Paternal Instincts

Chapter 25

Hi guys, I apologize that chapter is a "little" shorter as I wanted to stop right before Christmas break, so that next chapter would cover the Christmas break.

As the weeks passed, Harry, Ron and Hermione were done almost done brewing the Polyjuice potion; or more accurately Hermione brewed it and Harry and Ron occasionally pitched in at her instruction. They still needed a few ingredients which were only available in Snape's private stores. Furthermore, they had to finish the potion before the holidays as Harry didn't want to miss Christmas with his family and he couldn't find a valid excuse to give his dad even if he reluctantly chose to stay at Hogwarts. James may be lenient but would probably not take well to what his friends and him were doing.

Their only option was to steal from Snape's stores which they did during one of their Potion's class. Harry and Ron created a distraction by throwing one of Fred's Filibuster fireworks into Goyle's cauldron while Hermione slipped into the back of the dungeon during the fiasco. Their plan was a success as Hermione managed to steal the ingredients while Snape was none-the-wiser about their deeds. He looked suspiciously at Harry but had no proof of any fault on his part.

__________________________________________

Dear Uncle Remus,

I hope you're doing well. We had our first Dueling Club lesson today. I would have been more excited if it weren't the fact that it was run by Lockhart and assisted by Snape. The only spell we learned was the disarming charm (Expelliarmus) which I already learned from my dad during the summer and even that was from Snape as Lockhart was useless.

I need your advice on something that happened during my first dueling lesson. Snape had me paired with Malfoy and after we took turns hexing and jinxing each other, he conjured a snake into the room. The snake seemed to be going towards Justin Finch-Fletchey (A Hufflepuff muggle-born I just met), so my instinct was to tell the snake not to attack him. I didn't realize it then, but no one else understood what I said as I apparently spoke in Parseltongue . They thought I was telling the snake to attack Justin.

Many students began to think I'm the heir of Slytherin and a dark wizard because I have Voldemort and Salazar Slytherin's special gift (Parseltongue was Slytherin's rare gift). The next day, when I tried to find Justin to explain myself, I found him petrified as the next victim of the Chamber of Secrets. Fortunately for me, Professor Dumbledore believed I had nothing to do with attacking Justin, but for the students who thought I was the Heir of Slytherin, this only confirmed their belief. I'm now almost an outcast except with Hermione, the Weasleys and a few Gryffindors.

I'm skeptical about writing to dad about this because I'm worried as to how he or Sirius would react to me speaking in Parseltongue and having Slytherin's rare gift. And I'm worried if they'd think less of me or also think I'm a Dark Wizard. What do I do? Please don't tell my father or Sirius about this just yet.

Love Harry.

__________________________________________

Dear Harry,

I am sorry for what you're going through. I'm afraid I have no explanation as to why you can speak in Parseltongue. As far I know, your father and you have no descent from Slytherin and your father certainly doesn't speak Parceltougue. What does Professor Dumbledore say about this?

I'm afraid I have no better advice than to keep your head up and ignore the ignorant students who think you're Heir of Slytherin. The truth would certainly come out soon as the culprit can't hide forever and the students accusing you would then realize how unfair they were to you.

As for your father and Sirius, don't worry about their reaction. They love you to death, especially your father. They'd accept you no matter what. Even if you became a Death Eater, they would still love you and try to get you back to the right path rather than give up on you and shun you. James and Sirius may be biased when it comes to people they don't like, but I can assure you that they're both reasonable enough to not jump to conclusions with their biases when it involves their loves one. In fact, your father in particular is more likely to bend over backwards coming up with explanations that favor his loved ones. They would be worried about you being a Parseltongue and try to figure out why you had that gift, but they certainly won't think any less of you or think that you're a Dark Wizard.

I think like myself, your father and godfather would be more worried that there are more attacks in the school. The only reason your father still hasn't pulled you out of Hogwarts is because he still somewhat trusts Professor Dumbledore is handling the situation and that the Heir of Slytherin, whoever it is is targeting muggle-borns rather than half-bloods like yourself. But all of us worry about the muggle-borns at Hogwarts, especially Hermione.

Love Remus.

__________________________________________

Harry felt a little better from Remus's letter. He was right about his father and Sirius. Harry not longer worried about how they would perceive him, but he worried that James might be a step closer to pulling him out of Hogwarts if he knew he was falsely accused of being the Heir of Slytherin and was bullied for it. James would want to protect him from that, but Harry didn't want to leave Hogwarts. He loved Hogwarts and his friends, and he couldn't just leave while muggle-borns were being attacked. He had to figure out who the culprit was and put a stop to the attacks. He also wanted to prove his innocence.

Harry wrote back to Remus to at least wait or the Holidays before telling James or Sirius. By then, he expected to have figured out through Polyjuice Potion if Draco Malfoy was the culprit. The potion was finally ready shortly before the break. Harry, Ron and Hermione disguised themselves as Crabbe, Goyle and Milicent Bulstrode, but Hermione who took her potion in one of the toilet stands told them to go ahead without her. They drugged Crabbe and Goyle with a Sleeping Draught that they put in cupcakes and hid them in broom cupboard. Their efforts ended up being almost fruitless as it turned out, Draco wasn't the Heir of Slytherin. However, they did find out a bit of useful information from Draco while disguised as Crabbe and Goyle in the Slytherin Common Room, like the fact that the last time the chamber was open, a student died.

Hermione apparently had taken cat's hair instead of Millicent Bulstrode's hair and her face had turned into a cat's face. She had to be in the Hospital Wing for weeks even when they left for the Christmas break, fortunate that Madame Pomfrey didn't ask too many questions. The Weasley children were once again invited by James to spend the Holidays at Potter Manor when they decided to stay at Hogwarts rather than visit their brother Bill in Egypt with their parents. Percy initially considered it his duty as prefect to stay back at Hogwarts and assist the staff during difficult times but they managed to persuade him to join them as Mrs. Weasley didn't allow the rest of the Weasley children to leave Percy by himself during Christmas.

=to be continued=