In some corner of the classroom, Harry, who had just finished the duel, was forced into a corner by Ron and Hermione.
"What's going on? Why do you have such a strange attitude?" Harry asked, feeling confused as he noticed everyone subconsciously moving away from him.
"Harry, you are a Parseltongue. Why didn't you tell us?" Ron asked worriedly.
Well, because Lockhart disrupted the plot, the Duelling Club was not only held in advance, but also the fuse of everything—Voldemort's Horcrux was imprisoned, so naturally, it could not arouse the basilisk. Ron and Hermione, of course, didn't know that Harry was a Parseltongue.
"What?" Harry was suddenly confused by Ron's worried tone and asked hesitantly, "What is Parseltongue?" Then, he kept explaining: "I just communicated with the python to ask it to stop attacking. You should have seen that the python did not attack anyone. Just now, Professor Lockhart awarded Gryffindor points for this."
Hermione saw the confused Harry and said comfortingly: "Harry, don't worry, there won't be any big problem. It's just that the expression and voice you spoke just now were creepy and looked very evil. As if you were giving it an order."
At this point, Hermione shuddered subconsciously when she recalled that Harry had made a "hissing" sound just now, which seemed very strange and full of evil.
Hearing Hermione's comfort, Harry felt slightly better. But thinking about what Professor Lockhart said just now, he decided to go to Lockhart's office that night to answer the questions in his heart.
Later, Harry saw the people around him avoiding him and didn't say much. He still stayed in the corner and listened to the lectures of the professors on the high platform. However, Harry was still a little distracted and did not pay attention to the professors' lectures. He communicated with Ron in a low voice from time to time—what exactly is Parseltongue?
Lockhart's Office at Night
Lockhart looked at the pile of fan letters in front of him, used magic, and controlled the quill to automatically reply with some standard thanks. Then he signed his name and put it aside. Different from the original's habit, the original liked to reply seriously to every fan letter and then ask the owl to send it back. Because the original liked to have all kinds of adoring words in fan letters and enjoyed them. But Lockhart is different now. He feels that most of these fan letters are a waste of his time and a waste of his life.
Therefore, every time a fan sends a letter, he will basically reply with similar words, then sign his name, and send it back according to the original habit, to reduce the waste of time. He had just finished replying to the latest batch of fan mail. Suddenly, there was a knock at the door.
"Professor, it's me." Lockhart heard the familiar voice and replied: "Come in, Harry, the door is unlocked."
Click! Harry Potter heard the professor's voice and opened the door directly. This was his first time entering Professor Lockhart's office. When Harry first entered, he noticed that the most conspicuous thing was a huge piece of parchment taped to the wall, on which a large number of seemingly mysterious and complex runes were burned. It was like a map; every area had a different color and shape and had its own name. Although he couldn't understand it, he felt something strange.
In fact, these are the various runes Lockhart studied. He classified the runes and ancient runes he studied into different categories according to their properties and burned them on the parchment on the wall. It seemed to be showing off or displaying his achievements. Every time when Lockhart is tired from research, he feels very satisfied when he looks up at the large amount of results he has researched. Soon, he will be full of motivation to continue researching new spells and new runes.
When Harry entered the middle of the office, he saw a large bookshelf placed against the side wall. It was filled with a large number of magic books of different colors, like a small library.
"Harry, come sit here." Looking at Harry Potter observing his office, Lockhart smiled, waved to him, and motioned for him to sit at his desk. Harry, who had come back to his senses, saw Professor Lockhart reaching out to signal, quickly sat on the stool, and asked with a somewhat reserved expression: "Professor, why did you want me to come to see you?"
At this moment, Harry felt very uneasy, fearing that the professor would mention Parseltongue. Regarding Parseltongue, he had heard Ron's explanation. The more he listened, the more he felt a little scared and panicked.
"Harry, you have the gift of Parseltongue." After Harry Potter heard this, his heart skipped a beat, and he said in a somewhat scared tone: "Professor, I am not a dark wizard. I swear, I have nothing to do with them." Seeing that Harry was very scared, he was even a little incoherent.
"Harry, calm down!" Lockhart poured a glass of water with his wand, placed it in front of Harry, and said comfortingly: "No one said you are a dark wizard. Parseltongue is not a symbol of a dark wizard. Don't be led astray by others."
Hearing Professor Lockhart's comfort, Harry slowly relaxed, and after a moment, he asked with some confusion: "Professor, is it true? I heard Ron say that Parseltongue is a symbol of dark wizards, and Salazar Slytherin was a Parseltongue."
Hearing this, Lockhart raised his eyebrows and said in a calm and slow tone: "Do you believe what he said?"
"Ron won't lie to me," Harry said hesitantly, "and everyone's reaction."
"Harry, putting aside all prejudices, do you feel that your actions are helping people or hurting them?"
"I told the snake to stop attacking and not hurt anyone." Harry was hesitant at first, but then he became more and more fluent: "I'm helping everyone."
"Yes, Harry, you are helping everyone." Lockhart praised Harry, "Let's not deny ourselves because of prejudice. You are doing a good deed." Lockhart said seriously.
"I'm doing a good deed," Harry muttered.
"Yes, you are doing good things. Talent is like a magic wand in your hand. You can release magic spells to save lives, but at the same time, you can also kill. It's all up to you, not what other people think. Now, tell me, are you willing to be a person who helps others?"
Lockhart's last question made Harry's eyes brighter and brighter, and he nodded heavily: "I do, I do."
"Then don't worry about other people's opinions." Lockhart nodded slightly and said meaningfully: "Harry, remember, you have to live for yourself, not for what other people think."
At the same time, the Sling Ring in Lockhart's hand flickered, but there was no movement.
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