After the Dueling Club, where he had shown off his Parseltongue to the entire school, Harry spectacularly shot to the top of the "Who is the Heir of Slytherin?" race. He seemed completely unaware, but Parseltongue is considered one of the key traits of a Slytherin. Combined with the fact that the Dark Lord could also speak it, the image associated with Parselmouths is not a good one.
The events that followed were even worse. Just a few days after the incident, Harry found himself alone at the scene where Justin Finch-Fletchley and the ghost Nearly Headless Nick had been petrified. It was no wonder he looked suspicious. ...Still, the suspicion that I was the heir hadn't been cleared.
The most popular theory now was that Harry and I were conspiring together to cause the incidents. The absurd rumors that had been circulating about me were repurposed to suggest I was simply Harry's accomplice.
One of the reasons I was suspicious was supposed to be that I had broken Harry's arm with a Bludger... The people spreading these rumors are either irresponsible with their words or can't retain memories for more than three days.
But I had to admit, it was a plausible theory, except for one point: if we were secretly attacking Muggle-borns, we would never have done something as insane as unveiling Parseltongue at a Dueling Club packed with students. If I were seriously targeting Finch-Fletchley, I would never have done something that would put him on guard beforehand.
Or were we thought to be that hopelessly stupid? ...As I pondered this, I remembered what Harry had pulled at the beginning of September. Unfortunately, there was no doubt that the label "attention-seeker" had been stuck to Harry and his friends after that "flying car" incident.
Unfortunately, as second-years, our influence was limited, and not many people knew our true character. I'd always had the attitude of letting them say what they want, but it was now impossible to do anything about the rumors.
I didn't mind what they said about me, but for Harry, it was a repeat of the dragon incident. Being subjected to so many stares might be unavoidable for the protagonist of a story. However, he hadn't willingly caused any of the "incidents" he'd been involved in since starting school. As for the "car" and the dragon... I don't know. Let me be a little biased toward the protagonist. It felt like this was also a result of my involvement, but it was Professor Snape who gave the order, so the outcome would have been the same even if it wasn't me. And if Harry hadn't known about Parseltongue, he would have ended up in this situation sooner or later. It wasn't my fault. ...Probably. Most likely.
Even in just the past month, I had grown weary of the rumors. It must be truly difficult for Harry, who was far more famous than I. Moreover, he didn't have many Slytherin students on his side to understand him. Of course, he had Granger and Weasley, but he was probably being bad-mouthed even by the Muggle-born students in his own house. Now in my second year, I sighed as I thought again of the hardships he would face at Hogwarts in the future.
Speaking of Gryffindors, another new concern had arisen.
A month had passed since the Creevey incident, and Pansy had finally grown tired of using me as a pretext for her teasing. Having been given the perfect new bait in Harry, she was more ecstatic than I had seen her in a while, relentlessly making fun of him.
And for some reason, the Weasley twins joined in.
The two fourth-years had previously been among the students guarding Harry from me, but since the Dueling Club, their protective detail seemed to have lost some of its motivation. (Oliver Wood was still keeping a close eye on me. I wish he'd limit it to the Quidditch pitch.) After the Finch-Fletchley incident, as suspicion began to mount around Harry, they actually started to publicly heckle him as the Heir of Slytherin. Pansy joined them in ridiculing us, joking around, and arguing over which of us was the true heir.
"Make way, make way for the Heir of Slytherin's party, who has revealed his true identity in public!"
"Oh, the great Harry Potter, who so loftily displayed his Slytherin powers to the students... The great Harry, in his wisdom, had set up a scapegoat in Slytherin... He had Malfoy turn a licorice wand into a snake to create his own servant..."
"No, you're wrong! The wise Draco Malfoy used the Parseltongue-wielding Harry Potter to open the Chamber of Secrets... Malfoy tried to target a student but was too nearsighted and could only catch a cat. So he ordered Potter, who wears somewhat decent glasses, to target the students!"
