Simultaneously traversing: the pinnacle of all realms

Chapter 82 Harry's Parsley Voice Revealed

Draco Malfoy, his golden slicked-back hair styled like an adult, stepped forward, pulled his wand from his robes, and gave Harry a smile that he considered "evil"—or rather, "confident"—.

Ernie turned around from the front. "Ethan, do you think he's smiling like that on purpose? And his hairstyle is awful—hey, Ethan? What are you doing in the back?"

Xavier, standing behind, awkwardly touched his nose and chuckled.

Lockhart turned away sullenly, and as he passed Harry, he muttered, "Good luck, Potter."

"Thank you, teacher."

On the dueling platform, two second-grade students stepped forward and stood face to face.

"Wand ready!"

Lockhart shouted, this time he was actually acting as the host.

The two young wizards held their wands upright in front of them.

"Are you scared, Potter?"

Stop dreaming.

The young wizards standing nearby all wore smiles of amusement—it was common knowledge at Hogwarts that Potter and Malfoy had a feud.

The two turned and walked away, each taking five steps.

Ron watched his good friend walk by with concern: That's the evil Malfoy, Harry's probably going to get hurt.

The two assumed dueling stances, wands pointing at each other, their expressions a mix of tension and excitement.

"Now, listen to my command. I will count to three and cast a spell to disarm your opponent. Note that I will only disarm them; I do not want any accidents to happen."

Lockhart, one hand on his hip and the other holding up his wand, emphasized, "One, two."

Before he could even count to three, Draco moved, "Aerial Flip!"

Caught off guard, Harry's eyes widened as he was sent flying far away, tumbling several times in mid-air before crashing onto the table.

Malfoy wore a triumphant smile.

Everyone was so shocked that their mouths dropped open.

On Slytherin's side, Crabbe laughed heartily, and Snape's lips curled up slightly—this time he was genuinely laughing.

Harry struggled to his feet, then swung his wand sharply: "Grin Whoosh!"

A beam of light flashed past, and Draco, caught off guard, was sent flying with his mouth agape. Just like Harry had been, he tumbled several times in the air before crashing heavily at Snape's feet.

He looked up blankly, as if he had been knocked unconscious.

Snape couldn't bear to watch, so he bent down, grabbed Draco by the collar, lifted him up, and shoved him out.

Draco Malfoy stumbled a step, then quickly regained his footing.

Lockhart tried to stop him: "I said, all you need to do is disarm."

"A dragon has emerged from its cave!"

A black snake shot out from the tip of Malfoy's wand and landed on the table with a thud.

The snake's body was glossy, its scales shimmering in the candlelight. It raised its head and began to slowly swim toward Harry, its tubular eyes fixed intently on its target.

A commotion arose in the crowd, and the students in the front row all took a step back in unison. Justin Finley even instinctively clutched Xavier's robe.

"Don't move, Potter."

Snape was the first to react. He stepped forward and pushed Malfoy aside, saying, "I'll take care of it."

It's fine for Harry to suffer a little, but Snape doesn't want anything to actually happen to him.

In that hall, he was actually more "concerned" about Harry's life or death than anyone else present.

Snape had already drawn his wand, but Lockhart beat Harry to it and struck the snake with a spell.

"Disappearing like smoke and clouds, ascending to heaven!"

However, the incantation did not make the snake disappear; it only made the black snake leap more than ten feet into the air, writhe wildly for a while, and then crash heavily back onto the table.

This clearly angered it, and it swam quickly toward the nearest Justin Finley.

Harry stepped forward, but he looked somewhat dazed, as if he were sleepwalking.

He didn't raise his wand, but simply spoke a sentence to the snake. Not in English, but a series of hoarse words...

A hissing sound squeezed from deep in the throat.

"Sayahasahi~"

Everyone in the auditorium heard it, and it sent chills down their spines, like a cold wind blowing in.

Xavier frowned; he sensed a magical fluctuation.

"Is this what Parsleyan dialect is?"

The snake immediately stopped moving, turned its head towards Harry, and drooped down like a scolded student.

"Saya Hasi Sea~Saya Hasi Sea!"

The black snake slowly retreated back onto the stage, coiled up, and remained motionless.

Although Harry used Parseltongue to stop the snake, he himself had no idea what had happened.

Snape's expression changed. He stared intently at Harry, a look of undisguised shock flashing in his eyes. He swiftly waved his wand, "Snake Vanishes into Black Smoke!"

The light struck the black snake, which curled up and shattered like burned paper before disappearing.

"What trick are you playing!"

Justin's fear froze, then transformed into a completely different expression.

It's the same fear, only the object of fear has changed to Harry.

The way he looked at Harry was as if he were looking at a stranger, or someone he thought he knew but had never actually understood.

The auditorium was so quiet you could hear the candles burning.

All eyes were on Harry.

Some people in the front row were whispering to each other, while others unconsciously took another step back. Malfoy's eyes widened, his expression even more dramatic than when he was being cursed.

Harry looked up, puzzled, at his surroundings.

"He stopped a dangerous situation, so why are all his classmates looking at him like that? Even Justin, who was just being friendly, is looking at him like that, even though he's the one who saved him!"

Xavier stood in the crowd, watching the whispering people, and observing the expression on Justin's face, which shifted from shock to something unreadable.

The sound of discussion could be heard around them; a junior wizard who knew the inside story was explaining it to some junior wizards who were Muggle-born.

"He's talking to the snake."

"What was that just now?"

"That's not English. That's..."

"Snake-like voice".

"Only a descendant of Slytherin would speak Parsley."

"But Potter is from Gryffindor."

"Then he is also Salazar Slytherin's successor."

"Are you crazy?"

"I'm not crazy. Look, he can talk to snakes."

"The last person to use the parsnip voice was—that person who can't be spoken of!"

Xavier saw Justin squeeze into the crowd alone, his back looking shorter than usual.

Xavier thought for a moment and then moved closer.

Justin was still shaken and needed comforting and help to process his emotions. Besides, he shouldn't have said that to Harry, even though it wasn't his true feeling in that tense situation.

The whispers around him rained down on him.

Harry was still on stage, looking around with confusion and anxiety—he felt like he was being treated like a freak again, just like at his aunt's house.

Ron jumped onto the dueling platform, grabbed Harry's arm and pulled him back, then rushed out. Hermione stamped her foot in frustration and followed them out.

Snape watched Harry's retreating figure with a complex and serious expression, but he left in silence without saying a word.

Lockhart, wand in hand, stepped to the front of the stage and began an impromptu speech about how "the little incident just now was actually perfectly safe."

At this point, no one was listening.

Those who didn't know were asking questions, and those who did were explaining, making the discussion even noisier than before.

The young wizards began to disperse, walking in twos and threes towards the hall entrance—they needed to hurry back and tell all their friends who weren't there the news.