Twins :A diffrent story

Chapter 2

Un'Beta'd
#

Parsel#
I hope you enjoy!
I'm not J.K either!!

Chapter Text

Chapter 2:
It had been a long six years since Merlin had come before the founders and asked them of their task, but it had been a good six years. Little Harry had grown well and he had wormed himself in to all of their hearts, even if some were reluctant to show it. It had been difficult at first, Harry's wild magic was much more powerful than they had expected and they had to begin control and Occlumency training when he was three. It had helped a great deal, a child's mind was much more imaginative and they were able to think up the wildest of things that adults simply couldn't.
It hadn't stopped the wild magic completely however, and due to that fact Harry had learned to control it slightly. He could bring things to him if he wanted and vanish things too, it was amusing to watch a four year old try and be sneaky with magic. Merlin returned to them after three years and he was rejuvenated and excited, the strands of time were already rewriting themselves and he took that as a positive seeing as there wasn't really anything that could be worse than before. He had begun telling Harry stories of his Godfamily when he was six, showing him how to pull strength from the feelings within when he needed to.
It had been decided that they would postpone the beginning of Harry's training for another year, simply because of the vast amounts of magic the child had within him. At the age of seven, Harry almost had full wandless control of his magic, and he was most at ease with summoning and vanishing things, doing it with an absent flick of his hand when he wanted something. Of course, it wasn't only magic they had been teaching him. He learned how to read and write with remarkable ease, and he was being prepared to take on Heir and Lord responsibilities in the most basic of formats. They were unable to teach specific things as they were unable to access anything to do with the Houses he would later inherit, but etiquette, customs and history were a must and how to interact with other races.
Rowena also insisted that they begin the teachings of other languages when he was young, she had started teaching Latin and French to Harry at the age of four and with each mastery of a language another would begin and Rowena made sure to speak in a different language each time she was with Harry to make sure he never forgot. Once they were sure it was safe to begin teaching they had organised a timetable and an outline of the magics and other learnings Harry would need and who was going to teach which subjects.
Harry had been excited all week, he knew he would be learning proper magic and he had been reading at an almost unhealthy rate so he was ready; he said he didn't want to have to stop all the time. Speaking of the child, seven year old Harry Potter burst in to the office where Merlin, Rowena, Helga and Salazar were sitting giggling as Godric chased him, and he ran to hide behind Salazar's chair. Godric huffed and Harry peaking around, grinning knowingly and Gryffindor shook his head.
"Too clever." He grumbled and Harry snickered.
"Have you eaten your breakfast?" Helga questioned and Harry nodded.
"Yep,"
"Now, you know why we are here." Salazar began, his voice cool, "You must promise to listen to our instructions clearly, and not to break the rules we set for you."
"I will," Harry promised solemnly.
"I will be teaching you of your time, we will go over the change in customs and the facts of history as they are known for everyone else; even if you already know the truth. I will also be helping you tune in to any hidden abilities you may have." Merlin told him and Harry nodded.
"You shall be learning Blade Handling, Transfiguration, Defensive Magic and Riding with me." Godric said brightly and Harry grinned.
"With me we will be covering Charms, Arithmancy, Runic Magic and Astronomy," Rowena said to him, "Though, shall you show any aptitude for the art of Divination then I shall be the one to teach you that also."
"We will cover Herbology, Care of Magical Creatures, Wards and Protection Magic and Music and Arts together," Helga continued easily.
"And finally," Salazar drawled, "I will teach you Potions, Offensive Magic, Mind Magic and Archery."
Harry looked at the five of them wide eyed – he would be learning so much! A bright smile lit up his face and he all but bounced on the spot, he would do his very best.
It was much harder than Harry could have ever thought it would be. He had been fitted with a beautiful wand, walnut with a core of Hebridean Black dragon heartstring and unicorn hair, but he struggled to cast magic correctly; it felt much more of an effort than he was used to. During the second week of his training, Harry had tried the shield charm Godric was teaching him without his wand and it sprang out of his hand in a great rush of magic.
