Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.
Writers Notes: thanks to my beta HGranger89 and thanks to pgoodrichboggs, Smootsmokey, leonix2009, esmithback, lia a karas, gisela19wwe and FrancineHibiscus for your positive feedback.
The group of exhausted Gryffindor second years had been released from History of Magic. Hermione, along with Neville, Dean and Seamus rushed down the corridor, passing the now scrubbed stone wall that had carried the haunting message on Halloween. Her mind was racing, trying to piece the mystery together. She wanted to believe that it was Halloween prank in poor taste, but deep down she knew it wasn't right.
"Umm... hello… Hermione?" A quiet voice nearby drowned out her thoughts, she turned to her left and was surprised it was Harry calling her name. He was rubbing his wrist, and avoiding eye contact.'
"Yes?" Hermione asked puzzled.
"I... I..." Harry rubbed the back of his neck, mumbling under his breath so Hermione could just barely hear him.
"Harry? What do you want?" Hermione asked looking directly at the boy. She didn't see Ron around unless he was under the invisibility cloak; Hermione was absolutely positive they'd been using it to sneak out after hours to do Merlin knows what.
"Can I talk to you alone?"
"I supposed," Hermione turned to her friends and nodded at them, reassuring them she'd be fine.
"I... What I mean to say is... I want to thank you for saving my life." Harry said guiltily.
He had never outright said or did anything to hurt Hermione, but he felt terrible for standing back and ignoring Ron's behavior. He did nothing when the bushy haired girl was being attacked, but she immediately jumped in when he needed it. He couldn't say he would do the same for anyone else. If someone who bullied him, like Snape or Malfoy, needed help, he wouldn't lift a finger.
"Harry, I just can't abandon someone who needs help, regardless of who they are. That is not my nature," Hermione said, shocking her classmate.
"Th...Thank-you," Harry replied softly, "You help me, even after everything I did." He looked away with guilt and shame, "I'm sorry for not standing up for you, and I'm sorry for telling the professors about the voice. It just thought it wasn't important and we should let them handle the situation."
Hermione wasn't sure if she believed Harry or not; she'd heard excuses like this before, and it was usually a lie.
"Look, Harry, I'm going to the Great Hall for Professor Lockhart's dueling lesson. Bye," she said, dismissing the Boy-Who-Lived.
She hated to admit it, but Hermione had developed a crush on Professor Lockhart after reading his books; however, after meeting the man and experiencing his teaching methods, those feelings quickly disappeared. She only decided to go because she heard Malfoy muttering that Professor Snape was assisting.
"Let's go together, don't worry about Ron, he's serving detention with his brothers because they tried to spike Snape's coffee with a love potion," Harry suggested. Hermione just nodded, and the two made their way to the Great Hall.
Severus kept his face expressionless as he waited for the brainless oaf to finish his introduction, which was a narcissistic boast about how fantastic he was. Severus contemplated if Azkaban was worth killing this foul, frivolous clown as he pranced around like he was on stage in the theater.
Female students, as well some of the male students swooned and smiled at him like he was Prince Charming. Severus noticed that Miss Granger wasn't impressed with his showboating, in fact, she looked quite annoyed. Potter had his fingers crossed that his two hated professors would destroy each other.
"Can you all see me? Can you all hear me?" Lockhart smiled with a grin plastered on his dim-witted face.
He was the most miserable excuse of a Defense Against the Dark Arts professor this school had ever seen. He unclipped his garish cloak and threw it into the crowd, a female student caught it. He told the girl she could keep it and she fainted with shock. Merlin, Severus was going to enjoy this far more then he should. He never took pleasure in thrashing weaklings, but dunderheads were a different story. Severus curled his upper lip, baring his teeth, it was a look that would make some of the most powerful Death Eaters cower, but Lockhart was much too self-absorbed to see the warning signs.
"Blah... Blah... Blah... Amazing. Blah... Blah...Blah... buy my books... blah... blah... blah...me..." The narcissist just droned on and on about him, he'd rather listen to Cuthbert Binns give a history lecture or listen to Minerva praise Potter's skills on the Quidditch pitch. Severus Snape didn't graduate first in his class with prestigious honors, gain twelve outstanding N.E.W.T's, rise through the elite ranks of Dark Lord's inner circle, become a turncoat and spy for the Order of the Phoenix, and become the youngest Potions Master in the United Kingdom to deal with this nonsense.
Merlin, Snape couldn't wait to finish this up quickly; he wondered how much he would have to hold back to avoid severe damage to the moron. Should he knock him off the stage or send him flying into the ceiling? 'Decisions, Decisions,' he thought. Severus took his place calmly and in an orderly fashion as Lockhart counted down and flourished his wand like a music conductor.
"Expelliarmus," Severus cried, and the blast sent Lockhart flying off the stage and against the wall, where he slid down to the floor with a confused expression. The Potions master sighed, at the very least someone had taught the students the disarming charm.
Lockhart was trying to excuse yet another failure, "See children, you have to be on your guard at all times during a duel. Remember children, even great wizards like me can be disarmed, but if I wanted to win, it would have been easy. It was very obvious what Professor Snape was about to do."
