"Ignore that boy, attack the red heads behind you!" Harry hissed at the snake, amused that Fred and George Weasley thought he'd be scared of a cute little viper snake.
As soon as Harry looked up, waiting for the snake to turn back towards the Weasley Twins, he was met with the angry glare of Justin Finch-Fletchley.
"What do you think you're playing at?" he shouted, and before Harry could say anything, Justin had turned and stormed out of the hall.
Harry realized what he had done and felt as if a bucket full of ice water had been dumped on him. How bloody stupid could he be?
'I would not advertise your ability to communicate with serpents as it has not been viewed as a favorable ability by Wixen society in the past.'
Snape had warned him the first time they met. He said it wasn't smart to advertise. Everyone already thought he was attacking students...
How fucking stupid are you? he chastised himself again.
"Potter, my office, go quickly," Snape murmured as he dissipated the snake.
Harry looked around and saw that the students were muttering ominously and either looked scared, angry, or both.
He staggered backwards, and likely would have fell, if it were not for a small hand taking his elbow.
"Let's go, now," Susan whispered.
"Now, Harry," Blaise urged him, hesitantly grabbing his other elbow.
Harry allowed his friends to steer him out of the hall, dimly aware that the rest of the group had circled around him. As they went through the doors, the people on all sides of them drew away as though they were frightened of catching something.
Harry cursed himself in both English and Parsletongue as he was led down to Snape's office by his grimly silent friends.
"You're a Parslemouth?" Draco asked faintly as soon as the door closed behind them.
Harry shook off Blaise and Susan's hands as he sunk down in to a desk seat. He put his head in his hands and gripped his hair until the pain grounded him back to the current moment.
"Yeah," he admitted quietly.
He didn't bother to look up- he strained his ears so he could make out which ones of his friends, if not all of them, walked out to be finished with him.
"Why didn't you tell us?" Neville asked in a kind voice.
Harry let go of his hair and peeked up to see that none of his friends had moved. They were all still loosely gathered in front of him.
"B-because it's dangerous, right? P-people are g-going to really hate me now."
Ron looked uneasy but he raised a shoulder and gave Harry a grin in an admirable stab at feigning nonchalance.
"Not like they can hate you any more than they already do, eh mate?"
Hermione smacked his arm and Theo rolled his eyes at Ron, but Harry gave him a nod.
"Suppose that's true."
"What did you say to the snake?" Hermione asked quietly.
Harry shrugged, "Told it to leave Justin alone and attack the Twins." He glanced at Ron and hastily added, "Sorry?"
Ron rolled his eyes and gave him another crooked grin, "No you're not."
"He's definitely not," Luna agreed lightly.
"The real problem here is that everyone is going to think you're either related to the Dark Lord or that you're Salazar Slytherins heir," Hermione said with anxiety tinging her voice. "And anyone who didn't think you were the Heir before is going to think so now."
Harry let out a small groan and buried his head again.
"They're going to kill me," he whispered in a hoarse voice, for once uncaring if his friends saw this moment of weakness.
"They will not."
Harry looked up as he heard Professor Snape enter the room. His face looked severe and his black eyes were glinting dangerously.
"Professor!" Theo said, jumping to his feet. "What happened after we left?"
Snape sat heavily in his desk and gave Harry a side glance that told him all he needed to know.
"Chaos," Snape said. "Utter chaos."
"I'm sorry sir," Harry said, staring down at his trainers. "I didn't mean to. I meant to yell in English, I swear."
He hadn't even realized he'd spoke Parsletongue instead of English until he saw the look on Justin's face.
Snape nodded, "It is no matter now, Potter. Now we plan for the fallout."
"And what do we do now, sir?" Susan asked, reaching out to grip Harry's hand.
Snape gave Susan a long look, Harry felt like maybe they were talking with just their eyes, before he blinked and addressed the rest of the room.
"Potter travels no where alone," he said severely. "Not only is he a target for attacks but if there is another attack from the true Heir then Potter will require alibis." He held up a hand as Ron opened his mouth. "Non Slytherin alibis," he clarified.
"Why, sir?" Neville asked him in a soft voice.
