Chapter 350: The Unexpected

Harry spoke with Clara, whom he hadn't seen in a long time, about two matters—but in truth, he didn't need to worry about either.

As for the paternity test, it was clear Clara and Snape had already coordinated their strategy; she had merely come specifically to explain it to him again.

As for what fate and the Doctors refused to reveal, Harry suspected it might be the same thing Neville was pursuing—he only needed to wait and watch.

Once he settled his mind, Harry found, with a mixture of relief and discomfort, that all he needed to concern himself with was the upcoming OWL exams.

On Sunday, Harry, under the identity of Holf, obtained Delphi's hair, then, with a sense of resignation, sent both strands to the testing agency he had previously contacted.

He had assumed the matter could be put on hold for now, since paternity tests took a long time. But in mid-May, a slight coincidence revealed a fatal flaw.

That day, he sat in the Minister's office, flipping through a book while completing his Transfiguration homework, occasionally answering simple questions the Minister asked.

"Minister," Bernard entered, "Harry, good afternoon."

"Bernard, what is it?" the Minister said without looking up.

"Well, there's something."

"Just say it, Bernard. Harry knows everything." The Minister didn't even glance at him.

"Uh…"

Faced with his hesitant private secretary, Harry should have politely left—but he figured if it were truly urgent, the Minister wouldn't hide it from him.

"If it's about the Death Eaters, I do know." Harry didn't look up either.

"Oh, sorry—I didn't realize you knew the Ministry was cooperating with the Death Eaters," Bernard stammered. "But if you don't know exactly what we're cooperating on…"

"Are you talking about the election?" Harry thought it would be strange if the Order didn't know about this.

"Uh… yes. The snake has arrived." After dozens of seconds of hesitation under the Minister's gaze, Bernard finally spoke.

"Now?" The Minister glanced at Harry. "Shall we go take a look?"

"If you take Harry—"

"Relax, Bernard," the Minister patted his shoulder. "The Order is Harry's political identity, the advisor role is his government identity, and the snake is clearly a government matter: we're the third party here."

Harry suddenly remembered he had promised to visit Nagini frequently. In truth, it had been over two months since their last meeting—hardly "frequent." Of course, that was due to the election schedule, but Harry felt that even if understandable, he ought to explain himself to her.

When Harry followed the Minister into a greenhouse built inside the Department of Mysteries, Nagini suddenly reared up, facing Harry with clear hostility.

"You nearly fooled me, Saruman!" it hissed, sounding angry.

"What?" Harry froze.

"I chose Harry as the new Dark Lord because I saw him as someone I could talk to—but I never expected you to deceive me," Nagini hissed. "You're not Harry. Harry shouldn't speak Parseltongue. You're a fraud. You covet the Dark Lord's position, so you disguised yourself to trick me."

"No, I am Harry—that—" Harry started to explain, then snapped awake and quickly corrected himself: "That was the Dark Lord's plan. Harry has always been me. There is no other Harry."

Optimistically, this was merely because Nagini understood English and Bellatrix had told her everything. But another possibility existed: Clara's claim that "the CIA has specialists in both worlds"—what if they had someone who understood Parseltongue?

Moreover, they had deliberately transported Nagini on a Friday—perhaps as a test of him. Harry felt a flicker of relief that he had finally mastered the ability to maintain Occlumency at all times last week, and now felt no intrusion.

There were definitely CIA agents in the Ministry. Harry had no doubt—and he knew that even if he spoke Parseltongue from now on, he must choose his words carefully. Someone might understand.

"I don't care," Nagini lifted her head. "I don't care who is who. I only know you deceived me! If you're the Dark Lord's child, I would never choose you."

"Then do you want to choose Delphi? Isn't she also the Dark Lord's child?" Harry replied calmly.

"She didn't deceive me. She didn't pretend to be some righteous person. You make me sick, Saruman. You're a despicable creature." In Parseltongue, the words sounded colder, more merciless.

"Let's discuss this another time. We can talk openly," Harry knew the Minister was watching him. "I'm sure this is just a misunderstanding."

