Chapter 174: Learning Parseltongue
Chapter 174: Learning Parseltongue
"You're a Parselmouth? You can talk to snakes?"
After a long pause, as if he thought he had misheard, Neville confirmed once more.
Having revealed his secret, Harry felt relieved. He then proceeded to explain in detail, "Once at the zoo, I released a python from its glass enclosure. I don't know how I did it at the time, as I wasn't aware I was a wizard yet..."
"In any case, as it was leaving, I heard it say 'thank you' and bid me farewell."
"A snake... it thanked you?" Leanne found it hard to believe. "Did you understand it speaking English, or..."
Harry recalled, "It was English, but with an accent, as if someone were speaking with their teeth clenched."
"Why don't you give it a try?" Vince suggested, pointing his wand at the quill on the table.
The emerald quill twisted and turned, soon transforming into a small green snake that slithered on the table, occasionally raising its triangular head.
"Say something to it, Harry," Vince said. "Give it a command."
Harry saw that everyone was looking at him curiously. Unconsciously, Padma and Hermione leaned back, wanting to distance themselves from the snake.
Looking at the snake that had been conjured by magic, Harry thought for a moment and said, "Hello? Um... can you coil up, please?"
The snake looked at him, obediently coiled itself up, raised its head, and stuck out its pointed tongue as if waiting for the next command.
Harry relaxed and even felt a sense of affinity for this snake. He looked up at the others, unsure how to describe their expressions.
A faint sense of panic arose in Harry's heart.
Vince spoke up. "It seems you didn't realize that the hissing sounds you were making were like a snake speaking."
He mused, "It's fascinating... To learn a language, one needs persistent memory and practice. But for a Parselmouth, understanding snake language seems innate, as if there's a built-in translation system in the brain..."
Harry felt relieved and casually asked, "Does Parseltongue sound weird?"
"It gives me the creeps... Anything unintelligible sounds sophisticated." Vince imitated Harry's hissing, then asked, "What does this mean?"
Harry responded with a series of hisses.
Vince was helpless, "Harry, please speak English?"
"Oh!" Harry just realized that he had spoken in Parseltongue again. He thought to himself and then said, "It means 'hello, please coil up.'"
"How do you say 'thank you' then?" Vince continued learning.
Harry taught him that as well.
"So... 'don't move?'"
"'Open?'"
"'Attack?'"
"'Play dead?'"
While Vince was learning and taking notes, Harry was delighted that his knowledge could be useful to others, so he enthusiastically gave instructions.
So the group listened to the two of them speaking in strange hisses and cackles, and the chilly atmosphere quickly dissipated.
The group looked at each other, and then Hermione, true to her studious nature, took out her notebook first.
"Why are we learning this?" Fred asked.
George shrugged, "Don't you think it's cool?"
Vince tapped the quill-snake coiled next to Harry with his wand tip and said, "The most incredible thing about Parselmouths is that they can control even magically created snakes. Logically, this snake should obey my will, but it listens to Harry's commands instead."
"So being a Parselmouth is not just about conversing with snakes..."
Vince pondered, "It seems that serpentine beings are inherently inclined to obey Parseltongue speakers, as if there's a hierarchical relationship between the speaker and the serpent..."
"In that case... Harry, are you a descendant of Slytherin?" Michael asked.
"Very likely." Neville hesitated and said, "But I've seen the genealogies of pure-blood families... The Potter family doesn't seem to have intermarried with the Slytherin family!"
"Don't be so sure, Neville."
Fred put his arm around his shoulder.
"Slytherin dates back more than a thousand years. Who knows how many families his descendants have intermarried with? You should know that those who are expelled from pure-blood families are not recorded in the genealogies, and their descendants certainly won't be."
"It seems the Potters never produced a Parselmouth," Theo speculated. "Perhaps it's from Harry's mother's lineage..."
"Then why is Harry in Gryffindor?" Michael couldn't help but ask. "The Sorting Hat should have put you in Slytherin."
"Er... that's also a secret..."
Harry hesitated and said, "Actually, the Sorting Hat originally wanted to put me in Slytherin, but I refused."
Everyone nodded, agreeing that he had made the right choice.
...
The professors' inspection of the maze continued for a week. Aside from finding some remnants of Chatting Tea in the stables, there were no other clues.
The other animals in the maze hadn't ingested anything unusual either, and they went about their days as usual, eating and sleeping without a care in the world.
So, amidst strong protests from the students, it was decided that the maze would reopen on Saturday afternoon.
However, there was another important event on this day: the Gryffindor vs. Slytherin Quidditch match.
Speaking of which, this match had already been postponed for two weeks.
Previously, Sirius Black's case had been re-examined, and the Ministry of Magic had sent people to Hogwarts for investigations several times. The Weasley brothers and Harry, who shared the same dormitory, were often called in for questioning, causing the match to be postponed until the end of November.
This week was Gryffindor vs. Slytherin, and next week would be Ravenclaw vs. Hufflepuff.
As the first Quidditch match of the term drew near, the atmosphere in the school heated up once again, with conflicts between Gryffindor and Slytherin becoming more frequent.
At eleven o'clock, the students and teachers made their way to the Quidditch stadium. Fudge arrived at the Room of Requirement on the eighth floor and opened the Vanishing Cabinet, from which a sleek, shiny black dog burst out.
He excitedly ran around the room a few times before transforming into a tall, slender man with black hair and gray eyes.
He wore a dark gray wizard's robe, his hair was cut short and neatly combed, his cheeks were fuller, and his eyes shone brightly, giving him a unique kind of handsomeness.
"Are you Wode? Wode Grey?"
Speaking quickly, Sirius didn't wait for Wode to answer before he bowed and extended his hand, "Thank you so much for your help, Mr. Grey. You've given me a new lease of life."
"Hello, Mr. Black," Wode shook his hand and said, "I admire your loyalty and courage."
The two men looked at each other and smiled.
They both had black hair and gray eyes. However, Sirius' eyes drooped at the corners, resembling a dog's eyes, while Wode's eyes were rounder, with a slight upward tilt at the corners.
Lupin also emerged from the Vanishing Cabinet.
"Lyme, you're so slow," Sirius said urgently. "The game must be starting soon. I want to go and watch Harry play! Let's hurry!"
Before he finished speaking, he pounced and transformed back into the black dog.
The dog's body seemed to influence Sirius' thoughts, as he spun around twice in place, his tail wagging vigorously, before rushing towards the door.
"Wait, Sirius,"
Lupin quickly grabbed him, catching the black dog's tail in his hand. Sirius yelped and almost jumped three feet high, turning to glare at Lupin.
"Sorry," Lupin quickly let go and explained, "You're now registered with the Ministry of Magic for your Animagus form, and your transformed appearance is too conspicuous. The students will definitely recognize you right away."
Sirius thought... and thought... He reluctantly shook his head, his ears drooping, but he still moved closer to Lupin.
Lupin tapped him on the head with his wand and cast a Disillusionment Charm, causing the black dog to disappear into thin air.
Then, it eagerly opened the door with its paw and rushed out like a gust of wind.
"Sirius actually wanted Harry to see him in the stands," Lupin explained to Wode. "Fortunately, he didn't insist on his idea."
Wode remained silent for a moment before asking, "If you're going to use a Disillusionment Charm... then what's the point of becoming a black dog?"
Lupin seemed to have just realized, "Oh... I forgot to remind him..."
Wode: ...You actually did it on purpose, didn't you?
(End of Chapter)
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