Have a great 2015 everyone!
4. Dumbledore
Salazar took in the Headmaster's office from where he was sitting on the armrest of the easy chair Godric was lounging in, letting Godric take care of the obligatory small talk as Dumbledore asked some basic questions. He tuned them out for the most part, instead choosing to observe the man's body language and other actions in favor of the mostly useless words which flowed from the old wizard's lips. Actions spoke louder than words after all, and up until now Salazar was not impressed. His negligence when it came to Harry Potter had been just the start, but now this Snape….
He couldn't believe this Headmaster, letting a Death Eater stay at the school, let alone teach. It was ludicrous. And the old man was getting on his last nerves as well. Salazar knew he wasn't the most socially adapted being alive, but Dumbledore… The bearded wizard gave off the impression of a gentle, if somewhat scatterbrained, old grandfather, but the various attempts of the old coot to penetrate Salazar's mental barriers hinted at an entirely different persona hiding behind the kind façade. And to think the man thought Salazar was oblivious to his attempts… Altering his surface thoughts for the man to see was easy enough, and he knew Godric would be doing the same.
The man was good, but not that good.
It made him wonder if he did this to every candidate, and if what he found in those minds was leading in his decision to hire or not. If his track record of Defense teachers was anything to go by, he doubted it… So why this special treatment, why this seeming distrust? On the other hand, he had just attacked one of his staff, so there was that...
His lips twitched slightly into a rueful smirk as Godric answered the Headmaster's question politely and with a charming flair Salazar had never had the patience for, not even after all this time, and he listened with half an ear as Godric and Dumbledore talked. Then he focused on the weaves of magic around him, permeating the very air surrounding them as he tapped into his Spellweaving talent and felt out the magic of the castle. What he found was worrying… The wards were deteriorating. He tensed involuntarily as he dug deeper, searching.
Something in his posture must have changed at the disconcerting realization, for suddenly Dumbledore addressed him, and Salazar blinked several times as his focus was diverted to the man in front of him. The man was powerful, that much was a given, but still on an entirely different level from himself or Godric. Which was a reassuring thought, considering Voldemort and Dumbledore were supposedly quite evenly matched.
"Excuse me? I was lost in thought for a second," Salazar replied to the question he hadn't heard, and he met Dumbledore's cool blue gaze calmly as he shifted to sit more upright. The wards would have to wait, he would investigate their troubling weakness later. Right now, he needed to focus on this man in front of him.
Dumbledore regarded him silently, and Salazar once again felt the invasive sensation of Hogwart's current Headmaster trying to delve deeper into his mind. He and Godric had agreed not to return that favor if the old man tried, so Salazar restrained himself from retaliating and pretended not to notice anything as Dumbledore restated his question. "Your brother and I were just discussing the added value of having two teachers in the Defense position, and I find his arguments to be very persuasive. He tells me your specialty is defensive magic and that you are a skilled fighter. But I have to admit I am confused… your magic is like nothing I have ever sensed, and I hope you understand I need to make sure that you're not a threat to the school or the students. May I please see your wand?"
Salazar took a slow breath, exchanging a quick glance with Godric. This, they had not been expecting. Maybe there was more to Dumbledore after all… For the old man to be able to sense his magic was nothing short of amazing. The man wasn't a Spellweaver, he was sure of that, so he was making this analysis based on spells. Which was somewhat impressive. It made him wonder… what else was Dumbledore hiding?
Godric was frowning slightly, but after a moment, he nodded slowly. Salazar allowed a small smirk to twist the corner of his mouth upwards as he replied simply. "I don't use one." It wasn't entirely unheard off for a wizard to use solely wandless magic, although it was usually regarded as an inferior use of spells as it was usually less focused and powerful. But not so for a Spellweaver. None of those limitations applied to him, and it seemed Dumbledore was drawing his own conclusions about him.
Dumbledore frowned, eyes alight in fascination as he gave Salazar another once over. The pale wizard didn't miss the quickly disguised greed in that gaze. "You're a Spellweaver?" the old Headmaster asked after long moments, and Salazar gave a curt nod in reply.
The Headmaster seemed to mull that over for long moments before asking his next question, a valid one, Salazar had to admit. "Then how are you planning on teaching my students, who all rely on the use of wands, to use magic?" Dumbledore asked seriously, brow furrowed slightly, and Salazar gave a small shrug in reply.
"That's where Gabriel comes in. I can teach your students much about dueling without ever having to cast, and not all threats are magical. Something most wizards seem to forget." That earned him a thoughtful look, but apparently Dumbledore wasn't done yet. "I see, you may have a point there… and it will be good for the students to see that there are more possibilities for magic use out there," he continued thoughtfully, before his gaze sharpened again, and Salazar instinctively tensed as the man spoke again. "One last question for you. I'm sure you understand, but I need to know the nature of your Contract, and for that I have to see it for myself. I'm sure you understand, with everything that's been happening the last few months," he continued calmly, and Salazar forced down his first instinctive reaction at the innocently phrased question, cursing mentally as his hopes of them being able to skip this part were effectively trashed. They had known this was coming, and they understood the need. If it were him, he would never hire somebody with a known Contract he didn't know the nature of, but he didn't have to like it.
