Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, Merlin, nor anything else recognizable. No profit is coming from this. I am merely playing in the sandboxes of those far more famous than myself.
Unbetaed.
I had planned on releasing this chapter yesterday, but then life got in the way. Hope you all enjoy, and I hope it answers some of the questions you guys asked in the reviews!
Without further ado, I present to you…
.
.
.
.
.
What Went Wrong?
~x~
Ch 9: Prejudices
~x~
Ginevra Weasley stood frozen as she watched the misunderstood man whom she cared for more than he probably knew, flee from them. It made her stomach clench uncomfortably to realize that history was beginning to repeat itself.
Ginny, being the first one of the quartet to actually remember her first life, felt that she probably had the best grasp on understanding herself—past and present. She also knew that she was quite apt at keeping her two sets of memories separate.
She had though Ron had had a pretty strong grip on keeping them separate too. Clearly, she was wrong on at least this front.
It had been clear to her during that entire exchange that both males had been, at least temporarily, transported back into the time of their first lives. Really, that fight was so stereotypical of what she had once come to expect between the two of them, that even she had had to keep reminding herself that that was the past. But then again, she hadn't been prepared to see them at each others throats again in this life. Not like that, anyways.
It had been why she had grabbed Salazar's elbow like she had. It was the only way she could think of to physically ground him to reality. No matter who they were pretending to be, they weren't their past lives; The man who she had once been married to was no longer Salazar.
He was Harry.
Helga returned her thoughts to Godric with a slight shake of her head.
Or maybe she just misinterpreted how ingrained Godric's hatred for Olde Magick really was.
He always had been rather pigheaded.
In both lives.
She knew that a part of it came down to how he had been raised. Just like with the Weasleys, the Gryffindor family was about as 'light' as a family could get. She got to see their scorn for what was then often termed 'dark magic' once she had come to live with them. Godric, on the other hand, had been raised with those extreme bias that the Gryffindors held against 'Olde Magick' from birth. He had grown up hearing horror stories of what Olde Magick could do, both to others and even to its own castor. Even looking at more neutral stories from when the Old Religion had been commonplace, it was hard to find a story where sorcery was not destroying something.
Merlin was perhaps the only known practicer of Olde Magick who was not scorned by the 'light' New Magic families. And that she knew was due to really only two reasons: One, Merlin, as a highly esteemed prophesied figure, was considered incapable of going evil. Two, he was magic incarnate. Thus, they figured the magic couldn't harm him, even if he wanted it to. It was silly, she knew, but as she had come to realize in both her lives, people tended to act like sheep when scared. And just like Dumbledore today— his manipulations and all— Merlin was their leader; someone they could hide behind when times got tough. So, even if they did grumble behind his back occasionally, they would never truly turn on him. Even if he was technically a creature of the Old Religion.
So while Helga never feared Olde Magick as greatly as her brother did— which she put down to the fact that she had spent part of her childhood in the north, where such magic was not considered any different from her own— she was well aware of just why, her brother was so horrified by it.
Truth be told, she was leery of it too, to some extent at least, as was Rowena. It had terrified her that her husband had been so comfortable using it back then. She— along with all the others— was so scared that one day, he would loose control of the chaotic magic and it would backlash and seriously injure him…
And in a way, that was exactly what had happened in the end. Salazar himself had admitted to her that his magic had exploded in his panic, killing not only himself but all those innocent souls who had been unlucky enough to be near by. The magic could be incredibly difficult to control and chaotic in nature. There were many documented cases of sorcerers who had been driven crazy by meddling in the magic, the Lady Morgana aside.
But regardless to her personal feelings for the magic, Helga was still pissed at Godric.
As soon as Salazar had disappeared from her line of sight, she turned on Godric, fully intent to tear him a new one. However, before she could even open her mouth she was taken aback by the horror stricken expression that now adorned her brother's face.
