Two days later, Ron received an owl from Charlie at breakfast. Ron waved it excitedly at his friends, and the three promptly fled the Great Hall for a more private spot.  “Here,” Ron said, opening it. “This is what Charlie says: Dear Ron, Thanks for the owl. Glad to hear you’re staying – mostly – out of trouble. Say hi to the rest of the clan and to Harry and Hermione for me. And tell all your teachers I said hi and that I use the stuff they taught me every day – that should help your grades! Ha, ha. You guys definitely get more interesting homework than I did as a student. I just remember boring old Binns and changing needles into toothpicks – or was it the other way around? Anyway, a question about “what creatures could a parselmouth talk to?” is a lot better. I didn’t even know you were taking the class yet! Planning to follow in your Big Bro’s footsteps, eh? Ha, ha! Anyway, there are a lot of creatures that are related to serpents – both magical and non-magical – that a Parselmouth might be able to talk to. Of course, this is all hypothetical (ask Hermione if you don’t know what that means. Ha, ha!) since there are no living parselmouths – unless you count You Know Who, which I’d rather not. Anyway, like I say, it’s all speculation because some of the animals are extinct and we don’t exactly have a parselmouth to ask, but here’s what I think. Since we know that parselmouths can talk to any living non-magical snake, they should also be able to speak with magical snakes and their relatives. So I would think that a parselmouth should be able to talk to snakes that are products of magic – like snakes in a magic portrait or tapestry – and maybe creatures that are serpents (like a basilisk) or descended from serpents. This could include dragons (wish I were a parselmouth, ha, ha!), nagas ( ½ man, ½ snake), chimeras, and maybe even the snakes on a medusa. Hope that helps. Boy, after all this, you’d better get extra credit! Take care, little bro, and don’t give Mum any reason to send you a Howler!!! Love, Charlie.”

They all were silent for a few minutes, thinking over the implications of the letter. “Oh no, not another dragon!” Ron groaned.

“But I couldn’t talk to Norbert,” Harry pointed out. “Maybe parselmouths can’t talk to dragons.”

“Or maybe it was because he was so young?” Hermione wondered.

“But that would mean that there’d be a grown up dragon around here somewhere, and from what Charlie says, there’s no way we’d be able to miss it,” Ron argued.

“Okay,” Harry said, “so we can cross dragons off the list. What’s next?”

“Nagas?” Hermione said. “But their top half is a human, so they wouldn’t need to speak parseltongue, right?”

“Right. What about chimeras?” Ron and Harry looked at Hermione.

“Oh, dear. I’m not really good at these,” she frowned, thinking. “I’m pretty sure chimeras have a bunch of heads and the body and tail of a snake. So that would be a possibility.”

“But if it doesn’t have the head of a snake, then how could it talk like a snake?” Harry pointed out. “What was that basilisk thing he mentioned? He said it was a serpent?”

“A basilisk is an enormous snake. Much bigger than regular Muggle or other magical snakes,” Hermione explained. “Maybe that would explain why it sounds so different?”

“I guess we can’t rule out the chimera or even a medusa either.” Harry sighed.

“We still have to figure out where the thing is. I mean, okay, we can’t hide a dragon here, but any of the others might be able to stay hidden at Hogwarts. It’s pretty big, after all. And that’s just the parts we know about,” Ron pointed out.

“I’ll see what Hogwarts: A History has to say about hidden places or secret passages,” Hermione volunteered excitedly.

Ron snickered. “Yeah, right. Like secret passages are gonna be mentioned in a book.”

“They might at least refer to legends about them, Ronald,” Hermione said, annoyed, “or to parts of the castle that have fallen into disuse and forgotten.”

“Oh, yeah. Well, okay then.”

“I’m going to go talk to Hagrid,” Harry said. “I’m not going to tell him anything, but I have some questions for him.”

Over lunch, he headed out to Hagrid’s cottage and was, as usual, greeted with happy cries from both Fang and Hagrid. Over a pot of tea and the lamentably unavoidable rock cakes, Harry worked the conversation around to the topic he wanted to discuss. “So, Hagrid, there’s something I don’t understand about magical creatures. Why are some of them Dark?”

“Ah, well, Harry, that there’s a good question,” Hagrid sighed. “Me, I think that creatures are just creatures – poor wee beasties usually don’t know any better. But if they like to eat people, then they’re usually labeled as Dark.”

“So… do they eat people because they’re Dark, or are they Dark because they eat people?” Harry pressed. At Hagrid’s befuddled look, he clarified. “I mean, are they choosing to eat people, or is it just their nature? You know, they sort of have to, the way cats chase mice.”

