Summary: Godric Gryffindor and Salazar Slytherin have always tried to mend their friendship. But will this be the end? An all dialogue one-shot of the possible conversation between these two eternal enemies.
A Gryffindor Challenge Entry For The Summer Challenge
Categories: Historical Characters: None
Warnings: None
Challenges: Series: None
Chapters: 1
Completed: Yes
Word count: 1961
Read: 1836
Published: 08/09/09
Updated: 08/11/09
Story Notes:
First off, a planet-sized thank you to my beta Alyssa (harry4lif) for helping me with this
1. Chapter 1 by TheCursedQuill
Chapter 1 by TheCursedQuill
Author's Notes:
Becuase the other thank-you's wouldn't show up in my Story Notes, they are here =). Thanks to everyone over on the boards for the Plot Help, especially iamlordvoldemort for the parseltongue idea! Another thanks to Eric for helping me and putting up with me. LASTLY I do not own these characters, JK does.
“GODRIC!”
“Hmm…”
“You’d think a man would be able to reply to an owl once in a while, but alas I have been mistaken. Apparently the great Godric Gryffindor is too important to reply to my owls.”
“That is not it at all, Salazar. I have simply been busy. And I have been waiting for a confrontation such as this.”
“Don’t smirk. You haven’t gotten your way. I am still very against your corrupt ideals.”
“Against them or not, you are still here.”
“Yes, well, it’s hard not to cross paths once in a while. Rowena and Helga insist that we run this school together, ergo a couple of conversations are needed.”
“They do know what is good for this school.”
“They would do better knowing if they listened to me.”
“Do not bring this up again, Salazar! I will not have your poisonous tongue speak anymore of it!”
“You need not worry, then. This was not my purpose.”
“Well, pray tell, what has brought you here?”
“Rowena and I had a discussion this passing fortnight and thought that the students could highly benefit in learning some other languages. Parseltongue, to be more precise.”
“Well, Parseltongue is a very rare language. But what about the others: Mermish, Gobbledegook, or troll?”
“Those would be a nice contribution to the school, but it is easier if I teach Parseltongue. With the others, we would need to bring in new teachers.”
“Yes, true. And we don’t have enough students to require any more teachers.”
“Exactly what Rowena and I were thinking. And there is also the possibility that the students will not take to Parseltongue. There is no recollection of anyone ever teaching the mouth and we do not even know if it’s a language you can teach. Perhaps it’s something you are just born with. And if the interest is not there, then there is no point in teaching it to them.”
“So what you are saying is, we could use this as an experiment? See if the students take to it, enjoy it, and after that, once our numbers grow, of course, we could add on more languages.”
“Precisely that.”
“That’s not such a bad idea. Not many know of this mouth, it would be quite remarkable if we could actually teach students to speak with it. It could also bring the students together “ have the others feel closer to yours by teaching them how to interact with an animal none other than your very own device. I think it’s a brilliant idea. Rowena has once again proved her intelligence.”
“Yes, well I was hoping you’d see it my way.”
“And what is your way, Salazar?”
“I should only teach my students Parseltongue. It is obvious that they would excel in learning this new language, after all they are in my house, and that makes them worthy to learn the tongue of my device.”
“They are ‘worthy’? And the others are not? How could you be so selfish, Salazar? There are many exceptionally well students who, believe it or not, are not under your teachings, and would be able to excel in learning a new tongue.”
“It is obvious that you side with Rowena. Perhaps Helga shall agree with me.”
“You know very well that she will not. Your excuses to raise your children higher are ghastly! We came together and built this school for all of those willing to learn! There is no need to divide any one of them!”
“But how can they be willing to learn the art that is magic, if they don’t even know about magic? Those who come from Mudblood heritage have no privy to our world. You cannot expect them to take this as seriously as our kind. They cannot have the same passion, the same determination, the same skill level as one of us. It just simply cannot happen for some one who knows absolutely nothing about our history.
“They do not know of the struggles we have gone through. The sacrifices we had to make because of them! Because of their filthy blood that flows through their minds, corrupting their thoughts and making us the evil! They do not change, Godric! Whether they can perform magic, or not, they do not change! Once a Mudblood, always a Mudblood, and one day you will be sorry you let them into our world.”
“I will never be sorry for making us equal. The only thing I am sorry for is you. What has happened to you, Salazar? You have emblazed this friendship and now I fear that it shall burn into nothing but ashes. And all because of a dispute over the students.”
“Godric, we both know that this friendship is falling apart. Why try to save it? Must you always be daring? Just for once, leave it.”
“I cannot leave it when it is the only thing that can hold this school together! How are we to run a school with such tension? This is not the environment we had planned for ““
“But it is the environment you have chosen to create. You know that I will not stop in trying to sway the others. Admit defeat “ dispose of the Mudbloods “ make this school the purest it can be.”
