Thanks! Lots of thank you-s and a lot of hugs to Seldes Katne for beta-reading Hearts and Hourglasses before it's posted on Sugar Quill! She's a wonderful person and a fantastic beta-reader!
Fore note: This chapter is not a continuation of chapter 20. This chapter happened roughly around the same time chapter 10: History Lessons (Chamber of Secrets) occurred. That one is Harry and Godric. This one is Draco and Salazar.
Chapter 21: Legacy
"Tell me about yourself, Draco."
Draco paused, surprised by Lord Slytherin's request. They were both on a ledge, which protruded from the exterior wall of the castle. It overlooked the cliff upon which Hogwarts stood.
Draco was more than a little nervous since the ledge he was standing on was a bare six feet in width and in length. The remaining three sides of the platform opened out into open air, and Draco wasn't enjoying the spectacular view of mountains, forests, sky and the long drop down to the cliff bottom far below.
Lord Slytherin looked comfortable. He was sitting on the ledge, his legs extending out and crossed at the ankles, his torso bent perpendicular at his waist, with his back against the wall behind him. His arms were crossed behind; his hands, pillowing the back of his head. Draco wished he could copy him, but he couldn't seem to force himself to step away from the solid reassuring wall.
The boy knew that high strong winds were howling all around them. Icy drafts constantly blew upwards against the sides of the cliff and over its edges. Few students dared to venture to the cliff's edge bordering around the castle. It wasn't because there was a danger of falling off the cliff, but because it was always freezing cold there. Also, it was rather hard to appreciate the vista with a roaring chilly wind always blowing against your face and doing its best to force you back and away from the edge.
However, Draco only felt a slight breeze blowing against him. There was a barrier surrounding the ledge and protecting him and Lord Slytherin. It cut down on the wind's strength severely and muffled its roar effectively. It was eerily quiet actually.
"Draco?" He glanced down at Lord Slytherin who was looking at him. The expression on his face was amused. "You will be more comfortable if you sit down," he suggested dryly.
It was embarrassment chiefly that made Draco follow his advice. He also felt spineless to be so tensed and being fearful of heights in the Dark wizard's presence. Draco forced his knees to bend and sat down awkwardly. He immediately felt better; his mind became less muddled. The shortening of the distance between his head and the cliff bottom, though only by a minute fraction, eased his nerves. It also helped to keep his eyes on the stone under him or stare level to the horizon rather than letting them stray downwards over the sides of the platform.
"Tell me about yourself, Draco," said Lord Slytherin again, and Draco glanced towards him to find bright green eyes regarding him with interest. He blinked at the older man as a corner of his mind mused that Lord Slytherin's eyes were remarkably like Harry Potter's eyes.
Those eyes were still looking at him; their owner waiting for Draco to say something. He hadn't said anything since they had come here, having been too concerned with dealing with vertigo.
Finally, Draco said, "What would you like to know, Sir?"
Lord Slytherin tilted his head slightly, looking thoughtful. "Tell me what is your ambition," he said.
Draco blinked again and found himself at a loss. ... My ambition? Draco wondered. He looked away from Lord Slytherin, whose discerning emerald eyes tended to make Draco stumble in thoughts and speech.
He felt foolish when he couldn't find a suitable answer to give to Lord Slytherin. Draco couldn't tell him that his utmost concerns right now were trying to do better than Hermione Granger in studies and trying to beating Harry Potter at Quidditch.
Suddenly, Draco felt very small. He ducked his head down, feeling ashamed of himself. Lord Slytherin would be expecting something grand, something worthy, certainly something much more than petty rivalries in school. Draco rarely thought of what he would strive for after Hogwarts. His father's high and exalted position and wealth guaranteed that Draco would never have to be concerned with careers and the like. Everything had been handed to him on a silver platter. It was until he met Harry Potter that he realized there were some things he had to work for.
Maybe I should lie, thought Draco, starting to panic. He didn't want Lord Slytherin to be disappointed in him. He didn't want those green eyes to turn cold with disapproval and disappointment. Draco saw them far too often in his father's eyes.
He lifted his head slowly and looked back at Lord Slytherin. The words died in his throat even before he could open his mouth. Those emerald eyes were regarding him expectantly. He couldn't lie. Draco felt those eyes saw truth and lies as sharply as if they were etched in stone.
Draco swallowed, his throat tightening reflexively. He lowered his eyes and murmured, "I don't know." He didn't see the smile that curved the older man's lips, and he was startled when the warm weight of Lord Slytherin's hand rested on his head.
