Chapter Twenty-Five

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The Snakes' Report

After the second round of butterbeers the group made their way back to Hogwarts. They didn't want to get back too late as they still had to get ready for the ball. Instead of taking the thestral drawn carriages, they decided to walk, as it was a nice day, considering it was the middle of winter. A thin layer of snow covered the ground, and about half way to the castle Ardwick bent down and grabbed a handful and threw it at Christabel. The girl gave a rather undignified squeak before grabbing some snow to retaliate. Before long all seven of them were engaged in a snowball fight. They had broken into two teams, boys against girls, and the girls definitely had the upper hand. Ron put it down to them having more people on their team, but Harry thought it was more likely because they had the only two Slytherins. They had better strategies than the boys, which most likely came from Slytherin cunning. Eventually they all collapsed on the ground, worn out and laughing.

As they were making their way back across the grounds, once they had calmed down a bit, Harry heard a low hissing coming from behind a nearby clump of bushes. Motioning for the others to continue, he moved closer to the foliage and looked around the side of the bushes. Slytherin was stood with his back to him, talking to the snake Harry had seen in the Chamber of Secrets. If he listened carefully, he could just make out what was being said.

*Are you sure that's what you saw, Kiriani?*

*I am sure, master. I was in the hospital wing when he arrived*

*How long did it take the elf to heal him?*

*About an hour. She said if it happened again she would be unable to heal him on her own*

*Strange…Who else could help her with elven healing magic?*

*I do not know, master*

*And you're sure he had a heart attack? It wasn't heart burn or heart break you heard?*

*I am sure master. I believe her precise words were “Godric, you cannot be continuing with this strain. This heart attack was worse than the last, and if it is happening again, I am not being able to heal you on my own”*

*Thank you, Kiriani, your help is invaluable. If Godric is weak, and one more duel will be the end of him, I can take over Hogwarts quicker than I thought. Tell the others, I will move on August 1st*

Slytherin turned back towards Hogwarts too fast for Harry to hide, and the founder's eyes landed on the hiding boy. Gritting his teeth, Harry stood up straight and faced the annoyed man.

“ Mr. Potter, what are you doing here?”

“ I'm sorry, sir, but I heard hissing noises and thought I would investigate. How is it you can talk to snakes like that?”

Harry was trying to cover his tracks by looking interested in the founder's gift. He had to convince the man that he didn't understand the conversation he had just had with the snake. If Slytherin found out he was a parselmouth, he would find a way to silence him.

“ I am a parselmouth, Mr. Potter. I can speak the snake language, parseltongue.”

“ Sir, how come when we did the knowledge sharing spell at the start of the year, I didn't get the knowledge of how to speak parseltongue?”

“ The same reason you didn't learn how to speak elvish from Rowena and Godric. The spell only shared human based knowledge. Any languages or magic of other creatures wasn't shared.”

“ I see. Sorry to disturb you, sir, I'll go back to the castle now.”

Harry made a quick retreat, wanting to get out of there while he still could. At least he had had one question answered. He had been wondering why he hadn't learned Lolide's language from Ravenclaw and Gryffindor. As he moved away from Slytherin, he could hear the snake speaking to him again.

*Master, do you believe he is a parselmouth?*

* No, Kiriani, just a curious boy. I can't punish him for that*

When Harry got back to the castle he headed straight for the Gryffindor Room. He knew that was most likely where the others had gone. As soon as they had seen him disappear they would know he had something to tell them. The Gryffindor Room was more private than the library, so that would be where they would expect him to go. As soon as he entered the room he was bombarded with questions.

“ Where were you?”

“ Was it Slytherin again?”

“ What did you hear?”

“ Do you know what happened to Gryffindor?”

“ One at a time! Yes, it was Slytherin. On the way back I heard hissing coming from some bushes. I went to investigate, and he was talking to a snake he called Kiriani. Kiriani was in the infirmary last night and found out what has been wrong with Gryffindor. You know he had heart problems? Well, apparently he's been suffering from heart attacks. Last night he had a big one, and it took Lolide over an hour to heal him. She said if he had another one, she wouldn't be able to heal him on her own. Slytherin plans to try and take over Hogwarts on the first of August.”

