Disclaimer: We do not own Harry Potter they belong to J. K. Rowling. However we do own the plot of the story.
We are sorry that we didn't update the story because we've been so busy lately with schoolwork.
Chapter 4:
Family secrets revealed.
It was finally Christmas holidays. Salazar had just arrived home. His only thought was 'Mum, I found her.'
"Where is my mother?" he demanded as the butler opened the door.
"S-she is in the Ballroom Sir," he stammered. Mr. Jones dressed in tails, was not accustomed to such outbursts. His mouth opened in awe as he observed his little master racing through the halls. He hadn't seen Salazar act in such an unseemly way since his sister was kidnapped.
Four servants were busy adjusting the decorations under the scrutiny of the Mistress, Sylvia Slytherin. The youngest was fifteen-year-old Xaphia. She looked exactly like Ice would have been with blonde hair and yellowy green eyes, and a slightly chubby body. She was standing on a stool trying to put up a vase when the Ballroom door burst open.
The vase slipped out of her hand and smashed on the floor. Nobody said a word to her, although her Mistress gave her a reproachful look.
Still burning with embarrassment Xaphia looked up at the doorway and heard Salazar demand to see his mother alone. She had never heard Salazar talk so rudely before. She had been raised up in this house, with Salazar when he wasn't at one school or another, despite their different social standings. It seemed that her three friends were in the same vote. They too were staring at Salazar.
"Everyone, go about your usual duties whilst I deal with this." Said Xaphia's Mistress. Xaphia was constantly in awe of her Mistress. She looked so amazing, even in the drab black robe she was wearing. It seemed that nothing ever fazed her, no matter what happened.
Remembering herself, Xaphia hopped down off the stool and slipped out of the room. She headed for the stables to see if they needed a hand. She loved animals, and they all seemed to love her.
As she past Salazar, he stared at her. She was virtually identical to Icy and even his beloved Emily. Not that he would say so, but Emily and Ice looked like twins, with different hair and eyes. Xaphia looked so similar that despite the fact that her hair and eyes were different and she was slightly chubbier, they could be triplets. Remembering himself, Salazar smiled at Xaphia, and walked towards his mother.
On her way out, before she shut the door Xaphia heard her Mistress saying, "I warn you Salazar, this had better be good. Or you will be severely punished." She really was a strong and beautiful woman, despite the fact that she had a rather 'Strong' nose.
'She hasn't changed a bit.' Salazar thought, although he did not regret his outburst in the slightest. He knew he had to tell her now about what he had discovered.
"Mother, sorry to intrude like this but there is something you have to know."
"Well, hurry up and say it then."
"I've found her. I've found Icy! She's in the forbidden forest right now with a dragon. I saw her sprout wings and fly away. She's a friend with Emily Griffindor, and they look like equal but opposite twins. Ice is cold blue fire and Emily is red-hot fire... Ice still has silver blue hair."
Sylvia stared at her son. She had long ago given up any hope of finding her daughter ever again. Her son looked at her imploringly, begging her to believe him. "We have to go get her and bring her home. She even remembers Slick. She told me about the time he got his leg broken and you came in and told me off for leaving his cage on the floor. No one would know about that. She knows that I'm her brother. Please. I have to get my sister back. She belongs here with us. No with wild animals and a dragon!"
"You're right, she does belong with us. And if there is any chance that you really have found her, we must act. I will call your father. You can tell him exactly what you told me and then we will go and get her." Sylvia called in Xaphia and told her to search the house for her husband.
One hour later, Sylvia was growing impatient. Xaphia returned breathless. Her face looked as though she had tried as hard as she could and had yet failed on a life and death quest. Seeing this Sylvia sighed. "The Master is not anywhere on the premises my lady." Xaphia spoke defeatedly.
Sylvia felt sorry for the poor girl. She had raised Xaphia after finding her abandoned on the roadside as a baby, two months after she herself had abandoned her child in the forest. As Sylvia had watched her grow up, she noticed that she was identical in looks to Dulciana Griffindor's daughter Emily. Except that, their eyes and hair coloring were different. Emily was fire, but Xaphia seemed to be air. Light and flighty, but carried the warmth of the sun to everyone within reach. She was reminded about her friend Anthea Hufflepuff. Anthea had her daughter Helga kidnapped. So far the search for Helga continued. It was shocking to see how alike Anthea and Xaphia were in attitude. And they even had the same hair coloring.