Snape sighed and flexed his hand in what Harry is beginning to recognize as frustration. "Because the Slytherins will not be believed when the Heir of Slytherin is the one attacking students."
The Slytherin boys, and Luna for some reason, all nodded in perfect understanding. Hermione, Susan, and Neville looked surprised.
"But... but Professor Dumbledore wouldn't care if Blaise or Theo or Ron or Draco said Harry was with them, right?" Hermione said, rambling nervously. "He's the Headmaster." She glanced at Harry who just grimaced before she spoke again in a small voice, "Right?"
"Indeed, and in a perfect world that should be enough," Snape said, agreeing without agreeing.
He turned to Harry and gave him a solemn look, "Potter, the time for protecting your friends is finished. You will keep one of them by your side at all times, or I personally will request Lockhart does it himself."
Harry snorted at the likelihood of that. Lockhart had avoided Harry constantly, aside from his classes, ever since the Quidditch match.
"Do I have your word Potter?"
Harry looked down at the ground, his face flaming as he felt the eyes of his friends on him.
"Yes sir," he grit out unwillingly.
"Very good," Snape said. "Then I shall escort you all back to your dorms so there is no outcry of impropriety."
Harry stood up reluctantly, unwilling to return to the common room and face the other Slytherins.
Susan walked beside him as they trailed to the Slytherin dorm first.
"You know what we need?" She murmured in his ear.
Harry cocked his head towards her, silently inciting her to go on.
"A private meeting for the gang," she whispered.
"Why?" he asked, keeping his voice quiet as well.
Susan gave him a determined look as she squeeze his hand briefly.
"We have to find the real Heir of Slytherin."
Harry nodded at her, impressed.
"Tomorrow we'll try and find a time to meet," he whispered.
Susan gave him a grin and nodded her head.
"Potter, Zabini, Malfoy, Weasley, and Nott- enter, and do not leave unless it is an absolute emergency," Snape called, gesturing towards the portrait entrance.
Susan squeezed his hand once more before letting go as Harry opened the portrait entrance. He had no idea what to expect from his housemates... He gave a look towards Draco and was touched to see that the blonde had his wand in his hand and a determined tilt to his chin. A glance towards the other boys revealed they all did as well.
They all stared in shock at what they found when they entered the common room.
Every single Slytherin, from the first years to the graduating NEWT students, were standing in formal poses in front of the fireplace.
"Wands ready," Blaise murmured without moving his lips.
"Potter!"
Alexander Lestrange strode forward and stopped ten feet in front of Harry.
He raised his wand, Harry's friends raised theirs, then...
Then he dropped it and bowed his head.
"I apologize for our feud Potter, if you ever need anything you should consider me an ally to you."
Harry stared in shock as the rest of the Slytherin's, including Pansy Parkinson, bowed their heads respectfully to him.
They think I'm the Heir of our house, he thought with a sudden clarity.
He looked to his right and shot Ron and Theo a quick look hoping they would understand what he was about to do.
"I'll consider it," he said coolly. "I don't forgive easily."
"I understand," Lestrange murmured with his head still bowed. "I hope to prove my worth to you."
Harry gave him a cold sneer, "We'll see."
He looked around the room and saw that everyone was still in place with their heads bowed silently.
"If there's nothing else- we'll be going to our dorm. Do not bother us," he added on in a hiss of Parsletongue.
Some of the students shuddered at his sibilant hiss and Harry jerked his head towards his dorm. His friends trailed behind him silently. As soon as the door closed Ron burst in to laughter.
"Bloody Hell Harry, you were terrifying," he said.
Blaise's eyes were slightly wide and were sparkling with mirth.
"That was brilliant Harry," he said. "'I don't forgive easy,' absolutely inspired."
"They're going to think you're the next Dark Lord," Theo said quietly, climbing in to his bed.
"I don't care if they think I'm fucking Dumbledore if it means they leave me alone," Harry said as he climbed in to his own bed.
They all laid in silence for a while until Harry was nearly drifting off.
"Hey Harry."
Harry turned his head towards Draco's bed where the whispered call came from.
"Yeah?"
Draco turned his head and his silver eyes met Harry's green ones.
"You could be greater than the Dark Lord," he whispered. "You could be the greatest wizard who ever lived."
