Title: The Four Founders' Hunt
Author: Zimagesto
Summary: AU. The four founders celebrate their success in building Hogwarts by going on a hunt. All fun and games until they become the hunted... Alone, they can't survive... And why does everybody think the school remained theirs?
Disclaimer: Don't own any of the founders or Hogwarts or anything else you might recognize from the HP books. But I own the plot and JS.
Story: In perfect accord with 'Harry Potter and the Green Flame Torch', one of my other fics. However, it's not necessary to have read any of them to understand the other. Same world, different times. RER (Read, enjoy, review). Flames accepted.
AN: Ahem. This is the last chapter of this story. So, I'll beg you: if you haven't reviewed so far, do so now. It means a lot to me. And you may review even after a year or two or as many as you like after I finished it. It's always nice to know people like your story.
/-/-/-/-/-
Chapter 8
"Well, what I wanted to say is..." Salazar said slowly.
"That you have a surprise!" Helga said excitedly.
"Why, yes..." he replied and smiled widely, wondering how he would pull this off. The Chamber of Protection was a huge surprise and he knew it.
"And this close to my birthday!" Godric said excitedly. "Amazing isn't it, that I am a Leo?!"
"Of course, old buddy" Salazar replied laughing. "Well, what I wanted to say is that..."
They were interrupted by a young man who entered the room and leaned on the door for support.
"It's attacking! We've no clue what it is... I'm from the Fal'sil and we're just coming here, Eagle sent me forward... Hurry, we need you, wizards, there are beasts and there is... a Great Beast, oh God forbid!"
The Four looked at each other with terrified eyes and Godric asked:
"I say... but what happened and where are we to go?!"
"Outside the castle. An army of beasts attacks and they are lead by a great beast. Our king asks for help. He's coming this way" the boy said, apparently having caught his breath.
"Finally boy, you're making sense!" Salazar said. "Well, what are we waiting for?! On our horses! With our weapons and let's not forget our wands!"
The other three nodded and hurried down the stairs, rushing to the paddock where they had their horses. Salazar was the first one to mount, quickly followed by Godric, then Rowena and Helga. The boy had no horse to mount.
"Are we terribly outnumbered?" Salazar asked.
"Yes, sir" the boy answered. "We'd need an army to overwhelm all the creatures lead by the Beast. That is why our King is fleeing before them"
The Four Founders exited the paddock and Salazar told the others in a fast voice:
"Do the Serpensotia as much as you can!"
Then, he started speaking in Parseltongue, hissing and spitting, making the boy tumble back in fear and surprise. The other three were summoning all the snakes possible and soon there was an army of the cold blooded creatures all around Salazar while real snakes were coming out of the Forest, ready to answer his call. After a while, Helga stopped tiredly.
"There are hundreds of snakes here" she said. "Should we go on, or is it alright by now"
"It's fine" Salazar replied. "Don't tire yourself too much, I'll need you"
Godric and Rowena summoned a few more snakes and then stopped. The Fal'silian boy had climbed into a tree and the horses were a bit afraid of the snakes all around, but Salazar had covered them in snakes before, so they managed.
Soon after, a few men on horses came out of the Forest and stared at the fields of snakes.
"By gum..." he muttered.
"Indeed" Salazar replied. "Where are the others?"
"Coming" he replied.
In a few minutes, everybody, including Roxana, Eagle and Cassandra were out of the Forest.
"Rowena!" the king said, spotting his friend. "My dear friend... this Beast opened a realm and it comes here with creatures that I don't even know the names of... How will we manage?"
"Some of us are wizards and we can magically fight them. Besides, Salazar can control snakes and he will lead them into battle" she replied worriedly.
"So that's up with the hundreds of snakes" Eagle said, slowly nodding.
Salazar started hissing and the snakes gathered in a huge pile in front of him.
"Humans, behind me!" he cried. "So that the snakes can protect us in first line!"
The Fal'silians all rushed their horses behind Salazar.
"Where can the children go?" Eagle asked Salazar.
"In the castle" the other replied, slowly nodding towards the building, then hissing at his snakes which spread in front of them on a huge curved line, pretty hard to pass.
"IN THE CASTLE, CHILDREN!" Eagle cried and the kids rushed their horses to the entrance of the building. "ENTER WITH YOUR HORSES"
Salazar grumbled at that, but he didn't complain to the king. Instead, he got himself into a before-battle attitude, his nerves tensed, but his body loose while the others got themselves ready, too. Good old Godric, he took his sword in his right hand and his wand in his left and snorted, as if laughing at what would come. Rowena held her wand in her hand gracefully, in a way he had never noticed before. Helga was glaring at the Forest.
"It's gonna be bad" Roxana Chase muttered to herself.
After a few more tensed minutes, there were soft noises from the Forest and then a few ferocious beasts charged toward the men. But the snakes were quicker and they bit and took down the beasts easily.
However, the first few creatures were, as they soon understood, the first line of the first line of creatures. Soon, they were pouring out of the Forest and the Fal'silians shot them down with either spells or arrows and the snakes bit all they could. However, the snakes were getting attacked and stepped on now, so they were dying slowly and surely.
When the situation was starting to get desperate, however, the flood of creatures stopped, the bodies of their dead lying on the ground. There were hundreds and hundreds of them.
"Where is the Beast?" Eagle muttered, before he said louder: "Where is the Beast?"
When nobody replied, since they were busy finishing the last creatures, he cried out:
"WHERE IS THE BEAST?"
