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HP: The Salazar's Heir Chapter 43
🕑 Added 2024-03-01 15:59:01 +0000 UTCChapter 43: True Magic (½)
“I am somewhat unsurprised to see you here, professor.” Said the heir of Salazar, an analyzing look on his face as he walked towards the headmaster of Hogwarts.
Walking through the mage-like tunnel, he knew he was being guided by a magic that was not as old as the place. He had never heard of the Philosopher’s Stone in the past which meant it was a new thing.
And since it was guiding him through a place that felt ancient, he was more than certain that it was enchanted by someone not a very long time ago.
“I was expecting you.” Dumbledore said, standing right besides the fountain. “Just not this early.”
The old man showed a small smile as he stared at the floating Philosopher’s Stone.
“It was you wasn’t it?” The heir of Salazar asked, “You were the one to enchant this stone and you were the one to put a navigation magic on it.”
Dumbledore did not deny anything that Sebastian said. The man knew that the young boy was smart enough to put one and one together.
Besides, the boy saw him inside the place. There was no bigger evidence than that.
“But why?” Sebastian asked, taking the stone in his hand. “Why did you enchant a stone as dangerous as this?”
Finally, Dumbledore broke his silence. “The stone can grant immortality, but it is not the type of immortality that most believe it to be.”
“Pardon?” Sebastian was amazed just by the fact that the stone could turn someone immortal. That in its entirety was a statement that felt false.
Dumbledore nodded, “You might have heard that the stone can make you immortal.” He laughed, “Of course you have. That was the whole goal of the stone and me keeping it inside of Hogwarts was for it to reach you.”
“Reach me?” Sebastian raised an eyebrow, walking forward and finally noticing the beauty of the place.
“Out of all the students, you or Harry would have been the only students to find the stone.” He explained, “Harry’s curiosity and your desire to learn about the magic of the present would have been the reason for the stone’s discovery. And even if it reached Harry instead of you, in the end it would have still found its way to you.”
“Why is that?” The boy asked and the professor replied with a simple question of his own.
“Would you not have found it?”
Sebastian stared at him for a while but he was well aware that the old man wasn’t wrong. If Harry found it, he would have heard about it one way or the other and when that happened… there was no way that he was not going to acquire the stone.
“It almost ended up falling in the hands of someone you would have been horrified to hear about.” And this statement by Sebastian confused Dumbledore.
“Did someone unexpected appear?” Dumbledore asked, “But despite that, considering your capability, it should not have been difficult for you to get the stone.”
‘So, there are times when he can even make such fatal miscalculations.’ Sebastian however was happy to hear about this.
“It is a long story.” The boy said, “I believe Harry would be more than happy to tell you about it.”
Dumbledore tried to read Sebastian’s face, but the boy kept an unbothered poker face.
“But what is this immortality about?” Sebastian asked, “I believe you are not naive like the rest to believe that something like true immortality can truly exist?”
Dumbledore finally shook his head, “True immortality does not exist. No human can create such magic.” He sighed, “Not even Merlin could.”
“Then how did this lie even spread?” The boy was curious.
“It is because most do not understand the difference between eternal life and true immortality.”
This is when Sebastian’s eyes widened. “You mean…”
“Nicolas Flamel dedicated his entire life pursuing only one branch of magic, one research that he spent years on.” The man showed a tired look, “And that dedication led him to create this stone. The stone that can produce the elixir of life, one that promises eternal life.”
‘A wizard was able to create that?’ Sebastian was taken back, never had he expected someone to be able to create the miraculous elixir of life.
“However, a lie spread that the stone can make you truly immortal while in truth it only prevents you from dying of old age or illness, which in Flamel’s cause was a dream come true.” Dumbledore explained, “For a man that only loves research, there is no greater joy than infinite time to pursue knowledge.”
It was still difficult for Sebastian to process that there was a man capable of crafting such an item.