So it was decided that he was to be taught without a wand, and once he had the basics down he was taught to use his wand too, though he much preferred it without. He was getting on quite well, and it was finally time for his first lesson with Salazar. There was something about the tall, dark haired man that drew Harry in, and even though Salazar was not the friendliest of people, Harry really did like him. He swallowed hard when he saw the mood in which the Slytherin founder was in, the man was normally intimidating but when he was angry he was downright scary.
"Come," He barked at Harry, who jumped up and rushed to follow him.
"Sal…"
"Not now, Ric." He snapped, sweeping out of the room and leaving Harry to hurry and follow him down to the dungeons. He was ushered in to Salazar's lab and winced when the man cursed under his breath.
#I knew this would happen. Damn.# He hissed to himself and Harry blinked, he had never heard the usually calm man say such a word.
#What's happened?# Harry asked hesitantly, unconsciously slipping in to the Parseltongue that Salazar had spoken previously.
#An experimental potion had been ruined because-,# Salazar froze, his spine straightened and he slowly turned to face the seven year old child looking up at him.
"Did you just speak in Parseltongue?" Salazar questioned in disbelief and Harry looked at him blankly.
"The snake language?" Harry said in confusion and Salazar offered him an unimpressed look.
"The ancient dialect of the serpent." He corrected, "Yes,"
"I don't know. I thought only you could speak it?" Harry pointed out and Salazar nodded.
"As did I." He murmured, #Can you understand me?#
#Of course I can.# Harry said, looking at the man as if he had lost his mind.
#We are not speaking English, Harry.# Salazar told him amused and Harry gasped.
#Really?#
#It seems you have the gift of Parseltongue.# Salazar mused, #It is unknown why, but it is to our advantage.#
#Cool!# Harry exclaimed and Salazar offered him a small smile.
#It seems our lessons became slightly more interesting.# Salazar stated, #I shall teach you the magics unique to Parseltongue and I shall show you how to write in the language and how to identify when you are speaking and when you are not.#
#This is going to be so amazing.# Harry decided and Salazar chuckled. He gracefully bent down to kiss the crown of the child's head and squeezed his shoulder.
#Congratulations on receiving such a wonderful gift.#
The other three founders didn't know what had happened over the first year of Harry's training, but whatever it was made the child and the most severe of founding four unusually close. Harry only used to be around Salazar when the man was out of his dungeons and now the little boy spent nearly all of his free time with the man, it was quite amusing to watch Slytherin walk around with Harry following him like an excitable niffler. Godric had expected his old friend to get frustrated with Harry's seemingly endless questioning and stalking but the reserved man always had a small smile for the little boy and answered everything patiently. Helga swore she had seen Salazar picking Harry up and carrying him down to the dungeons because the child couldn't keep up, Godric didn't believe her whatsoever and Rowena had laughed at their bickering.
Six months in to training was when the nicknames started, Salazar would call Harry 'Little Snake' or 'Snakelet' and by this point the other three had just accepted that the pair had obviously bonded in some way. Harry did spend lots of time with the other founders of course, and they were all exceptionally proud of his progress, more than that as he had blown their expectations right out of the water.
Over the first year of training, it had been discovered that Harry had no aptitude for Divination at all, and he had a rather severe dislike for the subject in general, citing that everyone made their own destinies. Once he had stopped using his wand for his main casting he had shot through all the practical magic he had been given, showing accelerated abilities in Charms, Offence, Defence and Parsel Magics – much to Salazar's secret delight. Harry did struggle a bit more of the less active sides of magic, Herbology, Astrology and Runic Magic being his weakest subjects, though this was completely irrelevant when it came to Potions as he absolutely adored the subject and it was by far his best after Defence.
Godric had found that, after he had gone over the basics of the Blade Handling class, Harry was suited using double daggers and while Gryffindor himself usually fought with a sword, he was able to teach Harry how to handle them. He drilled the boy on movements that would achieve the best results, going over them individually before combining them in to links. After a year of training, Harry felt comfortable with the blades in his hands and he was able to correctly pull off all the links Godric had set for him. Gryffindor had promised that they would be learning how to throw the blades two, if he managed to keep up with the hand to hand side of things much to Harry's delight.
