A/N:

God!! Though I already had this chapter half way finished when I posted the last one, it took me like forever to put everything together the way I wanted to. I'm still not 100 happy with it, but I'm feeling a bit guilty 'cause the last update was sometime last year. -- So here you are. It turned longer then my normal chapter length.

I hope the formating doesn't get screwed... I seem to be having problems with it. sigh...

Enjoy

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Chapter 15

Salazar felt something nudging him to wakefulness. With a groan he opened his eyes and looked into a silver image of himself starring with worry at him. The silver form above him hissed at him in irritation and anger. Salazar frowned in response.

"What do you mean, someone broke into my mind?" he questioned, while sitting carefully up and inspecting his surrounding.

His silver doppelganger hissed again pointing anxiously into the darkness that surrounded them.

"A man?" Salazar asked in rising worry.

His silver mirrored-self nodded.

Power whirled around Salazar when his calm slipped and anger bubbled up. He reached out for the silver man's hand pulling him along as he ran into the dark, forcing his mind to form a path to lead him to the girl that resided now in the back of his thoughts. He could not allow Snape to find her, not now that he had finally control of her body. Not this short after awakening.

The cold hand in his hand dissolved and reformed into his wand. He flexed his free hand's finger feeling magic surge through his mind and respond to his call and the dark morphed into a stone hallway. Loudly his steps echoed through the emptiness around him while he continued to rush on.

He came to a sudden halt in the large room. The room he had created out of his memory from his time when he had still worked alongside the other three founders at Hogwarts. It was a perfect replication with exception that his emotions had deteriorated more or less the furniture of the room.

Alarmed he watched as Snape approached the young woman. The man looked cautiously but curious at her. Salazar could feel the bond between those two vibrating in the air around them. And when Snape reached out to touch her, panic took hold of him

"Halt!!" Salazar ordered angrily, feeling the control of the calm disappear completely.

With obvious trained speed, Snape spun around, while raising up his wand in a defensive motion.

Power flickered around Salazar in response to his inner turmoil, he could barely contain it.

"Step away from her!" he hissed in anger flicking his silver wand in command at him.

But Snape did not appear to hear let alone react to his order

"Step away!!" he growled out this time, feeling power surge through his mind and fill the chamber in which they were, yet still Snape held his place.

Unwavering Salazar allowed his magic to whirl menacingly towards the intruder. And it was now that Snape showed a reaction to the threat the other posed. Dizziness took hold of the pale man and Salazar saw fear reflected in the man's eyes.

Swaying on his feet because of the oppressing presence Salazar represented, Snape stumbled to his knees. Primal instincts kicked in that moment, and Salazar watched in slow horror as the man reached out to find some hold and touched Harry.

"No!!" Salazar called out alarmed.

But it was too late already.

The young woman had moved to look at the second intruder. Her face showed the slow pace in which recognition settled over her, but before she or Snape could act, Salazar had wielded his power at both of them. Chains sprung to live around the woman trapping her to her seat, while a black whirlwind forced Snape back out of their minds.

Heaving in panic, Salazar glanced at the young female. Green eyes -just like his own- looked up at him in reproachful defiance. Hate towards him was vividly reflected in them, but Salazar was used to those looks. What worried him though, was the pain and resignation that he saw in them before the green in them deadened once more and Harry sank lifelessly back into the seat.

It was the same look Rowena had worn that day. The same emptiness that had been the final blow to his and Godric's friendship…

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Remus heard a loud crash coming from the main room of the Chamber of Secrets. Alarmed he looked over to Poppy, but the medical-witch had fallen exhaustedly asleep after the tenacious battle for Sirius's life and hadn't stirred at the loud sound.

Reaching for his wand, Remus moved carefully up from his position next to Sirius' bed and headed out of the small room. His nostril flared when a wave of toxic scents passed him. He shuddered uncomfortably, but knew the smell not to be dangerous to him. It was simply a necessary evil to the art of potion brewing, though it did not necessary mean that he had to like it, which was probably why he had never understood the passion Severus held for it.

The wolf in him caught the scent of blood, dried blood.

The image of Harry lying motionless on the ground flashed through his mind. The horrified emotion awoke in echo to his already alerted state, causing the monster within to stir in response to his feelings, but Remus had years of practice and knew how to pacify the beast that roamed in him.

So, refocusing on his purpose for leaving Sirius' side, Remus continued cautiously towards the more open area of the chamber.

The air was still heavy with magic and the substances used for Sirius cure. Strings of magic residues lay dormant over the runes of the working tables and the ground, but it still caressed his skin uncomfortably and not to mention the scents, which made his nostril twitch in disgust.

The large chamber was enveloped in an eerie atmosphere. It was made even more estranged by the magical lights and the flames dancing on the walls in their unnatural motion illuminating the room in a fake daylight. The shelves arranged on the far wall looked old but not worn, as though time had never passed for them. It caused an unrealistic contrast to the old magic and smells that eroded around him.

But Remus had been told of this room.

The Chamber of Secrets was a relic from a time in which wizards and witches were still part of the natural magical creatures and did not stand above the other as now. Civilization had changed both men and magical folks alike, and though normal men had grown, they, just like the wizarding community, had never evolved passed their shadow.

The radical line that differentiated men from other magical beings was as thick as the one between different religions. None would wander from their path, and none would yield to the other willingly.

That was the nature of men.

And for that reason alone, Remus would always be a lower cast, never equal or part of the whole.

Moving carefully forward, his wand ready for battle, Remus continued towards the centre and the stairs that led to the lower part of the room and to the working area.

A groan startled him, the werewolf growled in warning, but was immediately silenced when Remus caught sight of the familiar figure on the ground.

"Severus!" he exclaimed alarmed and rushed over the man. "Severus!" he called out again as he fell to his knees besides the Slytherin. Laying his wand aside, Remus reached out and tried to turn the man around to see if he was injured.

With a pained groan the Potion Master felt himself turned to lay on his right side. Hands touched his body searchingly. His first reaction was to tense, but upon opening his eyes slightly, he recognized the hovering figure of the werewolf.

It didn't make him feel particularly better, though.

"Stop touching me, Lupin." Severus growled annoyed at the other man.

Surprise and obvious relief passed over the ex-professor's face so quickly, that had Severus not been lying so close to see, he would have most likely missed the moment it was replace by bitter anger. Slowly, like a human behaving towards a ferocious beast, Lupin removed his hands from Severus' body, holding them in a defensive position before him.

