Serpent Tongue? It's Just a Foreign Language

"Let me do it, Professor Snape." Lockhart didn't want to miss this opportunity. He raised his wand high, "ALARTE ASCENDARE!"

But Lockhart only managed to ascend. The snake that fell back to the ground was completely enraged and crawled directly towards Justin next to him, baring its fangs to attack.

"SAYAHASASHI," Harry instinctively stepped forward to stop it, not even realizing he was no longer speaking human language. The snake, which was about to attack, paused for a moment, then got angrier and continued to look at Justin.

"SAYAHASAHAI!" Harry became even more agitated. This time the snake understood and abandoned its attack, looking at Harry instead. The crisis was averted, but no one breathed a sigh of relief. Instead, they looked at Harry with solemn expressions, whispering amongst themselves.

"VIPERA EVAMESCA"

Snape made a move and destroyed the black snake. Harry raised an eyebrow at Justin and was about to say something when he noticed Justin's face was full of anger and terror, directed at him. "What kind of game do you think you're playing?" Justin angrily rushed out of the Great Hall.

Ron and Draco quickly pulled Harry out, and the five of them came to an empty room.

Ron: "You're a Parselmouth, why didn't you tell us?"

Harry, Bing Huan: "What?"

The two who weren't interested in History of Magic didn't know what this meant yet.

"You can talk to snakes!"

"So what?" Harry took the opportunity to recount to the others how he had communicated with a python at the zoo. "I bet many people here can do that."

"Potter, this isn't a common skill. I don't have this talent." Draco looked at Harry seriously. "This might be bad for you!"

"Bad?" Harry was a little confused. "Are you guys crazy? If I hadn't told that snake not to attack him."

"Is that what you said to the snake?"

"Weren't you all there? Didn't you hear?"

"You were speaking Parseltongue, Harry." Hermione flipped open a book she carried. "Being able to communicate with snakes was Salazar Slytherin's most famous ability, and it's why Slytherin uses a snake as its symbol. Now everyone will think you're his heir."

"But I'm not, and even if I were, so what?"

"Did you forget the writing on the wall that day?" After analyzing the pros and cons, Bing Huan waved his hand again. "Alright, don't worry too much, Harry just knows another foreign language, right? He's still the reckless guy we know."

"That's true. Potter's brain couldn't come up with so many schemes, it's too one-sided."

"Indeed." Draco and Ron nodded with mock seriousness, looking at Harry.

"Sorry, we overestimated your intelligence." x2

Harry: (ʘдʘ╬)

"You two!" The three children ran out, bickering.

Hermione sighed. "That's what we said, but others... At most, Draco and Cedric's friends and a few others will believe Harry, especially now, during this tense time. Harry's title as the Savior might not even be useful."

"Like you said, Harry is the Savior recognized by the Wizarding World. Although I still think it's irresponsible to place such a burden on Harry, this title is deeply ingrained. He has to have the ability to face rumors. This is also what the old fox upstairs intends."

"Upstairs?"

Bing Huan moved closer to Hermione. "Whether it's the title of Savior or Harry's personal revenge against Voldemort, he won't be able to live like an ordinary wizard until Voldemort is completely dead. However, there's a limit. I'll step in to clarify the rumors when the time comes."

Hermione looked at him strangely. "You have a way?"

Bing Huan raised an eyebrow. "No matter how absurd the rumors become later, the origin is that Harry can speak Parseltongue, and it's highly possible that he's Slytherin's heir. The source is people's fear of the unknown; they desperately need something certain, a target, to reduce their panic.

Even if the idea of Harry being Slytherin's heir is ridiculous. But they desperately need it now, so they will find ways to prove this theory. In this situation, over 80% of the arguments will be sophistry, and it's not difficult to refute.

Also, this kind of inheritance usually has exclusivity. As long as they know that Parseltongue isn't something only an heir can learn, even if they can't learn it, they won't doubt Harry anymore. Would you be afraid of small stalls filling a food street?"

"Then, Mr. Bing Huan, where are you going to find another person who can speak Parseltongue?"

"SAYAHASAHAI~ I already said, it's just another foreign language."

Hermione: ( -_・)?

"If Dumbledore is an old fox, then you're a little fox. Did you plan this long ago?"

"Fine, you dare call me a fox. Then don't blame me for biting." Bing Huan pretended to take a bite out of the little witch who made the inappropriate remark.

Soon, it was another ordinary day. Harry paced back and forth in the common room. Ron and Draco were playing Wizard's Chess, and Hermione was helping Bing Huan clean his ears.

"Harry, if you really think that, then go find Justin. But I have to warn you, they might not believe you if you try to explain directly right now."

"Lie down!" Hermione slapped Bing Huan's head back.

"...Eh."