'What a wanker,' Severus seethed with barely contained rage. Looking down upon the crowd he saw Granger and Potter bent over, wiping away tears as they struggled to contain their laughter at Lockhart's expense. Lockhart's face flushed bright than Gryffindor crimson, and he removed ten points each for disrespect.
"Perhaps it would be prudent to teach the students how to block unfriendly spells, perhaps another demonstration Gilderoy?" Severus interrupted blithely.
Lockhart gulped before fixing another smile on his face, "Well I would like too, but I don't want to embarrass you, Severus."
"I'll risk it," Severus bit out.
"No, I think it's best to have the student practice," Lockhart said rather quickly as he looked around the Great Hall. "Potter, and umm?" Lockhart looked around the room again, "Oh, a volunteer." Lockhart smiled at Draco whose hand was raised.
The two boys jumped up on the platform and took a dueling stance. "On the count of three," Lockhart said, "One. Two," but suddenly Draco sent Potter flying across the stage, ignoring Lockhart's instructions to only disarm. Angered by the blonde-haired boy's jump on him, Potter sent a tickling charm at Malfoy, sending him writhing across the stage.
The boy looked up at his Godfather expecting help, but Snape knew the boy didn't need anymore pampering. Canceling the spell, Severus grabbed the boy by the back of his robes and shoved him forward.
"Serpensortia!" A snake fell out of Draco's wand and onto the stage, hissing at the students.
Severus moved to get rid of the serpent, but Lockhart cut him off, casting a spell that threw the beast into the air. When it landed back on the stage, it was only more furious, hissing and spitting as it slithered towards Hufflepuff Justin Finch-Fletchley. Suddenly Potter hissed something, and the entire hall descended into silence. Severus was speechless, 'there's no way Potter was a Parselmouth, was he?'
Being brought back to reality, but still fazed by the event, Severus cast a vanishing spell at the reptile, and it disappeared with a cloud of smoke. Students muttered under their breath, regarding Potter like he was a mass murder. The boy ran out of the Great Hall, and Miss Granger chased after him.
"Harry! Harry! Stop!" Hermione was out of breath as she caught up to him at the staircase.
"Potter a word," he turned to the student body crowding in the Entrance Hall, "Everyone return to your dormitories at once." Hermione cast a worried glance before leaving them alone.
"My office," was all the Potions Master said before they made the trek to the dungeon.
"Potter, do you know what you did back there?" Severus asked once they were inside his office.
"What do you mean?" Harry was confessed and a little scared, he just wanted to be a thousand miles away from the Potions Professor.
"In the Great Hall," Severus sneered, "the snake you talked to, what did you tell it?"
Questions were plaguing Severus' thoughts, he couldn't keep a single thought straight. 'How could the boy have this ability? It wasn't something you could just learn, it was inherited.' Severus had been trying for years, under Dumbledore's orders, but he could just barely grasp the basics.
"I told it not to hurt Justin … Wait? I... spoke a different language?"
"Parseltongue." This left the boy more confused, "The ability to speak to snakes."
"But why were people scared of me?"
"People are scared of what they don't know or understand. The most famous parselmouths are the Dark Lord and Salazar Slytherin, and because it is such a rare gift, bestowed on those wizards, the student body now believes that you are the Heir of Slytherin and attacking the Muggleborns." Severus explained.
"But my mum was a Muggleborn, why would I attack Muggleborns?" Harry wouldn't hurt anyone, well maybe his enemies like Malfoy, Snape, and the Dursleys.
"Indeed, as much of a troublemaker you happen to be, I don't believe you are behind these attacks."
Harry was amazed. He thought Snape was going to drag him straight to Dumbledore hoping to get him expelled, especially after the incident with the flying car.
"However," Snape continued…
'Oh here it comes,' Harry thought, 'I knew the greasy ugly git would blame me.'
"…I believe that your ability to speak parseltongue and the voice you are hearing may be connected."
"But..." Potter was still fazed that the bat wasn't blaming him, "you must have some idea who's doing it?" The boy had his own theories, he believed it must be Malfoy.
"If I knew, the culprit would be expelled by now," Snape paused, "you're dismissed Potter, and if you hear any more voices, report to the Headmaster or myself immediately."
After the boy bolted out of his classroom, Severus made his way to the Headmaster's office.
"Parseltongue? Parseltongue?" Severus paced in front of the Headmaster's desk, as the old man popped another sugarcoated candy in his mouth.'
Annoyed that Albus was not taking him seriously, he slammed his hands on the desk loud enough to wake Fawkes and a few sleeping portraits. "Did you heard me? The boy is a Parselmouth," Severus raged.
"Severus, its nothing to be concerned about," the old man spoke quite reassuringly.
"The boy has the same skill that the Dark Lord had. It's rather curious that the child mentioned in the prophecy to destroy the Dark Lord would also have his unique skill," Severus stated.
"Severus, don't concern yourself. It will just cause you unnecessary stress," Dumbledore replied bemusedly.