Ch 9 pt1

Tuesday morning's The Daily Prophet made Harry/Gilderoy smile while bringing exclamations of dismay from a certain Slytherin student. Before breakfast was over, the entire school knew that Draco Malfoy's house-elf had cursed the bludger into chasing and trying to kill Harry in order to win the game. And that the great adventurer Gilderoy had captured the errant elf, who had confessed to the crime. There was even a side article asking if perhaps Draco Malfoy and Ron Weasley were soon to be an item.

Neither Ron nor Draco were pleased to see that speculation in print. Professor Snape seemed a bit put out about the story, as well. Dumbledore just twinkled his eyes.

The evening edition continued the bludger story as it had played out in the Ministry, with both junior and senior Malfoy proclaiming their innocence yet being unable to explain how their house-elf managed to do so many things without their orders. The article called into question the veracity of their Oaths — and explored how they might have been able to order the house-elf without explicitly giving an order. The house-elf might have responded to the Malfoys' vaguely expressed desires and intent without actually getting a direct order, the paper concluded.

That Mr. Malfoy had failed to quash the stories was a testament to how severely Harry/Gilderoy had hurt the Wizard financially.

Gilderoy found out just how badly he had damaged House Malfoy when an owl from Gringotts arrived that evening with a list of properties he now owned, all producing a good income. It seemed that House Malfoy had a much lower on-hand galleon reserve than he had assumed — it must be all those bribes Malfoy paid for his pro-Pure-blood agenda. This made him smile even more. With all the available gold now in Gilderoy's vaults, if Malfoy wanted Galleons for something, — say, making a bribe or three — he had to wait for his income producing properties to make their monthly deposits. But that presupposed that his current income exceeded his current bills. Considering the lifestyle the Malfoys' enjoyed, that was not a guarantee. And the properties Gilderoy now owned decreased that income capability, making it that much more difficult for Malfoy.

Malfoy could demand immediate repayment of loans he had made to others as a businessman, but that would reveal his financial situation, weaken him politically, and turn "friends" into enemies. It would also cascade through the Death Eaters as his debtors called in debts from others. Honest people and businesses who had made the mistake of borrowing from Malfoy would suffer. But the Goblins, for a price, had promised to tell Gilderoy of those with such difficulties and give him the opportunity to help if he could. That would mitigate the crisis a bit, as well as increasing Lockhart's political pull.

Borrowing from anyone but the Goblins would also reveal Malfoy's vulnerable position.

Gringotts would loan you money, but the rates were exorbitant even if you had property to put up for collateral. Naturally, the Goblins kept any income from those properties until you repaid the debt, which made it that much more difficult to do so. If you didn't have collateral, the rates ran to almost fifty percent of the loan amount. Unpopular distasteful clients, the ones who made no secret of their dislike for Goblins, would find the rates for either type of loan to be considerably higher.

In all cases, Malfoy was no longer a major player in the Ministry. He had been number three in the top ten richest Wizarding families. With this one stroke, Lockhart had knocked House Malfoy out of the top one-hundred, while moving himself into the tenth position.

Gilderoy gleefully sent an owl to Rita hinting that Malfoy might be having financial difficulties, and wouldn't that make a juicy story about how far the mighty have fallen. Plus, hinting that if Malfoy had mismanaged the ultra-rich House of Malfoy that badly, perhaps those rumours of his mental instability had a basis in fact.

Wednesday's headlines were all about how the Hogwarts' Board of Governors had reluctantly removed Mr. Malfoy because of his "unstable" mood swings. It included copious quotes from the other Board members about how appalled they were of late at his questionable actions and obvious bias. No mention was made of any one thing in particular but the impression was that the bludger event was just the latest difficulty in which Mr. Malfoy had found himself. Ah, yes, the wolves were circling wounded prey.

Thursday morning, the story on how one gets a Dark Mark broke. Several people in the Ministry did point out that this information came from convicted Death Eaters and that you couldn't really rely on them to tell the truth. Of course, others pointed out that only the most powerful of Wizards or Witches could lie under veritaserum — and none of the prisoners came close to having that power, especially after a ten-year stay in Azkaban with Dementors as their hosts!

Rita managed to get Madam Bones to agree that the next time they caught someone who had the Dark Mark breaking the law they would use veritaserum to determine the truth about the Mark. In the meantime, the tide of public opinion viciously turned on Malfoy and several other "rehabilitated" known marked Death Eaters.

