Chapter XIV: In the Forbidden Forest
Shut up! There's no time for that, Harry yelled inside his mind at the voice. We must run. Or better yet, fly…
With Malicia in place, Harry jumped on and leaned toward the direction of the Forbidden Forest. As they started to move, he could hear the voice of Hagrid far away shouting his name, but there was no turning back.
As they entered a dense part of the woods, certain trees became familiar. They were approaching the spot where Harry had originally found the emerald leaf. Right as they reached the exact spot, Harry shouted, "Stop!" to Malicia who immediately obeyed her master.
Gently, Harry jumped off the Firebolt and stepped toward the imprint he had made when he had fallen. He looked around for anything that looked like his or perhaps belonged to the necklace. But he found nothing peculiar.
That reminded him… Those peculiar symbols on the necklace… What did they mean? Harry placed his hand on the pendant and lifted it toward his face. He then moved toward Malicia. Perhaps she knew them. She was a Driveller, and according to Hagrid, Driveller's were very smart and handy.
"Malicia, open your eyes. Can you read these letters? Right here on this green medallion?"
Her red eyes fluttered, and her mouth opened wide. "Yes."
"You can?" Harry asked surprised.
"Of course I can. It is a very old character language but easily translated."
"Well… What does it mean?"
"Those nine letters each represent an English letter. That one is an S, the second one is an L, the third a Y…"
"Sly?"
"Fourth one is a T, fifth one is an H, and sixth one is an E…"
"Slythe… Slytherin!"
Malicia smiled. "Yes."
"So this belonged to a Slytherin?"
"No."
Harry looked at Malicia with confused eyes. "I don't understand."
"Of course not. You see… That belonged to me."
Harry laughed. "You're a broom, silly."
"I wasn't always one.... That necklace there was a gift from Salazar Slytherin over one thousand years ago."
"But, that's impossible. You're a broomstick!"
Malicia rolled her eyes back. "A thousand years ago I was not! A thousand years ago I was called Malicia Willeta."
Harry couldn't believe it. Over ten centuries ago, Malicia was a real person? A woman who knew Salazar Slytherin? Impossible!
"Why didn't you tell me ANY of this?"
"Don't get mad Harry… I couldn't tell you anything with him around." Her eyes peered over to the necklace Harry was holding.
"What do you mean?"
Malicia giggled. "You're holding the soul, life force, whatever you wish to call it, belonging to Salazar Slytherin. He is alive as long as he has you and me around."
"I don't understand any of this!"
"Indeed, you shall understand soon." The deep voice emerged from Harry's own mouth.
Before Harry could say another word, his hand became numb. White frost crawled up his knuckles and over the ridges connecting his palm and fingers. It gradually moved up his arm and toward his chest. Everything was so bitter cold.
Harry opened his eyes to find himself in a much darker forest, but indeed the very same spot, the very same Forbidden Forest. Squinting his eyes, Harry saw clearly a woman with thick red lips, red eyes and long, curly brown hair. She wore a very old, yet, elegant outfit and several necklaces.
Behind her was a carriage that was empty. Two horses, non-magical, stood in front of it with leashes and tethers. A few feet aside of the carriage was a tall man with black hair and dark brown eyes. He wore a black suit and a white ruffled shirt underneath. Both of them were completely unaware of Harry's presence.
"Malicia," the man said. "I am sure you know why I am here."
She nodded. "You've completed the Chamber I assume? You are ready to leave that forsaken school of yours?"
He nodded. "I am almost complete. However, you are no longer needed."
"What?" she asked in a shocked and high voice.
"I needed you for the Basilisk. I knew you could tell me where to find an infant one. But other than that, I didn't think I would need you for anything else."
"You said you loved me, Salazar!"
He chuckled in a deep, almost Voldemort sounding, voice. "Love? I do not love anything or anyone. Now, you are fully aware of what I have built at Hogwarts. I can't let you go."
"But I love you! I wouldn't tell anyone!"
"I'm afraid that's not enough," he said. Salazar pulled out a long wand and pointed it at Malicia. "I hope you enjoy the remainder of your life as a tree in this damned forest…"
"Morphius Arboreus!"
"Morphius Locutus!"
Both shouted their curses at the exact same time. As they did so, their energies exchanged, a part of them going to the other. Forever bonded. Malicia slowly turned into a rooted oak tree while Salazar turned into a green energy that fell into the only item of Malicia's that survived after her transformation… An Emerald Leaf…
"You see, Harry?" the voice of Malicia pulled Harry back.
"Yes and no."
"I would have told you, but I couldn't. I hoped that if I brought you here, that you would find that necklace and destroy it! Not take it!"
Harry thought to himself. "That's why you stopped directly above here! It wasn't a coincidence at all!"
"Of course not. You foolishly had to wear it and let him control you. And in doing so, you let Salazar control me once again!"
"You mean… You weren't trying to kill me all those times? It was Salazar controlling you?"
"Well, not the first time at our home… I just wanted to scare you then… But your friend… That was not my fault."
"You caused Fly's death!" Harry shouted.
"I couldn't help it. When you wore that necklace, HE took control of me. I didn't want to hurt anybody."
"And he's been controlling me? Putting all these thoughts in my head?"
Malicia smiled. "Yes. His evil has seeped into you and sometimes his thoughts, and his words came out of you. You can't remember most of them, because he is in control of your mind and your memory."
"What if I just destroy the necklace right now?"
"You can't break it with your hands…"
Harry forgot that Madame Pomfrey took his wand! What was he going to do? Walk back up to her and ask for his wand back so he could defeat Salazar Slytherin's soul that lived inside a pendant for a thousand years?
"But you can fight him with your mind."