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batsutousaiTitle: Gelosaþ in Écnesse
Chapter: 11 of 18
Author: Batsutousai
Rating: Teen
Pairings: Harry/Salazar, Harry/OFC (Original Female Character)
Warnings: OCs, OoC, original character death, minor cliché-age, homophobia, racist actions and slurs (from secondary character), time travel
Summary: Caught in the backlash of Voldemort's Killing Curse, Harry is thrown through time to a world so very different from his own.
A/N: This chapter has a great deal of telling and not showing, but since it's covering a large deal of time, I'm not too bothered. XP
Also, it's the longest chapter of this fic yet. Be happy. XD
Set Fire to the Rain
-0-0-
The Slytherins managed to get used to having two new snakes and a teacher around quick enough, and Nuala was unspeakably glad to no longer be the youngest of the Slytherins, as well as no longer the only girl. Sprague managed to fit in well enough, though he was quickly forbidden from ever making a joke.
The 'Mum Harry' and 'Father Salazar' joke did, eventually, reach Godric's ears, but he thought it fantastic, rather than dangerously close to homosexuality. Salazar became a great deal more relaxed about the whole thing after Godric laughed at the joke, and if the other Slytherins noticed the sudden ease with which Salazar treated the joke, they kept it to themselves.
Angus kept a low profile during first term, cowed by the ever-watching eyes of his peers and Godric's disapproval. Word of pranks on the boy filtered back to Harry via his snakes, Duana, or the Founders' children. For the most part, they were harmless, but when word of the occasional harmful prank made it back to Harry, he would hunt down the perpetrator and have a nice long talk with them. The students, well used to him taking Salazar's place as Head of Slytherin House on weekends and being a fountain of magical knowledge, didn't refuse his sharp warnings and there was never a repeat from them.
After Yule, however, Angus returned with a new-found sense of superiority with which to face down his fellow students. He remained largely polite in his speech, but he often had a sense of looking down his nose at people. The only ones he showed any respect to were his teachers – save Roscoe, whom he dealt with by ignoring unless the non-magical spoke to him specifically – and Harry, who he had decided was a relative, though an illegitimate one, and therefore deserved some form of respect. (Harry had thought he'd earned the lack of snob because most of the school saw him on par with the teachers, but Kenric, who'd asked, had learnt differently.)
Shortly after the end of the Yule holiday, Harry finally mastered his animagus form: a raven. Salazar had been in the room when he managed it and had smiled at Harry as he stroked a finger down the feathers of the raven's chest. During the next full moon, Harry stayed with Wilda as a raven and, over the course of the next few months, they figured out a sort of game to play, which left Wilda with few or no self-inflicted scratches.
During the school year and following into the summer, various magical families – or non-magical families with magical children – moved into Hogwarts Village. Some had Hogwarts-age (between nine and sixteen) students that hadn't been known of previously, while others had students already in Hogwarts or who were too young to yet have enough control of their magic to teach them. The students staying at Hogwarts over the summer spent a lot of time in the village that summer, helping to get homes built and bring in the crops during the harvest.
Ollivander did, in fact set up shop in the village, which brought magical people from all over the Isles to Hogwarts Village. With all the fresh attention, the number of students doubled for the next year, and the teachers were wordlessly glad they'd looked into hiring on new teachers the year before and worked out a rough curriculum with them, as they suddenly had too many students to simply 'make do' with five main teachers and their assistants.
With the sudden influx of students, the teachers started looking at their first class for those students they could train as assistants or replacements for their subject. Harry and Velda, as the two oldest of their year, were asked by most of their teachers if they'd consider a proper apprenticeship under one of them. Velda quickly agreed to study arithmancy under Rowena, but Harry refused everyone, insisting he wanted to go out and see the world – maybe find a wife and have a family – before considering settling down anywhere.
After Harry's refusal, the teachers turned to other students to look for apprentices: Godric scouted one of his older Gryffindors, Diamond, to apprentice in the art of non-magical combat; Helga caught Vail to apprentice in charms, which had the boy absolutely dancing until Morgan wondered if that meant he'd have to relocate to the Hufflepuff dorms – he didn't – and Salazar called on Duana to apprentice in healing, as he'd said he would, and set her to taking care of Wilda on the mornings after the full moon.
Beyond suddenly needing more teachers, the influx of students also required a shifting in the dorms.
"Do it by year," Harry had insisted the first time Salazar brought it up, pacing back and forth in front of the fireplace. Morgan and Vail, both of whom had moved to Hogwarts Village with their parents, sat at the table, playing a card game Harry had taught them. Sprague was off in the forest, collecting rare ingredients for a couple potions he wanted to make, so the four males were unusually relaxed.
"By year?" Salazar repeated.
Harry nodded. "Yes. Say, put Fane, Morgan, Vail, and myself in one room, Merlin and Alex in the next, then the new boys. Nuala can keep her room on the girls' side, Ophelia and Vanora can share a room, and the new girls all get a room together."
"Is that how it's done in the future?" Vail asked.
Harry nodded, watching Salazar frown as he thought it over. Finally, the Founder hissed, :How would you explain never sleeping in your own bed?:
Harry stilled, thinking that one over. How, indeed. :Hope none of them wake up in the middle of the night and wonder where I am?: he suggested with a shrug. :I've never had trouble waking before them in the past.:
"I really hate it when you two do that," Morgan commented drily, as he did every time the two Parselmouths started hissing at each other.
"Sorry," Harry said, not even bothering to sound sincere.
