Alright so… few notes here before I start the next chapter. Well, the translator I was using before was taken down. Well, boo. So I found another translator that should hopefully work, if not then I'll have to just use English and pretend that they're speaking Gaelic. I can use italics or something. But anywho… I have been meaning to give you all the translation of the title of the story. It always seems to escape my mind. But here we go:

Am Agus Cinniúint means Time and Fate. Not totally original, but I liked the translation so there.

So I found on the internet that someone went through a lot of time and research to come up with a map of Hogwarts and the surrounding area. I skimmed through a bit of the research this person did and it, quite frankly, blew my mind a bit. I'm going to use this map they came up with to give a more visual representation to Hogwarts and area. Go here and all the way down to the bottom of the page for the map I'm using:

members .madasafish ~cj_whitehound/ Fanfic/ map_of_Hogwarts/grounds. htm#map

Just remember to remove all of the spaces! Most of it is built upon clues in the book, and some of it is added in to complete the picture. Enjoy!

Oh yes, disclaimer: I wish this was mine… but who am I kidding really? Of course this isn't mine. At least the characters and stuff you recognize isn't. Plot bunny was all mine!

Okay, so having trouble with translating some things correctly. I'll try to still use translated words occasionally, but I'll write everything in English while making note of what is actually being spoken in another language. Make sense? Oh… and so I was doing some more in depth research and found out that the Founders probably would have spoken Pictish rather than Scottish Gaelic, though they would have known Scottish Gaelic. Oh, my goodness it's all so confusing. Oh, and written language probably would have been Latin. So:

"Old Norse is in italics."

"Pictish is in italics and bolded."

'Scottish Gaelic is bold and is quoted with apostrophes.'

"Written Latin is underlined and in italics."

"Parseltongue is underlined."

'Fawkes speaking is in italics and is quoted with apostrophes.'

If any other languages pop up over the course of the story, I will make note of it as well. I will also post this key at the beginning of following chapters to make it easier to remember.

Now on to the chapter! Oh, and to answer a review: Yes, Salazar is in deep, glorious denial.

Last Time:

He arrived just in time to hear only one sentence before Dumbledore excused himself with several of the staff following behind:

"Voldemort has attacked the Ministry of Magic!"

Chapter Seven

"Professor Evans?" The woman's voice interrupted Salazar's reading. He looked up to see Granger in the doorway. "The Headmaster has returned and he's calling for a staff meeting," she told him. Salazar could see that she was worried. Her friend Weasley had gone off with Dumbledore, had he not? He wondered if the man had returned safely.

Standing to his feet, Salazar gave a nod. "Give me a moment." He banished his books and looked to the two students who were looking up at him hopefully. "Mr. Holmes and Mr. Brooke," he nodded to them. "Finish your work. This is a detention after all. I will be assigning a house elf to watch you. Once you are done with your detention, the house elf will escort you back to your dormitory," he told them sternly as he walked to the door. He immediately called a house elf and gave him orders to watch over the two students inside of the classroom that were scrubbing old cauldrons. There had been an entire closet full of them so Salazar had decided to put them to good use.

Closing the door behind him, Salazar shook his head and then gave Granger a polite smile. "Shall we, then?" He made a motion for her to lead the way and then fell into step beside her. "Do you know anything?" Salazar asked after some time as the two of them walked through the hallways to the staff room. He could see Granger's brow furrowed in worry. She gave him a surprised look at his question, but quickly shook her head though she did not say a word. "I see," Salazar said slowly before he came to a stop beside a door. "Well then, we shall find out together."

He opened the staffroom door in time to hear Snape exclaim, "By Salazar, woman, hold yourself together! Your blubbering is not helping matters!" Salazar could not help it really. He prided himself on being a master of his emotions, but he could not stop his snort. Snape rounded on him immediately with, "You think this is funny, do you?" He demanded and Salazar held up a placating hand in response.

"It is the use of Slytherin's name that amuses me. Do Gryffindors use their founder's name in such ways?" He asked this of Granger as he turned to her while he spoke. The rest of the room seemed to be watching them, but didn't appear ready to jump in on the conversation.

When asked the question, Granger gave Salazar a confused shrug in response as she spoke a simple, "some do." She closed the door behind them as she spoke.

It was then that Weasley piped up with a smug, "My favorite is 'by Godric's sweaty left nut!" Salazar was confused by the phrasing before he felt himself first go pale and then a bit green. That was certainly not an image he wanted in his head! Through the inevitable of having lived with the man for so long on the road before they had established Hogwarts, he had had the unfortunate luck of having actually seen the man's genitalia in all its rather nauseating glory and it was not something he wanted to revisit.

"How horribly crude," he deadpanned after a moment as he ignored the cackling of a pair of redheaded twins that could possibly be Weasley's brothers.

The conversation could not continue as it was then that the Headmaster cleared his throat to get everyone's attention. "If you would all have a seat, we will begin. Hermione and Eolas are the last to arrive and now that they are here we can start." The room and staff table had been magically expanded as there were many more individuals than usual, Salazar noted. Most looked haggard and defeated. Was this the Headmaster's Order? The news would not be good then, he mused as he took his own seat and suddenly found himself with a twin on either side of him. He ignored them in face of the small pot in front of Dumbledore. A small head had poked itself out of what looked like ash. Salazar knew it to be Fawkes, but was concerned because the phoenix had not been anywhere near a burning day.

"Took an AK for the old headmaster," the twins whispered in both his ears. Salazar ignored them, though he flexed his fingers in preparation if he needed to summon his wand. Dumbledore was about to speak anyhow.

