Who Is the Rightful Heir?

Chapter 6

Found

Voldemort's POV

Matthew's information was interesting. Meredith hadn't used memory pain when she tortured the weird girl. But, Salazar had used it at a complicated level and had done it well. And, actually, Matthew's psychiatric review of Salazar made sense. Maybe the boy was worth more than he seemed.

"My lord, Draco Malfoy is asking for you. He says it's an emergency." An unfamiliar Death Eater burst into the room, panting like he had just run a marathon. I mentally made note to make sure the Death Eaters' training was made harder.

"Tell the boy it can wait. I have important matters to resolve." I waved the man away, but he didn't leave.

"Sir, the boy says he has found what you have been looking for. He will not clarify any more."

I stood up and went right up to the Death Eater. "Draco Malfoy has found it?"

"I don't know, sir. It's just what he wants me to tell you. May I leave?"

I pushed him out the door and he fled down the hall. I walked the opposite way to the throne room. The man hadn't told me where to find the boy, but Draco was likely to show up there.

"Master! My lord! Sir!" Draco exclaimed as I entered the large room. His blond hair was a greasy mess with dirt intertwined in the hair. His robe had rips and stains on it. The shirt underneath was soaked. It wasn't the usual look of a Malfoy.

"I see you've returned Draco, with no prevail I suspect?" I snarled at him. I had no idea where my anger was coming from or why it came.

"Master, it's Salazar. There—there's something wrong with him. I need your help, my lord." Draco turned around and revealed the thing on the floor. I walked closer and found the thing to be my one and only son.

"Salazar." I whispered as I kneeled down next to him. I took his hand in mine and held it tightly.

Slowly, my son turned his head to face me. His face looked puzzled as he whispered back. "Father?"

Salazar's POV

Draco had found me. It had been almost five weeks since I had left the castle, but he had come. Draco had tried to look for me and he had succeeded. My life was now in his debt.

He brought me back to the castle after cooling me down with water. My twitching caused by the pain went away, but my pain still stayed strong, keeping me tired and weak.

When my father came, though, a new strength came to me. I felt his hand take mine. I looked at him and saw that he looked the same as when I left. There didn't seem to be any difference in the man. He almost looked as if he hadn't missed me.

"Father?"

Father gave me a smile, that actually didn't look forced, but I couldn't be sure. Before I could say anymore, he picked me up and brought me into a bedroom. There he set me on the bed.

"What's wrong with him?" Father asked Draco.

"I don't know, sir. He was in pain when I found him at Godric's Hollow in his fake parents' house."

"Godric's Hollow, Salazar?" Father looked at me with a pained expression. It was like hiding in a house that belonged to the Light Side was a sin. I hadn't done anything to my father except leave. Did he even realize what he had done to me, or was running away not enough for him to learn?

I couldn't look at the man any longer. He was a disgrace to me.

"Draco." I whispered as loud as I could. Draco came over to me. When I wouldn't speak he came closer to me so I could speak into his ear. "Tell my father to leave. He is not allowed in here unless I say otherwise."

"Are you sure?" Draco asked me.

I didn't answer him. When I said something, I meant it.

Draco turned to my father. "I- I'm supposed to tell you that y-you're supposed to leave. He's n-not allowing you in here again, unless he s-says otherwise."

My father looked at me. There was anger in his eyes, but another pained expression on his face. I pushed my pain away for a second to give him a look that that asked what he was still doing in the room. He got the message and left without another word. A smile slowly formed but then quickly disappeared because it hurt so much.

Voldemort's POV

How did Salazar have any right to make me leave? Here he had left me five weeks ago and now he came back to only shove his presence in my face? I wasn't allowed in his room until he said so. It was bullshit. This was my castle. I was the leader. I made the rules. The boy had no right.

I stomped back up to the door and tried opening it. The pain of a Cruciatus hit me once my hand touched the doorknob. The boy, even though in pain, was able to keep me out.

"Meredith!" I yelled down the hall. She didn't seem to be anywhere in sight, but I somehow knew she could hear me. Seconds later I could hear her running.