Morgan snorted, then pointed out, "Harry's nearly as much a part of the staff as you are, Salazar; shouldn't he get his own room?"
"Indeed," Salazar murmured, looking thoughtfully towards Harry.
"Good idea," Vail agreed. "No way I want to be woken up every few nights when one of the new children has a nightmare and comes running to Mummy."
'Hadn't thought of that,' Harry thought with a grimace. Glancing towards Salazar, he knew that the elder wizard, too, had forgotten how the students looked to Harry for comfort; Mavis and Merlin had found solace from nightmares with Harry in the past, and Nuala had searched him out when she was lonely. They'd, honestly, been lucky that the two new girls hadn't come looking for him at all during the course of the previous year.
After a great deal of discussion that night – after Morgan and Vail had returned home and Harry and Salazar were in Salazar's room for the night – they created a connecting door between Harry and Salazar's rooms, since they shared a wall. An alarm spell on the door would wake them if someone came seeking Harry in the night and Harry could sneak back into his own room to take care of that student.
In practice, the set-up worked relatively well, especially since most of the students came to get Harry before he and Salazar had gone to sleep. They did have one awkward call, a few weeks into term, when one of the students came to find Harry while he and Salazar were jerking each other off – they'd moved past wild rutting, but weren't quite ready to consider penetrative sex – and Harry had to deal with the child with a hard-on and may have been a little less soothing than usual, but the child didn't seem to mind.
During that following summer, a forest fire near Merlin's home saw his mother and most of his village dead. Tanwen had come screeching to Harry and Salazar during lunch and, as soon as they'd both stood, worried, had taken them through her own fire to the site. Salazar saw to Merlin and the other surviving villagers with Tanwen's help, while Harry used a particularly advanced – and dangerous to the caster, judging from the warnings all over the page of the book he'd found it in – spell to call a storm brewing along the coast, some forty miles away, to come and put out the fire.
By the time the storm had arrived, fighting Harry the whole way, the young man was sweating and Tanwen had come over to sing a song of strength on his shoulder. Only once the storm was overhead and he was already soaked from the rain did Harry let the spell go and collapse back into Salazar's waiting arms, completely exhausted.
"Not your brightest idea," Salazar commented drily as he settled Harry against him comfortably.
Harry let out a weak laugh. "Couldn't have summoned enough water, otherwise," he whispered, Salazar craning his head to make his words out over the sound of the storm.
"Be that as it may." Salazar sighed and looked up at where Tanwen had found safety under an unburned awning. "Tanwen, can you get him to bed? I can manage here fine, so there's no need for you to get wet."
Tanwen let out a trill of agreement and braved the storm to rest again on Harry's shoulder. With a bit of phoenix magic, Harry was able to support his own weight long enough for her to flame them into Salazar's room, where he collapsed into the bed, magically dry from the phoenix travel.
When Salazar and Merlin got in some hours later, having settled the villagers and gathered whatever of Merlin's things had survived, Merlin dropped his things in the room he shared with Alexander, then peeked into Harry's room, hoping to take comfort in the sleeping wizard, even if they couldn't talk. But Harry wasn't there, so he went, instead, to Salazar's room. He pushed open the door, calling, "Salazar?"
Salazar was sitting on the bed, brushing a hand through Harry's hair. His head shot up and a flash of surprise touched his eyes, followed by a hint of fear before he blanked his expression. "Did you need something, Merlin?" he asked in the empty tone that had always accompanied his blank expression.
"I was looking for Harry," Merlin admitted quietly, cowed by the sense of unwelcome his Head of House exuded. "I know he's sleeping, but sometimes just sitting near him helps."
Salazar realised, in that moment, that hiding his and Harry's relationship from the young man's biggest fan, especially when Merlin had just lost his mother and would be remaining the summer with them, was going to be nearly impossible. Between his own observations of the boy and Harry's certainty that this was the man that would one day become a legend – clumsy he may be, but he'd yet to have trouble with a spell – Salazar trusted that Merlin wouldn't react to their relationship like Godric would, so he took a deep breath and admitted, "He always sleeps in here. With me."
It took a moment for Merlin to connect the dots. "Oh," he breathed finally. Then, slowly, a smile lightened his face, though there remained a sadness in his eyes. "That first summer, I bet," he said. "When we got back you and Harry were okay with us calling you Mum and Father. And Harry was sort of crazy happy, but whenever one of us asked him about it, he'd say it was because of an excellent sandwich at lunch or because he got a spell perfect in class, like he didn't do that with every spell ever. Oh, and this one time, he told us he was happy because he'd passed a particularly troubling pile of faeces; that was about the time we stopped asking."
Salazar looked down at the sleeping Harry with a fond smile. "Only you," he murmured before glancing back up at the boy standing in the doorway. "About then," he agreed before standing. "You may as well come in. I've some work to do, but you're welcome to sit with him if you're quiet."
Merlin's expression relaxed into a grateful smile and he slipped into the room, the door closing behind him. He climbed into the bed next to Harry and curled up next to him, his whole body relaxing, as if Harry's presence was the solution to his troubles.
Salazar had just sat down at his desk to work on one of his alchemy scrolls when he thought of something and called, "Merlin?"
"Yes?" The boy raised his head to look at his teacher.
"You understand this knowledge isn't to be passed on to anyone, not even your Housemates."
Merlin nodded. "I know," he agreed. "Harry'd have told us, else." He laid his head back down on the bed, then said, "Ramona knows, though, doesn't she?"
"Ramona knows everything." Salazar said by way of agreement and Merlin let out a quiet laugh.
