/:Point of Clarification:/
Harry's thoughts
"Slytherin's thoughts"
There you go. Enjoy the chapter.
Harry blinked, slowly adjusting his eyes to the brightness. The room looked a bit fuzzy, but as he came to he realized he was lying in one of the Hospital Wing beds. Hermione and Ron were seated next to him.
"Wha…" Harry stammered, still feeling a little groggy.
"Shhh!" Hermione interrupted.
"Hermione, I-"
"Shhh!" This time, Ron shushed him.
"Guys, why-"
"Shhh!" Both of them acted together this time.
Harry sighed heavily, closing his eyes. He hated waking up in a hospital bed. He never knew what was going on or what had happened, and people always seemed less than willing to oblige when he tried to get such information. Slowly opening his eyes again, Harry gave them a look that screamed 'Fine! I'm done talking. You win.' Sadly, Harry had to use that look a lot.
Ron leaned in close to Harry's ear. "We told Pomfrey that your scar was making you scream in the night. It's a little past one in the morning, so let's just say she wasn't in a good mood. Also, she seems suspicious, so don't say anything that would make her think anything is out of the ordinary. Or rather, weirder than usual for you. We didn't want you muttering anything about our new quarters or our new friends."
Harry shut his eyes and groaned. Great. Because all I wanted in life was more out of the ordinary occurrences. I guess all that wasn't just some wacky potion-induced dream.
"It most certainly was not!"
Startled by what seemed like a voice in his head, Harry instinctively flinched, which caused his nerve endings to flare up with pain.
What the...who are...oh. Is that you, Slytherin?
"Well, who else? Certainly not your conscience, I can assure you of that! By the way, I wouldn't move if I were you. The severed connection with our mutual friend, Tom 'I'll just take other people's ideas and turn them into crimes against nature' Riddle has left your body in a state of magical shock."
Harry inwardly groaned, though made sure not to outwardly move and risk his body flaring up in pain again. If he didn't know better, he would have sworn Voldemort's deteriorated soul was attempting revenge on its former vessel.
I haven't heard that title before. A bit bitter, are we Salazar?
"Perhaps a tad" Slytherin's voice inside of Harry's head seemed to mumble, "but I believe I've earned that right."
Before Harry could reply, he felt something being pressed against his lips.
"Drink up, dear," Madam Pomfrey's voice followed, "this should help with the pain." Harry carefully opened his lips and a cold, foul-tasting potion went down his throat, sending a pins-and-needles sensation tingling through his body. Why magic couldn't make potions taste good was a mystery he'd probably never know.
Harry cautiously opened his eyes, blinking due to the light, and saw Madam Pomfrey staring down at him. If one could appear exasperated, worried, sympathetic, and annoyed all at the same time, Pomfrey was definitely making a valiant attempt. Harry opened his mouth to speak but was again shushed before a word could escape his lips.
"Mr. Potter, you are now coming out of what I can only describe as magical shock. Though your magical core seems to be stabilizing now, when your friends brought you to me you were in quite the state. Now, I'm all too aware of how much you've been through in your years here, but I have to say that I don't think I've ever seen you this bad, and while I admit that you may be a special case…"
Before Pomfrey could finish, Professor McGonagall briskly walked in. Though she appeared to have recently gotten out of bed and was still dressed in her nightgown, by no means did she appear less intimidating than any other time Harry had the misfortune to be in the Transfiguration professor's vicinity when she wasn't happy. "The Headmaster is currently attempting to stall the b...our dear Defense Against the Dark Arts professor. Merlin, if she had her way you'd probably have some quack or Unspeakable poking around inside your head, and I mean that in the most literal sense. Regardless, I think it would be best if, when she inevitably arrives, Mr. Potter appears as normal as possible," McGonagall finished, turning to look at Madam Pomfrey.
The Mediwitch smiled. "I've got just the thing. It will put him into a deep sleep that will help stabilize him and make him appear absolutely normal to that dim-witted t...Ministry official."
Don't I get any say in this? Harry thought to himself (and Slytherin) as another potion went down his lips. Slytherin didn't reply, though Harry had a sinking feeling that the Founder was chuckling to himself.
As if McGonagall too had heard his thoughts, she turned to him after shooing Ron and Hermione back to bed: "Mr. Potter, you relinquished any right to protest after you showed up unconscious and in shock. I don't think anyone expected your scar to give you this much trouble, but you may rest assured that we will be discussing this matter in great detail after…"
Harry was pretty sure McGonagall was saying more, but by that time the potion was already taking effect, and he felt himself once again slowly lose consciousness. His last thought as he drifted off was that this was becoming far too frequent.