"Sir, you called for me?" She asked.

"Go in there," I pointed to the room Salazar and Draco were in. "and tell Salazar to let me back into the room."

Meredith bowed and tried to open the door, but she was thrown off her feet and crashed into the opposite wall. I went to her and asked if she was okay. She looked at me with tears in her eyes and held up her left hand. It looked like it had been set on fire. Her hand and halfway down her arm had third degree burns, every piece of the skin blistered. I had to shudder.

Salazar's POV

The loud thump coming from the other side of the door made me crack a smile. The spell I had wandlessly placed on the door had worked. Father and Meredith were unable to get in. And, if the extra part worked, Meredith would be in a lot of pain. She must have been the thump.

"My prince, should I check what happened?" Draco asked me.

"Draco, never call me prince. We've gone over it before. Prince was Father's name for me when I was the heir. I don't believe I'm the heir any longer." I told Draco. Slowly, my strength was coming back to me. But I think it was because I was purposely ignoring the pain that still wasn't starting to go away.

Draco looked at me like I lost it, which I probably had. Who knew? I'd been away from most of civilization for weeks. Being in unbearable pain for part of the time, without help from anyone else, could do something to someone.

Before I could tell the boy anything else, he had slapped me in the face. I glared at him like he had done something he would regret. Channeling my anger, I slowly rose Draco from the ground.

"Salazar, what are you doing?" Draco snarled. Who knew the teen could put so much anger into so few words.

"There was no reason for you to slap me. You have no right." I hissed.

"Oh really? Did you have the right to punish your father? Do you have the right to act like an ass when you come back after running away?"

I thought about it. Draco fell to the ground since my concentration had changed to thinking instead. Punishing my father and acting like an ass felt good. It made me feel like I had some sort of power, the power that had been taken away from me and given to Meredith Grakshaw.

Slowly, I got up from the bed my father had laid me on. I was a little unstable on my feet, but after walking with my hand on the wall for awhile, I got used to it. After taking off the spell on the door, I turned the knob and looked into the hallway. There, my father was kneeling next to Meredith Grakshaw, attending her wounded hand. Bloody hell, I was never taken care of by my father personally. I received the punishment from him after Draco cleaned my wounds.

"F-father…" My words trailed off. I couldn't speak to my father. Pain came to me. I wondered if it was the pain that was still in effect or was it a new pain.

He looked up from wrapping the girl's hand in clean, white bandages. His eyes were clear hazel, but they didn't look too happy.

"What do you want, boy?" He growled.

I stepped out of the room and closed the door. Carefully, I walked closer to the two on the floor then kneeled down next to them. I studied the damage I did to the hand and saw that I was quite successful, but it wasn't something to be proud of at the moment.

I bowed my head to them both before answering. "I wish for you forgiveness, Father. I also wish for the forgiveness of the girl."

"Do you now?"

Solemnly, I nodded my head. Why I had to do what I did was a mystery to me now. It seemed right only moments ago, but now I didn't understand myself. Was I that selfish? Was I that messed up?

Before anyone could say another word, I stood and ran down the hall, away from what I had run from before. Standing in their presence was too much. I couldn't handle it. Not yet anyways. My father would call me a coward. I wouldn't contradict him. He would be right, I was a coward. My life was a disaster, turning me into someone I shouldn't be.

Still unsteady on my feet, I collapsed to the floor. I looked back and found Meredith Grakshaw, Father, and Draco watching me run. Feelings of embarrassment and shame went through me as I picked myself up and slowly walked away.

My room was still the disaster I had made it when I left. I figured Father had no time or need to clean it up. No one needed to enter it when I left. Why would they need to fix it? The smell was almost unbearable. There was hardly any spot to step without getting something stuck to your shoes.

In the exact middle of the room, there was one spot big enough for me to sit down. I sat and cried. It wasn't just one single tear. In other words, I bawled like a little kid that scraped their knee. Seconds later, my favorite dagger was out of my sleeve. Blood was dripping onto the ground, coming from my side.