Rita, meanwhile, was getting front-page headlines in both morning and evening editions of The Daily Prophet, a unique and highly profitable situation for her. It was all the better in that what she wrote was the truth and none could complain she had exaggerated and used salacious slander to sell her stories.

Later that same day, in D.A.D.A., Gilderoy decided to examine the whole thing about the Heir of Slytherin in the waning minutes of class.

"I've heard some students discussing just who the Heir of Slytherin could be and that only the Heir of Slytherin can control the monster." He paced across the classroom. "Let's get this sorted, shall we?" He faced the class and pointed his finger at the ceiling. "First, Slytherin is a Dark Family. So, whomever it is must be from a Dark family, right?"

Most of the class slowly nodded agreement.

"However, with all the cousin marriages in the Pure-blood world every Pure- and Half-blood in this Castle is related to Slytherin somewhere in their family tree." Several Slytherins nodded agreement at that conclusion. "So, not being in Dark House isn't a decisive condition disqualifying anyone from being the Heir, is it?"

Nodding heads, again. Harry looked puzzled, clearly not seeing where this was going.

"Unfortunately, which family has the best claim on being the Heir is almost impossible to determine. The last person to claim to be the Heir of Slytherin was Voldewhore — and we all know what happened to him." Most of the class gasped or hissed at the name. "His mother was from the Gaunt family and they claimed to be the only surviving direct descendants of Lord Slytherin — on the distaff side. However, all the Gaunts are now dead. So, again, familial connections are indecisive at best.

"On the other hand, Mr. Potter did vanquish Voldewhore, the last person who claimed to be the Heir of Slytherin." Several of the Slytherin students were frowning at his use of Voldewhore instead of Voldemort. "The first time Mr. Potter bested him in battle, it was defending himself when he was a mere toddler at 15 months old. How, no one knows. Maybe it was something his mother or father, or both, did. Doesn't matter, Harry Potter, last Heir of House Potter, defeated the self-proclaimed last Heir of Slytherin in Fair Combat, combat initiated by the other Wizard. Doesn't that mean Mr. Potter is now the Heir to Slytherin, By Right of Conquest?" Most of the class looked startled at that conclusion. "And for those who don't know, By Right of Conquest is a penalty to prevent powerful Wizards and Witches from taking over weaker Family Lines simply by killing the Lords and heirs. You can only inherit a line By Right of Conquest if you are defending yourself from an attack and the attacker you kill is the last Lord or Heir of his or her House.

"Well, Voldewhore did attack him without provocation, but he became a wraith. Is that sufficiently dead to qualify for Right of Conquest? Possibly." Gilderoy stopped, as if in thought. "It is somewhat confusing, isn't it?

"However, last year, Mr. Potter once again vanquished Voldewhore! And this time it was quite clear-cut. The Dark Wanker tried three times last year to kill Mr. Potter, and failed all three times — once during a Quidditch match, once in the Forbidden Forest, and finally under the castle during finals." The class was making noises now, especially from the Slytherin side. "Oh, come on!" "That's not possible!" "You're making that up!" "Give me a break!" A few objected to the names he used to describe Voldemort. "LIAR!" "How dare you!"

"SILENCE," the professor roared.

"Whether you believe me or not isn't at issue. Mr. Potter can prove he's telling the truth with his memories. But we're getting off the subject. At the end of last year, he once more vanquished the Dark Wanker. That means he has vanquished the Wizard in Fair Combat in self-defence, twice!

"By my understanding of the ancient laws, no other possible cousin Heirs can beat that claim. And even if you dispute my claim that he fought him again last year, you can't deny he vanquished him eleven years ago."

The class looked stunned at the train of thought. Gilderoy preened as they stared at him. "Didn't anyone think of that? I thought of it the moment I heard Mr. Potter had arrived at Hogwarts' last year. I thought to myself, 'Gilderoy Lockhart, Order of Merlin, Third Class, Honorary Member of the Dark Force Defence League, and five-time winner of Witch Weekly's Most-Charming-Smile Award, there he is, the boy who defeated the Heir of Slytherin. Shouldn't that make him the Heir of Slytherin?'"

"If it's true that he defeated the Heir of Slytherin in Fair Combat, then Mr. Potter is, decisively, the Heir of Slytherin!" He paused and looked over the class, beaming happily at his logic and ignoring the horrified expressions Harry and Hermione now wore.