Again, his hair was being ruffled, and warmth bloomed inside Draco. His mother sometimes patted and stroked his hair, and it usually left Draco feeling embarrassed, which was a natural reaction he supposed when mothers patted their sons' heads. Draco didn't know how he would feel if his father patted his head. Lucius Malfoy had never once patted his son's head, or at least Draco couldn't remember him ever doing so.
Would it feel like this? Draco wondered. There was awkwardness, shyness on Draco's part, a touch of embarrassment, but mostly he felt warm and cared for.
He couldn't keep from feeling a little disappointed when Lord Slytherin lifted his hand. Draco looked up abruptly when he said, "Would you like me to tell you what your ambition is, Draco?"
"... Yes, please," he replied in a raspy voice.
"Your ambition, Draco," said Lord Slytherin lightly, "is to feel good about yourself."
Draco stared at him silently, then looked confused. "I don't understand."
Green eyes twinkled. "Everyone's deepest desire is to feel whole, to feel content, to feel good. Ambition is what drives people to fulfill that desire. Whether you seek power or fame or glory or wealth (or sex), the underlying reason is the same, the need to feel good about one's self."
Draco nodded slowly. "What should I do then?" He asked.
Lord Slytherin lifted his left hand and began ticking off its fingers with his right hand. "For a boy your age: Do well in school. Have fun. Make your parents proud. Have fun. Make friends & impress girls. Have fun." He stopped on the little finger with Draco staring at him with a flabbergasted expression.
His House's Founder noted his shock with amusement and lowered his hands, saying, "You look surprised, Draco. What did you expect me to say?"
To go rule the world, perhaps, thought Draco, scarcely believing this jester beside him was Salazar Slytherin. "Uhm..." Draco mumbled, "I expected you to say something like conquering the world, defeating all your enemies or become the greatest wizard ever."
"The first one is passe. Too many people have done it," Lord Slytherin pointed out. "The second one merely means you are not adept at dealing with people. As for the third one--" he smiled smugly "-- I was and am the greatest wizard of my time.
What an ego, thought Draco, but he couldn't help grinning. It was hard to be serious with Lord Slytherin. He didn't seem to take even himself seriously. But despite the Dark wizard's casual manner, Draco knew that Lord Slytherin had accomplished something that outweighed even being the greatest wizard of his time.
Draco frowned, trying to figure out the wizard sitting beside him. Lord Slytherin was a puzzle. The other Founders were as Draco had expected them to be, but Salazar Slytherin was a complete surprise to him. Even now, Draco was distracted by the jaunty tune the older wizard was humming. His arms again folded behind his head, Lord Slytherin was staring up at the cloudy blue sky.
He's so completely at ease with himself, observed Draco. With no care. Nothing seemed to faze him. He seems to treat life as if it was a joke.
The bottom of Draco's stomach dropped down heavily. ... He acts just like Dumbledore... the boy realized weakly.
"Have I disappointed you, Draco?" He started and glanced at Lord Slytherin, who was eyeing him intently. He looked serious this time.
Draco hesitated in answering, gathering his thoughts; Lord Slytherin straightened. Draco automatically shied away, barely catching himself in time. Every line of the older man's bearing warned Draco not to underestimate him. Lord Slytherin's face seemed chiseled. His mouth was a thin line, with the barest curve at one end. It was not a friendly smile.
The light in his eyes had dimmed. They now smoldered with an emotion Draco could barely decipher, but fear rose in Draco, responding instinctively to the dangerous threat Lord Slytherin now posed. The change was so quick and so sudden, that Draco couldn't believe this was the same wizard who had been so amusing just a few moments ago.
Draco was starting to tremble. He couldn't tear his eyes away from Lord Slytherin. Green eyes, black within and now ringed in darkness, held him in his place despite that every part of his brain was screaming at him to get away. He tried to move his arms first, but his muscles were frozen, paralyzed.
H- he's going to kill me! Terror blotted out nearly all of Draco's senses. He couldn't hear anything, not even the harsh sound of his own breathing. Sight remained, and the only thing he could see was blackness lurking in green depths, ready to take him. Something brushed his face, and Draco opened his mouth to scream.
A hand covered his mouth. The dangerous dark fire in green eyes died and vanished though those same eyes still hypnotized Draco. An amused light now gleamed in them.