Give me a break. I was going to make them stop if Harry seemed bothered by it, but he apparently was happy that the four of them clearly didn't believe we were the real deal. Was he earnest or just thick-skinned? Thanks to the four of them acting as small megaphones for our infamous rumors every time we ran into them, we stood out across the school.
However, after a few days, things around us quieted down. The Christmas holidays had begun. I was the only one from Slytherin who stayed at school. Crabbe and Goyle were worried about leaving me alone at a school where such incidents were happening, but I was a pure-blood. Creevey and Finch-Fletchley were both Muggle-borns, and it was likely the next person to be targeted would follow that pattern. Of course, that was assuming I wouldn't be the first pure-blood victim. In the end, all the usual Slytherin crowd left me behind and went back to their respective homes.
The only ones left at school were me, Harry, Granger, and the Weasley siblings. My father and the Weasleys' father had brawled during the summer, but it was a stroke of luck that, after some twists and turns, we had managed to get along.
It was during this holiday that I properly met Percy and Ginny Weasley for the first time. Surprisingly, Percy was relatively friendly toward me, while Ginny, like many first-years, was completely terrified of me. Apparently, she liked Harry and might be one of those who believed the rumor that "Malfoy is controlling Harry." I didn't want to frighten this poor first-year too much.
The holidays passed peacefully... or so I would have liked to say, but that wasn't quite the case.
I had to continue my investigation into this year's incidents while I had the time. The fact that Harry could speak Parseltongue raised the possibility that the voice only he could hear was some kind of snake. But a monster that was a "snake," was "invisible," and "petrified cats, humans, and ghosts" was not in my knowledge. I couldn't even guess at the suspect from the Finch-Fletchley and Creevey incidents. ...I was useless.
What's more, the day after the holiday started, I was summoned by Professor Snape.
Regarding the incident, he seemed quite suspicious, especially since he was the one who made me conjure the snake. But if I were to believe Dumbledore's words from last year that he was "one of the people I trust most," then I had to rule him out as a suspect.
However, what he wanted to talk about had nothing to do with the incident.
In his underground office, which was far too cold to stay in for long during the winter, Professor Snape greeted me with a deep frown etched between his eyebrows. He was holding a letter in his hand.
"A letter from your father addressed to me. He says he is concerned about you spending the Christmas holiday alone."
Oh, Father... Please, don't ask my Head of House to babysit just because your son is staying at school...
But did this mean my father didn't know about the delicate relationship between Professor Snape and me? Or were he and the professor close enough that he would send a message despite it?
I was so embarrassed I wanted to run back to my dormitory, but Professor Snape seemed to have more to say. In fact, it looked like the letter from my father was just a pretext to summon me.
Ignoring my internal agony, he continued.
"It is time you stopped approaching Potter so carelessly. Most of the rumors circulating about you now will eventually disappear if you cease associating with him."
It was what I had expected, to some extent. But it was the first time he had warned me.
"So, you're saying I should pin the blame on Harry Potter and live a peaceful life myself?"
Professor Snape pasted a smile full of scorn, unbecoming of an educator, onto the corners of his mouth.
"Heroic words. However, your actions—disregarding your surroundings, thoughtlessly associating with a rogue like Potter, and even trying to protect him—will bring you no benefit."
His words were utterly disappointing. Depending on his reasoning, I might have obeyed the professor's order, but because he's a rogue? That I couldn't accept.
"We have a difference of opinion. I believe there is a benefit to being on good terms with Harry and the other Gryffindors."
I looked straight at the professor, who wore a quizzical expression, and asked.
"Professor, why do you have such a grudge against Harry Potter?"
I knew I was clearly overstepping my bounds with a professor. It wasn't something you should say even to someone suspected of being a Death Eater. But this was also a man Dumbledore trusted. Gaining a clue to understanding his state of mind now would surely not be a waste.
The professor hesitated for a moment but answered with surprising fluency.
"Potter is just like his father. Breaking rules, being arrogant about it, wandering the school at night... An insufferable, attention-seeking fool."
I see. So his animosity toward Harry from their very first meeting was because of his father, not Harry himself. But that was far too unfair. Unforgivably so.