They fell quiet after that, and when Salazar finally decided it was time for dinner and had put his things away, he turned to find Merlin sleeping next to Harry, who had curled a protective arm around the boy in his sleep. Salazar smiled at them, then turned and left for the Great Hall, figuring he could have something sent down later, once they'd both woken.
Salazar spent a bit longer in the Great Hall than he otherwise might have, answering questions that he had refused to bother with before, about the fire and Harry and Merlin's health. By the time he made it back to his room, wishing Sprague a quick good night, Harry was awake and smiling at him. He'd shifted the sleeping Merlin a bit so the boy was leaning against him where he sat against the head of the bed, instead of curled at his side. "How are you feeling?" Salazar whispered, coming over and brushing a hand against Harry's forehead and cheeks to do a quick check of his temperature.
"I'm fine," Harry replied, taking care to keep his voice quiet. "I assume, by Merlin's presence in here, instead of my room, that you told him about us."
"Yes," Salazar agreed. "I'm trusting your instincts on this."
"Good."
"Go back to sleep," Salazar ordered, turning to return to his scrolls.
Harry shook his head and brushed a hand through Merlin's hair. "I'm going to focus on my Occlumency, then we'll both sleep."
Salazar shot him a dubious look. "In the same bed with Merlin?"
"The bed's big enough for three," Harry retorted quietly. "And I'm no more inclined to kick him out than I am to sleep without you because you're being difficult. So, yes, in the bed with Merlin."
Salazar smiled, pleased at Harry's refusal to sleep without him. "Very well," he agreed and Harry rolled his eyes before closing them to meditate.
Merlin was a little clingy the first couple days after he became a ward of Hogwarts, and the first night wasn't the only one that he spent curled up next to Harry while Salazar slept at Harry's back, but he was more than willing to give the two older wizards some space, following Ramona or Duana around for a few hours, and Salazar discovered that he didn't mind the nightly invasions as much as he might have.
"They're our children," Harry had replied when Salazar had mentioned that to him after Merlin had finally started sleeping in his own room. "Or, well, as much as we'll ever have children. Sometimes they live to drive us nuts, but that doesn't mean you care for them any less, and when they need you–"
"It's hard to push them away," Salazar finished, having heard something similar from Harry after the one truly awkward time that Harry'd had to take care of an upset student in the night. "That doesn't mean I don't want to kill them, still, when they come knocking at your door when we're in the middle of sex."
Harry laughed. "Makes two of us," he agreed and kissed the older man. "Speaking of sex..."
When they returned for the new term, the other Slytherins – as well as the students of the other Houses who knew him – were sympathetic to Merlin's loss and would occasionally ask if he needed anything. Merlin would always shake his head with a sad little smile and promise, "I'm okay."
One afternoon, a couple of weeks into the new term, Merlin and Alexander entered the common room together from outside, both frowning faintly. Harry was curled up on one of the couches, Salazar was seated at a table with Fane and Morgan, kicking both their arses at a card game, and various other Slytherins were spread out on the floor, the other couches, or tables.
"Harry?" Alexander said as Merlin settled into the open spot next to Harry on the couch.
"Hm?" Harry replied, not looking up from his book.
"What's a 'mudblood'?"
Harry's head snapped up and he stared at Alexander for a long moment, blood turning to ice, before he turned to Merlin. "Did someone call you that?" he asked, taking care to keep his voice soothing; Alexander was a pureblood from a noble family, much as Morgan was, so if he'd heard that slur, it likely wouldn't be against him. He'd come in with Merlin, however, whose mother had been non-magical.
Merlin shrugged. "Yes. What's it mean?"
"Who?" Harry demanded, an edge to his voice that caught the attention of everyone else in the common; Harry tended to be more likely to laugh or, if you'd done wrong, be a bit stern, and it was always news to catch even a hint of anger in his voice. (Though, listening to those students that had been there with him at the start, he had quite the temper when properly riled, assuming you could figure out which buttons to press, something which had become harder once Salazar had stopped leaving every weekend.)
"Angus," Alexander reported when Merlin didn't respond right away.
"I'll kill him," Harry hissed, standing from the couch with far more force than necessary.
"Harry," Salazar interrupted while the rest of the room stared in disbelief at the furious wizard. "There will be no killing of students on the grounds."
"So I'll do it in the air," Harry retorted, making for the door.
"Harry."
Harry turned to stare at Salazar, eyes flashing. "He called Merlin a mudblood," he spat, the slur like acid on his tongue.
Salazar stiffened, his mind making the connections with the future curse without prompting. "You can't kill him, Harry," he insisted, a sharp note to his voice that had nothing to do with Harry's sudden violent urge and everything to do with wanting to throttle his nephew.
"Can I maim him?" Harry wondered in a faux sweet voice.
"As long as he can still cast spells," Salazar agreed.
Harry smiled coldly, then turned and slipped from the common without another word.
Everyone stared after him for a long moment before turning to look at the Head of House. "Salazar," Merlin said, "what does it mean?"
Salazar considered not telling his students for a moment before deciding he'd rather they hear it from him than from Angus. "It's a jab at your mother being non-magical," he explained, calm voice belied by the steel in his gaze. "Angus is saying your blood is dirty, because your mother didn't have magic."
There were mutters of dislike around the common at the explanation; over two-thirds of the Slytherins had at least one non-magical parent, and the idea of saying they'd passed on 'dirty blood' was mad, so far as they were concerned.
When Harry returned twenty minutes later, he calmly returned to his couch and offered to share his book with Merlin, who readily agreed.
