Title: The Soul of Hogwarts
Warning: T for slight language, action and adult content; contains slash; my attempt at a mystery.
Disclaimer: presented in HP world, everything else is all MINE!!!
Courage an' Brav'ry,
Through thick and thin,
Honorable reputation,
We are Griffin!
*
Far from his home, a cozy and lazy town of Slih'in, a man dressed in the best black robes of the day walked around Gri'Dore. A curious man of no more than 23 aged with long auburn hair, shorter, though, than the hair of the brave men of Gri'Dore and far cleaner as well. He was lean, fairly muscled, an oddity amongst the men here, standing with posture raised to full height at all times for a full 5ft and 10.5 inches. Even women of Gri'Dore had a higher standing than the stranger. He was caught by the many eyes, however, for many another reasons.
He strode around with an air that even the King of Gri'Dore, the tallest and strongest of all, could not perfect. There was too much grace alive in the tiny man's footsteps to match as these giants. His eyes were a smoky hue an undetermined colour; some say blue, others gray, more yet cry silver, but the elders hark that 'tis white. And framed, these colours, were by an array of lashes tinted red that none, even Old Withers, had not recalled in memory. He had high cheeks, a light, pointed chin, and a thin nose curved to agonizing perfection. His face was a light tan, blinding white to Gri'Dore, of which colour flocked to his face, yet no freckles accompanied his skin. His mouth was such a full cherry, contrast between his skin, some claimed the man a vampire who took the blood and hearts of young maidens by a single look and kept them in his lips. But most importantly, he carried a piece of tree around and feather of a white fowl and scratched his feather upon it in hasty motions. Old Withers, however, could not tell if his notions were of Good or Evil.
So the King of Gri'Dore, Ala'Axys Gri'Dore, (all Kings and wives of Kings of Gri'Dore taking on the last name of their province) walked up to the curious-looking man and placed a rough hand on his shoulder. Effectively stopping him from all movement in a vice-grip. The man looked up with an irate gaze, but quickly blanched with fear at the realization of the nearly 3 feet difference between them.
"What is your purpose, strange being? Whatfore do thee make with tree and bird?" Ala'Axys grunted, his village behind him.
"I be Kalzaiz Slih'in, Lord of Slih'in palace." A gasp erupted from the dim-witted crowd. "Unhand me, great Wareserf."
Ala'Axys scowled at the refrence to the most hated creature of the lands, the Wareserf literally meaning 'slave to dark'. Wareserfs stole the breath from people in their sleep and used the energy to reproduce, stealing primarily from babies but only able to feed during full moons. "How dare ye! A Lord speaketh to another with malice!"
"Thee can barely comprehend what ye say! Therefore no better than a Wareserf, ye are. Unhand me." Kalzaiz snapped, his eyes swirling in displeasure.
"What unnatural things do ye to tree and bird, speak and I shall free." Ala'Axys replied, his booming voice threateningly calm.
"'Tis not unnatural things in Slih'in, all there read and write." Kalzaiz told him peacefully, feeling the man un-tense his grasp.
"What is this 'read' and this 'write'. Teach us, and live in splendor."
Kalzaiz scoffed. "I am Lord."
"But you are weakling." Ala'Axys smirked as a spear poked Kalzaiz's back. "Teach us and live in splendor, with the finest breeders and wenches around to sustain your needs. Or die a bloody death." Kalzaiz growled at the man with the spear behind him but paused to think over his chances. A gleam shone through his coloured eyes, perchance this was the time for his dream.
"On one condition, my Lord." He bowed and a smile grew on Ala'Axys' face until he laughed in his large voice encouraging everyone else to do so.
Kalzaiz Slih'in smirked as he pursed his lips and sipped his red wine. The fool, Ala'Axys, allowed him to build his great school. He thought that it was so he could 'teach' them better. Kalzaiz almost laughed out loud at the preposterous notion. He wanted Hogwarts, the school, for his own claim at land. Times were changing and the little town of Slih'in would become a great nation someday.