Salazar stared at him.
"Maybe it's gone" he replied, shooting another one of the animals. Only a few dozen were left.
Eagle had a very bad feeling about this, but he said nothing, instead shooting off a huge bear.
And then, it came. It was huge. It was black and winged, with bat-like wings, with a lion-like black body, with a fury dragon-shaped head, with a lion's tail, only black. It gave a loud howl that made all the remaining animals scatter into the forest and it attacked. It jumped over the dead bodies of its animals and over Salazar's snakes. It moved with the speed of light towards Roxana Chase, who gave a loud shriek and raised her hands towards her head, in a protection gesture.
However, just as the beast was about to reach her, a bright light came in front of her, repelling the beast. As it died and everybody could see again, they noticed the huge White Stag standing in front of her and her horse, glaring at the Black Beast with its brown eyes.
The Beast growled before howling again and jumping towards Eagle, but the Stag hit it with its horns and it tumbled away. The Beast jumped up again, hit the Stag and ran towards the Founders, jumping at Salazar.
It opened its mouth and roared loudly as Salazar took his sword in his hands and made to cut off its head. But the sword didn't get through the beast's thick and stone-hard fur, only managing to throw it a bit of course. It wasn't enough for the Beast to lose it's aim, though, instead it gripped Salazar's neck.
That was it. He was dead and he knew it. He had closed his eyes and he was now waiting for the teeth to sink in his skin. However, they didn't. Instead, they loosened their grip and he felt something climb into his mouth, a soft feeling which grew more and more powerful.
Salazar chocked and started throwing his fists in the air against the thick black cloud that now surrounded him, but it wouldn't go away. Instead, it went through his mouth and nose, down and up his throat, filling his entire body. He coughed and felt something weird take control of him, making him feel lost, but powerful, his grip softened and hardened in the same time, his senses became overwhelmed for a reason or another and, for a reason or another, he felt really horny.
He fell on the horse, his face in its mane, feeling weird and somehow he felt as if he lost control over himself. It was like the Imperius... No, it wasn't. He wanted it. He wanted that new feeling to last. No, he hated it! Not knowing why, he gripped the horse with all he had, knowing he would have to remain there if he wanted to live. If he would let go, he would die...
And then came darkness...
/-/-/-/-/-/-/-
"He is a powerful being" Jack Strois said, pacing in front of the three Founders plus Roxana Chase and Eagle. "He might live"
"Might?" Godric asked, scandalized. "My best friend might live?"
"I am afraid it is not certain" Jack replied. "He is fighting against it"
"What the hell was it, anyway?" Eagle asked.
"The Cloud of the Dark" Jack Strois replied.
"No. No!" Roxana said. "He can't be..."
"I'm afraid he is" Jack said, slowly shaking his head. "It is in him. He might be able to repel it, though. He is a powerful man."
"But he's in a coma" Godric said, slowly and in pain.
"Ah, yes... But it has been so for only four hours, remember? After all, it happened quick. Roxana, child, did you understand why I sent you after the Stag?" Jack asked.
"Yes, Master" she replied. "But you came so quickly after the battle, merely half an hour! It must be very serious"
"It is" Jack replied. "It is... But right now, all we can do is wait for Salazar to either die or wake up. Then we shall see what we shall do"
With a small turn, the man disappeared as he had appeared: quickly, quietly and unexpected.
/-/-/-/-/-/-
Salazar Slytherin woke up and saw himself in the infirmary nobody was around. He laughed to himself and got up, rushing towards a certain bathroom. There, he hissed to the pipes and they opened. He smiled to himself as he entered the Chamber of Secrets. Because it would no longer be the Chamber of Protection! Here was his monster, the one that would help him gain Hogwarts for himself!
He laughed and took out his wand and sculpted himself in the stones, quicker than he had thought possible. He felt so powerful, so wonderful! He then sculpted many statues of snakes and called his small one foot basilisk, but didn't look it in the eyes.
-Sssssssweet- he hissed to the snake. -I wantsssss you to ssssssssmell me now. Until you feel my sssssssssmell, I don't want you to obey anyone, only ssssserve the one with my sssssmell-
-Yessss, ssssire- it replied and gave a small nod.
-Very well- Salazar said. -I'll leave you now-
Salazar spelled some wings on his back and flew out through the pipes. He then rushed back to the infirmary and threw himself in bed, going straight back to sleep.
/-/-/-/-/-/-
One day... Two days... Three days... A week... Two weeks... Three weeks passed without a sign of life from Salazar. In turns, the other Founders watched over him so that he was never alone. And after twenty-two days, he woke. His eyes were cold and full of hatred when he saw Godric's face.
"You" he spat. "I hate you!"
"What?" Godric asked.
"I hate you. I LOATHE YOU!" he cried.
"Salazar, what are you talking about?" his friend asked.
"Bloody bastard!" Salazar cried. "BLOODY BASTARD! You... You Imbecile! You always jump head-first into trouble! Cursed be your name!"
"Hey!" Godric said, trying to calm him down. "What did I do?"
"What did you do?!" the other asked, jumping out of bed and on his feet, putting his hands on Godric's neck and squeezing tightly, making him choke and cough. "You even dare ask!"
Godric jumped and pushed Salazar away with brute force, smashing him against the wall next to the bed where Slytherin had been lying just five minutes ago.
"What's wrong with you?!"
