Chapter 21: Broken Enlightenment

On their way down to Salazar's quarters they encountered Millicent Bulstrode coming back from the kitchens. She smirked at them. "What are the wee laddys doing out so late?"

Harry, who never seemed able to abide Millicent, snarled, "We were up in the Astronomy playing tonsil hockey. How about you? Over there in the kitchens keeping your weight up?"

Millicent stood there blocking their way. "It would not hurt you to gain some weight, little man. Maybe the other little man standing beside you would not mistake you for a woman then."

Salazar waved his hand and she stumbled out of their way. Before he moved though he looked her up and down, "I can respect that sentiment coming from you because you probably are more of a man than both of us put together."

Millicent stood there glaring daggers at their retreating backs. She finally stomped her feet in anger. Oh, but they would pay for that. She did not think in terms of them just retaliating for her uncouth remarks. No, they would pay for their insolence. No one pissed off Millicent Bulstrode and walked away unscathed.

Pansy, watching from the shadows, finally went forward to stand beside Millie and watch as the two disappeared into a seemingly solid wall. "The newspapers say that the blond man is Salazar Slytherin. Supposedly Harry Potter disappeared from the Hall of Mysteries last spring when they went to the Ministry of Magic and travelled back in time. They met in the year 996, bonded and returned to modern times."

Millie heaved a sigh, most of the anger draining out of her. "Potter has always just managed to annoy me beyond all belief. I thought him being cursed to be a dragon was funny as all hell, and then he makes being a dragon tres chic. What really pissed me off about their statement is that it is true. I do make a better man than either of them. And Merlin only knows that they definitely make a better looking woman than I do."

Pansy hugged her distraught friend. "Come on, Millie. Let's go back to the common room. Maybe Greg and Vince will still be up and they can tell us the latest gossip."

Millie shook her head. "Pans, Greg and Vince have not told us the latest gossip since we got sorted into Slytherin five years ago. They both went with Malfoy and last year they declared their loyalties when House Potter was aided by House Malfoy in January."

Pansy sighed. "I know. It is just that the Wizarding world is changing and I do not know what to do about it. Where do we fit in, Millie?"

Millie turned and headed for the common room, all thoughts of food and friends cleared from her mind.

"Millie, would you please slow down! You know I cannot keep up with you when you stride."

"We need to get back to the dorm. I want to write a letter to mother while I am still thinking about it. Pansy, we need more information so you need to write home also."

"What do we need information on?" Pansy was practically jogging to keep up with her.

"We have not heard our parents talk about our Lord since the Department of Mysteries fiasco. Now this guy claiming to be Salazar Slytherin is here at Hogwarts. It was my understanding that our Lord was carrying out the noble work of Slytherin, but Slytherin is canoodling with Potter while Potter is trying to terminate our Lord. I am adding up one plus one plus one and getting negative one."

"Well we did cover absolutes in Arithmancy class the other day." You could practically see the wheels turning in her head as she tried to work it out. "Millie, I keep coming up with zero. How did you get one? I mean if you add a negative one and a negative one you get a positive one, but when you add the other negative one it becomes a zero. Or, Oh, OK , I get it. You added two positive ones and one negative one and got one. So, if we assign the positives as Slytherin and our Lord and the negative as Potter then Slytherin and Potter cancel out and Our Lord is the only one left. Millie, that is just frigging brilliant."

Millie had stopped walking and was staring at Pansy. "What in the name of Circe's saggy tits are you ranting about?"

"I just figured out what you were alluding to. But, I definitely agree we need to write home and tell our families about Slytherin, or whoever he is, being here at school. This is so cool!"

Millicent Bulstrode, for the first time since she was caned by her father for letting the frargools out of their pens and the swurch snarks got them, burst into tears and ran. Pansy Parkinson, in her infinite stupidity, had broken her.

Pansy, unaware that she had dealt such a lethal blow to the Dark Side, merely toddled off to the Slytherin Common room where she was sure to find someone else who would help her work on her theory. Oh, but it was glorious to be alive and on the Dark Side! With any luck they would have cookies, hot chocolate, and a dental plan. She was not too worried about childcare at this point since she would need to graduate, get married, and then work on popping out the sprogs.

