Chapter 37

Several hours later, they reached Hogsmeade station. It was raining heavily at this point, and people were reluctant to get out. Harry and Daphne calmly got out and pointed their wands in the air. A small flick of light appeared at the tip of their wands as invisible magical umbrellas protected them from the rain. Getting the hint, the rest of the students used their wands to remain dry as well and soon they entered the carriages and into the castle. Harry walked to the Ravenclaw table and sat next to his year mates and started chatting with them about their summer. When the first years arrived, many of them were shivering due to the cold since they were soaking wet. Harry frowned. Surely McGonagall could fire some drying charms on those poor kids. Harry pointed his wand at them and started casting warming and drying charms at the first years. Only when he was finished did anyone realise what he had done and the first years blushed and thanked him while McGonagall went pink in the face. Soon, the sorting began and the students were sorted into their houses.

"I have many announcements for you" said Dumbledore smiling at everyone. "But first, tuck in!" With that, the food appeared on the tables and everyone happily started eating.

Harry was happily chatting with various Ravenclaws when Padma Patil asked, "Who's going to be our Defence teacher this year?"

That question brought conversations to a halt as many were curious as well. "There's no one here" said Terry Boot, looking at the staff table. "Maybe Dumbledore will teach us again?"

"I doubt it" said Harry. But just then the food vanished and Dumbledore got up to speak. There was a hush in the hall now as Dumbledore gave his usual speech. "Now, I have great pleasure in announcing that this year at Hogwarts -"

But he was interrupted when the door of the Great Hall banged open with a thud. Harry turned and his eyes widened when he recognised the person standing there. If Alastor Moody was going to be their new Defence teacher, it was going to be a fun ride indeed. He had read from his father's journal that Moody was an outstanding Auror, and he was hard as nails. This would be a wonderful educational opportunity.

Dumbledore introduced the school to their new Defence teacher and continued said "We are to have the honour of hosting a very exciting event over the coming months, an event that has not been held for over a century. It is my very great pleasure to inform you that the Triwizard Tournament will be taking place at Hogwarts this year."

"You're JOKING!" said Fred Weasley and this set off the school as everybody laughed. Dumbledore then explained about the tournament and about the new rule that only those who were above the age of seventeen could take part in it. He said that an impartial judge would select the champions who will compete for the Triwizard Cup, the glory and five thousand galleons personal prize money.

Harry narrowed his eyes. Something about the way Dumbledore spoke about it seemed off and he wasn't going to take any chances. He would be damned if he were to be forced to participate in this madness. He would have to take necessary steps to ensure that nothing unusual happened. Once the announcement was done, Harry returned to Ravenclaw tower and spent several hours talking to his housemates. Girls especially were eager to talk to him which made Harry a bit uncomfortable. Finally, at two in the morning, he entered his room, made his annual changes and went to bed.

HP*LIGHTNING LORD*HP

Harry was seething once Care of Magical Creatures class was finished. What was Dumbledore thinking in appointing Hagrid as a teacher? While there was no denying that the half-giant knew a lot about magical creatures, he just couldn't understand that many of those creatures were dangerous and deadly to witches and wizards. He wondered if Hagrid would have been expelled anyway without Riddle's interference all those years ago.

He looked at Daphne who had a frown on her face too. So instead of heading for lunch, they stayed behind and approached him.

"Hagrid, can we talk to you?" asked Harry quietly.

"Harry! O' course, wha' can I do fer you?" asked Hagrid.

"Hagrid, I know that you think these creatures, those Blast-Ended Skrewts are interesting, but they are not part of the syllabus for the year and thus you leave us at a disadvantage for our OWLs" said Harry patiently. He was not going to allow them to be attacked by those creatures, so he decided to put a stop to it immediately. "You have also bred a Firecrab with a Manticore; a Class Five beast and this was the result. Let me put it this way; you have blatantly violated the Ban on Experimental Breeding, and if anyone reports you or is injured in class, you could very well be put in Azkaban". Hagrid paled at this. "My advice is to keep those creatures far away from the students and stick to the material provided. There are so many beautiful creatures you can introduce us to, like unicorns. If you bring magical snakes, I don't mind talking to them and translate to the rest of the class. But get rid of those creatures Hagrid. It's for your own good as well as ours."

