Parseltongue

"What? Harry, you can't be afraid of snakes!" Ron said urgently as he recovered his wits. "If we lose to Slytherin on Sunday, we'll miss our chance to win this year's Quidditch championship!"

"What does this have to do with Quidditch? I'm really not afraid of snakes. I can even..." Harry hesitated before continuing, "I can even watch a snake crawl all over my hand without batting an eye."

He had meant to say that he could actually talk to snakes-but he suddenly remembered the boa constrictor at the zoo that had never been to Brazil. He had made the glass disappear. The incident had caused quite a stir at the time, yet no law enforcement officers had ever tracked him down and held him responsible-but perhaps someone was still investigating it?

If anyone discovered that he had done it, would it affect his schooling at Hogwarts? That seemed very likely. Harry did not want to face that possibility. Just thinking that Hogwarts might send him back to his aunt and uncle's house made his heart ache.

"It's true. I can prove it." Harry decided to wipe the faint doubt from Ron's face through action, so he asked politely, "Mr. Brian, could you put that little snake in my hand?"

"Don't push yourself, Harry. You don't have to do this," Hermione said anxiously before Brian could answer. "Everyone's afraid of something-for instance, I'm... I'm afraid of... well... failing an essay?"

"Exactly. If you're scared, you're scared. It's nothing to be ashamed of! I certainly wouldn't hide what I'm afraid of from you-spiders..."

Ron suddenly shuddered as he said this.

"Those hairy legs... those gleaming fangs... ugh... disgusting..."

Their concern had the opposite effect, however, and Harry was now even more determined to prove himself. Brian noticed this. After a moment's thought, he decided that Harry was telling the truth and secretly instructed the little snake to behave more gently.

"Of course. Get ready. I'm taking it out now." Brian pulled his hand out of his pocket.

The little snake sat in the middle of his palm, its eyes turning oval and its body curling into a heart shape. It tilted its head and swayed gently, doing its best to appear harmless. Brian had not taught it that; it was probably a setting left by the person who had crafted it.

"Ha, you're adorable," Harry said, amused. Politely and naturally, he added, "Would you please come onto my hand?"

The moment Harry finished speaking, the little snake began to move. Without waiting for Brian's command, it flicked its body and slithered smoothly into Harry's palm, its pale yellow eyes gazing intently into Harry's emerald-green ones.

Harry raised his hand with a smile, watching the little snake lift its head. "See? I wasn't lying!" he said happily.

Yet things did not go as he had expected. He noticed that everyone had suddenly fallen silent. There was not a trace of excitement or happiness on Ron's and Hermione's faces; instead, they were filled with fear and shock. As for the little snake's owner, Mr. Brian, his face was grave and worried. Why was this happening?

"What's wrong with you all?" Harry asked, puzzled. "Did I just do something frightening?"

"Harry... what did you do to that snake?" Ron swallowed. "You know, I couldn't understand a word you just said. It sounded very... evil..."

"Harry... I can't believe it... you never told us..." Hermione finally recovered from her daze. Shaking her head slightly, she said incredulously, "You're a snake..."

She broke off halfway through at a stern look from Brian. He had noticed that the handful of students from various houses nearby were quietly watching the little scene unfold.

"A snake enthusiast."

Brian deliberately raised his voice as he supplied the words.

"But even snake enthusiasts aren't allowed to talk loudly in the library. Understood?"

The students watching them all withdrew their curious gazes, while Madam Pince gave a discreet nod, thoroughly satisfied with how Brian had handled the matter. She had always made a point of showing noisy students no mercy in the library, to teach them a lesson.

Brian listened carefully for five seconds. Hearing no one discussing what had just happened, he breathed a temporary sigh of relief. He was thankful that there were not many students in the library at the moment and that Harry had not spoken very loudly. The situation was quite clear now: Harry could speak Parseltongue-the third person Brian knew of who could, after Slytherin and Voldemort.

As far as he knew, Parseltongue was practically a hallmark of Dark wizards. Once word got out, Harry would inevitably become the subject of gossip at school. Only some of the Slytherin students might start admiring him.

That was not even the worst of it. If Dumbledore's suspicions were correct and Voldemort was currently lurking somewhere in Hogwarts, what would he do to Harry once he heard that Harry could speak Parseltongue?

Brian took the little snake from Harry's hand and put it back in his pocket, then instructed them quietly but sternly:

"Hermione, Ron, if you consider yourselves Harry's friends, don't tell anyone what just happened. Not a single person. I think the looks on your faces prove that you understand how serious this is. Harry, would you come with me?"

"Wait-what's going on?" Harry still did not understand what had happened. "Where are you taking me?"

"To see Dumbledore. His office is full of interesting things." Brian ruffled Harry's hair and reassured him, "Don't worry. You'll understand what just happened soon enough. It's nothing too serious."

Harry hesitated, then nodded. "All right... I trust you."

As Brian led Harry out of the library, he heard two Hufflepuff students whispering as they secretly watched them.

One of the students said in dismay:

"Oh no, Harry Potter's being taken off for detention because he talked too loudly! Looks like the new librarian isn't someone to mess with! We'd better tell everyone-we'll have to be more careful when we bring snacks into the library from now on!"

The other student said rather sadly:

"Oh, heavens. Madam Pince was hard enough to deal with, and now we've got another big problem. Mr. Brian may be incredibly handsome, but if he's the sort of staff member who likes giving students detention, I'm going to hate him from today onward!"

Brian realized something: the news that Hogwarts's new librarian was someone who gave students a hard time might spread throughout the entire school by tomorrow.

Well, in practical terms, that reputation would not be bad for his work. In fact, it would bring plenty of benefits-but the price was considerable too. From now on, students who passed him might be too afraid to say hello.