Chapter 3: A dram o whiskey
And I apologise for the no doubt atrocious attempt at Scottish in here. Any advice welcome!
Harry was exhausted by the time he reached the surface, gasping for air that simply refused to enter his lungs. Managing to crawl up the banking he fell down into unconsciousness. The only thing he saw before blankness was the old castle that he had once thought of as home.
The alarms sounded between the old walls and four resident professors of magic hurtled towards the threat. They made their way to Loch Agley with full haste and stopped dead in their tracks as they saw the young man laid out on the grass, his hands outstretched to the heavens, welcoming the sunshine, or the rain that was now pouring down on him.
"Ock, a dinnieken whit his daeing in oor gairden with newt bit his trews!" exclaimed Godric loudly. Helga scowled at him and went closer.
"His nowt bit a wee bairn Godric! An his peched!" she declared with surprise.
"A dram o whiskey ud wake im up fer sure" Godric stated helpfully. "No use in keepin 'im oot a doors in thi glen whin he could be sat wi' his feet up efter his wee glif".
Salazar rolled his eyes and levitated the boy before traipsing with him up to the castle, taking care not to bang his charge's head.
"The thing is Godric we don't know who he is, or where he came from. I don't much care for giving him whiskey… an explanation would be of far more value, wouldn't you think?"
"Ah dinna git so crabbit wi me Salazar. Gies him some o me scotch an we'll see to his whir a boots."
Harry woke to the gentle pressure at his lips. A hand massaged his throat gently and he found himself swallowing the liquid that burnt his throat as it flowed down. He threw himself away thinking he'd be poisoned and coughing wildly. His hands reached for his wand before remembering that it was gone. He thrust his hands out threateningly as the four people eyed him warily.
"Ye dinna wanna be wasting me best whiskey laddie."
Harry stared open-mouthed at the man. He looked so much like…"
"He would be a little out of sorts for sure" Salazar said. "And it is good stuff. Now that you're awake…"
"Oh gie thi lad a wee minute Salazar. His bin awake a moment and yer gonna grill him?" Helga interrupted with irritation.
Harry blinked.
"Did you just call him Salazar?"
"Aye fer it's his name. Yerr a sassenach, like Salazar?"
"Er, what?"
"Ya dinna ken?"
"Er".
"Yer English?"
"Oh. Yeah".
"Hmm" Godric hummed. "Such a shame. Naw wonder you di badly wi me cratur an I oanly gied ye a dram, but yoos English er poor drinkers, eh?" he grinned at Salazar who remained impassive.
"Where did you come from?" he demanded.
Harry figured things couldn't get much worse and so decided he might as well speak truthfully.
"I came from Hogwarts, here. Things were going… badly. I made a break for it and I had no other option. There was just nothing else. I swam to the bottom of the lake, right to its utmost depths and found an old mirror and it gave me an incantation which brought me seemingly to the past for I am from about 2000 years in the future".
Salazar didn't react at all though Helga looked amazed and Rowena raised a quizzical brow. Godric had fallen from his chair and was eyeing his whiskey bottle with suspicion.
"You mean to tell us you are from the future?"
"Ah woulda thought tha wer clear Salazar" Helga replied. "Bit why would ye 'make ah brek fer it?' Whit's happening in yer ain time?"
Harry thought about it. What wasn't happening? War, famine, persecution, death, misery, execution, murders, tyranny, corruption…
"War".
"Who with?" Salazar asked calmly.
"Each other".
"I see. A civil war?"
"Yeah, Britain has split between light and dark, good and bad and we're fighting each other for freedom".
"That is ridiculous." Salazar spat.
Harry looked at him in confusion. "Why?"
"You say light - dark, good - bad as though they are synonymous, which is entirely false. Good and bad are waging war eternally. Their battle will not end in any and all lifetimes so why bother fighting. Light and dark are both required in order to see correctly, with balance. All just need to stay on the right side of the shadows."
Harry's mouth had dropped open.
"But… the dark are not sticking in their shadows or whatever you said, they're trying to control and dominate the light, and killing the light. There's this Dark Lord called Voldemort and he's killing anyone and everyone but his followers. He's evil! He has tried to kill me so many times and was going to execute me tonight, simply for being alive, for surviving."
The three other founders gasped in shock but Salazar scoffed at his dramatics. "And has your light not tried to control the darkness? Though I do not condone this Voldemort's actions I am of the understanding that there are no new evils. All sin is old and just repeated. Why bother fighting him, let him fizzle out on his own".
"He killed my parents and tried to kill me when I was one."
"Ah, so it is entirely personal"
"No! He'll kill everyone, and he's immortal!"
"Then no hope remains. It's nonsense. Darkness cannot strive alone. He is fallible because nothing lasts forever."
"What do you want me to say?!" Harry demanded angrily.
"That you were in a time of strife and are unhappy with your lot. In a bid for freedom you ventured into the grasp of a magical artefact and it sent you here so that you gain perspective, skills and character".
"And then I go back" Harry murmured quietly with sudden realisation.
"Why would you go back? You've just got your freedom, boy. Be happy".
"I have to kill him".
"I don't see why. Let someone with more experience do it if it is needed and just be happy you're away from it all.
"My friends are out there dying! And there's a prophesy. I have to kill him!"
"Prophesies are fickle things. I'd stay well away".
"It hasn't given me bloody chance!"
"Shoosh. Stoap bin a choob Salazar. His jist a wee lad.". Helga said harshly. "Ah'll find yer a room bit ah'm afraid this biggin is a bit hingy an ye'll be sharing fer a bit."
"He'll share with me" Salazar spoke, surprising Harry.
"So ye can kill im wit ye dirk Sal. I dinna think so. He can kip in ma room, if he wanna Am gaun to set summat up fer im." Godric announced suddenly.
"No yur no" Rowena interjected.
"Amur so" he
mutter moodily.
"Godric, I ken it be good fer im, both on em."
"Ye aff yer heid, Ro?" Helga demanded.
"Ah'mno" Rowena replied sternly.
Salazar turned smugly to Godric before instructing Harry to follow after him.
"I didn't get a word of that!" he exclaimed irritably once he was into the corridors, drawing a chuckle from the dark man. He wondered if could set a time delayed curse to wait for Snape, when the bastard got there, but decided he'd try and punish the git another time.
"Oh we had a laugh when I first moved up here. You see, Rowena and I met in England and there it was she who spoke oddly it seemed, and now it is I who is the stranger, the foreigner of the lands, but no longer alone it seems." He sighed. "I am sorry for speaking so harshly to you, but light and dark magic is a study of mine and it pains me for people to assume so freely that dark equates to evil. I am a dark wizard but I am not evil, at least I strive not to be. Godric has a nasty sadistic streak but he's as light as they come. It means nothing. It all means nothing."
Harry nodded dumbly. He knew he was prejudiced in his views. He had heard the arguments before, from Snape, from Dumbledore and surprisingly from Draco Malfoy. Poor sod was only to trying to save him some heartbreak.
"I have a separate room so you will have some privacy."
"Thanks"
"Did you bring anything with you?"
"Nothing but what I stand in. They… they took my wand."
"You use a wand?"
"Not anymore" Harry mumbled.
"It is rare for a wand to be used. Indeed I stopped using mine at ten years old. Times change it seems."
"I didn't get a wand until I was eleven. Before that we don't do magic, except by accident, and are then expected to always use a wand".
"Extraordinary. It must surely dampen your magic".
"It's no doubt the work of the politicians".
"Hmm. I know little of such people."
Harry had never found a bed so comfortable and slept off the remainder of his underwater excursion until late morning.