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Stars

Chapter 12: The Fly

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Summary: What if Harry wasn't taken in by Petunia? What if, instead, he was taken in by another wizard who moved into number four after Petunia forced her family to move to avoid taking in the freak? Neutral!Harry

Beta: Cauchy! Big thanks to her for being my beta! This means less confusing words and spelling errors and brains flying around.

Disclaimer: I own nothing but my own character. Including the several lines I did take from the book.

A/N: The reason why Harry doesn't know about house-elves is because Cygnus didn't bother telling him about them. Asian countries don't employ house elves and there was no reason why Cygnus would need to tell him as Cygnus had not visited magical families with Harry.

Thanks for all the reviews guys! I'll do my best keeping the chapters coming.

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Harry had spent the next month avoiding Lockhart. The older man had apparently taken upon himself to give Harry 'celebrity advice' every time they met which Harry mostly ignored. Draco laughed about it, until Lockhart had suggested that Harry make better friends in higher places to boost his fame. Needless to say, Draco was quite furious at the implication.

Halloween wasn't a very happy holiday for Harry. The smell of pumpkin pies and the upcoming feast wafted through the corridors. Hagrid had brought in enormous pumpkins and carved them. The jagged teeth and the wide grins only made Harry feel more uneasy.

Harry couldn't bring himself to enjoy the festivities that surrounded the day his parents died. He spent most of the day secluded and silent, only speaking when spoken to and replying in short answers. It wasn't until dinner that Draco questioned it.

"What's wrong? You seem kind of down," Draco said, helping himself to another serving of chicken. "I know it's the day your parents died and the Dark Lord was defeated, but cheer up."

"I've never been able to cheer up on All Hallow's Eve since I visited my parent's old home and grave," Harry said, shaking his head. "Don't worry about me. You enjoy it." He poked his food around the plate.

"Oh, is this about the troll last year?" Draco asked, putting down his fork. "I'm sorry about that, really! We should have done more to help you out."

"Just another reason why I don't like this holiday," Harry murmured. He had refrained from his tradition of lighting candles for the dead as Harry wasn't sure if his housemates would appreciate the gesture. It was, after all, another reminder that he had 'killed' Voldemort. "I don't really have good memories with this holiday."

Draco nodded in understanding and glanced up at the head table. "You can talk to Professor Snape about it. He did say that we could go to him for anything, right?"

Snape, for the most part, had decided to pretend Harry didn't exist in his classes. Since Harry was part of Slytherin, Snape couldn't take points off him. Detention was something that Snape didn't like to give to members of his own house either, so Harry was largely ignored instead.

"Maybe," Harry said, looking at the head table. Lockhart glanced over at the Slytherin table just in time to catch Harry's eye and winked. Harry twitched and looked away, standing. "I'm going back to my dorms," he said quietly. "I'll see you back there, Draco."

"Oh, okay then," Draco said. "I'll bring you dessert."

Harry nodded gratefully and grabbed his bag, swinging it over his shoulder and stalking out of the Great Hall. He walked slowly towards the dungeon, trying to settle his churning stomach along the way. His shoes made a light tapping noise in the empty hallway.

"…Rip… Kill… Tear…"

Harry halted to a stop, wondering if he was dreaming. He glanced around, trying to spot the origin of the chilling voice, but the hall was devoid of people or ghosts.

"Peeves…" Harry muttered, shaking his head. It must have been the poltergeist trying to freak him out. But for Peeves to say such a chilling thing was unusual. Normally, he would just grab your nose and scream, "GOT YOUR CONK" or throw something.

Harry continued down the hallway, his hands in his pockets. But then the voice spoke again.

"..Soo hungry… for so long…"

Harry skidded to a halt. Once might have been Peeves. But twice? He felt a chill crawl up his spine and slowly turned, straining to hear the voice again. In hindsight it was probably a bad idea that he was following a voice that was proclaiming its desire to kill someone, but at least it was better than a student being killed if he ignored it. And Harry did have wards on his bag that he could activate at any moment.

"…kill… time to kill…"

Harry glanced upwards, frowning. It sounded like it was coming from the ceiling. But it was impossible for Harry to be able to hear the voice through the stone, wasn't it? Even if they had been screaming upstairs…

"…I smell blood… I SMELL BLOOD!"