"What happened?" Lupin asked in a very serious tone, while he moved his hands to come to rest on his knees in the same slow motion with which he had removed them from the Potion Master.

Severus felt his body heavy, his mind blurred and he had the uncanny feeling of being trapped within his own flesh. He could feel a residue of unknown magic lingering over him. He tried to focus on Lupin's question, but somehow, the memory of how he had gotten here or why he felt so throughout manhandled, evaded him.

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Ron loomed worriedly at Harry's bed.

He had lain awake in the dark, after he had made sure that Hermione returned to her room to return to sleep. The silence was only disturbed by the soft breathing of the other boys resting wistfully under their own warm covers. But unlike them, Ron couldn't dissipate the worry that plagued him nor the need to know if his friend was well. It had kept any possible chance of sleep away.

When finally, in the early morning hours, he had heard the soft sound of the door of their dorm opening, he had immediately felt his body go tense. Quietly he listened to Harry move like some thief in the night through the room towards his bed. The sound of sheets being thrown back and a body finally resting was the last thing Ron heard, before the room was once again filled with the gentle sound of four sleeping boys.

But even afterwards when he had known his friend to be by his side, he couldn't find the peace of mind to gain even an ounce of needed rest.

And so he had remained where he was, starring at the ceiling, his mind repeating the words of the letter over and over again in his head, that by the time the others started to finally get up for class, Ron had felt so exhausted and tense that he just knew that he wouldn't be able to ignore this obvious problem any longer.

It was time to confront Harry.

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Memories…

It was the ability to store, retain and subsequently retrieve information. But when the memories, you had considered to be yours for so long, turned out to be nothing but an echo of someone else inside of you, when they hadn't been his to begin with, how could he believe that all that remained inside his mind wasn't merely his imagination. How was it possible for him to still continuously have access to them now that the original carrier was no longer connected to him?

Tom shuddered unwillingly as another soft echo of a female voice called out to him.

The tall woman's image flickered for a moment in front of his eyes.

She was no stranger to him, over the years Tom had gotten used to her presence, to her wavering laughter inside his mind and the clenching of his heart at her sight. But now that Salazar Slytherin's presence had left him, her image was nothing but a faded echo of residual magic still festering inside his head.

He knew who she was, knew what she meant to the dark wizard, but though he also knew that she was nothing but an illusion of Salazar Slytherin's emotions and magic, her memory and the knowledge that he still possessed could one day soon become useful to Tom. It would aid him in forcing the hand of his ancestor and he supposed that it was only fair that he would repay the man in the same manner that Tom had to live.

Bribery and blackmail, the two most useful abilities of the house of snake.

Yes, it was only fair that if it came down to it, that Tom knew which buttons he would need to push to achieve his goal.

A sinister laugh escape his lips then.

Lucius Malfoy wouldn't even know what hit him.

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Determination was written all over Ron Weasley's face as he pushed himself off his bed and moved the few steps to that of his friend.

They needed to talk. It couldn't go on like this, because though Ron had never considered himself a worrier like his mother, he couldn't find rest while he did not know what was going on with Harry. He was lacking hours of sleep and his patience had finally reached his limit.

He supposed that Harry needed this distance that was growing between them. He was well aware of the fears that the other boy to possessed. To be afraid to loose that which he held dear and was important to him, it was eating at Harry but it was reaching a ridiculous stage now.

Ron couldn't stand any longer simply watching this growing estrangement between them.

With a forceful grip, Ron took hold of the curtains of Harry's bed and pulled them aside in anger, which until that very moment Ron hadn't realized that he was even feeling.

But as he started to call out to his friend, the words disappeared from his mind at the sight of this stranger lying asleep in Harry's bed.

Startled he gapped at the youth under the covers. Ron's eyes wandered to the incredible long dark hair that covered the sleeping form like a blanket. The dark red covers that was visible underneath the dark mass rose gently up at down with rhythmical breathing motion of the body.

Ron looked slowly up to see a pale face turned slightly to the side, the left hand was laying on the pillow while the other laid absently over the young man's chest.

Incredulous he starred at the silver snake bracelet around the left wrist before Ron's eyes moved once more to the pale face.

The thought that he had no idea who this youth was started to form in his mind, but when the dark haired one rolled to his side and his bangs move out of his face, Ron caught sight of a swollen familiar scar on the face.

A lightning bolt…

A whispered wonder escaped Ron's lips "Harry?..."

Shocked he took a step back from the bed starring in disbelief at the form before him. This motion caught the attention of the other boys in the room.

"Hey Ron, you okay?" Seamus asked from his side of the room, while he tried to tie his school necktie.

Ron looked up at the sound of his name. He didn't know what expression he was wearing, but it couldn't be a good one, because the other boy's faces lost its amused expression.

"Ron?" Neville asked moving over to him.

"Harry…" The read haired simply said and Neville blinked a moment in confusion before turning to look at the youth on Harry's bed.

"Merlin!" Neville exclaimed.

That was the cue for the other ones in the room to run over to them to look at whatever Ron and Neville where looking at.

Silence followed for along moment and it was Seamus who ended up finding his voice first.

"Is that Harry?" the boy voiced the question roaming in all of their heads. "And what and when did he do that?" he pointed at the mass of hair.

"It can't be Harry…" Dean said slowly. "Harry isn't nearly that tall."

And this time the group of boys turned to look at the pale feet sticking out from under the covers.

"But… but the scar…" Neville said approaching the still sleeping youth. "Look at the scar!" he pointed at the mark of the Boy-Who-Lived. "He's got to be Harry…" and as though that was all the confirmation that he needed, Neville reached out and shock the sleeping boy's shoulder lightly. "Hey, Harry, wake up."

A groan escaped the long haired young man. "G'way…" the boy muttered waving Neville's hand away and turning around to curl to a ball on his other side and return to sleep.

"Harry, I really think you should wake up." Neville said pulling at the boy's shoulder and forcing him to turn around to face them.

Reluctantly the young man turned and opened slowly his eyes. A pair of tired green eyes glared up at Neville.

"I hope you have good reason for waking me." The young man growled in annoyance before sitting up with a hiss. "Damn!" the boy exclaimed reaching with his left hand for his head. "That hurts!" he muttered.

"Harry?" Ron asked.

Green eyes looked up to the call. Then slowly, the boy lowered his hand from his head to rest on his tight, and a blank expression appeared on the long haired boy's face. "Ron." The boy simply said.