Harry smiled as the warm, summer sun shone upon his face. Stretching out in the soft sand, he sighed and just took in the calming sounds of waves against the beach. In a couple of hours he was sure he'd have an amazing tan to match his muscular arms and his stunning 8-pack abs.
"It sure was nice of you to invite me over for your party, Fleur," Harry remarked, turning to look at the blonde French beauty nearby. Clad in a very stylish yet also very small bikini, Fleur smiled at Harry.
"Yes," she replied. "I am glad I invited you also. I hope you didn't mind being the only male at the party, though," she added, gesturing to her equally stunning friends in equally skimpy attire.
"Nah, that's fine. Real fine…" Harry briefly attempted to make eye contact with all the French babes, but his noble attempt was soon thwarted. There were much more interesting things to watch. Like...birds. Yeah, those birds. While not blue-footed, those boobies were very nice.
"However, there is one problem we have to solve first," Fleur mused.
"Hmmmm?" Harry mumbled intelligently. He was, after all, paying close attention to Fleur's words. Harry Potter was nothing if not a gentleman.
"The sun is so very hot," Fleur explained, "and all of us girls have very sensitive skin. Would you be willing to rub sunscreen all over our smooth bodies so that we don't burn?"
Harry grinned. "Well, we can't have that. I guess I can help you out." Soon Harry was surrounded by all the French girls and silently thanking Merlin, the sun, the makers of lotion, and really anyone who might have helped bring about such a glorious event in his usually stressful and dark life.
"But Harry!" a striking red head exclaimed, "won't our swimming attire get in the way!"
"What? I don't know if…"
"We had better take our bikinis off, though, just in case. Can't have you missing any important spots."
As the girls began to reach for the straps to the tiny bits of fabric covering them, giggling all the while, Harry couldn't help but think This is so amazing. It's like a dream come true!
"Well, at least you're partially right, which may be a slight accomplishment given the state of your brain right now."
Everything around him, including the French girls who were just about to go completely au naturale, froze. Harry's head whipped around, trying to find the source of the amused and eerily familiar voice, but he saw nothing. He could only watch in dismay as his surroundings slowly lost color and faded away to nothing, leaving him standing in what appeared to be an endless expanse of gray and dull white.
"You know, it really is amazing how on the one hand, so much has changed in the past thousand years, and on the other, everything is completely the same."
This time, when Harry turned, he found himself staring into the eyes of Salazar Slytherin. Without his previous distractions, Harry easily recognized the voice and now the appearance of his mind's new guest.
"You've got to be kidding me!" Harry shouted at Slytherin. "Were you just observing that the entire time? And you just decided to interrupt right when….when…"
"Yes, that's how dreams tend to go, even without interruptions such as mine." Slytherin replied smoothly. "No doubt, had I not appeared, Voldemort would have shown up, or perhaps a Quidditch team, or Batman, or some other random event to stop you from getting what you were actually hoping for."
"Still," Harry muttered glumly, grudgingly accepting the truth of Slytherin's words, "why couldn't this have been one of my weird creepy dreams interrupted instead of...that."
"More than likely the, as you put them, 'weird creepy dreams' were greatly influenced by the presence of Riddle within your mind," Slytherin explained. "When two minds occupy one body, or even when a body and mind are hosting a lesser spirit or mind, the mind that's along for the ride, which in this case was Riddle but is now me, is especially influential when the primary mind is in a less active state, such as during a loss of consciousness. Thus influence or manipulation of dreams may occur, which is what I'm doing right now, and I have no doubt the other founders are or will be doing with your friends."
"You're the reason for all this?" Harry asked, glancing at the black space around him and trying to keep up with Slytherin's explanations. "Why?"
"Quite simple, really," Slytherin continued, "Besides the fact that communication between us is much easier, especially with my having a form, you need to at least start learning and practicing what this new bond between us will accomplish."
"Will that really help, since this is just a dream?" Harry asked.
"This is a bit more than a mere dream," Slytherin replied. "The best analogy I can come up with is the sparring sessions within that movie you snuck out of Dudley's trash and watched one night: The Matrix."
