Disclaimers: JKR still owns it all. I write AU/OOC...if you want canon you picked the wrong story.

Walk Through Time

Chapter 10: Curse Scars

Salazar's breakdown seemed to be the catalyst for the other founders to all go off the deep end. Of course they waited for him to get better so that he could take care of them, but it was definitely 'let's all go crazy week' at Hogwarts. (It was not a popular theme to be repeated often over the summer hols.)

Salazar did not calm down for hours. Then it took him another day before he was ready to listen to Helga and Harry as they explained that Godric was not to know any of what had happened while Mordred was in control of him. They were really patient as they detailed the difference between Godric building those memories into his wall and Mordred building the second small wall and telling the child Godric not to play near the bad wall because it held unpleasant memories that would hurt him.

Harry even went to the trouble of helping Godric explain to the others exactly why he would never touch that wall of his own free will. There really were nightmares in his past that he did not want to relive. Harry pulled a particularly painful one up for them to verify his claim and then backed off so that Godric could face and deal with his peers without being a crutch.

Godric was not fond of the idea that everyone would know that his father had beaten his mother to death in a jealous rage. It was the correct memory for Harry to prove the point with, but it was also the catalyst for Godric to start coalescing his previously ambiguous feelings of dislike for Salazar's mate.

The horrifying memories locked away in Godric's mind were finally free. He would not be held accountable for the damage done, but Salazar demanded that from that point onward no more demon spawn would be allowed to train at Hogwarts. The term he used was 'blood purity' which was understood at that particular time to mean that any student seeking admission to their educational facilities would undergo genetic testing to ensure no more demon oriented accidents happened.

Once Salazar was back to his usual cheerful self it was time for Rowena to breakdown. She began having nightmares about black wings ripping through her back and incapacitating her while Godric forced himself on her after beating her almost senseless. Worst of all, she began stalking Godric.

She had him so confused that he began staying in his rooms until someone came to escort him to various parts of the castle while she was about. At times she would accost him and demand that he do all the things to her again so that her succubus nature could feed. Other times she would scream profanities at him regarding him killing her mate and child. It became obvious that when the twins subverted her magical heritages and Godric absorbed most of her magical core, they had not completely killed her creature heritage and as time passed her genetic makeup was mutating to emphasize the veela and succubus contribution. Her heritage was reasserting itself; sweeping over her like a fast acting cancer.

It was too much to handle and Godric determined to kill himself. He did not want to live any longer with Rowena always on one emotional roller coaster after another even before she started to grow large with the child he had forced on her after he had stolen her from the infirmary the first time.

The only thing keeping her hanging on to what little sanity she had left was the mistaken idea that the child belonged to her blond lover. That theory was going to set her off like Chinese fireworks when the baby was born with red hair and blue eyes.

In the midst of attempting to plan his death, Godric stumbled on the one thing that would save Rowena. In one of the books his family had received from Merlin, he found a potions recipe for completely suppressing ones magical creature heritage without damaging their magical core. Of course he had read the book half a dozen times before, but had never associated the potion with being able to solve his own problems. No, he felt that it would help Rowena though to recover from losing her mate.

So, with all his problems solved, Godric went up to theAstronomyTowerand stepped up on the parapet to cast himself over the side. Only it did not work that way.

As usual, Salazar Slytherin could not mind his own business; he had to interfere in Godric's life also. At least that is what it seemed like to Godric. The reality of the situation was that he had charged right past a naked Salazar going down on his similarly attired husband.

Harry had quickly spelled their clothes back on them and summoned his invisibility cloak because he knew that his presence irritated Godric quite badly. And as he was giving Sal one last swift kiss he managed to ask him how the wards failed to keep others out.

The slight red tinge on Sal's face let him know that the wards hadn't failed. Slytherin, Mr. Paranoid himself, had simply been too deeply engrossed in seducing his partner that he had forgotten to set them.

Now he was just as pleased that he had forgotten. "What are you intending to do now, Godric? Do you want to jump off the tower and forget about all the people who are messed up because of something you had no control over?" The anger in his voice was clear as he continued, "What about right now? Rowena carries your child. The tests we ran all indicate that the baby is normal, but what happens if we were wrong? What happens when you jump off the tower and kill yourself in a fit of self pity and she needs your help with him later?"

Godric whirled around and screamed at him. The sneering voice of the black haired man grated on his nerves, ripping all his pride away. "Shut up! Just shut up!" By the time he was finished he was crying hysterically in great heaving gulps.

The shorter man watched him for a few minutes before deciding on what to do. He finally motioned for Harry to leave. He knew that his lover would listen in anyway; it was just better that he not be here and run the risk of Gryffindor seeing him.

