CHAPTER 2: THE SERPENT
"Hear ye! Hear ye!"
In front of the stuffed head of a 12-point stag, while standing on a wooden crate, Salazar Slytherin conjured a puff of green sparkling smoke, hoping to charm the current patrons of The Hobgoblin Inn and Tavern for Magical Folks.
The crowd gathered around, some coughing as they inhaled the thick smoke.
"Aye, I think one of dem sparkly things landed in me throat! It actually melted, how bout that?" a woman said, finishing her sing-song statement by coughing up some phlegm.
A woman? How odd. Salazar suddenly felt a funny feeling as he eyed the woman's strawberry blonde hair with streaks of honey, and her dress revealing an ample bosom. Spending most of his youth at the Irish monasteries didn't prepare him much for dealings with the "gentler sex".
Then the woman spat out the phlegm that built up in her lungs before guiding a finely dressed elderly gentlemen to an available seat.
Gentler sex, indeed! What a sight! Salazar was disgusted and yet couldn't look away from this woman.
The crowd he had gathered began to murmur, waking Salazar from his stupor.
"Wizards and witches, may I have your attention, please? Is your blood boiling for some action, and you can't imagine the heart-stomping experience in store, when you're battling Godric Gryffindor!" Salazar finished with a dazzling display of green and silver sparkling fireworks, appropriately sized for an indoor tavern.
"Hey boy! I'll take a wager!" yelled a red-faced patron.
Boy? Salazar angrily thought to himself as he eagerly took the shite-faced man's coin.
"Put me down as a dueler," a broad-shouldered muscular man demanded. "I'll show that show-off what a real man's made of, eh!"
"I'm sure you will," Salazar said with a hidden wink and the slightest of smirks.
"That bloody Anglo-Saxon will get a walloping like he's never known! We Danes have been waitin' for our revenge!" A man with long blond braided hair and a frazzled beared shouted as he signed an "X" on the sign-up sheet- he was clearly from Danelaw.
"Salazar!" yelled Mouffat.
"Scuse me!" yelled Salazar back as he made his way to Mouffat.
"Quick, tell 'em that I have a Hobgoblin duel special, where they get a free meat pie for every three orders of ale they order!"
"Would you be willin' to throw in a free pie my way?" Salazar asked, raising an eyebrow and hoping there was enough innuendo in his voice to make Mouffat understand he was flirting his way to a free pie.
"Hush, you still haven't paid up yet!" Mouffat spat back as she prepared to turn away from him.
How does he make it look so easy? Salazar wondered, his gaze turning to Godric who was entertaining a crowd of men - some of whom signed up to duel against him.
"Now Mrs. Mouffat, you know we're good for it, one way or the other!" Salazar said, pointing to Godric flexing for the same crowd of men.
"Well, alright, I'll throw in a pie for ye, but these discount pies are from the past few weeks, luv! Been meanin' to find a way to make coin out of these. Even the pig farmers won't use it for slop anymore."
The past few weeks? Salazar glanced at a pie Mouffat had been holding. It had a greenish-grayish shade to it. Sure crusts were invented to keep meat fresh for long periods of time, much like gelatin or salt, but the look of this pie made Salazar noxious.
"Don't give me that look!" Mouffat exclaimed, as she blew dust off that same pie. Putting her hands on her hips Mouffat continued, "They ain't gonna poison no one. I have me ways in preserving them. They just don't taste fresh is all, but give this lot a deal and they think they're gettin' a steal. Say, tell em we'll be havin' a special porridge pie sprinkled with mutton. Just gotta mop up the porridge and filter out the dirty bits."
"Wait, what?" Salazar asked regarding that last bit of mopped up porridge. Suddenly, the visual cue of secret ways of preserving soiling meat made an idea flash over Salazar's mind.
"Aren't you worried people may complain?" Salazar asked.
"This lot?" Mouffat looked around the pub, "many of these poor sods haven't had meat in their bellies and will think of me as their angel of salvation for the prices I'm sellin' these pies for. Anyway, if anyone gets rough wit me, I have me ways in dealin' wit them fools, alright?" Mouffet seemed to nod in the direction of the wall decore where the 12-point stag was mounted as the centerpiece.
"May I have your attention, per-lease?" Salazar called out to the crowd as he advertised the new Mouffat duel special. Sure enough people started to crowd around Mouffat as they wanted a snack to go with their entertainment.
"Now you mind your way and prepare the pies, child. And stay away from any more cauldrons! Can't have you explodin' any more now." Mouffat commanded a child of about eleven behind him before shooing her back to the kitchens to prepare for the influx of orders of days-old pie.
"Mrs. Mouffat, some attention please," Salazar said, directing her attention towards some eager drunk men ordering pies like they were fighting for the last meal on Earth.
"No, we don't cut slices….oi me eyes is bleary… WAIT!" Mouffat slammed her fist down at the bar to regain some control over the men shouting orders at her a million miles a minute. "Ok then, I'll get to your order next, luv." Mouffat continued to struggle as she handled a herd of men circling her asking for more ale and pie.
Salazar took this opportunity to sneak into the kitchen.
Watching Godric as he played with his wand, showing off new shapes and maneuvers he learned on the continent, Salazar walked towards him with a pie and a vial of liquidized Mercian germ root.
"I had to go into the kitchen to fetch this for you as I was out, but the Mercian germ root is usually used in kitchens of the area to preserve food much past their consumption date. If you add some scale of armadillo, a creature not native to these parts, and use the hardening charm, this little concoction will help preserve you in a fight as it'll provide a thin exoskeleton-like shield around your skin, buying you more hits if need be."
"Pfft!" Godric dismissed. "I ain't need no 'concoction' to win against this lot."
This prompted both Godric and Salazar to eye the line-up of men doing their warm-up exercises to prepare for battle. Though they were of varying shapes and sizes, Godric was right, they did not seem to be out-of-the-ordinary and nothing indicated to Salazar that these men would be hard for Godric to take. Just observing some of these men's form, they did not seem as disciplined as the stories of Godric would have you believe. Of course, none of these men entered this tavern clumsily tumbling out of an ashy fireplace either. Still, Salazar had some reservations.
"Godric, please, you're hardly wearing any armor or even any chainmail. These men who signed up to duel you are putting on their best gear." The sounds and clinks of metal clanged in the background, emphasizing Salazar's words.
"They'll be rueing the day they put on their gear to challenge me soon enough," Godric replied as he continued to stretch and show off flashes of color and light from his wand.
"First fight is between Godric Gryffindor and Ser Lionel of Piccadilly!" shouted Salazar Slytherin from the box stand as he addressed an increasingly avid audience, eyes wide, and ready to be entertained. Some even licked their lips as if they could taste the anticipation.
"Gentlemen," Salazar continued, "please publicly announce your weapon of choice!"
"My wand!" Godric yelled, leading to cheers from more than half the crowd.
