When Harry said that almost anyone could make the snake stop attacking, Ron said in an almost groaning tone.
"Oh, they couldn't do it—to be precise, very few people could.
Sherlock is right, this isn't a common skill at all. It's very rare.
Harry, this is bad—this is really terrible."
"How is it bad?"
Hearing Ron's incomprehensible words, even the usually good-tempered Harry became somewhat annoyed.
"What's wrong with all of you? What's gotten into everyone?"
"Calm down," Sherlock smiled at Harry. "I know you're anxious, my dear friend. Calm down."
"Alright, I'm not anxious."
Harry took a deep breath and said so.
"I must tell you, apart from yourself, no one else understood what you were saying to that snake.
I'd bet you a Galleon that most people think you were encouraging that snake to attack me!"
"How is that possible?"
Harry jumped up. "How could I—how could I possibly hurt you!"
"See, anxious again."
"Am I anxious?"
"Anxious!"
"Anxious."
Ron and Hermione said definitively.
Harry: "..."
He glared at his two friends, then turned to Sherlock and took another deep breath. "Alright, alright—actually, this is the second time I've done this."
Ron and Hermione showed surprised expressions again.
Sherlock made a gesture, indicating for him to continue.
Harry took a deep breath. "Actually, it's a long story."
Sherlock. "Then make it short."
Harry: "..."
Even in such a serious situation, Ron couldn't help but laugh.
Hermione looked at Sherlock somewhat helplessly.
However, after being deflated, Harry actually did make it short.
"That was before school started last year.
I didn't know I was a wizard then. When I went to the zoo with the Dursleys, I accidentally let a python out, and then the python lunged at my cousin Dudley.
Later I talked to that python, and it told me that although it was labeled as being from Brazil, it had never actually been to Brazil."
After hearing Harry's story, Hermione and Ron looked at each other.
Sherlock smiled slightly and directly pointed out the key issue.
"Harry, because of your preconceptions, you've been misunderstanding something all along.
Understanding Parseltongue has never been a skill possessed by all wizards."
"What?!" Harry stared in amazement. "It—it isn't?"
Hermione spoke at just the right moment, continuing Sherlock's explanation.
"No—Sherlock is right, Harry. Parseltongue is a very rare ability, and it's usually hereditary.
The key point is that being able to talk to snakes was Salazar Slytherin's famous ability.
That's precisely why the symbol of Slytherin House is a snake!"
Upon hearing this, Harry looked at Hermione with shock.
Hermione showed a complex expression at this point. She paused, organizing her words before continuing.
"So far, almost all known Parselmouths are descendants of Salazar Slytherin."
Hearing this, Harry suddenly understood why others would have such complex expressions after discovering he possessed this ability.
'They—they actually thought—'
Ron directly voiced what those people were thinking.
"Now, everyone in the school will think you're Slytherin's great-great-great-great-grandson or something—"
"Impossible!" Harry immediately protested.
"Harry, you'll find this very difficult to prove."
Hermione said gravely. "Salazar Slytherin lived about a thousand years ago—that's far too long ago.
And from everything we know now, you very likely are his heir."
"Impossible! Absolutely impossible!"
Harry jumped up, stepped back two paces, and waved his hands frantically, as if this could help him completely escape this suspicion.
Both Hermione and Ron looked at him with indescribable expressions.
Harry didn't dare meet their eyes anymore, much less look into Sherlock's.
He quickly walked to the window of the common room, gazing through it at the snowflakes drifting past the castle.
'Am I—am I a descendant of Salazar Slytherin?'
Harry felt completely bewildered.
After all, he knew nothing about his father's family, and the Dursleys had always forbidden him from asking about his magical relatives.
At this moment, he even quietly tried to speak Parseltongue, but couldn't manage it at all.
It seemed he could only do it when face-to-face with a snake.
Right now, it was as if two little figures were fighting in Harry's mind.
One said. "I belong to Gryffindor. If I truly had Slytherin blood, the Sorting Hat wouldn't have put me here."
The other sneered in retort. "But the Sorting Hat originally wanted to put you in Slytherin—have you forgotten so quickly?"
"So, what if I'm Slytherin's heir? I've never wanted to hurt anyone—"
"Now you're admitting you're his heir!"
"I—"
Almost instantly, the second voice gained the upper hand.
For a moment, Harry felt utterly confused, completely unsure of what he should do.
The label "Heir of Slytherin" seemed like a fog enveloping his heart, gradually consuming him.
Just as Harry felt he was about to be suffocated by this thought, a gentle voice appeared, like a ray of sunlight dispersing the fog over his heart.
"That's not important, my friend."
