom, Ellie McCarmac," Samantha explained, flustered.
McGonagall raised her eyebrows. "Filius, would you take care of Mr. Finch Fletchley here?" she asked. She looked at Nearly-Headless Nick for a moment, thinking, before conjuring a fan out of thin air. "Mr. Macmillan, use this to get Nearly-Headless Nick to the hospital wing," she instructed. Ernie took the fan from her and began doing as told.
She then turned to Harry and Samantha. "Samantha, show me Miss McCarmac. Harry, come with us," she said.
Samantha led the way back to the bathroom, heart beating out of her chest the whole time.
"I found her like this, the water was still running, I turned it off and dried her hands. The plug has been fused to the bottom of the sink," Samantha explained as McGonagall studied Ellie.
McGonagall nodded. "Could you two help carry her to the hospital wing?" she asked.
Silently, Samantha and Harry grabbed one of her feet each and McGonagall took her shoulders. The group moved her all the way down to the hospital wing, where they saw Justin and Nearly-Headless Nick laying on beds next to Colin Creevey.
Samantha bit her lip sadly, staring at the three new additions to the hospital wing.
"This way, you two," said Professor McGonagall for a moment, leading them out of the wing.
Samantha realized where they were going quickly. They soon made it to the stone gargoyles.
"Lemon drop!" said Professor McGonagall, and the gargoyle jumped out of the way for them to use the moving stairs leading up to Dumbledore's office.