With that, Harry and Daphne walked back to the castle. They walked into the Entrance Hall and saw the spectacle of Moody bouncing Draco Malfoy, who was transfigured into a ferret. With a smile on their faces, the couple entered the Great Hall for lunch.

The next day, Harry had Defence with the Gryffindors. He entered the classroom and sat next to Neville. They were idly taking when Moody entered the room. After he finished taking the roll call he began.

"So, right to it" said Moody gruffly. "Who can tell me what Unforgivable Curses are?"

Harry's head snapped up. Well, he had no objections with Moody teaching them about them, but he could feel Neville shudder right next to him. He would have to keep an eye on his friend.

Hermione Granger's hand shot up as usual. "There are three" she recited. "They are the worst curses one can perform and use of any one of them on a human being is automatic life imprisonment according to International Wizarding Law."

"Correct" said Moody. "Can anyone name them? Which is the first curse?"

Many people raised their hand and finally, Ron Weasley answered "Ahm, the Imperius Curse?"

"Ah yes" replied Moody. "Your father would know about it. Let's see how it works". With that, he took out a spider from a jar and said "Imperio". The class laughed when the spider found itself on many of their fellow students, but Harry didn't. He watched Moody with narrowed eyes. Explaining about the curses was one thing, but showing them was something else, and he didn't like it.

"You think it is funny, do you?" snapped Moody. "How would you feel if I put it on you and made you do all sorts of things, like commit murder?"

The class became silent once more. "Anyone knows another?" he asked the class.

Neville tentatively raised his hand. Harry was shocked because his friend was shaking from head to toe and he idly wondered if he should take Neville out of the class. "T-the Cruciatus Curse" he said.

Moody's eye twitched when he asked for Neville's name. He went back to the spider, enlarged it and said "Crucio!" The spider twitched horribly as if it was being cut off into separate pieces. Harry saw Neville shake violently and so decided to take action.

Moody was concentrating on the struggling spider until suddenly, the spider was pushed away from his wand, and it landed on the other side of the table. The spider relaxed once the curse was lifted. Moody looked around to spot Harry Potter wearing an expressionless look on his face as he said softly but firmly, "That's enough. I think they've got the gist of how it works."

"Really?" asked Moody, limping towards Harry. "Then why don't you explain to the class about how the Unforgivables work then Potter? Maybe you can tell us about the third curse as well."

"Very well" said Harry in a flat voice. He spoke softly, but his voice could be heard all over the room. "The three curses are called unforgivable because there is no blocking them. The third curse is the Avada Kedavra, also known as the killing curse. No magical shield can stop them. The only way to make sure you're not hit when you see the curses coming at you is if you dodge, thereby avoid getting hit or if you conjure something in its path – like stone. All the three curses, like many of the true dark magic spells, require negative emotion to power them. Just pointing your wand and saying the curses aren't enough. You need to mean them, which is why these curses are hated so much. You would want to cause pain or kill for them to work. And I really don't think demonstrating them in class is a good idea."

"Really?" said Moody, a sadistic grin on his face. "You don't agree, do you? Sorry for that Potter, but the students here need to know. You're quite familiar with the last one aren't you?" He summoned the spider to Harry's table and snarled "Avada Kedavra!"

A pale green light flew from the tip of Moody's wand and hit the spider and it rolled over, dead. "Not nice, not pleasant. Only one person has ever survived it, and he's sitting in front of me" said Moody. Harry looked at Moody with a blank expression, but his eyes were filled with rage.

Once the class ended for the day, Harry quickly grabbed a reluctant Neville and they headed to the Astronomy tower. After climbing the stairs, Neville again asked, "Harry, what are we doing here?"

