Harry, Parseltongue, and the Basilisk

[Derek Hiemforth]

No: HPFGUIDX 86598

As a new list member, I've been reading a lot of the material the group
refers to, such as the Fantastic Posts section, Hypothetic Alley, the
Harry Potter Lexicon, and so on.  I found the following about Harry and
the Basilisk in an essay by Steve Vander Ark in the Puzzles and Mysteries
section of the HPL...

(Now from Steve Vander Ark's essay):
"Why didn't Harry talk Parseltongue to the Basilisk? Good question. There
are a couple of times in the books where Harry seems to ignore the obvious
solution."
[snip]
"Here's actually a perfectly good solution to this mystery: he's a kid,
facing unimaginable danger or major stress, and he just doesn't think it
all through."

(Now back to Derek):
That's a totally valid point to make in general, especially in the early
books, and could certainly be the case here as well.  However, in the
specific case of the Basilisk, I offer another idea for why Harry didn't
speak Parseltongue to it...

Throughout CoS, many -- even including Harry himself in some ways --
suspect him of being the Heir of Slytherin because he's a Parselmouth.
He knows Salazar Slytherin was a Parselmouth too, and still wonders
whether the sorting hat made a mistake putting him in Gryffindor.
Now, in the chamber, he learns that Tom Riddle is really Lord Voldemort,
and that *he* is a Parselmouth as well.

With all this as the background, I suggest that it's possible Harry
didn't just fail to think of trying to speak Parseltongue to the
Basilisk, nor fail to try it because he didn't think he could command
it.

Instead, perhaps he failed to try because he was afraid he *could*
command it...

This would have been subconscious, of course.  But the last thing Harry
would have wanted right then would be further reinforcement of the idea
that he was similar the murderer of his parents and the founder of the
hated Slytherins.  If Harry *had* been able to command the Basilisk, it
would have carried a great many unpleasant ramifications for him...

- Derek