Harry gasped, running up the stairs and hurrying towards the voice. No way was a student going to get murdered on his watch. Harry might have been a Slytherin, but he wasn't willing to allow this person to murder someone if he could do something about it. Especially since he was the only one who could hear the voice since everyone else was still at the feast.

He stumbled to a halt, panting a little as he spotted water on the floor. Slowly, he walked towards the source, turning a corner and coming face to face with a stiff and hanging cat.

"Shit…" Harry murmured, backing away. This was a bad situation to be in. He turned tail, about to bolt and almost crashed into the Gryffindor Prefect. Percy Weasley was leading the whole Gryffindor House back to their tower.

"Watch where you're going Pot…" The prefect trailed off, noticing the cat hanging.

Several people gasped in alarm, pointing and muttering.

"What's going on?"

Argus Filch pushed his way through the crowd. His eyes fell on the cat and he fell back with a gasp of horror.

"My cat! My cat! What's happened to Mrs. Norris?" he shrieked, pointing with one finger. His eyes fell on Harry. "You…! You! You've murdered my cat."

Harry backed away, his eyes flickering to the cat and then back at Filch. "No…" he murmured weakly, not really knowing what to say.

"I'll kill you! I'll—"

"Argus!"

Dumbledore had arrived. Harry whirled around to greet him and proclaim his innocence when the writing on the wall caught his eye.

THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS HAS BEEN OPENED. ENEMIES OF THE HEIR, BEWARE.

Harry processed the words and almost snorted in laughter, despite how serious the situation was. Whoever had written that had even put a comma. And why was it so close to the ground?

Dumbledore unhooked the stiff cat and spoke again. "Come with me, Argus. You too, Mr. Potter."

"Rowan," Harry grunted reflexively, but followed anyway.

"My office—just upstairs—you're welcome to," Lockhart was saying, but Dumbledore cut him off.

"Thank you, Gilderoy."

Harry trudged after them, feeling like he was a prisoner going to his execution. The churning of his stomach seemed to only increase. He was sorely regretting eating that last piece of ham.

McGonagall and Snape both walked beside Dumbledore as Lockhart was spouting off about what had killed Mrs. Norris. Harry glanced at Filch, a frown on his face. He didn't like the caretaker that much, but even so, he did feel a little bad that the man had just lost a pet.

Dumbledore and McGonagall were inspecting the cat. Harry sunk into a chair next to Filch. He opened his mouth to speak to the caretaker, but then shut it again. The man looked completely distraught, huge sobs wracking his frame and tears dripping on his pants. Harry didn't really know what to say in situations like this. 'I'm sorry' seemed like a weak response.

Eventually, Dumbledore stood up. "She's not dead, Argus."

"Not dead?" Filch repeated looking up. Lockhart halted in his story of how many deaths he prevented as Filch rose to his feet. "Not… But… But why is she all stiff and…"

"She's been petrified. But how, I cannot say," Dumbledore said.

"Ask him!" Filch rounded on Harry and Harry frowned. "He did it!" His face was turning red, then purple.

"Why would I petrify your cat?" Harry asked, all sense of sympathy vanishing. "I have no reason to."

"Rubbish! All the students… They hate me! They know I'm a squib!" Filch shrieked.

Harry remained silent with a raised eyebrow. Snape stepped forwards.

"If I may, Headmaster," he said in his silky tone. "Rowan may have been in the wrong place at the wrong time. But we must question, what he was doing there." He turned to Harry as if expecting an answer.

"Trying to settle my stomach after the feast on the day my parents died," Harry said shortly. Saying that he heard a voice that was going to murder someone sounded outrageous, though it had happened. He met Snape's stare and sighed. "I didn't petrify Mrs. Norris."

Snape paused and turned to Dumbledore. "As Potter is in my house, I feel responsible for this. I will take charge of his punishment."

"Really Severus," McGonagall spoke, "There is no proof that Potter has done anything wrong. There is no evidence that Potter has done anything."