Harry didn't answer. Instead, he conjured two comfortable reclining chairs for them both and made Neville sit. He called for a Hogwarts house elf who provided them with snacks and drinks.

"I've brought you here so that Moody couldn't mess with your mind further" Harry explained. "I have to say, I expected a lot from the man, but he's been a disappointment. Showing the Unforgivables in class is unethical."

Neville remained silent. They sat in silence for several minutes until finally, Harry asked, "Do you know the reason why your parents were attacked in the first place?"

Neville's eye twitched. "I don't want to talk about it" he said firmly.

"Do you or do you not?" said Harry.

"What reason could there be?" snapped Neville. "They were Aurors, and so were bound to be a target for Death Eaters."

"No" said Harry. "That's not why they were targeted. They were targeted because of a prophecy that was made before we were born."

"What?" asked Neville, stunned.

Harry spent the next twenty minutes giving the same speech he had given Daphne more than two years ago.

"Snape!" snarled Neville, getting up as he started pacing. "I'll kill that bastard with my own hands. How dare Dumbledore hire that monster and make him teach children? I had completely forgotten about this."

"Exactly my point" said Harry calmly. "There is nothing we can do about those already in Azkaban except maybe move a resolution in the Wizengamot once we're adults to execute them through the Veil of Death. But what we can do is move against the rest."

"What are you talking about?" asked Neville, his eyebrows raised.

"Dumbledore painted a target on our families" said Harry firmly. "Nev, you could very easily have been the Boy Who Lived, with Voldemort going after your parents. Who knows what Dumbledore did so as to mould his two perfect weapons for his cause? Not to mention the whole chunk of Death Eaters out there who bailed out using the Imperius Curse excuse. You saw what happened at the Quidditch World Cup; do you think they'll stop at that? Look around you! Our batch is comprised of only forty students! Can you imagine the amount of death and destruction caused by the war that left us at this state? We need to do something if are going to save our society and our way of life. First it was Grindelward, though he didn't cause much problems in Britain, he caused a lot of destruction abroad; then it was Voldemort who killed so many witches and wizards and who's going to be next? The muggles? If we don't protect ourselves we could all be wiped out! If we have selfish, delusional and insane leaders like Dumbledore or Voldemort and incompetents like Fudge, we can kiss the magical world goodbye. I'm not going to stand for it. This is our home, Neville! It is our job to protect it, and not let it be destroyed by senile old men or some muggle barbarians! Unless all of us join hands, we're doomed. Let our parents' sacrifice not be in vain. Do you understand what I'm saying?"

Neville stayed quite for a minute, looking out towards the grounds as the wind blew in their faces. "I do understand" he said finally. "I'm with you Harry. Let's catch those bastards who are the cause for all this and let's build a world worth living in."

With that, the two shook hands. Harry had just secured the alliance of the future Lord of the Most Ancient and Noble House of Longbottom and if Daphne's observations were accurate, the future Lord of the Ancient and Noble House of Bones as well.

HP*LIGHTNING LORD*HP

Two days later, Harry was once again furious as he sat in the Defence classroom. What was up with Moody? This didn't sound like the great man his father had described. While Moody was tough, he would never suggest placing the Imperius Curse on students! When it was finally Harry's turn, he calmly walked to the middle of the class.

Moody pointed his wand at Harry and said "Imperio"

To everyone's immense shock, Harry didn't react. Instead, he smirked. Moody frowned and repeated "Imperio"

"Something wrong with your wand, Professor?" asked Harry, smirking at Moody. Those with advanced Occlumency shields could counter the Imperius curse, so it didn't even affect him.

"Well, that's more like it" said Moody gruffly, though he couldn't hide the look of shock on his face. "Well done, Potter."

HP*LIGHTNING LORD*HP

It was Friday night on the second week of school. Harry discreetly walked to the first floor girl's bathroom. He locked the door and noticed that Myrtle wasn't there. He was about to open his mouth to speak the password when he paused. Dumbledore knew the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets as Harry had shown it to the entire school. Surely the old man must have tried to access the chamber himself or at least alert him if Harry opened it again?