England's winter never lacked heavy snow, and today was no exception. Herbology class was canceled today, and Hufflepuff should be studying on their own. With this thought, Harry headed to the library.

Before he even stepped inside, the discussions of the Hufflepuff students reached him. "So, no matter what, I told Justin to hide in our dorm. I mean, if they're convinced Potter wants to kill him, he'd better go into hiding for a while. Of course, ever since he accidentally said he came from a Muggle family, this was bound to happen." The speaker was Ernie, a tall Hufflepuff student.

"So, Ernie, are you sure it was Potter?" Hannah asked anxiously.

"Hannah." Ernie's expression was serious. "He's a Parselmouth, everyone knows that's a sign of a Dark Wizard. Have you ever seen a decent wizard talk to snakes?

Potter and Filch don't get along. So Filch's cat met with misfortune. That first-year student Crevie must have angered Potter, so he was petrified."

"But Potter always seems so friendly. And he's the one who made the Dark Lord disappear, he couldn't be that evil, right?" Hannah hesitated.

"No one knows how he survived the attack from the Dark Lord. He was just a baby then. Only a truly powerful Dark Wizard could escape such a curse. That's probably why the Dark Lord wanted him dead. He didn't want a rival demon king. Potter must be hiding some other magical abilities." Ernie chose to add another layer to Harry.

Although since the troll incident, Bing Huan and Hermione had been urging Harry and Ron to think more before acting and to stay calm, he was the only one willing to act on the latter half of that advice.

"Strike when the iron is hot."

"Sorry to interrupt your slander. I don't know how you came up with those ridiculous claims. But if you have time, I hope you can relay a message to Justin for me. I want to explain about that snake from that day. If he's not reassured, he can have a professor present, and of course, he can choose who."

Dumbledore, hidden in the shadows, nodded. "Although he still rushed in, Harry didn't lose his head just because he was wrongly accused. What he said was well-reasoned and there's no problem."

Grindelwald took a sip of tea. "It seems the extra lessons the brat gave them weren't completely useless~"

Back at the library, Ernie turned ashen at Harry's arrival, as if seeing a monster. "We were all there, we know exactly what happened."

"If you really knew, you'd know I stopped the snake." Harry was furious, but he was surprised to find his mind clearer than ever. He had never managed to win an argument with words before.

"I only saw you using Parseltongue to urge the snake to attack Justin." Ernie remained stubborn. Harry stepped forward, wanting to argue further, but Ernie, terrified, mistook it for anger. He spoke tremblingly, "Don't think you can lay a hand on me. I'll have you know my family has been Pureblood wizards for nine generations."

"I don't care about your bloodline at all? Why would I attack a Muggle?" Harry could suddenly understand how Bing Huan and the others felt last year when facing him, who was stubbornly suspecting Snape. It was truly impossible to reason with him; now it was his turn.

"I heard you hate the Muggles you live with."

"Then why don't you go live with them for a while? Believe me, you'll hate them even more than I do." It was clear that communication had broken down. Harry didn't intend to waste any more time here. He nodded to Hannah, the only one who had spoken kindly to him, and left the library.

Harry bolted out of the library and into the corridor, only to bump into Hagrid, who was carrying a chicken. "Hagrid, what's this?"

The giant held up the chicken. "This is the second chicken killed this term. I suspect a fox or a vampire, so I asked Professor Dumbledore if I could cast a spell around the chicken coop. Are you really okay, Harry?" The observant Hagrid noticed Harry's mood.

Harry shook his head and continued upstairs. Just as he reached the corner, he was horrified by the scene before him. Justin lay on the ground, cold and stiff, staring ahead with an expression of utter terror. The Disneynik was no longer milky white and transparent, but completely black and surrounded by smoke. It floated motionlessly in mid-air.

Harry frowned, looking at the scene. There were almost no other traces at the scene, only a line of spiders frantically fleeing. But he soon realized he should flee like those spiders. He was already suspected, and now he was at the crime scene. He would probably be confirmed as the heir.

As if to verify Harry's words, the sounds of teachers and students could be heard from around, just like the incident with Mrs. Norris last time.

"Caught red-handed!" Ernie's face was ashen as he pointed at Harry and shouted.

"Are you only capable of using your eyes and not your brain?" Professor McGonagall was about to reprimand him, but Harry spoke first. "I was just in the library with you, arguing about Justin. If I were the killer, and I attacked him now, do you think I wouldn't be suspected?"

"Besides, Hagrid can testify that I met him three minutes ago. It takes me no more than a minute to get up here. Do you think I couldn't get back to the Gryffindor common room in two minutes?"

"That's right!" Hagrid said in a low voice.

Ernie clearly didn't buy this explanation and was about to say something else.

"Enough, Macmillan!" Professor McGonagall said sternly. Professors Pan Rong and two others carried Justin to the infirmary and dispersed the surrounding students.