The other weaponry Harry was being taught was Archery and he thought it was a blast, once he had been fitted with a bow Salazar had given him clear instructions on what spells he would need to learn to protect his hands against the draw as he was bound to make mistakes while learning. Only once he had mastered the spells was he allowed to begin firing arrows. At first, he had been shockingly terrible, not being able to find the strength to pull back enough, or his arms were shaking so he managed to miss the entire target. The worst time was when he had somehow hit a rock and the arrow had ricocheted of the hard surface only for it to imbed itself in Salazar's shoulder.
Harry had been utterly mortified and was very reluctant to pick the bow back up after that, but Salazar had been determined to help him improve as there was not one subject of his that Harry didn't excel at. He built up physical training for the boy, making him lift heavy rocks and larger cauldrons rather than letting him levitate them so he could build up his strength. It had worked slowly and it helped Harry hold the bow straight and actually begin to hit the outer edge of the target. It frustrated him because in his Offensive Magic training he had a freakishly good aim, one that Salazar had even admired, but with the bows he couldn't seem to hit anything but the outside. He had grown desperate and mentally begged the arrow to please just hit the middle of the stupid target, to his and Salazar's utter disbelief, the bow had slammed directly in to the centre of the target, not just in the red zone but straight in the very centre.
They had both forgotten all composure and gaped at the target stupidly before Salazar looked at Harry in question, the little boy had shrugged helplessly because he had no idea. Slytherin had ordered to do whatever he had done again and so Harry had tried, again mentally asking the arrow to hit the centre and to both of their delights it had shredded the previous arrow and hit the very middle. From then on he asked the arrow to hit whatever he wanted to hit and it never failed him, Salazar was practically skipping in delight and started teaching the boy how to hit further targets to build up his muscle memory. Once Harry was nine he would be taken hunting to learn how to hit moving targets, until then Salazar had promised to teach him trick shots once he was sure Harry could hit the furthest of targets.
Unlike with Archery, there wasn't a force on the earth that could make Harry even an acceptable artist. He didn't have the touch for painting or drawing, nor the patience, and he often got fed up when nothing he tried to draw looked remotely what it was supposed to. He wasn't the greatest musician either. After a year he still hadn't really took to any particular instrument and didn't have much interest in trying to change that fact. Helga had decided to teach him how to dance, he had already learned the waltz as that was what was expected of him with his position as an Heir, but Helga had decided as music and art wasn't his thing, and because Harry was a very good dancer, that she would expand his abilities and he had to admit he did enjoy it.
Harry had lessons with Merlin once a week and the aged Warlock had been delighted to find out that Harry did, in fact, have some hidden abilities. The boy shared his ability and could cause and manipulate lightning, which meant Harry had the ability to master the element of air; something he would do over time. He also had the ability to master the element of fire too, a welcome surprise, however, Merlin had warned Harry that he wasn't likely to master either element before his eleventh birthday but that only made Harry more determined to try. Merlin had also told Harry all about hid Godfather and his mate, and showed him how to access the subconscious link that Merlin had opened. It had made him so much happier to know, though he couldn't help but feel a huge sense of loss at not seeing either Sirius or Remus.
Much to Godric's delight, Harry had shown an exceptional ability to fly a broomstick, not only that, the boy seemed to have absolutely no fear at attempting anything and everything whilst in the air. It was like he was born to fly, and by the first month of him being on a broom he was already flying around the pitch standing up – something neither Rowena nor Helga were pleased about. He carried his talent over to riding animals too, horses and hippogriffs seemed to adore the boy and he grasped how to ride them properly within another month; having particular fun in testing the hippogriffs to the length of their flight ability and loving every second of it. Rowena was less than impressed when she caught him flying past the Astronomy tower and Godric's ears were still ringing my dinner time after the hour long lecture she gave him. She didn't find out about him putting Harry on Hercules, his Griffin familiar however, something Ric was thankful for.
Helga working with Harry in Care of Magical Creatures helped him when flying, he loved animals too. When Harry was nine, he was informed that he would be expected to learn how to do some of his spells silently, and instructed by Helga to do so. Surprisingly, it was the Hufflepuff Founder who was the best at silent casting, and as she was a highly adept teacher, she went through all of his basic magic with him until he could do it silently, and then they would advance. Godric, Rowena and Salazar came together once a week and taught him how to combine Transfiguration, Defence, Charms and Offence in to duelling, teaching him to never rely on one branch of magic and to always keep moving.