"Lion!" Salazar cried, crashing nearly lifelessly from his position of leaning on the wall, while standing on four feet down on the bed. "You got the brute strength, but when it comes to power and brightness, I got the lion's share!"
"What the hell are you talking about?" Godric cried. "Are you out of your mind?!"
"Fool!" Salazar said. "I own the school! I do!"
He again jumped towards Godric, making for his neck, but the other took out his wand quickly and stunned him.
"What's wrong with you?" he muttered and rushed to the other two Founders who he had an idea where they might have been.
He ran down the corridors and into the staff room where Rowena and Helga were chatting about something.
"Is he up?" Rowena quickly asked, seeing Godric panting and leaning on the door.
"Oh, yes" he replied, his eyes narrowing. "But I liked him better when he was in a coma"
"What?!" Helga asked, slightly gaping.
"Exactly! He tried to kill me!" Godric said, still a bit in shock. "Jumped at me saying how much he hated me, how he got the lion's share in intelligence and power and I had brute strength and how I jump head-forward into everything and how he should own the school. All this while he tried to strangle me!"
The two women stared at him.
"You're joking" Rowena said slowly.
"I'm not" Godric replied.
"What did you do to him?" Helga asked, her mouth slightly open and tears in her eyes.
"I stupefied him. Come with me and we'll see what we can do" Godric said, gesturing towards the door and the two women got up and exited.
The way to the infirmary was long and quiet. Rowena was thinking, her eyes on the floor right in front of her. Helga had a disbelieving face, but tears in her eyes. She had seen that awful creature become a cloud that entered Salazar. She had seen him crash nearly lifelessly on the horse's back. She had then helped carry him to the infirmary. She had seen Jack Strois' concern three or four hours later. It would be true... But if Salazar turned against them, what would they do? If he tried to kill them, what would they do? They couldn't kill him, could they?
They entered the room where Salazar was in a quiet procession. They made it to his bed and there, in a horrible position, half-hanging over the bed, his arms on the floor, his head hanging His feet were crouched in a painful way. Helga and Rowena picked him up and put him on the bed. Then, in a very quiet voice, Rowena muttered:
"Ennervate"
Salazar's eyes flickered open.
"What? Where am I?" he asked, seeing the three.
"In the infirmary" Helga answered.
"What happened?" he asked slowly, staring at her face.
"You had a fight with the Beast, remember?" she asked, holding his hand. "Are you ok now?"
"I... I'm so weak..." he said and gave a slow hiss.
Godric was staring amazed. This was definitely not the man who had tried to kill him less than half an hour before.
"Help me get up" he pleaded to the kind woman.
"Very well" she replied and put a hand under his shoulders, slowly pushing him. He hanged on to her for a while before he managed to push himself up and got to his feet.
Rowena stared questioningly at Godric, but he shook his head, his eyes wide in surprise.
Salazar gave a weak cough and leaned so hard on Helga that she nearly crashed.
"Are you sure you're ok?" she asked.
"Very sure" he replied with a weak smiled.
Then, to everybody's surprise, he pushed her away with a new found burst of energy, his eyes glowing. Then, with the agility of a sprinter, he darted out of the infirmary towards a place the three couldn't figure out.
"What the-?" Helga asked.
"Told you he was crazy" Godric said and darted after Salazar, but the corridors were empty. The two women followed him.
"We split up" Rowena said quickly. "I go down, Godric you go..."
"No" he replied and shook his head. "One of us can't handle him"
So, they searched the school together, but Salazar was not to be found.
/-/-/-/-/-/-/-
-You're back, massssster- the small basilisk said.
-Yesssss, I am- Salazar replied. -Damn them! I cannot take the ssssssschool now... I'll have to wait, sssss-
-I sssthought you wantssssssed to protect itsssss, no?- the snake asked.
-Yesssss, but I can protectsssss it bettersssssss if I have itssssss- Salazar hissed in reply. -Remember, ssssssserve only the onessssss with my ssssssssmell-
The snake smelled him, that certain something remaining forever in his mind.
-Farewell, Ssssasssssha- Salazar hissed.
-Farewell, Massssster- it replied.
-Only thissssss time, call me Ssssssssssalazssssssssar Ssssssssslytherin!- he commanded and the snake nodded obediently and hissed:
-Farewell, Ssssssssssalazssssssssar Ssssssssslytherin!-
/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-
Rowena looked sadly at the students in front of her, the old and the new that were there at the beginning of the new school year, at the first and second year students that were standing in the Great Hall for the Welcoming Feast.
"I am afraid I have terrible, terrible news" she said, her eyes in tears. "Salazar Slytherin, Head of the Slytherin House and Founder of this school has" she paused to sniff "left us forever. He has had a quarrel with Godric Gryffindor and he insisted that only the pureblooded should remain at this school. Gryffindor denied him and he left the school never to come back..."
The students stared at her as she sniffed and sat down. That Welcoming Feast was not the happiest one in history.
/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-
{8 years later}
"Helga" Godric Gryffindor said to his friend. "I have been told that Salazar is hiding somewhere near the English Magic Council. Perhaps we should-?"
"We should, yes" she replied with a sad smile. "After all, he was one of us"
/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-
The three Founders made it to the English Magic Council and talked to the Councilor himself. Salazar Slytherin had been seen around the place for a while, so they decided to look for him. The three of them had long passed the first wave of grief for him and now wished to help him and make his life better, as much as they could anyway. The now insane man had once been the Great Salazar Slytherin, Snake Tongue himself, the one who had helped them with many things, the one who always had a sense of humor... and who was now insane.
