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Chapter 27

Deception

Harry stared into the orange flames of the fire in the Gryffindor common room, uneasiness coursing through him. All day he'd been receiving dirty looks from everyone, even members of his own house. Justin was well-liked around Hogwarts, mainly for his kind demeanor, and was revered among the Hufflepuffs, who weren't taking the situation well. 

Thus, he couldn't really be angry at his peers. Ron had explained what it had looked like from his point of view, though he knew Harry wouldn't try to kill anyone. Apparently, most of the students were under the impression that he'd tried to set the snake on Justin, which would explain Justin's own reaction to what had happened.

He stood up and began agitatedly pacing. Ron and Hermione looked up from their game of wizard chess.

"What's up, mate?" Ron asked.

Harry just shook his head and continued pacing.

"For heaven's sake, Harry," Hermione said, exasperated. "Go and find Justin if it's so important to you."

Harry paused. "Yeah, I think I will." He made his way out of the portrait hole, though as soon as he was out of the corridor, he realized he didn't. have any idea where Justin could be.

He decided to check the library, hoping that Justin might be there finishing up some work. When he entered, he made a beeline towards a group of Hufflepuffs in their year sitting at the back of the library, making his way through the bookshelves. He was just about to reach them when the sound of his own name caught his attention. He paused to listen.

"So anyway, I told Justin to hide in our dormitory," a boy told the group. "If Potter's marked him down as his next victim, it's best if he lay low for a while. Of course, Justin expected this, Potter knows he's muggle-born after all."

"You definitely think Potter's the heir then, Ernie?" the girl next to him asked.

"Hannah, he's a Parselmouth. Have you ever heard of a decent person who could speak it? It's the mark of a dark wizard, Slytherin himself was one."

Harry felt sick. Ernie continued listing all the reasons why Harry was surely the heir of Slytherin, as he continued listening, his mind racing. Were they all mad? How could he, Harry Potter, be the heir of Slytherin?

At last, he couldn't take it anymore and stepped out from behind the bookshelves. He calmly walked over to the group, taking some satisfaction out of seeing Ernie's face go pale. He rested his hands on the back of an empty chair as he scrutinized them.

"Mind if I join this enlightening conversation?" He was met with a round of fearful gazes as an answer. "Wonderful," he announced, turning the chair around and sitting on it, resting his arms against the back.

"What do you want?" Ernie asked.

"Oh sorry, I'm looking for Justin Finch-Fletchley."

The Hufflepuffs all drew in a breath at this. "What do you want with him?" Ernie asked, trying to keep the quaver out of his voice but not succeeding.

"I wanted to sort out the... misunderstanding at the Dueling Club."

"Misunderstanding?" Ernie asked incredulously, looking around at his friends. He pointed an accusing finger at Harry. "All I saw was you speaking Parseltongue and setting that snake on Justin!"

Harry took a deep breath, trying to steady his nerves, though his hands were shaking with anger. "That isn't what happened."

"Sure," Ernie replied. "And in case you're getting any ideas," he added hastily, "My blood's some of the purest you'll find around here."