HP ficlet
This is my first foray into writing for Harry Potter, it's just a little ficlet, 515 words, gen rating, but this little bunny wouldn't leave me alone.
Warning: Set after the books, so several spoilers for Deathly Hallows.
Disclaimer: Harry Potter is not mine, nor are any of the characters mentioned in this story that you recognise, all belong to J.K. Rowling and this is done purely for love and fun, no harm intended.
A/N: One-shot but may become more, so please give any and all feedback. I won’t inflict any more on you unless the general consensus wants more.
Harry Potter and the Manila Folder of Doom
Harry sat at his desk at the Ministry and casually wiped the blood from his glasses. It had been three long years since the Battle of Hogwarts and the defeat of Voldemort, but the aurors were still kept busy tracking down the last few remaining Death Eaters. Most had either been captured or killed or had slipped back into normal wizarding society, but there were a few hardcore Death Eaters left who were determined to continue Voldemort’s legacy. Today they had dealt with a particularly vicious one, Mungo Kilbride, and it had taken three of the Ministry’s top aurors to take him down, he had used sectumsempra on one of the others, whose blood had decorated Harry’s glasses.
He replaced the glasses and looked down at the file on his desk with a sigh. It had taken almost two years for Hermione to complete the research contained within. The contents of that manila folder could change everything.
Six months after the defeat of Voldemort, Harry had been disturbed to learn that he was still a Parselmouth. It had been an accident, just like his initial discovery of the power. Just like all those years ago, he had been visiting a Muggle zoo, this time on a date with Ginny, their first real date since Harry had left Hogwarts to seek the Horcruxes. They had avoided the Reptile House, after Snape’s demise the last thing Harry wanted to see was more snakes, but there had been a small boa in the Pets’ Corner. As he stood listening to Ginny squeal with delight over the cute little rabbits, Harry heard the snake speak. He immediately knew it was the snake as he was now practiced enough to hear the hiss that everyone else heard at the same time as he heard,
“Bloody ungrateful child, if I were a foot longer I’d eat you.”
The sentence sent a shiver down Harry’s spine. It was something he’d hoped he’d never hear again. Although he enjoyed having the ability of Parseltongue, Dumbledore had told him that the power came from the piece of Voldemort’s soul that resided inside him. The power should have died in the Forbidden Forest. Had Dumbledore been mistaken when he declared the seventh Horcrux destroyed?
In his Ministry office, Harry cautiously opened the folder as though it might bite. He looked at the piece of paper inside and found the three Peverell brothers, following the line from Ignotus down to the Potters and his own name. Then, he traced the line from another brother down to the Gaunts, terminating with Tom Marvolo Riddle. Finally, he followed his family tree back into his ancestors until he found the name he sought.
He, Harry Potter, true Gryffindor and champion of the wizarding world was, just like Lord Voldemort, a descendant of Salazar Slytherin.
Harry chuckled at the irony that he really was an ‘Heir of Slytherin’, but he couldn’t decide if the news comforted or bothered him.
At least he could now be certain of one thing. Parseltongue had been his power all along. Voldemort was truly dead.