Hearing Harry's words full of gratitude, Char was also stunned. He felt a little guilty. "To help classmates... of course, I should. What we like most about Hufflepuff is helping each other. Come on, Harry, speak up."
Harry blushed immediately. It seemed like something was brewing. A moment later, he hissed. "How about it?"
Not to mention Char, even Hermione could tell something was wrong. "Harry, that's completely different from the Parseltongue you just heard."
Char also nodded. He hadn't even felt the dark magic particles gathering due to Parseltongue. "Fine. Harry, try a few more times."
Harry nodded, then hissed a few more times. But it was obvious. Compared to his natural Parseltongue, he was completely talking nonsense. He himself was quite troubled. After all, even he didn't know how he had spoken it just now. And Char pondered for a moment, recalling how Harry's Parseltongue had been triggered in the original book. The first trigger was probably his conversation with a python in the zoo before entering Hogwarts. That's when he had accidentally used it. The second time was in the duel with Malfoy in his second year. Faced with the Snake Summons Spell, Harry had subconsciously used Parseltongue to control the poisonous snake. The subsequent episodes did not seem to be triggered by Harry himself. Perhaps this was also because he was only affected by a small fragment of Voldemort's soul. Although he had Parseltongue, this talent did not really belong to him. Unlike his almost innate Quidditch talent, which had come naturally as soon as he had touched a broom. Therefore, his Parseltongue was not as smooth as that of real users such as Herpo, Salazar Slytherin, and Voldemort. To trigger it, certain conditions were required over a long period of time.
Thinking of this, a look of realization appeared in his eyes. Immediately, he whispered to Harry, "Harry, relax. Watch my wand."
The next moment, he thrust his wand forward. Accompanied by low incantations, "Serpensortia!" a miniature black snake suddenly flew out from the tip of the wand and landed in front of Harry, hissing fiercely at him. Hermione screamed in fright at the sudden appearance of the venomous snake. Harry was in a trance for a moment. He looked at it and a hissing sound also came out. What followed were some magic particles that were more like dark magic and began to gather around him.
Char waved his wand again, dispersing the black snake. Harry only reacted at this time and covered his mouth in surprise. "I... did I just do that?"
Char nodded. "That's right. Harry, what did you say to that snake?"
Harry hesitated for a moment, then swallowed his saliva. He said to Char, "It just said something bad about you to me. It said you're very good at squeezing out magic. Even spells and magical items can be squeezed out of you. It said it wanted to be adopted by me, if it was possible—"
Char's brows suddenly furrowed tightly, then slowly stretched out again. "Nonsense. Harry, I'm a Hufflepuff. How could a Hufflepuff understand what exploitation is? Haha, the magic spell is ignorant and is just joking with you. Okay, now you should have found this feeling. You shouldn't need the assistance of magic spells anymore, right? Harry, let's continue."
Harry felt suspicious. Was that black snake just playing a joke on him? But he always felt that it looked like it was crying. Never mind. Char said so. Can he still deceive me? Then, Harry once again grasped the wonderful feeling of talking to a snake. Words of Parseltongue came out of his mouth. "Hiss, hiss, hiss... two long and one short, yes, this means eating. Two short and one long, this is for sleeping. A little more rapid, it means fighting." Harry spoke in Parseltongue while explaining their meaning to Char.
Until half an hour later, in the small greenhouse, the hissing sound slowly stopped. Harry's mouth was dry. It felt like smoke was coming out of his throat. He had never spoken so much in his life. At this time, he looked at Char anxiously. "How's it going, Char? Not well yet?"
Char was looking at the densely packed Parseltongue vocabulary written down in his notebook. He nodded, then shook his head again. "That's it for the first part."
Harry breathed a sigh of relief. As he gulped down a mouthful of tea, Char's next words almost made him spit it out. "Let's get to part two."
Harry's forehead was sweating at this moment. He suddenly felt like asking Char to check for him might have been a wrong decision. Could it be that what the little snake had said about "exploitation" was true?
And at this time, Char said, "Harry, Parseltongue is a very special gift. It is extremely rare in the entire history of magic. Those who possess it are, without exception, the top dark wizards. I think its impact on people may be extremely profound. For your safety, we need to do a more in-depth inspection. Harry, you don't want to become a murderous dark wizard one day, do you?"
Hearing this, Harry was immediately startled. Then, his heart was alerted again. Harry, Harry. You've already misunderstood Char. How could you misunderstand him a second time? He is clearly helping you check for Parseltongue, and he's taking the trouble to do so. How could you possibly suspect he has ulterior motives? Even his heart skipped a beat. Broken. Could this be the place where my potential as a dark wizard is revealed? How could I be so suspicious and even doubt Char's good intentions? He is a Hufflepuff. What bad intentions could a Hufflepuff have? Harry, oh Harry, wake up!
The next moment, Harry nodded without hesitation. "What should I do in Part Two?"
