{Gryffindor Table, Great Hall, Hogwarts}
{2nd Sep 1991}
{3rd Person POV}
...
"-Did you read that? Do you really think that he's the son of You-Know-Who?" A boy from upper year asked his friend as they gathered around reading the newspaper.
Harry did not know much about the wizarding newspaper outlet, but he had tried to follow along. He grew up in an abusive family, and even though the Dursleys were not physically abusive, throughout several interactions with normal humans, he had come to accept that none of it was his fault. He wasn't as good as Dudley in their eyes and to be honest he didn't think anybody else would have been as well.
"-Don't be an idiot, this clearly states his father was the notorious mass murderer, how could-" Another whispered argument whizzed past him as he looked at the photo of a dark-haired man screaming behind bars.
...
The letter arrived during the summer when he was looking at which universities to apply to and finally being free of the hellhole street named Surrey. His scores were excellent in High school and he had made sure they remained as it was his last hope to escape.
Hagrid in his clumsy way had told him the story of the Boy-Who-Lived, how he was supposed to be some sort of hero was beyond him but at least it provided him some closure about his parents. That they weren't just drunkards but respectable members of society who died fighting for a cause. He had devoured books on recent history but he couldn't find much listed about Lily and James Potter, even though his name was smeared across a bunch of them.
After not finding anything about his parents he had stayed away from the books and instead focused on the world they lived in. The magical world was a bit weird in a tilted sort of way. Everything was crocked from the moving pictures to the flying brooms. His parents had left behind a sizeable inheritance for him so he wasn't worried about the future so much.
The decision to come to Hogwarts was made pretty easily. The curiosity had landed him here, sitting on a table with strangers all around him talking and whispering as he stared at the photo of the man responsible for the years of torture he had to endure for years.
...
'''Rigel Black: The Next Dark Lord?'''
The heading was as catchy as it could be, he expected this from the publications but the information the article gave him was a lot more than his pointless struggles with history books ever did.
'''...In a surprising turn of events, the heir to the Most Ancient and Most Noble House of Black is a ParselMouth. An ability that can be traced all the way up to Salazar Slytherin himself and the notorious reputation it gained because of the damage Dark Magic cast using it can do. The Last known speakers of this magic tongue is He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, and Herpo the Foul...'''
'''...Rigel Black came into the magical world as an unknown a couple of months ago when Narcissa Malfoy, an esteemed member of our society accompanied him to file his heirship claim. It was later revealed that he has a significant amount of Gaunt Lineage which was the last known family to share ties with Slytherin himself...'''
'''...Rigel Black likely would inherit the Wizengamot seats for the Most Ancient and Most Noble House of Black and The Most Ancient House of Gaunt. With so much Political power in someone who already is showing dark tendencies with threatening the murder of the heir of Ancient and Noble House of Malfoy is a concern.'''
''' To read more about what being a ParselMouth means turn to the article on page 2...'''
''' To read more about The Mystery of Rigel Black's Parentage and his mysterious link to He who must not be named, turn to page 3...'''
...
Harry was surprised as he read more and more about ParselMouth, its dark history, and what it was. He looked up at the boy eating a toast as he also read the same newspaper. To him Rigel looked like an ordinary boy his age, how could the newspaper compare him to a Dark Lord was a bit beyond him especially since he could talk to snakes as well.
...
'''The Mystery of Rigel Black's Parentage!'''
'''If you have already read all the other articles you would begin to wonder where did he even come from. Well, according to sources Rigel Black's name first surfaced when his Hogwarts letter emerged from the Hogwarts Registry. Before it, the Wizarding world had no idea that Rigel even existed.'''
''' According to his age, there is only one candidate that is suitable. Sirius Black is a notorious Death Eater who was acting as a spy against Albus Dumbledore's efforts to stop Voldemort. He mingled with the Light side and hung around before he betrayed his decade-long friend, James Potter to the Dark Lord.'''
'''His actions directly led to the death of James Potter, Lily Potter, and he personally killed their mutual friend Peter Pettigrew and also murdered 12 Muggles in the process.'''
'''The Black Family is notorious for their madness which makes Rigel Black's possession of access to a dark magical language all the more dangerous...'''
...
"...-ARRY!" A muted scream broke him out of the trance he was in after reading the last couple of passages as he looked at Ron who was looking at him with concern. Harry blinked a couple of times as he looked around and found that the table in front of him was cracked and a lot of dishes were floating.
~Clang~ ~Clang~ ~Clang~
He snapped back as the cutlery banged against the table and he realized for the first time in the morning the attention was already back to him. He blushed but before he could apologize, Professor Minerva's voice interrupted him.
"Mr. Potter... Follow me!"
...
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AN - A little insight into Harry's life and the world slowly shifting from canon!
P.S.- 29 Extra chapters on P.atreon- p.atreon.com/Light_novel_addict