Harry turned to stare up at the ceiling, thinking over Draco's words.
"Thanks Dray," he whispered back.
He would be the greatest wizard who ever lived.
If you live, his traitorous mind whispered to him.
He occluded his mind and shifted in to an uneasy sleep. He was dreading facing the rest of the school tomorrow.
***
The next morning, the first good thing that happened to Harry in a long time occurred- his morning Herbology class was cancelled. Professor Sprout wanted to fit socks and scarves on the Mandrakes, a tricky operation she would entrust to no one else, now that it was so important for the Mandrakes to grow quickly and revive Mrs. Norris and Colin Creevey.
This meant that everyone officially in the gang, with the exception of Neville, was free to meet up.
"Ron, go find Susan," Harry told him after they got dressed as they lounged in their dorm. "Tell her we need to meet up. She'll know why."
Ron was pulling his boots on when there was a sharp knock on their dorm door.
"Potter," Crabbe called in his low voice outside the door. "Someone's here to see you."
Harry raised a brow at Draco, who scowled.
"Who is it?" Draco called.
"Dunno," responded Goyle. "One of the birds you're always with, I think."
"That's dangerous," Theo whispered to Blaise who laughed quietly in return.
"I'll go see who it is," Ron offered, jumping towards the door.
Harry and the other boys waited for a few minutes before their door opened back up and Ron came in, followed by Susan, Luna, and Hermione.
"Uh..." Draco looked at the girls with a puzzled frown. "How did you get in here?"
Ron laughed and flopped down on the floor.
"Mate, Dolohov let them in," he said with another chuckle. "They're so bloody scared of Harry they'd probably give us the robes off their backs."
"Don't you have classes?" Theo said, sending a pointed look at Luna and Hermione.
"I'm not sure," Luna hummed as she sat on the edge of Harry's bed. "I just felt like I wasn't supposed to be in classes today."
Hermione rolled her eyes at the younger blonde as she perched on Blaise's desk chair.
"I heard your class was cancelled and I told Professor Snape I wasn't feeling well."
"He fell for that?" Harry asked.
Hermione gave him a very uncharacteristic smirk. "He didn't, he told me to try and keep you out of trouble for a few hours."
The kids all laughed, Harry could picture Snape's patented smirk as he said it.
"Luna, Hermione, I like you," Susan said hesitantly, giving Harry a quick uneasy look. "But... but this is kind of a private conversation."
Luna, who Harry was beginning to really enjoy having around, gave Susan a dreamy smile.
"We're talking about the real Heir of Slytherin, right?"
"Luna stays," Harry said clearly. "Hermione and Theo are here and they're not in the gang either. I trust Luna."
Luna turned to Harry and gave him a bright smile.
"Thank you Harry," she said happily. "I trust you as well."
Harry grinned back and cleared his throat as he felt his face warm up slightly. Luna always knew the right thing to say to him.
"Well, Susan says we need to figure out who the real Heir is," he said. "And when we find them I'm going to kill them."
The boys laughed but Hermione gave him a pinched look.
"You can't kill them Harry," she said. "We have to report them to Professor Dumbledore."
Blaise waved his hand negligently, "We'll decide what to do with them when we find them," he winked at Harry.
"Do we have any clues?" Ron asked eagerly.
"We have the voice that only Harry can hear," Luna said.
The other students, save Susan and Luna, all turned and gawked at Harry.
"What voice?" Blaise asked.
"You're hearing voices?!" Draco screeched.
"I'm not surprised," Theo muttered which earned him a quick stinging spell from Harry.
"I am not 'heading voices,'" he clarified coolly. "I heard one voice on Halloween night right before we found that cat."
"And nobody else heard it?" Hermione asked, her brows pulled down in a puzzle look.
"Only Harry," Susan clarified.
"That's... that's not good," Hermione said haltingly. "I mean, hearing voices isn't a good sign, even in the Wixen world."
Harry had already worked that out for himself.
"What did it say?" Ron asked.
Harry thought back to that night.
"It said it wanted to kill someone... and it smelled blood..."
Theo leapt up and surprisingly had a smile on his face.
"Well now we know what the monster is!" he exclaimed.
The other kids exchanged confused looks, except Luna who was humming at the ceiling.
