章 2: Freedom for the parrots and the show begins!
— Fucking Salazar, fucking Rowena! A twenty-meter-tall basilisk hissed in rage, ramming its head against the walls. The reason for my situation is that I have been included in the security system of Hogwarts as its guardian. As long as its source of magic remains active and the castle continues to exist as an artifact, I am unable to leave its territory. Rowena tricked Salazar by calculating a ritual at his request to create a basilisk with the power of metamorphosis. She introduced perfectly hidden additional features into it, making me one of the defense lines of this school.It took me a hundred years to fully absorb the knowledge of Slytherin. I went through a long animagus ritual nineteen times, but each time I failed. I swallowed a leaf with mandrake juice in it, but I didn't have the ability to transform into an animal in that form. Magicians usually solve this problem by gluing the leaf to a tree before a thunderstorm, but that didn't happen. After two years, I finally succeeded. I became a human, but my eyes were still not like a normal human's. Orochimaru wears minimal glasses and has satin-white skin and beautiful refined features. His dark green hair contrasts with his eyes, which are completely round and acid yellow with slightly darker and elongated pupils. These features make him look like the Basilisk.Outwardly, I turned out to be much like Salazar in his youth, but more refined and perfect. Yes, that would be right — it is more perfect! It took me a year to regain the reflexes necessary for managing a new body. I learned to walk on two legs again, use my hands, and speak with my vocal cords, instead of mentally and in Parseltongue. And so, happy with life, after collecting all the valuable items that Salazar previously brought to the secret room, I planned to leave Hogwarts, having mastered all the skills possessed by Slytherin. This, in addition to magic, includes the ability to wield a sword, ride a horse (although now it's unlikely any animal would let me near them), and go deeper into the forest before exiting to a village twenty kilometers from Hogwarts.But I couldn't go very far. My body twisted with pain as soon as I crossed the invisible line, and as soon as I crawled back a meter, it retreated. Several repeated attempts led to the same result. When the light started to appear in the sky, I returned to my dungeon and started to figure out what was going on. Slytherin himself wasn't a genius when it came to ritualism. He was a confident user, but if he could perform a complex ritual, it would take him a lot of mental effort and time. So, this idiot came up with the idea of asking for help from Rowena, who was born a ritualist and was a genius at designing charms. And the woman, not being a fool, probably thought that a dangerous creature on the school grounds was not good, so she decided to help her friend, making his pet - that is, me - part of the defense system of the castle artifact.But fuck you!!! I will find a way to throw off another yoke! And to help me, your Help-out room with your personal library, with all the developments and discoveries. Each of the founders of this school had their own cozy corner. For these purposes, they created four small domains and linked them to Hogwarts. At Godric's, it was an armory and a place where he could get away from everyone and drink hard for weeks. It was Helga's greenhouse. Salazar had a Secret room and for Rowena it was a Rescue room, the entrance to which wasn't tied to a specific place in the castle but was floating. It could be summoned anywhere in the castle, but in order to get directly to Rowena's abode you needed to know the mental key, which I knew thanks to Salazar's memory.Rowena was still being that bitch and treating everyone consumeristically, using others to achieve her own ambitions. Her only weakness was Godric, whom she was in love with. Except, Godric didn't have any good feelings for her. He was a product of the current era, to the core, a medieval knight who only had booze, a good fight, and a pliant female body to warm his bed at night. Having once used Rowena, who was then foolishly in love with him, he refused when she tried to marry him. After quarreling with him, she completely devoted herself to research, but her body was feminine and required attention. So, she chose the most convenient way to relieve tension at the time. She let Salazar into her bed, who had fallen in love with her and became involved in the idea of creating the school, partly because he wanted to get closer to her.
