A/N-Elipsa: I'm so sorry this is late, everyone! Work and life has been insane. So I'll be posting a chapter a day until Saturday - all of the chapters have been saved so it'll be a quick thing on my phone instead of being on my personal computer and getting it all prepped. Sorry again!
The Chamber of Secrets has been opened. Enemies of the heir, beware.
The Chamber of Secrets has been opened.
Salazar hadn't given those words much thought. Why would he? He knew what the Chamber of Secrets was, he knew how the room received its name and he even knew where it was located. Though not being able to access the laboratory the day before was concerning. The entire mystery of the Chamber of Secrets was blown out of proportion.
Rowena had needed a place to store the more questionable tomes and started the staff library. The next space created was the laboratory because Rowena had also needed a place to test newly created spells, by her or others, somewhere safe and away from the children. Salazar joined her down in the laboratory, but he used the space to create new potions, not spells. Other staff members eventually joined them and the library prospered with the new magic. Since the staff's library and laboratory were password protected and the work done within was not discussed outside the staff room, the children dubbed it the Chamber of Secrets. They thought themselves so clever.
Enemies of the heir, beware.
Who's heir and what enemies? Now that bit of the message left on the wall was more disconcerting to him. Salazar was certain he didn't know the answer to the questions. Perhaps the answers would give them more insight to the true reason they had been reincarnated… maybe.
The question leaving everyone's lips was: What was the Chamber of Secrets?
Unfortunately, McGonagall answered the question in order to stop, in her opinion, ridiculous rumors flying about the school.
And the answer… well it left Salazar flat footed and utterly confused. He had supposedly left a secret chamber hidden somewhere in the castle, and within it some… monster. A monster that would eliminate the muggleborn students. Preposterous, seeing how his best friend was the spawn of two non magicals.
And that was another thing, there was no such word as muggle in their day. They were simply villagers, nobles, people. You either had magic or you did not. Muggles. Salazar was growing to hate that word.
Salazar frowned as he wandered the hallway on his way to the library. He had never bothered to read the books about him, especially the one others were now quoting. After all, he lived the tale, so why read Hogwarts, a History? Yet some facts simply weren't adding up and Salazar hated being in the dark when it came to information, especially information he thought he already knew.
The library was unusually full when he arrived. He looked around at all the students and noted that the majority of them were hovering around the history section. Salazar bit back his sigh of discontent and mentally braced himself for disappointment.
There weren't many students from his house in the mix and he received several suspicious glances when he passed by. As he walked through the library stacks Salazar spotted a lone snake sitting at a table. Salazar did his best not to show his surprise as he sat across from the boy uninvited. He didn't put his book bag down on the table, instead Salazar held it on his lap and just watched the boy read diligently. That was until the boy visibly, much to Salazar's amusement, stopped with a jerk and slowly looked up to see who was watching him.
Gregory Goyle wasn't someone that frequented the library. Those that didn't know better would question the fact that the boy could read, but Salazar knew better. He'd watched the boy. Gregory was observant. He was cunning. He was sly. And the most important characteristic, in Salazar's opinion, Gregory Goyle thought for himself and didn't blindly follow Draco Malfoy.
"Good morning, Goyle," Salazar said softly.
The boy raised an eyebrow and asked, "No quip about my ability to read?"
"Why would I waste my time asking such a pedantic question? You aren't Vincent Crabbe."
That gained Salazar a startled laugh from Gregory and the boy looked around sheepishly. Seeing no one paying either of them any attention he looked at Salazar again. "Not that I don't appreciate being told I'm not a simpleton… but did you want something?"
Salazar didn't play coy, he simply asked, "What do you know about Salazar Slytherin?"
Gregory stared at Salazar with a blank expression. "Are you trying to be insulting?"
"Not at all," Salazar sighed softly and adjusted the bag on his lap. He hated admitting any weakness, but just this once it may come in handy. Salazar told Gregory the truth, "I never bothered to read up on him. Not even after being sorted into his house."
"But now with the Chamber business…"
"Precisely," Salazar readily agreed.
Gregory looked around before he leaned forward saying, "I have a copy of Hogwarts, a History. Madam Pince said I could read it for as long as I needed to. Everyone else must bring their copy back by the end of the day. Apparently, there's a waiting list…"
"And there's information about the founders…"
"Yes, I was just reading about the Chamber." Gregory looked down at the book in front of him and turned a few pages before he read aloud, "Salazar Slytherin was a pure-blood wizard, noted for his cunning and determination. He was regarded as one of the greatest wizards of the age, respectively as a Parselmouth and as a skilled Legilimens. Slytherin was one of the four founders of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry along with Godric Gryffindor, Helga Hufflepuff, and Rowena Ravenclaw, as well as the namesake of the Slytherin House.
"He mistrusted muggleborn students to the point of proposing that they should not be accepted at Hogwarts. However, when he expressed his opinion to the other Hogwarts founders, they did not agree with him. In response, he left the school, never to return. Slytherin, however, did not leave without a plan in place; to ensure only worthy students could learn magic, he created the Chamber of Secrets, concealing a monster that would, in the right time, purge the school of those who, in Slytherin's view, were unworthy to study magic. Slytherin died sometime after leaving Hogwarts, taking with him the knowledge of the chamber's location and the creature within its walls."
