Many people believed that after Salazar Slytherin left, he had never returned. It was said that since the day that he left Hogwarts with only three founders instead of four, he had never spoken with the ones that used to be his friends.
They said that he didn't care.
They were wrong.
Four times Salazar had returned to the school, set foot on the grounds and thought over his decisions. The things he'd done... and the things he hadn't.
The first occasion had been five years after he had left. Five years since he had spoken to the three that he once and still did consider to be his best friends. He had Apparated on the grounds, knowing that no matter what the castle would always recognize him as a founder and let him enter. No matter what, the castle would always be his home.
With heavy steps, his boots crunched on the dewy grass. The sky was grey and overcast, reflecting his feelings perfectly. He made his way to the front of the castle, to the hill overlooking the lake where the founders had spent so many afternoons discussing plans for the future.
Silently, he joined the back of the group, his eyes riveted to the sight before him.
We are gathered here today to mourn the passing of Rowena Ravenclaw
His eyes spotted out two figures, standing in front of the coffin. Without even meaning to, he moved forward, picking his way through the crowd. He ignored the looks, the gasps and the whispered accusations. Staring straight ahead, he took his place with Godric Gryffindor and Helga Hufflepuff.
The eulogy passed through his ears like wisps of smoke; all he could do was stare at the coffin.
Finally, the priest fell silent, and stepped away. The black-clothed figure that Salazar knew was Godric stirred for the first time since he arrived, stiffly moving to take the priest s place. As he looked out, his eyes caught and held Salazar s.
There was no surprise in his gaze Godric had known that he would come.
Rowena Ravenclaw was words cannot express Salazar saw his friend struggle for words that Rowena would not have wanted. Generic phrases that did not mean anything were not what the intelligent woman found important.
Finally, Godric closed his eyes and bowed his head. She will be missed he finished, his voice heavy. He took back his place with the other two, and all three watched as the priest waved his wand, and the coffin of Rowena Ravenclaw was lowered into the ground.
They fell back into their seats, and as Salazar looked to his left, he saw an empty seat next to the three of them.
Hogwarts had truly lost one of their founders. She d gone somewhere that she couldn't return from, and their only consolation was that one day, they would go there too, and the four founders would truly be four once again.
The second time hadn't had as much of a gap. Only two years passed before Salazar was once again standing on the grounds, watching with Godric as one of his friends was lowered into the ground.
There were now two empty seats, and as Salazar looked to his right he imagined he could see Helga s ghost waving at him. It was just his imagination of course Helga would never choose to walk the earth as a shadow of her former self. Salazar knew that.
But though he didn't see Helga Hufflepuff's ghost, he did see Godric giving him a small, sad smile. It told him that he hadn't been the only one with those thoughts.
Without words, they both rose from their seats, and walked back to the castle. Together, they had drinks and reminisced about the times the four had shared.
It was to honour the spirit of Helga Hufflepuff, who had always said that if she died, to not mourn her death, but be happy for the life she had lived.
Till late in the night, the two remaining founders talked as they would have before the wall of blood purity came up between them.
Salazar was gone before the sun rose.
The third time had been the hardest. More people showed up at the funeral than ever, wanting to respect the memory of the person that, in their eyes, was the last living founder of Hogwarts.
They didn't count Salazar. He was a betrayer, a traitor and a coward. Founder of a house of snakes. But still, despite their thoughts about him, nobody dared to approach the lone man, sitting next to three empty chairs.
As he looked on either side of him, seeing the chairs where Godric Gryffindor, Helga Hufflepuff, and Rowena Ravenclaw should have sat, he wondered what he would do now. The other three founders had met in the afterlife when would he meet with them?
The final time that Salazar came to Hogwarts was the easiest. As he stepped onto the grounds, his old body feeling oddly at peace, he smiled. He approached the hill that together, they had spent so many afternoons on, talking, laughing, and planning for the future.
He took one last, long look at the castle that he had helped build, then looked back towards the graves of his friends. Taking his place beside them, Salazar Slytherin breathed his last.
All four founders had died, and though the living world would miss them forever, the founders themselves were happy with the knowledge that no matter what, they would be able to find solace in each other.
Oneshot. Was written for a contest on a different site, but I took too long with it and missed the deadline. Rather proud of this one (goes to show how bad my stories usually are)-constructive criticism appreciated.