"We do?" Draco asked.
Theo rolled his eyes as he sat cross legged back on his bed.
"Don't be an idiot," he drawled. "Either Harry's completely mad or it's a snake."
Everyone stared at Theo as they thought about it.
"That makes sense," Hermione breathed. "The monster of Slytherin would be a snake and if Harry was the only one who heard it it's because he's the only Parsletongue!"
Theo grinned at her before smirking at Harry. "Harry may just be completely mad, I'd give it even odds."
Ron snorted as Harry sent another painful sting towards Theo.
"So, how do we stop it?" Susan asked, getting a manic gleam in her eyes that Harry was getting used to seeing.
"We don't!" Hermione cried. "We tell one of the Professors!"
"We tell nobody," he said, giving them all a glare. "We find out what the snake is, who's controlling it, and we keep it to ourselves."
Hermione looked horrified.
"But there's a snake attacking Muggleborns!" she cried. "We have to tell someone!"
"So Harry can be arrested as the only known Parsletongue in Hogwarts?" Susan demanded. "No. We shut up and we figure it out. If we say anything now they'll just think it was Harry."
Harry gave her a grateful look. Susan was pretty quick on picking up his exact thoughts.
Hermione still looked panicked so Harry tried to reassure her.
"Look Mione, if it's a snake then I can talk to it, yeah? And I'm not going to let you get attacked, okay? But I don't want to end up in Azkaban either."
Hermione nodded slowly. "Okay," she agreed. "But for the record I think we should tell someone."
"Record noted," Blaise said. "Now! How do we catch the real heir?"
The eight of them discussed it for a while before Hermione's idea of searching the archives in the library for any known family lines with Parsletongues was chosen as the most likely place to start.
"You guys all have classes next period," she said, checking her solar wrist watch. "So I'll check out the books and bring them to dinner tonight."
Harry jumped up and grabbed his invisibility cloak. "I'll go with you," he offered.
Hermione huffed. "You're not going to class, are you?"
"Nope," he grinned at her. "It's Lockhart and I might hurt him if I have to hear him blather on today."
Hermione rolled her eyes while the other kids laughed.
"Alright then," she conceded. "Come on."
"See ya later," Harry called to the other kids, following behind Hermione. Before they exited the Slytherin common room, where Harry was impressed to see nobody even batted an eye at Hermione's presence, he pulled the cloak over his head.
"Don't talk to me or you'll look crazy," he told Hermione who laughed at him.
It was weird to walk through the corridors under the cloak. He'd done it last year but last year the halls weren't packed with kids speculating on who Harry was going to petrify next, were they?
Hermione was giving rude looks to the groups they passed when she heard his name being whispered.
"Morons," she muttered.
Harry silently nodded his head in agreement despite knowing she couldn't see him.
They split up in the library, Hermione pointed him towards a more deserted area.
"Don't draw attention to yourself," she whispered before going to the section she assigned to herself.
Harry started pursuing the shelves, looking for anything that discussed lineage, Parsletongues, or the history of Slytherin.
He had to stop grabbing books and just look at the titles as a group of the Hufflepuffs who should have been in Herbology made themselves at home in the back of the library. Harry inched closer to them, curious about their huddled positions and what kind of secrets they might be discussing.
"So anyway," a stout boy, Harry thought his name was Ernie Macmillan, was saying, "I told Justin to hide up 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?"
Of course they're talking about me.
He should have recognized them as the kids Justin Finch-Fletchey works with in class and Susan has sat with before.
"You definitely think it is Potter, then, Ernie?" said Hannah Abbott, a tall girl with blonde pigtails.
"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. That first year, Creevey, was annoying Potter at the Quidditch match, taking pictures of him while he was lying in the mud. 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?"
Ernie lowered his voice mysteriously, the Hufflepuffs bent closer, and Harry edged nearer so that he could catch Ernie's words.
"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 anymore. Clearing his throat loudly, he whipped his cloak off of himself. He was sick of these kids and their gossip and rumors and lies.
If he hadn't been feeling so angry, he would have 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.
"Hello," he said pleasantly with a sharp smile in place. "I thought I'd save you the trouble of talking about me when you could talk to me."
