Rumors

The bungled duel came to a hasty end, and Eli and the others hurried out with Harry.

"Harry, you're a Parselmouth! Why didn't you tell us?"

Ron Weasley's face was still full of disbelief.

"I'm a what?"

"A Parselmouth! You can talk to snakes."

Having read plenty of books, Hermione Granger naturally knew about Parselmouths.

"Yes, I've been able to do it since I was little. I once accidentally let a python out at the zoo and scared my cousin Dudley."

Harry had no idea what being a Parselmouth actually meant.

"No, this isn't an ordinary gift. In fact, it's really bad!"

"Bad? Why?"

"Salazar Slytherin, the founder of Slytherin House, was a Parselmouth. He was a famous Dark wizard." Even the way Draco Malfoy looked at Harry had changed a little.

Harry was confused. "But I'm not a Dark wizard. If I hadn't told that snake to stop just now, Justin would have been in trouble!"

Harry didn't realize what had happened. He thought Justin was repaying his kindness with betrayal.

"Harry, do you realize that when you told it to stop, it looked as though you were urging it to attack?"

"What?"

Harry was baffled. He wondered whether they had all gone mad. "I clearly told that snake to stop. Ron Weasley, you were right beside me. You must have heard me."

Ron Weasley shook his head. "No, Harry. You were speaking the language of snakes. Nobody there could understand you."

Harry froze. He hadn't noticed in the slightest that he had spoken another language. "Eli, did I really speak Parseltongue just now?"

Eli nodded slowly. I'm a Parselmouth myself. How could I not know?

Harry began to panic. Hermione Granger and the others nodded too, and gradually, he began to understand the situation he was in.

After