Chapter 26: Challenge
I watch with a smirk as Nickolas glares at Dumbledore and angrily says, "Albus Percival Wolfric Brian Dumbledore, if I ever learn of you stealing my property again I will take you over my knee, do you understand me, young man?"
"Nickolas, Perenelle, what are you two doing here?" Dumbledore asks nervously
"Don't give me that! You know full well what I am here about, boy!" he says angrily before his wife gasps and I look at her, she's staring directly at me.
I smirk at her and she bows to me. Her husband gives her a confused look so she says, "Nickolas, that's her. You need to bow."
Nickolas gives me a wide eyed look before bowing to me and saying, "My lady, it's been so long!"
"Get up, you two." I say and they stand before looking at Dumbledore, who is giving me a wide eyed look, I smirk again and say, "No, I will not tell you why they bow to me. If fifty people figure it out by the end of the year, then I'll announce it. But you have to come to me with proof that you figured it out, do you understand? Also, the deal is for every year of my schooling, but resets every year so if you figure it out this year it doesn't count for next year." Several others nod and I stand before looking at Perenelle and Nickolas, "In the future, please insure that your possessions do not find their way into a school environment again."
"Of course, my lady. Please be assured that we did not give permission for that gift you gave me to be kept here. We will ensure it does not fall into any other hands again." Nickolas says quickly.
I nod and say, "Excellent. We wouldn't want another incident like this one. Now, I am going to my dorm room. Have a pleasant night."
"Of course, my lady." Perenelle says and I walk out of the Great Hall. I go to bed and head to bed.
The next day we learn that Quirrel, the guy Voldemort was attached too, mysteriously died. He apparently decided to try to explore the third floor corridor and came face to face with the Cerberus that was there. How unfortunate, and definitely not suggested to them by someone messing with their dreams...yes. Definitely not.
Anyways, he'll be missed, I suppose. Right now I'm walking to the Great Hall when I hear something around the corner ahead of me. I look down the hall and scowl when I see a bunch of seventh year Gryffindors blocking Rowena and Helga from going to dinner.
"Weak little firsties." one of them sneers and I laugh, drawing their attention to me as I casually stroll over to them. The one that sneered at them gives me a confused look, "What's so funny?"
I look at Helga and say, "Have I ever known you to be weak, my friend?"
"In my defense...she said that I'm not allowed to use my ax on them." Helga tells me, gesturing at Rowena, who glares at her.
"They're students, you can't kill them." she says in an exasperated tone.
"Who said anything about killing them?" I ask curiously, "There's so many ways to hurt someone with an ax and ensure that they live."
"You're not helping!" Rowena tells me.
"Did I offer too?" I ask in reply and she glares at me.
"Salazar." she growls in an irritated tone.
"In the flesh...so to speak." I say in a chipper one before noticing the gaping Gryffindors, "I think we should take this conversation elsewhere. Would you like to accompany me to breakfast?"
"We'd be delighted." Helga says as she wraps her arm around my shoulder. Rowena just sighs and allows Helga to grab her hand, walking along behind us as Helga and I happily walk away. We go to breakfast and sit at the Hufflepuff table, "So, I was thinking about doing a history report, on my own you know? But I'm not really sure what it should be about. Any suggestions?"
"I suppose we could write about Helena." Rowena says, "Her story isn't told often."
"I don't think she's ready to speak to you." I tell her softly, "She looked tense when I spoke to her and Elliot at the start of the year."
"Alright, well what about we do the report about the founders?" Helga suggests and I smirk at her.
"That idea has some merit. We could each write about our favorite founder." I say with a grin and Rowena huffs slightly.
"I don't want to read through another report about you and Godric being stupid together." she tells me and I give her an insulted look.
"I would never!" I tell her in a fake offended tone.
"Three times, Sal!" she growls at me, "Three times!"
I then hear someone clear their throat from behind me and turn, finding Dumbledore who smiles at me and says, "Miss Shock, you are meant to sit with your fellow Slytherins for meals."
