For those who reviewed or placed this story on their favourites or story alerts, thank you. Please put it on your favourites, as that is a place that I always find good stories, so I assume that other people do too. For those who haven't visited my profile in a while, I now post how many words each chapter was and how many words the chapter that I'm currently writing. That will give you an idea of when I will be updating.
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. J.k. Rowling does. Also, if you see something that you did in one of your stories, it was not intentionally copied.
Thank you to my new Beta, HP Slash Luv.
Twin Trios
Chapter 3
Harry was up early and eager on Saturday. He had finished all of his homework already, along with Ron and Hermione's help, although he had helped them in Charms, Potions, and Defense. That left a whole day to explore the Chamber of Secrets. Or at least what he hoped was the Chamber of Secrets. It only crossed his mind for a second that he could be wrong in his prediction before he dismissed it.
Harry, Ron and Hermione quickly ate breakfast and left the hall, heading to the bathroom on the second floor. Harry had brought along Callidus, who he had shown to Ron and Hermione.
"What kind of snake is he Harry?" asked Hermione curiously. "I don't recognize the type, and I did a project on them when I was ten. I looked up every single species."
Ron laughed at that. "You sure you shouldn't be in Ravenclaw?" Hermione didn't even answer; she just gave him a glare that would have made Lily Potter proud.
"The sorting hat obviously put me in Slytherin for a reason. It is never ever wrong. If I'm a muggleborn and it put me in Slytherin, then it has a very good reason. I don't know what it is though."
Ron saw that he wouldn't get anywhere with this argument, and changed the subject back to what they had originally been discussing. "So, Harry, what type of snake is Callidus." Callidus poked his head out of Harry's sleeve at hearing his name.
Harry just gave them a mysterious smile. "You'll find out soon." Neither Ron nor Hermione looked very happy at having to wait. They finally reached the bathroom.
The room was very shiny-probably the result of house elves cleaning the place, reflected Harry. It was a standard girl's bathroom, other than the one problem: it was haunted by Moaning Myrtle. The trio soon found out why she had earned that name.
"What are you doing here?" she asked in a very high pitched voice. "This is a girl's bathroom. Only one of you is a girl, the other two are boys. OUT!"
"Myrtle," asked Harry, trying not to upset the fragile ghost. "How… how did you die?"
The ghost could not have looked more pleased. "Nobody has ever asked me that question before! For your information, I was crying in this very stall, when I heard a voice. It spoke out in a weird hissing language, one that didn't sound feminine. So I opened the door to tell him to go away-then I died. I saw a great big pair of yellow eyes by that sink."
Harry was surprised, though he really shouldn't be. The monster in the Chamber of Secrets was a basilisk, just like his very own Callidus. He supposed that it made sense. Salazar Slytherin was famous for talking to snakes, so why shouldn't the monster be the king of snakes.
"Thanks" he said quietly to Myrtle. Then he turned back to the sink, where Ron and Hermione were waiting. On second thought, arguing would be a more appropriate term.
"I've told you a million times that the house system is a very stupid system. It just creates unnecessary prejudices in the wizarding world. They should just split the classes randomly, therefore exposing the students to more cultures."
"Hermione, your muggleborn, not that that's a bad thing, but you don't understand what the houses mean to the wizarding world. Houses are what we fight for and how people are judged!"
"That's just my point-" Hermione tried to answer back.
"Enough." Harry cut in. The two looked startled to see him back from his visit with Myrtle. "Watch this. I think you will like being able to study an ancient myth first, before anyone else." With that, he turned back to the sink and studied it. The middle one, the one that he had been told didn't work, had an image of a large snake coiled up. 'Well,' Harry thought. 'It's worth a shot.'
$ Open $ he hissed. Ron and Hermione both jumped a bit, not used to Harry's hissing. If that didn't bother them, they would be soon.
The sink that he had hissed at started to collapse, creating an entrance into a long pipe.
$ Stairs? $ Harry asked hopefully. His wish was well received. A set of spiral stairs quietly slide into place, leading down into the darkness. With a glance at Ron and Hermione, he started to descend.
The tunnel got very dark and damp. Harry cast a Lumos charm and heard the others do the same behind him. After what seemed forever, Harry finally reached the bottom of the staircase. When he did, he was shocked into silence.