"Oh well." Sylvia said remembering herself. "Salazar, we will have to go alone and have your father wait for our return." She quickly penned out a letter explaining the situation and that he was to go nowhere until their return.
She sealed it and placed it into Xaphia's steady hand. "You have done well Xaphia. You have my gratitude." Xaphia grew proud and confident, swelling with admiration. "You may go to the kitchens and get some food and a drink. When my husband returns, ensure he reads this letter and burns it immediately. No one else is to know about this letter. Salazar and I are going on a private errand to the forest on the border of Hogwarts. You are to tell no one of this conversation and no one is to know we have gone. Do you understand me?"
"Yes Mistress. I shall do as you wish." And in a louder voice so that any eavesdroppers could hear Xaphia said, "No one will disturb you."
In a muffled voice she said to her Mistress, "It would be best if you go out this way. That way only the doorman will see you." Xaphia knew her duty and would do it. She walked over to the third panel in the southern wall and slid it sideways. A passageway came into view that had been designed for this very purpose but long ago had been forgotten. She knew this only because of a dream, which lead her to a book in the library that contained secrets about the house.
Sylvia smiled at Xaphia and wondered how she had remembered it and more importantly, how on earth she knew about it. She would query it latter, she had more important things to be doing.
Salazar who stood and walked over to the panel ahead of his mother looked Xaphia directly in the eye. He saw the determination not to let her masters down shining like a star in them. He knew that like his sister and Emily, she could be trusted with anything.
Xaphia lit three candles, gave her mistress and master a candle each, ushered them into the passageway, slide the panel shut, led them through and opened the tapestry door at the end. The passageway came out directly opposite the door.
Sylvia was relieved to see that the doorman was sleeping. The tapestry fell back into place.
Salazar stepped forward and opened the door. To his amazement, his father Salem apparated at the bottom on the steps, looking quizzically at the scene in front of him he said, "Hello..."
Xaphia stepped down towards her master and handed him the letter.
"You can read I on the way. You're going to come with us now." Sylvia said, taking control of the situation. She gave the order for a car to be brought round. She told the driver where to go.
Salem sat in the middle and read the letter.
"I can't believe it." Salem said. "I just can't believe it. Our little girl." The emotions in his father's eyes were too much for Salazar as his father's gaze turned to him. "What's she like?"
'Like Emily' he thought instantly. But he did not dare say such a thing to his father. He didn't want anyone to guess his feelings for her, even if he did hate her brother.
It seems that he was unaware that his mother had already made that assumption from his statement about her had nothing to do with finding Ice. How he compared their personalities, with equal devotion for each evident in his voice. She noticed his careful words about the end of the conversation. She knew he was not saying something. Besides, the only way he would have known that they were friends was to have seen them together. He must have some feelings for Emily, particularly since he will not talk about her to anyone except his snake. Sometimes Salazar's Parceltounge ability was a pain. Snakes can be far too loyal sometimes.
"She's like any Slytherin should be when filled with nothing but goodness."
Salazar replied to his father, avoiding his gaze. Once again he recounted his meeting. Only, he omitted telling anything about Emily or Godric or what caused him to end the conversation. This detail didn't escape Sylvia's attention, and served only to confirm her suspicions.
The car arrived outside the forbidden forest six minutes later due to magical coercing. Dusk was nearly upon them. Salem, Sylvia and Salazar got out of the car. After having given the driver the instructions to shut off the engine and wait for their return, they faced the forest and walked into in.
The light didn't reach to the ground floor of the forest. The trees loomed over them, conspiringly. The air was wet and the ground was anything but smooth and flat.
Salem caught Sylvia as she tripped over one of the roots sticking out of the ground. "Lumos" Salazar said. His mother and father followed suit, with Salem mumbling something to the effect of "Its stupid to walk in the dark when you're a witch who can do nearly anything."
Sylvia lead them to the cave where she had left Ice all those years ago. It was two hours before they arrived at the right one. "Now, this is the cave where we left her. So, if we climb over that cave and find the one with the biggest entrance, which is where the dragon should be. Then we will have found her."