"If you weren't aware, Professor, allow me to be so bold as to inform you... Harry's parents are dead.
"Having lost the opportunity to be raised by his own parents, why would you think he would become just like his... attention-seeking father, based on genetic traits alone?"
My sarcastic tone visibly hardened his expression. But I continued my defense.
"You call him an attention-seeker, but he wasn't entirely responsible for Gryffindor's massive point loss last year. Haven't you heard from Professor McGonagall? The flying car was certainly reckless, but that stems from him being raised by Muggles and not knowing the norms of the magical world. The cause and responsibility aren't all his."
I was aware that my words were far beyond a student's place, but I couldn't stop. A teacher who judges a child's character without reason is a menace.
I thought Professor Snape would give up on me after this, but I was wrong. It seemed there was something in my words he could not overlook.
"I thought you were smarter than this... Malfoy. That you had the talent for judging people befitting a Slytherin. If not, it would be wise to quietly obey the words of an older teacher."
"If you're saying that fawning over a teacher and finding fault with a child is proof of a talent for judging people, then yes. Unfortunately, it seems I have no such talent."
I didn't need to guess his feelings; Professor Snape was beginning to get very angry. But I was angry too.
Why was he so stubborn? Why wasn't the analytical thinking he showed in Potions applied to Harry? What was he so fixated on that he wanted to create conflict between Gryffindor and Slytherin? No, why did he believe that was the natural order of things?
Then it finally hit me.
This man was once a "student" too. He must have been my father's junior at Hogwarts, a person who belonged to Slytherin during the harshest times of the war.
I hadn't seen it myself, so it was only imagination. But it was natural for someone whose values were forged there to see things through that structure of conflict. In fact, the more rational a person is, the more aware they would be of their inability to resist their surroundings. And if they wanted to look away from that, proving that the conflict structure is universal would be the most logical and simple way.
My anger completely deflated. But that didn't mean I had nothing left to say to him.
Facing Professor Snape, who was glaring at me with harsh eyes, I began to speak again, this time to plead.
"I think you can understand... Being sorted into a certain house, and then changing one's nature to fit the atmosphere within it, is something one person alone can't resist.
"Please, Professor. If the Dark Lord ever returns. Please don't do things that would make a child believe that the dark path is the only one they can take. I believe you know far better than I the harshness of an era where that prevails."
Professor Snape's eyes were stern. But it was a different kind of sternness from the irritation he had shown regarding Harry.
"Then you... can you forgive your friends, who spew words like 'Mudblood'? Do you still say you would extend a hand to such a child?"
Somehow the point had shifted. It was quite surprising that the professor was so strict about such language and that he spoke as if he were in a position to condemn it. Internally surprised, I continued to explain my own logic.
"It's not my place to forgive when I wasn't the one who was called that. But the responsibility doesn't fall entirely on the child who said it.
"Only after the educators who failed to create an ethic that rejects the casual use of words like 'Mudblood,' and the guardians who created a climate where it was tolerated, are held responsible, can we begin to talk about where their own guilt lies. Isn't that right?"
This theory might be a bit too progressive for educators in the magical world, but that didn't mean I shouldn't criticize their backwardness.
"What they're saying is a terrible thing. It should never be forgiven against Muggle-borns. But demanding all the responsibility from the children now will not lead to a fundamental solution.
"If you just blame them without them understanding what is wrong, they will drift toward rejecting the very values that condemn them. Wouldn't that be a terrible shame?"
As I spoke, the expression vanished from the professor's face. What landmine had I stepped on? With no clue as to the reason, I felt more terrified than ever before.
For a while, he said nothing. The only sound I could hear was the bubbling of a brewing potion.
"You don't understand anything at all."
Finally, the professor said only that and dismissed me from his office.
✨ Hey Reader!
If you're enjoying this story and want to read more chapters right now, consider supporting me on Patreon.
Your support inspires me to create even better stories and reach my full potential!
👉 https://patreon.com/Writer4u
⭐20 Advanced Chapters Available on my Patreon!