Rise of the Riddles

Chapter 18: Revel in Fear

The next morning, Harry dug out his two-way mirror and called his mother. He'd been keeping up with their weekly calls, and his father often joined in. However, today he was calling with a specific question.
"Harry, dearest, how are you?"
"I'm great, mum. But I have a question for father."
"What's wrong, son?" asked Tom, appearing behind Bella.
"Oh, nothing's wrong, I just had a question about Parseltongue."
"Oh, well, what would you like to know?"
"Is it possible to speak Parseltongue to a human who does not speak it?"
"What do you mean, son?"
"I was trying to say something in Parseltongue to Luna last night. My friends are curious to know if they hear certain words or phrases often enough if they will be able to understand them. But when I tried to say something, it came out in plain English."
"Oh. Well, yes, it is possible, but I don't believe they'll ever understand. It is worth a try, however. But where did this sudden interest come from?" Harry explained the previous day's events to his father, whose expression darkened as the story continued.
"Is there something wrong, father?"
"It's nothing you did, Harry. I'm merely bothered that Severus would do something to so deliberately expose you to the enmity of the school."
Harry shrugged. "If they're too stupid to think for themselves, then I don't care what they think. Let them think I'm a dark wizard, I don't care."
"I'm proud of you, Harry. I'm happy to see that you are so confident in yourself. However, despite what I am sure were good intentions, he should have kept it less public." Harry, unsure exactly what his father was getting at, moved on to other topics.
"How can I practice to be able to speak to them in Parseltongue?"
"Speak with snakes first. Go outside, sit down in a shaded area, and close your eyes. Pretend there is a snake in front of you and call for them all to come to you. You should have at least a couple answer your call. Explain to them what you are trying to do, and they will help you."
"Is that how you practiced, father?"
"Yes, it is. Now, Lucius has told me of Draco's conversations with him. I had meant to speak of it sooner, but didn't really have a chance. With you bringing up Parseltongue, I thought it was a perfect time. Now, why have you not told us about the Chamber of Secrets and the attacks on the school?"
Harry shrugged. "I don't know. I guess it just never came up. Why do you ask father? Do you know something of the Chamber?"
Tom shook his head. "No, son. However, if such a chamber truly existed, you have a right to it as the heir of Slytherin." Harry's eyes popped wide.
"I'm the heir of Slytherin? But I would have thought that would fall to you as the eldest living male in the line."
"No, Harry, you see, as eldest descendant, I am Lord Slytherin, and you are my heir. That makes you the Heir of Slytherin." He turned to his wife. "Bella, how is he unaware of his lineage?"
"It never occurred to me to explain it to him. It's easy to forget that he is not aware of everything he should be. It will take years to fill in all of the gaps that should have been filled in as he grew up." Tom nodded, conceding this point. Harry heard a voice off to the side, but couldn't quite make out what was being said. Bella and Tom both nodded eagerly.
"That's a brilliant idea, Narcissa." Tom turned back to Harry. "I think we'll be able to fill in at least some of the gaps when you come home for the Christmas holidays."
"How so, father?"
"There is a blood test that we can give you," explained Tom, "It is a little-known blood-magic test: all we need are a few drops of your blood which we will mix with a potion to present a list on a specially charmed parchment. It will provide you with quite a bit of information. About yourself, your magical affinities, and your genealogy."
"It sounds perfect. I can't wait."
"Harry! Hurry on, we're going to be late for breakfast."
"All right, I'm coming Draco. Mother, father, I'd better go. I'll talk to you later." Everyone said good-bye to him before he deactivated the mirror and stored it away. He followed Draco up to the Great Hall, meeting Hermione, Luna, Alexander, and Violet along the way. His resolution regarding the rest of the school was put to the test as the quartet entered the Hall itself. The students immediately quieted, and everyone stared at Harry. They all stood there, shocked for a moment, before Harry called up an inner reserve of courage.
"I know what you're all thinking. And if you honestly believe that I'm the Heir of Slytherin, then it would be a good idea for you to not upset me." As one, the students immediately turned back to their food and started eating. Harry laughed. The Slytherin table clapped for him as he sat down.
"Good one, Harry."
"Truly inspired."
"Great idea!"
