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Chapter Eighteen, Year Two: Explanations II

Draco sighed and pointedly avoided looking Tom in the eyes. "I don't suppose that it could wait until morning, could it?"

Tom sat down on a chair. "It's morning now, so that excuse won't work."

Salazar sighed in annoyance. "There's really nothing to explain. I'm Salazar Slytherin reborn into the body of Harry Potter, and I don't really mind Muggles."

Tom blinked. "I think I misunderstood that last bit, could you repeat it?" he asked almost hesitantly.

"No, I think you understood."

"No, I think I misunderstood. You couldn't have just said that you don't mind Muggles!"

"But, I did."

Tom was staring straight ahead in shock, Salazar looked resigned, and Severus and Draco decided to leave to give the two a few moments alone.

"But…but…what about the hell that we endured! Muggles can't be trusted! They'll do it again!"

"Which is why the Wizarding community has their Muggle protection laws that prohibit wizards and witches from showing them that the Wizarding Community exists!"

"But they have to be punished!"

"From what happened back then, or for those Muggles at the orphanage did to you?"

There were a few moments of silence. Tom's face looked blank. "I already got my revenge on those at the orphanage, it's the rest that has to be punished."

Salazar was silent for a while. He stared at the same bit of wall, that Tom had been staring at in shock, thinking and pacing. Finally, he came to a halt next to Tom's chair. "You're going to stay here until school starts; then you and I are going to go the Dumbledore. In the mean time, I have someone I want you to meet," he said, staring straight ahead, not looking at his descendant.

Tom looked over at Salazar quizzically. "Why haven't you asked me to swear an Unbreakable Vow or something?"

Salazar turned and stared Tom in the eyes. "Why should I waste my energy on something like that? For all I know I'll have to kill you soon."

There was more silence. Salazar cursed himself for saying something like that. It was true, but he didn't want Tom to be afraid of him. He wanted to show him that not all Muggles are bigoted in this era. He wanted to give Tom a proper upbringing.

"Who do you want me to meet?" Tom finally asked.

"There's a girl I go to school with. Her name's Hermione Granger, and she's a Muggleborn," Salazar said. "If you harm her in any way, shape or form, you will wish my sister had never conceived your side of my family."

Tom shrank away a little from the coldness in his voice.

"In the meantime, you will abide by the same rules in that agreement we had during you r questioning, with an added clause."

"What?" Tom asked, sounding resigned.

"You won't tell anyone who I am. The only name you will refer to me, and call me by, is Harry James Potter. No references will be made to my previous incarnation as Salazar Slytherin. You won't tell anyone that I'm Salazar Slytherin either, or you'll find yourself at the mercy of Voldemort."

"You wouldn't do that," Tom whispered. "You wouldn't hand me over to that and make it stronger!"

"Actually, when a wizard or witch mates with a Muggle with no magical abilities, the offspring produced is weaker magically by 100," Salazar said coldly. "You're half the strength you would have been had your father been a Muggleborn."

Tom looked aghast. "And you're advocating this."

Salazar turned around sharply. "I'm advocating the acceptance of Muggleborns, not interbreeding with Muggles. For Muggles, I'm suggesting tolerance. Nothing more, nothing less."

"We are tolerant!"

"Yeah, the Light is tolerant, the Dark isn't and the neutral ones don't give a shit. That's definitely a profound 'we'."

"You want to remake society," Tom said, still whispering. "You want to make yourself head of the Wizarding community!"

Salazar rolled his eyes at Tom's dramatics. "What I want," he snapped, "is for you to stop killing people for no reason. I'm not suggesting that the Wizarding community interbreed with Muggles, but I want this senseless killing to stop!" "They're alright!" Salazar silently screamed in his head. "Muggleborns and Muggles are alright; they're not all bigoted idiots!"

"You killed Muggles and Muggleborns, why should I stop?" Tom asked defiantly.

"My time is different from your time. In my time, it was either kill them, or wait until they got you. It's a little thing called survival."

Tom was silent for a while at this. "Alright," he said at length, "I'll meet this Hermione Granger person. But what happens if I'm still not convinced that I shouldn't kill them?"

"Then we are going to spend a few days completely immersed in Muggle culture."

Ron snorted and rolled over.

………..

Salazar woke bright and early to an empty room. He showered, dressed, went downstairs and promptly had a heart attack. Several people jumped up from behind various pieces of furniture and shouted 'surprise' at the top of their lungs. Salazar's eyes moved from the people to the banner proclaiming 'Happy Birthday Harry!' and stood still, gaping.

Ron grinned and slung an arm around Salazar's shoulders. "Happy Birthday, mate!" he said cheerfully.

"Was this what you and Hermione meant when you said you had something really important to do in Diagon?" Salazar asked faintly.

"Yes, the two of us asked the Weasleys if they minded holding your birthday party, and they said 'no', so all we had to do was get the supplies and gifts," Hermione said, popping up to the other side of Salazar and smiling.

"Oh, thanks, but really, you didn't have to," Salazar said, feeling distinctly uncomfortable being at the center of attention.

"Oh, nonsense, Harry, it's your birthday!" Mrs. Weasley gushed.

"And what a great way to end the holidays," the twins chorused.

"Er, well, I guess," Salazar said hesitantly. His eyes roamed over the crowd of people and noticed two of them were missing. "Hey, where's Tom and Draco?"

Hermione and Ron exchanged a look. "They were in the garden last I checked." Hermione said softly.

"Is Riddle your friend?" Ron asked sharply.

"Uh, I guess," Salazar said uncertainly.

"Then tell him not to call Hermione a mudblood again," Ron snapped.

Salazar's blood ran cold. "Did he know who she was?"

"He heard me talking to Mr. Weasley about electricity and it's uses in dentistry," said Hermione softly, "and he just gave me a cool look and muttered 'mudblood'."

Salazar let out a sigh of frustration. "I told him I wanted him to meet you," Salazar told Hermione. Ron stared at him in shock.

"Why?" Ron asked angrily.

"Tom's a half-blood that was constantly belittled for it. It's a kind of weird psychological issue. He's constantly augmenting his natural assets and belittling others because of his "status"," Salazar said, also angry.

Hermione looked sympathetic. "So, you thought that by meeting me, he might grow out of it?" she asked quietly.

Salazar nodded.

"I'm afraid that he would need psychological help with that."

"I know that!" Salazar said irritably. "It's just that the two of you have so much in common. You're both smart, hungry for knowledge, and both of you in your different ways are trying to prove that genetics doesn't matter!"

Hermione and Ron glanced at each other again.

"Okay, I understand that the two of us have certain similarities," Hermione admitted wearily, "but what would he gain from the two of us talking?"

"Maybe some respect for Muggles, or at least Muggleborns. That'd be a step in the right direction."

Hermione was quiet for a while, thinking. Salazar watched her anxiously. Ron just looked worried.

"Alright," she said at length, "I'll do it. What is he interested in?"

"The Dark Arts and Lord Voldemort," Salazar answered promptly.

Hermione paled and Ron tensed.

"No, he's interested in Voldemort as a person, not as in Death-Eater-in-training way! I mean like…"

"We get it," Ron said weakly. "He's interested in the Dark Lord 'cause he's a bloke he can understand and relate with. That's…safer, yeah."

A/N: Yea! I updated at a reasonable time!

Serenity1910: Thank you!