The entrance chamber was huge-at least twice the size of the great hall. It had collected a lot of slime over the years it had been here. Harry could see that there were numerous snake skins of varying sizes of snakes shed all over the place. There were places for lanterns every 5 feet, and some even floated in the air. At the back, Harry could just make out a blank platform that looked like it held something. He decided to investigate.
As he got around halfway, he heard Ron and Hermione finally make it down to the bottom, both of them puffing. He turned around.
"Hey slow pokes!" He taunted. "Hurry up, or I'll find everything first."
But when Ron and Hermione tried to enter the chamber, they couldn't. An invisible barrier held them back. Nobody could figure out why.
"It's okay, Harry. You go on ahead and explore the Chamber of Secrets. Ron and I will try to figure out how to disable the barrier." Hermione told him. Harry thought it was more likely that they would start debating about the Hogwarts house system then disable the barrier, but he really wanted to explore, so he nodded and turned around, heading for the blank platform.
Harry could tell that it was very old. 'Duh,' Harry thought to himself. 'Of course it's old. It's from the founders' time.' It was wet like the rest of the chamber, but not as wet. That made Harry wonder if it had an old spell on it. As he approached, he noticed that it was slightly cracked. Harry saw that it had strange markings on it, weird squiggles. What Harry thought was even more strange was that he knew exactly what they meant.
$ Map? $ He asked uncertainly. Then, to his surprise, images started to appear on the stone. Slowly, it rose up and became three dimensional. Harry recognized it as Hogwarts.
Harry could see every single room in Hogwarts, along with the people walking around. He saw two older students in a broom closet, Malfoy in the Slytherin common room, Professor Snape making a potion and Dumbledore pacing in a room that Harry assumed to be his office.
'Wow,' Harry thought. 'Maybe it will zoom up on certain areas, or find certain people.'
$ Percy Potter $ He hissed. The map started to spin and turn everywhere, but when it stopped, Harry could see that his brother was in the common room along with his two followers/friends. He decided to try something else.
$ The Chamber of Secrets. $
Hogwarts faded, leaving a collection of passages that Harry assumed belonged to the chamber. He noticed one that said the tree room, the basilisk chamber, the library and the dueling room. Slytherin obviously put a lot of effort into his private retreat. Harry saw that the tree room was first, then the library. The passage then split into two. He could either go into the basilisk chamber or the dueling room.
$ Callidus. $ Harry said. $ Get your lazy butt down here so I can un-enlarge you. $ Harry put his arm to the ground as he started to feel his snake slithering off it. Callidus was grumbling. Harry thought that nowadays, all Callidus did was grumble and complain. It must be the idea that he's the king of snakes. With a flick of his wand and a quick 'Finite', Callidus was his normal 7 feet.
$ Go scout ahead. Make sure there aren't any nasty surprises. $ With a nod of his head, Callidus turned around and left. Grumbling again. Harry followed his beloved familiar. Seeing that he didn't run into any problems, he didn't stop. Soon, he found a door that he assumed led to the Tree room. Callidus hissed something to it and it opened. Harry quickly followed.
The Tree room was amazing. Harry didn't know where the light was from, but it looked like the walls were on fire. In the middle of the room was a concrete table, much like the one in the Entrance hall. As Harry approached the table, he could make out the words "Slytherin Family Tree."
Harry's heart started to race. Here, in his hands, was the list of people that were descendents of one of the most powerful wizards ever to live. He walked closer, eager to study it. Suddenly, Callidus stopped short, causing Harry to trip and fall painfully.
$ What was that for? $ He cried in pain, before looking down at his snake.
$ I can't go any farther!$Was the answer that Harry received. Now that he knew that, his snake did seem to be trying to move forward, but wasn't able to. 'Humph,' Harry thought. 'I don't have any problems moving forward. I wonder what's different.'
As Harry approached the table, he became painfully aware of the growing ache in his arm. He felt something wet trickling down his arm… his blood.
Harry watched as his blood trickled down and splashed onto the table, the table that he had just noticed didn't have anything written on it. Then, to his amazement, writing began to appear on the table.
The writing was green. Emerald green. Harry recognized the shape as a family tree. Then he made the connection. This must be Salazar Slytherin's family tree. It must've kept expanding over time, each time a new descendent was born. Harry studied the tree. The legend stated that the tree showed the name of the person, if they were muggle or magical, and if they were the descendent of any other witch or wizard.
Harry observed the very top, a portrait of Salazar Slytherin looking smug, but happy. Harry traced the lines down-then noted with surprises that there were two lines coming from him, not just one. Even more shocking was that one of them was green, while the other one was pale blue-the colour that represented muggle.