"Is that you mate?"

A tired snort escaped the youth. "And who else would I be?"

"What happened to you?!" Dean exclaimed loudly.

Harry closed his eyes in pain. "Stop being so loud!" he snapped. "My head feels like it's going to split."

"Well with that mop hanging from your head, it's no wonder." Seamus said with a forced laugh.

Harry looked up at him and then back down at himself. Tentatively he reached out for the strand hanging down his shoulders.

"Figures…" Harry muttered to himself but the others waiting obviously for an explanation, had heard him nonetheless.

"Harry, mate, I think you should explain to us what you did to yourself, because frankly, you're freaking us out a bit." Dean said seriously to him. "I mean, Ron almost jumped to the other side of the room at your sight."

Ron slapped Dean on the back of his head. "Stop being so exaggerating."

"What?" Dean asked innocently, rubbing with his hand at the sore spot on his head..

Harry looked up at them, a strange look in his eyes that Ron could only remember having seen on Snape's or Malfoy's face before. It was a mixture of calculating and something else Ron couldn't name. It was almost like… like… Ron wasn't even sure how to explain it.

Then Harry sighed. "I had a little encounter with Malfoy last night and… well…" Harry shrugged. "I ended up at the wrong end of a spell."

"Malfoy?" a chorus of voices shouted at him making Harry wince once again.

"Damn it! What part of not being loud was lost to you guys?" Harry snapped again.

A murmur of apologies followed the Boy-Who-Lived's outburst.

"What happened?" Neville asked sitting down on the border of the bed. "Weren't you two ignoring one another?"

Again Harry shrugged, and he moved absently a hand up to gather his hair to his right sight. "We were both out after curfew and got tangled in a messy argument. To make a long story short, McGonagall found us, scolded us and dragged us back to our respective dorms informing the two of us that we will be seeing the headmaster in the morning."

"Damn." Seamus whistled. "Your luck really sucks."

That comment broke the tension between them, that Ron hadn't even realized until then that it had been present. They broke out in familiar laughter and when Ron looked over to his friend, he could almost see him through this strange mask that he had to wear now.

"Do you think it can be reversed?" Neville asked with a gentle smile.

"I didn't dare ask last night, last thing I wanted was to further a confrontation with the angry lioness." Harry said rolling his eyes. "But I figured that the professors will try to fix it today."

Seamus nodded in mock seriousness. "Yeah, I mean, we lot are Gryffindors, but there's a limit to our courage. You should definitely not mess with wild beast."

When the laughter stopped this time, Ron had already forgotten why he had gone to wake Harry up in the first place.

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Lucius Malfoy considered himself to be a cautiously smart man. He was prideful, yes, but he took great care of how he presented himself to society as not to reveal more than was needed. He had learned throughout his childhood how to hide, how to play the games of hide-and-seek by lying either by omission or straight out untruths. He had been taught by his father how to play these games, strictly and swiftly as not to fall too deep if something went wrong.

And he had bathed in the attention given to him by his father; earnestly he had followed and memorized the instructions and warnings given, and by the time he had finished school, he was sure that he had grown into the young man his father had wanted to make of him.

And when the day came to finally be given the chance to join his father's side, he realized that had never truly considered if this path that he had been walking until then was simply by choice or by his inner desires to please the older man.

He remembered clearly that day as though it had been yesterday. The morning air had been filled with the humidity of coming rain, while the mist dissipated slowly around the manor. There had been an uncanny silence, and Lucius recalled having thought that the calmness he was witnessing was but the calm before a storm.

His father had stepped out to him to the front door and with a calm and steady voice, he was informed that now that Lucius had reached maturity he would need to be told and taught the last family secrets, so that when the time came, Lucius would know what to do and how to act appropriately to the situation.

In hindsight, Lucius should have listened to his mother's warning about following blindly someone, even if that someone had been his father. But that was long ago, and Lucius had come to learn to live with his action and decision without looking remorsefully back at them.

Tom Marvolo Riddle had not looked much older than him, when Lucius had first been introduced to him. He had immediately sensed a sleeping power ghosting right beneath the man's skin, power that spoke of things that his father wanted and sought. It hadn't even been necessary for the older man to explain to him why Tom Riddle, handsome and obviously powerful as he was, was kneeling in front of his father. The sheer pressure of the dark magic around the slightly older man was enough for Lucius to link it back to his father.

Control.

Strict and powerful control.

That was the image presented before Lucius.

The master and the servant.

And as quickly as Lucius recognized all this, as swiftly it disappeared again from his senses.

When Tom Riddle had slowly returned to stand on his feet, he had looked with empty and cold, blood-colored eyes at Lucius.

"I greet you, young master." The older man had spoken in a powerful and graceful voice that had cause Lucius to shiver in response at the magical intonation in the spoken words.

"Do not ensnare him with your skill, boy." His father had spoken in a harsh tone slapping a hand across Tom's face.

Lucius had watched in surprise as the dark haired man's head was slapped and blood trickled from his lower lip, but otherwise the older man just turned in a calm and almost calculating manner towards his father. Tom Riddle had shown no sign of remorse, but utter submission.

"As you wish." Tom spoke slowly, inclining his head in a respectful manner before turning his blood-eyes towards Lucius once more.

"I am Lord Voldemort, young master." The man had explained, and this time there was no magical resonance within the room.

Lucius had looked at him for a long time, trying to figure out what he was supposed to deduce from this double introduction.

His father had referred to the younger man as Tom Riddle, but when the dark haired one had introduced himself he was speaking of himself in a manner of power, but he presented at the same time submission to his father and thus to Lucius.

It was on that day that his father had confined in Lucius the last secrets of their family. The will and heritage that was suddenly rested upon his shoulder, the responsibilities and sudden options presented to him had made him almost dizzy. But allowing himself to show weakness in front of a servant was unforgiving, especially in front of someone like Tom Riddle, that was one of the rules his father had made sure he understood early on and that Lucius had always followed and insisted that his own son understood as well.

Soon Draco would finish his education and then it would be Lucius turn to act upon his heritage and prepare Draco accordingly to his family status.

He had to admit to being worried about the boy's resent behavior though. Draco had been seen during the night shortly before the escape of his two most priced prisoners, and now the other Death Eaters were murmuring behind his back about the lack of trust into the Malfoy family.

