I am currently taking a break from my original fiction and focusing on a story I posted here a while ago. The story focuses on a Harry brought up by the Blacks after Grindelwald is freed. I have attempted to stay away from the cliches most fanfics use. You can read the story here if you'd like:

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/8992496/1/A-Newfound-Legacy

Anyway... I'm at a point in the story where Harry's parseltongue abilities are revealed. It was first revealed to Grindelwald by accident, and he's about to reveal this to the rest of the Black family. I'd like to go in a unique direction here, but I'm having trouble coming up with anything other than the common explanations for Harry's parseltounge abilities....horcrux, Lily's Gaunt connections, etc.... I know the Potter's are directly descended from the Peverells. Is there any reasonable explanation that could be used with this connection? I know Herpo the Foul and Paracelsus were also parseltongues, but I'm not sure if they were related to the Peverells in any way.

If anyone has any suggestions, I'd be very appreciative. Thanks!

 

I'd like to suggest that all parseltongue does is let you speak to snakes and, further, 99% of snakes just talk about killing mice and sleeping.

 

Unconnected to anything, yes... this is true. However, in context, being a parseltongue is a plot device - a rare ability exclusively attributed to dark wizards (in this case Harry Potter being raised by the Blacks). While you may be unimpressed by the gift itself, it merits a place in the story and is symbolic of a larger issue. It should also be mentioned that all parseltongues had a wide range of other abilities as well.

Anyway, I suppose there is nothing beyond canon or cliche to incorporate here.

 

My main bit of advice is to remember the correct words.

Parseltongue is the language. A parselmouth is one who can speak parseltongue.

I can almost handle the most ridiculous parselmagic shit as long as the author doesn't call Harry a parseltongue. Almost.

 

Will remember. Good advice.

 

Given the massive amount of cunfusion regarding that in the fandom, I think it's a safe bet that HP characters will also have that trouble.

 

You could say that Slytherin was also descended from the Peverells, and his line died out with him. Not so interesting an idea, but meh.

 

No, I think the terminology is pretty consistent in canon. Most ff authors are either lazy or have not read the books and only seen the movies.

 

Barring the post-canon notion that the Peverells lived after the founding of Hogwarts, there's also a problem with inheritance- plenty of Potters descended from Ignotus and have lived upright lives and intermarried with other long-standing families, including the Blacks. If it were passed down as a blood-gift there'd be bunches of Parselmouths in the family tree.

If it were me and there's no in-story connection between Harry and Voldemort (or some other Parselmouth), you might follow the concept of Harry having a gift with several creature languages like Parseltongue and Augury, particularly if he were raised in isolation.

 

Maybe something with the parents of James Potter. Some people say it was Charlus Potter and Dorea Black...but that doesn't make much sense. His mother was supposed to have died of old age (in wizarding terms) yet Dorea died when she was fifty something. Of course, that would also make James a Parselmouth.

 

In the first story I ever wrote (no longer posted anywhere, thank God), I had Harry connected to the Gaunt line through his father. I'll post the letter Harry got from the "Department of Genealogy" that supposedly existed in the Ministry in my story (yeah, I'm cringing thinking about it).

And again, this was my first story, a long time ago, it seems.

Haven't seen that type of connection in FF. Then again, there's probably a reason for it.

 

Thanks so much for that. It's actually very interesting for me because that could also be applied to James's father (replacing Harry Ignotus Potter). For some reason, canon still hasn't identified Harry's grandparents, and with their relation to the Peverells, that can put a somewhat reasonable and unique twist on things. Of course, that also gives me the problem that James would have to be a parselmouth....as well as his grandfather. We do know that Harry's grandfather was pureblood and in Gryffindor, but that's all... it's possible this is something he chose to hide.

Lastly, we also know that Cadmus Peverell (Ignotus's brother) was the direct ancestor to the House of Gaunt and that the Gaunt family almost exclusively married within the family. All defectors were killed off or disowned. It is possible that one of Ignotus's descendants married to a Gaunt and that Harry's grandmother or grandfather was a defector... bringing the parseltongue abilities into the Potter line at some point.

 

QFT. This mistake makes me want to cut people's heads off.

 

Don't forget that being a Parselmouth makes Harry a god of cunnilingus.

Also, because snakes are seen in some medicinal symbology, it also makes him the best mediwizard ever.

 

My explanation for the potters not being parselmouths was that they did the suitably cunning thing and hid that trait. Though fannon likes to use parseltongue as the gateway to untold riches we see how the rest of the wizarding world views that trait in CoS - it has a very negative connotation outside of very select circles.
You could also paint the Gaunts as the poor relatives that the Potters were doing anything and everything to avoid any association with and a baby who suddenly starts hissing like he's having a fit would interfere with that.
Basically use as a class thing and be original, spin it as a negative.

 

Just a bit of advice: don't make Harry invoke already familiar spells while hissing them in parseltongue.

I've come across this a few times in fanfics and it never makes any sense.

The usual reasoning from the author for this is that them being hissed somehow makes them more powerful.

 

Actually, it'd be awesome if it was literally impossible to cast spells in Parseltongue.

 

I mean, isn't that the case already?

Not that the current incantations make any sort of sense whatsoever.

 

Depending on how you think wands work, Parseltongue would be incomprehensible, though the wand might still cast the spell if the wizard is expert enough with it to do so wordlessly.

 

Most of the incantations in HP are cheap bastardized versions of Latin and I don't think you can speak Latin in Parseltongue