A strange look flashed across Char's eyes. "Try to say a spell in Parseltongue."
Harry was stunned when he heard this. "Parseltongue—can you chant spells?"
At this time, Hermione perked up. This was a question that touched upon her strengths. After all, she was a know-it-all who was proficient in many subjects, including the history of magic. She coughed and said immediately, "Sure, Harry. The spell can be chanted in many different languages. Even a little bit of an accent is fine. After all, you have to know that not all wizards have a standard London accent. Even many wizards in the wizarding world don't know English. But the amazing thing is that the same spell works whether you chant it in English, French, German, or even ancient Greek or ancient Hebrew. As long as you know what the spell is and the rhythm and emphasis are correct, you can cast it successfully. There's even a chapter in the history of magic that specifically mentions the creation of magical linguistics. Several wizards perfected this subject by studying the effects of word roots, vowels, consonants, and so on on spellcasting. I've specifically read the paper mentioned in this chapter, Harry. If you're interested, I can borrow it from the library and explain it to you."
Harry's expression stiffened. "Ah. Very good! Thank you, Hermione, I don't need any. Well, Char, let's get started."
Compared to Harry's expression, which was as if he had seen the end of the world, Char was quite interested in the magical linguistics that Hermione had mentioned. She was indeed Miss Know-It-All. Although her attainments in magic, herbology, and potions were not as good as his, when it came to being knowledgeable and having a strong memory, especially the mastery of various obscure historical materials in the history of magic, Char was suspicious. Not to mention himself, he was afraid even many professors couldn't catch up with Hermione. After all, it was well known that the History of Magic course at Hogwarts had had only one professor for nearly a thousand years: Professor Binns, who had turned into a ghost. The history of magic taught by him was like being cast under a hypnotic spell. Char had once attended a course on the history of magic. Even he, who supposedly had very little need for sleep, couldn't stop yawning in that class. You could imagine what other young wizards would feel like. Under this hypnosis course, the wizards in the magical world had a better understanding of the history of magic. He was afraid it was not much better than the Defense Against the Dark Arts, which had been vacant for many years.
"Hermione, if you have time, please let me have a look at this paper."
Hearing this, Hermione, who had been quite disappointed by Harry's refusal, suddenly lit up. It felt like meeting a close friend. Harry's eyes widened, looking at Char with gratitude. He must have asked her for the paper to help him determine whether Parseltongue was harmful. What a good brother! I said that everyone in Hufflepuff is a good person! Thinking of this, Harry, who was already feeling very tired and whose throat was about to smoke, was immediately as if he had been injected with adrenaline. No. My good brother Char has sacrificed so much for me. How can I slack off?
So a moment later, he didn't even have the slightest thought of slacking off. He waved his wand, and at the same time, a hissing Parseltongue voice sounded. "Lumos!" It was the Lumos Charm chanted in Parseltongue. He had already mastered the key points of reciting this spell. Even if he switched to Parseltongue, he could still cast it successfully in one go. A faint light lit up at the tip of his holly wand. Only compared to his usual level, this fluorescent spell was obviously much dimmer. It even appeared to be flickering. At first, he thought he was just not proficient enough. But soon, he tried a few more times, and the effect was the same. Immediately, he tried a few more simple spells. Those who performed better, like a levitation spell, when cast using Parseltongue, would levitate objects at a higher altitude than usual, but it was shaky. When it fell down, it was much more ferocious than the original spell, as if it was going to smash someone to death. And those who performed slightly worse all showed different levels of weakening. Overall, casting spells in Parseltongue was simply a huge weakening of his magical abilities.
This made him look a little suspicious. Throughout history, wizards with Parseltongue were almost all powerful dark wizards? Was this true or false? Why did this feel like it was holding him back?
Char, on the side, had been feeling the fluctuations of magic power during the entire process of Harry casting the spells. A look of understanding appeared in his eyes. The result was not beyond his expectations. Instead, it made him more certain of his previous guess. Language was indeed another medium that could affect the power of spells. Perhaps this was why Dumbledore had studied Mermish, Gobbledegook, and Troll in depth.
Immediately, his eyes flickered. He said to Harry, "Harry, let's try a different magic. Try this one I taught you." As soon as the words fell, he waved his wand. "Serpensortia!" "Come on, Harry, try this in Parseltongue. It shouldn't be difficult for you."
He wasn't trying to flatter him. Harry's talent in the field of dark magic was indeed quite high. In the original novel, he had successfully used Sectumsempra on the first try. Later in his escape, he had used almost all the Unforgivable Curses, basically succeeding after one or two attempts, and the effect was remarkable. Although the Snake Summons Spell was not an orthodox dark magic that could distort the mind, its nature had nothing to do with sacredness or protection. In addition, it was related to snakes and was a spell created by Voldemort, which was definitely a full buff for Harry. It would be strange if it couldn't be used.