"There's nothing in the rules against me sitting with friends during meals." I tell him simply before the doors of the great hall burst open and the seventh years that were picking on Helga and Rowena come rushing in, racing up and pointing their fingers at me.
"You're Salazar Slytherin!" they yell and I tilt my head a bit.
I look down at myself for a moment before looking back up at them and saying, "I am not a boy, thank you very much."
"But...no, you are him!" they protest before pointing at Rowena, "She called you Salazar! Then you said 'in the flesh' so that means that you are Salazar Slytherin!"
I calmly turn to the teachers table, look at McGonagall, and ask, "Will you please check on your lions, professor? I think the stress of exams are getting to them."
"Sit down all of you!" she demands and they turn to protest, but fall silent at her glare. They slump a bit and walk over to the Gryffindor table. I turn back to Helga and Rowena.
"As I was saying, we could write those reports on the founders. Let everyone know the true story. I suppose we could even turn them into our heads of houses for a bit of extra credit. I mean, it's not like Binns can grade them. He's too focused on the Goblin Wars." I tell them and they nod.
"I suppose we could." Helga says, "I'll write about Helga Hufflepuff."
"I'll write about Rowena Ravenclaw." Rowena says with a sigh.
"Then I will cover the other two." I say and the other two nod before I dish myself some food.
"Miss Shock, you need to sit with your fellow Slytherins." Dumbledore says sternly.
"I do not need to, you simply wish me to because me sitting here messes with your status quo." I tell him without looking back from my plate, "I see no reason to comply to your will."
"I am the headmaster." he tells me and I scowl.
"For now. It doesn't change the school rules." I say coldly, getting irritated by him.
"I'm afraid I must insist that you join your fellow Slytherins, Miss Shock." he insists, I ignore him and continue eating as I chat with Helga and Rowena.
Later in the day, after charms class, I'm approached by the same seventh years from this morning, who surround me before one of them insists, "We know that you are Salazar Slytherin."
"I will have you know that the name on my birth certificate is not now and never has been Salazar Slytherin." I tell them and they scowl at me.
"At some point in the past you were Salazar Slytherin." one of them insists and I smirk.
"I never said that I wasn't." I tell them easily.
"But you said that it's never been on your birth certificate." a different one says in a confused tone.
"British people didn't record births until the fifteen hundreds." I say before walking away, "Have a pleasant day."
I go to Potions next and take my usual seat as Snape comes storming in. The class goes by pretty normally until I hear someone at the table to my left exclaim, "Oh my Salazar!"
I slowly turn to look at her and see her cauldron about to explode. I reach over and grab a bit of lions mane before standing and walking over, dropping it in her cauldron and watching it stop bubbling so dangerously. I then look at the girl and say, "I don't appreciate that phrase."
Her lab partner, a tall, dark skinned boy, sighs in relief before saying, "Thank Salazar."
"Your welcome." I say before returning to my seat. I continue with my potion until a shadow falls over me and I look up, finding Snape. "Yes professor?"
"There is no lions mane in this potion." he says with a scowl.
"No, lions mane simply stabilizes volatile potions, it's hardly ever an actual ingredient." I say with a small frown, "Her potion was about to explode, so I stabilized it."
He scowls at me before saying, "Stay after class."
He stalks away and I hum slightly before continuing my potion. After class I watch the others file out before I turn to the teachers desk. I silently ask Hogwarts to block the headmaster from hearing this conversation before walking forward and looking at Snape as I say, "You wanted to talk, sir?"
"Yes. I believe I have discovered one aspect of your past life." he says with a scowl and I smirk, tilting my head slightly.
"Oh? You have?" I ask innocently.
"Yes." he says simply. "I believe that you were, at one point, Salazar Slytherin. I will not demand confirmation, however all evidence I have collected over the course of this year leads me to believe that this theory is correct."
I chuckle before saying, "Well...I look forward to either confirming or denying this theory in the future, Professor Snape. Now, if you would excuse me, I must be going."
He nods shortly so I spin on my heel and stride out the room, Natasha and Clint meeting me in the hallway. We go to dinner, where I sit across from Venera with my twins.