"I really screwed up, didn't I?" He asked quietly, his voice barely above a whisper.
"You really did." She agreed.
"I hate Olde Magick." He reiterated, his voice still quiet.
"I know you do."
"It's just so dangerous! I-I—" He cut himself off, taking a quick breath and rubbing his right hand over his face.
Realizing he wasn't going to continue, Helga spoke up again. "I know. I feel the same way, but Salazar doesn't, and further, he was trained to use the magic safely. You know this, just as I do. Besides, he only used it to protect the children."
Godric took a deep breath, "But he could have just used his wand."
"Yes, he could have… but he didn't. Either way, the result would have been the same, you know."
"Yeah…"
Helga nodded. She could feel her own anger deteriorating to nothing, leaving her simply feeling numb. After a moment, Godric turned away without another word, slowly walking in the direction of the Black Lake. She let him go silently. Knowing her brother, Ginny figured he just wanted some time to himself to think over everything.
She was only mildly surprised that Rowena hadn't made any comments during their entire exchange, typically the older witch was right there with her when it came to calming down or scolding her brother. Glancing over at her, she could see Rowena looking off in the distance, completely lost in thought. Ginny had to wonder if Rowena hadn't been a bit shaken by the seeming history being repeated.
Glancing over at the professors who had been standing close by she was surprised that a good few of them looked more thoughtful than anything else. Helga took a breath.
'Well, thoughtful is better than fearful, any day'. She reasoned, suddenly tired.
Regardless to how the exchange was taken, she knew there would still be consequences for all of them in the coming days.
"I am so sorry," Dumbledore said unexpectedly. Glancing over at him, Helga was surprised to find his normally twinkling eyes dim, "I don't know what happened with the wards, by you can be assured that I will be looking into it."
"Its alright, Headmaster." Helga replied quietly. "We understand that these things happen. I am just sorry that everyone had to see my brother and Sal fight like that. Now, if you don't mind, I think I am going to take Rowena and head back to our Chambers."
Touching the elder girl's arm to get her attention, Helga pushed Rowena back in the direction of the school. Even though it had not been them that had been in the spotlight of that fight, Helga was more than ready to get out of the open.
~x~
Salazar raced through the halls of Hogwart's with no actual destination in mind, only the thought that he had to get away. He was barely even aware of where his feet were taking him, that is, until he found himself in the dungeons.
Taking a shaky breath, the raven haired teen came to a halt, finally having felt that he had put enough distance between himself and everyone else. After a moment, he leaned heavily against one of the walls and slowly sank to his feet.
What had he done?
He could still hardly believe that he had used Olde Magick so instinctually. Once upon a time, that would not have surprised him in the least, but now? It had been so long since he had even attempted the magic, and not once had he ever used it as Harry.
Not once.
So why would he reflexively use it now? It just didn't make any sense to him. The only logical conclusion that the raven haired teen could come to was the fact that he had been caught up in the moment.
During that fight, he had been entirely Salazar. It was like he had never been reborn— like he had never even been Harry Potter. Actually, since coming here, he found that he often acted more like he once had than as the boy that he had been born as in this life.
Salazar chuckled humorlessly to himself. Didn't he sound insane? He was pretty sure that he, and his three friends were the only ones around who had to deal with multiple lifetimes in their heads. At least, he had never heard of such a reincarnation happening before.
Harry Potter always did had the worst luck.
With that thought, his mind turned back to his friends. In the back of his mind, he knew that Godric just needed some time to cool down and then things would go back to normal— well, their normal. After all, this had most definitely not been their first ever fight. Not by a long shot. But Salazar couldn't help but feel that something had actually shifted between them during this latest fight.
It had certainly been a step in the past, but at the same time, it hadn't.
Now that Salazar had had a moment to reflect on what had happened, he recognized that most of the initial anger and frustration that had started the fight had already been there. Him using Olde Magick had just given it a triggering point for it to all be released. He had known for a while now that his relationship with Ron was on shaky ground. Thus, what had happened was probably not so much about the fact that he used Olde Magick— his spell was probably just the final straw.