With growing interest, Harry traced the path of wizarding Slytherin descents. The name eventually changed to Gaunt, and the last descent was named Tom Marvolo Riddle, according to the tree. Harry noted that he wasn't dead. The other thing that he noticed was that Tom Riddle's mother had married a muggle! Harry decided not to question others choices and started to study the other side of the tree.
Harry looked as his hand traced the disowned squib's family. It appeared that he had kept the Slytherin name, despite being disowned. He smiled and waved from his portrait, looking happy beside his muggle wife. Slowly, he traced downwards, committing every name to memory. You never know when this knowledge would come in handy. As he reached the second last name, his hand froze. It said:
Lily Marie Potter (nee Evans) 1960-Present, Witch
His mother. His very own mother was a descendent from the Salazar Slytherin himself. The thought of that himself almost made him pass out. Then, Harry thought, if mother's a descendent, then what am I?
The answer to that question was too much for Harry. He fell gracelessly to the ground, dead to the world.
!#$%^&*
When Harry finally came to, he had come to except he was an heir to Slytherin. That was why his mother hadn't been very surprised when he had spoken Parseltongue in the garden. She had known. How, Harry didn't know, but she did.
Then it finally sunk in: HE WAS THE HEIR OF SLYTHERIN, or one of them anyways. What did this mean? I explained a lot of strange happenings, that's for sure. The reason that Ron and Hermione couldn't enter the chamber was because it was blood sensitive. It also explained his parselmouth ability. He couldn't wait to tell his friends.
Harry turned around and started to run; now knowing that nothing in the chamber could harm him. After a few minutes of running, he finally reached the entrance hall, where Ron and Hermione had stopped arguing and were glaring at each other.
"Another stalemate?" he called out to them. This seemed to bring them out of there glaring war.
"She's just so stubborn Harry." Ron complained.
"It isn't my fault that Ron has no brains for anything other than history." Hermione shot right back. Harry just chuckled at the two of them-nothing could ruin his good mood.
"Let's go to the library." Harry suggested. "I need to figure out something before we can explore the chamber some more." Those words reminded Hermione where they were. Even Ron looked on in interest.
"What did you find Harry? What's the monster in the chamber of secrets? Did you find Salazar Slytherin's journals? I've heard they're hidden in some place sacred to him, so that could very well be right here. How big is the chamber? The magic down here must be really advanced for it to stay here for a thousand years. Did Slytherin really hate muggleborns? I think that it might be a rumour. How could someone hate muggleborns that much? If he did, why did he hate them?" Hermione said without taking a breath.
Harry just chuckled and told her to calm down, she would find out later. Not discouraged at all, Hermione continued to ask questions as they walked up the stairs. Harry just ignored her, but Ron hung on to her every word, trying to learn more about the history of Salazar Slytherin.
After a good ten minutes of walking, they finally reached the top. Harry closed the entrance, and the Slytherin trio walking out, heading towards the library.
However, they were as lucky as usual.
"That's a girl's bathroom. Trying to tell us something, Slimy Snake?" called out an annoying voice from behind. His comment was received with laughs from the other people. Harry, Ron and Hermione turned around, to see their twins laughing at them.
Harry just raised his eyebrow. Not even his brother could ruin his good mood. "Nope. I just decided to visit Moaning Myrtle. You never know when a friendly ghost could come in handy." The so called 'Golden Trio' just looked at him stupidly, while Harry mentally laughed.
"So you were getting all cozy with a ghost?" Ray Weasley asked, disgust and surprise in his voice. Harry just smirked like he knew something that Ray didn't, and without another word walked away. Then Percy did something that even Harry had thought he would never do.
"Don't you turn your back on me! I'm the Boy-Who-Lived! Depulso." Harry heard the last word and his eyes widened.
"Get down," he shouted to Ron and Hermione. They looked confused but did it anyway.
Just in time. A jet of red light passed over them, missing by a foot. Harry turned around, drawing himself to his full height.
"You dare to attack us when our back is turned? That seems like a rather Slytherin thing to do, don't you think? A true Gryffindor would attack while we had a chance to defend ourselves." Harry nearly shouted at his brother.
A part of Harry was surprised that his brother even knew that spell. It was a mediocre charms spell, designed to push whatever it hits. How far they go depends on the power that the caster puts into it and by judging Percy's green face, he had put more then he usually does. Harry and his friends had been really close to the stair case. If it had hit, they would've gone flying off-possibly even to death.