They started searching in the small forest near the Council and, after a few hours, they saw a strange man stare at them and laugh.
"Salazar?" Godric asked.
"Why, yes, I'm surprised you recognized me, hmsssss?" he replied and laughed. "Why are you here, old friend?"
"We want to offer you a home" Godric replied.
"Perhaps I don't want a home!" Salazar said with another insane laugh.
"Come now!" Rowena said kindly and made a step towards him. Salazar gave a loud shriek and started running like the wind through the trees.
"Wait!" Helga cried and they all ran after him.
To their surprise, Salazar ran between the buildings of the Council and towards a weird building. He entered it and they all followed him in.
It was a small dark room with only one piece of furniture, if you could call it that. It was a tall and ancient-looking archway with a black veil hanging from it.
"ALL OR NOTHING!" Salazar cried laughing from next to the veil. "I was expecting you for a while now so that I could o this in front of you! This is the Veil of Death and if you pass through it, you die! Farewell, fellow Founders!"
"Salazar, wait!" Godric cried, but the man walked through it.
"Oh, my..." Helga said slowly. "Do you really think this is the Veil of Death?"
"Yes, remember, the Councilor said they had it" Godric replied sadly.
"So, he's dead" Rowena said slowly. "As dead as a rock"
"He was dead before. I think he died when that Beast entered him" Helga said, sniffing. "Let's go home, guys... And break the news to his son"
They turned and left the room.
/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-
The three were in the staff room, talking to each other slowly. Sindar Slytherin was nowhere to be found. Apparently, he had disappeared shortly after the death of his father. There was nothing more to do.
The door opened and they could see Eagle enter the room.
"Hello" he said. "Is it true what I've heard? Salazar Slytherin killing himself at the Veil?"
"Yes" Godric replied.
"My condolences" he said slowly and Godric nodded slowly.
"I guess he died a long time ago..." the brave man said, remembering Helga's words. "But what brings you here?"
"Well, apparently, the animals in the Forest are gathering closer to Hogwarts, drawn by the magic here. You should forbid it to students" he said slowly.
"The Forbidden Forest it is, then!" Godric said, smiling sadly.
Eagle took a deep breath and sat next to the three.
"There's something else" he said slowly. "I and my people... we're leaving. We're going into a different realm. Roxana chose to remain here with our daughter for a while, before she joins us. I guess we'll never see each others again, will we?"
Rowena stared at him.
"Different realm?" she asked, gaping.
"Yes..." Eagle replied. "A land like we always wished for. We shall be there for awhile. Maybe a thousand years" he said, snorting. "Roxana will come in a few years, Jack said that our daughter must remain here, for some reason I don't understand"
"I'll miss you" Rowena said and got up, went to him and hugged him tightly.
"Miss you too" Eagle replied.
The three bid him farewell and promised to take care of his daughter and wife. As Godric would say later, those were some of the saddest days of his life.
/-/-/-/-/-/-/-
Jack Strois sighed to himself. He had hoped that Salazar would manage to destroy the Cloud of the Dark, but apparently he had not been able to. Now, the curse would go down to his heirs, always the younger ones, since it would be harder to control men that were past a certain age, as was proven with Salazar. He had seen the struggle of the man against the Cloud. He had seen him attack Godric because the Cloud had understood that the mere sight of his best friend might give him strength.
He had asked Roxana to leave her child in this realm since the Chases still had a great future. He had told Kate the truth about the Veil: he had hoped the one cursed by the Cloud would be killed in it, but he had never thought it would be Salazar.
The War was not over. It had just begun and now it would sleep for awhile before it sprang again.
Immune time, he watched as many things happened: he witnessed the birth of many Founder heirs, their lives and deaths. He saw how many of their characteristics passed on, although the names changed. He saw how the Slytherins were breeding qickly, the Cloud pushing them to do it. On the weak ones that would harbor it, it would only make them want to have children, so both weak men and women had tones of lovers. The powerful ones were captured by it from when they were children and slowly they became evil themselves. The Ravenclaws, Hufflepuffs and Gryffindors changed their names by time. He watched the Chases keep their name through time, due to their habit of naming their children like that, no matter if the mother was a Chase and the father had a different name. He saw that in the 18 hundreds the Trelawneys parted into two families, one keeping the name and one not. In fact, one side of the Gryffindor family had changed its name and forgot its origins. Some of the Ravenclaws became squibs and forgot they ever were wizards, but they kept their intelligence.
And with great surprise, he witnessed that at the end of the 18 hundreds, their numbers started to decrease, but the families always survived...
The War would soon come again.
/-/-/-/-/-/-/-
AN: Finished... Finished! I actually finished a multiple-chaptered story! mutters That's a first...
So, what can I say? If you read this and want to know what happens next with this War, I have this story called 'Harry Potter and the Green Flame Torch'. It's the beginning of the new part of the War.
And again: This is the last chapter of this story. So, I'll beg you: if you haven't reviewed so far, do so now. It means a lot to me. And you may review even after a year or two or as many as you like after I finished it. It's always nice to know people like your story. But even flames will do!
Thanks to:
the Red Dragons Order: thanks for reviewing. Sincerely, I can't believe this story is almost over, either. Ah, well... I suppose it happens sometimes, no? :-)
Finished today, June 29, 2004 at 11:20 AM.
Posted June 30, 2004 at 9:19 AM.