"My staff!" Ser Lionel responded with cheers from the less-than-half who chose not to cheer for Godric. "To think that puny piece of wood would have any chance against my biggerstaff! This was customized by the great Wizard Oberlin of the Hundred-Acre Wood and sprinkled with the very nectar of his golden hue fairies from his pond!"
Much of the crowd "oohed" in response, impressed as Ser Lionel's staff shone like the amber stone of which Salazar had seen on members of the magical nobility of the various German states ruled by a singular Augustus who had traveled to Britannia on the pilgrimage to visit the Grand Wizard Oswald.
Salazar was surprised to see that Godric took on a position of respect and bowed to Ser Lionel before taking his fighting stance since a few moments ago he was boasting about how none of these opponents would be a match for him.
Some men in the crowd laughed at the super low crouching position Godric had already taken. Salazar admitted that he did look a bit silly, but unlike these fools, Salazar knew there was a reason for such a stance.
"We will have a nice clean fight. First wizard to either knock his opponent onto the ground wins the round. We are doing the best two-out-of-three." Salazar explained.
Eyeing the stoic and now somber Godric, Salazar asked, "Are you ready?".
Godric gave a slight nod in response. Salazar nodded back.
"Are you ready?" Eyeing Ser Lionel.
Ser Lionel answered, "I was born for this."
It took everything in Salazar's power not to roll his eyes and instead nod in total seriousness.
"Ok, Round 1...fight!" yelled Salazar.
The crowd hushed as the fight began. Salazar could feel the excitement and tension in the air.
Betraying his muscle-bound, bulky frame, Godric quickly somersaulted over Ser Lionel's head and playfully tapped the top of the orb of Lionel's staff with his wand before landing in the same low position with his stance wide.
"What the?" Ser Lionel exclaimed as he confusingly turned around and aimed his staff at Godric.
The clink of the light tap caused a few in the crowd to react with amusement and laughter. The anger in Ser Lionel's face clearly rose as his face grew flush and his stance grew sloppy. Despite his impressive frame and gear, Ser Lionel seemed undisciplined and inexperienced.
"I know what a circus looks like, boy! Your aerials don't impress me!" Ser Lionel launched himself from the flat end of his staff to jump-kick Godric in the chest. This was no ordinary jump kick as Lionel's kicking leg started to flash with a bolt of green light.
However, before Lionel's kick could land, Godric was already well out of the way and behind him.
"Peek-a-boo," Godric said as his wand unleashed an intense golden flame all over Ser Lionel's staff, causing it to catch fire.
Ser Lionel panicked as he tried to control the flames burning through Ser Lionel's staff. It must have been made of particularly flammable wood. Salazar thought surely he would have fireproofed his impressive staff with some flame retardant charms or potions. Then Salazar looked at the flames closely. This was no ordinary fire. It must have some special component to fight off the most advances flame retardants.
Ser Lionel first tried a rain spell to sprinkle water down onto his staff, but the flames grew too enormous for his little sprinkles to overcome. Then he yelped as he threw his staff up in the air and tried to extinguish the fire with his heavy fur cape. The sight of this burly man all terrified and anxious threw Salazar for a loop. This image was quite the juxtaposition.
After Godric uttered a spell, from his skewed, pointed wand, came a blue light shaped like a sharp spear aimed for the exposed crystal orb lying on top of Ser Lionel's increasingly burning staff.
Thousands of shards must have splintered all over the Hobgoblin as people's piercing screams echoed throughout the pub.
As a finishing move, with Lionel's back facing Godric as he tried to shield himself from the splintering shards, Godric simply kicked Ser Lionel from behind his knees and leg swept his way to win the round.
"Round 1 goes to Godric Gryffindor!"
Godric was rewarded with near unanimous cheers throughout the pub.
"I...that was…" Ser Lionel huffed in defeat. He no longer carried this boastful swagger. Instead, here was a man humbled in defeat. Instead of saying anymore, Ser Lionel, with the hushed crowd surrounding him, bowed in respect to "the great Godric Gryffindor." A pang of envy overcame Salazar as he wondered if anyone would ever bow to him in the same way.
After Ser Lionel forfeited round 2, one-by-one Godric's opponents met their defeat at the hands of an 11-inch wand.
"I, Addy the Firestarter, challenge the Mighty Godric Gryffindor! I will not faint at the flames!"
Gordic finished him within a minute with a never-ending water spell.
"Where does that water come from?" a member of the crowd wondered as Mrs. Mouffat ran to the back kitchen to "check her water supply".
Then came Cole, the Cape Crusader, with his magical cape. Cole actually lasted a good while as he was able to deflect or evade many of Godric's spells before Godric adopted a more defensive strategy that tried Cole's patience, resulting in Godric finding a weak spot in Cole's magical cape and was able to undo the cape thread-by-thread. Cole respectfully bowed in defeat after his crying fit over all the work and embroidery and charms he invested into that cape.
Victory after victory caused much discussion among the wizards as they started to see the advantages of a handheld wand to conjure magic over cumbersome and awkward alternatives like staffs, magicked swords and shields, mirrors, crystal balls, rings, clubs, goblets, spears, capes, hoops, and ribbons. Although, Salazar had to admit Ser Robin the Ribbon-Dancer sure looked the most aesthetically pleasing in battle before defeat.
After the ninth opponent fell, there was one left, much to Mouffat's relief as what was left of the Hobgoblin dining room became ashes and charred wood with all kinds of debris sprinkled all over her floor. Salazar eyed all the fallen wall decorations from the battles. Ser Pate the Friendly Neighborhood Webslinger causing much of the fallen decor with his constant bouncing off of the walls. However, Salazar eyed the head of the 12-point stag was still bolted in place at the head of the dining room, looking as majestic as ever. Suddenly, Salazar thought he saw a gleam in the stag's eye. It must have been a trick of his eyes after seeing spell after spell and constant successive flashes of lights from the duels.
Right, the duel. One opponent left!
Looking around to the crowd, which was now growing more restless as they waited for the final duel, Salazar yelled out, "Ser Dinadan! Do we have Ser Dinadan in the house?" Salazar bounced up and down to find Ser Dinadan, the clinking sound of the heavy coin in his bags rattled. This was the easiest money he had ever made, and that was counting the time he swindled that simple farmhand that for a good night's meal, a mattress to sleep in, and some extra coin, he had a bridge in London waiting for him. Carrying these nearly over-filled bags of coinage, Salazar felt somewhat fancy, like the tax collector of Nottingham.
No one answered. Maybe Ser Dinadan saw the previous duels and ran off before he could be humiliated. It seemed to be around that time where things wound up anyway. He was getting tired, and Godric was pretty inebriated now, enjoying rounds of drinks and shots every time he defeated a new opponent.
Eyeing the nearby dining table, a red-faced and sloppy Godric was laughing it up while playing a game of Exploding Snap with a crowd of bar patrons, many of whom were his opponents he had just defeated. They drank in more ale and celebrated the fraternal order of duelists.
