Harry Potter was rereading the same line for the umpteenth time, not wanting to believe his eyes, and repeating, as if that could help:
"Impossible… This simply cannot be!"
"Parseltongue, the ability to communicate with snakes, is passed down by inheritance from mother to son. It also manifests in the descendants of the son, should they happen to be female. There is no other way to learn to speak Parseltongue except by being a Parselmouth from birth, nor can there ever be, for this ability comes from kinship with these creatures, contained in the blood."
Harry tried to calm himself down, coming up with arguments that his friends would certainly have made: first, the author could have been mistaken; who knew where he had drawn his information from; second, Harry had already done many things that had been considered impossible… There was only one "but": Lupin's fear. The very fact that Remus had started hiding something meant that this something was serious. And, if the author of the book was right, then everything was far more serious than it seemed: one of Lily Evans's ancestors must have been a wizard. And a Parselmouth at that. And if one took into account that this fact had been hidden, then surely a Dark one as well. From there it was not far to "the True Heir"…
The Boy-Who-Was-Not-Meant-To-Live-Peacefully was distracted from his extremely unpleasant thoughts by his best friend. The red-haired captain of the Gryffindor team burst into the ward as if he had fought his way in… which, most likely, was true:
"Harry! You're alive! Blimey, you're something! They're saying you saved the Ferret?"
"What?"
"I knew it, it's all lies! If someone saw you near Malfoy, that doesn't mean you were saving him! Well, did you at least manage to kick him?"
"Sorry, Ron, I was just thinking… You're saying someone saw me with Malfoy?"
"Yeah! Hermione, can you imagine, wanted to PERSUADE little Draco to come thank you and apologize for leaving you there! Looks like it didn't immediately sink in with her WHO she was talking to!"
"Yeah… it didn't…"
"The only strange thing is that he was acting kind of unclear too… He didn't immediately put her in her place, almost forgot to remind her of her origin…"
"Ron, please, let's not talk about that! By the way, in case you don't know, I'm not speaking to Hermione! Some Miss Know-It-All she turned out to be… By the way, she didn't happen to take part in spreading twisted rumors about what I did on Valentine's Day, did she? Because I heard something about myself once… 'The True Heir of Slytherin'…"
"Eh, you're totally behind the times… Well, that's understandable!" Weasley nodded toward the sleeping beauty. "Anyway, our prefect is diligently trying to hammer the True Story of the Boy-Who-Desperately-Needs-Glory into the heads of everyone who listens to her… Of course, all normal people couldn't care less about that nonsense, even the first-years are shying away from her… Someone decided she had overworked herself, someone else that she had started envying you, and someone even got it into their head that Snape had swapped bodies with her… Everyone remembers what speech the Terror of the Dungeons began our education with…"
"Yeah… The unforgettable speech of the great Snivellus!"
"WHAT???" Ron was practically knocked flat by such an… epithet.
"I didn't tell you? That was Snape's school nickname! I remembered because Remus came to see me yesterday…"
"Professor Lupin?"
"Well… he came as a friend. We talked a little, I told him the story of the Great Marauder Prank…"
"Wait, why didn't you tell me anything???"
"As if you had time!" Harry did not miss the chance to repay him for the nod. "Anyway, listen…"
This time the story differed only in that Severus's memory was described in detail. Unfortunately, telling Ron about Legilimency did not seem sensible, and so the Ferret's memories and the mental conversations with the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, as well as the method of obtaining the information, remained offstage.
"Blimey, you really are something! A Christmas present, bloody hell!" the redhead managed to squeeze out through his laughter. "Listen, you said Remus came to see you… Do you know?.."
"About his relationship with Tonks? Yes… he told me. I advised him not to lose his chance; there won't be another like it. And how are things with you and Luna?"
"Everything's tip-top! You know, she's actually quite normal… Well, that is, of course, she's always going on about some nonexistent things, but… It's even funny! But Luna always feels what mood you're in, she's always ready to help, she'll never hurt you… It's a pity it's hard for her to stand up for herself, but I'll always be able to protect her!"
"Oh, so you've fallen in love, have you! Congratulations! I was afraid you wouldn't be able to forget Miss Bookworm…"
"Me? Her? You're joking, right? I didn't love her… All right, I admit, I was jealous of Krum, but back then I didn't understand my own feelings… Thank Merlin you staged that scene with Felix back then, so I sobered up a little… Thanks!"
"Don't mention it! If only someone had told me how hypocritical she was…"
"By the way, even the teachers don't recognize her. What changed her so much?"
"I don't know… Though, what difference does it make! Stranger things happen!" Harry said with an obvious allusion to the story with Peter Pettigrew.
"Exactly. All right, listen, Luna's waiting for me, well, you understand!" And a few seconds later there was once again no one left in the ward except the patients.
By noon Flamia regained consciousness again. With difficulty, she asked for a drink, and the young man fulfilled her request as quickly as possible. After taking a couple of sips of sweet tea, the girl asked:
"Was someone here?"
"Well, yes… Yesterday, before your first awakening, Dumbledore and Lupin came by, and today Ron came by. Why?"
"It's just that you look very agitated…"
"It's all because you were hurt, my angel," Harry tried to wriggle out of it.
"Don't try to dodge the answer! I know perfectly well when you're telling the truth and when you aren't. Did something happen? Which of them is to blame?"
"No one."
"But you're agitated…"
"Dumbledore gave me an assignment to study Animagus transformation. He gave me a guide for determining one's Animagus form. And it says there that Parseltongue is passed down exclusively from mother to son…"
"Harry… You have more than once done what…"
"What was considered impossible, I know. But how do you explain Lupin's fear, clearly connected with my mother's past?"
Potter briefly outlined the situation that had developed, not forgetting to mention his nightmare as well — after all, many decisions came to people in their sleep. Of course, it was unlikely that the Periodic Table had chased Mendeleev in nightmares, but…
"Harry! It's just a dream and a couple of unfinished thoughts! Maybe your mother also made a choice between Slytherin and Gryffindor!" the importance of what was happening forced the girl to overcome her weakness and speak decisively.
"Sorry, Flamia, but you're contradicting yourself… If my mum made a CHOICE, then she was not Muggle-born, as was believed. Salazar Slytherin even despised half-bloods; it's strange how they get into the House… But Mudbloods, as he called them, cannot get among the Snakes, even if they are gods at Potions and future Dark Lords!"
"Yeah… There is a grain of truth in your words… You need to speak with Dumbledore!"
"I've already thought about that… And what am I going to say to him? 'Excuse me, sir, could you tell me who my mum's parents were? It's just that the other day I read that she had to have been a Parselmouth, plus Remus is being shady, and old Tom is practically asking to be my grandfather!'"
"Well, why put it like that! Harry, you can ask what Dumbledore knows about your mother; after all, you've mostly been told about your father. Be patient, and you'll find everything out."
"You're right! But then I should first finish the work of calculating my animal, otherwise it'll be kind of improper… He's hoping I'll do everything as quickly as possible, especially since it's primarily necessary for me myself… By the way, if you're hungry, here's the tray with food," the boy moved the tray closer to Flamia and returned once more to the calculations, along the way reproaching himself for his carelessness — what would have happened if the Redhead had been just a little more attentive? So, having used the necessary spell, entered the parameters of his wand and similar nonsense, Harry opened the end of the tome, applied the specified parameters, and received an unambiguous answer about his essence. There could be no mistake. Only there was no joy over the first achievements. This creature stirred too many ambiguous feelings in Harry Potter.
A basilisk. The King of Snakes.
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