There was a good chance that it hadn't even been Draco to begin with; it could easily have been someone under a charm of disguise or Polyjuice. Draco could not have entered the lower ground alone, let alone have gone unseen by Snape. And Lucius knew from experience how powerful and strong Severus was on his own. The man was like a weed. Impossible to get rid off, but still one of the lesser evils to have close by. Though how loyal he was to the 'Dark Lord's' cause was still a mistery to Lucius.

No, Draco couldn't have overpowered Severus.

He certainly hoped that his trust in his son was not misplaced.

Lucius sat up on his bed and looked over the sleeping form of his wife in worry. Absently he played with the strands of her hair cascading over her naked shoulder.

Something was happening though.

The magic in Riddle had changed, though how or why he was still unsure. Through the magical bonds that he had placed over the older man were still intact, they didn't inform him of the reason behind the changes only that they were taking place.

Maybe his cousin had been right from the start. If Riddle continued to be more of a problem than an useful tool, then it would be better to get rid of him. It would not be great loss either, after all his cousin's son had been in the chamber already, Lucius would only have to trigger the curse and take the boy as a replacement for the current Dark Lord.

It would be hilarious indeed if the Boy-Who-Lived was turned into the next most dangerous dark wizard. That certainly would throw the wizarding world into a whirlwind of chaos.

He chuckled softly, maybe it was time to do a little research on family laws. It could provide to be useful to see if he could take custody of the boy. Considering the status of the Malfoy name and that he could provide young Potter with proper upbringing of the customs of his wizarding heritage better than Lily Evan's muggle relatives ever could. He was sure that there would be little trouble, if he decided to take that path.

"Lucius?"

He turned to his wife looking up at him.

"Yes?" he asked reaching out to push a few strands behind her ear.

"What are you plotting now?"

He laughed aloud. "You know me too well, my dear." He said leaning down and kissing her lips. "Don't worry, I'm not plotting anything yet."

She reached up to his face with her thin and elegant hand. "Just don't do anything rash."

He smiled at her. "I won't."

Kissing her once more, he moved to get out of bed and get ready for the day. Maybe it was time to have a Death Eater meeting.

There were a lot of thing to be done.

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Hermione couldn't stop herself from starring at Harry. And Ron realized that she wasn't the only exception.

When Harry and he had come down the stairs with the other boys, it had been like the whole common room had suddenly decided to look in their direction at the same time.

Apparently Seamus, who had gone ahead of them, had already spread the rumor of Harry's night time encounter with Malfoy and that he had somewhat changed. A few had approached wanting to obviously question him, but Hermione had rushed forward with a worried and yet shocked expression and had thrown herself onto Harry clinging to him and muttering over and over again that he was an idiot.

Ron had expected that Harry would assure her that everything was fine by returning her hug, but instead he had stood there looking utterly awkward and out of place. His body language spoke volumes of how uncomfortable he must be feeling in his changed body, or he really did not like for Hermione to be so close to him, but latter was ridiculous. It wasn't the first time that their friend expressed her feeling towards them by seeking physical closeness.

Needless to say, Hermione wouldn't allow anyone from interfering in her sudden outburst of lecture mode as she vividly reprimanded Harry about his lack of common sense and if he was out to get her to die of worry, he was doing a fairly good job at it.

Harry had then laid calmly a finger on her lips silencing her.

"Are you finished now?" he had asked in an uncharacteristically quiet tone.

Hermione had nodded slowly, taken back a little at the uncharacteristically reaction of their friend.

"Nothing beside the obviously physical change occurred to me, Hermione, so there is no need to worry." He had smiled gently at her then, almost lovingly and for a moment Ron had felt a twinge of jealousy rise in his chest. "Besides, I am quite sure that I will be hearing quite a lot from the Head of Houses and the headmaster. The lioness already informed me that Malfoy and I would be called in for a serious talk."

Hermione had blinked confused, obviously she had not been expecting this calm and mature manner in which Harry presented himself before her.

And Ron remembered only thinking: the lioness?

Twice already he heard him called McGonagall that, and though at first it was funny, now Ron realized that the tone and manner, in which Harry pronounced it, was speaking volumes about what was going on inside his best friend's head. Sadly, Ron had no idea how to interpret the information he had.

On their way to the Great Hall Hermione pulled Ron aside with a worried frown on her face.

"Have you spoken to him? What is going on?" she hushed at him.

Ron sighed. "Hermione, I haven't even gotten the chance to see him alone since he woke up, and frankly I don't think I should be confronting him in front of the whole house."

"You haven grown, you know." She said looking thoughtfully at him.

"I've heard it happens when you get older." He said in a joking tone.

The girl huffed and boxed him playfully on the arm. "Oh you!"

He laughed and Harry turned around on the steps below them looking perplexed up at them. "What's keeping you two?"

"We're having a little moment here, mate!" Ron called out, waving at Harry to keep going on with the others.

But where he expected Harry to laugh and make a joke at him, the now braided haired boy only glanced at Hermione with a flickering emotion in his green eyes that reminded Ron too much of the changes that had been distancing the two of them.

With a quick nod at them Harry had then turned around, his braided hair moving like a snake in the air behind him.

"Something is terribly wrong." Hermione whispered reaching out to get a hold of Ron's hand in suppress fear.

And Ron could only nod in agreement.

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"Shit, Malfoy! You look like crap!" Zabini said to him as the two of them met at the exit of the common room.

"Thank you for stating the obvious, Blaise." Draco growled.

"Did you sleep at all? 'cause I've got to tell you, you look like some of the wandering ghosts of this castle, pale and more dead than alive." The other boy said, while opening the entrance to head out of the dungeon in order to head out to the Great Hall for breakfast.

"Let's not talk about that." Draco waved with his hand at him to drop the subject. "I just want to go back to bed."

Blaise laughed amused. "I can clearly see that."

Draco just glared at him.

Quietly the two of them moved along the dim lit corridors towards the stairs that led to the upper part of the castle. As they reached the stairs Draco looked up to see Goyle and Crabbe jogging down towards them.

"Hey! We've just heard!" Goyle said coming to a halt before Draco. "That must have been some awesome spell you hit him with."

Draco blinked, but didn't allow himself to show his confusion outwards. "Of course." He said, though he had not the slightest idea to what the taller boy was referring to.

Blaise obviously had no qualm in voicing his ignorance of the spoken subject and immediately question the other Slytherin.

"Well, the Gryffindors are all talking about it." Crabbe said. "The fight between Draco and Potter."