One would never find Salazar to play a game as undignified as Exploding Snap. Though he was good at it, the fact that one would have to suffer from an exploding, smokey stink bomb if they did not play their hands wisely was much too dirty for him. He preferred Wizard's Chess.
Suddenly, the bar room began to quiver. Then quake. The whole room seemed to be vibrating. Salazar looked up to the 12-point stag head and it shook along to the beat of what sounded like stomping steps.
Rolling through the fireplace as Godric had done earlier, a mountain of a man Salazar had never seen before came rolling in followed by a short-sized balding geezer. The geezer Salazar remembered.
"Pardon me," the geezer sneezed as he patted himself and the big chunk of muscle and skin free from dirt and dust. "I am Ebenezer Scrooge and I signed up my friend here to duel the great Godric Gryffindor!"
"What kind of name is Ebenezer?" asked Mrs. Mouffat, also counting her coin and how many pies she had left to sell.
"You should meet my cousin, Ichabod," Ebenezer replied while muttering something about how he was told these Anglo-Saxons were Christian people. "Anyway, I was here earlier and I put down my friend to duel. He was off fighting elsewhere so I had to grab him. We call him 'The Rock!'" Ebenezer's thumb pointing at the humongous titan. "I hope we aren't late."
Salazar gulped and then hoped nobody noticed.
"Uh...yes, you are," Salazar said as a matter-of-fact, putting forward his most calm face, hoping not to expose his downright fear. And yet for all of his effort, his eyes quivered over the mighty mountain of a man in front of him. Godric already drank a few too much and was tired out from Ser Robin toying with him with all those flexible positions he put him in before he was finally defeated.
"What are you saying, man!" Godric shouted for the whole pub to hear. "I ain't backin' down to nobody no way ! It ain't in meh blood!" Godric started to stretch again and slapped himself awake.
Salazar gleaned from the geezer's smirking and self-satisfied face that the geezer had him where he wanted him.
"Yes, you do not speak for the Glorious Godric Gryffindor!"
"As a matter-of-fact, I do, and he's at a disadvantage now to battle. Sorry, Maybe next time. See you later."
Salazar turned away as Godric protested in an increasingly animated fashion where he waved his arms all over the place and stomped his feet like a toddler.
What a fool! Brilliant and brave, but a fool! Salazar thought as he tried to escort Godric away.
The crowd in the pub started booing and hissing at Salazar.
"Coward!"
"Afraid you'd finally lose some coin?"
"Godric ain't scared of no one!"
One-by-one, the men shouted to let Godric fight. They just wanted to win some coin back, Salazar thought. Some admirers they were! Anybody could see Godric was shite-faced at the moment.
"But kind sir, how about if raise that stakes?" Ebenezer asked.
There was a kind of hush, all over the pub, at that very moment as they waited to see what kind of offer the geezer was going to extend.
Raising the stakes? It wouldn't hurt to hear the man out. Salazar slightly turned his head back towards the geezer.
Yes, for all the coin in your purses. I can match that! Ebenezer then conjured up a large bag of coin seemingly matching the amount Salazar collected.
"I'm going to have to count the coin and ensure it actually matches what we have," Salazar said, hoping to buy some time for Godric to sober up and warm up.
"Oh no, ye don't!" The geezer replied. "Have someone else count it while we start the duel, these people can't wait forever and The Rock is cruisin to give a bruisin! If we don't satiate him now, there's no tellin' what kind of damage he can give you all."
The crowd then started chanting to "start the fight" with increasing ferocity. Salazar felt himself cornered and crowded by a bunch of red-faced drunken slobs spitting at him. He turned to Mouffat for help but she looked as though she was ready to keel over from all the work she'd been doing all night. Among the crowd, he saw the woman from before sitting calmly with her napping elderly acquaintance, watching the situation carefully. She seemed to be deep in thought. Well, she wasn't drunk at least. Good enough, Salazar determined.
"You there!" Salazar pointed at the woman. "Count this coin and make sure it matches what I have in my purse!"
The woman scoffed in return and crossed her arms. "I'm just here for a good meal and to talk to the owner about a stay. I don't get involved in barbarism. I come from a civilized country called Wales, where the things you've been doing here would land you in county jails."
"I'll buy you the biggest meal you've had in days if you do as I say, woman!" Salazar retorted with increasing urgency.
"Well, now you're talkin'!" she replied. "But how do you know you can trust me?" She asked. "What's to stop me from runnin' off with your coin?"
Green smoke began to envelope all around him. He stared her down, his eyes narrowing.
"Because woman," he replied, " I have your face memorized and I'll follow you to the ends of the Earth to get my money back." The green smoke grew more voluminous. "And I swear, you don't want to cross me. You wouldn't like me when I'm angry!" The green smoke grew to the point where he could no longer see the woman, or anything else at the pub. He tried to suppress a cough to maintain his position of intimidation.
"Alright then, good enough." The woman's shoulders relaxed and she smiled. "Say, captain," the woman said to her geriatric friend. "Looks like we're going to see a second show before our midnight snack, eh."
The man simply nodded as he went back to his nap.
"That's the spirit my full-figured friend!" Salazar said before ignoring the woman's huffiness to his words "full-figured" and bringing his attention back to the geezer.
"Let me chat with my champion first, eh?" Salazar said to Ebenezer before walking off without waiting for a reply.
In the dark corner of the dining room, Salazar size Godric up and his readiness to face a castle for an opponent.
"I.." Godric hiccuped, "I...am Godric the Gryffindor!"
Oh no.
"I have slayed dragons, fought five warlocks at once, escaped from the magical harrowing unescapable magic tunnels of Hartford, Hereford and Hampshire, battled armies of Danes, chased those Francs out of…."
"Ok, I got it!" Salazar snapped. He couldn't take anymore of his boasting tonight. "But can you fight right this moment?"
"If you don't think I can do it, then we are no longer pals, buds, companions, brothers from different mothers…."
Salazar watched his face and as much as he wanted to laugh at Godric's increasingly incapacitated state, he saw a fire in his eyes. This man was a man who never backed down and always had something to prove. He was hungry alright and it seemed that one of the only ways to satiate his appetite was through fighting.
"Take the Mercian germ root." Salazar demanded flatly, as if this was not up for debate.
"No." Godric's face grew stern and sober.
"I said take it!" Salazar pulled the bottle of the elixir out from his underrobe.
"No, you can't make me!" Godric yelped in a less sobering fashion.
"Goddamnit man! Are you going to be a good little boy and take it or not?" Salazar struggled as he tried to force-feed the purplish-gray goo down Godric's throat.
"No!" Godric screamed as he conjured a dust devil to whirl Salazar out of his way.
Salazar flew across the bar room, miraculously avoiding any other person in the packed pub, and slammed against the wall where the 12-point stag head shook. The headboard shook and Salazar watched it warily for a second as it teetered. Relief overcame him when it luckily did not come undone.