Yeah, it's like a Mexican TV series. It turns out that dark magicians are not strangers to sincere and selfless love either, which makes them blind idiots who the clever lady uses. Two hundred more years, Carl! I have spent two hundred years researching Rowena's entire legacy, which she collected in her library. The only thing that comforts me is that I will never, of my own free will, furiously bite into magical arts, wanting to understand all their nuances and interaction mechanisms. But now, I am not just a doctor in general dark magic, chimerology, healing, and mentalism. I am also an honored expert in charms, shamanism, soul magic, demonology, rituals, runes, numerology, malefice, and artifactorics. After fifty years of studying Rowena's library, I came across her diaries, where I found out her birth name. "Rowen Rowenkelo" was her pen name, but her real name was Morgana LeFay.There are no words, only exclamations. This creature, as it turns out, inhabited the bodies of its daughters more than a dozen times, expelled them and took their place. The Flamethrower from Dragon Age, to be exact. And she fell in love with Godric, for old time's sake: he resembled King Arthur, her first love, so much.
Why did I study so hard if I only needed knowledge about ritualism and the ritual itself with which I was connected to the castle? Yes, everything here is entangled with protective spells, curses, guardians demons and spirits, traps. If I didn't have magical eyesight, superhuman strength and speed, and resistance to magic, I would have died a hundred times over. Crazy woman!I have been in this hated castle for four centuries, where only a secret and rescue room are available to me. Darkness! But I found a way to get rid of the "honour" of being the guardian of Hogwarts. I can't escape the bond, but I can move it. However, only the basilisk can do that, because he is listed as the guardian in the castle's system.
I stayed another hundred years in the castle, not because I couldn't leave, but because I felt ashamed to leave a child behind. So, fuck it all and in this world Hogwarts will have two guardians. As a result, I spent 30 years growing and training the first basilisk, whom I easily put my yoke on. Then, for another 30, I raised his partner. Even snakes need communication, even if it's rare.Well, in addition, he worked on his own development in metamorphism and worked out the ability to perform magic to automatism. During the founders' lifetime, every self-respecting magician could cast up to a dozen spells nonverbally without a concentrator. Salazar was able to do more than one hundred, which I was able to achieve as soon as I gained control over my mana. And this wasn't a difficult task for me thanks to my mental strength and the time I spent practicing. But I didn't want to stop there and every week, I mastered one or two new spells. Now, at the moment, I can use more than three hundred spells without words and guides. And the power of my magical source has reached the seventh level and its development has significantly slowed down.When I was ready to leave for the outside world, I took Rowena's entire collection of books out of her room and transferred it to my secret lair, which was Salazar's library. Before leaving my hideout, I enchanted the Slytherin apartments, which included his bedroom, living room, kitchen, workshop, funeral hall, study, and library, making it so that only I could access them. Now, no one else will be able to get in for sure. The key to entering the apartment is the essence of my soul, so no one can guess it. I also changed the password for entering the dungeon from the simple "Open" to a more complex digital code based on the Parsel tongue, which includes the day, month, and year of my birthday in the previous world. No one would be able to guess that either.
For a week, I watched the inhabitants of Hogsmeade secretly, memorizing their modern English speech patterns and what they were wearing.It was already 1532. England was ruled by King Henry the Eighth of the Tudors, and in Russia, if my memory serves me correctly, Ivan the Terrible was about to ascend to the throne. Well, in Europe, there was almost always some kind of upheaval. Spain was currently busy exploring the Americas, but that was an interesting thing to do.I was so eager for freedom, and now, dressed in modern fashion with a purse containing around twenty thousand gold coins, I walked along Oblique Alley as a human, thinking about what to do and where to go. Nothing held me back in England, so I would only return closer to the canon. In Russia, horseradish is no sweeter, and there is constant squabbling between boyar families. The way of life I knew in the Middle Ages, with all its disgust and nobility, is gone. I don't know how things are in the magical realm, but they can't be much better than here.
