Harry Potter and the Prince of Slytherin

Chapter 45: Meet REDACTED

9 May 1993
The Prince's Lair

"Please, Harry, we're all friends here. Call me ... Regulus."

"I take it, Mr. Potter, that you are ... unsurprised by this development?" drawled Lucius Malfoy.

"I wouldn't say unsurprised, Mr. Malfoy, but the pieces all fit. To sit in that chair, he would have to have been a former Prince, and the number of people who've held that position and could possibly still be alive is rather small. And then, I remembered that Nymphadora Tonks, who is descended from House Black, is a Metamorphmagus, supposedly the first one in over a century. But it was recently suggested to me that Tonks wasn't necessarily the only Metamorphmagus from the Black family in all that time, just the only one to be discovered and forced to register under the Conscription Act."

"What can I say?" Regulus Black said with another smirk. "I've always been an overachiever."

"Indeed," said Malfoy. "Well, I look forward to hearing the tale of exploits that led you to return to Hogwarts while masquerading as a foppish Defense instructor, but first, there is a matter of protocol to consider."

"Oh?" Regulus responded.

"Yes. Specifically, there are strict protocols for recognizing the primacy of Princes-Emeritus when more than one of us is present in this room, as the runespoor can expound upon at length. So with that in mind, I would respectfully request that you kindly remove yourself from my chair."

"Oh come on, Lucius," Regulus said irritably. "Are you really going to pull rank on me at a time like – ACK!" The former Prince jumped suddenly as the three-headed silver runespoor suddenly leaned in and began to hiss and snap at him angrily.

"Alright, alright! Honestly!" he said as he got up and relocated to the chair to the left of the Hydra Throne. "Of course the runespoor like you best, Lucius. It probably admires how skillfully you hold that stick in place between your arse cheeks. Oh well, at least Delilah still loves me, don't you dearie?'

The boomslang hissed fondly at Regulus, and Harry was delighted to realize he understood her and the other snakes once more.

"Delilah loves everyone, Regulus," Malfoy said as he took his seat on the Throne. "That's part of her charm." He turned to the boomslang and tickled her under the chin (in the exact same manner that Harry often had, to the boy's surprise).

"Wait, are both of you Parselmouths?" he asked excitedly. "Or did you gain that ability when you each became Prince?"

"The latter, sort of," Regulus said as he tried to get comfortable in his chair. "You know I don't think I ever sat in one of these chairs when I was Prince," he muttered to himself before turning back to Harry. "When the Hydra approves a Slytherin as Prince, he or she gains a limited amount of Parseltongue. We can't talk with real or conjured snakes, but we can communicate with the Hydra or with any other of the artificial snakes of Hogwarts Castle."

He smiled. "You being a real Parselmouth – and aren't you a mean one for letting everyone think your brother was the only one around – well that just gives you an unfair advantage in claiming the Throne for yourself. Which is, of course, a perfectly Slytherin way of doing things. But there are ways of attracting the Hydra's attention without it, though typically it takes longer. Most Princes don't gain the title until Fifth Year."

"Indeed," said Lucius. "A slight majority of Princes have been Parselmouths throughout history, though there have been fewer and fewer since the passage of the Inheritance Act and other government policies meant to destroy the legacy of Salazar Slytherin. But enough about ancient history – Regulus Black, I should like to know very much where you have been these last thirteen years."