The Study and a Talk
Harri jumped and turned to a portrait on the wall. Salazar Slytherin stared down at her. He looked as if he was assessing her, and it made her slightly uncomfortable.
"Well, what's your name, young one?" Slytherin asked, pointing to a couch in front of his painting. Harri crossed to it and sat down carefully.
"I'm Harri Potter-Black, Lord Slytherin. I wasn't expecting to find your portrait, sir," she said uncertainly.
"None of my heirs seem to expect me," he said with a laugh, "though I am confused on how a Potter ended up with my heirship."
"It was won by conquest, sir. Your previous Heir killed my parents and tried to kill me, and I survived and forced him into a wrath like state," Harri explained carefully.
Slytherin was quiet for a moment before sighing. "You are the first person in nearly 200 years, and that makes me thankful that the last heir never found this place," he said sadly. "Welcome to the family young, Heir Potter-Black."
"The mean boy from before made grandmother kill a student," Daisy said grumpily. "She petrified several students before Harri killed her. She was not herself."
"Oh my beautiful Calliope," Slytherin said mournfully. "She was suffering, so do not feel bad for her death. She was not made to harm students. The last time she had proper been deployed was when the muggles raided this school to kill our students."
"Is the rumors true that you hate muggleborns than?" Harri asked softly.
"Dear girl, I'm a muggleborn. I hate muggles as they hurt and kill us. My father drowned my sister when she showed signs of magic, and it caused me to run. When my friends and I made this school, I said that we should not inform the muggle parents as they could kill their children, but the others were against it, saying that not every parent was like that. I knew that, but I didn't want to risk them, and we got into a fight about it, so I went to go see what other wizarding schools were doing," Salazar said calmly.
"No one will believe me," Harri said softly. "Is their a way that you could leave this portrait?"
"Now that you've woken me up, I can go anywhere in the castle," Slytherin said with a smile.
"Good because people need to know the real story," Harri said with a nod. "I have a question, Lord Slytherin. I've heard you were a healer. Do you have anything for someone who has been tortured with the Cruciatus Curse so much that they can not gather their minds?"
"It sounds like their magic created a bound around their mind," he hummed and said, "Check shelf 20 4 shelves up."
Harri rushed to the bookshelf and found a book called Healing Magic and Breaking Bonds. She pulled it from the shelf and went back to the painting. She held it up for Salazar to see.
"That's the one, dear girl. Do you know they spell to copy books?" He asked calmly.
"I think so. We haven't really covered it before," Harri said. "I think the spell is Geminio."
"That's correct, or you can say copy in parseltongue as it has a similar effect," Slytherin said with a smile.
Harri hissed copy while pointing her wand at the book. An exact copy laid next to the original. She smiled brightly and cheered. She had never casted anything in parseltongue before, but it felt freeing. She may start trying every spell in it.
"That was excellent work, young one. It's getting close to lunch, so why don't you put the original back and make your way upstairs. I will meet you up there," Slytherin said before disappearing from his frame. Harri did what she was told and made her way out of the Chamber, clutching the book to her chest. She hoped this would give Neville his parents back. She waved him to have them as she couldn't.
"Good to see you made it," Slytherin greeted her when she stepped out of the bathroom.
"I said up to the slide, and a small platform took me to the top," Harri explained happily. Salazar walked through frames, greeting the inhabitants as he told Harri in Parseltongue how to spell Daisy so she wasn't deadly without a phrase.
Harri quickly did the spells, not wanting anyone to get hurt. She gently ran a finger down Daisy's head. She was quite attached to the little snake. It felt like when she got Hedwig. It was a magical feeling she couldn't quite place so she asked Slytherin about it.
"That my dear is a Familiar Bound," Salazar explained. "Some wizards grow so attached to their pets that their magic and their pets' magic connect. It's really quite fascinating magic that I'm sure we have books on it in the library or study."
"I can not wait to read some of those books down there," Harri said excitedly. "I don't believe some of them are in print anymore!"
"Probably not young one, but you are welcome to the library as family. Now go eat with your friends," Slytherin said, pointing to the Great Hall.
Harri skipped into the Great Hall and found Neville and Draco already there. Hermione and Ron sat in front of them. She smiled at her friends all together. She went to them and sat between her boys happily.
"How had your mornings been?" She asked happily. She smiled at them all, and Daisy sniffed all of them.
"Where have you been?" Hermione asked worriedly. She had an annoyed look on her face.
"I've been in the chamber!" Harri said excitedly. "I found the study and Slytherin's portrait! Did you know he was a muggleborn? He didn't hate them. He hated muggles as they were living through the witch hunts!"
The group blinked. It seemed like Harri had just shaken everything they had thought they knew. She said, "He's currently walking through other paintings, so he could probably tell you himself."
"You never have a boring moment, so you?" Ron asked with a raised eyebrow. "My ADHD diagnosis doesn't seem as cool now."
"That's amazing, Ron! Are they getting you medicine and accommodations?" Harri asked, happy for her friend.
"Yeah, they are currently helping me set up a 504 plan, whatever that means," Ron said with a shrug.
"It helps you with things like homework and class participation, and it's known to really help," Hermione said with a smile. "I'm glad that you are getting the help you need."