Salazar noted that Dumbledore looked uncharacteristically grim from what he had come to expect from the old man. It was a stark contrast to his rather cheery blue robes. "The Ministry, it hurts me to say, has fallen into the hands of Voldemort," he spoke gravely and breaking Salazar from his thoughts. "As of today, the only safe place left in the British Isles is Hogwarts herself." The room remained silent. The Order would have already known this news and no one else felt like they could break the silence. "As such," the Headmaster continued, "Hogwarts' doors will be opened to refugees. However, we need to ensure that this will not make us vulnerable to attack."

With a frown, Salazar leaned forward. "I suggest that there are adjustments to the wards to keep out any that carry the Dark Mark, excepting those that are personally keyed into them," he brought forward. "Use the gates for the only entrance through the wards by invitation. It is also possible to use a singular warded room for emergency magical transportation."

"It could be done if you wanted me to look at the wards, Professor," another redhead spoke up. He was obviously another Weasley if that hair was any indication. He had never seen a colour that vibrant anywhere else here in this time. Just how many of them were there? "With as old as the wards likely are, it would be good to have them checked over anyways," the Weasley continued with a wave of his hand.

The twins beside him whispered in his ear again. "That's our dear old brother William, nickname Bill. He's the eldest and a cursebreaker for Gringott's. Usually works in Egypt, he does, but home for the war."

After shooting the twins a look, he turned his attention back to the Headmaster. "I would be happy to help as well, sir. Potions and wards have a rather surprising connection, so I know a thing or two." He had helped to create the wards for Hogwarts too after all. He would know what should belong and what needed to be repaired.

The Headmaster appeared to mull it over, but the youngest Weasley male piped up angrily with, "No! No way! He'll probably destroy them instead and then we really will be bloody screwed! I don't trust him, the slimy Slytherin!"

Salazar gave the younger man a too polite smile. "Is your only grievance with me the fact that I am the Head of Slytherin House? You do not know a single thing about me, Ronald Weasley, and yet you make these accusations against me. I have had enough. If Hogwarts is to be a refuge, then we must be able to work together and I cannot do that if you are fighting me at every turn." He took his wand and placed it on the table in front of him. "In defense of my honour and the Honour of my House, I challenge you."

Ronald sneered. "Well fine. Let's duel then."

Salazar grimaced at the lack of etiquette, but before he could respond two more wands were placed down on the either side of him and, much to his surprise, and the twins gave identical grins as they proclaimed, "To ensure the challenged honour is not tarnished, we name ourselves Champions. So mote it be." Salazar echoed the last words, too surprised to do much else. No one named themselves as Ronald's seconds, so the man was forced to ask Granger, who gave a sigh and reluctantly agreed.

Dumbledore hastily brought the meeting back to order. He agreed to let William and Salazar work together on the wards. Salazar was under the impression that it was because William would be there to keep an eye on him and there was really no other option given the strop that they were in. The wards needed to be done to ensure their safety. The Headmaster then gave instructions to the members of the Order to help prepare the empty corridors to house refugee families without interfering with classes. Others were instructed to work out security measures for anything that might happen. Salazar made a note to bring it up with William, to see what they could do with the wards. He had to take a look at them though to see what had changed over the years.

When they were dismissed, Salazar stood up. "Ronald Weasley. I will see you tomorrow morning at seven sharp," he said before turning on his heel. "William, I will see you after I have taken care of your brother," he remarked to the man in passing and then headed for the door. The twins followed after him, so Salazar led the way to his quarters.

Once the door was shut behind them, the twins made themselves comfortable on his couch before giving him identical grins. "I do not suppose I actually have to ask you my questions do I?" He said as he sunk down into his own chair. He watched as the two exchanged looks before one pulled out a piece of old folded parchment.

"I'm Frederick and that's George. But do call me Fred, yeah? Anyways, Harry Potter was the friend of our brother Ron once upon a time before he went missing. He was attacked by Voldemort and just seemed to poof into thin air. His relatives' house was destroyed, though his trunk managed to survive with it being magical and all. This was among his belongings and we're the ones who gave it to him, so we took it back for safe keeping. It's called the Marauder's Map and it's quite useful." Salazar didn't like the look of that smile.

Frederick opened up the parchment and tapped it with his wand while saying, "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good." He said it proudly, but Salazar was more concerned about the ink that was slowly revealed on the parchment. Marauder's Map certainly gave it away. It was a map of the school, though it was incomplete. Perhaps the mapmakers had not known about some passageways or rooms. But as he watched, the most concerning thing were the names written beneath each of the markers for every individual currently residing in Hogwarts castle. There was no question why they were showing this to him. Clearly stated in his room were three names. Frederick Fabian Weasley sat next to George Gideon Weasley and the two were across from Salazar Slytherin. The name flickered in a rather unsure manner unlike the other names on the Map, but Salazar ignored it for the time being.

Quickly looking up, Salazar waved his wand to lock the door. He tucked the wand away then, not wanting to appear threatening. This was a rather delicate situation after all. "Have you shown this to anyone?" He asked them sharply and they both chuckled before they shook their heads. Salazar gave them a rather flabbergasted look, though he managed to reel in most of his surprise. "I know how history portrays me. And yet you defend my honour," he spoke slowly referring to earlier in the staffroom, not understanding. "You know who I am… Your brother is a Gryffindor and I have a feeling that the two of you were in that House as well. So why?"

