A Special Talent

On Monday, during Charms, Harry sat beside Edmund with a tense expression and squeezed Hermione aside.

Edmund looked at him curiously.

"What is wrong, Harry? Why do you look like that?"

"If I said I could hear things other people cannot hear, what would you think?"

Harry leaned close to Edmund's ear and whispered, looking very much like he was passing along intelligence in a dark alley.

Edmund instinctively leaned away. He had no desire to be that close to another boy.

After hearing Harry's words, however, something stirred in his mind. Had Harry already heard the basilisk?

"Can you describe it?"

Harry briefly explained what had happened the night before while he was answering letters in Lockhart's office.

After listening, Edmund confirmed it. That was the basilisk. He did not say so directly. Edmund had his own plan.

Even if he usually paid little attention to it, Gaunt blood still flowed in him. He wanted to see whether he had any chance of controlling the basilisk.

Edmund believed Slytherin's legacy had to be more than the snake itself. If he could discover some of Slytherin's hidden secrets through the basilisk, all the better.

"It may be a kind of talent, Harry," Edmund said once Professor Flitwick had moved away. "Wizards often have unusual traits. Awakening a special sense is not impossible."

Harry listened to Edmund's very serious analysis and finally relaxed. When he had told Ron yesterday, Ron had not believed him at all, and that had left him discouraged.

"I am fairly certain you are misleading Harry."

While Harry practiced spells, Hermione suddenly leaned close to Edmund and whispered in his ear.

She understood Edmund very well now. Whenever he spoke too solemnly, it usually meant he was leading someone by the nose.

"Not this time," Edmund said, tapping her lightly on the head. "Harry really does have a special talent."

"What talent?" Hermione asked, rubbing her head and looking curious. After a year, she had never noticed anything especially unusual about Harry.

"You will know next week."

Edmund deliberately kept her in suspense. Hermione rolled her eyes and returned to practicing charmwork with Parvati.

That night, Edmund slipped skillfully into the Restricted Section. He wanted to see whether there were any books about Parseltongue.

With his bloodline, learning the language should not be impossible.

He had already tried in private. He transfigured a teapot into a snake, then attempted to speak to it. Unfortunately, he failed, and the snake ended up becoming snake soup.

He suspected Harry could speak to snakes because of the scar. Voldemort had left more than a mark on Harry's forehead.

Last term, Edmund had often gone to the library at night, but most of the books he read were about ancient runes and alchemy. He had not paid much attention to obscure magical anecdotes.

Hogwarts's library was enormous, possibly one of the largest in the world. The Restricted Section alone took up at least a third of it. In one year, Edmund could not possibly read everything.

He searched by topic instead.

Unfortunately, after checking many shelves, he found no book that actually taught Parseltongue. At most, some texts introduced wizards who had possessed the gift.

The specific language was not recorded at all. Edmund was not anxious. He could try learning from Harry directly. He returned every book to its original place and left.

Time quickly reached Sunday. The group returned to the Room of Requirement for their weekly practice.

Before training began, Fred and George approached Edmund with suspiciously innocent faces and offered him a box.

"Lollipops?"

Edmund opened the box and saw nothing unusual.

Edmund immediately grew suspicious. Did they think today was their first meeting? Food handed over by the Weasley twins was not something he would casually eat.

He picked up two lollipops of different colors, pretending to consider them. The green one seemed apple-flavored. The pink one was strawberry.

Then Edmund moved suddenly and shoved the two candies straight into the twins' mouths. The twins had been snickering and did not react in time.

"Mm!"

Sweet. Not bad. With two sharp pops, two pig heads appeared on their necks. Cho sprayed tea across the floor. Then she laughed until her shoulders shook.

Hermione and Harry were nearly helpless with laughter as well. They were always watching Fred and George prank other people. Seeing the twins caught by their own product was far too satisfying.

Fred and George looked at each other and could not help laughing too. With those enormous pig heads, even their laughter came out as snorts.

Five minutes later, they returned to normal.

"Although it did not go according to plan," Fred said.

"The effect of our Pig-Head Pops is still excellent," George finished.

Everyone laughed again.

Their product also drew attention. Each person bought a few to use for pranks, even Hermione bought two.

The twins grinned so widely they could barely close their mouths. It seemed Pig-Head Pops would become a hit.

After a little chatting, the day's lesson truly began. Edmund took out several potion bottles and distributed them.

"These are Arcane Capacity Potions. After drinking one, your magic will grow more quickly over the next half month."

Everyone stared at the bottle in their palm, especially Fred and George. Having grown up in a pure-blood family, they understood just how valuable such a potion could be.

They struggled for a moment, then both opened their hands to return it.

"Edmund, this is too valuable," Fred said. "You could sell both of us and still not buy one bottle."

The twins made it sound funny, but the others understood the potion's value and looked at Edmund.

Edmund smiled. He appreciated that quality in the twins. Since he had already given the potion to them, however, he had no intention of taking it back.

"Relax. I brewed these myself, and I still have a decent supply. I have already drunk one. Use them."

Only then did the twins relax. They exchanged a look and felt a little more sincere toward Edmund.

Cho and Hermione did not overthink it. They were already too close to Edmund to treat one potion like a debt.

Harry was simpler still. Edmund had already helped him so much that one more debt made little difference. If Edmund needed anything from him later, he would simply do it.

If Edmund could hear Harry's thoughts, he would probably sigh. Sometimes being simple came with its own luck.

x

x

x

If you're enjoying the story so far, consider supporting me on Patreon ❤️
You'll get weekly early access to chapters, along with some exclusive content:

https://www.patreon.com/cw/auroraclairevale