Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, no matter how much I wish I did.
Chapter Thirteen, Secrets.
The silence was deafening. The only thing Harry could hear was the sound of his own heart beat. The fire crackling and popping didn't even regester. Everyone was just staring at him. He gulped noislessly. He only snapped out of it when Professor Snape spoke, and the students turned their attention on him.
"Thank you, Mr. Malfoy, for that. I suggest you do not take to writing stories. You are not the most convincing fitionalist." He turned back to the class, hoping Malfoy wouldn't bring it up again. He knew what the boy was, but he didn't want everyone knowing. He opened his mouth to speak, but Draco cut him off.
"He is, sir. He spoke to the snake on the entrence to the Common Room!" Draco was practically bouncing up and down.
Harry flushed, and looked away. "I just told it the password," he mumbled.
Draco shook his head. "No, you dolt, you said whatever it was in Snake Language!"
Harry raised an eyebrow. "Did I? Just sounded like english to me." He resisted telling Draco to get his ears checked. He was his only friend, but all this attention was worse than when he had gone through the Leaky Cauldron. They were just staring. Some looked like they were in shock, others looked happy, and a few looked jealous.
"Mr. Malfoy, Mr. Potter, sit down. Now," said Snape. Harry and Draco sat immediatly. Snape looked possitively livid. If he didn't tell the truth now, there would be rummours, and Harry's school carreer would be worse than it was. He sighed resignedly. Everyone was looking at him now. "Mr. Potter is indeed a Parlsemouth." There was an instant outbreak of chatter.
"However," Snape continued to quite them. "That does not leave this room!" The students nodded.
"Now, onto the topic at hand," said snape, wondering if it was really even nessicary to tell the students to lay off Harry now. "I have observed that Mr. Potter is being treated unfairly by some of you. I will not tollerate this. I have spoken to all of you at some time or another about house unity, and the rules do not apply to one student simply because of herritage." There was another outbreak of murmering, which Snape let die out on it's own.
"Now, are there any questions for Mr. Potter?" Snape asked, looking around at the large number of raised hands. "Mr. Nott?" he asked, choosing the weedy looking first year.
Theodor stood up. "Er, well, Sir, I was wondering if Harry could show us. You know, about being a parslemouth and all." He blushed slightly, but was slightly heartend when a number of hands went down.
"I don't suppose any of you have a snake handy?" sneered Snape.
"Well, Draco said Harry used Parsletounge to open the common room. Maybe it doesn't have to be a realy snake, sir," Nott replied.
Snape pinched the bridge of his nose. "Mr. Potter, would you kindly strike up a conversation with one of the ornamental snakes in the room, so we can quell the growing murmurs?"
Harry nodded, and swallowed hard. They were staring again. There were many snake-like things in the room. Wall fixtures, torch holders and the like. Harry chose a tapstry of a snake, as it looked the most life-like.
"Hello," he said, timidly. The snake in the tapastry looked up at him and, if it was even possible, seemed to raise the parts of it's forehead that could be considered eyebrows.
"You speak it?" said the Snake, studying Harry.
"Well, they say I do, so I guess, yeah," replied Harry. The hair on the back of his neck stood up. Now that he was making an effort at it, he could distinguish what sounded like English to him, and the strangled hissing sounds everyone else was hearing. It was highly unnerving.
Harry turned back to the room and shrugged his shoulders as if to say 'There you go' There was more whispering, and Harry felt disquited. He took his seat next to Draco, who looked like a boy who stick his finger in a pie and pulled out a plum.
"Any other questions?" asked Snape, who had a look of slight surprise about him, which was only accented by his slightly risen eyebrows.
Harry was thankful there weren't, and felt slightly ill as they went to bed. Everyone seemed to be watching him expectantly after he had spoken to the snake. Like they were waiting for him to do...well, he didn't know what.
That night he dreamed of long snakes, weaving around him, constricting him, choking the life out of him.
He awoke with a start to find one part of his dream was true. He couldn't move.
AN: Ok, bit of a short one, and the next chapter will probably be shorter, but after that it'll be smooth sailing. Also, a bit of a warning. If you're easily upset, just skip the next chapter and pretend he was caught up in his sheets. That is all. Cheerio.