"My cat has been petrified! I want to see some punishment," Filch said, his eyes popping. Harry rubbed his head, feeling a headache come on.

"Considering I almost died this day last year, I haven't been feeling very well today," Harry said. "May I retire to my dorms?" He glanced at Dumbledore, waiting his dismissal.

"We will be able to cure her, Argus," Dumbledore said patiently. "As soon as the Mandrakes are ready for harvesting, I will have a potion that will revive Mrs. Norris."

"I'll do it!" Lockhart said importantly. "I must have done it a thousand times. I could whip up Mandrake Restorative Draught in my sleep—"

"Excuse me," Snape said, his eyes flashing, "But I believe I am the Potion's Master at this school."

Harry turned away to hide his snort of disbelief. If Lockhart could really do it, then why was he so incompetent with teaching?

"Severus, please escort Mr. Potter back to his dorms," Dumbledore said. Harry stood as Snape turned to him.

"Come, Rowan," Snape said shortly, sweeping out the doors.

Halfway to the dorms, Harry looked up at Snape.

"Professor, what do you think petrified Mrs. Norris," Harry asked. "I mean, you can't seriously believe that a twelve year old boy with average magical abilities really used Dark Magic to petrify a cat. That's something Professor Lockhart would think of. Not you."

"I do not believe you did it," Snape said, glancing at him. "I do, however, want to warn you. Follow me."

Harry followed Snape to his office where Snape offered him a glass of orange potion. Harry took a sniff and pulled a face.

"It's to help with your stomach ache," Snape said, watching him.

Harry gulped it down and set the glass on the table. "Thanks…"

Snape slammed his hands on the desk, making Harry jump in alarm. "What the devil's do you think you were doing on the second floor. And don't even bother giving me the excuse you gave the Headmaster! That might have been part of the reason, but it certainly wasn't the only one!"

Harry's stomach ache subsided, leaving Harry feel cross and tired. His eyes narrowed in frustration. "Why do you care?! You don't even like me!"

"You are part of my house, boy!" Snape snapped right back. "It is my responsibility, in this school, to make sure you're safe and cared for!"

"So what?! You didn't bother to listen last year when I tried to warn you of my Dad's wards being broken!" Harry growled.

"That has no precedence on your actions tonight!" Snape said, his black eyes flashing. "What were you doing on the second floor?!"

Harry frowned and mumbled, "I thought someone was going to be killed."

Snape heard him perfectly though. "And you decided to run after the killer yourself?! Without alerting the teachers?! You could have easily walked back to the Great Hall and tell someone!"

"And alarm the entire school?!" Harry snapped, his temper rising. "I had no proof it would occur! None at all, except a voice saying they were going to murder someone."

"And you didn't think to warn anyone of this?!" Snape's large hook nose snorted in anger.

"So sorry if I thought mentioning disembodied voices would throw me in the loony bin," Harry said sarcastically. "I'll make a note of it and make sure to bring you along next time."

"Would that be better, or worse than the situation you're in now?!" Snape ground out.

There was a silence. Harry honestly didn't know if it would have been better or worse. To Harry, they were about equal. Being labeled crazy or being labeled a would-be cat murderer were both bad situations.

Snape slowly straightened. He took a deep breath and then said, in a calmer tone, "You need to be careful. There is something going on in the school."

"Related to the writing on the wall? What is the Chamber of Secrets?" Harry asked.

"You don't need to know," Snape said, evenly.

"So you're going to play the 'let the adults handle it' game with me?" Harry sank into a chair, a frown on his face. "Even though I just admitted to hearing voices that claim to murder? What if I actually walk into a murder scene? Would you tell me then? At the cost of someone else's life?"

Snape glared and turned on his heels. "Get to bed, Rowan!"

Harry was fuming when he reached his bed. Draco popped his head over and offered Harry a plate.

"Pumpkin pie? What took you?" Draco asked. He suddenly caught the look on Harry's face and added, "What's the matter?"

Harry, tired and irritated, burst out the whole story. From the disembodied voice all the way to Snape's warning. Draco listened with wide eyes the entire time. By the time Harry finished, Draco wasn't the only boy listening.

"Really strange," Nott said slowly. "Who is the heir of Slytherin?"

