Sorry for the wait, hope you enjoy!

13. Revelations

Salazar groaned, biting back a string of curses that would have made Rowena blush and Helga smack him as Godric carefully examined the remnants of the injury, fingers digging into the mattress as he underwent Godric's special brand of mixed concern and punishment for getting hurt in the first place. "Son of a bitch!" he bit out as his friend hit a particularly painful area, and Godric made a disapproving noise in reply, but he did withdraw as Salazar rolled onto his side and proceeded to what felt like hacking up his lungs.

"Leave my dear mother out of it Sal, she's got nothing to do with your penchant to get hurt." Salazar could only glare as he forcefully pulled air into his lungs as the coughing let up, and the both of them paused as one of the alarms signaling a visitor went off. Godric's eyes narrowed in thought as he cast a silent identification spell, and he snorted as Salazar reached out for his discarded shirt. The pale wizard pulled it over his head with a stifled moan under his friend's watchful eye, and it wasn't until he had pulled down the hem completely that Godric spoke.

"It's Harry. If I'd hazard a guess, he's here for you, and probably about the apprenticeship." The younger wizard paused for long moments, gaze searching Salazar's. "You still want to do this?" Salazar sighed, averting his gaze at Godric's words, unable to counter the worry and concern in those hazel eyes. This was a gamble, one they had discussed at length… And one they had come to agree on. "Yes, the kid deserves to know the truth about us. We'll see how he takes it," he said simply and stood, feeling Godric's concern filled gaze on him as he swayed slightly from a spell of dizziness. Lack of oxygen would do that… He breathed slowly for a moment before gathering himself. He was exhausted, more so than he had expected after his magic had taken care of the worst of the injury pretty swiftly the night before. And of course he'd had classes the entire day, without adjusting his physical activity. At all.

"Maybe you should take it easy for a while Sal." "Yeah, as soon as you stop hovering. Back off Godric, I know my limits," he snapped, passing the other man in the doorway to the bedroom and cutting off any further protest the man might have made as he opened the door to their quarters and found Harry looking up at him in surprise, hand raised as if he was about to knock. Which he probably had been.

"Uhm, can I come in?" the dark haired teen asked uncertainly, and Salazar motioned him in with a nod and a small wave, and the boy slipped past him with a furtive glance at Godric. Salazar directed the boy to the chair he had occupied the last time he'd been here, and the older wizard retook his previous spot as well, sitting down on the edge of the coffee table facing Harry as he studied the young wizard. The boy looked nervous, which wasn't all that unexpected, and Salazar cast him a reassuring smile as he briefly read the boy's surface thoughts. Godric had been right, the boy was here about the Apprenticeship alright… And he seemed serious about it too. Good.

"I've thought about your offer, and I want to accept, if you'll have me," Harry said softly, eyes hard with determination and desire to be accepted as he looked up at Salazar. The slender wizard inclined his head at that before glancing over his shoulder at Godric, who was watching the two of them with a warmth that surprised Salazar momentarily. "I'll have you, Harry Potter. I wouldn't have offered otherwise. Do you know what you're agreeing to?" His voice was unusually serious, and Harry seemed to realize the importance of the question as he swallowed visibly, his Adam's apple bobbing as he nodded, and Salazar searched the boy's gaze for any hesitation, any doubt. "Then tell me."

Harry looked nervous for a brief second before he seemed to gather himself, and Salazar merely watched him quietly as the boy started speaking. "By accepting the Apprenticeship, I'm accepting you as my mentor in all things related to my education, and you will be responsible for my education from here on out. We will share a mental connection which will allow you to teach me more efficiently, and you will be able to sense my magic as if it were your own…" the boy trailed off there, an unsure smile twisting his lips as he looked back up at him in obvious expectation.

Salazar returned that smile before sitting up straighter, regarding the boy in front of him closely for several seconds before nodding. "That's right… and seeing as this will be an extensive and long-term commitment, there are some things about me, us, you should know. And I think the best way to fill you in is to show you something and let you figure it out yourself… so right now I need you to trust me. Can you do that, Harry?" What he was asking was by no means easy, and from what he'd seen from the boy during their talks, trust was not something that came lightly to the teen. But he wasn't asking this lightly, and something in his eyes must have conveyed his intentions to the boy sufficiently, as after only a short moment Harry inclined his head in an affirmative. It was obvious that the kid was nervous, and from the tightening in his posture Salazar could see that he was already drawing up his emotional defenses in preparation for a betrayal of that trust, but for now it was enough.

Behind him, Godric was already moving towards them, and Salazar pushed himself off the table and to his feet, ignoring the lance of pain shooting through his side as he straightened carefully before moving towards Harry. To his credit, the boy didn't flinch away as he reached forward and gently pulled the locket out from underneath the student's robes, the object feeling so familiar as it rested in his palm, the chain sliding through his fingers making only the faintest of sounds. "You once asked my how I came by this, and I wasn't completely honest in my answer." He trailed off there, meeting Harry's somewhat uncertain gaze and almost feeling the boy's anxiety as it grew. There was really no easy way to do this, and he really wasn't one to beat around the bush, but they had kept their identities secret for so long he found it hard to simply let go of it now.

"I want you to use your power, and really feel the magic that lies at the core of this locket. You know how to do this already, it's the same thing I asked of you in the Forbidden Forest." Harry swallowed audibly before nodding slightly and taking the locket back from him. But the kid didn't immediately follow his directions, instead, the teen looked from him, to Godric and back again, clearly unsure of how to proceed before he finally opened his mouth and spoke. "I don't know what's going on… but I do trust you. Both of you. And usually I would say you have no idea how hard it is for me to say that, except I think you do…" Harry said softly before looking back down at the locket. Salazar accepted the teen's words with a curt nod as they shared a moment of understanding. Neither of them trusted easily, trust had to be earned. And the pale wizard sincerely hoped that this revelation wasn't going to damage that hard earned trust beyond repair.

