~Chapter 9~ Trust is earned…right? – Dec 1992~

On the 10th of December, Salazar requested that Harry stay behind in class and he almost refused until he saw the expression on the older man's face.

It was the same type of face that Severus made whenever the Potions master decided that they really needed to talk about something, and seeing as the man in question was currently away for a potions conference, it could only mean that Salazar had decided that the two of them will talk instead.

He followed Salazar slowly as if he was walking to his doom, but the man simply turned around with a fond-sounding sigh, grabbed his arm, and dragged him down towards the Chamber of Secrets. Harry did his best to stop the old instinctive worry from clawing up his throat, even though he knew that the idea of Salazar harming him was completely absurd.

He hadn't lived with the Dursleys in years, but that did not dull some of his more instinctive reactions to sudden movements.

Salazar didn't seem to miss the sensation of Harry's suppressed flinch though and he wasn't surprised when Salazar slowed his pace and carefully removed his hand from Harry's arm. Harry had read in Salazar's personal journals that the man had often helped the students from his house that had problems at home.

They walked further in silence, with Salazar walking a little ahead of him, it wasn't like Harry could get out of whatever lecture the man had planned so he followed silently until they reached the inner chamber. Salazar immediately spoke to the basilisk, who was apparently named Selene, and Harry almost expected the giant snake to start waving her tail like a puppy the moment she heard the founder's voice.

Luckily the basilisk worried more over Salazar's scent than his looks, otherwise, they may have had a problem on their hands.

Salazar spent a little time catching up with Selene, but Harry could still feel the founder's eyes on him as he wandered through the chamber. In his original second year, he had been more worried about surviving than exploring, so now he took the chance.

Finally, Salazar opened one of the pipes leading to the forest and Selene hissed in excitement. He must have seen the expression on Harry's face because he reassured him that she knew to keep away from populated areas, such as the areas close to the school as well as the centaur, unicorn, and thestral reserves.

Harry then found himself gaping as Salazar hissed and a section of the wall opened to their left. Harry followed Salazar through and he was surprised to see a cozy-looking study. A house-elf gave a small bow before popping away and Harry was surprised to see two plates of food and two butterbeers.

He glanced at Salazar and the man raised a brow. "Both Severus and I have noticed that you have been eating and sleeping a lot less recently, so I am under orders to make sure you eat, explain what's worrying you, and then sleep…exactly in that order."

Harry smiled at the words before looking at the older man in surprise, "He knows?"

Salazar nodded, looking slightly uncomfortable, "Is there a problem?"

Harry snorted in laughter before he shook his head, "No, no problem at all, I just didn't want to imagine him being with someone like the real Lockhart, that would have just been too weird."

Harry was pleasantly surprised when he saw a flash of red just before the man turned away slightly, but then he frowned a little, "I guess that means you told him who you really are and not the part that you like him…"

He was about to add more but Salazar waved his hand and it took harry two seconds to register that no words were coming out so he crossed his arms and glared at the other man, who merely chuckled and relaxed now that he was in control of the situation again.

"We are here to talk about you, Harry, and I suggest that you answer truthfully because Severus is quite close to dosing you with Veritaserum once he returns… What's been going through your mind lately? You've been very preoccupied…", Salazar looked at him closely as if willing him to answer as he removed the silencing spell.

Harry finally felt his shoulders slump in defeat. He knew Salazar wasn't kidding around about Severus dosing him with Veritaserum and as embarrassing as it was, the man might have an idea on what he could get the Dark Lord for his next birthday.

But once the floodgates opened, everything came rushing out, much to Harry's horror, "I've been trying to find something for Voldemort's birthday, but nothing I find beats the Philosopher stone, and I can't ask my friends for help because they don't know about what I am, who you are, and what I did to bring the Dark Lord back. Ron even lost family members to the Death Eaters, and although Neville doesn't often hang out with us, his parents are in St Mungos because of them."

Salazar listened to him rant without any judgment and when he was done, the man looked at him closely, "Well, I don't know your friends as well as you do, but if I were to give my opinion on it then I would suggest you tell them the entire story so that they can understand your reasoning. You're not going to get anywhere by just continuously worrying about it…"

Harry wanted to argue, but he knew the man was right so he stayed silent as he lowered his gaze to his food in thought.

"…as for your first problem, I just might have something that would be appropriate." Harry's head snapped up so fast that he heard it pop in protest and Salazar chuckled before he stood up and walked to a seemingly empty wall. Salazar reached inside it and pulled out a pitch-black book that gave off a very eerie feeling.

He paused as if rethinking it before he shook his head as if to clear his thoughts before he turned to Harry. "There is a reason why most Slytherin wizards are aligned with the dark, why they deign to follow so-called dark lords. The houses of Hogwarts are much more than meets the eye, but it is so subtle that no one truly realizes it. Each house may represent a founder, but the four of us were the last of four dying races, and in a bid to ensure that our races didn't completely die out, we founded this school, so that we could share our clan magic with students that are compatible with it."