The two exchanged amused looks before sobering up. "We were supposed to be sorted into Slytherin," they told him. "Our parents are strong Gryffindors and our three older brothers were in Gryffindor. So we managed to convince the hat to sort us into Gryffindor instead." Salazar noted he was going to need to have a long talk with that stupid hat. He motioned for the two to continue. "We made friends with some Slytherins behind the scenes, but ultimately had to act like Gryffindors. Sort of, but anyways…" The two exchanged looks again. "We've been in the castle before since you arrived, though we've never actually met you until now. We have the map, so we help out with security in secret since we don't actually want to let anyone know we have the map. Ron knew about it, but we don't want him to know we have it back. Good thing too."

They looked back to him and gave him grins again. "When we saw your name, we knew we had to meet you. And let us just say that you are absolutely nothing and everything like we expected!"

Salazar looked amused as his eyes darted between the two. "You both should know that the greatest Slytherin is one who can hide that from others. A Slytherin is ambition and cunning, one who knows how to survive. It is one who knows how to fight and when to step away from a fight." He chuckled then. "It is knowing how to never reveal your true self and knowing who to trust." He looked the two over. "I have taught my Slytherins that the only ones they can trust are themselves. We have to be a family because no one else will accept us. We have to be ambitious because how else will we get anywhere? You say you have friends who were Slytherins? You know how broken many of them are. They will grow to be driven to people like this Voldemort because as children they were never given the right path. They will raise children who are like themselves and the cycle will continue. I am here now… and I have to stop the cycle."

"You know… We wondered why you seemed to disappear from history. You're never mentioned again after you were exiled from Hogwarts. You were brought here," Frederick observed. Salazar only gave a nod. "What happened exactly? We want to hear your story, not the one passed down through history. It's obviously wrong."

Salazar looked between the twins seriously for a long moment. He then gave a slow nod. "Before I continue, I want you to give me both an Oath that you will not tell anyone who I really am," he told them sternly. There was something about the two of them that called to him. They had a playful air… but at the same time, he felt surprisingly comfortable. It had been like with Granger, but yet different. "And I want you both to swear that everything you said to me was the truth."

"Sir, yes sir!" The twins saluted him but Salazar only raised an eyebrow. The two laughed before pulling out their wands and sobering up. "We swear on our magic that we spoke the truth to one Salazar Slytherin and we promise that we will not reveal him to anyone else excepting his permission." There was a swirl of magic and their expressions once again became more animated.

Salazar hissed softly and Eolas appeared moments later. The snake draped himself across Salazar's shoulder and hissed softly in the man's ear. Salazar hummed thoughtfully before he looked over to the twins. "I had an adopted brother. Cayden Slytherin. He was a mundane born who had been hurt by his parents because of his abilities. Many of my students were abused or abandoned. I did not hate mundane born… I hated the mundanes who abandoned such precious children, but Cayden took the hate a step further. I still do not know what went wrong… but he started to gather followers. We knew mundanes were being hunted, but I had not realized at first that it was Cayden." The thought of his brother still hurt.

"When the others ordered me from Hogwarts… it was because they decided that they no longer wanted the dark arts taught. But instead of requesting me to stop, they exiled me. I left immediately and went to confront Cayden." He stroked Eolas' head in a calming motion. "We dueled and I defeated him. There was much residual magic in the clearing and, by the will of magic, I was sent here to the future." It was straight to the point. "I never sired a child, to my knowledge, but it is likely that Cayden did. It is from this line that Riddle was likely born. I do not recognize the man as an Heir." He smirked then and scratched underneath Eolas' head. "On top of that, I have disowned Riddle from the line of Slytherin as I am the Head of the family. He is no longer magically associated to the line and so no longer has the ability to use the Slytherin family ability."

The twins stared for a moment before cracking up. "Oh, yes! That is perfect!" The two crowed as they doubled over each other in laughter. "We would have paid to see old Voldy's face when he realized he couldn't talk to his dear pet anymore!" Salazar watched them in amusement. There was just something likeable about the two redheads. He would still closely guard his heart and his secrets, but he could see himself getting along with them in the very least. "It might have been why he upped his game though. He tends to be a bit rash when he gets angry. Nasty temper on him," the twins commented as they finally seemed to calm down a bit.

Salazar gave a small chuckle in response and sipped at his tea. "I do not suppose I shall need your help for the morning duel against your younger brother," he commented lightly as he changed the subject. "But this will not cause any grievance between your family, will it? You have pledged to defend the Honour of Slytherin House. That is quite a large statement to make."

The room was quiet for a moment before the twins exchanged looks and then turned their serious gazes on Salazar. "It might. But with you here, we don't care because if anyone can rebuild the glory of Slytherin House it is you, Salazar. We believe in that and think it's about time we let our real loyalties be recognized. The larger problem is more than just Voldemort, isn't it?" Salazar only gave a small nod. "The Balance of Power. Not many believe it anymore, you know. Some of the Purebloods might, but they've been blinded by what Voldemort used to be all about. It's not taught and we're in a pretty precarious position."

"I have started to teach my Snakes," Salazar said as he set his cup aside. "On Samhainn, I hope to hold a private ritual for them in the House lecture hall. You both are, of course, welcome to attend." The twins accepted graciously, if enthusiastically. "What are your affinities?" He asked them then. "If you are willing, I would like to make use of your knowledge and abilities. Magical twins such as you are extremely rare."

The two hummed softly and gave Salazar mirroring grins. "You're the first to ever make mention of that, you know. Most think we're just a bit crazy. We're Neutral with a leaning towards Dark."

Salazar let himself laugh. "Yes, I can see the chaos in you both. I did not want to assume, but it is a breath of fresh air after being surrounded by so many light alignments. The children's alignments still do not count because they are constantly fluctuating as they grow into their magic."