Author: Zimagesto
Summary: AU. The four founders celebrate their success in building Hogwarts by going on a hunt. All fun and games until they become the hunted... Alone, they can't survive... And why does everybody think the school remained theirs?
Disclaimer: Don't own any of the founders or Hogwarts or anything else you might recognize from the HP books. But I own the plot and JS.
Story: In perfect accord with 'Harry Potter and the Green Flame Torch', one of my other fics. However, it's not necessary to have read any of them to understand the other. Same world, different times. RER (Read, enjoy, review). Flames accepted.
AN: Ahem. This is the last chapter of this story. So, I'll beg you: if you haven't reviewed so far, do so now. It means a lot to me. And you may review even after a year or two or as many as you like after I finished it. It's always nice to know people like your story.
/-/-/-/-/-
Chapter 8
"Well, what I wanted to say is..." Salazar said slowly.
"That you have a surprise!" Helga said excitedly.
"Why, yes..." he replied and smiled widely, wondering how he would pull this off. The Chamber of Protection was a huge surprise and he knew it.
"And this close to my birthday!" Godric said excitedly. "Amazing isn't it, that I am a Leo?!"
"Of course, old buddy" Salazar replied laughing. "Well, what I wanted to say is that..."
They were interrupted by a young man who entered the room and leaned on the door for support.
"It's attacking! We've no clue what it is... I'm from the Fal'sil and we're just coming here, Eagle sent me forward... Hurry, we need you, wizards, there are beasts and there is... a Great Beast, oh God forbid!"
The Four looked at each other with terrified eyes and Godric asked:
"I say... but what happened and where are we to go?!"
"Outside the castle. An army of beasts attacks and they are lead by a great beast. Our king asks for help. He's coming this way" the boy said, apparently having caught his breath.
"Finally boy, you're making sense!" Salazar said. "Well, what are we waiting for?! On our horses! With our weapons and let's not forget our wands!"
The other three nodded and hurried down the stairs, rushing to the paddock where they had their horses. Salazar was the first one to mount, quickly followed by Godric, then Rowena and Helga. The boy had no horse to mount.
"Are we terribly outnumbered?" Salazar asked.
"Yes, sir" the boy answered. "We'd need an army to overwhelm all the creatures lead by the Beast. That is why our King is fleeing before them"
The Four Founders exited the paddock and Salazar told the others in a fast voice:
"Do the Serpensotia as much as you can!"
Then, he started speaking in Parseltongue, hissing and spitting, making the boy tumble back in fear and surprise. The other three were summoning all the snakes possible and soon there was an army of the cold blooded creatures all around Salazar while real snakes were coming out of the Forest, ready to answer his call. After a while, Helga stopped tiredly.
"There are hundreds of snakes here" she said. "Should we go on, or is it alright by now"
"It's fine" Salazar replied. "Don't tire yourself too much, I'll need you"
Godric and Rowena summoned a few more snakes and then stopped. The Fal'silian boy had climbed into a tree and the horses were a bit afraid of the snakes all around, but Salazar had covered them in snakes before, so they managed.
Soon after, a few men on horses came out of the Forest and stared at the fields of snakes.
"By gum..." he muttered.
"Indeed" Salazar replied. "Where are the others?"
"Coming" he replied.
In a few minutes, everybody, including Roxana, Eagle and Cassandra were out of the Forest.
"Rowena!" the king said, spotting his friend. "My dear friend... this Beast opened a realm and it comes here with creatures that I don't even know the names of... How will we manage?"
"Some of us are wizards and we can magically fight them. Besides, Salazar can control snakes and he will lead them into battle" she replied worriedly.
"So that's up with the hundreds of snakes" Eagle said, slowly nodding.
Salazar started hissing and the snakes gathered in a huge pile in front of him.
"Humans, behind me!" he cried. "So that the snakes can protect us in first line!"
The Fal'silians all rushed their horses behind Salazar.
"Where can the children go?" Eagle asked Salazar.
"In the castle" the other replied, slowly nodding towards the building, then hissing at his snakes which spread in front of them on a huge curved line, pretty hard to pass.
"IN THE CASTLE, CHILDREN!" Eagle cried and the kids rushed their horses to the entrance of the building. "ENTER WITH YOUR HORSES"
Salazar grumbled at that, but he didn't complain to the king. Instead, he got himself into a before-battle attitude, his nerves tensed, but his body loose while the others got themselves ready, too. Good old Godric, he took his sword in his right hand and his wand in his left and snorted, as if laughing at what would come. Rowena held her wand in her hand gracefully, in a way he had never noticed before. Helga was glaring at the Forest.
"It's gonna be bad" Roxana Chase muttered to herself.
After a few more tensed minutes, there were soft noises from the Forest and then a few ferocious beasts charged toward the men. But the snakes were quicker and they bit and took down the beasts easily.
However, the first few creatures were, as they soon understood, the first line of the first line of creatures. Soon, they were pouring out of the Forest and the Fal'silians shot them down with either spells or arrows and the snakes bit all they could. However, the snakes were getting attacked and stepped on now, so they were dying slowly and surely.
When the situation was starting to get desperate, however, the flood of creatures stopped, the bodies of their dead lying on the ground. There were hundreds and hundreds of them.
"Where is the Beast?" Eagle muttered, before he said louder: "Where is the Beast?"
When nobody replied, since they were busy finishing the last creatures, he cried out:
"WHERE IS THE BEAST?"