Harry turned to look at Sherlock, seeing the latter's gray eyes fixed steadily on him. "Did you open the Chamber of Secrets?"
"Of course not! I don't even know where that thing is!"
Harry said angrily.
Sherlock continued asking. "Then, did you encourage the black snake summoned by Professor Snape to attack me—as most people at the scene believed, using Parseltongue?"
"That's even more impossible! Sherlock, you know we're—"
"Then isn't that enough?"
Sherlock walked forward and stood shoulder to shoulder with Harry, looking out the window.
"Never let others influence your judgment. What others think doesn't matter."
"Sherlock, I—"
"Most people in this world are mediocre, seeing only bustling streets and passing traffic, but traveling with Sherlock Holmes, you can see the battlefield."
As Sherlock spoke, he turned to look at Hermione and Ron, a trace of disdain appearing at the corner of his mouth.
"In fact, I think this is an utterly ridiculous matter.
Salazar Slytherin's heir after a thousand years would actually be a Gryffindor?
If Slytherin himself knew that others thought this way, he'd probably jump out of his coffin to curse them!"
Hermione and Ron exchanged glances, suddenly feeling that Sherlock's words made perfect sense.
After Sherlock's guidance, Harry felt much better.
First, he definitely couldn't be Slytherin's heir.
Second, even if he really was Slytherin's heir, so what?
As long as he followed Sherlock, he wasn't afraid of anything!
However, Harry soon discovered that not everyone was as calm as Sherlock, and his situation at Hogwarts began to deteriorate rapidly.
Ever since the Dueling Club, all sorts of rumors began circulating around the school.
"Parseltongue has always been a mark of Dark wizards. No decent wizard has ever been able to talk to snakes. Slytherin himself was called a snake-speaker."
"Those words written on the wall were Harry Potter's warning to Muggle-born wizards!"
"Potter was dissatisfied with Filch, so his cat was attacked. Colin Creevey annoyed Potter, so he was attacked too. You'd better check your blood status—you might be next!"
"Hahahaha!"
When Sherlock heard these claims, he was absolutely delighted, laughing until he was doubled over.
"Honestly, I never thought these people could have such rich imaginations."
"Not only that," Ron added fuel to the fire, "yesterday several Hufflepuff students ran up to Harry specifically to tell him they were pure-blood."
"Really?"
This was truly beyond Sherlock's expectations.
Ron imitated a young wizard's tone.
"'If you're planning to attack me, I'll have you know that you can trace my family back nine generations of wizards, my blood's as pure as anyone's, so—'"
"I don't care what kind of blood he has!" Harry interrupted Ron, saying furiously.
"See, you are anxious again."
Now, no matter who said this phrase, Harry would calm down.
He took a deep breath. "Alright, I'm not anxious—so why would I attack Muggles? What good would that do me?"
"Well, they say you hate the Muggles you live with, you know, your uncle and aunt and cousin—"
"Living with the Dursleys, it's impossible not to hate them! I wish the people saying this would try it themselves."
"Don't be like that, Harry. Besides, your relationship with them has improved a lot, hasn't it?"
Hermione soothed him. "Those who are pure will clear themselves. Go your own way and let others talk!"
Hearing Hermione's words, Harry's anger subsided somewhat, and he said with a bitter smile.
"I heard they're rushing to book seats on the Hogwarts Express, hoping to go home for Christmas.
It's precisely because they found out I'm staying at school that they changed their minds.
I never thought I could have such influence."
"Don't look so glum—come have a drink!"
Ron had already entered holiday mode. "At least you still have our whole family to keep you company!"
Harry wasn't only accompanied by the Weasley family.
Besides Percy, Penelope Clearwater also hadn't gone home.
Her official reason was the same as Percy's—helping teachers maintain order during these troubled times, though whether she really thought this was known only to herself.
After all, before the start of this term, Sherlock had already pointed out the relationship between Percy and Penelope, so those in the know all understood without saying anything.
Fortunately, she also scoffed at the idea that Harry was Slytherin's heir.
Cho Chang held the same attitude.
These two influenced some Ravenclaw students.
For Harry, there was also good news. Cho Chang would also be staying at school for the holidays.
She specifically sought out Harry to mention this. "My parents won't be home for the holidays, so I've decided to stay at school too—just in time to teach you that spell."
Seeing the smile that appeared on Cho Chang's face, Harry immediately felt healed.
On the day of the holidays, Harry and Ron went to the station to see Sherlock and Hermione off.
The effects of the Dueling Club were still fermenting. All the young wizards who saw Harry avoided him, walking around him to board the train.
This made Cho Chang and Ginny Weasley, who were standing with Harry, particularly conspicuous.
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