Rhapsody of a Veela

Part 51 - The Mark of a Dark Witch

After the exchange you had with Draco, you had headed straight to the library. The librarian had been rather suspicious when you lied and told her you had already eaten, but she let you be as you headed straight for the shelves to search. You wanted to find out everything you possibly could about Parselmouths, or as Draco had put it – those who could speak to snakes. Not quite sure where to begin you hurried to the Biology section, letting your hand run across the rim of the books across the towering shelf. Your finger stopped at a black leatherbound book with golden accents and patterns of multiheaded dragons. Dusting off the cover the title in cursive revealed itself as "Fantastic Beasts - And Where to Find Them by Newt Scamander." You hurriedly ran through the index, looking for anything relating to snakes or serpents. Indeed you quickly found a section of the book detailing something called a Runespoors.

"The Runespoors, is a tree-headed snake found in the continent of Africa. It is nearly instinct, with only a handful of snakes left as of today. Therefore, all the information we have on the Runespoors, are entirely based on the writings of Parselmouths who have kept and conversed with these serpents."

Your eyes widened, and you went back in the book to see if there was anymore mentions of Parselmouths in the rest of the book, which there unfortunately was not. You were thankful that the library was empty, as all the students were at the great hall for lunch, then no one could see how you suspiciously searched through the entire library with a crazed look in your eyes.

You hurried on to the history section, and found yourself a dusty copy of The Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts. You had naturally read through it before, it was how you had uncomfortably gained the knowledge of all of your fathers misdeeds and crimes. Sitting down by a table in a dark corner, away from the prying eyes of the librarian you looked through the back of the book for any mentions of the word Parselmouth. This time with success, leading you to the section of the book which detailed the biography of one of Hogwarts founders, Salazar Slytherin. You quickly skipped through the long passages of text until you caught the paragraph where it had been mentioned.

"The ability to speak in Parseltongue have often throughout the history shown itself to be the mark of a Dark Wizard or Witch. It is a highly uncommon skill, almost exclusively known to be a hereditary trait. Salazar Slytherin is a famous example of a Parselmouth, and so are his descendants of the House of Gaunt.

Parselmouths have the ability to not only communicate with snakes and serpentine creatures, but also with other Parselmouths. They are also known to have been able to influence the will of serpents to a certain extent."

You shut the book as the library filled itself with diligent students after the break, dust spewed out of it's cover and twinkled in the air. So this, you thought, was what Draco had meant by it finally confirming that you were really you-know-who's daughter. Just like you, he had deep down wished that there had somehow been a mistake. That none of it was true, but now alas there could not be a doubt left.

You too, had the mark of a Dark Witch. If anyone found out, like Pansy and her gang clearly had – then how long would it take till everyone knew the truth about your parentage?

Every day since, you could tell Draco was looking at you whenever he thought you could not see. There were quick glances stolen from across the long tables of the Great Hall, not only from him but from his fellow Slytherins. Then there was the whispering, just like from the serpents themselves. You had overheard while walking from class that apparently, you were not the only Gryffindor with this peculiar ability, Harry Potter himself, was also a Parselmouth. However, this did not convince you to tell any of your friends about it. Not Hermione, not Ginny and certainly not Luna who would surely find some odd way to appreciate it.