Albus Dumbledore, disillusioned, had been following them to see if he could gather any useful information. The only information he gathered was: he was now mentally disillusioned as well as physically. He had gone from not being seen to not seeing… He was certain that if ears could go blind that would have been a good thing not to see. Millicent Bulstrode with a penis was not an image the ancient wizard needed- regardless of his gender preferences.

Morning always comes too early at Hogwarts. It probably comes too early everywhere else on the planet also, but it is especially difficult for a castle full of adolescents who like to stay up all night talking and then sleep all day. For those few who like early mornings…well, you can have them. No one is fighting you for them. Take them. Carry them off somewhere and play with them. The rest of the world does not care!

That is not strictly true. Albus Dumbledore actually worries about it. It is not that he even wants early mornings; he just does not want anyone else getting them. So, he drags his wrinkly old arse out of bed and shimmies it down the corridors and into the Great Hall where he kicks back in his throne like chair and pretends that he is LORD of all he surveys. (That man has some serious issues.)

Today his issue was the fact that Harry Potter had not slept in his bed in the Gryffindor 6th year dormitory. Albus knew this because he had personally applied several monitoring charms in Harry's assigned personal space.

He would also have to deal with the blond boy who was waltzing around with Potter. The same blond who kept playing grab ass with Potter. Back when he was in school partners were more discreet. (They also had to feed their dinosaurs Darvon to get them moving.)

Harry and Salazar made an appearance in the Great Hall just in time to grab toast and milk before the food at the table vanished. Salazar looked at Harry, "Are you hungry, Dear Heart?" He inquired solicitously.

Harry bit into his toast. After chewing and swallowing the bite he looked at Salazar and said, "Yes, I think I would like a more substantial meal than toast and milk."

Dumbledore had made his way down to the Gryffindor table by then and heard Harry's answer. "Breakfast is finished with, boys. I would like for you to grab you toast and head up to my office with me. We have a few things to discuss."

Salazar tapped the table gently as he watched the great Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore further alienate Harry. Dobby showed up with a platter and set it between Harry and Salazar then popped away before the Headmaster could say anything to him.

So, Albus said it to the boys. "It really is not kind of you to request food and drink from the house elves when breakfast was clearly over. You should have arrived at a more respectable time if you wanted a meal, or you could have waited until lunch."

Harry popped a rasher of bacon in his mouth and chewed as he listened attentively to the old guy. Having finished the bacon he opened his mouth and spoke. "My husband asked me if I was hungry. I responded that I would like a more substantial meal than bread and milk. Our personal elf brought the food to us. Where is the problem with that?"

Albus sputtered. He turned to Salazar and asked, "What did he say? I really must learn dragon if it is possible."

Salazar leaned forward on his forearms and smiled through gritted teeth. "I don't think it will be possible for you to learn dragon. It seems to be one of those things you either know or you don't know. As for what he said, let me give you the short version. My food, My elf, My business."

Albus narrowed his eyes and glared at the blond. "Who, precisely, are you? You are not a transfer student, you are not a regular student… Explain."

Salazar grinned. "My name is Salazar Sterling Slytherin. I was one of the four teachers given credit for starting this school. If you remember your history correctly, the books tell you that Salazar disappeared from the school one day and was never seen again."

"Impossible!" Albus sputtered.

Salazar gave him a blinding white smile. "Impossible you say. He shook his head in disappointment before gently chastising, "This from a man who has been a wizard for more than one hundred and fifty years. Have you not learned by now that when Magic is involved any outcome is possible? "

Albus was not in the mood to accept Slytherin's sarcasm. "Could you tell me about this 'trip' you took this summer, Harry?"

The dragon bared his teeth at him in a facsimile of a smile and began projecting mental images of the two of them shifting through time.

Albus was forced to nod his head in acceptance. "Very well, I will accept that your time travel is valid. I do want to know more about the circumstances surrounding the event though. I should actually like to hear everything about the situation that you can recall."