Harry nodded, remembering the movie. It had contained some pretty cool action sequences, and the whole idea of the real world being a computer program was both frightening and interesting. Obviously it had been too mentally stimulating for a dolt like Dudley to enjoy. "So this is like a simulation happening inside my head?"
"More or less."
"Neat. So, besides the gracious gift of your presence, what else do I get out of this?"
Salazar raised an eyebrow. "You know, I'm aware that was sarcasm, but I'm just going to pretend that it wasn't and take that as a compliment."
"You do that. So? What amazing new abilities can I expect to receive?"
"Well, first of all, I would say that your magical abilities should all increase dramatically. Your maximum magical output, stamina, and resistance will easily grow by at least 50 percent, though I'm guessing the growth will be closer to 100 or 150 percent. As you're moving from Riddle's binding of your mind and magic to my catalyzation of its development and growth, it's quite hard to predict what changes will occur. You have to understand that this kind of thing has never actually been done before, and the incomplete horcrux you harbored since you were a baby makes any of my previous calculations almost useless, so most of this is just hypothesis and guesswork."
"Wow." Now it was Harry's turn to raise an eyebrow, both due to his surprise at the boost and Slytherin's admission. "So you mean to tell me that you don't know what's going to happen to me? That's gotta be killing you."
Slytherin's eyes narrowed. "I'm already long dead, thank you very much. And you should be thankful that it's me you're bonded with. I'm the one who practically invented this type of magic in the first place, so I would think that my hypotheses would carry a bit weight. I'm sure your friend Ron will have far less warning on what could be happening with time as a result of his bond."
Harry could vividly imagine Ron and Gryffindor discovering new benefits of the bond purely by accident or luck. Once again, Slytherin made a very fair point.
"Besides," Slytherin continued, "If you don't believe me, why don't you just test your abilities for yourself?"
"In here?" Harry asked skeptically. "But I don't have my wand or anything, I'm wearing a swim…" Harry looked down and was surprised to see himself dressed in stylish, fitted black and red robes that also appeared to have some form of light armor built in on the torso, shoulders, forearms, thighs, and shins. The armor on his forearms had very impressive looking Slytherin crests on the insides, and attached to the bottom of his right forearm was what appeared to be place to store his wand, which it was currently doing.
"Did you create this?" Harry asked, surprised, and turning to Slytherin who was smirking proudly.
"Actually, this is the gear that I wore when I adventured and explored the magical world in my younger days," Slytherin explained. "Parts of it I made or designed myself, while other parts I obtained by commissioning some of the greatest enchanters and rune masters of my time. Many of the arts used to make this garb have been lost to time ages ago, I'm sure."
"But...it's not real, is it? This is just a dream after all," Harry remarked disappointedly.
Slytherin shook his head. "Actually, unless my safehouse has been raided, which I highly, highly doubt, this should still exist and be in the same condition it was in when I used it. I thought it might be useful for you to get used to it now, at least in part, since hopefully we'll recover it at some point. The armor should protect you from almost all harm, physical or magical. Anything but a direct Unforgivable at very close range I would think, though that hasn't been tested. Basilisk venom has been tested, though, and I can claim with firsthand experience that, though it won't be enjoyable and you'll need to repair the armor right away (and leave it alone for a week or so), you won't die from the exposure. The material is flexible, self-healing, and impervious to grime, dirt, mold, or other things that would deteriorate its quality. Though not infallibly invisible, it's also very easy to remain undetected while wearing it."
"Wow." That was about all that a stunned Harry could say. "You...you weren't kidding. This thing is...incredible. How does it work?"
"Well," Slytherin sighed, "I'm not entirely sure, or else I would have had more than one made. Its creation was basically an accident, the result of combining many prototypes and untested theories. But I believe that, through a long and difficult process, this material has become similar to a miniature, weakened black hole of energy, both kinetic and magical. Most spells or objects launched at you will be completely drained upon reaching you, rendering them harmless."
"Awesome," Harry grinned, admiring the clothing. "Can I like, walk through walls or anything? Shoot fireballs? Emit waves of magic that confuse or stun anyone around me?"
"If you'd like to try walking through walls," Slytherin answered, grinning slyly as a brick wall appeared close by, "please be my guest."
Harry almost took a step forward but stopped himself. "Very funny."
"What a shame. Though I guess if you fell for that I wouldn't have deemed you worthy of being my host anyway. Maybe we can try it out after you wake up and talk to your friends."
"You think Ron and Godric would fall for that?"