I sighed as I felt the comforting feeling and laid down on my back. My pale stomach showed the new mark I had made. HP showing clear as day, with fresh blood coming through the mark.

Voldemort's POV

My son was, Salazar Slytherin Voldemort Riddle. My pupil was Meredith Grakshaw. Salazar had done many good things for me, but he had also done many things that kept him from his full potential. Meredith had done many good things, but she had lied to me. Salazar was born on the side of Merope Gaunt. Meredith was born on the side of Morfin Gaunt. The heir of a family was usually the eldest son. Morfin was never known to have had a child so the responsibilities had been passed to me. But, now that the granddaughter of the original heir had been revealed, my ruling had been questioning.

Meredith was most likely a mudblood. Salazar was a half-blood. Salazar most likely had more experience in the wizarding world. Meredith had her cunning abilities. Who was the rightful heir?

"Sir, are you okay?" Meredith placed her good hand on my shoulder.

I shrugged her slender hand off and walked down the hall, in the opposite direction that Salazar had gone. The footsteps of Meredith followed behind me, but when I entered my office I slammed the door in her face, not wanting her to enter.

My emerald that I had hidden underneath my shirt was warm against my bare skin. I took it out and looked at it. Instead of it being green, like an emerald should be, it was glowing red. I cursed to myself and Apparated out of my office.

"Salazar Slytherin Voldemort Riddle!" I growled out in Parseltounge. The boy that was lying on the floor in the middle of his disastrous room sat up and looked at me.

"Yes?" the boy asked like nothing was wrong.

The boy had taken off his robe and shirt revealing his tan and well toned body. It would have been perfect if it wasn't covered in his own crimson blood. I wondered how the boy was able to inflict pain on himself. He had done it quite often every since he came back.

"What do you think you're doing, boy?" I hissed out as I grabbed his chin and held it tightly in my hand.

His facial expression changed. Instead of holding a look of being carefree, he looked tired and defeated.

"Father, I only came to ask of your forgiveness. My actions are ones of shame and embarrassment. I understand you if you wish to never forgive me, but all I long for is the feeling of being your son once again." Salazar pleaded to me.

"You've always been my son, boy." I moved my hand from his chin to his shoulder.

"I've been your son, yes. I can never not be your son. But, the feeling I get of being your son isn't there. I feel like I've failed you and are only a being living on your property."

I couldn't think of anything to say. My son was partially right. I hadn't been paying any attention to him. My mind was set on Meredith. She had showed so much potential when she tortured the young girl.

Before Salazar or I could say anything else, I hugged my son, not caring about the blood that touched my robe. Things had to be set straight again. It would be another try of many, and hopefully the last, but our family was much different than most. Ups and downs were what kept us together, even if the downs were dangerously close to actually losing someone forever.

A/N: I have finally finished the sixth installment of the story. Yeah me! Sure, it took a little while, but it didn't take as long as some of my past chapters. Don't be mad!

power214063: Voldemort cannot really scan Meredith's mind. Remember, Meredith is skilled in Occlumency(is that how you spell it?). Even though Voldemort is very skilled with many types of magic, mostly dark, Meredith can still get past a few of the man's tricks.

Marry Hiwatarie: Yes, Salazar has been found, but Voldemort still hasn't done much about Meredith. He can't really do much yet. Matthew hasn't told Voldemort all of the secrets that he knows, many of them much more informative than the ones that have already been revealed(hint hint).

TuxedoKamenLuver: Ellipsis… sounds like something pertaining to the moon. Oh well, hope you liked this chapter as well. It took me longer, but I think it's better than most of them that I've written for the chapter.

Kamorie: I guess you haven't really found out what happened to Salazar yet. I'm sorry. I'm trying my best, but I had to put this stuff in this chapter. Hopefully the explanation will come out in the seventh chapter. You have the right to yell at me if it doesn't. But hope you liked this chapter anyways!

& & …Relatives always fight, some more than others… & &