As the stars and birds stopped circling around Salazar, the focus of his sight progressively sharpened to see Godric march to The Rock. As angry as he was with him at this moment, Salazar could not help but admire the display of chivalry and honor as Godric respectfully bowed to The Rock.
Salazar tried to watch The Rock's expression, but his ogre-build was covered from head to toe with shiny metallic armor. This was no ordinary armor. It seemed to have been been crafted by expert metalsmiths, ones beyond anything Salazar had seen before. The Rock's face was covered by a full mask except for a small horizontal slit to allow his eyes to see. From what Salazar could tell, the Rock's eyes indicated he was ready to chew Godric up and spit him out.
The Rock finally responded to Godric's bow by swinging his two-handed magical axe down towards Godric's neck. Godric rolled just in time. Salazar noticed a few wisps of golden scarlet fair float down to the pale brown wooden pub floor. This prompted everyone at the bar to dive for cover behind tables and benches, leaving all of their belongings and carry-ons behind as they incanted various shield spells to protect them from the ensuing onslaught.
This was no respectful duel, Salazar thought. He had no idea what this Rock was cooking, but he seemed to be under the impression that this was a fight to the death.
Godric did not answer playfully this time around nor did he tease his opponent as he did with some of the others. Salazar felt that Godric knew that this piece of rock was too big to toy with.
In response to the Rock's disrespect, Godric sent a flurry of multi-colored lightning bolts towards his opponent. The way Godric sharply and pointedly shot the bolts and changed positions was nothing short of graceful. Despite the fact that he barely made a dent on The Rock, Godric twirled his wand to conjure up a gust of wind directed at The Rock's feet.
However, The Rock's build anchored onto the cheap wooden planks Mrs. Mouffat called a floor and he did not shift. Instead, The hulking man spun his large battle axe circularly showing red beams of light towards Godric. Godric was able to evade most of them, but a sharp red beam bounced off a shield of one of Godric's former opponents left behind before he dove for cover. The beam reflected off the shield and landed sharply into Godric's back.
Godric yelped in pain. This was something nobody had witnessed before, as blood started to spurt out from his back. The forcefulness of the projectile caused Godric to lose his grip on his wand, and with a simple "Accio", The Rock now had Godric's wand.
I knew that exoskeleton potion would have been useful! Salazar thought. Then suddenly, he wondered if anyone would notice if he chanted a few protection spells onto Godric. Before trying his luck, Ebenezer walked towards him.
"I see that look in your eyes my boy, and don't even think about it. I have eighty-eight other footmen outside this pub who are going to march in here and take the two of you dead or alive if you try anything." Ebenezer revealed sharp Goblin-like teeth to Salazar and licked his lips with his long pointed tongue. "Don't make me inject you with my Northern Irish Basilisk poison, I've been waiting for the opportunity," the newly-revealed Goblin said. "You humans have not figured out the antidote to this yet.
Was he doubting his potion-making? How dare he!
Before Salazar could respond, Ebenezer walked away celebrating The Rock's knee landing upon Godric's cheek. Godric spent the new moments of the fight using every finessed trick he could to outmaneuver and outwit The Rock, but this was no troll with a simple brain. This was a creature of intelligence who actually knew how to fight and strategize. He had the same correct wide and low stance Godric utilized beforehand. It was as if he had studied all of Godric's moves beforehand.
Godric mustered all the strength he could to ensure he was not knocked down, but he kept repeatedly getting dealt with blow after blow. Godric simply could not escape The Rock's attacks.
Upon seeing his friend take hit after hit - some magicked others purely physical, Salazar felt compelled to call the fight in favor of the Goblin. Surely they could make money some other way. Seeing the figure of a bruised and bloodied man crouched down on his knees, Salazar no longer cared about the coin. He wanted his newfound friend to be alive at the end of this. Surely, whatever the Goblin wanted to do to them, they could figure out a way out of it.
The Rock knocked Godric with a stupify spell causing him to flip in the air and land on his upper-back, narrowly missing breaking his neck. Godric, rolled out from his back position to a kneeling one to ensure the fight would not be called in favor of his opponent.
The geezer goblin squealed in delight as he pointed out how "The Great Godric Gryffindor" knelt at the Rock, understanding who his superior was. If some of the crowd had wanted to see Godric defeated before, they did not feel that way now as they could no longer take the geezer's gloating.
Godric coughed and then spat out spittle of blood. He turned towards Salazar and arched his eyebrows as if telling him he was running out of ideas, and asking if he had any. A slaver of blood ran down his mouth and his face was bludgeoned black and blue from the many hits he received.
Stupid man! Salazar tried to communicate to him telepathically. You're trying to fight a fair fight when this fight wasn't fair in the first place. You have to do something sneaky! Salazar eyed Godric, and then the 12-point-stag. Of course! If he didn't have his wand, then do whatever it takes. Use whatever this bar had to offer as your weapon! Salazar eyed up to the stag, and then eyed the shield that had reflected the projectile back, and then noticed Godric's greatsword at the bench where they had dinner.
The Rock was busy showing off his forceful swinging as if he was about to land one final beheading blow to Godric.
Suddenly, Godric rolled under The Rock and leapt back towards the table where he had sat earlier playing Exploding Snap.
"Kinetic card!" Godric screamed as he threw the playing cards towards The Rock's eyes. Though his helmet had only a slim slot to allow his eyes to see, the cards fit right through. The rest of the pub marveled at Godric's incredible accuracy and precision.
The Rock struggled wildly as his muffled screams added to the symphonic sounds of the exploding cards echoed inside his metallic helmet.
While Salazar and the rest of the pub were busy watching The Rock fumble around dealing with what they could only imagine was the purely putrid noxious smells of the exploding stink bombs bouncing inside of tight helmet, Godric was five steps ahead of them and sprinted towards his dinner table to grab his Great Sword.
"The sword! That's the sword he stole from my people!" Ebenezer screeched, commanding that The Rock chase after him.
Godric smiled as the same blood that dripped from his mouth now made him look like the predatory King of the Jungle that he was, ready to tear off his prey's flesh. He raised the silver sword up to the heavens with the deep blood red rubies glinting on the inset. There, Godric showed off the just beneath the hilt where his name was engraved.
"No, Goblin, this is my sword!" Godric leapt and pulled his sword back as if preparing to slash The Rock. However, The Rock readied himself for the attack, and cast a spiked shield that looked oddly enough like a turtle shell.
The Rock was clearly confused due to expecting the impact of a large human male to be stabbed against the spiked turtle shell. Instead of falling to his death, Godric used the sword's magical abilities to pogo-stick bounce off the floor and thrust towards his opponent's opposite side, to where the headmount of the 12-point stag was proudly displayed.
Godric conjured the same dust devil spell that he had used earlier on Salazar. Using the whirling mini-torando, he gathered all the debris, items, cups, weapons, and even leftover pies laying all over the pub and then spun them towards the blinded Rock in all different directions.