Salazar stared at him.
"Maybe it's gone" he replied, shooting another one of the animals. Only a few dozen were left.
Eagle had a very bad feeling about this, but he said nothing, instead shooting off a huge bear.
And then, it came. It was huge. It was black and winged, with bat-like wings, with a lion-like black body, with a fury dragon-shaped head, with a lion's tail, only black. It gave a loud howl that made all the remaining animals scatter into the forest and it attacked. It jumped over the dead bodies of its animals and over Salazar's snakes. It moved with the speed of light towards Roxana Chase, who gave a loud shriek and raised her hands towards her head, in a protection gesture.
However, just as the beast was about to reach her, a bright light came in front of her, repelling the beast. As it died and everybody could see again, they noticed the huge White Stag standing in front of her and her horse, glaring at the Black Beast with its brown eyes.
The Beast growled before howling again and jumping towards Eagle, but the Stag hit it with its horns and it tumbled away. The Beast jumped up again, hit the Stag and ran towards the Founders, jumping at Salazar.
It opened its mouth and roared loudly as Salazar took his sword in his hands and made to cut off its head. But the sword didn't get through the beast's thick and stone-hard fur, only managing to throw it a bit of course. It wasn't enough for the Beast to lose it's aim, though, instead it gripped Salazar's neck.
That was it. He was dead and he knew it. He had closed his eyes and he was now waiting for the teeth to sink in his skin. However, they didn't. Instead, they loosened their grip and he felt something climb into his mouth, a soft feeling which grew more and more powerful.
Salazar chocked and started throwing his fists in the air against the thick black cloud that now surrounded him, but it wouldn't go away. Instead, it went through his mouth and nose, down and up his throat, filling his entire body. He coughed and felt something weird take control of him, making him feel lost, but powerful, his grip softened and hardened in the same time, his senses became overwhelmed for a reason or another and, for a reason or another, he felt really horny.
He fell on the horse, his face in its mane, feeling weird and somehow he felt as if he lost control over himself. It was like the Imperius... No, it wasn't. He wanted it. He wanted that new feeling to last. No, he hated it! Not knowing why, he gripped the horse with all he had, knowing he would have to remain there if he wanted to live. If he would let go, he would die...
And then came darkness...
/-/-/-/-/-/-/-
"He is a powerful being" Jack Strois said, pacing in front of the three Founders plus Roxana Chase and Eagle. "He might live"
"Might?" Godric asked, scandalized. "My best friend might live?"
"I am afraid it is not certain" Jack replied. "He is fighting against it"
"What the hell was it, anyway?" Eagle asked.
"The Cloud of the Dark" Jack Strois replied.
"No. No!" Roxana said. "He can't be..."
"I'm afraid he is" Jack said, slowly shaking his head. "It is in him. He might be able to repel it, though. He is a powerful man."
"But he's in a coma" Godric said, slowly and in pain.
"Ah, yes... But it has been so for only four hours, remember? After all, it happened quick. Roxana, child, did you understand why I sent you after the Stag?" Jack asked.
"Yes, Master" she replied. "But you came so quickly after the battle, merely half an hour! It must be very serious"
"It is" Jack replied. "It is... But right now, all we can do is wait for Salazar to either die or wake up. Then we shall see what we shall do"
With a small turn, the man disappeared as he had appeared: quickly, quietly and unexpected.
/-/-/-/-/-/-
Salazar Slytherin woke up and saw himself in the infirmary nobody was around. He laughed to himself and got up, rushing towards a certain bathroom. There, he hissed to the pipes and they opened. He smiled to himself as he entered the Chamber of Secrets. Because it would no longer be the Chamber of Protection! Here was his monster, the one that would help him gain Hogwarts for himself!
He laughed and took out his wand and sculpted himself in the stones, quicker than he had thought possible. He felt so powerful, so wonderful! He then sculpted many statues of snakes and called his small one foot basilisk, but didn't look it in the eyes.
-Sssssssweet- he hissed to the snake. -I wantsssss you to ssssssssmell me now. Until you feel my sssssssssmell, I don't want you to obey anyone, only ssssserve the one with my sssssmell-
-Yessss, ssssire- it replied and gave a small nod.
-Very well- Salazar said. -I'll leave you now-
Salazar spelled some wings on his back and flew out through the pipes. He then rushed back to the infirmary and threw himself in bed, going straight back to sleep.
/-/-/-/-/-/-
One day... Two days... Three days... A week... Two weeks... Three weeks passed without a sign of life from Salazar. In turns, the other Founders watched over him so that he was never alone. And after twenty-two days, he woke. His eyes were cold and full of hatred when he saw Godric's face.
"You" he spat. "I hate you!"
"What?" Godric asked.
"I hate you. I LOATHE YOU!" he cried.
"Salazar, what are you talking about?" his friend asked.
"Bloody bastard!" Salazar cried. "BLOODY BASTARD! You... You Imbecile! You always jump head-first into trouble! Cursed be your name!"
"Hey!" Godric said, trying to calm him down. "What did I do?"
"What did you do?!" the other asked, jumping out of bed and on his feet, putting his hands on Godric's neck and squeezing tightly, making him choke and cough. "You even dare ask!"
Godric jumped and pushed Salazar away with brute force, smashing him against the wall next to the bed where Slytherin had been lying just five minutes ago.
"What's wrong with you?!"