"W-we don't want any trouble," Ernie stuttered. "And I'll have you know I'm a pureblood!"
Harry scoffed, "I don't care what kind of blood you have. You're an idiot anyway."
Ernie pointed an accusing finger at him, suddenly feeling much bolder than he had apparently.
"Is that the gimmick? You're attacking anyone you think isn't as smart as you?"
Harry stepped closer to their table and put both hands on it as he leaned down in Ernie's face.
"If that was the case then I would have had that snake attack you last night," he said softly. "Keep this up and I will next time."
He hissed lightly, a nonsensical noise and smirked as Ernie let out a shriek of fear.
"Harry?" Hermione called, coming around the bookcase. "Is everything alright?"
Harry gave Ernie a last cold smile before straightening himself up.
"Fine," he said. "Just talking to my new friend here."
Hermione gave Ernie a thin lipped frown.
"Don't bother my friend," she said, correctly guessing the nature of their conversation. "You don't know anything."
"I know you'll be hurt if you keep hanging out with him!" Ernie said. "He's attacking muggleborns Granger, you could be next!"
Harry slammed his hand on the Hufflepuffs table and drew on his magic.
Make him shut up.
He curled his upper lip at Ernie as he frantically started moving his lips without any sound coming out.
"Oops," Harry sighed. "Guess you were next, weren't you?"
He turned on his heel and stormed out of the library, earning himself a reproving glare from Madam Pince, who was polishing the gilded cover of a large spell book.
He was halfway down the corridor, stuffing his cloak in his pocket and stewing in his anger when he registered Hermione jogging to catch up.
"You shouldn't have done that," she panted.
Harry looked over at her out of the corner of his eye and thought she looked a little pleased.
"He's a bastard and he's lucky that's all I did," he told her darkly.
They walked together quietly, luckily it seemed like everyone was still in class.
"Where do you want to go?" Hermione eventually asked.
Harry lifted one shoulder in a small shrug, "Dunno. Wanna just head back to the dorm?"
Hermione easily agreed so they turned along another corridor, which was particularly dark; the torches had been extinguished by a strong, icy draft that was blowing through a loose windowpane. He was halfway down the passage when he tripped headlong over something lying on the floor.
He turned to squint at what he'd fallen over and felt as though his stomach had dissolved.
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 Nearly Headless Nick, no longer pearly-white and transparent, but black and smoky, floating immobile and horizontal, six inches off the floor. His head was half off and his face wore an expression of shock identical to Justin's.
Harry got to his feet, his breathing fast and shallow, his heart doing a kind of drumroll against his ribs. He looked wildly up and down the deserted corridor and saw a line of spiders scuttling as fast as they could away from the bodies. The only sounds were the muffled voices of teachers from the classes on either side.
"Run, Harry run, now," Hermione whispered in a strangled voice, her face as pale as Nick's.
Harry couldn't move. He was frozen to the spot. As he stood there, panicking, a door right next to him opened with a bang. Peeves the Poltergeist came shooting out.
"Why, it's potty wee Potter and his itty bitty girlfriend!" cackled Peeves, knocking Harry's glasses askew as he bounced past him. "What's Potter and his giiiiirlfriend up to? Why are you lurking —"
Peeves stopped, halfway through a midair somersault. Upside down, he spotted Justin and Nearly Headless Nick. He flipped the right way up, filled his lungs and, before Harry or Hermione could stop him, screamed, "ATTACK! ATTACK! ANOTHER ATTACK! NO MORTAL OR GHOST IS SAFE! RUN FOR YOUR LIVES! ATTAAAACK!"
Crash — crash — crash — door after door flew open along the corridor and people flooded out. For several long minutes, there was a scene of such confusion that Justin was in danger of being squashed and people kept standing in Nearly Headless Nick. Harry found himself pinned against the wall beside Hermione as the teachers shouted for quiet. Professor McGonagall came running, followed by her own class, one of whom still had black-and-white-striped hair. She used her wand to set off a loud bang, which restored silence, and ordered everyone back into their classes. No sooner had the scene cleared somewhat than Ernie the Hufflepuff arrived, panting, on the scene.
"Caught in the act!" Ernie yelled, apparently someone had reversed the jinx Harry put on him rather quickly.
