Journal entry the second.
My habit when writing in this journal is to be sitting in my quarters, a drink in one hand and an at-peace, or at least non-twitching, Founder resting his feet in my lap, letting me use him as a writing desk. At the moment, however, I am rather far away from Hogwarts indeed, and the love of my life is currently chasing Anubis around with what looks like a flaming marshmallow, both of them laughing like madmen, which is perhaps not that far from the truth. The crow has decided to watch the spectacle with me as the various other parties at the Council gathering dodge their erratic path, gnawing on something that even I cannot identify. While I had earlier expressed my interest in coming to such a gathering of many of the more powerful non-human races, I somehow did not picture flaming marshmallows, nor could I imagine a drinking contest being held with a very large dragon, a rather scary looking leprechaun, a unicorn, a large crow, and Salazar as part of the opening ceremony. I was amazed when my newfound familiar managed to out-drink the dragon, but fell just shy of the leprechaun. Salazar of course blew them away, but it was close between him and the unicorn. I somehow don't think that I will ever see a pure-white unicorn stumble to the nearest bushes to unleash a copious stream of vomit ever again. The dragon and the leprechaun are currently teaching each other fight songs, and now that the flaming marshmallow has finally disintegrated Sal is now chasing Anubis with what looks like a heavily modified cricket bat, and the god has shifted to a slightly more jackal-esque form, alternating between running on two and four legs and grinning like a fool the whole time. For some reason I am inexorably reminded of a college kegger, albeit with less skin showing. This isn't the normal time for the Council to convene, but they shifted it to honour Salazar's return properly, which would probably explain why almost every being here is in some state of debauchery. Really, for ancient or timeless beings and noble species, they can throw a hell of a party. Not to mention that, as the mate of the legendary Salazar Slytherin in addition to my own reputation as a Potions master, I've earned a goodly amount of respect and camaraderie from the other attendees. Apparently, they were considering inviting a suitable human into their ranks for some time before Salazar's return, and I was on the short list already. While I have this rare moment of peace, I think that I will chronicle some more of the events that occurred directly after Salazar's rebirth before they decide to throw me into the mix.
Salazar's first approach of the press managed to achieve something that I think has never occurred before in the entire duration of human history: placate the press corps to the point where not a single one printed anything at first for fear of getting their story wrong. Short of just a few one-liners announcing his return, the press, formerly notorious for misinterpreting a cough as the Plague, had mentioned nothing of Salazar, not even commenting on his fashion sense or gossiping about why he was leaning on me, nor about his strange companions. So cowed and awed they were that the next day after Salazar's proclamations a few elected members of the press corps approached with their stories in hand, wishing to get them approved before printing. When they handed their drafts to Sal, his jaw dropped and, for perhaps the first time, he was caught completely flatfooted by his own success. With a gentle smile, he handed each draft back without looking, implying his trust. I was just about to grab the papers myself to check them over, but the avian fiend got to them first, settling on the nearest perch to read them over, which apparently was yours truly. Chuckling to myself as the reporters stared at the overly large bird with trepidation and no small amount of fear, the crow simply nodded and dropped the papers to the floor, cawing his amusement as the reporters scrambled to pick them up. Rolling my eyes at the antics, I notice Sal concealing his own impish grin behind his hand, and together we took our leave, retiring to our quarters for some well-deserved peace and quiet, provided that god and crow amused themselves for a few hours.
We sat in front of the fire in companionable silence for a while, sipping firewhiskey and basking in the warmth wrapping around us like a blanket. Suddenly, Sal decided to break the silence. "Sev, if the war had gone according to Dumbledore's plans, did you expect to live past it?", he asked in a hushed, solemn tone. Shocked somewhat by the gravity of the question, I glanced at him and saw that this was something that he had been wondering for quite some time.
"To be honest, no, I didn't expect to survive despite whom would have won. Without your influence, Voldemort was a monster, and Dumbledore even more so." Pausing a moment to start stroking Sal's hair gently, I continued. "I don't think I would have wanted to, anyway." Staring at him with as much love as I could muster, I gave him a soft smile. "What, in my previous miserable, empty shell of a life did I really have to live for after all. Students who hated and feared me, a complete absence of a love life, no real friends I could trust completely. No matter who would have won, the entire wizarding world would have been in shambles anyway."
As I was about to continue, I felt that he was shaking, almost as if crying, but as I turned my head to examine his face I saw traces of wry humour flit across his features, coupled with silent chuckling. "Ah, Sev, you couldn't have known, but you've almost stated my own thoughts verbatim regarding my own previous misery. If I hadn't had my restoration in the Chamber, I don't think I would have wanted to live in a world that either of them would rule. Not that I would have had a chance to live in it, even if I had lived to see the end, since a weapon is only valuable in times of war, and can be a costly hindrance afterwards."
