A/N: None here.
Disclaimer: Harry doesn't belong to me, blah, blah, blah. I only own Amelia, Ebony-Crested Dragon snakes, Silecia, Mithra, and any and all Dark Woods harps, along with anything else you don't recognize from the books. Oh, and I do use some of the same techniques Rowling uses with some fun lines I always enjoyed, so please don't sue me! I need all the money I can get for my student ambassador trip!
Parseltongue will be "~...~"
Chapter 26:
----------------------------------------------------
The force of the impact had sent everyone to their feet as a great wave of magic poured down over them like a tsunami. The only light came now from the continuous lightning crossing in the clouds above and from the only standing figure in the room: Harry James Potter.
All of his friends were rushing forward to him, and so was Snape, though a slight wave of Harry's hands sent them all back quite a few paces, so only the offending Gryffindors were near him, and they looked like they were truly regretting what they had chosen to do in challenging him earlier.
For now Harry was not just holding his wand in his right hand, no. He replaced his wand back in its sheath and instead pulled out the dagger with his left hand, the beautiful dagger with its unidentifiable pearly handle and its serpentine-edged green blade giving off an eery black aura which illuminated everyone close by. The boy closed his eyes as though in concentration, held the dagger sideways, and began saying the same Ancient Latin that Salazar had been saying, how he himself didn't even know.
Opening his eyes, he felt another great wave of power, and twisting and contorting, the dagger had shifted into what appeared to be a tall, thin staff, at least 5 and a half feet tall. The silvery substance that had been the handle now made up a basilisk coiling up the staff made of that same green metal as the blade had been, still giving off the black light. Its silvery scales glittered here and there in the dim light while its great violet-jeweled eyes gave off an almost living quality about this creature. Harry let a small smile work its way into his face as he watched the reactions of everyone in the hall, especially the Gryffindors right up front.
He held the staff in his left hand, experimentally twirling the thing above his head. For such a large staff, it felt light as his wand would. Then again, he felt the magic flowing from this object. This was a powerful magical object, almost an entity in itself; it seemed to almost caress his hand. He was looking again at the Gryffindors and brought the staff level to Ron so that it almost touched the redhead's nose.
"Now," said Harry, voice carrying easily despite the continued thunder rolling above, "I have a question for you, Weasley. Would you like me to kill you right now for leading this ambush attempt? I assure you, I can. After killing full grown men with just the help of a wand, killing you with as powerful an object as this would barely require effort. Do we end this now, or would you like to plan a tactical retreat?"
Ron's mouth could barely move, but Harry made out the whispered stutter, "R-retreat.."
The Dark Heir then brought the staff back up so that it stood next to him. He looked to the entire crowd, and he swore he felt a collected shiver from every person in the room, friend or not.
"Do not make me regret my decision," he whispered and left the room, a small thunk every other footstep from the staff tapping the stone floor. The only people who left after him were his friends and Severus; everyone else was too stunned to move. No one even noticed that the grinning git Lockhart was passed out in fright with a mysterious wet spot on the front of his robes...
-------------------------------------------
Twenty minutes later and still no one could find Harry. Needless to say, the people who had not been scared witless and actually cared for Harry were worried. No, that was an understatement. They were besides themselves with fear.
First that scene in the hall, and then he just vanishes after passing through the door? Yeah, they were confused as they sat down in Severus' private rooms to report in.
"Well, I didn't find him anywhere where we usually meet or hide," sighed Draco, resting back into the plush chair and resting his forehead on his palm.
"What about you Blaise? Granger? Weasley?" snapped Snape, but Blaise, Hermione, and Ginny just shook their heads as well. Severus began pacing in front of the fireplace.
"There must be someplace we haven't-"
But he was cut short as the entrance to his private chambers opened, revealing a very agitated person who slammed the door shut. It wasn't Harry as they had hoped, however. It was a young woman the likes of which none had seen most likely. She had a tall, slim figure dressed in the Roman-style dress with piercing red eyes and long white hair with streaks of silver that reached the ground. Severus, looking into that beautiful face in anger and those red eyes was reminded of the Dark Lord when angry.