At dinner, the entirety of Slytherin House settled in early at their table and stared at the doors, waiting for Angus to show up so they could see what Harry had done to him, as he'd been tight-lipped about the whole thing. When Angus walked in, he looked pretty much the same as always, but he was clenching his jaw oddly and scowling at the Slytherin table. He blanched when he caught Harry's blank stare over a cold smile and hurried towards his table without looking back towards them.
"Okay, we've seen him," Fane said, tone just a little irritated. "Nothing's changed. Except I think he's actually a little bit terrified of you."
"He'd best be," Harry murmured, buttering a roll. "And I punched out most of his teeth."
There was a moment's stillness, then the entire Slytherin table turned to look at where Angus was glaring into the soup that had appeared in front of him.
"That can be fixed," Morgan pointed out.
"The only people in this castle capable enough with medical magic to fix it are Salazar, Duana, and myself; Salazar and I won't fix it, and I explained what had happened to Duana, so she won't help him either." Harry shrugged. "He can still talk and cast spells, though they might come out a little special unless he's mastered them nonverbally, since the shape of his mouth is different, so the words will sound different."
"You're a little scary when you're angry," one of the newest Slytherins, a girl named Domina, said.
"Assuming Angus learned his lesson – which he usually does after a round with you or Salazar – the likelihood of us seeing Harry that angry again is slim," Alexander pointed out.
As dinner came to a close, Godric made his way over to the Slytherin table, expression disapproving.
"I'll be fine," Harry murmured to Salazar when the man tensed at Godric's approach.
"I know," Salazar whispered back. "But that doesn't mean I have to like it."
Harry flashed him a quick smile as Godric stopped next to the table and requested, "Harry, a word?"
"Certainly," the young man agreed, getting up from his seat and following the elder wizard out of the Hall and down the corridor behind the stairs to an empty room.
As soon as the door was closed, Godric spat, "Why did you attack one of my students?"
"He attacked one of mine, first," Harry retorted coolly.
"He swears you started the hostilities," Godric insisted, though there was a note of uncertainty in his tone; he'd never known Harry to lie. Hide things, certainly, but never lie.
"I threw the first punch," Harry allowed, "but he first called Merlin a slur that implies his blood is dirty because his mother was non-magical."
"And this slur?" Godric asked, anger at Harry lessening the more he heard; Angus had been careful to avoid the topic of why Harry had attacked him, and Godric had been too angered by the sight of his student's toothless mouth to insist he get an answer. (That Duana had mysteriously vanished to spend time with a boy who was courting her from the village had only added to his anger.)
"Mudblood," Harry said, grimacing at the taste of it in his mouth. " 'Mud' being a word from another language for wet dirt."
"You're familiar with the word?" Godric asked even as his anger turned to Angus for both his continued prejudice and for lying about the reason Harry had hit him.
Harry stilled for a moment, then reached over his shoulder to touch the top of his back. "I've heard it before," he agreed quietly.
Godric's expression darkened at the allusion to Harry's mysterious attacker. "I see," he said.
Harry dropped his arm and asked, "May I go, Godric?"
"Yes. I...apologise for not collecting all the facts before..."
"Accosting me?" Harry suggested wryly. "Don't worry, one of my tutors used to do the same thing; I'm inured to it."
Godric grimaced, then waved Harry on.
Angus returned to his first term attempts to keep a low profile, which continued even after Yule, though he'd returned with a full mouth of teeth. Harry did catch the other young man watching him unusually closely from time-to-time, but he wasn't bothered by it; Angus didn't scare him any more than Godric did, after all, though he wasn't about to completely ignore Angus, either.
Things finally came to a head at the end of the next school year, in the year 728. Harry and Salazar had finally tried penetrative sex, and though it had hurt a bit – Harry had been bottom, but he informed Salazar he could have a go next time – Salazar had healed everything and Harry was still high as a kite the next afternoon when he met up with Ramona and Merlin for a little gossip session in an out-of-the-way corner of the castle. It was something Harry and Ramona had been doing since they broke up, and Merlin had sort of naturally followed along once he'd found out about Harry and Salazar being a couple.
"Did Salazar give you one of his test potions?" Ramona asked with a laugh when she saw him floating along next to Merlin.
"He's been like this all morning," Merlin reported, amused. "And Salazar's not much better."
"You did it?" Ramona realised, grinning. "You actually had real sex with him? The whole thing?"
Harry grinned back, hopping up on a window ledge she was standing next to. "Yes," he agreed.
"Was it any good? Details, Harry!"
"Virgin ears," Merlin insisted, but he was grinning too, happy for his best friend and mentor.
"I am not recounting the sordid details of my sex life for you, Ramona, and you know that," Harry insisted. "And of course it was good. Sex with Salazar is always good."
"Now you're just teasing me." Ramona let out a dramatic sigh. "Oh, I'll never have the sort of relationship you two have."
"Uh-oh. Is Manfred being stupid again?" Harry asked, letting his own pleasure fall to the side in favour of worrying over Ramona's difficult courtship with her fellow Hufflepuff. Manfred adored her, they all knew, but he also had a bad habit of opening his mouth and saying something insulting to Ramona without thinking to censor himself. The more he'd fallen in with a group of Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs who believed the woman belonged at home, taking care of menial tasks, the more often he'd spoken out of turn. Ramona had kept it from her father, worried about what Roscoe would do to Manfred, but Harry and Merlin were safe to unload on, though she'd warned Harry off stalking up to Manfred and smacking some sense into him more than once.
Ramona sighed and shook her head. "Just more of the same," she admitted. "Conrad overheard him a couple of days ago, though, and cursed his balls blue, whatever that means."
