The woman in the mirror (Harry Potter fanfic)

Chapter 2.12 (The flaming bird)

"Would you be quiet!" Elizabeth hissed. "I don't like Jace-"

But Artemis wasn't listening anymore. She was beaming at her best friend, her homework long forgotten.

"Would you stop looking at me like that!" Elizabeth groaned as she let her head fall on the table.

Artemis was going to say something else but she heard Harry's name somewhere and immediately turned to listen in on the conversation.

"So anyway...." a stout Hufflepuff boy was saying. "I told Justin to hide up in our dormitory. I mean to say, if Potter marked him down as his next victim, it's best if he keeps a low profile for a while. Of course, Justin's been waiting for something like this to happen ever since he let slip to Potter he was Muggle-born. Justin actually told him he'd been down for Eton. That's not the kind of thing you bandy about with Slytherin's heir on the loose, is it?"

"You defintely think it is Potter, then, Ernie?" Said Hannah Abott anxiously.

"Hannah." He said solemnly. "He's a Parselmouth. Everyone knows that's the mark of a Dark Wizard. Have you ever heard of a decent one who could talk to snakes? They called Slytherin himself Serpent-tongue." There was some heavy murmering at this, and Ernie went on. "Remember what was written on the wall? Enemies of the Heir, Beware. Potter had some sort of run-in with Filch. Next thing we know, Filch's cat's attacked. That first year, Creevey, was annoying Potter at the Quidditch match, taking pictures of him while he was lying in the mud. Next thing we know...Creevey's been attacked."

"He always seems so nice, though." Said Hannah uncertainly. "And, well he's the one who made You-Know-Who disappear. He can't be all bad, can he?"

Ernie lowered his voice mysteriously. The Hufflepuffs bent closer and Artemis strained to catch Ernie's words. "No one knows how he survived that attack by You-Know-Who. I mean to say, he was only a baby when it happened. He should have been blasted into smithereens. Only a really powerful Dark wizard could have survived a curse like that." He dropped his voice until it was barely more than a whisper. "That's probably why You-Know-Who wanted to kill him in the first place. Didn't want another Dark lord competing with him. I wonder what other powers Potter's been hiding?"

"Excuse me, I couldn't help but overhear your conversation." Artemis smiled innocently. Ernie and the rest of the Hufflepuffs paled. "It's a bit odd for a Hufflepuff to say things like that, you know. Your house usually admits the fair and the loyal but you must be an exception, Ernie. Just because Harry speaks Parseltongue doesn't automatically mean he's evil and besides his mother was a Muggleborn...everyone knows that. So is his best friend, why would he attack them?" She raised an eyebrow.

The group of Hufflepuffs seemed to think about what Artemis said. "Then why did he tell the snake to attack Justin, last night?" Ernie said, not impressed.

"Oh, so you speak Parsletongue too?" Elizabeth had engaged in the conversation as well. This seemed to scare the Hufflepuffs even more. Elizabeth wasn't known for kindness towards people she didn't know well. She liked you or she didn't. It was that simple with her. And once she didn't like you, it was very hard to prove her otherwise. But when she did like you, she was the best friend you could wish for.

"I...I...I don't..."

"Then how do you know what Harry said to the snake?" Artemis asked. "For all we know he could've told it to tapdance. I believe Harry and he said he told the snake to leave Justin alone...not attack him."

Ernie bit his lips white, taking a deep breath, he said. "We all saw what happened."

"Then you noticed that after he spoke to it, the snake backed off?"