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HP: The Salazar's Heir Chapter 44
🕑 Added 2024-03-07 18:52:31 +0000 UTCChapter 44: True Magic (2/2)
Gryffindor, Slytherin, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff.
These ancient superpowers were vastly different. Each of them bore different powers, views, personalities and ideologies. None of them were similar, the very fact that Hogwarts had houses divided based on the personality traits of the four was a proof of it.
However, there was something similar. One thing that despite the four being drastically different –they all shared.
And that was their view of their houses.
“What made you believe that you could open the door of Slytherin?”
None of them took lightly to insults made on their names.
Even though they respected authority, they never shied away from facing the people with power when it came to their family’s reputation.
The heirs, be it Salazar’s, Godric’s, Rowena’s or Helga’s –every heir shared this trait.
And Sebastian was no exception either.
“You are neither the heir, nor do you have Slytherin blood in you.” He looked at Dumbledore –dead in the eye. “So, tell me, Professor. What gave you the right to open the door?”
The door never opened, but the fact that the man thought he could open the door was an insult to Slytherin.
Why? Because it was clearly stated that NO ONE but the heir of Slytherin was to open the door. And for one that was not the heir and tried to open the door meant the person did not respect the rules of the founders.
Which Sebastian could not overlook.
The current generation that were taught to bow before the authority would stay quiet, but someone who was taught to keep the name of their family even above their own life –couldn’t.
“I–” Dumbledore was taken aback. It was not fear, he could never fear a child, but it was the shock. He was taken aback by the shift in Sebastian’s tone and the look in his eyes. “I didn't mean any offense to the Slytherin name.”
He meant no harm, but he saw how Sebastian could feel that it was an insult to his house.
“I was curious and seeing that I had the ‘key’ in a way… I got a bit too interested in what Salazar and the founders kept for the future.” It was a lie mixed with truth.
He was curious about what was inside the door, but it wasn’t for the reason he said.
It was because he wanted to explore the magic and the artifacts of the past.
“That does not give you the right to step inside the line drawn by my grandfather.” Sebastian's eyes were dead-cold, promising that he did not fear punishment if it meant keeping his family’s name.
Dumbledore understood quite early that he could not punish Sebastian, as the headmaster, for talking to him in a tone as rude as the boy was using. They might have still been inside Hogwarts, but this was not a place meant for a student and a headmaster; rather, it was meant for an heir and a guide.
So, Sebastian had all the right to not listen to Dumbledore.
“I…”
And so what choice was Dumbledore left with? Against that boy who did not fear punishment?
Simple.
“I apologize.”
An apology.
“I did not mean to disrespect the name of Slytherin.” Dumbledore sighed, understanding the position he was in.
He was not going to accept that it was entirely his idea to try and open the door. He wasn’t the type to take the blame onto himself.
So he did what he did best.
“I got a little carried away by my curiosity, something most old men experience.”
Shift the blame to things that could often not be accounted for.
“Age is not an excuse.” Sebastian did not like the reason the man gave, but he could not do much either. “But… I do believe you will not disrespect the Slytherin name. This time was a mistake and hence pardoned.”
Dumbledore sighed in relief, glad that the situation did not take a sour turn.
After all, he had no intention of hurting his own student.
“The pendant.” Sebastian said, extending his hand.
“Ah,” Dumbledore took out the pendant that he tried on the door, “Here. It belongs to you.”
The beautiful green pendant, resembling the green shade of the Slytherins glowed in Sebastian’s hand.
The boy, meanwhile, showed a soft smile, finally getting back the physical piece of memory that he had of his grandfather.
“I should have known.” He mumbled, getting Dumbledore curious. But he did not explain, if anything, he simply walked towards the serpentine door.
Standing and staring right at it.
‘Not one thing that he did was without meaning.’
He looked at the pendant and then at the door, noticing the small socket designed perfectly for the pendant.
“I believe you will let me have this moment.” Sebastian said, without looking back. “This is meant only for the heir of Slytherin.”
He did not know what was behind the door, but he knew that it was meant for his eyes alone.