Salazar shrugged. "Not much to it. Harry and I were discussing our very real need to return to the year 1996. We were hanging out and chillin' with the homey 'g's at Slytherin Castle and the next minute I was picking myself up off the floor here at Hogwarts. I think the correct term for it was time travel. I would not recommend time travel for just anyone though because if you do not have the proper anchor in the time you are travelling to you can wind up turning to dust. I almost did that- turn to dust that is. Messy dirty business! It was a good thing I had Harry to hold on to."

The old man glared at him. "I expect you to pack your stuff and be gone from here within the hour. I will not tolerate your shenanigans. Do I make myself clear?"

"No." Salazar said in a calm low voice. "I am not going anywhere because I really do own one fourth of this castle. I am married to the Potter heir who also owns one fourth of this castle. That makes the castle half ours. We want to live here so we will live here. What do you intend to do about it?"

"I will inform the Board of Governors that you are squatting here and they will issue a request from the Office of Magical Law Enforcement and they will arrest you and evict you from the premises."

Salazar was starting to get rather irritated with the old fool. "The Hogwarts Charter states that any descendant of the four founders may attend Hogwarts free of charge and if they are the Head of the family they are allowed private quarters for themselves, their spouse(s) and any progeny."

Albus was angry enough to pull his wand and hex the blond by the time he stopped speaking. "You will be showing me that specific paragraph rather soon. If you are going to quote Charter to me you had best be able to prove it."

Harry did a bit of hissing at Salazar and the blond's eyes widened before he nodded and turned back to Dumbledore. "Harry has just reminded me to tell you that while we were stumbling around in time we came to the aid of a lady by the name of Bellatrix Black LeStrange."

Albus' eyes flashed dangerously, but it was not enough to enrage him into pulling his wand.

"We went to a great deal of trouble to render aid to the lady and just to let you know, she is now in fine condition and the children will be born alive, healthy, and right on schedule. You, though, may not live to see that day."

"Don't threaten me, young man." Dumbles stated with absolute conviction even as his voice shook with rage.

Salazar gave him a lazy smile. "Don't try to piss me off to the point where I transform. I was only trying to scare the little pussy cat the other day. I will not be so kind as to miss if I throw fireballs at you."

Their pissing contest would probably have carried on for the rest of the day except the dragon thumped its tail and caused the bench to shake. Both of the combatants looked over at him as he casually wiped a bit of syrup off his whiskers from where he upended the plate full straight into his maw.

Harry narrowed his green eyes at the headmaster and burped lightly. The old man jerked back to avoid the small bit of flame that escaped the dragon's mouth.

Harry and Salazar rose from the table. Harry handed Sal a huge banana walnut raisin muffin just as Sal tapped the table again. "Good day, Headmaster." Salazar said before he turned with the dragon and began walking out the door.

Harry felt the air around them change as the spell signature registered. Dumbledore had cast a stunner at Salazar's back. This was not a good thing!

Harry reached out a clawed hand and absorbed the spell before turning and looking straight at the old man who still had his wand out and was preparing to cast a second spell. The small jet of flame whirled around the wand and burnt it to a crisp in seconds flat.

Dumbledore stood there with his hand outstretched while a line of ash dripped to the floor. The image was rather reminiscent of burning a stick of incense. Then it hit him, he was standing there with no wand! Power swirled around him thick and heavy as he glared at the errant dragon. "Do you have any idea what you have done, you stupid little boy!" He roared.

One lazy eye rolled in his direction before turning to Salazar. His hissing and chirping was almost drowned out by Dumbledore standing there throwing a grade A tantrum. Harry did manage to communicate to Salazar, "That felt like something I was supposed to do. Do you think maybe I am supposed to toast the whole damn dumb-as-a-door?"

Salazar pulled his wand and did a diagnostic charm on Harry. Both of them appearing to be ignoring the old man completely but tracking his movements subtly. "I am not sure exactly what it means, Harry, but according to this, the spell has changed slightly. You might be on to something." was hissed in Parseltongue so that Albus could not draw any conclusions.