The rest of the group were a little worried about this. They knew Gryffindor beat Slytherin in the future, but how was a mystery, if he was so ill. Then Ginny remembered the vision she had had at the start of the year.

“ Um…guys? You know that vision I had in Divination? The one where I saw Harry and Gryffindor fighting Slytherin? I think it's going to come true…if Gryffindor's ill, he will need help defeating Slytherin. As we're the only ones that know Slytherin's planning anything, we'll have to be the ones to help, and Harry is the only one that can get into the Chamber of Secrets…”

“ That's a good point, Gin. I'll just have to study extra hard and make sure I can deal with it when the time comes. We have a few months yet, so I can read up some more on the Dark Arts.”

“ You know, Harry, I'm still not happy about you studying the Dark Arts so much. They can twist you and turn you into another Dark Lord!”

“ Hermione! You know it's the intent that counts when dealing with the Dark Arts. I have no malice in me, so there is no reason for me to be corrupted.”

“ No, `Mione. We've talked about this. Dark Magic is my best chance of someday defeating Voldemort, and I want to know I can use it without it getting out of control. Now, I think it's about time we headed back to our common rooms. We still have to get ready for the ball, and it starts in an hour. Hermione, I was wondering if I could borrow something…

That night Harry and Gallatea met Christabel and her date outside the Great Hall. There was no sign of the other four, though. Christabel was dressed in a long green flowing dress, which trailed out behind her. Her date was dressed in a similar fashion, but his robes were sapphire blue. Both had their long hair tied up on top of their heads, and a set of glimmering faery wings on their backs. They both looked absolutely stunning.

“ You two look wonderful!” Gallatea exclaimed, rushing over to her friend.

“ So do you,” the shy girl responded.

Harry and Gallatea were also dressed to match. Harry was wearing a modified version of the green dress robes he had worn the year before. He had lengthened them, as he had grown a few inches, and added a charm that made the material appear as if it was made out of leaves. His hair had dark green highlights, and was spiked up. A few months ago, he had gotten it cut a lot shorter, showing off his scar. It didn't bother him, as no-one here stared at his forehead, and it was a lot less unruly. Around his head, he was wearing a thin band of silver with a leaf design around it. Gallatea was dressed similarly. Her robes had the same leaf effect, but were in a slightly darker green. Her long hair was curled and braided in several places. She also had green highlights, and the band around her head. Both of them sported a set of pointed ears.

“ Well, well, well. What do we have here? A couple of elves, I would say.”

Harry and Gallatea whirled around to see Lolide dressed in a similar manner to themselves.

“ I would like to be congratulating you both on your replicas of High Elven dress. Most impressive!”

“ You don't mind, do you?” Harry asked her tentatively.

“ Mind? Of course not! I am doubting anyone else could make the costumes so convincing. If I was not knowing you were human, I would have mistaken you for elves!”

Both students blushed at the compliment. Looking around the Great Hall, there was still no sign of the other four. Christabel and her date had moved off to dance, and Harry went to get a drink for Gallatea. Just as he was coming back, the doors were thrown open with a great force, gaining the attention of everyone in the Hall.

Standing in the doorway were Ron, Ardwick, Hermione and Ginny, dressed as the Hogwarts Four.

Two hours and much dancing later, the founders called a halt to the celebrations for the costume and dancing competitions. Everyone entering one of the competitions had to move to the center of the Hall, and the spectators had to seat themselves at the tables around the edge. The center of the Hall was cleared for an enlarged dance floor. Hufflepuff stood up to announce the arrangements.

“ Everyone participating in the dancing competition should come to the front, and those only entering the costume competition need to stand at the back. I am assuming everyone has a partner for the dancing? Right, pair up and move to a space. We will start with traditional dances, five groups being eliminated at each round. The remaining three groups will perform their own dance at the end, but remember! It must be appropriate to your costumes!”