"Have any of you seen that wretched man? I'm going to _kill_ him!" she said. She looked around at the stunned faces and groaned.
"I'm never going to get a response from them anytime soon."
She started to turn back around when Severus stopped her, simply by asking, "Who are you, and what is your business in my private chambers?"
"It is of no matter right now," she replied, waving him off with one spidery, long-fingered hand. "I suppose if I find Harry, he'll be there. Well, that makes things much simpler. Harry is much easier to find."
"W-what are you talking about?" stammered Draco, almost falling over his chair in an attempt to quickly get up. "You can find Harry? And easily? He is not so easy a person to find, my lady."
"Oh, sure you give her proper titles of respect, but not me," huffed Blaise, but she too stood up and walked over to the lady. Even in the dim lighting one could see the strong resemblance. The lady smiled and then turned to the room, giving a slight motion with her hand of beckoning, before leaving the others to follow as she left on Harry's trail.
-----------------------------------------
Crashing out of the hall, Harry slammed the doors shut behind him and started towards the dungeons, staff still in hand. What was this new rush of power he felt coursing through his veins? And who was the violet-eyed man in the rafters? He jumped when he saw the very man appear in front of him as though from nowhere.
"Come with me, young heir," the man whispered, and grabbing Harry's hand, both disappeared and reappeared in front of a portrait. Harry was in shock as he looked at the portrait and then at this man again. The portait was of the same man and the bottom of the frame named him "Salazar Slytherin: Founder of Slytherin House". The second shock was that in his lap there was a painted Ebony-Crested Dragon snake. The identical men smiled at eachother, and the real one spoke.
"If you will come with me, young master. 'Justice for the MOF'," he said, grinning, and the portrait swung open to admit both of them.
"What is this place?" said Harry, awed. It was an enormous room, obviously in one of the towers if the breath-catching view of the grounds out the window was any indication. The room had obviously been forgotten for years, decades, maybe even centuries, because walking into it everything was covered in generous amounts of dust and debris. Oddly enough, though, there were no spiderwebs anywhere. He could just make out mounds of dust around the room under which must be furniture. The man turned towards him in the middle of the room, threw open his arms, and said, "These are my private quarters, of course." He then looked around the room and back at Harry.
"Well, it seems the house elves are slacking off a bit on cleaning, aren't they?"
Harry, instead of laughing as the man was, brought the staff up into both hands in a defensive position and asked, "Who are you?"
"I am Salazar Slytherin. Now, really master, you wouldn't hurt someone so precious to you, now would you?" crooned the man claiming to be Salazar and with an almost undistinguishable gesture of the hand, the snake staff in Harry's hands flew to Salazar's own. "Besides, you don't even know how to wield this properly yet. You really shouldn't play with things you haven't had practice with."
By now, Harry was fuming silently, though surely the founder of Slytherin could feel the magic emanating from him. Salazar just laughed again and walked forward so he stood just in front of Harry. Salazar noticed in quiet amusement that his shoulder blade-length hair could touch the top of Harry's head. The midget in front of him couldn't figure out why this man who supposedly founded one of the most serious houses in Hogwarts was acting like an immature teenager. Then again, wasn't this person supposed to be dead what.... a thousand years ago?
"Now, perhaps you would like an arrangement I could offer you," said Salazar, and he brought the staff up to eye level to examine for damage, while continuing.
"Now, since this used to be my staff," started Salazar, but Harry quickly cut him off.
"That was.. is.. your staff?... The dagger as well?"
"The athame and the staff are one and the same. They react to anyone who is the heir of Slytherin. The staff of Twilight can be quite a powerful magic tool as well as a magic enhancer. The athame, what you so plainly call 'the dagger', can also be used as a discreet magic caster for situations where the staff would be unwieldy."
"Now, back on topic, young master," said the violet-eyed founder, "the proposition is this. If you allow me to teach you how to properly wield both forms, then I will let you keep it. I remember hearing your Transfiguration teacher say you now had a free period?"
"How did you know?"
"I am much closer to you than you might think. So, how about it?"
Harry thought for a minute, and then looked back up, "If this is all really happening, if you really are Salazar Slytherin, and this is all not a bizarre dream, then I will accept your offer."
