"Well then… Now there's definitely a reason to talk to the Headmaster… Of course, I understand that something like this should have been expected, considering that I'm a Parselmouth, but still!"
"What is it, Harry? What have you learned about yourself now?"
"Well, you do, so to speak, remember the lovely creature that lived in the underground chamber, the entrance to which is hidden in Moaning Myrtle's bathroom? Looks like I'm destined to become just as pleasant to talk to…"
"What? A basilisk?! Are you sure you haven't mixed anything up?"
"The only thing that really worries me is the required magical potential… Just to transform once, it takes as much energy as I spent the last time on the Patronus…"
"And I don't have that much," he added to himself.
"Harry, now you simply have to talk to Dumbledore! It can't be that he doesn't understand what this could lead to! And anyway, why would you need to turn into a giant snake with a murderous gaze? You don't want to kill!"
"Yeah… Right, I need to somehow contact him… Dobby!"
"Yes, sir, Ha…"
"Stop it! Listen, I need to talk to the Headmaster, and preferably as soon as possible…"
"Sir, Professor Dumbledore is not at school right now, but as soon as he returns, Dobby will bring him, sir!.."
"Good! Thank you, Dobby, go!"
This time the elf did not start bowing and immediately disappeared. Only this time he could not carry out the assignment quickly. That evening the old wizard never returned to the castle. This was very nerve-racking, but outwardly Potter tried to look calm so that Flamia could relax and regain her strength. Of course, the girl understood that his calm was feigned, but the best thing she could do in this situation was to sink once more into restorative sleep.
Albus returned only by noon the next day. Because of that, the Boy-Who-Needed-to-Know-the-Truth did not manage to get proper sleep, but he did not show it in front of the old man.
"You wanted to talk to me about something, my boy?"
"Sir, I read the manual 'Know Your Beast' and followed the instructions. But I'm not sure whether I should continue the training…"
"Did your Animagus form alarm you? Is it some kind of snake? There is nothing terrible about that, everyone already knows that you are a Parselmouth, which means snakes should be closest to you…"
"The thing is, it's an unusual snake. It's a basilisk."
"Even so?.. Well, that was to be expected! Even if you do not possess the same magical potential as I or Voldemort, if you manage to transform, even the Dark Lord will step back! It is not for nothing that Acromantulas fear this creature so much…"
"But I'm afraid to transform into it! A basilisk is a monster! It kills with its gaze, and in general, it's a killer snake! What good can there be in that? I'll become a threat to everyone around me!"
"I understand… You believe that you will not be able to restrain the instincts of this monster… Well, in part, you are right! The more powerful the creature you transform into, the greater the danger that you will stop thinking like a human. Even if the Animagus form is an ordinary beast with unusual abilities, not every wizard can handle it. But there is one thing in which you are wrong. The basilisk will be more dangerous to you than to those around you."
"How am I supposed to understand that? If you mean that I'll kill everyone dear to me, and therefore harm myself more, then that only confirms my point!"
"You see, no snake attacks a person just like that. The only reason that will force it to attack is mortal danger. Yes, of course, Parselmouths are capable of taming snakes and using them for their own purposes, but to subdue the King, especially one who himself possesses the gift of speaking Parseltongue, is practically impossible. But the danger I spoke of… You may not return to human form. It is up to you to decide — to continue training and take the risk, or to stop, but give up the chance to protect your life…"
"A hard choice… But who has it easy!.. Professor, I wanted to talk to you about something else… What do you know about my mum?"
Harry tried to hide his emotions, but either Albus noticed how his gaze slipped toward the stack of books, or he simply understood at once what was what; in any case, it did not work to draw out information carefully:
"I was afraid that you would suspect something, Harry… I hoped that we would not have to stir up the past, especially since there is really nothing reprehensible in it, only all of this is tied to your fate… In short, listen… In those years, when I had only just finished school, I met one unusual wizard. He even became my friend, though that might seem completely unthinkable to you… The thing is, his ideas, in general terms, were quite comparable to Voldemort's ideas, though they were not filled with such cruelty…"
"Sorry for interrupting, sir, but how is this connected to me?"