Harry smiled. "Heir of Slytherin I may be. But I would never waste time attacking students. This school sure houses a lot of idiots." The Slytherin table had a good laugh at this. However Violet seemed to pale. As breakfast was ending, it was announced that as the snow that had begun the night before had turned into a thick blizzard, all outdoor lessons, including the last Herbology lesson of the term, were canceled.
After Harry walked Luna to her class, he met his friends in the library to get a head start on their holiday homework. They didn't have much. Their house as a whole continued to do so well that the teachers rarely gave them any of the practical homework they assigned to the other classes. All they had to do were some preparatory theoretical essays.
The castle was darker than it usually was in daytime because of the thick, swirling gray snow at every window. Shivering, Harry walked past classrooms where lessons were taking place, catching snatches of what was happening within. Professor McGonagall was shouting at someone who, by the sound of it, had turned his friend into a badger. Resisting the urge to take a look, Harry walked on by, eager to get to the library and the warm fireplaces therein.
As he entered, he spotted a group of Hufflepuffs, but they didn't seem to be working. Between the long lines of high bookshelves, Harry could see that their heads were close together and they were having what looked like an absorbing conversation. Still searching for Draco and Hermione, he walked toward the Hufflepuffs. Some of what they were saying met his ears, and he paused to listen, hidden in the Invisibility section.
"So anyway," a stout boy was saying, "I told Justin to hide in our dormitory. I mean to say, if Potter's marked him down as his next victim, it's best if he keeps a low profile for a while. Of course, Justin's been waiting for something like this to happen ever since he let slip to Potter he was Muggle-born. Justin actually told him he'd been down for Eton. That's not the kind of thing you bandy about with Slytherin's heir on the loose, is it?"
"You definitely think it is Potter, then, Ernie?" said a girl with blonde pigtails anxiously.
"Hannah," said the stout boy solemnly, "he's a Parselmouth. 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." There was some heavy murmuring at this, and Ernie went on, "Remember what was written on the wall? Enemies of the Heir, Beware. Potter had some sort of run-in with Filch. Next thing we know, Filch's cat's attacked. That first year, Creevey, was annoying Potter about some pictures. Next thing we know — Creevey's been attacked."
"He always seems so nice, though," said Hannah uncertainly, "and, well, he's the one who made You-Know-Who disappear. He can't be all bad, can he?" Harry clenched his teeth at the unknown lie as Ernie lowered his voice mysteriously and the Hufflepuffs bent closer.
"No one knows how he survived that attack by You-Know-Who. I mean to say, he was only a baby when it happened. He should have been blasted into smithereens. Only a really powerful Dark wizard could have survived a curse like that." He dropped his voice until it was barely more than a whisper, and said, "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?" Harry couldn't take it anymore, he wasn't willing to miss this opportunity to have some fun. Clearing his throat loudly, he stepped out from behind the bookshelves. He found the sight that greeted him funny: Every one of the Hufflepuffs looked as though they had been Petrified by the sight of him, and the color was draining out of Ernie's face.
"I'd hardly tell you if I was hiding any other powers. You obviously are unable to put two and two together," hissed Harry menacingly. "By the way, where's that idiot, Justin Finch-Fletchley?" The Hufflepuffs' worst fears had clearly been confirmed. They all looked fearfully at Ernie.
"What do you want with him?" said Ernie in a quavering voice.
"I don't want anything with him. I was just curious to know if he'd pulled his head far enough out of his arse to be thankful that I saved his life. That snake was poisonous, you know," said Harry. Ernie bit his white lips and then, taking a deep breath, said, "We were all there. We saw what happened."
"Oh, so you noticed that the snake laid down, docilely, after I commanded it not to attack Justin?" asked Harry.
"All I saw," said Ernie stubbornly, though he was trembling as he spoke, "was you speaking Parseltongue and chasing the snake toward Justin."
"Huh," said Harry. "I guess you had your head up your arse as well. You know, Helga would have been disgusted by her house were she still living in this time. She would want you to side with her husband's house. Or at least open your eyes enough to really see what's going on. The snake didn't even touch him. It's pointless wasting my time on such idiots. As I said at breakfast, if I were the heir of Slytherin, it's stupid of you to piss me off. Just think about it..." Harry let his sentence trail off as he turned and walked away.