Harry and Merlin both winced; Harry had taught the phrase to his closest male friends, tired of them using ridiculous and confusing idioms to describe a problem Vail was having for a few days. Salazar had eventually found a spell to fix things and they'd mostly forgotten until, a few months previous, Kenric had discovered a spell that would give the victim blue balls for forty-eight hours and shared it around.
Ramona considered them suspiciously for a moment, then continued, "Anyway, he and I have been having a bit of a row, because he thinks I should tell Daddy and Mum, but I don't want to get them involved. I mean, I'm twenty years old! I can take care of myself."
"And if you can't, we'll do it for you," Harry agreed cheerfully.
"You're not punching him in the face," Ramona ordered. "I like his teeth the way they are and I'd rather not try kissing lips behind which are no teeth."
"Never mind Roscoe's reaction when he discovered why Harry broke his teeth," Merlin added gleefully.
"I could break his fingers, instead," Harry suggested idly, picking at his nails. "I know a good spell for it."
"Gods save me from homicidal best friends," Ramona muttered to the ceiling before pointing a finger at Harry and insisting, "No."
Harry flashed her an innocent smile. "His toes?"
"You're no longer allowed within spell-range of Manfred," Ramona declared.
"That'll make meals in the Great Hall difficult," Merlin pointed out.
"Be quiet, Merlin," Ramona ordered and the youngest grinned at her.
They spent another few hours trading stories about other students in the castle before heading down for lunch. Harry sat at the Slytherin table with Merlin and his other close Slytherin friends, who were telling this ridiculous joke about a centaur, a mermaid, and a dragon that Harry didn't begin to understand, but still made him laugh.
Distracted by the convoluted joke, Harry almost didn't notice Salazar walking into the Hall, but Godric brought his attendance to everyone's attention when he stood and boomed, "What's this I hear about you seducing a male student, Salazar Slytherin?"
Salazar stilled as the Hall fell silent. He just barely managed to keep from looking at Harry and, struggling to keep his voice even, replied, "I'm sure I've no idea what you're talking about."
Godric looked down at the student at his side, Angus, and nodded. The young man waved his wand, smirking, and Harry's voice could be heard saying, "And of course it was good. Sex with Salazar is always good."
'So, the little bastard followed us,' Harry thought numbly as everyone turned to look at him in disbelief. Figuring they were screwed anyway, Harry shot a quick apologetic look at Salazar, then stood from his bench and coolly announced, "Your information seems to be lacking, Godric, as always; Salazar never seduced me, I seduced him."
There was a long silence as Godric digested this, then he turned towards Salazar, who remained in the centre of the Great Hall, and spat, "You've corrupted him."
"I've done no such thing," Salazar replied.
But Godric wasn't done: "How many other male students have you corrupted? How many others will we find begging at your chamber door?"
"That's enough, Godric!" Helga snapped, standing from her own table as Harry made his way over to his lover, disinclined to let him face the stares of the Hall alone; Harry knew Salazar had nightmares about scenes very like this, and he hated Godric for making it a reality.
"This should have been handled away from the eyes of the children," Rowena agreed serenely.
"I won't have such freaks in my school!" Godric spat.
"They we'll leave," Harry declared. "We'll be gone by dinner and you need never even think about us again."
"That's not necessary," Helga hurried to say, even as an angry outcry started from the Slytherin table and Harry's friends in the other Houses. The only ones silent were those who knew that Harry was from the future and would be leaving them soon anyway, though even they looked plenty upset.
"I won't stay here to be called a freak," Harry said, cold green eyes boring into Godric's for a long moment before he turned to the smug young man at the Founder's side. "Though I must applaud you, Angus, on teaching him one of your favoured words for non-magicals and their offspring." Godric's righteous countenance slipped slightly and he glanced towards Angus, disturbed.
"Let's go," Salazar whispered, placing one shaking hand on Harry's shoulder.
Harry took the hand in his and squeezed it in an attempt to offer some comfort as they started towards the doors of the Great Hall.
They had just reached the doors when a pained shout had them looking back over their shoulders to find Duana, face a storm cloud, standing with her wand pointed at Godric. "Good luck getting that fixed," she spat, "considering you just banished the only healer who knows the cure." Then she jumped over the back of her bench and started towards Harry and Salazar, Kenric close on her heels.
From the other tables, students that Harry knew well rose. While only those who knew both Harry and Salazar well were moving towards the doors, the others who had risen remained standing, showing their support all the same. The entire Slytherin House rose as one and turned to join their Founder and the other man they considered a guardian.
Before the students could get more than halfway across the Hall, Salazar moved past his shock and called, "No. Sit, all of you."
"But, Salazar–" Vail started.
"Hogwarts was created to give children – to give you – a place where you're safe to learn and experiment with magic," Salazar informed them, his tone gentling at their lost looks. "Don't sacrifice your futures on our account."
"Eat your lunches," Harry said with an easy smile. "You can still say goodbye afterwards; we're not leaving quite yet."
"Go," Salazar added, pointing back towards the tables.
Most of the students turned back obediently, but the group of Slytherins who knew about Harry having time travelled, Ramona, Conrad, Wilda, Duana, and Kenric continued forward, expressions set against Harry and Salazar's disapproval.
"We're coming to help you pack," Ramona insisted when they reached the two wizards.
"Of course you are," Salazar replied drily, but he didn't try ordering them back to their tables again and they left the Great Hall as a group.