Zabini turned to look at Draco in surprise. "What's he talking about?" he asked pointing at the other boys with his thumb.

Draco cursed mentally. What the hell was going on?

And though he wasn't sure how to react, Draco decided to play it safe by going with his usual routine of arrogance and dislike for his cousin.

"They are probably saying that Potter kicked my ass, or something alike." He snorted dismissively.

Zabini looked at him through narrow eyes, but before he could speak up Goyle interrupted him.

"Actually, they are all saying that you manage to curse him and changed his appearance or something alike." The boy explained.

It was then that Draco realized what was happening. He barely managed to stop himself from slapping his forehead at his slow proceeding of last nights events. Of course, Salazar would have had to explain Harry's different features and what easier way of doing it by simply reading ahead the encounter the two of them were going to have with the teachers and use it to his own advantage.

Salazar was covering last night happening by lying or telling only half-truths, though he wasn't quite sure how much his ancestor was truly revealing.

Draco would surely be called out to speak to the headmaster just like Salazar would. And the older wizard was using the simplest laws of human nature to assist him.

Everybody loved to gossip, especially when the stories involve the Boy-Who-Lived.

Draco would be placed in his usual position as Harry Potter's adversary. A conflict between them was nothing new to the student body, just the timing was probably a bit off, but Draco knew that he could cover on his side such matter.

The fact hat he and Harry had played out their hidden friendship to the public by ignoring one another could be used as an excuse on his part for the enmity between the Gryffindor and him to have simply exploded on them after ignoring it for too long.

Zabini seemed to be expecting for Draco to comment on the fight, but Draco not knowing exactly what was being said, couldn't allow himself to come up with some fabricated story just yet. Though it wouldn't be the first time that Draco's story, should he make some mistake on his version, was different to what everybody else believed to know, but he wasn't about to risk himself not knowing what Salazar Slytherin was up to.

Rolling his eyes then and moving a hand trough his hair, Draco spoke up: "Those damn Gryffindors are probably exaggerating again. Potter was fine and alive last night."

"Which can't be said about you." Blaise joked putting an arm around his shoulder. "I'm curious though. What spells did you use?"

Draco smirked. "Now, now, Zabini, you don't really expect me to reveal my secrets." He locked his eyes with the other boy's in false amusement before removing himself from the other Slytherin's hold and making his way up the stairs. "If you're so curious, why don't you see the result of my nightly activities for yourself?"

Blaise laughed following him. "Oh, I will. Don't fret, Malfoy, I will."

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Lack of sleep did nothing to ease Severus mood in the morning, especially if one considered the events of last night.

Having to go in search for Black while he had been in the middle of interrogating Draco Malfoy, who later on ignored his order and had followed him with Potter into one of the most dangerous places of all Britain, was not anywhere near what he would consider a calm and peaceful night.

Not only had both boys exposed themselves to unnecessary danger, but also had caused a bunch of questions to arise inside of the potion's professor's head.

What worried him most at the moment though was not Potter's and Malfoy junior's odd relationship, or the Potter boy's changed appearance, or even the Dark Lord's strange behavior. No, what had his mind in current turmoil was the fact that he had awoken to Lupin finding him on the floor in the Chamber of Secrets in the exact position that they had previously found Potter and Severus held no recollection of how he had come to be there.

Last he remembered was deciding to go to the chamber below the dungeon and leaving his quarters. Vaguely he remembered passing the large door of Slytherin's private domain, but whatever had happened afterwards was swallowed in the abyss of oblivion.

Something had happened though, of that Severus was sure, because the empty feeling inside his head resonated with magic that wasn't his own, but every time he had tried to reach out for it, it was like walking into a solid wall.

Lupin had been worried, hovering about him like some alpha wolf over his pack, which considering the man's curse, was not that farfetched. Only the insistence of Severus to have Lupin return to Black's side had finally freed him from the other's watchful eyes.

"Good morning Severus." The seemingly ever cheerful voice of his colleague greeted him to the entrance of the Great Hall.

Severus looked down at Flitwick and nodded in greeting. He saw no need for an idle chat at this early hour, especially after a night like the last.

"Have you heard?" Flitwick asked walking next to him towards the end of the hall to the teacher's table.

"Heard what?" he asked, while glaring at the students that were in his way, who in turn ushered to get out of his path.

"There seems to be a rumor going on about-" Flitwick stopped in mid-sentence and laughed shortly. "Why am I asking you this?"

Severus looked down at him. Obviously the last comment meant rhetorical.

"You, of course must already know, being Head of Slytherin and all." The small man continued to speak. "So tell me Severus, how much of the stories about Mr. Malfoy and Mr. Potter can I believe, because I have to tell you that the students are already spinning their own obviously exaggerated version of last night's fight between the two." Flitwick's expression turned serious when he looked up to meet Severus tired expression. "Though admittedly, I had expected a confrontation between the two to erupt at a much earlier date. It was only a matter of time, from my point of view, before the enmity between those two would finally boil over."

"The students tend to change even the simplest thing into a dangerous creature in their ridiculous need to fill their life with something frivol and entertaining." Severus complained avoiding answering the subject and headed for his seat.

Flitwick chuckled. "You make it sound as though you had never been a student yourself."

Severus snorted. "Try to refrain from reminding me." And he settled in his place.

His older colleague laughed again shaking his head lightly and headed for his own seat.

Left in peace to eat, Severus reminded himself, that even if he had wanted to answer the other man's question, it would have been in vain, simply for the reason that the potion master didn't possess the answers either.

With a mixture of irritation, tiredness and anger, he reached out for his cup, but his movement froze at the sudden cold shudder and empty feeling that erupted in his chest. And whether by coincidence or not, Severus was found himself starring at the figure of a tall youth in Gryffindor uniform that was so familiar and yet had become overnight a complete stranger.

The hall fell into silence at the youth's sight and Severus didn't realize that he too had even forgotten how to breathe at the sight before him.

Last night that boy had already posed an enigma, but this extreme change…

How?!

With the same empty expression with which he had looked at the potion master in the dungeon of the Dark Lord, the boy glanced once around the hall until their eyes met.

Green into black.

A cold grip at his heart made Severus tremble, emotions of loss erupted in his chest. He gripped with his hand at his chest, trying to will himself to breath, but those eyes held him prisoner.

And then, as quickly as it had come, the moment passed, when the boy turned his gaze from him towards the Gryffindor table, and Severus filled his lungs with air, while his heart raced inside its ribcage and his blood had been filled with a sudden dose of adrenaline.