The twenty year old founder smiled and placed the staff back in Harry's hands. He then clapped his own and said in a fierce but happy voice, "Alright, then. Let's get started."
"Um, okay. What do I have to do?" asked Harry, and Salazar stretched his arms open wide and smirked.
"I want you to banish all the dust and such from the room. Start small if you have to. I don't expect the entire room clean in one sweep right now. Why don't you start on that couch right there?" he suggested, directing Harry's attention to a large lump of dust near what looked to be the remains of a fireplace.
"So, do I have to say the incantation for the cleaning charm, or what?"
Salazar shook his head and said, "No, all you have to do is focus your mind and concentration on what you plan to do. Really, the staff is rather like a stepping tool towards wandless magic if you are powerful enough. Go on!"
"Alright," said Harry, and focusing his attentioin on the lump, thought of cleaning it back to a perfect state. A swirl of dust circled the object for a moment and then vanished, leaving a fine quality fainting couch of yew and silver velvet in its place.
Harry watched in astonishment as Salazar yelled out in happiness, "Ducky!" and then ran and jumped over the top of it, landing perfectly across the thing. It occurred to Harry he had been tricked.
"I'm just needed to clean up your room, aren't I?"
Salazar peeked one eye over the couch and said, "Well, I figured I'd kill two people with one curse, so to speak. My room gets cleaned, and you get practice. Hop to it."
He stopped then, and Harry turned in the direction of Salazar's visible eye toward the back of the portrait. It seemed a loud argument was occurring just outside. A small 'eep' was heard from the couch, and Harry swivelled around again to find Salazar attempting to hide on the furniture. Then a loud bang, indicating the portrait had been opened, and someone jumping on Harry and turning him to face them. It was all his friends and Severus, but someone else was there. Someone he thought he recognized, and then it hit him.
"Wait a sec! You're Silecia! That Dark witch who created Amelia! Aren't you?" Harry asked, but the lady didn't seem to be paying attention to him. Silecia had walked past him and over to the couch, Salazar jumping off it on the other side. What was the attention-getter was that mid-jump, the founder changed into a little dragon, who then desperately took to the air in order to avoid the outstretched hands of his companion.
"Dear gods," whispered Ginny, startling everyone out of their revery. "It's Mithra."
----------------------------------------------
A/N: Hahahaha! What I have been planning is finally coming into the light! Don't you love Salazar? It always seemed to me there had to be more to the founder of Slytherin house than the stereotypical "dark, evil man against good, righteous Godric." He's so much fun! If any of you are wondering who Silecia is, go re-read Chapter 13. Whole chapter on her. I don't think it will be a problem getting reviewers to ask questions after this chapter.
Review responses:
I'd like to thank Zhan Black, HecateDeMort, Raclswt, SilverKnight7, and jbfritz for urging me into a quick update. You guys make it happen!
Maxx77- Well, this chapter is longer, so there you go!
Nelum- Shorty was so hapy when I told her you thanked her; it was really quite amusing.
fcuking cathy- Hehehe, is this cliffie any better? I seem to have a natural ability for making mean cliffies.
eriee- I updated soon, but this cliffie kinda resets it, now doesn't it?
Falafal- The Harry/Salazar meeting has commenced!
Lord of Darkness13- Ooohh, good guess! No one has guessed that!
saman007uk0- You're addicted to my story? In an earlier review, one reviewer said my story was better than drugs.
chozen1- Oh, it is very probable to get writer's block on Harry Potter. You have to try to keep semi loyal to the books, but also present your own elements of plot. I don't know...
Nicoletta- Now that free period will come into play! Of course we will have more Salazar!
tia- Tom will get his body along with the book, and then things will get interesting.
Sea-Turtles- I'm not a good author, not at all. I just write for something to do and also so the loyal readers don't find where I live and kill me. Thank you for thinking that, though.
sadfru- That's a new description (a rush?). We're going to see the different aspects of this magic power over the next few coming year.
Shorty- Hehe, see you in Zoology. Maybe we can get out Jimmy Joe. (In case anyone else is wondering, I have personally named one of the snakes Jimmy Joe.)