With The Rock now distracted and confused as to where he was and being hit by various projectiles of all shapes and sizes from all directions, Godric eyed the 12-point stag. Salazar understood his plan now.
Remembering Mouffat's earlier words, "Anyway, if anyone gets rough wit me, I have me ways in dealin' wit them fools, alright?"
He knew what that stag really was, and had told Godric so before this duel began. This was no ordinary stag. That was the Pub's secret weapon against dark wizards and other treacherous creatures looking to start trouble.
Godric charmed the magical sword with a spell to find magical properties, which pointed straight to the stag. With that charm, Godric muttered the Latin words engraved on the headboard.
"Cum fortis animo et ponere cervis auritosque exsurgit et patet ex illis hanc silvam in tenebris nigrum cordibus et mentibus!"
What a long spell, Salazar thought, wondering just how useful it would actually be in an emergency. They need to fix that. All spells should be one-to-three words at the most, he determined.
With that long spell came a long, silky white stream of vapor from Godric's wand onto the Stag's head. The headboard started quivering and shaking as a technicolor display of light sparked from its base.
In an instant, the whole pub flashed of bright white light as the stag's full body leapt out of the headboard of the wall. Using his sword to direct the stag, the stag rushed towards The Rock, and its 12-points full of energy and heat pierced through The Rock's armor. The stag's antlers had entered through The Rock's back and exited through his front.
A few haggard breaths fell from The Rock, who stared forward, though his eyes blinded and unable to focus. After waiting a few beats with baited breath, the crowd covered their ears as a sickening whine escaped his lips as his eyes sudden widened exposing all the black smoke from the Exploding Snap cards. Then with a great thud that shook the whole pub, he fell into a pool of his own blood. This duel would not end with friendly drinks between sparring partners. This was a true fight to the death.
As if understanding the gravity of the moment, no one dared to utter a sound, as if stupified by the sudden seriousness of this what they had just witnessed and fear of what would happen next.
Suddenly, the sound of a young girl cheering in celebration broke the silence. Salazar turned to see that little girl Mouffet called "Lettice" lead the celebration of Godric's victory.
This prompted the other patrons to leave their protective shields from the sides of the pub to cheer Godric on.
As they carried Godric on his shoulders, they sang, "For He's a Jolly Good Fellow!", Salazar couldn't believe it. He himself was now crying tears of happiness. Godric did it. He was able to beat that mountain — and without a wand!
"No! No! No!" the Goblin who presented himself as Ebenezer shrieked and screeched! "You cannot win! We've been preparing for years, watching your every move, studying your techniques! You cannot win! Not again! It is unjust! You stole from us, justice must be served!"
"Goblin, I stole nothing!" Godric roared. Salazar observed Godric standing straight and proud despite all the pain he must have been in. With his scarlet and gold hair flowing —where the breeze came from, Salazar had no idea—, he looked very much like a lion. A lion king if one wanted to go further.
"I paid Ragnuk the First to make me this great sword as I respect Goblins as the finest silversmiths in existence. However, he coveted the sword so much that he pretended I had stolen the sword he would not have created had I not specially ordered it for myself. Without my direction, gems, and runes, he would never have thought of this sword on his own." Godric continued.
Just as Godric finished, Ebenezer still having a fit. Then, without warning, the geezer stopped his fit and offered Godric an extra wide smile, exposing his sharp teeth, and snapped his fingers.
Upon the sound of his snap, a hoard of eighty-eight footmen of all magical species rushed into the Hobgoblin and circled all the patrons in the bar. They were now all surrounded by Ebenezer's men.
"Psst, where did that stag go?" Salazar whispered to Godric, who was now crowded next to him.
"I don't know," Godric whispered back.
"Aye, that spell is only good for one run then it poofs back to the headboard. It's no good for another five days, I reckon." Mouffat whispered to them with Salazar just noticing her standing behind them.
"I, Birger of the Britannia Goblins, will not let you go! We must fight to the death!" Ebenezer threatened, interrupting the conversation about magical stags.
Salazar saw that Birger was licking his lips, but this time acidic black ooze was coming out of his teeth.
Without warning, Birger leapt towards Godric ready to sink his fangs into Godric's flesh when Salazar without thinking, jumped in front of Godric. After all of that, there is no way he'll let Godric die now, at the mouth of such a treacherous, but admittedly genius, move. Fear should have taken over him as Salazar readied for Birger's poisonous bite. However, instead, he grew excited. He had a plan.
Salazar raised his left arm to move it towards the Goblin's mouth.
"Salazar!" Godric shouted, catching Salazar as he fell down from the impact and sheer pain of the goblin's sharp and burning bite. The poison slowly streamed through the veins of Salazar's left arm. He grunted as the poison burned his flesh.
After finally finding his words, Salazar's hazy sight caught the face of the Goblin. "You goddamn Goblin, you bit me! I didn't know there were such things as poisonous Goblins!"
"There aren't, I just cracked a pellet that releases poisonous ooze when bitten. We Goblins are immune to it," Ebenezer said calmly as he wiped his mouth. "Damnit! My wife told me to bring more than one pellet. I thought it was more dramatic to bring one, you know?"
"Salazar!" Godric cried as he checked out the arm bite. Salazar flinched at the sizzling blackened teeth marks on his forearm. If it just had been a snake, it would have been two neat holes piercing through the skin, but here there were about four uneven staggered bite marks.
Godric then stood up and bum-rushed the Goblin. Before the Goblin could run, Godric lifted him by his collar. "Tell me, what is that poison that you used! Tell me now or I'll break your neck!"
"Ha, do it, and I'll have these 88 men massacre this entire pub! And your friend will still be dead!" The Goblin laughed. "And let me say…"
Before he could finish, Godric dropped the Goblin from his airborne position and ran back to Salazar. Salazar could hear the thud of the Goblin dropping to his bottom, and wanted to laugh at how funny that exchange had been. But then the sounds started to muffle a bit.
No, too soon. It's just my imagination.
"We may have to cut it off, chum," Godric said facing Salazar's forearm, "unless you know some miracle cure for an unknown poison." Godric said softly, holding his friend's head up and letting Salazar's body rest on his lap.
"Don't," Salazar coughed, "worry. I...have a…"
His arm burned as he heard a soft sizzle eating away at the flesh. He felt as though his arm was placed directly upon a hot flame. Salazar dared to sneak a peak at the bite and saw a huge black swollen circle had formed. The burning sensation coupled with a numbing one where he felt his left arm going limper by the moment.
"Let me see that!" a woman's voice echoed. Salazar's ears began to ring. It was the same woman who counted the coin. She threw the Goblin's bag of coins down on the floor and stomped her foot on the coins. They dissipated into dust. "I try to tell people not to judge other species too harshly or to believe in stereotypes, but you're making it hard, sir!" The woman said to the Goblin. "I will say they are right about your charm skills. It took me that entire time to uncharm the shine out of those fake coins."