“To my way o’ thinking, Harry, it’s that they have no choice. See, the way I look at it, if they have a choice about eatin’ people, then that’s like you an’ me. We have a choice about being good or not, right? So if you’ve gots a choice an’ you choose to do bad things, then you’re evil, see. But for creatures now, there are some that don’t have a choice an’ it’s not their choice, but they’re still dangerous. So them’s the ones that I’d call Dark.”

Harry was now very confused. “So people can be bad or Dark when they choose evil, but if creatures can choose evil, then they’re not Dark? They’re just bad. But if creatures can’t choose but just like wired to eat people, then they are Dark?”

“Aye!” Hagrid said cheerfully.

“Maybe we should use different words,” Harry complained. “I guess what I want to know is which creatures don’t have a choice but to be evil and which ones do.”

Hagrid frowned. “Well, it depends. There’re lots o’creatures out there, Harry. You maybe want ter narrow the list some?”

“Well, what would be a magical creature that doesn’t have a choice about eating people?”

“I’d say a werewolf doesn’t have much choice when the moon is on ‘im. He’s gotta change and then once he’s a wolf, if he sees a human – that’s it. Lunch!” Hagrid paused. “Less’n he’s had some wolfsbane, I mean. See, that let’s them keep their human mind so they have choices, like.”

“But if a werewolf didn’t have their wolfsbane, then they have to eat people?” Harry pressed.

“Aye. Shame too. I know some right nice people who are werewolves,” Hagrid said sadly.

“So, Hagrid, when they haven’t had their wolfsbane and it’s a full moon, can you talk to them? I mean, if you were to try to have a conversation, could you have one? And maybe try to find out why they have to eat people?”

Hagrid wrinkled his brow in unaccustomed thought. “No – no, Harry, can’t say as I’ve ever heard of anyone havin’ a chat with a werewolf during the full moon. Mostly they seem to be howlin’ and growlin’ and rippin’ things apart. No real talkin’.”

“So, if you could talk with or understand the creature, would that mean you might be able to talk them out of eating people?” Harry asked hopefully.

“Well, now, I suppose that’d make sense,” Hagrid agreed. “Seems like you’d at least be able to see why they’re so determined to eat you. Not sure that’d really make y’ feel that much better in the long run, though.”

“Thanks, Hagrid!” Harry said, discreetly passing off his rock cake to Fang as he hurried to his next class.

Inspired by his conversation with Hagrid, and the hopes that he might be able to talk the creature – whatever it was – into adopting a human-free diet, Harry decided it would be safe enough to ask other questions, especially if he asked them of different professors. Accordingly, that night at his usual DADA session with Snape, he said, “Professor, what makes something Dark?”

Snape blinked. This was either a very stupid or very profound question. Before he could request clarification, Harry went on. “I mean, if something is smart enough to think – in words, I mean. Not like a dog or chicken or whatever – then is it smart enough to choose to be Dark? Or do you think that we don’t really have choices? That they’re made for us?”

Ah. He had wondered when the questions about the prophecy would come. Snape motioned the boy over to the sofa and joined him there. He thought for a moment about how to reply. “Harry,” he said, instantly capturing the boy’s attention, “I firmly believe that we do have choices in this life. However much our lives may seem pre-ordained, in the end we are the ones who choose the lives we lead. It is true that there is much outside of our control, but no matter what has happened, we still have choices. They may not be the ones we wish we had, but there are always options.” Snape was encouraged by Harry’s frown of concentration. Obviously the boy was finding this useful. “Look at me, Harry. I took the Dark Mark when I was not much older than you. Some would say that would remove all other choices from me forever. Yet I continued to make choices. I chose to return to the Light. It was not easy – it is not easy – yet it was a choice I could make and I did so. I chose to make you a part of my life –“

“That’s not been easy for you either!” Harry piped up, grinning.

Snape gave him a Look. “No. Not in the least. But neither is it a choice I regret. So you see, I do believe that if we are smart enough to be aware of ourselves, to be able to think as you put it, then I believe we choose our own destiny.”

Harry nodded thoughtfully. He wasn’t sure where Professor Snape had been going at first, with all this weird “preordination” stuff – he’d almost sounded like Trelawny for a moment there! – but in the end, he’d answered the question. Like Hagrid, he thought the creature could be reasoned with. Harry was heartened. He’d never yet met a snake he hadn’t gotten along with. Hopefully this creature would turn out to be the same.

“Can I ask you about an Unforgivable?”

Snape gave himself a mental shake. Where had that come from?