(February 4-5, 2004)
Disclaimer: Harry doesn't belong to me, blah, blah, blah. I only own Amelia, Ebony-Crested Dragon snakes, Silecia, Mithra, and any and all Dark Woods harps, along with anything else you don't recognize from the books. Oh, and I do use some of the same techniques Rowling uses with some fun lines I always enjoyed, so please don't sue me! I need all the money I can get for my student ambassador trip!
Parseltongue will be "~...~"
Chapter 26:
----------------------------------------------------
The force of the impact had sent everyone to their feet as a great wave of magic poured down over them like a tsunami. The only light came now from the continuous lightning crossing in the clouds above and from the only standing figure in the room: Harry James Potter.
All of his friends were rushing forward to him, and so was Snape, though a slight wave of Harry's hands sent them all back quite a few paces, so only the offending Gryffindors were near him, and they looked like they were truly regretting what they had chosen to do in challenging him earlier.
For now Harry was not just holding his wand in his right hand, no. He replaced his wand back in its sheath and instead pulled out the dagger with his left hand, the beautiful dagger with its unidentifiable pearly handle and its serpentine-edged green blade giving off an eery black aura which illuminated everyone close by. The boy closed his eyes as though in concentration, held the dagger sideways, and began saying the same Ancient Latin that Salazar had been saying, how he himself didn't even know.
Opening his eyes, he felt another great wave of power, and twisting and contorting, the dagger had shifted into what appeared to be a tall, thin staff, at least 5 and a half feet tall. The silvery substance that had been the handle now made up a basilisk coiling up the staff made of that same green metal as the blade had been, still giving off the black light. Its silvery scales glittered here and there in the dim light while its great violet-jeweled eyes gave off an almost living quality about this creature. Harry let a small smile work its way into his face as he watched the reactions of everyone in the hall, especially the Gryffindors right up front.
He held the staff in his left hand, experimentally twirling the thing above his head. For such a large staff, it felt light as his wand would. Then again, he felt the magic flowing from this object. This was a powerful magical object, almost an entity in itself; it seemed to almost caress his hand. He was looking again at the Gryffindors and brought the staff level to Ron so that it almost touched the redhead's nose.
"Now," said Harry, voice carrying easily despite the continued thunder rolling above, "I have a question for you, Weasley. Would you like me to kill you right now for leading this ambush attempt? I assure you, I can. After killing full grown men with just the help of a wand, killing you with as powerful an object as this would barely require effort. Do we end this now, or would you like to plan a tactical retreat?"
Ron's mouth could barely move, but Harry made out the whispered stutter, "R-retreat.."
The Dark Heir then brought the staff back up so that it stood next to him. He looked to the entire crowd, and he swore he felt a collected shiver from every person in the room, friend or not.
"Do not make me regret my decision," he whispered and left the room, a small thunk every other footstep from the staff tapping the stone floor. The only people who left after him were his friends and Severus; everyone else was too stunned to move. No one even noticed that the grinning git Lockhart was passed out in fright with a mysterious wet spot on the front of his robes...
-------------------------------------------
Twenty minutes later and still no one could find Harry. Needless to say, the people who had not been scared witless and actually cared for Harry were worried. No, that was an understatement. They were besides themselves with fear.
First that scene in the hall, and then he just vanishes after passing through the door? Yeah, they were confused as they sat down in Severus' private rooms to report in.
"Well, I didn't find him anywhere where we usually meet or hide," sighed Draco, resting back into the plush chair and resting his forehead on his palm.
"What about you Blaise? Granger? Weasley?" snapped Snape, but Blaise, Hermione, and Ginny just shook their heads as well. Severus began pacing in front of the fireplace.
"There must be someplace we haven't-"
But he was cut short as the entrance to his private chambers opened, revealing a very agitated person who slammed the door shut. It wasn't Harry as they had hoped, however. It was a young woman the likes of which none had seen most likely. She had a tall, slim figure dressed in the Roman-style dress with piercing red eyes and long white hair with streaks of silver that reached the ground. Severus, looking into that beautiful face in anger and those red eyes was reminded of the Dark Lord when angry.