The Potion Master followed the youth move feeling at loss, unsure of what had just happened or how to act accordingly to it.

However, his dark eyes remained on the boy as he moved with uncharacteristically flowing motions to where the other Gryffindors were waving at him to join them; his long hair slithering like a living creature through the air after him.

And it was then that a random thought made it through to his conscious mind.

Who is that?

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The hall had been filled with children, loud chattering and the scent of breakfast.

Surprisingly similar to how Salazar remember it from his own time, only difference was that this time he was sitting trapped among those that considered themselves loyal and trustworthy.

He had wanted to snort dismissively at the though.

He knew better… no… he had learned to know better.

While Salazar had always praised cunning for his own students above all else, he was no fool as not to believe that they were also a bunch of manipulative little trickster that would one day grow up to be liars and schemers behind the back of the public eye.

But at least Salazar knew where he stood among them.

Gryffindor House on the other hand was a terrain hat Salazar had always been wary off, even before the whole fiasco with Godric had occurred. The glorious ones, who basked in the achievements of others, the breakers of words and oaths that praised their honesty into the skies and the traitors, who believed themselves to be absolutely loyal.

There is nothing more frightening than finding yourself lost in the light, because darkness though cruel and dark, can never be as cold and blindingly deceiving as the illusion of safety.

No, a Slytherin betrayed you for their search for power and greed, but Gryffindors struck you down when you least expected them, which was probably why their treason would always be so much worse than whatever Salazar could conceive.

The ancient wizard was brought out of his musing by a red haired girl before him.

"So Harry, are you going to be telling us what happened?"

Green eyes focused on her, and Salazar drew the knowledge of names from the depths of his mind. "Not much to tell, Ginny." He answered, disturbed and relieved that his manner of speaking had simply adjusted to that of the body and not Salazar's own.

"Oh, mate!" A boy to his right said while filling his mouth with a spoon full of cereals. "You are depriving us from some awfully good gossip on ferret boy!"

Salazar felt suddenly the need to lash out at the insolent fool who dared to insult his house and name by calling his descendant names. But thankfully the body kept his expression cool and passive, not outrageous and wild as the whirlpool of curses that were on the tip of his tongue asking and waiting for Salazar to release them.

The Gryffindors around him erupt in a mass of loud voices and demands.

Irritation seems to be suddenly suffocating him, imprisoning him here among his enemies.

And it must have shown on his face, because as suddenly as the crowd had gone wild around him, it quieted at the deadly aura that must have slipped out of him.

A hand lands on his shoulder and Salazar turns around with a menacing glare.

"What?!" he found himself snapping, before he could even process the thought that his emotions were still out of control and the body was still in the process of adjusting the previous owner's reactions to the new holder.

The lioness looks down at him with a raise eyebrow. "Mr. Potter, I hope you haven't forgotten about your pending talk with the headmaster." The elderly woman said to him with a stern expression.

"Of course not, professor." Salazar responded, while willing the calm and cool to settle over him once again.

"Then please come along, Mr. Malfoy is already waiting."

At her words Salazar looked at the entrance of the hall, and indeed found the young blond man standing impassively but with a schooled expression on his face.

With a swift motion, Salazar rose from his seat intended to follow McGonagall, but a voice called him back.

"Harry?"

Salazar turned around to Hermione and feeling a sudden uncharacteristically fondness for her, he smiled at her. "Don't worry, Hermione, everything's going to be fine." He said in a reassuring voice before bowing his head in a gesture of departure.

He turned from the girl and headed out in direction of the great door, but not before wondering why he allowed himself to feel anything at all in the girl's presence.

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Tom Riddle did not smile, not with five dead bodies at his feet, his hands smeared in blood and his wand pulsing with dark and cruel magic.

"I'm a fool." He whispered, " A fool with some unbelievable luck." Though whether good or bad, he couldn't tell.

But then again, if Tom considered it again; he was no real fool, at least not more or less than any other man in his situation, and neither was Lucius Malfoy.

And he knew this with utmost accuracy, because in contrast to popular believes, it was Tom who backed up Lucius during raids. Lucius knew perfectly well what he was doing once he had a goal, the man would rather die than let off, and the first time Tom had seen him change into fighting mode, he had been truly shocked. For he had discovered, that in the midst of battle, Lucius was viciously cruel. He took pleasure in killing.

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Upon seeing Salazar join him at the entrance of the Great Hall, Draco first inclination was to nod in acknowledgement at him, but then the resentment, hurt and loss of Harry was still fresh in his mind and Draco couldn't help himself from glaring at his ancestor.

"Potter." Draco growled, though he had been tempted to actually refer to the other wizard by his true name, if only for the sake of seeing everyone's reaction to it.

But Draco knew not to reveal his cards too early into the game.

"Malfoy." Salazar responded with a neutral voice, while reaching up to push a stray strand behind his ear.

How come his hair had grown so long over night, Draco mused as they both followed McGonagall through the school.

From the corner of his eyes, the blond observed the other youthful looking man. It was not a new experience, he was a Slytherin after all; it was in their blood to spy on others.

In their blood…

A cold shiver ran over Draco at the thought.

They came to a stop at the headmaster's office. The professor raised her wand and tipped the head of the statue with it. Draco watched as the statue moved back into the wall revealing the door to the office. With a worried feeling Draco stepped forth when McGonagall opened the door and held it open for them to enter.

Insecurity gripped at his heart.

He had no idea how much Salazar was meaning to reveal or if he was even going to confess that technically he had killed the wizarding world's hope of stopping a raging Dark Lord, even if Draco knew that in truth all they would have to do was to defeat his own father.

The headmaster was already sitting at his desk, waiting.

He felt Salazar move up next to him while McGonagall moved to stand next to the desk.

Absently, Draco noted, that his own Head of House was not present for the meeting.

"Ah, my boys, good that you came." The old man said gesturing for them to settle on the chairs readied for them.

Draco snorted mentally, the headmaster made it sound as though they had had a choice in coming here to begin with.

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"You speak as though this has already been decided." Bellatrix Lestrange said, looking at her Lord for any kind of confirmation to her words.

"My dear," Lord Voldemort spoke with the hissing slur of a snake in his voice. "You must admit that Lucius idea would solve many of our problems."

Lucius' eyes followed his servant's hooded figure moving across the room passing by the other present Death Eaters.

