Chapter 61
CASSIUS BLACK
Cassius stared at the silvery form of the Slytherin founder and could not help but be mesmerised. Even through the silver, he could see the color of his eyes, and it was a familiar deep green, as the bearded man eyed him down.
He was an old man with a long white beard and a staff in his hand, but even in death, the proud Salazar's back refused to bend, as the man stood tall.
"That pendant," he whispered, as Cassius was pushed out of his stupor, and looked down at the Slytherin's locket hanging around his neck.
"What is your name?" he asked, and even though he was but a spector, his voice carried too much power. The very magic in the air shifted at the sound, the walls and magic of Hogwarts bending around to his will, even in the form of a specter.
"Cassius, Cassius Black," he answered, and those eyes dimmed.
"Your mother, what was her name?" he continued to ask for some reason, and it was as if the magic around him compelled him to obey his commands.
"Narcissa Black," and then a frown appeared on his face.
"You are not one of mine," and there was disappointment in his tone.
"What do you mean?" Cassius asked, trying to make sense of his words.
"Nothing," he answered powerfully, as those eyes moved down to the House Emblem glowing on his uniform.
"Rowena," and a whisper of a smile appeared on his face.
"So, you are a student at our school," he asked, with a hint of excitement, and Cassius nodded.
"Yes, and you are Salazar Slytherin, one of the four founders?" he confirmed, and the ancient wizard nodded.
"Yes, and to think that I would be summoned back in these Halls like this," the man smiled as he gazed at the walls around him with a mystified longing, and Cassius did not miss how, with every passing second, his form grew darker and darker, as if gaining substance.
"The Resurrection Stone," he whispered, floating around him, as he eyed the dark stone in his hand.
"You found one of the Peverell's treasures," and Cassius nodded.
"I did, and I need your help," Cassius began, and the man nodded.
"I guessed as much, but do tell me what has become of my school," he asked with interest.
"It still stands tall. It now has around three hundred students," and those eyes widened.
"Three hundred, and what year is it exactly?" and he sounded impressed.
"It's 1995," Cassius answered, and the man's eyes widened.
"So much time has passed," and what more could he say, as the man sighed and finally mentioned the reason of his summoning.
"You say you need my help?" he asked again, and Cassius nodded.
"Yes, I was told by someone that you were the one who created the Patronus Charm?" and the wizard nodded, his lips turning up at the mention of the charm.
"Yes, it was one of Dahlia's most favourite spells," and he found the name unfamiliar.
"Dahlia?"
"My wife," he answered, and Cassius remembered the tomb from the Chamber of Secrets, and the name that had been long forgotten.
"I created it just for her," he continued, reminiscing about the past.
"Well, I need you to teach me all about that because I must use it to defeat a Dark Lord," and the man's eyes narrowed.
"A Dark Lord? But that spell can do no harm, it is lethal only to those wretched demons from Hell, and the lethifolds," and Cassius knew that as well.
"Yes, I know that, but the Dark Lord I speak of has no physical form. He has become a sort of Horcrux and has implanted himself into the body of a young wizard, and only the Patronus is able to push him out of his body," and those eyes narrowed at the mention of Horcruxes.
"Horcruxes?" his face turned ashen at the mention of that abomination as he turned away from him.
"That magic still exists today?" he asked, and Cassius shook his head.
"Not widely, this dark Lord is the first wizard to use it in more than ten centuries," and he closed his eyes.
"To think that my master's spell would linger on for so long," and the whisper stilled him, as Cassius couldn't believe his ears.
"Master?" he asked, as the old wizard nodded as he gazed at the window to the side.
"Yes, my Master indeed. He was the greatest wizard I have ever laid eyes on, yet the Darkness took him down a path that forced the four of us to destroy him," and he could feel how the man still lamented that his decision.
"But it was Herpo who created the first Horcrux," Cassius whispered, and Salazar's lips thinned, as the man looked down in embarrassment.
"And that was the name of my Master, Herpo," and that stupefied him, as Cassius could not believe his ears.
"Herpo was your master," and the old wizard nodded.
"Yes, he was, but then he became my greatest failure," and with that, the man took a deep sigh.
"I have spoken more than I should have," the man declared as his lingering figure landed on the ground.
"So, you wish to learn more about the Patronus Charm?" and Cassius nodded.
"That, and I wish for you to train me as well, so that I may defeat him, and save an innocent soul," and the wizard's eyes gleamed at his words.
"If you had summoned me at any place other than these Halls, then I would have been unable to help you," he whispered, and suddenly he saw the man raise his hand, as magic began to gather around him.
And while mostly magic remained invisible, such was the scale and power of his magic that it took a proper form as the man's body began to gain mass, and the shadows turned into flesh, as Salzar Slytherin appeared in front of him in full.
"It has been quite some years since I have taught someone...."
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ALBUS DUMBLEDORE
Albus Dumbledore took a step back, as the magic from the young boy in front of him forced him to move for the first time since they had begun this training of theirs.