"In which case, the Heir of Slytherin is now a Light House, shining in the Darkness, wouldn't you all agree?" He chuckled at his pun. "In other words, if you are a Dark House and you win control of a Light House, By Right of Conquest, that doesn't automatically make you a Light House, now does it? And the converse is also true. If you are a Light House and win a Dark House by Right of Conquest, you are still a Light House!"

Most of the class was nodding agreement.

"Hm? Got that firmly in mind? Don't forget it!" Gilderoy admonished as he resumed pacing dramatically in front of the class.

"Second, to control Slytherin's Monster you have to command it. So if Slytherin's monster really is a snake, being the Heir of Slytherin is useless if you can't control the monster. Thus, even if Mr. Potter is the Heir of Slytherin, By Right of Conquest, it means nothing if he can't get the monster to listen to him, right?"

Again, most of the class was nodding agreement.

"So, the question is, Mr. Potter, are you a Parselmouth? Can you speak Parseltongue?"

Harry stared at him wide-eyed.

"Don't know, eh? Easy way to find out," Gilderoy waved his wand, saying "Serpensortia." A small snake flew from his wand. Gilderoy suspended it in the air and studied it as it hissed. "My, but you're a pretty one, aren't you? Angry, too." He would have to pretend he could not talk with snakes. Now that he was older, he realized it would be quite useful.

The whole class, except Harry, leaned back in their chairs, staring at the snake. Harry was staring at the snake in fascinated horror.

"Well, Mr. Potter, what does this beautiful specimen have to say?"

Harry looked at the professor, eyes wide in shock.

"Come, come, now, Mr. Potter, I can tell you understood him. Tell us what the snake said!"

Harry wilted under Gilderoy's stare. He couldn't bring himself to lie; he could tell that Gilderoy knew, just by the look he was giving Harry, that Harry had understood the snake. Harry swallowed nervously.

"Er, Umm," he stammered, "He said, 'Who calls me? Put me back or I'll bite you!'"

"Ah!" Gilderoy looked disappointed at the threat, "Tell him I'm sorry I disturbed him and I'll return him forthwith."

Harry gulped and then hissed at the snake. The snake hissed back.

When all the hissing ceased, Gilderoy banished the snake back to wherever he had come from.

The entire class was staring at Harry. Those closest were inching away, even Neville. Harry was sinking into his chair.

"All right, then," the Professor said merrily, "Harry speaks Parseltongue, just as Merlin the Great did."

Half the class jolted from staring at Harry to staring at their professor.

"And in the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia, Parselmouths are quite admired and sought-after — all those poisonous snakes, don't you know. Plus, for some reason Parseltongue makes spells more effective. Those few physicians who are parselmouths are highly sought after and head the most famous hospitals in India and southeast Asia.

"As I mention in my book Year with the Yeti, I briefly stayed in Calcutta. While there I hired a parselmouth to clear a cobra nest out of my garden . Could have done it myself, of course, but I didn't want to traumatize the little fellows with magic. Besides, the snake charmer knew of a place that needed the snakes to help clear up a rodent problem. Quite useful, being a Parselmouth. I wish I could speak Parseltongue."

The class didn't know whether to be terrified of knowing a Parselmouth, or envious.

"So, if you want to declare Mr. Potter a Dark Wizard for being a Parselmouth, then you must also condemn Merlin, and a vast number of Indians, for the same failing." He gave the class a scathing look. "I hope you are more intelligent than that. It is a Wizard's actions that determine whether he is Dark, Grey, or Light. From what I hear of Mr. Potter's reputation at Hogwarts, he is definitely not Dark — he did save a Witch he barely knew from a Troll, did he not?" He again swept the class with a glance, stopping to look at Hermione.

He turned his attention back to Harry. "Tell me, Mr. Potter, have you been hearing any hissing around the Castle?"

He shook his head. "I don't hear hissing, Sir; it just sounds like English to me."

"Ah! Then have you heard any mysterious voices around the Castle lately? Voices that said things like, oh, I don't know, things like," he paused a moment, then growled, "'Come, . . . come to me. I'm so hungry. . . I smell blood!'"

Startled at how close the Professor had come to what he had heard, Harry could only reluctantly nod.