"You're sensitive to the magic, aren't you? You can tell how others are aligned, but you can hide your own alignment. Or did history get it wrong and you're not a Dark wizard?" The twins asked him eagerly, actually leaning forward in their seats.

Snorting softly, Salazar gave a small shrug of his shoulders. "I am not that sensitive, though I have had some teaching in the art of it. And I am a Dark wizard, though I have some leaning towards Neutral that gives me the ability to use some Light magic without the usual difficulties." He was silent for a long moment with a pensive expression and then he turned to the two. "You know who I am… so I have something to confess to you. There is something that bothers me." He ran his fingers along Eolas' scales. "How learned are you both in the subject of magical residue?"

The twins shrugged. "Not much. It's rather theoretical at best, though the idea is sound. We use some concepts in our inventing, but it's hard to really understand how different magic will react especially given how vast the knowledge base of magic is. Residue from similar spells will still react vastly different than one might expect."

"Yes, that is true. So you do you think it would be possible for memories to be stored? We know magic can be stored inside of crystals and other objects. It is the whole idea of enchanting an object for whatever use you might need, whether it is cursing, transfiguration, or any other such need. Hogwarts herself hums with the built up energy of years of magical residue. So would it be possible for memories to act the same way, to be imprinted in objects to be released with the right triggers?" Salazar said as he focused on Eolas, who was hissing happily from the attention. "Triggers such as blood relation."

There was silence for a moment as the twins looked at each other, quietly communicating. Finally, they shrugged and looked over to Salazar. "We suppose the idea has some merit. After all, there are Pensieves. However, that requires specific runework."

He had been afraid of that. "How then would it be possible to see what appears to be memories of what could not have happened?" Salazar looked up at them. "I remember creating Hogwarts. We built on to the original castle. I added my Chamber. However… I have seen memories. Memories that took place in the distinctive halls of Hogwarts which could not have happened while I was there in my own time. I would have remembered such things." It had been eating at him lately and he had had no one to discuss it with before now. But the twins had taken an oath not to reveal him, so he felt secure enough to use them for help. "I woke up in a burned village with no memories but my name. This language was my native tongue and Gryffindor had to teach me to speak his as he was the one who found me."

With an agitated sigh, Salazar's brow furrowed. "I roamed the land with Gryffindor for several years before we built Hogwarts with Rowena and Helga. For ten years…" He trailed off and shook his head. "But now I am here, in this new time and there have been things I have experienced that I cannot make sense of." He looked up at the twins, who exchanged looks once again as they silently communicated with each other.

The two leaned forward then. "Do you suppose… that you are originally from another time, more recent to here, and your name is not truly Salazar Slytherin? It could explain the faded appearance of your name on the Map. You recognize it as your name and nothing else, but it wasn't yours originally. Salazar Slytherin is a well-known name in this time; you could have known it and took it as your own as they only thing you remembered upon waking in a strange world. You say you don't remember your childhood… did you ever find family? You probably searched for them, right?"

Salazar gave a tight look as he stood up. "No. I never found any. There were families who looked for lost children, but they were never the right age nor did I not look like their missing children. I never found anyone with the last name of Slytherin. I was the only and could claim Head of Family, recognized by magic herself." He ignored the look the twins again shared. "I am Salazar Slytherin! Who else could I be?" He did not want to believe it, though he couldn't ignore the truth of the statement. What if they were right? What if he was originally someone else? He had time traveled once by the will of magic… could it have happened before?

Giving an angry hiss, Salazar then straightened his shoulders. "I do not wish to think about this right now. I have a duel to think about in the morning and research to do on the wards." He looked over to Frederick and George. "Do you two know where the ward runestone is?" At their nod, he turned away. "Excellent. I can say that you told me. Now get out, I have things to do." His voice was icy and controlled. The twins did not dare to argue and bid Salazar goodnight before they left.

Salazar took a calming breath from where he stood in the middle of the room. He was not Harry Potter. He was Salazar Slytherin and there must be some other explanation as to why he was seeing the things he was. Harry Potter was his descendent and his Heir. There was no other possible answer and that was final. Why had he even brought it up in the first place?

The man stalked over to a bookshelf to remove books and scrolls on wards. He had to refresh his memory before he worked with William on the Hogwarts wards. Salazar ended up studying his material long into the night before he finally retired to bed to sleep, though he was up early the next morning much to his displeasure. Woe to the Weasley brat. He was not going to get off lightly, Salazar vowed testily as he bathed and dressed in his finest dueling robes made of black dragonhide.

After he carefully tied his hair back, Salazar summoned a house elf for a light breakfast. Once he finished, he strode purposefully towards the entrance hall doors. He pushed them open and made his way out onto the lawn. The fresh air eased some of his irritability, but it quickly returned when a crowd gathered to watch the duel but Ronald Weasley did not. It was ten minutes past seven by the time that the man finally joined him in the dueling circle he had set up. The twins had been the first to appear after him, so they had helped him to set up some wards that would protect the bystanders against stray spells. It was a good thing they did as many of the professors and Order showed up. He could see students as well, obviously wondering what was going on.

"You are late," Salazar said with narrowed eyes, not happy about having been kept waiting. His ire only increased when the Weasley brat shrugged his shoulders.

"You shouldn't have picked such a bloody horrible time to have a duel then. Not my fault as it's so bloody early," the redhead spoke, not looking concerned at all. "So let's get this over with then. I didn't even have time for breakfast, you know! Bloody git." He brandished his wand as he finished speaking.