"No idea. I'll write to my father and ask," Draco said, shrugging. "But if he's back in the school, who are his enemies?"

"Mudbloods?" Nott suggested.

"Ever since Dumbledore became Headmaster, there have always been mudbloods here," Draco said dismissively. "Why choose to act now?"

"Maybe because the heir came this year?" Harry suggested. "Or maybe it wasn't muggleborns at all. Why would they be worthy of being enemies to the heir of Slytherin? What do they have that the heir does not?"

Draco and Nott exchanged a look.

"True enough," Draco said evenly. "Rumor is that Salazar Slytherin didn't like muggleborns in Hogwarts."

"But that brings up another question. What is the Chamber of Secrets? Is it an actual Chamber, or what?" Harry pointed out. "I guess the voice would be the heir then? Why attack a cat?"

"Warning?" Draco suggested. "I don't know. I'll ask my father and see what he says. I would tell you to ask your dad too, but…" He gave a look to Harry, "He's not exactly from around here. So he wouldn't know much, would he?"

"Yeah," Harry said, nodding. "Would the heir of Slytherin be in Slytherin?"

"Most likely, though I wouldn't put past the heir to get sorted in another house," Draco said. "A snake in lion's clothing."

"Seems like we're missing a lot of information," Harry said, nodding. He picked up his pie and took a bite, no longer feeling irritated. It felt good to get everything off his chest.

-0-

For the next few weeks, all the students talked about the Chamber of Secrets and Mrs. Norris. Filch kept it fresh in everyone's mind by prowling the corridor where Mrs. Norris was petrified, trying to hand out detentions to people for "breathing loudly" or "looking happy".

Harry ignored the chatter. He had better things to do than to listen to people conjure up some cock-bull story about him being the heir of Slytherin. Both Draco and Nott had scoffed at the idea, proclaiming that, "Potter the heir of Slytherin? Have you lost your minds?"

Harry hadn't told Draco about his ability to speak to snakes and had no intention to. He wasn't sure how his friend would take it. Plus, his dad had mentioned it being a mark of a Dark Lord.

Draco's dad had written back. He apparently 'had no idea who the heir of Slytherin was', but they 'were doing the school a great service'. He had also advised Draco to keep his head down and apparently 'warn Potter to do the same'. Draco had shared the contents with Harry, who simply asked how getting rid of the caretaker's cat was a 'great service'.

Winter had settled around the castle. Harry had heard about another attack on a boy named Colin Creevey, but since he hadn't heard anything, he simply shrugged it off. In fact, Harry was so out of it that it wasn't until Draco dragged him out of bed that he noticed there was an announcement.

"Look, a Dueling club!" Draco said, grabbing Harry's sleeve. Harry looked up at the bulletin board and blinked twice.

"Want to go?" he asked Draco. Draco nodded eagerly.

Draco talked about it all day and well through dinner. Harry found it slightly amusing how excited Draco seemed to be. He wasn't sure if the Slytherin heir would even give them a chance to defend, but he supposed that learning how to duel could be useful in the future.

"I've dueled at home. Mostly practice though," Draco said happily as they made their way to the club. "Have you ever dueled, Harry?"

"No," Harry said honestly. "My dad's a wardist, Draco. It's not like we need to duel to be in that occupation."

"Oh, that's right!" Draco said eagerly. "I wonder who's teaching it! I hope it is Flitwick. I heard he was a dueling champion!"

"Just so long as it's not—bullocks," Harry groaned, watching Lockhart take the stage.

Draco made a disgusted face. "You can't be serious. The man can't even fight his way out of a paper bag."

"I concur," Harry murmured. He was slightly more pleased with Snape's appearance, though not by much. At least Snape knew something about Dark Arts.

Lockhart and Snape demonstrated dueling, which was more of a Snape disarming Lockhart while Lockhart acted like a fool. Malfoy cheered as Lockhart hit the opposite wall, but Harry heard Hermione whisper, "I hope he's alright!"

"Who cares?" Ron Weasley responded. Harry was rather inclined to agree with Weasley.