With that in mind, Harry scanned the sink, and sure enough, there was a ward that would alert Dumbledore if the sink moved, and another was a listening ward which would probably record the parseltongue password if Harry ever spoke it. Rolling his eyes, Harry disabled both wards. Once done, he checked for any additional wards and once he was satisfied, he hissed "Open"

The sinks parted and Harry jumped in. Once he reached the tunnel, he called for his elf, but he frowned when no elf came to him, and that's when he realised that there must be anti-elf wards in place. Very few people used that ward as many had house elves of their own, and this was the trick the Potters and Blacks used to their advantage. He crossed the tunnel and opened the giant stone doors after repeating the password.

Once inside, he walked to the giant seventy foot long basilisk and looked at it "Forgive me, O noble creature" whispered Harry to the corpse. "You were just following Riddle's orders, and you couldn't differentiate between friends and enemies in your old age. I'm sorry that your death was necessary. May Magic bless you and your soul find purpose again."

Harry activated his mage sight and looked around the chamber. He was sure that this place contained more than just the basilisk; he wanted to find Salazar's secret room. He walked to the statue and he sensed a ward there. He spent the next one hour examining it, until finally he was able to disable them and he hissed "Open"

To his shock, a blood ward activated, barring him entry. A pedestal appeared, just like the one that was protecting Godric's chamber as well. Harry didn't know what to do. What defences would he trigger if he failed to breach the blood ward? Would he be attacked by some obscure curse? After a minute of pondering about what to do, he finally decided to give it a try. He waved his hand over his palm and a deep gash appeared. Bracing himself, he let the drops of blood fall on the pedestal. After seven drops, the pedestal glowed, so he healed his wound with another wave of his hand and tried to step back. To his immense shock, his feet were stuck to the ground. Just when he thought of using his animagus form to escape, the wall in front of him parted with a soft hiss.

Harry was astounded. How had he managed to pass the blood ward? Did that mean what he thought it meant? But how was that possible? He had extensively studied the Potter family tree, and there were no records of any descendants of Slytherin being married into the family. He nervously entered the room, and just as he walked in, lighting charms activated, bathing the room in light.

His jaw dropped when he saw the place. It was empty! He frowned and extended his senses and he sensed another blood ward. Just as he had suspected, another pedestal appeared. But what was shocking about this was that it contained a piece of parchment as well. Harry slowly waved his hand over his palm again and the gash appeared. He let the drops of blood fall on the parchment, until finally, after the ninth drop, writing appeared on the parchment.

Harry quickly healed his wound, and looked at the writing. It was clearly written in parsel script, but he could understand what was written.

Dear descendant,

I am Salazar Slytherin, the last member alive of this once noble family. I am about to go confront my adopted son, but before I do, I want to ensure that my true descendants would be able to access this place and know of their ancestor. If you're reading this, then Amarantha must have told you about this place. She assured me that she would tell her descendants one day about me hiding the Slytherin fortune and titles here in my chamber at Hogwarts. I hope the time is right for you to re-claim what is your right by birth.

I was orphaned when I was ten years old. My family were murdered by a bunch of muggles. I was devastated, but I had to take care of myself. I didn't trust anyone to take care of me because there were many who were jealous of my family's wealth and would have done everything possible to steal it from me. So I raised myself to be cunning and grew up in the shadows, and learnt about the most obscure forms of magic that interested me. I went abroad when I was old enough and learnt from various tribes who taught me more obscure rituals and magic. I have always been ambitions, and I wanted to achieve something great. That's when my life took an unexpected turn.

When I finally met Godric Gryffindor, he was in a bad shape. The man too had lost his family to those filthy muggle barbarians and was doing his best to take care of his young daughter. We bonded over that and learnt magic from each other. Through Godric, I met Rowena Ravenclaw and Helga Hufflepuff, two very gifted witches. Together, we created this school – Hogwarts.