"Don't you point at him!" Hermione said shrilly. "Harry didn't do anything you... you arse!"
"That is enough!" McGonagall yelled. "Macmillan- back to class, now! Granger- class. Potter- don't move."
Peeves was bobbing overhead, now grinning wickedly, surveying the scene; Peeves always loved chaos. As the teachers bent over Justin and Nearly Headless Nick, examining them, Peeves broke into song:
"Oh, Potter, you rotter, oh, what have you done,You're killing off students, you think it's good fun —"
"That's enough, Peeves!" barked Professor McGonagall, and Peeves zoomed away backward, with his tongue out at Harry.
Justin was carried up to the hospital wing by Professor Flitwick and Professor Sinistra of the Astronomy department, but nobody seemed to know what to do for Nearly Headless Nick. In the end, Professor McGonagall conjured a large fan out of thin air, which she gave to Ernie with instructions to waft Nearly Headless Nick up the stairs.
McGonagall turned her attention back to Harry and Hermione.
"Miss Granger I believe I told you to go to class."
Hermione, who Harry had never heard talk back to an adult, spoke up harshly; "Harry didn't do this. I've been with him for hours, ma'am."
McGonagall gave her and Harry both a frown and shook her head, "This is out of my hands. Come with me Harry."
Hermione leaned in towards him and whispered in a tight voice, "Do you want me to get Snape?"
Harry shook his head and whispered back, "No. Just..." he thought sadly of his little elf who sent him treats every evening... "Just go to the kitchen, find Mavis and tell him I'm sorry and to stay here. Got it?" He wasn't sure if he was being expelled or imprisoned, or maybe even killed outright, but he'd hate for Mavis to be homeless. It was a miserable way to live.
Hermione gave him a bewildered look.
"Now, Mione," he whispered harshly.
Hermione gave him a trembling look and turned on her heel and took off.
Harry and McGonagall marched in silence around a corner and she stopped before a large and extremely ugly stone gargoyle.
"Lemon drop!" she said. This was evidently a password, because the gargoyle sprang suddenly to life and hopped aside as the wall behind him split in two. Even full of dread for what was coming, Harry couldn't fail to be amazed. Behind the wall was a spiral staircase that was moving smoothly upward, like an escalator. As he and Professor McGonagall stepped onto it, 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 knew where he was being taken. This must be Dumbledore's office.
They stepped off the stone staircase at the top, and Professor McGonagall rapped on the door. It opened silently and they entered. Professor McGonagall told Harry to wait and left him there, alone.
Harry looked around. One thing was certain: of all the teachers' offices Harry had visited so far this year, Dumbledore's was by far the most interesting. He had a small thought in the back of his mind that if running the Ministry wound up not panning out for him he wouldn't mind being the Headmaster of Hogwarts.
It was a large and beautiful circular room, full of funny little noises. A number of curious silver instruments stood on spindle-legged tables, whirring and emitting little puffs of smoke. The walls were covered with portraits of old headmasters and headmistresses, all of whom were snoozing gently in their frames. There was also an enormous, claw-footed desk, and, sitting on a shelf behind it, a shabby, tattered wizard's hat — the Sorting Hat.
"Stupid fucking hat," he muttered. "'You'll be great in Slytherin, no doubt about it, you were made for that house'," he mocked the silent hat. "LOOK WHERE I AM NOW!" he screamed, suddenly furious at the hat.
Predictably, it didn't move. Harry backed away, watching it. Then a strange, gagging noise behind him made him wheel around.
He wasn't alone after all. Standing on a golden perch behind the door was a decrepit-looking bird that resembled a half-plucked turkey. Harry stared at it and the bird looked balefully back, making its gagging noise again. Harry thought it looked very ill. Its eyes were dull and, even as Harry watched, a couple more feathers fell out of its tail.
Harry was just thinking that all he needed was for Dumbledore's pet bird to die while he was alone in the office with it, when the bird burst into flames.
Harry yelled in shock and backed away into the desk. He looked feverishly around in case there was a glass of water somewhere but couldn't see one; the bird, 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.
The office door opened. Dumbledore came in, looking very somber.
Harry took one look at his grim face and straightened his back.