The Veela and his dragon went on out the door to enjoy some time in the sun before the typical Scottish weather began to do its thing. Harry was almost incandescent with joy. "Do you think it could really be that easy for us to break the spell on me?"

Salazar was confused, "How? I don't understand?"

Harry grinned his cute little dragon grin. "The Deathly Hallows. Destroying them could be my task. I have the cloak of invisibility in my possession already. The only other thing I would need to find is the resurrection stone. It is supposed to be in your family also."

Salazar looked at him rather askance. "Harry, what are you babbling about?"

Harry giggled. "Of course you would not know what I am on about. The Tales of Babbity Rabbity, or whatever she was called, was not written until much later."

Salazar shook his head. "Of course, Dear, I understand exactly what you are on about. There have only been two or three books written since the 10th Century so I will just pick up the correct one and have it read by tea time."

Shaking him dragon tail a bit wildly, Harry managed to smack Salazar squarely across the arse. "Listen, Bird man. There are several folk tales collected together and were printed under the name of Beedle the Bard. One of the stories is about three brothers Peverall who trick Death and he rewards them. One brother requested a wand, the second brother a way to bring back the dead, and the third wanted a way to hide from Death."

Sal listened to Harry before saying, "Let us go to the Library and procure this book. I should like to know all that is written."

They made their way back into the school and up to the library in very short order. Salazar made a sweeping bow as he made his way to the Librarian. "As I live and breathe! Irma Pince! I am shocked beyond words to see you still here." He gently took her hand and touched his lips lightly to her knuckles.

Irma shook her head. "I do not know why you would act so surprised to see me, Salazar Slytherin. You knew when you hired me that I was a Day Walker. Since the only thing I care to do is play in my books, there is little danger at Hogwarts for me."

Salazar inquired, "Are you well? Do you get enough to eat? And what is with the awful glamour you wear? You were the most ravishing woman at Hogwarts."

Irma smiled, a rare pleased expression on her face. I do surprisingly well. I have the aid of a few good human friends and they donate to me. I have not hunted in half a century. I am pleased with my life. I have let myself age a bit because I do not eat as often as I should but a few feasts and I can be back in the bloom of youth."

Salazar nodded his head. If you need a bite to tide you over just let me know. He could not help but wink as she giggled like a little girl.

"You know very well that an extra bit of blood makes all the difference at times."

"Yes, I do know. I well remember a few of the young ones at Hogwarts. Some only needed a tablespoon of someone different from time to time, but they did need it."

You don't get to be a thousand and some years old vampire by denying yourself constantly. Irma agreed with him. "I will take you up on your offer. May I have your arm right now?"

No theatrics, he simply extended his hand and let her turn it to suit herself. A quick nip, a lick to seal the wound, and Irma Pince practically glowed as she waltzed around the rest of the day feeling quite like she had feasted.

While they had been chatting, Harry went straight to the section on legends and folk lore and pulled Beedle off the shelf. When Salazar finished chatting with Irma he joined the dragon at a table beside the sunny window. Then while Salazar read the tale, Harry laid his scaly little head on the table and proceeded to sleep in the sun.

Salazar let him sleep, after all, teenagers require between seven and nine hours of sleep a night in order to develop into healthy adults and he had kept his darling husband awake and occupied until almost the last second. Sal loved his husband, and he loved his dragon form, however, he did not feel it necessary to mate with the dragon… that was just disgusting and he was not going to go there.

Hermione found Salazar and Harry in the library just before dinner time. She was wide eyed and glowing with happiness, which was strange since their last view of her the night before had been a water logged mess with blood shot eyes.

Harry shrugged, he would be the first to admit that he knew nothing about women, did not care to learn much about them either. He knew that that sentiment was going to probably get him killed if he did not change it, but he decided to work on that aspect of the relationship later.

Salazar knew better than to endorse the same sentiments. He did not feel too put out regarding her changes- actually, yes he did. It was going to be rather unnerving to have a Doctor Jekyll and Mrs. Hyde witch as their bond mate. That bloody psychiatrist had better be worth what he and Harry was paying him. Then he revised his thinking to include the thought of 'I hope the guy is up to the challenge of some of the people here at Hogwarts'.