I didn't marry anyone at that time, but I wanted a child of my own, so I adopted a young boy and gave him my name – Salazar Slytherin. Oh, how I wish I knew that I was raising a boy who would be the cause of so much pain. I am so glad that I did not blood adopt him. If he had access to the Slytherin family magic, he would be more powerful than he is now. I only hope I can reason with him. He grew up very arrogant and had an intense dislike for Godric and saw the rest of the students as beneath him. I had warned him against doing so, but he didn't listen. When he was eighteen, he attacked a bunch of students, intending to molest them, and that's when I threw him out of the castle. We consider women to be sacred; the ones who are blessed by Old Magic to be able to create life. The fact that he could even think of something so atrocious still makes my blood boil.

Several years later, there was a young student. Her name was Evangline Noma, and after she finished her studies, she apprenticed under me. Though she was thirty years younger than me, I couldn't help but fall in love with her as we had several things in common, including the fact that we both were orphans. She too loved me, but she said that society wouldn't accept our relationship, given our great age difference, not to mention the fact that I was her mentor. If such a relationship was known to the magical public, they would stop sending their children to Hogwarts, fearing for their safety. So we got married in secret and pretty soon, she found herself pregnant.

We were very happy about that, but we were also scared. She hid her pregnancy, but nine months later, she died in childbirth. Oh, how I wish I could have asked Helga for help, but discretion was our focus. I was devastated, but when I saw the beautiful baby girl who was in my arms, I knew I couldn't let Evangline down. I named our daughter Amarantha Evangline. She is named after an old Greek flower, and as I understand it, it is a tradition she seems to have followed in her family in that she names the female members after a flower. I decided to give her mother's name as well, so that she could honour her mother for the rest of her life. She also seems to have inherited my green eyes and so have her children. It is a trait in my family that all of the Slytherin children have emerald green eyes.

If you're reading this, then that means you passed the blood ward that I placed around this room. Please do not disturb the basilisk unless the castle is under attack. Give her specific orders, but try to leave her alone. Call her to battle against the muggles only if all is lost, as innocent witches and wizards could die in the attack as well. But it is better to die by the stare of a basilisk rather than being mutilated by those filthy muggles.

And that brings me to muggleborns. I had a beautiful plan that would integrate them into our society by obliviating the muggles and taking and raising the magical children ourselves. This would ensure that we are not compromised. It is difficult to trust the muggleborns as I'm not sure if they will betray us to the muggles. But at the same time, I can't help but feel sorry for them. My idea of fully integrating them wouldn't be possible right now as Helga pointed out to me; raising Amarantha was difficult, and I can't imagine raising hundreds of children. Hogwarts is a school, not a nursery. If it is possible, please work on it. Use the Slytherin title and try to work things out in the Wizard's Council. You'll probably save many lives.

My daughter grew up at Hogwarts under the watchful eyes of those faithful house elves. Rowena discovered that Amarantha was my daughter, but she agreed to remain quiet, although I'm sure Godric suspects it as well. Amarantha grew up to be a fine young woman and I couldn't be more proud of her. She met a young man in Greece and fell in love with him. I'm happy that my dear daughter has found love and happiness. Her husband even named their children after Evangline when he realised how much Amarantha's last name meant to her, and I can't help but admire him. Merlin, that boy is powerful. He can probably give Godric a run for his money in terms of sheer magical power. In the end, my son-in-law turned out to be a better son than Salazar could ever be.

But now, I have to go confront my son. Thinking about killing him makes my heart ache, but I shall do it. He has killed many witches and wizards in his bid for power, and I cannot let that happen. Salazar seems to have a family of his own, but what can I do? He is terrorizing people using my name, and I have to put a stop to it. Godric has volunteered to come with me, but I can manage on my own. I am confident I shall return to Hogwarts triumphant.

My dear descendant, please accept the ring and magic of the Slytherin family. It shall help you in your future endeavours as I'm sure you'll go on to do great things. My blessings are with you always.

May you always succeed and Mother Magic be by your side.

Salazar Slytherin.

