Disclaimer: Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling and The Elder Scrolls belongs to Bethesda/Zenimax.


"Normal Speech"

"Thoughts"


Chapter 3 - The Dragonguard

Fort Cyrodiil, Scotland (U.K.)

"You're… you're Salazar Slytherin."

The smile on Slytherin's lips was nothing but eerie. Harry stared at the man, one which was supposed to be long dead, and whose bloodline caused him nothing but trouble. Well… trouble would be an understatement.

"Many years have passed since I took that name, and the role that came with it," he said.

The fact that he did not deny the identity was alarming to Harry. If this was true, then before him stood the epitome of pure-blood supremacy, somehow also the leader of an organisation which was supposed to protect his family.

Not to mention he was Voldemort's great-great-great… his ancestor.

"You're Slytherin… h-how…?"

The Grandmaster of the Dragonguard motioned towards a chair in front of the desk. "Please, sit down. A good explanation should not be done with you standing."

Harry stepped forward, sitting down in said chair, never taking his eyes from Salazar.

"As you noted, I am indeed Salazar Slytherin, one of the four founders of Hogwarts. Alas, my role as Grandmaster of this order predates that of founder and professor at the school."

"How?"

Truly, this was perhaps the primary of his questions. How exactly was this man still alive after so many centuries?

"If I told you I was not your kind of human, would you believe it?"

Harry blinked his eyes, and he spoke a single word, no emotion behind it.

"What."

"Appearances deceive, Harry Potter. You more than most should be aware of that," said Slytherin. "I am not exactly the same type of human as you are."

"Not exactly human."

Beyond pure and utter disbelief, Harry's words conveyed little else.

"The name of my kind comes from our homeland. In your tongue, Snake Palace," revealed Salazar. "In ours, Tsaesci."

A bit exotic, Harry noted.

"Assuming this is true," spoke Harry. "That doesn't explain how you're alive."

"We have long lives, far longer than those of the other races. Also, we have a unique characteristic. As snakes shed their skin, so do we at certain points in our lives, either at will, or as a necessity of nature. However, in doing this, we are changed. Unfortunately, our bodies also reach a point when shedding the skin becomes impossible."

"And that's when you die."

Slytherin smiled. "You catch on quickly."

Harry nodded, yet still quite cynical about all this. There a moment of silence, before he finally decided to break it.

"The Dragonguard… what exactly is it?"

"For you to understand what the Dragonguard is, there are a few facts you must be made aware of first," declared Slytherin. "The Dragonguard, and your bloodline as well, remains on this world as exiles. Through arcane and highly dangerous magic, this world became our refuge, and we have remained here ever since."

"And I'm supposed to believe this is true?" asked Harry incredulous.

"Magic exists, does it not? A force the majority of this world's inhabitants consider to be nothing but a fable. And yet… we both know that is not the case, is it?"

He had to concede to Slytherin. The existence of magic and the Wizarding World was just as ridiculous as what Salazar spoke of, and yet both existed.

"Exiles then. Of what?" he questioned.

"Treachery of the highest kind. Your ancestor, Juilek Cyrodiil, was the son of Emperor Reman Cyrodiil III. The Emperor's… chief advisor arranged for the murder of the imperial family. Reman was killed, but Juilek escaped the assassins. A large portion of the Dragonguard took Juilek to a secluded location, where an elaborate ritual was performed to open a way between that world and this one. I personally do not know the details. The mages did all the work."

"Due to the 'schism' in the Dragonguard, I was chosen to take the role of Grandmaster, and have been so until this very day. When we reached this world, we build this fort, although it was different back then. Me and other three Dragonguard members made our objective to create a manner to sustain the ranks of the order for the years to come. It was during this period that we learned of a hidden society of wizards."

"You met the other founders during this period?" asked Harry.

"No. I already knew them. As I said, we were four, seeking the survival of the Dragonguard. I'm sure you can guess who the other three were."

More surprises. Good.

"The Founders were all members of the Dragonguard?"

"The one you call Helga Hufflepuff, not her real name of course, a Tsaesci like me. Godric and Rowena were not of our kind. Men of Tamriel, like you. Godric hailed from the region of Colovia, in Cyrodiil, while Rowena came from one of the kingdoms of High Rock."

This was oddly surprising. If the Four Founders were all members of this order, then why did they found Hogwarts as a school of magic.

