Little Boy Green

Character(s): Salazar Slytherin & Godric Gryffindor

Staring at the face gazing back up at him from the mirror he held, Salazar took in the youthful roundness, the way the ears (oblong and too large for the head) stuck out from either side, making the countenance take on an ape-like air. Then Salazar brought his free hand up from his side to touch the face reflected in the mirror. Just like the face, the hand was young. It was small too. Both belonged to a child. A child that Salazar now was, but shouldn't be.

Angrily, he thought of all the time Godric must have had to study his youthful countenance before waking him. He bet the man had laughed at his ears. Though, Salazar didn't feel that he could blame Godric, because even after all these years, Salazar still recalled how odd he'd looked as a boy.

It had been quite common for other children to tease him about his ears.

A rush of insecurity seizing him, he threw down the mirror. While the sound of it cracking was more than satisfactory, he knew it could not stay so. It was not Salazar's mirror. Reaching into the many folds of his altered tunic, Salazar brought out his wand.

Pointing it at the mirror, he mumbled a spell to fix it. But it did nothing. Trying once more, Salazar began to feel the prickle of fear on the back of his neck when, again, the mirror did not right itself.

"My magic…" he whispered. "Damn that boy," Salazar hissed angrily as he shoved his wand away. It was just his luck that the first gift he ever received from a student was cursed.

Attempting to feel for his magic, to assess its strength, Salazar began to feel terror when all he felt were vestiges of what was once a roaring fire. However, before the terror could overwhelm his young body, a loud cry caused him to whirl around.

"Ah, Salazar!" Godric grumbled. "Did I not tell you to be careful with my mirror? It was my mother's!" Putting down the set of clothes he'd gathered for his fellow Hogwarts instructor, Godric pointed his wand at the mirror and said, "Reparo."

Sighing in relief when it was whole again, Godric picked it up from the floor and cast Salazar a disapproving look. "Truly, Salazar, I think you do things sometimes just to show how little you care for what I have to say!"

Clenching his hands into fists and hunching his shoulders, Salazar dropped his gaze to the ground and tried not to be swayed by the overwhelming urge to cry as Godric scolded him.

"My apologies," Salazar muttered in reply.

"'Tis fine," the man sighed. Then, using the daring he so greatly prized, he reached down to ruffle Salazar's hair. "Young Garret certainly tricked you, did he not? And to think! He is one of Helga's pupils!" Godric exclaimed merrily.

Crossing his arms, Salazar mumbled, "Do not remind me…"

Crouching down and poking his stomach, Godric said, "This is quite an ingenious trick, would you not agree?"

"'Tis not ingenious, 'tis wicked!" Salazar countered heatedly as he batted away Godric's much larger hand.

Godric, chuckling, said, "Come now, Salazar, the boy meant no harm. You are only saying it is wicked because he has wounded your pride."

Throwing up his arms in his fury, Salazar screamed, "Why do you defend that little churl? Do you not see what he has done? I cannot even use my magic in this form! Do you realize how dangerous that is? What if our people come under siege and call for our aid? Or, as is wont to happen these days, what if one of your pupils, Helga's or even Rowena's attacks mine? How am I to defend anyone? My wand will not even listen to me!"

"To be fair, Salazar, I believe one of your students is much more likely to start a brawl with another than the other way around," Godric replied.

Hot tears pricking at his eyes, Salazar could barely see as he shoved the man. It didn't even nudge Godric, but it felt good to be able to push his anger out rather than bottling it up, as he'd done since Hogwarts had begun to host students. "You are not listening to me!" Salazar howled. "I am useless like this!"

"Nay, Salazar," Godric said. "You are still one of most intelligent men I know. You can still speak to snakes and I have no doubts, even in this form, you could command the respects of not only your students but mine and the rest as well."

Pressing the heels of his hands to his eyes, Salazar mumbled through the lump in his throat, "You are too kind. I do not know how you and Helga manage to believe the best of people when so many go out of their way to prove you wrong."

"'Tis hope," the man replied as he wrapped a hand around Salazar's neck. "Now, if you change into the clothes I brought you, you can come with me to find Helga. Mayhap she will know what spell young Garrett used on you, and if not, I am certain she will be able to wrangle an answer out of him."

An impish twinkle to his eye then, Godric said, "Helga certainly knows how to make one feel poorly about what they have done. I think it might be because of the way her lip quivers when you are refusing to right your wrongdoings. What do you think, Salazar?"

"Tis her eyes," he answered with a small smile of his own. "They look as if they are about to pour over with tears. And as one who has watched her cry, I can say 'tis the last thing you wish to cause. The guilt of it is quite a terrible thing to experience."

Face mirthful, Godric covered his mouth as he laughed.

Grinning back broadly, Salazar felt better. He could still make his friend laugh by his words alone, proving that even if his body was that of a child's, his wit remained. It would be for the best that this was fixed quickly, but if it was not possible… Well, Salazar figured he would be fine for a while.

I think this is the first time I've written the founders. Which, I guess, brings up the question do you think I did them justice?

Thank you very much for reading and please review :)