For once, Salazar didn't complain about having non-Slytherins in the common. The other Slytherins and Ramona shot worried looks at the Founder, but Harry silently squeezed his hand, understanding the pain of being forced from his home just for loving someone.
"You're really leaving?" Kenric whispered, sounding less like the growing teen he usually acted and more like the little boy Harry had first met him as.
"Yes," Harry agreed simply, letting Salazar move ahead towards their room while he fell back to speak with the students.
"Maybe Godric will change his mind," Duana suggested hopefully.
Harry shook his head. "It doesn't matter. I was going to have to leave in a couple years, anyway, and Salazar intends to come with."
"But you'll be back, right?" Conrad asked.
Harry shook his head again. "We can't," he whispered. "I'm–" His voice caught for a moment, then he forced himself to keep on, explaining, "I'm from the future, originally. I have to get back; there's too much at stake there and too much chance for me to screw something up the longer I remain in this time. The only way to travel that far into the future is if Salazar comes with me."
"So you're both leaving," Morgan murmured. "You couldn't have told us that sooner?"
Harry shrugged. "We could have," he allowed, "but we decided not to."
"How far into the future?" Wilda asked. "Maybe if we're lucky, one of us will survive, or our children–"
"Over one thousand years," Harry said with grim certainty. "And, if it's all the same, I'd rather not have your descendants looking out for me. I was well enough known as a child that they'd have no trouble finding me, but it would only be trouble for everyone involved." He shook his head. "I should be helping Salazar pack our things." He turned and moved to his and Salazar's room, ducking under an angry pile of books and hurrying over to grab Salazar's wand. "Stop," he ordered.
Everything that had been moving dropped to the ground and Salazar looked impossibly lost for a moment, as if he didn't know who or where he was, then he leaned his forehead against Harry's, letting out a shaky breath. "Sorry," he whispered.
Harry brushed a hand through Salazar's hair, brushing the tip of his ear. "I know," he whispered back. "It's okay. Sit down and I'll finish the packing, okay?"
Salazar gave a jerky nod and dropped into his chair while Harry turned his attention to directing their things to pack.
"When was the last time you slept in your room?" Fane wondered somewhat rhetorically from where the group of students had stopped just inside the doorway.
Harry flashed him a smile. "Oh, Gods, I don't remember. Three, four years?"
"I feel like I should be impressed that you kept your relationship a secret from us for so long, but I'm really not," Alexander said.
"Did anyone actually know?" Nuala asked, curious.
"Ramona figured it out before we ended our courtship," Harry offered, brow furrowed as he directed some of the few things he'd left in his old room into a small bag for travel. "And Merlin found out two summers ago, after his mum died and he came to stay here. Other than them, no."
"You didn't trust us?" Vail asked, hurt in his voice.
"It's not that we didn't trust you," Salazar murmured from his chair. "More that we – I – didn't know how you'd react."
"Salazar's faced bad reactions, before," Harry offered to the slightly wounded looks the Founder's words had caused, "and those reactions were from people he'd well-trusted. So it's not you lot, specifically, but simply bad experiences in the past."
"What will you do?" Merlin asked quietly.
Harry and Salazar traded uncertain looks, not having really thought about it; neither of them had wanted to think about what would happen if they had to leave Hogwarts early, though the threat had always been there. Finally, Harry said, "We could travel on the continent, I suppose. I said I would do that after finishing here, anyway, and it might be nice to learn a couple other languages. See some history."
Salazar nodded. "I've always been interested in seeing Rome," he admitted.
Harry smiled and looked back at the group in the doorway. "We'll travel, then. Maybe send you some students from other communities." He snorted with some amusement. "Maybe suggest magical schools to a couple of the right people and give Hogwarts some competition."
"That would be a fine way to get Godric back for being a– what's the word you always use, Harry?" Ramona asked.
"Homophobic git," Harry and Salazar chorused as Harry waved the filled bag closed.
The students let out strained laughs.
Harry sighed. "Can I ask that you lot keep an eye on the other students? Especially our snakes."
"Don't let Godric take his anger on us out on them," Salazar agreed, getting out of his chair and stooping to grab the bag. "Or on yourselves," he added, frowning at the thought. But, if he trusted any of their students to handle themselves against Godric Gryffindor's prejudice, it was these eleven.
"We won't," Fane swore for all of them.
"I'll curse worse than his privates if he does," Duana snarled.
Salazar's lips twitched. "I did teach you the cure for that," he reminded her.
"Oh, I know. But he doesn't know that," Duana replied.
"Come on." Harry waved for the group to move out and they all made for the entrance hall, a grim silence hanging over their heads.
In the entrance hall they were met by practically every student in the school. All of the teachers were there as well, save Godric. At the lead of the group stood Harry's favourite house-elf, Slinky, with a tiny bag in one hand and Tanwen perched on her upheld arm.
"Slinky, what's this?" Harry asked, kneeling in front of the creature he considered a friend.
"Slinky comes with Masters Harry and Salazar," Slinky declared.
Harry shook his head. "Slinky, really, it's not–"
"Is," the little created insisted. "Masters Harry and Salazar bes needing lookings after, and Slinky not so needed here." Tanwen let out an agreeing trill.
"Oh, I should have known you were behind this," Harry muttered to the phoenix and she twitched her wings in a way that let Harry know she was proud of herself. "Well, I can't stop you," Harry told the house-elf, "not if you're so determined, but aren't you tied to Hogwarts?"
"I freed her when she asked," Helga explained, kneeling next to Harry. "She's always looked to your needs first, you know; she's far more your house-elf than she is Hogwarts'."