A pensive silence came over the room as we both took a moment to ponder how different things could have easily become, and that if not for a series of unlikely and improbable events neither of us would even be sitting here, snuggling up in front of a roaring fire in such a domestic setting. Suddenly, as if by mutual agreement, we pulled each other close and shared a kiss of such heat and passion that it eclipsed even the fire before us. Without breaking contact I shifted him so that he was straddling my hips, running my hands up and down his back as the kiss escalated. Finally breaking away, Sal looked into my eyes with such a tender, yet desperate look and stroked the side of my face gently. "What a shame, if the world had lost you...", he murmured, and with a deft wave of his hand he vanished both of our outfits, making us both groan at the sudden skin-to-skin contact. His words, spoken with such tenderness and sincerity, touched my heart so deeply that for a moment I was simply overwhelmed with the intense feelings of love, gazing at the utterly breathtaking man that, for some reason, had chosen to share his life with one such as I. Past the point of words, I grabbed the nearest bottle of oil which, thanks to his pranking streak we now have many bottles stashed throughout our quarters, slicked myself up, and sank deep into him even as I reclaimed his mouth, trying to let him get swept away in the tides of emotion as well.
Despite the desperation which began to affect us, we made love with slow, languid movements, Salazar rocking back and forth leisurely on my lap, utterly lost in the exquisite pleasure we were sharing. My hands roamed all over his body, hitting every erogenous zone that I had found so far, making him near convulse in pleasure. Once, to break the desperate mood, I decided to hit his one ticklish spot, which is oddly enough right under his chin, sending us both into fits of chuckles even as he was riding us close to orgasm. The desperate air removed, we simply gazed deep into each other's eyes as, with no rush, we climaxed at the same time, the waves of pleasure washing over us for what seemed like an eternity. As we came down from that high, we remained as we were, entwined in front of the fire with our arms securely wrapped around the other, muttering sweet nothings in the other's ear. After some time Salazar fell asleep, at which point I gently rose, careful not to disturb him, and carried him to our bedroom to lay him down. For a moment I just stood there and gazed at him sprawled out on my bed, peacefully sleeping, and I uncontrollably flashed on the first time I had laid him down, the night that he was brought back to life, for he was now lying in almost exactly the same pose. I uttered a small thanks to the god that had brought him back, who probably was now running amok in Diagon Alley with the twins, and climbed into bed, smiling as Sal unconsciously wrapped himself around me the moment I slid under the covers as if I was the world's largest teddy bear. Right before I nodded off to sleep, I took a moment to consider how lucky I was to not only be alive, but to live in a world where I have everything that I never dreamed I could experience. I kissed him tenderly on the forehead as the alluring call of Morpheus claimed me for the night.
I wish I could say that we awoke that morning in our usual fashion, a gradual return to awareness followed by a fairly heavy makeout session. Alas, that was not the case this morning, for we were awoken by a dramatic shaking of the bed, as if a small localized earthquake had decided to strike. Preparing my best death-glare for the fiend who dared disturb our rest, it was wasted on the hyper mostly naked god bouncing on our bed like a demented toddler. Seeing that we were awake, although Sal was pretending that the violent shaking wasn't disturbing him, an effect ruined by the low-grade muttered curses, he stopped bouncing on the bed and instead thrust a rolled-up copy of the Daily Prophet in my face. Still hazy from sleep, I took it without thinking, an act which struck Sal as absolutely hilarious. Normally I'm able to quickly discern the reasons for his laughter, but it took me a few minutes to realize that this scene was something out of a demented Norman Rockwell illustration. Groaning slightly, I sat up and, steeling myself for the worst, was absolutely shocked by the headline and content that followed. Apparently after Salazar addressed the press that first time, some of the students were interviewed and gave very accurate descriptions of his grand debut, along with their impressions. It would seem that, either from respect or fear, the press had decided to do right by Salazar and reflect what a truly remarkable man he is. I showed him the Prophet, which made him snort in amusement and burrow back under the covers, for he is definitely not a morning person under even the best of circumstances. I set the paper aside for the moment and rose out of bed to prepare for class, of which there were thankfully not too many left. Once I was fully ready, I took a moment to look tenderly at the sleeping, huddled form under the covers, and pressed a tender kiss against his lips before heading out the door to start the day.
I know that I may not seem to enjoy teaching, and truthfully dealing with people who will blow themselves up instead of reading quite clear directions on the board gets tiresome, but I do enjoy teaching those that show either a genuine interest or genuine talent for my chosen craft. Still, I think that I was anticipating the end of the school year even more than the students, for unbeknownst to my dear lover I had been thinking of all manner of things that we could do during the summer months before he resumed his rightful place as Headmaster of Hogwarts. Most of my previous summers have been uneventful or absolutely horrible, depending on whether the Dark Lord was involved, so the chance of a holiday that would actually be fun, with the most agreeable of company, was something I was looking forward to as well. Even in the maelstrom of events just prior, several thoughts had been popping up regarding couple references in the infamous, and now quite dusty, Journal, so I had decided that perhaps he would really enjoy a summer road trip, going wherever the winds may blow. I had not yet proposed this idea to Sal, but I was more than reasonably sure that he would jump at the chance for foot-loose travel. Indeed, part of the joy I was feeling was thinking about what his reaction would be when I mentioned my idea.
