Hogwarts is my Home

Chapter 27: The Parselmouth (CS CH11)

When I walked into my common room with the twins and Rian. I saw Harry, Ron, and Hermione sitting on the floor, laughing with a fourth person. She turned around, and it was none other than my sister. She got up and walked over to me.

 "Can I talk to you about something in private?" 

"Sure, we can go to my dorm." She followed me up the spiral staircase and took a seat on my bed as I stood in front of her. "K, Spen, what's up?" 

"Are you going home for Christmas? I mean to Mum and Dad's. They fought a lot over the summer and I don't want to deal with that on my own again."

"Oh, Spencer, I had no idea." I sat down next to her and out an arm around her.

"Yeah, it got pretty bad toward the end. I knew sign ups were gonna be passed around some time this week, and I didn't know if you made up your mind yet about where you'll be. I need you there in that house with me."

"Then I'll go."

"Are you annoyed that I'm friends with them?" 

"No," I said unconvincingly. 

"Okay... Is Harry seeing anyone?"

"You said you didn't like him like that." I tried to control my jealousy to the best of my ability.

"No, for you. I always see the way you interact, the way you look at each other, how much you value each other. You can't let that go to waste."

"Not now, maybe in a few years. What about you and Ron?"

She smiled as she started blushing. "Well, I think- I hope he likes me, too. But it's hard to tell. He's not super forward about things. Does he talk about me?"

I knew my response wasn't the answer she wanted, but it was the truth. "Not really, sorry. I don't think he knows how to express himself. He has six siblings, he's overshadowed."

"Oh," she said sadly.

"But don't let it discourage you. He seems really happy when you're around."

She looked relieved. "I better go back down and start my History of Magic homework. Do you think you could help me? I don't know what Professor Binns is talking about half the time."

"Yeah, sure." 

So we walked down together and sat on the floor at the coffee table and did our homework together, just like when we were in muggle primary school.

Spencer kept bringing up what little good memories we had from our childhood, though I will say her perspective on a lot of stuff was vastly different than mine. I was happy to know even though we had the same mother, hers was better than mine.

It was late and she didn't want to walk back to Ravenclaw tower, so Hermione, Spencer, Ginny, Rian, and I had a sleepover in the common room since it was Friday and we didn't have classes tomorrow. I've never seen Spencer have a better time.

A flyer was hung up in the Common Room about a Duelling Club hosted by Lockhart. I wanted to go to see him make a fool of himself, but it was only for second years. 

I was all alone in the common room for once, when to my surprise the trio burst through the portrait hole. The club wasn't supposed to end for another hour. 

Ron dragged Harry to an armchair and pushed him down, and said, "You're a Parselmouth. Why didn't you tell us?"

"I'm a what?"

"A Parselmouth," I repeated. "You can talk to snakes?"

"I know. I mean, I accidentally set a python on my cousin, Dudley, in the zoo once. It was telling me it had never seen Brazil and I sort of set it free without meaning to. That was before I even knew I was a wizard. But so what? I bet loads of people here can do it."

"No, they can't," Ron said at once. "It's not a very common gift."

"Harry, this is bad."

"What's bad? If I hadn't told that snake not to attack Justin-"

"Oh, that's what you said to it."

"You were there. You heard me."

"We heard you speaking Parseltongue," Hermione clarified. "Snake language."

"I spoke a different language without realising? How can I speak a language without knowing I can?"

"I don't know, Harry, but it sounded like you were egging the snake on or something."

"Harry, listen to me," I spoke comfortingly. "There's a reason the symbol of Slytherin house is a serpent. Salazar Slytherin was a Parselmouth- he could talk to snakes, too."

"Exactly. Now the whole school is going to think you're his great-great-great-great grandson or something."

"But I'm not!" Harry said angrily. "I can't be."

"He lived a thousand years ago. For all we know, you could be."