Chapter XV: Battle of the Mind
The emerald leaf glistened as sunlight hit its edges. It was one locket that held the soul of a man dead for one thousand years. No one knew what had happened to Salazar after he left Hogwarts until now… And now Harry had to fight him in order to regain control once again.
All those terrible things that Harry did seemed so hazy. He remembered being there when Cho was nearly killed, and he remembered fighting Ron as well. However, it was if he was seeing through a glass window and watching it all happen, having no power whatsoever.
He knew the only way to be normal again was to destroy the man ruining his life. Fight him with his mind? Malicia seemed to be telling the truth. But then again, could she be lying? She had done it before; there was no doubt about that.
"How do I do that?" Harry asked Malicia.
"Wear the emerald pendant once again but concentrate on this place, this forest. I will try to help you… Once Salazar awakens, you must right then face him in your mind before he takes control of you. If he does before you get the chance to destroy him, your life will never be the same."
Harry stared at the pendant as it swirled in circles on its chain. He swallowed loudly and started to place the necklace over his head. Right when he felt the cold metal touch the bare skin under his robe, Harry thought about being in the Forbidden Forest, thoughts about him falling, finding the leaf and the shady past that haunted him so.
At first, Harry believed it was not working. He didn't hear any voice and didn't see anything strange each time he opened his eye a little. Just as he was about to give up, a chill ran through his body quickly. Salazar Slytherin was awake…
Think… Think… Malicia was a woman… The meeting in the forest… The horrible screams coming from both her and Salazar… The twisted face of Salazar as he was hit with Malicia's curse…
But Harry, it is far from over yet…
"Get out of my mind!" Harry shouted.
Just then, Harry tried harder than he ever had before. His head throbbed in pain as he clutched onto the sides of it. The world around him turned black, and he was no longer in the Forbidden Forest.
It was an empty place. There was nothing at all around it, but somehow this was a very real place. Harry could breathe in the crisp air and felt it against his skin as it prickled his hairs. He turned around to see a man, that very same man he had seen before… Salazar Slytherin.
"Malicia has told you to fight me, has she? That old hag still obeys my every word."
She was still under his power… As Harry thought to himself, he heard his own voice loud and echoing all around him.
"Your thoughts are loud and clear here!"
"Where is here?"
"Your mind of course… But not for long… Once I take control completely, I will be able to continue what I had so long ago. I shall rid the wizardry realm of all Mudbloods."
Harry couldn't believe it… Was it over? Was he just going to wither away while his friends, Hermione, died? He couldn't…
"So you have seen everything I have seen? Through my eyes?"
He nodded. "Yes. I must say Hogwarts has changed in the past ten hundred years. There is something different about you though… I should have been able to take control quite easily but something… Never mind."
"No, something what?"
Salazar walked right in front of Harry and patted his head. "There was a part of me in you already. I sensed it when you first found me. When you first clutched my prison I knew that we were related…"
But we're not, Harry thought but the words were heard all around him.
"Ha. Can't remember? Your thoughts are heard here. You can't think about anything without me knowing it. There is no way you can possibly defeat me here."
He was right. If Harry thought about what he was going to do next, Salazar would already know. Or, if Harry lied in his thoughts, Salazar wouldn't know the difference…
I am the heir of Slytherin, Harry thought to himself, knowing fully well it was Tom Riddle also known as Voldemort. That's how Salazar knows me. It was I that opened the Chamber of Secrets and destroyed everyone at Hogwarts. They are all dead…
"Liar! They are not dead! You forgot that I've seen whatever you've seen!"
"Oh, no, you heard my thoughts," Harry said trying not to smile. "The Mudbloods… They are dead."
Harry knew that Salazar couldn't recognize who was a Mudblood at Hogwarts just by looking at them. There was no way he could actually disprove what Harry was saying or prove it either.
"If you are telling me the truth, and this isn't some trickery… Then, I am not needed at Hogwarts… That doesn't mean that I am not needed elsewhere! There is no reason, no word that can change my decision. I have seen through your eyes, talked through your mouth, and now I will become you."
There was nothing Harry could do! Salazar was determined to battle Harry and without a wand, there wasn't any way he could beat him. But wait, this was Harry's mind… He couldn't use objects from the real world! He had to use his mind, just like Malicia said. It was his mind, and he still had control of it.
"Very well. Shall be begin?"
"Begin what? There is nothing to start, just something to end." Salazar smirked and closed his eyes. It seemed he was concentrating hard about something and then… His mind began to ache. There was horrible pain all around him and shaking.
NO, Harry thought, hearing it around him. YOU WILL NOT!
Harry kept his eyes opened and walked toward Salazar. He then pushed him down with his arms, breaking his concentration. Then, Harry shouted,
"There was a reason I was placed in Gryffindor and NOT Slytherin!" Harry grabbed Salazar's shoulders and shouted, "Leave me alone!"
Salazar in turn reached out for Harry's scar that now seemed to glow a shade of red. A trembling face appeared across Salazar as he tried to push Harry off of him.
"You are related to Voldemort! I killed Voldemort! And now I shall kill you!" Harry shouted louder and louder. He started to think about two years ago when he had defeated Voldemort. Suddenly, the scene started to replay all around them. They were in the Ministry, and there was so much shouting, so much pain…
Sirius… Harry watched the images playing all around him in his mind. His godfather was there, alive in his memory. Just then, Harry knew he had to defeat Salazar… If not for him, for Sirius.
The image of Voldemort appeared. In a matter of seconds, Voldemort disappeared from his thoughts… Harry looked down to see that Salazar Slytherin had disappeared as well…