"My Lord, this outrageous idea would require of us to use muggle means!" his sister in law protested vehemently, obviously not in the least pleased that they were trying a non-violent approach on the Potter-dilemma.

"Bellatrix," Voldemort spoke turning in a fluid motion to her. "Sometimes to reach a certain goal it requires the use of unusual means." He played absently with his wand in his hand. "Though, like you, I would rather have an open confrontation with the boy myself, I think that Lucius's plan deserves some merit."

With grim satisfaction, Lucius observed Bellatrix's quite outrage; her lips had pressed into thin lines and her hands had turned white with the strength she held them closed into fist.

"If you allow yourself to calm down a bit and think this plan through, you might see the long run benefits we will undoubtedly gain." Lucius allowed himself to speak up. "Dumbledore has always held the upper hand on anything concerning the boy, because he has the legal back-up of the Ministry most of the time. With a legal adoption of the boy into the Malfoy House, Potter would stand no chance to avoid fleeing from our grasp as before."

"We understand this Lucius," a man stepped forth from the mass of hooded and masked shadows, but Lucius recognized McNair nonetheless. "but Bellatrix observation is not to be ignored either. The boy's legal guardians are still muggles and thus would require of us, or better said you, to acquaintance yourself to their law system and associate with them in order to have a complete legal outcome on this matter, since this seems to be what you want." The man raised his hand in a pointed gesture. "Are you willing to bring a half-blood into your family? Someone who is our enemy?"

"Are you willing to deny the truth and gains of my words?!" Lucius asked in annoyance.

Voldemort's sudden laughter brough everybody's attention back to him. "I think we shall allow Lucius his little detour to our cause, if only to see how Dumbledore will react." The Dark Lord moved over to Bellatrix and Lucius saw the sheer submission and adoration of the woman towards her master reflected in her whole composure. "If this indeed succeeds, then my dear, don't you think your cousin Black, should he still live, will be more than delighted?"

A cruel smile formed slowly on Bellatrix lips. "Indeed, my lord."

Voldemort spun around again, his cloak moving with a swift sound behind him "Besides, since this will involve muggle administration, I am sure that by the time Dumbledore is informed of this, it will be too late. Do you not believe the same, Severus?" he looked pointedly to the man next to Lucius. "Or does the old fool possess spies of his own in their absurd world?"

"No, my lord." Severus answered smoothly.

"Well then…" dark blood red eyes focused on him. "Your idea is approved Lucius Malfoy, I certainly hope that the results will be a promising as you have made them sound, because I do not like strays, not even such with such fine heritage as you." The deadly and cold tone with which the Dark Lord spoke to him made the men and women around him stiffened, but Lucius was above them, and thus simply nodded with acknowledgement.

"Potter aside for now, I believe you have some reporting for us Severus." The Dark Lord turned to Snape again. "What happened to Black and Lupin?"

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He could tell lies, he could speak riddles and it was no hardship to breath manipulation. Those were things that came natural to Salazar, for it was the way by which he had survived all those years, and though he considered it a great ability, sometimes, he had realized throughout the years he had known Rowena that it was the plain truth that made deceiving that much more powerful and frightening.

But right now, in the presence of this old and powerful wizard, Salazar knew that neither lie nor truth would serve his goals, and for that reason alone he would have to walk the middle road.

The grey path…

He was glad that at least Snape wasn't here. He didn't want the man presence reaching out to his host again, not when Salazar's own connection to the body was still so unstable.

Dumbledore waited for either of them to start speaking, lengthening the silence in the room to an almost unbearable presence, but Salazar knew when to execute patience, and Draco being a Slytherin would have to have been taught by his family about the finer arts of politics.

Though, right now was neither the place nor the moment to show his true self, and thus he would have to act Harry's part accordingly to what he knew of her.

From the corner of his eye he saw Draco's hand twitch in barely contained nervousness. It was the signal he had been waiting for. It was time to start the game.

With calculated ease, Salazar slipped into his role and he let out a deep breath before schooling his expression into a nervous frown.

"Malfoy and I have a deal…" he started in a low voice, his eyes searching Draco's before returning to the headmaster's.

"A deal?"

Salazar registered the change of the atmosphere around him: the curious peak in McGonagall's aura, the worried twinkle in the old man's eyes before he looked at the blond youth next to Salazar.

Taking another deep breath he let his voice change into a tone of guilty confession as he spoke next: "Malfoy doesn't want to take the Dark Mark, and so he came to me seeking help for his situation." He turned again to the blond.

Pale eyes remained guarded, but he could read in the boy's body language that he understood where Salazar was leading him along.

The headmaster regarded the young Slytherin with caution, and Salazar could see it in the old man's expression that he was trying to asses how much faith to put into "Harry's" words and Draco's motives.

"You realize you could have come to me, Mr. Malfoy." Dumbledore said looking over the rim of his glasses at him. "I would gladly have offered you all the help I could."

"With all due respect, headmaster, there's little you could have done for me." Draco said in a guarded tone.

"But Harry could?"

Draco leaned back in his seat and sighed. "Let us be realistic, headmaster, I can't be seen coming to you for assistance. My father has means of finding such things out, and if he knows, then I can assure you that the Dark Lord won't be far behind when they come seeking me out. I know for fact that Professor Snape and my father are part of the close council You-Know-Who confines in. The man is my Head of House, a spy for the Dark Lord within these very walls." Draco exclaimed spreading his arms in a wide gesture. "How can you possibly believe that I could come to you for any help, if I have to fear that my own Head of House, my own housemates and not to mention my family would stand against me?"

The blond shook his head in exasperation. "No, I couldn't come to you for help." He looked at Salazar grimly. "But Potter was an entirely different matter."

Salazar raised curiously an eyebrow, but didn't interfere with Draco's speech. A worried feeling nagged at the back of his mind, reminding him not to put too much trust into his descendent, but another part of him knew that the boy would not act foolishly if Salazar did not provoke his ire any further. For as long as Draco wanted to something - whether information or something else - from him, so long would their unspoken truce hold.

The blond turned his focus back to the adults at the desk. "What do people say?... Your enemy's enemy is your friend."

The headmaster observed them, his magic scanning for lies in their magical aura, but Salazar knew that without a real spell or a potion, the man would have to rely on his instincts to verify the truth of their story. Although Draco's words had not been completely truthful, they were not lies either, and as such the little understanding one could gain from magical aura reading, even someone as powerful as the headmaster, was not much more than a ghostly idea that they were not outright lying.

