Chapter 463

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Harry stared at me open-mouthed, completely shocked to discover that he shared the same gift as the infamous founder of Slytherin house.

And if before he was a little worried about having an ability that everyone considered dark, now he was completely distressed.

And the reason for his bad feelings about this new information was obvious.

Slytherin was the rival house of Gryffindor, the house he belonged to, and since he discovered the wizarding world all he heard people say about Slytherin was that it was a place for all the evil people and dark wizards in training.

And after four years at Hogwarts he realized for himself that most of the students in that house were racist bigots, bullies and spoiled idiots.

And this made him realize that these students really had a high chance of becoming dark wizards, just like their parents, grandparents and great-grandparents who were also Slytherins.

But of course, he knew there were good Slytherins, like Lily and his aunt Andy, but they were one of the few exceptions that proved the rule.

But the students, both current and former, and the bad rumors that circulated about Slytherin house weren't really what had Harry worried.

Actually, what really made him feel bad was that there were rumors that Voldemort, the maniacal and cruel wizard who murdered his parents and made his life miserable, also came from this house.

And now, because of an ability he only discovered he had today, a connection between the mad Dark Lord and him was created, which made him sick.

And I could feel the poor boy's anxiety and distress, but I didn't know what he was thinking, or that I was about to make his discomfort even worse.

"Yes, Harry, Salazar Slytherin was a Parselmouth," I said, nodding as I confirmed Harry's fears, "And not just him, but also Herpo the Foul, an ingenious and evil Greek dark wizard, and I'm sure you've heard of him."

And hearing this, Harry stopped to think for a moment, remembering hearing Ron talk about this dark wizard when the red-haired boy showed him his collection of Chocolate Frog cards.

And he also remembered reading about it in one of the books in the Grimmauld Place library, and also in a book he had taken from the Hogwarts library when he was doing research for his Defense Against the Dark Arts homework.

"I've read about him, but I don't remember much other than the fact that he was a dark wizard," Harry said.

And hearing this I nodded, before deciding to enlighten my Gryffindor friend's mind and expand his knowledge about dark wizards, explaining to him who Herpo the Foul was.

"Herpo is a famous wizard in the United Kingdom, but not on the same level as Salazar Slytherin for obvious reasons," I began to say, catching the attention of not only Harry but the other three teenagers, "However, his importance and impact on dark magic was far greater than any other wizard or witch you can think of."

"Really?" Harry blinked in surprise.

"Yes," I nodded, "He is the one who created most of the dark magic we know today, and by magic I mean he created curses, dark items, and even deadly and dangerous magical creatures."

"And besides, he lived for many years, and in that time he spread terror, panic and death throughout ancient Greece and the surrounding lands, and some books even say that he almost destroyed the city of Athens in one of his attacks, cruelly killing more than a thousand people," I concluded.

And hearing this, Harry, Fleur, Ron and Hermione looked at me equally horrified and impressed, understanding only now the level of danger that Herpo the Foul represented.

And these were normal feelings to feel when thinking about Herpo, who managed to combine his cruelty and evil with his creativity and intelligence to create so much dark magic that was complex and dangerous.

'He's basically a fusion of Rowena Ravenclaw and Salazar Slytherin' I thought, knowing this was more creepy than funny.

And I couldn't think about it much, as I was pulled out of my thoughts by Harry.

"So it's only because of Salazar Slytherin and Herpo the Foul that Parseltongue is considered a dark skill?" he asked me.

"Well, pretty much yes," I nodded.

"I see," he said, frowning as he looked down.

'So everyone considers this ability evil because of two old dark wizards who existed over a thousand years ago? That's so stupid' Harry thought.

'And besides being stupid, this also doesn't make any sense...' and for Harry it really didn't make sense for people to think that an ability and the person who had it was dark just because bad people also had that gift.

And this was coming from the boy who hated practically everything to do with Slytherin.

And even though he didn't like Salazar Slytherin, Harry knew that the founder of the house of snakes was idolized by practically ¼ of the population of the United Kingdom.

And because of this idolatry it would make more sense if people considered Parseltongue an incredible and special ability like in France, since it referred to a founder of the greatest wizarding school in the world.

And besides, Harry also thought that Herpo the Foul being a Parselmouth shouldn't influence the opinion of people in the United Kingdom about this ability, especially since he wasn't even British.

And thinking about this, Harry began to realize that it probably wasn't because of just two people that Parseltongue and Parselmouths began to be considered bad.

And reaching this conclusion he raised his head to look at me, "Ethan, was there by any chance any other dark wizard besides Slytherin and Herpo who was also a Parselmouth?" he asked.

And upon hearing his question I blinked.

"Huh? Why are you asking that?" I asked.

"Well, I just think that just two dark wizards aren't enough to make an entire society consider an ability evil and dark," he began to say with a grimace.

"And that is why I wanted to know if there was any other dark wizard or witch Parselmouth almost as famous as Slytherin and Herpo, and if he or she is also part of the reason why Parseltongue is considered a dark skill," he finished his answer.

And listening to his completely logical explanation I was totally surprised, not expecting the boy in front of me to be able to think so deeply about the stigma of Parseltongue, at least not at such a stressful time for him.

"Oh, well..." I paused, looking at him somewhat uncertainly.

And I was left wondering whether or not I should say the name of the other known Parselmouth wizard.

And looking closely at Harry I could see that he was already very stressed about the things he discovered today, and I knew that this information could shake him and make him much more distressed than he already was.

But I also knew that this was information that could not remain secret for long, and that he deserved and should know about it, even if it caused him harm.

And with a decision made I sighed, deciding that I would not hide any important information about Parseltongue from him.

"Harry..." I started to say, making him look at me closely, "There is actually one more wizard who is a Parselmouth... Or at least people think he is one..."

"...Who?" Harry asked.

"Look, no one is sure if he really is a Parselmouth, and these are all just rumors and assumptions, so don't take it too seriously," I said, which was not entirely true, since I knew the rumors were real.

"Who Ethan?" Harry repeated the question, looking at me with a frown.

And the green-eyed boy would be lying if he said he wasn't a little nervous about my next answer, because he could see my hesitation in saying the name of this other Parselmouth.

And if he had looked back he would have also seen the worried and tense looks of his friends, who were in doubt about whether or not to interrupt us before I turned Harry's world upside down.

And realizing that Harry would continue to insist, I decided to answer him, knowing that prolonging this situation would only make it worse.

And then I sighed, before looking seriously into the Boy-Who-Lived's eyes, "The other wizard people think is a Parselmouth... Is Voldemort."

End.

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