"Lion!" Salazar cried, crashing nearly lifelessly from his position of leaning on the wall, while standing on four feet down on the bed. "You got the brute strength, but when it comes to power and brightness, I got the lion's share!"
"What the hell are you talking about?" Godric cried. "Are you out of your mind?!"
"Fool!" Salazar said. "I own the school! I do!"
He again jumped towards Godric, making for his neck, but the other took out his wand quickly and stunned him.
"What's wrong with you?" he muttered and rushed to the other two Founders who he had an idea where they might have been.
He ran down the corridors and into the staff room where Rowena and Helga were chatting about something.
"Is he up?" Rowena quickly asked, seeing Godric panting and leaning on the door.
"Oh, yes" he replied, his eyes narrowing. "But I liked him better when he was in a coma"
"What?!" Helga asked, slightly gaping.
"Exactly! He tried to kill me!" Godric said, still a bit in shock. "Jumped at me saying how much he hated me, how he got the lion's share in intelligence and power and I had brute strength and how I jump head-forward into everything and how he should own the school. All this while he tried to strangle me!"
The two women stared at him.
"You're joking" Rowena said slowly.
"I'm not" Godric replied.
"What did you do to him?" Helga asked, her mouth slightly open and tears in her eyes.
"I stupefied him. Come with me and we'll see what we can do" Godric said, gesturing towards the door and the two women got up and exited.
The way to the infirmary was long and quiet. Rowena was thinking, her eyes on the floor right in front of her. Helga had a disbelieving face, but tears in her eyes. She had seen that awful creature become a cloud that entered Salazar. She had seen him crash nearly lifelessly on the horse's back. She had then helped carry him to the infirmary. She had seen Jack Strois' concern three or four hours later. It would be true... But if Salazar turned against them, what would they do? If he tried to kill them, what would they do? They couldn't kill him, could they?
They entered the room where Salazar was in a quiet procession. They made it to his bed and there, in a horrible position, half-hanging over the bed, his arms on the floor, his head hanging His feet were crouched in a painful way. Helga and Rowena picked him up and put him on the bed. Then, in a very quiet voice, Rowena muttered:
"Ennervate"
Salazar's eyes flickered open.
"What? Where am I?" he asked, seeing the three.
"In the infirmary" Helga answered.
"What happened?" he asked slowly, staring at her face.
"You had a fight with the Beast, remember?" she asked, holding his hand. "Are you ok now?"
"I... I'm so weak..." he said and gave a slow hiss.
Godric was staring amazed. This was definitely not the man who had tried to kill him less than half an hour before.
"Help me get up" he pleaded to the kind woman.
"Very well" she replied and put a hand under his shoulders, slowly pushing him. He hanged on to her for a while before he managed to push himself up and got to his feet.
Rowena stared questioningly at Godric, but he shook his head, his eyes wide in surprise.
Salazar gave a weak cough and leaned so hard on Helga that she nearly crashed.
"Are you sure you're ok?" she asked.
"Very sure" he replied with a weak smiled.
Then, to everybody's surprise, he pushed her away with a new found burst of energy, his eyes glowing. Then, with the agility of a sprinter, he darted out of the infirmary towards a place the three couldn't figure out.
"What the-?" Helga asked.
"Told you he was crazy" Godric said and darted after Salazar, but the corridors were empty. The two women followed him.
"We split up" Rowena said quickly. "I go down, Godric you go..."
"No" he replied and shook his head. "One of us can't handle him"
So, they searched the school together, but Salazar was not to be found.
/-/-/-/-/-/-/-
-You're back, massssster- the small basilisk said.
-Yesssss, I am- Salazar replied. -Damn them! I cannot take the ssssssschool now... I'll have to wait, sssss-
-I sssthought you wantssssssed to protect itsssss, no?- the snake asked.
-Yesssss, but I can protectsssss it bettersssssss if I have itssssss- Salazar hissed in reply. -Remember, ssssssserve only the onessssss with my ssssssssmell-
The snake smelled him, that certain something remaining forever in his mind.
-Farewell, Ssssasssssha- Salazar hissed.
-Farewell, Massssster- it replied.
-Only thissssss time, call me Ssssssssssalazssssssssar Ssssssssslytherin!- he commanded and the snake nodded obediently and hissed:
-Farewell, Ssssssssssalazssssssssar Ssssssssslytherin!-
/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-
Rowena looked sadly at the students in front of her, the old and the new that were there at the beginning of the new school year, at the first and second year students that were standing in the Great Hall for the Welcoming Feast.
"I am afraid I have terrible, terrible news" she said, her eyes in tears. "Salazar Slytherin, Head of the Slytherin House and Founder of this school has" she paused to sniff "left us forever. He has had a quarrel with Godric Gryffindor and he insisted that only the pureblooded should remain at this school. Gryffindor denied him and he left the school never to come back..."
The students stared at her as she sniffed and sat down. That Welcoming Feast was not the happiest one in history.
/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-
{8 years later}
"Helga" Godric Gryffindor said to his friend. "I have been told that Salazar is hiding somewhere near the English Magic Council. Perhaps we should-?"
"We should, yes" she replied with a sad smile. "After all, he was one of us"
/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-
The three Founders made it to the English Magic Council and talked to the Councilor himself. Salazar Slytherin had been seen around the place for a while, so they decided to look for him. The three of them had long passed the first wave of grief for him and now wished to help him and make his life better, as much as they could anyway. The now insane man had once been the Great Salazar Slytherin, Snake Tongue himself, the one who had helped them with many things, the one who always had a sense of humor... and who was now insane.
