Different Destinies, Different Houses
"I told you so," Hermione said cheerfully as they walked out of the Great Hall, smiling at her friends.
"Yes, yes, we heard you already," Ron couldn't help saying, sounding slightly annoyed as he covered his head with his robes, uncomfortable with all the amused looks people were giving him.
Though, in truth, the ones enjoying the sight of his bald head the most were his own brothers.
"I'm sorry, Ron," Tyson apologized again in a sad, guilty voice.
"You never said you weren't good at magic. I thought we were friends," Ron complained, feeling completely betrayed.
"We are friends," Tyson said quickly, sounding frightened.
But Hermione immediately cut in.
"Don't blame Tyson. This is completely your fault. It was obvious you were trying to take advantage of him," she said, defending the big guy.
"Of course I wasn't," Ron replied at once.
Though the guilty look on his face made it seem like that was exactly what he'd been doing.
"It isn't Tyson's fault. He really isn't very good at magic in general. The only reason he knows how to cast fire is because Aunt Mor taught him so he could help her at the forge," Harry explained quickly, calming things down.
"Well, look on the bright side..." Percy began, making Ron turn to him.
But Percy stopped and said nothing while Ron waited.
"Sorry, I've got nothing," he finished.
That only made Ron look even more miserable.
"Don't worry, Ron..." Harry also seemed to want to cheer him up, but nothing seemed to come to mind while Ron waited hopefully once again.
"Hair grows back fast," was all Harry could manage in the end.
"You're all idiots!" Ron shouted, completely miserable, before taking off at full speed, furious with his friends.
But as he ran, his head became uncovered for a moment, allowing Fred and George to catch sight of it and burst into laughter.
"Hey, Ronnie! Nice haircut!"
"Maybe you should make it your new look!" they added between laughs.
Ron pretended not to hear them as he stormed away, leaving his friends standing there feeling a little guilty.
Especially Tyson.
"Don't worry, Tyson. He'll get over it," Hermione said, patting him reassuringly.
"When his hair grows back... assuming it does," Percy added, immediately earning himself a smack from Harry.
"What? It's true," Percy complained.
Harry shook his head.
But at that very moment, walking through the doors, Malfoy came out of the Great Hall, still holding his stomach.
The moment he saw Harry and the others, he shot them a look filled with hatred.
Especially Harry.
As though he were trying to threaten him with nothing but his eyes.
Which, of course, wasn't particularly intimidating in his current state, making Harry look back at him with open disdain.
But then Harry couldn't help focusing on the Slytherin crest on Malfoy's chest before Draco finally turned around and walked away with his two followers, Crabbe and Goyle.
Harry felt as though he'd just realised something he had foolishly overlooked until now.
Even though it was so obvious that not noticing it earlier felt downright stupid.
"The snakes," he said seriously, making Hermione, who had been trying to cheer Tyson up, turn to him in confusion.
Percy looked at him as well.
"Slytherin House's symbol is a snake."
"Well... yeah," Percy said, stating the obvious.
"Why a snake?" Harry asked, turning to Hermione, even though he already seemed to know the answer himself.
It was as though he just wanted someone else to confirm it.
Caught off guard by the question, Hermione looked confused for a moment, but she still answered from what she remembered reading in her books.
"Because Salazar Slytherin was famous for his ability to speak to snakes. That's why a snake became the symbol of his House," she explained in a whisper.
"Parseltongue," Harry corrected.
"Yes," Hermione nodded. "But... where are you going with this?" she finally asked, not understanding.
"If you were Slytherin, a powerful wizard with a gift that very few wizards possess, wouldn't you use that very gift to distinguish your true heir?" Harry asked seriously.
"Are you saying that Slytherin's heir should be someone who can speak Parseltongue?" Hermione said, realising that this was, in fact, the possibility that made the most sense.
Percy, who had remained silent until then, couldn't help staring at Harry.
"But... Harry..." he said, his expression turning serious. "Don't you fit that category too?"
"Yes. And not only that, but the theory about there being multiple heirs makes even more sense that way. Because if there are more people who can speak Parseltongue..."
Harry didn't need to finish the sentence.
"There's something I never told you," Harry said, his voice growing more serious.
"When the Sorting Hat was about to decide my House, it told me I could fit into any of the four Houses, but it seemed to lean more toward two of them.
"Gryffindor... and Slytherin."
Harry paused for a moment.
"It gave me the choice. And it told me that depending on which House I chose... my destiny would be different."
Hermione and the others fell silent for a brief second.
Percy's expression changed slightly as he heard that.
Because it sounded strangely similar to a prophecy.
"I've never heard of the Hat saying something like that," Hermione said.
"Well, it talked to me too, although it didn't sound nearly as... mysterious," Percy said.
"At the time, I thought it was only talking about the House. But now..." Harry said before stopping to think it through. "...it was as though it wasn't talking only about Hogwarts."
"What do you mean?" Hermione asked.
"That... just like Percy said... I fit that condition too."
Harry lowered his gaze for a moment before looking back up.
"If I'd ended up in Slytherin... maybe I could've been one of the heirs too."
Harry's words left the entire group in silence.
Hermione was the first to try to say something, but no words came out.
Tyson simply looked back and forth between Harry and everyone else, unable to understand why they had all suddenly become so serious.
Percy, on the other hand, kept staring at Harry.
As though, for the first time, he was actually considering that possibility.
Meanwhile, Harry remained silent.
It wasn't an idea he liked.
Because ever since he'd arrived at Hogwarts...
A similar question had seemed to linger in the back of his mind the entire time.
And now...
For the first time, he felt that maybe the Hat had seen something...
Something he still didn't understand.
The problem was...
What?