Salazar's lips curled in a disgusted sneer. He took a few steps back and flicked his wrist so his wand slid into his hand. "I have challenged you to defend the honour of my person and the honour of my House. Shall I win, tradition dictates that you, Ronald Weasley, apologize for every remark you have made against me and against my House. Should I lose, and my Champions fail, then I am dishonoured." Much rode on this duel, more than Ronald likely realized. However, Salazar was not overtly worried. In the unlikelihood that he lost, both twins were allowed to duel at once given their nature as magical twins. Even he would have difficulties against them and he had been renowned as one of the best duelers of their age, on par with Gryffindor.

"Yeah, yeah. Let's get this over with," Ronald said and then threw a stunner. Salazar flicked it away with a wordless spell. "Expelliarmus," was the next spell cast, but Salazar flicked it away as well. They were weak spells.

With a sigh, Salazar made a slashing motion while softly intoning, "Armáil.' (Disarm)

"Protego!" The hasty shield was thrown up by Ronald. Salazar's spell impacted and was stopped but the power caused the shield to burst. Salazar's second spell, cast rapidly after the first and silently, slammed into Ronald's chest. It threw him back, but at least the man had the presence of mind to cast a cushioning charm then roll out of the way of the next spell sent his way. He retaliated with a bludgeoning curse, but Salazar easily danced out of the way.

Ronald was rather adequate at defense, Salazar decided. His shield spells were powerful enough to give him time to roll out of the way and he was somewhat agile. But once he had a feel for the man's movements, Salazar cast several Neutral spells and soon had Ronald incapacitated with ropes. With the man's wand in hand, he looked over to Granger. "You are his second," he said unconcernedly. She would be a bit more of a challenge, but he was not surprised when she held her wand out to him.

Granger offered a weak smile. "I forfeit and recognize that we were in the wrong."

Salazar summoned the wand and then gave Granger a nod. "I will give you your wands back once he has apologized," he accepted before releasing Ronald from his restraints with a twirl of his wand.

Immediately, Ronald was on his feet and rounding on Granger. "What the bloody hell, Hermione!" He looked ready to gear up into a meltdown or a tantrum. Granger beat him to it, much to Salazar's surprise and amusement.

"Ronald Weasley!" The woman's voice was rather shrill and had quite a few onlookers cringing. "What has gotten into you?" Her flyaway hair seemed to stand more on end as she placed her hands on her hips and leaned forward. "Ever since Professor Evans got here, you have been nothing but spiteful and… and rude! I thought you were over such immature schoolboy behavior!" She pointed a finger at him and jabbed it into his chest. "Professor Evans was a bit standoffish in the beginning, but what has he ever done to you, hm? You should know that not every Slytherin is an evil… an evil git like most Death Eaters! Maybe Slytherins are always ever alone with other Slytherins because of people like you who won't even give them the benefit of the doubt! I will have you know that Professor Evans is a very intelligent man and can be rather enjoyable to converse with! I might even call him a friend!"

Well, let it not be said that Gryffindors were not trusting or made friends quickly. He could not say the same for himself, but it rather benefited him in the end to have a woman like Granger decide he was worthy of trust. And it was worth it if only to see the rather amusing look that emerged in Ronald's expression. He looked constipated, Salazar decided. "Now apologize, you daft imbecile!" Granger's next words nearly made him crack a smile. It was always amusing to see a normally composed individual lose their temper. Granger was no exception.

"God, woman…" Ronald muttered and then turned to Salazar. "I'm sorry, alright? I, uh… take back everything I said about you or your House," he tried to speak formally, but floundered a bit. Considering how many children there seemed to be in the Weasley family, Salazar was not surprised that the man's manners were a bit lacking. No offense to the parents, of course, but with that many children a few things were bound to be unintentionally passed over. Manners were usually the first to be missed, as he had seen through personal experience with some children.

Salazar offered the two wands to their owners. "I accept your apology under the condition that you refrain from such comments in the future. Next time I shall not be so kind." Once the two had their wands back, Salazar dispelled the ward around them with help from the twins. "I recommend you form your own opinion, Ronald Weasley, not follow the prejudiced views of others. Have you ever tried to get along with Slytherins, or do you pick on innocent children until they have no choice but to retaliate? Think about it." He stepped out of the circle. "And think about what sort of life they must lead. You have loving parents, do you not? Do they ever try to tell you what you should believe?"

The man did not stop to see or hear Ronald's response. As he strode back towards the castle with his robes fluttering dramatically around him, the twins came to flank his sides. "He's a good man, our brother. He's had to mature during a war after all. But he inherited out mother's temper and pigheadedness. As the youngest boy, he tends to be forgotten. Charlie is a dragon tamper. Bill is a cursebreaker. Percy worked in the Ministry as soon as he graduated. All upstanding examples of success. It's a lot to compete against. But he'll come around. He has Hermione to bring him some rationality." The twins said as they pulled open the doors to the castle.

Salazar immediately headed down a side corridor. "I have dealt with his type before. He will come to sense eventually, but it will not be without a few confrontations first. He will only become tolerable at best, however. He does not like to be proved wrong."

Before the twins had time to agree or disagree, Salazar was forcefully knocked into Fred by someone who had just stepped out from behind a tapestry shortcut. The redhead steadied Salazar as the man who crashed into Salazar snarled. "Watch where you are walking, Evans."

"Sirius, wait! I'm so sorry, Evans. He's in a foul mood. Sirius, wait up you infernal man!" Lupin barely stopped to apologize before he was running off after Black again.

Salazar straightened his robes once they were in the corridor alone again. "Harry Potter was his godson," the twins said quietly. "And you happen to look enough like him that we think it's bringing back memories for him." The both looked to Salazar. "After Harry disappeared, he became bitter. Hunted him forever, but never found a trace of what happened to him."