"Have any of you seen that wretched man? I'm going to _kill_ him!" she said. She looked around at the stunned faces and groaned.
"I'm never going to get a response from them anytime soon."
She started to turn back around when Severus stopped her, simply by asking, "Who are you, and what is your business in my private chambers?"
"It is of no matter right now," she replied, waving him off with one spidery, long-fingered hand. "I suppose if I find Harry, he'll be there. Well, that makes things much simpler. Harry is much easier to find."
"W-what are you talking about?" stammered Draco, almost falling over his chair in an attempt to quickly get up. "You can find Harry? And easily? He is not so easy a person to find, my lady."
"Oh, sure you give her proper titles of respect, but not me," huffed Blaise, but she too stood up and walked over to the lady. Even in the dim lighting one could see the strong resemblance. The lady smiled and then turned to the room, giving a slight motion with her hand of beckoning, before leaving the others to follow as she left on Harry's trail.
-----------------------------------------
Crashing out of the hall, Harry slammed the doors shut behind him and started towards the dungeons, staff still in hand. What was this new rush of power he felt coursing through his veins? And who was the violet-eyed man in the rafters? He jumped when he saw the very man appear in front of him as though from nowhere.
"Come with me, young heir," the man whispered, and grabbing Harry's hand, both disappeared and reappeared in front of a portrait. Harry was in shock as he looked at the portrait and then at this man again. The portait was of the same man and the bottom of the frame named him "Salazar Slytherin: Founder of Slytherin House". The second shock was that in his lap there was a painted Ebony-Crested Dragon snake. The identical men smiled at eachother, and the real one spoke.
"If you will come with me, young master. 'Justice for the MOF'," he said, grinning, and the portrait swung open to admit both of them.
"What is this place?" said Harry, awed. It was an enormous room, obviously in one of the towers if the breath-catching view of the grounds out the window was any indication. The room had obviously been forgotten for years, decades, maybe even centuries, because walking into it everything was covered in generous amounts of dust and debris. Oddly enough, though, there were no spiderwebs anywhere. He could just make out mounds of dust around the room under which must be furniture. The man turned towards him in the middle of the room, threw open his arms, and said, "These are my private quarters, of course." He then looked around the room and back at Harry.
"Well, it seems the house elves are slacking off a bit on cleaning, aren't they?"
Harry, instead of laughing as the man was, brought the staff up into both hands in a defensive position and asked, "Who are you?"
"I am Salazar Slytherin. Now, really master, you wouldn't hurt someone so precious to you, now would you?" crooned the man claiming to be Salazar and with an almost undistinguishable gesture of the hand, the snake staff in Harry's hands flew to Salazar's own. "Besides, you don't even know how to wield this properly yet. You really shouldn't play with things you haven't had practice with."
By now, Harry was fuming silently, though surely the founder of Slytherin could feel the magic emanating from him. Salazar just laughed again and walked forward so he stood just in front of Harry. Salazar noticed in quiet amusement that his shoulder blade-length hair could touch the top of Harry's head. The midget in front of him couldn't figure out why this man who supposedly founded one of the most serious houses in Hogwarts was acting like an immature teenager. Then again, wasn't this person supposed to be dead what.... a thousand years ago?
"Now, perhaps you would like an arrangement I could offer you," said Salazar, and he brought the staff up to eye level to examine for damage, while continuing.
"Now, since this used to be my staff," started Salazar, but Harry quickly cut him off.
"That was.. is.. your staff?... The dagger as well?"
"The athame and the staff are one and the same. They react to anyone who is the heir of Slytherin. The staff of Twilight can be quite a powerful magic tool as well as a magic enhancer. The athame, what you so plainly call 'the dagger', can also be used as a discreet magic caster for situations where the staff would be unwieldy."
"Now, back on topic, young master," said the violet-eyed founder, "the proposition is this. If you allow me to teach you how to properly wield both forms, then I will let you keep it. I remember hearing your Transfiguration teacher say you now had a free period?"
"How did you know?"
"I am much closer to you than you might think. So, how about it?"
Harry thought for a minute, and then looked back up, "If this is all really happening, if you really are Salazar Slytherin, and this is all not a bizarre dream, then I will accept your offer."