"Are you satisfied now, Draco?" Lord Slytherin queried softly. When the boy nodded, he grinned and removed his hand from Draco's mouth. Draco blinked when that hand again rubbed his hair affectionately.
"So..." murmured Lord Slytherin, "people in this time see me as a tyrant... How charming."
He pulled back his hand, and Draco straightened, lifting his head to look at Lord Slytherin, who was bemused. The older man asked, "Tell me, Draco. Exactly what did I did that earned me this reputation?"
"... You assassinated the Thirteen."
Lord Slytherin stilled. His eyes flickered with an emotion that faded too quickly for Draco to catch, even if he had been paying attention to how the older wizard reacted.
"You used Avada Kedavra on thirteen of the most powerful Dark wizards and witches in your time!" Draco declared in a breathless tone. His voice was colored by a mixture of horror and admiration. His face was flushed with excitement.
Draco was in the company of Salazar Slytherin, the wizard who had single-handedly annihilated the Thirteen, which had been the supreme Dark magic coalition a thousand years ago. His own father would envy him right now.
History lessons taught at Hogwarts expounded little on the events that happened around a millennium ago. It was considered a relatively peaceful (and boring) epoch in the history of magic, as according to Light wizards. The only momentous event was the founding of one of the greatest, if not the greatest, magical institution in the Wizarding world.
But information on the beginnings of Hogwarts was scarce. "Hogwarts, A History," the book considered as the foremost and best source of information on the school, said only that Hogwarts was founded by four of the greatest wizards and witches a thousand years ago (exact date unknown). These four, known as the Founders or the Hogwarts Four, were Godric Gryffindor, Rowena Ravenclaw, Helga Hufflepuff and Salazar Slytherin.
Despite the fact that House Slytherin turned out more Dark wizards than it did Light magic practitioners, Light wizards had assumed that Salazar Slytherin was a Light wizard, who in the end, turned to the Dark side.
That's what Light wizards taught their children, but every Dark wizarding child was told by their elders that the great Salazar Slytherin was, in fact, one of their own from the start, a Dark wizard.
"Lord Slytherin's ambition knew no bounds," Lucius Malfoy once said to Draco. His father had summoned him to come to his study on the eve of his eleventh birthday to tell him a story. "He was set to become the youngest Head of the Thirteen, when he decided to help found Hogwarts.
"Children, Lord Slytherin had decided, held the keys to true power. When the other members of the coalition didn't see his way, and in fact, demanded he cease his association with the school, he withdrew from the Thirteen and devoted all his time and attention to Hogwarts.
"Much to the coalition's chagrin, Dark wizarding families began sending their children to Hogwarts. They wanted their children to learn magic from Lord Slytherin, who was still highly respected and admired by Dark wizards everywhere. Word had also spread wide and quickly of Salazar Slytherin's defiance against the Thirteen."
"Why did he leave Hogwarts?" Draco had asked his father.
Lucius Malfoy replied, "Most Light wizards believe it was because of the disagreement between him and Gryffindor over the matter of admitting Muggle-borns into Hogwarts. That is part of the reason, not the whole cause. As much as he disliked Muggle-borns, Lord Slytherin wasn't going to abandon Hogwarts simply because of them."
"What happened then, Father?"
"The Thirteen happened," Lucius Malfoy had answered in a disgusted tone of voice. "They had been humiliated when Lord Slytherin withdrew from the group. He was the only one ever to do so. They were also envious of Hogwarts' success and of Lord Slytherin, who continued to grow in favor amongst Dark wizards and even in the Light wizarding community.
"On the other hand, the standing of the Thirteen had fallen ever since they lost their greatest member. It is said they even tried to form their own school. It was a dismal failure. They had no experience in teaching, and neither did any of them have a reputation to match that of Ravenclaw, whose lineage composed of teachers as far back as anyone could remember.
"Even our own kind think of that family as Wise Old Ravenclaw, though they were of the other side. Lord Slytherin was ingenious to ally himself with such a prestigious Wizarding family.
"The coalition grew desperate. Powerful wizards and witches they were all, but none of them could match Salazar Slytherin in magic and in mettle. It is said they tried to persuade Lord Slytherin to come back to them. When he refused, they tried to kill him and attempted to destroy Hogwarts.
"Their followers tracked down the Muggle-born students attending the school, beguiled and befriended them, then tricked them into mind switching with them.