The strawberry and honeyed haired woman squatted near Salazar, his face close to her breasts. Despite the haze and pain, Salazar now wanted to lay his face onto her buxom bosom. He now just wanted to rest upon her breasts.
"Eyes up here, Mister!" the woman exclaimed as she examined the bite and ooze coming out from his arm.
Suddenly, Salazar spewed out some dark bile, with the vomit landing upon the woman's breasts Salazar had just so admired.
"Thank ye for that, kind sir!" She responded. "No worries, nothin' I hadn't had before," she continued as she inspected the bite further.
Salazar watched as the woman sweetly caressed the skin around the bite, surprisingly offering a nice soothing sensation that calmed the frazzling of the flesh that was happening upon the area. Her eyes of ocean blue and soft smile from her plump wide lips would not have been the worst image to set one's eyes upon when facing death - even if her mouth was still stained from sucking out the venom and blood.
"It's working mighty fast," she whispered. "I have some paste that could deal with the swelling, but I need to know what the properties are of this poison before I can make an elixir from me herbs."
Salazar felt his second wind. "No need for that! I know what to do!" Salazar exclaimed as he willed himself to a standing position. It was now or never. He had to work fast in order to defeat this Goblin. It was not just his life at stake. Mind over matter!
The woman gasped and Godric protested as Salazar struggled to stand up on his own. Then he staggered towards the head of the pub.
"Goblin, I'll make you a deal. If I can concoct a cure for this poison you say we humans are unable to cure, then you leave with all 88 of your troops and be gone for good. If I die of this poison before I can cure it, then you may tell everyone that I, Salazar Slytherin, paid the price of Godric Gryffindor's supposed treachery."
The Goblin contemplated this deal. "How would I benefit from this deal? I could just capture Gryffindor now and let you die!"
"Do you think Ragnuk the First would want you to jumpstart a new Human-Goblin war? After the bloodshed of the last one? Imagine you massacring this entire pub of wizards and witches who traveled here to compete at the Great Wizard's Festival and Trials. These aren't just any magical folk, you know."
"- And there's no guarantee you'll win against Godric Gryffindor and all of us!"
Salazar looked down to see who said that, and it was Lettice, the child! What gumption she had. She was probably a little bit in love with Godric, he thought.
"So why not go for the sure thing? You'll probably win and can claim to have received justice for your efforts without any more bloodshed. Not to mention, even if your 88 kill us all, you'll be the first to die." Salazar explained.
The Goblin looked around and saw that suddenly a bunch of magical weapons from the pub patrons were all aimed at him and none at the surrounding 88 footmen.
"Well, pfft, fine! I'll make this deal. You won't be able to find the cure anyway!" The Goblin shrieked and laughed at the idea of Salazar being able to find the cure.
"Quick girl, fetch me a cauldron!" Salazar bellowed to Lettice. The little girl ran to the back to fetch a fresh cauldron for him.
"Woman!" Salazar commanded to the woman whose bosom he had so admired.
"Excuse you!" she answered.
"Sorry, Ms. Woman!" Salazar replied.
She raised an eyebrow but complied when he asked her to fetch his bag and place it in the bar area.
"Godric, can you, um," Salazar's face reddened as he readied himself for his next request. "Can you lift me to the bar over there. I need a big and clean surface area."
"You got it, pal," Godric answered before he suddenly carried Salazar as if he was a groom carrying his bride to bed on their wedding night.
"Not like that!" Salazar felt incredibly infantilized now, not daring to look at the faces of the other patrons.
"Hush!" Godric commanded as he quickly strode to the bar, Salazar in arm. Godric carefully placed Salazar to the central bar area and then bullishly arm swiped the bar area of all of its contents to provide a nice clear space for Salazar.
"Me pies!" Salazar could hear Mrs. Mouffat scream out.
As Salazar relaxed his body, he looked out to the crowd. Was it him or was his vision going a bit hazy? He felt some more bile rising from gut, and unfortunately, he did just have a feast before this whole blasted thing started.
"Here ye, hear ye! I am going to not only figure out what is in this Goblin's poison, but become the first wizard to find its antidote!"
The crowd cheered, as Salazar quickly gathered the tools from his bag and set a small blue burner under the cauldron Lettice handed to him. His left arm would be rendered useless soon, so he only had a small amount of time to have both uses of his arm.
Salazar may not be able to fight like Godric, but now he was facing a battle he knew he could win - with a wand, a few ingredients, and an iron cauldron as his weapons of choice.
As much as he appreciated the audience, feeling Godric and the woman's keen eyes watching him as he worked made him feel as if he had to put on a bit of a show. We watched as the water in his cauldron came to a nice bubbly simmer.
"Now, notice how the bite is acidic and burning my flesh. That tells right there that I need to first quelle the burning from spreading. The best thing for that is a base." Salazar reached into his bag and grabbed a bottle full of a milk-like substance. The sight of milk prompted Salazar to release more bile into a bucket provided by Lettice. The thought of drinking it later made him release another batch of spew.
"Yes, of course, a good cream base would neuter any acid," the woman said, clearly taking mental notes.
She better not be stealing my recipe! Salazar thought. This got his mind off the nausea he felt, though the room started to slightly spin.
"What's in that bottle?" Godric asked.
"Yeah, it can't just be cattle's milk, can it?" the woman added.
"Of course not, what am I? New?" Salazar snapped. The room stopped spinning momentarily. Somehow, talking to this woman calmed him down.
"Well, excuse me, your greatness, no need to shout at me!" the woman responded.
"You're excused," Salazar answered. Finally, a woman who knows how to apologize! He continued, "It's Mother's Milk from the teet of a veela. Veelas have properties in their milk to revive damaged muscles and vessels. Veela infants are especially susceptible to the elements and they build up their bodies with mother's milk. Non-veela people like us are actually less vulnerable than they are. The cost of beauty, I guess."
"And how did you get milk from her teet?" Helga asked with her eyebrows arched and head tilted.
The room started to spin again.
"I bought it, how else do you think I would get it?" Salazar snarled back. I can't believe out of the entire lecture I just gave that's what she's fixated on!
The room began to spin faster.
"I can think of a few ways," Godric replied, with a smile indicating that he's now imagining a more direct way of getting milk from a Veela's teet.
"Keep that to yourself!" The woman replied, now arms crossed as if to be on her guard.
Salazar carefully poured in the veela's milk in the cauldron ignoring the vertigo he was experiencing. Pretending that he was seeing a static room with static people, he said, "You have to be careful with it because pouring it too fast will cool down the water too quickly," Salazar announced to the room. It was if he was giving one of his demonstrations but this time on some sort top that spun round and round. Suddenly, Salazar imagined himself inside of a spinning tea cup with a talking mouse, duck, and dog, before realizing what a ridiculous image that was.
"Why don't you just pour it into rapidly boiling water?" Godric asked.
