Eternal Despair (Harry Potter/OC)

𝟙𝟚: Polyjuice Potion

"So anyway," a stout boy was saying with a tone of self-importance, "I told Justin to hide up in our dormitory. I mean, if Black and Potter have marked him as their next victim, it's best he keeps a low profile for a while. Of course, Justin's been on edge ever since he let slip to Black, of all people, that he was Muggle-born. He knows the Blacks are notorious for their supremacist views."

"You definitely think it's Potter and Black, then, Ernie?" a girl with blonde pigtails asked anxiously, her eyes wide with worry.

"Hannah," said the stout boy, his voice dropping to a grave tone, "they're Parselmouths. They must be working together. Everyone knows that's the mark of a Dark wizard. Have you ever heard of a decent one who could talk to snakes? They called Slytherin himself Serpent-tongue."

A heavy murmur spread through the group of Hufflepuffs at this pronouncement. Ernie continued, his voice rising with conviction, "Remember what was written on the wall? Enemies of the Heir, Beware. We all know how Sirius Black murdered those Muggles. His son, Black, has always been particularly rude to Filch. Next thing we know, Filch's cat is attacked. That first year, Creevey, was annoying Potter at the Quidditch match, taking pictures of him while he was lying in the mud. Then Creevey gets attacked."

"Black is nicer than you'd expect, though," Hannah said uncertainly. "He helped me with a spell once. And with Harry— he's the one who made You-Know-Who disappear. He can't be all bad, can he?"

Ernie lowered his voice mysteriously, causing the Hufflepuffs to lean in closer.

"No one knows how he survived that attack by You-Know-Who. He was just a baby. He should have been blasted into smithereens. Only a really powerful Dark wizard could survive a curse like that." He dropped his voice until it was barely more than a whisper.

"That's probably why You-Know-Who wanted to kill him in the first place. Didn't want another Dark Lord competing with him. I wonder what other powers Potter's been hiding?"

Enzo couldn't take it anymore. His heart pounded with a mixture of anger and determination as he cleared his throat loudly and stepped out from behind the bookshelves.

Normally, he might have found the scene amusing—every Hufflepuff in sight appeared to have been Petrified at the very sight of him and Harry, with Ernie's face turning as white as a sheet.

"Hello," said Harry, breaking the tense silence. "I'm looking for Justin Finch-Fletchley."

The Hufflepuffs' eyes widened in terror, confirming their worst fears. All eyes turned to Ernie for guidance.

"What do you want with him?" Ernie asked, his voice trembling.

"We wanted to tell him what really happened with that snake at the Dueling Club," Harry explained, his tone steady but urgent.

Ernie bit his lip, taking a deep breath before replying. "We were all there. We saw what happened."

"Really? Did it get through your thick skull?" Enzo spat, his anger barely contained. Harry had to place a calming hand on his arm to stop him from saying more.

"Then you noticed that after we spoke to it, the snake backed off?" Harry pressed on.

Ernie's stubbornness was evident, though he was clearly shaken. "All I saw was you two speaking Parseltongue and chasing the snake toward Justin."

"We didn't chase it at him!" Harry's voice rose in frustration. "It didn't even touch him!"

"It was a very near miss," Ernie countered, his voice gaining strength from his convictions. "And in case you're getting ideas," he added hastily, "I might tell you that you can trace my family back through nine generations of witches and warlocks, and my blood's as pure as anyone's, so—"