He picked up on the movements surprisingly quickly and his reflexes were almost inhuman much to their amazement, and it wasn't long before he had started to incorporate his daggers in to the duel. Salazar had gifted him with a stunning set of goblin made daggers, they were pure black with vicious curved blades and beautifully carved hilt finished with two sparkling marquise cut emeralds. As they were goblin made they were resistant to pretty much everything, only taking in that what makes it stronger, and Harry had found that he was able to slice spells in half as well as deflect them with the blades. His and Salazar's secret of Parseltongue was discovered by the others when Harry accidently handed in his Arithmancy homework written in Parseltongue, Sal had found it hilarious when Harry had brought it to him and was sure to remind the child of it as much as possible.
Because of this and other incidents including accidently blowing out a wall, his Mind Magics had to be advanced further, Salazar had already taught him how to build a mindscape and Harry's wasn't basic but it wasn't as detailed as it could be, only being Aphelia's home, and it wasn't fully connected. He developed his mindscape in to layers and weaved layers of defences in to the actual scape rather than just protecting it from the outside, he had his first corridor which was had nasty trip wires and then a Parsel password door that led to the home of Salazar's Basilisk familiar Aphelia, who he had slither around to protect the viewing pool he created in replacement of Aphelia's pool/ The basilisk was the only protection in the hall, but then, she was a basilisk and it would take something close to a miracle to get that far in to his mind anyway and they would still have to face a basilisk.
At the end, there was a statue of Sal and there was another Parsel password opening that led to stone stairs that would flatten in to a slide, like the female dorms, unless you tapped the right stone before you took a step. It wouldn't be too dangerous, if only it didn't lead directly to a study and the momentum would carry the intruder straight in to a burning fireplace. The study was identical to the one Sal owned when he was down working and spending time with Aphelia, the only difference was Harry's wasn't big enough to fit the growing basilisk and Sal's was. There were bookshelves everywhere and every book that could be seen was a book Harry had read, and he was able to go back and read them whenever he pleased.
There also a tall ebony display cabinet that was filled with hundreds of phials, each shelf was of a different year and organised by month and then by person. It was a charmed cabinet of course, expanded on the inside so much that Harry could walk in to it and have better access to his memories. However, the cabinet was also a trick. An intruder could pick up a memory but they would be unable to view it even if they poured it out, if they did that then it would simply vanish and reappear on the shelf where it had sat before. The only way to view the memory was to discover the correct bookcase, guess yet another Parsel password and enter a bare room with only a viewing pool in the centre.
It was a technique Salazar had created himself and it was a mix of things. The first, looping, was where the memory would return back to its shelf – something it would also do once the memory had been viewed. The second, connecting, was where the mindscape was fully connected to the body and soul and acted as the link to the viewing pool – usually when a pool was used, the one who's memory it was had to form a magical link to play the memory of others. The final, vanishing, was where the memory would vanish if it was poured or released in any other place except the pool, and it was difficult because it was formed as a ward in Parsel by Salazar and it had to be cast on the entire cabinet, the entire study, entrance chamber and corridor so the memories were not shown anywhere else. It was the hardest thing Harry had ever done in his mind and it took him almost a year to have it perfected, but once it was done he was so pleased.
Salazar had also made him strengthen his defences protecting the entrance to his mindscape, and Harry had gotten extremely bored so he thought of something new. It had taken him six months to perfect, but when he had finished it, it had left Salazar stumped. It was a completely white space, there was nothing else except blankness and seven doors one behind the other, seven being the most powerful magical number. Each door had either a password, a ward, a sequence or riddle that had to be completed. The passwords were two words and each word was a different language and on both the first and last door. The sequence was tapping on correct symbol in the correct order, but the catch was there were other symbols that were thrown in to trip the intruder up. The riddle was written on the door and they would have to speak the answer to get it to open and the door in the centre, door four, was warded with everything he knew and would have to unlocked before they could pass. Salazar had been confused, the doors were not blocked off and it was possible to go to any door and any time to unlock it.