"It seems that Mr. Potter is right," came a silky voice out of the shadows. "Ten points from the house of lions." Professor Snape stepped into view.
"Stupefy!" The spell came from Hermione's twin Gabriel, directed at Snape. That just made him snap.
"Another forty points from Gryffindor and two weeks detention with me Ms. Granger." Without another word, he left. The two trios stood where they were, glaring for a full two minutes.
"Come on," Harry murmured to them. "Let's go to the library."
!#$%^&*
Much to Harry's frustration, he couldn't find anything about how to disable blood wards. He figured that since the ministry classifies blood magic as dark (despite the fact that it could save someone's life) they must be in the restricted section of the library, which he didn't have the permission to enter.
"Cant's find it." Harry said quietly to Ron and Hermione, who were reading The War of the Wizarding World: Grindewald and Transfiguration: The Complete Explanation. Ron looked up instantly, while Hermione slowly finished her paragraph before looking up.
"Find what?" Hermione asked. Harry looked around, before standing up.
"Follow me." The two exchanged a bewildered look before following Harry, who was so far away that they had to run to catch up.
"Where are we going Harry?" Ron puffed, while Harry just hummed thoughtfully.
Harry seemingly wondered around pointlessly for fifteen minutes before Ron and Hermione finally realized they were going in circles.
"Harry?" Hermione asked uncertainly. "Are you okay? Did something happen to you down in the chamber?"
Then Harry stopped so suddenly that Ron fell down. Once he got up, his jaw dropped in shock. A big white door had appeared in the middle of the wall that they had gone past three times already. Without even a glance at the two of them, Harry opened the door and held it open. Ron and Hermione walked inside.
Inside the door was a room around the size of the Slytherin common room. It was even green and silver. The fire was in the same place it was in the dungeons. The only difference was that there were a lot chairs, that looked even more comfortable then the real things.
Harry closed the door and turned around. "Sit down." He ordered.
Ron and Hermione quickly obeyed and waited expectantly.
"In the library," Harry said slowly. "I was looking for a way to undo the blood barrier in the chamber of secrets, the barrier that trapped you guys so you couldn't enter." 'There' Harry thought with satisfaction. 'That's a nice way to break it to them.'
Hermione got it first. She went from confused, to thoughtful, to awed, to shocked, and Harry even thought that he saw a flicker of fear on her face. Then she asked loudly, seeing that Ron didn't understand: "So how did you get in then?"
Harry raised an eyebrow. Then he whispered "Because I'm one of the two last remaining descendants from Salazar Slytherin." He was met by silence, but then again, what had he expected? He had only known the two of them for a week. Then the news sunk in.
Ron stared at Harry with his eyes wide and mouth open. Then he started to hyperventilate.
"How is that possible? Do you feel any different? How in the name of Merlin is that possible? There was a myth going around during the war that You-Know-Who was Slytherins heir, so how can you be a descendant also?" He asked in astonishment.
"In the chamber there's the room called the Tree room. It shows you the Slytherin family tree. I'm starting to wonder about the myth that Slytherin hated all muggleborns. In the tree, he had two children-one was a squib, the other a wizard. Slytherin did disown the squib, but the squib didn't look bothered. It was almost as if he disowned him just to keep reputation, but still loved both of his sons. By the way, I come from the squib line. My mother was the first magical person since Slytherin himself."
His two friends just looked on in shock. After all, how often is it that you find out that your friend is a descendant from Salazar Slytherin, the bad guy of all the Hogwarts founders' stories.
"So Harry," asked Hermione in a small voice. "What kind of snake do you have?" She sounded like she really didn't want to know the answer, but her curiosity got the better of her. Ron was still looking pale and incapable of speech. Callidus snuck his nose out of Harry's sleeve (he had been shrunken by Harry so he could carry him around again.)
"Finite" he said calmly. The snake's size quickly grew from a foot to 5 feet, as well as expanding a lot in thickness. "He's a basilisk." Harry said as he smirked in joy and started to laugh at both of their shocked looks.
However, that was just too much for Hary's friends. They both fell down in a dead faint. Harry noticed how they were on the same couch.
"Should I wake or move them?" Harry wondered out loud. Then he came to his answer. "Nah!" and left the Come and Go Room.
