The Greedy Frog
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HP: The Salazar's Heir Chapter 42
🕑 Added 2024-02-28 17:16:42 +0000 UTCChapter 42: The Four Ancient Doors
Hogwarts was Magic and Magic was Hogwarts.
In the entirety of Great Britain, Hogwarts was one academy of magic whose whole existence was crafted out of magic –from the bricks to the metal.
The other great schools of magic excelled in many aspects but the deep roots Hogwarts had reached depths that none of them had ever reached. So, when Sebastian saw the Philosopher’s Stone guiding him towards a certain place –He wasn’t surprised.
“Illusion magic.” Sebastian stood in front of one of the walls, the Philosopher’s Stone glowing red in his hands. “Revelio!”
Without a second’s delay, Sebastian casted the Revelio charm which –enhanced by the Philosopher’s Stone– easily destroyed the illusion around the place, revealing a pathway adorned by serpent, lion, raven and badger carvings.
“School of Mysteries for a reason.” Sebastian kept his smile while walking through the passage. “I wonder how many people know about this place.”
It was a tunnel, a passage that led somewhere.
He didn’t know where, but he was certain that he was not going to be disappointed.
“This place feels old.” He could feel the old magic around the place. He wasn’t sure how to explain, but the magic felt different around him. “But how old?”
Again, he didn’t know. It did feel old, but he couldn’t say that it was a thousand year old magic either.
And with that came another challenge.
“Now where should I go?”
There were seven pathways, each appearing the same. And even though he tried, he could not sense any magic that could help him choose his path.
Another magic was blocking his sensory ability and it gave him an idea that whatever the place was, it was meant to stay hidden.
Even from the capable wizards.
However, he wasn’t without a way.
“Well, looks like I should let it guide me.”
Since the start, it was the stone that was guiding him. And even now, the stone was trying to get out of his palm and jump off.
Seeing that the stone wanted to go somewhere, Sebastian knew that it was the guide through the tunnel.
“If you plan to take me somewhere…” He slowly opened his palm, letting the stone fly up and float through the old magic around the tunnel. “Then you better show me the correct way.”
The stone, as if answering him, slowly started to move towards the fifth tunnel –ignoring the other six.
This made Sebastian put on a smile as he knew that he had found his golden ticket into the place.
“Then show me little stone, the secrets of Hogwarts.”
…
…
[Unknown Chamber, Unknown Floor, Hogwarts]
Standing near a small fountain, surrounded by light created purely of magic, was Dumbledore, the headmaster of Hogwarts –lost in the beauty and purity of the magic of the place.
“Over a thousand years, and none of the headmasters have come close to mastering the magic of the four founders.”
It was difficult for him to admit it, but he was not at the level of the founders of Hogwarts.
He was never going to be at the level of the founders and he knew it.
But that was also fine. The magic of the founders were also lost and besides him, there were only a few with the potential to possibly leave a mark on the level that the founders did.
Dumbledore was not evil, but he was someone that was heavily influenced by the seven sins.
Namely greed and gluttony.
No matter how much he knew, his greed for magic was endless and no matter how many difficult and lost forms of magic he acquired –his gluttony was never satisfied.
He looked around him, besides the figure of Solomon carved onto the stone wall were four doors.
One with multiple tiny badgers carved onto it. A door that depicted cheerfulness and friendship.
One with a flock of raven placed around a tree design. A door that depicted keen interest.
One with a massive lion face covering the majority of it. A door depicting boldness and strength.
And finally, a door with a medusa head and multiple snakes around it. A door that depicted adaptiveness and mystery.
And in those doors were empty sockets that required something to open.
The Lion one had a claw shaped socket, the Raven had a feather, the Badger had a tail and the serpant had a gemstone shaped socket.
And if Dumbledoor had any key –the thing to fill the socket– that would be for the serpentine door.
“I cannot open it.” He stared at a pendant in his hand, a certain beautiful green gemstone –one he got from someone that had yet to return.
“Even with the Pendant of Salazar, it is impossible for me to open the door.” He sighed.
He tried, despite the clear carvings on the door that spoke of an heir, he still tried –and failed. “Only he can open it.”
The room that he was at was one of the ancient wonders of magic. It was created by the four founders and each of them hid something inside doors that only their heirs could open.
Dumbledore’s greed for magic made him try to open the doors but the words inscribed on them held true –The door shall only be opened by the hands of the one true heir.
Dumbledore was not the heir, and he knew that. So, quite a few decades ago, he gave up hope of trying to open them.
The room still had many things, from a memory fountain to a library with books inaccessible to the general public.There were countless things inside the room to keep any man busy for decades, maybe even centuries. But Dumbledore was still drawn towards the doors.
This was also why he did not return the pendant even though Sebastian gave it to him ages ago.
Why? Because he expected to maybe move the door even by a little with the Serpant ‘key’ which was the pendant.
However, he now knew that it could only be opened by Sebastian.
‘But I cannot bring him here either,’ He sighed, ‘I am forbidden from doing so.’
The place was not to be found by anyone other than the heirs and the headmasters. And even when the headmasters found the place, they were not allowed to invite the heirs to it.
These rules were insribed on the walls and because of that, Dumdledore could not bring Sebastian to open the door either.
He was being eaten alive by his curious mind but the rules forbade him from bringing Sebastian.
And the most painful part was the other three doors.
Dumbledore looked at the doors –Badger, Raven and Lion.
“Your heirs will never come,” He held pain in his voice, “The magic in you will die with time but the doors will not open. That is the curse of time.”
It was sad, but he could do nothing about it.
However, he was still hopeful that Sebastian would find his way.
How?
Because he enchanted the Philosopher’s Stone with a form of guidance magic.
‘He will find this place.’
Dumbledore was old, but he was cunning. He followed the rules, but he also exploited the loopholes.
‘It was asked not to tell the heirs about this place, but it was never written that there cannot be any hints about this place.’
Dumbledore was not stupid.
He knew, he knew from the start that once the Philosopher Stone’s existence was revealed, most people would start hunting for it.
He wasn’t blind or deaf, he saw and heard Harry and his little group looking for the stone. And that was also the reason why he was not actively involving himself with the stone.
Before going for the ministry meetings, he left the stone in the mirror in order for someone to find it.
Why?
Because, one way or the other it would come in contact with Sebastian. And when it would, it would guide him towards the place.
The only thing he failed to consider was a certain evil being trying to resurrect using the stone.
But luckily for him, it was not a worry he had to carry.
And Dumbledore’s luck had been moving towards the brighter side as just when he was about to go back, closing the primary entry which was through his study –he heard someone.
“I did not expect to see anyone here.”
He heard the very familiar voice that he wanted to hear –at least inside of this place.
“But I cannot say that I am surprised to see you in here either, Professor.”
Through the secondary entrance came the very person that he had been hoping to see for a very long time.
The key to the Serpentine Door.
“Sebastian Slytherin.”
The one true heir of Salazar.
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[[A/N: So, what great mysteries do these doors hold? And what can we expect to see inside the door of Salazar?
Find out in the next episode of HP: The Salazar’s Heir! ]]
