In the bowels of the dungeons of Hogwarts a very large and very old shimmering silver dragon lazily opened his eyes. Very slowly he looked about his lair, the jewels and trinkets, the gold and silver coins, the elfin clothes, the dwarves and goblin armor. Everything still in its place, nothing had been touched or moved. He lifted his head and yawned his mouth opening wide enough to swallow a small giant. The mist of smoke escaping his mouth and nostrils. He turned his head from side to side and rolled the kinks out of dragon bones in his neck. His front legs went out as he spread his talons and clawed the immense pile of gold coins he had been sleeping on. Silvanus continued his slow and deliberate wake up ritual of stretching and finally stood as he shook his whole body and yawned once more. He moved slowly as he walked towards the underground waterfall and took a long drink. The water came through a hole he had made long ago from the black lake far above. The small brook that ran through his lair cycled back up and out to the lake. After his thirst had been quenched he stepped under the waterfall and continued to waken up the rest of his muscles. Vapor and steam hissed and rose from the silver dragon as he took his wake up shower. Upon leaving his shower he shook every part of his body once again all the way to the very tip of his tail and the tips of his wings. Looking up he saw the balcony of his lair that contained his human form.

Silvanus leaped and landed on the balcony and transformed into his relative human form, well as human as a dragon could make it. His hair and eyes retained his silver from his dragon side. His hair was past his shoulders and down to the middle of his bare back. The muscles hard and toned, the body that Slytherin and Gryffindor kept taunting him was that of a young Greek god, the only difference was his ears which had the tapered point and looked to be elfin.

He left the balcony and walked inside the Silvanus common room, the house that would hold his students. The common room was large, round and had shelves of books, tombs, and old enchanted scrolls he had collected over the years. The plush armchairs and couches were in a deep royal purple with silver dragons embossed in their patterns. The room was bathed in a silver warmth that came from Silvanus himself. Lazily he stretched again in his human form and yawned once more. He looked down at his naked form and shook his head.

"Can't meet anyone like this." Silvanus said out loud to himself. "Give someone quite a fright I would."

He turned back toward the balcony and stretched his hand over the edge toward the elfin clothes. They whipped through the air and into his outstretched hand. He pulled the velvety thin material of deep grey cloth of elfin pants on and slipped the elfin leather boots on over them that laced themselves all the way up to his calves. He put the white silk shirt on and tucked it into the trousers not even bothering to button his shirt leaving part of his chest and stomach bare. Silvanus pulled on the elfin cloak and then turned back to the common room. He walked through the common room and into the hall and ascended the stairs. He stopped at the wall and placed his hand upon it which opened the archway for his house lair. Once he stepped outside into the hall of the dungeons he looked back at the open archway. Waving his hand a tapestry of a silver dragon appeared.

"Password is Draconus." Silvanus said to his tapestry self.

The silver dragon on the tapestry gave a nod then lay down on the mounds of gold that were under him. Silvanus gave a snort looking at his infernal tapestry self and shook his head.

"I never should have let Godric talk me into this, and Salizar was no better enchanting you to sleep while guarding the house."

He watched as the dragon on the tapestry opened a lazy eye and gave snort and watched as the smoke rose from his nostrils.

Silvanus turned and headed out of the dungeons and came into the great hall and looked around. Portraits, more than he had ever seen were all whispering and pointing at him. His gaze followed up the stairs as he watched as they moved from one point to another.

"I see they added to the place." Silvanus said.

His attention was caught by the song that filled the hall and Silvanus smiled.

"Fawkes!" Silvanus bounded up the stairs in search for his friend. He stopped at the gargoyles and looked at the great statue inside the old stairwell that hadn't been there before.

"He's to go in he is." The gargoyle on the right said.

"No password needed either." Stated the one on the left.

Silvanus shook his head. "I can't believe those fools. Passwords really don't protect much. Don't know when they will learn."

Silvanus stepped through to the stairs and looked up and saw the door as the stairs decided to move and advance upward. "Levitation charm. What happen to the good old exercise of walking up? Godric you so got lazy."