The twenty year old founder smiled and placed the staff back in Harry's hands. He then clapped his own and said in a fierce but happy voice, "Alright, then. Let's get started."
"Um, okay. What do I have to do?" asked Harry, and Salazar stretched his arms open wide and smirked.
"I want you to banish all the dust and such from the room. Start small if you have to. I don't expect the entire room clean in one sweep right now. Why don't you start on that couch right there?" he suggested, directing Harry's attention to a large lump of dust near what looked to be the remains of a fireplace.
"So, do I have to say the incantation for the cleaning charm, or what?"
Salazar shook his head and said, "No, all you have to do is focus your mind and concentration on what you plan to do. Really, the staff is rather like a stepping tool towards wandless magic if you are powerful enough. Go on!"
"Alright," said Harry, and focusing his attentioin on the lump, thought of cleaning it back to a perfect state. A swirl of dust circled the object for a moment and then vanished, leaving a fine quality fainting couch of yew and silver velvet in its place.
Harry watched in astonishment as Salazar yelled out in happiness, "Ducky!" and then ran and jumped over the top of it, landing perfectly across the thing. It occurred to Harry he had been tricked.
"I'm just needed to clean up your room, aren't I?"
Salazar peeked one eye over the couch and said, "Well, I figured I'd kill two people with one curse, so to speak. My room gets cleaned, and you get practice. Hop to it."
He stopped then, and Harry turned in the direction of Salazar's visible eye toward the back of the portrait. It seemed a loud argument was occurring just outside. A small 'eep' was heard from the couch, and Harry swivelled around again to find Salazar attempting to hide on the furniture. Then a loud bang, indicating the portrait had been opened, and someone jumping on Harry and turning him to face them. It was all his friends and Severus, but someone else was there. Someone he thought he recognized, and then it hit him.
"Wait a sec! You're Silecia! That Dark witch who created Amelia! Aren't you?" Harry asked, but the lady didn't seem to be paying attention to him. Silecia had walked past him and over to the couch, Salazar jumping off it on the other side. What was the attention-getter was that mid-jump, the founder changed into a little dragon, who then desperately took to the air in order to avoid the outstretched hands of his companion.
"Dear gods," whispered Ginny, startling everyone out of their revery. "It's Mithra."
----------------------------------------------
A/N: Hahahaha! What I have been planning is finally coming into the light! Don't you love Salazar? It always seemed to me there had to be more to the founder of Slytherin house than the stereotypical "dark, evil man against good, righteous Godric." He's so much fun! If any of you are wondering who Silecia is, go re-read Chapter 13. Whole chapter on her. I don't think it will be a problem getting reviewers to ask questions after this chapter.
Review responses:
I'd like to thank Zhan Black, HecateDeMort, Raclswt, SilverKnight7, and jbfritz for urging me into a quick update. You guys make it happen!
Maxx77- Well, this chapter is longer, so there you go!
Nelum- Shorty was so hapy when I told her you thanked her; it was really quite amusing.
fcuking cathy- Hehehe, is this cliffie any better? I seem to have a natural ability for making mean cliffies.
eriee- I updated soon, but this cliffie kinda resets it, now doesn't it?
Falafal- The Harry/Salazar meeting has commenced!
Lord of Darkness13- Ooohh, good guess! No one has guessed that!
saman007uk0- You're addicted to my story? In an earlier review, one reviewer said my story was better than drugs.
chozen1- Oh, it is very probable to get writer's block on Harry Potter. You have to try to keep semi loyal to the books, but also present your own elements of plot. I don't know...
Nicoletta- Now that free period will come into play! Of course we will have more Salazar!
tia- Tom will get his body along with the book, and then things will get interesting.
Sea-Turtles- I'm not a good author, not at all. I just write for something to do and also so the loyal readers don't find where I live and kill me. Thank you for thinking that, though.
sadfru- That's a new description (a rush?). We're going to see the different aspects of this magic power over the next few coming year.
Shorty- Hehe, see you in Zoology. Maybe we can get out Jimmy Joe. (In case anyone else is wondering, I have personally named one of the snakes Jimmy Joe.)
(February 4-5, 2004)