Kalzaiz lowered his legs from their propped place on his desk. He had a son, a beautiful heir that was just like him in every way. And the wife he chose, Rikkia Raivvn, was a fair maiden with her wits intact unlike the rest of the bunch here. He sighed deeply, he could grow to love her if he hadn't already. Standing up, he walked over to his window in his office and stroked the wall besides it fondly. Hogwarts wasn't only for him, he had created the largest library in the world to suit his wife's never-ceasing needs, as well as his own. His smile faded to a frown. His son, Salzaiz, was a bit too much like him; soon, the boy would be open to a dangerous world of magic just like his father.
"Papa, Papa!" Salzaiz rushed in with tears streaming down his face. He ran into his father's arms and sobbed, breaking Kalzaiz's reverie.
"What is it, son? What has happened?" His six-year old wiped his face and tried to maintain a stoic face, a survival tactic he would surely need later on in life, but only further broke Kalzaiz's heart.
"M..M..Ma! Someone, a Wareserf, stole her breath!" Kalzaiz hugged his child close to him and made shushing noises as he rocked him. A tear escaped his own closed eyes, although he knew this day would come. He pulled back and looked deep into his son's eyes. Beautiful silver eyes, a mix of his and his mother's that changed from silver to white and in between with a hint of blue. Kalzaiz smoothed Salzaiz's hair, a red-black colour, another mix. He held back a sob. Times indeed were changing, much too rapidly for his taste.
"There's no such thing as Wareserfs, you know that. Now, Son, my heir, Salzaiz. You must return home to Slih'in, to grandma the way that I just showed you the last time. Remember?" Salzaiz nodded his head. "Good, good. I want you to live there, hide away for 10 years or so. And then come back here with people like us. You know who we are, right Son?"
"We're witches and wizards, Papa. That's what we are, except Mama. Dad, what about Ma?" Kalzaiz blinked through tears at his son.
"Go on now, Salzaiz. You have to go." Salzaiz ran over to the fireplace and grabbed the white powdery substance in the small, overlooked, green jar. He fisted it in his hand and was about to throw it down, but speared a sorrowful look at his father.
"Will I see you again, Papa?" He whispered. Another tear left Kalzaiz's eyes and his shoulder's started to quake when he looked back.
"I love you, my Salazar." Kalzaiz replied, using his son's nickname, watching his son drop the powder in shock and disappear in a flash. Before he could collapse in a mourning heap, he forced himself to get up from off his knees and rush to Rikkia's side in her bedroom.
She lay, in a bloody heap, on her blue floor that matched her now faded-dull eyes. "Rikkia!" Kalzaiz cried, falling to her side and grasping her hand as he sobbed.
"Kal.."She muttered weakly, coughing soon after. "Kal, where is Salazar?"
"I sent him to my mother, Rikkia. Who did this to you?"
"Ala...Axys betrayed u..us." She whispered. "He made certain...Nigia would not live to be...born." He chocked back a whimper at the loss of his only daughter-to-be.
"And Hegor?" He breathed, dreading the answer. She rolled her head to look at the silent room attached to hers. "No. No, no, no!" His body shook with the buildup of his unshed tears.
"Kal.." Rikkia spoke sweetly. "Kal, it's my turn."
"No!" Kalzaiz buried his head in her flowing black locks. "No! You can't leave me yet; my son..Sal..we need you still." She kissed his forehead softly with effort.
"Let me go, my Snake."
"Let me be selfish, my Raven. Just this once, please!" He sobbed. "I love you."
Rikkia's eyes softened. "And I, you..." Suddenly she gasped and started to choke, wheezing. "K..Kal.." Kalzaiz leaned back, slowly letting her go, lingering when he reached her hand. He locked gazes with her, and she smiled one last time. Her hand fell and hit the floor the same time her heart stopped. The lengthy moment between then and the arrival of Ala'Axys was filled with pregnant silence.
"HARRY POTTER!!!" Harry jumped at the sudden intrusion of his name. Fear rippled through him as he realized that Snape had just caught him his new and already re-read book in his class, not paying any attention to the over-flowing cauldron next to him.
"Um...hello, sir?" He spoke weakly, hiding behind his large volume of text and ignoring the snickers.
"Yes, yes, finally decided to join our class again, Mr. Potter?" Snape inquired in his usual drawl of boredom. "That will be 30 points from Gryffindor." Harry didn't even protest; he should have known that if, for once, he was making a decent potion, reading a book that he knew he would get absorbed into was not a good idea during the cooling process. Which he forgot to start, so eager he was to continue reading.
"If that is all, Professor..."