Lockhart got up, to half the room's disappointment. Snape was looking as if he'd like nothing better than to throttle him. Perhaps Lockhart noticed because he declared, "Enough demonstrating! Let's split you off into pairs and you can get some practice in yourselves."

Harry automatically looked towards Draco. Draco shrugged and said, "Sure."

"I apologize in advance if I end up setting you on fire, blowing your face off, or disemboweling you," Harry said. "I don't do well under pressure."

"You'd have to reach me first," Draco said smugly.

"And bow!" Lockhart declared.

Harry and Draco both bowed, calmly readying their wands in unison. On three, Draco moved first. His spell hit Harry and Harry felt like he had been clobbered over the head. He raised his wand and shouted,"Rictusempra!" praying that the spell would work properly, as he reached his magic out to target Draco.

Draco doubled over laughing, but managed to wheeze out "Tarantallegra!" Harry felt his legs jerk into a tap dance and readied his wand to throw another spell.

"Finite Incantatem!" Snape bellowed. Draco stopped laughing and Harry's legs stopped dancing. Now that Harry looked around, half the class wasn't even dueling properly like he and Draco had been. A Slytherin girl had Hermione in a chokehold; Neville and his partner were both on the ground; and Ron Weasley was apologizing furiously at his partner for whatever had happened.

"Perhaps we should teach you how to block unfriendly spells," Lockhart declared. Snape growled at him, clearly irritated at the man, but Lockhart just plowed on. "Let's have a volunteer pair. Ah, perhaps young Harry and Malfoy!"

"Bad idea, Professor Lockhart," Snape sneered. "Potter has issues with his wand, so I'm told. He's likely to blow Malfoy up. How about… Mr. Weasley." He gave a sneering glare to Ron, who recoiled a little. Harry shrugged at his partner and Draco clambered up. It wasn't exactly a secret that Harry had general trouble with wand work.

Lockhart proceeded to give Ron a demonstration on what he should do. Ron looked more confused than ever when Lockhart dropped his wand while Draco had a slow smirk blooming on his face.

And on three! Three… Two… One… Go!" Lockhart declared. Draco raised his wand.

"Serpensortia!" He bellowed.

Ron watched as Draco's wand tip exploded and a large black snake slammed between them. Harry stared, aghast as the snake reared up hissing angrily.

"Don't worry Weasley, I'll get rid of it," Snape said lazily, apparently enjoying watching Ron cower in front of the snake.

"Allow me!" Lockhart said, pointing his wand at the snake. There was a tremendous BANG and, instead of vanishing, the snake flew ten feet in the air before slamming onto the stage again. Enraged, the snake whipped around towards Harry and opened its mouth, posed to strike.

"Calm yourself!" Harry hissed at the snake, without meaning to. He winced a little, knowing that he had just spoken to the snake in Snake Language in front of the entire Second Year but was more than glad that he had not gotten a bite out of it.

The snake paused, eyeing Harry before slowly slumping down, its beady eyes tracing Harry carefully. Harry extended a hand and the snake flicked its tongue out. "Human…" it hissed lowly, though there wasn't a drop of venom in its words.

"I am not your enemy," Harry said. The snake nodded slowly and remained still.

Snape stepped forwards and waved his wand, the snake vanishing in a puff of black smoke. He was looking at Harry in an unexpected way, as if calculating something in his mind. Draco's eyes were very wide, his mouth was open in shock.

"What? You wanted me to take a bite from that?" Harry asked, spotting Draco's expression. "I just told it to calm down."

"You… You're a Parselmouth!" Draco declared.

"A what?" Harry asked, looking at Draco bewildered.

"A Parselmouth! You can talk to snakes!" Draco said, frantically, pointing a finger at Harry.

Harry sighed. "Yes. Yes I can. Snake Language, I call it. But yes, I can talk to them and they talk back sometimes."

"Talk back…" Draco looked on the verge of fainting. Harry shrugged.

"Well, the boa constrictor at the muggle zoo has never been to Brazil," Harry said. "And this snake called me human. So what?" He made a dismissive gesture, not understanding why everyone was making such a big fuss over it. Other than the fact that Harry might be called a Dark Lord or something.