They did exactly that. When they reached the cave entrance, they all said 'Nox' at the same time, due to the fact that each thought it would be better if their was only one wand lit, so as not to disturb the dragon and wake it up by shining a lot of light in the cave.
"This is stupid," Salazar spoke. "We need to see where we are going so we don't bump into the darn thing!" "Lumos!" he commanded, and light returned to the end of his wand.
Salazar took four steps into the cave and froze. His parents did the same, only Sylvia dropped her jaw and Salem gasped. They could hardly believe their eyes.
Dragons littered the cave. Every species ever rumored to have existed. The colors all around the wand lit cave were Bronze, green, brown, gold, white, black, yellow, lilac, and many more. Dragons of every color, shape and size imaginable were before him or her, even those that were nowhere near extinct.
The Slytherin family stood in awe.
Without making a sound, they walked further into the cave. As they gazed about, Salem's eyes landed on his no so little daughter. She was sleeping between the large white and the smallest black dragon. The closest one other than them was the golden one.
Salem nudged Salazar and pointed to the white dragon. Sylvia saw this non-verbal exchange-taking place, and followed their gaze to see her only daughter Ice in a deep sleep.
Sylvia quickly became fearful for her daughter. What if the white dragon rolled over? Ice would be squashed and would die. The dragon was the sizes of the Hogwarts quidditch pitch in width!
Ice stirred in her sleep. Thinking it might frighten her to see them, Salem cast a very powerful invisibility spell over all three of them. It was powerful enough so that Whisper, the White Whispercone dragon did not see them when her eyes fluttered open. She did not move a muscle. Whisper could sense three humans were in the cave entrance. She could her whispering in the strange human language that Ice spoke to Emily with.
She concentrated on the words being said she was not very good at English. Her eyes blazed bright blue. 'These are the people that abandoned their daughter!' she thought 'these humans left her to die. Now they dare come into our sacred cave, and then consider taking her away?!?' Whisper grew angry and gave a warning hum so low that only Viper and Darlas woke up. Without moving they both made eye contact with Whisper and them eachother, with identical confusion mirrored it their faces. They didn't realize what was happening.
Simultaneously they too heard the whispering. Viper gazed down between himself and Whisper. Icy stirred.
Viper suddenly stood up. Salem, Sylvia and Salazar froze in fear. They had been too busy arguing about whether or not to take icy that they forgot about being quiet, and that when you are not fully in control of you emotions that magic cloaking spells do not work properly.
Darlas sniffed the air. He could smell three humans. "DANGER" he roared. The other dragons awoke.
All three of them jumped. The unearthly roar was waking every thing up; including Ice. Sylvia knew that their time was up. She grabbed Salem and Salazar by their arms and silently dragged them back to the car.
Just as her human family fled, Ice woke up. She slowly got up, stretched like a cat, and rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. Then Ice stepped towards Beauty. She was oblivious to the fact that everyone was in a panic.
When she was only five paces form her adopted mother, Ice fell to the rock hard ground. "Mama!" she cried out in overwhelming pain.
Beauty quickly closed the distance between them in a matter on seconds, and started crooning softly to Ice. The other dragons became even more alarmed. They started crooning as well, hoping to give Ice as much comfort and support as they could.
Ice cried out once more and clung tightly to Beauty's leg. "Mama, make the pain go away." She said in a breathless, tortured voice.
Beauty knew what was causing this. Part of Icy's abilities means that she can not just live with one species for any long period of time, or she becomes fully transformed into one of them; and if nothing is done to stop it, she would die.
"Climb on my back." Beauty said. Misty could see why Beauty wanted this done. If Ice didn't touch or be around other creatures, there would be no telling of what would happen to her. Misty also saw that Ice simply didn't have enough strength to do this, and that it was all she could do to retain a grip on her physical form and of Beauty.
Misty loosed Icy's grip and scooped her up; finally depositing her onto Beauty's back. Icy griped a few of Beauty's scales. Not tight enough to hurt her, but enough that she would not fall off.
Beauty took flight and headed off to the centaurs, which upon discovering the situation called the unicorns and other creatures of the forest. Soon Icy's pain went away. After ensuring Icy's safety, Beauty flew back to the caves for the night, while Ice spent a peaceful night with the centaurs and other creatures.
Icy was safe and happy with her forest family once again. But that wouldn't last if Salazar had his way...
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