“I do not wish to be followed, professor.”
This made Dumbledore a little hesitant. “What if the defensive mechanism has gotten weaker over the years? You might be in danger if you walk inside alone.”
This made Sebastian laugh, immediately realizing that it was simply the old man trying to follow him inside. The man wanted to explore as well.
And someone like Harry might have even bought the fake show of concern.
But Sebastian?
Of course, he didn’t.
“I know what my grandfather, THE Salazar Slytherin, was capable of, professor.” He said. “This place might crumble down over time, but his defensive magic wouldn’t. So, you may keep watch but I will be the one to walk inside… alone.”
Dumbledore felt uneasy, eager to find any and every way to have to follow him at all costs.
But Sebastian was not going to let that happen.
“I respect you professor.” He truly did, “So, please let me keep that respect. Not just as a student but as an heir too.”
This… this made Dumbledore freeze.
He didn’t have a choice. With the heir of the most ancient and most noble house of Slytherin making such a request –he just couldn’t decline.
“I… well.” He took a deep breath, feeling defeated. “I will guard you from here. If anything happens, I will be here.”
Sebastian finally looked back a little and smiled, “Thank you.”
And with that, he pushed the pendant inside the socket –aware that the reason that door previously did not open was the lack of Slytherin blood.
So pricking his finger over the sharp edge of the metallic snake design, he drew a drop of blood.
‘I truly wonder what you hid inside, grandfather.’
With that thought in mind, he let the droplet of blood fall onto the pendant, immediately causing it to glow a bright shade of green, illuminating the place even further..
As for the door?
It never opened.
Because it never needed to.
“S-Sebastian?”
Why? Because it was not a normal door.
“Teleportation magic…”
But a teleportation device.
…
…
“Ugh…” Sebastian groaned, a sharp pain gripping his head. “Spatial magic…”
He knew this magic; he possessed a certain spatial magic as well—his inventory.
“And so he did have a magic similar to the Floo Network.” He rubbed his temples, finally adjusting to the dim lighting of the room that he found himself in. “But it isn’t as refined.”
He knew it was stupid to hope for a refined teleportation magic when he knew very well that his grandfather most certainly had very little time to work on this magic.
“The fact that he managed to create this magic at such an old age is ridiculous.” He chuckled, “Who am I even kidding. He is Salazar Slytherin, of course, he was a monster.”
He wondered if Salazar left anything about spatial magic in his book. Space and time were aspects of magic that greatly amused Sebastian. Not to mention they were the most complex magic forms.
But for now, his focus was on the place.
“What is that…”
What was it?
It was a wall painting –one of many– craved and drawn over the black marble wall.
“Rune magic.”
He walked closer, ignoring the multiple other marvelous carvings and magic essence scattered around the place.
“Why can’t I understand this?”
He was confused. He was taught basic rune magic and even if this was a much more complex form, he should at least be able to identify what type of rune it was.
But he couldn’t.
“This is certainly a rune.”
It was, he could sense the magic around it. But he could not figure out what rune it was.
“And why is there a tree in the middle of it?”
He was greatly confused, wondering what his grandfather got involved with.
“The branches and the roots are endless–” He analyzed, looking around the carving and finally stumbling upon something interesting. “Grandfather’s handwriting…”
`Reach the root, for it is the truth of magic.`
“Root?” Sebastian frowned, “Truth of magic?”
He walked back a little, staring at the madness in front of him.
“Just what did you get yourself involved with grandfather?”
That’s when he finally got back to his senses and noticed everything around the room.
And when he did look, he was baffled.
“This is madness…”
The walls, every single one of the walls were filled with runes.
Runes that were unfamiliar to him.
“Just what did you discover?”
There was nothing in the room other than runes drawn everywhere. Illegible runes that he could not understand.
He frantically looked around, confused and worried about what his grandfather might have gone through. And in that process, his eyes fell onto a certain marble tablet kept at the very corner of the room.
Sebastian rushed to the tablet, finally noticing something that he could understand.
“His handwriting…”
The runes were also in his handwriting, but the writing on the tablet was in a language that he could understand.
