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Be Prepared

"Don't worry," she insisted, almost immediately. "It's not a horcrux anymore. Reggie saw to that. The R.A.B. on the note, that was him, see. He left me a letter explaining it all. The Smith's, the last family to adopt me before Hogwarts, were muggles so I kept all that stuff hidden from them. My dad was a pure-blood and my mum was a muggle-born, but they put me up for adoption when I was born, visiting occasionally. They thought fourteen was too young to try and start a family, with them at Hogwarts two-thirds of the time. Can't say I blame them personally. I was named after my mum's grandma. Catherine. They told me all about magical life. When I went to Hogwarts I made friends with Charlie and Mrs Weasley took me in every holiday. I've changed a lot since then, see. I was head girl in your first year actually. All studyish, if that's a word. Should be. And I'm certainly not now."

The scarf fell off, exposing her other shoulder where there was a tattoo of a paw print. Harry, Ron and Hermione just stared at her.

"What do you mean horcrux? How do you know about them?" Harry asked, finally recovering from the enormous bombshell she had just dropped.

She gave him a patronizing smile. "You didn't think Dumbledore thought of that all by himself. I told him, helped him with the ring, an all. Reggie knew and he told me. Dumbles didn't believe me till Old Voldie was resurrected. Idiot. Should of believed me earlier, and then everything would have been fine but nooooo. And besides, you aren't the only one with a prophesy hanging over your head, certainly not the only one to do with Tom's impending destruction. And also Harry, dear, you've got something on your chin." She wiped it off and Harry blushed. He felt like Ron on the platform before his first year with his dirty smut on his nose.

"Anyhow," she took the purse off her arm and started searching through it. When she next spoke her voice was venomous and steamed hatred. "Tom really needs to take better care of his horcruxes. I mean, I already destroyed Nagini just this morning." She pulled a fang out of her purse. "Here's her main fang."

"How did you find her?" Ron asked in undisguised awe, as Harry just stared. THay'd been searching for Nagini's cage for 4 months now.

"Oh, Sally's, Salazar's,"She explained to her audience, "necklace tells you where the others are if you ask it nicely. They're all gone aren't they", she asked the necklace which responded with a drawn out yes.

Ron and Hermione were watching her in shock, but Harry didn't understand why. She'd only asked it a question, it's not like she had spoken another… Ohhhhhhh.

Ron finally spoke in an emotionless voice. "I didn't know you spoke parseltongue Cat."

"Oh yeah, my dad could. Best kept family secret it was. My Great- Great- Great- Great- Great- Great- Great- Great- Great- Great- Great- Great- Great- Great- Great- Great- Great- Great- Great- Great- Great- Great-Grandfather married a Gaunt and we've all been able to speak parseltongue ever since. But we were a good family and people would look at us differently if they found out. Guess I'm kinda like you, eh Harry. Parseltongue, but not evil. Dad was just the same. You'd have got along great if he wasn't dead an all."

Harry was taking a moment to digest this. Other than Voldemort, he'd never met a parseltongue before. She and he seemed to have so much in common. Both orphans, both parseltongues, both had prophecies about Voldemorts doom written about them, both destroyed horcruxes. Oh well, there was always a first time for everything. He decided to find out more about her.

"So," he questioned. "What's the deal with the tattoos?"

A/N Sorry for taking so long with this chapter. Why does no one seem to read this one? My one-shot has had more hits, and certainly more reviews. Might even have more story alerts.