And his soles skidded off the ground, as their magic clashed against one another, sending ripples through the room, as Cassius tried to win a fight against him.
"Impressive," he whispered, for he had not expected him to improve so much just within ten days, and so he twisted his wand, as the arching lightning bolt shifted slightly, and raced towards the wizard in question, whose eyes widened for though the boy was beginning to match him in his speed and power, the finesse of using magic for combat was a skill that needed years to master.
"Silven!" and the air in the room shifted, for the boy hissed as his magic collided with the boy, yet his body suddenly dissolved into a puddle of snakes, much to his surprise.
"Tempest!" and the voice now came from behind as he was forced to defend himself at the last moment, with a shield, yet not before the boy vanished once more, appearing at his back as he twisted his wand once more.
"Sectumsempra!" and this was Severus's spell, and negated most magical shields, so it forced Albus to rely on a trick that he had not used in ages, as he vanished with a pop and apparated behind the boy.
CRACK!
"Shit..." but he was too far into his spell chain, as Albus cast a disarming charm and his wand flew into the air, though much to his surprise, the boy did not give up and flung his hand.
"Accio!" and the wand whipped into his hand once more, but by then Albus had plenty of time to freeze him in his place, rendering his little trick useless.
CLACK!
And the wooden wand hit the ground, as Albus unfroze the boy, marking another victory, though for ten days, the boy had come farther than he had expected.
"Damn it!" the young Black Lord cursed, as he stumbled slightly as Albus encouraged.
"I did not think you knew any Parselmagic," he whispered as the boy summoned his wand back into his hands.
"Well, you are not the only one with tricks up your sleeve," and he had an idea just how he had gotten his hands on such archaic and ancient magic, but he did not probe further.
"Still, you have come along rather nicely," he praised, for the boy deserved it.
"But I still couldn't defeat you," and Albus smiled, for that was a lofty goal.
"You have not," he acknowledged his frustrations, though not before showing him the bright side as well.
"But I can assure you, that you are now amongst the five people who have come the closest in doing so," and so that meant that the boy was now one of the five most skilled duelists in the Wizarding World, and if not for his vast knowledge and experience, Albus would have at least lost one bout of the eighty-three that they had fought.
"Still, I do wonder what it is like to learn from one of the Founders themselves," and the boy's head snapped towards him as Albus spoke of his secret so non-chalantly.
"You knew?" and he hadn't before.
"Now I do," and the black-haired boy rolled his eyes as they sat down on the chair, as Albus offered him critique.
"You are quite skilled as a duellist, but you have a penchant for ignoring your defence. You rely too much on speed and tricks to protect you, and that could be costly," for Voldemort would exploit that weakness.
"And you hesitate to use Transfiguration and Animation magic against me," even though he knew for a fact that he was quite skilled at that.
"Are you really asking me that?" he scoffed.
"Because I cannot match you in transfiguration and animation magic," and he couldn't, of course.
"Perhaps, but still, while you are training against me, you must realise that your opponent is Tom, and I can quite confidently say that he is no match for me when it comes to these techniques," and so just as his secret mentor had taught him his tricks, Albus planned on passing on his own techniques and tricks to the boy.
"Why don't I give you a few ideas...." and so the lesson began and lasted for hours, and by the time they were done, Albus returned to his office to rest, supporting quite a few scuffs and scratches from their last duel.
And as he was resting, he heard the gargoyle of his office move, as a figure emerged from the staircase.
"I was beginning to wonder when you would come to greet me," the Headmaster began, as he watched a young little boy walk into his office, yet this was not the Harry of old.
No, this was not Harry at all.
"Tom," and those red orbs narrowed, as he did not even deign to deny the accusation as he smiled and greeted back.
"It has been quite a long time, Professor..."
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And after his lessons with the Headmaster, Cassius did not rest as he summoned the Founder once more and began to learn from him as much as he could, though just as he was resting, he remembered one thing that had been bothering him for some time.
"That day when I first summoned you, you asked me about my mother's name?" and he nodded.
"I did," the old wizard agreed.
"Why?"
"It doesn't matter," he whispered back.
"Is it because you wanted to see if I was a descendant of yours?" and if the stillness of the man was anything to go by, Cassius's hunch had been correct.
"And how did you guess that?"
"The name of your wife was Dahlia, and your daughter was named after a flower as well, wasn't she?" he whispered, as the man nodded.
"Yes, she was. It was a promise we made, a reminder of our love," and with that, the wizard stuck his staff on the ground, and in the blink of an eye, the solid ground transformed into a field of flowers, as Cassius's eyes widened.
"Dahlia loved flowers, so I created this spell for her, one that creates a field of flowers of all kinds...."
"We decided that we would name all our daughters. using a flower's name, kind of like a family name, so that years and years later, a symbol of our love would remain," and so he had an inkling.
"It is a shame that I will never know if they kept the tradition or not," and as he remembered one Lily Potter, he wondered the same.
"I think they did..."
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