Yes, in principle, why should I be worried, what does it matter to me about the current foundations? When will I ever get another chance to "enjoy" the natural authenticity of this era? I consider myself a citizen of the world like Mayakovsky and will travel all over the planet wherever I can, looking at the beauty of local great powers and their capital cities. I am not restricted by time, the most important thing is to avoid getting into a dangerous situation during my travels. But it seems that I'm pretty good at magic now. So, let's go.I didn't like Europe! Obscurantism and heresy are everywhere. These aren't people from my time, everyone here has blinded themselves with faith. I'm talking about simpletons. The church is fierce and the princes aren't far behind, within their own limits of perversion and power. Bloody masses, orgies and all sorts of occult nonsense, in the form of charlatans who hang around courts of nobles and take their money.I decided to start my journey through Europe by visiting Spain. There, as far as I knew, the Church and the Inquisition were stronger than anywhere else - even in Rome it was simpler. My first destination in Spain was the city of Toledo. Although Salazar may not have been as skilled as Godric with a sword, he was still better than most. His fencing school was on par with the best ducal and royal families, after all, it was a sign of noble birth. To afford spending a lot of time perfecting skills, you had to pay a good teacher, and they were not easy to find. All the teachers who had proven themselves in the art of cold steel were rare. And to attract them to teach your children, you needed not only money but also connections. Anyway, they wouldn't teach anyone.Salazar himself had a low opinion of his achievements in this field, but, let me tell you, he was just getting stuffed. He could only recognize his skills as worthy after defeating Godric. M-hmm. But Gryffindor was a genius with a sword. Let it be considered that he was the first sword of England, but I am sure he was the best sword in all of Europe. When he had his sword in his hands, he became the god of war.During the five centuries, or to be more precise, during the absence of Salazar from the world, whose powers and memory I have appropriated, fencing has undergone great changes. People have been very inventive at killing their own kind and the art of fighting with bladed weapons has made huge leaps in skill. Even now, without my superhuman strength or flexibility, I can beat most swordsmen in the current era, but I want to keep up with the times because I got perfectionism from Salazar and I also want to buy the best swords in Toledo, which I will enchant after purchase thanks to Rowena's library, and I want to hire a fencing teacher here as well.But I didn't succeed with the last one. The swords had already been purchased and enchanted by me, but so far only with indestructibility. However, I still intended to learn fencing with them. And if they could cut opponents' swords like a hot knife through butter, then a lot of questions would arise. Everything was fine. With the help of mental magic, I managed to arrange a meeting with the first Toledan sword, who I intended to hire as my teacher.
On the day of our meeting at the countess' estate, I felt as if an anti-magic shield had been placed over the estate. He didn't anticipate the possibility of facing someone stronger than himself. Therefore, it wasn't difficult for me to leave that inhospitable place without causing any trouble. I didn't know who had come or why or with what intentions. I didn't want to cause a massacre on my first day in the country.Once in Spain, I never used magic in front of people who could notice it. The only exception was when it was mental, and it did not have visual manifestations, so only a strong mind reader in my immediate vicinity would have been able to discover its use. How did they find me then? I hid my magic perfectly. I didn't have any magical artifacts, but all my clothes were made from magical materials: silk from magical silkworms, werewolf fur, unicorn skin, and leather from my own creations. And all the seams were smooth and invisible, or where possible, without seams at all.Even though the clothes were not enchanted, I could not exchange the comfortable magical analogues of fabrics and materials for their non-magical ones. Apparently, somewhere, I caught the eye of an expert who was able to identify the magical origins of my outfit.In Spain, an interesting situation developed with the opposition between magicians and secular authorities, supported by the Inquisition. Until recently, about fifty years ago, any magician caught would be immediately shackled and led to a bonfire. However, when Columbus discovered the Americas and the Spanish conquistadors began expanding into the southern continent, they had to deal with an ancient civilization that worshipped demons and dark gods. When the King realized that steel and gunpowder were not effective against witchcraft, he made contact with the magical dynasties who were isolated from the world and driven by paladins and magicians.And it was only after the non-aggression pact had been signed between magicians and representatives of the authorities in the world of simpletons in Spain that magicians started to include their people in new overseas expeditions, and only then did the first successes begin to appear in the confrontation between the two different civilizations.
