It was already the middle of October. It wasn't hard to get used to the daily routine of going to classes and studying magic, spells, potions, and herbs, even if some of the teachers were… questionable. I tried my best to be as invisible as possible in Umbridge's lessons which she seemed to really enjoy, looking at me with satisfaction. I knew she was reveling in the thought I was afraid of her. What I was scared of was her authority and not Umbridge herself. The moment I could climb over her, I won't look back… And she will regret everything.

That was the primary motivation that kept me on track. I already forgot about Peeves and had only her as my goal. If not for the fact that sometimes I managed to dream about riding atop a basilisk and freezing her into a statue, I would have already given up on my plans. I combed through around a hundred books by now, running into dead ends, one after another. I honestly doubted I was sane to go through this sometimes. But finally, it happened.

It was a Saturday night. It was only 6 o'clock, yet because of a storm raging outside all day; it was as dark as if it was midnight. I was flipping through an old book that looked untouched by human hands for centuries. I found it accidentally while randomly walking through the shelves, thinking and trying to organize my thoughts. That was when I saw its weathered spine with its title: Uncensored Origins. I wasn't sure how it got there or why did it pop out for me so readily. I had a feeling as if the castle itself wanted me to find it as it was exactly what I needed.

It wasn't an overly thick book, but after opening it, I was utterly stunned. It stated all the people who established a bloodline of wizards and witches. No matter when they did so, it had the description of those who were considered the progenitors of a lineage. I was surprised to see so many, but then, reading the last lines of their entries, I realized why. Many of them died out, and it was hard to find one that was still prevalent today. Curiously, I looked at its index page, and I did find our family name in it. Flipping to the middle of the book, I was shocked at what I saw.

Agatha Black. Maiden name: Agatha Gaunt. Born as a deformed child with missing legs and without magic ever growing inside of her. She was quickly hidden away, and later on, the Family of Gaunts made a deal with the Family of Blacks. In exchange for gaining a connection to their bloodline, they took in the child, promising that if a descendant was born with the gift of being a Parselmouth, he or she would be married back to the Gaunts.

"No. Fucking. Way…” I whispered, unable to hold back from cursing. I was on the edge of my seat, reading forward, wanting to see where this was going.

She was raised as a Black, mainly as someone who was experimented on, and when birthing a son who was strong in magic, she outlasted her usefulness. After being wiped of memories, she was simply dumped in the countryside.

"That is it?" I asked myself, but then flipping the page, I could see the second half of the origin of my own family line.

Etheldred Anguine. Son of muggles with magical abilities that he never fully understood. He found the memory wiped Agatha and nursed her back to health. Later on, he married her and had four children, who all had magical capabilities. One of the sons, later on, rose through the rank of the wizarding family, establishing the Anguine name as a household power for real. Their family crest originates from Etheldred, who once caught a viper that refused to bite him, despite being responsible for two deaths in the village before being trapped by him.

"No way… No…” I repeated, trying to flip through the books, wanting to find more, but there was nothing. I tried checking who the author was, but it was written anonymously. This was way too good to be true, and I was already doubting the story… but… "But the name checks out."

Agatha Black. It was the only name that came up in both Quincy's and Draco's lists. There was an Agatha Black, who now I was sure was a descendant of Agatha Gaunt a century later. I was also sure she might not have even been born with that name but it was renamed after her gift resurfaced. By the binding contract, she was sent back to the Gaunts and married into the family line… doesn't that mean my family can also have the gift? We are also... from the same blood, no?

"No…" I stood up, recollecting my books and quills, leaving the library, and I was sure I looked like I just saw a ghost for the first time. This was nonsensical at best. But I just couldn't chase the thoughts from my mind. They were swirling in my head continuously. I hurried back to the common room and looked for Quincy, finding her at one of the empty tables, doing her potions homework. "I need to borrow your owl!"

"Eh? W-what happened?" She flinched, looking at me, scared. "S-sure." She nodded, noticing that it was something crucial.

I was glad she asked nothing more in there and left with me towards the owlery, only speaking when nobody was in sight.

"What happened? And why do you need my owl?"

"Because mine are smaller and can only carry one letter! I need to send a book too! And I don't trust the school's owls!"

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"Okay." She agreed readily, keeping her questions to herself, just hurrying alongside me. She helped coerce her owl into helping me, and soon, I watched the two barn owls leave, mine only half the size of hers. "So…" She asked, and I knew she was already burning with curiosity, simply holding it back because I had an unusually white face.

"You won't believe it," I murmured, and then, leaning out of the owlery, watching the castle not that far away, I told her everything.

"No. Fucking. Way." She said the exact words as mine, grasping at her mouth and looking around nervously because she cursed out loudly.