At the top Silvanus opened the door and entered into Godric's old office. His eyes darted around the room as he noticed objects he never seen before. The song of Fawkes carried him forward and he beamed a smile at the bird.

"I've missed you too, Fawkes."

Silvanus listened to the phoenix and he looked about the office and the portraits who all appeared to be sleep save one that was not in its frame. He around the desk and sat down in the chair and propped his feet up as he leaned back and looked back at the bird.

"You finally picked a human. Took you long enough." Silvanus replied.

Fawkes continued to sing to him. "The headmaster? Since when did Hogwarts get a headmaster?"

Silvanus noticed the portraits were peering at him and it didn't bother him in the least while Fawkes caught him up on the finer points of the school that he missed while he had been sleeping.

"Well, I guess that is what I get for deciding to take a nap." Silvanus said as he laced his fingers behind his head and continued to look about the room.

He quirked a half smile at Godric's old hat he saw sitting on the shelf when Fawkes started elaborating how students were now chosen.

"Is that so." Silvanus said and then stretched his hand out as the hat flew off the shelf and into it. He placed it on his head.

"Silvanus, so you've finally awoke." said the hat.

"Indeed, I have. My little nap has put me further in time than I thought it would have." Silvanus stated.

The hat chuckled, "well, only a dragon knows when it needs rest. So it would seem you are back now and you would like for your house to be opened for students once again."

"Yes. I fear that I rather never did like the sorting of students into other houses. Children are children in my book and shouldn't be labeled, but I see I have missed my chance of setting all of that right while I slept."

"That you have, but the headmaster we have now feels rather the same as you do in that regards. I think you'll rather like Albus, Fawkes does and you know how picky that old bird is."

Silvanus chuckled. "As picky as I am with my riders. The last rider I had was Merlin."

"Yes, you and Fawkes are rare and picky breed the both of you. Now, lets see. You like your students to be unique and to be individual. Race and class doesn't bother you, you also seek a willingness to learn and a thirst for knowledge as well."

"Not to mention unique talents that can be cultivated."

"Yes, yes. It will be slow starting out, you'll have to start from scratch you know." The hat said.

"I figured as much. I have patience. So we both know I don't mind the trouble makers either."

The hat snorted at him. "If you had come just three years ago, you would have had a pair of those."

"Indeed? What year are they in and whose house?" Silvanus asked.

"The Weasly twins, Fred and George, third year this year and in Gryffindor. I couldn't put them anywhere else. They would have fit rather well with you. But there has never been another sorting. I advise you to take those two under wings and give them some advise."

Silvanus grinned. "Well, I'll see what I can do with the pair."

"You would come along this year and give me fits, now I have to think how I'm going to work your house into my song this year."

"You'll figure it out." Silvanus told the hat and pulled it off his head.

Once he had done so he cast it back to the shelf and noticed the old wizard studying him along with four others. Two female witches and two male wizards. Silvanus looked out the window and noticed the time of day due to the shadows of the sun and looked back at the five.

"Good Evening. I am Silvanus, the head of the house of Silvanus." He moved his feet off the desk and stood up and bowed to the old wizard. "It is an honor to meet Fawkes' human, he seems rather fond and protective of you Headmaster Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dubledore."

Silvanus then moved gracefully around the desk and extended his hand to shake the old wizard's hand. He watched and listened as Fawkes sung to his human. Albus looked Silvanus over with his sparkling blue eyes as he listened to Fawkes.

"He is not very trusting Fawkes." Silvanus said to the bird, "even with your reassurances your human is not wanting to shake my hand."

"It could be," said the smooth and silky voice of Severus, "that we have never heard of you before. You are not written about in Hogwarts A History."

Silvanus placed his hands in his pocket as moved in front of the young wizard. He looked him over as well as taking in his appearance. This young wizard Silvanus found in front of him intrigued him. He could see the bravery for being bold enough to speak first, but he could also see the wizard clearly didn't reveal much with his facial expressions. He was reserved and awaiting an answer before he laid judgment. Silvanus glanced over the others that were in the group. Then turned and went to the desk and sat on the edge of it.