Harry honestly wasn't sure whether that realization scared or relieved him.
For Harry, this epiphany meant that perhaps, Godric would be more willing to look beyond his usage of Olde Magick— because Harry knew that now that he knew he was capable of it, there was no way that he was not going to be using it again. Perhaps Ron would be more open to listening to him, and finally understanding Olde Magick for what it really was.
Magic.
Harry didn't know what had become of Godric after Salazar himself had died, but he did know Ron Weasley. And unlike Godric, Ron had been far more successful in letting go of some of his bias against modern 'dark magic', and the Slytherin house in general. It would have been impossible for him not to, after all the four of them had seen and been through together.
It could possibly be just wishful thinking, but Harry couldn't help but have his hopes rise at the thought. He wouldn't know though until he finally confronted his friend, and Harry was certain that he wasn't quite ready for that.
He might have been able to reason out what had caused the fight, but that didn't mean that he was willing to let bygones be bygones quite yet. Oh no, Salazar was still quite incensed about the whole thing.
Besides, there was no way that Godric had already cooled his temper.
After a few moments of sitting in silence, and letting his own temper calm a bit, Harry began to hear students chattering as they made their way back to their dorms. It was then that he realized how close he was in proximity to the Slytherin dorms.
He couldn't stay here.
Not unless he wanted to deal with the Slytherins right now, anyways, and that was something that he certainly was not up to doing. He was pretty sure he'd rather go another round with Godric than face them.
Slowly pulling himself to his feet, Harry hesitated on where to go next. He really didn't want to return to the Chambers yet. He'd already decided he didn't want to have to face his friends quite this soon, after all.
That actually ruled out most of his hiding places. His friends unfortunately knew all of his hiding places within Hogwarts from both lives. He also knew that while Godric wouldn't sought him out this soon after a fight, Rowena or Helga certainly would if he avoided them too long. That was why historically, Salazar would just leave the school when he needed to get away after a fight. But that wasn't an option now. He knew for a number of reasons that he couldn't simply go missing in this weird reality. So where could he go? His options really were limited at the moment.
And then it suddenly hit him.
He knew of a place he could go where nobody would think to look for him. At least, his friends wouldn't. He knew that at least one person would eventually find him, but he was pretty sure that that person would not judge him too harshly or try to get him to open up. He'd probably ask questions, but innocent questions was something that Salazar felt he could handle.
Mind made up, Harry quickly made his way deeper into the dungeons. When he finally came across the familiar portrait of the stern man, he did not hesitate to give the password.
"Prince."
And just as he expected, the lock immediately clicked open, and the portrait cracked slightly, letting him see the warm sitting room once again.
He was in.
Harry padded carefully into the room, letting the door swing shut behind him.
For a few moments, Harry just awkwardly stood near the entrance of the cozy sitting room. Now that he was here, he really didn't know what to do. He knew for a fact that Snape was still out, but that almost made him feel more awkward about invading the potions master's personal space.
Taking a deep breath, Harry finally urged himself forward and quickly moved to enter the private potions lab. He didn't really feel comfortable spending any more time in the man's sitting room, no matter how welcoming it appeared, and at least if he was in the potions lab, he could say he came for a reason. Stepping into the potions lab, Salazar breathed a sight of relief.
Just like he had expected, the little potions lab was quiet and calming. And empty. Salazar slowly walked around the perimeter of the potions lab, wondering what he could possibly do now.
He didn't really want to just sit idle— if he did, he knew his continued brooding would just stress him out— but at the same time, he also didn't really have any potions that he needed to work on. If he had his notes from his and Rowena's private study, then perhaps he could have worked on a potion to do with the ritual, but without them, there really wasn't anything that he could do. He knew better than to attempt to prepare an experimental potion without them; it was far to dangerous.