Salazar had merely gone through the last door, cracked the password – as all magic leaves it's traces and he knew Harry enough to know the words he used! – and expected to be sent through to the next layer of defence. Instead, he had walked through the door and was met with the white space again, only this time one of the doors was open. After several hours of the man not being able to work out what had happened but knowing there had to be a way forward else Harry would have shut of his own mind and would be in comatose. Harry had finally relented and explained to Salazar that, in order to break the looping illusion, all of the doors must be open and then the intruder had to walk through the last door to move on. It was based on the vaults at the bottom of the school, where seven keys had to be found and used before it would open, it didn't matter what order just as long as they were all unlocked one after the other.
Salazar had been impressed and had set about creating the same for his own mind. The mastering of his own mind had also helped him master his animagus transformation with Ric, he had a black phoenix form which made him immune to most poisons and venoms, enabled him to heal at a much rapid rate and he never got sick and gave him the ability to travel through flames. He and Salazar had spent over a year working out a way to allow him to use his flames whilst human. When Harry was ten, the Founders and Merlin finally sat him down to explain the events of Samhain that had caused Merlin to do what he did, Harry understood that he was not born from this time, that there had been an attempt on his life and he would eventually have to return to his own time, he just didn't know why.
He had been told to wait and that they would explain everything and the day of explanation had finally arrived, and Harry was excited. He shot his final bow through the apple Salazar banished and grinned.
"Will you look at that?" Harry exclaimed in mock surprise, "I hit it."
"Just because your system works now, do not forget how you started." Salazar quipped and Harry shot him an unimpressed look.
"Sal, if you want to speak of failures, need I remind you of the mindscape incident." Harry drawled, using the tone the man he was directing it at was famous for and he laughed as the man shot him a dark look.
"I do believe we are expected for a meeting." Salazar changed the subject easily and Harry snorted. While the man had been impressed by his seven doors and had taken the idea for himself, he hadn't liked getting trapped in Harry's mind for hours upon end trying to figure out how to move forward.
"Yes, I felt Merlin arrive ten minutes ago." Harry said.
"His magic is masked, your sensitivity in increasing." Salazar mused and Harry nodded.
"It has been since I finally managed my animagus form." Harry told him.
"Not so surprising, really. The Phoenix is a rather phenomenal creature." Salazar said, leading him through the passageway that went from the entrance hall up to the fourth floor. They continued up to Gryffindor's tower, slipping through to a hidden corridor that led to Godric's office and rooms. Godric and Merlin were laughing together when Harry and Salazar entered, while Rowena and Helga were smiling and shaking their heads.
"Ah, there he is!" Merlin exclaimed brightly, sat in his all too familiar young form.
"Hi, Merlin," Harry greeted, going to hug the warlock before taking a seat next to Salazar.
"Rowena was showing me your latest work in Spell Craft," Merlin said, "I have to say I am impressed."
"Thanks. I'm sure I have the basic frame work for it complete, it is just building up the layers so it works and it is stable." Harry said to him brightly.
"And you have taken very well to Elvin too." Merlin noted.
"Much better than Nymph." Godric threw in slyly and Harry blushed.
"We don't need to mention that." He grumbled, remembering the time when the Oaken Clan from the Forests of Dean had visited the Dark Forest and he had slipped over so many words he had nearly offended them. It was only thanks to Rowena being with him that the situation had been saved, Godric had found it absolutely hilarious.
"Do not worry, Harry dear," Helga soothed, "I shall have to tell you about the time Godric asked to by an Arabian nobleman's daughters instead of his horses." Harry gasped and burst in to peals of laughter as Godric groaned and buried his face in dismay.
"Helga!"
"I can't wait to hear about that!"
"We have much more important things to be getting on with." Godric declared and Harry grinned.
"Yes! The story behind the rebounding curse." Harry said, "Who was the powerful man and what did he mean when he said I was the one to defeat him?"
"I shall start from the beginning." Merlin decided, "And it starts with a prophecy."
"What!" Harry exclaimed in disgust, "You have to be kidding me!"
"Snakelet," Salazar said sternly and Harry bit his tongue and cleared his expression.
"Sorry, Sal."