!#$%^&*
The last few months had passed quickly, Harry reflected. He had continued his research on how to cancel the blood ward that protected the Chamber of Secrets from unwanted visitors. He wasn't trying to completely destroy the ward; he was only trying to tweak it so Ron and Hermione could get through, not some other less desirable people…
Also, he had flown to the top of each class, but was always kept on the top of his game, since Ron and Hermione often liked to challenge that ranking. Ron and Hermione still argued a lot, much to his pleasure. In fact, they were going at it right now.
"Hermione," complained Ron. "I'm telling you that flying a broom isn't something you can learn from books. You're either a natural or just average. Occasionally there are some bad people who can't fly to save their life."
"Ron, as long as I know the theory of flying, I'm sure that I won't embarrass myself in front of all you purebloods. I am in Slytherin house, so Professor Snape would kill me if I embarrassed our house."
That made Ron pause for a second, since he knew that it was true. However, that's all she needed to speed up and reach their first flying lesson without any more arguments. The old coot had once again had the brilliant idea to place Slytherin and Gryffindors in the same lesson. Apparently last years incident of three Gryffindors and one Slytherin in the hospital wing had not done anything.
"Good morning class," Said Mme. Hooch as she walked in between the two lines, Gryffindors on one side, Slytherins on the other. The Golden trio had placed themselves as far away from them as possible, Harry noted with amusement. "In this class, I expect no misbehavior. A mistake while you're in the air could result in you death, and maybe someone else's." Seeing that she had the entire class's attention, she continued.
"Now put your hand over your broom and say 'up'." Everybody immediately complied with great enthusiasm. Harry noticed that Gabriel was trying especially hard, since this was something athletic. Harry's broom shot up without question, while Ron's came a bit slower and Hermione's barely left the ground at all.
"Come on Hermione," he coaxed her. "This world is magical. The broom can sense your fear. It won't go up to a rider who's afraid of it. You need to take control like you like to." Hermione took a deep breath and gathered her nerves, then shouted "UP."
The broomstick shot into her hand. "Yes!" She screamed, gaining lots of attention, while doing a fist pump.
"Quiet down now." Madame Hooch yelled. When she wasn't obeyed, she pulled out her wand and shot a big bang into the air. Everybody quieted down. When Madame Hooch was satisfied, she continued.
For the next five minutes, Madame Hooch explained how to grip the broom properly and how to get on without slipping off the end or hurting any parts of your body. Finally, after what seemed like forever to all the purebloods, it was time to fly.
"On my whistle: Three, Two-" But before Madame Hooch could blow her whistle, a Gryffindor that Harry thought was named Neville Longbottom, took to the air. Apparently Neville wasn't very good at flying, as his broom was out of control. Just before he was 20 feet off the ground, Neville slipped and dropped like a stone. The broom kept going and met the whomping willow. It reacted violently (what else did Harry expect) and smashed the broom to pieces.
Harry looked around to look at the different reactions that everyone had. Draco Malfoy was shamelessly pointing and laughing. His two goons had followed suit. Percy was also laughing, though not as loud as Malfoy was. Maybe he did have a sense of house loyalty. In all the commotion, Madame Hooch and Neville had disappeared to the hospital wing.
Malfoy stepped up to where Neville had fallen. "Hey look! It's the rememberall that his gran had sent him." He said with the worst sneer he could do. Harry thought that it really just made him look like a ferret.
Harry's twin didn't even hesitate. "Give it to me, Malfoy, or you're going to feel the wrath of the Boy-Who-Lived." He said threatingly.
Malfoy just smirked. "I don't think so, Loony Face. I think I'll leave it somewhere that Longbottom can find. How about on the school roof?" Malfoy took off, with Percy following shortly after. Nobody tried to stop either of them.
Harry could see that the two enemies exchanged words, but couldn't quite tell what they said. Percy said something that made Malfoy pale greatly, than throw away the rememberall. Having enough, Harry lazily summoned it to his hand, making sure with great care to use his wand and speak the words, even though he could do without. Harry knew that the charm was fourth year level, and there was no need to add to the rumours by doing it wandlessly and silently. He had just so happened to summon it right before Percy caught it. Less than three feet from the ground, Percy pulled up from his dive. Maybe he did have some skill, Harry admitted reluctantly.
Before anybody could say anything, a professor could be seen running as fast as he could, smirking like Christmas came early.
"Percy Potter." The professor said quietly, just for the dramatic effect. "We are in trouble."
