"Hannah," said the stout boy solemnly, "he's a Parselmouth. Everyone knows that's the mark of a Dark wizard. Have you ever heard of a decent one who could talk to snakes? They called Slytherin himself Serpent-tongue."

There was some heavy murmuring at this, and Ernie went on. "Remember what was written on the wall? Enimies of the Heir, beware. Potter had some sort of run-in with Filch. Next thing we know, Filch's cat's attacked. That first year, Creevy, was annyoing Potter at the Quidditch match, taking pictures of him lying in the mud. Next thing we know - Creevey's been attacked."

"He's always seemed so nice, though," Hannah said uncertainly, "and, well, he's the one who made You-Know-Who disappear. He can't be all bad, can he?"

Ernie lowered his voice mysteriously, the Hufflepuffs bent closer, and Harry edged nearer so that he could catch Ernie's words.

"No one knows how he survived that attack by You-Know-Who, I mean to say, he was only a baby when it happened. He should have been blasted to smithereens. Only a really powerful Dark wizard could have survived an attack like that." He dropped his voice until it was barely more than a whisper and said, "That's probably why You-Know-Who wanted to kill him in the first place. Didn't want another Dark Lord competing with him. I wonder what other powers Potter's been hiding?"

Harry couldn't take anymore. Clearing his throat loudly, he stepped out from behind the bookshelves. If he hadn't been so angry, he would have found the sight that greeted him quite funny: Everyone one of the Hufflepuffs looked as though they had been Petriefied at the sight of him, and the color was draining out of Ernie's face.