And so, he began to read the words.
`Sebastian, my grandson.`
It was his grandfather, he was certain.
`The fact that you are reading this means I failed at figuring out the root and achieving true magic.`
“Again…” Sebastian mumbled, “This word, ‘root.’ What does he mean?”
He continued to read through.
`After years of chasing after the most pure and strongest of magic, I discovered something.` The writing was old but fully visible. `Magic that we use is merely a fraction of what this world truly provides us with. We are breathing and living on the dust of magic –the insignificant amount that divided the world into two.`
“Purebloods and muggles…” Sebastian understood what the man was talking about.
`But magic is greater than what any of us can imagine. The other three and I discovered this way later and this changed our entire view of the world.`
Sebastian read through, still unable to understand what Salazar was referring to.
`We discovered traces of magic, pathways that could be traversed by single individuals.` The text read, `Roads made only for one person to walk on at a time.`
The boy continued to read.
`These pathways are opened when a being discovers a certain truth about magic, truths that are not meant to be known.`
These words felt ominous, but Sebastian continued to read.
`And once a man walks these pathways, they ascend. They become beings greater than humans, they transcend and… they are able to comprehend the world and truth at a scale grander than any other being.`
“What… do you mean, grandfather?” He bit his lips, staring at the word transcend. Realizing very well what that word meant, and when he read the next word –he was sure of it.
`Once a man reaches the end of that pathway –they can become one with magic. They can become… a god.`
And that’s when he understood the reason the founders hid this behind the doors.
`Rowena was the first to learn of this, but she could not understand the pathway. This made her lose her sleep and delved into magic that was not meant to be explored.`
`Soon, I discovered this and began studying it. By then, Rowena understood that she could not reach the root. Each of us, even Godric and Helga, found a pathway—or rather, ideas of pathways—but it was one that we could not comprehend. The true magic behind the pathway that led to the root... we could not understand it.`
Sebastian finally understood it all.
`If you are reading this… I was close, I was so close to reaching the truth of magic and the world. But… But I failed. The pathway I took was a difficult one and I could not understand it. But maybe you, you Sebastian…`
The boy gripped the tablet tighter.
`You might succeed. You have time, time that I did not. Even the other three shared this same belief and have left their discoveries of the pathway for their heirs. But this can never reach the ears of anyone else, no matter how close they are. Even us four never shared our findings with one another. Each of these pathways are unique and unknown to others. So, when you delve into this journey, you must keep it hidden from the world.`
“What… is this magic?”
`I found that there are at least five pathways, five forms of true magic that lead to the root of all magic. I do not know what the others are, but mine… it is something that is near impossible to research. Only way to truly reach it is by understanding the very fabric that makes up these magic pathways.`
Sebastian read further.
`Each pathway leads to something, a result that makes you equivalent to god. But for that, you must reach the pinnacle of one of these fabric-altering aspects of magic.`
“And what is this magic grandfather…” The boy wondered, reading through that text that urged him to delve into magic that no one dared to explore.
`You must reach the pinnacle and find the truth about this magic. The magic that you know the least of–`
Sebastian’s eyes widened as he realized what form of magic his grandfather was talking about.
`The magic that I delved into, the one that can help you reach the root, change the past, present, future and bend reality itself–`
Sebastian gulped.
`The magic of Space and Time.`
A magic that could never be mastered.
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[[A/N: Yoooo! If you haven’t realized, this concept is from the Fate series. In Fate there is the concept of Akasha/Root/True Magic which is pretty broken.
If you want to learn about it, I am leaving links to YT videos that can help you understand the concept. And if you don’t want to watch the videos, no worries, you will figure it out as the story progresses. We will be delving into this in the future.
Youtube–
Root: https://youtu.be/RnshEZ1G-v0?si=nGbNvFirSZRKEu86
True Magic: https://youtu.be/MV5qZQTDWFY?si=tvO0-lIzOotIQiBD
Wiki–
True Magic:
https://typemoon.fandom.com/wiki/Magic
Root:
https://typemoon.fandom.com/wiki/Swirl_of_the_Root
]]