Once he was done reciting, Gregory looked at Salazar expectantly. Salazar closed his eyes to keep from screaming. It wasn't all lies, but it wasn't entirely the truth either. What could be done? He couldn't simply tell everyone the truth. Who would believe him? And how could he explain how he knew what he did? Then again… what did it matter what everyone else thought about him? He knew who he truly was. His friends knew him. They knew the real him. Godric was his best friend, like a brother to him since they were children. His first-born son was named after him… No. What others thought did not matter. They did not matter. Only Godric, Helga, and Rowena mattered.
Salazar opened his eyes and was embarrassed to see the concern in Gregory's eyes. He gave the other boy a tired smile and said, "Interesting." Salazar looked down at the book in Gregory's hands. "That opinion of Salazar explains a lot about how others see us. Their reaction to us makes much more sense. Thank you for reading that to me."
"There are a lot of books about the founders," Gregory pointed out. "We could get another point of view…"
"I'm rather certain they'll all say a variation of what you already read."
Gregory ran a finger over the printed page. "You're probably right."
"Probably."
"You won't tell Malfoy…"
"Would he believe me if I did?"
"Probably not…"
"Probably not."
Gregory suddenly grinned at Salazar. "You don't like Malfoy."
"He's annoying." When Gregory didn't react, Salazar smirked and added, "He has a pointed face, overly slicked hair, and an annoying nasal voice that's always spouting nonsense about his father."
That caught Gregory off guard and he snorted in amusement before quickly looking around. The boy leaned forward and told Salazar, "Malfoy claims he's handsome and that all the other girls fancy him…" When Salazar shuddered, Gregory sat back with a huge grin. "Truth is, Pansy is the only one that acts like she fancies him and she only does it because her father wants them married."
"That's rather pathetic," Salazar said with a soft laugh. Gregory shifted in his seat and Salazar pushed away from the table. "It's almost time for Potions. I'll see you in class."
Gregory just nodded, but he didn't speak or move. Salazar pushed the encounter to the back of his mind. He needed to speak with Godric.
- - - - Founders - - - -
As was their habit, Salazar and Godric partnered for Potions. Salazar was grateful for the first time that the school put the two most volatile houses together in the most dangerous class. Salazar stood a bit closer to Godric while they gathered their materials together. If the Gryffindor noticed, he didn't comment.
They were working on the Strengthening Solution for the next two class sessions. Not because the potion was overly complicated, but because it required several days to mature before the salamander blood and powdered Griffin claw could be added.
Godric brought out the brass scales and prepared the cauldron. Salazar gathered the ingredients from the supply closet. He already had most of the ingredients required, but needed a Fanged Geranium and a snake fang.
Salazar kept silent until Professor Snape made his first round through the class, giving the two of them an odd look as he always did. Salazar ignored him. Godric always had to stop whatever he was doing to smile at him. The silly man was always antagonizing their professor.
He spoke softly, so softly that Godric leaned closer to hear, "Enemies of the heir, beware. They're talking about me, Ric. My heir, my heir's enemies."
"Are you certain?"
"It's in the books." Salazar sighed softly. "I'm evil incarnate. I hate muggleborns… according to the books." Salazar swallowed hard. "They say I left because we had a fight. That I put a monster in the Chamber of Secrets to cleanse the school of the taint from its halls."
Salazar had to take a calming breath; he could feel the tears building up. He began trembling. Being female had its advantages and disadvantages. Hormones being one. While he was pleased that he didn't have the growing pains, random bursts of inexplicable anger or worse, the embarrassing erections at the most inopportune moments courtesy of puberty, the fact was, Salazar was currently experiencing premenstrual syndrome, something he was still not accustomed to, and it was not allowing him to remain calm. Godric took the knife from Salazar's hand and set it aside. "Deep breaths, Sal. That isn't you. I don't care what those books say. That's not you. You are my best friend. We were raised together and you've been with me since as far back as I can remember. You would never do a thing to cause me, or anyone in this school, pain."
Godric gripped his friend's hands in his own and purposefully made eye contact. For the first time since they met, Godric willed him to see. It was in the man's expression, but Salazar had made his best friend a promise, back when they were children, that he'd never look into Godric's mind. Salazar would never betray Godric's privacy or trust. But Professor Snape was making his way around again and saw them. Professor Snape's pace quickened. Salazar warned Godric, "If you don't let go, the potion will explode. You will have to explain to Ro and Helga why we are both in the infirmary."
Godric quickly released Salazar's hands, just in time for Salazar to save their potion, the cauldron, and their hides. Professor Snape's eyes narrowed on the cauldron, then he peered at the students. Salazar refused to meet the professor's gaze.
AN-Ajellah: The excerpt about Salazar Slytherin is taken from the wiki page. I changed one word (basilisk to monster) because technically they didn't know what the 'monster' was until Harry discovered/killed it.