He didn't think that Snape would appreciate him blowing up his potions lab.
It was then that Salazar noticed a piece of paper sitting on the far counter. Curious, Salazar walked over to it and gently picked it up.
As Salazar studied the note, he felt a small smile grace his face. It appeared that Madam Pomfrey needed more potions to stock the hospital ward.
He was honestly a touch surprised. After all it had only been what? Like three weeks since the last time Severus had been enlisted to make potions for the school? He supposed Snape hadn't been kidding when he said that he restocked the potions reserves every month.
Salazar quickly glanced around the potions lab in search for any potions in progress.
In the far corner of the room, a single potion was sitting under a stasis charm. Curious, Salazar stepped over to it and peered inside. Furrowing his brow, he was only mildly surprised to find that instead of finding a potion from the note, he found what he believed to be about a half done Wolfsbane Potion.
"For Lupin." He muttered under his breath in sudden understanding. Harry then turned his attention back to the note. "Lets see… Calming Draught, Boil Cure and a double amount of Pepper-Up. I can do that."
~x~
If Severus was surprised to see Salazar in his private potions lab, he didn't show it.
The fourth founder had his back to him, but from his location at the doorway, Severus could see that he was busy working on a few potions. It also looked like the raven haired teen had come straight here after the duel, because he was still outfitted in his black dueling clothes.
It had been a couple hours since the duel, and nobody had seen the elusive fourth founder since his departure from the Quidditch Pitch. Granted, to Severus' knowledge, nobody was actually looking. Most of the Hogwart's staff— himself included— had simply assumed that the raven haired teen had just gone back into his Chambers and didn't give it another though. The man had rarely been seen anyways, as he and Rowena rarely ventured out of their Chambers.
Severus had actually been surprised to see the man at breakfast that morning. He had also been thrilled that the founder had come so early, and that he had been alone. With none of the other Heads of House there to challenge him, Severus had been able to watch the teen from a distance. Eventually, this had led to Salazar sitting down with Draco. Call him crazy, but Severus had been genuinely curious to see what would happen if those two were allowed to talk together without anyone standing over them. The fact that Salazar himself had approached the blond boy on his own made it even better.
In the end, he had been quite pleased with the outcome of his little experiment. Draco certainly seemed to be in higher spirits during his morning Potions class, anyways. Also the fact that the fourth founder seemed to like, or at the very least be interested in the livelihood of the Malfoy heir showed that he was not being negatively influenced by the other Slytherins.
Actually, over the last few weeks that he had gotten the chance to get to know the fourth founder, he had come to the conclusion that the boy— for that really was what he was— was most certainly not a bad person. In fact, he was pretty sure that if he hadn't been introduced as Salazar Slytherin, he would have seen him as no different from any one of his students. Even with the resulting fight, the duel had done nothing to change his opinions.
Speaking of the duel, after all of the chaos that had occurred out on the Quidditch Pitch, Severus had had the unfortunate luck of being pulled into an impromptu Order meeting. Albus had wanted to discuss the implications of what Godric seemed to think 'dark magic' was. Basically, the meeting had consisted of a lot of yelling and prejudice on both sides, as they tried to decide what to think of Salazar and what his threat level was. Severus honestly didn't understand the point of the discussion. After all, it wasn't like the founders could aid them in the war against Voldemort. Not if they wanted to keep the timeline intact anyway.
All the stupid meeting had been good for was giving him a headache.
When Salazar finally spotted him standing in the doorway, Severus could see the teen tense slightly before he once again became impossible to read.
"I hope you don't mind me being here." Salazar commented, his tone nonchalant, "I really wasn't in the mood to confront any of the others just yet."
Salazar paused for a moment with almost a touch of hesitation before continuing. "I saw your note. Thought I'd help you get these potions underway."
