Winter 1992

Ronald Weasley

Ron's hands trembled as he stared at her, stomach-churning hard and bile rising in the back of his throat. Daphne stood with an unreadable look, intrigue, annoyance, or something in between. Her eyes raked over Ron and landed on Salazar where they lingered a second too long.

"I— this isn't—" Ron's words barreled out of him. "What are you doing here?"

"Secrets always unravel…" Sal whispered behind him.

Daphne narrowed her eyes at him. Somehow the room got colder, her breath catching in the air and turning to frigid mist. "This is it, isn't it?"

Ron's cheeks turned pale and he struggled to breathe. "It?"

"I didn't believe him, because he's an idiot. I thought you were just helping the Gryffindors instead of us. But… Theo's right isn't he?" Daphne bit her lip. "You're learning from this… professor."

Dark magic…Ron could practically feel Salazar leering at him.

"No, not really…" he said, his voice trailing off as his mind flashed with too many different thoughts.

Ron bit the inside of his cheek and grimaced. He had no idea what to do or say, everything he had been doing for the entire year seemed all at once to be completely pointless. The secret had just been thrown underfoot, and there was nothing he could do to stop it.

Salazar said nothing as he stepped to Ron's side, his footsteps as assured as Ron had ever seen. He paused, looked down at Ron's eyes and then back at Daphne.

"And you are?" Sal asked. He spoke with authority and as if nothing was wrong. Ron felt ill.

Daphne seemed to consider the answer before speaking as if she might have considered lying. "Greengrass,"

Salazar nodded. "Well, Ms Greengrass, I believe you and Ronald are well acquainted?" She nodded. "Has he ever told you about this place?"

"No," she said, "he hasn't." She glared at Ron again as if he was to blame for keeping things a secret.I couldn't…

"Well, that is surprising to me. You see, Ms Greengrass, the door you have just entered is extremely hard to find. It's enchanted in very specific ways, ways which allow only for those who have a great need to enter… or those who have found this place before," Sal let his voice trail and an unasked question dangle in the air between the three of them.

Ron looked up at his mentor and frowned. He had almost forgotten what Salazar had told him about the room of requirements and its specifics. Nobody should have found him, at least without knowing the entire truth.

"I haven't been here before," Daphne said carefully.

"A need then," Sal offered.

Daphne gave Sal a small frown. "And what about you? Who are you? Does the headmaster know you're here?"

"Oh," Sal shrugged, "I doubt he does, and nor do I care for what he thinks. This is, after all, my castle. But, to answer your question properly, it is a pleasure to meet you young Slytherin. My name is Salazar."

Daphne's eyes shifted to Ron and back to Sal again, her frown deepening. "Don't do that," she warned, "I'm not stupid. Nobody names themselves Salazar, not sincehim."

Ron swallowed. "Daphne…"

"Who is he?" She turned and asked. "What is he making you do in exchange for magic? Are you stealing from us, Ron? What is it?"

Ron felt as if at any moment he could topple over. "There's only one Salazar…"

Daphne narrowed her eyes again but they broke open into wide circles as the space where Sal had just been standing was suddenly empty. The room felt even colder, as if at any moment they might be frozen in place.

The cold broke the knot in Ron's stomach and he gasped for box can't be closed.

Ron shut his eyes. "I'm not lying to you," he said quickly. "This is… this is a special room of Hogwarts. It's not like anything else I've ever seen and Sal was right, the door is supposed to be hard to find. He isn't a professor… he'sactually one you're thinking of. And I know I should have told you, I would have told you, but I couldn't. And I can't tell you why I couldn't, and I won't tell you why I couldn't. It's still too important."

Daphne blinked. "He just apparated inside of Hogwarts. That's supposed to be impossible."

All at once some of the chill left the air, and with a small shimmer of light, Sal reappeared in the same spot he had previously stood.

"I did not apparate," the founder said, "I just chose to disappear. As much as it pains me, I am no longer a wizard." Salazar raised his hand in front of him, his flesh seeming to fade into nothingness becoming a translucent screen.

Daphne's eyes widened further as she glanced quickly at Ron. "He's a ghost…"

"If you prefer," Sal nodded.

"Please, Daphne," Ron said. "Please let me explain."

Daphne looked from Ron to Sal and then back again. A dark and worried look formed on her face before she nodded gently.

"Whatever you wish to tell," Sal said gently. "Remember, Ronald, everything we have discussed."

Ron took a deep breath. "His name is Salazar Slytherin. He'stheSalazar Slytherin."

"I'm not sure I believe you…" Daphne said but her voice trailed off and her face darkened.