Nagini turned her head away without hesitation, no longer facing the glass.

"Ah, you two had a chat, then?" the Minister chuckled. "Harry speaking Parseltongue isn't surprising. Outstanding people always work harder than we realize to learn new things."

"Ah." Harry gave a stiff nod, not planning to explain or invent a new lie.

That day, while Ministry officials were on lunch break, Harry slipped on his Invisibility Cloak and headed toward the Department of Mysteries. But to his surprise, someone there wasn't taking a break.

After confirming the intruder was Harry, Neville lowered his wand and asked, "What are you doing here?"

"I wanted to speak with Nagini," Harry chose a vague truth. "She's not cooperating with our work, so I need to communicate with her."

"Then why sneak in?" After a moment of confusion, Neville realized. "When you said 'we,' you meant the Order?"

"Something like that." Harry nodded.

"Go ahead," Neville waved him off. "But I still advise you not to trust it too much. Snakes are naturally cold-blooded."

The second time Harry saw Nagini, she still gave him no friendly look.

"So, what do you want to say to me now?" Nagini said coldly.

"I feel you have something against me—but why? What's wrong?" Harry said sincerely. "Maybe it's a misunderstanding. I can explain."

"Nothing's wrong. I've realized it," Nagini hissed. "You never made me feel special. This was all Voldemort's magic—making me inexplicably drawn to you. Now I understand: it's because you carry his blood."

Harry found himself in a tight spot. He considered denying his identity as "Saruman," but that wouldn't explain Nagini's feelings—unless he revealed the truth: that they were both Horcruxes.

But even if he dared to speak this most crucial secret in Parseltongue—which he wasn't eager to do—it would likely seem to Nagini like Saruman fabricating a story to defend himself, only deepening her distrust: Harry couldn't prove he was Voldemort's Horcrux rather than his child.

"But you said before—" Harry winced, forced to change the subject.

"Before, I thought you were my only friend," Nagini's tone twisted. "But you used me. You're nothing. You're just Voldemort's backup plan. I won't be used by him again—and I won't be used by you either."

"Someone persuaded you to choose Delphi, didn't they?" Harry said. "I ask you to understand: that person is slandering me without cause. He says I want to use you like Voldemort—but isn't Delphi also Voldemort's child? If he pushes you toward her, isn't he just falling into Voldemort's plan?"

"You're right," Nagini said. "Whether I choose you or Delphi, I'm still under Voldemort's control. And I won't be controlled by him again."

A shocking conclusion emerged: Nagini might choose Lucius.

In Harry's view, Lucius was typically ambitious, cunning, and skilled in schemes—but lacked real power. He had never taken the big Malfoy seriously. Now he realized: perhaps Lucius had cleverly exploited Nagini's rebellious nature. Knowing she disliked being ordered around, he deliberately let others pressure her—so she would choose the one who asked least of her.

"Uh, so…" Harry tried to persuade her again but didn't know how to begin. "You'll choose…"

"I haven't decided. And don't try to convince me," Nagini tossed her head proudly. "I might choose anything. Don't think you can command me. I am an independent snake."

"Alright." Harry sighed. He found this situation hard to accept: what he had thought was certain now faced a serious, unexpected twist.

Standing in the Ministry's elevator lobby, Harry finally realized the oddity: when Lucius agreed to the entire election plan, he didn't yet know about Saruman.

Yet after hearing about Saruman, Lucius had completely lost control of Nagini—by then, she had been at the Lestrange residence. But Bellatrix, wanting to persuade Nagini to choose Delphi—no, she likely didn't even speak Parseltongue. Even if someone in the Lestrange household did, it would've been three-year-old Delphi. If Bellatrix couldn't communicate effectively with Nagini… would she really have told her the story of Saruman?

Harry had never thought Bellatrix or Lucius were fools—he always saw them as formidable opponents. And such opponents rarely made mistakes—just as Clara said: instead of assuming a low-probability event occurred, one should first suspect someone was manipulating things behind the scenes.