Harry sighed. "I know," he agreed. Perhaps if he hadn't paid her so much attention when she'd first arrived, checking in on her and soothing her when she did something just the littlest bit wrong and thought she was going to be punished, she wouldn't have attached herself to him. But he had, and Hogwarts had continued to add house-elves to their number over the intervening years, meaning she was hardly needed to keep things running. "But what about your mate, Pickles? And your daughter, Doddy?"
"Doddy too young for travels. Pickles cares for Doddy. Pickles understands, gives Slinky blessing," Slinky said, ears drooping slightly. "Slinky bes missing, but Slinky picks Masters Harry and Salazar. Even if means Doddy and Pickles passed before Slinky can return to Hogwarts. Slinky decided."
Harry brushed his hand across Slinky's head, soothing it over an old scar running along the back of one ear. "Okay," he agreed. "Are you okay with staying a free elf, though? It's not that I don't want you–"
"Master Harry doesn't believe in enslavement," Slinky said. "Slinky knows."
Harry smiled, knowing it was something they'd spoken about in the past and touched that the house-elf had remembered. "Okay," he said again, then stood, helping Helga to her own feet. "Thank you," he whispered as she drew him into a hug.
"I wasn't about to deny her, and I can't bear the thought of you getting sick and having to eat nothing but Salazar's soup while he heals you."
Harry laughed. "I think I can teach him to make a few simple things," he insisted. "But thank you, all the same. For her, if not for my stomach."
Helga touched a hand to Harry's cheek. "You'll always be one of my children, Harry," she whispered, "and I'll always be proud of you. No matter where you are, or how long it's been since we've seen each other."
Harry nodded, words stuck in the back of his throat. "I'll write," he managed after a moment.
"You'd better," Helga agreed and kissed him on the cheek before stepping back to let Harry speak with others.
Harry quickly lost track of how many hugs and goodbyes followed. He promised Rowena he'd let her know about any new spells or theories he came across, and to Sprague he promised any interesting ingredients they found.
By the time he'd gone through all his snakes – including his yearmates and Alexander – and was standing in front of Merlin and Ramona, his two closest friends, he was wiping at damp eyes. "I haven't cried in years," he complained to them, smiling at where Salazar stood with Tanwen on his shoulder and Slinky at his feet just beyond them. "Don't make me break my perfect record now."
"You're such a stupid boy," Ramona complained pulling both him and Merlin into a three-person hug. "We'll see you on Litha," she whispered into his ear.
Harry nodded, having told these two the exact date they were leaving when they pestered him about it last summer. "I know," he murmured back before kissing them both on the cheek, ignoring Merlin's exaggerated motion to wipe the kiss off. "Take care of yourselves, okay?"
"We will," Merlin promised. "Or, well, I'll try."
"Balance, Merlin," Harry reminded him. "Balance."
"Shut up."
"I'll see you in two years," Harry promised before stepping around them and stopping next to Salazar. "Where to first?" he asked with a tremulous smile.
"I thought we'd let the Lady Tanwen decide," Salazar replied, voice quiet and eyes shining with unshed tears.
"Sounds good," Harry agreed and made sure Slinky had a hold of his leg before placing his hand on Tanwen's talon. "Whenever you're ready, Tanwen."
Tanwen let out a trill and the world vanished behind a pillar of pale blue flames.
Harry and Salazar travelled wherever they wanted for the next two years, making stops in Rome, Athens, Sparta, and parts of central Europe, Egypt, and China. Tanwen grumbled about it a bit, but was generally okay with transporting letters and items between the two men and Hogwarts. Occasionally, they would come across small magical communities and they would mention Hogwarts to them, telling them of the wonders and beauty of the castle, as well as the joys of learning magic with so many others your own age and from teachers who knew and loved their subjects. Harry also, when they came across it, mentioned apparation to their friends back at the castle and suggested looking into wards against it, in case it became popular.
News from the castle indicated that they'd been receiving a number of new students from all over the continent, as well as a couple new teachers to help with the influx. They were grateful – even Godric had to admit that he was glad for the additional students and teachers, even if he still thought the world was better without 'freaks' in it – but they all wished Harry and Salazar were still there, rather than travelling the world.
As the time approached for their journey to the future, thoughts turned to how they would manage after. Slinky had been told about their travel by Tanwen – apparently, house-elves could understand phoenix trills – and was determined that she would go with them, distant future or not. Neither wizard insulted her by asking if she was certain, but Harry did suggest she find some time to return to Hogwarts and visit with her family one last time, which Slinky agreed to do once they returned to the Isles.
A week before they were to leave for the future, Harry and Salazar returned to England, making camp near Stonehenge. Slinky left them once they were settled, promising to return with Merlin and Ramona the day before Litha.
"Sal?" Harry said the afternoon before Slinky, Merlin, and Ramona were due.
Salazar glanced up from one of his scrolls. "Yes?"
Harry set aside the raven and wolf figure he was working on and sighed. "I've been thinking about the requirements for the trip," he explained and Salazar set his quill aside, understanding this might take a bit and would require his participation. "We've got the whole 'dark moon of Litha' bit, as well as the 'circle of ancient stones'."
"And the not journeying alone," Salazar pointed out.
Harry nodded. "But we never really discussed the 'become one with love' bit."
Salazar cleared his throat, mildly uncomfortable. "I always thought it meant sex," he admitted.
Harry smiled. "I know. And that's certainly an option, but I'm not doing in in front of Merlin and Ramona–" Salazar made a disgusted face at the thought, "–and depending on where we end up in the future, appearing with our trousers around our knees could be a bad plan."