The students got into pairs and started to dance. Gallatea had convinced Harry to go in for the competition, despite his protests that he couldn't dance. Earlier in the year, she had taught him several dances popular in her time, in case he ever had to attend a ball, and it seemed to be paying off. While he wasn't the most confident dancer, he wasn't messing it up. Ron and Hermione, on the other hand, weren't doing so well. Christabel had taken the time to teach Hermione the dances, but Ron didn't have a clue. He kept standing on her feet and stumbling. Much to Hermione's annoyance, they were one of the first pairs so be sent off. Ginny and Ardwick were dancing, and doing quite well.

The second round saw Christabel and her date being sent off, as the young Hufflepuff forgot the proper dance moves. The girl moved over to the still fuming Hermione, and they both argued about who had the most incompetent dance partner. Eventually, the contestants were narrowed down to three pairs. The first to dance were Ardwick and Ginny who, dressed as Hufflepuff and Gryffindor, performed a complex courtly dance. They were very successful, although Ginny stumbled a little on some of the more complex steps. The next pair was a Scottish couple dressed in the traditional Celtic dress of their people. They flawlessly performed a typical gig, putting them in first place. By this time, Harry was very nervous. He was worried he would either mess up or win. If he messed up he would be really embarrassed in front of the whole school. On the other hand, if he won then Ron would be unbearably jealous. When called, he stepped out onto the dance floor with Gallatea. Taking her hand, he led her in a traditional elven dance, which had to be judged by Lolide, as she was the only one who knew what the dance was supposed to look like. The pair pulled it off magnificently, and the healer was incredibly proud of how well her student had learned about her culture. After the final vote on the teacher's panel was cast, Slytherin stood up to announce the winners.

“ Firstly, I would like to congratulate all students who took part. I would like to announce the three finalists in reverse order. In third place, we have Virginia Weasley and Ardwick de Mimsy-Porpington. In second place, we have Aud McTavish and Connor Wallace. That leaves Gallatea Ravenclaw and Harry Potter as the winners of the dancing competition. Congratulations.”

Harry was gobsmacked, but Gallatea was jumping for joy. She had never won a competition in her life. They went up to the teacher's table, where they were each given a small trophy with their names and the competition written on the front. Harry glanced over to where his friends were standing. As expected, Ron, Ginny and Ardwick were looking rather upset, but the other two were cheering with the rest. Once the pair had rejoined the crowd, Gryffindor stood up.

“ Next we have the costume competition. I would like all entrants to form a line at the back of the room. I then want you to come forward one at a time with your partners for judging.”

The students scrambled to the back of the room where they formed a half decent line before moving forward in twos. There were some very inventive costumes, and some themes that appeared many times. When it was Ron, Hermione, Ginny and Ardwick's turn to go forward, they went in a four instead of a two, as their costumes went together. The founders looked amused at the four students, and quickly wrote down their scores. Eventually, the line dwindled into nothing, and Ravenclaw stood up to announce the winners.

“ Well, we have certainly seen some wonderful costumes tonight! Now, we have split the costumes into three categories. The winners of the authenticity category are Harry Potter and Gallatea Ravenclaw with their High Elf costumes.”

For the second time that night the pair made their way up to the head table, blushing profusely.

“ Next, for the originality category, we have Samuel Peeves and Rolanda O'Gowry for their wonderful centaur costumes.”

The two grinning students skipped up to the table, Peeves letting off a stream of soap bubbles as he went.

“ Lastly, for the comedic costumes, we have chosen four winners. Congratulations to Hermione Granger, Ronald Weasley, Virginia Weasley and Ardwick de Mimsy-Porpington for their wonderful imitations of us!”

Harry was glad to see Ron looking satisfied now. After he and his girlfriend had been called up a second time, Ron's face had been like thunder. Now that he had won something, though, he looked a lot more content. Taking in the smiling faces of his friends around him, Harry couldn't help but think, life doesn't get much better than this.