"In case you're getting ideas," Ernie called after him, "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 —"
"Silence!" called Madam Pince. Ernie shut up instantly, and Harry gave Madam Pince a smile. He found Hermione, Draco, and Alexander at the opposite end of the library, and sat with them to do their homework. When the bell rang, they gathered their things and headed off to their next class. On their way through the corridor, they came upon a mass of students.
"What's going on?" asked Hermione. Harry, Draco, and Alexander shrugged. They started elbowing their way through, but as soon as the students saw who they were, they parted like the red sea.
"I see fear has some advantages," laughed Harry. Draco and Hermione smiled as well. Alexander rolled his eyes at this. When they saw what was causing the commotion, however, the smiles were wiped off of their faces. Justin Finch-Fletchley was lying on the floor, rigid and cold, a look of shock frozen on his face, his eyes staring blankly at the ceiling. And that wasn't all. Next to him was another figure, the strangest sight Harry had ever seen. It was Professor Binns, no longer pearly-white and transparent, but black and smoky, floating immobile and horizontal, six inches off the floor. His face wore an expression of shock identical to Justin's. Harry looked around at his friends and the other students, and couldn't help but noticed a line of spiders scuttling as fast as they could away from the bodies.
After what seemed like hours, some Harry saw some people push through the crush of students on the other side of the clearing around Justin. Professor McGonagall, followed by Professor Snape, followed by none other than Ernie the Hufflepuff appeared.
"Caught in the act!" Ernie yelled, his face stark white, pointing his finger dramatically at Harry.
"Grow a brain, will you, you stupid git! I was just in the library."
"That will do, Macmillan. Potter!" said Professor McGonagall sharply. She examined the petrified ghost and student, then sent someone running to get some more teachers. When they arrived, Professor Flitwick and Professor Sinistra carried Justin up to the hospital wing, but nobody seemed to know what to do for Professor Binns. In the end, Professor McGonagall conjured a large fan out of thin air, which she gave to Ernie with instructions to waft Professor Binns up the stairs. This Ernie did, fanning Binns along like a silent black hovercraft. With her voice magically magnified, she sent all of the students on to their next classes, holding back Harry and his friends.
"This is the second time you've been at an attack scene, Potter," she said.
"Professor," said Harry at once, "I'm sure most of the students that were here today were at both attack scenes."
"I didn't ask for your impertinence, Potter. Now, come along. Mr. Malfoy, Miss Granger, Mr. Potter, you as well," said Professor McGonagall curtly. They marched in silence around a corner and she stopped before a large and extremely ugly stone gargoyle.
"Lemon drop!" she said. The gargoyle sprang suddenly to life and hopped aside as the wall behind him split in two. Behind the wall was a spiral staircase that was moving smoothly upward, like an escalator. After all five of them had stepped onto the staircase, Harry heard the wall thud closed behind them. They rose upward in circles, higher and higher, until at last, slightly dizzy, Harry saw a gleaming oak door ahead, with a brass knocker in the shape of a griffin. He didn't like that he was being taken to Dumbledore. Especially considering how unfair it was for Professor McGonagall to single him out. She hadn't treated him this way last year. They stepped off the stone staircase at the top, and Professor McGonagall rapped on the door. It opened silently and they entered.
"You will wait here," said Professor McGonagall. Before she could leave, Harry called out to her.
"Professor!" He waited until she turned back to him. "Why have you been so cold and rude to me this year? Last year you didn't treat me in this manner at all, and I don't think that I've changed."
"Nonsense, Potter. I've treated you no different this year, and I resent the implied accusation. You will remember that I am deputy headmistress to this school as well as your professor."
"It's not nonsense, Professor. I've noticed it too. I don't understand why you would purposely target Harry as the one who is behind this. All four of us found Mrs. Norris, but none of us were around Colin Creevey, and we certainly didn't find Justin and Professor Binns." Professor McGonagall seemed to deflate a bit at Hermione's statement, but still didn't say anything. Moments later, Dumbledore entered the office and Professor McGonagall left.
Before any of them could say anything, Harry heard a wheezing noise. He turned to see Fawkes sitting on his perch, looking decrepit and resembling a half-plucked turkey.
