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J.K. Rowling fascinated fans by creating a secondary world with her Harry Potter franchise. This Wizarding World was filled to the brim with magical characters, enchanted places and a wide variety of exciting spells and potions. Warner Bros. managed to display this sense of magic in its Harry Potter movies and portrayed witches and wizards swinging their magic wands and chanting spells. Amidst all of this, one important skill was often forgotten -- Parseltongue.
Parseltongue was a language in Harry Potter that allowed its users to communicate with snakes. Parselmouths were generally descendants of Hogwarts founder Salazar Slytherin. Voldemort, formerly known as Tom Riddle, was the most notorious Parselmouth who used his skill to talk to his companion, Nagini. Harry was one of the few Parselmouths that wasn't connected to Salazar Slytherin. An exploration of Harry's past and his relation to Voldemort revealed the reason behind his ability to talk to snakes.
Harry Potter Became a Parselmouth in a Tragic Way
The Harry Potter movies first revealed Harry's ability to speak to snakes during a family visit to the zoo. Harry managed to communicate with a snake without actually knowing of his ability to express himself in Parseltongue. The snake did, however, understand Harry and thanked him for freeing it with his magical powers, even if Harry was unaware of them at the time. The reason behind Harry's fluidity in this extremely rare language was revealed in later Harry Potter movies. Dumbledore believed that Harry wasn't a Parselmouth from birth but had Voldemort to thank for acquiring the language. Voldemort attempted to kill Harry as a child but was unsuccessful and unknowingly transferred some of his essence into Harry during the attack.
This event was bound to create a connection between Harry and Voldemort. "The boy who lived" forcefully inherited some of Voldemort's traits, like his extraordinary magical abilities, determined attitude, and also Parseltongue. It was no coincidence that the sorting hat tried to convince Harry that Slytherin would be a good fit. Harry tried to deny all the claims tying him to Voldemort and openly rebelled against the idea. In the end, this connection, and his ability to speak Parseltongue, helped Harry and his friends during some truly precarious situations.
Parseltongue Proved To Be a Valuable Skill in the Harry Potter Movies
The Harry Potter movies portrayed Harry using Parseltongue on numerous occasions, and it ultimately helped him take down some Horcruxes. During Harry and Draco's duel in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Draco summoned a snake that tried to attack some of the students. It was only Harry's ability to communicate with the snake that succeeded in keeping it from causing any harm. Harry managed to open the Chamber of Secrets in the same Harry Potter movie with the help of parseltongue, which led to Harry destroying Voldemort's first Horcrux. In Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 1, Slytherin's locket could also only be opened with the help of Harry's ability as a Parselmouth. However cursed Harry may have found himself to be, without his connection to Voldemort and subsequent knowledge of Parseltongue, he would have never succeeded in defeating Voldemort.
Harry Potter history revealed the tragic connection between Voldemort and Harry's ability to speak Parseltongue. In the end, it was this connection that contributed to Harry's quest to put an end to Voldemort. Being a Parselmouth may not have always been easy for Harry, but it inevitably led to his victory.