“Never!”
“Then the tension shall remain.”
“How can you say that, Salazar? Are you just discarding everything that we have done together? Do you not remember when we first built these very walls which we stand in? How blissful we all were. We all had one dream: to teach the future; to educate our next generations to uphold our traditions. Many a nights were spent on preparing this.”
“Yes, yes, how could I forget? It took us nearly half a year to find the utmost secluded location.”
“Quite, and then Hengist came and told us about his village and how there would be a train that could easily transport the students. I don’t know what we would have done if Hengist had not helped.”
“I am in no doubt that we could have found another place.”
“But nothing as great as this. The village is good for the students. All of the magic really helps them to grow as wizards.”
“It is any wizard’s dream (and should stay as a wizard’s dream). One cannot find any more magic than what we have here. Rowena, the brilliant mind she has, really outdid herself with the staircases. Did you know that there is a room not even I remember building? This castle has a mind of its own, I dare say.”
“I agree. The other day I was walking down a corridor on the seventh floor and came across a study. The next day when I went back, it was gone. Perhaps Helga knows something about it.”
“Perhaps. That woman is very secretive at times.”
“Yes, but we all have our secrets.”
“Some more than others…”
“What was that, Salazar?”
“Oh, I was simply… marvelling at our creation.”
“Oh, yes. It’s stunning. At times I find myself sitting near the lake, simply staring up at the castle. To think that we did this! The four of us together joined our abilities to make such a masterpiece. It is awe inspiring to see the result of our hard labours. To walk down the corridors of a place, but only a few years ago, was just a thought; a thought that blossomed into something much more than expected. It has served us in more than one way. It has become my home, as I am sure it has become yours. And walking through these corridors I can sense the magic spilling out from the walls. To have a place that is so full of what we are, to remind us what we must do… I am speechless at its wonders.”
“This place is truly magical.”
“You do realise what is we must do, Salazar.”
“Why, we must teach the students. That has always been our goal.”
“Even the Muggle-borns then?”
“Your plot to try and influence me is not working.”
“Salazar, you cannot blame me for trying. I only thought if you could see what beauty we have here then you would not want to destroy it.”
“I am not trying to destroy this, Godric. I want to make it for what you truly see it as.”
“I still do not understand your thirst for this eradication.”
“I am not the only one in this school. Many of the students agree with me. In fact, your very own Cyrus Cullip is one of them.”
“You spoke to Cyrus about this?”
“He was addressing me about a small quarrel between the students. No wonder he came to me about it: it involved a Mudblood. To say the least, Cullip does not enjoy their company at this school.”
“How dare you speak to one of my students about this! I will not have your mortifying standards spilling into the minds of the children. Do you understand me, Salazar? Do not speak with the students on this matter!”
“You cannot stop me from talking with my own students!”
“If it is harmful to the children, then I must. I cannot have you ruining the reputations we built.”
“I am not ruining anything! If you could only open your eyes and see how you are polluting this school! I shall not be the one to tarnish our reputation; you will!”
“Your ways of thought are simply horrifying, Salazar! All of this talk on ‘polluting’ the school, and bringing in ‘filthy blood’. I do not want to listen to it!”
“You must! My ways are the only ones that will keep this school alive. How do you believe the Wizarding world to carry on with foul blood running around? You are corrupting the system, Godric! We separated ourselves from them for a reason. Do you not remember this? By bringing them into our world, you are jeopardising everything that we have built! Not just this school, but our lives! Our world. Our whole existence was negated the moment you allowed this to happen.”
“Why must you be blind? Our kind will become extinct if we do not teach these children. They are us, Salazar! They can perform magic! And without them, our world would die. There are only so many Purebloods to go around, surely you know this?”
“There is enough to keep us alive!”
“And what will happen when there is not enough? Procreation cannot happen without a partner. Our numbers are falling, and the only way to save it is to bring in new blood.”
“There are other ways! We do not need to resort to the bottom and associate ourselves with such vile creatures.”
“They are human and magical, just like you and I! You must learn to trust them!”
“Your love for the unclean shall be your downfall, Godric! It is a weakness!”
“The only weakness I carry, Salazar, is the idleness to overthrow your ways.”
“Why be idle then? Let the bridges rage in flame. Cast off this bond as I have done months ago, and try to overthrow me. You will find it is a lot harder than thought.”
“Consider the fire burning, then, Salazar. What shall you do now?”
“Until you decide that I am right, I shall leave. I can no longer stand the stench of this place. If you cannot see it my way, then I will have to force you. There is more than one chamber you have yet to see here. Be confident that one day my noble purpose shall be fulfilled, Godric. And then you will be sorry for letting the Mudbloods into this school.”
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