"What was Hogwarts for then?"

"A recruiting ground. We saw the potential in the wizards of this world, and while we could not use their magic, what we learned of it was enough to… emulate it with our own. From the students, we picked those with the greatest potential, using the houses as the primary means of categorization," said Salazar. "My house would seek those with the potential for spies, and intelligence related tasks, Rowena sought those who would become a new generation of loremasters, Godric sought those who would become the soldiers of the order, and Helga sought those who would not fit in the other categories, yet were capable of showing great loyalty. A loyalty that would be directed to the order, and to the bloodline of Reman."

Then the story had been altered for the common wizards, those not see worthy of joining the Dragonguard. Yet in the end, it was practically the same tale.

"When Juilek died, the bloodline of Reman continued through his children. And while it has become diluted in all his descendants… the blood remained strong in one branch."

Harry instantly knew Slytherin had been talking about his family.

"How do you know that?"

"You will eventually learn. Of the Dragonguard, as you were told, we are an order sworn to protect the blood of the dragon, the blood of Reman Cyrodiil, by any means necessary. That has been our role, and it shall continue to be."

"If you were supposed to protect me, then why didn't you come to be before?"

Salazar sighed. "We could not. After the attack, Dumbledore took you to your mother's relatives, and from that moment on, you were under his heavy watch. We could not act, as doing so would attract Dumbledore's attention, and that would put the order's secrecy at risk. And with our secrecy at risk, our effectiveness in protecting you would be hindered. Besides, from what we gathered, you were protected from danger in that house."

"Did not protect me from the Dursleys," Harry mumbled bitterly.

"Don't create drama. You were not treated as a welcome guest in that house, true… but you were fed… and you had a bed to sleep on, with a roof and four walls around you. Your stay in that cupboard… and everything that happened to you during your life with the Dursleys… it did nothing but good to you."

Harry was outraged at this.

"Good? How exactly was that good?"

"Because Harry Potter, all that has made your stronger. It made you grow. For what is to come, a weakling will survive none of it," stated Salazar. "The Arena will make sure of it."

"Arena?"

"Tamriel. Or as the Aldmeri would call it, Dawn's Beauty. Your ancestral homeland, and where one day, you shall go to."

Tamriel was his family's homeland? And he would go there… for what reason?

"Why?"

"To claim what is yours by right. The throne of your ancestors, of Reman and his mother Al-Esh. The Ruby Throne requires someone with the right bloodline to sit upon it… and you are the only candidate available."

That had certainly not been Harry's expectation for this.

"Me, an emperor? That's… I'm not an emperor."

Salazar rose from his seat, beckoning Harry to follow him as he left the room. Harry followed Slytherin in silence, until the two reached a large doorway, similar to the one in the fort's entrance.

"You are correct Harry Potter. You are no emperor."

Salazar opened it, revealing a library filled with many books and scrolls, robed figures inside, reading, writing, or searching the shelves.

"At least, not yet."


Harry learned very quickly what it was that Salazar had planned for him. He had just left a school, only to enter another. The first month passed rather quickly. His mornings were spent in the courtyard and the general area around the fort, training his body and learning how to fight with weapons such as swords and bows. His afternoons were spent in a room inside the library, being instructed by one of the Dragonguard's lore keepers in matters of Tamriel and the Aurbis.

According to his instructor, that knowledge could be very well outdate for a modern-day Tamriel, but it would not hurt to have a general knowledge of both history, and the static things, such as the races, geography, and even religion. His evenings were spent in one of the fort's towers, learning the magic of the Aurbis, both in theory and practice. The gateway which the Dragonguard had used to travel into this universe had left a small gap open. Small enough to prevent any invasion from either side, but large enough to allow magicka from the Aurbis to leak into Earth, thus permitting the use of that type of magic. And his nights were spent asleep, which together with the weekends, were the only moments which he had to truly rest.

It was a slow month, during which Harry saw no familiar faces, besides the occasional visit from Salazar, overseeing his progress.

Yet that would change soon enough.


Author's Note:

The Tsaesci as portrayed in this story follow my own headcanon of them, developed from both Oblivion (the game) and the Remanada. Also, to those worried, The Rise of Cyrodiil is not abandoned. I'm simply taking a break from that story and the others.

The ending of the words is ALMSIVI.