Oh. Was all this talk about Darkness and prophecies a sign that Harry was starting to think about his parents’ deaths? This could become emotional – he hoped he had extra handkerchiefs in his drawer. “Yes, you can ask me,” he said, uncharacteristically tentative.

“Can you Imperius a chicken?” Harry asked.

Snape stared at him. Whatever he had been expecting, this wasn’t it. “I don’t know,” he said finally. “Can you Imperius a chicken?”

Harry shook his head dismissively. “No, no. It’s not a riddle. I was really wondering. Can you Imperius chickens – you know, animals that aren’t human? Or can you only Imperius humans that can think and have minds and stuff?”

“The difference between the IQ of a chicken and that of some of my students is not as large as you might think,” Snape said drily. “At least based on the essays they turn in. But to answer your question, yes, it is possible to Imperius non-humans. Why?”

Harry thought quickly. He certainly couldn’t answer that it was because Hermione had discovered that the crow of a rooster could kill a basilisk, and the Trio had wondered how they could get a rooster to crow on command. But no alternative reason leapt to mind, and the delay raised Snape’s suspicions. “Mr Potter,” he said silkily, “if I learn that you have tried any Unforgivable on any creature, I promise you that you will regret it. Profoundly.”

“I’m not!” Harry protested. “I was just wondering. That’s all.” At Snape’s skeptical look, Harry changed the subject. “But don’t you think I should learn them, sometime I mean? If You Know Who’s gonna use them, then –“

“Yes, Mr Potter, the Dark Lord and his Death Eaters will certainly use them,” Snape agreed with a sigh. “And yes, you will need to learn them at some point, if only to defend yourself against them. But while I will be teaching them to you, it will not be for some time yet. You are still too young.”

Harry automatically pouted. “I’m twelve!”

“Exactly. Much too young.”

“But you will teach me someday,” Harry pressed.

“Yes.”

“Will you teach me all of them?”

“Yes.”

Harry frowned. “Even the green light one?”

Snape blinked. How did he know – ? “Yes.”

“I don’t want to learn that one,” Harry said flatly.

“Why not?”

“I don’t want to be a murderer like You Know Who,” Harry said fiercely. “I won’t!”

“Harry, you will never be a murderer like the Dark Lord,” Snape said tiredly. “I can teach you every Dark curse in the world and that won’t make you a murderer.”

Harry blinked in confusion. “But if you kill someone –“

“Harry, there is a saying: ‘If someone is coming to kill you, get up early in the morning and kill them first.’” Harry’s jaw dropped. “It is not murder to kill someone before they kill you or to stop them from killing another. It is murder to kill someone who poses no danger to anyone. That is why the Dark Lord is a murderer and you will never be. But, Harry, you must learn how to kill, because in order to survive, I promise you that you will have to kill.” Harry gulped. No one had ever stated it so bluntly before. “You will have to kill to protect yourself and probably to protect others, whether they are friends of yours like Miss Granger or Mr Weasley, or strangers who cannot help themselves. Death Eaters and the Dark Lord stand for murder and torture and deeds so evil I will not speak of them to you. They must be stopped, and to do that, they must be killed. If you will not do that, you must leave now. Leave the country and seek out a new life. Because if you remain, you will continue to be a focus for the Light and you – and those around you – will continue to be targets of the Dark. So, Harry, you must choose your path. If you will not kill under any circumstance, then tell me now so that I can make arrangements for your safety.”

Harry thought for a moment. “My folks – they – they fought Voldemort, didn’t they?”

“Yes, Harry. They fought him before they went into hiding, and again on the night he found them. I’m certain your father tried very hard to kill the Dark Lord before he was himself struck down. Your father was an Auror – he understood the distinction I am drawing and was comfortable with it.”

“I am too,” Harry decided. “Like you said, it’s not murder if they want to kill you. You just have to stop them before they can.”

“It’s more than that, Harry. If you know that they are coming to kill you, then you have an obligation to kill them first. If they will kill you, they will kill others, and knowing of the threat they pose, your obligation is not only to yourself, but to those other innocents as well. If Muggles like Mr and Mrs Granger were about to be attacked by Death Eaters, and the only way to save them was to kill their attackers, would you allow the Grangers to be tortured to death? Or would you kill the Death Eaters?”

“I’d kill the Death Eaters!” Harry answered immediately. He paused, his expression growing grim beyond his years. “I guess I always knew I’d have to. It just – I don’t want to become someone I don’t like.”

Snape’s lips twitched. “That is what your friends and I are there to prevent.”

“Well, okay then.”