"If we present it convincingly enough, though if Ron obtains strength like Godric's he might have the last laugh. In his prime, the man had the strength of a bull. Instead of him getting knocked back by hitting the wall, I'd be more worried about the wall itself. Then you'd likely be the one hitting your head against the wall."
"Again, very funny," Harry answered. "It's such a shame that your wonderful humor isn't the trait that was most valued by those of your House."
"It is, isn't it?," quipped Slytherin. "Now, it's about time that we actually did a bit of practicing. Let's take it slow today, though I imagine that the longer we're bonded, the more side effects you'll begin to notice."
"Good side effects?" Harry asked tentatively.
"Hopefully," Slytherin answered, none too confidently.
For what would have been equivalent to a few hours of time in the real world, Slytherin had Harry practice using magic and getting used to his new power. Harry had thought it would be simple, but apparently altering one's magic to the very core and increasing one's power and stamina led to problems with control on even the simplest of spells. The first time Harry tried a simple levitation spell (on a frog Slytherin conjured), the attempt didn't exactly go as planned.
"Wingardium Levi-OH CRAP THAT JUST BLEW UP WHAT IN THE NAME OF MERLIN'S BALLS DID THAT FROG DO TO DESERVE…." Even Slytherin had cringed.
Needless to say, by the end Harry was very thankful for the practice because things could have turned ugly real fast in one of his next classes that required any sort of magic use. Thankfully, Harry had pretty much gotten the hang of his new power. It actually made things easier once he just got used to the feeling.
"I think that's enough for right now," Slytherin noted once Harry had successfully performed his fifth year spells.
"But aren't you going to teach me new stuff?" Harry answered. "You've got all this knowledge of stuff that's been lost to time, which you've been quite eager to point out, yet you haven't even taught me one new spell yet!"
Slytherin smiled. "Rowena would be proud, I'm sure. However, we don't want to move at too fast a pace. You can only take in so much just by practicing in your head like this. I'm also not entirely sure how well it will work once we leave. While the skills can pass through, I don't believe it will be complete transferral from what you do in here to outside. Better to keep things at a steady pace than to rush ahead before we're sure you're ready."
"Fine." Harry grumbled. "So you're thinking we should head back?"
Slytherin nodded. "We've made some decent progress, and I think it's probably about time you got back to the real world."
"This isn't real?" Harry asked, grinning.
"Well, my dear boy," Slytherin sarcastically, "this is all happening in your head. And while, on a metaphysical level there may be a touch of reality within, this is most certainly not the real that you and I tend to define "real" to be." With that, Slytherin began to fade and Harry's vision began to blur, slowly becoming dark and darker.
Harry blinked, slowly adjusting his eyes to the brightness. The room looked a bit fuzzy, but as he came to he realized he was lying on a couch in the Gryffindor Common Room. Hermione and Ron were seated next to him. This seemed way too familiar.
"Wha…"
"Shhh!"
Ron tried to keep a straight face, but after a few seconds and under a glare from Harry that would make Themistocles jealous, he finally broke down laughing. "Sorry, but I just couldn't resist!" he managed, smirking all the while.
Harry rolled his eyes. "How long have I been out?"
"Most of the night, according to the monitoring spells Madam Pomfrey placed," Hermione answered. "Everyone's down in the Great Hall for breakfast right now, but Professor McGonagall thought it'd be better if Umbridge doesn't see you for a bit and we thought we'd come check in on you. Good thing we don't have Defense Against the Dark Arts today. Apparently it took Dumbledore nearly an hour to convince her that your scar hurting you was a normal occurrence, though she isn't aware of how bad of shape you were in when we brought you to the Hospital Wing."
Ron nodded. "McGonagall had a house elf bring us some food. There's not a ton left, but if you're feeling hungry-"
"What Ron is trying to say," Hermione interrupted, "Is that he ate nearly all the food before you woke up. Anyway, how are you feeling? Did you have good dreams?" The look Hermione gave let Harry know that she and Ron had apparently had similar meetings with their respective Founders, just like Salazar had guessed, and she wanted to know if he'd had a similar experience without asking in the hospital wing.
Harry smiled. "Yeah, I guess you could say that."
/:Note:/ Well, there you go. It's been a while, but here's another chapter. For those of you who may be wondering, Harry's dream world is very similar to the Animus loading screen in the Assassin's Creed video games (and the look of Harry's new outfit is also loosely based on the attire of the Assassins). Thank you all for reading!