For the Devil to Dance Again [tomarry]

8. revelations & opportunities

"Professor!" Harry exclaimed, surprised, as he glanced around to see if anyone else was in earshot.

The corridor was deserted.

Harry was half tempted to deny the existence of the room, but he knew that would never work, even if he felt desperate enough to try it. Rowle, had, after all, seen him shut the door behind him. Not even Lockhart would have fallen for it.

"Er," he said. "You know about the Come and Go Room, sir?"

"Is that what you call it?" the professor asked, sounding amused.

"I asked the house elves if they knew about it, and that's what they called it." Harry felt a bit shy about his friendship with the house elves, but refused to be embarrassed.

If anything, Rowle sounded even more amused.

"When I found it during my school years, I called it the Room of Requirement. I have to say, it never occurred to me to speak to the house elves about it." But it didn't seem that Professor Rowle was mocking him. He sounded almost impressed, though Harry might be imagining it. "why don't we go for a bit of a walk? You look like you could use someone to talk to."

Harry hesitated. He could use someone to confide in, but did he want it to be Rowle?

Then again, he didn't have anyone else, or at least, any other adults to talk to.

"Okay," he said, moving to join Rowle as he began to head away from the Room of Requirement. The professor drew his wand, and cast muffliato.

"That's a useful spell," Harry commented. "Draco said you taught it to him."

"Will you believe me when I tell you that Professor Snape invented it?" Rowle said, a bit of smirk on his face. "He shared it with me some years ago, and I've used it often since."

Harry was impressed. He knew, of course, how talented Snape was at potions, and his skill at Defense was rumored to be legendary, but he'd had no idea that he was able to create spells.

"Cool," he said, gathering this little fact among his hoard of knowledge. He loved learning more about people, especially secrets.

"Now, Harry," Professor Rowle, "Do you want to tell me what send you running from the Room of Requirement?"

Harry hesitated. On the one hand, he liked Professor Rowle. Even with only a bit more than a month of classes, he thought he was the best Defense professor they'd ever had.

But was that enough?

Thinking about it, Harry realized he genuinely liked Rowle. But more than that, he wanted to trust him. So Harry did what he so rarely did any longer - he confided in someone new.

"Well," he said, organizing his thoughts, "it's kind of complicated. Or maybe not. I told the others about the Room, so that we could practice magic there,"

"Aren't you worried about the secret getting out?" Rowle asked. Harry laughed, and if it was a bitter one, he tried not to think about it.

"No. We all signed a binding contract, that I hold," he said, and telling Rowle was easier than he had expected. "We were practicing dueling - me opposite Malfoy - and he conjured a snake."

Rowle was silent, but his eyes looked intently at Harry.

"The thing is," Harry said, hesitating for a moment, before plunging on. "The thing is, I'm a parselmouth."

Professor Rowle froze. It was only for a moment, and if Harry hadn't been looking for a reaction, he wouldn't have noticed. His mood plummeted. Of course, Rowle would think it was a dark gift, that made him a dark wizard. He was the Defense professor. But before he could try to defend himself, Rowle surprised him.