Salazar proceeded to regard Harry closely as the boy sighed heavily, seemingly gathering himself before closing his eyes and focussing his magic on the locket in his hands. The young wizard's shoulders were tense as Salazar felt the powerful magic that belonged to the Boy Who Lived filled their chambers, and he sat back down as Harry examined the magical artifact he had created all those centuries ago, knowing the talented young man would recognize the magic as belonging to him.

He only hoped Harry wouldn't freak out. And that he would let the experiences he had had with both him and Godric over the past few weeks outweigh all the bullshit he'd been fed about them over the years. He didn't want to be judged based on lies in history books, but he was prepared for the outcome if that were to happen. They were giving Harry a chance to judge for himself. If he didn't, if he let his perception be decided by others, they would erase this entire encounter from the boy's mind. But Salazar sincerely hoped it wouldn't come to that, and he knew Godric would hate it as well if it turned out that way.

And as Harry suddenly hissed, sucking in air between his teeth sharply, Salazar knew they wouldn't have to wait long to find out how this was going to end.

Harry's eyes shot open, fear and suspicion clear in their emerald depths, and he shot to his feet as he clutched the locket tightly to his chest. He breathed harshly as he looked from the magical object to Salazar, nostrils flaring as every fiber in the teen's body seemed tensed for a fight, and Salazar quickly squashed the feeling of dread before it could take hold as he let out a slow breath. "Harry-"

"This- this is yours. You made this. There is no other explanation for what I'm sensing from it. But you said…" He seemed to run out of words then, and it was Godric who picked up where he left off. "You're right Harry. Calm down for me alright? We're not going to hurt you, nothing we said about that was a lie, alright? We're here to help you, but you need to calm down." And Godric wasn't overreacting either. The young wizard's magic was building, reacting to Harry's distress, but fortunately Godric's words seemed to break through the grip of despair which had temporarily taken hold of the young Spellweaver.

All the fight seemed to leave the boy all at once as Godric's words seemed to sink in, and Harry slumped back down into the chair he'd been occupying before he'd come to his realisation about them. And the kid knew, Salazar could see it reflected in those impossibly green eyes, didn't need Harry to utter the words to know. "You're Salazar Slytherin." The words were breathless, tight with a mixture of fear and confusion. And something Salazar hadn't expected, but was thankful to hear regardless. Hope. "Holy shit, you're Salazar Slytherin… I'm sorry, I can't.. What the Hell…." It only took a split second before something else seemed to hit the teen, and he looked up at Godric with badly disguised suspicion. "You knew."

Godric remained admirably calm as he poured a cup of tea and handed it over to Harry, who to his credit accepted the cup without second thought. Good. Maybe the damage that had inadvertently been done to the kid's trust would be repairable. The redhead remained silent as he poured a shot of scotch for both Salazar and himself, only speaking after taking a sip himself. "Yes. Me and Salazar go back as far as I can remember… My real name is not Gabriel. It's Godric. Godric Gryffindor." Salazar hoped that little bit of information would be easier to digest now that Harry had been able to verify Salazar's identity with his own senses. He rather doubted that the young wizard would be so accepting of such information if he'd simply told him his identity a few minutes ago as Godric had just done now without that verification.

Harry took that in in silence, the cup of tea cradled in his lap untouched. "I'm sorry, this is a bit much to take in," he said shakily, tilting his head back so he could look at Salazar from beneath his fringe. "Say you are who you say you are… Which I can only think is a lie if this locket turns out not to be Salazar Slytherin's… how are you still alive? You should be over a thousand years old by now."

Godric shot Salazar a significant glance, and Salazar cleared his throat before answering. "That has to do with the nature of my magic... which you've sensed already. I think the answer to that question will become clear soon enough if you're still serious about being my Apprentice, knowing who I am. And if the answer to that is no, we're going to stop this conversation right here, and I'll make sure you won't remember anything about this. And don't take that as a threat, it's merely a precaution. We're only letting you in on this because I didn't want to lie to you about who I was if I were to become your Master, because you deserve to know the truth. You've been lied to enough."

Harry's gaze was guarded, but not filled with anger, and as they all fell silent in quiet contemplation he could see understanding dawn in those emerald eyes. He had to give it to the kid. Thus far, he was taking this remarkably well. But then again, the boy had been confronted and exposed to so much in his short life, that worse things than finding out his teachers were Salazar Slytherin and Godric Gryffindor had probably happened.

Which was actually rather disconcerting if he really thought about it.

"I need to think about this... Can I go out for a bit? I promise I'm not going to tell anyone." The boy's words were slightly pleading, and thankfully it was Godric who came up with a quick and frankly, elegant solution. "How about I take you to our place in Hogsmeade. We have a small cottage over there, and nobody will disturb you there, so you can take all the time you need. It's also well protected."

Fortunately, Harry nodded in agreement to that proposal, and Godric grinned at the young wizard reassuringly as he walked over to the fireplace and grabbed a handful of Floo powder. Salazar continued to watch them as the fire roared up and he met Harry's green eyes with his pale ones as the boy glanced back minutely right before he stepped into the fire and vanished with a bright flash of light right after Godric. And in that last moment, he was content to see determination in those eyes.

Harry would make the right decision here. He just needed to realize that himself.

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Next chapter will be focussed on Harry and his reaction to all of this. Stay tuned and please drop a note to tell me what you think!