"I said the same thing." I smiled nervously.

"Wait! You sent over a book from the school?"

"Yeah. Father should see it for himself! He will return it; I have a month before I need to bring it back!"

"If he answers…" She groaned but then looked at me curiously. "So… Can you?"

"If I could, would I even start researching this?" I shot back with raised eyebrows. "No, I can't." With that, I cast the serpent summoning spell, and the poor water snake that appeared very soon was snatched up by the bigger owls. "Nope… I did not understand a word; it was nothing but hissing."

"What about others?" She asked, turning back towards me, thinking hard.

"None that I know. I… I think I would know about them. We will see!" I slapped my face, looking at where the two owls disappeared. "We just need to wait for Father's response."

…

….

……

To my surprise, the reply arrived sooner than expected, by next Friday. We were just sitting in the Great Hall, having breakfast, when our owls returned, bringing me the book and a sealed letter.

"What's that," Draco asked from the other side of the table while I merely shrugged.

"Extra homework." I lied, and it was enough to make everyone uninterested in what I got. Spending so much in the library already marked me as the class's shut-in nerd and the most boring person to be with. Which… wasn't entirely wrong.

It was hard to focus in the remaining classes, but I somehow managed to get through them without getting into trouble. Back in the North Tower, accompanied by Quincy, I opened my Father's letter, reading it through seriously. It was short and to the point, signaling he was taking this as seriously as I did.

"None," I said, giving the letter to Quincy to read it. "We have no members who could have ever spoken to snakes. We have a good record of our family members back home! Although our line doesn't go as far as yours, we keep good track of it. But nobody was born with the gift."

"He says he looked into the book and the records… Etheldred's name checks out and is confirmed as the first of our magical line. But his wife's name was Emily. There is no mention of her disability anywhere, either." Quincy read it loudly.

"Yeah… This makes me think this book is bogus."

"Could be. But we can't tell for sure!"

"That… that is not entirely true…" I added, crossing my arms and scratching my chin. "Do you remember that I theorized that it could be a magic that was placed upon the blood? Turning it into a bloodline thing that can be inherited?"

"Um." Quincy nodded, "I guess you have something in mind?"

"Yes." I rummaged around the bookshelf we had set up in here and brought forward an ancient codex that was written in a language Quincy couldn't read. Neither could I, without two other books for translating it. "Have you ever heard about Herpo the Foul?"

"Only what you mentioned before. The creator of the basilisks. "

"Yeah. And a Parselmouth. A famous, ancient dark wizard who dabbled in rituals and also had some blood on his hands. Literally. I tried to find books directly from him, but they were gone, as if someone removed everything related to him. Like if he was just a myth."

"A famous dark wizard who is not celebrated? That is news to me! I thought we all were about who is the most powerful!" She said with a tinge of sarcasm in her voice.

"Yeah, that is what's weird about it. Anyway, his direct books are nowhere to be found, but there are other authors who have mentioned him and his works. I managed to find enough of them, translated their works, and pieced together a ritual that can reveal the properties of one's blood!"

"Wait, wait, wait a moment!" She yapped, waving her hand at me. "You did what? Pieced it together? Don't you mean you made a spell that may boil someone's blood inside their bodies?!"

“Um… no, not really…” I grumbled, pursing my lips. "The ritual itself is an already established one; By a witch from the XIth century! She based it on, going by her description, on Herpo's research... I just… included modifications from other retellings of Herpo's spells. Adding other spell components that seem compatible! It should work in theory!"

"In theory? In what theory? In whose theory?! Did you run it through with a Professor? With someone who knows magic?"

"Ah. Well… no. Not really."

"Then do that first!" She moaned, pulling at her hair.

"Yeah, sure! And get busted or found out I am trying to do something... bad?"

"The Ravenclaws do it all the time! They come up with spells, submit them for review, and then they get rewarded if it is good enough! Punished if it's bad!"

"Great. Just what I need… another round of Crucio…."

"Still better than casting an incomplete spell that blows you up! Idiot…”

"..."

"If you want to do that, go and let a teacher review it first! Or your arrogance will be your death! Or worse!"

"..." Well… as much as I don't want to admit it, she is right. I was too caught up in this... The fact that I learned our Dark Arts spells faster than the rest made me forget these spells are much more complicated than what we are learning. But who to ask- wait a minute. "Okay," I answered, my eyes shining, and I saw their reflections in Quincy's.

"Ah? Really?" She asked, surprised, not expecting me to agree so readily.

"Yes! I already know who I will ask for help!"

"Who?"

"The Headmaster," I said, forming a smile, and Quincy turned deathly white. "My Father said I could trust him. It is best to test it out…"