Harry looked at the piece of parchment, his eyes brimming with tears. Here was a wonderful man who did his best for the people of the country, but he has now been vilified and hated for nearly a thousand years. He felt like ripping apart Hogwarts: A History for all the lies it has sprouted about his ancestor Salazar Slytherin. His ancestor . . .

His mother was the true descendant of Salazar. The Evangline line must have suffered something drastic that made the last witch or wizard lose their magic, but their traditions and names never vanished. It was very evident in the fact that even after a thousand years, the daughters were named after flowers – Petunia and Lily. And the magic had once again manifested in Lily Evans, giving her the vivid green eyes of the Slytherin family. Oh, how he wished his mother was alive to witness this! He realised that Tom Riddle was the descendant of the adopted son – Salazar Slytherin Jr. That's how the Gaunts came into possession of the locket; Junior must have married into the family. Salazar Sr. must have given it to his son or the younger man must have stolen it after killing his father.

Harry got his emotions under control and stood up. He would not fail Salazar. He looked at the parchment in front of him and said in a clear voice in parseltongue –

"I, Hadrian James Potter, Lord of the Most Ancient and Noble House of Potter, Lord of the Most Ancient and Noble House of Gryffindor, scion of the Most Ancient and Noble House of Sytherin, do hereby solemnly swear by wearing this ring to uphold the values and traditions of the Slytherin family. As Lord Slytherin, I swear to bring back my family's honour and strive for the betterment of my magical brethren. This I swear, so mote it be!"

A green aura surrounded him, as if testing his worth. Harry stared ahead, with determination swirling in his eyes and soon the family magic accepted him. A ring with silver band and a large emerald set on it with a snake engraving appeared on his left ring finger. Harry concentrated, and the Gryffindor ring transferred from his ring middle finger to his left as well. The green aura slowly seeped into his skin as the magic of the Slytherin family entered Harry. The Slytherin motto flashed in his mind 'in quo percussit inimicum timet maxime', which meant 'Strike where the enemy fears most'. He was now Lord Hadrian James Potter-Gryffindor-Slytherin, born to the son of the Gryffindor family and daughter of the Slytherin family.

He opened his eyes and crossed over to the other side of the room and said "Open in the name of Lord Slytherin."

The wall parted and Harry's eyes went wide. Inside were tomes of books and tonnes of gold and precious stones. He was now probably the richest man in the world with the fortune of all three families put together. He could use a lot of this for the development of the magical world and to protect the magical and non-magical creatures. At least, he and his family wouldn't have any financial problems, ever.

Going by a hunch, since he was now Lord Slytherin, he called for his elf. "Toby"

The elf popped in front of him and asked "What can Toby do for Master Hadrian?"

"Toby I want you to clear this entire place and place it in High Security Vault 14 in Potter Castle. This belonged to Salazar Slytherin, and as his blood descendant, it's now mine. And along with the repairs of Gryffindor Castle, I want you to renovate Slytherin Castle as well. I'll tell you where it is."

Toby's eyes went wide when he heard that and he looked around. "Yes, Master. It shall be done". He called for several other house elves and they began shifting the books and treasures to Potter Castle. Harry walked out of the room and back into the chamber. He looked at the corpse of the basilisk and frowned. Maybe he could use the corpse; after all, it was in perfect condition, and he could have several potions ingredients as well as basilisk hide, which was even more durable than dragon hide. He called for some other elves who looked at the basilisk in fright. They were in awe of the fact that Harry had killed it with a sword. After he provided them with instructions on what to do, the elves promised to harvest the basilisk for any useful parts. After that, Harry began searching for an alternative exit. The pipe couldn't be the only entrance.

After nearly half an hour, he found it. It was a concealed wall, and he opened it using parseltongue. It led him to an empty part of the castle, on the ground floor. Once there, he cast a disillusionment charm upon himself, transformed into an eagle and entered his room from outside the tower. He changed his clothes and went to bed with a small smile on his face. He would make them all proud of him one day. He wouldn't let them down.