"I am not Harry Potter… though I believe him to be descended from me," Salazar admitted quietly. "I was wrong before and I may have fathered a child I never knew about. As Head of my Family, I have certain rights and powers over those of my blood. Riddle is a great something nephew I am sure of it, but I still have power over him to a degree." He kept his voice quiet, a small privacy bubble erected around them just in case. "There is a possibility of Harry Potter carrying familial traits. Was he a Parselmouth?"

He only received a nod in confirmation before he started off back down the corridor again and missed the look that the twins shared. When he came to what appeared to be a door to a broom cupboard, he tapped on it with his wand three times. It opened to reveal a large room where William and the Headmaster already stood. "Ah, excellent. Mr. Weasley, Professor Evans… I shall leave you to it then. Have a house elf get me if you need anything. Mr. and Mr. Weasley, if you would come with me, we shall leave these two to their work!" Dumbledore spoke cheerfully as he headed towards the door.

The twins grinned and gave Salazar identical salutes before they followed after Dumbledore who closed the door behind them. "You can trust Bill," they had whispered to him before they left his side.

Salazar shook his head and strode over to the center of the chamber where a large crystal was imbedded in the floor. There was a runic circle carved into the stones surrounding the crystal and glowed with a silver light. The crystal itself pulsed with energy. "We shall have to check the cardinal stones as well on the grounds," he remarked to William who had crouched down. He bent down as well to take a closer look at the ward stone, but then he turned his gaze to William. "Your brothers, Frederick and George, say that I can trust you. But I want a vow from you that you will not reveal a particular ability that I have."

The two men straightened and William gave a frown. "I'm sorry… but what?" He had his wand in his hand, but didn't move to raise it. He didn't look particularly tense, but there was a wary look in his eyes. "Why should I make a vow? And how does this have anything to do with working on the wards?"

With a chuckle, Salazar straightened his robes. "I have reason to believe that my ability will help us take a more in depth look at the wards. I want them strengthened just as much as you do. The lives of many families and children depend upon it. I also need your full cooperation to strengthen the wards, especially for the runic circles as I hear you are a cursebreaker. I want a vow… because I do not want knowledge of my ability to get out. As Head of Slytherin, my status here is already shaky at best and I do not want anyone to misinterpret my ability."

"Why should I trust you?" William asked then with another frown. He still had not put away his wand, but it was also still at a resting position. "Will you give me your word that you do not wish to harm Hogwarts or anyone in her if I agree to your vow?" He asked in return, which pleased Salazar. It would possibly gain him more trust to solidify his position in Hogwarts. It would work well for him to have another wizard on his side. And the twins did seem to trust the man, so perhaps it could work out in other ways as well.

Pulling out his wand, Salazar inclined his head. "I swear that my only goal is to protect the safety of Hogwarts and her students. I intend no ill will and I only wish to bring her back to her full glory," he promised solemnly to which William relaxed somewhat and gave his own vow in return to keep Salazar's ability secret. The founder smirked then. "I am from a family branch of Slytherin," he lied smoothly. "Quite a bit removed, but I was fortunate enough to receive the ability to speak Parseltongue. It is not something I exercise often, however I think it will be useful in this case. Salazar Slytherin was one of the founders, so he likely worked on the original wards. That said, it is also possible that he used his Parseltongue ability to create specialized ones. With my own ability, I will be able to strengthen them like no one likely has been able to do since Hogwarts' creation." William seemed to be at a loss for words, Salazar realized in amusement.

"That is… utterly fascinating!" William finally stated. "I would absolutely love to see how it works!" He said as he waved his wand. The ward stone hummed and then a web of runes was projected into the air above the crystal. "I was looking at the stone before you came in and I noticed a degrading layer of runes, but I couldn't make sense of them. Many of the other runes seemed to have been updated since their original creation, but this level hasn't been." He used his wand to bring forth the level that he had been talking about. The runes in the web pulsed weakly, looking duller than the other ones in the rest of the web.

Stepping forward so he could get a better look, Salazar nodded. "I thought so. They are parsel runes," he informed William who only looked more excited. The man then pulled out a large leather bound journal and set about copying down the characters. Salazar helped him as parsel runes were trickier than the mixture of Ogham and Futhark runes that made up the rest of the ward web. The parsel would need to be studied extensively to figure out which weak spots needed to be strengthened. Once the runes were copied down, Salazar used a spell to copy William's notes onto some parchment he summoned. "I will translate these tonight and get them to you tomorrow so we can go over what changes need to be made." He tucked the parchment into his robes and then used his wand to bring another layer of the web forward. New layers had been added on over the years.

Frowning, Salazar looked over the web. "I suggest we ask the Headmaster if there is any material left by previous Headmasters that may detail what changes to the wards have happened over the years." He looked over to William. "Some of the layers are newer than others and I do not want to make any changes until we know for sure where everything has been weaved together."

William nodded his head in agreement. "We're also going to want to know everything that the wards are supposed to do. I don't particularly want to set off anything by poking needlessly at it. I'll go ask Dumbledore about it if you want to start copying down some of the other layers. I'll be back to help you copy them down in a bit." He handed over the journal that he had been writing in before he left to go up to the Headmaster's office. He figured it would be easier than trying to get a house elf to relay the message since the documents, if they existed, would likely be there anyways. He had a feeling that Dumbledore would want to know his thoughts on the potions professor anyways.