"Because, it'll break down the milk completely and render it useless!" the woman responded. You should see what happens to me puddin' when I boil the milk too fast!"
She clearly knows what she's talking about, Salazar thought impressed. He offered the woman a warm smile in appreciation. She actually smiled back and uncrossed her arms.
"Could be so kind as to hand me an empty vial?" Salazar asked the woman as calmly and stiffly as he could since he felt his throat closing up every so slightly and his heart beat dropping. At least the spinning of the room slowed down. He did not want anyone to notice anything was wrong.
Instead of responding, she quickly went into Salazar's bag and fetched him a clean, clear transparent vial.
"Now...good lady," Salazar said facing an increasingly hazy figure of the woman to his right, "I need you to get my tub of numbing paste."
"I'm Godric!"
"Oh whoever I'm facing, just get it!" Salazar bellowed impatiently.
"I got it!" the Woman shouted from his left.
"Perfect. Now I need one of you to spread the thick numbing paste all over your mouth and then suck out the poison from my arm, as much as you can while the other collects it in the vial." Salazar felt beads of sweat trickle down his head.
"I'll suck it out!" Godric exclaimed excitedly. "Let's rid you this poison."
"No, it needs a more delicate touch," the woman countered. "I've done this before. You go ahead. I also have a better idea, why don't I spit it into a bowl, and then Godric can then pour it into the vial."
"Fine fine," Salazar said, not wanting to fully admit she had a better idea. His breathing became heavier. He felt his heart beat dropping even further.
"What makes you think I can't suck properly?" asked Godric.
"I've seen you eat, I think I need a more delicate vacuum," Salazar blurted with great breath before slightly gasping for air again.
Godric harrumphed and crossed his arms in disapproval. "Fine, I'll pour the poison into the vial." Salazar looked to Godric who looked as if he could explode with the painstakingly slow pace potion making was going. Salazar was used it, but Godric clearly was not.
What a baby! Salazar thought. The truth was that he preferred the woman's mouth against his skin and wondered if Godric picked up on that.
"Give me yer arm!" the woman demanded, as she grabbed Salazar's arm without warning and began sucking the venom from the bite.
Salazar grimaced at her sucking action as he watched as she sucked and spit back into the bowl.
Delicate my ass! This woman will suck all the blood from my body!"
"Less sucking!" Salazar cried out, suddenly feeling a third wind he didn't know he had.
Salazar swore despite his increasingly muffled hearing that he heard a few patrons laughing just now.
"I'm doing the best I can!" The woman answered, her mouth blackened with the venom and streaks of blood drooling down to her chin. It seems as though his vision was clearing a bit with this third wind!
Godric snickered in response as he prepared to pour the contents into the vial.
Taking the vial full of venom, Salazar shakily took his wand. Inhaled through his nose and exhaled through his mouth as he saw Godric had done earlier to relax his body. Now his hand was steady enough to chant the purification spell.
"Purgare venenum!"
"I never heard of that spell," the woman said.
"Me neither," Godric responded.
"I invented it." Salazar stated flatly as he eyed the contents of the vial go from dark to clear. He felt his chest tightening and he wanted nothing more than to collapse on the floor and curl up in a fetal position and just accept his fate.
"How, pray tell, did you think of a spell like that?" The woman asked, not noticing the pure torture going on inside of his skin. However, her expression softened, and she placed her hand on his. Salazar did not understand how this provided comfort, but it did.
Relaxing his body through his breathing, he answered, "I learned that the antidote from all snake's venom can be found in the poison itself. It needs to be mixed with the prey's blood and then purified."
"How remarkable! I would have never thought the antidote and the poison would be one of the same!" Godric exclaimed, slapping Salazar's back.
Salazar nearly fell over upon impact. He tried to use his left hand to grip onto the edge of the bar to prevent his fall, but his left arm was now a noodle. A noodle full of sharp and burning pain. Before he knew it, Godric swiftly positioned him back to an upright position at the desk. For such a hunk of a man, Godric sure moved like lightning.
Hoping to deflect from his clearly weakening state, Salazar said, "Not so loud, I don't want every Tom, Dick, and Harry to know. I mean to make money off of this!"
"Sorry!" Godric answered, looking apologetic for more than just shouting the secret contents of his antidote.
"You mean to profit off of this? This could save lives!" The woman reprimanded. All of a sudden, Salazar felt as though he was in trouble with nanny, even though he never had a nanny. How British was he becoming?
"Quiet!" Salazar commanded. His head started to buzz, his breathing became labored, his sight started to go again, and he felt more bile rise as the spinning increased. Time was running out as he started to feel his entire left side go numb.
Still, he was able to make out the woman's still disapproving face. He felt compelled to continue, "And it will save many many lives. I just don't see why I can't profit off of this as well." That took a lot of air from his lungs for him to say.
"How immoral!" The woman shouted. "It's medicinal! It should be given away!" The woman's face went from disapproving to antagonistic. Her disgusted look at Salazar surprisingly made his heart hurt. Or it could have been the venom working its way to the heart.
What the hell? Salazar wondered. How dare she make me feel bad. It's my potion! I don't need to share with the world. If they want it, they can pay for it! At least the venom wasn't affecting his ability to think!
"Can we talk about this later," Godric interrupted. "Let's see him actually make a cure first."
Salazar's gaze turned to Godric whose worry was now palpable. Beads of sweat continued to drip and Salazar was no longer standing upright as his back was hunched over the cauldron with his body laying limply on the bar for support.
"Don't worry, I will make this cure," Salazar answered with all the confidence he could muster, shooing the hands of Godric and the woman away when they offered to help him stir.
Now it was the woman's face that showed worry and fear. Then like a flash, it went away and she adopted a more hardened expression.
"Up and at em!" She said as she pulled Salazar's body straight. "Please tell us, while we're waiting for the potion, how did you even think of that whole venom being the cure thing?"
Salazar felt the woman's arm wrap his waist, holding his entire body up. This was a woman who did not fear getting down and dirty and doing the work. What a woman! He thought.
Pausing for a moment as he took in the feel of her soft, motherly body and her scent - she smelled like manure mixed with Lavender and berries, he poured the contents of the purified venom into the cauldron.
Things started to grow dim and dark as his heart began to tighten. He grabbed hold of his chest and pounded it, hoping to get it beating faster. Then he felt another set of arms around him, as if examining him, hoping to find something he could do to help. Godric.
Salazar looked at the woman's face, now softened again with concern that he may actually die any moment. He looked to Godric, who seemed as if he had made a bond for life. Maybe he could trust them with this secret. Plus, he had been dying to tell someone else, and well, he may die anyway.
"I spoke to a snake." Salazar finally said flatly as he bent closer to the cauldron and weakly stirred its contents with his wand.
"YOU WHAT?!" both Godric and the woman exclaimed.
"Hush!" Salazar replied. Maybe it was a mistake to tell them. Parseltongues were seen as demon spawn around many parts. He thought maybe these two were above such children's tales.