"In Hogwarts, these wizards' in mudbloods' clothing targeted Lord Slytherin. He managed to escape from all attempts to kill or brutally maim him, but his distrust of Muggle-borns grew to the level where he became paranoid. He wouldn't allow any mudblood to attend his classes, and the other Founders ridiculed his concern.
"He insisted to Gryffindor, Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff that all Muggle-born students be expelled from Hogwarts and be disallowed from entering the school. There was a row between Lord Slytherin and Gryffindor on the matter.
"Lord Slytherin became fed-up with Gryffindor's love for muggle-borns, and he left Hogwarts, vowing never to return until all muggle-borns were gone from the school.
"The Thirteen was delighted that Lord Slytherin had finally abandoned Hogwarts. They lost no time in inviting him back. Somehow, Lord Slytherin discovered that they were behind the attempts on his life at Hogwarts. He was incensed when he found out. He attacked and killed all the members of the coalition."
"All by himself?!" exclaimed Draco. Lucius Malfoy smiled at the look of awe, horror and anticipation on his son's face. He had felt the same when his own father reached this point of the story.
"Lord Slytherin used a killing curse that had never been seen before in his time," Lucius Malfoy elucidated. "An instant painless unblockable killing curse which is activated by the incantation Avada Kedavra."
Draco blinked. "... Lord Slytherin created Avada Kedavra?"
His father nodded, and Draco demanded, "What did he do after?"
Lucius Malfoy hesitated before saying, "He left and was never seen or heard from again."
"... Why?"
"Lord Slytherin was disgusted by both Light wizards and Dark wizards alike. Light wizards for their foolish and sickening love of Muggles and mudbloods. Dark wizards for their insipid disposition to betray one another."
Draco felt disappointed. "He never returned?" he asked.
"There were many rumors of him being seen in different parts of the country, but none of them were ever proven or true."
"... If he left Hogwarts, why wasn't his House taken down?"
Lucius Malfoy looked smug. "Hogwarts will fall without House Slytherin. Just as it would never have risen without Salazar Slytherin."
"The other Founders respected Lord Slytherin then."
"Of course."
"But," Draco protested, "I hear they don't even teach Dark Arts at Hogwarts."
"True," admitted his father, "Dark magic education at Hogwarts is minimal. You do know that I have been thinking of sending you to another school, Durmstrang-"
"No!" Draco blurted out before he thought of it. He paused, taken aback by his own outburst, and he was bewildered when Lucius Malfoy chuckled.
"Don't be surprise, Draco," said his father with a smile, "There is much honor and pride to be had in joining House Slytherin. Since Lord Slytherin founded it, Dark wizarding families have been sending their children to Hogwarts. It is tradition, and you now feel the need to be part of it."
Slowly, Draco nodded and then asked, "But why didn't Lord Slytherin just found a school of his own?"
Lucius Malfoy explained, "Lord Slytherin knew that to ally himself with Ravenclaw would allow him to influence the education of Light wizarding children in addition to teaching the children Dark wizards sent to him. Gryffindor thought the same thing, and both sides gained from the alliance."
"... Lord Slytherin was really smart."
"Yes, he was, and he was one of ours."
Draco's eyes brightened with pride, and he said enthusiastically, "He must be the greatest wizard ever!" Then he fell silent, suddenly remembering that his father had served Lord Voldemort, who struck so much fear in the hearts of wizarding people that even now he was still referred to as You Know Who.
But there was an agreeing light in Lucius Malfoy's pale eyes. "Lord Slytherin was the greatest Dark wizard ever, Draco," he corrected slightly and added, "He had something Voldemort never had."
"What was that, Father?"
"Respect."
Draco blinked. "But," he said, "so many wizards and witches are afraid of him even y-" He stopped, wincing inwardly at his wayward tongue and expecting his father to dismiss him immediately.
His father did glare at him, and Draco was surprised when the angry expression on Lucius Malfoy's face turned grudging.
"I will tell you this only once, Draco," his father said sharply. "It is oftentimes difficult to differentiate fear and respect, but those two are very different. What Voldemort has is people's fear. His enemies fear him as do his allies, who follow him because they are afraid. Lord Slytherin had respect. People followed him, because they wanted to."
Then he told Draco to leave.
To be continued.
End note: This chapter explains how Dark wizards think of Salazar Slytherin as opposed to how Light wizards think of him. It also explains why Draco spends a lot of his time with Salazar.
Chapter 21 has ended. Please go on to the next chapter.
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