The Curse of Time (Harry Potter Fanfic)

We were at dinner, and it was time to put an end to the whole school trying to kill Harry because they thought he was the heir of Salazar Slytherin.

I stood on the platform that Dumbledore uses for announcements and began my speech.

"As most, if not all, of you know, there is a rumor that Harry Potter is the heir to Salazar Slytherin."

"It's not a rumor, it's him!"

"Minus 10 points for Hufflepuff, and the next person who says that will lose 50 points and get detention."

The boy wanted to protest but was stopped by his housemates.

I turned my gaze across the tables, enjoying the sensation of looking down on them—quite literally.

"First of all, even if there is a good chance that Parseltongue is a key to opening the Chamber of Secrets, it doesn't mean anything. For one, 90% of the pureblood and half-blood students here are part of the same family if you go back far enough, so any of them could also be Salazar's descendants."

I let them process what I had just said because most of them were part of one and the same extended family.

"Secondly, the legacy could just as well hide their ability to speak Parseltongue because it is frowned upon here in the UK. Meanwhile, in other countries like India, you would be nearly venerated for it since you can communicate with snakes, which, I remind you, are considered almost sacred animals there."

I glanced at Padma Patil, who is of Indian descent, and she nodded in agreement with what I said.

"I don't know how it's possible, but in the past, it was almost certain that people could speak to many more animals than just snakes. It's probably due to inbreeding that such abilities have disappeared over time."

The good thing about this speech, aside from helping Harry, was that it also allowed me to prepare material for the thesis competition.

"Lastly, it's also possible that the heir is a Muggle-born. And before you all interrupt, listen to me, you rude bunch."

They were already beginning to grumble, annoyed by my statement.

"It's possible that a Muggle-born has a Squib in their distant ancestry, and that magic simply skipped several generations. This could mean that they are also distantly related to Salazar."

And the worst part is that it could be true—there's a certain gene that skips some generations before reappearing when everyone has forgotten about it.

"Finally, we can only assume that Parseltongue is the key to opening the Chamber of Secrets. It could just as easily be an artifact that serves as the key or even something containing the soul of Salazar Slytherin, which might unlock this cursed room. There's no evidence that Harry is the heir. Yes, he happened to be in two places where attacks occurred, but let me remind you that during Colin's attack, Harry was in the infirmary. I don't think Madam Pomfrey would let him out of bed, especially when he's under strict orders to limit movement because any strain on his arm could lead to improper bone formation."

I glanced toward the teachers to ensure I hadn't missed any key points, and they nodded reassuringly, indicating I had covered everything.

"So, what you need to remember is that I could be the heir of Salazar, or it could be one of the teachers, or even one of you. But let me warn you not to leave room for doubt—the heir is undoubtedly a strategist who knows how to avoid getting caught while letting their monster roam the school."

I hoped I hadn't sown seeds of discord, as it's hard to point fingers at everyone without creating chaos.

I deliberately didn't mention what the monster was or how it moved, as that would only incite panic. Seeing how they reacted when Quirrell announced the troll's presence, I didn't want the castle descending into chaos again.