Two Parselmouths?

In Li Wei's office, the three children sat primly.

Ron quietly looked around, while Harry's gaze remained fixed on a certain blonde girl.

She was the first girl whom simply looking at made him feel as though he could not breathe.

Not only was she dazzlingly beautiful, but her icy, aloof temperament kept others at a distance while radiating a fatal allure.

Before Li Wei spoke, Harry was nearly lost in staring at her.

"Barton, prepare some snacks for the children."

"Yes, Master."

The house-elf Barton appeared at some unknown moment and handed them four cups of iced lemonade. With another flash, he produced a tray of exquisite pastries.

"Thank you."

Hermione instinctively placed both hands around the cold drink—only then did she realize that she had run all the way here and was currently drenched in sweat.

"Whirlwind Sweep Clean."

Hermione saw Professor Li Wei suddenly wave his wand.

A light breeze swept precisely into the sleeves and collars of all three of them, smoothly carrying away every trace of sweat and blowing the perspiration from their foreheads away as well, leaving them refreshed.

"Whirlwind Sweep Clean can be used like that?!"

Hermione's eyes widened as she looked at Li Wei like an inquisitive child.

Just then, she felt someone poke her waist.

Hermione turned around angrily and saw Ron silently reminding her with his eyes—don't forget why we came here.

She suddenly came back to herself and looked at Harry with some embarrassment.

Fortunately, Harry's attention was entirely focused on Jiamer at the moment, and he had not noticed Hermione at all.

"Tell me, what did you come to see me about? Is it about the Basilisk?"

At the word "Basilisk," Harry finally snapped out of it and hurriedly turned his head.

Only then did he belatedly realize how badly he had behaved, and his face immediately flushed red!

What reassured him was that no one in the room seemed to have noticed him.

"Yes, Professor!" Hermione answered, then looked at Harry. "Do you mind?"

After all, this had happened to Harry.

Because of his terrible schoolwork, Harry was somewhat ashamed to face Li Wei.

When Hermione asked him, he hurriedly nodded, indicating that Hermione could speak for him.

"Good."

Hermione nodded in satisfaction and looked at Li Wei again.

The satisfied expression on her face immediately turned respectful, though there was also a hint of mystery in her voice as she said:

"Professor, didn't I ask you about the Basilisk before? I can now be almost certain that a Basilisk is hidden somewhere inside Hogwarts Castle!

"It is alive! Harry heard its voice! What I mean is—Harry is a Parselmouth!"

Hermione did not waste time explaining what a Parselmouth was. She believed that, to Professor Li Wei, it was merely common knowledge.

His reaction was just as she had expected, except it even gave Hermione a fright.

"So, the one who heard the Basilisk's voice before was Mr. Potter, correct?"

Li Wei turned his gaze toward Harry, the person involved.

Harry met his eyes and nodded, feeling somewhat uneasy—despite everything, Li Wei's expression remained calm, giving Harry an indescribable feeling.

A monster that could kill someone with a single glance was moving about within Hogwarts Castle. Why could Professor Li Wei be so calm? He even seemed somewhat indifferent.

Harry could not help becoming wary.

Could this be another professor who might be connected to the Dark Lord?

"Potter, look directly at me from now on. Do not look away."

There was an unmistakable command in Li Wei's calm tone, and Harry obeyed instinctively.

Then, a horrifying hissing sound suddenly rang out in the office!

Hermione and Ron's eyes flew wide open! They both stared at Li Wei in terror!

Ron shot to his feet! His knee struck the round table, producing a piercing noise. Jiamer cast him a disdainful glance, mockery written across her face.

But no one had the energy to care about that anymore.

Right before everyone's eyes, Li Wei's mouth kept shifting as he produced an evil sound none of them had ever heard before!

"Potter, tell me, what did you hear from the Basilisk?"

"I will tear you apart—I will kill everything—"

Harry stared into Li Wei's black eyes and answered in response to his question.

When he came back to himself, he found Hermione and Ron looking at him strangely, the terror in their eyes not yet gone.

"W-what's wrong with you two?"

"Harry—you were speaking Parseltongue just now—you have no idea how evil that sounded."

"Huh? I was just answering the professor's question normally—"

Harry frowned instinctively. Ron's attitude made him feel very uncomfortable.

"Parseltongue is just a language. What does it have to do with being evil or not?"

Li Wei suddenly spoke, interrupting their conversation.

"Language is merely a tool for communication. If you treat an unfamiliar language as something evil simply because its way of sounding is different, that is both ignorance and stupidity."

His attitude was too matter-of-fact. His calmness brimmed with convincing confidence, and the surprise and discomfort in Harry and Hermione's hearts immediately faded.

"Professor, you can speak Parseltongue too? But I heard that it was a famous ability only Slytherin possessed."

"Indeed, certain exceptionally gifted wizards are born with the ability to communicate with snakes. The vile Grindelwald, Salazar Slytherin, or Voldemort—they all possessed this ability."

Upon hearing the name "Voldemort," Harry felt the scar on his forehead suddenly sting.

He frowned at Li Wei, feeling uncomfortable—why was everyone afraid of that being? Why did they not even dare to say his name?

"You mean Volde—"

Before Harry could utter that name, Li Wei directly sealed his mouth with a spell.

The move came without warning, sudden and rough, making Harry angry—he had already been somewhat dissatisfied over Gryffindor losing points these past two weeks.

"Potter, I know what you are thinking, but this has nothing to do with courage."

Li Wei shook his head. He was not angry with Harry, who was glaring at him furiously, but he did feel a little disappointed.

Actually experiencing that The Chosen One was such a reckless person was completely different from merely learning it through books or memories.

"Voldemort's true name possesses magic. Anyone who speaks his name can be tracked by him to their location. Do you understand?"

Li Wei lifted the spell from Harry.

As it turned out, Harry was quite reasonable—after hearing Li Wei's explanation, he quickly calmed down, and even a trace of guilt flashed through his eyes.

"I'm sorry, Professor. I didn't know—"

"It is all right."

Li Wei waved his hand, cutting off his apology.

Ron, beside them, was somewhat unconvinced by Li Wei's explanation—he did not want to hear Voldemort's true name, and every time he did, he trembled in fear.

But Voldemort was already dead. So what if Harry said his true name? Was there really any need to use a spell to shut someone's mouth directly?

The atmosphere froze for a moment.

But Hermione quickly spoke up and changed the subject.

"So, Professor, regarding those exceptionally gifted wizards you just mentioned, are you one of them too?"