"The prophecy stated that a child born at the death of the seventh month, of parents who thrice defied him, would have the power to vanquish the Dark Lord. The child would be marked as his equal, but he would have the power he knows not and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives." Merlin explained and Harry raised his hand to touch his lightning scar before scowling slightly.
"So I'm guessing I was the one." Harry muttered unnecessarily, he was thinking it over and he could understand the attack. Merlin had told him about the war and the Dark and Light Lords and how the war was reaching its peak with the Dark side prevailing, if he had been told that someone was prophecied to defeat him at such a crucial stage then he wouldn't have wanted the threat around either.
"Yes, however a mistake was made." Merlin said and Harry looked up.
"Oh?"
"Yes, in the midst of what was happening, there was an explosion in the room and you were knocked unconscious and your twin sister was thought to be the Chosen One. The Leader of the Light suggested to your parents that you should be moved elsewhere so they could focus on your twin and keep you out of the media." Merlin told him and Harry blinked. Then he blinked again and tilted his head a bit like a bird, his mind had exploded in to questions and the most prominent one being:
"What in the name of Circe Almighty were they thinking!?" He burst out outraged.
"I would not have phrased it so, but I have to agree with Harry." Salazar stated coldly, the very idea of abandoning a magical child for any reason was simply not plausible to him whatsoever.
"And another thing." Harry continued, "If I had a sworn Godfather who is very much alive and I am not with him, where in Hades did they send me?" Merlin grimaced slightly, eyeing the Slytherin Lord warily knowing he was just going to love this.
"To your mother's muggle sister."
"WHAT IN THE NAME OF CIRCE ALMIGHTY WERE THEY THINKING?" Salazar roared, surging to his feet "A magical child taken from its true world and SENT to muggles! An utter disgrace! No training or control – no protection! He would have self-destructed, his wild magic would be out of control and eventually his magic would have overcame him once his majority hit him and killed him! It's insanity at its height. Criminal, I tell you, absolute criminal!"
Everyone in the office was looking at Salazar in varying degrees of alarm, Harry's being the biggest as A, it was his life and B, he had never seen Salazar lose his cool so much.
"Thank Merlin that that didn't happen." Harry muttered hollowly and Salazar scowled at the wall while Helga and Rowena looked at the child in concern. Slytherin eventually retook his seat and gently ran his hand through Harry's hair.
"Don't worry, Little Snake. We'll make sure you can go back and demonstrate to those pathetic excuses for parents what a mistake they made and illustrate just how much they wasted trying to teach your twin when you are so much better." Salazar stated firmly and Harry beamed.
"I think I might look forward to meeting my sister though," Harry said thoughtfully, "I mean, it's not her fault, is it? And it would be cool to have a sibling the same age, I could teach her things maybe."
"You are correct, Harry." Helga agreed with a smile, "You can decide upon meeting her."
"You don't have to like her, Snakelet." Salazar warned, "If she is awful, brush her aside and show your superiority."
"Salazar of Slytherin!" Rowena chided and Salazar didn't even look abashed.
"My dear Row, if one had qualities that are better than others it is one's right to illustrate as such when the situation arises. Modesty does not get recognition nor power, if one want's something one must show they have the ambition and the ability to get what they want." Salazar drawled and Godric rolled his eyes.
"I'm surprised you even know the word modesty, Sal." He joked and Salazar merely sniffed.
"So this prophecy is the reason everything happened. What happened to the Dark Lord?" Harry asked curiously and Merlin smirked slightly.
"This is where things begin to get interesting. The Dark Lord remains in spirit form, he survived the night and is biding his time to make a return."
"So the prophecy is still active." Harry questioned.
"Yes. It is." Merlin confirmed.
"And when the time comes, when he returns and confronts the light it will be revealed that Rosina was never the Chosen, that he cursed me, the light will expect me to step up and save them despite everything they have done to me." Harry's tone indicated exactly what he thought of that idea even if his expression was clear.
"Most likely. You see, I was foretold that should you continue on the path set for you then the very world would be destroyed if you failed and died or magic would cease if you completed the prophecy." Merlin informed him, "Which leads to believe that you were expected to step up in order for that future to be an option. And for that reason, I brought you here."