"Not quite at all. I, for one, am highly interested in the book, never mind that it is indeed a book, that you have so impressively gotten absorbed into." Harry blushed and quickly put the book behind his back, shaking his head.
"Oh, no, sir. You wouldn't want to read this, it's quite boring and dull and....well, you just wouldn't like this kind of stuff, sir." Snape raised an eyebrow.
"I'll have you know Potter, in case you didn't realize, I can be the most boring person you've ever met. And if the novel is as boring as you claim, wouldn't you have fallen asleep by now?" Draco Malfoy sniggered then, particularly loud, and Harry glared at him giving Snape a chance to reach for his book. Due to his sharp reflexes and great need to keep his precious item away from his most hated person in the room, Harry latched onto it for dear life before Snape could completely retrieve it. "Let go, Potter!" Snape growled.
"I can't, sir." Harry sneered back.
"Oh, for Merlin's beard!" Snape cried, releasing the book to get his wand and 'accio' it to him. Unfortunately for him, Harry was resistant to that as well and eventually the book flew into and hit Snape's face. Rubbing it forcefully while glaring at Potter, Severus opened the book. "Now, let us see why Potter was so defensive about this book." He flipped to the page that Harry was at. "Ahem." He coughed, preparing himself.
"Let me be selfish, my Raven. Just this once, please!" He sobbed. "I love you." Snape spoke, sneering his way through it and ruining the story image for Harry whom blushed and sank into his seat.
Rikkia's eyes softened. "And I, you..." Suddenly she gasped and started to choke, wheezing. "K..Kal.." Kalzaiz leaned back, slowly letting her go, lingering when he reached her hand. He locked gazes with her, and she smiled one last time. Her hand fell and hit the floor the same time her heart stopped. The lengthy moment between then and the arrival of Ala'Axys was filled with pregnant silence.
But then the door burst open, regardless of Kalzaiz's solemn mood, revealing Ala'Axys and a few of his guards. "Did you do this to my Raven?" Kalzaiz spoke hoarse.
Ala'Axys laughed. "Why would you think I did such a crime, after all that you have done for us? Nay, it must have been some lone Wareserfs."
Harry sank lower and groaned. Soon would come the prophecy and then on the next page...
"How could you? My son, my daughter, my wife?" Kalzaiz slowly stood up, his back to the group. Ala'Axys motioned for his guards to raise their weapons.
"Delusion from the death of your loved ones, it gets to the best of us, Kal..."
"Don't you call me 'Kal'!" Kalzaiz shrieked, his eyes glowing white. "From now on, this day forth, a curse upon you and your descendents: Barren your fields will be, fertile your females be, from riches to rags you will live in poverty!"
"A sorcerer?" Ala'Axys shouted. "Shoot him, kill him! Burn him on a stake!"
"Two wholes my heir will be, but half and half in destiny, until whole once again, take revenge upon this lan'!"
And lower he sank, only one paragraph left...
Kalzaiz's whole body started to glow white as he was lifted up into the air, impervious to all weaponry. There was not a scratch on his skin. The wind started to blow around, picking up speed and sound and strength. Soon, even Ala'Axys struggled to remain upright on the floor. Suddenly, Kalzaiz burst; half of his soul blending with his beloved school, half following his beloved dead, half entering his son's core and the rest drifting away without a destination. Snape turned the page, glaring moderately at the ever-shrinking Potter before looking down and gasping. Harry groaned and blushed further. After a very long time, or not, Snape regained his senses.
"Potter." He barked. "You will stay with me after class and we will discuss this.........picture. 75 points and a detention tonight at 8 afterwards." Harry moaned as he straightened himself up, slamming his head on his desk.
"Good job, Potter. You've provided us with a lot of entertainment today, and we didn't even have to touch those filthy friends of yours." Draco smirked, gathering his supplies. "Ta-ta now, Potter, I have people to see and you to talk about." He slammed right into Professor Snape, but managed to stay upright even in his gaping shock.
"I can assure you, Draco Malfoy, that you do have to see me as well and that we will be talking quite a lot about Potter. But that will not be all, you can accompany Potter on his journey here at 8." Severus smirked at his dumb-founded expression.
"But...but, I didn't do anything!" He complained, returning to his seat angrily.