In fact, it was this pact on the demarcation of the world of magic and the world of simpletons, concluded between the Spanish magical dynasties and the King of Spain, that became the prototype for the future Statute of Secrecy. Strangely enough, magicians in Rome fared best in Europe, with half of the highest Catholic hierarchs being magicians. The Medici and Borgia families, among others, have their roots in Roman history, where they were patrician. When Constantine I made Christianity the official religion of the state, the aristocracy quickly arranged for their proteges and family members to be placed in the new social institution of the Church. Years of political intrigue in Rome taught the magicians how to navigate new situations quickly, as the fate of their families often depended on it.Years and centuries passed. Christianity gained a following and was able to spread across Europe, literally enslaving the minds of the masses. Thus, perverting the true scripture and making humanity not an extension of the creator, his children, but inspiring them with the idea that they were servants of God was the result of powerful church hierarchs' desire to subjugate people's souls and bodies for their own benefit. All for the sake of base metal. Secular authorities were pleased too: the church looked the other way when it came to their sins. If something absolutely terrible and contradictory to the distorted scriptures was revealed, the nobility just bought off accusations.As soon as the Roman dynasties felt power over the common people, they were ready to attack everything that the Pope pointed out as evil. They decided to become the magical hegemon. The Crusades began and the Inquisition was created. Only the Church had the right to perform miracles. Everything else was from the devil.As a result, all of Western Europe fell under the thumb of the clergy, while those who disagreed fled to other countries or, if they had established domains in the magical world, closed themselves off from the rest of the world. The Church was very involved in eliminating dissidents with the phrase "if you're not with us, then you're against us," which led to the thinning out of magicians in Europe and the extinction of ancient magical families. This led to the emergence of schools such as demonology, ritualism and shamanism, each with its own unique flavor and thousands of years of history. Those who possessed this knowledge were eliminated, and now wand magic dominates Europe, developed by magicians from Ancient Rome for the purpose of rapidly replenishing their ranks with combat magicians.What is now taught in magic schools and colleges in Europe was previously considered to be the lot of the rabble and meat for slaughter. Yes, wand magic is universal and can be taught quickly, but you can never become a great magician without it. After all, with a wand in hand, you won't learn to feel magic enough to create it without a conductor. Only those who are born with a predisposition for hypersensitivity to magic will be able to reject a conductor and concentrate on operating magic streams. Although Salazar, due to his limited powers, which did not reach the level of a Great Magic, paid special attention to wand schools, where he achieved amazing results. However, he did not neglect working with bare strength and staffs, honing his skills, even though he realized he could not achieve significant results in this area. Many spells that require a staff or no conductor were simply beyond his abilities.Although this did not prevent him from meticulously collecting knowledge about magic, because he had a plan to become stronger. And I am very glad that his plans failed. But now, I have all of his knowledge, collected by him and inherited from his own family's legacy.Salazar Slytherin was from Persia and for thousands of years, his family held a high position there. Often, magicians from his family served as court magicians to the Satrap, King of Persia. In another conspiracy against the king, his family participated, but the coup did not happen, and only Salazar, seventeen years old at the time, survived. Accompanied by loyal soldiers, he escaped from Persia with the family treasury and library. His family's specialties were healing and chimeraology. Where there is healing, there are spells, blood magic, and transmutation, so one cannot become a healer without knowing these areas of magic.Then, the difficult one took the then thirty-year-old magician to France, where he met Godric, the former head of the mercenaries. After a short acquaintance, he was accepted into his squad as a full-time healer. Slytherin didn't have much to choose from at that time. He had spent a lot of time traveling, researching and acquiring new knowledge. At the moment of meeting Godric, there were only a few gold coins and some silver in his purse. After completing the contract with Louis the Fourth, King of France, Godric went to the Tin Islands with Salazar. There they met Rowena and Helga.M-yeah. Having absorbed Slytherin's memories and assimilating his spirit, I began to partially experience his past as if it were my own. During the first hundred years, this bothered me greatly, so as soon as I had acquired an anthropomorphic body, I performed a ritual on myself to discover my name, gender, race, and magical abilities. The ritual also revealed any vows or oaths I may have made.