"Excellent! Did you hear that class? Another clue as to the identity of Slytherin's Monster! Mr. Potter has been hearing a snake in the Castle. Any thoughts on the mysterious monster stalking our school?" About a third of the class raised their hands including Miss Granger.

Oh, he had to hear what she had come up with, "Miss Granger!"

She stood beside her desk and recited:

.

"Laid by rooster and hatched by a toad,

To the Basilisk terror is owed.

Crumbling rocks with its breath,

It stares victims to death,

And by cock-crow alone, is it slowed."

.

"Excellent, Miss Granger! Five points. Anything else you have to add?"

"Yes, sir. The Basilisk kills with a look, it doesn't just petrify its victims." Several other students nodded in agreement.

"Good, good. Well that is a conundrum, isn't it? But maybe we have a semantic problem there. The petrification spell used by Wizards merely immobilizes its target, petrification as alluded to the Basilisk and Medusa turn their victims to stone and kills them! Could there possibly be a special circumstance in which the snake petrifies its victim as Wizards do instead of killing the victim? A good question, don't you agree?

"So, we need a bit more research, don't we, before we can conclusively exclude the Basilisk." He smiled broadly at the class. "Were there any special conditions that might have protected the Basilisk's victims from dying while still leaving them petrified?" He swept the class again with a glance noting the frustration evident in the smarter members. "Merlin, I love being me!" he sighed happily.

"To summarize," he stopped with one hand on his hip, his robes artfully pressed back as he held up his other hand, index finger pointed up beside his head. "Primus, Mr. Potter could be the Heir of Slytherin by descent, as could any other Half- or Pure-blood student or adult in the Castle.

"Secondus, Mr. Potter is probably the Heir by Right of Conquest, but that does not make him a Dark Wizard, any more than Lucius Malfoy inheriting House Potter would make him a paragon of a Light Wizard." A squawk came from Draco's direction.

"Tertius, Mr. Potter can also speak Parseltongue and control the monster, which also doesn't mean he's a Dark Wizard, unless you wish to call Merlin and all those Indian snake charmers, who help people by removing venomous snakes, Dark Wizards as well."

"Quartus, being a Parselmouth is hereditary, you can't be taught or learn Parseltongue. Therefore, Harry is either directly descended from Slytherin, or from another Wizard who was also a Parselmouth.

Hermione had her hand raised again. Gilderoy arched an eyebrow, but finally nodded.

"Professor, you said Harry," she glanced at Harry nervously, worried that she was upsetting him. "is the Heir of Slytherin earlier, but just now you said he is probably the Heir of Slytherin. Which is it?"

"An excellent question! Two points." He swept the room with a glance. "I think he is the Heir of Slytherin, based on my knowledge and logic. However, only a Goblin Inheritance Test can decisively determine if I am right, therefore, I say he only is probably the Heir. Logic, my dears, logic, much better than random guessing."

He saw several students nodding in agreement.

Gilderoy gave the boy a jovial grin, proud of his conclusions. "So, it isn't looking good for you, Mr. Potter, is it?" Gilderoy said cheerfully. Harry looked as if he were trying to sink into the floor, his face a solid red in embarrassment, glaring angrily at Lockhart.

"However, regarding the message 'enemies of the Heir beware' and how Muggle-borns will be driven from the castle — and this is crucial — Mr. Potter's mother was a Muggle-born! Why would he want to keep Muggle-borns out of Hogwarts? It would be rather hypocritical of him, wouldn't it? He wouldn't even be here if his Muggle-born mother hadn't been allowed in to meet his Pure-blood father."

He turned his attention to the Slytherin half of the classroom. "Tell me, Mr. Malfoy," he said, still beaming, "Would you accept being the Heir of Slytherin if it meant you had to either kill your mother, or exile her to live alone with the muggles?" The Slytherins sat back in their chairs while Mr. Malfoy went pale.

"So, even if Mr. Potter is the Heir of Slytherin and could control the monster, that does not mean he is behind the message or the attacks! You cannot conclude he is responsible until you can explain why he would want to chase his girlfriend out of Hogwarts!" There were a few startled squeaks from girls at the thought the Muggle-born girl might actually be his girlfriend. "And, as he himself is a Half-blood, siding with the Pure-bloods on their agenda against Half-bloods and Muggle-born would also be hypocritical, wouldn't it? So you have to explain that as well."