!#$%^&*
Later that night, the Slytherins had a house meeting with their head of house. They got to spend twenty minutes of their night with a ranting professor. Apparently, instead of punishing Percy Potter, the headmaster had rewarded him for defending his housemate by putting him on the Quidditch team as a seeker. They were instructed not to inform the school that they had this information until it could be used to their advantage.
"Mr. Potter." Snape called as the meeting finished. "Come with me." Harry gave Ron and Hermione a bewildered glance, telling them that he had done nothing wrong that the Professor should know about, then got up and left.
Student and teacher walked in silence as they traveled to Snape's office. As they reached it, Professor Snape brought out a knife and cut himself onto a pad, then spoke some words. The wards approved of the entry, and they walked in.
Harry's first impression of his Potions Teachers office was that it was dull. A small potion was brewing in the corner, emitting purple fumes. A stone grey desk with a wooden cover on top to insure a smooth writing service was sitting at the back of the room, with just enough room for a chair to sit behind it. There were seven stacks of papers with baskets, one stack for each year if the labels were anything to go by. There was a fire that crackled quietly in the wall to the right of the door. Some dampness dripped off the ceiling, as it was a dungeon after all.
"Take a sit Mr. Potter." Professor Snape said as he conjured a chair for Harry, while sitting in the one behind his desk, moving some papers to the side. Harry politely waited for his superior to speak first. After five minutes of silence, his Professor finally spoke.
"Are you any good at Quidditch?" he asked Harry. Harry had not expected this question. He had flown before. He also liked Quidditch and knew the rules. However, he had never played it with anybody other then himself, so he couldn't really say his skill level. When Harry didn't answer, Snape continued, clearly wanting an answer.
"As much as it pains me to admit," (From the look on his face, it was extremely painful) "You're father was a decent Quidditch player. I just thought that you would've inherited some of his skills." Snape swallowed loudly, clearly having difficulty admitting that small thing.
Harry quickly figured out what this conversation was about. "You want me to play on the team to counter-act my brother." It was a statement, not a question.
"Yes," Snape agreed, happy that he had caught the subject of conversation so quickly. "I was-"
"I have no interest in playing Quidditch, sir."
That one sentence stopped Snape. The spawn of James Potter didn't want to play Quidditch? What kind of joke was this?
"However, I may be willing to… discuss if you could explain a question to me." Harry continued. His professor tensed up, not really knowing what to expect next from this enigma.
"Ask me your question, and I will see what I can do." Snape responded.
"If there was a blood ward that only allowed people with their blood to enter, how could you adjust it to allow people without their blood to enter?" Harry hadn't been able to find this answer anywhere, so he figured that it was something that the Ministry of Magic had deemed dark. It seemed that Harry was right, since his head of house paled.
Harry felt a jab at his mind. Deciding to just show his professor that he can do Occlumency, for he had practiced it and apparently was a natural in case his shields ever failed, he put out a maze of sharp spikes.
Professor Snape jerked his head back. "How do you know Occlumency?" he snarled. Harry just smiled at him.
"How I know it is my business. Perhaps if you told me some information, I would be willing to give you some things." Forever a Slytherin, Snape leaned forward, interested.
"What would you be willing to give me that I don't have?" He said, clearly doubting that an eleven year old first year could know something that he didn't.
Harry counted the three things that he would be willing to give his head of house. "I would play on the Quidditch team, show you something that is amazing (but I won't tell you what just yet), and I would sell you some basilisk venom… for an 80 percent discount." Snape's eyes widened at the last offer. His first instinct was to accept the deal, but his Slytherin mind made him think it over first.
Potter would play on his Quidditch team. He had never even seen the boy fly, but since he was a Potter in Slytherin, he would have to gamble that the boy could play. He wasn't sure about the second offer, but the third offer overrode any doubts. Then Snape started to really think. How in Merlin's name did the boy have access to basilisk venom? Snape took the time to study the boy, and realized that he was the one that had sold the venom over the summer. He would find out the answer to that later, he decided.
"Deal." He said, thinking that he could always go back on his deal like a true Slytherin if it was necessary. He was surprised that boy's expression didn't change at all. He just sat there like stone.
"I want a magical oath."
Snape's jaw wanted to drop, but only his training as a spy for both sides saved him. He was surprised that the child even knew what a magical oath was, let alone ask for one. Then Potter continued.
"I can't have you going all Slytherin on me and betraying me, can I? I just want an oath that will take away your magic for a month if you betray me." Snape's eyes calculated the risk, than nodded. The boy was only a boy, what could he do?