"He's not really Salazar, not truly, but he's like a portrait," Ron explained, "he was left behind by the real Salazar to help me. Or I guess to help anyone who was chosen. I'm just the knob he was stuck with. And it's so much work to explain everything, and I promise I will but first… I need you to promise me. Promise me you won't tell anyone?"

Daphne stared at him in disbelief. To Ron, it seemed as if a million thoughts were burning behind her eyes. After a few seconds, she bit her lip again and nodded. "I won't tell anyone."

Ron took a deep breath and did his best to steady his hands. "It's cold."

Daphne's eyes widened once again as the room began to shift around them. The distance between their two sections of the floor shrunk to only a few feet as the walls closed in to turn the once cavernous room into a small square containing the hearth and a few chairs. The chill lessened and the subtle warmth of the enchanted fire began to wash over Ron's skin.

"I don't understand what just happened," Daphne said. "What sort of magic is that?"

Sal smiled knowingly. "Something like none other."

Ron took one of the chairs and motioned for Daphne to take the other. They both sat across from each other in a small uncomfortable silence.

Ron finally took a breath. "Do you remember when I told you that I fell off of my broom?"

Daphne nodded. "You haven't flown since."

"Well, there's something I don't like to tell people. Mostly because people would think I'm crazy for it, or they would think it was some sort of fever dream. I…" Ron closed his eyes for a second. "I had a vision of my brother Charlie dying. I witnessed a masked wizard kill him with the killing curse. That's when I thought that I might be a seer."

Daphne's eyes widened. "Are you saying you are one? That you made a prophecy about your own brother's death?"

Ron nodded, his eyes feeling misty. It felt strange to tell someone so plainly about things. It was like he was somehow making everything real, as if before it was only a game. A separate part of him that nobody could ever know, a part of him that wasn't really him.

"It was bloody awful. I could barely sleep and I couldn't look in my parents' eyes the same way."

"You better not be lying to me…"

"I wouldn't," Ron gripped the arm of the chair with his hand. "My sister, she said something to me that made me not such a dopey prat. And I started to think about maybe changing the future, maybe saving my brother. I got Percy to help me study, he's brilliant at all of that, and then I thought I would be okay. That I could change things." Ron took another brief pause. "At Hogwarts, my parents sent me that letter. And, I left the great hall because I didn't want to deal with it in front of everyone. For some reason, I wasn't really thinking and I just came here and I found Sal. And he told me something."

"You met the founder of our house accidentally?" Daphne asked.

"It was no accident," Salazar interrupted. "It was how things were always meant to happen. You see, a few years after Hogwarts was built there was an incident. Something which prompted us to take precautionary measures, one of which was a very complex and ancient ritual that bound Hogwarts magic to an individual in a time of great need. It was never intended to be a student, but often our intentions are overlooked. The ritual has chosen Ron to defend Hogwarts from encroaching danger."

"Chosen him?" Daphne frowned and looked back at Ron.

"I know, right?" He mumbled. "I wish it hadn't."

"So what does that mean? Really?"

"Sal says that something or someone is trying to destroy the school. And that the only way I can save Charlie is if Hogwarts is protected."

"And you've been doing this all on your own?" Daphne asked with another frown.

Ron nodded. "Salazar has been teaching me magic. Theo was kind of right, but it's not dark and it's a very small club. It's how I killed the troll."

"And how you knew the disarming charm…"

Ron nodded. Another silence nestled between the three as Daphne tried to work out everything that Ron had said. Ron bit the inside of his cheek. He felt like he was in a daze, as if at any moment he would wake up from a nightmare. But he knew he wasn't dreaming. He had no idea what would happen next. He really needed Daphne to keep his secret. He didn't want to think about what would happen if she didn't.

"This is crazy, you understand that?"

Ron nodded. "I'm probably going to end up in Azkaban."

"Or worse," Daphne cast a glare at Salazar. "Possessed by a dead man."

Salazar raised an eyebrow but said nothing.

"But you can't tell anyone," Ron said quickly. "You promised me you wouldn't."

Daphne narrowed her eyes at him. "I told you I wouldn't lie to you. If I told you I won't tell anyone then I won't. But… Ron this is something else. I'm not sure you should be doing this alone."

Ron shrugged. "I don't have a choice."

"Maybe you should tell someone? Dumbledore or Snape?"

Salazar grimaced.

Ron frowned back at her. "I can't Daphne, I can't risk my brother's life. What would you do to save Astoria?"

Daphne's eyes widened for a moment. "Merlin, don't say that Ron!"

"Someone let the troll into the school," he blurted. "And nobody knows who or why. And I don't think the professors even care. And, there's something here that someone is trying to steal, something valuable. Harry thinks it's Snape."

Daphne's gaze hardened. "Potter knows?"

"No," Ron frowned. "You're the only one ever to find out."