When classes finally came to a close for the day, I made a beeline for our quarters, knowing full well that Sal probably slept most of the day, and upon my arrival I smirked as my hypothesis was confirmed. I was actually relieved that he was sleeping so much, for he had been successfully hiding his fatigue for too long. I don't care if you are a legendary Founder, rising from the dead is not something to be shrugged off like a hangover. I stripped down despite the early hour and slid into bed with him, grinning as his eyes opened and gazed at me with pure, unadulterated lust. Unable to resist the power of his gaze, I leaned in for a sweet kiss that quickly turned heatedly passionate, momentarily distracting me from my original purpose. After eventually pulling up for air, Salazar looked at me inquisitively, picking up that there was something on my mind, not surprising considering how perceptive he's proven himself to be.
"Sal, I've been thinking about this for a while. It's been ages since either one of us has had a holiday worth mentioning, and before we get bogged down with all the responsibilities for the next school year, I was thinking that we would take a road trip." I smirked playfully at Sal as I watched his eyes widen in surprise and gleam with mischief. "I've just been thinking about those carefree wandering days that you described, and it would be a nice change." I would have continued my well-thought out dialogue, but I was happily interrupted by Salazar smothering my face in ecstatic kisses. "Well, I take it that you're interested in my proposal, then. I was considering leaving right after the graduation ceremony."
"Ah, Sev, dearest, that sounds like a fantastic idea, so sweet of you to think of it." He smirked at me as I flushed from being described as 'sweet'. "You do realize, though, that it will likely not be just the two of us on this trip, and that is a factor that we really have no control over." He chuckled at the thought even as I blanched slightly, thinking of the potential havoc that god and crow could unleash outside of Hogwarts, or even the wizarding world. "And Sev, darling, I was thinking that, if he has no other plans, that Tom could join us as well, at least for part of it." He looked at me, somehow managing to pull off a puppy-dog look despite his slightly debauched state. Remembering how dear family was to him, I nodded in agreement. I cannot deny him anything, and besides, I hadn't necessarily thought of the trip as being restricted to just us two, so Tom's addition was no big deal to me whatsoever. "Mm, I can't wait Sev, it'll be great. There are so many places we can visit, some I haven't been to since my first life.."
Before Salazar could continue that thought, we heard a strange series of clanking, cawing, scraping, and barking-esque sounds coming from the living room. Sharing a look, we both rose out of bed, throwing on a robe even though Sal decided not to bother, and went to investigate. What we found almost defies description, but for the sake of full disclosure I shall try. It would seem that my fire poker, in addition to having retained its pink colour, still retained some sentience and flying ability as well. There was an empty bottle of firewhiskey on the table, which would explain why my erstwhile familiar was currently trying to fight it, chasing it and being chased around the room accordingly. What remains a mystery is why there was a miniature neon green and orange cowboy hat strapped to the poker, and why the crow was wearing a matching pair of miniature chaps. On the floor, barking-laughing hysterically, was Anubis, who for some reason was wearing the matching jacket and horse tail that may or may not have been a prop. What made us both cock our heads in confusion and horrified wonder, however, was the fact that the entire living room was covered in glowing purple cotton candy, which the god was chewing on inbetween laughing fits. Breaking away from this sight, we looked at each other, and Sal was the first one to speak up. "It's not too long until graduation, right? I mean, would they notice too much if we just left?" I just shook my head, letting a mischievous gleam appear in my own eyes. "Now Sal, you wouldn't want to disappoint those looking forward to your speech, now, would you?" He bowed his head in defeat, and we returned our gazes to the surreal scene before us, the temptation to just run away growing with every moment.
As I sit here writing, we are but a few short days from the graduation ceremony, and the beginning of our first real holiday. Even with the company that we expect, and in fact perhaps because of it, I have a feeling that this will be a road trip for the ages. I shall take my leave for the moment, for Salazar is now approaching me with the cricket bat, a truly Puckish look on his face. Knowing him as well as I do by now, the thrill of the chase has awakened some of his latent Maenad instincts, which means that it will be a very...interesting night for me. Not that I'm complaining, mind you, but I think I'll make him work for it. First, to secure this journal from any external forces, for the unicorn is still looking a tad on the greenish side, and is wearing a sparkly party hat on his horn. Hm. An interesting night this will be indeed.
