Time is of the essence.
A useful saying, after all, life is short, if you don't seize the moment to eat some good food, how can you even forgive yourself?
This made perfect sense, and so, as Harry sat there with Hermione for remedial lessons, still exhausted from the chaotic flying broom training, he noticed that the parchments he had been studying suddenly started moving.
The scrolls, filled with elegant handwriting, rolled themselves up, stretched unnaturally, and the ink formed strange, twisting patterns. On the left side of the parchment, a mouse-sized head appeared, flicking its tongue. Yes, the magical parchment had transformed into a snake.
"Ahhhhh!"
A scream pierced the air as one body clung to Allen, while a fireball shot past him in a streak.
Five minutes later, the situation was clarified.
Harry sat on the left side of the table, covered in ash, Hermione still panicked on the right, Allen sat at the head of the table looking guilty, and Annie lectured him endlessly from the other end.
"Brother, do you even realize what you just did?" Annie asked, still fuming.
"Uh, an accident! An accident! I just… my mind wandered for a second! I didn't mean to scare them by turning the parchment into a snake, I swear to Merlin, I had no such intention! I just… reflexively used magic!"
The surrounding eyes were full of distrust, except Harry's, who merely looked exasperated.
Here's what had happened:
Allen had given them a cursed spell to study. As they focused on the knowledge he'd handwritten, Allen's thoughts drifted elsewhere.
Although they hadn't drawn any ultimate artifacts, the "game" continued.
The diary was merely a guide, not the key. The real key to opening the door of the Chamber of Secrets was Parseltongue.
Luckily, there was someone present who could speak Parseltongue, but imperfectly, so they needed a little assistance.
What kind of assistance? A snake that could make him speak Parseltongue.
For Allen, this was easy. While planning future events, he didn't even need his wand, he just gestured with his finger, and the parchment transformed into a snake.
This was a qualitative leap in ordinary magic, but now was not the time to celebrate.
Girls usually feared snakes, and some boys weren't exceptions either. Miss Selma, who almost roasted a harmless snake for dinner to protect plants in the greenhouse, was a complete outlier.
So, when the snake appeared, Miss Granger, though a top student, instinctively sought a safe spot.
After a brief hesitation, Annie launched a fireball at the snake.
Why was Harry covered in ash? Simple, Annie was nervous too, and the fireball was slightly too powerful.
Inside, Allen's mind raced like a stampede of alpacas, yet he struggled to keep a smile on his face.
"So, Allen, this wasn't meant as a test, you just wanted to see Harry's Parseltongue?" Hermione asked once her nerves settled. Seeing Allen slip up for the first time in either magic or planning made him feel more like a friend than a distant legend.
••┈┈┈┈┈༓┈┈┈┈┈•••
After explanations, even the biggest victim, Harry, forgave Allen, what else could he do? He couldn't beat him anyway…
Just kidding. But even Hermione, and Harry, felt that after this incident, Allen had shifted from teacher to friend.
"So, Allen, you want to see Parseltongue, right?" Harry asked, receiving confirmation. Then came the crushing question: "But… what is Parseltongue?"
Hermione answered quickly, but not without a caveat: "Almost everyone who can speak Parseltongue is a dark wizard."
"Haha, Hermione, that's the first time I've seen you superstitious about books," Allen laughed, waving off the notion. "Parseltongue has nothing to do with dark wizards. The largest magic school in the U.S. was founded by a Slytherin heir, Parseltongue is a Slytherin trait, not proof of evil. The people there… well, they're a little unfriendly."
Allen scratched his nose nervously, true, he'd personally knocked a few people into the hospital, but that wasn't something to tell the kids.
This revelation perked Harry up, a unique ability all to himself was incredibly cool, and now it wasn't linked to dark magic.
Allen shook his head silently, kid, you're still young, you don't know how ruthless the world can be.
If you knew that half the spells once used by the second most terrifying Dark Wizard, Gellert Grindelwald, were developed with Dumbledore, you'd understand that even "good" magic might eventually relate to you. Dumbledore knows dark magic, he just balances it with nurturing young wizards and combating evil.
When you reach a certain reputation as a white wizard, even a skill like Parseltongue, once seen as a dark secret, becomes a mark of greatness.
So, while you have time, Harry, let's play with snakes.
Today's lesson is today's business!