"Thank you," Severus murmured, finally stepping further into the room. "I appreciate the gesture. And if I didn't make myself clear during your first visit, you are welcome here any time you need to get away."
Salazar didn't respond, but he did dip his head in thanks.
The two worked in silence for a little while after that. Severus had taken over brewing the double amount of Pepper-Up potion, while Salazar continued to mind the other two requested potions.
"Can I ask you a question?" Severus asked tentatively, finally breaking the silence. He was hesitant to bring up any topics that he knew the teen was probably trying not to think about, but he was genuinely curious.
"Go ahead." Salazar murmured, not turning around from the cauldron he was standing over.
"Gryffindor called that last spell you used, 'Dark Magic', but it looked like nothing I have ever seen before, and definitely not what I would classify as 'Dark'."
"I'm pretty sure that was a statement, not a question." Salazar remarked with an amused tone that Severus was pretty sure was fake. The boy was speaking too stiffly for him to really be entertained. "I assure you, what is probably considered 'Dark Magic' today, and what was considered to be 'Dark Magic' in my time is likely not to be the same. After all, 'Dark' is just a label. Magic does not have a conscious, and as such, it cannot be innately evil or good. Rather, it is how we use magic that defines what sort of person we are."
"Today, 'Dark Magic' is typically classified as magic that is predominately used for harming, controlling or killing others." Severus supplied offhandedly. He didn't think that that nugget of information would cause any timeline problems.
Salazar snorted in return, "What you just described was called Assault Magic in my time. Godric and I both taught that to our students on a daily basis. It was considered a necessary life skill… I suppose that means that I can be considered a 'Dark Wizard' back then and in this era."
"You are considered a Dark Wizard? I was under the impression that even back then, 'Dark' was not considered a good thing. That magic you used earlier didn't seem to be evil to me."
Salazar took a deep breath before answering, but never took his attention off the potions. In fact, Severus noted, the raven haired teen hadn't looked at him once since his initial arrival in the potions lab.
"I've been called a lot of names during my life, both good and bad. However, since I am capable of a form of Olde Magick, I am often hailed as 'Dark'.
"Olde Magick was often labeled as dark, or even evil magic during my time, due to the unforgiving and unpredictable aspects of many parts of it." Salazar continued quietly. "It was what originally set Uther Pendragon on his crusade against magic, and what ultimately killed his son Arthur. After the death of the Once and Future King, Olde Magick started to see its decline. Honestly, most considered it a good thing. The fear that Uther had engrained in the minds of so many people meant that the magic gained a very negative outlook.
"About 100 years after Arthur's death, is when wand magic really began to flourish, and small magical communities began to spring up all over the British Isles. These communities were protected by lords, who protected their citizens and their way of life. In many ways, these communities were run more like small kingdoms, separate from the larger kingdoms that they were technically still a part of, and the lords who oversaw them were the sovereigns.
"Of course, this is not to say that wand magic didn't exist before these communities sprung up. It just wasn't very popular yet. Olde Magick was far more powerful than wand magic, but not as versatile and easy. Very few Olde Magick users were capable of a vast array of spells, and they tended to specialize. The only ones who were typically capable of using Olde Magick more naturally were the druids and high priestesses of the Old Religion. So wand magic began to grow in popularity, and magic communities became more common, and suddenly, Wand Magic was considered to be 'Light Magic' and Olde was labeled as dark.
"I'm not entirely sure how that happened to be honest. These beliefs were already quite widespread by the time I was born. Something that is lost to history, I suppose. Anyways, this is not to say that the nonmagical populations accepted the wand wielders. On the contrary, they did not distinguish one magic user from another. They simply saw magic."
As he finished his explanation, Salazar fell quiet. During his entire speech, the young man still had not taken his attention off of the potions. It made Severus wonder if the boy had forgotten about his presence, and was simply reiterating his thoughts out loud.