With his encouragement, Harry also clenched his wand. A hissing sound in Parseltongue came out. "Serpensortia!" The next moment, extremely strong particles of dark magic surrounded him. From his wand, a black python suddenly gushed out. It raised its body and let out a threatening hiss. Char narrowed his eyes, surprise in them. If it was evaluated according to the system, Harry had performed the spell in Parseltongue for the first time, and this level of attainment was already at the silver level. Thinking back to how much time it had taken him to practice this spell to that level, he couldn't help but sigh in his heart. Comparing yourself to others was really frustrating. But judging from his feelings just now, this also directly proved a point. Parseltongue had a considerable effect on the Snake Summons Spell. For other dark magic, although Harry hadn't tried, Char also had some expectations. Perhaps the amplification was not as exaggerated as it was for this spell, but it would definitely help. This caused a bit of heat to flash across his eyes. To his current level of magical attainments, it was really difficult to improve further. Learning Parseltongue would benefit his magic. This was certainly a great deal.
But just as his thoughts gradually came back to his senses, he saw that Harry was a little distraught. He stared at his wand in a daze, seemingly unexpected. He was so talented in this kind of offensive magic. Char saw his expression, confused at first, then it dawned on him. Yes. For him, it didn't matter whether it was white magic or dark magic, as long as it didn't affect the soul or distort the mind, there was no problem in using it. But for Harry, realizing his talent in the dark arts must have been a big blow to him. This made Char feel a little complicated. He had indeed overlooked this point. The Harry of today was no longer the battle-hardened Auror who had a family and a career decades later in the original novel. He was not the Harry who, as he was about to graduate, had experienced countless escapes and difficulties, had taken on an important mission, and had dared to confront Voldemort head-on. He was just an eleven-year-old boy who had just arrived in the magical world and whose worldview had not yet been fully formed.
Char paused. "Harry—"
Harry looked at him with a somewhat lost look. "Char, will I become a dark wizard too? If that's the case, then... then I might as well not learn magic—"
Char shook his head. "How did you become a dark wizard? You are the savior, Harry Potter."
Harry stammered, "But I have Parseltongue. That magic just now, I—"
Hearing this, he showed a funny smile. Immediately, he waved his wand. "Serpensortia!" The same spell was used by him. Then, what appeared in front of Harry and Hermione was the cursed snake that they had never seen before in the Forbidden Forest trial. A seven-headed black snake, wrapped in strong curse magic, appeared in the small greenhouse. The snake merely glanced at them, and they felt a chill down their spines and all over their bodies. If Char hadn't waved his wand and dispersed the black snake, they would have probably collapsed on the ground in fear.
Harry stuttered, "This, this?!"
Char laughed. "My attainments in this spell are much higher than yours. After my modification, this spell isn't really a positive spell. It's more like dark magic. But Harry, this is the magic I used to protect everyone. Whether something is black or white depends not only on its own nature but also on how you use it. You have a powerful talent. If you intend to use it to fight the darkness, like you did at the end of the level guarding the Philosopher's Stone, then you will never become a dark wizard, but the greatest savior of the wizarding world."
Witnessing his spellcasting, plus his words of comfort, Harry finally perked up a bit. "Then this spell—"
Char nodded. "You can definitely continue practicing. Perhaps at a critical moment, it will come in handy to protect those around you. Also, Harry, Parseltongue doesn't seem to be harmful to you, so feel free to use it."
Harry breathed a sigh of relief and nodded excitedly. Immediately, he then left with Hermione. On the way out of the small greenhouse and back to the Gryffindor common room, he was still repeating something to her. "I can't believe it. I actually misunderstood Char before and thought he was a bad person. Merlin, how could there be bad people in Hufflepuff? He couldn't be better!"
Hermione's mood also became more relaxed than ever before. There was always a smile on her lips. Until the sleepiness after staying up all night came over her uncontrollably, they then returned to their respective dormitories. Harry didn't even have time to take off his shoes. He fell heavily on the bed. After a long night of spellcasting and Parseltongue chanting, he felt even sleepier than after going through the last level of the Philosopher's Stone. Almost the moment it hit the pillow, he fell into a deep sleep. And a moment later, on the bed next to him, Ron Weasley slowly sat up. Looking at Harry's face, a complex emotion flashed in his eyes. There was anger, reluctance, and struggle. Slowly, he pointed his wand at Harry, waved gently, and the blanket beside him was covered over him.
At this time, Harry seemed to be dreaming of the scene in the small greenhouse just now. He muttered something. "Thank you. Char. You're such a good person."
Ron's movements froze for a moment. His eyes widened. I was here first! Char Sprout!!
At this time, Char was unaware of the drama that was unfolding in the Gryffindor dormitory. Harry's Parseltongue accent from earlier came to mind. His eyes fell on the dark magic on his system panel, which was not too much, but definitely not too little. There was a look of anticipation in his eyes. What would happen if these spells were performed in Parseltongue?
The next moment, he swung the wand in his hand like a sword. "Sectumsempra!"
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