A strange feeling welled up in Tver's chest.
Referring to the castle as "she" instead of "it" honestly gave him the unsettling impression that Salazar Slytherin was speaking of a lover.
"As far as I know, didn't you leave the castle back then?"
"Oh?" Salazar seemed intrigued by the topic. "And how do students describe me nowadays?"
Tver hesitated. He genuinely wasn't sure how to relay what the ancient records said about Salazar.
"According to legend, you wanted to purge the school of Muggle-born students, but were stopped by the other three founders. In dissatisfaction, you secretly built the Chamber of Secrets and then left Hogwarts—"
"Hahahaha…"
Salazar suddenly doubled over with laughter, clutching his stomach. The rough, unrestrained movement was completely at odds with his bewitchingly handsome face.
"Haha, interesting. Truly interesting." He braced himself on his knees and slowly straightened up.
Under Tver's puzzled gaze, he let out a helpless smile.
"Wrong. Completely wrong. On the contrary, I was the only one protecting this school."
"Do you know what the other three wanted to do?"
Salazar abruptly stepped close to Tver, his smile vanishing in an instant, replaced by absolute seriousness.
"Do… what?" Tver was startled by the sudden movement and asked instinctively.
"They wanted to expose magic to Muggle eyes, to turn wizards into servants of those foolish people!"
Salazar snarled through clenched teeth.
"They even wanted to uncover the true nature of magic, so that every Muggle could use it!"
A wave of dissatisfaction rose in Tver's heart.
In his view, the other founders' ideas might have been radical, but they weren't entirely unreasonable.
It was very likely that Rowena and the others truly hoped for harmonious coexistence between wizards and Muggles, but were limited by circumstances and ability.
To be honest, Tver strongly agreed with that ideal and had been working toward it himself.
Only Salazar Slytherin seemed genuinely extreme.
Firmly believing that wizards stood above all others, he refused to allow Muggles any share in the fruits of magic.
Now Tver finally understood why the ancient texts described that period the way they did. The truth was probably not far from those accounts.
"So you built the Chamber of Secrets to eliminate Muggles who possessed magic?"
"To be precise, Muggles who should not possess magic," Salazar corrected him.
"Don't paint me as that extreme."
"I'm well aware that children of Muggle descent can have magical talent too. That's the foundation of the magical world's growth."
"Otherwise, I wouldn't have agreed to offer the Slytherin family castle to establish Hogwarts, nor would I have allowed witches and wizards with Muggle blood into Slytherin House."
"But you must understand this," he continued.
"If Godric and the others shared magic with those who shouldn't have it, I needed to retain the power to purge them."
"But they didn't succeed, did they?" Tver curled his lip slightly.
"But their ideology lived on," Salazar retorted.
"That's why I chose to merge with the castle, to ensure that Hogwarts would never allow such a thing to happen!"
He spread his arms wide. The surrounding structures responded to his magic, emitting a deep, resonant hum that stirred the air.
"But the problem is," Tver said calmly, "your basilisk killed an innocent student. And the Dark Lord who carried your bloodline slaughtered even more innocent witches and wizards."
Tver lifted his chin slightly.
Even as the surrounding architecture continued to press down on him, the vast magic within his body surged in response, unleashing an even greater force, crashing back against Salazar like a tidal wave.
"So the protection you keep talking about is actually harming wizards."
"And the founders you fear? Their ideas are the ones truly protecting the wizarding world."
Salazar was clearly taken aback by Tver's strength.
He had expected that if Tver could restore him from a purely magical state, then his power must be comparable to his own.
But now…
To be honest, if not for his fusion with the castle's magic, he would already have been crushed under the pressure Tver had just released.
And yet, harming wizards?
"Would you mind explaining that in more detail?" Salazar asked. For the first time, his expression turned solemn, the sharp edge in his voice gone.
Tver withdrew his magic at once.
A display of force was enough once. He had no intention of actually fighting Salazar.
After all, Salazar now essentially was the castle. Defeating him would mean destroying Hogwarts itself.
Dumbledore would be the first to object to that.
After giving it some thought, Tver decided to begin with the story of Voldemort's parents.
Voldemort's mother had come from the Gaunt family, a branch of the Slytherin lineage.
It was that rebellious girl from the family who fell in love with a Muggle man, leading to a relationship born of a Love Potion.
And from that loveless union, Voldemort, the Dark Lord starved of affection, was born.
Tver then focused on Voldemort leading the Death Eaters in their rampage across the wizarding world, attempting to reduce Muggles and Muggle-born wizards to slaves.
Especially Voldemort's belief that Muggle-born wizards were stealing magic.
On the surface, it seemed to align perfectly with Salazar's own views.
Yet after listening to Tver's account, Salazar showed no sign of agreement. Instead, he let out a long sigh.
"You're mistaken, child…"
"I understand now why you're dissatisfied with me. In truth, all of you have misunderstood what Slytherin really means."
"Our cunning, our ambition, our willingness to use any means necessary… we bear these traits because, as Slytherins, we must."
"Otherwise, why do you think I founded this school? Why do you think I established Slytherin House?"
A trace of sorrow appeared in his eyes, as though he were pained by the misunderstanding.
"I doubt you know how ancient wizards were persecuted, do you?"
"Have you ever seen a child, simply because they survived a fall, being thrown into roaring flames by their own Muggle parents?"
"I saw it with my own eyes. I ran into the fire and pulled that child out, but she still died screaming in my arms…"
He lifted his hands as if cradling something, his eyes filled with deep grief, as though that scene had been carved into his soul.
"Her tiny body was covered in burn marks, while her parents clapped and cheered."
"From that moment on, I realized that Muggles fear magic. They fear the unknown."
"They will use every possible means to harm wizards, to harm anything they cannot understand."
"But Godric stubbornly believed that Muggles were kind and friendly."
"So—"
Salazar raised his head, his expression fierce as a surging presence burst forth and pressed straight toward Tver.
"I had to establish Slytherin, to turn them into the sharp, venomous spear of Hogwarts, of the entire wizarding world!"
"To repay anyone who dares harm a wizard tenfold, a hundredfold!"
...
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