Harry watched as his Professor Snape said the words that sealed the oath.
"Now," Harry said, going right to business. "About modifying those blood wards?"
"You need a sample of any blood you want to add. Then you need to touch the tip of your wand to the blood, and then move it onto the ward. Then say 'I, Harry Potter, give permission to whoever you want to enter where ever it is.' Then they should be able to enter." Harry was surprised that the procedure was that easy. He had expected something more complicated.
"Thank you, sir."'
"You are dismissed." Harry turned, seeing that it was late and sprinted out the door.
"Harry Potter." Snape said softly to the empty air. "I believe Harry Evans would be a more appropriate name."
!#$%^&*
The rest of the week went by quickly for Harry. He went out for a secret Slytherin Quidditch practice, just with the captain (who looked like a troll) and found out that being able to catch the snitch in four minutes was good. He didn't know that. He also found out that his head of house had not asked the headmaster if he was allowed to play. Since Percy could play, why couldn't he. If the Gryffindors started to protest the game, they could just do the same thing for Percy.
Another great thing about Harry's week was that the Golden trio didn't bother him once. It was strange though, when he found them actually looking at books in the library. After they left the library, Harry wondered over to the section they were looking for and found the book. It was on magical animals. The extremely dangerous type. Why they would care about that was a mystery to Harry, not that he didn't care.
Harry received two letters in the mail that week, much to his pleasure. One was from his mother, and the other was from Ginny. He ripped open his mothers first.
Dear Harry,
How was your first week? I heard from Percy that you were sorted into the Slytherin house. I have convinced your father not to disown you yet. I really don't care, so congratulations.
I hope that you are keeping up with your school work, and not slacking off. Have you made any friends that I need to know about? I hope that you are enjoying yourself at Hogwarts. Have you learned anything new?
However, this is the most important question: Have you discovered the family gift? Percy isn't aware of the gift, so if you know it then don't tell him.
I'll be at the school to watch Percy play in his first Quidditch match. Be prepared for your father to yell at you.
Keep working hard and have fun.
Lots of love
Lily Potter
P.S. If you understand these cryptic words, then write in our special language the next time you send me a letter.
Harry pushed the letter from his mother aside and picked up the letter from Ginny.
Dear Harry,
I'm so glad for your letter and half surprised! None of my brothers would ever write to me; they'd find it embarrassing. So please forgive me if I didn't expect you to.
So you got sorted into Slytherin? I've heard some really bad things about that house, but if you got sorted into it then the rumours must be exaggerated. You were the nicest person that I've ever met. All the other boys that I know think that I'm delicate just because I'm a girl!
Ray can have attitude problems a lot of the time. He's really lazy in everything other than playing Quidditch. Don't tell anyone, since I would get in trouble, but Ron's my favourite brother. He always plays with me and doesn't think I can do anything less than him unless it includes my age, not because I'm a delicate little girl!
Professor Snape isn't bad? That's just not possible! I've heard every single one of my brothers complain about him. However, my family is horrible at potions, so maybe that's why.
It's boring here at the Burrow. It's just my mum and me, so I get bored easily. She is always getting me to cook, or knit, or do the laundry. All of the requirements to be a perfect pureblood lady. I hate it!
Well, mum's coming to find me again, and I probably shouldn't be caught writing a letter to you. It would not be proper for a young lady to communicate with a male (eye roll).
Your New Friend,
Ginny
Harry put that letter down too, then saw Ron and Hermione look expectantly at him, wanting an explanation.
"Oh, they're just letters from my mum and Ginny." Harry told them.
"Ginny?" Ron asked. "A girl with chocolate brown eyes and flaming red hair?"
"Yeah," Harry said. "She's really cute too."
"That's my sister that you're talking about!" Ron said in a protest. Harry didn't even say anything more; he just picked up his stuff and started to head to charms class. Annoyed, Ron and Hermione followed.
!#$%^&*
"Well Potter," Said the Slytherin Quidditch captain, Marcus Flint. "You're a natural. You've got a spot on the team. No doubt about it."
Harry returned the comment with a smile that wasn't returned. The rest of the team quickly filed out of the change room, while Harry took his time. He decided that he would go for some joy riding. Wandlessly summoning his broom, Harry headed outside onto the Quidditch pitch.
He had been flying for half an hour when he saw three small figures leave the castle and head towards Hagrid's Hut. Once they arrived and went inside, Harry flew over a quietly as he could and landed on the roof.