Thoughtfully both adults regarded them.

"What about your presence in Professor Snape's quarters last night?." Dumbledore finally asked. "He told me that you brought Harry, who was bleeding profoundly, to him, asking for assistance, but due to our call for him, he was unable to inquire on what happened."

"Profoundly is a little exaggerated, headmaster." Salazar intervened before Draco could respond to the question. "Malfoy and I were practicing for our DADA classes." He shrugged. "He hit my arm with a spell before I could defend myself. It partially knocked me out and Malfoy just panicked at the sight of so much blood. But… as you can see I'm fine now." Salazar added pulling the sleeve of his uniform slightly up giving sight to his unscarred arm. "See, nothing a little healing spell couldn't fix."

McGongall straightened and put her hands on her hips in obvious displeasure. "You are aware that to avoid exactly such matters, there's a rule that states there will be no magic done outside of the classrooms?!"

Salazar inclined his head a little to the side in order to make the impression that he was seriously thinking over her words. "Well, technically, we were inside a classroom when it happened."

Her eyes narrowed dangerously at him and had the real Harry been sitting in front of her, then he would probably have cringed.

But that wasn't the case and Salazar had stood before far worse foes than her.

Gryffindors…Salazar thought annoyed, but didn't allow his own displeasure to be visible on the outside. His wand familiar emitted a cooling calm from its liquefied position on his upped arm.

It was time to bring the interrogation to the next level.

Nothing deceived so well as the truth, he reminded himself.

"There's something else you should know…" Salazar began, his voice holding a slight tremble of insecurity.

McGongall was about to say something, but the headmaster laid a hand on her arm. She looked down at him in protest, but he returned it with a serious expression. In non-visible amusement, Salazar watched as the older woman's lips thinned in disapproval, but held back any comment that might have followed.

Slowly the headmaster's eyes turned to Salazar. "Harry?"

Closing his fists around the material of his robes, Salazar allowed himself to look utterly miserable before he spoke his next words.

"Peter Pettigrew is dead."

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The Dark Lord was displeased, that much Severus knew from the stiff position in which the man sat in the large seat at the end of the room. Severus had only offered very little information on Black and Lupin to the mad man, since he based his whole act upon the fact that he had had very little time in which to inquire at Hogwarts for detailed news on last night's events to begin with.

The fact that Voldemort had not only lost them as prisoners but also lost a dozen followers had only added to fuel the man's disapproving and angered state. It was no wonder he had leashed out and taken his fury out on the poor fools who had been appointed to guard duty last night.

The scent of blood and death still hung heavily in the room.

"Severussss…" the hissing tone in which the dark wizard spoke would have made him shudder had he been younger and less experienced on handling the older man's mood. "What of Draco Malfoy?"

Lucius stiffened next to him.

"It appears that he and Potter had a fight last night, which left Potter with a changed appearance…" he started making sure to keep his voice in a reporting tone.

Lucius' head swung to him, but Severus couldn't allow himself to look at the other's surprised expression.

"I must apologize, but for this matter I was also unable to inquire further information." He bowed submissively to his master.

Silence filled the room for a long moment, before he heard the movement of clothing approach him, but he didn't dare look up until the tip of a wand lifted his face and he looked into the hooded face of Lord Voldemort.

Red eyes scanned his face. "I do not like to be kept in the dark, Severus."

Magic hit against his mental barriers with brutal strength, but he did not sway at the sheer force with which his mind was being read. Slowly he allowed his thought to wander to how the boy had looked when he had entered the hall and how different he had suddenly seemed to Severus. Thoughts and confusing emotions whirled to the surface to be caught by the wandering magical essence of the other man.

Then just as swift as the first strike had come, Severus felt his Occlumency barriers return to their proper place.

"I see." The Dark Lord finally stated. "It seems that your son is starting to become quite a force to recon, Lucius. Maybe it would be time to initiate him." He said turning his attention on the blond man.

Lucius lips twitched, before they split into a dark and cold smile. "Of course, my lord." The blond man said deliberately slow. "Draco is a Malfoy, and as such it was to be expected that he would one day reach out for your hand in guidance."

The Dark Lord turned from them without a further glance.

With confused thoughts straying in his mind, Severus took a step back to stand once more in the circle of Death Eaters. From the corner of his eye he saw Lucius' face hard and lost in thoughts, and once again the feeling that this man next to him was a grater threat than he had previously envisioned, awoke in him.

And with cruel certainty, Severus realized that Lucius was walking a path different to the Dark Lord's.

What are you playing at, Malfoy? What do you seek?... But most importantly, what did the blond expect to gain from getting Potter into his hands?

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Draco could barely contain his surprise at Salazar's words.

Pettigrew is dead?!

What had happened after he had left Harry alone?

Thought after thought erupted to life in his mind, they overlapped the previous one causing the rise of new and more confusing questions.

"Explain." Dumbledore's voice held a dangerous tone and when Draco looked at him, he saw only serious determination on the old wizard's face.

Where are you leading us, Slytherin? What do you want?!

Salazar bit his lip, his manner undoubtedly that of a scared youth, but Draco knew better, for this man before him was the Master of Deceive. The Great Trickster in person…

Fear gripped at the blond, fear not only for himself, but for what had been freed from his prison of the Chamber of Secrets after hundreds of years of containment.

Maybe it was the blood in him, perhaps his magic even, Draco mused, but he could suddenly see clearly in his mind what had transpired last night when Salazar started to speak.

Though the words themselves were lost to the blond, his inner eye provided him with enough clearance to the events that had transpired and had caused Harry's defeat by the hand of his own flesh and blood.

And with frightening insight, Draco realized something astonishing.

No matter the circumstances, no matter the words spoken by the dark wizard or even the man's own believes, no matter what history had taught Draco… there was an uncanny truth that the blond could not ignore.

Salazar Slytherin had not wanted to awake…

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TBC

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A/N:

This chapter's whole purpose was to show a little what everyone else, besides Harry, Draco, Salazar and Severus, are doing. Sort of like an interlude before I progress into the Harry/Salazar conflict and I can backtrack onto Godric and Rowena's history with Salazar.

I know there was a lot of PoV changes, but it was necessary. I thought it would display the parallel time frames better.

Also, befor I forget, if Blaise Zabini was actually a girl in the books, and I just completly forgot the fact, would you people be so kind at point me at the chapter in which (if) it's mentioned.

I hope your enjoying the story so far and as always: reviews are welcomed.