Once he was alone, Salazar opened the journal to a new page and started to painstakingly take down the rune web. He was sure that he and the other founders had taken a record of what would be written into the ward web when they created it, but the records were now likely lost to history if the Headmaster did not have them. He was not very optimistic of it. So he made sure to copy everything. He made notes of what appeared to be newer and which strands seemed to be deteriorating. It was painstaking work and William eventually returned to help him take down the runes. He had come back empty handed, but Salazar had not really been expecting much.

"You were gone for some time," he observed after a while as he rotated the projection. "He asked about me, did he not?" He glanced up to see William's face turn into a rather sheepish expression.

The man nodded and wrote down a few more runes before he replied. "I will be frank. He did ask about you. But it was mostly about how we got along and what I thought of you," he said with a shrug of his shoulders. "I told him that you seem the type to play things close to the chest, but I do not sense any ill will from you. I told him that I truly believe that you want to protect the school and its students. I think I will enjoy working with you, and I told him that." William gave him a smile and then focused back on their work of copying the runes. Salazar was not quite sure how to respond, though he gave the man quiet thanks before they both silently kept on working.

They were interrupted around midday by a house elf that brought them lunch on Dumbledore's orders. As they ate the light meal of soup and sandwiches, the two men discussed the rune patterns that they had already had a chance to work out. "I started on the oldest layer, the parsel runes aside," Salazar said after he had swallowed a sip of his soup. "They had deteriorated the worst, but I do not think we will be able to reinforce them until I have translated the parsel runes that are entwined with the layer." He waved his spoon a bit. "Some of the newer layers we can reinforce. It should be enough to keep out any surprise attacks until we finish with the rest of the wards."

William swallowed a large bite of his sandwich before he replied with a nod. "I agree on that. We'll have to translate all of the older layers before we can do any work on them, but I think the newer ones are simple enough that they'll be easy enough to work with. They don't interconnect with the older layers enough to cause any problems. We should be able to strengthen them tomorrow and then get to work on translating the rest of the layers to understand what we need to do with them next. While we've been copying them, I'm sure you noticed that the newer layers seemed to have just been added on top. Makes it a bit easier, but we really need to get the older layers figured out." He seemed to be musing out loud.

With a chuckle, Salazar stood up. "We need to take a look at the cardinal stones around the castle grounds before we do anything else. I suggest we make sure they are in complete working order and then we can come back to finish copying the rune web." William gave a nod of agreement and stood up after stuffing the rest of his sandwich into his mouth. Salazar gave him an unimpressed look before he turned on his heel and led the way out the door. Once it was closed behind him, he motioned for William to lead the way. "I assume that the Headmaster gave you the locations for the cardinal stones?" He could not let William know he knew where they were after all.

The redhead gave Salazar a rather mischievous grin that reminded him of the twins. "You up for a bit of walking, Evans? The North stone is near the boundary wall on a mound. The East stone is at a point along the carriage track from the train station for the Express. The South stone is along the boundary wall near Hogsmeade and the West stone is nearby a paddock that Hagrid uses along the edge of the Forbidden Forest." Oh, Salazar knew there would be a bit of walking, but he grimaced at William in response. The redheaded man only laughed.

As they headed first towards the North stone, William took it upon himself to regale Salazar with tales of his time in Egypt. The founder had to admit that it was rather interesting to hear about the tombs that William had worked on, ancient even during the time he had helped to build Hogwarts. Some of the curses seemed rather interesting as well and it intrigued Salazar enough to make a note to look up more information on them later when he was not so consumed by more pressing problems. Perhaps William had a few scrolls or books that he was willing to part with for a time.

When they reached the mound that contained the North stone, Salazar could feel the pulse of energy that it gave off. It seemed to be working then, but they would know for sure after a closer inspection. He climbed the mound to where a small scattering of trees grew. They were very old trees, but yet still very slender and appearing ageless. He remembered these trees… Salazar assumed it was the power of the North stone that kept them suspended in time. Stopping outside the ring of trees, Salazar pulled out his wand. "I suppose it is like the door to the ward stone?" At the answering nod, he tapped the trunk of a tree three times. He then passed through an invisible barrier to find what looked like an altar with a smaller version of the ward stone imbedded in the stone of the altar with the same etched runic circle. This crystal however glowed green in colour.

Coming in closer, Salazar inspected it carefully. With a tap of his wand, the rune web rose above it and Salazar carefully rotated through the layers before he nodded in satisfaction. "Do you have a knife with you?" He asked William, who appeared as he dug into his robes to pull out a small knife. "Good. The runes here and here," he pointed to them on the stone as he spoke, "need to be carved deeper into the stone. Time has worn these ones away, but the rest seem to be in excellent condition. We do not have to worry about the North stone." William came forward to do his own observations, but he ended up in agreement so he carefully carved out the runes. There was a strong pulse from the crystal and it started to shine brighter.

Both pleased, the two wizards started the trek to the East stone. The East stone was just off of the carriage tracks in a small protected grove of trees on a similar altar as the North stone. This stone glowed with yellow energy and needed similar attention as the North stone. With little to do, they were soon able to move on to the South stone. This crystal was the better preserved of the three they had inspected, hidden in a small alcove along the boundary wall. This stone pulsed with red energy and only needed a single rune strengthened as a precaution. They moved on quickly to make the trek to the last crystal.