Salazar's stare turned almost thoughtful as he spoke, "The other three founders' clans easily flourished once more, but my clan required a very specific heir and as such, most of the students became almost enslaved by the dark magic that coursed through their bodies, and that is when I decided to fake my death until a time came that my true successor appeared."

Harry didn't know what to say to that because the man's words didn't make any sense, "What do you mean?"

Salazar stepped closer and laid the book on the table between them and Harry felt a slight pull, but a greater force allowed him to resist it and he looked at Salazar, who nodded knowingly, "As the Master of Death you are immune to all pulls, but any other Slytherin would gladly step over their friends to get their hands on this book…"

Harry looked at the man in horror, "Why the hell do you have something like this? And what does that have to do about the other stuff you said?"

Salazar placed his arm next to the book before pulling up his sleeve and Harry was surprised to find the symbol of the book on his arm. "This book is the reason why I am still alive, it is why I can travel to the realm of Death with minor consequences, but I am tired. I have guarded the book for a very long time and I would have been forced to keep guarding it well beyond time if things had proceeded as they did in your first life. Now, however…"

Harry watched entranced as the tattoo seemed to leak out of the man's skin and return to the book before he glanced at Salazar, who suddenly looked quite peaceful. "Tom Marvolo Riddle is my true successor and the next holder of the Shadow Lord title. This book contains all the knowledge that he has been unconsciously searching for, ever since the castle's magic registered him as a true heir of the Slytherin bloodline. Once he accepts the trials and passes, you will find that the damage to his soul and magic has lessened considerably, though there may always be some proof of his previous actions."

Harry felt a slight hope build inside him, "You mean he would be immortal?"

Salazar nodded, "Until the day he decides to die."

This made Harry frown, "Does this mean that you will now die?" The other man smiled and shook his head, "I have just found my mate, do you really think that I would be so eager to depart from him once more? Transfering the mark merely grants the title of guardian and activates the bloodline within the successor, which in turn activates the benefits of immortality and so forth, it will still be his choice on whether or not he wants to proceed with the trials."

Harry took the book reverently, his skin tingling in excitement. He really wished that he could see Voldemort's face when the man opened his present… 'I may just have a way that you can watch without being spotted…', Harry was startled at hearing Death's voice, but nodded his thanks before asking Salazar if he could be excused. The man watched him with humor in his eyes and Harry blushed when he realized how obvious he was being, but he rushed away anyway, he had a letter to write.

~~~…Voldemort…~~~

When the 31st December came once more, Voldemort found himself attending a ball at the Malfoys. When he returned home to Slytherin castle, he was tired, but he still had some work to do so he entered the Library.

He barely took a few steps before he slowly removed his wand from its holster. Something seemed out of place in the room, as if someone had been there, but he couldn't figure it out until he noticed a package on his desk. Upon closer inspection, he realized that it looked identical to the present from his previous birthday, and he would deny the creeping feeling of excitement he felt until his dying day.

He inspected it with the same dark spell, but as expected it came back clean and he carefully peeled off the cover.

A note had been attached to a book and Marvolo felt ice flow through his veins as he realized that it was his diary Horcrux. He grabbed the book, letting the note fall to the table as he frantically inspected it, but nothing seemed out of place.

He turned back to the note.

Voldemort

I know the diary is your Horcrux, and I know you might not believe me, but I promise that I do not intend to share the knowledge with anyone else, that is why I have returned it to you. I suspect that it might help ease the damage to your soul.

The black book in the box, however, is your actual present, and you could say it is from Salazar Slytherin himself to his heir. Apparently the Slytherin bloodline has a lot more secrets than anyone would even know and as his heir, you are now the rightful owner of this book and all of its knowledge.

All I ask is that you protect it, as I suspect you will.

You will also find a shrunken warming stone in the box, for Nagini.

Now I don't really know if you want to know anything about me or not, seeing as I can't give you an address to write to without the possibility of you pulling an AK on me for daring to enter your home, which I apologize for, but it's the only way I can think of.

One thing I can reveal about myself is that I am immortal, and yes I am saying that to hopefully catch your interest enough so that you do not AK me when you find out who I am.

Regards

Ghost

PS. You will also find a memory of Dumbledore in quite an embarrassing predicament inside.

Voldemort felt the corners of his mouth arch a little before he forced a neutral expression back onto his face. Whoever the writer was, they intrigued him.

He placed down the letter and removed the other book from the box, only to immediately feel his magic act up. It was the same sensation he felt at Hogwarts, only much stronger, and it didn't take long for him to realize that he held the key to the Slytherin founder's power in his hands.

He took a seat on one of the library couches and started to read. He fully intended on finding his mysterious (and immortal) stalker, but first, he needed to restore his magic, and hopefully heal his soul.

It was only later that he remembered the letter mentioning something about Dumbledore.

(A/N: Next chapter will be the trials that Voldemort goes through Thank you for reading.)