"Gather 'round, gather 'round! Can everybody see me? Can you all hear me?" Lockhart asks as multiple students gather around a long stage. "Excellent! In light of the dark events of recent weeks, Professor Dumbledore has granted me permission to start this little Dueling Club to train you all up in case you ever need to defend yourselves, as I myself have done on countless occasions- for full details, see my published works."
"If I would've known he was going to be leading it, I wouldn't have joined." I whisper to my brother, Ron, and Hermione. The boys laugh but Hermione rolls her eyes.
"Quiet! I'm trying to listen!" She whispers.
He then gestures towards the end of the stage. "Let me introduce my assistant, Professor Snape. He has sportingly agreed to help me with a short demonstration. Now, I don't want any of you youngsters to worry- you'll still have your Potions master when I'm through with him, never fear. One, two, three." He readies his wand but Snape is already prepared to duel.
"Expelliarmus!"
Lockhart flies back and lands right in his arse.
"Do you think he's all right?" Hermione asks with sympathy.
"Who cares?" Ron says.
"An excellent idea to show them that, Professor Snape, but if you don't mind me saying, it was pretty obvious- ah- what you were about to do. And if I had wanted to stop you, it would have been only too easy." Lockhart gets back up and walks closer to Snape.
"Perhaps it would be prudent to first teach the students to block unfriendly spells, Professor." Snape suggests.
"An excellent suggestion, Professor Snape! Ah... Let's have a volunteer pair! Um, Potter, Weasley, how about you?"
"Which one?" Harry asks him, wondering which Potter he was talking to.
"Uh, you, Harry."
"Weasley's wand causes devastation with the simplest spells. We'll be sending Potter to the hospital wing in a matchbox. Might I suggest someone from my own house? Malfoy, perhaps?" Snape says, pointing to Malfoy, telling him to get on the stage. Harry then climbs up as well.
"Good luck, Harry!" Ron says.
"Kick his arse." I tell him and he gives me a smirk.
"Good luck, Potter." Lockhart tells him, stepping out of the way.
"Thank you, sir."
"Wands at the ready."
Harry and Malfoy lift their wands up in front of their faces, getting ready to bow.
"Scared, Potter?" Malfoy asks him.
"You wish." I smirk at Harry's words.
"On the count of three, cast your charms to disarm your opponent- only to disarm. We don't want any accidents here. One, two-"
"Everte statium!" Malfoy casts his spell and Harry flies back. I huff out in anger and climb up to the stage, standing between the two boys.
"Rictusempra!" I shout, and my spell sends Malfoy back. I run to Harry and help him up.
"Thanks." He mutters.
"I said disarm only!" Lockhart tells us and then looks to me. "And please, Miss Potter, do not interfere."
Before I can respond, Malfoy casts another spell. "Serpensortia!"
A snake flies out of the end of his wand, landing a few feet in front of us. A king cobra.
"Don't move, Potters. I'll get rid of it for you." Snape steps forward.
"Allow me, Professor Snape." Lockhart steps up and readies his wand. "Alarte ascendare!"
The snake is thrown into the air, but comes back down, angry. It perched itself up, and starts hissing at the students around it. Harry and I step forward.
"Sya- hassa- she." Harry states. The snake locks it's eyes on a second year Hufflepuff named Justin Finch-Fletchley.
"Sya- hasi- heth." I mutter. The snake moves forward towards the boy and I take another step forward. "Sya- hasi- heth."
It stops, and looks back at me. Seeming to calm down a bit. The Snape casts a spell.
"Vipera evenesca."
The snake turns to ash and Harry and I look around at everyone staring at us.
"What are you playing at?" Justin questions.
I look to my brother. We are both confused as to why everyone is looking at us with fear and disgust.
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"You're Parselmouths? Why didn't you tell us?" Ron asks Harry and I as we make it back to the Gryffindor common room.
"We're what?" Harry questions.
"You can talk to snakes." Hermione clarifies.
"I know. I mean, we accidentally set a python on our cousin Dudley at the zoo once. Uh, once! But, so what? I bet loads of people here can do it." I explain.
"No, they can't. It's not a very common gift, Mia. This is bad."
"What's bad? If we hadn't told that snake not to attack Justin..." Harry begins.
"Oh, that's what you said to it!" Ron interrupts him.
"You were there! You heard us!"
"I heard you both speaking Parseltongue. Snake language?"
"We spoke a different language? But- I didn't realize I- how can we speak a language without knowing we can?" I ask Hermione.
"I don't know, Mia, Harry, but it sounded like you were egging the snake on, or something. Guys, listen to me. There's a reason the symbol of Slytherin House is a serpent. Salazar Slytherin was a Parselmouth. He could talk to snakes, too."
"Exactly! Now the whole school's gonna think you're his great-great-great grandson and granddaughter, or something." Ron exclaims.
"But I'm not... we're not." Harry looks to me. "We can't be."
"He lived a thousand years ago; for all we know, you two could be." Hermione says and we go up to our dormitories.
"Hermione?" I ask. "What are we going to do?"
"I don't know. But first thing tomorrow morning, I'm going to the library to try and figure it out."
"I can come too. Help you look for an answer."
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After Hermione and I spent most of our day looking for answers in the library, we came up short. There was nothing in the books about the Chamber of Secrets and what it might hold.
That night, Harry and I sit in the library for study hall across from Ron and Hermione. We are all working quietly, until we hear whispering behind us.
We turn around and find a table full of Hufflepuffs staring at us, and then quickly turn away after they see we notice them.
"Don't pay attention to them." Ron tells us.
"It's kind of hard not to." I tell him. We continue to work, until we hear whispers from our left. Harry and I look and see Malfoy with a few Slytherins staring at us. When he see us, he imitates a snake and laughs amongst his group of friends. I close my book and roll up my parchment. Harry does the same.
"We'll see you back in the common room." Harry mutters to our friends and we get up and leave.
As we walk through the corridor, the whispers start up again.
"Blood...I want blood...They all must die. Kill... Kill... Kill! Time to kill."
We follow the voice and it leads us to an almost empty hall. The only thing we see is Nearly Headless Nick floating in the middle and another petrified student on the ground.
"Is that-" Harry starts to ask.
"Justin." I answer him. We kneel down to his level.
"Caught in the act!" Filch yells as he appears around the corner. "I'll have you out this time, Potters. Mark my words." He turns around and runs off.
"No! Mr. Filch! Y-you- you don't understand!" Harry tried to stop him.
But it's too late. He returns with Professor McGonagall.
"Oh!" She gasps.
"Professor... I swear we didn't!" I tell her.
"This is out of my hands, Potters."