The sun was starting to dip down by the time they made it to the West stone altar. Immediately, Salazar started to curse colourfully in parseltongue. The stone, which should have been aglow with blue energy, lay in pieces and the area felt dead as opposed to the other altars where the surrounding areas had been alive with energy. "This is deliberate spellwork!" He announced unnecessarily as he tugged on his braid in an anxious motion. "The wards themselves are powerful enough to withstand attack for a time, but without every single cardinal stone entirely functional they will fail given enough time! Too little time!" He turned to William. "He planned it. He had to have. This Dark Lord... whether he destroyed it or had one of his little minions do it, he caused this destruction!" The spellwork was recent, give or take a few years. Hogwarts was important in many ways, Voldemort would have known this. It agitated Salazar to know that the man had destroyed one of the things he had worked so hard to build and he would be damned if the man completely destroyed his school!

Salazar took a calming breath. "We will need to repair this," he said grimly as he sheathed his wand. "Come… we need to discuss this with the headmaster." He left the clearing with a quick stride leaving William to hurry after him. The two wizards made their way quickly towards the castle, both quiet and in their own thoughts.

Once they arrived at the Great Hall, Salazar pushed open the doors and strode up to the staff table where Dumbledore was eating his evening meal. The students whispered at Salazar and William's appearance, but both ignored them as Salazar requested an urgent audience with the Headmaster in his office. Dumbledore agreed, worried by the grim expressions that both men wore. It was only once they were in Dumbledore's office that Salazar became more visibly agitated. He thought it would suit his image better in the eye of the Headmaster. Besides, the repair of the crystal was an absolute priority. Refusing a seat, he launched into an explanation and a description of the West stone. By the time he was finished, Dumbledore looked extremely grim as well though not entirely surprised. "Tom was always intelligent and thinking ahead. It is sad the path he started down… What do you propose?"

Salazar grimaced and looked over to William. The redhead sighed and took over for the moment. "The crystal itself needs to be replaced. There is no way to salvage what is left. Even if there was a large enough chunk… it is still safer to use a completely new crystal. So since it is the West stone, we need to find a crystal associated with water. The best time to replace the stone would be to do it during the autumn at sunset on the day of a waning moon. It is the most ideal time and it would need to have the runic web transferred to it during a ritual."

With a nod, Salazar ran his hand over his braid. "We are lucky that the Equinox is upon us near the end of the month." He was thoughtful for a moment before he looked quickly to William. "The Equinox takes place during a waning moon. It would be the strongest time to replace the West stone. We will need time to find a proper crystal and prepare the ritual, but it should be possible. In this regard… we are extremely lucky." He turned back towards the Headmaster. "I would suggest using raw Selenite, unpolished. That may be the hardest to obtain as we will need a sizeable chunk. Everything else we should be able to obtain easily enough."

Dumbledore steepled his fingers in front of him, his expression somber. Finally, he gave a nod and leaned back in his chair. Baby Fawkes crooned pitifully from a little pot on the old man's desk. "I will worry about finding the selenite," he told them. "Have the rest of the ritual prepared quietly. Let us keep this amongst ourselves for the time being," he told them. "Everyone is worried enough without this being put on their shoulders. You say the wards should hold for now at least?" He was given an affirmative, so Dumbledore dismissed them so he could compose a few letters.

With the dismissal, Salazar and William left the office to head back down to the ward stone. They needed to finish copying the rune web so they could fix the ward stone as well as correctly integrate the new West stone. Neither of them remembered dinner as they dove back into the copying, working well into the night to finish. They parted quietly with copies of each other's notes to their own chambers, but neither slept much that night.

Salazar worked to translate his parsel runes while William translated the other rune webs. The next morning, both low on sleep, they met up in the library to compare notes. They had found a quiet nook of the library and had their notes spread out around them with numerous books by the time a small number of students trickled through to finish procrastinated homework. A house elf had brought them breakfast at some point, but it was largely ignored. The same happened with lunch. No one dared to interrupt them.

By the time that dinner rolled around, they had finally managed to map out the entirety of the rune web. That was only the first step. Now they knew where different layers where entwined and could be easily fixed. They would be able to add their own layers as well to combine everything together and make it more stable. Their problem was that the West stone needed to be replaced first before they could make any changes at all. Their earlier plan of updating the newer wards was put on hold as the missing cardinal stone would make the whole web too unstable to attempt any changes. It would survive in its current state for now, but any prolonged attack would destroy it. That said, it would be a nerve wracking waiting game. If they could not get the selenite in time, they would have to wait for the next waning moon and the ward update would need to be pushed back even further. Who knew when Voldemort may decide to attack? The wards needed to be strengthened as soon as possible.

Salazar dropped his quill and sighed. "I have classes tomorrow that I need to prepare for," he murmured tiredly. He really needed a good night of sleep as well. "I have a class for each block period," he told William. "As soon as my last class lets out, I can meet you back here to help piece together the proper ritual we will need to do to replace the West stone." He rubbed the bridge of his nose tiredly. He stood up then and started to gather his copy of the notes they had made. He would likely go over them again at some point, but he really did need to prepare for his upcoming classes the next day. "I shall take my leave then, Mr. Weasley." He gave a polite nod to the man before exiting the library with his books in hand.

((End Chapter Seven))

So there we go. Chapter seven. So yeah… I like the Weasley twins so I thought I would add them in. Deal with it. I thought it would also make a nice connection to Harry and his love for the Weasley family. And yes, I am well aware that in canon Fred's name is just Fred and it's not Frederick. I'm changing it for my own purposes so, again… deal with it. The Weasleys from now on will probably be referred to all the time by their first names as calling all of them by Weasley would just get confusing. But I think you all probably realized that.

With that said, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter and make sure you review! I love reading them! It makes me feel all warm and fuzzy. I love you guys!

And one last thing… Salazar is in deep, wonderful, glorious denial. He's finding every excuse not to believe what is right in front of his face. He's not ready to accept it yet. Should I say deal with it again?