Daphne bit her lip again. "Ron, I can't believe all of this. I mean… I need something, some sort of proof about what you're saying."

The floor split open once again causing Ron to shoot his eyes at Salazar. From the middle of the room rose a large metal bowl, strange symbols etched into the surface and a single large emerald glinting at the centre.

Ron and Daphne shared a single knowing 's a Pensieve.

Ron had never seen one in person, they were expensive, so expensive that it cost a substantial sum of money just to rent one and now he was staring at perhaps the oldest one he had ever seen.

Daphne audibly swallowed. "Oh.. I see."

"I offer you proof," Sal said mildly. "It will change you forever, young Slytherin, do not take this decision lightly."

Daphne nodded slowly. "I… I think I have to know."

Salazar reached out and touched the side of Ron's head gently. A small blue wisp followed his finger from Ron's head to the bowl. All at once the surface of the bowl engulfed itself in a bright blue flame that quickly turned to a silvery almost reflective liquid.

Ron swallowed. He didn't want to relive this moment. But at the same time he can help but think that it might have been something he missed, something which was still held in his memory. He looked up at Daphne and nodded.

"Would you like me to look alone?" She asked.

"No,"

Together they leaned closer to the rim of the pensieve and with one apprehensive nod they both plunged their heads inside.

- SS -

The memory was hazier than Ron expected, his stomach swirled with nausea as he struggled to gain his bearings and he nearly fell over on to Daphne.

"Where are we?" She asked.

"A qu—" Ron paused and looked around. They weren't where he expected, they were somewhere else. A cold chill ran down his spine as he realized what Salazar had done. "We're in Godric's Hollow."

He could see himself through the fog, he was standing on the pavement in front of the Potter's House.

"Godric's Hollow?" Daphne asked. "This is where your brother is going to die?"

"No," Ron said barely a whisper. "This is the night the war ended."

"The night the war ended?" Daphne hissed. "Do you mean?"

Ron nodded, in the distance the figure of Voldemort appeared from the fog. Ron's stomach sank.

"That's him," he said quietly. "That's Voldemort."

Daphne turned to face the way that Ron was, her eyes widening. "He looks so normal."

"He's a handsome bloody monster. I wish I could kill him here, before what happens next."

They watched together in horrific silence as the man entered the house and the windows glowed with violent green flashes. There was a small stillness before the upstairs bedroom exploded in a rain of wood and fire the roof of the house toppling in on itself.

"You're the second person to ever see this night," Ron said quietly. "Well, third if you count Harry."

"There's someone else, Ron," she pointed into the fog. Standing in the distance was another man, slightly plumper.

- SS -

Ron gasped as he pulled his head out of the Pensieve, his body shaking from the experience. He retreated backwards into his chair and took a few quick was someone else the night that Voldemort killed Harry's parents…

"That was awful," Daphne said quietly. She no longer looked quite like herself. She slouched slightly and her hair was no longer perfectly brushed.

"I'm sorry," Ron mumbled. "You shouldn't have seen that."

"I needed to," she frowned. "I needed to know that you were telling the truth. I… I'm sorry."

"Sorry?"

"That you've been dealing with this all alone, and also for trying to find you. I should have just let you have your secrets." She paused for a moment and narrowed her eyes at him. "This must be crushing you?"

Ron nodded, his eyes once again feeling misty. "It's not easy."

They sat for another few minutes in silence, both of them trying to come to terms with what was happening.

"I won't tell anyone," Daphne said. "I'll stick to my promise."

"I'll understand if you don't want to be my friend," Ron returned. "It's probably dangerous."

Daphne stared at him a little oddly. "Ron… I'm not letting you do this alone."

What.

"Daphne!" He hissed. "Don't you understand what we just saw! You just said you wouldn't tell anyone!"

"And I'm not going to," she huffed. "I'm going to help you. And you don't have a choice about it."

He stared at her blankly. "Help me? Are you insane? I fought a bloody troll!"

"Yeah, you did, Ron!" She said more loudly. "And what if you had died! Then the entire bloody castle would be destroyed apparently? That's insane. I can't let this all be your responsibility only! Don't you understand what you said to me earlier? What would I do to save Astoria? Well, who do you think will die if the castle is destroyed? Probably a lot of students. And who is going to be a student next year? My sister!"

Ron flinched slightly. He hadn't considered what he said, and he couldn't fault Daphne for jumping to that conclusion.

"You can't," he bit the inside of his cheek.

"Why not?"

"Because it's dangerous and… it's all I ever think about."

"And you think I'll be able to forget? Forget that I'm one of less than a handful of wizards who just witnessed the death of you-know-who? Forget that the school is in danger?"

He stared at her and frowned.

"It's not your choice," she said bitterly.

"It was never my choice."