The entire classroom erupted into chaos.
This class was a joint lesson for Gryffindor and Slytherin students. When Harry spoke Parseltongue, nearly every Slytherin student knew exactly what that meant.
"Parselmouth!"
"Potter's a Parselmouth!"
"He must be the one who opened the Chamber of Secrets!"
"No wonder Draco was attacked! This is his revenge!"
Even on the Gryffindor side, aside from those from Muggle families, everyone else was looking at Harry with strange eyes.
Seamus, who shared a dorm with Harry, muttered to himself,
"No wonder you tried to run out of the Great Hall that night. So it really was you who opened the Chamber of Secrets!"
Harry stared blankly at the people accusing him. He still didn't understand how he had suddenly become the target of everyone's condemnation.
"What... are you all talking about?"
Even Ron beside him was looking at Harry with a grave expression, though his eyes held no fear or suspicion, which offered Harry a small measure of comfort.
"Everyone, shut up!"
Sherlock's cold voice instantly silenced the classroom, which had been as noisy as a marketplace.
But a Slytherin student still found the courage to raise their hand and speak.
"Professor, Potter is a Parselmouth! That proves he's the one who opened the Chamber of Secrets!"
Having researched many serpentine magical creatures, Sherlock naturally knew what being a Parselmouth signified.
Almost every Parselmouth in magical Britain was a dark wizard, and Salazar Slytherin, one of the four founders of Hogwarts, was also a Parselmouth. This was one of the reasons why the emblem of Slytherin house was a serpent.
Moreover, the ability of Parseltongue could be inherited through family bloodlines. In the current Hogwarts, anyone who displayed the ability of a Parselmouth was highly likely to be the Heir of Slytherin.
"Salazar Slytherin wasn't the only Parselmouth in history, Mr. Nelson," Sherlock said calmly. "If that alone is your basis for accusing Potter of a crime, even if this case went all the way to the Wizengamot, the Chief Warlock would rule Potter innocent."
"But someone with the ability of a Parselmouth is indeed the prime suspect for being the Heir of Slytherin! I think Potter should at least be detained as a precaution!" another Slytherin insisted stubbornly.
Sherlock's tone was beginning to turn cold.
"The burden of proof lies with the accuser. If you have concrete evidence, forget temporary detention; I could take him to the Auror Office at the Ministry of Magic right now. But based solely on the ambiguous evidence of being a Parselmouth, what right do you have to restrict Potter's personal freedom?"
"And are any of you the Headmaster of Hogwarts?"
He swept a cold gaze over the students who still wanted to say more.
"After this class ends, I will faithfully report everything that just happened to Dumbledore. How he chooses to handle this matter is his own decision. What you need to do now is sit down quietly and attend the class!"
The authority Sherlock had built up among the students finally showed its effect. No one dared to say anything more, though it was clear they couldn't focus on the rest of the lesson.
After class, as Sherlock was preparing to leave the classroom carrying the cage containing the Runespoor, Harry hesitantly approached him.
"Thank you for helping me out, Professor."
Sherlock waved a dismissive hand.
"I was just doing my job."
"Professor, what is a Parselmouth?" Harry asked, confused.
"You can think of it as an innate talent, one that's almost impossible to learn later in life. But those who possess this talent in Magical Britain are generally dark wizards," Sherlock said calmly.
"But I've always believed that's a prejudice. Parselmouth is merely an ability to converse with snakes. It's not Dark Arts that alters the user's mindset after use. Most wizards with the Parselmouth talent are dark wizards, probably due to family issues and partly due to people's prejudice against it."
Harry asked, puzzled,
"Then what does that have to do with them suspecting I'm the Heir of Slytherin?"
"Because Salazar Slytherin was a Parselmouth. And in modern times, wizards with the Parselmouth ability usually awaken it through ancestral inheritance. Slytherin's Chamber of Secrets was opened by his heir, and you just happened to display the Parselmouth talent. What do you think the other students would assume?"
Harry understood now, but he still couldn't grasp why, just because of the Parselmouth issue, he had become the target of everyone's condemnation.
Sherlock saw his distress and sadness and patted his shoulder.
"With so many incidents happening this term, the students' nerves have been on edge. They're just using you as an outlet. But the professors are adults; no one will label you the culprit just because you have the Parselmouth talent."
As he spoke, he displayed a rare moment of genuine emotion in front of a student, leaning down to say seriously,
"I believe the Chamber of Secrets incident has nothing to do with you, Harry. And I believe you will prove that to everyone yourself."
A smile broke through Harry's despondent expression.
"Thank you for your trust, Professor."
"Alright, that's enough talk. I should be going," Sherlock said, his face returning to its usual detached expression. "I have a first-year class next. You kids are really quite a headache."
He left the classroom carrying the cage. The three heads of the Runespoor inside had been staring at Harry the whole time. As Sherlock carried them away, all three heads spoke simultaneously.
"Farewell... wizardling..."
Harry suppressed the urge to reply in that other language and simply waved goodbye to them.
Once it was just the three of them left, Ron spoke again with concern.
"Your life at school is probably going to be tough from now on."
Harry's face fell.
"It's not my fault! How was I supposed to know that just talking to a snake would cause such a huge problem?"
Ron suddenly gave him a strange, appraising look.
"You should find some time to look into your family tree. You might actually have some connection to Slytherin. After all, didn't you say the Sorting Hat wanted to put you in Slytherin during the sorting?"
Harry glared at him.
"Do you suspect I'm the one who opened the Chamber too?"
"I'm not like them. There might be more than one Heir of Slytherin. One bad one, and one good one like you."
They chatted for a while before realising Hermione beside them hadn't said a word. They looked at her curiously.
"What are you thinking about?"
Hermione said thoughtfully,
"Do you think Professor Cavendish was being sincere when he said he believed the Chamber of Secrets incident had nothing to do with Harry?"
"Of course he was!" Harry said with absolute certainty.
Hermione turned her sharp, sceptical gaze to Harry.
"Well, looking at it the other way, that means the Chamber of Secrets being opened definitely does have something to do with you."
"What nonsense! Besides, we already tested it before. Professor Cavendish's jinx doesn't work on things with a very high probability."
"That seems true too."
"Stop joking about me. I've had enough bad luck today. It's a good thing the professor didn't wish me good luck before he left, otherwise I probably wouldn't have survived the day."