Disclaimer: Never was and never will be mine
A/N: Long time... no write. I'm back, muses are hovering and demanding I work once again. So I offer this little bit as a way to get myself back into the swing of things. More to follow.
Warnings: Hints of slash.
The Question of Lessons Learned
"Well, if it isn't the little Gryffindor," a coarse voice hissed out along the dungeon corridors. Harry shook his head and whispered the password, waiting rather impatiently for the portrait of Salazar Slytherin to grant him access. The painted man cackled. "He's not in tonight. Something about meeting someone in Hogsmead."
Harry cocked his head, thinking over their conversation this morning as they lay in their bed. He smirked, remembering just what his lover was doing. "It doesn't matter. I'll wait for him in here."
A sneer marred the pale aristocratic features of the Founder, his green eyes narrowed mockingly. "Perhaps he has found a new paramour. Someone with more taste. Someone with the right blood," he taunted.
Silence followed his harsh remark, and he thought he might have finally gotten through to the young man. He certainly had tried hard enough ever since Harry had begun frequenting these quarters. He heard the panting breaths and saw the way his eyes narrowed with anger. He expected the man to turn tail and run, but brashly, Harry stepped up to his frame, giving a glare worthy of a Malfoy.
"Why?" he simply asked.
Taken aback, Salazar frowned. "Begging your pardon?"
"Why do you constantly prattle away about blood purity? Did you know it's your fault the wizarding world is in its decaying state? It's your fault there are Half Bloods, and Muggleborns. The wars fought, the lives lost... it's all on your shoulders, you bloody fool. If not for the Purebloods deviating into the Muggle worlds, there would be nothing to fight over. So you sir," Harry bowed slightly, "Are just as much to blame as anyone else in your time."
"How dare you!" Salazar spat out. "If not for me you wouldn't have a school like this. You would be part of the uneducated and unwashed masses. You should be bowing before me, thanking me for my generosity, gifting you with the knowledge I possessed. Despite my own feelings, I indulged the other Founders, helped them shore up Hogwarts and ensured that it would last for generations. Without me..."
"We would all be free," a sharp voice sounded beside Harry. He turned, his face alight with a loving smile. "Lessons learned in history tell us what to and not to do. You, Sal, are one of the latter. A sin we are still paying for." His lover drew him to his side and placed a gentle kiss on his forehead. "For future reference, whether or not I am in my quarters, Harry is allowed entrance at any time. He is my choice, and shall remain such for as long as he will have me."
Unable to find an answering remark, Salazar opened the door, watching with calculating eyes as the two men entered the cool room. They had given him much food for thought. And as a portrait, he had nothing but time to do such thinking. Laughter sounded as the door closed, and for once in his long years, he felt the curl of a smile brush his painted lips.