Bringing himself out of his own thoughts, Severus couldn't help but ask another question. "Were you teaching your students what was considered dark magic at the time? This Olde Magick?"
Salazar didn't answer for a moment. Severus almost thought that the boy hadn't heard him before finally he spoke up, "I couldn't. Even if I wanted to, only a very select few back then could actually learn Olde Magick. It is what made me so special. We never had any students that I could teach the Olde Arts too."
"And would you have, if you did?"
"Most likely, yes." Salazar cut off with a self-depreciating laugh, finally glancing at Severus. To Severus, it was almost like the boy was challenging him; to see what he would do in response to that tidbit of information. Severus said nothing, merely held the boy's gaze.
After a moment, Salazar continued. "Of course, Godric and the others would have hated me for it, but I wouldn't be able to not teach it. Not without a conscience, that is. Just like New Magic, if not more so the case, those who have innate Olde Magick, need to learn how to control it. Otherwise, there is not telling what would happen."
"How do you mean?"
"Olde Magick is far wilder than New in many ways," Salazar began, pausing for a second to gather his thoughts, "For one, because it doesn't require a focus to wield— not to say that a focus can't be used, of course— an untrained sorcerer's magic often responds more to their emotional state than anything else. Sometimes it will work for you, but that is not always the case. Imagine waking up to a nightmare with your room on fire! Pretty soon many sorcerers began to fear themselves due to their own magic working against them in emotional situations.
"Fear was a common emotion felt by Olde Magick users in my time. After all, in nonmagical communities, if found, magic users were often killed for their 'practicing the devil arts'. Magic is actually outlawed in many kingdoms, following in the ways of the famous King Uther Pendragon—yes, that was King Arthur's father. For an untrained sorcerer, fear just adds another level of unpredictability to their magic. Merlin once told me that he thinks that this was what initially drove the Lady Morgana to be the way she was. According to him, her magic developed while she was living as a ward of King Uther's and she was terrified. Another sorcerer, who was not the best person, offered her freedom, but the fear, betrayal and hatred that came from having the magic drove her off the edge of sanity.
"It was her, and others like her who used Olde Magick unjustly, or were simply driven mad due to it that gave Olde Magick the synonymous name with the Dark Arts by the practitioners of New Magic when they became more prevalent. New Magic users really never dealt with the same tribulations that those with Olde Magick dealt with."
"And did you ever deal with this 'fear' of yourself?"
Salazar shrugged. "Honestly? No. I grew up in nonmagical communities until Merlin found me, so I didn't even know that there were different classificationsof magic. For me, magic was magic, and if found out, I would be put to death regardless of what type I happened to be gifted with. So, yes, I suppose that there was some fear involved, but it was never really directed towards myself— which is where it really becomes dangerous— but more at certain situations I was in. I also understood that magic was my only real shot at surviving as a small abandoned child. So even as a kid with no resources to teach me, I worked and worked to train myself in controlling it to do my bidding. I wouldn't have survived as long on my own as I did otherwise."
Severus was quiet for a moment. He supposed what Salazar had said made sense. It also somewhat explained Godric's reaction to the magic. At the same time, Severus couldn't help but wonder if they were right to hate the magic. Was it Salazar's Olde Magick that eventually turned him evil. Could it have eventually taken the boy's sanity?
Salazar had mentioned fear, betrayal and hatred. He might not have felt those emotions as a child, but certainly he did now. He wouldn't have run from the fight if it hadn't upset him to some level at least. It was definitely an interesting concept, one he would certainly be sharing with Albus later.
"That all just sounds like prejudice to me." Severus commented finally, his voice no louder than Salazar's had ever been.
Salazar snorted slightly, "Yes. I suppose it is. Unfortunately, that seems to be an ingrained part of human nature— something I doubt we will ever truly overcome."
Severus hummed in agreement and the two went back to silently working on their potions.
.
.
.
.
.
AN: Please don't forget to Review!
Till next time!
~Dawn