Harry Potter: Eclipse.-Chapter 79:

"Harrison really is a remarkable boy. Not only to have survived and flourish with his relatives growing up, but to have the sense of mind to hire such accomplished law wizard. You should be proud."

Remus spared Sirius a sly glance. "We are," the wolf said. He was not completely comfortable being with Lucius as he still remembered duelling against him in the last war, however he was willing to keep his concerns buried as both Harry and Sirius seemed willing to forgive him. It helped that he didn't smell any deceit or harm coming from the blond aristocrat; the second he did he would not be responsible for his actions. He had lost his pack once and he would not do so again.

"We have a meeting tomorrow with Dodge to go over everything that could be thrown at us, but I feel confident," Sirius said.

Lucius nodded. "Good. And might I just say I also appreciate the time Harrison has taken to get to know Draco; I know my son and I feared the people he would associate with. Harrison is a wonderful friend for him, I will help in any way I can during the trial," Lucius said, looking fondly at Draco and noticing that Harrison clearly held court amongst his friends. The boy was a natural leader, he noticeably took control and others followed without question. The boy, when he was older, could easily become somebody great. He would gladly help him now, for he knew the boy's future would be boundless.

"Harry does seem to pick great friends," Remus said, looking at the small group.

"Thank you," Sirius said, acknowledging his fellow Lord's offer of aid, before he continued, "I'm glad. From what I know about his past, he didn't have any friends or, well, anybody really, to confide in. His friends - including Draco - are important to him."

"I know you said the newspaper reports were true last night, but perhaps you would be willing to share?" Lucius asked. He was quite curious about the boy. Harrison didn't act like a typically abused child, instead he was quietly confident. He walked with his head held high and a self-assurance that was remarkable for any twelve-year-old, let alone one who grew up like he had.

Sirius looked at Harry for a moment. He knew Harry said it was fine for the world to know, and Lucius would be voting in the custody trial as a Lord and member of the Wizengamot anyway, but he still had reservations. Deciding it would be okay, as long as he didn't go into specifics, Sirius replied, "They would hurt him when he used magic growing up. You've probably noticed Harry is rather magical for a child and, well, whenever it came out accidently he would be punished for it. They also didn't feed him properly." Lucius gave a small sneer. "And they wonder why we dislike muggles," he muttered quietly but the two men heard.

After lunch, Harry and his friends decided to go and look at the animals. Harry questioned if he should out himself as a parselmouth - he doubted the duelling club incident would occur as they would be no Chamber of Secrets fiasco this year - but he wasn't sure if he should risk it. However, if he outs himself then he would be able to control the way people perceived it - or so he hoped.

The girls instantly ran off towards the kneazle kittens and promptly started cooing. The boys followed as though reluctant, but Harry could see that both Neville and Draco found the small fluffy creatures adorable. Harry himself was not immune to their playful charm.

"When I was younger, I begged to have one," Draco confided, looking at a pure black kitten, rare for a kneazle as they were usually orange or tabby toned. He summarised it may be a mixed breed.

"I was fonder of snakes myself, especially as I can speak to them," Harry said and waited for the silence to fall. It did and it was almost comical - the adults also going silent as they had caught up just in time to hear Harry's announcement. Sirius looked shocked, and had turned rather pale, reminding Harry he was afraid of snakes.

"You-you're

a

parselmouth?"

Neville asked bravely, squeaking that last word.

"Yes, I didn't realise it was such a rare magical ability until recently. Did you know there hasn't been a parselmouth in the Potter family since they were known as the Peverells?" Harry said, making sure it was known he had inherited the gift. He didn't want Dumbledore spreading his drivel about the transfer of power or some such rubbish.

"The Potters are descended from the Peverell family?" Draco asked astonished. Every wizarding child knew the Tale of the Three Brothers. It was a classic that they all grew up listening to.

"Yes, the youngest brother Ignotus had a son, Titus, who had only one child: a daughter. She, Castella Peverell, married my ancestor Atticus Potter, bringing about the end of the family name Peverell, as it joined the Potter line," Harry explained. He had looked up his family tree one day in the Black library as they had books on many families. He had found he was related to pretty much everybody he knew in some distant way Neville had been right, all purebloods and most half-bloods really were related.

"It's a very rare gift you possess, Harrison," Lucius said, his shock finally settling. To hear this small boy possessed the same gift as his master was both surprising and not - it just made him more intrigued by the mystery that was Harrison James Potter-Black.

They fell silent until Susan bravely smiled at Harry. "Do they have much to say? Snakes, that is," she asked, sounding genuinely curious; she also had a determined glint in her eye. Most likely her determination not to be afraid.

Harry smiled. "Some do. They're rather like humans in the aspect that they're all different; some have a lot to say whilst some don't, some are rather nice and some are less so. I've not met many snakes to be honest, so I can't give you great insight."

"It would be fascinating, I suppose, to be able to understand them," Hannah said. She also smiled at Harry in reassurance.

"Fascinating? It would be brilliant!" Draco said in a rare show of emotion. "I'm glad you're all talking this so well; I feared how people would react when they found out. I had read about how rare the gift was and how the last person known for possessing it was Voldemort."

Lucius flinched slightly at the name, but didn't say anything about Harry's use of it. "A rare gift, indeed. I believe the line of Slytherin also married into the Peverell family at one stage. Perhaps that is how the gift was shared?"

"Perhaps," Harry agreed. He knew that the Slytherin family ring was the ring famous for being a Deathly Hallow, so he assumed it had something to do with the middle brother. "Do you want a snake?" Sirius asked bravely, hoping Harry would decline. He didn't know why he feared them so much, but he had hated the animals since he was a boy. Their eyes and the feel of their flesh made his hair stand on end.

Harry considered saying yes just to see what Sirius would do, but eventually declined. "Thank you, but no, I'm okay. I fear Hedwig would react badly to me taking another pet."

Eventually the day came to an end. After the pet shop, the group had finished their school shopping and each one had promised to write and meet up when they could.

•

🚀New updates on my Ko-fi!🚀

Support me and read the novel, now available in PDF, with the advanced Chapters.

•

https://ko-fi.com/cmrowling