"I wouldn't know what has been written in well over a thousand years, as seeing as I have been asleep. The race of dragons I come from is well, extinct save for me, I owe my life to Merlin. I am the last of a dying race, the last of the Silvertongue dragons, the last dragon that can have a rider. I wasn't aware that my waking up would cause such concern to the school considering I gave up most of my lair for this school to be built. You are in essence inside my lair. Godric and Salizar stumbled into my lair one day when they hunting Ashwinder nests. They woke me up, bumbling about my lair and arguing with each other because they couldn't find the exit to the way they had come in. I wasn't in a real good mood either, but I let them leave after I found out they needed the eggs for potions and that they were teaching together. They came back again, this time with two witches. I talked to them, they told me about there ideas for a school, said they needed a place that was magical enough to hide it. There isn't any better place to hide a school but inside a dragon's lair. This castle was built from the rock in my layer. It took several years to build it, I taught history to the students that they brought to help build the school. Only Godric, Salizar, Helga, and Rowena knew what I really was, it was outlawed that no wizard could own a dragon. I should know, I argued for it myself in front of the old court systems. I am not against wizards and I have not killed any wizard unless they left me no choice. Each of you should have learned of the silvertongue dragons that is one race of dragon that the four would have taught." Silvanus said.

Albus lifted his wand, Silvanus watched as very old book appeared and he opened the pages. The others crowded around him and he turned page after page and then settled on one and started reading.

"The last known Silvertongue Dragon is named Silvanus, birth and death are unknown. Last known appearance was during the time of the founding of Hogwarts School." Albus looked up at Silvanus over his spectacles. "I seemed to be without a teacher for History of Magic. The ghost who taught the subject has left, he did say he was holding the spot for you."

"Question is, will you be willing to allow me my right to teach again and have my house of students?" Silvanus asked.

"You'll have to start out with the first years that are coming in." Albus said.

"Headmaster," Severus said, "the teaching post I can see, but the new house added will cause a lot of questions to flare up. How do you propose we explain this to the board of directors?"

Albus closed the book and looked at the wizards and witches around him. "There has always been an ancient magic inside this castle. It has always expanded or retracted when it had need. Even the board has accepted that there was a deeper magic about Hogwarts that no one understood why or how it happened. I understand now what I didn't when I first became headmaster. I found the changing of the guard for the headmaster's rather odd for throwing a sack of gold into the black lake. I understand fully why I had to do that now. Hogwarts has always had a dragon, there were rumors, even the board knows of the rumors. No one has ever found an entrance to a lair before. I do believe Cuthbert has been under an oath not to say anything, there is no denying that Cuthbert Binns is gone. If the board has issues, we'll allow Silvanus to deal with them, after all, like he said, the castle is his lair."

Silvanus sat back and watched as they talked it a over a bit more. Fawkes flew over to him and he stroked his old friend. He looked up when he saw the elder wizard had extended his hand at last. Silvanus shook the hand of the headmaster.

"I do believe the gold being thrown in the lake was some joke that Godric and Salizar would think I would have rather have liked." Silvanus gave the old wizard a smile.

"Yes I hear those two got along famously for awhile." Albus said.

"That they did, unless they were in an argument and I to step in and settle the dispute." Silvanus rubbed his hands together. "So when does school start?"

"The children will be arriving in thirty minutes." Albus told him.

"Not good, I need to time my waking up better. I haven't planned a thing, guess I'll wing it for the first few weeks till I can get settled back in." Silvanus stood. "Do we still eat in the kitchens?"

Albus chuckled. "No, in the great hall."

"Guess I'll have to go exploring tonight then and find out what all has changed." Silvanus had an air of pure delight and inquisitiveness about him. He walked over to the younger wizard. "Care to show me this great hall student of Slytherin?"

Silvanus noticed the stern looking witch try to hide a grin while she looked at the young wizard.

"This way. I am the Head of Slytherin." Severus said.

Silvanus walked beside Severus. "Do you teach Potions as well, like Salizar did?"

"Yes." Severus answered.

"Excellent. I have a few ruddy little beasties I need cleaned out of my bed that you'll probably love for ingredients."