They started searching in the small forest near the Council and, after a few hours, they saw a strange man stare at them and laugh.
"Salazar?" Godric asked.
"Why, yes, I'm surprised you recognized me, hmsssss?" he replied and laughed. "Why are you here, old friend?"
"We want to offer you a home" Godric replied.
"Perhaps I don't want a home!" Salazar said with another insane laugh.
"Come now!" Rowena said kindly and made a step towards him. Salazar gave a loud shriek and started running like the wind through the trees.
"Wait!" Helga cried and they all ran after him.
To their surprise, Salazar ran between the buildings of the Council and towards a weird building. He entered it and they all followed him in.
It was a small dark room with only one piece of furniture, if you could call it that. It was a tall and ancient-looking archway with a black veil hanging from it.
"ALL OR NOTHING!" Salazar cried laughing from next to the veil. "I was expecting you for a while now so that I could o this in front of you! This is the Veil of Death and if you pass through it, you die! Farewell, fellow Founders!"
"Salazar, wait!" Godric cried, but the man walked through it.
"Oh, my..." Helga said slowly. "Do you really think this is the Veil of Death?"
"Yes, remember, the Councilor said they had it" Godric replied sadly.
"So, he's dead" Rowena said slowly. "As dead as a rock"
"He was dead before. I think he died when that Beast entered him" Helga said, sniffing. "Let's go home, guys... And break the news to his son"
They turned and left the room.
/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-
The three were in the staff room, talking to each other slowly. Sindar Slytherin was nowhere to be found. Apparently, he had disappeared shortly after the death of his father. There was nothing more to do.
The door opened and they could see Eagle enter the room.
"Hello" he said. "Is it true what I've heard? Salazar Slytherin killing himself at the Veil?"
"Yes" Godric replied.
"My condolences" he said slowly and Godric nodded slowly.
"I guess he died a long time ago..." the brave man said, remembering Helga's words. "But what brings you here?"
"Well, apparently, the animals in the Forest are gathering closer to Hogwarts, drawn by the magic here. You should forbid it to students" he said slowly.
"The Forbidden Forest it is, then!" Godric said, smiling sadly.
Eagle took a deep breath and sat next to the three.
"There's something else" he said slowly. "I and my people... we're leaving. We're going into a different realm. Roxana chose to remain here with our daughter for a while, before she joins us. I guess we'll never see each others again, will we?"
Rowena stared at him.
"Different realm?" she asked, gaping.
"Yes..." Eagle replied. "A land like we always wished for. We shall be there for awhile. Maybe a thousand years" he said, snorting. "Roxana will come in a few years, Jack said that our daughter must remain here, for some reason I don't understand"
"I'll miss you" Rowena said and got up, went to him and hugged him tightly.
"Miss you too" Eagle replied.
The three bid him farewell and promised to take care of his daughter and wife. As Godric would say later, those were some of the saddest days of his life.
/-/-/-/-/-/-/-
Jack Strois sighed to himself. He had hoped that Salazar would manage to destroy the Cloud of the Dark, but apparently he had not been able to. Now, the curse would go down to his heirs, always the younger ones, since it would be harder to control men that were past a certain age, as was proven with Salazar. He had seen the struggle of the man against the Cloud. He had seen him attack Godric because the Cloud had understood that the mere sight of his best friend might give him strength.
He had asked Roxana to leave her child in this realm since the Chases still had a great future. He had told Kate the truth about the Veil: he had hoped the one cursed by the Cloud would be killed in it, but he had never thought it would be Salazar.
The War was not over. It had just begun and now it would sleep for awhile before it sprang again.
Immune time, he watched as many things happened: he witnessed the birth of many Founder heirs, their lives and deaths. He saw how many of their characteristics passed on, although the names changed. He saw how the Slytherins were breeding qickly, the Cloud pushing them to do it. On the weak ones that would harbor it, it would only make them want to have children, so both weak men and women had tones of lovers. The powerful ones were captured by it from when they were children and slowly they became evil themselves. The Ravenclaws, Hufflepuffs and Gryffindors changed their names by time. He watched the Chases keep their name through time, due to their habit of naming their children like that, no matter if the mother was a Chase and the father had a different name. He saw that in the 18 hundreds the Trelawneys parted into two families, one keeping the name and one not. In fact, one side of the Gryffindor family had changed its name and forgot its origins. Some of the Ravenclaws became squibs and forgot they ever were wizards, but they kept their intelligence.
And with great surprise, he witnessed that at the end of the 18 hundreds, their numbers started to decrease, but the families always survived...
The War would soon come again.
/-/-/-/-/-/-/-
AN: Finished... Finished! I actually finished a multiple-chaptered story! mutters That's a first...
So, what can I say? If you read this and want to know what happens next with this War, I have this story called 'Harry Potter and the Green Flame Torch'. It's the beginning of the new part of the War.
And again: This is the last chapter of this story. So, I'll beg you: if you haven't reviewed so far, do so now. It means a lot to me. And you may review even after a year or two or as many as you like after I finished it. It's always nice to know people like your story. But even flames will do!
Thanks to:
the Red Dragons Order: thanks for reviewing. Sincerely, I can't believe this story is almost over, either. Ah, well... I suppose it happens sometimes, no? :-)
Finished today, June 29, 2004 at 11:20 AM.
Posted June 30, 2004 at 9:19 AM.