"What have you done to him!" shouted Harry. He looked back to Fawkes who looked balefully back, making a gagging noise again. Fawkes looked very ill. His eyes were dull and, even as Harry watched, a couple more feathers fell out of his tail. However, after just a few seconds, Fawkes burst into flames. Harry yelled in shock and was pulled away into the desk by Alexander. He looked feverishly around in case there was a glass of water somewhere but couldn't see one; Fawkes, meanwhile, had become a fireball; it gave one loud shriek and next second there was nothing but a smoldering pile of ash on the floor. "My god, you killed him! Why didn't you do anything?"
"Harry! Stop!" Hermione was shouting at him. She understood the violence of his reaction, but knew that if he displayed too much attachment to the bird, Dumbledore would realize the connection between them.
"He's been looking dreadful for days, Harry. I've been telling him to get a move on." Dumbledore chuckled at the stunned look on Harry's face. "Remember, Fawkes is a phoenix, Harry. Phoenixes burst into flame when it is time for them to die and are reborn from the ashes. Watch him..." Harry looked down in time to see a tiny, wrinkled, newborn bird poke its head out of the ashes. It struck him as rather cute.
Fawkes, are you ok? Asked Harry through their mind link.
Yep. Harry almost smiled. The voice he heard was that of a child, as opposed to the adult voice of Fawkes he had known in the past. Don't make da cwazy one mad. He'll huwt you.
Don't worry Fawkes, I won't. "It's a shame you had to see him on a Burning Day," said Dumbledore, seating himself behind his desk. Harry forced himself to focus. "You've seen how handsome he usually is. Fascinating creatures, phoenixes. They can carry immensely heavy loads, their tears have healing powers, and they make highly faithful pets." Harry coughed to cover a snort. They were only faithful to those who deserved it. Alexander smiled a bit as well.
"Now, Harry, I don't think you're behind these attacks," said Dumbledore, his face was somber. " Nor do I believe Miss Granger, Mr. Malfoy or Alexander to be involved. But I still want to talk to you three." Harry strengthened his mental walls while Dumbledore considered him, the tips of his long fingers together. "I must ask you, Harry, whether there is anything you'd like to tell me," he said gently. "Anything at all." Harry didn't know what to say. He thought of Weasley shouting, "You'll be next, Mudbloods!" and of the Veritaserum simmering away in Moaning Myrtle's bathroom. Then he thought of the disembodied voice he had heard twice. He thought, too, about what everyone was saying about him, and the fact that he IS the heir of Salazar Slytherin and someone was besmirching his name. None of that had anything to do with the geezer sitting before him, though.
"No," said Harry. "There isn't anything, Professor." Dumbledore stared at Harry, who met his gaze straight on. He felt the intrusion in his mind, and brought forth a memory of having been working on his homework earlier. He felt the presence withdraw, and could feel the satisfaction at having found nothing of import. Harry smiled. "Was there anything else, Professor?"
"No, you may all go." The friends left without a look back.
The double attack on Justin and Professor Binns turned what had hitherto been nervousness into real panic. Curiously, it was Professor Binn's fate that seemed to worry people most. What could possibly do that to a ghost? people asked each other; what terrible power could harm someone who was already dead? There was almost a stampede to book seats on the Hogwarts Express so that students could go home for Christmas.
"Do you think we should try our plan before or after the holidays?" asked Hermione. "The potion will be ready a couple days before, and it certainly has a long enough shelf life. I'm a little worried that everyone is so uptight now that they'll notice something is wrong. Perhaps we can pass out candies or something after the holidays." Harry nodded.
"Maybe we can have a party during the holidays. We can invite everyone, and introduce a new recipe from the house elves." Alexander suggested. Draco nodded thoughtfully.
"But how would we get our parents to allow us to do something like that?" Harry looked to his cousin, but it was Luna who spoke.
"Perhaps we can tell them the truth, to some degree. We can tell everyone the truth. Invite them over for tea to discuss the Chamber of Secrets and what problems it may cause for Slytherin house. It's a discussion worth having, anyway. One of the house elves can bring out the "new recipe" with the potion, and at our signal, they can bring out tea with the antidote." Harry's eyes went wide.