"Whoa! I never met a snake talker before! Is it something you can learn or are you just born with it?" Godric asked with enthusiasm.
"That's exciting!" the woman answered. "Think of all the things we could discover if we could talk to all animals!"
Whew!
Salazar continued, feeling a fourth wind coming on, "You can ask me all the questions you have later, but there's one more ingredient I need that is not in my bag." His body suddenly felt too heavy for him to stand even when leaning against the bar. Like magic, he felt his bottom sitting upon a stool that Godric has accioed over.
"Just tell me and I'll fetch it for ye! I'll go high and low and will get it for you." Godric replied at once.
Did the Woman just swoon a bit?
"Thank you oh so gallant sir, but I need you to be less gallant to fetch me this ingredient," Salazar said, between deep labored breaths. That fourth wind did not last very long.
Sounds now echoed and all of his senses dulled. Every color in the bar started to run together.
Still, he could make out Godric marching straight to the Goblin who had been keenly watching Salazar work from afar.
"You better tell your friend to hurry up or the venom that woman couldn't suck out will stop his heart soon." That Salazar heard. He was not wrong, but he could tell by the sound of the Golbin's voice that he was no longer as confident as he once was. He probably thought Salazar would have been dead by now.
Salazar eyed Godric as he furiously grabbed the Goblin by the chest and shook him violently, as he had earlier.
"You vile creature, I need you to spit into this bowl now!"
"What? I will not!" the Goblin answered, totally disgusted by the request.
Back and forth Godric went to no avail. The 88 footmen inched closer and closer and Salazar feared the deadly fight that he was trying to avoid was about to ensue. The other patrons looked on nervously and grabbed onto their weapons, ready for a brawl.
Then the scene started to blur more as his breaths slowed even further.
"Wait!" The woman shouted. With all eyes on her, she grabbed a bowl and marched towards the Goblin. As she reached him, she pulled something from her dress pocket. It looked like a bottle full of ash, but the image was so blurry that Salazar was using his imagination and expertise in herbs and ingredients to fill in whatever he could not see. She stomped her way towards the Goblin and said, "Here, smell this instead. It won't harm ye."
Before the Goblin could refuse, Godric shoved the Goblin's face towards the woman's bottle, and suddenly the Goblin's nose started running uncontrollably.
"What the?" the Goblin responded before he started sneezing up a storm. Helga positioned the bowl under the Goblin's face as Godric squeezed his nose to empty as much mucus as possible.
"Here ye go!" The woman said as she handed Salazar the bowl of nasal secretions as the last of the Goblin's sneezes echoed in the background.
"Thank you," Salazar said, disgusted. Sure he did not actually see what happened but he knew exactly what she gave him. He did admire her knowledge in knowing that saliva was just mucosal fluid like the mucus from one's nose, but eew. Funny how strong disgust was as his senses sharpened again, even for a moment. "What made you make that? If I survive this ordeal, I command that you tell me what it is that you used."
"When you gotta take care of your younger brothers and sisters, it's a good idea to figure out a way to clear the sick from their airways," she said with a wink. At least, he thought it was a wink.
She's quite proud of herself, Salazar thought.
"Let me guess, since the poison don't harm the Goblins none, then the spit or snot from the Goblin should have the stuff to kill the poison, right?"
"That's correct," Salazar answered though he would not have worded it quite that way. "The saliva or the mucus in the Goblin would have the properties to neuter and kill the venom itself since they are immune to the venom's properties. Purifying the venom itself will do the same and together they will help further immunize one against the venom in the future."
Suddenly, Salazar felt spent as his body started to fully break down. That last spiel took everything out of him. Still, he knew he had time and the potion would be ready before it was too late.
Or did he? Things started to grow dark.
"Finish the potion," he whispered to the Woman. His body and senses were now too weak to do any stirring, and he had to conserve his last bit of energy for the actual spellcasting. Thank goodness for the invention of the wand.
"Gross," Godric said as he watched the woman pour the mucus into the cauldron.
Salazar weakly made an "S" shape with his index finger, prompting the woman to stir in a serpentine fashion making the thickening liquid slither like a snake.
Finally, the last bit. The spell that will make sure the antidote worked instantaneously and effectively. Gathering up his last bit of energy, Salazar hissed a parseltongue spell as he whirled his wand above the cauldron.
Out from the cauldron, a cloud in the shape of a serpent appeared hissing. It swirled around the room and dived back into the cauldron, making it smoke.
"Nee-dle," Salazar barely whispered. Then he held up five fingers with his right palm.
"A needle? What? Five needles? Who does that? And how does it do that? Why don't you just drink it?" The woman asked.
"Too….slow," Salazar heaved. It seems he had to show them a new trick called injection!
Chest tight, heart deadening to a near stop, breaths labored, body heavy, and legs quivering, Salazar mustered his final ounces of energy to grab one of the needs, collect the liquid, and then stab his arm directly into the snake bite. He pushed against the base of the needle and filled his veins with the serum. The serum slithered throughout his veins like a serpent sliding through underground tunnels perfectly sized for it.
He felt a cooling sensation, but it was not enough as he fell over. Before his head could hit the floor, he felt a pair of hands catch him. Nice big manly hands.
"Thank you, pal," Salazar whispered, hoping he could make out Godric's face one last time.
The image was hazy and fading, but even then he could make out just how perfect Godric's face was and how he envied him. His face stubbled with reddish hair complimenting his white, but not pale, skin. His perfectly square face with a straight-line hairline where his scarlet-golden hair curled every-so-slight. The way his nose looked tailor made for his chiseled cheeks, and with just enough chin to have one. Everything about his face looked right. Even blacked, bruised, and bloodied, how Salazar could make out what a specimen he was, and how it felt like an honor to make his acquaintance.
"Shhh," Godric replied. "Just lie still."
"Here ye go baldy," the woman sang, her voice soothing to his ear. It had sounded so annoying before.
"I'm not bald, I'm shaved," Salazar weakly said as he felt her stab his bite spot with the second needle.
"I was wondering if that look was intentional," she replied, offering a soft chuckle to ease the tension.
Salazar laughed. If only they knew he had been a monk.
"By the way, you should know, me name's Helga Hufflepuff. How's that sound to ya?" She said softly, as she stabbed a third needle into his bite.
Helga Hufflepuff...what a funny name.
This woman. He had only just met her and yet he felt he had stared at her long enough to have her face etched into his memory. Now this was a woman. Apple-cheeked, buxom, hair full and long, and soft to the touch. This was a woman who was made to nurture. How he wish he could bury his face into her body. It seemed like the ideal place to die.
Then everything grew completely dark and dull.
A/N: I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Appreciate any comment you can provide!
Btw, I know sucking out the venom does nothing, but people have been doing that for a long time and I figured Salazar, as smart as he is, wouldn't have discovered that yet.
Next chapter, The Badger!