"You didn't have to, ferret, you just had to be there." Ronald sneered at him before giving Harry a sympathetic pat on the back. "We'll see you later mate."
"I'll give you a copy of my notes, Harry, just don't do anything more to get into trouble!" Hermione called. "Merlin knows we run out of points fast enough."
"How come I don't get any..." Ron's voice could still be heard until Snape closed the door and placed advanced silencing charms on it. Draco Malfoy picked up his head at the significance and sat up straighter, Harry Potter on the far side merely glanced up gloomily.
"Can I get my book back, Professor, please?" Snape didn't spare him a glare.
"Listen to me first, Po...Harry." Snape replied, stunning Harry into attentiveness. "It is essential that you listen extremely carefully to me. Our lives could depend on it." Harry and Draco shared a look. "Now that you understand the seriousness of the situation, let me begin.
"A long time ago, what was recorded in your book, Pot...Harry, actually happened. During our Founders time, Salazar or Salzaiz did come back to Hogwarts and restored her to her glory now. But there was no one else, no Helga, no Rowena, no Godric."
"Then how did we get the four houses?" Harry asked, unused still to how Snape was treating them, more specifically him.
"Listen." Snape hissed, narrowing his eyes and Harry relaxed some. He knew that Snape. "Anyways, before I was interrupted, Salzaiz created the four houses based upon the major characteristics he saw in the young witches and wizards he gathered. Bravery, courage, loyalty, cunning, artistic-ness, and so on. He created three houses: Gryffindor for those brave and rash and that reminded him of the men in Gri'Dore, Ravenclaw for those that were cunning and great at art and reminded him of his mother, and Hufflepuff for those loyal and quiet and those that made him think of his younger brother.
"In a tribute to his father, Kalzaiz, he took the leftovers, combined them with what he considered the greatest of all characteristics to make the final house. The greatest house of all: Slytherin. There was a spell he used, actually..."
"A feather of Raven, a claw of Griffin, a heart of Badger, Heir of Slytherin! Wit sharp like Claw, courage from Gri'Dore, leal-ity in a Puff, are Snakes Forevermore." Harry chorused. He shook his head clear and looked back at the two confused Slytherins in his midst. "What? Oh...I spoke in parsletongue again, didn't I?"
"Yes, but never mind that. Since I can not use Veriterserum on minors like yourself, I would much prefer it if you spoke the truth even to the point of uncomfortability." As he spoke, Snape looked directly at Harry. "Do you understand?" The boys nodded. Snape smirked. "Good. Now, Mr. Potter, would you by chance happen to be talented musically?"
"Er, I suppose." Harry shrugged.
"How about artisticaly?" Snape continued.
Harry blushed, not too happy with where this was going. "Um...well, yes..." Snape opened his book to the fingered page, revealing the drawn picture pasted in by Harry to Draco. The young Malfoy immediately flushed and slowly reached to take the book away from Severus. He stroked the oil-painted crafted and let out a shaky sigh from the beauty of it. It was a drawing of two men in passionate heat; two halves becoming wholes with striking resemblance to the two young men sitting in the room now.
"Is...Is this...?" Draco breathed, tearing his eyes away to look at Harry. He flushed and nodded, looking down. ⌠Professor, what do you gain from showing me this as well as questioning Potter?"
"I will gain nothing but contentment and peace, if my assumptions prove true, and that is more that what I can ask for these days and times. Now, Draco, how well would you say you are at painting?"
"I believe myself to be quite talented in that area, why?" Severus looked thoughtful for a long while.
"Hmm, you may be dismissed." He said absent-mindedly. Both of the boys stood up as one, but Harry hesitated before leaving.
"Professor, how long will our detention be?" He asked curiously.
"Mm? Oh, yes, never mind about that. It was only used as a cover-up, for appearances' sake." Harry nodded and left. Draco was waiting for him on the other side of the door.
"He doesn't understand it all; he's fitted the pieces together nicely, but he lacks certain information." Draco said mysteriously, joining Harry's side and walking with him civilly.
"Are you asking me if we should tell him?" Harry spoke.
"Am I?" Draco teased. Harry smiled and, laughing, gently pushed him.
"Oh, Salzaiz, you were always one for riddles."
*
Noble like the Eagle,
Strong like an Ox,
Great like the Dragon,
Evil as a Fox