So, in the place where my name should have been, there was a long space. Next to it, the title of magical races is highlighted, and the name given for achievements and merits that left a noticeable mark on the infosphere. My name appeared in dull gray ink, Salazar Slytherin. I could rightfully use this as my own name, but it was not my real name. In fact, it didn't threaten me with anything serious, but gave me the opportunity to introduce myself under this name and magic would confirm its legality. However, I didn't want to use the name of my former master because it constantly reminded me of being a slave. Therefore, I changed the name to Svyatozar Zmiev, which I chose myself rather than relying on magic. And you know what? I really like it!But the most curious thing about my race was its definition: "Naked". That's where the strangeness lay. The Nagas were a demonic race from the dark plane, and their names should have been written in red on the parchment, but my race was written in golden ink, typical of fairies. I was naked, but not a demon. Interesting.
Next on my European tour, I visited Rome. Upon arrival in this ancient city, my first stop was at the check-in point. All magicians who do not have citizenship in Rome must undergo a check when visiting the city. In the Hall of Truth, it is impossible to lie, so they asked me questions:
— Name?
— Svyatozar Zmiev.
— Do you have any malicious intent towards the Catholic Church or the sacred forty-four Patrician families?
— None at all!
— Purpose of arrival?
— To see the sights and meet interesting and intelligent people.
That was the end of my interview, and I received an enchanted chain - a tracking beacon and at the same time a certificate of permission to stay in this city. I lived in Rome for five years, making friends with many patrician families. I became known among the local nobility as a versatile personality and educated magician. Even received the title of master of the local guild of healers, although I was the strongest and most knowledgeable magician in the guild. The title of master was given only to the head of the guild, so I had no desire to involve myself in local intrigues or power struggles. Becoming a master healer already made a lot of noise, and because of this, I gained many detractors who saw me as a threat to their plans. Apparently, they thought I was aiming for leadership in the guild, which was already causing conflict between families like the Borgias and Medici.With Borgia, we resolved the possible conflict amicably. I told them without concealment that I did not need all this and I was going to leave Rome soon. The title of "master" was needed because it opened many doors and with it, I would be a welcome guest in most noble houses in Europe. They believed me, or at least pretended to.
However, the Medici family did not heed my warning and at the last party they organized where I was invited, they attempted to poison me with a Basilisk venom, which is the most deadly biological toxin.On that day, the Medici family declared mourning. After the end of the reception, the head of the family and two of his sons died, one of them being the heir. And after I gave my gift to their glasses, their magic did its job. The next day, I was already leaving Rome, but I didn't manage to leave unhindered. When I was surrounded by a group of powerful magicians at the exit of the city, I thought I would have to fight my way out. But no, it wasn't necessary.
- Svyatozar Zmiev, hello! - the magician greeted me, who I recognized as the head of the Borgia family when he threw off his hood.
- And don't get sick, Antonio. Have you also decided to get out of stuffy Rome and into the suburbs? I nodded at one of the city gates leading to the Appian Way, which was visible ahead.
- Oh no, my friend, I just wanted to say goodbye. I hope you'll give me some time. I assure you, it won't take long, this rascal smiled at me and that slippery bastard. But you can't deny his charisma, charm, and a sophisticated mind.
- Alas, I'm in a hurry. I already stayed in your wonderful city, I regretted spreading my hands. When I moved them, the guards tensed but didn't do anything.
— No, Svyatozar, it will not take long. And I invite you to this tavern, "he pointed to the nearest tavern on the opposite side of the square where we were now."