Salazar sighed, as they both knew there was a very real chance that they could appear exactly when and where Harry had left: in the graveyard, facing Voldemort and his followers. "True. Tell me you've a different idea?"
Harry chuckled. "Maybe," he agreed. "I was thinking, we've done sex before, in every way we could think of–"
"Including a few we would have been better off not trying," Salazar muttered good-naturedly.
"Including a few we shouldn't have," Harry agreed, rolling his eyes. "So I was trying to think of a way we haven't 'become one' or whatever rot, and I came up with being bonded."
Salazar's expression blanked. "You want to do a handfasting?" he asked carefully.
"Yes," Harry replied, determined.
A slow smile traced across Salazar's lips as he got up and walked over to where Harry was lounging next to the bed. "I love you," he murmured as he knelt next to the younger man.
"I love you, too," Harry replied, threading a hand through Salazar's hair. "Will you? Bond with me?"
"Yes," Salazar breathed before pressing forward for a kiss.
They didn't get much else done the rest of the day.
Ramona, Merlin, and Slinky arrived early the next morning, bringing with them a bag of things from those at Hogwarts that knew the two wizards were leaving for good, as well as some Hogwarts fare for breakfast. "The house-elves wouldn't let us leave without it," Ramona explained as they sat down at the table Harry and Salazar had brought out of their tent to eat at.
"We sort of expected that to happen," Harry admitted. "I didn't bother making breakfast."
The younger two humans laughed and they all settled in to eat, sharing the latest gossip from the castle.
Once the food was gone, Harry said, "So, Sal and I are thinking to do a handfasting, to activate whatever magic is needed for the travel. Merlin, I was hoping you'd officiate?"
Merlin jerked in surprise. "Me? Why–? Well, but, uhm..." He grimaced while Harry and Ramona chuckled and Salazar hid a smile behind his empty teacup. "It won't be binding, you know," he finally managed. "I'm just a student."
Harry patted his knee. "It won't be binding now," he agreed. "Will you do it?"
Merlin sighed, long resigned to Harry forever dropping little hints about his future but never explaining anything. "Okay," he agreed.
"So, what have you two got planned until moon rise?" Ramona asked, leaning forward.
"Nothing spectacular," Harry allowed cautiously. "Why?"
Ramona patted the small bag between her and Merlin on the table. "Because we have gifts."
Harry and Salazar weren't sure whether to be excited, or afraid.
In the end, they ended up both happy and sad. The gifts were all from the heart, worked on with intent from the Slytherins, Founders' children, Duana, and Wilda. Even Helena, who'd been told the truth by Alexander, who was trying to court her and not having much success, had made something.
After the gifts had been put away, the four humans sat outside the tent with Slinky and Tanwen and spoke about whatever came to mind, Slinky cheerfully translating for the phoenix.
When the sun began to sink in the west, Slinky made them all an unusually light dinner – Tanwen's suggestion, apparently – and they packed up the tent before making their way over to the circle of ancient stones. There, they waited until the moon had risen over the eastern horizon, black against the backdrop of stars. In the night's stillness, the group shared a final hug, then Ramona stepped back and let Merlin tie Salazar and Harry's hands together, whispering, "May you love each other and remain together throughout all of time."
"We will," Harry said and Salazar's hand tightened against his.
As Merlin stepped back, Tanwen soared down and landed on Harry and Salazar's bound hands and Slinky attached herself to Harry's legs. The phoenix let out a scream at the moon and Harry gasped as the old scars on his back burned.
"Harry?" Salazar whispered.
Before Harry could respond, a circle of flames appeared around the two wizards, flickering pale blue and bright gold. They danced higher and higher at Tanwen's trilled direction, until Harry and Salazar could see little more than the flames and each other.
Then, with a final screech from the phoenix, the wall of fire drew inwards, sweeping over the four trapped within until it was nothing more than a single flame pillar, taller than the stones. It shrank slowly, eventually vanishing and leaving nothing to mark that it – or those that had stood within it – had ever been.
-0-
A/N: For anyone curious, Harry was twenty when he and Salazar got kicked out. (Salazar's about 32.)
Next chapter will pick up in the modern era. Are you excited? I'm excited. So excited, in fact, that I'm going to clean our entire house. (We've guests arriving tomorrow – 18 May 2012, for your reference – for Shara's graduation, and this place is a bit of a pigsty. ^.^")
A Note About 'Mudblood': The word 'blood' comes from the Old English 'blód', but there's no variation of the word 'mud' until the twelfth century, where it shows up in a couple of Germanic languages, so it's quite unlikely that anyone speaking a language of the Isles – or any language at this time, really – would understand the phrase 'mudblood', beyond the fact that it has something to do with blood.
As for how Angus came up with the word 'mud'? He pulled it out of his arse. Maybe he stepped in a mud puddle and the first word that came out of his mouth was 'mud' for some completely inexplicable reason. I dunno. I just wanted him to coin the term and tick Harry off. (I admit it.)
~Bats ^.^x
01 - Impossible Distance || 02 - Layers of Harmony || 03 - Breaking Inside
04 - Let It Flow || 05 - White Horses || 06 - Disturbs Your Slumber
07 - Heart Worth Breaking || 08 - Keep It Inside || 09 - Like the Stars
10 - I'll Breathe Again ||
13 - In Defence of Our Dreams || 14 - Night Falls In || 15 - Nobody Knows Our Names
16 - I'm Not Drowning || 17 - Beating of the Storm || 18 - Let Me See Your Fire
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