"There isn't a force within this earth that could make me voluntarily aid the people who were willing to abandon me to muggles." Harry stated venomously, "If the prophecy stands true, the light's war is already lost because I won't be their attack viper."
"We do not expect anything of you than to be the very best you can be." Helga soothed him and Harry huffed.
"What is supposed to happen when I go back?" Harry asked.
"Your parents will collect you and 'introduce' you to the wizarding world and explain the situation, they have been led to believe because of your modest upbringings-," Godric snorted because everyone knew Harry was just slightly over indulged, but he worked so hard that they couldn't say no to the boy. "-you will be understanding and accept your new role."
Harry looked at him in open incredulity.
"They expect me to be understanding and accepting after they abandoned me with muggles?" He hissed, "On what planet were they born? They have to out of their damn minds!"
"Language young man!" Rowena snapped and Harry sneered.
"At this particular moment in time, I couldn't care less what language is coming out of my mouth. I have just found out that my parents, the people who are supposed to love, cherish and raise you threw me away in favour of my sister. Not only did they throw me away without a care, but they threw ME AWAY TO MUGGLES!" He had gotten progressively louder until he was shouting at the end and his face was flushed in anger.
"Did you not hear what Salazar said earlier? If Merlin hadn't intervened and changed Fate's path I would be dead in seven years, with uncontrollable magic and no idea who or what I am. It would have killed me! And what if the muggles had been like those from the churches?" Harry shuddered at the very thought and both the ladies had gotten very pale.
"I know this is a lot to take in," Merlin said quietly, "But you are doing so well now, and you have at least a year to decide what you want to you."
"I'll have to get an actual feel of the time and the happenings before anything definite" Harry pointed out, before shaking his head. "I need to think."
"Take an hour out duelling today." Salazar told him, "Centre yourself."
"Ok," Harry said with a sigh, "Can I go now?"
"Yes, of you go, Little Snake." Salazar said and Harry left the room. He all but ran through the corridors heading for somewhere he could thing, somewhere where he might be able to understand. He ran up the stairs to the Astronomy tower and then he was at the top he transformed in to a Phoenix and flew up to the roof before changing back and sitting down. He flew in to his mind and rushed to his earliest memories, taking them all and throwing them in to the viewing pool.
He analysed every detail of what his mind had consciously and subconsciously remembered, from the blurry first sight of his mother and father right up until when he looked up green eyes like his own and watched as his mother passed him over to a man with a huge beard and blue eyes. Harry was thrown out and he sat at the edge of the pool numb, his mother had just given him away, just like that. Why? Why would she do that? He felt an intrusion in his mind and when someone sat down next to him he knew it was Salazar.
"I don't understand." He admitted to his mentor, his voice shaky.
"I cannot say that I do either." Salazar told him, "If there is anything that you should take from his discovery is that for whatever reason this happened, it is not down to you. I may not fully understand but I know you, and I know how hard you work and just how brilliant you truly are. It is they who have missed out on knowing you and it is they who have lost the opportunity to watch as you have excelled beyond what was every expected of you."
"Thanks Sal," Harry murmured, leaning in to the Slytherin founder and sighing.
"Now, we are sat on the roof of the tallest tower of this castle and it is not something I am in agreement with." Salazar informed him and Harry giggled slightly, "You could have chosen the lake, Snakelet."
"As much as I love the water, there is nothing like the wind."
"You are spending too much time with Merlin." He decided, "Come, I must influence you more to counter it."
Harry laughed and followed Sal out of his mind, sealing it as he went, and back in to the real world, shaking himself out.
"How long have I been up here?" He wondered, stretching his aching limbs.
"Over two hours, which is why I came to get you." Salazar answered and Harry blinked.
"I'm sorry, I didn't realise."
"It is of no matter, the situation is understandable. Should you be late to another of my classes, however, and I shall have you mucking the stables."
"I wouldn't dream of it." Harry assured.
"Good. Now get us down from this infernal tower." He ordered and Harry laughed, he took Salazar's arm and burst in to flames. Everything, Harry decided, was going to be ok. He didn't believe in set destinies, he would carve his own and so help anyone who tried to stop him.