— Of course, it does not correspond with our high status, but since you are in such a hurry, you can ignore it, " he insisted. Oh, well, I cannot leave Rome without a fight and fireworks."
It seems like he has nothing to complain about. Yesterday, I killed the head of Antonio's hostile family, his heir, and a man who was an opponent in the confrontation for the position of head of the guild of healers in Rome with a representative from the Borgia family. And so, we were sitting at the table across from each other, while his minions were sitting at a nearby table. Antonio himself looked at my face very closely, as if he had never seen me before. Now, he was searching for something familiar in my features.
— You know, when I first saw you at another reception hosted by our family, your face seemed familiar to me. I have a good memory and I never forget faces of people I've met or even crossed paths with briefly. That aroused my curiosity but it wasn't important to figure out where we had met. There were other things to do. Then you turned out to be an interesting new figure in Rome's magical enclave. You showed a versatile knowledge of various magic schools, some that have been forgotten in Europe or are still inaccessible to outsiders because they belong to other civilizations that need to protect their secrets from outsiders.But now his mask of good-naturedness has fallen off, and the look of a seasoned murderer glares at me. I don't mind his menacing gaze. If I look at him with my true eyes, he will immediately give his soul to his god.
- What does the name "Salazar Slytherin" mean to you?
How interesting. But Salazar didn't leave his portraits for anyone, and the only remnant of his appearance is a statue in the Chamber of Secrets. The Persians have many ways to curse or find someone in his image, so Slytherin didn't allow anyone to create their own image.
- One of the four founders of Hogwarts, the one who rightfully bore the title of Dark Lord, was strong in alchemy, potions, dark magic and mentalism, I replied calmly, without betraying my slight surprise.
— In the tenth century, my distant ancestor was at the court of Louis IV and happened to see two future founders of Hogwarts: Godric Gryffindor and Salazar Slytherin. My ancestor merged his memories of these magicians into a special place in our family's library. Even as a young magician, he liked to visit the treasury where the memories of his ancestors were stored. When news reached him about the death of a Medici head from a poison similar to the Blessing of Set's, whose recipe is still unknown to European potion masters and guarded by Persian magicians like an apple of the eye, he realized who it was: Salazar Slytherin! He flashed a smug grin, but then thought, "Well, by God, this is like a child's game."
— And what are you so happy about, Antonio? I was really curious. Well, he found out that I am "Salazar Slytherin", the Dark Lord, the Black Plague, and the Reaper of Catholics, as he is also called in Europe.
— So it's really you! He leaned back on the bench.
Okay, it's time to end this conversation and go home.
- It was interesting to listen to you. And now, before I continue my journey, please listen to me too. I threw off the illusion that had covered my eyes and now the Royal Basilisk's eyes were looking at the head of the Borgia Family. At the same time, a protective dome covered the entire tavern, hiding everything that was happening there and distracting attention, discouraging potential visitors. Antonio's bodyguards and everyone else in the tavern except for the two of us lost consciousness. With my power, Borgia broke out in cold sweat and turned pale. I continued: You and all your men are alive only thanks to my kindness, no matter what rumors may say. Yes, my name is Salazar Slytherin, but it's in the past now. It would be better if the Borgias remembered Salazar Slythelin only as a character in history. Surely we don't want any of Rome's holy families to lose one of their forty patricians?We don't want to do that, do we, my boy? - I decided to play the hooligan and, remembering my godfather, patted Antonio on the cheek, who was crushed under my strength in a fatherly manner.
"Nah," Borgia managed to answer, swallowing hard as a lump formed in his throat.
"Well, that's fine!" Okay, it's time for me, Svyatozar Zmiev, the humble master healer, to move on. And, for the future Antonio, I wasn't joking and may my Christian God forbid I find a reason to return here. Goodbye," he said, getting up from the table and leaving the tavern, along with this glorious city.
It's time to move on, there are still so many other interesting things in the world.
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