"You will understand now, Harry… So, one of my friend's abilities was Parseltongue… It was passed down in his family by inheritance, and in an astonishing way, every generation found its chosen ones with the same gift… But not him. Gellert von Grindelwald, and that was the name of this wizard, fell in love with a girl who had no Parselmouths in her lineage… Their child was born without the Grindelwald heritage, which outraged my friend, but what was even worse, he was born a Squib. Gellert could not bear that, and so he drove away his own son… His name was Mark Evans. And many years later he had two daughters: the elder — Petunia. And the younger — Lily, who inherited the abilities of her great ancestor…"
"But, Professor, why wasn't I told this earlier? What's bad about the fact that my mother was a Parselmouth? Or is it because of Grindelwald?.."
"Yes, I see Professor Binns was not able to recount even this part of magical history engagingly enough for you to absorb it. The thing is that before the appearance of the wizard under the pseudonym Voldemort, the Darkest wizard of the twentieth century was considered to be precisely Gellert von Grindelwald, who dreamed of a world order where wizards would rule over everyone, and Muggles would be in a subordinate position…"
"You said he was your friend… But how?"
"I told you, you are unlikely to understand it… I even believed that he was right in some things… It is a pity he went down a crooked path…"
"Let us suppose that my ancestor was a Dark wizard and a Parselmouth. Yes, that is unpleasant news for me, but I would feel only calmer if I knew everything about the past! By the way, you have told me only part of what I wanted to know about Mum. The thing is that Remus let something slip in his conversation with me, and from his words it seemed that Lily Evans could also have gone to Slytherin. How should I understand that?"
"Well, that is very simple to explain. The thing is that Salazar Slytherin was, though a convinced opponent of violating purity of blood, and of teaching half-bloods and Muggle-borns, nevertheless he could not miss the chance to teach extremely gifted wizards. More than once, those who could not boast even a single close relative from the magical world were Sorted into his House. Only Lily knew what ideas prevailed in that House, and therefore she did not want to find herself among hostile-minded wizards from her very first day of study. Like you, she managed to persuade the Hat not to Sort her where greatness awaited her… especially since those words made her associate them with her ancestor."
"She knew? But how?"
"You see, I wrote her a letter in which I told her the history of her family… I do not know whether I acted well, but I had to protect her from revealing her gift to those around her…"
"Forgive me, sir, but that again does not explain why all this had to be hidden so thoroughly! Remus was so frightened that one could think I was Voldemort's grandson or something like that!"
"Quiet, Harry, Flamia needs rest now… Yes, you are right, that is not the point. I was afraid that you would blame me for your fate, for the fact that I did not preserve a secret that influenced what happened…"
"What are you getting at?"
"Do you remember the prophecy because of which your parents were killed and you yourself nearly died? Do you not find the moment 'mark him as his equal' strange? Why would Voldemort choose you specifically? Yes, one can suppose that he found a similarity in the fact that you were both half-bloods, but that is not the reason… The heir of Grindelwald can very well compete with the Dark Lord, and therefore he must be wiped off the face of the earth!"
"Heir? Ha! And that despite the fact that Mark Evans was a Squib, and my mother was considered an ordinary… Mudblood?!"
"Harry, you simply do not know who Tom Riddle was. He grew up in an orphanage, and his father was the most ordinary Muggle… Which did not stop Tom from declaring himself the Heir of Slytherin! Actually, in the magical world it is not customary to single out any 'heirs'… It is simply part of the legend of the Chamber of Secrets, and nothing more! But… Voldemort could not allow a competitor to appear…"
"Then why did he try to draw me over to his side? Back in first year?"
"In his position, he needed an ally… Now, however, you are his worst enemy, though he will never admit it…"
"You said that I would blame you for my fate. What could you have done? The truth always comes out!"
"Not necessarily… But I did not erase the memories of those who learned the secrets of the Evanses…"
"And who was that?"
"The Marauders…"
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