Salazar went to Godric and held him until the bigger man slumped to the floor. Then Sal sat down and pulled his head and upper body against his lap. He sat there for what seemed ages as he combed his fingers through the long red locks of hair. Godric eventually calmed down as he listened to the soothing alto voice of his first real friend.

"Godric, you have to live. I know that you do not want to right now, but trust me when I say it is necessary. You have to stay here and take care of Rowena and wait with Helga until she finds her soul mate. They are going to need your power and strength to keep the school running."

"Sal, I do not want to face everyone when they come back from summer vacation."

"You are needed here, Godric. You have to. You and Rowena are going to be having a baby around Easter and you cannot take her away from here. I can brew the potion you brought me, thanks to Harry having the foresight to save the ashes of your demon. With you healed, Rowena getting better, and Helga good as ever, you will be able to work things out."

"What about you, Salazar?" Godric sounded a bit like a young child.

Salazar stared off into the distance so that Godric couldn't see him talking mentally to Harry. After consulting his mate for a few minutes, Sal announced, "You, Helga, and Rowena will not have problems running the place with the help of my replacement and the other teachers who have gravitated here since learning of Hogwarts.

"What do I tell the parents of those kids?" Godric looked confused as another thought came to him. "For that matter, why do you keep referring to only the three of us being here and running the school?"

Salazar smiled sweetly at him. "You tell them that you are very sorry. You were extremely ill because of the possession, but are back to complete good health now. And, if you want to, you can acknowledge any of the children born of those unions as your children. You are a great man, Godric. The demon possession has actually made you stronger than if you were a mere mortal."

He did not speak again.

Godric decided to ask the question again. "Why do you keep referring to the fact that I am needed to help the girls keep the school running?"

"I have to go with Harry. He has to go back to his own time and if I try staying here without him for any length of time we will both die. The portal that he uses is slowly closing." Salazar tilted his head slightly to the side so that Godric would not see the silent tears sliding down his face. "I will die if he is trapped that far away from me, Godric. Every time he defies the odds and makes it back here to me, I die a little more from fear."

Godric decided it was time to change the subject. Salazar Slytherin was the strongest man he knew and to see him cry did not leave a good feeling. "Do you really believe all this shit you are babbling?" Godric tried grinning to take the sting out of his words.

"Yeah, I really think I do. Of course, you will never be able to kick my ass for the simple reason that Harry and I are linked and we can tap into each others magic and share when we need to."

Godric heaved a sigh and considered his words. "Yes, I can see where that would be an incredible advantage over others."

"No seeing to it, mate. It is a given that between me and him, we could probably toast Merlin's arse if he torqued us off. As you know, I already had a lot of strength simply because I survived the birthing process and am the product of two already powerful wizards. Harry comes from two extremely powerful pureblood families and also survived the killing curse with only a curse scar to show for it."

Godric finally sat up. "Is that where he got that stupid lightning bolt scar? It is a damn cool scar you know. I always wished I had one also."

Salazar grinned. "But you do have a cool curse scar now."

"Do not."

"Do too."

"Not!"

"Uh-huh, yes you do! What do you call the scar right there above your heart? That, my friend, is a curse scar and will never fade. You will always carry the mark of the five pointed star to show that you were possessed by a demon and was pure hearted enough in the end to survive it."

Godric looked at him funny. "What are you talking about? I do not have any scars across my heart."

"You do. I put a glamour on you just before I put you in the purifying bath so that the rest of the assembly would not see a gaping wound in which they could see your heart beating."

"Yuch! Am I healed? Remove the glamour so that I can see what you are talking about."

Salazar laughed as he waved his hand across Godric's chest.

As soon as Godric felt the tingle of magic caress him he began yanking his robes open. Then he stared in shock at the star shaped scar that was knitting across his chest, but was not quite healed yet.

"See, you do not have to kill yourself. You can prove that you are fine now. That is the purpose of that particular scar. It announces to the world that your love for yourself and others was greater than the damage done by the thing possessing you."

Godric finally accepted the fact that Salazar could be correct in his assumption that there was still good in him and he would be needed. He stood up before bowing gracefully to the smaller man then heading for the trap door. Before he disappeared into the opening, he turned back to Salazar and said, "I shall go to Rowena now and see what I can do for her."

Salazar stood up and stretched before answering. "Good idea. And I will go back to my rooms and see if I can persuade my missing spouse to massage my dangly bits with his tonsils."

Godric roared with laughter as he ran lightly down the steps. His footsteps faded into the night as they followed him on his mission.

The hum at the back of Salazars brain flared to life. "I am waiting to give you that massage, mon amour." He decided that Godric might just have had the right idea and charged off into the night also.