"How do you know about Fluffy?" He heard Hagrid ask the trio. He then heard them shift uncomfortably, then a mumbled response that he couldn't make out.
"You are not to go looking below that trap door!" Hagrid all but yelled. "That's an object that only concerns Albus Dumbledore and Nicolas Flamel." There was a moment of silence, and then Harry could see Percy, Ron and Gabriel running back towards the castle.
"I shouldn't of told them that." He could hear Hagrid mutter. "I shouldn't of told them that."
!#$%^&*
Draco Malfoy was angry. He was supposed to be the prince of Slytherin for all of his years at Hogwarts. Now a lot of the house hated him because of one person: Harry Potter.
How in the name of the Dark Lord did a Potter get into Slytherin? He was arrogant and idiotic, always flaunting his knowledge. He was clearly inferior to Draco, so why did everybody seem to look up to him, rather than the great one, the one that his father was the Dark Lord's most trusted lieutenant?
It didn't matter anymore. The boy might be able to talk to snakes, but he was Draco Malfoy. He would lie low, and then when it is least expected… strike.
!#$%^&*
The next day was Halloween; the ten year anniversary of the defeat of Voldemort, the terror of the magical world. Normally the feast at Hogwarts would last around two hours, starting at seven. However, this year it was still going strong at ten, even though the younger years were starting to fatigue a bit.
Then the doors opened, and the Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher ran in. Immediately everything went silent.
"Troll!" He cried desperately. "Troll in the dungeon. Thought you'd want to know." Then fell over in a dead faint.
What happened next could be only described as chaos. People screamed, ran around and did whatever. Harry watched with amusement as Draco Malfoy developed a wet spot in between his legs.
"Silence!" The headmaster called. Even with him, it took a minute of two for everything to quiet down. "Prefects, please take your house back to your dormitories. Teachers, follow me." As everything got under control, Harry noticed three things.
One: Professor Snape snuck out the door, looking like he didn't want to be seen. Two: The Golden Trio was not following their house, it seemed like they had the brilliant idea to go combat the troll. Three: In all of the chaos, Professor Quirrell had disappeared.
"Look", he said to Ron and Hermione, pointing towards their siblings. "If we follow them, we might get some information on them." Ron nodded his consent, quickly followed by Hermione.
"I'm going to try to cast the disillusionment charm, but it's the first time that I've tried." He cast it, and felt his magical reserves go down greatly, but was pleased to see that it worked.
The three of them snuck out the great hall and followed the Golden Trio to the dungeons. As they turned the corner, they started to hear horrible screams. Then they saw why.
A twelve foot troll was towering over them. It had warts all over its body, along a sickly grey skin tint. Harry quickly dispelled the disillusionment charms, magically exhausted.
Harry rolled up his sleeve as the troll swept its hand, knocking Percy and his two friends to the side, unconscious. He let Callidus out and hissed $ Finite Incantatem. $
$ Kill it, please.$Callidus didn't even question the order. All he saw was a monster that was trying to threaten his master and friends. He slithered quickly, easily covering the gap and struck in five rapid secessions.
The troll let out a cry of pain, than its breathing started to get really heavy as the basilisk venom raced through its veins. Then, with one final desperate breath, it died.
"Harry, let's get out of here." Ron said. "The professors are coming." With a nod, they ran to their common rooms, but not before Harry had made it look like Percy had defeated the troll.
"Why did we do that again?" Hermione asked as they jogged. Harry smiled, and looked pretty scary in the gloomy light.
"Because now the three of them owe me a left debt, and don't know it."
!#$%^&*
Severus Snape walked up the stairs to the headmaster's office. Without even knocking, he opened the door.
"Ah, Severus. Just the man I wanted to see." Dumbledore greeted him.
"Save it. You just gave Gryffindor 50 points for something they didn't do." Snape was fuming. He had a pretty good idea of who had killed the troll, though he still didn't know where the boy got all of it. "The troll didn't die by getting a club smashed into the skull, levitated by a dunder head Gryffindor!"
Albus Dumbledore was actually surprised. He had thought that was what happened. "How did it die then?" he asked, not really wanting the answer.
"Basilisk Venom."
And that's chapter three! I hope that you liked it, and will review. As always, please be polite in your reviews, and if you don't like it, then please don't be rude about it.
In the next Chapter will be the Quidditch match, exploring the chamber of secrets and maybe christmas.