Show no weakness. This is an enemy.
"Sir I didn't touch your bird and I didn't hurt those kids," he said slowly, holding back the tremble that wanted to show in his voice. "I'll take Veritaserum or allow you to Legilimize me if you'd like proof."
Dumbledore ignored his carefully prepared speech and sat down heavily in his ornate desk chair.
"Have a seat Mister Potter, we are waiting for one of my colleagues," Dumbledore said in a tired voice.
Harry hesitated beside the offered chair. He didn't want to sit down but he didn't want to push his luck either. He eventually lowered himself down to the very edge of the seat.
"I didn't do it," he insisted.
Dumbledore held up a hand for silence and stared hard at Harry.
"I once made the mistake of ignoring my gut instinct before and a young girl died because of it. There will be no more Myrtle Warrens in this castle. Not as long as I remain Headmaster."
Harry gaped at him before clearing the fear off his face again.
"Am I supposed to know what that means sir?" he drawled. His head was screaming at him to play the poor pitiful orphan that Snape advised him once to play but his gut instinct said it didn't matter what he said now. Dumbledore had clearly already made up his mind.
"I believe you do," Dumbledore said simply before lapsing in to silence.
Harry stared him down, noticing that the old man didn't meet his eyes at all during this time, as he waited for the 'colleague' Dumbledore summoned.
Please be Snape.
When there was a booming knock on the Headmasters door, Harry knew it was much too loud to be Professor Snape.
"Ya wanted ter see me, sir?"
Harry spun sideways in his chair, attempting to keep both the Headmaster and the Groundskeeper, Hagrid, in his line of sight.
What the fuck? Why is the Groundskeeper here?
Harry grimaced in confusion at the turn of events.
"Come in Rubeus, I need you to do me a favor," Dumbledore said politely to the huge man.
Harry inched to the edge of his chair to keep away from the other man. He knew that Dumbledore was the bigger threat of the two, but Hagrid looked as if he could crush Harry like a bug with just one hand.
Dumbledore turned his blue eyes back to Harry, and he was surprised to see how cold they now looked. Almost like ice.
"Mister Potter I need your wand," he said calmly.
"Why?" he asked.
"Your wand, now," Dumbledore repeated, his voice as cold as his eyes now.
You won't win a fight against him. Not right now. Not like this.
Harry slowly reached in to his wand holster to unfasten the wand. He kept his eyes on Dumbledore, who was holding his own wand now.
"Here." He placed the holly wand on the desk, marveling at the way it shone like it did the day he got it.
Dumbledore grabbed the wand and stowed it in his desk drawer then nodded at Hagrid.
"Mister Potter, you are formally expelled from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. You are a danger to your fellow students and I cannot allow you to remain here while your very presence puts them at risk. Rubeus will escort you to your home and your belongings will be sent along at a later time."
Harry felt his throat thicken with what was probably unshed tears. He was never going to see his friends again. Or Mavis. Or... or Snape.
Show no weakness. Weakness will get you killed instead of expelled.
Harry made sure his face was clear of the sorrow he thought he might drown in and stood as he sensed Hagrid reaching for his arm.
"Don't touch me," he snarled at the giant man.
He turned back to Dumbledore and stared hatefully at his icey blue eyes.
"You're making a mistake."
Dumbledore inclined his chin minutely. "I don't believe I am," he said softly.
Harry glared up at the man. The man who put him with his relatives in the first place. And who didnt check up on him his whole life. Who knew there was a prophecy about him but never said. Who wanted Harry to be a weapon in his own private war against Voldemort. Who was kicking Harry out of the only home he's ever had. And who was taking Harry away from the only people he'd ever cared about.
"When I come back, because I will, I'm going to kill you," he said coldly, figuring he might as well lay all his cards on the table at this point.
Harry heard Hagrid give a dramatic gasp beside him and ignored him to watch Dumbledore's face.
His blue eyes flashed with something that looked like shock before icing over once again.
"I'm sure that you will try," he said before nodding at Hagrid.
As Harry was led through the floo to Arabella Figgs house, he only had one thought he could focus on without losing his mind completely:
Some day, some how, Harry Potter was going to make Albus Dumbledore regret this with every fiber of his being right before he ended his life.