Autumn 1991

Ronald Weasley

"I hope you don't intend to have such a sour mood all evening," Salazar said as Ron stepped into his room. Ron did his best to fake a smile, but the spectre did not seem to be convinced.

Ron had been meeting Sal almost every evening to go over his coursework and to listen to the founder rant and theorise about how they might just save Hogwarts. The experience wasn't something Ron generally looked forward to but he didn't dread it either. Despite the hundreds of years of magical evolution, Sal seemed to know enough to give Ron good advice about most of the core classes. It was only really the history of magic where the spectre was entirely clueless. However, despite the help, it did make Ron feel a smidge of guilt as he had decided to lie to Blaise about his I'll bring him here,he thought but didn't entirely believe himself.

"It's nothing," Ron answered. "Just a lot to think about with my family and everything."

"Family can be difficult," Salazar commented. "My own family was a sore spot in my life. My daughters had long since left me before my death, heading out to the world beyond these islands. I often wonder what happened to my line. Surely it must have done great things."

Ron just shrugged. "Don't know anyone called Slytherin."

"It is hard for a name to survive with daughters alone," Salazar said. "Nevertheless I have a method of discerning who I may have left behind. Perhaps I will tell you someday if it becomes relevant."

You could just tell me anyway.

"Let us begin today's lessons," Salazar changed the subject and began to pace back and forth. "I know that you're probably eager to earn my help with whatever mindless tasks your unimpressive professors have given you, but I think today it is my turn to teach."

Unimpressive?Ron frowned. Surely the professors were some of the best wizards in the country, or else why would they be working at Hogwarts? Ron wondered if modern wizards were somehow less powerful than those of Sal's time, he highly doubted it. The brooms made in the last few years were way faster than those made before he was born.

"Show me your wand," Salazar demanded.

Ron did as he was asked and placed his wand into the palms of his hands. He held them out so the spectre could see his wand clearly.

"It's nothing special," Ron said softly.

"Bah! Everyone's wand is special and that's exactly why I must teach this lesson. Wand lore is so often neglected by wizards as they don't truly understand its importance. Long before wands, wizards and witches had to study harder and generally learned a lot less. When the ancient sorcerers first channelled magic through a focus, the entire world changed very quickly. In some ways, it was our greatest moment, and in others, it was our worst."

"The worst?" Ron asked. He couldn't imagine why inventing wands would ever be a bad thing.

"It's responsible for the years of bloodshed that followed," Salazar explained. "As witches and wizards became more powerful, the muggles started to fear them. With wands, they could learn and cast more spells, but that did not prevent them from being killed. That was a problem that lasted all the way up until my time, when bands of muggles would overpower individuals or families and set them to the sword. Of course, the shrewd among us would use magic to escape or fake death, but not everyone was so lucky. This is why wands have both propelled wizarding kind and doomed it. It is because of wands that we built this castle to protect the wizarding youth."

Ron grimaced, the more Sal told him about the past the more Ron realised that it was truly awful. He was thankful that he lived in a time when the wizarding world was secret and mostly peaceful. He just hoped he could keep it that way.

"All wands are special, they are pure creations of magic, a blending of nature and man. I was often asked in my time how we founders became so powerful, and the answer was that we were nothing special on our own. We shared a friendship deeper than most and our magic learned to intertwine. Where we were looked at as four, we were actually eight, each of our wands understanding each other just as much as we understood them. I can see who someone is just by looking at their wand, and it's a good skill to learn. Do not underestimate the power of wand lore in the hands of the cunning. Often had I salvaged deals or chosen my enemies with only a look at a wand. It is very important that we match our wands as closely as possible, the greater the match the more easily our magic is able to flow through them and the more easily they reflect our personalities."

Ron felt old feelings swell in his chest. "My parents wanted to give me my brother's old wand because they couldn't afford a new one," he admitted. "My brother Charlie, the one I want to save, took me to London to buy one anyway."

Sal stopped in his tracks. "A used wand? I have heard of that happening out of necessity but it is surely a terrible way to learn. A trained wizard might be able to pick up any wand and use it but for a novice it would be an exceptional hindrance." He frowned. "I curse Godric for not taking my concerns more seriously. I had suggested we raise funds for the destitute and provide for them whatever they required to learn, but it was too unpopular among the oldest families. I have many regrets, Ronald, and that is just one of them."

"There's still time," Ron said. "Hogwarts could start a collection. But it wouldn't have helped me much, Weasley's don't take charity."

"Still, you must understand, boy, that wealth is a form of power all in itself. It is unlike any other and beats even the darkest or most powerful of magics. A great wizard can not do great things without accumulating wealth to fund his ventures. Men have tried and failed to be barons of paupers but they always lose to the man who can buy his supporters. Wealth buys what is not so easily taken."

Ron nodded slowly, he knew exactly what Sal meant. The reason that people like Lucius Malfoy or Theo's father were still free was because they had enough Galleons to buy the Ministry itself. He knew good people, like his own father, who worked day and night to try to make the world a better place, but they were always stopped by people like Malfoy. It didn't matter that his father had given himself completely to the Ministry, not when there were bribes to be handed out.

Ron guessed that the same principle applied to all levels of the wizarding world. He knew that muggle-borns had more difficulty in finding jobs, or so Bill had told him once. And he also knew that every year St Mungo's collected donations to help with their services and every year his parents could give either nothing or only a handful of Knuts. If they had more money, if they had as much money as Malfoy, then the wizarding world would be a very different place.

"Did you have a lot of money?" He asked Salazar.

"At one time," Sal nodded. "I expect it will have all passed to my daughters and then their families. A lot of it too was spent while I was still alive, I used it to fund the school along with the other founders. We had to pay for teachers, supplies, and even protection. There is a great cost to the place you stand, boy, wealth, magic, and even blood. I also had my own personal projects, thousands of Galleons spent on research and whatever else I dipped into."

"How did you do it?" Ron asked. "I mean, become wealthy?"

"Long before I was a founder, I was a wand for hire. They said I was one of the brightest minds of the age, and it went to my head as those things often did. I served the whims of viscounts and dukes, performing miracles for small fortunes. Hogwarts is not the only castle I raised, but it was the largest and the best."

"I see…"

"You were hoping to learn how to make your own fortune?" Salazar guessed correctly. "Well, it is hard to say. I was fortunate to have a reputation and I lived in a very troubled time. Your world is foreign to me, you read your textbooks full of wars that I have never heard of and people who lived hundreds of years after I did. I'm sorry but I'm not sure I will be able to help you with that, Ronald. However, you shouldn't feel too pressured to make a name for yourself. You are only young and I promise you that saving Hogwarts will be a reward like none other. Kings will fall at your feet and give you anything you've ever wished for."

Ron nodded hesitantly. He had been hoping Sal would have some method of getting rich quickly, some secret that was lost long ago. And although he would save Hogwarts, for Charlie's sake, he wasn't convinced it would be as lucrative as Salazar thought. After all, Harry Potter killed you-know-who, and Ron didn't see any kings throwing themselves at his feet. In fact, people like Malfoy did the exact opposite.

If he was going to be wealthy, if he was going to make a difference, then Ron knew he would have to do it himself.