“Nicolas obtained the elixir that lets him keep his life, but he is not immune to death if someone stabs him.” Dumbledore said, “And neither does it keep you young. Flamel did not desire any of that, and because of that the stone lets you stay alive but not as you would expect.”
“That is still ridiculously powerful.” Sebastian looked at the stone, “And I assume you will not allow me to keep it?”
Dumbledore smiled, “It will be returned to Flamel soon, but I believe I can arrange a meeting for the two of you so that you two can talk about the stone and maybe he might allow you to research it too.”
However, this made Sebastian curious. “Something tells me… You have the elixir of life from the stone too, don’t you?”
Dumbledore this time around, did not reply.
‘Of course he does.’
But what he was interested in more than the stone, was the place.
He could see the massive statue of Solomon, someone that wizards rarely talked about.
“The statue and the doors…” He noticed the doors, signifying one of the four ancient houses that drew his interest. “What is this place?”
Finally, it was the question that Dumbledore was fully prepared for.
And the answer?
“I do not know.”
“Pardon?” Sebastian was baffled by the straightforward answer.
“Might be surprising that I guided you here, but even I do not know what this place truly is.” Dumbledore sighed, “No one knows what this place holds.”
“Then why?” Sebastian frowned, “Why did you guide me here? No, how did you even find this place?”
“This place is something that every man that becomes the headmaster is required to guard.” The old man answered, “And those doors, as you must have understood, signify one of the four most ancient houses.”
“What is behind those doors?” The boy asked.
"Unknown," replied the old man. "For centuries, the headmasters have guarded the door, and the reason for that is a certain requirement set by the four founders."
“Which is?” Sebastian raised an eyebrow.
“Possibly after you were sealed, and a few years before they gave up their seats at Hogwarts… they created this place and hid something inside of those doors. I do not know what they have hidden but it is something that forced them to keep it away from everyone except for the heirs of their houses.”
“You mean…” Sebastian looked towards the snake headed door.
"You are the key to opening Salazar's door, Sebastian," he said. "For years, the headmasters have guarded the door in the hopes that an heir would appear and unravel the centuries-old mystery of the doors. But no heir emerged before you, and the doors have remained closed since then."
‘That… makes no sense.’ It didn’t. Salazar had never mentioned anything about a door at Hogwarts to him. And if it was important, the man would have obviously told him about it. ‘He must have found something after freezing me. That is the only possibility.’
But what was so surprising, important or dangerous that all the founders had to hide it behind doors?
‘Just what was it that you found, grandfather?’ He had an inkling feeling, a suspicion that whatever it was –it was dangerous.
But there was only one way to find out.
“How am I supposed to open it?”
At the question, Sebastian saw Dumbledore taking out something from inside of his robe. And when the thing came out, Sebastian was surprised.
“Grandfather’s pendant…”
He was well aware that he had given the pendant to Dumbledore. After all, the man said that he needed it regarding the issues with the ministry.
‘A form of identification he said.’ Sebastian frowned.
“This is a part of the key.” The old man said, “And the other part is you. The door will only open if it is the heir that uses the pendant.”
Sebastian, however, kept staring at the pendant in Dumbledore’s hand.
“Professor, might I ask… if you had tried to open the door with it?” The boy asked with a hidden anger –his voice lower than before.
“I did, and the door did not even budge.” The old man said in a grandfatherly voice. “It truly is a wonderful magic that keeps the door locked.”
However, Dumbledore made a mistake.
A very big mistake.
“Professor.”
He had forgotten something about Sebastian.
“If it was said that only the heirs could open the door…”
Sebastian did not take well to people trying to exploit the name or magic of Slytherin.
“Then… What made you think that you had the right to open the door?”
And what he despised the most, was people trying to steal from the Slytherins.
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[[A/N: The content inside the door is very special and it will be revealed in the next chapter. And as for Dumbledore, he is not a bad guy but sometimes being curious or stepping over the line –trying to do something that you are not meant to do can bite you in the ass.
And Dumbledore does need to be reminded of that at times.]]