"The antidote! Oh, no! We've forgotten about the antidote." Hermione actually giggled and Alexander smiled.
"Harry, the antidote to Veritaserum is very easy to brew. Once the Veritaserum is finished, you add a sprig of mint, a bezoar, and some sugar and boil for one hour." Harry looked at her, sheepishly.
"Oh, ok then." As they continued on down to lunch, Harry noted just how obviously people were skirting around him in the corridors, as though he was about to sprout fangs or spit poison. They were muttering, pointing, and hissing as he passed. While he enjoyed the sense of power he commanded because they were afraid of him. Their other behaviors got annoying quickly. He soon found out, however, that not everyone was afraid of him.
As he entered the main hall, two Weasleys, obviously twins, came running forward, shouting, "Make way for the Heir of Slytherin, seriously evil wizard coming through..." For a moment, Harry thought they were serious, until one of them winked at him. Before he could say anything, the elder Weasley appeared, looking deeply disapproving of his brothers' behavior.
"It is not a laughing matter," he said coldly. "There have been multiple attacks, and we have no idea who is behind them or when they will stop." His glance at Harry as he said this belied his statement.
"Oh, get out of the way, Percy," said one of the twins. "Harry's in a hurry."
"Yeah, he's off to the Chamber of Secrets for a cup of tea with his fanged servant," said the other twin, chortling. Harry was grinning by now. The idea was actually quite amusing. The elder Weasley left in a huff, and Harry walked over to the twins. He gave them an appraising look.
"Weasleys, obviously, but I don't believe I've met you."
"Fred...," said one.
"...And George...," said the other.
"...At your service, Harry," finished Fred.
Harry looked from one to the other. "Well, I don't know how you'll do on prolonged acquaintance, but on first meeting, you don't seem half bad, for Weasleys." The twins laughed, surprising Harry. He had expected them to find that insulting.
"Well, Harry, you don't seem half bad for a Slytherin. Now, just remember, when you send your fanged servant out next time, make sure it's Percy that's attacked. He's become a right git since he was made prefect." Harry laughed.
"I'll keep that in mind." The twins made their way into the Great Hall as Harry's friends joined him. They had hung back to see what was going to happen.
"Harry," said Luna. "They seem nice enough, but you never know if they're working for Dumbeldork." Harry hugged her.
"Yes, I know Luna. I'll give them the benefit of the doubt for now. I won't include them in our circle, and I certainly won't tell them anything important, but I won't antagonize them the way I do their brothers." They all had a good laugh, then sat at the Slytherin table. Midway through lunch, Draco's owl came soaring into the Great Hall.
"Bit late for mail, isn't it?" asked Hermione. Draco shrugged and took the letter.
"It's from father." He opened the letter and pulled out two pieces of paper, one of which was a newspaper clipping. Draco read the note first. "It's from the Daily Prophet. Father said we should all find it incredibly amusing. Oh, and the all send their love, Harry." Harry nodded, know that included his parents.
"Well, what does it say, Draco?" asked Hermione. Draco cleared his throat and read:
INQUIRY AT THE MINISTRY OF MAGIC
Arthur Weasley, Head of the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office, was today fined fifty Galleons for bewitching a Muggle car. Mr. Lucius Malfoy, a governor of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, where the enchanted car crashed earlier this year, called today for Mr. Weasley's resignation. "Weasley has brought the Ministry into disrepute," Mr. Malfoy told our reporter. "He is clearly unfit to draw up our laws and his ridiculous Muggle Protection Act should be scrapped immediately." Mr. Weasley was unavailable for comment, although his wife told reporters to clear off or she'd set the family ghoul on them.
They all had a good laugh at that, although Harry felt a slight twinge of sympathy for the Weasley twins. They seemed decent enough, and he knew that fifty Galleons was a tremendous sum for the Weasleys, who were poorer than church mice. However, not knowing yet if they were honest in their intentions, he pushed the thought from his mind.
"Arthur Weasley loves Muggles so much he should snap his wand in half and go and join them," said Draco scornfully. The article was passed around Slytherin table for those who hadn't seen it in the morning paper (mostly the younger students), before they all headed off for the last lesson of term. They were all having such a good laugh that no one noticed Hermione slip away.