Draco jumped off the stage, pulling Harry away from the crowd. Nott, Crabbe, and Golye followed them, looking at Harry with a mixture of awe and terror.

"How long?!" Draco asked, staring at Harry when they reached the dorms. "How long have you known that you could talk to snakes?!"

"Since two years ago," Harry answered. "I would hear them talk at home, but I never knew I could talk back until two years ago."

"Harry…!" Draco gave an exasperated sigh. "You do know that Salazar Slytherin could talk to snakes, don't you?"

"He could?" Harry asked, blankly.

"Yes! That's why Slytherin house is symbolized by a serpent," Nott said. "And the ability is apparently only passed down through blood. You could very well be the heir of Slytherin."

Draco pulled out his wand and pointed it at the ground. "Serpensortia!"

A black snake coiled out of Draco's wand and Harry blinked at Draco in confusion.

"I just want to confirm it," Draco said as his dorm mates pulled their legs off the ground. "If you're really a Parselmouth, then tell the snake to do something."

Harry sighed and faced the hissing snake. "Come," he hissed to the snake, extending a hand.

The snake regarded him slowly but slithered up his arm and placed its head near Harry's throat, its tongue flickering out. Harry glanced at Draco, who looked excited.

"Are you satisfied, Draco?" Harry asked, sitting on his bed. "The snake is… Erm…" He turned to the snake and hissed, "Do you have a name?"

Rising a little, the snake hissed out "No."

"He is mostly harmless," Harry said. "I can… sort of sense their emotions too. You can pet him, if you want." He unwrapped the snake from his arm and offered it to Draco.

Draco slowly reached forward, as if worried about a bite and stroked the snake's scales. The snake's tongue flickered, but it remained still, allowing Draco to pet it.

"You're unbelievable, you know that?" Draco said, pulling his hand back. "Completely unbelievable. Here you are, Harry-Bloody-Potter: Slytherin and Parselmouth. What's next? Dark Lord?"

"Why would I aspire to be a Dark Lord?" Harry asked, putting the inquisitive snake in his lap. The snake was looking around, curious, its tongue flickering. "If I wanted to take over the world, I wouldn't use magic to do it. I'd use money."

Nott laughed weakly, sitting on Draco's bed. "You really are a Slytherin."

Harry shrugged. "Do you believe I'm the heir of Slytherin?"

Draco and Nott exchanged looks. Crabbe and Goyle shifted uncomfortably.

"You saw me in class with you guys. I'm sure you saw me at the feast," Harry said calmly. "What would I gain from attacking cats and people? I'm a Slytherin. And you know me well enough, Draco, that you know I wouldn't do things for 'the heck of it'." He gave Draco a pointed look and shrugged. "You know I'm bad with spells. How would I manage to petrify one person and one cat?"

"True enough," Draco said, nodding. "So if you're the heir, then maybe someone's attacking people in your name?"

"Possible," Harry said, shrugging one shoulder. "But the question would be, who?"

Nott tapped his chin. "Well, if you are the heir of Slytherin and someone's attacking people in your name, I suppose it goes without saying that they are a big fan of yours?"

"How would they figure out something I don't even know?" Harry asked, tilting his head. "Put in mind that my dad works in Gringotts. He knows my lineage quite well and he never mentioned that I was descendant of Salazar Slytherin. I guess it's fully possible to develop the ability outside his family line, or I could be part of the branch family instead of the main line. In which case, I wouldn't be heir of Slytherin."

"Slytherin's family must be quite large," Draco agreed. "So I suppose it's possible that you're from a branch. That still leaves us with the issue of who is the heir of Slytherin."

Nott looked at Harry. "Can you ask your dad about it?"

"He wouldn't tell me," Harry said confidently, "Customer confidentiality and all that. Protecting customer's privacy is something Gringotts does to ensure that your vault is safe."

Nott looked a bit bummed. Harry lay down, allowing the snake to slither up to his chest for warmth.

"Makes sense," Draco said, nodding. "Okay. So, back to square one. Hey, you think the snake would know? Maybe it has some special powers that connects it to Slytherin's heirs or some—"

"No," Harry said shortly. The snake flicked its tongue at Harry's chin and Harry could almost swear he heard a hissy chuckle.