Without replying, he quickly tied his hair into a sloppy tail before pulling the black turtleneck over his head and dropping it in Godric's lap. He stood, reaching down to take off his tanktop as well, which left him in just his cargo pants and boots before he turned around to give Dumbledore his exposed back. The action went against all his instincts, which were screaming at him not to give an unfamiliar wizard such an opportunity to attack. He pushed those thoughts down ruthlessly, crossing his arms as he trusted Godric to have his back. Literally.
The sharp intake of breath was not unexpected. Contracts like the one he had were unheard off in this age, and with what he had gotten to know of Dumbledore by their short contact, he wouldn't put it past the Headmaster to figure out some of the nature of it by himself.
This day was getting more and more interesting…
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Godric played with the articles of clothing dumped into his lap absentmindedly as Salazar turned around, crossing his arms over his chest defensively as he gave the Headmaster his unprotected back. But Godric wasn't watching Salazar, he was watching Dumbledore. He knew what the old wizard was seeing, was intimately familiar with the elegant runes, magic circles, and intricate markings crawling over Salazar's entire back and shoulder blades, down both arms and extending all the way to his left hand and right elbow in sharp blacks and reds. It was strangely beautiful and mesmerizing in its intricacy, but also frightening in its complexity and extent, and Godric found himself unconsciously fingering the small rune on the inside of his right wrist which had come into existence the moment the Contract was transferred from Godric's father to Godric.
Contracts like the one he had with Salazar were not accepted this day and age, something Godric wholeheartedly agreed with. Banishing Contracts like this had been something he and Salazar had fought to accomplish centuries back, and he hoped Dumbledore wouldn't recognize the different parts of this one. If he did, there would be questions, ones they were not willing to answer...
The old wizard was looking thoughtfully at the extensive marks, obviously trying to figure out what they meant, and if this Contract posed a threat in anyway, eyes narrowing slightly when his eyes fell on some spidery Latin script surrounding one of the magic circles. The lettering was elegant and looped, very small, and extremely hard to decipher, and he tensed involuntarily when he saw Salazar stiffen as Dumbledore traced a finger down the pale wizard's spine lightly. Godric watched warily as all the muscles in Salazar's back bunched up in response. The older man was in astonishing physical shape, but he had always been so lean, and the muscles and tendons beneath the pale skin stood out starkly as he tensed up in barely suppressed anxiety at the foreign touch.
He knew it was taking all his partner's not inconsiderable well of self-control to remain as he was, but his fists were already clenched at his sides, and his breathing was becoming more controlled and even in an obvious attempt to keep his composure.
Touch had always been a delicate matter to Salazar… It had taken Godric ages before the other man had come to trust him enough not to flinch away when he reached out. Being alive for as long as they had, doing the things they had done, had done nothing to improve that.
"He is bound to me as a guardian… has been since I was very young. It allows him to know where I am and how I am feeling at all times, and I can tap into his magic reserves if necessary to defend myself," Godric supplied honestly after long moments of observation as Dumbledore drew back and looked at him in question. The next bit was a complete lie though… "It is a voluntary Contract. He is bound to me, but not obligated to me in any way." The words left a nasty aftertaste in his mouth, and he noticed how Salazar's expression went completely blank at the blatant lie. There had been nothing voluntary about the taking of the Contract, and certainly not about the obligations Salazar had to him as a result. Salazar's life was his, literally.
If it weren't for Salazar's inhuman magic keeping him alive past normal human life expectancy, Godric would have died at a normal age. As it was, Salazar's magic made them virtually immortal in the sense of ageing. Godric was simply taking advantage of that magic through the Contract, constantly feeding off it in small amounts. Which was mutually beneficial, as Salazar had vowed to never let another take the Contract should Godric die…
Dumbledore regarded him closely after those words, and Godric once again felt the man enter his mind. This was getting truly tiresome… He ignored the tickling sensation in favor of handing Salazar his clothes back as Dumbledore retook his seat opposite him. Salazar quickly dressed and sat on the armrest again, and Godric put a reassuring, calming hand on the small of the older wizard's back, feeling the tension in the other man's body tingle beneath his fingertips. He didn't break eye contact with Dumbledore though, and finally, the old wizard nodded.
Those blue eyes turned kind as he spoke, and immediately, Godric felt some of his own tension drain from his body as the atmosphere in the room changed now that the unpleasantries were seemingly dealt with. Dumbledore's voice was warm and relaxed as he concluded. "Alright, I believe you, and I believe you can make a great contribution to the teaching staff… Simon Winchester, Gabriel Winchester… Welcome to Hogwarts."
Godric smiled at those words, leaning forward to shake the Headmaster's hand and not caring about the act he was putting on as he expressed his thanks and pretended like everything was as it should be. Dumbledore was planning something. This had been way too easy. The red haired wizard was fairly sure Dumbledore had gotten more from his inspection of Salazar's Contract than he was letting on, and he hadn't missed the hungry look the Headmaster had given Salazar when he admitted to being a Spellweaver. But they would worry about that later. For now, they had accomplished what they had set out to do.
They were back at Hogwarts.
